Having a birthday is always the perfect excuse to socialize!!! I am now the ripe old age of 61 – not exactly a milestone – but still keen to make the most of it! The day started with a great cooked breakfast with Reg, Chris and Frodo. Very nice – thank you Reg. After a very quiet relaxed afternoon we drove to an excellent Italian restaurant in nearby Newcastle – small town just up the coast from us. Not the large city in the north of England! The meal was so yummy – anti-pasta platter to start, variety of mains – lots of passing of food across the table – always nice to try everything, and a shared cheesecake dessert. A good Italian red also found its way to our table – funny about that! A great night out. Chris even had a shave and wore a very smart suit – hardly recognized him!! Also had a belated birthday tea at Brian and Valene’s – always fun. Valene tends to do the cooking and Brian clears things away and gets the dessert. He looked very organized in his Mr Tayto “pinny”. The whole family helped out. Reannah made the cuppas, Jessica licked the chocolate cake server clean – tough job, and little Daisy just entertained us all! Great views to the coast from their house – especially with the sun setting and the winter landscape. Brian drove us home via the hills – lovely looking back to the sea as we climbed. We then wound our way through the countryside – looping around Knockchree Mountain and back to Mourne Park. Arrived home still full to the brim – belts loosened – tired but very content.
Another recent special outing was to the local Gaelic Football Club. A real Irish night out – Guinness for the boys, lots of chatting and laughter, and a live band singing traditional Irish songs. We caught a “shared” taxi home – ended up going all the way to Warren Point to drop off a couple of locals. Very chatty – very friendly. They were keen for the Aussies to join them for a few more drinks at the local pub but we decided to call it a night. They were already “half cut” or “two sheets to the wind” and things would have just got messier as the night went on. The Irish have such a descriptive way of expressing themselves – lots of little sayings or phrases scattered throughout every conversation. Makes it very interesting. Heard the band say at one point “let’s keep her lit” meaning let’s keep going – let’s keep playing!
Spring seems to be arriving early. We have twin lambs in a field nearby, flowers starting to bloom in the garden, leaves appearing on a few of our trees. We now have two beautiful white swans on our lake – very exciting!!! Hoping for baby swans in the not too distant future. Also lots of bird life as they return from their annual migration to warmer climates. Have put bird seed in the bird feeder again to keep them happy. Always lots happening in Mourne Park – may not be everyone’s thing but we love it! A great house sit.
Love to everyone
Di and Reg
This entry was posted in House Sits, Mourne Park (2), Mourne Park, Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Hi to you both
great to see you had a great birthday Di and Reg you haven’t lost your touch in the kitchen I see good on you, It is nice to see the change in the seasons especially in to spring when all the trees have got their leaves again they look so naked otherwise.
Me too – love to see the change in the seasons. Won’t take long and there will be flowers everywhere here – bulbs popping up all over the place xxx