I wonder if you need to get a job at Grafton, or a Mortgage in order to visit Edward James?

The Irish Blog Awards team of judges have worked harder than Santa’s elves in Lapland.  The latter have a whole year to prepare and tap away with their hammers, while the IBA judges are restricted to a very short timescale in which to tap away on their keyboards, read, digest and make decisions.  So with much head scratching… the decisions were made and the Short Lists have been published.

If you are a regular visitor here you will be as pleased as I was to see so many who comment here have made it through to the Short lists.

The work is not finished.  Anyone listed in more than one category will now have to decide which one goes forward for the next round.  Well it is already too late to make that decision.  The cut off time was 3pm yesterday.  Failing to make the decision, the judging panel would randomly make the selection for the Blog owner.  Removing the excess names would reduce the numbers and again the judges adjust their thinking caps and this time the criteria will be a little different.

The judges are all volunteers and give of their time willingly each year.  We all read blogs and at times have difficulty keeping up to date with the latest postings.   Just imagine if you had to take a blog and work your way through it over at least six months.  The variety of topics are amazing and while some Blogs post once a week or less there are others that post once, or indeed several times a day.  The group blogs have several authors with very different styles.  Now multiply that one blog several times… lets imagine a judge gets a list of 10, 12 or even 20 blogs to work on… I imagine it is not an easy task.

So well done to all who step up to the plate and play their part.

Of course Damien, for whom the first quarter of the year means no sleep, is on hand to answer queries and hand out the headache pills.  Without him the Irish Blog Awards would not happen.  He organises and browbeats the Sponsors for each event.  They provide the trophies and gifts on the night, the hire of the event venue and all the the background items that we never think of, but are necessary to make the night the success we have come to know and expect.

I must give a special mention to: Microsoft Ireland’s Developer and Platform Group sponsors of the Best Personal Blog category in which I find my name.  There are some wonderful talented bloggers in there, I wish them all well for the next round.

Thank you everyone for your support.

* The logo is with thanks to kmcgraphics.com

]]> http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2010/03/13/another-hurdle-jumped/feed/ http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2010/03/12/men-women/ http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2010/03/12/men-women/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:00:34 +0000 Grannymar http://www.grannymar.com/blog/?p=6791 Time once more for our Loose Blogging consortium of Anu, Ashok, Conrad, Gaelikaa, Ginger, Judy, Magpie 11, Maria, Ramana and I, to turn our thoughts to the topic for the week, chosen today by Ashok.

The Opposite Sex

The world is full of them.  The opposite sex.  My life was full of them.  The opposite sex.  The house I grew up in seemed full of them.  The opposite sex.  Where would we be without the opposite sex?  Nowadays some women seem to think they can live without men altogether.  They would tell you they (men) are redundant.

I disagree!

Ok, so here in Ireland, the days when we women were treated as servants are fast disappearing and it is not a day too soon.  It is my opinion that women are treated as subservient in countries where religion holds sway.  Since most religions are or were the invention of or propagated by men, is it any wonder.

Now stop right there!

I am not and never have been a feminist.  I believe we are all of equal value and should be shown the same level of respect.  We each have our own talents and they all combine and contribute to the coat of many colours that is life.

Down the years I have known women who suddenly found the door to the vast abyss of widowhood had closed behind them.  They were lost without their soul-mate, stranded because they never learned to drive - ‘Ah sure I don’t need to drive.  Isn’t he always there with the car to take me where I want to go!” NOT any more.  I knew one lady who didn’t know what bills were, or indeed how to write a cheque!!! Her husband took care of all that (it was the days before ATMs).  NOT any more.

Thankfully long before I found myself on the edge of that great black hole, Jack made sure I was able to cope with most situations.  “Come here ’till I show you how to do this!” was a phrase used with great regularity.  “You will not always have me to help you!” and how right he was.  He covered items such as his simple method of book-keeping, DIY, all aspects of decorating, how to change the oil in a car, or the tyre with a puncture.  I never change a tyre these days, I find it impossible.  I no longer have the strength.  Even some men would not be able to do it either, because the nuts on wheels nowadays are tightened with pressure machines.

In my first place of employment it was a totally female environment.  I cannot say I hated it, but I did not really enjoy it.  Back biting and bitchiness often raised their ugly heads, I kept my head down and worked all the harder to help the day pass a little faster.  I was told more than once to slow down.  Why?  Because I was upsetting the average for the team I was with!  I stuck that job for three years because back in the middle sixties changing jobs after a short time was taken to mean you were flighty and not good employment material.

From then on in three different companies I was fortunate to work with a large team of men.  Very often I was the only female in the department.  I treated all of them like I would my own brothers and they in turn looked after me.  I learned their back stories and was privileged to share in the highs and lows of their lives.  The new romances, marriages and when a baby was on the way.  I covered for them when they needed to attend hospital appointments, school meetings or a family funeral and they in turn pulled out all the stops when I was under pressure with a customer.  Those days were good.  We worked hard and on a Friday we finished early and all headed for the pub to wind down with a couple of drinks.

I am not totally anti women!  There are many that I have great respect for and try to emulate.

This is rather special week.  I rejoiced in celebrating on Monday 8th - International Women’s Day for 2010 - On another day I tip-toed over the boundary of another year, and look forward to Mother’s Day in our part of the world this coming Sunday.

So to Mother’s everywhere, a state we would not have reached without our men, I wish you

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

Belfast on a Sunny Friday Morning

Now after a dander, I’ll be back at LBC time.

1. Wear your glasses.  To make sure your partner is actually in the bed.

2.. Set timer for 3 minutes, in case you doze off in the middle.

3. Set the mood with lighting.  (Turn them ALL OFF!)

4. Make sure you put 911 on your speed dial before you begin.

5. Write partner’s name on your hand in case you can’t remember.

6. Use extra polygrip so your teeth don’t end up under the bed.

7. Have Tylenol ready in case you actually complete the act..

8. Make all the noise you want…  The neighbours are deaf too.

9. If it works, call everyone you know with the good news!!

10. Don’t even think about trying it twice.

X

X

X

X

Thank you Cardi for this one

I have over the years covered buttons with fabric to match or add contrast to an outfit.

The buttons today were more fun to try.

D rings, bone rings, a key ring and some preformed clear plastic button shapes produced especially for decorating and my favourite large wooden beads,

On the left is a preformed button shape worked in a random rainbow thread.  I worked the edge in close buttonhole stitch and the central bars were finished with the spiders web stitch we saw a couple of weeks ago.  (I have not given up on the spider’s web… yet!  It will appear one of these weeks.)

For the button on the right I used a ring  for holding keys.  It gave a stronger heavier frame - suitable for making a brooch.  Again, I worked the outer ring in close buttonhole stitch and then added long stitches across the diameter to form the stems.  On top I used exaggerated (read untidy) French Knots and bullion stitch before finally finishing with a bow made from several strands of embroidery cotton.  A small brooch pin at the back, would give it a second life!

The wooden beads were fun to try.

Working with a bodkin I brought the thread through the centre of the bead and than worked in crochet form around the bead.  The acorn I only worked part the way up and the rainbow coloured one I continued all the way!

]]> http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2010/03/10/art-with-my-needle-week-29/feed/ http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2010/03/09/you-want-to-know/ http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2010/03/09/you-want-to-know/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:39:43 +0000 Grannymar http://www.grannymar.com/blog/?p=6794 The day dawned with a covering of frost, but the sun worked her magic and won the battle of the day.  My Toyboy arrived on time, if anything he was a few minutes early.  We are both good time keepers so that was not a problem.  I had made several suggestions for multi-story parking, but lo and behold he found a ground level car park right on the corner of Arthur Street!  How lucky can you get?  Last time I was that direction it was a building.

So on to the Restaurant.  We chose Café Vaudeville.  I remember the days when it was headquarters for the First Trust Bank. The website tells us

Cafe Vaudeville is located in Belfast’s  Arthur Street it’s most recent alter ego was as a Bank but prior to this  back in 1825 it was the headquarters of  Dunville & Co. Originally engaged in a variety of merchant trading operations, Dunville abandoned his tea businees to make room for the growing demands for whiskey.

In time Dunville & Co became the region’s premier whiskey distillery exporting throughout the world.

So from a former whiskey house through banking Cafe Vaudeville has transformed  once again to a Luxe Bar. Once you step through our doors it’s possible to lose all sense of time, enter a world thats totally Vaudeville.

Preheat the oven to 220°C

In a bowl mix

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves,
• 1 handful fresh parsley
• 1 heaped teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
• freshly milled black pepper
• 1 rounded dessertspoon salt

Chop in chunky dice

• 2 medium courgettes
• 1 small aubergine
• 1 medium onion
• 1 each small red and yellow pepper
• 1 lb ripe tomatoes skinned

Add to oil mixture and stir until well coated.  Using a slatted spoon, spread in a single layer on a shallow roasting tray.  Roast on the highest shelf of the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and tinged brown at the edges.
Serve with a baked potato or pasta and a side salad.

** When making this dish for one, I dice the potato and include it in with the vegetables and serve with a side salad.  A tasty lazy dish, just what I need today,

On the World scale I am surrounded with natural disaster, disease, famine, war and the effects of greed.  I am unable to solve these problems on my own, so I must step back and hope that those more talented, capable and with the expertise will provide the solutions necessary.

Since I am human, well…. I think I am, nature has a way of raising the hackles every now and then.  It is usually something that others decide I must do, think or feel.

When I have a problem niggling at me, I go quiet, working it through in my mind.

I remember Jack saying to me once “Your mother was right!”

“In what respect?” I asked.

“She told me before we married, that if you were very quiet, to leave you to your thoughts, as you were working through a problem!”

“Really!”  I said.

“Darling, you have hardly spoken for three days, and only now have you shared what was on your mind.”

So, as in the Reinhold Niebuhr prayer: I am accepting the things I cannot change and moving on.  I change the things I can, and hope I have enough wisdom to know the difference between the ‘can’ and the ‘cannot’!

]]> http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2010/03/07/when-i%e2%80%99m-upset%e2%80%a6/feed/ http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2010/03/06/what-to-do-2/ http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2010/03/06/what-to-do-2/#comments Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:30:10 +0000 Grannymar http://www.grannymar.com/blog/?p=6773 I drew back the heavy curtains and opened the blinds to a bright white world clothed in frost.

All of a sudden I gasped in horror.  The beauty of nature was spoiled by its alter ego when I spied the trail of bloody footprints.  They passed the full length of my picture window.  Donning warm layers I went to investigate.

At the corner of the house were the signs of battle.  It was not a fight to the bitter end since there were no bodies in sight, only bloody trails in differing directions.

The trail past my front doorstep, I think it was a cat limping off home.

The battle scene

Now, if the first row of paw prints were a cat - I say this because in snow and we had plenty this winter - the paw prints are usually left in a single row, what was the other combatant?

Two rows of prints widely spaced.

This second set of prints trailed all along the side of the house, round the back only ending where the patio met the shrubbery.

Do you think it was a fox?

The evidence has been removed, I cleaned and scrubbed until all was once more pristine, so arriving to investigate is a waste of time.  Is it any wonder I get tired?

The brighter mornings gladden my heart, at six thirty I was sitting up in bed contemplating breakfast.

Suddenly there was an almighty THUMP!  It sounded like it was outside and not far away.  At that hour my neighbourhood is like sleepy valley…. well sleepy hill top!  I looked out the window and there was no sign of movement or disturbance.  Moving to a room on the other side I lifted my eyes to the glass and bang in the middle, stuck on the outside was a clump of feathers!

Is nature telling me it is time to move?