Easter auntie duties

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auntie duties, Easter, Easter preparation, family, gifts, photography, post, sending parcels

Easter isn’t too far off anymore so it’s time to put on my floppy ears and fluffy tail and hop along to my Easter auntie duties.

Living in a different country to my nieces and nephews means I can’t just hop around the corner and deliver chocolaty goodies by paw so I need to get down to the post office and hope they’ll deliver in time for Easter Sunday smiles.

But before I can do that I need to pack up those goodies, write a few cards and make sure I don’t get anything mixed up since the age differences between both my  nephews and nieces is more than ten years. Luckily I found some lovely little Easter bags that can help me divide up the treats and gifts to ensure the right gift goes to the right nephew or niece.

For a few weeks now I have been keeping my eyes open for small, inexpensive gifts as I don’t want to add to much chocolate to the Easter sugar over-excitement that is sure to incur.

A wonderful side effect of my Easter auntie duties is that it gets me into the Easter-spirt without even trying. So, while Easter is still a few weeks away I think it may be time to consider hanging some painted eggs into my window and maybe do some spring-cleaning while I’m at it. That means my weekend is planned!

Easter bags ready and waiting to be filled

 

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mornings on the go

Tags

airports, birthdays, family, flying, Ireland, leaving Dublin, life at airports, travel

I’m currently in the middle of six weeks of family birthdays, it starts with my nephews and ends with my own. And since one them is celebrating a wonderful noughty (or maybe it is naughty) birthday I am giving up some precious hours of sleep and boarding an early morning flight to Germany.

And although I had to drag myself out of bed just a few hours ago there is something really nice about airports in the morning. While the rest of the world is only slowly waking up the airport is already a hive of activity – it’s a bit like an enchanted universe all of its own.

I treated myself to a double espresso at Butlers and enjoyed the complimentary chocolate too and sat to watch the people around me. Curled up on a few seats were two little boys, still fast asleep beside their parents who were waiting to be called to their gate. Next to me sat a business man in a dark gray suit that matched his complexion, clean shaven but with dark sleep deprived bruises under his eyes, he was shouting into the phone in short busts of a language I  couldn’t understand. A loved up couple cuddled up to each other as they shared a croissant, the rest of the world fading away their rose-tinted eyes.

And then it was time to take off … I left Dublin before the sun rose and as I flew towards Germany the sky was dipped in pink.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Admiration

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Admiration, family, friends, godmother, optimist, people, photography, photos, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Admiration

At first I was a little bit stumped about this weeks photo challenge – admiration – who or what do I admire?

I have some very talented friends who I greatly admire for their passion in what they do.

Everyone who decided to have kids and give up so much of themselves I admire greatly, and especially those who reared them on their own.

Those who chose to step away from convention and stand up for what they believe in or do as they please I admire for their bravery.

But their is one person I have always admired for their optimistic attitude towards life and that is my godmother. And while I know she is not easy and we definitely do not always agree on politics and many another topic she always tends to look at the bright side of life, even when times are hard. Her fashion sense may be more conservative than mine but she is very accepting of my dress sense oddities and otherness.

So with that in mind I think my admiration goes to all those eternal optimists out there, thanks for all the smiles!

my godmothers blue bench

Christmas in January

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christmas, family, friends, gifts, January, parcels, photography, photos, presents

Today I picked up two parcels from the post office, and both were somewhat delayed Christmas gifts. And while there may have been something  a little bit strange about opening Christmas gifts nearly a month after the ‘big day’ I have to say I really enjoyed my Christmas in January.

First I made myself a large cup of tea and then I took my time unwrapping and admiring the goodies as I freed them from the paper. A new calendar, some lovely notebooks and a gorgeous pen and pencil set, some candles, bags of yummy goodies and sachets of very promising “concentration’ tea  have now been added to my possessions.

And I have to admit I felt very loved and cared for and it was the perfect way to end a  somewhat stressful week – and for some reason it makes me feel very prepared for next week, when it goes back to being a student doing my masters. So maybe having a  Christmas in January should be mandatory for all, as it helps with the January blues.

a season for birthdays

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autumn, birthdays, family, friends, gifts, neighbours, photography, photos

Every year, when autumn shakes the leaves from the trees and colours our days grey and nature hues of orange, a season of birthdays begins for me. There are aunts, my sister, a cousin, friends and then finally me, who celebrate getting older and hopefully a little wiser.

So, at this time of year, I spend some of my time writing cards and wrapping gifts, sending parcels and making phone calls, all to congratulate and celebrate some of my favourite people on this planet.

Today it’s my lovey neighbour’s turn to jubilate in the simple fact that she is turning a year older, and I will be taking her out for a cup of coffee and some cake to mark her special day. And since it is her birthday I think she also deserves to unwrap a few surprises, even if only small ones.

And I have to admit, I enjoy this prelude to Christmas as I don’t think there is anything nicer you can do with your free time, than show people that you love them, think about them and make them feel special.

a few birthday treats

niece visit

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Carrick-a-Rede, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, family, Giant's Causeway, Ireland, northern ireland, photography, photos, Spring House, tea, The Argorey

My keyboard break can be explained by a visit from my niece. She came over from Germany for a short holiday. The weather wasn’t great we did get to see a good few sights, go shopping, meet old friends and just catch up. But the main objective was to take a trip up to the northern Irish coast and visit The Giant’s Causeway – and being the good aunt that I am this is what we did.

up near The Dark Hedges

cloudy skies

far away boat

pretty cliff side flower

walking up to Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and the sun came out

rope

Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

nesting

resting

more rope

cliff boat

cottage on Carrick -a-Rede

cliff-side daisies

security

a glimpse of sun

at the Giant’s Causeway

colourful moss

handy help

slippery

reflective pool

my niece

The next day was wetter than the first and we decided to visit a few great houses on our way back down to Dublin. After all we had the time and there is so much to see.

Spring House – a stunning place that was sadly still locked up when we arrived

The Argorey – entrance through the courtyard

pretty picture

(a little blurry) but I loved the simple decoration in the tea rooms – my niece claims it was the best tea we had

a huge door knocker on the ‘winter door’ – shined to perfection

a lion greeting us over the ‘summer’ door

beautiful old lace curtains

set for desert – stunning

Lady Ada’s boots – tiny

old bucket

outside by the pig styes – now toilets

lucky horseshoe

 

 

back with a snotty nose & runny eyes

Tags

boats trip, crafting, dragon, family, hayfever, holidays, painting, runny nose

My two weeks away from home were exciting and fun but I arrived back with a snotty nose and runny eyes. Somewhere on my road-trip around Denmark I got a massive attack of hay-fever that decided to manifest itself with a vicious tenacity. So now I am at home blowing my own weight of snot into tissues and trying to work with teary eyes, but this too shall pass – at least I hope it will and just in case I wandered down to the pharmacy and bought the entire aisle of “hay-fever-be gone!” But even through all the sniffles and sneezing I had a lovely time away and I even made sure that my nephew and niece don’t forget me now that I am gone again – I painted a big boat on the “lookout” in their garden and even managed a decent looking dragon on my nephews shield.

pirates beware

the skull may look a bit off but the waves turned out great

fire breathing dragon

And even though I will miss my family and enjoyed my time away I have to say I was glad to be sleeping in my own bed last night, and not having to get up at 6.30am was an added bonus!

packing problems

Tags

family, Germany, packing, travel

On Thursday I am leaving for Germany, my baby niece is being baptized. But, as always, going away involves some serious packing. After all there are two sets of nieces and nephews that need to get some aunty love in form of gifts, I have  a stack of books for my sister and the all important tea, then there are a few other gifts that need to be packed, and on top of all of that I will be needing clothes for nearly two weeks.

And not just any old clothes either, an outfit for the church, and then there is a little trip up to Copenhagen with my Godmother that requires a few nice garments. And of course I will be needing my camera, laptop and all that other stuff that requires a selection of cables and plugs. And of course a few pairs of shoes!

So while I take care of my washing and pull out my suitcase from under the bed I think between today and tomorrow I will somehow get the chaos sorted. After all I do so love to travel and the packing problem is a price I am happy to pay.

 

 

low hanging clouds

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clouds, Dublin, Easter, family, grety days, low hanging clouds, parcels, photography, photos

Today was another one of those grey days in Dublin, one that never seems to see the sun. In addition to the lack of sunlight, low hanging clouds covered the city, damp air clinging to every fiber, drizzly rain creating shallow puddles and wet feet.

As I ran around town, lots of errands on my to-do-list, my hair decided to swirl, twist, kink and frizz in the misty wet weather. My Afro grew as the day went and I ended up with wet shoes, drenched by awkwardly placed puddles.

I made my way home through the hazy streets and couldn’t help but long for a cup of hot tea and woolly socks – and maybe some chocolate egg, after all it is Easter this weekend. With thoughts of tea and my freezing feet calling for warmth I opened my front door and found a lovely surprise. Two parcels from Germany were waiting for me, one from Godmother and one from my brothers family.

Now this Easter weekend can truly start, and I can’t wait to find out what is hidden inside those big envelopes, I am sure some sugary goodness to sweeten the days, three more sleeps and I will find out!

getting ready to travel

Tags

Deichtorhallen, Dragana Jurisic, Dragana Jurisic YU: The Lost Country, family, gifts, Hamburg, tea, travel

Next week I’ll be heading off to Germany again. It will be a week filled with lots to do and many people to meet. First I’ll be staying with my Godmother and then I will swap beds and move in with my brother and his family for a few days, to mind the kids and celebrate his birthday.

However the main reason for heading over to Hamburg is that my wonderful friend Dragana will be talking about her exhibition YU: The Lost Country in the famous Deichtorhallen in Hamburg and I am flying over to support her.

So while I am really looking forward to a little trip I am amazed at how much I still have left to do before catching that flight. One thing that has been piling up is the small tower of ‘gifts’ for everyone I’ll be seeing … after all I have been asked to bring lots and lots of tea!

So while I have been writing emails, correcting student assessments and generally trying to clear my desk (and yes it is currently very messy – tidy desk is on my to-do list) my thoughts have been circling my wardrobe trying to figure out what to take with me since half my suitcase will be filled with goodies for others.

I just hope it won’t be too cold … less clothes! But all in all I am looking forward to the coming week, never a bad thing when you can leave your daily trudge for a little while.

some of what needs to fit into my suitcase