belgianwaffle

Dublin

Weekend Round-Up – More a Stream of Consciousness than an Actual Post


Posted in: Dublin, Family, Ireland

Let me see, the boys and I went to Dublinia which was dull but they seem to have come away with an abiding interest in bubonic plague. We went to mass where our parish priest dutifully hung Daniel’s picture of the crucifixion on a marble pillar. We had that great reading that starts “Vanity, vanity all is vanity”, which is both beautiful and pointed. Dinner with the cousins and in-laws.

Went to see the National Transport Museum which is appeallingly amateurish. The website is far more professional than the premises. Had lunch on a bench by the playground in Howth eating Beshoff’s take-away chips. A group of German tourists looked at us very disapprovingly. My sister rang from Bahrain and disapproved. Despite being sneered at for our poor eating habits/vulgarity, the children still didn’t eat anything. Daniel sucked the ketchup off his chips and then passed them on to the seagulls. Sometimes, I despair. Then, a walk at Howth Head where the Princess astonished us by running all the way. Michael did not surprise us; he insisted on travelling all the way back up on his father’s shoulders. Daniel was tired but manful.

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Then out to the cinema with sister-in-law to finally see Inception.

Gardening


Posted in: Dublin, Ireland

I have become obsessed with gardening. From someone who found gardens deathly dull I am turning into someone who knows the names of plants. We have giant hogweed, how lovely.

When we bought the house in 2003, the garden, lovingly tended by a little old lady, looked like this. While looking at these pictures, I want you to reflect on why anyone with a small garden would plant seven fir trees. Answers on a postcard please.

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Then we left the country and let the house to tenants. Conscious of the fact that the garden might need some maintenance and having more money than sense we offered to pay for a gardener to come every so often. The tenants said that they would rather do it themselves. Here are some pictures of the garden just after the tenants moved out in 2008.

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And look at those cute little fir trees, they grow up so fast, don’t they?

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This is the side passage of which I have no 2003 photo as it was then an unremarkable gravelled area. It pushed the boundaries while we were away. When clearing away the foliage below, I unearthed two bicycle skeletons.

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So, much of the past two years has been spent in uprooting. I’ve hung on to the pussy willow which self-seeded, is enormous and holding one end of the washing line. Mr. Waffle feels it needs to be pollarded. He says this on the basis of some work of literary fiction he is reading. Personally, I’d like some more reliable source, like the internet. You see it on the left below, does it need to be pollarded, if so how? Note also the tasteful paving stones on the “lawn” which I have not yet removed as I know I will not be able to grow lawn to replace them.

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Speaking of not growing grass, you see my problem below. On the plus side the fir tree you see is one of only two extant specimens. Cutting them down is hard work, especially when Michael cries and throws his arms around them. I am taking the children to Cork next week and I hope that the dastardly deed will be done in our absence.

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While there are improvements in the side passage, I would be the first to concede that it still needs work.

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Two years of hard labour and this is the result as of today.

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Frankly, sometimes I despair and I haven’t even shown you the, ahem, vegetable patch.

Weekend Round-Up


Posted in: Dublin, Ireland, Princess

Yes, yes, I know that this is very dull for you but, if I don’t record it here, how will I ever remember what we did with our lives?

So, on Saturday we went on the church outing. I never thought that going to mass was going to help me to get to know my neighbours but it seems to be an unintended consequence. We went to an adventure playground, the sun shone, the children played with each other, we sat in the shade and chatted and the whole thing passed off peacefully except for an incident involving herself and the water slide (she wanted to get on it, we wanted to have lunch first).

Then today we had friends around for lunch and the weather was so clement that we were able to sit in the garden. Surely this is not what the Irish summer is about. Rain is forecast.

Weekend Round-up


Posted in: Dublin, Ireland

I’m exhausted. We had GAA mini leagues on Saturday morning. Then we had our street party on Saturday afternoon/evening. The sun shone, the bouncy castles bounced, there was a barbecue, a clown, and a trail of small children in and out to our bathroom. We had two local TDs and the Lord Mayor in attendance (Jason has quite a good post on why this kind of thing happens). Sunday afternoon saw us back at the mini leagues for two more matches and the handing out of medals and miscellaneous prizes. And then on Sunday night we had a dinner party. I feel a glowing sense of achievement tempered by the knowledge that it took a lot out of us.

First Communion


Posted in: Dublin, Ireland

It’s May, it’s the season. I wondered where the children in my daughter’s school made their first communion. Upon enquiry, we were told that they were likely to change the venue as this year the church had been double booked for a funeral. I’m not sure whether you have to be catholic to find that funny.

Sweet Pea Carnage


Posted in: Dublin, Ireland, Mr. Waffle

I bought sweet peas in March and grew them on the windowsill. They thrived. I planted them out two months ago and put up netting using garden staples. I was assisted in this process by three small children with hammers so it was more traumatic and less effective than I would have liked. The sweet pea all died. I was gutted, but then, some, miraculously, came back to life; they climbed, they thrived, I watered them and cooed over them. I got excited at the prospect that I might actually have flowers.

This morning, I drove into school with the children and Mr. Waffle. When I got there, I realised that I had, idiotically, left my briefcase at home. Mr. Waffle dropped me back home. I decided that I would cycle back into work. Mr. Waffle went about his business. I went in the side gate to pick up my bicycle. I cast my eye over the garden and, to my horror saw that the netting had come adrift, decapitating my sweet pea and leaving them trailing miserably on the ground.

Time was marching on but I felt it was vital to attempt to repair matters. Whether my employer would have shared this view remains, thankfully, a moot point. The back door was bolted, so I thought it would be easier to reattach the netting with the heel of my shoe than going round the front, letting myself in and getting a hammer. This is why, when I should have been in my place of work, I was standing one legged in the mud hammering with a shoe. There is a moral here somewhere. You will be pleased to hear that, as of this evening, the sweet pea is recovering.

Also, and unrelated, email from my husband as follows: “I see a letter in today’s Irish Times suggesting that we are a sitcom (Single Income, Three Children, Outrageous Mortgage).”