This photo was taken by Dad in the mid-1970s on Dauphin Island, Alabama. We went to the Gulf of Mexico every summer I can remember, except for the summer we went to South Dakota. Based on Mom’s comments on her blog, I think that in this photo I was about to turn and run into the water, and Debbie was looking at her feet thinking she’d like to dig in the sand. Mom posted this in May but I’ve been behind on blog reading, and anyway thought it was worth re-posting today, since the cap on the oil leak has…

This is a lot of photos of a small garden but then again I'm sure you all want to see every corner so I took photos from different angles!   Putting live plants in the window box under the tree didn't work out so well seeing as there is no light or water under there and I'm not great at maintaining that kind of neediness. So for our little party Saturday night I bought a bouquet of flowers and put them in "vases" in there. I think Martha Stewart would like this.   Longer shot   yay, tomatoes are growing!…

Debbie was in town this weekend and on Sunday morning we went downtown to catch some of the filming of Transformers 3. We decided to detour to SEE the new sculpture of a giant eyeball. It was quite a SIGHT.   Debbie confronting her ambivalence about eyeballs.   Someone unknown, Miles, me and Debbie at the eyeball   It's just really cool!   Back of the eye from the el platform

  We had a picnic lunch on the grounds of Cahir Castle on the way to Cork   Then went for a post-lunch tour of the castle.   You can climb on the walls   and see great views of the town Cool portcullis!   same portcullis, different photographer   Check out the blue sky!!!   Then we went along to Cork and stopped to visit Nan, Veronica, Patrick and Katie, then went to Anne and Brian's house. Paddy, Nan and Kathleen are here at Anne and Brian's house   John catches up on the news   Al fresco dining…

Saturday in Dublin: I started off with a work out at Curves in Malahide. Check out the view! Sorry Logan Square, it has your view beat big time.   Later to Merrion Square where a really fun street performers' festival was going on.   Performance by a very funny and talented guy from Argentina. He's testing the trust of the volunteer (strong word for being picked from the audience unrequested!) by throwing something dangerous at the bowling pin in her hand. Just before throwing it he declared that just by standing there without flinching (or running away!) she trusted him…

  Miles at Portmarnock Beach before the picnic   Pony rides!   Isabelle on the pony   The feast begins. Maybe Katheleen can paint this scene like Seurat's La Grande Jatte?   Delicious spread thanks to Kathleen and Phyllis!   Isabelle, Isaac, and Frankie   Later…the chocolates arrive.   Isabelle, Issac and Liam ponder chocolate options.   James!

Photos from our day at Glendalough. Miles stayed home with Granny and Grandad and we took a 10K or so hike.   We took the route that involved a lot of stairs at the beginning, then easier walking later   Resting mid-stairs   View of the 2 lakes from the first summit   Then we realized there was a bit more climbing to do. The boardwalks are really excellent for hiking!   Bit more resting 🙂   The views from this stretch were particularly nice!   Up to the highest point   We followed the white trail. The blue was…

Pic 1: iron work outside the Chester Beatty library Pic 2: Door on the back of Christchurch Cathedral Pic 3: Two shady characters hanging around the backdoor of Christchurch

Knowth: it’s better than Newgrange!

Going back now to catch up with photos we took in Ireland, here are some pics from Day 2: National Loop Trail around Howth. Beautiful day and scenery! The shot of John coming out of Ann’s has a story behind it. We used to get coffee on Howth from the Coffee Angel, a guy set up with a mobile unit of incredible 3-wheeled design. Ann’s, which sells terrible coffee, protested he was taking her business and he lost permission to sell coffee there. So we’ve been on a “boycott” of Ann’s for some time (easy to do when you live…