Gott Slut och Gott Nytt År, Enjoy New Year's Eve and Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you all,
here are photos of how green it is here today, thankfully.
and photos of my first and second attempts at spinning these past few days,
the olive green is very soft, the orange/yellow/brown has lots more character and has even been plied, just needs that final wash now...
also photo of what the original fuzzy wool looked like, before spinning.

meds and spinning baby steps.

Got to the doc eventually and now on more medicine, hoping it works fully this time.
I opened the box that has been living in our study and unpacked my spinning wheel on Monday evening, and started spinning.
I managed to spin! and then the following day I managed to ply what I had spun, and now I believe I need to wash the yarn to get the twist to set and then I can knit with it!
all very exciting...
not really overflowing with energy at present, so no pics today, but tomorrow, I'll take some photos in sunlight, and hopefully have them up tomorrow.
be well
liz

Spinning wheel nr 5

Spinning wheel_4819
Originally uploaded by liz65oconnor

oh and I bought a pair of Louet carders at the same time.

Spinning wheel nr 4

Spinning wheel_4820
Originally uploaded by liz65oconnor

B included some wool for me to spin too, and that's Angora in the bag at the back right of the pic

Spinning wheel nr 3

Spinning wheel_4821
Originally uploaded by liz65oconnor

close up

Spinning wheel nr 2

Spinning wheel_4822
Originally uploaded by liz65oconnor

here it is out of the box

Spinning wheel nr 1

Note: in this and the next 4 posts I am experimenting with using flickr.com
please excuse the repetitive nature of the posts....

from white to green, overnight!

So for the last 2 weeks or more Ireland has been in the grip of a cold spell which has meant record low temperatures, as low as minus 10 C for us, but as low as minus 17C in other parts of the country. This lasted up to and including Christmas Day, it was all white and frosty, the frost was so thick on the trees it looked like snow, see the photos in the previous post.
But then on the morning of St Stephen's Day (26th December), ie, yesterday, we awoke to something we hadn't seen in 2 weeks or more, green grass, green fields, the Atlantic air had once again worked it's magic on us. I like this kind of weather, I am not really so enamoured in snow and ice, especially when it comes to driving in it.
Admittedly, the roads in some parts of the East were still dangerous, as they had gotten most snow and the thaw spread from the SouthWest, so it took longer for them to experience the thaw, the compacted snow became worse before it melted fully. However here in Limerick, the roads were fine and I even ventured into town with 6 kids, 5 teenagers who wanted to go ice-skating and my 10yr-old daughter who had a burning desire to spend her Christmas money on a Wii game.
Ice-skating went fine, some shops were open for the sales and daughter purchased 2 Wii games and the traffice wasn't bad so I wasn't too stressed, so all went well.
However I think I probably wasn't really ready for that trip as regards my health, as my throat and chest got worse, but a good night's sleep has helped and I don't feel as bad today as yesterday.
Took it very easy today, plenty of web-surfing and bit of housework.
Two of the daughters are gone to a friend's house, so it's very calm here today.
Enjoying leftovers and homemade Christmas cake, so all is well with the world.

God Jul! Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas to all out there in the ether...
God jul! (god fortsättning, borde jag egentligen säga..)
Hoppas att dagen gick bra för allihopa, att det åts och det firades osv.
Här har vi det ganska bra ställt, vi har vatten, (en del är utan), el (en lättnad efter elavbrottet igår kväll) och torra vägar, som det går att köra på, (en del vägar är livsfarliga att köra på just nu), så vi räknar våra välsignelser...
kommer med en liten redovisning av de senaste 2 veckorna.

Först några bilder...





photos taken by the Swede yesterday and day before, along our road









12e december, det töade, som jag sade i ett tidigare inlägg
13e december, jag åkte till Dublin med 65 skolbarn och 3 kolleger, för att delta i en stor konsert, Hallelujah Konsert på RDS, där sammanlagt 3500 skolbarn deltog och sjöng. Det var väldigt roligt, men jag var såå trött dagen därpå, bussarna kom inte 'hem' till skolan förran kl 1 på natten, och sedan hade jag en vanlig arbetsdag dagen därpå. Frosten kom tillbaks samma kväll.
14e december, frosten och den stränga kylan kom tillbaks, även om vi i Limerick inte fick någon snö.
16e och 17e december, sjukskriven pga lunginflammation, åt penicillin och steroider, tog det lugnt även över helgen... kallt var det.
19e december, Äldsta dottern var med och spelade i en final i Schools Camogie, och de vann!! Munster finalen! häftigt!
20e dec till 23e december, tillbaks på jobbet, dock med en ny hosta som jag inte har blivit av med och nu har medicinen tagit slut, tyvärr. Frosten och kylan fortsätter...
21e december årets kortaste dag, om ni förstår vad jag menar, och en Lunar Eclipse...
23e december, halvdag på skolan, för alla av oss, Jullov börjar!
24e december Julafton, åt svenskt julbord med Wasa Husmans knäckebröd nyligen levererat av ett par hem från Örnsköldsvik
25e december Christmas Day, åt kalkon och skinka (och rester av svensk julmaten! en härlig blandning!)
Imorgon, ska det töa ordentligt sägs det... då löper vi risk för frysande regn och sedan översvämningar...

Happy Christmas to all.
Hope you are all well and safa and warm tonight.
Review of last 2 weeks:
12th Dec, the thaw
13th Dec, trip by bus to Dublin with 65 schoolchildren and 3 colleagues, to take part in a giant choir, in a show. Great fun, but sooooo tired following day... and the frost came back...
16 and 17 Dec, off sick with chest infection. The frost also got worse.
19 Dec eldest daughter was in the winning team at the Munster Schools Senior Camogie final!
20th to 23rd Dec, back at school, but coughing, meds are finished, so not much I can do right now. Still very cold, we have freezing fog and the trees are crystally with thick rimefrost.
23rd Halfday, all got holidays at last, yippeee! still very cold.
24th Dec ate Swedish Christmas food, freezing fog, no sun.
25th Dec ate turkey and ham dinner for Christmas Day, visited my parents house...
the sun shone but the frost was still here...

looking forward now to my bed, we were woken up by a determined child this morning at 4am, she was determined to see if Santa had come and left the presents yet, but she was persuaded to go back to bed for another while...
I'm not good if sleep deprived...
Enjoy the rest of the holidays,
regards
liz




Roll on the promised thaw tomorrow...

det töade, the thaw came,

Det töade, nu är det slut med all snö och frost hos oss, inga farliga vägar nu, men, kylan kommer tillbaks imorgon, och det kommer att bli ännu kallare frampå torsdag...

The thaw came, the roads are fine again, and all snow and ice is gone, only thing is the cold is coming back tomorrow and it is going to get colder by Thursday.

Edited to add: I've just been over to Lily's Blog, Lily is currently in Minneapolis and has posted some amazing photos of snow in Minneapolis, from Dec 12th, as well as Christmas trees, even an Irish themed tree, here, and Lily pointed me in the direction of a site dealing with Irish weather, which is giving a Severe weather warning for Ireland and UK later this coming week...

The link below is to the site called Irish WeatherOnline, and it looks like absolutely terrible weather is coming next Thursday, ooooh, eck!
words like 'huge polar hurricane over Svalbard' and 'very strong Arctic outbreak' and 'very strong northerly of sub-freezing temperatures' and 'an epochal cold spell for Ireland and Britain in the next 20-30 day interval' make me shiver...
Severe weather alert for Thursday

enjoying a nice morning here, trying to avoid thinking about snow and shopping and the need to shop.... shudders at thought of Limerick and traffic and crowds...

hope you enjoy your weekend...
liz

a welcome day of rest

Today was a holy day in ireland and lots of the schools choose to close to observe the day, which unofficially has become known as Farmers' Shopping Day, it's when all the farmers and their wives head into the cities to do Christmas shopping.

Needless to say with the weather and road conditions, I never even contemplated leaving home, certainly not to join the hordes in Limerick city, I do not like shopping in crowds, or trying to get home with traffic jams and queues.

It was a great day at home, the daughters helped to clean the house, sorting laundry and washing floors and washing dishes, and then the Big Treat, putting up the Christmas tree and our Swedish Adventsljusstake, (known as candle-bridges here).
So happily the house is relatively tidy, the Christmas tree is up and we are all rested after one sweet day off, one less day having to drive on dodgy roads.

It'll be cold again tonight, but the thaw is coming, thank Heaven! It may even get to plus 7 degrees Centigrade on Friday, oh please, Mother Earth, let that be so.

I really want to have our usual Irish winter back, bit of wind and rain and mild temperatures. However it looks like we will need to get used to cold like this, it looks like we could have more cold weather from the middle of next week. And who knows how long this weather will last? all the way till January? maybe...
hope all of you are staying warm and taking care out there,
liz

mince pies

Well, I don't unfortunately have the time nor the talent to be a domestic goddess, and cooking or baking isn't my strong point, but here's a link to someone who does a lot of cooking and baking and makes it all look very lovely and very easy.
It's Jaz on her Octoberfarm blog, and she has a new giveaway as well on this post:
http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/2010/12/mincemeat-recipe-and-new-giveaway.html



Here's a bit of background to the origin of Mincemeat!

The origin of the word 'mincemeat' is often of interest, especially as it does not appear to contain any meat whatsoever. Up to Victorian times, the mince(meat) pie would have actually have been a spiced meat pie with some dried fruit. It has evolved to the point where the only meat in the pie is in the form of suet, an historical throwback.

The filling is nowadays made from fruit mincemeat (fruitmince to North Americans) containing dried fruit such as raisins, currants, cherries, apricot, candied peel; spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg; nuts such as walnuts or chopped almonds; suet; and some kind of alcohol, usually either brandy or rum. Although no longer a meat pie, the mince pie is suitable for vegetarians only if the suet is replaced by vegetable fat.

(Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mince_pie )

How well-behaved is your snow?

The so-called Big Freeze continues, but really, the coldest temperature measured so far is minus 16C, which is nothing compared to Sweden.
Funnily enough, Ireland in my childhood used to be almost always snowfree, or at least most of Ireland. We got well-behaved snow, which fell overnight, ensured schools closed the following day and then had the good manners to melt during the day so we didn’t have to worry about icy roads etc… oh and this all used to happen on one day a year in maybe February or March, at least in the Southwest of the country, which is where I live….
However, last year’s 'cold snap' lasted 3 weeks and caused chaos, if it wasn’t snow that was the problem it was the frost that froze the last of the snow and made us Irish sit up and realise the need for gritting roads, and insulating water pipes correctly!
Now this year the cold and snow has come even earlier than last year, and we are once again struggling to deal with it. Last Thursday Dublin Airport was closed 3 times in the one day, as the snow was falling faster than they could clear the runway. Dublin suffered a combination of thunder and lightning and heavy snowfalls, and other parts of the East coast were also badly affected. At least this year the local authorities probably have enough salt and grit, and at least this time it's not the Christmas holidays when it's happening, like last year which really messed things up.

Honestly, we rarely gritted our roads before this, and we do not use studded/winter/all-weather tyres, why would we need to, snow only ever lasted until noon, on one day in, say, February...
[edited to add for clarification: I sincerely wish we did have winter tyres, and enough salt trucks and grit trucks to go around, and enough sand and salt for every schoolyard in the country ...]
So how well behaved is your snow? and how do you deal with it?
regards
liz

we are lucky so far...

Vi har faktiskt haft tur med vädret :-),
det råder snökaos i Europa och östra delen av Irland, men här i Limerick och Tipperary så har vi bara lite snö, och det mesta har smält bort nu, det var lite halkigt några mornar i rad på väg till jobbet, med det är inget emot det som Dublin och Monaghan har fått erfara denna vecka.
But i think our good luck is now coming to an end, the forecast for tonight is for a Low Pressure coming in from the Atlantic, that'll bring precipitation (nederbörd) and when the Low Pressure system meets the cold air over Ireland, then there'll be snow and this we cannot escape, we are right in the line for this...
So who knows what we'll be waking to tomorrow morning...

a few pictures at last, äntligen några bilder

The first photo is of the school which is right next to our house, the snow was pretty much as it had been all day, as the school was closed today, due to the weather/roads. I thought the light and the sky were lovely.
The other three show my daughter's 'snow fort', built by herself yesterday and today with the light powdery snow we got.
The builder herself is in there too, accompanied by her able assistant, her younger brother!
It was about 4.45 when i took these shots, so I had to brighten the one with the kids in it, so it wouldn't be too dark.


Kids stayed at home today, but tomorrow I think it'll be back to normal again.
regards
liz




Dessa bilder är tagna med min mya mobilen, tack o lov så har dottern en likadan, så jag behövde inte läsa manualen, utan frågade henne bara hur man gör för att föra över bilderna till min bärbara.

first snow...

The first snow of winter came to Ireland a few days ago, but we didn't get any until last night, and then only a light dusting.
However, the weather stayed cold all day so the little road is now treacherous and slippy with compacted frozen snow which melted a little during the day but has been freezing again since 6pm.
The cold weather is forecast to stay for the next 4 days, and we'd be just fine if we hadn't gotten the fall of snow, I drove to Adare today for a match and a training session for the daughters, and there was no snow after the first 3 km! I wouldn't mind frost if it wasn't for the snow which will now make driving on this little road not very nice....
Our road is so small it's not a priority for gritting, so we will hardly see any grit trucks this way, although possibly the fact that there's a primary school on the road may mean they will come this way and grit.
Here's hoping that we all manage to get where we need to go tomorrow, safe and sound.
Hope you're all safe and well and warm out there.
regards
liz

sports results and the national financial crisis

Won the first match, lost the second and won the third, thereby winning the Shield also, see the photo above !!
Thanks to all the time and effort the coaches put in...
now to clean this house and get the last of the clothes dry for tomorrow.
It was a lovely day otherwise, sun shining, cold, crisp, clear.
I guess by now you all know that the IMF and the ECB are in Ireland, I'm relieved the 'adults' are in charge now, fingers crossed that we get get through this....
regards
liz

sports taking over my life...

this weekend:
Sat: 5 hr Football Blitz in Cahir (45 mins away) with one daughter, other daughter has soccer squad training from 6 to 7.30 followed by Youth Club;
Sun: 3 separate soccer matches, one per daughter.....
nuff said....

a hard frost, match called off...

Written late on Sunday 14th November: There was a hard frost last night, (Saturday) and the first planned match for today Sunday was called off, daughter nr 1 was all set to go and play with the local Ladies Soccer team at 11 or so, but their match was called off, due to a frozen pitch!
Daughter nr 3 went to her soccer match around 12.30, and I'm glad to report they won. Jubilation all round and a trip to the shop to celebrate!
Daughter nr 2 got her Irish homework done, with a bit of help from myself and went to her Gaelic Football Development Squad training at 3.30, whereupon I headed off to the shops and got the last few bits and pieces for the week ahead, milk, bread, ham etc.
(There are no school canteens in Ireland, it's 'medhavd matsäck' all the way, ie, bring your own packed lunch to school.=
Det är ett tag sedan jag skrev på svenska senast, ni får inte tro att jag har slutat med svenskan, det verkar bara att alla som bloggar på svenska förstår engelska väldigt bra, och jag underlättar för mig själv genom att skriva på engelska för det mesta härinne, det tar tid att skriva ut allt jag vill säga 2 gånger, en gång på engelska och en gång på svenska!
nåväl, imorgon dagar en ny dag och därmed en ny vecka, få se vad denna ny dag och ny vecka bjuder på...
ha det så bra ni som kikar in hos mig, tack för att ni är trogna läsare! och välkomna hit till dem som har nyligen hittat hit, ni är hjärtligt välkomna!
hälsningar
liz
Kameran glömdes hemma idag den med....suck....

match and tax return

so as usual I've left doing the tax return until the last minute, the only change this year is that I've pretty much left it until the last LAST minute, and this necessitated a mad search this morning for a particular document, which thankfully was duly located and in the process I managed to find a few other things I had put in a 'safe place' and promptly forgot... sigh... This forgetting is getting to be a bit of a habit, I put it down to having so much to do and so much to juggle that I cannot possibly keep it all at the forefront of my mind. That's my excuse anyway.
So the other activity today was taking daughter 1 and 2 to an U16 soccer match, which was a draw, happily for both sides and both sets of mothers and daughters...
Reminder to self: I must start taking photographs for this blog!!!!
Now I can sit and relax for a bit, then head off to Youth Club with one youthful daughter, and later it will be so nice to get home and get cosy in front of the laptop again! :-)))
regards
liz

a good site for weather info

Friends and familymembers in Sweden recommend the website of the Norwegian Metereological Service for uptodate and accurate weather forecasts, so I started using it and like it very much for its graphics and constant updates. I thought I'd post the address of it so here's the link to it now:
http://www.yr.no/

I like this site, (did I say that already??), go and have a good click around it, you can choose anywhere in the world to view, and you can choose to have it displayed in English, if Norwegian is not your forte!!

Weather now in East County Limerick, as observed by my good self, from the vantage point of my kitchen table: clouds rolling in from the SouthWest, looks like a heavy shower is on the way, it just got all dark, the day was blustery and showery, so it looks like more of the same for now. There is a half-moon hiding behind the clouds to the south, behind the 2 tall bare beech trees across the road from my house. I never know when the moon is waxing or waning, maybe someone out there can tell me, though I guess I could always go check this online too. Anyway the moon is bright on the right half this evening, now is that waxing or waning, or what is it called? Anyone? anyone?

Today's schedule: soccer training 5pm for daughter 2, 6pm for daughter 3, then home and staying cosy for the night.
Tomorrow: U16 match in Bruff. Both daughter 1 and 2 playing in that.
Sunday: Ladies soccer match in Adare, (Limerick's cutest village, must get some photos for ye) daughter 1 playing in that. Also U10 match for daughter 3.
Inbetween? an online tax return and assorted paperwork for work...
oh yeah and some R, R and R, rest, relaxation, recreation, I hope....!

tempis fugit.....and weather talk.

Time flies...
It is now 9th of November 2010.
The days go by so fast.
I haven't written much in here recently, and getting sorted to post photographs seems to be a mammoth task, beyond me at present.
All is well, children are going to school as they should, I am going to school as I should and the Swede is going to work, thankfully, as Ireland is suffering high unemployment at present.
The clocks changed to wintertime, there is less light in the evenings and soon even the extra bit of light in the mornings will be gone too. The winter solstice is about 7 weeks away, so even if it feels dark now, the bad news is that it is only going to get darker for the next 7 weeks. Sigh....
The leaves have blown off the trees, especially with the wind last Sunday and Monday. Tonight the weather is cold and skies are clear, there will be frost tonight. Tomorrow will start bright and cold, but then some very strong winds are forecast for tomorrow evening and Thursday.
I read just now in Lambergsfruas blogg that they are expecting snow in her county, (same place my husband is from) anything from 5cm in the city of Karlstad, Sweden, up to 15cm in northern areas of Värmland. The Cottage by the Cranelake blogg has already had snow since this morning and has lovely snowy pictures up on his blog. And Cloudberry blogg from Norway has had snow already also, since last week I think.
Ireland will not get snow until Christmas at earliest, we generally don't even get snow for Christmas, but after last year I hesitate to make any such claim this year...
For now Ireland will take the brunt of the low pressure systems rolling in from the Atlantic and that means rain, wind, gales and more rain.... Up to yesterday afternoon, it felt like we had had 10 days of non-stop rain, with just a brief interlude on Sunday morning before it all started again on Sunday afternoon.....The rivers are high, no flooding, yet, but last November some areas of the country had very bad flooding and I am certain that there are householders out there who are very worried about the next few days, with a lot of rain forecast.
For now it is time to hit the sack for me, or I won't be able to function tomorrow, and it is only Wednesday tomorrow, so I need energy for 3 more workdays before I get to the oasis of the weekend!
Good night and take care all you out there in whatever weather you may find yourself in!
regards
liz

a little video about a little hummingbird!

have deleted the video from my blogg,
just to be safe not sorry, etc,
to be sure,
to be sure...

oh my poor neglected blog...

Indeed, my poor neglected blog!
midterm break almost over and it's been great!
Went to Ikea last Tuesday, loved that and met some very helpful staff, particularly the kind man who helped me to lift the stuff into the car, twice!!
Today I put up the 3 drawer chest of drawers for son Sean. Eldest daughter helped by putting together a 2 drawer bedside cabinet for her sister.
The old chest of drawers we had up to now went to a project in town where the youth learn woodwork etc by repairing or remodelling donated furniture in need of work.
Baked chocolate caramel squares with my 10 yr old daughter just now, waiting for the caramel to cool, maybe it'll take until tomoro.
4 matches over the weekend coming up now, Cahir Co Tipperary, Murroe Co Limerick, Buttevant co Cork, and Holy Cross Co Limerick.!!! Then Halloween on Sunday night, but it'll be quiet cos there's school next day...
So back to school for the children on Monday but I have one more day off, so I go back on Tuesday, nice....
I've lurked around in other people's blogs, but I've not been great with the comments... sorry...
regards
zileoco

lov......

nu är vi på höstlov, och det känns såååååå skönt, ....
jag planerar att åka till IKEA i Dublin på tisdag och jag sitter nu och kollar IKEA+katalogen på webben och ordnar min shoppinglista, ååå vilken underbar sysselsättning på en lördag kväll....
Planning my trip to IKEA on Tuesday, sitting here and checking out the IKEA website sorting out my shopping list for Tues..., what a delightful project....
My brother from Monaghan was here today with his wife and daughter, (3 yrs old), and my sister from Cork also visited with her husband and their 2 children, (3 yr old boy and 1 yr old girl), so we had lots of fun with the cousins and it was a dreat day for it.
My door which has been causing me grief by not being properly sealed and letting in a draught, has been fixed by a very good carpenter and my tap which was gushing and splashing has also been tamed by a friend who knows about taps etc. Unfortunately another tap has taken it upon itself to act up and needs to be replaced, so one more item to look for in IKEA...
I am repotting my Busy Lizzies (Impatiens) and geraniums (pelargonium) and bringing them indoors. So I can now face the winter happily.
I really need to get my camera back in action and take some photos of the Autumn colours around here, and in Glenstal, maybe even in Clare Glens.
The clocks go back in a week, it'll be interesting to see how the change will feel again.... sad that another summer is now definitely over, glad to be facing a new season...
Hope all is well with you out there,
regards
liz

soccer and more soccer...

I'm in Kilmallock again, second time today, this morning 11am for a girls Under 16 soccer match and now again at 6pm for a training session for the U16 girls County development team,
The thing is it's about a 30minute drive from home, so this is a bit of a trek today, but I have the laptop and the knitting, so I'm cosy in the car and enjoying a lovely sunset....
tomorrow brings 2 more soccer matches, (U10 and Ladies) and a training session in Gaelic Football for other daughter!
Luckily we'll have Midterm break in a week!! A whole week off...
The anticipation is wonderful!!
Hope all well out there, have yourselves a good day and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

where does the time go?!!

So, people, far and near, I can't quite believe how fast the time is going...
September came and went and it's already the 11th of October!!!
We will have a week off from Monday 25th of October, that will be very welcome. The challenge will be to use the time wisely... possibly the best use of the time would be to do as much as I can beforehand, and not leave any major things to do for the week off, coz life has a way of getting in the way!
Needless to say work on the knitting and spinning front is going very slowly, I do love the feel of knitting a few lines, it relaxes me, but I'm not getting to do that often enough.
I'm stuck on the same novel since August, and I still see things around the garden that I thought I would have sorted out during the summer but didn't. Ah well, the winter will kill the weeds..... and the cow and bull who are grazing in the next field have trimmed my hedge beautifully for me!
Autumn weather now, the nice kind, a big High Pressure parked over Ireland giving us a foggy morning this morning, a real pea-souper of a fog, and then a gorgeous afternoon when it finally cleared. the evening was lovely, I went out for a walk along our road, armed with a hurley, in case those two barking dogs up the road jumped out at me, I hate new dogs that bark at you!!!
We are going to benefit from this High Pressure for the rest of the week, instead of the usual series of Low Pressures that sweep in from the Atlantic Ocean, bringing rain.
Week ahead not too bad, in relative terms, but gotta go to the Dentist and the Hygienist on Thursday, that'll be fun (not...)
plenty of sports on with the kids, but that's ok, I'm happier out in the air than inside looking at laundry to be sorted!!!
I haven't had time to do much web wandering, I peek at your blogs, but feel too overwhelmed to begin writing sensible witty entertaining comments, so then I don't leave any comment, oh the pressure to be clever!!!! (only joking...)
Hope you are well, my 'regulars' know who they are,
Apologies to L'frua in K'stad for not replying sooner, I hope the new TV is great!
good night
liz

slow to get going again...

This time last year we painted the house, here are some photos from last September...




Hello all!!
The laptop is fixed and updated to Windows 7 and all is well. I have installed parental controls so the daughters can only use the laptop for 1 hour a day during the week and I have changed passwords, and given the daughters a separate non-admin account so there's no way they can access my stuff, or change passwords, or change programs etc so I get to use the laptop more, if I had time that is! I'm not blaming them for the laptop breaking down, cos it was a separate issue, I'm just saying that now that they're all back at school and have lots of homework to do that it's best to have the laptop locked to them so they aren't tempted to use it especially in the evenings when they have to do schoolwork and then get to bed early.
I am kept busy with work and housework and taking children to and from training and matches. I love getting out to the matches actually, it's fresh air and a change from being indoors. When the weather is fairly ok I take the younger ones as well with me, for the break. This weekend so far I took 6 children to a soccer match yesterday, which we lost, that cost me a bit in the shop afterwards (chocolate consoles!!!); today I took daughter #3 to a camogie match with her friend, while my other two girls got a lift with their friend to another soccer match. Tomorrow, the eldest daughter will be playing with the local ladies team in a soccer match on the other side of Limerick. So it's all go....
I'm finding it a bit slow to get back up and started blogging again, I have been lurking in here and reading your blogs, but haven't left many comments at all. Also I feel like I should have more photos for you, but I don't and tonight I thought, well, forget the photos, just write!!! I've to get back into the habit of carrying the camera with me again, and having it charged of course!!! For now I am using photos from my archive...
Today is the second day of October, can you believe it??? Apparently it's 12 weeks from today to Christmas Day. More importantly and more immediately, it's 3 weeks until the Midterm break and I can't believe where the time has gone...
I am now the very proud owner of a Spinning wheel, which has come to me via a German lady I 'met' on Ravelry.com. I've been thinking about buying a spinning wheel since 1994!!! Of course now that I have it I discover I am in a very busy period of life, but I console myself that I will have the wheel for a long time so there's no rush!
Hope all is well with you and please do leave a comment, I see from the Flag Counter that there are people from all around the world visiting in here, any comment you would like to leave would be gratefully appreciated and returned!
regards
liz

back online

back online again,
but caught for time now,
back again in a day or two...

How to make your computer speak Swedish!!!

i have added Swedish as a langauge in my computer and then all I need to do is go to the lower taskbar and click on the little EN button and choose Swedish as the keyboard language instead of English, the åäö are then available as follows:

ö is the button to right of L, which on my keyboard is ; :
ä is to the right of ö which on my keyboard is ’ @
and å is above ö and ä, the button to the right of P, which on my keyboard is brackets { .

The capitals ÅÄÖ are available then as soon as you use the Shift key with these buttons specified above. Only problem is that the original symbols ; : ’ @ { all shift to different buttons when you change to Swedish language, not only that but practically all the symbols have shifted. But at least you don’t have to use all those codes.
I have used this to write my Swedish and it works well. You get used to it quickly, also I am including a link below from wikipedia showing what a Swedish keyboard looks like so you can find the symbols that have shifted. I have a copy of this beside me for quick reference.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/KB_Swe...
and read more about the differences between keyboards here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout

Finally, and before I forget, most importantly how do you add a language?
copied from Windows Help:
To show the Language bar
Right-click the taskbar, point to Toolbars, and then click Language bar.
Once the Language bar is displayed, you can right-click it to display options for changing its settings, including docking it on the taskbar or displaying it vertically instead of horizontally.
Note
If the Language bar is not listed in the Toolbars menu, you do not have multiple input languages installed on your computer. You need to add additional languages using Regional and Language Options in Control Panel. For more information, see Add an input language.

and
to add an input language I open the Control Panel and choose ‘Clock, Language and Region’ and then Regional Languages, then Change the Region then Keyboards and Languages, and follow the prompts.

Add an input language
You can edit documents in multiple languages by changing the language (the input language) in which you type. Input languages are included with Windows, but you need to add them to your list of languages before you can use them.
Click to open Regional and Language Options.
Click the Keyboards and Languages tab, and then click Change keyboards.
Under Installed services, click Add.
Double-click the language you want to add, double-click the text services you want to add, select the text services options you want to add, and then click OK.

I hope that makes sense, if not, get back to me…
regards
liz

been offline, but not by choice...

laptop has crashed, necessitating vital open hard-drive surgery...
been offline for a full week and it's not over yet...
borrowing my mother's computer to write this and check my emails...
I got a spinning wheel today, from the Netherlands via a German lady!!! also lovely wool to spin and a pair of Louet carders! bliss is me...
School is as busy as can be, home life is also very busy.
matches and training and trials...
Eldest daughter played with her club in the County Minor (U18) Final in Gaelic Football at weekend and they won!!
gotta go, daughter nr 2 is at home baking Brownies and is after ringing me to get butter for her!
best of luck people,
talk soon,
liz

back at school and wrecked...

Title says it all,
I'm back at school since Wednesday and boy am I wrecked....
Tired from getting up early and not getting to bed early enough, gotta change my surfing habits!
Tired from keeping all these children on track and ready for school, also driving them to their assorted sports activities...
Tired already from the mental stress of having a lot of pupils to deal with this year, and a lot of learning and behavioural difficulties to deal with...
blaaaaaa......
well, on the bright side, the weather is great, the clothes are out drying, and the sun is shining...
not to worry, my good spirits will be back in a few days...
regards,
liz

photos

3 great knitting books, Knitting without tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann, Respect the Spnidle, and The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns, my 3 latest acquisitions, (that website play.com is just toooooooo easy, and postage is included in the euro price stated, what more could you ask for!)


My 15 yr old daughter S knit this sweater in first 2 weeks of August this year, we got the yarn from Aunt E in Kristinehamn, and daughter just took off with needles when she got home. This is her first sweater, she has knit scarves, bags, tubular socks, hats and a cushion cover before. She is now teaching herself crochet from one of my many books and doing very well.Well done S!

only 2 days left to 1st Sept

Only 2 days left to 1st September, that's when I go back to work (school, I teach)!
One child goes back tomorrow, 2 more start on Tuesday and me and little son start back on Wednesday.
Back to the routine, which is not a bad thing, actually, I get more done in an average workday than I'd get done in 3 days during the holidays, well it feels like that anyway, I suppose what I mean is I achieve more when I am under a deadline. When I am on the long summer school holidays, there's no deadline and days flow into each other.

I'm not so bothered about going back to work, it's just the amount of work one has to do at home before you get to work and then the work you have to do after you get home from work!!!
all will be well...
I hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend.
liz

an autumn feel to the day...edited to incl English

Wind turbines,in Vänern, off Hammarö, Sweden, July 2010


Idag kändes det som höst tyckte jag, dvs, höst av finare sort, det var blåsigt, med regnskurar men mycket solsken, och lite kyligt i luften.
Fram på kvällen var det klar blå himmel, man kunde se hur långt som helst, och jag kände hur sommaren har börjat avta nu, och hösten gör sig hemma hos oss,
jag väntade vid fotbollsplanen på att dotterns träning skulle vara klar, och jag ville inte sätta på radion i bilen, bara lyssna på naturens ljud, känna brisen på ansiktet och känna hur skönt det var att ha på mig en varm kofta och ändå känna kylan omkring mig. huuuuu...
Solen går ner tidigare för varje dag, man märker det nu, även om den stora skillnaden kommer i september.
Today felt like autumn I thought, I mean of course the nicer type of autumn, crisp, breezy, a few showers but bright and sunny and with clear blue skies. It got cool in the evening and standing at the side of the football pitch I could see for forever, the air was so clear. Wonderful to just be there, listen to the birds, feel the breeze and feel the chilly air, even if I had a lovely warm cardigan on to keep the chill out...

Bara några få sköna ljuvliga bittersweet dagar kvar tills skolan börjar igen. Idag var jag och röjde i mitt klassrum, nu ser det ut som om upp till 16 barn skulle kunna få plats därinne, tack och lov, så skall det se ut,
det finns förstås mer att göra men det tar jag allteftersom...
de sista skolböckerna förväntas imorgon, imorgon ska jag också betala skolans 'frivilliga' avgift, för de två stora tjejer (gissa om det egentligen är frivilligt eler ej...)
och nästa vecka är det skola igen!!! för allihopa!!! NO!! YES!! NO!!
bra att komma in i rutinen igen, bra att få något vettigt gjort med dagen, inte så bra att ständigt vara på väg nån annanstans...
så är det...

Just a few wonderful bittersweet days left until school starts again: Today I went and cleared out my classroom, so now I have space for 16 children to sit in there, which is how I want the room to look.
There is of course more to do, books to arrive in the post, 'voluntary' registration fee to pay at one school, (it's up to you to decide whether the volunary contribution is really voluntary or not!)
and next week it's school for all of us again! Nooooo!!, Yessssss!, Noooooo!
it will be good to get back in the routine again, and one achieves something each day, but I will be run off my feet, always rushing to the next place! Such is life right now...

återkommer kanske med kort engelsk översättning
God Natt, mycket sent, har precis avslutat den där översättnings grej jag gjorde åt Cappamore Youth Club, gäspppppp.... trött, nattenatt....

Good night, I got back here with the English translation, after all, and now it's late, translation work for the Youth Club just finished and I'm off to bed, yawwwwwnnnn, so tirrrrreddddd.... g'night!

lekplats safari, Swedish playgrounds, playgrounds galore...

The train at Mariebergsskogen, Karlstad


Plikten Slottsskogen Gothenburg
This is pretty much how we spend our time in Sweden, if we're not in a lake swimming...


Plikten in Slottsskogen, GBG, in the evening


Plikten again

a trip to Mellerud, a parcel and a prize!

Hi all, a quick update,
I've been very busy this morning, at 11am this morning I drove to the nearest large village and spoke for almost 2 hours to a small group of teenagers from the Youth Club there, who will be going to Mellerud, Sweden for a cultural visit at the end of August. A friend of mine had spotted a small notice in the local paper, the Limerick Leader, about the group going to Sweden and possibly needing some help with translation, basic phrases etc, so my friend told me, I called the contact number and there I was this morning, spouting forth on Sweden, the food, some of the traditions, etc. I even had typed out some basic phrases and how to pronounce them phonetically.
I go back again next week and will meet with a larger group, 20 more children and their group leaders to possibly give a similar presentation and to do some translation.
I have even found a reference to the visit online, see this edition of Melleruds Nyheter
Very exciting!
EDITED TO ADD: the link to Melleruds Nyheter seems to go to the most uptodate version of the newsletter, and so the bit about the Irish visit has already gone, but I'm leaving the link up, as at least one of my readers and possibly 3, are nterested in what happens around Mellerud!!! (L i Vänersborg, S i torpet, och K i Killaloe)

The postman arrived this morning before I left, with 2 parcels for me! One was a spindle and some gorgeous yarn called Northern Lights 3, (how could i leave that behind me, with a Scandinavian name like that?), which I had ordered online from THis is Knit in Dublin.


Ashford spindle, top-whorl, and Northern Lights 3 wool, to spin on the spindle...


The other was a skein of incredible hand spun wool which I won , yes , repeat that, I WON, in a competition on Ullmaja's blogg, see the link down to the right...

the wool is partially hand-dyed, you probably can't see this in the photo, but there's a lovely dusky pink in the yarn too...

Klipp från själva blogginlägget....
Andra garnhärvan från vänster är ett entrådigt, tunt garn, helt i egen ull, delvis färgad.
Hamnar hos Liz, på Irland!
Jag blev överlycklig när jag läste att jag hade vunnit, jag har aldrig vunnit nåt på bloggen förut, och nu tycker jag att av alla de saker man kunde vinna att hemspunnet, hemfärgat garn är det bästa man skulle kunna tänka sig!
Tack så mycket säger jag till Ullmaja! Jag ska verkligen sticka mig något roligt med detta garn!
Now I need to get the camera sorted to take some photos, but it's raining outside and I'd prefer to take the photos outside for once.
regards
liz

Images of Gothenburg, bilder av Göteborg

Så här levereras posten i GBG!



Järntorget, kl 7 på morgonen



OskarFredriksKyrka




ett imponerande hus på Linnegatan, kan det vara korsningen Olivedalsg eller var det Prinsgatan?

IKEA

A short note:
Jag sitter hemma i Limerick och äter kanelgifflar, ser fram emot köttbullar och lingonsylt senare, med lingonsaft till, varför det? jo, jag körde till IKEA Dublin igår och köpte bl annat svensk mat!
Edited to add photos:
Here's a few pics of the food that has been purchased:

Fläder saft, lingonsaft, hjortronsylt, kanelgifflar, pepparkakor, och Ikea kex.

Elderflower cordial, lingonberry cordial, Cloudberry jam, cinnamon rolls, ginger biscuits and IKEA biscuits.



apple pie and custard

Here are a few more pictures from our holiday in Sweden:

Husband was delighted, his favourite second hand record shop in Gothenburg was still alive and kicking, 16 years later, Dirty Records.



After 2 nights in a hot humid Gothenburg, we got the bus and train to Karlstad, where we stayed in a house in Hammarö, which is actually the neighbouring district to Karlstad.

The following days were spent doing out favourite activities when in Sweden, ie, swimming and eating Swedish food, visiting Ikea, visiting the library in Karlstad, meeting M's mother and his friends and family, and generally taking it easy.


swimming


the stone bridge in Karlstad


more swimming



Farmors födelsedagstårta den 14e juli


jumping on the trampoline