Lucky Buggers!

 Dear readers, I hope you are not offended by the title of my post? Let me explain....my sister-in-law has some good friends who have a family motto 'aren't we lucky buggers!' When they sit down to a lovingly prepared meal they raise their glasses and proclaim how lucky they are. This has always amused me, and greatly appealed to me. I think the family that can be grateful for small mercies and simple pleasures, is a long way towards making the most of life, and surely that is what it is all about?

I feel very much the 'lucky bugger', in having just returned from a lovely relaxing week in Corfu. My husband saw the holiday on Trip Advisor. I normally feel the urge to get my oar in, to be quality controller, researcher and general pain in the ass. This time I decided I would trust my man and to take 'whatever' comes and be grateful for it. It paid off big time! This year I was able to relax from day one, which NEVER happens. We all enjoyed the relaxed manner of the Greek people, the beauty and authenticity of the island and great food at sensible prices. We loved where we stayed, which was small and family run, clean and very friendly. I think we may go back. I am back feeling refreshed and ready to go again.

A beautiful looking hotel or villa we spied whilst out walking.

A monastery with Mouse Island behind.

A very beautiful statue of Achilles.

Bouganvillea in a beautiful Monastery.

Stunning views after a slightly scary coach journey.

Paul enjoying a beer!

It's good to be back. I am looking forward to catching up with you all . With love, Linda xx

My favourite snapshot, Allium growing wild.

Leave of Absense

A new rose for me  this year called Blue Moon, isn't she gorgeous?

My dear friends, I was quite horrified when I viewed my blog and saw how long it is since I last posted.
There are not enough hours in the day for me at the moment. The weather has been absolutely glorious and the garden is looking lovely.

We are off for a week's holiday tomorrow, to County Kerry. We will be staying in a cottage on a farm, and the dog and guinea pig are coming too! I am so looking forward to a rest and change of scene. I won't be taking the computer with me, but hope to catch up with you on my return.

Hoping you all have a wonderful week, with much love, Linda xx.

Holiday!!!

In a couple of days we will be winging our way to sunny Portugal for a family holiday. I shall be so glad to turn my back on all this dreadful weather we have been having here, and to soak up a little sunshine and relax and unwind. I am sorry I don't mean to gloat, I am just very excited and ready for it. I was looking up images of Portugal here, and thought you might like to see some of them.

It looks lovely, don't you think? I shall be having a break for a couple of weeks, but really look forward to seeing what you have all been up to when I return. As a contrast to the above photos, this is one I took of my courtyard last week when the heavens opened and pelted out hailstones.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, love Linda x.

Travel...'broadens the mind'.

The Walled Garden at Powerscourt, Wicklow.

Even if you travel in your own country! I am so glad we stayed in Ireland this year, if the weather had been awful I may have thought differently! It was so good to see Ireland through the eyes of a tourist, to take in its wild, romantic beauty and really appreciate it. Sometimes I get quite down on my own country, because it's not very sophisticated, because we don't seem to appreciate our history and heritage, and seem to favour new fangled and modern instead of old and worn. ( I am speaking of Northern Ireland here.) With my line of work, painting furniture and interiors, it is frustrating because it is really hard to find vintage and antique items here, and when you do they are generally heavy victorian and dark wood, not the kind of look I  want!  General cost of living is quite expensive here, everything seems to be brought in and so is more expensive than England. We have very little in the way of Farmers Markets, even though we have plenty of farmers. So, you can imagine, when I see the lovely Antique Fairs, Vintage Markets, Farmers Markets, Brocantes etc. on your lovely blogs, I jump up and down and cry with frustration. However, when I travel to Southern Ireland and see places like Avoca, with their wonderful cafes and deli's thriving, Artisan Bakers, French Vans selling local fruit, it gives me hope and I think yes, we will have these things in Nortern Ireland! I need to remember too, that it wasn't that long ago, when we had bombs going off, shootings, we were a country at war, and it takes time to recover from these things. I have forgotten what Belfast city centre used to be like, when no-one went out at night. There were no 'Cocktail Bars' and fancy Hotels, coffee houses and designer shops. We were really starved of culture and beauty! Things really have changed for the better when I think of it. My mind has been broadened, I have come to appreciate my country more and I am glad of it. So here are a few of our holiday snaps, to let you see how beautiful it is!



A wonderful Georgian door in Bray.





A pretty row of houses, in the seaside town of Bray.





 

I would so love one of these Citroen vans.



Entrance to Avoca shop, restaurant, deli and garden centre at Kilmacanagoue.

The photos above where taken at Avoca.



Down at the farm at Kilcoole.



I don't want to bore you with too many photos, so I will keep the one's from Powerscourt and Eniskerry for another day. Have a wonderful week. Thankyou so much to my new followers, welcome aboard! Love Linda x