First Litter Pick up of 2023 - Ranelagh and Grand Canal

I hooked up with the Friends of the Grand Canal today to do my first litter pick up of 2023. 

As I have my own litter picker and Dublin city litter bags (can be requested from Dublin City Council Customer Service) I picked on my way to meeting the group on the canal.  I started on Leeson Park Avenue and went along Appian Way and then out on to Leeson Street (it was very bad at the bus stop where the Aircoach to the airport stops at) and then up to the bench at Leeson Street Bridge to where the group meets.

By the time I got up to the Grand Canal I had picked one large bag of litter and it was time for a cup of coffee.  The group is proudly supported by the nearby Starbucks and this time I remembered to bring my reusable cup to the meet up.

 The weather was pleasant so it was enjoyable and meditative picking litter. There was a large amount of volunteers today, but if you want to join in too, you can check out the Friends of the Grand Canal facebook page for info on when the next clean up is taking place. Generally they meet at 10am on the first Saturday of the month at the bench next to the canal on Wilton Terrace. The clean up lasts about 2 hours and it is a social occasion at the end when all volunteers enjoy a coffee and chat together.

Here's some pics from the clean up including the fruits of our labour this month:

Most of the clean up focus is on the canal it self.  However, I prefer to do around the canal in order to prevent rubbish being blown in to the actual canal.

It was a mixed group of people and all are welcome to volunteer - no matter how infrequently you might be able to attend.

Some of the volunteers have been attending for years (possibly decades). Well done to them!

Most of the rubbish is brought back to a central collection spot at the bench on Wilton Terrace so that the Dublin City Council staff can collect it all centrally. However, larger heavier full bags are also left near to the rubbish bins and they will then be collected when DCC staff are doing their rounds.

The pole to the left at the bottom of the pick was a traffic sign that was fished out of the canal......fair play to who ever managed to do that and then carry to the central collection spot.

When I finished my coffee, I headed back home but also picked on my way back.  I picked the opposite side of Leeson Street and then left my bag of rubbish at the trash can on Appian Way for collection at some point by Dublin City Council refuse collectors.

All in all a great start to the new Bank Holiday Weekend here in Ranelagh!

Just a perfect day!

Yesterday was great. Just one of those perfect days.

For some reason I bounced out of the bed at 6.30am which is very unlike me as I normally sleep til about 8am on the weekend. Anyway I got up and enjoyed the solitude in the house and had a chilled out cup of coffee with Bones asleep on the couch beside me and Ciaran still asleep upstairs.

And then Ciaran got up and got ready to go to Galway. He was picked up by his friend at 8.30am and I set off walking with the slow, old dog that is Bones. We walked to Nick's coffee where I discovered that it opens at 7am on a Sunday morning!!  I got there about 9am and it was literally the only place open in Ranelagh. There was a bit of a buzz in Nick's with a steady flow of people at the hatch in their window getting their coffee fix on. I enjoyed my coffee inside the shop, standing at the back counter with Bones (Yes, they are dog friendly!) and browsed instagram while I was there.

When I got home, I set about making Keto bread. I haven't made it in awhile and I was pleasantly reminded how easy it is to make - and how tasty it is (of course, I have to give a big nod to Irish butter - a slice of this bread toasted with a lump of Kerrygold is the best)!

I noticed that I lost an earring on the way back from Nick's but I didn't even let that ruin my perfect day! They were sent to me from USA by Amy. She is going to send me a new pair to replace - they were from Banana Republic which we don't have here in Ireland.

And then when Ciaran came home from Galway we went to the movies to see "A man called Otto" starring Tom Hanks. It's been about 2 months since I was last in the the cinema so it felt good to watch a fim on the big screen at the Ranelagh Omniplex. And what a film. So great, but utterly heartbreaking in parts. So so good.

All in all a perfect Sunday before I went back to work today. Very relaxed, very chill.....as the song goes, easy like a Sunday morning!

Small pleasures in Winter

Being a warm weather person, I can find the Winter tough to bear. However, I've learnt how I can deal with it best and that is by firstly dressing for the weather.  This one I am still not quite there with, as Irish people we generally don't dress for the weather, barely using umbrellas and certainly not having full water proof gear that perhaps a German or Scandinavian might have - a massive generalisation I know, but I put it down to the fact that Irish weather can be very mild really and who actually needs an umbrella for a "few drops of rain" or a good warm winter coat for a couple of days of really cold weather.

Anyway this week has been particularly cold with an arctic mass bringing temperatures of below minus to Ireland (quite rare here) and icey streets and even a dusting of snow last week which never really defrosted.  This cold weather however for me was actually easier to deal with then a semi mild temp drop. I actually did dig out my padded winter coat and wore it over another jacket (which if temps were mild I may have only wore the jacket and would have been shivering and feeling pretty miserable while out and about) along with a scarf, hat, big warm gloves and also a thinsulate layer which all made me feel very comfortable. So in essence preparation is the key for comfort in Winter......who would have thunk it!

Anyway I digress because the main reason I wanted to write this blog was to explain the other way I get through the Winter season and that is by enjoyng the "small pleasures" that the season brings or that is going on in my day to day life.

These small pleasures include things like really enjoying the lights that people have put up for Christmas in their homes. The other day it was too icey to cycle to the train station so I took the bus to work because the bus stop is only a short walk from my house and even though it was slippy on the paths it was a safer option than on the bike. The bus drops me close to work in Dun Laoghaire but it was an excrutiatingly long journey because the traffic was bad. So on the way home there was a train leaving 10 mins before the bus so I decided to get the train which then leaves me with about a 15 min walk at the other end to get to my house. Well, let me tell you, it was a lovely walk! 

Bitterly cold (I was dressed for that!) but I got to walk past the most beautiful houses in the Dublin 4 area with gorgeous lights and trees - particularly on Waterloo Road. I took photos but the lights came out all blurry so I then just decided to enjoy the atmosphere in the moment and just lap the gorgeous Christmas lights up as I walked home on my own.

Enjoying the trees and lights is something Ciaran and I also do on our walks to Ranelagh or in to the city. Ciaran does it to humour me, I think,  but it does give me great pleasure when he excitedly points out a tree that he particularly likes - we have decided that the best one is on the corner of Winton and Appian Way which has a big bay windown on the 2nd floor that has the most massive gorgeous tree. I love houses with both trees and some additional lights on their railings or stair rails up to the front door but Ciaran seems to prefer just trees. Both of us do love a good Christmas wreath on front doors though and there are lots of them on the classic doors around here in Dublin 6!

And so at this time there have been other small pleasures that I have been enjoying, these include an invite to a neighbour's house for the most delicious hot chocolate spiked with hard liquor - so good! I have also been enjoying warmed mulled wine in "Art Deli" in Ranelagh Arts where PIGSY/Ciaran has work for sale in this Christmas Pop Up. 

And then another "small pleasure" I've been enjoying is eating off the Christmas crockery! I know it's such a small thing but I really do love it all and it gives me such joy.  Check out my crazy Christmas table cloth too.  I like to think it is vintage (its well travelled anyway) having bought it in Cudeca second hand shop in Malaga, Spain and brought it back to Ireland when we returned from our year there.

And then one of the final small pleasures that I am enjoying is my sister Amy's "Christmas Portraits" instagram.  For the past few years friends have been submitting pics to her of themselves and their tree.

Check out "Christmas Portraits" instagram here (what fun!) and you can even submit a picture if you want to be included!

Let me know in the comments below what you are currently enjoying this time of year,,,,,,

How the "Pigsy" show went.....

Back in early October I blogged about looking forward to Pigsy's show in Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club.  I then meant to follow up with a blog all about the event which I intended to write fairly soon.  However the event was such a success that I had a fair come down from it and this meant that I needed to wait awhile, let the dust settle and write about it then.  This is that write up!

The event consisted of 3 parts: 

• Film Screening of the short film "Pigsy" directed by Mike Andrews
• A live interview with Pigsy by Kevin Moore of Legacy Communications (which also included a Q&A with questions asked by the audience) 
• An art exhibition of Pigsy's latest work

Kevin and Pigsy had the audience's attention with their chilled banter and there were lots of great questions asked when the floor was opened up to the audience.

Prior to the film screening the audience got to mingle in the bar and enjoy canapes along with the signature Pigsy cocktail created for the event which was called a "Pigtail"!

The above pic is the screening of the film which was shown on the Squash Court No. 1 which seats about 100 people in the bleachers and then there were further seats added on to the court.

It was a very social evening with everyone enjoying it immensely and it was great to see a new audience embrace Pigsy's work. 

I had a wonderful time at the Pigsy event but unfortunately didn't manage to get in to any of the official photographs - but luckily I had taken an obligatory selfie, so here it is!

You can watch the PIGSY film here on youtube

Leeson Park Avenue - For Sale

Another house has gone up for sale on Leeson Park Avenue.  This one is for auction and the details can be found here.

Otherwise if you are looking for something more unique you can always buy the old "Stella" Cinema in Rathmines which has also gone on sale for only half a million more.  You can see details here.

I blogged about Rathmines awhile back and put up a pic of the Stella.  You can read it here.

Here is the pic that I took back in 2014.  The building on the right is the old Stella Cinema.

Saturday tasks and chores

On Saturday morning we loaded up the Smart Car with 3 bags of old clothes and dropped them off at a Charity Shop on Camden Street.

Camden Street has lots of Charity shops (Thrift Stores) but the most convenient one for us to drop off our old unwanted clothes was the Dublin Simon Community shop.  Dublin Simon Community is a charity for the homeless.

I quickly snapped a pic of the inside of the charity shop as I left after delivering the bags.  Most of the clothes that I gave away are in good condition.  Some are hardly worn so hopefully the charity shop will be able to get rid of them quickly and make some money.  What do you do with your old clothes?  Do you give them away to charity shops or thrift stores?

After the charity shop drop off we went to O'Sullivan's for Art Supplies for Ciaran and then on to Fumbally for breakfast.  At that point in the day it was lovely and sunny so we were able to sit out.

After Fumbally we went to Lenehans Hardware in Rathmines to buy a wrench to fix my bike.  

Look what I spotted here!

They have cocktail muddlers (how random) and priced really reasonably too!!

As we drove around doing our bits and pieces I took a few pics. Here is the Dublin Mosque on the South Circular Road - I have driven by this building for years and never realized it was the mosque.

Later on Saturday night we used Dublin Bikes to cycle from Ranelagh to Phibsboro for my sister's birthday party.  We stopped for a rest and a cold drink in Brazen Head which appeared full of tourists enjoying creamy pints of Guinness!

What a great Dublin Day!

Ranelagh House is up for an award!

Last chance to vote for our house in the Architizer + Awards

****Public Vote ends on the 21st of March****

Apologies for repeating this post but voting ends tomorrow so hopefully everyone who wishes to vote will get a chance to do so!

The Architizer Awards are a global architecture awards programme that receives entrants from over 100 countries.  Our house is up against residential buildings from countries such as Norway, Germany and Japan!

There is both a jury vote and also a public vote.  To vote for us you can click this link which will bring you to the category our house is in - as you hover over the picture of "Ranelagh House" it should let you vote through Facebook (quickest way).  Unfortunately it is not the easiest to vote as they do make you sign up, I presume in order to prevent voting fraud??

If you have a minute to spare I'd love you to vote for "Ranelagh House" and even more importantly please ask your friends to vote too!!  Thank you so much in advance!  ;-)

Although it would be a long shot for us to win the public vote (I'm sure we must be up against some very large architectural practises) - how amazing would it be for a house from Ireland to win. I will be on a campaign from now until the 21st of March to get all the votes I can for "Ranelagh House".  I look forward to the results on the 1st of April!

Time frame....for Leeson Park Avenue

Just a quick post to up date you on the time frame for the rest of the build.

May, Wk 1 & 2
Building will be completely closed in
Glass floor will be fitted
Cornice and covings will be fully fitted
Hot Tub will be installed
Underfloor heating will be installed in the downstairs and then the concrete flooring will be poured
The back of the house will be externally glad with corten steel

May, Wk 3 & 4
Decorators will come in to finish the house
External works will be completed (decking, planting, benches, landscaping)

The Dean Cooper  Design Kitchen and bathrooms will then be fitted!

Hopefully we will be moving in to the house in the first week or two of June.  Fingers crossed!!!!

                         Wallpaper Samples from Laura Ashley!

Site visit - 13th Jan 2012

 Ciaran leading a tour by an Architectural Book Club.

View from the original top landing, looking back to the bathroom and the artist's studio.  A glass cantilevered staircase will be to the left - gosh, sounds difficult!!!!

Construction worker cleaning and preparing the original  brick rear elevation wall to be repointed.