irishminidoe

November days out and preparing for Christmas

10th Jan 2021 irishminidoe

Having Monty has been such a blessing getting out and about, with a little kitchen and toilet on board which is extremely useful during a pandemic. unfortunately the government do not seem to understand the benefits. However for us we are keeping safe and away from everyone whilst enjoying the fresh air and boosting our mental health. we can be seen in Groomsport or Millisle mostly,

The decorations usually go up around the 1st of December. It is quite an event as much decor comes down to make room for them and they all have their place. We have the Christmas music on and Smudge loves the fuss as she wears her Christmas scarf Lucy bought her many years ago.

Love my little Ugandan nativity scene as much as my Irish one. Helping us to focus on the true meaning of Christmas.

Cranberry flap jacks and short bread made as well as organising the Xmas day menu. Parsnip, bacon and roast parsnip soup followed by raspberry sorbet and melon. A little break before the turkey dinner with all the trimmings of Brussels sprouts with lardons and cocktail sausages cooked with cranberries, roast carrots, parsnips and potatoes. Cream potatoes and gravy. A glass of Prosecco and profiteroles for dessert. We always eat at 5 so we can go out in the morning to the beach.

It does not matter who the gifts are for it is more fun watching Smudge open them all.

Holiday season is over but not for us

11th Nov 2020 irishminidoe

We are making good use of ‘Monty’ with lots of days out and we plan to continue this throughout the winter. I had a day leave today and we sat at the beach listening to the wind, waves and classic fm. Smudge snoozed and we relaxed.

Some excitement in the media about a vaccine for Covid. However I will not be opting for this and will continue to keep my distance. I would be concerned I may react as have many allergies. Christmas is drawing near but work will continue and I will keep busy in between with crafts and cooking. I am still working on my Queen as well as a few other bits and pieces. The Christmas cards are ready for mailing.

Our little angel…. even when she wakes us at 0300 and 0500hrs wanting to play .

Ardglass and Ballyhornan

25th Oct 2020 irishminidoe

We slept as snug as bugs in rugs and enjoyed the extra hour with the clocks going back.

Smudge kept guard as a cat dared to visit our pitch

We went exploring as the sun was shining and no sign of rain.

This little village has everything close by which is ideal when your dog is 12 years old and not so keen on an early morning walk.

Monty in the distance parked at the Marina

We have always loved Ballyhornan Beach and it’s picnic spot. However this has been refurbished and Monty does not fit under the new height restriction set on the car park so we were unable to visit and had to move further on up the road. When we bought our camper it was instead of a car so we are being discriminated against by a number of council areas, stopping us visit areas on day trips.

I always manage to find some sea anemones on this side of the Lough.

Ardglass

25th Oct 2020 irishminidoe

So we are virtually locking down again due to the Covid and our campervan pitch at Carrickdhu was cancelled by the council. I really do not understand this, no one seems to use common sense, as no idea how we are likely to catch Covid in our own self contained camper, in fact safer than walking the dog at home in our development. Fortunately I came across this great little motorhome site still open where we could hook up to electric and still be completely safe in our self contained camper.

Only one hour from home and we had never visited before. We were also fortunate to have such good weather for this time of year.

Rossglass had a lovely beach where we had lunch and had a wander around the grave yard. I noted a large Russell grave which is a family name for me and later discovered a wealthy Russell family lived in Kings Castle in Ardglass as well.

I fell in love with Coney Island and would love to live there on the beach.

Instead we parked up for the night and had fish and chips from Doc’s. Thanks for the recommendation Cathy.

We could not be safer- out and about during the pandemic

25th Oct 2020 irishminidoe

We all need to take care of out mental health and even more so during a pandemic when we are restricted with who we can meet and many like myself spend all day working at home alone. I can honestly say, apart from when the government stated we could not travel, which for me was a nonsense, because how was it unsafe to travel when I did not meet anyone. Any way I have felt so much better working from home and getting out in nature. I am so much more relaxed, sleep and eat better.

I found I have a good balance of the outdoors and crafts indoors

Yummy home made Baghdad eggs and pumpkin muffins as well as sourdough bread.

The Autumn Horizons shawl was designed by Eleonora Tully of Coastal crochet and the yarn was from Pigmentandply