game night and wine

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game night, games, neighbours, Phase Ten Masters, playing, wine, winning

A while ago my neighbour and I had talked about having game nights – we both enjoy a good trow of the dice or and a shuffle of cards ever now and then. So last night I wandered down a few meters of the road and knocked at my neighbours door, a  bottle of dark red Primitivo in my hand and the game Phase Ten Masters tucked under my arm.

After some cleaning (how is it that I am still finding Christmas tree needles even though I have cleaned a few times between now and taking down the tree?), doing some washing and trying to get some work done in advance, sitting down for a good chinwag, a glass of vino and playing cards was the perfect ending to a long Sunday.

An added benefit was that I won! Not only the whole game but most of the rounds, even-though my neighbour did cheat (I have no idea what and how she was adding up). There truly is something very satisfying about ending the week with a win and an empty bottle of wine.

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

best neighbours in Dublin

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Dublin, flowers, happiness, joy, neighbourhood, neighbours, planting, window-boxes

I think I may just have the best neighbours in Dublin – if not the world. The little street I live on is inhabited by a selection of wonderful human beings, each as different from each other as snowflakes and many of them just have the kindest hearts.

Over the past ten days or so things have been a little bit tricky for me in my work life (which I can’t quite discuss here or yet) but my friends and neighbours have been a  great support and hopefully things will soon change for the better.

One lovely neighbour even dropped me in some cake, lasagna and soup on Saturday morning – feeding me for the entire weekend- and I have to say I felt very cared for. An other lovely neighbour whisked me off to the community garden yesterday afternoon. She had seen me, through the window, sitting at my computer non-stop and decided it was time for some fresh air and sunshine.  And I have to admit I enjoyed my afternoon spent outdoors picking peas and beans.

So, today I have decided to pay my neighbours back and tackle my window boxes. After the long wet summer we have had they are now looking more than a little sad. I hope that by making my front of house look pretty again it will make them smile as they pass by my home. Maybe a not a hot dinner or some outdoor fun, but hopefully a bit of colourful joy spread down the street.

A good neighbour is a priceless tresure

Chines Proverb

a few of these to brighten up the windowsills

sleep-robbing alarms

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alarms, neighbours, sleep, sleeplessness

I was finally able to sleep last night, and what a long good sleep it was. The reason for my past sleepless nights has been an ongoing alarm across the road.

On Thursday afternoon it started, a high-pitched ringing sound that vibrates through the body. For some reason, unknown to me, the neighbours intruder alarm had triggered. Of course I thought it would soon be turned off but as the hours ticked along the shrill ringing started to grate on my nerves.

As night approached and all the noise of the day calmed down it amplified leaving me tossing and turning in my bed, trying to sleep but my ears just couldn’t tune the blaring out.  When Friday morning arrived I was vexed and annoyed, tired and not really myself. Since my neighbours obviously weren’t home, but I did knock just in case they were deaf, I called the alarm company to no avail. After several left messages and emails I decided it was time to take a different route so I called the Gardi, the Irish police.

But I didn’t find help here either. They told me that all they could do is check the property for any signs of intrusion but wouldn’t, couldn’t, turn the alarm off. The next step, suggested by the Gardi, was to call the Dublin City Council, but here too help was limited. They told me I could file a complaint for noise pollution but it would take  a minimum of seven days before they would, could, do anything and even so it didn’t mean the alarm would be shut off.

As the earsplitting noise was getting too much to bear and I couldn’t stand to be at home and wasn’t sleeping I tried to stay away from my home as much as possible. This made me even more annoyed as I had just dropped my New Zealand friend off at her new abode and finally had my home to myself.

But thankfully when I arrived home late last night he sleep-robbing alarm had finally been turned off. I couldn’t believe it and when I curled up in bed, my nerves gave a sigh of relief and after three sleepless nights I was able to sleep!

helpless feeling

Tags

Dublin, helpless, neighbours, thoughts, women

Late last night a knocking, banging and calling echoed around the cul-de-sac I live in. It was my neighbour a few doors down trying to rouse her husband-to-be from his heavy slumber and open the door to their home to let her in.

This went on for quite a while so I opened my bedroom window and called out to her offering my help, just like her next-door neighbour had obviously done. So there we were in the middle of the night, helpless and unable to come up with a solution since none of us had a ladder to hand.

I would have offered her my spare bed, if my New Zealand friend wasn’t chasing dreams in it already, but I did offer her my chair, phone and car none of which she needed. After more knocking, combined shouting and conferring my tired neighbour got into her car and drove to her sister  leaving her husband oblivious to the ruckus he had unwittingly caused while sleeping.

Watching her taillights disappear into the night I closed my window and cuddled down into my bed. As I closed my eyes  I couldn’t help but wonder about all those moments in life when we feel helpless, unable to do anything. When we see something happening, be it big or small, and can’t intervene. Not because we don’t want to but because we either don’t have the correct tools, abilities or funds to do anything about the situation.

However as I drifted of to sleep I couldn’t help but giggle, knowing that the slumbering husband-to-be would wake up and have to face a very angry woman.

street clean up

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children, community, Dublin, families, friends, home, neighbours, random, society, thoughts

I live in a tiny little cul-de-sac really close to Dublin city center. With just 26 small cottages standing in neat rows on either side of a tight road the street I live on has a very old-fashioned feel to it. The wooden doors are painted in different colours, red and black dominating, and big bold door-knockers await to signal visitors. These houses were built around 1904 and have housed many families, couples, older people and singles like myself. But the really special thing about this place is the community spirit that seems to live on the road too.

Neighbours do still stop and chat or borrow milk, eggs and even bin tags (a Dublin bin collecting scheme)  from each other and children play ball, ride their bikes and generally just seem to run up and down the street. Every now and then a group of us will meet up in someones home, drink tea, wine and eat sandwiches or cake while chatting about this, that and not really anything too important.

Yesterday we brought out our brooms, rubber gloves and black bags to tackle the rubbish on our street. We do this once a year in an attempt to battle the city and its debris, pull out the weeds that grow in gutters, pavement crevices and pick up all the liter that dances around on windy days. Unlucky for us it started to rain but we made the best of it and had fun together, the kids joined in with their little plastic shovels, brightly coloured wellies and loving the action on the road.

It was a great atmosphere and it got me thinking about how important it is to have good community spirit. When children grow up in a place where they can feel safe indoors and out, it makes a big difference in how they learn to interact with people of all ages. And if neighbours look out for one another and help out when needed, it cements trust at the lowest level of our society. If the small communities work, the bigger ones will too, as it then is no longer about THEM but about US.

As we stood piling up the black bags we decided to get white paint and brighten up the wall at the end of the road and do some planting for the summer. It was as if everyone wanted to display how much they enjoyed living in this special little street, tenets and homeowners alike. And I personally can’t wait for the sun to come out and our street to look as beautiful as it feels living here.

Community resilience