A Blessing Of A Kind.

I do love when,

every so often, in the day to day blur,

I am reminded, in a moment of clarity,

of just how good life can be.

We may not solve every problem,

or even come close.

We may not get everything right,

or be happy with the choices we have made.

But it is such a blessing to sit around a table,

with familiar faces,

and know that if nothing else we can simply do our best.

And our children will stand testament to our endeavors.

And they will show us that we can be good enough.

In The Middle Of Ireland.

We took a detour.

On our trip home from the south.

A blessed rest,

in the middle of Ireland.

We paused,

on the banks of Lough Derg,

in the quiet,

and contemplated.

And sometimes it's the balm you need,

just to pause.

And breathe for a moment.

Pangea.

So one good thing about coming back early was that I got to see my brother Chris' latest exhibition, which I would have missed. And I was very glad to as I had missed the last couple.

As always his sense of humour is what shines through the most, and I have to say I love these watercolours even more than his previous acrylics.

It was so great being in town. I have been feeling very countrified lately! I got to see tons of people I haven't seen in ages, and finally got to meet the gorgeous Sharon from Friendly Cottage, and then promptly lost her! Definitely see you soon Sharon!

And finally, here's something cool my Dad found on youtube. Someone has animated Chris' lovely Beasts!

How cool is that!

At The End Of Ireland.

So I am dragging my heels here. I admit it.

Why is it so hard to open this creaky little door to the land of blog again?

I feel so many things are in a state of flux at the moment, and I'm having difficulty pinning myself down. Maybe it's the feel of the end of the holidays approaching. So much still to do.

Anyway, our holiday didn't go as planned and we had to come home early. Difficult but necessary.

So here's a taster of our few days with our dearest friends.

So as I'm beginning to notice the barest perceptible change in the night air, the slightest drawing in of the evenings, I am trying to rally my troops to get the most out of the few weeks that are left.

But sometimes when the wind is taken out of your sails it's hard to fly again.

For a little while.

A Week Of Pictures.

A busy week. A week of family gatherings, birthdays, and farewells.

With the whole family, except for The Dirt Dude, together for the first time in two years, we finally got around to having The Smallest's Naming day. And at the same time we celebrated my nephew's first birthday.

We got to spend time with our dearest friend's Marta and Sam, home at last, but just not for long enough. And we were honoured to celebrate a special birthday with Marta, all together, in our house.

And we had to say goodbye to my sister Emma. Who knows when we will see each other again?

I'm not thinking about that...

Contemplating being Me.

In my Mother's window.

Treasure!

Play in a quiet place.

Happy Birthday T!

'My heart of silk...' May you be blessed.

Out picking raspberries.

Birthday cake for Marta

Made by My Only Girl.

Rain.

Goodbye for now...