some pastels

Well its very quiet here on the website design front so I got arty with some soft chalk pastels, I,m quite pleased with the one of wee Benny as it captures his mood well, I had an old frame lieing around so it is on the wall now.

I also did a one of a donkey taken from a photo where he was leaning over a wall and one of a chiwawa hmmm that spelling looks suspect but anyway its a small dog with a big attitude.

Excuse the mess of my desk not sure why there is a razor there. Its been a windy wet old week with today being the best day probably.

Away out now to get something for dinner hope you all have a fun Christmas. 


 

Good day to catch up on tv

Well its blowing a gale here again with torrential rain at the moment so its a good day to catch up on movies or in my case the second series of Lillyhammer on Netflix. For those of you who don't know Netflix its an online worldwide streaming movie site, they have a better variety and newer programs in America so I have fooled Netflix into believing I am over there instead of in Connemara by changing my IP address. Lillyhammer is R rated btw so if your parents are over 60 or you have kids under 12 you may have to vet if they can watch it :)
Lilyhammer is a Norwegian / American television series, starring Steven Van Zandt, about a New York gangster trying to start a new life in isolated Lillehammer in Norway. The first season premiered on Norwegian TV on 25 January 2012 with a record audience of 998,000 viewers (one fifth of Norway's population), they must not mind being made fun of as this is a comedy that really ridicules both the Norwegian population and American gangster.

Angie is away touring this week and going up to Inverness this morning to see her Mum and stay with her wee sister, was hoping Sheana may have come down for Christmas but it looks like that is off this year. One of my other Brothers in Law, Alan is coming across so I am planning to put a range hood up over the cooker and a splashback behind it while he is here, I also want to get a trailer load of seaweed for my potatoes if the weather is ok. both jobs are a lot easier with two people.

Applying for a job

Well I,m going to apply for a job signing on the Irish RTE television news, hopefully the people at my interview will be South African as the only sign language I know is the sign for elephant. If they decide that my services are not required then I will go to the Radio :)

Dreich day here so I did some painting in the laundry, a wall and doors and had a tidy up of some of the cupboards in there, one good thign about this house is the amount of cupboards and built ins.

I must get back into my garden as I haven't done anything outside since I went away and there is heaps to do.

I like the French weather on TV more since their female weather announcer did the forecast nude after France qualified for the world cup you can see it here if you are a perv like me lol.

Good drive home

I got back to Derrykyle at just before 2300 Friday night, the drive down started at 0730 when I caught my first ferry across to the mainland with a calm morning and temps of 1C. There was a smattering of snow beside the roads all the way down to Loch Lomond and the temp went down to 0C coming over the "Rest and be Thankful" but the roads were clear and I made good time. I made that good time I was a couple of hours early for the next ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast so I went for some lunch in Stranrae. I was a bit concerned that the ferry across the Irish sea would be rough after the storms the day before but it was as flat as a tack, the temp had also risen to 11C. The ferry got into Belfast at 1745 and the traffic was slow and hectic until I got out of the city.  This time of year it is dark by 1600 so all the Irish part of my journey was in the dark and a fair bit of it in drizzle but it was no worries and the motorway coming this way on the second half of the drive is easier than going North when the roads are getting smaller and smaller.

I spent yesterday putting up the Christmas tree, unpacking the car, putting a unit on the bathroom wall and various other bits and bobs. My Mom gave me a carload of things they do not have space for like an antique sewing box and a semicircular table (which was originally from Angie's Mom) so they are now in the living room.

Dad contributed some darrows for fishing mackerel next summer and an old horseshoe which is mounted on my shed door collecting good luck. I also got some glasses and wooden candlesticks and a whole kilt setup with both day and formal jackets and sporrans etc which I will make good use of. The tartan is Cameron of Erracht which was my Grannies tartan and I love it.

The Cameron of Erracht Modern tartan is predominantly green, black, red and yellow. Ewen Cameron of Lochiel took as his second wife Marjory MacKintosh. Their son Ewen was the first of what would become the Camerons of Erracht. This was in the early 16th century and by 1745, Donald Cameron, 7th of Erracht, was second in command of the Camerons at Glenfinnan when Prince Charles raised his standard.

west coast gales

Well it blew hard last night and at high tide this morning at about 0630 the spray was hitting the windows of the house. It had dropped off a lot come daylight and the tide had dropped so the wee islands were dry again and breaking up the seas. I took a run up to the village and the slate bank had been partially washed across the road. Dad was telling me they had a storm a few years ago and the waves were coming up the road through his front gate into the garden and out a gate at the other side, that must have been a thing to witness. I bought him a weather station a few years ago the same as the one I have in Galway and his disintegrated in the weather here while mine is fine in the Connemara breeze.

Hopefully it will not snow much overnight as I have to leave around 0715 tomorrow morning for the trip south.
 

The breeze before the storm

Well its breezy today and heavy showers between the sunny spells but tomorrow is forecast winds up to 80kmh. I have packed a lot of gear into the car today incase it is pouring rain all day tomorrow. Friday looks to be a bit calmer and that is the day I am heading back home with the ferry crossing so hopefully it has calmed down.

I had a wee drive around the island earlier and took some photos, the one below is of Fladda lighthouse infront of the house here.

The island used to have two slate quarries and the wee cottages were for the workers they sell for up to £180,000 for the renovated ones.

 

I did a painting of the view below when I was about 18 and sold it to a folk singer who had a holiday house on the island, at that point the mill had a roof but it has long since gone.

Mr fixit

 

Moms View Below and our view in Derrykyle above.

Spent the day here on Luing fixing bits and bobs for my Mom, they included a chair, coffee table, and computer and installed a mirror and rack thingie in their new bathroom. The car battery is on charge and i have been sorting out things to take back to Ireland to fill up my shed instead of Dad,s.

Dad went through the operation and is recovering in hospital until he can satisfy them he can walk up some steps and get around well enough for them to be happy, he was just saying he is on a drip tonight but hopefully he will get out soon.

Mum and I stayed two nights in a hotel in Glasgow and one night with my wee sister in Alyth in Perthshire before coming back up the road here to the island last night. I have clocked up about 1100km since leaving Galway.

The visiting hours in the hospital were between 1pm and 8 pm so Mum and I were out and about shopping in Glasgow between times and it was the first time just the two of us had had as time together alone, I really enjoyed it.

 The boats were at Balloch on Loch Lomond side

The is a wee bit of a sunset this evening