1½ lb Parsnips chopped

1oz Butter

1 Onion peeled & chopped

1 clove Garlic crushed

2 teaspoons Curry Powder (mild)

3 pints Chicken or Vegetable Stock

7 fl ozs single Cream (optional)

Melt butter and add chopped parsnips, onion and garlic. Cook gently for 5 minutes (do not brown). Stir in curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Blend in stock and season to taste. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes until parsnips are tender. Liquidize and add cream if desired.

*^*^*^*^*

Since the trappings of Christmas are appearing in the shops it is time to think of the Christmas Cooking. Earlier in the year I promised to post my mother’s recipe for a ‘no suet’ Christmas pudding. She always made it at this time of year to give it time to prove and let the flavour develop. So unlike the TV programmes I will not wait until Christmas week to pass on one of these delights. Next Monday will be pudding day.

A chair that does all this:

Real massage chair mechanism

Shiatsu and Rolling massage: 4 independent rollers travel up and down back

Targeted relief of any back area

6 programs: full, lower or upper back in either massage style

Spot Shiatsu massage: massage action just where you need it!

Adjustable roller width to comfortably fit your body

Vivid LED illuminates massage mechanism

I saw one of these last week and just had to try it. It was wonderful. Elly was with me and of course she had to have a go as well. It was good that there were two chairs in operation at the time because I was not about to stand and watch her have all the fun!

Apparently I was moaning and groaning with pleasure! My daughter kept telling me to be quiet. In fact the words she used were ” Mammy, please! Anyone would think you were having sex!” What a thing for a young lady to say to her dear old mother! Chance would be a fine thing!

Well you know what’s coming…

“Well, it is the nearest thing to sex that I have had in a long time” says I.

There was only one solution for it. I bought one and took it home. I have it here on my chair by the computer and twice a day when I need to think and rest I sit back and switch it on.

Pure heaven.

Just like a Toyboy dancing up and down my back!

Is it any wonder I have a smile on my face.

Calm down now! I am not about to do a striptease right here on the blog. My shrivelled walnuts would send the Toyboys running in the opposite direction faster than the speed of sound.

I want to let Will know that I listen and read what he says. So today I unveil my very first attempt at Creating Spot Colour.

Voila!

I met Muriel and Dixie Dean in Tesco one day many months ago and immediately the pink tissue around the flowers caught my eye. I approached them and told them about the idea of Pink for October and they were willing to pose for me. I hope they like my effort.

So tell me what do you think? Honestly!

You heard about the lists, the tasks and the curtains so now you want the interesting bits.

Saturday meant an early start; we left home at 8am in order to reach Hotel Kilkenny and registration for PodCamp Ireland before 10 am. We drove through thick fog most of the way, so the journey was slow. Seeing friendly faces as we arrived soon brought the sunshine to our hearts. I was not the oldest and the generations were like steps of stairs to the youngest little lady that I saw at lunchtime, a mere one year old!

Ken McGuire Bernie Goldbach & Krishna De all did a trojan job in the past few months organising the event. It may have been an ‘unconference’ event but without the background work it would not have happened.

So what did I do?

I hugged, or should I say Keith tried to crush my ribs!

I listened with Marian while Darragh talked.

I learned, Ellie May shows me how to use an iPod.

I talked about blogging and Podcasting for the older generation.

AND

I was brought home to meet ‘The Parents’

We arrived back with Elly & George in time for a sumptuous dinner on Sunday night and again enjoyed friendship, fun and laughter for several hours.

On Monday a workman was due so I stayed around to let him in. I had three more fine young Toyboys on Tuesday and one of them came three times! The work was completed on Tuesday and everyone is satisfied.

Fearing I would be charged rent if I stayed any longer, the bags were pack and ready for the return journey on Wednesday. I didn’t go straight home. I went to meet and dallied awhile with another fine handsome Toyboy.

Then I was presented with this:

How’s your Latin?

Some of the 110 attendees that I actually had conversations with at PodCamp Ireland were:

Evert Bopp (Tipperary)

Mike Buckley (St Louis, MO, USA)

Cian Mac Mahon (Dun Laoighaire, Dublin) wants to do a Podcast with me.

Darragh Doyle (Dublin)

Keith Shirley (Carlow)

John Keyes (Kilkenny)

Rosemary Khelifa (Dublin) (whose talk I missed as it clashed with mine) gave me a lovely neck massage.

Elly Parker (Adamstown)

Martha Rotter (Dublin)

Gabriela Avram (Limerick)

Nicola Brown (Carlow)

Simon McGarr (Dublin)

Deborah Hadley (Tullamore) found her way to our hearts with delicious Brownies.

Jan Buckley (St. Louis, USA)

Marian Roche (Limerick) who made the PodCamp Logo buttons

Dean Whitbread (UK) presented and chatted despite an ear infection. Thanks Dean.

Sabrina Dent (Cork)

John Handelaar (Cork)

Keith Bohanna (Kilkenny)

Niamh Smith (Dublin)

Gav Reilly (Dublin)

Ian Healy (Kilkenny)

Jason Roe (Dublin)

Conor Lynch (Meath)

Marie Boran (Carlow)

Sabrina Marczak (Canada)

Katherina Fay (Dublin)

George Pratt (Dublin)

Sinead Murnane (Dublin)

Cathy Fowley (Dublin)

Sharon Tobin (Kilkenny)

If we chatted and I missed your name put it down to a senior moment.

More photos at Pix.ie

Resigned to the fact that I would sleep no more I got out of my warm pit and as soon as my feet touched the floor there was silence. Not a sound, no radio, no gentle whine from electrical appliances and the phone was dead. In other words I had no power and no breakfast.

Well now that is sorted.

I have no story for you today so I am depending on Maxine for help and I hope you notice she is in the Pink!

Hopefully I will be back to normal tomorrow!

Credit: The Pink for October image above is by Lee Caglioti

]]> http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2008/10/02/thurday-special-with-maxine/feed/ http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2008/10/01/october-is-a-special-month/ http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2008/10/01/october-is-a-special-month/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:17:37 +0000 Grannymar http://www.grannymar.com/blog/?p=1484

With thanks to Laura for the timely reminder and Image.

For several years now we have set aside the month of October as a time to draw awareness to the scourge of Breast Cancer. We all need to be aware and do what we can to help eradicate it.

We must not however allow it to draw a veil over all the other Cancer sufferers out there.

Cancer has played a part in my life story and taken away loved ones and friends over the years. I am also travelling the road with several good friends as they journey through the minefield that Cancer is. These wonderful people have taught me acceptance, patience and how to take life one day at a time and I am thankful to have known them and have them touch my soul.

Tomorrow I hope to include the Pink for October link.

I will be glad to get home, if only to rest my arms.  They ache like hell.  It happens every trip.  Now I wonder if it has anything to do with hugging Toyboys?

All these journeys start with hugs.  Last night I bade farewell and hugged my son-in-law, this morning I was hugged so many times by Elly that I began to get worried… was I going to come back again?

I began to think of all the farewells from my mother as we approached the front door on our way to school.  We walked to the door, two or three of us leaving at the same time.  ”Have you got your bus fare and your lunch?” was a usual question.  Then followed the ritual of her dipping her finger in the tiny Holy Water font beside the door and blessing each one of us with the sign of the cross.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, take you there and bring you home safe!

What rituals did you have before leaving home?

Carrickfergus Museum was my first port of call. Since the place was modern, all exhibits were behind glass and the lighting not conducive to taking photographs, I managed only one image that I was pleased with.

The item had little to do with the history of the town.

It is a Valentine Card. The sections of paper like fine tissue all fold into each other until only one heart shape remains. Because of the poor light it was impossible to read either the text on the card or the notes almost at floor level inside the glass case with the back story to the card. Now if only I had a valentine to make a card like this for…..

The street signs outside on the walls were a little unusual!

Or this one beside a gate:

Alas the wall here looked as if it was recently rebuilt and the gate was modern looking through to a courtyard or garden beside modern Council offices.

I will return to the subject of EHOD later in the week with a more interesting find from last Sunday.

Chicken Stock

Bones from a cooked chicken carcass including skin
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium sized onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 stick of celery, roughly chopped
6 black peppercorns

1 teaspoon salt.
1 dried bay leaf
fresh parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme

Put all the ingredients into a large pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and skim off any scum that has formed. Cover and simmer very gently for 2-3 hours. Strain the stock into a large bowl, allow to cool and chill overnight. Skim off any fat that has formed on the surface. Use within 3 days or freeze.

To freeze, reduce the stock by half by boiling vigorously. Cool. Pour into ice-cube trays and freeze. When frozen put the cubes into a bag, label it, and when you want to use one, just put in a jug and add boiling water to dissolve the cube.