Grannymar

While shopping in a food store, two nuns happened to pass by the beer, wine, and liquor section. One asked the other if she would like a beer. The second nun answered that, indeed, it would be very nice to have one, but that she would feel uncomfortable about purchasing it.

The first nun replied that she would handle that without a problem. She picked up a six-pack and took it to the cashier.

The cashier had a surprised look, so the nun said, ‘This is for washing our hair.’

Without blinking an eye, the cashier reached under the counter and put a package of pretzel sticks in the bag with the beer. ‘The curlers are on me.’

The weekend was rather wet! Some might say that was an under statement. Thankfully I had no urgent need to venture outdoors. It was a time to look inward and forget I had windows.

Yesterday with more torrential rain forecast I decided to make a quick foray to the shops to top up on fresh food. Wrapped up for the weather I went to take the car out of the garage taking a bag of rubbish for the bin at the same time. As I rounded the corner I noticed the drain was overflowing. It was the water off the roof and guttering through the downpipe that was flowing along the side of the bungalow. ‘Leaves’ I thought the bend of the drain must be blocked with leaves! It would have to wait until I returned.

As I drove down the hill there were signs of debris all along the way, caused by the overflow of water from the Burn (small stream) at the entrance of the estate. Further back the burn flows beside the dams of the old flax mill and at the entrance to the estate it is culverted as it passes underneath and crosses to the other side of the road. Some years ago townhouses and apartments were built on the far side of the road and the stream further culverted beneath them. Each winter we now have problems with flood water, thankfully it flows downhill. About ten days ago I noticed a digger, traffic cones and road works signs, I never in fact saw any workmen. The equipment disappeared after a couple of days and I thought no more about it. Whatever work they did it was not sufficient for the extreme weather conditions on Saturday.

I decided not to travel far for my shopping and Lidl is the closest shop to me nowadays. So that is where I went. Great for bargains but I am easily distracted…

I wanted something tasty for lunchtime treats and to add colour to a dreary day!

Colourful it was but not ideal for a sandwich……..

They are roomy enough to wear with Ski Tubes* and keep my tootsies warm. I wore them when I went outside to clear the drain and pull some weeds.

*Ski Tubes are knee length socks without a turned heel. I use them inside my hiking boots and they are very warm. Normal socks have a seam across the toes. My toes curl under this is caused by circulation problems. The seam across the toes hurts my feet. With ski tubes it is possible to wear the seam on the underside and stay warm and comfortable. They are also longer than normal socks and go right up to my knees.

There are times in life when I walk a tightrope.

Sometimes it is by choice yet on occasions it is because I am drawn into a situation or life of another person. Part of the problem is that I am more of a listener than a talker. I have always loved voices and accents. Give me Anthony Hopkins or Richard Burton and the knees go a wobbling!

Being a people person I love back stories and learning what brings people to the place in life they now inhabit. For some it is pure happenstance, while for others it is a series of unfortunate or unexpected events. Sometimes the road seems level, coloured by flowers of joy and contentment, yet for others the path is rocky and rough causing many a stumble or fall along the way.

I don’t like to see any of my friends struggling and the ‘mother’ in me wants to help. Of course my idea of help may seem like interference to somebody else. Removed from a situation we all see things differently. It is a privilege to be asked for advice and it is all the more rewarding when it is accepted, and the person is able to deal with and move on from the problem.

There is one thing sure and that is I will not be bribed. Any information entrusted to me in confidence will not be passed on.

I have no professional training, yet over the years I have listened and talked to many people from different walks of life. Only once have I failed, and failed badly in my book. The person in question at times phoned me two and three times a day. I made myself available whenever they wanted to talk. They wanted to talk and asked my advice, but for every suggestion I made they found an obstacle. These conversations went on over two years. At times they heard but didn’t listen, eventually I realised that the depressed mood was affecting me and the person in question had become so used to wallowing that it had become a way of life. They refused to seek professional help.

I stepped back. I had to. If I let the birds of depression land on my shoulders who would be there to help me? Was I selfish? Did I do wrong?

What would you do?

For some time now I played with the idea of making changes to my Food Monday. One idea was to have some new blood. No! I am not about to make Black Pudding. Mind you I could well make a shot at it because my paternal Grandmother made it every year when the pig she reared for family consumption was killed. Now that is a story for another time as I would not like to put you off your food today.

So beginning this week, I hope to occasionally share a recipe from a guest, and to start the ball rolling I have asked my Son-in-law George to give us a favourite.

Frittata a la George

5 large eggs
6 Strips of bacon (large roughly cut chunks)
1 (tennis ball sized) red onion (roughly chopped)
Half a red pepper (roughly chopped)
small handful of fresh fennel
4 fresh mint leaves
2 or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Handful of Sweet corn
Large Handful of Freshly gated Parmesan cheese
6 mini mozzarella balls (or about quarter of a regular one)

First up, fry the bacon and put it to one side. Then sweat the onion, over a medium heat, until it’s starting to soften and then mix in the pepper and leave them to sweat until the onion is soft and put them to one side also.
While that’s happening take your fennel, mint and thyme and chop them finely.
Next you’ll need to cool your frying pan; a wash I find is the quickest way to do this. Next you need to crack the eggs into the pan, over a medium to high heat, add your salt & pepper to taste and throw in those finely chopped herbs and beat them with a whisk until a smooth consistency. Next add in the onion, peppers, bacon, sweet corn and about half of the parmesan, a little bit of whisk here helps to distribute things evenly. All this needs to be done quickly before the egg starts to cook, hence the need for a cold pan when you add the eggs
Leave it on a medium to high heat and turn on your grill to its highest. After a few minutes most of the egg will have solidified apart from the very top, which should be a little bit runny. Break up the mozzarella roughly over the top and sprinkle the rest of the parmesan over the lot. Take your frying pan off the heat and place it under the grill until the top starts to turn a golden brown.
The tricky part is serving it, if you have been using a good non stick pan, it should just need a small amount of coaxing to loosen its grip and slide neatly onto a plate. If you’re not feeling that brave, simply take your spatula and divide it up in the pan and serve.
This recipe will serve 3 people easily without anything else (apart from maybe some country relish) or you could serve it with a side salad to four or maybe five people depending on the size of the eggs and the hunger levels.

Torrential rain has caused widespread flooding across Northern Ireland this weekend. In Belfast, the newly-constructed Broadway Underpass between the M1 & M2 Motorways was flooded to a level of 15 feet yesterday and a section of the central barrier of the Westlink in west Belfast was cut with angle-grinders to allow traffic to be turned away from deep flood water.

The picture above is not a swimming pool It is the entrance to the new Broadway underpass courtesy of the BBC.

The underpass, recently opened, is part of a major contract to upgrade the roadways in Belfast. This work no doubt carried out at enormous expense, with all the expertise, knowledge and modern technology available to deal with drainage etc yet it is unable to take the rains. I wrote the other day about my escapades during the flooding in Dublin last Saturday. Again modern roads with inadequate drainage. Why? How can it happen?

The Fire Service was inundated with calls to help people from their homes in Belfast, Counties Down, Armagh and Antrim. NI Water Dept had 2,700 calls in the afternoon.

It is at times like these that I am glad to live on a hill. Looking out the windows at the back of my bungalow, the fields way below were submerged in water giving the impression I had moved to Venice.

My thoughts turned to building an Ark! Being so high I might actually have it finished before the flood reached me.

Now for the dilemma……

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I need your help….

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What to take two by two into the ark?

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Suggestions on a postcard please!

UPDATE:  Can the problem be solved?  Reading Alan’s Blog post I am beginning to wonder!

1. Always wear clean underwear in case you are knocked down.
2. Are you going out dressed like that?
3. Don’t go out with wet hair, you’ll catch cold.
4. Beds are NOT made for jumping on.
5. Bored! How can you be bored? I was never bored at your age
6. Close the door! You weren’t born in a barn
7. Don’t eat that, you’ll get worms!
8. Don’t make me get up!
9. Don’t run in the house
10. Don’t talk with your mouth full!

Clearing some paperwork this afternoon I came across the CV I used for my last position in full time employment. It brought back memories… and I thought of the day I heard about the job, the people I worked with and the work I did. It was a little unusual as I was already working there on a part-time basis and before that as a volunteer.

How my life has changed in the past few years! I am a very different person in so many ways. I am older of course, not as afraid of technology but alas no longer allowed to work for health reasons.

IF…

If things were different and I was allowed to work, how would you word my CV?

A little old lady is walking down the street, dragging two large
plastic refuse bags with her, one in each hand. Unfortunately,
there is a rip in one of the bags, and every once in a while a €20
note falls out onto the pavement.

Noticing this, a garda stops her. ‘Missus, there are €20 notes
falling out of your bag.’

‘St Anthony tonight!’ says the little old lady. ‘I’d better go back
and see if I can collect them. Thanks for the warning.’

‘Well, now, not so fast,’ says the garda. ‘How did you get all that
money? You didn’t steal it, did you?’

‘Oh no,’ says the little old lady. ‘You see, my back garden is right
next to the football stadium. Each time there is
a game; a lot of the fans come and pee through the bushes, right
into my flower beds! So, I go and stand behind the bushes with a big
hedge clipper, and each time someone sticks his little thingy
through the bushes, I say, ‘€20 or off it comes!’ ‘

‘Well, that seems only fair, laughs the cop. ‘Ok, good luck! By the
way, what’s in the other bag?’

‘Well,’ says the little old lady, ‘not everybody pays.’

Grannymar is older than the flood!

Nooooooooooo! I’m not older than that flood; the one I am talking about was on Saturday, in Dublin.

According to the bible in Genesis Chapter 6 we are told that ‘Man’s sin was the cause of the flood’. So what caused the flood on Saturday? I was a good girl!

I was down in Dublin for an innocent girly lunch. Look this is the evidence:

Now what could be any more innocent than that, I ask you? A group of bloggers, dishing the dirt gossiping stuffing our faces sharing some tasty food and a bottle of wine or three while chatting about the blog world. No sin there you would think.

Of course I did gatecrash a party on Friday night. A Toyboy Birthday Party and I brought my Manager. She was supposed to keep an eye on me… instead of chatting up all MY toyboys. Every time I was busy hugging one of them she was chatting up another. We had a ball, didn’t we missus?

So back from the tangent once more…..,

I was at a girly lunch. Now rumours abound that I left with a Toyboy….. I’m saying nuttin! Them ’uns down in Dubland are a jealous bunch You could do nothing!

However I did end up in a Taxi going nowhere for two and a half hours. It cost €60 to travel 12.5 klms! The Toyboy came to the rescue and brought me home to his house.

Darragh and Niamh, thank you both for providing a bed, food, and an evening of fun. There is no way I would have managed without you.

Elly who was in Cork for the day on Saturday, had a similar journey from the airport driving through two feet of water on the M50. She and George collected me on Sunday and rescued my car from where I abandoned it the day before.

Now for further developments you will have to wait…..

Sam has tagged me!!

Here are the rules as posted on Sam’s blog…

1)Link to the person who tagged me
2)Mention the rules
3)Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about myself
4)Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them
5)Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged

Six things? Now where to start……

1. I hate being late for an appointment. It is much worse when someone else causes me to be late
2. Cats are my least favourite animal. They insist on rubbing against my legs or jumping on me if I am sitting down. Please go purr somewhere else.
3. I wear socks in bed all year round. I have very cold feet and if I do not get them warm, then there is no chance of sleeping.
4. I dislike migraine music. It sounds like noise to me and prevents me hearing what people are saying.
5. Tailgaters make me wish I had an old Volvo, so that I could break suddenly. The alternative would be a Boot that opens at the press of a button while the car is moving to show the sign – No Parking in here!
6. Parents who allow their children to run wild and behave badly in restaurants, hotels or airport waiting areas, not thinking of other users.

I am not going to tag anyone so feel free to try it if you wish.