Booming Banter

Yesterday we spent most of the day underground.

As we’d moved our sofas downstairs in preparation for the arrival of the Irish favorites we could either lie on the floor in the living room or veg in the basement.

It was a day of football. American that is! First the Texas and Oklahoma game where we were rooting for Texas. They lost.

Onwards and upwards to Alabama against Georgia and Bamy won!

Finally the climax of the day and the seasons our team OSU against Northwest.

Well a girl needs something to keep her nerves in check so out came the crochet hook and a big ball of wool. A different ballgame!

A friend had recently knit her daughter an infinity scarf so as this was a day of infinite football what else was there to make.

Dad had enough half way through and abandoned the ball for the book!

We both abandoned the basement for bed before the game was over but Aaron cheered the winners on to become once more the BIG 10 Champions!

Blessing # 173 – Hobby Hooks

When we were studying French and German at school we were given names by our teachers.

In French class I was Beatrice and in German Brigit. Now I have no idea how our teachers came up with the names. Maybe they tried to match us up well with our surnames mine being Barr. Bottom line those names still make me wince.

This came back to mind this morning as my bestie Lesley and I were sending funny little Facebook posts in German to Lesley’s daughter in Berlin.

At school I was truly horrendous at languages especially French. To say that French class was a nightmare would be kind. It made me feel ill and very jealous of the girls who seemed to get it!

German at least bore a remote resemblance to English so I could goof my way through conversation and translation.

So it was ironic, some might even say it was poetic justice that I ended up living a large part of my adult life in French speaking countries.

That smattering of French from school helped so much when I arrived to work in Switzerland and in the end French became very near and dear to me.

The German came in handy too.

Many of my bosses were German. Sometimes they’d converse among themselves and while they may have assumed differently I’d a fair idea of what they were saying unless that is they were Swiss speaking Switzer Deutsch which is a whole different ball game!!!!

Blessing # 172 – Language Lessons

 

Last weekend when we put up the lights outside I was getting a bit tired. Aaron helped me some but these days he is so busy texting that it frustrates me more to watch him and keep having to ask him to concentrate than just doing it myself.

The job was half baked. It wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t satisfying. This happens regularly with me. I’ll knit something or bake something and rush it and then it turns out that I can’t stand it or it is a total fail.

Since Monday I’ve been watching the grounds men put up the outdoor Christmas lights at the club. They were still perfecting the tree today. It looks wonderful

This rubbed in my dissatisfaction with my own work so today I bit the bullet took the outdoor lights down and started over.

They are far from perfect but they now have an order and some elements of symmetry. It was time well spent, really not that much just an hour.

Will anyone notice a difference? Most likely not a soul but myself but I know now I’ll smile when I see them.

Blessing #171– Observing Patience in Perfectionists.

Our furniture from Ireland has cleared customs in New York and is in the warehouse waiting to be delivered to Ohio.

The Swiss stuff is now mostly unpacked and placed in its final destination although there are still four boxes in the garage and some in the boiler room.

To get ready for the Irish onslaught we hired College HUNKS  Hauling Junk to come today to help us move things around. Highly recommend them!

The guys were smart, efficient and worked non stop. Best of all they were really kind and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble for them!

There were sofas going to the basement, a bed going upstairs twin beds coming to the garage to be picked up by the furniture bank not to mention coffee tables, carpets and the inevitability bookcases moving around too.

Musical chairs took on a whole new meaning!

Before any move could happen of course I had to make a few adjustments to things myself and that is when disaster struck. Something nasty happened to my back yesterday and again this morning it gave me a fright.

Nonetheless still went to Yoga class to see how that would make me feel.

Well it was like a minor miracle.

Our lovely yoga teacher Olivia who is going to her baby in just a few weeks showed up but no one else did. So Olivia and I had a great little practice just the two of us with focus on our lower backs.

Got home just in time to say hello and give direction to the lads.

Blessing # 170 – NAMASTE to Three Strong HUNKS and a Gentle YOGI

The long running TV show Coronation Street introduced many of us in the UK to the term BUTTY.

The program is set in a working class area in the North of England and has been going for 58 years. There are a few people still acting in it who were in the first episodes.

When we lived in Switzerland my Dad would tape the program for me and I’d pick up the video tapes on each visit back home. The binge watching of all the episodes once we were back in Switzerland drove poor Krishna mad!

Anyway I thought of this today as I was making our lunch. We had a good ham BUTTY with some mind blowingly hot Coleman’s Mustard. In other words a super thick sandwich stuffed to capacity and totally lacking in any finesse.

Butties are the polar opposite of a finger sandwich that the more upper crust among the population would be used to.

In Northern Ireland we’d also refer to this as a doorstop just to reinforce its depth. It’s rough and it’s ready and it’s yummy.

Blessing # 169 – Getting your teeth into something good

Sandra, a dear friend since school days, started her own business recently. It is called Remember When Ltd

This business is built on Sandra’s  love and dedication to those suffering from memory loss.

Sandra studied Modern Languages at University so communication has always been her strength. Today she applies this strength in a new language called reminiscence therapy. Through music, memorabilia, old arts and crafts happy memories come flooding back.

Having lived through the decline in my own Mother’s  memory, and seeing how a song or a poem made her smile, I can only imagine how much the families of the ladies and gentlemen that Sandra helps must value and treasure her work.

Today Sandra received a Northern Ireland Women in Business Award. So very happy for her and so blessed to have someone so beautiful as a friend.

Blessing # 168 – Joy in Seeing a Pal Succeed

Many of you must have seen on social media that people who put Christmas decorations up early are less likely to suffer from the blues.

You could argue the case either way but let’s say a bit of brightness in the house when the days are dreary can’t hurt.

Our tradition is to get out the tinsel once Thanksgiving is done and dusted. So the decor went up Saturday the outside light yesterday and the tree went up today.

Krishna puts the tree bits together because he’s a saint and then it’s up to me to dress it up.

One thing that is always frustrating is stinging the fairy lights.  They always seem to get tangled or you get half way through and half of them pack in. Well no more. We have gone BIG.

Seriously if you want to save yourself time and your sanity invest in these wonders. They may be a bit bold and more leprechaun than fairy but lighting the whole tree from bottom to top with beauties took ten minutes and not a single bad word was said!

Blessing # 167 – Lighting Bolt

 

The beautiful word Benediction crossed my path today. Hadn’t heard or seen it for such a long time.

This term was used in days gone by at the end of a Church Service. Maybe in some places it is still used but the simpler word Blessing  is much more likely.

The two words are of course interchangeable yet Benediction seems much more powerful!

This perception could well be based on what was instilled in and bestowed on me by a wonderful man Canon John Bell.

He was the minister at our Church Holy Trinity Ballylesson for almost three decades and was involved in giving the Benediction at every  single major milestone in my life.

The Canon was also a very avide beekeeper. Maybe not a coincidence that just this past week we found some lovely bee wax he’d given us years ago

Each Sunday he would send us off for the week with a Benediction. Most often this would be;

»Go forth now into the world in peace. Be of good cheer. Hold fast that which is good and the Lord thy God shall go with you whither so ever you may go »

What more could you ask for!

Blessing # 166 – Bees and their Keepers

Being partial to a candle or two burning of an evening a lot of candle ends  accumulate.

After years feeling sorry for the bits that weren’t getting a chance to shine the light dawned that they could be recycled

So, for the past two years these little pieces are now lovingly set aside and eventually find their way into memory candles for special friends.

At the end of each season when the decor is being changed all that has accumulated over the season undergoes a transformation.

Today, being the end of fall decor and the start of Christmas for us, the candle making took place and I took photos to share how it goes.

The wax is melted in a little Pyrex jug on the floor of the microwave. Of course all metal wick holders have to be removed first so a little meltdown over some boiling water  might be needed

Once melted the wax gets really hot so it’s quite dangerous work. It then has to be poured layer by layer otherwise the wick comes unstuck. This is not a bad thing because it allows colored layers to be made.

Now those of you thinking that I have lost the plot or should get a life or at least get to IKEA immediately may be right but all this helps me build patience which is a virtue that normally isn’t part of my repertoire.

All was proceeding well today and after four hours of melting and pouring the last layers were set and I was pleased as punch with the outcome.

Until that is one of the wicks fell into the wax and a hole had to be dug to get it out.

This bit of wax had to be remelted and here is where a corner was cut that could have been a disaster.

The racks in the microwave had already been put back in place so I stuck the jug on a piece of paper on the top rack rather than taking the racks out and putting the jug on the microwave floor.

You guessed right a blaze started. Some wax on the paper caught fire and set the rest of the wax off too. Fortunately Krishna helped me get it out with a wet towel and there wasn’t much in that jug to burn but it could have been horrible.

What was that talk of PATIENCE?

Blessing # 165 – Tough Love

An estimated five thousand calories were consumed yesterday. Everyone enjoyed and it was real tasty but the best is yet to come. Turkey SOUP!

Some people call it broth but there is something about that word that isn’t appetizing for me. Anyone else feel that way?

Just love love love soup and it’s a making right now. The stock’s bubblin’ and will be going for another hour or so. Once it’s cooled a little will be used today and a lot  will be portioned up and frozen for future use in intense therapy sessions.

Chopping veggies is one of my go to best ever mind numbingly happy things. If items in the fridge get tired or it becomes highly congested the chopping goes into over drive. If a bit of a bad mood surfaces look out and listen for the click of that knife on wood.

The thought of a good drop of soup at the end of it all is a prospect that never fail to bring a smile.

Blessing # 164 – Joys of Leftovers