Thursday, 17 March 2022

Happy St Patrick's Day!

 It's St Patrick's Day and the sun came out here in Ireland!

It was cool and got up to about 12 degrees Celsius so I wore layers for what I got up to today. And what did I do?!  Well I cycled in the Dublin parade! 

The parade is back for the first time since 2019 after it was cancelled in 2020 - as we were just starting lockdown this time two years ago. Along with the parade being back, the Dublin Cycling Campaign are also back with a themed cycle which was the closing float (is a group of 100 cyclists, in costume, a float?) of the parade.

You can look back on past blogs here to see what I wore at previous parades.

The theme for our cycle float wass "Joyce Cycle" to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of James Joyce's Ulysses and we all wore Bloomsday / Joycean outfits. 

Ably led by Dublin City Councillor Donna Cooney, who coordinated the cyclists participations in the parade, we cycled, cheered and waved and had a lot of fun.

A clap from the President of Ireland

The stand out moment for me was when we passed the Grand Stand with all of the dignitaries, our President Michael D. Higgins stood and clapped for us as we passed. What an honour!

Here's a few pics of my costume and some of the parade.

Posing at my door way before I set off for the parade starting point. My house was built in the 1840's so my costume is fairly apt in this setting!
An essential copy of James Joyce's Ulysses strapped to the back of a bike

Some very smart Joycean outfits here!

Waiting for the start - posing beside my Brompton Bike. As you can see I sewed a ribbon to my hat which I was glad of as it was windy in parts and I think my hat would have blown off were it not tied firmly on.
In past years it has been bitterly cold waiting at the parade starting point so I came prepared this year with a flask of hot Baileys coffee!
Councillor Donna Cooney leading the way with Leopold Bloom reading in bed

Can you see me in the background of this photo as the cycling campaign group crossed O'Connell Bridge!

And now that the parade is over, I will unpick the ribbons off my hat and will donate it to a charity shop along with doing a big clear out of my attic tomorrow (I have lots of things up there that I haven't used since my return from Spain, so they probably can be donated).  

My dress was a casualty of the cycle having got caught in my chain a few times. It's now got a hole in it. It's a dress that I wore to a black tie wedding over 15 years ago, but all I've been using it for is for dressing up in costume for the last few years, so it is no loss (also having looked at the tear, I think I can probably stitch it up and repair it so it is fine for wearing again as a costume). I had worn it in previous parades (see when I dressed up as a suffragette) but the bike that I was cycling on that day had a chain guard which my Brompton doesn't. Seems like a chain guard is probably an essential piece of kit on your bike if you are going to be cycling in long skirts!


A note about Ukraine

As you can see we wore blue bands on our hats along with a yellow sunflower in support of Ukraine. This is something that I was very happy to do. As you can see I haven't written a blog in a few weeks and quite honestly it was because I couldn't bring myself to. I wanted to write about the atrocities that are being done on Ukraine but I am finding it hard to verbalise how devastated I feel for the Ukrainian people. I am so incredibly sad for them. 

As their country was attacked, Ireland immediately began to welcome in refugees and it has been inspiring to see Irish people open up their homes to those in need. There is a huge fundraising effort and as usual us Irish dig deep and donate as much as we can.

As a country that gets celebrated the world over on our special day it is tough to see Ukraine being foremost in the world's mind - but not for something positive but instead the world is looking on in horror. 

At this point in time I do not hold out much hope for Ukraine, but one thing I do have hope for, and that is, the strength in humankind. The Ukraine people will survive with the help of the world. We are one big globalised community and we must look out for each other.  

Good will prevail over evil.

And on that sombre note I end by wishing you a Happy St Patrick's Day where ever you are in the world.


Sunday, 27 February 2022

Green to be seen in on St Patrick's Day

 Lots of green clothes available in Dunne Stores, just in time for St Patricks Day.



What I plan to wear for St Patrick's Day is a Joycean costume celebrating the 100 year publication of Ulysses.  I hope to be cycling in the national parade with the Dublin Cycling Campaign. Watch this space!


Sunday, 20 February 2022

Keto Peanut Butter Cups

Homemade Keto Peanut Butter Cups

I landed on this recipe for Keto Peanut Butter Cups  when I was browsing Youtube.  They seemed easy to make so I did a batch this afternoon, using a mix of Green & Black 70% and Lindt 90% chocolate.

I'm not sure if I got the ratio of chocolate to peanut butter centre right but here's what they look like
I used cupcake cases and made them in a baking tin
I'm looking forward to tasting one after dinner this evening - and I'll let you know what they taste like 

Edit - here's my verdict!!

These Peanut Butter Cups are sooo good! A perfect after dinner treat - they have everything going on with a creamy peanut butter centre and a dark chocolate shell. Not too sweet but sweet enough to kill cravings for a sweet treat. Just divine!

Sunday, 13 February 2022

Sunday hosting!

Hosted a little Sunday get together this morning.

Fun time with coffee, pastries and chats.  

Here's pics of what I served which included, Devilled Eggs, Smoked Salmon on Brown Bread, Pain au Chocolates and Croissants. Along with brioche filled with chicken mayo, bacon and melted cheese. All just delish and just lovely to have people in our house like before the pandemic!

Served casually in the front room (with Bones surveying the scene)
Frozen pastries cooked really easily in the oven
Water melon too!

All washed down with tea, coffee and Orange Juice. 

What a really nice morning and a relaxing mini-brunch to do of a Sunday.  

Sunday, 6 February 2022

Look what libraries offer!

Libraries offer way more than books!

Did you make a new year's resolution to visit the library more? Hopefully you have stuck to your resolution and have visited the library a few times over the month.

If you haven't visited the library in a while (or ever!) have a look at just some of the things that many libraries offer.

The first video is about Acorn Tablets which are are available for loan from Dun Laoghaire Libraries.

And then this video which shows what is in a Codema Home Energy Savings Kit which are available from most libraries throughout Dublin and beyond in other counties in Ireland.

Did you know about these type of things being offered by most libraries?! 

Let me know in the comments any of the unique  services or resources that are offered by your local library service..... and also do tell me what country your library is in!

Here's another video which explains further about the Home Energy Savings Kit

Monday, 31 January 2022

PIGSY - In the Studio

Check this video out!

Great video all about PIGSY, his work and what he gets up to in his studio


Read more here about PIGSY

There's a blog post on the PIGSY website all about the background to the video.

Sunday, 30 January 2022

January - surprisingly a good month

No January blues in 2022!

January can sometimes be a tough month after the high of Christmas and New Year Celebrations. 

However this year it's been a good one. We saw restrictions end in Ireland and the weather was fairly mild. 

The days are getting longer now so we know the dark days of Winter are behind us. Who knows what February will bring us (it can be a really cold month some time) but for now all is good, I'm in great form and I'm enjoying life a lot.

As I mentioned before, simple things like the commute to work on my bike give me great pleasure and our regular trip to Dillingers at the weekend is always something I enjoy. Other things that make me is happy working on the business side of PIGSY's art (social media and website, etc.) and seeing his art being appreciated,

Cocktails and great food in Dillingers

The above is a picture of us in Dillingers in Ranelagh when the restrictions ended. We made a 7pm booking and stayed out til nearly 10pm(!) which felt very strange after having to adhere to the 8pm government mandated closing times for a while before this. As you can see I ordered a Brandy Alexander to celebrate!

PIGSY Painting now Sold!

And here's a pic of the most recently sold PIGSY art work - read more about it here.