Back to village life

Just a few photos to remind myself in months to come what was so lovely about living in Dunmore:

There are loads of summer visitors in the village now and driving is quite a feat. Yep, parking on both sides of the road and up the hill!! Luckily our parking area in front of our house is tucked away so people don't park there casually. But when everyone is occupying a house, parking does get tight.

There was also a blessing of animals at St. Andrews COI in the village on Sunday afternoon. Mitzi and I went down and the female vicar blessed her that she would have a safe journey back to the U.S.A. Mitzi was less impressed by the blessing than by the treats that were available and by the other dogs. She really has got quite friendly.

I haven't been swimming. I don't actually like to swim that much anymore. I used to do Aqua Zumba and Aquacize but I have problems with tendonitis in my arms and shoulders so swimming isn't fun. And wading around the shallows in a bathing suit isn't that appealing to me either. But my cousin and a good friend are visiting in August so I may get in yet. One regret I have is that we haven't gone sailing. Looking at all those beautiful boats out on the water I would really like to go. Maybe, maybe....

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Life on board the Queen Mary

Passenger's log on the Queen Mary 2: Dec 9th - First Day at Sea Didn't sleep well--think it was the soused mackerel at dinner. Anyway, R and I woke up at about 6:00 am and discussed the order of the day. Quite the swell outside and I can feel the roll of the ship. (No seasickness thank goodness!) Despite the mackerel, I was hungry so we went to King's Court at 6:30 a.m. Buffet with loads of choice of course. We sat in an alcove looking out at the ocean. Our server was from Croatia, Slavan. I asked him my burning question of the day--why did we get a free bottle of wine but a regular bottle of Diet Coke cost $3.75? Diet Pepsi is $1.00 less. Fruit juices are free on tap. Coffee, tea, milk, ditto. But you have to pay for soft drinks. Very odd. Slavan says it is because Cunard can't get a good contract with Coke. Hmmm.... our local School District back in Sierra Vista can negotiate .50 a can for the soda machines in the teachers' lounges but Cunard has to cha...

Sunday in Richmond Park & Memories

One of the reasons I came back to London after Ireland was to keep a date with my cousin Elizabeth: a Sunday morning walk in Richmond Park. When I moved to England in May of 1978, I rented a room in a house near Richmond Park. I'd heard of the room through a colleague at McGill University's Human Resources Department, where I was working as a Senior Clerk. Montreal had become a bit difficult for me to be in owing to a twice-broken heart and a feeling I wasn't going anywhere at McGill. It seemed like an omen, then, on the plane returning from South Africa in January of 1978--I keep promising to write about that--that I came across an article in a magazine about young Canadians living in London. I'd always loved the idea of being in London what with growing up on a diet of British movies and then all of the articles about Swinging London in the 1960s/early 1970s. By the time I arrived at Mirabel Airport, I had the perfect antidote to my wounded pride over South...

Christmas

Ogilvy's Christmas window with thanks to Pinterest I hadn't really been very much in the Christmas spirit after US Thanksgiving this year. Tiredness, a feeling that it was all too much. And then, slowly, as the neighbors' Christmas decorations went up, as the Christmas songs and carols started playing on the radio, memories crept in. When my granddaughter performed in our local Nutcracker here in Sierra Vista--four years' worth of memories. When we had ward Christmas dinners with turkey and all the trimmings in Toronto--another four years' worth of memories. Concerts in Toronto and Laurie and I dressing up to go to them—the “professional” Nutcracker performances. Going farther back, to when I was 18-19-20, going to Radio City Music Hall in New York with my sister and her family, seeing the annual Christmas movie and live stage performances, then walking over to the Lincoln Center and watching people skating on the skating rink. Much farther back, to as early as I ...

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