family wedding now on Thursday, so tomorrow Wednesday I will be getting the last bits in town, like a pair of shoes for me, as I realised only today that the pair I have are too small for me.... sigh.... getting us all dressed for a winter wedding is a bit of a chore, but I'm sure we'll have a great time once we just get into the car on Thursday morning...
I'm a bit stressed trying to make sure we remember everything for all eventualities, as we are staying overnight in the hotel, eg, we need spare clothes, warm coats, overnight bags etc, it'll be up to me as Mother in this house to ensure all children and husband have what they will need, gulp....
Just finished a book today by Mikael Niemi, Mannen som dog som en lax, The man who died like a Salmon,
i enjoyed it very much, a crime thriller, but thankfully not too much of the gory details and not too much cruelty, Niemi instead painted his characters well, so I got very interested in how the plot would unfold for them, and there were a few unexpected turns in the story.
A good read, med andra ord...!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Nollaig Shona faoi mhaise daoibh go léir!
Nollaig Shona faoi mhaise daoibh go léir!
God Jul till er allihopa!
Happy Christmas to you all,
i hope that you all have a peaceful and happy Christmas,
stay healthy, well and warm this Christmas and
ta god hand om era själva och de dina, take care of yourselves and of your loved ones.
The Julbord has been eaten and now we are off to Mass in the local Catholic church.
Better round up the troops!!!
God Jul till er allihopa!
Happy Christmas to you all,
i hope that you all have a peaceful and happy Christmas,
stay healthy, well and warm this Christmas and
ta god hand om era själva och de dina, take care of yourselves and of your loved ones.
The Julbord has been eaten and now we are off to Mass in the local Catholic church.
Better round up the troops!!!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
the shortest day, or is it?
I always thought that today, the 21st December, was the shortest day in the year, I mean, the Winter Solstice, with the least amount of daylight hours in the Northern Hemisphere. Today I read on the RTE website (Irish TV), that the Winter Solstice occurs officially tomorrow morning the 22nd. Nevertheless today is the day that people usually think of as the Winter Solstice. So today I told my pupils about the Solstice and about Newgrange Tomb, where the rays of the rising sun on the Winter Solstice enters a roof-box over the door of the passage way and the rays then proceed to illuminate the entire passageway and hit the back wall of the inner chamber.
Read more about it here on the RTE website
Imagine that early people knew enough about the sun and about building to be able to construct such a tomb which unfailingly is illuminated on just the few days around the Winter Solstice. Well, unfailingly, if the skies aren't clouded over and sadly today was a cloudy day.
Here is a link to Youtube, to make up for the lack of real sunlight...
it's a short excerpt from RTE News, less than 3 mins, where a professor talks to the reporter about the passage tomb, and they show a simulation of the light entering the roof-box. If you visit Newgrange as a tourist in the summer season, you can enter the tomb and part of the visit will include this simulation whereby they use artificial light to show the visitors what the rising sun would look like on Winter Solstice.
Only one more day left at work, then blessed holidays....
Read more about it here on the RTE website
Imagine that early people knew enough about the sun and about building to be able to construct such a tomb which unfailingly is illuminated on just the few days around the Winter Solstice. Well, unfailingly, if the skies aren't clouded over and sadly today was a cloudy day.
Here is a link to Youtube, to make up for the lack of real sunlight...
it's a short excerpt from RTE News, less than 3 mins, where a professor talks to the reporter about the passage tomb, and they show a simulation of the light entering the roof-box. If you visit Newgrange as a tourist in the summer season, you can enter the tomb and part of the visit will include this simulation whereby they use artificial light to show the visitors what the rising sun would look like on Winter Solstice.
Only one more day left at work, then blessed holidays....
Saturday, December 17, 2011
to borrow or not to borrow that yummy photo from the web...
just a short comment today,
a friend in Sweden tells of her friend Enannan's experience, whereby Enannan was fined almost 700 euro (yes seven hundred euro ) for borrowing a photo from the web and using it in her blog...
so just to warn you all, maybe especially if you live in Sweden, don't borrow a photo from the web, without the photographer's express permission.
I have now gone and removed any photos from my blog which I did not take myself, I have also gone through my Flickr account and my Ravelry messages to ensure the only photos on both of these are those which I have taken myself.
Just sayin'.....
(Enannan is not a name, it just means An Other, like we say in English , A.N.Other).
On this topic, is there anyone using a programme that puts a digital watermark on their photos on their blog, to protect the photos? Any suggestions on this please?
a friend in Sweden tells of her friend Enannan's experience, whereby Enannan was fined almost 700 euro (yes seven hundred euro ) for borrowing a photo from the web and using it in her blog...
so just to warn you all, maybe especially if you live in Sweden, don't borrow a photo from the web, without the photographer's express permission.
I have now gone and removed any photos from my blog which I did not take myself, I have also gone through my Flickr account and my Ravelry messages to ensure the only photos on both of these are those which I have taken myself.
Just sayin'.....
(Enannan is not a name, it just means An Other, like we say in English , A.N.Other).
On this topic, is there anyone using a programme that puts a digital watermark on their photos on their blog, to protect the photos? Any suggestions on this please?
Friday, December 16, 2011
Snö! Snow!
Woke up this morning to a White Wonderland, it had snowed during the night. Here are a few shots of the snow in our garden this morning.
We all got to school and work with no major difficulty, and tomorrow will be a bit milder so the snow will all be melted by tomorrow lunch. That's what we are used to...
Friday, December 9, 2011
2 böcker (2 books) och en stickmaskin som inte samarbetar...and an unco-operative knitting machine
Hej allihopa,
nu undrar ni hur i allsin dagar har hon på Irland tid att blogga 2 gånger under 3 dagar!
Det får jag förklara för er, jag har nämligen varit hemma några dagar sedan jag blev väldigt förkyld i tisdags och var då tvungen att åka till läkaren, rösten var alldeles hes och lät så konstigt, inte kunde jag fortsätta att undervisa utan röst och utan energi...
så jag har varit hemma och bara vilat mig... jag sov 3 timmar från kl 10 till kl 1 första förmiddagen, vilan tydligen behövdes.
Nåja, förra helgen läste jag en rolig bok som hette Mitt Liv som Pingvin, av Katarina Mazetti, den var så rolig och tänkeväckande, jag ville bara streckläsa den, ville inte lämna den ifrån mig. Den var en mycket rar och fin berättelse, jag tyckte mycket om den. Jag tror att mitt intresse för svenska deckare har avtagit, nu vill jag helst läsa något som uppmuntrar mig och belyser tillvaron, istället för grymma deckare som får mig att rysa, usch...
En annan bok som jag läste nu när jag har varit hemma, är en bok på engelska, As far as my feet will carry me, av Joseph Bauer, den sanna berättelsen om hur en tysk soldat Clemens Forell, rymde ifrån en rysk blygruva i Siberien och gick i 3 år genom Siberien för att äntligen komma till Iran och komma hem till Tyskland.
Det var spännande, tyckte jag, den kunde inte jag lämna ifrån mig heller, jag ville så gärna streckläsa denna bok med.
Stickmaskinen? jorå, det är så här att jag har en stickmaskin som jag tog fram idag när det var lugnt hemma, men den krånglade, tyvärr, och jag som hade för mig att jag skulle börja på ett stickprojekt idag... pust... ibland blir inte livet som man har tänkt sig.
**************************
Hello everyone,
Now you're wondering how on earth herself in Ireland has time to blog 2 times in 3 days!
I must explain to you, it is because I have been home for a few days. I got a bad headcold last Monday and simply had to go to the doctor after work on Tuesday, my voice was quite hoarse and sounded so strange, I couldn't keep teaching without a voice and without much energy ...
so I've been home and have been taking it easy ... I slept for 3 hours from 10 am to 1 pm on first morning, a rest which was apparently much needed.
Last weekend I read a funny book (in Swedish) called My Life as a Penguin, by Katarina Mazetti, it was so funny and thought-provoking, I just wanted to keep reading it, couldn't put it down. It was a very sweet and nice story, I liked it. I think my interest in Swedish crime fiction has decreased, now I would rather read something that is heartwarming and brightens up life, rather than harsh crime fiction that makes me shudder, ugh ...
Another book that I read now when I was home, is a book, in English, As far as My Feet Will Carry Me, by Joseph Bauer, the true story of how a German soldier 'Clemens Forell', escaped from a Russian lead mine in Siberia and walked (mostly) for 3 years through Siberia to finally come to Iran and get home to Germany.
Another one I couldn't put down either.
And the unco-operative Knitting Machine? Well, I have a knitting machine which I tried to set up today when things were quiet, but it would not play ball, unfortunately, and there I was, so disappointed as I had imagined that I would start a knitting project today ... sigh ...
there's many a slip twixt cup and lip...
nu undrar ni hur i allsin dagar har hon på Irland tid att blogga 2 gånger under 3 dagar!
Det får jag förklara för er, jag har nämligen varit hemma några dagar sedan jag blev väldigt förkyld i tisdags och var då tvungen att åka till läkaren, rösten var alldeles hes och lät så konstigt, inte kunde jag fortsätta att undervisa utan röst och utan energi...
så jag har varit hemma och bara vilat mig... jag sov 3 timmar från kl 10 till kl 1 första förmiddagen, vilan tydligen behövdes.
Nåja, förra helgen läste jag en rolig bok som hette Mitt Liv som Pingvin, av Katarina Mazetti, den var så rolig och tänkeväckande, jag ville bara streckläsa den, ville inte lämna den ifrån mig. Den var en mycket rar och fin berättelse, jag tyckte mycket om den. Jag tror att mitt intresse för svenska deckare har avtagit, nu vill jag helst läsa något som uppmuntrar mig och belyser tillvaron, istället för grymma deckare som får mig att rysa, usch...
En annan bok som jag läste nu när jag har varit hemma, är en bok på engelska, As far as my feet will carry me, av Joseph Bauer, den sanna berättelsen om hur en tysk soldat Clemens Forell, rymde ifrån en rysk blygruva i Siberien och gick i 3 år genom Siberien för att äntligen komma till Iran och komma hem till Tyskland.
Det var spännande, tyckte jag, den kunde inte jag lämna ifrån mig heller, jag ville så gärna streckläsa denna bok med.
Stickmaskinen? jorå, det är så här att jag har en stickmaskin som jag tog fram idag när det var lugnt hemma, men den krånglade, tyvärr, och jag som hade för mig att jag skulle börja på ett stickprojekt idag... pust... ibland blir inte livet som man har tänkt sig.
**************************
Hello everyone,
Now you're wondering how on earth herself in Ireland has time to blog 2 times in 3 days!
I must explain to you, it is because I have been home for a few days. I got a bad headcold last Monday and simply had to go to the doctor after work on Tuesday, my voice was quite hoarse and sounded so strange, I couldn't keep teaching without a voice and without much energy ...
so I've been home and have been taking it easy ... I slept for 3 hours from 10 am to 1 pm on first morning, a rest which was apparently much needed.
Last weekend I read a funny book (in Swedish) called My Life as a Penguin, by Katarina Mazetti, it was so funny and thought-provoking, I just wanted to keep reading it, couldn't put it down. It was a very sweet and nice story, I liked it. I think my interest in Swedish crime fiction has decreased, now I would rather read something that is heartwarming and brightens up life, rather than harsh crime fiction that makes me shudder, ugh ...
Another book that I read now when I was home, is a book, in English, As far as My Feet Will Carry Me, by Joseph Bauer, the true story of how a German soldier 'Clemens Forell', escaped from a Russian lead mine in Siberia and walked (mostly) for 3 years through Siberia to finally come to Iran and get home to Germany.
Another one I couldn't put down either.
And the unco-operative Knitting Machine? Well, I have a knitting machine which I tried to set up today when things were quiet, but it would not play ball, unfortunately, and there I was, so disappointed as I had imagined that I would start a knitting project today ... sigh ...
there's many a slip twixt cup and lip...
Monday, December 5, 2011
December 2011
My life has a routine at the moment, work, home, kids and husband, housework, laundry, same old, same old, it sometimes feels like....
Nothing unusual is happening and that's probably just as well, as sometimes exciting times can be very tiring.
Work goes on as normal, I am teaching my pupils the recorder (blockflöjt) which means I am also teaching myself how to play it. I used to play the Irish Tinwhistle, (tennflöjt?), but recorder and tinwhistle have different fingering, so as I teach the children, I am learning myself too. I was delighted with them all last week, they learned Amazing Grace on the recorder and a week later played this song in church at Mass with the older children! And they were good!
Now we are focusing on Away in a Manger and Jingle Bells, and I have a few more Christmas songs I may teach them. It's fun, but they do not always stop playing when I want them to, so I have a little bell to ring to get their attention.
Not losing my voice is very important, so I have purchased a small megaphone for Physical Ed class, especially outdoors, where my voice would just be so strained after 30 mins of giving directions in the big wide open. I have also just this weekend purchased a small portable voice amplifier from Maplin in Limerick, to help project the voice as I am getting quite hoarse after a few days teaching, last Friday I was very hoarse.
All is well at home, sports have died down a bit for now, and I am not constantly driving to matches with children. This time next year my eldest daughter could be driving as a learner! Isn't that a scary thought! She still has 2 more full years in school so I don't think she will be getting a car just yet, but maybe when she heads off to college, she may need one then.
Our weather is quite mild, especially compared to the last two Decembers when frost descended on Ireland and snow, and the cold snap lasted for weeks. Rain and wind at the moment, though from Thursday the forecast is for colder weather.
Let's see how it unfolds.
My spinning and knitting and reading and even walks have all fallen by the wayside for now, no time, sadly.
Bye for now, the pile of Maths exercise copies awaits my red pen!
liz
Nothing unusual is happening and that's probably just as well, as sometimes exciting times can be very tiring.
Work goes on as normal, I am teaching my pupils the recorder (blockflöjt) which means I am also teaching myself how to play it. I used to play the Irish Tinwhistle, (tennflöjt?), but recorder and tinwhistle have different fingering, so as I teach the children, I am learning myself too. I was delighted with them all last week, they learned Amazing Grace on the recorder and a week later played this song in church at Mass with the older children! And they were good!
Now we are focusing on Away in a Manger and Jingle Bells, and I have a few more Christmas songs I may teach them. It's fun, but they do not always stop playing when I want them to, so I have a little bell to ring to get their attention.
Not losing my voice is very important, so I have purchased a small megaphone for Physical Ed class, especially outdoors, where my voice would just be so strained after 30 mins of giving directions in the big wide open. I have also just this weekend purchased a small portable voice amplifier from Maplin in Limerick, to help project the voice as I am getting quite hoarse after a few days teaching, last Friday I was very hoarse.
All is well at home, sports have died down a bit for now, and I am not constantly driving to matches with children. This time next year my eldest daughter could be driving as a learner! Isn't that a scary thought! She still has 2 more full years in school so I don't think she will be getting a car just yet, but maybe when she heads off to college, she may need one then.
Our weather is quite mild, especially compared to the last two Decembers when frost descended on Ireland and snow, and the cold snap lasted for weeks. Rain and wind at the moment, though from Thursday the forecast is for colder weather.
Let's see how it unfolds.
My spinning and knitting and reading and even walks have all fallen by the wayside for now, no time, sadly.
Bye for now, the pile of Maths exercise copies awaits my red pen!
liz
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