Grannymar

“Take a pair of sparkling eyes,
Hidden, ever and anon,
In a merciful eclipse–
Do not heed their mild surprise–
Having passed the Rubicon,
Take a pair of rosy lips…..”

Never mind the sparkling eyes, just take a bar of soap instead:

Use a bar of soap as a pin cushion.  While sewing the soap on the needle or pins helps them to pass through the fabric easily.

If a light bulb breaks in the socket there is an easy remedy.  Switch off the power and then stick a bar of soap into jagged edges, use soap as a handle and twist to remove the broken bulb.

During the recent very hot weather the tarmac on the roads and pavements was melting.  To remove road tar from cars use sodium bicarbonate on a damp cloth or a little drop of petrol on a soft dry cloth to remove it.

Two DIY tips for the handy person:

To keep nails from splitting wood. Blunt sharp end of nail before you use it by tapping the point with a hammer.

When drilling tiles; to prevent the drill from slipping and scratching the surface of the tiles, put a strip of plaster on the tile where you wish to drill and work as normal.

This is Carers Week, from 8th to the 14th June.

In the UK 185,000 *people provide unpaid care to someone they know, they are the invisible workforce and are, quite literally, indispensable. By providing unpaid care for someone who is ill, frail or disabled, they save the economy an incredible £87 billion per year.

3 in 5 people will be carers at some point in their lives - carers often face a lack of recognition from employers, GPs and social workers, even friends and family.  The main consequence of this lack of recognition is that carers suffer more than they need to. Carers struggle with their finances (Carer’s Allowance at £53.10 is the lowest benefit of its kind), health, job, social life and general wellbeing.

They becomes invisible while providing the care, at times it is round the clock without relief.  In hospital or nursing home situations, the staff change shift at least every eight hours if not sooner.

If you know someone in a Caring role, give them a little time this week, make them a coffee (and wash up afterward!) sit and really listen or offer to relieve them for an hour or two.

You will never miss the time!

UPDATE: The figure 185,000 above is actually for Northern Ireland and not the whole of the UK, it is more like six million.

No Cook Fudge Fingers

8ozs sweet biscuits

4ozs butter

4ozs granulated sugar

3 level tablespoon cocoa

Pinch salt

2 tablespoons milk

4ozs chopped walnuts

Few drops vanilla Essence

Chocolate to cover

Crush biscuits. Put butter, sugar, cocoa, salt and milk in a pan and bring to the boil. Add nuts and essence, and mix in the biscuit crumbs. Press into a 9in X 6in greased tin. Leave to set. Cover with melted chocolate. When set cut into fingers.

If I start to practice now…

will I be able for this with my new hip?

Thanks to Darlene for the exercise programme!

The Sixmilewater River

The Sixmilewater River enters Lough Neagh at Antrim Town.

The water on this side of the bridge was like glass, but it held a surprise as I looked down from on top of the bridge.

A shoal of Dollaghan

Dollaghan, a Trout which behaves in a similar way to a Sea Trout but instead of going to sea it runs to Lough Neagh which is the largest freshwater lake in the UK, covering 153 sq miles (400 sq km).  Because of damage to the fishery due to pollution in June 2008, fishing is ‘catch and release’ only until September 2009.

I was unable to photograph the bridge from the other side due to the trees, so I went back to a previous visit for this view.  I think it was March 2005.

UPDATE: You will see from the comments below that I have been misinformed about the fish in the second photograph.  Rollcaster is a long time angler with over 35 years experience angling on the sixmile water.  He has sent me a photo of a dollaghan weighing about three and half pounds which he caught on 17th July 2010, this fish was returned alive to the river to carry on upstream and hopefully spawn.

A dollaghan caught in the Six Mile River

I wrapped her in a tablecloth and took her out to play

Not quite to play but rather, to put her on display!

There are days that mark our life and this one was her first,

The family all gathered as we took her into church.

We called her for her grannies, with a little variation

And so it was that she was known until her own abbreviation!

The tablecloth it was not plain and made with loving care

By a granny that she never knew, no longer round to share.

The tablecloth was crocheted in cotton years before

It spent near half a life time, lying in a drawer.

Now freshly washed and smelling sweet it was a perfect square

And it looked just right, on our wee mite, as we took her through the door.

A bright June morning the sun was high with singing in the choir

Our hearts near burst with happiness, with our darling hearts desire.

Then she grew up!

This is the tablecloth that I used as a shawl.

Once I decided to use the tablecloth for a shawl I set about finding a pattern to crochet a dress for my little bundle of joy.  I did not want a dress a mile longer than my 18inch baby so adapted a pattern for a woolen dress.

Elly just four weeks old in the only photo I have of her taken on the day.

Our photographer for the day didn’t make it - his car broke down and it was before the days of digital cameras.  I came across the outfit while clearing a drawer last week and gave it a wash.  It is amazingly white even after all this time.  To show it off properly I went in search of a baby sized doll.  Not a difficult task you would think.

The first doll I borrowed was from a school pal of Elly’s and was the correct size and vintage.  There was only one problem… the eyes were damaged and the young ladies father had replaced them with marbles.  All the photos I took made them look like cats eyes!  No way could I use a full face so I cropped the photos accordingly.

The pattern I worked from also had a pair of pants:

The pants may look bulky but not with a nappy on under them.

One day while out I saw a new baby goods shop and called in to see if they had a doll for display puropses.  No they didn’t but the assistant promised to bring her daughters doll in the following day.  It was a little smaller than the original one but I managed to take a photo.

I took this photo on the floor in the shop!

So to the girls in Rock-a-Baby who were so helpful I say thank you.

My blog is really going down hill…

Yesterday we had mention of “Wherewithal” and “FROM HERE TO ETERNITY”.

I would rather play Quoits!

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Dare I say click to enlarge.

This sunshine has gone to my head.

Little did I realise thirty weeks ago when I made an appearance on RTE’s The Afternoon Show that it would lead to a regular post every Wednesday for handy hints.  The hints came easily at first, but in the last couple of weeks I have found it more of a struggle.  I am running a little dry for new tips at the moment.  Last week the well was very dry and in a mini panic I threw down the gauntlet to my blogging friends.  You all responded and we had fun, laughter and helpful hints!  If the drought continues I will discontinue this regular spot and find another way to fill a Wednesday.

In the mean time…

Recently I recieved via several emails the tip of how to open a locked car with the keys inside.  The method assumed that the car had a bleep system to unlock the doors.  The tip involved using a mobile phone to call the other holder of said keys and have them click their bleeper into the phone as you pointed your phone at the dashboard.  During the week I spoke to an RAC man trying to open a locked car.  I asked if he had tried the method above and he informed me that it ONLY works for Renault cars.  So if you got that email, don’t depend on it working for you!

In Ireland we are experiencing some welcome hot weather.  Perhaps with the heat you find it hard to sleep.  Baby powder sprinkled on the sheets will absorb moisture, make the bed smell nice and aid sleeping.

When you are going to the beach for the day, leave the rug at home and take an old flat sheet instead.  The sand won’t stick in the fibres and it will be easy to launder at the end of the day.  Sales & bargain bins are a great place to find odd sheets for this purpose.

If you are feeling a little overcooked after a day in the sun, try soaking in a cool (but not cold) bath with a handful of bicarbonate of soda swished in the water. A half hour should do the job nicely!

Try to keep the freezer full, it works better this way particularly in summer.  Loaves of bread help fill the extra space.

For the past few days Ireland was basking in Mediterranean sunshine, something we have not experienced for several years.  It was a Bank Holiday weekend.  Calling it a Bank holiday takes the fun away, since the word Bank is as worthless as its contents nowadays.

The sun certainly brought the people to enjoy the great outdoors.  Some reached the sky while others pounded the streets all in aid of their fellow men, women and children.

You heard the music and saw the training and now the first of the photos from Patricia Anglican on the day are available here She/he tweeted the day through and we all felt like we were there.  Is it any wonder I feel tired today?

To give you a feel of the event the following photos are from Herald.ie

Ready to go!

A cooling spray

Well done to all who took part and I hope that your chosen charities are feeling the gain from your pain.

I was telling you about my intention to travel to Poland.

When I tire of being rented out as a granny I might keep going in a south-easterly direction, after all I have friends way down under…

The proceeds of my Polish endeavor might bring me as far as India.  They use three wheeler vehicles and by that stage I would need a rest and to earn some pocket money, so I had a little practice…..

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I met this nice man on Sunday and he took the photo:

I would also need a half dozen sentences to kid the troops that I know the language….

I am learning Hindi…

सुप्रभात  =  Good Morning!

रामन्ना कैसे हो तुम?  =  How are you?

टॉयलेट कहां है  =  Where is the bathroom? (said in a loud voice while dancing with knees crossed!)

तो ऐसा ही सही!  =  So be it.

¡sıɥʇ ǝʞıן ƃuıʇıɹʍ ɯɐ ı ʎɥʍ sı ʇɐɥʇ ‘uʍop ǝpısdn ǝq ʇsnɯ ƃuıɥʇʎɹǝʌǝ os ǝɹǝɥdsıɯǝɥ ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uı uʍop ǝʌıן ʎǝɥʇ ןןǝʍ

¿ǝʌıʌɹns ןן,ı ʞuıɥʇ noʎ op