Photo on Sunday 2018-18

What do you mean? I needed the room to stretch and that bear was in my way!

Lost and (hopefully) found

Yesterday I had to work. Nothing new in that. I do that on occasion. I had to pick up a group to take to a racecourse. Now, when I hear racecourse, I think cars or motorbikes, but here in Northern Ireland it means horses (or possibly dogs). 

Anyway, it was horse racing we were going to see and I wondered whether I would get any look in. Usually I don't, but this time I got the chance to see as I was parked within the course. I took photos, I filmed it and after three races I was a bit bored and headed back to my coach to read. 

Instead of reading though, I decided to phone a friend and me and Yamini spoke for nearly 45 minutes. It was lovely hearing a friendly voice and as we usually e-mail, this was a bit of a novelty for the both of us. 

After that I got back to my reading until it was about 10, at which point I drove to where I would pick my group up, because nature called. I took the keys to the coach, I took my phone and went to answer. 

I got back to the coach and after about five minutes I realised something was missing. My phone!!!! I had left it in the toilet. Well, not in it itself of course, but you know! I ran back, looked inside, but the only thing I saw was a handbag. I asked the bar staff and the bouncers, but no phone had been handed in. 

I went back to the coach, looked in my bag, just in case and I tried phoning my phone with somebody else's phone, but it went straight to voicemail (it will do that after 10pm, just so you know). I ran back to the bar again, asking again, and then leaving my email address just in case.

As I got home last night though, I realised about the voicemail thingy and also realised, I might have more luck during the day time. This morning, I located my Norwegian phone, rang my number and somebody answered! He had to go back to that bar anyway and was willing to drop my phone off. And then I got an email as well, saying they might have located my phone!

Now I just have to go and get it again, so I can get all the other horse racing photos!

Ehm...

Also at the Seaforde butterfly park

Do you know, with a full working week, you would think there would be enough to write about, yet I seem to have difficulties finding anything. Unless you want to hear about the fuzzy slipper phenomenon, which seems to grip a lot of women nowadays. I see them everywhere and they just look like they should be in the bedroom!

I did have a question to the city of Glasgow (in my mind) about their lovely sign. Apparently they are the proud hosts of the European Championships! Brilliant!! In what though? Nose picking? Can't see that becoming a very popular spectator sport. Cherry pit spitting? A bit better, but still not something that will draw the large crowds. Football? Oh no, it was the world championships this year and they have those alternately. 

Fortunately somebody on the bus knew it was athletics, which made sense as they were going to close some roads in the center because of some running race. I just hope I won't have to work on either of the days they close the road!

And this one too!

I nearly gave a coach load of people a heart attack the other day. I told them we would be back in Belfast by about 10.15 at night, which I thought was good going! Until I realised I was doing the early run (I usually do the late one) and should be back at around 6.15 in the evening. Whoops. 

At work there is a day by day calendar with quotes and fun facts. For Monday, July 16th the fun fact was: 1965-The Mont Blanc road tunnel, linking France with Italy, was opened. Not that remarkable really, but it was the quote that stuck with me. 

To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer. Which says it all really doesn't it? 

Anyway, hope you have a good weekend. I should be off. Both Saturday and Sunday! Bliss...

PS: Miss Oswin is back to her old self fortunately. All weeds gone, no whiff anymore and the puncture seems to be healing fine. Pfew!

AWOL

While settling in a week or so ago

On Sunday I was off and I spent it sorting through my yarn, doing the laundry and calling for Miss Oswin.

Early in the morning I had let her out for the first time. The previous two times she had moved to a new place, I had followed her every step of her way around the property, before scooping her up and bringing her inside again. This time I didn't. 

I guess she went outside at around 11 in the morning and I started calling for her from about 2 in the afternoon. Nothing. Not a peep, a miaow or anything! I figured she was busy chasing swallows and such, and gave her another hour. 

The silly puss!

And another and another and yet another. By the time I went to bed at 9.30, she still wasn't home. She could be lost: not able to find her way to the new house again. She could be dead, hit by a car. She could be drowning in the marshes that surround us. I fell into an anxious sleep. 

At around 2.30 I woke of the noise of fighting cats. The neighbours have several outside cats and they all know each other and don't fight. Which meant: a strange cat, ie Miss O! I didn't fall asleep again, but about an hour later, another fight broke out. 

When my alarm sounded at 4.15, the first thing I did was open the front door and there she was: hiding under the car, feeling sorry for herself! She had tufts of hair sticking out everywhere, those awful round sticky weed things all over her fur and there was a slight whiff of something. 

Still feeling a bit on the down side...

After giving her some extra food, I left for work and when I came back, she was still feeling a bit sorry for herself. It will be a while before she goes out again!!

Photo on Sunday 2018-17

Well, it might be my dirty mind, but I found this image to be quite disturbing (in a very funny way). Which meant I had to take a photo of it. When the place had the audacity to close (at 8pm already, while I had to wait until at least 10.30), I told one of the people who worked there. He looked, saw, realised and moved the offending items. 

I was the first to ever comment on it.

Library

What to do with the large amount of books I own. Well, after much deliberation between me and myself, I have decided I will not buy more bookcases. Nor will I put up the ones I own already. The books still need a room to sit though and it was staring me in the face!

As I go down (or up) the stairs, there is a wide ledge on one side, which is perfect for books. Yes, the furthest ones are a bit difficult to reach (I will get a tall person to remove them for me for my next move), but most of my books have found a place. There are still three small crates with books left and they might just stay crated as well, as I have picked my favourites from those as well. 

The other crates containing craft, cookery and travel books will find their way into my home soon as well. I hope....

Driving around

When I first got my new car, I was told it would need an MOT before the end of July. Basically a check to see if the car is still safe and roadworthy. In the Netherlands it had to be done every year, in Norway every two years and here in Northern Ireland (and UK general) it's every year again. However, where in the Netherlands and Norway you can get it done at your local garage (not all, but most), here in Northern Ireland it needs to be done at an MOT center*. Of which there are about a dozen in the entire country. 

This morning I made my way to one of them to get mine checked. I arrived a little before nine o'clock and after a few minutes wait, I was allowed to drive in. They checked the exhaust, lights, tires, brakes, windscreen wipers and probably some other things as well. But only ten minutes later I was told: passed!

Totally unrelated, but I like the new guest bed!

After that I made my way into the office for a related yet unrelated question. As you know I lived in Norway the last five years and last December I received a Norwegian driver's licence. The law in Norway states that you can drive with an EU driver's licence until it expires, at which time you will need to renew it to a Norwegian. Which I had done. 

In the UK however, it's a bit different: I have to have my licence exchanged within a year, but preferably as soon as possible. It should not be a problem, but I will need to do some extra research before exchanging it. After all, I have about 9 months left in which to do it.

In other news: the paperwork is nearly sorted, I just need to find my hole puncher and then it can all be put in my new folders. And yes, they have butterflies on them!!

*Only in Northern Ireland, in the rest of the UK: your local friendly garage will provide the service as well.

Paperwork

Find the critter (yes, there is one!)
At the Seaforde Butterfly park

Once upon a time, the first computers started making their way into our lives. It would be easier to keep up with our lives they said. It would be easier to see what we do they said. It would be environmentally friendlier they said. 

I don't know who those 'they' were, but I am not so sure they were right. I mean, look at me: moving to another country and finding out that paper is all around. For everything I do online, I get a paper confirmation it seems. I try to go paperless and they send me a letter in the post to tell me I have now gone paperless! 

In the garden at Seaforde

Today however, I needed to sort some of my life. I had to change my address for several things. I wanted to register for the electoral roll, even though I can only vote in local/regional elections. The amount of paperwork I had received needed sorting through and I realised quite late in the day that I had an MOT (EU-kontroll/APK/annual vehicle check) coming up tomorrow! What with work and the move and stuff, I had completely forgotten all about it.

Other than that, I am rumbling along nicely. Miss Oswin is asleep at the moment (guest bed, would you know) and is about ready for her first foray into the new outdoors. Well, she was ready on day 1, I find it best to wait about two weeks for her to get her sense of the building she lives in. It worked well before.

Sunday

I have been in my new place now for a week and to celebrate that, my sister and I went to a not so far away garden. Not just any garden either: a butterfly garden. Well, greenhouse really, because they were tropical butterflies. It wasn't big by any means, but it kept us occupied for part of the afternoon anyway. 

The best shot I got of the large blue butterflies
The other one I got was of two of them, with their wings closed!

We saw some beautiful butterflies and we were able to photograph most of them on our phones (I had conveniently forgotten to take my camera, sigh). There was however one butterfly that proved to be a bit elusive, although we both managed to capture it eventually. 

After the butterflies we made our way outside (in the drizzle) to visit a pheasantry (not a pheasant in sight) and a maze. As you may remember my sister has a system that always works in mazes. Apart from in this one, because there were so many dead ends. We did finally manage to find the center and then had to find our way back out again, which took nearly as much time as finding the center did!

Entrance to the maze. Not big, but difficult!

Then it was time for tea and a scone/cake, since halfway through the maze, the drizzle had turned into rain and we both needed something warm and filling. 

It was a lovely afternoon to celebrate my new home. 

Photo on Sunday 2018-16

Waiting in Glasgow to drive back to Cairnryan to catch the ferry to Belfast.