Weekly Photo Challenge: Depth

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Depth, Giant's Causeway, magical landscape, photography, photos, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Depth

A few years ago I went to the Giant’s Causeway, up in the North of Ireland. It is a magical landscape with octagons of stone rising up from the sea forming all sorts of shapes and forms.

If you wander along the coastline and clamber up a bit you can find these magnificent columns rising up towards the sky, wanting to see the full height I stood inside and looked up from the depth and ended up feeling very small amongst these ancient giants, wondrous creations of the earth.

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fabulous friends

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friends, love, quotes

This week has been filled with friendly faces and it has reminded me of how many wonderful people I know and how many I can call my friends.

On monday I sat over sushi and chatted to the wonderful C. It was one of those Japanese conveyor belt places where you sit and the food trundles past, slowly, while you try and figure out what it actually is – tasty delights all wrapped up in sushi parcels. A rare treat but one both C and I indulged in due to the €3 offer they have currently on Mondays. Afterwards we went to one of my favourite cafes in Dublin and while she enjoyed hot chocolate and cake I sipped my cappuccino and was glad for her company. Together we whiled away the afternoon, talking, laughing, being a little bit silly – perfect for a grey monday.

Yesterday I met up with an author friend who is frantically working on her second book, the deadline looming and her word-count behind. For hours we sat and tried to unravel her plot, reconstructing it, making sense of flaws and fixing plot-holes. It was exciting and I hope I was of some help  – after all it will be her editor who decides. An inspiring evening encouraging me not to give up and keep on typing and trying.

And today I am going to drive up North and visit a friend who followed her heart up to the beautiful lakes of Fermanagh. I will stay a night or two and am looking forward for a long overdue catch-up, getting glimpses of her life that is so different from my own. Sharing her excitement in her new job, dog and other adventures she may have embarked on.

These three fabulous friends as as different from each other as purple is from orange but all three have me in common. And it makes me wonder about how friends reflect who we are, a kaleidoscope of colours and shapes making up beautiful patterns that is our life.

Since there is nothing so well worth having as friend, never lose a chance to make them.

Italian historian/statesman Francesco Guicciardini

 

midweek meanderings

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Dublin, friends, John Steinbeck, quotes, travel

This week is a potpourri of events. In between teaching and trying to get my desk cleared and the house tidy I have been out for sushi with a lovely friend, sat in the audience of a TV current affairs show, seen two films and I am only half way through the week.

Tonight I am catching up with another friend and on Thursday I am taking my car on a little trip up North to visit another good friend. It’s a busy week, but in a very good way, even if it means lack of sleep.

And all the while I have been reading a book written by a 50-year-old, single, female German journalist, who after winning half a million on the German “Who wants to be a millionaire?”, spent a year traveling the world, living one month in twelve very different cities. As I read I can’t help but  feel a mixture of a  little envy, some awe, excitement, a huge amount of “how can I make this happen?” and  a lot of daydreaming.

I hope that maybe, just maybe, when I grow up I can embark on a similar adventure, and in the meantime I will try and make smaller dreams come true!

A journey is a person itself, no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip, a trip takes us.

John Steinbeck

 

spring is on its way

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flowers, gardening, spring, tiny yard

Over the last week or so I have been watching spring appear on my windowsill. It may be still January but most days have been quite mild and since my tiny yard is very protected from the winter cold I think Spring decided to take a a peek and is now bobbing its colourful head.

So every morning I am thrilled to see the progress and it makes me happy even when the sun stays behind grey clouds. However, like this morning, it is a particularly joyful sight when the sun shines down from blue sky’s and it puts a smile on my face.

And to think that it snowed in Germany this weekend, only one hour time difference but obviously a whole climate change away!

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Express Yourself

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Express Yourself, Gutenberg, innermost thoughts, National Print Museum Dublin, photography, photos, printing, printing press, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Express Yourself, writing

Communication – a big word for our daily struggle to express our wants and needs. It is derived from the Latin word communicare which means ‘to share’ –  so communicating, is really just an expression of how we share our innermost thoughts and feelings, our joy and ideas, our fears and sorrows – both verbal and non-verbal.

As someone who talks fast , and lots, loves to write, no matter if here in this little blog, or in letters and postcards to friends, telling stories to my nephew or to myself and has chose to work in the field of media, it isn’t really a surprise that words is how I like to express myself.

The basic construct of a word are letters, the order you put them in creating a near unlimited possibility of words, sentences in a multitude of languages. When the brilliant Gutenberg invented the movable printing press way back in 1439 he introduced the world to mass communication – a preamble to the internet – he made it possible for people to share their ideas, to express their thoughts with a wide range of people,

A while ago I took some print production students to the national print museum and introduced them to the world of printing the way it basically still was just 20-30 years ago. With the age of the internet and the digital revolution sharing your words may have become so much easier, just a few clicks away, but expressing yourself -nonetheless- hasn’t really become simpler.

Christmas in January

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celebrate, christmas, christmas in january, food, food and drink, quote

The college I lecture at invited everyone out to a big Christmas do on Friday – a celebration with work colleagues over good food and drink. At first I was a little bit annoyed because I thought the reason why we were celebrating Christmas in January was so that the college could save money, but I found out that the dinner was delayed due to disorganization – they simply forgot to book a place in time. We were all invited to a lovely place on Fade Street in the city center and were served cocktails before dinner, which was a tapas-like array of a multitude of delicious flavours. Since the place wasn’t really set up for as large a group as we were some of us ended up seated at the cuter, the food being prepared right in front of us – and I have to say i can only recommend it. As the chef de partie (section chef) sizzled and cooked I got a chance to ask all sorts of questions and even try a few tasters, the sous-chef (second in command) topping up the offerings with a few extra plates and the hostess leaving a bottle of wine for me and my counter companion to share. It was an entertaining evening, chatting to people you see most days but don’t ever really get to know, and even if it was  a month too late there was something nice about celebrating a past event. So ho ho ho and  a happy non-Christmas to you – or maybe we should all just celebrate that it is January!

Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words.

Plautus

stews and accidents

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accidents, food, quotes, stew, thoughts

The today I made myself a stew, and not to toot my own horn, but it was delicious. Beef stewed in red wine with carrots and onions over some potatoes really is the perfect comfort food on these grey January nights

The problem however was that the pot I was using isn’t the best and a thick crust of ‘close to being burnt’ debris got stuck at the bottom. I knew when I started it could be a possibility but ignored my intuition and was left scrubbing a pot that I may need to get rid of.

As I was scrubbing away I couldn’t help but think about accidents, or unexpected occurrences that seem to interrupt our days, some days seem to be constantly interrupted by unexpected events, not only costing us time but often our last nerve.

For instance on Tuesday I was working at my desk and half an hour before it was time to brave the dark cold wet that had taken over Dublin my full cup of tea decided to topple and spill. Small rivers of tea drenched my desk, my clothes and a puddle of the hot brew gathered around my socks. Luckily for me the tea had cooled off a bit so I wasn’t burnt. But all my paperwork was ruined and I had to get changed, with only a few minutes to spare I arrived in college annoyed and all because of a cup of tea.

But then maybe, if I hadn’t been preoccupied I would have paid more attention to where I put my cup and nothing would have happened. So while those little accidents do annoy us we are often the ones that make them happen. So maybe we should see those little accidents as reminders to be ‘mindful’, as little hints to refocus and not let our autopilot take over too much.

And if all else fails, thankfully a hot bowl of stew can make most thinks better!

The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.

Aristotle

celebrating my new camera bag

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camera, camera bag, camera equiptment, gifts, photography, photos

My lovely siblings and their spouses made me a beautiful gift for Christmas – a voucher for a camera bag.

I own a camera bag, one I bought many years ago – the year still started with a ’19’  back then- and I have used it ever since. it is still okay, no real issues with it – except that it isn’t very pretty – but it is too small. I can just about fit two lenses and my flash into it , but there is no room for the camera itself and when I do manage to save up for a further lens it will not fit.

So with the voucher from my family I could invest in a camera bag and after some research and lots of price comparing I found a lovely bag on Amazon with 60% off, a bargain.

Yesterday it finally arrived, and I am thrilled to bits. It is a little larger than I thought but that is okay as it is very light and I can fit my bendy tripod and there is plenty of room for my iPad … even my Laptop if I want.

I am so excited to go out into the ‘wild’ and put it to use so this weekend I will be taking a trip down to the beach, park, cemetery or any place that can offer up some photo opportunities. All I need now it the sky to brighten up  a bit and give me some light to celebrate my camera bag with.

My camera fits perfectly into the middle slot and there is still room for another lens.

a date with the embassy

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day to day, Germany embassy, organised, quote, thoughts, work

After a long day of sorting thorough paperwork and doubling my recycling waste it was wonderful sitting down at my tidy and organised desk this morning. There is something about starting the week with everything in its place that makes me feel very efficient without even having done anything.

While I was shuffling around documents yesterday I was able to pull together all bits and bobs I need for today’s date with the German embassy. I need a new passport which means I am giving up the only passport I have ever had with a decent looking photo for one with an unsmiling (smiles no longer allowed) mugshot.

But I am glad that I have everything organised and all I need to do is hop into my car this afternoon and spend some time on German territory – a little day trip to my (literally) mothers land.

So with that in mind, and feeling very orgainsed and well prepared to tackle anything that may come my way this week, I better back my bag and get ready to be a lecturer for a few hours before I add to my ‘official’, probably unclassified, folder.

Huge numbers of embassy cables are labeled ‘unclassified’ or ‘limited official use’ and deal with mundane matters.

Diplomat Elliott Abrams

stepping around my innerer Schweinehund

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Annette Louisan, desk duty, innerer Schweinehund, music, songs, work

For a week now I have been working around the piles of unorganised paperwork and stacks of corrections that are towering around my desk. This unpleasant sight  not only invades my workspace it has now started to creep into my dreams, never a good sign.

So today I have decide, reluctantly and with a lot of inner tantrum trowing, to finally deal with my desk, tidy up and give myself some space.

While my intentions are good, I have to admit that I am struggling to get my procrastination off the easy-chair and into gear. In German there is a word for that inner battle between what you want to be doing and the inability to get a move on –  ‘innerer Schweinehund (inner pig-dog)’.

An ‘innerer Schweinehund’, is that metaphorical sloth, that lounges around and daydreams, it’s the absence of that ‘get up an go’ – it probably ate it for breakfast.

Some of us seem to only have a toy version of a ‘innerer Schweinehund’, it just yaps around their ankle and is easy enough to step over and ignore, other have reared a sizable specimen, a boar of hog, big tusks and loud grunts impossible to overlook and even harder to get around.

So to help me get moving and shimmy and shake around my bully of a ‘Schweinehund’ I have put on some music and this song by German singer/songwriter  Annette Louisan may just be my anthem of the day !