Grannymar

Mine are up!

Up in the loft, and that is where they will stay.

I decided a few months ago that climbing ladders when I needed to use my two hands for other than balance was a thing of the past.  I had thought of using greenery from the garden, but the temperatures are dipping and the ground is white with frost once again.  I read somewhere today that the second Big Freeze of the season will last a month and put the country on course for a winter even colder than the notoriously treacherous 1962-63.

I suppose I could make gingerbread people and decorate them in festive mood to string and hang about the walls.

I always have candles to hand, so a few ribbons will add some simple colour.

If you were stranded as of today by the weather, with no chance of going outdoor, what would you do to cope with the festive season?  Think gifts, decoration and particularly food?

Last week the handsome Peter Donegan (one of my Toyboys) was asking me on the Sodcast about bringing the garden indoors at this festive time.  The Sodcast is a Podcast by DoneganLandscaping.com  Thankfully my vocal contribution lasts a very short time.

Food Monday ~ Orange Sorbet

Serves 4

6 Oranges
1 Lemon
4ozs Icing Sugar

Squeeze the oranges and lemon to make just over 1 pint of juice.  Stir in the icing sugar and whisk until it dissolves.  Transfer to an ice-cream maker and freeze, or pour into a freezer tray.  Freeze to a slush, then transfer to a bowl and whisk well, or whiz in a food processor so that the sorbet becomes very light and fine grained.  Return to the tray and freeze until firm.  Transfer the sorbet to the fridge about 30 minutes or so before eating, to let it soften.

Roscommon

County Roscommon is land locked and borders every other Connacht county including Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim.

Boyle, one of the chief towns of the county, nestles at the foot of the Curlew Mountains on the main pass connecting the plains of Connacht with the North. It is a great town for fishermen, whether they are interested in trout or coarse fishing

Boyle Abbey is an impressive and well preserved Cistercian Monastery which was founded in the 12th century, Boyle Abbey retains its ability to impress the visitor as one of the most formidable of the early Cistercian foundations in Ireland. Restricted access for people with disabilities.

King House is a magnificently restored Georgian Mansion built around 1730 by Sir Henry King. After its first life as a home, King House became a military barracks to the Connaught Rangers from 1788 until 1922. Until 1947 King House was also a barracks for the Irish Army.

Drumanone Dolmen was built before 2,000BC. The capstone is one of the largest in Ireland. The dolmen is located on private property and should only be accessed with care ;via the gates at the railway crossing provided by Iarnrod Eireann.

Carrick-on-Shannon is situated on the shores of the majestic River Shannon and is both the county town of Leitrim and the cruising capital of the Shannon. With 750km of cruising available the town is ideally situated at the gateway to both the River Shannon to the south and the Shannon-Erne Waterway to the north. Pleasure cruisers available for day trips or longer holidays. Carrick is also widely acknowledged as an Anglers paradise and within a 10km radius of the town there are no fewer than 41 lakes. A celebrated angling center Carrick-on-Shannon also boasts fantastic fishing opportunities for the amateur and professional fisher with many species of game and course fish available within a short distance of the town.

Lough Key is frequently referred to as the “Jewel of the West”. From Lough Gara, the Boyle River flows into Lough Key, before continuing its journey through to the mighty River Shannon.  It is noted for having thirty-two islands. This is, coincidentally, the number of counties in Ireland.  Immediately to the south of the lough is Lough Key Forest Park, a popular destination for recreational walkers. The park, opened in 1972, it covers 865 acres formerly part of the Rockingham estate.

Ireland’s first President, Douglas Hyde, was brought up in the rectory of the parish of Tibohine, Co. Roscommon, south of Lough Key and Lough Gara.  He learnt Irish, collected ancient lore and, in the course of time, had a distinguished university career in Dublin. Douglas Hyde became a leading authority on all aspects of Gaelic culture and a key figure in the revival of the Irish language. He was a fine poet and ‘Love songs of Connaught’ is one of his greatest collections. His father’s old church is now a museum dedicated to showing memorabilia about Douglas Hyde - the Church of Ireland boy who took up the cause of the Irish language and ended up as the first President of Ireland.

Castlerea was the birthplace , in 1815, of Oscar Wilde’s father, Sir William Wilde.  He was an antiquarian and oculist.

Just west of the town is the ‘great house’ of Clonalis which was rebuilt in the 19th century.  It was the seat of the O’Conor Don, a direct descendant of the last High King of Ireland.  Nineteenth-century portraits hang in the library, which also holds many fine books.. There is a private chapel and the highlight of the museum is the harp of Ireland’s last great bard, Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738), whose portrait is displayed.  Amongst his compositions was the tune to which the Star Spangled Banner is now sung.

Percy French, best known for his songs The Mountains of Mourne; Are ye right there Michael, are ye right; Phil the Fluther’s Ball, was born in Clooneyquin, Co. Roscommon. Cloonyquin House his boyhood home, stood on a hillside between the villages of Tulsk and Elfin. The ruins of the Bishop’s Palace can be seen in Elfin, with Tulsk not far from the earthworks that marks the palace of the splendid pagan Queen Maeve. Cloonyquin House was demolished in the 1950s.  Although a superb entertainer, he was most recently celebrated for his superb watercolours and his landscape paintings.

Nora, the organiser of the Diddly, always took me to town for a day in the run up to Christmas.  As I mentioned before she had no children, so I was her child for the day!  WE went to see Santa before we had lunch, it was as much a thrill for her as it was for me.

In Ireland there was a charge for the visit to see the great man, I suppose it covered the cost of the gift.  In every Santa grotto across the land were two large barrels or boxes, one pink and one blue.  These large containers were manned by Santa’s helpers dressed as elves.  You guessed it – pink for the girls and blue for the boys.

One year while I sat on Santa’s knee chatting away forty to the dozen - probably telling him all the family secrets I was handed my gift.  Once outside his grotto I excitedly removed the wrapping to find a carpentry set, I was delighted, now I was as good as my brothers with my own hammer and saw etc.

Poor Nora, she was devastated.  She saw me coming away with a pretty doll or girly game.  Nothing would have it, but we go back inside to sort out the mix up!  With much apologising to Nora and to me, my parcel was exchanged for another one about twice the size of the original.

This time it was a doll.  She came with two dresses, socks and shoes.  Nora was delighted and she quickly took me off to have lunch.

Somehow, I think that was the day the magic died.

Months ago I chose this topic for the LBC Group.  I had one particular person in mind when I did so.  Alas, the group has shrunk for many reasons in the interim.  I extend warm healing hugs to those with health issues and pray for a speedy recovery and return to the fold.  Others distracted by family, love, exams, or work I would love to see you join us over the holiday time.

Musical Instruments

One of the many nuns in the school I attended was in charge of Scraping!  In other words Scraping was the subject taught by Sr Mary Gertrude.  She had a tiny room at the top of a flight of stairs right above the main front entrance to the school.  We thought she was old.  We only discovered how ancient she was when Mammy met her at a school concert.  She taught my mother back in the dark ages!  Mammy told us she was old even then.

So “What is scraping?” I hear you ask.  I think it was supposed to be violin lessons, but it was sure hell to listen to, scawling cats make sweet music compare to the sounds from behind the door of Sr Mary Gertrude’s music room!  My ears have never recovered.

Saying that… There is nothing I enjoy more than an orchestra of very young Primary/Junior school children playing on stage.  The concentration on their faces as they watch the conductor, read the music and play the instrument all at the same time, is tear jerkingly wonderful.

I never learned to play any instrument, but there are two incidents in particular that stick in my mind.

About forty years ago while walking across O’Connell Bridge in Dublin as the sun was setting in the distance (in the direction of the Guinness Brewery), I stopped to enjoy the scene.  At that precise moment the sound of a French Horn drifted towards me, it was so hauntingly beautiful that I was transfixed to the spot.  Standing on the Halfpenny Bridge in the centre of my my sunset, stood the horn player in silhouette.  I fell in love with life that night and all my troubles evaporated.

During Jack’s last weeks, he was an inpatient at Northern Ireland Hospice Care.  On a regular basis a lady volunteer arrived in the afternoon with her Lyre.  She would sit in the Corridor and gently play for the enjoyment of patients and staff.  It had a very relaxing and comforting effect on everyone.  When conditions allowed she visited the rooms and sought requests from patients or their families.  Her repertoire was vast and much appreciated.

Finally, the other day I came across this recording of one of Nature’s wonderful natural instruments that I hope you will listen to and enjoy.

Socks over your shoes are the answer for this slippy, slidey weather.  They give great grip!

I wore them this morning going down the hill and again coming back up the hill this afternoon and not the hint of a skid or slip anywhere!

I suppose now that I found the right socks, the snow will go away!  (She says hopefully!)

Dirty and wet, but they did their job!

Two Mexican detectives were investigating the murder of Juan Gonzalez..

‘How was he killed?’ asked one detective.

‘With a golf gun,’ the other detective replied.

‘A golf gun! What is a golf gun?’

‘I don’t know… But it sure made a hole in Juan.’

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Thanks Dec, I hope that is not how you play the game!

To the practising Roman Catholic, December 8th is a significant date, the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and a holy day of obligation.  In my young days it was a school holiday.  For some reason it always rained.  Not just normal rain, but driving slanted sheets of rain.  It would soak you to the skin in seconds.

Black Friday, the fourth Friday in November a day after Thanksgiving Day, is  believed to be the biggest and the busiest shopping day of the year in the US.

In the Ireland of my childhood, the 8th of December was the equivalent and feast of Immense Consumerism when the whole of the country arrived in the capital City of Dublin.  Back in those days we had no late night shopping and the doors to the stores remained tightly locked on Sundays!

It was the day when we made that special thrill filled visit to see Santa Clause.  Clerys was the store of choice for my mother.  We were up and fasting for early morning mass and after a quick breakfast wrapped up yet again and on our way to town.  The idea was for us to see Santa before coach and train loads of people arrived from the country.

The Christmas themed windows were the nearest thing we knew to Fantasy land.  We had no television and it was long before Disneyland. Animals that nodded a head or a Santa that waved a hand were the limit, but wonderful in our eyes.  There were other stores with Santa Grottos, Arnotts, McBirneys, Pims and the  most exotic and expensive of them all was Switzers. The queue for Switzers soon snaked through the store and out the main door into Grafton Street and back around the corner into Wicklow Street.

Once we collected our gifts from the man in red, it was back on the bus for the journey home.

Did you travel to Dublin on 8th December?  What was it like for a non Dub?

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PS, Does anyone remember the moving crib in a basement in Parnell Square?  Maybe that is the reason so many people in Ireland became fond of moving statues!

@damienmulley the High King of the Irish Blog Awards, was asking about savings clubs for Christmas, on Twitter the other night.  Not those Clubs organised by the large stores but private ventures.  It brought the memories rushing back.

When I was a youngster mammy belonged to such a club and it was called The Diddly.

Gus and Nora friends of my parents (they were like adopted family to us) ran the Diddly.  Week by week from early January, mammy set a sum of money in the silver teapot on the sideboard, for the Diddly and it was given to Nora on her next visit.  No receipts were needed, it was a matter of trust.  Nora diligently collected instalments from all those taking part right through the months until the end of November.

Round about 8th December Nora passed over an envelope with our families contributions.  There was never a need for checking or counting, each side knew how much the envelope would contain.

The Diddly paid for Santa Clause and the Christmas fare too.  In those days it was one present per child and no filled stockings or pillowcases.  Back in the pre TV days of Ireland, brand names and peer pressure were unknown.  Santa brought surprises and we were grateful for them.

Cidona an apple-based soft drink, was the ‘Coke’ of our childhood and it was very much a treat for Christmas, alcohol was available for the adults.   A tin or two of Jacobs Afternoon Tea biscuits, and a large tin of sweets were all taken care of by the Diddly.

We were never just eight to table at Christmas, Granny, an uncle, an aunt and sometimes if we knew of someone on their own they were asked to join the noisy throng.

A large hen turkey, a full ham and a joint of pork with stuffing, sprouts, carrots and celery sauce, roast potatoes & parsnips, and gravy were all prepared in the kitchen.  This feast followed a starter of mammy’s soup, it would put hair on your chest, or so daddy told us.  After a rest we had a choice of Christmas pudding, trifle, or mince pies and tea or coffee.  Christmas cake was saved for later in the day.

I sometimes wonder how we all remained like stick insects with all that food!

Cream Cheese Penguins

This is a recipe that I have been holding for some time.  It came from Nancy.
She even sent a picture.

Don’t they look adorable?

18 jumbo black olives, pitted
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
18 small black olives
1 carrot

Cut a slit from top to bottom, lengthwise, into the side of each jumbo olive. Carefully insert about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese into each olive. Slice the carrot into eighteen ¼ inch thick rounds; cut a small notch out of each carrot slice to form feet. Save the cut out piece and press into centre of small olive to form the beak. If necessary cut a small slit into each olive before inserting the beak.

Set a big olive, large hole side down, onto a carrot slice. Then, set a small olive onto the large olive, adjusting so that the beak, cream cheese chest and notch in the carrot slice line up. Secure with a toothpick.

You can add scarves and hats by using fresh red pepper strips, or canned pimentos cut into different shapes. Frilly toothpicks really finish them off.