Public Apology

Murphy I'm really and truly very sorry and for what it's worth I promise never to try and get one over on you ever again. I've managed to dupe you out of a bit of good luck twice now and I know that is more than my fair share. It won't happen again, honest!

Thursday was not a day filled with laughs.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure we'll laugh about it one day, just not today.

We started the morning peering out of the windows trying to work out what the weather was going to be like.  Of course we could have checked the weather on the tv or online but I'm fairly sure they're all standing in the met office peering out windows and wondering what the weather is going to do as well.

Having finally decided that the last remaining clouds weren't suddenly going to blow away and leave us with a beautiful day we decided to risk it.  I packed a picnic, we jumped in the car and headed for the Folk and Transport Museum.  This is the third year we've tried to plan a trip to the folk park and something else always seems to crop up or get in the way.

This year was no different ....

I needed to lift out money and told Robert this before we left the house, but as soon as he's behind the wheel of a car he slips into autopilot and managed to drive past every ATM on the way there so we drove on past and stopped at a garage in Holywood so that I could get some cash.

Just as a quick aside on the slim chance that somebody from Tom Tom should ever come across this.  Luckily we know where we're going but it doesn't stop Robert punching in postcodes "because he can", but I just wanted to point out that the exit from the city bound lane into the Folk Park is roughly 200 yards closer to Bangor than you think it is.  It is not, as you would lead unsuspecting people to believe, at the end of some poor bloke's driveway!  You should probably fix that by the way, best case scenario is that the guy has a couple of barbecues disrupted by people unfamiliar with the area while he redirects them 200 yds back up the road, worst case scenario the poor guy winds up on a register after running out into the garden wrapped in a towel to grab some underwear off the line just as a huge gust of wind carries the towel up into a tree and at the same time a bus load of school kids on a day trip arrive at the top of his driveway while he makes a run for the house to a chorus of screaming kids drowning out the dulcet tones of the rather posh lady telling the bus driver that he has arrived at his destination.  What, it could happen!!

But I digress ... we'd just pulled into the garage and parked in one of the uncovered spaces close to the ATM, which was out of order so instead I nipped into the shop to get us a few drinks and pay with switch so that I could get cash back.  I had just hopped back into the car and put on my seat belt when Chloe told us that her tummy hurt, she then proceeded to pebble dash the entire back seat of the car with Frosties.

We both jumped from the car, just as the heavens opened and started to try and clean her up.  Completely and utterly soaked to the skin and looking like a couple of drowned rats we both finally realised that we'd have to take her out of the car if this little exercise in cleaning up was to be in any way successful.  It was at this point that we both turned to look at the spaces beside the petrol pumps, which were bone dry as they're covered by a huge roof to keep people from getting wet when they have to get out of their cars.  These spaces were a mere ten feet away from us.  Robert jumped in the car and reversed it back under the roof and we lifted Chloe from the car, just as the rain stopped!

We finished operation clean up as best we could and headed for home .... at about 10mph.  The car having decided that it didn't really appreciate being covered in sick and then parked in the rain with all it's doors open had decided that now was the time to take a huff and not work properly.

We arrived back home again a little after 11am, completely knackered, still soaked to the skin, with a child still smelling of sick and while I started the clean up, Robert tried in vain to figure out what was wrong with the car.  He had a look over it himself and was stumped so he called Renault and explained what the car was doing.  The guy on the other end of phone told him that he hadn't a clue what it might be and that he would have to bring the car in to be hooked up and the diagnostics checked to see what the problem is.  This alone was going to cost £76.00 before they even thought about fixing the problem!

Then my lovely postie arrived with a kilo of buttons for me and obviously because of the state I was in when I answered the door (bedraggled, might have been a bit of Frostie stuck to my cheek) he asked if we'd had an eventful morning and after listening to me rant for a few minutes he told me about SS Car Repairs, just round the corner from my house.

Robert called the guy and was told to bring his car down to be looked at straight away.  He drove the car into the repair centre, turned off the engine and stepped out of the car only for the mechanic (proper mechanic, with a socket wrench set rather than a laptop) to tell him the problem was a coil pack.  He didn't even have to lift the bonnet, he just listened as the car came in.  £30 later and the car is running like a dream again.

So the silver lining to this miserable, manky grey cloud is that we now have a car guy and a bloody great one at that:)

Every year

I schlep up to Scrabo Tower in May. I carry the bag which contains my world world and wrangle a small child while Robert gets engrossed in something no doubt very interesting off in the distance while I curse him and every year I take exactly the same photos.

I never tire of the views from that tower.






And every year we're both dragged around the forest by our little monkey.

I've said it before and I'll say it again

I love freecycle.

Normally any listings on the local group are snapped up in no time, but one listing for sewing patterns has popped up again and again for the last couple of weeks. So I said I would take them.

Never hurts to have a sewing pattern or two knocking about the house.

I arranged to collect what the lady described as "a few" patterns and she also had some fabric scraps as well if I wanted to take this. So I did.

"A few" patterns turned out to be a huge box stuffed with over 30 patterns. Some are lovely with some vintage, some, um, retro and some are just plain and simply as rare as the hen's teeth. Lets just say I'd have to make the shoulder pads for some of these bad boys from scratch, because I don't think I can buy them ready made and to the best of my knowledge even Bombardier don't make wings that big!


The jammies on the left can be made in girl's sizes but I must have a pair too. I'm pretty certain my tiny little shorts days are buried somewhere in the past though:) Would you look at those little blue ones, you'd be able to see what I had for breakfast in those!

And my opinion of the humble fabric scrap has obviously been tainted through dabbling in patchwork. As far as I'm concerned a piece of fabric has to be too small to blow your nose on before it qualifies as a scrap.


Clearly dressmakers and patchworkers have two very different opinions on what qualifies as scrap fabric because that bag was full of yardage, yard after yard of lovely fabric. And you won't see me complaining.


That little elephant print is just crying out to be running round the hem of a new market skirt isn't it?


I've no plans whatsoever for the rest yet. It's all bundled up now and getting a once over in the washing machine. A good press with the iron and they'll be ready to go.

But if my sheer luck annoys you and if it will make you feel any better, I also have a huge zit right in between my eyebrows that just isn't showing any signs of clearly the eff off. Seriously, I look like a Klingon* and I now get to go off and spend the day up at Scrabo tower and then off to Kilkeel or Newcastle and have picnics and such looking like this!

Go on admit it, you feel better don't you?

*Please note for your own safety that even Klingons eating dainty little sandwiches with the crusts cut off and sipping juice from a plastic flowery cup should not be approached. They can still be pretty pissy when caught off guard.

Perfect weather for ducks

The past couple of weeks have been such a joy having Robert at home more often. I mean just to give you some idea of how much more time we've had together as a family, he arrived home one day last week at 5.20pm and apologised for being late because he stopped to pick up a few things for the next day.

More than anything, it's meant that we have more time for days out together whereas before he was simply too exhausted to even think about doing much at the weekend.


Notice how far back from the pond (and the chance of encountering geese) I'm standing.

Not that it mattered as these two geese followed us the entire way round the pond. They put me in mind of two gossipy old women with the rollers in their hair. You should have heard the two of them honking away at each other.



And chasing off any other birds you dared come near them!



And of course Chloe has transformed into a complete daddy's girl lately. She just can't be parted from Robert at the minute.



I hope you are all getting the chance for some family days out too.

How to have a preferrably forgettable day at the beach

Start with a beautiful little five year old girl. Ideally the little girl should not have been entirely 100% health wise lately and if possible, should have had a slightly broken but not entirely awful sleep the previous night. Your own sleep should also have been broken resulting in you waking with the mother of all headaches.

Take two paracodol.

Enjoy a relaxing and rather lovely morning at home and pottering in the garden, rush at the last minute to chuck your whole world into a bag.

Take another two paracodol.

Take the bus. Take the mid week bus in the middle of the day to a small seaside village. Take the bus commonly referred to as the bouncy bus, the old bus or the hole in the hedge bus when both you and the little girl have been known to suffer from travel sickness.

Arrive at the beach when the tide is well and truly in, leaving yourselves only stones and rubble to play in.

Take one 500mg paracetamol.


Explain to small child the idea of "sea glass" and "sea pottery" to make the whole tide being in thing more fun (and possibly profitable too)

Marvel at how quickly the little girl, having heard only the word glass, can fill a bucket with the arse ends of empty Old English bottles on what appears at first glance to be an immaculate beach.

Walk a long way.



Stay long enough for the tide to be well and truly out.

Bring crap to eat instead of real food, because you had lunch at home and have a lovely dinner in the crockpot, so you'll only need snacks.



Stay long enough for the sun to begin setting and a very slight chill to rise in the air.



Bring everything apart from the kitchen sink because you figure that when nature gives you grit betwixt your toes, she also provides a conveniently located (if a smidgen on the cold side) body of water to wash off in and a blanket because of how glorious the weather was before you left the house.

Build a sand castle with sand too wet for castle building.

Walk down to the water's edge to wash off and half way there tell the little girl to watch out for crabs.

Carry the little girl and the rucksack containing your whole world and the bucket and the spade and two pairs of shoes the remainder of the way to the water's edge.

Repeat only travel in the opposite direction.

Fail to take into consideration the fact that slightly sleep deprived and not 100% health wise little girls will be more acutely aware of the chill in the air.

Arrive at the car park just in time to get a signal on your phone for what you realise to be the first time since you arrived and receive a text from your husband saying he will be one hour late to the beach.



Sit down on the grass and add all available layers to the little girl, including wrapping her in the towel and then spend the remainder of the hour looking at the lovely car park with its freshly painted lines while the little girl snores peacefully in your arms.

Take two more paracetamol. Come to the conclusion that someone has swapped out the meds for tic tacs.



Wish you'd stayed at home where you could be snoring peacefully too.

Hope the little girl forgets about this day at the beach and remembers all the lovely times we've had at the beach in time for our summer holiday. A full week camping ..... at the beach!

The Ulster Museum

We decided that Tuesday had just the right amount of rain and wind for us to make the dash from the car to the Museum without getting soaked to the skin (FYI I didn't take the following photos, but I can't seem to find who did to give credit).

This is the Ulster Museum that I remember, the one I went to visit as a kid to see the dinosaur exhibition and the Spanish Armada exhibition when they travelled through Belfast. The is the Ulster Museum that was worth a visit for the building alone...



This is the new "improved" Ulster Museum, the only version of the Museum that Chloe will remember....


Not what you'd call sympathetically restored, I think you'll agree.

The new museum has lost something for me. Actually it's lost quite a lot for me. The museum is now based around a central atrium with rooms and displays leading off the atrium. I'm sure to a lot of people it's very pretty (on the inside) but the museum has lost all of its flow. A lot of effort must have went into the arrangement and layout of the original museum and displays because you were naturally guided around the museum and past each and every exhibit without even realising (and not a multicoloured line on the floor to be seen).

That flow and natural progression through the museum has all gone now. I found that we were constantly doubling back on ourselves, going in circles and just generally missing loads of the exhibits. We referred to the map (yes a map) over and over again but just found it rather frustrating. I'll maybe go back again myself to try and find a path of my own through each of the rooms and then take Chloe back at a later date.

The exhibits that Chloe was most interested in like the triceratops were for some reason I've yet to figure out, in the middle of a stairwell at the side of the main atrium which made it virtually impossible to stand still for more than a second or two to look at them without being bumped and jostled by other people trying to get to other parts of the museum. All paths lead to that damn atrium making it a very unpleasant place to spend any time.

Its supposed to be light and airy and the illusion of light and air is there in abundance but there's actually seems to be less space to move through the exhibits, the walkways are narrower and cramped and this isn't helped by the fact that nobody seems to know which direction to go in, it was so much nicer in the old building when everyone was travelling in one direction. Still the displays are nice and the coffee shop smelt lovely. It will maybe be a lot better once its been open a while and everyone remembers that they never bothered with the old museum so why bother with the new!

It's comforting to know that once the frustration becomes too much to deal with a short hop, skip and a jump away.....




Is a truly beautiful building. So help me, if anyone ever decides this needs a revamp, I'll hunt them down.



Again, you'll notice sunshine. It did not look like this on Tuesday, but the Palm House is still very impressive and on a sunny day the Rose Gardens are a beautiful place to spend an afternoon.

I'm really starting to think that there is one architect in charge of redeveloping Belfast and his tool kit is comprised of a ruler and pencil. If Belfast is on your list of places to see, I'd be inclined to bump it up somewhere nearer the top of the list because if this guy is let loose on much more of it, you may just as well go to Legoland for the day!

I'll admit that I'm probably a bit biased because of my hatred of new buildings (but I hate them because of the complete lack of imagination, a four year old can draw a mish mash of squares and before anyone points out the Waterfront, a four year old can draw round a plate as well). I like my buildings with a bit of character, with nubbledy sticky out bits. Buildings that at least have something to say for themselves. Buildings that don't have severe design flaws such as a full width stairway leading to a doorway little more than a foot in width or stairways which lead nowhere at all, other than straight to a brick wall.

I will say though, that somewhere in the museum (you'll have to excuse me because I haven't the faintest idea where I was at the time) I did catch a glimpse of one of the old set of tall glass paned double doors with the old black and white tiles on the other side and my heart melted for a second.

I'll stop myself now before I question the reasons why the Ulster Museum felt that a guy in overalls with a paint roller and tray deserved the dedication of entire rooms to his "work".

Tallships Belfast 2009 - Possibly Part 1

Yes, you heard me right, possibly part one. You see there were two cameras there on Thursday and I've yet to get my hands on the other one. The other one being the one which contains all of the photos of Toots.

Actually, do you know what, I can't be bothered with all that anymore. She hasn't let me call her Toots in months and its getting difficult to remember to call her that here. The other camera contains all the photos of Chloe. As far as she's concerned she's a big girl now and the baby names have got to go. So there you go.

Anyway, where was I....

Yes, well, we arrived in Belfast at 8.40am (much too early) so we had a lovely breakfast (rice krispie squares, brownies and coffee) at Cafe Italia in Hill Street. Obviously Chloe had milk and not coffee, but she really enjoyed the coffee shop because it meant she was able to wave at the bin men. It's become a little ritual for her to stand at the window and wave and smile at the bin men on a Thursday morning and they always smile and wave back. A lovelier bunch of blokes you're unlikely to meet.

After breakfast we walked slowly over to the Odyssey and were lucky enough to be one of the few people already there, meaning that I was able to get nice clean photos of the ships before the crowds started to arrive. Because honestly once the crowds did start to pile in, as I've mentioned before I'm a wee shortarse so the chances of a good photo later in the day went complete out the window.




Now I say nice clean shots with nobody getting in the way, but when I went back and checked the photos later I realised one managed to sneak in. The funny thing is I didn't even notice this guy when I took the photo! I still like it though, one of my favourites if I'm honest.




Chloe's favourite ship was the Bounty. Obviously! Honestly, that child's seen the Spongebob Movie too many times. As far as she was concerned The Bounty just looked like a pirate ship and she was perfectly happy with that. Trust me, there was little point in trying to explain otherwise to her. Pirate Ship, full stop.





Mine was the Mircea. I mean just look at it. It's such a beautiful boat to see. Unfortunately, Chloe was exhausted (as was I) before we managed to make it far enough past the Port of Belfast to see if the Mircea was open to visitors and when we arrived on the dock side we couldn't even see the Bounty because of the crowds around it. Maybe if I'd persevered and given it a bit of the "Mummy Shoulder" we could have made our way through the queues. I must be going soft in my old age.




The obligatory photo of Harland and Wolff or Samson and Goliath if you prefer. It has to be done really, they're what Belfast is best known for.




And, of course I couldn't leave without taking a quick photo of the Human Statue. This guy's fantastic, Chloe almost ran for the hills when she'd been staring at him for a few minute, asking why a statue would have sunglasses, and he bent down and put his hand out for her. You've never seen a child move so fast.




All in told we had a great day. A long, very exhausting day where I spent a fair amount of time emptying the contents of Belfast Harbour out of my silly little shoes, but a great one nonetheless.

We had brioche and candied fruits. I now have a fridge well and truly stocked with salami, cured hams and cheeses.

And I had my paella followed by a maple syrup crepe because nom nom nom.

And, if only because this wouldn't be a true SeetheWoods post without me having a gripe about something.....

Belfast City Council spent seven years and roughly £3 million organising the events surrounding the Tall Ships and just in case anyone from Belfast City Council happens to read this post, I have a little question. Would it really have killed you to have lit a citronella candle or two, because ... wasps ... EVERYWHERE?

We may have to pick Chloe up from her Nana's early tomorrow and head over to Crawfordsburn or somewhere like that to see if we can see them leaving the harbour.

Typical

And we were really looking forward to the Creative Peninsula event in Conway Square tomorrow too.

Its absolutely glorious outside today, the sun is shining, the grass is drying out and the temperature is perfect. However, I've just checked the forecast for tomorrow and it's to rain. All. Day. Long.

Toots is going stir crazy at the minute being couped up around the house. Don't get me wrong, even if the weather's a bit miserable we still play in the garden or go for a walk reasonably close to home, because there's little more fun to be had than having to carry a drenched four year old more than a mile home in the pouring rain. I try to keep her as busy and occupied as I can while we're at home but the poor child just needs to stretch her legs, to get outside and run like the clappers.

I was kind of banking on tomorrow to pick her up a bit. Admittedly, it isn't going to be a hopping, skipping, jumping kind of day but she'll be able to take part in loads of arts and crafts like painting and pottery to name a couple of things. I'm not hugely concerned about rain to be honestly as I can always put her wellies and raincoat on and just bring an empty bag to lug around the wets while we're in the tents, but if the wind picks up then I'm worries they may have to cancel the event.

Roll on school term is all I can say. At least then Toots will have something everyday to enjoy and she'll be back in the company of other kids on a daily basis which I know for a fact she has missed terribly since leaving daycare. I just hope the teachers can keep up with her.

In the meantime, I'll organise a bag tonight with a spare empty one tucked in and our raincoats and just hope for the best tomorrow because come hell or high water, I need to get this child away from the house for more than an hour.

Tale of the Lost and Found Phone Photos

onto two I'm pleased with myself today, I managed to get a ton of photographs sorted out last night and filed properly. It'll hopefully make them much easier to find. I also copied a load as slide showscd's for my mum. She'll eventually ask me for prints of the ones she wants, it would be too much to print all of them (although she would if she could).

I completely forgot to take my camera to the park with us last week, but the husband managed to take a couple of photos on the Blackberry.





Her upper body strength is amazing, but I think all kids are like that aren't they. She swung like that for ages.

I'm surprised actually that they turned out as well as they did considering its supposed to be a phone, pleasantly surprised really its a lot handier to carry around than my huge camera. I really do need to see about getting myself something more compact. Any suggestions of a nice, compact and more importantly easy to use camera would be really appreciated.

I've been thinking ahead. Sometimes being organised can be a bit of a pain and yo may hate me for it, but I've been double checking my Christmas list and making sure that I've made a good start on everything I'm going to need.

Then while I was sorting out photographs I came across this one.




Its another shot snapped with a phone. We were at the Christmas Market in Belfast in December and Toots loved the merry-go-round and I mean loved it, I think this was her third or fourth go and clearly she's still enjoying herself, plus this one also shows why I'm so impressed with the blackberry photos.

And just because it made me laugh.




This was taken one morning when I was at work very early and the husband had the job of getting Toots ready for daycare. Notice the subtle use of three hair clips down the side of her head.

When I collected her from daycare that evening, the girls told me that they had to stop themselves laughing when he dropped her off, because those three visible hair clips were in fact three of twelve.

He managed to fit twelve hair clips on the head of a three year old.

Although he still maintains that he and Toots did it "for a laugh" backed up by the fact that he took a photograph. Hmmm, the jury's still out on that one.

So that's another box on the great never ending to do list checked.

Again though if any has any good suggestions for a camera I'd love to hear them. I do like my big old camera and its very good for taking photos, but there is a short delay between pressing the button and taking the shot which is fine for static things. Try getting a four year old to stand still long enough to take a photo though, I've missed more than enough photos of her already.

Paddling Pools and Panic Shopping

I can't believe its almost July already.

And just because a) I was always THAT girl in the office and, b) its a little bit funny, I provide you with the following information;

It is exactly 26 weeks to Christmas!

We'll just let that one sit there for a second while I hide behind this scatter cushion.

Anyway, that means I have now been at home, looking after Toots full time for half a year. Its been a hell of a half year. Mostly good, occasionally a handful, sometimes a hair pulling situation.

My own hair obviously, don't even go there.

I know I haven't been around a lot lately but I have been busy elsewhere. I needed to finish a custom order which is finally complete, absolutely gorgeous (if I do say so myself) and sent off in the post. I also had a couple of other surprise projects to finish up and I'll hopefully have them done and ready to go by the end of the weekend.

And I've been spending a lot of time with the family outdoors. The weather here has been fabulous and its set to reach 30C next week so I'll have to prepare myself and everyone else for that. We don't do that kind of heat here, there's something very unnatural about 30C and there not being a plane ride involved.

The Irish melt in that kind of heat.

We've been to Stormont Park, the beach, where Toots fell face first into a huge wave and didn't freak out, and we enjoyed a nice day in Bangor for the husband's birthday.

Well nice until it turned frantic as I had to run off from the Pickie Fun Park into the centre of town to try and find a new outfit for Toots after she assumed I was my usual organised self and had packed her a change of clothes and she belly flopped, shoes and all, into the paddling pool.

Such a pity I wasn't organised that day. And that's why you should always pack a change of clothes for your kid, cause you never know.

And you might want to chuck a clean t shirt in the boot of the car for your husband while you're at it because while you're running like a headless chicken through a packed town with your mobile phone tucked safely out of earshot in your bum pocket, your daughter will climb (saturated) from the paddling pool and give your husband his big drippy birthday hug.

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside.

Oh don't look at me like that.

Yes I'll admit, I'm drawn to the water. I can't help myself. It's a sickness really.

It's a handy thing that we have such beautiful beaches here.

This is Knockinelder.






See that, not another soul in sight. That's because Knockinelder is on the invisible part of the Ards Peninsula. The bit below the convenient little red line.

Nobody seems to know it exists.

It's my favourite bit of the peninsula.




We collected Toots from my mum's house on Sunday afternoon and headed out with no real plan of where to go. She fell asleep in the back of the car so we just kept going along the full length of the east coast. She eventually woke up, desperate for the loo just as we were passing Kearney.

We pulled in to the tiny little village and even though it was a full two days ago now, I think the husband is still there. He completely fell in love with the place as soon as he set eyes on it, with its tiny little white washed cottages, perfect little picket fence enclosed gardens, all beautifully manicured and filled with flowers and its private little cove beach, he's even more determined to win the lottery now:)

The tide was out when we arrived and the sun was beating down. We could feel the heat on our faces and the sand was warm under foot.




But none of that changes the fact that we're dealing with the Irish Sea.

If you don't know, the Irish Sea is pickling cold. All. Year. Round.

Not that any of that stops of four year old.

She had already fallen in to the water face first by this stage and was completely soaked, but still that didn't stop her.

I was perfectly content to sit on the sand, with my hot cup of coffee and my camera merrily taking pictures like every good mother should.

But then the husband got stuck in.

The bugger.

Quietly egging my on. Calling me a chicken. Telling me the child had more stones than I did...

So, as promised and without any further ado.

I give you Leanne, the big ass chicken.

Running like a demented person back out of the Irish Sea.

Because the child does in fact have bigger stones than me.

I should have grown out of this kind of behaviour years ago.

And its disgraceful that the husband can still get a rise out of me.

Murlough Bay

On Thursday we spent a long day at Murlough Bay. Murlough National Nature Reserve is on the County Down coast below the Mourne Mountains. The sand dunes are over 5,000 years old and are an area of special scientific interest and a special area of conservation.

Still when you arrive with a four year old all the long haired Dexter cattle, Exmoor ponies, birds, rabbits and butterflies mean squat.

Because sand + water = BEACH.





And there's a lot of beach here.




I spent a lot of time at Murlough as a kid and visited a few times on school trips but somehow I managed to forget that even if a sky high wall were to built around Ireland, it would still be windy here.

Really really windy.

Toots and I left the beach well and truly sand blasted.

But not before she insisted on playing in the ocean.

With all the bravery and determination only a four year old can muster, she psyched herself up.




With her jeans rolled up and an extra jumper added (standard beach attire in Ireland) she tentatively ventured in to the water.




This would be her back out of the water again, complaining about the fact that I really didn't make it clear enough, just how cold the water really is.






Unfortunately, I was the designated coat carrier and I left the photo taking up to the husband so they're few and far between. I do have some video though, and I'll get it up here at some stage.

We had a lovely day and Toots really enjoyed herself, playing in the water and climbing over the sand dunes.

We had an Irish picnic before heading home. For anyone who doesn't know an Irish picnic involves weighing everything down to stop it from blowing away and cooking on the ground, tucked in between the car and a hill to stop the flame on the stove from blowing out.

The husband and I sat at one of the picnic tables enjoying our lunch while Toots roughed it in the back seat of the car with her food and media player

Although in all fairness she was the only one out of the three of us with the brass neck to go in the water.

Twenty Minutes from Everywhere

Its how we can spend the morning at Nendrum Monastic Site in what feels like the back end of nowhere and the afternoon in Crawfordsburn County Park on the coast of the Ards Peninsula.

Its also the reason why I love living in Northern Ireland. I think its why almost everyone loves their life in Northern Ireland, because no matter where you live chances are you're roughly a twenty minute drive from everything you could ever need.

In twenty short minutes I can be spending time with family. I can be shopping and lunching and catching up with friends in the heart of the city. I can be at the beach. Actually I can be at any one of about a dozen beautiful beaches.

Or I can be at the top of a hill with nothing but farmland and tiny villages as far as the eye can see.

Hell, I can't even see my house from here...




We spent a lazy morning taking in the sights at Nendrum Monastery. I've visited the monastic site a few times but this was Toots' and the husband's first time. Of course, it didn't take her too long to start exploring.




And the "No Climbing" signs might just as well have been in a different language




I could spend hours walking around Nendrum alone. Those monks sure knew who to pick a location and even today the views are still beautiful.




For the life of me I couldn't get the whole monastery into one photograph. There simply isn't enough land in front of the building and while I love you all dearly I wasn't about to stand thigh deep in Strangford Lough for a good photo. Some people will, but not me.






It doesn't matter which old relic we visit or how many times we explain to Toots what the building is or what it was used for, as far as she is concerned it is a Castle.

Then she runs around trying to find dragons.

You thought I was going to say she runs around playing princess, didn't you?






Nope, no dragons here!





We had a lovely picnic at the lone picnic table near the visitor's centre before Toots started to show signs of complete and utter exhaustion. We climbed back into the car and a twenty minute nap in the back seat later we were at the coast.

A trip to the beach means one thing and one thing only to Toots.

Trying to bring Northern Ireland and Scotland and little bit closer to each other.

Yes, she spends every second at he beach throwing stones into the water.




It doesn't help that daddy encourages her to do. Even hand selecting the rocks for her.

She'll get there one day, I'm sure.

It doesn't matter that I've pointed out that a perfectly good boats goes back and forward countless times each day.

Lets see where I else I can drag the poor family over the holidays.