More inspirational New Year Messages

SNOW

Well the old year ended with it starting to snow probably about an hour or so before midnight, I am not quite sure when, I just remember Lisa going out for a smoke and saying it was snowing - however to me this did not mean much because it had been trying to snow for the past couple of weeks but we just ended up with bitterly cold days and no snow.  But I looked out and at least 6 cm's had fallen already and it was quite thick on top of the ground and the garden table.

I had watched the 7 o'clock news the previous day and seen the snow in the rest of the country and for once I was not envious that we did not have any, mainly because it started snowing in the UK about a week or two before Christmas and places like Scotland were experiencing -14 degrees and up.  In the west of Ireland some homes pipes had burst and some people had not had electricity or water for days.  So I was quite happy being huddled up in my house with my heating and lots of hot water, not having to worry about going out. 

Then it snowed, it probably didn't snow for long, but what there is has stayed because it is just far too cold to melt.  The roads are like ice-rinks, D helped an elderly man from 3 houses up get his car into his driveway, because he just couldn't get it up the road.  Today we went off to Dundrum to see Planet51 again this time with D and Lisa and we had to travel at about 20 km's an hour and the roads were slippy.  However later it seemed to have melted a bit on the main roads but the side roads were still very icy.

Let's just hope it all melts and the roads go back to normal by Monday.  Here are some of our photos - Also Owen H. took some brilliant photos which you can see here:  http://owenhiggins.xanga.com/719367188/new-year-in-photos/

Happy New Year everyone!

New Year Countdown ... 2010

May your dreams bring you all the happiness you could hope for, may your heart be filled with gratitude, may every sunrise hold the happiest surprises, may you have peace of mind, may you feel good about yourself and may your heart overflow with more smiles, joy and laughter than it can hold.

May the year that waits to unfold be filled with more wonderful adventures and exciting experiences than you can ever imagine, you deserve all this and more ... (Jason Blume)

Happy 2010 to all my wonderful friends!!!!

Planet51

I took Em to see this yesterday along with Mandy and the kids and I think we all enjoyed it thoroughly defenitely worth going to see.

Watch the trailer here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqsANwvBYpA

Is there a recesion or isn't there?

Last year by the beginning of December, Ireland was preaching doom and gloom and nobody was spending money. The sales already started way before Christmas and the shops were empty, even Grafton Street seemed dead compared to other years. Then during the year, the whole Bank saga was uncovered, companies were closing, more doom and gloom we were in a recession.

However I am not sure what happened but I know our circumstances haven't changed but suddenly there seems to be an overwhelming amount of cash out there, people are queuing and fighting to get into the shops and it started weeks ago. Today I took Em to the movies at Dundrum and thank goodness I got there early, i.e. I was there for 10 a.m. by the time we left at 03:30 p.m. you couldn't see a parking space. Cars were queued up outside all the way back to the M50 it was like the shops were going to shut and never open again, and apparently it has been like that since boxing, sorry St. Stephens day.

Anyway I must tell you about the movie we saw which I thoroughly enjoyed and wish D had been there to see it, definitely one I will get on DVD when it comes out.

Our Christmas Day 2009

Christmas is so nice when you have children in the house. Although D told Em that the rule was breakfast first and then open presents. It never happened; Em was awake at 7:00 a.m. which was quite a decent hour considering it was Christmas.

She came through to wake us and we all went down stairs. Santa had been good and dropped off lots of little presents and some big ones too. He even delivered presents from Granny and Grandpa in South Africa and from Emily's Fairy Godmother also in SA. And there were presents from Auntie Wendy sent from Australia who never forgets a Birthday or Christmas present.

The excitement was just too much, Em got a "Baby Born" from Santa and the Bath set to go with her from Granny and Grandpa and a Horse riding outfit from her Auntie Gwenie. A scooter from Mom & Dad, clothes from auntie Wendy and sweets, then books, bubble bath, stickers and more stickers, a pink spatula, a pen with a fan and just load and loads of stuff.

Dad got a voucher for photography lessons with a freelance photographer, a calendar, a DIY book a calendar from Em and Moi, and a bottle of Captain Morgan spiced gold from Lisa.

Mom got loads of perfume and my negative scanner as well as Robbie Williams new CD, and from Lisa I got 2 lovely books and a beautiful calendar.

So we were all thoroughly spoilt. Luckily we had prepared all the food for Christmas the night before, so it was really a matter of sticking everything in the oven and then just waiting around till it was all ready. I had made the chocolate mousse the previous evening. So everything was in the oven and we all went and got dressed.

This year as none of us eat Turkey we decided to try a goose, a little extravagant, but we decided that we did not get a real tree this year so we could spend the money on a goose. I also ordered a free range goose from the butcher, I looked on the net how to cook one and they are supposed to be very fatty birds, but in this case the bird was not as fatty as what I had expected, most of the fat was under the skin on the back and the skin is as hard as leather once you have cooked it so you discard that and also pour off the fat every hour or so.

I think we may have cooked it too long and too high a temperature, because it was rather tough and a little dry, so I guess I really should have just cooked the chicken, oh well we live and learn. Lisa loved it and raved about my veggies which I must admit I love too. I did honey roasted carrots and parsnips and roasted vegetables with a blue cheese dressing, cauliflower with cheese sauce and we attempted to roast potatoes as well, but weren't very successful with that either.

Desert was Chocolate Mousse followed by Kaluha coffees.

Last year we went for a walk after lunch, however this year it has been so cold that even on Christmas day the temperature did not get much above 1 degree. Quite honestly it is the coldest winter D and I have experienced in the 9 we have had here.

And all too soon it was over, but Em is thoroughly enjoying her presents and don't know what came over dad, but she even has permission to ride her scooter in the house.

Oh I almost forgot, we have had our computer set up with a camera for Skype for the last month, so D's dad went out and got a camera and got his Skype working, so Christmas day we got to say hello to the whole family in SA, which was absolutely wonderful - isn't technology fantastic.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas Everyone, hope Santa was as good to you as he was to us!

Christmas Get Together

Let me start at the begining, almost 8 and a half years ago I started working in Dublin, the team I worked with were all of various ages but mostly we all got on very well.  Over the years most of us have left that company and gone on to other things but have managed to stay in touch.  About 4 years ago we started out with Trish's housewarming BBQ which then turned into an annual event, however it was passed over in 2009 because the Rowes were not there to co ordinate.

We also try and get together every couple of months for a dinner out, and the most we have been able to get together at one time is about 6 people.  Then in 2007, I organised a Christmas get together at the Italin restaurant in the Latin Quarter and since then we did one in 2008 at Cafe Leon and this year at The Farm Restuarant in Dawson Street, this year there were 10 of us and some of the people we would only see once a year at these events. 

It is so nice because it is really like a reunion of family members.  This year we saw Miriam who I probably haven't seen for about 18 months as she wasn't at last years get together. 

D dropped me off at the LUAS in Milltown last night at about 6:00 ish and of course from there it takes no time to get in.  Once in I wondered round the streets of mad panic Christmas shoppers, I think I went down an inch of Grafton street and then took a side road to get away form the madness.  It was too cold to just stand around waiting and I did try and go into HMV just to browse round the books and CD's but after taking one look at the thousands of people inside I gave that a miss.

I ended up at the food court in St. Stephens green shopping centre having a coffee and watching over the crowds in Grafton street.  I send Bob, Damo and Trish a text and within a few minutes Damo & Trish had met me there.  We left and went down to the Duke pub, somehow walking into a crowded pub is much nicer than walking into a crowded shop.  We managed to grab a beer, then got a text from Bob to say him and Gabo were at Cafe-en-Seine, but they soon joined us at the Duke, before we knew it, it was time to leave for the restaurant.

The Farm was booked for 07:30 pm and when we arrived some of our crowd were already there, before we knew it everyone had arrived and it was so nice.  The food was out of this world and the company matched by it, before we knew it, we were the last ones in the restaurant and time to move on.  Almost everyone went their merry ways except for Juno, Bob, Damo and myself we ended up at "The Bar with No Name" which is opposite the Market bar, we wanted to go to the Market bar but they had closed at 11:30 and it was now just after midnight. 

But the bar with no name had such a nice atmosphere and we even managed to get seating albeit int he smoking area, we chatted and at about 2:00 a.m. we all decided it was probably time to head home, my 3rd really late night out this year, it seems to becoming a habit.

I can't wait for our next get together now, roll on summer let the BBQ's begin!

Santa Claus is coming to town ...

My current favourite Song & Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyg3RtALnwg

Only you know me, from his Album reality killed the Video star!

Santa Baby ... Hurry down the chimney tonight!

So I think I have all my Christmas shopping done and dusted, luckily I did not have too many people to buy for, however I probably would have forgotten someone I am sure.

So what does Rosieroo want for Christmas?  Well the fact is I don't really need anything although it would be nice to get some speakers for my New PC which incidentally did not come with speakers, so you have to use a head set to listen to anything.

Snow on Christmas day would be nice, just like the Vodafone Ad on TV. 

Could do with a new pair of slippers!

Oh yes, a negative scanner so I can scan all those old negatives in but it has to be one that works with Windows 7 - talking of which I still need to install that, must make a list - Things to be done over the Christmas break.

I managed to clean out a few cupboards tonight which is a start, it was a toss up between Clean or go drinking with the new work mates at the Hairy Lemon, I am so sad ... the cleaning took priority. 

Oh yes need to wrap presents, all Emily's ar wrapped now to do the others!

Buh-bum.. buh-bum...

Santa baby, just slip a sable under the tree, for me

Been an awful good girl

Santa baby so hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa baby, a '54 convertible too, light blue,

I'll wait up for you dear

Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Think of all the fun I've missed,

Think of all the fellows that I haven't kissed

Next year I could be just as good

If you check off my christmas list

Santa baby, I want a yacht and really thats not a lot

Been an angel all year

Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa honey, one little thing I really need, the deed

To a platinum mine,

Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa cutie, and fill my stocking with a duplex and cheques,

Sign your x on the line

Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Come and trim my chirstmas tree,

With some decorations bought at Tiffany's

I really do believe in you,

Let's see if you believe in me

Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring,

I don't mean on the phone,

Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Hurry down the chimney tonight

Hurry, tonight.

Our Weekly Weather Forecast

I feel cold for Friday already, although I see it has changed from -4 to -2 in the matter of 4 hours!  Feeling warmer already!

That Christmas feeling

In SA it was easy to have that non Christmas feeling, I remember when we were kids our parents always took us for a drive through town, down Commissioner street, up Market Street and down Eloff street to see all the decorations.  The streets would light up every night from round the 1st week of December, and then of course there was the Christmas bus, which was a bus that was decorated with all kinds of Christmas stuff and travelled to the various suburbs, you would look in the newspaper to see when it was going to be in your area and all the kids would go along to have a look, sometimes you even got to climb in the bus.

Then the highlight was Joubert park, which was done out with all kinds of Christmas stuff, and that would mean another trip into town to go and walk around the park and look at all the decorations and of course there would be Carol singers as well.  So loads of stuff was going on.   All the shops in town would decorate their windows, and we would go window shopping to look at all the decorations.  And there was Buks who would ride around on his red truck dressed as Santa and throw toys and sweets to all the kids.

But then as we got older a lot of the stuff was done away with, either because things were being stolen or they didn't have enough money to put the lights up or of course to be politically correct and if they had to go all out for a Christian holiday what would they do for all the other religions, so eventually majority of places just stopped.  I don't even think the shops decorate their windows anymore, but it is so long ago that I was there at Christmas I have forgotten, I seem to remember the malls having decorations.

So in Ireland it is so great to see the things I grew up with and let Emily experience them too, and the best thing about Christmas is that it is cold, so you can eat a hot dinner and drink mulled wine and enjoy it.

Emily has had quite an adventurous build up so far and it is still over a week to Christmas, besides doing the Santa train and seeing Santa at Daddy's work, we took her off to Phoenix park on Sunday, to Farmleigh where they were having a Christmas market, Carol singers, Santa, and FREE horse and carriage rides, which we did not get to go on, however we left and went to Milanos on the Quays for lunch and then went to the another Christmas market at the CHQ building.

We also got a geat view of the New Samuel Beckett bridge, which I actually got to drive over on Saturday after picking Em up form a birthday party, but Lisa will tell you it was an illegal left turn onto the bridge at that.

Em got her face painted at Milano's and then got to go on several rides at the market, the place was jam packed but wonderful.  It was a great build up to Christmas, however I am still running out of time, presents to buy, lunch to organise and not planned or done a thing yet.

Anyway here are some of the photos that D and I took on Sunday, I took a special one for Terri, the Dublin sunset with a Guinness tanker.  Oh yes and the 98 Thunder bus was there too.

Real or Fake

I was tossing between whether to have a real tree this year or a fake one, I eventually decided on fake and was all set to go and buy a new one, as the only one we have is a 4ft little tree we brought over from SA, which D & I bought the first year we got married, we paid a huge amount of  R209 for.  

So this week they were advertising 20% off at woodies on all Christmas trees and 50% of decorations, so after the grocery shop I swung past there only to discover that 20% of €250 still means we end up paying €200 for a tree, there were others for round €69 but they had hardly any branches.  

I eventually gave up looking and after getting a few decorations came home, I decided our little 4ft tree from SA on top of the coffee table would look almost 7ft anyway, so we took it out of the cupboard dusted it off and put it up.

New decorations
I try and collect most of my Christmas tree decorations form different countries, I don't believe in having a perfect tree where all the decorations match, our have weird and wonderful ones.  This year not acquiring any from our travels, I did pick up some at woodies, a pair of matching Manchester United glass bauble type things, a post box, 2 letters, some new Santies, Cinderella for Emily and a few others.

Some of my old ones are the ones we bought in New York at Christmas in 2007, Santa climbing up the Empire state building, and up the statue of liberty and of course the yellow cab.  Oh and the Angel at the top of our tree we bought at the Christmas market in Brussells in December 2002, just some of my favourites.