going sock-less

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Dublin, fashion, photography, photos, shoes, sock-less, spring, sun, weather

Over the past few days spring has fully sprung in Dublin, the sun has been shining, the trees have been blooming and everything is waking up from the long winter sleep. With the temperatures rising I have decided to let the weather ‘knock my socks off’ (couldn’t resist this awful pun) and relegate my socks to the back of the drawer and go sock-less again. So over the last three days my feet have been bare in my shoes and I have enjoyed the freedom of unhindered wiggling of toes.

Now I only hope that my socklessness state can continue until much later this year and who knows, maybe by offering up an extra few patches of exposed skin to the sun my vitamin D intake will skyrocket. Additionally I won’t need to spend time sorting my socks – I like them in pairs – and I’ll even save some (even if only small) space in the washing machine.

So maybe I should look around and see what else I could dispel and discover what I may gain by doing so.

standing in a spot of sun

tackling my TRP

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books, rain, reading, sun, to read pile, TRP, weather, wet

Today is one of those wonderfully weird Irish days. The sun lures you out with smiles and shine to only disappear, giggling, behind a big, black cloud, which in turn empties out bucket loads of rain, turning sunny patches into puddles.

But after the good weather we have been having I won’t complain, especially since it is giving me  a great excuse to stay home and have a lazy day.  With my TRP (to read pile) ever growing and I think I may just curl up with a cup of tea, listen to the rain on my window and flee into the magical world of storytelling …

sunshine and writing

Tags

Dublin, photo, photography, sun, sun shine, writing

Over the past few days Dublin has been showing itself from its best side – in the sunshine. The downside to sunny Dublin is the fact that I have to spend hours at my desk – my hands poised over my keyboard waiting for inspiration.

With sunny skies beckoning me I have found myself outdoors perched on my blue bench, a cup of tea in my hand and a book on my lap, ignoring my laptop inside. Of course this means I haven’t been getting a lot of work done – counting words has become somewhat disheartening.

On the plus side I have been able to hold my pasty white legs into the sun and I have discovered they have gone a very pale beige – no one would notice but I know and that is enough for me. But I do live in hope that I may end up with a bit of a tan at the end of the summer.

And luckily for me it seems that there are a few clouds on the horizon so maybe that will help increase my word count.

sunny blue skies – now with a few clouds

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Half-light

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Half-light, hiking, Morocco, photography, photos, sun, travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Half-light

Several years ago I went on a  trip to Morocco – it was just after Easter spring had just arrived a few weeks ahead of us. We hiked up into the Atlas mountains – each day was spent with hours of walking from one village to the next. When we arrived we were always greeted with smiles and cups of sweet mint tea. While we sat in courtyards and on rooftops the beautiful spring light traveled across the sky and bathed the landscape in light and shadow – half-light in a world far away and a culture very different from the one I know.

a courtyard in Morocco

early morning sun over the mountains

sunset

 

having a very Good Friday

Tags

Easter, Good Friday, masters, novel, photography, photos, short story, sun, sunshine, writing

It’s half way through the day and I have to admit I am having a very Good Friday. That hour of extra sleep and a treat of a bagel for breakfast were the perfect start to bright and sunny day. Some light house work (yes my floors needed a bit of TLC) and a few cups of tea later and the day still stretches before me.

And while I still a good few items on my to-do-list I have decided to indulge in lots of writing time. With the summer break quickly approaching I need to sit down and type. I am behind with my novel and still am at least one short-story short so the hours will be filled with sentences – both long and short – carefully crafted (I hope) and perfectly phrased (I hope even more).

However, since the sun is out, I will take myself for a walk, soak up some rays of vitamin D, boost my serotonin levels and get that tiring melatonin down. And who knows maybe my hiding muse will come out and play for a bit – after all the sun is hard to resist.

the Easter bunny is keeping watch over my progression – until he is eaten

 

 

rainbow room

Tags

Dublin, Ireland, prisims, rainbows, sun, weather

Weather in Ireland often has a mind of its own and at the moment it seems to seek the most amount of variety it can think of. Stormy winds, rain, possibly light snow, frost, mild temperatures and sunshine seems to be what our days will be like in the near future.

But when I came home yesterday the low hanging evening sun was shining in through (my rather dirty I have to admit) windows, causing the prisms in my window to paint dancing rainbows all around my home -it was like walking into a rainbow.

And while today the skies look more like grey gravel than forget-me-not blue I can’t wait to be surprised by the sun again by walking into my very own rainbow room. I just hope I won’t have to wait all too long.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Today Was a Good Day

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blue bench, Good Day, photography, photos, sun, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Today Was a Good Day

Yesterday was a very good day – the sun came out and I was able to sit for a while on my blue bench and enjoy the sun – a cup of tea, a book and wiggling my toes in flip-flops just made it perfect

While I turned the pages on my book, my sunglasses propped on my nose in a rare outing this year, the neighborhoods children cycled  up and down the road and an inventive dad even set up a portable sandpit (a large plastic box filled with sand and toys).

And when the sun crept behind the railroad bridge I joined my neighbours on a small bike trip down the coast and savoured a cup of coffee as the blue  sky turned golden, dipping the few clouds in pink, turning them into pastel coloured candy-floss.

All in all – a very good day!

August sun

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August, August sun, seagulls, sun, weather

seagull flying high

I woke up to giggling seagulls this morning – their hysteria mounting as they merrily gurgled to each other. As I lay in bed the sun lit up my room and I couldn’t help but feel delighted at the prospect of another sunny day.

After the bad weather we’ve had over the past summer months it seems as if summer has decided to stop by for a few days and I am loving it. Finally my flip-flops have come out to play and my trusty cardigan hasn’t needed an outing in a while.

The seagulls seem to agree with me and their noisy joy just emphasises the sun beside the seaside feeling – and hopefully I’ll get to dip my toe into the water before the sun wanders off again.

But since I am behind on my word-count and need to cross a few more items off my list before I can call it a sun-day, my afternoon cup of tea on my blue bench in the August sun will have to suffice.

lost summer

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Dublin, flowers, Hans Christian Andersen, Ireland, photography, quotes, rain and sunshine, summer, summer sun, sun, sunflowers, sunshine

At this point the summer should be in full swing but somehow it never really arrived. After a very wet and miserable weekend and a mixed bag of rain and sunshine today I think it could be time to come to terms with the fact that we may not a get a summer this year at all.

And while I know that this is always a possibility in Ireland right now I do grave a week of just heat and sunshine. Maybe it has to do with the need for more vitamin D or maybe it is just my simple desire to wear short sleeves and sandals. But either way I think the desire for some summer sun is very understandable at the end of June.

However no matter how hard I hope for or how much I long for this years summer to finally make an appearance there is nothing I can do to convince Saint Peter to comply. But not one to give up easily I have decided to buy my own little bit of sunshine in the shape of sunflowers. Now their happy yellow heads greet me every morning, indoor sunshine at it’s most beautiful.

Just living is not enough … one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.

Hans Christian Andersen

sunny days

Tags

cloudless skies, dollymount strand, Dublin, Ireland, photography, photos, sun, sunny weather, warm sunshine, weather

sunshine over Dollymount Strand

Over the past few day Dublin has been bathed in beautiful sunshine. Near cloudless skies and warm sunshine has changed everyone’s mood, happy smiles, sockless feet and t-shirts are everywhere you look.

The only downside to this sunny weather is the fact that most of us are all stuck indoors most of the time – working. Fluttering outside to enjoy a few rays during lunch or deciding to walk home instead of taking the bus, a cup of coffee in hand, the brave even opting for ice-cream, is all most of us can do to enjoy these gorgeous days.

Sadly these sunny days aren’t here to stay and come tomorrow Dublin will paint it’s face grey again. Puddles will replace those sunny pockets in the streets and clouds will colour the skies dark shades of blue.

With that in mind I will try and make the most of today, try and squeeze an hour to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. But since I do have an extremely busy weekend ahead of me I won’t mind the change in weather too much, I just hope the sun will return once schools out for summer.