What's with the Beards Lads?

It seems to have been going on for the past year now, the more facial hair the better.  Although I don't like a man with a beard, it seems to be growing on me ... lol, no not literally! 

I remember seeing photo's of guys in the 60's and 70's with beards it was the hippy era - but then it went away and only guys with skin disorders seem to grow beards, or old men who wanted to look like Santa.


Now days every one is doing it, and I must admit a ginger bearded man seems to be so much more sexier than just a man with ginger hair, is it just me that thinks so?

I first met a ginger bearded man when I worked for my first software company in Ireland and he took it to extreme's, I used to think of him as Rumplestiltskin and I think I blogged about him before.   This was back in 2010, and he looked like something out of ZZ Top.

The beards these days tend to be neater - so why are men doing it, do they want to look older?  Are they just following a trend? Maybe you are a man with a beard reading this and can comment, I would love to know.
 

Pilots in Indonesia

Last night I was watching a documentary on TV about pilots in Indonesia, one of the pilots had to fly to some really remote places where the tribes had built a run way just so that they could have supplies flown into them, they live on top of these really high mountains.

The pilot has to test these runways to ensure they are safe enough for landing and taking off, one of the places was close to where 2 missionaries had been killed and eaten in 1968, I couldn't quite comprehend that there was still cannibalism less than 50 years ago.  Although nothing surprises me lately.

This is a really interesting website http://www.papuatrekking.com/cannibals_papua.html there was even a family eaten in 1974. 
"The last cases of cannibalism were only recently recorded. In 1968 two missionaries (Australian Stan Dole and American Phil Masters) were chopped and eaten. During Christmas 1974, four Dutch families were killed and eaten by aborigines in the Jayawijaya Mountains. The last known case was a killing of a priest and his twelve companions. It allegedly happened because they tried to ban the aborigines from hunting for skulls and they burnt their fetishes. This tragic event happened in 1976 almost in the end of the twentieth century. This is a very recent history of the New Guinea Island."

Although with seeing these photos here, I think it may be one of my bucket list now to visit Indonesia :

 

Farewell Lauren Bacall

 

 

So another Hollywood legend passed away yesterday 12th of August 2014, I was wondering if heaven was short on Hollywood stars, first Robin Williams on the 11th of August and now Lauren Bacall.  

 

Most young people today would have no clue who Lauren Bacall is but I guess because she was born in the same year as my mom and would have been one of my mom's favorite actresses, I do know who she is. 

 

Lauren was married to another of Hollywood's famous legends "Humphrey Bogart" but who sadly passed away from throat cancer in 1957.   He was aged 57 when he died, and now 57 years later Lauren just short of her 90th birthday has departed this world.  I guess the great thing about being a Hollywood star is that you will more than likely always be remembered even 57 years from now.

 

What a sad week this is.  

 



R.I.P. Robin Williams

It was so sad to wake up this morning and read the news that Robin Williams had passed away.

What a legend, and a brilliant man - the saddest part about this is that he committed suicide and a man with so many friends and with so much going for him could choose to end his life.

I have lost so many friends to suicide and know so many parents who have lost children to suicide, I think this is the worst thing a human being can do as they leave behind all those people who think - "What could I have done to stop this?", "Why didn't they talk to me?" 

You wonder what goes on in a persons mind those last hours before thy end it all.  A parent and friends never get over the fact that a person committed suicide and until they themselves have passed on will always question "Why".  Suicide might be the end of all your problems, but it creates so many problems for everyone else.

Majority of the people I know who have committed suicide have been under the influence of Alcohol or Drugs and can only imagine that they weren't thinking of the consequences at the time but only their reasons for ending it all.

My first recollection of seeing Robin Williams was the TV sitcom "Mork and Mindy" - Mork from Ork, I fell in love with him, he was so funny and from that day on I have tried to see everything he acted in.  My favorites are most definitely "Good Morning Vietnam", "The birdcage", "Mrs Doubtfire" and far too many to list here!

Farewell Robin, such a sad loss to all of us!

Dancing Shoes

Found this awesome website with the cutest shoes .... http://www.jjshouse.com/Sparkling-Glitter-Cone-Heel-Pumps-Closed-Toe-Shoes-085042609-g42609

 

Why it is Important to have a good Password

I logged into my E-mail this morning and it looked like someone had hacked my account as all my e-mails lately look like they have been read.

Did you know you can see who has been trying to access your email account:

I am about to change my password and think I will do that regularly! 

Corfu

Well we left Sunny Ireland on Wednesday, up before dawn to catch a flight to Corfu, Greece in the hope of some warmer weather, however it looks like we have missed the wonderful weather in Ireland for a damp and cold Corfu.

On Thursday and Friday we drove into Corfu Town and wandered around the old Corfu town, we were hoping to see the Easter bands on Friday, but with the rain and the amount of people it did not pan out.  We eventually left and came home, stopping in a beautiful seaside town called Ipsos for a walk.

Today (Saturday) we went to the other side of the Island, the weather seemed to be a lot kinder and it was also very beautiful.  We left Nissaki where we are staying and drove up to Kassiopi, Sidari and around the coast line to Agios Stefanos, Arillas and Georgios and then back towards Dassia and home.  We stopped for lunch and a beautiful little Restaurant on the road that ran between olive plantations, run by a woman from New York married to a Grecian from Corfu, the restaurant was called "The Night Owl". 

 

 

Further down the road we happened upon a bakery which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere and had the most beautiful view of the mountains and forests, I will add a photo later.  We then meandered through the mountains back to Villa Persephone in Nissaki.

 

Tomorrow we will go back to the west side of the Ireland, and hopefully the weather will be better.

 

How NOT to upset your child on a Monday morning ....

So I was complaining about aches and pains this morning and my husband said, "you also got aches", and he shook his head and said "Oh dear! we are going to have to put Emily up for adoption as they will have to put us out to pasture".

Yes all the age jokes are now coming up!

Well of course I told Emily this and boy did we have tears .....

Okay won't do that again.

Love my child.

 

How much does a week-end in London really Cost???

 I went over to London to meet a friend who was over for a rather sad occasion and as I have known him and his family for a very long time, I really thought it necessary to go over and see him.

Since the cheap airlines came about during the Celtic tiger, you could find flights for ridiculous amounts of money like €20 Euro for a flight, but there is always a catch!  Since the death of the Celtic tiger, the prices have increased.

When I went over last year, my company paid - so it wasn't a question of what I did, the company pays for the flight, hotel and all travel and then gives you a budget of £50 per day for meals, so it's pretty easy to stay with in budget.

So I searched for the Cheapest flight to Heathrow, it was really the first time I was going to London on my own, so I wanted the simplest way without having to find my way around the Tubes or several trains.  I booked my air ticket with Aer Lingus the cheapest air ticket I could find:-

€125.97    -   Air Ticket : Return Dublin - London   
£208.00    -   2 nights, Hotel Accommodation - London (Very nice hotel across from Kensington Gardens)
£ 34.00    -    Heathrow Express Return ticket
£   5.00    -    Tube Ticket to Hotel Stop
£   9.00    -    All day Tube Ticket
£   5.00    -    Tube ticket to Paddington
£ 20.00    -    Meals and Coffee's on the Friday
£ 20.00    -    Meals and Coffee's on the Sat

So there is no such thing as a cheap week-end in London, all in all with the exchange rate and various incidentals it cost me about €500.00, yes I know I could have done it cheaper!  But really at my age I deserve to travel in style.

Thank goodness for friends buying me dinner and lunches while I was there else it would have turned out to be much more expensive.

By the way I am not complaining I just wanted to work out how much a my week-end would cost with my cheap flight!  :)                

2014

Wow, I can't believe I have not written a post for so long! 

I was just saying yesterday how things change when we get older, I have eaten Beetroot, Sweet Potato, Brussels Sprouts and Butternut for the first time in my life.  I don't know how many times my poor mother tried to make me eat any of the above.  I am exploring a lot of food that I would never have eaten before and enjoying some of it.

Today I discovered an Actress who has been around since just after my mother was born, Mamie Van Doren - I was watching a bridal program and she was on it, for an 81 year old WOW she looked fantastic and she has so much history!  Okay she did admit to 2 facelifts but the rest of her body is all natural.

I have to get her biography, I'd say it would be so interesting.

I have not made any new years resolutions this year - decided that what is the point.  Everyone says from January I am going to loose weight, join the gym, stop smoking etc. etc. and before January is out the resolutions are broken.  If you want to do something you should just do it, without committing to a date.

I have decided though that 2014 is all about me, I am tired of always taken the back seat in my life and making everyone else number 1.  Always the one to organize get togethers, always the one to stay in touch.  It's really about time I took a back seat and let someone else do it!   Let's see how many people I hear from.

I don't think it's too much to ask, for years and years I have always been the one to stay in touch, whether it be on Facebook, by e-mail, post etc - so this year is gonna be all about ME.

Happy Halloween

An Irish Autumn

We have really been blessed with the weather in Ireland this year, and I can admit that it's the best summer we have had in the 12 years we have been in this country. 

Last week Shannon was over from South Africa and we had a stunning week-end weather wise.  We took Shannon for a drive down the country and I took some stunning photos, here is a photo taken at Avoca and you would swear it was spring.

Cool maps of the world

Cool maps of the world: A selection of infographic maps that put a cool perspective on the world we live in. @Amazing_Maps https://twitter.com/Amazing_Maps

Photo of the Week - Phil Lynott statue returned

The previously vandalized Phil Lynott statue was returned to it's home on Friday 16th of August, all shiny and bright, just in time for his 64th birthday on the 20th of August.  We got to see it on Saturday while doing the tourist thing round Dublin again!

The Apartment in Budapest

Drinking and Exercise - Don't Mix ...

Love Padlocks

.

WHAT ARE LOVE LOCKS?

In a Park in Budapest, Hungary

On a Statue, on a bridge in Vienna, Austria

We saw these locks in various places on our holiday, does anyone know why people do it?

Week 2 - Working from home in Budapest

So I couldn't get another week off, so I had to compromise and work remotely from Budapest, which is fine as the WIFI has been great so far and I have managed to do my work.

On Monday, I just worked and caught up with all my colleagues as to what they have been doing and what I have been doing, went through my e-mails which weren't as bad as I thought they would be.  It was so hot on Monday, the mercury topped 40 degrees, I took at least 4 cold showers while working.   I was hoping to go out on Monday night, but D and Em had been at the baths on Margret Island and only got home after 8, by the time we ate dinner it was past 9, so no point in really going anywhere.

Tuesday I managed to get through quite a number of compliance tests, chatted to colleagues, cancelled a meeting with my boss in Dublin and managed to leave early, although it wasn't really early as I have been working an hour ahead of Ireland and putting in extra hours.  So I turned off my computer at 5:45 Hungarian time. 

We ambled over the road to the Market stalls and then found a small Market but the guys followed you around, I don't think they were Hungarian probably, the looked more Eastern and were willing to haggle, I am not into that and prefer the Hungarian way, this is the price if you don't like it - then tough.  It's just not in my nature to haggle, if I think it's too expensive I won't buy it.

Wednesday - well today hasn't started off too well, I intended getting up early and going off to the "Market" , they open at 6 in the morning and close at 18:00 and because I have to work until 19:00, I thought I could get up and be there by 7:00 which would give me a couple of hours to browse and then walk back and start working, but of course I woke up late.   Then when I get on-line, I see loads of people in Dublin have their status set to "Green" on-line as well as in the States where it is early hours of the morning there.  This annoys me as it looks like they are working, but they aren't - there really should be a Skype eticate mail sent out to all employees! 

Okay so that is my beef for today, maybe we will go for a walk tonight and I can get some air and not have cabin fever by the end of the day!

We ended up going for a walk and getting ice-creams at the wonderful little place that makes them in the shape of a Rose.

Thursday 1st of August - I managed to get through a lot of stuff today and meetings, so had a shower at about 3 o'clock as I had been working since 7 a.m., got dressed when Em & D got back from their day out and we all went out for Dinner at Spinoza Cafe again, our last night in Budapest - Derrick and I had a Goose leg with Red Cabbage and Potato Gratin, which was really nice.