I'm Home At Last

Hello Everyone, I'm back at last.  It has been a very long break and boy have I missed it and all of you!!  I have been reading a few blogs here and there on Bloglovin but rarely having the chance to comment.  I'm so glad that I'm finally back.

The Hubby got me a Coolpix L810 camera for my birthday and I've been snapping at every opportunity. Unfortunately it then took me ages to figure out how to put it on the computer and be able to upload to the blog, so that has held up my return slightly.

I can't say that so far it has been a restful summer, more stressful and only now are things beginning to settle down.  There has been a lot of sitting in hospitals and doctors surgeries waiting for test results or consultations with both my mother and son.  Thankfully my mother, after a lot of sleepless nights worrying, is finally getting back on her feet and looking more like her old self.  I can't say "old self" around her at the moment because she is turning 70 this year.  She says that 70 is the age that you officially become an "old person", so she has decided that she will be 69 for the rest of her life and next week we will be celebrating her second 69th birthday!!

My son too is slowly getting better and we seem to be getting his seizures under control.  it has been so hard on him as he struggled to accept that his epilepsy had returned.  As normally what happens with absence seizures, his mood swings were always fierce and unexpected.  As he is such a gentle child this was not in his nature and he would often end a temper tantrum by crying out of pure frustration.  It would be very hard for an adult to deal with this, but patrick is only 9.  How hard is it for him?  We talk about it often and he can now recognize the seizures when they happen so now he can tell me about how it feels and we can record it all for the doctors.  He says that it feels like being underwater, sound is warped and all is dark like he closed his eyes.  Fortunately his medication seams to be at a good level and the seizures are rarer now.  Fingers crossed!!

Anyway on the chirpier side of things, our holidays have not been as busy as I would have hoped.  We may have had three weeks of beautiful weather but my kids absolutely hated it!  How could you hate hot weather??  I just don't understand it.  So while they hid inside, I sat in the garden quietly stitching and finding a little peace in all the stress. I found that it gave me the time to switch off my brain and just concentrate on the slow in and around movement of my hook and yarn.  I have lots of crafty bits to show you in the next few weeks and hopefully a great Ta-Dah moment with the campervan blanket.

Anyway to the picture above.  In the evenings of those very hot days we would go swimming down at the lake.  This was one of the spots that we visited, Saints Island.  There was something about the place that made me feel a little uneasy, I don't know why.  

Maybe it was all the great big High Crosses everywhere and the long shadow that they cast!!

Another thing that we did to hide from the heat was to take refuge in the dappled light of the forest.  I may not be the biggest fan of nettles but look how pretty they are flowering on the forest floor.

As we cycled along we could not believe the height of the grass along the stream.  It just goes to show what proper summer weather can do for growth.  This time last year this stretch of path was totally under water.

Molly just dove into the river the second that she saw it so that she could cool down.  It was really hard to get her out again and she yapped like mad when we tried to go!!

For our holidays we went toured the south coast, county Cork.  It is such an amazing place, like stepping back in time to before the rest of the country was ruined during the boom time.  Our first stop was Fota Wildlife park.  We loved it so much.  We could get quite close to the animals and there were plenty just wandering around the paths like Maras, Wallabies, Peacocks to name but a few.

  I just had to show you this picture.  Hear no evil, Speak no evil.  Just missing one more!!

As we toured we saw some very pretty little villages.  The old telephone box below even had an old wind-up telephone on display inside.  The kids were fascinated by this.  They've never even seen a phone with a dial on it before!

We also visited the home place of the great Michael Collins, the man who is responsible for our freedom today.  But still today people in this country will debate this fiercely.   But he was still loved by everyone then and now.

I'm just after realising what a very long post that I'm after writing.  if you're still with me, thanks for popping back and sorry for going on a bit.  I just had so much to catch up on.  I hope to be back in the next few days with a crafty post.  Promise I won't make it as long!!

Glad to be back,
Rosie xx

Part Two Of My Journey

There was so much to see when I was away and I drove everybody around me because I was stopping to take pictures every two minutes.  The light my not have been great at times because the sky was grey with snow laden clouds but still I could not help but try.

We stopped in a roadside restaurant one day and I could not help but drool at the food that was on display there.  And just inside the main entrance was this little giant beauty of a gingerbread house.  i don't think that I've ever seen such attention to detail in one before.  It even had gorgeous shutters on the windows.

If you can see the man standing behind it.  You can get some idea of the scale of this thing.  I think that I would have eaten half of it before I even managed to decorate it.  Yum diddily yumshious.

The same day we went for a short walk around a small lake, the name of which I can't spell so I'm leaving it out.  The snow fell lightly and it was so fine and dry that it sat on our hats and eyelashes like icing sugar.

This tree with steps that children climb so that they can jump from it into the water, sits dormant and sleeping over the semi-frozen lake while it waits for it's playmates to return in the heat of the summer.

At a small local Christmas market on the way back to the house we stopped and drank some Glühwein and ate hot waffles sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. This kept us warmed up nicely as we stood and chatted about Christmas and all the nice biscuits and sweets that we wanted  had to bring home and how on earth we were going to squeeze them into our suitcases.  We just couldn't go home and not bring a selection (of everything) home for the holiday season.  I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that the cake shops are heaven on earth!

Our last big trip was to the Salzburg Christmas market.  We went at night so that we could experience the true magic of it.  It was beautiful to see the stalls lit up with candle and fairy lights.  The choir stood on the steps of the Cathedral and sang carols in the cold night air.  This would get even Ebeneezer Scrooge into the Christmas spirit.

I love the colours of all the liqueurs and schnapps here. I had never realised that they could look so appetising and appealing.  Just look at that blue and pink!

Traditional nutcrackers stand to attention and proudly.  So beautifully handcrafted.

And finally row upon row of smoker dolls of every type and description stand in a blast of colour in the dark cold evening.

And last but most definitely now least, as a family we have had some excellent news in this last week.  My son was diagnosed with petit mal epilepsy when he was four years old and his specialist has decided that now as everything is in his favour, EEG results and MRI, he can finally try and come off his medication.  Needless to say we are all very happy bunnies about that one.  The best Christmas present that we could have ever asked for.  We are just going to take it one step at a time together.

Thanks for taking the time to visit and read my ramblings.
Rosie xx

Home From Germany!

As we arrived in Germany last week we were greeted by my brother and his girlfriend with two beautiful posies of flowers.  Aren't they fantastic?  Such a gorgeous welcome it was.  I felt like I was arriving to my second home and as we drove away from the airport, I realised how much I've missed Germany in the last year.  My brother always makes me feel very at home in his house, so walking in the door it was like putting on a forgotten pair of slippers.  Comfortable and familiar.  

The first day it was cold but dry, so we decided to a Christmas market at Hellbrunner.  It is situated in the grounds of an old palace.  And even though the cold air was nipping at our cheeks, the people were very warm and welcoming.  There was so much to see here and not only the market stalls.  

This gentleman was selling traditional German horns and every few minutes he would stand up, select an instrument and give a demonstration.  Such a wonder to hear.  

There was plenty there too for kids.  There was a petting zoo with some ever so cute farm animals...

reindeers walking around and some of the sweetest sheep that I've ever seen.  They also lit a large campfire where the kids would sit around and listen to stories of legends.  Their little faces entraled and fixated on the storyteller.  There was a large baking house too and the children would sit at long tables and make their own Christmas cookies and then watch them as they bake in the old stone oven and then later decorate them when they cooled.  I can't wait until I can bring my Lucy and Patrick to share in this too.  They would love it!

The following day we went to Hintersee.  There is a beautiful walk around the lake with the most spectacular views.

This truly has to be one of my most favourite places in the world.  It is peaceful and utterly breathtaking.  I love to just sit there and wonder at the beauty of mother nature.

The water here is crystal clear but the colour of emeralds because it is so nutrient rich.

















We hoped for snow every day and it seemed to fall everywhere but where we were in Freilässing!  So my brother decided to drive us through the Austrian Alps to see the snow there.  The mountains looked like they were dusted with icing sugar and were awe inspiring.  I've never seen anything like them in my life.  I just sat in the back of the car in silence as I gaped out every window to watch the scenery pass by as we whizzed in and out of the tunnels.

On the Austrian side of the Alps there was less snow, unfortunately.  But we did spot this huge castle.  It looks like something out of Merlin!  I couldn't get close enough to get a proper picture and my Mother certainly wasn't fit to walk to the top.  So some better photos will have to wait until next time.  What a place that would be to live, surrounded by all those mountains.  So long as you didn't forget the milk for your tea!
Well I have a lot more to show and tell you but I'm exhausted after our day travelling home.  I was hoping to get blogging over there but I was having problems uploading my photos.  I hope to do another couple of posts over the weekend.  I hope that you enjoy reading it and looking at my pictures and that I haven't turned into one of those very boring people who make you sit down and go through all of their holiday photos before they even make you a cup of tea.
Cup of tea anyone?

Rosie xx