The Sick and the Stinky

Sorry I have been so negligent in my Blogging duties as of late. I have just finished correcting all the horrendous typos in my last post. I shuddered when I noticed how many there were. Then again, I was extremely sleepy when I wrote it. I actually fell asleep at the laptop more then once putting it up on here, even though it's just a tiny little thing. :)

Anyways, Colette had a pretty bad throat infection last week. She had to go to the doctor, get some prescription meds, and stay home from work for a week. Poor dear... She's back in fighting form now. A trip to the drugstore left us with a few weapons for our immune systems. I've been taking vitamin c, garlic capsules and Pharmaton (mmm... "Life energy that you can feel"... gotta love that life energy). It may sound like quite a bit, but I think it helped me fight off the throat infection, and feel pretty good overall. I won't be taking the garlic for too much longer. I always start to smell like garlic after a few days... I just wanted a bit of a boost during the time when Col wasn't feeling great. I figured that if I didn't do anything, I would be next in line!

I do really like the taste of garlic though. Yesterday, I tried making a little tomato salad. I added a little bit too much garlic, so I ate it with baguette slices and called it bruschetta. :) We had been at Col's parents' house earlier in the week and her dad had dug out some onions from his garden for us (as well as some lovely spuds, and a few early cherry tomatoes). I threw in a bit of the fresh onion. It is so neat to be able to eat food that you have actually watched being pulled out of the ground. Very tasty...

In other news, there was a bit of a hiccup with the water supply in the apartment. It seems that a water main burst somewhere nearby and so for the last few days we have been on a limited supply of water. The only thing being supplied with water was the cold water tap in the kitchen. We were quite lucky though. This was just a bit of an inconvenience. It would have been much worse to have been totally cut off. This morning, everything seems to be up and running again. I think I shall go celebrate with a bath. I probably smell like a monkey's armpit... :)

P.S. >> Glad to hear the white envelope arrived back home. You can never be sure how long these things will take to send. Also, a big hello to Suzie Q if she happens to read this. Thanks for the email. :)

Midnight Munchies

I am just writing a quick note before I pop off to bed. It is nearly 6 am here. Col and I just finished taking advantage of the 24-hour Tesco that is situated just a short drive from the appartment. Entry time for grocery shopping? Around 2:30 am. Departure? About 2 hours later... But that's what happens when one stops at almot every corner to take pictures of products you think the people back home might find interesting.

As usual, pictures will be uploaded to the Flickr account. Right now though, I am running off to bed. Heavy eyelids...

Just Checking In...

I am still in Co. Kilkenny at the moment, and just writing a quick little note before I go to sleep. It's been a full day: Tall Ship viewing, a venison BBQ, a little grass fire ;), a waterfall, a lighthouse, finally touching the Atlantic Ocean, some car sickness, and a new keychain for the collection. After dinner, I was treated to a rousing performance of some classic irish diddies sung with great enthusiasm. I found it difficult to respond in kind as I didn't really know any traditional Canadian songs. A Maritimer could manage, but an Albertan? What do we sing? Anyways, it's way past my bedtime and I am well-knackered. Must be all the fresh air... I will update this space with more details (and photos!) of the weekend when I return to Dublin. For now, I've got to crawl off to bed.

Btw, Dad wrote me an email yesterday and part of it discussed the disasterous urban stampede and the horses that were lost. Crazy!

"All Canadian SWAP Participants traveling to UK & European Destinations"

** High Priority **

Hello there,Please be aware that your family and friends back home in Canada will be very concerned about you as a result of the terrorist attacks in London this morning. Please contact your family back in Canada as soon as you can to tell them you are alright. News here is very sketchy at the moment and people will worry.

It would be a good idea for all participants to monitor the BUNAC site for any messages, advice, etc. respecting the situation. There website is www.bunac.org . Also The Guardian Newspaper has set up a function on their site to allow people to post a messages to confirm that they're safe. The site is www.guardian.co.uk .

Safe Travels
SWAP Head office

I recieves this email yesterday from SWAP. I talked to Mike and let him know I was fine, but this is the official "I'm okay" for anyone who might still be worried. Please don't worry! I am in another country altogether and doing fine. :)

I am getting out of Dublin for the weekend. We are leaving in a couple hours so this is just a quick note. Waterford is hosting the Tall Ships' Races and we (Col, her mom, her dad, and myself) are heading in that direction for a bit of a glimpse. Colette's sister lives in Kilkenny and we are going to stay overnight with her and her husband. I'll update you later as to the details of our little adventure. For the moment, I am just letting you know I'll be out of the office for a while. For the locals, I'll have my mobile with me. For the Canadians, I should still be able to check my email. For now, I've to run off and do the Delph (*cough* wash the dishes *cough*). Later days...

P.S. > Go see the movie DiG!. Dixon, this means you! Go! GO NOW!

Explosions in London

I am watching this unfold on EuroNews at the moment. It seems that a series of explosions during rush hour this morning have paralyzed London. It seems a number of buses and tube stations were struck in a series of synchronized attacks. At the moment, there are reports of 90 people injured and 2 deaths. People are talking terrorism. It is useless to put any details up here as things are still very cloudy. Please look to BBC News for more information, as their site will be continually updated as details become available. It is a very difficult situation for people in Ireland as many have family or friends in London and communication with loved ones to confirm their safety has been difficult. No more to say at the moment. I want to go back to the tv to keep a sharp eye on EuroNews.

Smarties, Eh?

Smarties Eh
Originally uploaded by Redivivus.

I just thought I'd throw this in to honour Canada Day (and test out my photoblogging abilities). One of the girls over on this side of the water happens to work with a number of Canadians. We had always discussed various aspects of Canadian life (maple syrup, back bacon and touques) so when one of her co-workers received a care package from the Maple Leaf Land she was quick to tell me about the Canadian Smarties that came in it. I had to explain that our smarties do not usually say "eh", nor do they usually come in such a limited colour palette. However, to prove to me she wasn't making up her story of the Canadian smarties, she scanned the wrapper and emailed it to me. It's a nice enoungh little design, I figured I'd throw it up here. :) Can't find an audio clip of the Smartie Song to complete the effect, but give me time. Also, Stacey sent me this link to a quiz on "What Canadians Think". If you haven't already, give it a go. I myself failed it. Like, really failed it. Crash and burn... You might do better though. Just try not to do what I did, ie: panic when you get a few wrong in the begining (ones with surprising answers) and then start picking the most unlikely answers (just in case they were as tricky as the first few). It's bad strategy... *cough* so I've heard, anyways. :)

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Woo-hoo! Happy CANADA DAY everyone! :) Finally an excuse to wear my "Proud to Be Canadian" lapel pin... Sometimes Canadian emabassies host various goings-on to celebrate Canada Day. Col saw that the Canadian embassy in London was hosting a big party, including a performance of Shakespeare and a concert by Kinnie Starr (whose latest release just happens to be my favorite album of the moment). Wondering what happy things were waiting for me at the Canadian embassy in Dublin, I checked their webpage. Nothing. Not even a "Happy Canada Day". "It must just be an oversite," I thought, "They just forgot to put the events on their website". So I called to double-check. I learned that they hadn't forgotten about Canada Day. In fact, they closed the embassy on Canada Day so they could have a day off... *grumbles* It's all good though. Col's mom had heard on the radio that it was Canada Day and left me a little Happy Canada Day message in Voicemail. :)

P.S.> Happy Birthday Mom & Dad!