Ramblings of an Irish Texan from Across the Pond

A little piece of Belfast....

I have a thing about angels.  But only certain angels....   And I've always liked this one in Belfast.  It's known as the Thanksgiving Square Beacon by  Andy Scott.  The photograph is by Leo Murray.

 

According to Andy's website (see above link), a Belfast lady, Myrtle Smyth, proposed the concept after she visited Thanksgiving Square in Dallas, Texas.  Andy says, "The sculpture is the result of six years of planning, development and eventual fabrication. Made of stainless steel and cast bronze, she spirals upwards and holds aloft "the ring of thanksgiving". The globe at her feet indicates the universal philosophy of peace, harmony and thanksgiving, and has marked on its surface the cities where the people and industries of Belfast migrated and exported to."

 

After reading this and seeing the Texas link, I contacted Leo to ask for a print.  I was happily surprised about the reasonable prices, and I now have a gorgeous 24x16 angel for my home! 

Holywood

I ADORE Holywood.  Where else has 3 art galleries on one street????  GREAT coffee shops, gift shops, and a pub by the sea.   And I love them all..... 

Here's a quick pic of the Baytree.  They have DELICIOUS cinnamon scones.  And yummy brownie sundaes!

And this gorgeous gift shop is just next door....

And the pub grub at the Duck = happy tummies!

I also love the art gallery-coffee shop at the Coffee Yard.  Their cupcakes are scrumptious, and the scrambled eggs are heavenly... Well, everything is!!!!  It's my favourite stop if my lunch break allows....

Dunluce Castle

It looks like there is a quirk in Typepad with the video...  off to investigate!  Meanwhile, here are some pics of Dunluce castle from our little jaunt.  Great place... gorgeous... Apparently the castle's kitchen fell off into the sea at some point!

Carrick Castle and the Giant's Causeway

And here are some pics as promised (long overdue, I know!)

Carrick Castle

LOVE LOVE LOVE this version of "snakes and ladders"

Coast Road

Giant's Causeway

A happy day :0)

Antrim Coast ramblings...

Quick flick of our trip up the coast last month - Carrick Castle, Cushendall (for a Maud's ice-cream stop, yum!), Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Portrush and home again!  

Click image to start playing.

Pics to come later...

Planes and Trains

Quick mobile post from me - hope this works! Off to England this morning - 1 car, 1 plane, 2 trains. Gorgeous, sunny and warn here!!!! So much warmer than Belfast! Heading back tonight to the fellas and the pups. Real food seriously needed at this point... Did have some marks and spencer's coffee milk (yum!) and croissants earlier... And picked up some goodies for the folks in Belfast. Ta for now.

Rain, shows and dazzling displays

I've decided to try this out - a new blog - and see how it goes.  As well as helping me to keep in touch with friends, I hope this site will be useful to folks who visit Northern Ireland... It's my humble perspective on life as an American who moved from sunny Texas to, ah, well, the slightly colder climate of NI!  (BRRRR!)

And speaking of climate...I think it's rained all day... Non-stop... 55 degrees (F) and WET!  (Repeat that forecast for 6-9 months of the year...)

For those of you not familiar with Northern Ireland, the rain here is... different. It's constant, light rain.  Not drizzle.  Wimpy rain.  Not good, exciting thunderstorms!  Not lightening (well, rarely).  Not huge downpours (almost never).   Just lots of constant, wimpy rain.  But it keeps the place GORGEOUS.  Nothing like flying over and seeing all of that green.  And it helps with the garden.   I'm loving the sweet peas!  (Clearly, this pic was taken a few weeks ago in between rain showers.)

Meanwhile, we're preparing for some US (Texas) visitors.  I have extra blankets and duvets on hand to keep them warm and cosey.  Even this September temperature will be a shock to them!  We may even start lighting the fire(place) soon!  

Meanwhile, on the Belfast front, Paddy Kielty is at the Grand Opera House for his show, A Night in November.  I think Kielty's wit is second to none, and I wish I could see the show this week.  No can do with work.  Hopefully another time.

I did get to Hillside Nursery over the weekend to pick up a few items for the garden.  Their Halloween displays are ready - FANTASTIC decorations.... And they also go all out for Christmas.  We go every year to see the Christmas-themed rooms with the trains running across the ceiling.  I'd love one of their light displays, too.  Razzle dazzle pretty pretty!