Back to Work

I took the weekend off from the blog and got back into some quilting. I'm trying an experiment, doing a small semi-realistic but quite symbolic quilt that reflects something of the trip to Ireland. When I'm done, I'll put up a photo but that will be several more days yet.

For now, here is a photo of the pub behind which we were staying for the week. You think this is colourful? You should see the rest of Dingle! (I'll give you other pictures of the town later in the week.)

We're still having high winds and on and off rain, although this morning was only partly cloudy and we got a bit more evidence that the sun was up there trying to get through. I had a doctor's appointment at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee this morning, just a routine check with the plastic surgery unit. They check to see how well the scarring has healed and then check for any enlarged lymph nodes and send me away for another 3 months. The first year requires a 3-monthly follow up, then it will go to 6-monthly. Apparently, I keep up these follow-up appoints (alternating between the surgeons and the dermatologists) for 5 years.

It was a pretty drive to Dundee as we took the back roads until we were almost in Perth and then took the motorway the rest of the way. The rolling hills and farms were so lovely this morning. We never tire of the ride. On the way back through Perth we stopped on the outskirts at the big Tescos for a moderate shopping trip.

As of last Thursday morning I had lost 4 lbs on the diet. I've never eaten so many vegetables in my life! I certain feel more energetic, which is a good thing because just keeping meals and snacks prepared as well as keeping a running grocery list for what I'll need next is more time-consuming than you'd believe. So far, though, I'm finding the diet quite pleasant. That's not to say I don't miss my sugar. I seem more able to give up the carbs than the sugar, but I can't really say I'm craving anything.

Don has gone out to play golf a few times. Yesterday he and Gordon went out although it drizzled or outright rained the whole time. (He came back soaked.) This afternoon he went on his own. Too bad, too, because he birdied the first hole; I'm sure he'd have liked to have a buddy there to slap him on the back and shake his hand.

Back to the Ireland Trip

I wanted to finish up telling you about the day we went out the Dingle peninsula to Moorestown to see Edna Kennedy. On our way back, we stopped at a couple of ancient buildings, one a church and the other, a fortified dwelling. No one knows exactly how old either ruins is, but it is speculated that they are at least from the 12th century if not earlier. They are near one another but not immediately next to one another. Undoubtedly, though, there must have been some connection. Here is a photo of an old runic-type stone that stands outside the church ruins. Isn't it lovely? (And, yes, the grass really is that green--and sometimes greener than that.)

After we had got back to the cottage, Boris and Don walked down to one of the two internet cafes to check e-mail. Kay, who is as inveterate a puzzle-solver as I am, sat down with her Sudoku and I worked on a crossword. We enjoyed a single malt each and some nibbles.

That night, we went to John Benny's pub for supper and stayed on to hear the music. (I had said Eilis Kennedy sang that night but I got that wrong; it was John Benny and Shaun Briggs. John Benny plays a great button accordion and sings occasionally. When he does, you wonder why he doesn't sing more often for he has a really good voice and a nice traditional style. The guitar player, Shaun Briggs, sang a few more contemporary songs, one of which was so touching it nearly brought me to tears. It was called "No One Has a Picture of This Man" about a sort of loner type of old man out in the country in Ireland, often seen wearing his old dark, good suit and standing beside his bicycle, staring out to sea. I told Shaun afterwards that he sang the song so tenderly and with so much feeling, it was like watching a short film.