That doesn’t look like a bowel blockage!!!!

As most of you will know I have not been well for some time (since about the middle of January) and it has been affecting my everyday life quite a bit. I have had lots of random symptoms although I won’t go into graphic detail about each one. I have now had my diagnosis and here is my tale.

I guess I really have to start this story just over 15 years ago. A completely different and much younger version of Hazel was married to John. We decided to try for a baby. With hindsight I can now see that this was an attempt to patch up an already failing marriage but the problem with hindsight is that it comes too late usually! After trying for over a year there was nothing much happening on the baby front so I was referred by my Doctor to a fertility specialist at Glasgow Victoria Infirmary. Lots of blood tests, internals, laparoscopy and a course of Clomid fertility drugs later there was still no baby. I won’t go into much further detail but one separation, a divorce and then a serious episode of Depression for me later, I emerged a much stronger and more determined woman.

So I threw myself into my career as I now believed that I was unable to have children so focused on something else in life. Again summarizing here, I met a lovely man, spent many years going out and then living together and then eventually we married. I had always been upfront with Jarlath about my fertility issues as I didn’t want to be involved with someone else that desperately wanted a baby which I could not give them. Luckily Jarlath was of the same mindset as me and was not that bothered about procreating. So now we skip ahead again to 2008.
Our opportunity to move to America came and we decided to take it and for me to take a career break to set up our new life over here. As you can see from my blog it has been going very well so far.

I had always been taking a pill for my bad skin (I am very prone to Acne) and to control my hormones which helps to prevent me getting depressive episodes. One side effect of this pill is that it is also a contraceptive pill although I didn’t believe I needed that. So with my new less stressed and more natural lifestyle I wanted to stop taking this pill as I wanted to see how my body reacted without pumping it full of hormones every day. We discussed this together as we knew that we would no longer we taking any contraceptive protection if I stopped this but thought that with my history while there was a risk it was so improbable that it wouldn’t make much difference. We also discussed the fact that if I did happen to get pregnant that it would be lovely to have a baby especially after spending time around the lovely babies Ciara and Cate at Thanksgiving. So after our Thanksgiving trip at the end of November 2009 I stopped taking my pill.

During December and the early part of January I could feel that my hormones were up and down but I had expected this while my body got rid of the remnants of the pill. My period came on time at the end of December and my skin did not break out into the bad acne I had previously suffered from, so all was apparently going well! Then in mid January I started to feel really unwell. I had various symptoms the main ones being Nausea all the time and extreme tiredness. I also had another bleed in the middle of January so again put it all down to Hormones and just tried to get on with life until it passed.

Mid February came around and I still was not feeling well and we thought enough is enough, I must have a viral infection or the like so dragged myself along to the doctors to have a check up and some blood tests. The Doctor examined me and sent me for some blood and urine tests. She also asked to do a pregnancy test as she wanted to do an abdominal X Ray to rule out any problems down there (as I was having some Bowel “issues”) and it is standard procedure in a woman of child bearing age (even one stretching the limit like me). We also talked about having an electro cardio gram to pinpoint the cause of my heart murmur to rule out any issues with this. I still wasn’t feeling better but felt positive that we were now taking some action to get me better.

Then came the phone call from the Doctor. Seemingly all my blood tests came back normal apart from one………I am sure you have guessed which one! She cheerfully informed me that I was in fact pregnant. I was in Giant supermarket at the time doing some grocery shopping and I remember just stopping dead and having to put my basket down to take a moment. It was the most unbelievable news I could possibly have received. I think shock took over for some time but I managed to hold myself together and pick up the phone to speak to Jarlath. At that time he was travelling in San Francisco with one of his sales Team, Lisa. So I called him and said was he on his own but he was in the car with Lisa, so not wanting to tell him when someone else could hear I asked him to call me back to discuss my doctors results. Well he must have been worried but didn’t get the opportunity to call me back for at least another hour when Lisa had to go into the stationery shop to make some photocopies for their meeting. I was of course jumping around at the other end of the phone willing him to call me. Eventually he called and I gave him the incredible news but he initially didn’t believe me and thought that I was joking, I think his words were “you’re kidding me” over and over again. Not the best way to break the news but I had to share it with someone and couldn’t wait another three days for him to get home. The poor man then had to pick himself up off the ground and continue on his trip with Lisa and into a business meeting with a client without letting on that he had just received the most life changing news ever! I bet Lisa wondered what was going on unless Jar is such a good actor that she couldn’t tell a thing.
Of course, I then had to find myself an Obstetrician/Gynecologist (OB/GYN) to give me a check up and guide me through my pregnancy. Luckily my lovely family doctor recommended one which is local to me and to the hospital that is closest to our house (which I later found out is the same one my friend Vicky actually uses). So I was duly booked in for an initial appointment right after our holiday and a sonogram/ultrasound to determine that everything was alright at this stage and to guess at a due date.

In typical Keating fashion, the above was of course not even the main part of the drama. We both visited the OB/GYN and got all the usual blood , urine, weight and height tests and then waited for the sonogram. At this stage we were guessing that I could only be 4 or 6 weeks pregnant as you count from your last period and as I had had two bleeds in January I could count from either of those. So up came the picture on the Ultrasound screen and ‘Oh My God’ I think we both nearly passed out because there on the screen was an itty bitty baby shaped thing complete with a heartbeat. Those of you in the know will have realized that I could not possibly be only 4 or 6 weeks in this case and the nurse/technician confirmed that I was in fact at least 10 weeks pregnant by her calculation. You could have knocked me down with a feather as not only was I now definitely pregnant I was already a quarter of the way through my pregnancy!

Of course, now all the guilt started to creep in about every glass of wine or bottle of beer or vodka cocktail I had drank since the middle of December (when I must have conceived) and there was a lot with Christmas, New Year and a couple of girls nights out in January (remember my Facebook status about never drinking vodka again, well that hangover was actually acute morning sickness and has lasted for the last 6 weeks!). I suppose I can’t turn the clock back so what is done is done and I just need to hope that there is no lasting damage done.

So here is my surprise diagnosis.

I cannot believe the nausea and tiredness that I have suffered and have to offer an apology to any pregnant woman that I have managed in the past that I have been less than sympathetic to. It takes one’s own experience of something like this to realize what it feels like and I will certainly be more sympathetic in the future to anyone in the same situation.

My other thoughts are that I am glad I didn’t know I was pregnant when I had the two bleeds during January as we will never know what those were about and not knowing I was pregnant at the time I wasn’t worried about them but would have been beside myself with worry if I had known.

I know a few people from the UK will need to be resuscitated about now – Fay (the April Fool is on you now!) and Big John Nicoletti are probably lying in a heap on the floor at the moment.

So lots to look forward to and lots to plan and think about. While I believe myself to be a good Auntie and fairly confident about looking after children it is different when it is only for a weekend. I could make lots of mistakes and then just hand the kids back at the end for their own parents to teach them everything else. I am clueless about pregnancy, childbirth and the details of child rearing but I am sure I will keep myself occupied with lots of books on the subject – some recommendations would be gratefully appreciated.

So at the moment life just goes on. I am still incredibly tired and at times nauseas although I am keeping the sickness at bay by eating constantly. Not put on any weight yet after 12 weeks and still have a fairly flat stomach. In some ways I can’t wait to show as that will start to make it more real to me and give me something visible to focus on and talk to – yes, yes I may be locked up in a comfy, fitted, white jacket!

I am still doing my dog walking and the 6 miles a day I seem to be averaging will keep me nice and fit until I become too bulky to manage it any more – and the money can go towards all the gear we will now need to purchase for Junior.

I am also trying to pick up the speed on the knitting needles and have started to knit a baby blanket. My mother used to always knit baby blankets and shawls for friends and families while I tended to stick to easier smaller items like cardigans, bootees and mittens. When I was over for my Mothers funeral we cleared some personal items out of her flat and I brought over her old patterns for baby blankets and shawls just for prosperity keepsake. Now I am having a baby of my own it is sad that I won’t get one of my Mothers beautifully knitted blankets but I have decided to try and pick up the tradition myself and I am challenging myself with using her patterns to knit my own. The blanket is already coming along nicely with a couple of false starts with some new stitches. Hopefully, it will work out and I will post some photos in a future blog.

I have so many questions on pregnancy that I really don’t know where to start, luckily, my sister in law, Alison has had two children and she had them at a later age like me as well so I am sure I will be relying on her heavily for lots of advice. Of course, any random advice you guys can give me is also appreciated. I am also hoping that Alison will come over and visit during the summer, probably in July to help me set up the nursery. While I am aware that I need a crib and the bigger items, it is all the small things that I will need that I don’t know where to start and you get so much crap these days that you don’t really need, that it will be great to get an “experts” opinion of what is actually useful and what is just trash – like the baby wipe portable heater to ensure your babies wipes are warm to the touch at all times!!!

Well not really sure what else to write at the moment as my brain is twirling around at 100 miles per hour. Due my 12 week scan this week and Nuchal testing for the risk of Downs Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy (high risk at my age). Will blog about how that goes in next installment.

Let the fun begin!! Xx

The Irish are coming – better late than never!

“I drink tequila and she talks dirty in Spanish….la la la”
I have put those song lyrics in to remind my RISI pals of that lovely little Irish group Crystal Swing to get them in the mood for my blog. If you don’t know what I am talking about then check them out on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAsUfWvIiXY&feature=player_embedded


Well, my friend Irish Sharon was coming over from Glasgow to visit me for the weekend. She was going to a conference in Orlando, Florida so booked flights for her and her boyfriend to come over a few days early and to come via Washington DC to visit us. I was so looking forward to her visit as it is the first one from my friends back home and I was just looking forward to catching up with her.

I met Sharon when she started working with Jarlath years and years ago at a company called Life Technologies. Both of them (and our flat mate at the time Richard) worked as Distributor Sales Managers. Sharon came over from Kodak. At the time Life Tech was not the most popular place to work which was reflected in the fact that there was a night out almost every Friday night for someone’s leaving do. Through these nights out, myself and Sharon became good friends. We then started to go to Salsa dancing classes together and became friends outwith Life Tech and Jarlath. Sharon is one of the sweetest women in the world but can be rather ditsy at times (sorry Shaz but you know its true!).

Then Life Tech decided to make all three of the positions redundant. It was very sudden, they all went into work one day not knowing a thing and I got a phone call to tell me that Jarlath, Sharon and Richard had all been made Redundant and asked to leave the premises immediately. A bit of a shock and they all decanted to the pub to try and get their heads around it. Anyway it was all highly irregular and because of that they got a decent payout to sign a document to not sue the company for unfair dismissal. Richard and Jarlath went on to get new jobs but Sharon decided to have a change in lifestyle and used her settlement to put herself through an MBA course. After she successfully completed her course she then wrote her business plan and started up her own business – Biochannel Partners.

http://www.biochannelpartners.com/?q=node/79

It is now becoming successful after many years although Sharon will admit herself it took a bit longer than planned as she procrastinated about direction at first. So she is now a successful Business woman and has a lovely boyfriend called Frank, so life is pretty good for her at the moment.

They were supposed to be flying into Washington late on Thursday afternoon but they managed to miss their flights. When Frank checked their itinerary instead of looking at the flight time he took note of the trip duration so thought the flight was taking off at 15.40. It in fact took off in the morning while they were still pottering around their flat – a rather large numpty moment methinks.

So they duly rebooked for the Friday to come via New York but, unfortunately, there was bad weather in New York so their flight was originally delayed for 8 hours and then finally cancelled. Note to all – there is always drama around the Keatings these days when it comes to travel.
They again rebooked but it seemed that the only flights they could get were later ones on the Saturday and they would not get into Washington until very late on Saturday night. As they were then flying out early Sunday afternoon we decided that they should just try and get flights directly to Orlando and come and visit us another time. Highly disappointing but not much we could do about it.

Jarlath and I went out for some tapas on the Friday night and then just chilled around on Saturday running some errands until I got a surprise text from Sharon at 4.00p.m. to say they were in New York and had managed to get an early flight and would be in Washington within the hour. How lovely, so I jumped in the car (Jarlath was out on his road bike) and went off to pick them up from Reagan airport. Flight arrived early, pick up went ok and we were home in no time.

All had a drink and a quick catch up and then went up into Bethesda to get some dinner. As we had nowhere booked we tried a couple of restaurants which had long waits but we decided on one place and just sat at the bar until a table became free. It took some time so it was quite late when we ate but had a lovely dinner – slightly overpriced and the waiters were a bit stuck up – but lovely as we were with good friends.

Sunday came and we all got up nice and early to make the most of our time together. We went out for some brunch to the Tastee diner – a cute little American diner in the fifties style- and then drove into downtown DC to have a walk around the Lincoln memorial and the White House. It was a lovely sunny, cold day and was just nice to chat and walk. Unfortunately, we then had to take them to the airport for their flight onto Orlando. So a short but very sweet visit.

They are going to have so much fun in Orlando and they have the conference but then have a couple of days to do the Disney resort. They are going to Universal studios to see the new Harry Potter feature. I am very jealous and have asked for loads of photos which I will try and share later.

Anyway, a fun but short visit from a good friend with promises to come back for a proper visit later in the year. Xx

Sickness, a Winter Wonderland and a Tropical Paradise

Just realized how long it has been since my last post. My excuse, if one is needed, is that I have been suffering from poor health recently. I won’t go into the details of all my symptoms but suffice it to say I have been feeling really poorly and have been struggling to even get through each day. I have had to slow down significantly and take an afternoon nap just to get through the day and evening. I suspected Lyme disease (which is common around here) or a viral infection but of course in my stubborn way I thought it would work itself out of my system eventually. No such luck so last week, after three weeks of suffering, I dragged my sorry ass along to the Doctors and have had a series of blood tests. I am awaiting the results and, hopefully, will get something pinpointed and some treatment for whatever they find. I also need to get an abdominal x ray to rule out some pain down there and an electro cardio gram on my heart murmur to fully pinpoint that. My doctor is really lovely and is very easy to talk to.
Well enough whinging for now, so what have I actually managed to do.

A Winter Wonderland

Well unless you have been living in a cave you will have seen the snow we had in Washington Dc and Maryland over the last few weeks. I would not have believed it possible unless I had lived through it myself. Luckily the first fall was at the weekend so we didn’t have to be anywhere although it did mean that we had to cancel our wine tasting night that we were having in the house. This would have been fun but even the local folks could not walk here as the sidewalks were impassable and a lot of them had no electricity anyway. Not a bad thing given that my health was still at a low and I was struggling to motivate myself for a house full of 30 people to feed and water. We ended up staying in and being visited for nibbles and wine by our neighbor two doors up as they just managed to get here.
Lots of open fires and reading happened as there was not much else to do and no guilt at doing nothing was a bonus.
Luckily on the Monday after the main snow fall the main roads and airports were mainly opened and Jarlath managed to catch his flight to San Francisco for work. This allowed me to use his car which is a Quattro and handles really well in bad conditions, despite a very nervous driver. My work called a snow day on the Monday as most of the side roads were still blocked.
I managed to work on the Tuesday but was very frustrated by the time it took me to get to each house due to the road conditions and then when I got to three of the houses the dogs were not even there so a wasted journey – although I still get paid for them. More snow came on the Tuesday and through to the Wednesday again making the roads impassible so another snow day on Wednesday and Thursday. All I could really do was read and potter around the house which was lovely as again my health was letting me down.
Friday and I was the only dog walker that could get out so I agreed to do a few calls and did 4 houses. It was ok today as most people stayed of the road as it was Presidents day weekend and I think a lot had just decided to take the Friday off as well as the Monday and make a long weekend of it. It was nice to get some fresh air after being cooped up for so long. Jar arrived home on the Friday night and we just chilled through Saturday and packed for our holiday the next day.
Here are some snow photos although they don’t really do the sheer volume any justice:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=183285&id=626078744&l=54848b5fe2

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=184322&id=626078744&l=212fe6f12d

A Tropical Paradise
After our fairly disastrous holiday in Ocean City (see blog http://hazelkeating.blogspot.com/2009/09/most-expensive-bbq-in-world.html) we decided to book ourselves a winter week away in the sunshine. After looking at weather forecasts and monsoon seasons we decided to go to the Island of the Dominican Republic. Vicky goes there a couple of times a year and always seems to enjoy it so we took her recommendation of going to the resort called Cabarete. It seemed to tick all the boxes, especially for scuba diving. This was a must for our holiday as it has been a while and we want to keep in practice at it. We also took her recommendation on accommodation and booked ourselves a nice room with living area and kitchenette at Villa Taina hotel http://www.villataina.com/main.php.
We were worried about flights due to the snow but everything went according to plan. Our flight took off at 8.30a.m. on Sunday morning from Washington Reagan airport and landed in good time at Miami International airport. We then had about an hour in Miami airport and took off on time from Miami to Puerto Plata airport in the Dominican Republic. We were lucky on the second flight as we were both upgraded to Business class so had lovely big seats. There was free food and drink as well but we had already eaten in Miami not knowing we had an upgrade, so I just chilled with a cup of tea and enjoyed the extra comfy seat and leg room. We landed on time in DR and shot through immigration, a short wait for bags and walked through to find our taxi waiting right on time for us. All going well so far!
The 20 minutes drive to our hotel in Cabarete was an experience. The usual “foreign” kamikaze driving and a lot to see. It is always an eye opener to see the scale of the poverty in these places. There were a number of shanty towns set in the trees were whole communities seemed to be set up. It must be an horrific existence living in tin shacks, probably without proper water and power and all in a very hot and humid environment. We could not cope without our air conditioning in our hotel room so it was unimaginable how these people lived. The one thing that did strike me was how green the island was but I guess it gets so much rain and sunshine that it is not so surprising. On the flight in it was unbelievable who much and how vivid the greenery was over the whole island, so far from our normal holiday flights over the parched, desert grounds you see in Spain or the Greek Islands.
Arrived safely at the hotel and got booked into our room and went a short exploratory walk. The hotel looked nice and was right on the beach with a beach bar and restaurant and a kite surfing and boarding school and rental. The pool looked small but we don’t usually hang out at the pool anyway when we have the option of going in the sea. The main street was very basic and didn’t have a proper sidewalk so you were walking amongst the traffic and the fumes were slightly overwhelming. Not a big issue as we would just make a point of avoiding the main street as much as possible.
Well got ready to go out and enjoy our first night of holiday and would you believe it but a tropical storm blew in that would rival the one we experienced in Ocean city. We made it to the local Irish bar and had to bed in there for the evening as the wind and rain was so violent that most places had their shutters down on the beach side. We both just looked at each other and thought, oh no, not again, surely we couldn’t be that unlucky. Well the storm continued throughout the night but luckily it had practically blown itself out by the morning.
Well because of the storm our water pipe had burst outside so we were left with no water in the room. Luckily there was an empty room beside us so we got the key to that and used it as our toilet base until they could get the water situation fixed. We had fully unpacked so we were not looking forward to re-packing and moving rooms. We went to the beach for the day and had a fun time sunbathing and frolicking in the waves – which were rather rough because of the storm – no clear blue Caribbean waters for us! We had limited water that evening but managed to get ready and go out for the night. Found that when it wasn’t raining there were a number of lovely restaurants and bars that were open out into the beach just a minute from our hotel so we picked a nice looking one and sat with our feet in the sand with some dinner, drinks and a Hookah pipe. Very relaxing although my health was still not right so it wasn’t a very late night as I was really tired and needed to go to bed.
During the night, poor Jar, developed food poisoning and had a horrific time of vomiting and having the runs. Made even worse by having to run to the room next door due to our water situation. I packed a bag and went to the beach to leave him in peace to try and sleep it off. I actually had a pleasant day just sitting partially in the shade reading. Jar eventually managed to drag himself out the room late afternoon. As out water was now fixed we showered and wandered out for the evening. Unfortunately after trying to stomach some soup Jarlaths stomach started up again and we retreated home to the room for a very early night. It wasn’t a very restful night but we both got up fairly early and stumbled to the beach for the day.
The weather so far had been fairly pleasant with some sunshine and some clouds keeping the heat from building up too much which made it quite pleasant. The evenings were fairly chilly and I needed a wrap to keep warm. Again we both had taken warm weather clothes so were left with limited options of what we could wear and still be comfortable. Through Wednesday night and into Thursday (my Birthday) the weather took a turn for the worse and it was overcast and partially rainy all day on Wednesday.
The worst part of all this rain was that the rivers had swollen and overflowed into the sea making the visibility too poor to do any scuba diving. This was probably the greatest disappointment as it was the main reason for the holiday. Instead we just had to chill and do lots of reading, not a bad thing but can get slightly boring if it’s all to do for 8 days.
Another annoying thing from the holiday was the number of vendors trying to get you to buy their wares on the beach. I don’t normally mind the “looky looky” men as they are only trying to earn a living and I would much prefer that to begging. However, there were a very large number of them and they were particularly pushy in making sure they had your attention. If someone comes up to me and I say no thanks, I do not expect them to then whistle or make further noise at me to ensure that they have my full undivided attention. It was particularly annoying when I was clearly engrossed in my book and they would almost sit on top of me while whistling or pushing their trays in my face. The number of times I had to re-read a section of a book just started to annoy me. Sounds petty but it was far worse than I have seen anywhere else in the world. Probably made worse by the resort being fairly quiet even though it was supposed to be high season – the economy having an effect.
Well not much more to add for the last few days of the holiday, the weather was variable and we got some sun in the mornings and early afternoons but it would then get cold and overcast by the afternoon. I was still suffering health wise so even partying the night away was out of the question, so we were both very ready to come home – at one point we even discussed coming home a couple of days early but it would have cost too much.
So we set off for the airport on the Monday and were very much looking forward to getting home but, oh no, the journey home had to be hit with a problem. In summary, there was a technical issue with our intended plane. An alternative was eventually found but we were four and a half hours late in taking off which meant we arrived in Miami too late for our flight home and too late for the later flight home. Luckily both our flights were with American airlines so they put us up in a hotel and on the first flight home the next morning. By the time we got to the hotel we had to be up again in 5 hours, so neither of us slept and we were exhausted on the final flight home and arrived home more tired than when we left. A 20 hour journey from door to door was not pleasant. Poor Jar had to get showered and go straight into the office as he was supposed to be working that day and could not take it off. I was so tired I ended up getting a migraine in the afternoon and having to take to my bed for 15 hours.
So we are both in agreement, no more holidays for a good long time. If we do go it will be for a couple of days here and there locally where we have the option of driving home if all goes wrong.
Here are some photos of the fun bits:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=188855&id=626078744&l=1899812904

And some videos:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=367080173744#!/video/video.php?v=367081753744

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=367080173744#!/video/video.php?v=367080873744

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=367080173744#!/video/video.php?v=367080173744

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=367080173744#!/video/video.php?v=367078153744


Well you can’t say we live a dull life can you!!! Hopefully I will have my health issues sorted soon and will start having fun again to give me something more interesting to write about.
H Xx

Tell me about your 2009.

Well I thought in this blog I would pass it over to you to tell me a short paragrpah about what you have been up to in 2009 - highlights and lowlights - along with your dreams for 2010.

So go on and give me something to read for a change by posting your paragraph in the comments. Xx

Give Thanks for all our family and friends

I have been putting off writing this blog as I just couldn’t work out where to start of how to put everything down onto “paper”. So many feelings and thoughts to work through and try and make some sense of them.

Jarlath and I used to love doing road trips in the car and particularly in America. On several occasions we would fly into the US with no plans other than having a hire car waiting at the airport for us. We had a couple of our best holidays just jumping into the car, buying a road map and then taking off to wherever the road led us. A tour around Florida away from all the usual tourist haunts was one of the best. We have become slightly lazy (and used to luxury) over the past few years and have not done one of our road trips for a while. So when we knew we were going to spend Thanksgiving in Rochester, NY we thought we would try and combine it with a mini version of our road trips. The only difference being we did have a couple of specified destinations to work to.

We started off from Washington DC on the Friday afternoon of the 20th of November and headed north. The only remit we had was that we wanted to be in Toronto in Canada by about early afternoon on the Saturday. We had a great sunny day for a drive and set off North on highway 15 which would take us directly north towards Buffalo NY. I started out driving to allow Jarlath to continue working on emails and phone calls for a few hours. I always find this part of the driving rather boring as I can neither chat or have the radio on while Jarlath is working on the phone but I am a day dreamer so I manage to while away a couple of hours just day dreaming happily about everything and nothing. Once Jarlath finished work for the day we had checked an audio book out of the library to help us pass some of our journey. We had chosen it together – Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeffry Lindsay. It is the book that the tv series Dexter is based on. It was a good choice at it was a combination of a serious crime drama and comedy rolled into one and being 7 discs long it was going to cover a lot of our journey there and back again.

After driving for 6 hours (me having done 5 of those) we thought we would find a place to stop for the night so we could get some dinner and have a couple of beers. We came across a small town called Geneseo which was about 20 miles south of Rochester in NY state. It was a small college town so had a few bars and restaurants although nothing fancy but this suited us as we only wanted to go out for a couple of hours as we knew we wanted to get up sharp in the morning to continue our drive. We had a pleasant evening and a good night’s sleep in the Quality Inn there before continuing our journey to Toronto on the Saturday morning.

Saturday again turned out to be a lovely sunny day and the temperatures were very moderate for that time of year that far north (in the mid fifties Fahrenheit). We continued our drive and crossed the border in Buffalo into Canada before driving across Toronto to the suburb of Whitby.

Whitby is where the Tipping family is from. They are sort of relatives of Jarlath’s. It is too complicated to go into the family history but I class John and Kate (mom and dad) as Aunt and Uncle and their four daughters as cousins of Jarlath’s. We were mainly going to visit their oldest daughter Sonia as she had just had a baby girl one month previously but also she was the one we have always been most friendly with.

I remember the first time I met Sonia and her dad, John. Jarlath and I were staying at the family house in Achill in County Mayo, Ireland. It was a dreary, typical, wet and misty Irish day on the West coast so Jarlath and I had decided just to stay in for the day. We had a fire lit and I was doing a jigsaw while Jarlath was putting together an airfix model he had found around the house but generally just cosying up and enjoying a quiet afternoon. Then there was a knock on the door and in the typical Irish fashion it opened and in came John and Sonia. After introductions, Jarlath remembered Sonia from when he was a young teenager and she was a younger girl so we all packed up and walked around to the local pub (The Strand) and caught up on the last 20 years (or in my case met them for the first time) and had a lovely afternoon which stretched into the evening. From that fateful afternoon we both built up a nice friendship with Sonia and would meet in Ireland most summers when we were all over visiting family. I got on really well with Sonia at the time and we always had lots to talk about and laugh over every time we met. After several years, life and careers took over a bit and we never saw or spoke to each other (except the very occasional hello email or facebook message) for at least 4 years. In this time Jarlath and I got married (Sonia couldn’t make the wedding) and Sonia married Dale (we couldn’t make her wedding even though it was in Ireland) and Sonia became stepmom to Dales son Carson as well. We did bump into each other again in Ireland but our schedules just never seemed to click correctly. So anyway, when they had their first daughter, Ciara Grace, I thought that we should definitely make the effort to go and visit and re-establish our friendship.

We arrived at their house early on Saturday afternoon and were immediately at ease with each other like old friends. We just spent the afternoon chatting and then Katherine and Marie (two of Sonia’s sisters) came over to visit and then Mom and Dad came over for dinner and we spent a lovely evening with the family having some drinks and a lovely dinner of steaks (done outside on the BBQ even in November).
On Sunday we all decided to head to downtown Toronto to visit the CN tower. Jarlath and I had both been there before at separate times before we met each other but surprisingly Dale and Carson had never been up it despite living around Toronto for all of their lives. It was the perfect time for them to go up for the first time with their visitors. We left baby Ciara with grandparents for the afternoon and headed off.

The CN tower is a well known site and most people will have seen photos of the structure from the outside. There is not much inside except the view and a restaurant. The restaurant is a bit overpriced so we decided just to look at the view and have lunch somewhere else.

CN Tower is the tallest free-standing structure on land. It is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was erected as a communications and tourist tower. The CN Tower consists of a main hexagonal hollow pillar of concrete containing the elevators, stairwells and power and plumbing connections. To the main pillar are attached the broadcast antenna and the two main visitors area: lower down is a seven-storey Main Level at 330 m (1,100ft) while higher up, the Sky Pod (formerly called the Space Deck) at 447 m (1,465ft), just below the antenna. (Confusingly SkyPod was the name given to the seven-storey Main Level, but now refers to the Space Deck.) The main pillar has three supporting legs giving it the appearance of a camera tripod.

Some floors of the Main Level is open to the public. At 342 m (1,122ft) is the Glass Floor and Outdoor Observation Deck. The Glass Floor consists of thermal glass units that are 64mm (2 1/2in) thick. The floor has an area of 24sq metre and can withstand a pressure of 600psi. At 346m (1,136ft) is the Horizons Cafe and Look Out level. There is a rotating restaurant at 351m (1,150ft) called the 360 Restaurant. It makes a full rotation every 72 minutes. Below the Main Level is the tower's microwave receiver shaped like a big white donut.

The Sky Pod is presently the highest observation deck in the world. From here, you can see 100-120 km (60-75mi) away, to the city of Rochester across Lake Ontario in the US, and see the mist rising from Niagara Falls.

The CN Tower has the tallest metal staircase in thw world. At the 1776th step, the staircase reaches the Main Level. It reaches the Sky Pod at the 2,579th step. The staircase is intended only for emergency use, and is not open to the public outside three times a year during the charity stair-climbing events.

The CN Tower was built by the Canadian National Railway Company, and the CN originally refers to "Canadian National". It was built on former railway land which the railway company had planned for a development called Metro Centre. Two years into construction of the tower however, the Metro Centre development was scrapped, so when CN Tower was completed, it stood isolated. A few decades would pass before the "wasteland" below the tower was developed. Today new additions including the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the SkyDome (called the Rogers Centre since 2005). In 1995, the railway company sold off the tower before going public. Since it is no longer owned by the railway company, the CN abbreviation is now expanded to mean Canada's National Tower, a name not commonly used. Nevertheless, the locals as well as foreign visitors popularly call it the CN Tower.

The CN Tower was constructed when Toronto was experiencing an economic boom. Indeed the Canadian National Railway had planned it to demonstrate the strength of Canadian industries, and CN in particular. The late 1960s and early 1970s was a particularly prosperous time for Toronto, which see a sprout of large skyscrapers. This caused some difficulties in broadcasting to the downtown area, due to reflections from these tall buildings. The solution is to raise the antenna above all these buildings. At that time, most data communications use point-to-point microwave links that require line-of-sight links. The new skyscrapers obstruct such communications. By constructing this super tall tower, the CN Railway company can rent "hub" space for microwave links, as it will be visible from almost any building in the Toronto area.

Construction of the CN Tower began on 6 February, 1973. It topped off on 2 April, 1975, after 26 months of construction. It was opened to the public on 26 June, 1976, and had its official opening ceremony on 1 October, 1975.

We decided to go to the highest level of the Sky pod and luckily had great views as the weather was quite clear. The best part was when a cloud passed by. As we were so high up we were actually in the clouds so would suddenly be surrounded by it for a short time.
We then moved down to the main observation deck where the best part for me was the glass floors. It is freaky to be standing and looking down to see yourself so high in the air with “nothing” underneath you. Some people would not even walk on the glass but I am sure it is very tough and well tested to ensure that there is no risk of cracking or falling through.

We were all quite tired after our afternoon out so just went back to the house where everyone came over again and Mom and Dad brought over lasagna and we just all had dinner and chatted for the rest of the evening. Dale in, typical Canadian fashion, is into Ice hockey and plays in a team so he had to go out late on the Sunday night as he had a game booked at 10.45p.m.! He must have been shattered when he was finished.

It was lovely to catch up with everyone again and we will need to make sure that we don’t leave it so long next time. I loved being able to hold the baby and I always like rocking them to sleep and even got a chance to feed her. It always makes me a bit broody when I get to hold a baby, particularly when they are friends or family, and does even make me sad that I will never have one.

Monday came and we said our goodbyes and set off for the next leg of our road trip. We were heading for Niagara Falls. Again we had both been before we met each other with different friends but fancied having another look and experiencing the lovely tacky side of the falls on Clifton Hill. It was only a three hour drive so we arrived early afternoon, had a short drive around to see the area and then booked ourselves into a Days Inn on Clifton Hill. We originally were joking about trying to get a lovely, tacky room with a heart shaped, vibrating bed but even in Niagara Falls these were not apparent. So we vouched for the Jacuzzi room instead which was a lovely big room with two Queen size beds and a huge Jacuzzi (that could have fitted 8 people comfortably if you were so inclined) right in the bedroom. As it was another lovely afternoon we didn’t waste any time in the room and headed out for a walk towards the falls. They are an amazing sight and I would recommend a visit to anyone who is travelling to that part of Canada. We decided to try and get a bit closer so tried to sneek down an access road that was closed to the public and did manage to get closer than we should have to the bottom of the falls.
We also walked around to the Horseshoe falls on the Canadian side where we got soaked from the spray as the wind was in the wrong direction and brought all the spray back over the sidewalk.

That evening we fancied getting a bit dressed out and having a wee fun night out so we headed out to one of the famous casinos. We only gamble about once every 5 years on these such occasions so it is actually quite fun. We set ourselves a budget of $100 canadian each and once we lost that we would walk away. The only game we know how to play is regular blackjack so we found a table with a low minimum bet, got a couple of drinks and sat down to gamble. It was fun because I love trying to count the cards in a “Rainman” fashion (but without the brain to succeed). I bet for a couple of hours until I eventually lost all my stake money but I was happy to just sit and watch Jarlath continue to play. He was very lucky (or skillful!) and he managed to use his $100 stake money and came away with $225. So he made my losses back plus kept his own stake money and made $25 on top which paid for the drinks. So all in all a thoroughly enjoyable night. We had lost track of time and realized it was now 1.30 in the morning and we had not eaten all evening so headed out of the casino to see if anywhere was still open for something to eat. No luck so we had to go to bed hungry. When we woke up we were both so ravenous that we just threw on some clothes and headed out to the nearest diner for some breakfast.

Here are some photos from this part of our trip:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=163376&id=626078744&l=8bd5f2af10

Again we packed up and decided to set off on our road trip. We decide to drive to Niagara on the Lake and spend the afternoon there as it is supposed to be rather elegant and tranquil.
Besides having the reputation as one of the prettiest towns in Canada, Niagara-on-the-Lake is also one of the most fascinating historically.

The Town has retained its 19th century charm and is a wonderful place to explore with its forts, grand mansions, colourful gardens and parks, and pot-pourri of arts and crafts."
Strategically situated at the mouth of the mighty Niagara River, Niagara-on-the-Lake played a key role in much of the early government, the War of 1812, commerce, and most recently as a centre for tourism and the arts.
In fact, it is said that to understand the history of Niagara-on-the-Lake is to understand the history of early Ontario.

There were lots of lovely little, very British, shops. My favourite being the Scottish Loft where I stocked up on four cans of Diet Irn Bru and was very excited for a while. We just had a stroll around the lake and then some tea and scones in a lovely wee Irish tearoom. We found a plaque with the celtic history of the name Keating and bought it for our house. We also bought a couple of little Christmas decorations for the Christmas tree - I got a Canadian Mountie that moves its arms and legs up and down and Jarlath got Homer Simpson as santa being stuck in the chimney. It was a lovely relaxing afternoon and again lots of fresh air in the cold but sunny weather.

That evening we were originally supposed to be heading to Rochester to stay with Martin and Lisa and their kids but we got a call to say that the workmen they had in were running behind so could we arrive a day later on the Wednesday. No problem, so we took the opportunity to visit Buffalo NY for the night. We found a hotel and went out for a couple of drinks and a lovely Italian Dinner but as we were both quite tired we had a fairly early night to save our strength for thanksgiving. I wasn’t that impressed with Buffalo as it seemed rather poor and rundown but perhaps we just stayed in the wrong area and if we had a local guide we would have a different opinion of it, I certainly would not rush back for another visit though.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=163684&id=626078744&l=fc51ae3fed

Wednesday morning and we drove into Rochester. As we were not expected until after 3.00p.m. we decided to drive straight the Eastman House.

George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film combines the world’s leading collections of photography and film with the stately pleasures of the landmark Colonial Revival mansion and gardens that George Eastman called home from 1905 to 1932. The Museum is a National Historic Landmark. Mr. Eastman, the founder of Eastman Kodak Company, is heralded as the father of modern photography and the inventor of motion picture film.

The Eastman House, the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the world’s oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949. World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the Museum is also a leader in film preservation and photograph conservation, educating the top archivists and conservators from around the world.

Mr. Eastman (1854–1932) built his home at 900 East Avenue between 1902 and 1905. He created a unique urban estate complete with 10.5 acres of working farm land, formal gardens, greenhouses, stables, barns, pastures, and a 35,000-square-foot, 50-room Colonial Revival mansion with a fireproof structure made of reinforced concrete.

Mr. Eastman’s house presented a classical facade of decorative craftsmanship. Beneath this exterior were such modern conveniences as an electrical generator, an internal telephone system with 21 stations, a built-in vacuum cleaning system, a central clock network, an elevator, and a great pipe organ, which made the home itself an instrument, a center of the city’s rich musical life from 1905 until Eastman’s death in 1932.

Mr. Eastman’s will bequeathed his estate to the University of Rochester for 10 years. His close friend Rush Rhees, then president of the university, resided here until 1935, succeeded by the Valentine family. Following World War II, the university transferred the estate to a board of trustees, which formed to establish a museum of photography, attracting precious artifacts from around the world to a center of study, care, and exhibition.
The George Eastman House Museum of Photography was chartered in 1947. Today the Museum’s full name is George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. The Museum’s mission from the outset was to collect, preserve, and present the history of photography and film. The Museum opened its doors to a diverse public audience in 1949, displaying its core collections in the former public rooms of Eastman’s house.

It was a quite interesting place to visit although the one display that Jarlath remember from a previous visit was no longer there. It showed Niagara Falls at their original full power before some of the water was redirected to create power and given our recent visit we both wanted to see them. It was still an interesting couple of hours.

We headed off to the house for 3.00p.m. but in true Martin fashion no-one was there so we “forced” ourselves to go to the local pub and have a beer while we waited for our friends. Martin joined us after 40 minutes and we all headed back to his house and waited for Lisa and the kids to come home. Liam, Erin and Cate are such lovely kids and after about 5 seconds of shyness they just treat us like they see us every day. Cate is just 6 months old and I grabbed her the moment they arrived and barely let her go the whole time I was there. Again it was lovely to be around the kids - it makes me realize how much I miss my nephews and nieces in the UK.

Thursday was Thanksgiving day and we were all headed out late afternoon (after a lovely trip to the lake) for dinner at Lisa’s Mom and Dad’s house (Beth and Don). A number of her family were there – her aunts Phyllis and Dar, Dar’s husband Fred and daughter Kate and Lisa’s Nana who is 92 years old but ever so fit and sprightly for her age. It was a lovely time being welcomed into the family home for my first Thanksgiving (along with baby Cate as well). It was just a full turkey dinner, lots of wine and loads of chatting. We got on really well with aunt Dar and Fred and have been invited up to their house for Christmas as they only live a few hours away in Pennsylvania. We won’t be able to make it this year but will certainly take a trip up to them at some point.

The next couple of days we just all hung out together and caught up and had a great time.
I adore Martin and Lisa and their kids and wish that we lived a lot closer so I could get to see them a lot more. I hope to go and visit myself next year to help out with the kids and to catch up.
So much love and happiness was shared over Thanksgiving and it really gave me a warm feeling to be welcomed into such a loving family. I did get a bit emotional on the Friday evening. I was sitting through in the living room on my own with Cate, trying to get her to sleep. I could hear Christmas carols coming through the speakers from the kitchen and lots of lively chatter as well. I am not really sure what I was thinking but got overwhelmed for a moment and shed a small tear but it was a happy sadness – don’t tell anyone though as I don’t want them to think I am going soft or something! I was also slightly teary when Beth and Don and the rest of the family were leaving as it just made me realize what I don’t have with not having any family around me any more.

Well another wonderful trip ended with an uneventful car journey home on the Saturday to prepare for getting back to reality on the Monday. Lots of beautiful memories and time with my husband.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=163918&id=626078744&l=aed9948a92

Love to everyone and just spend a moment giving thanks for your friends and family. Xx

It's raining cats and dogs

Well I thought for this blog I would share with you some photos of some of my animal clients. they are all lovely and each have their own personality and mannerisms (just like humans). The job is really going well and it is doing everything I wanted it to. I am getting out walking in all weather - yes even when it is raining cats and dogs.


These photos are my regulars and I have been visiting them all for the last couple of months. I am glad they have kept me on the same area consistently as it lets me build up a friendship and trust with each of the pets and this makes my life easier as they respond more to commands after a few visits. It also helps in that I no longer need to use my GPS to get to the houses and can drive without any aid, this along with not having to read the information sheet for each visit takes about 5 minutes off the time I need each visit which adds up over the day.




My first one is Plato.

His breed is Standard poodle and he comes up to my waist.

He is completely mad and relies on his looks to get by rather than his intelligence, I guess he is the doggy equivalent of a bimbo. He is quite highly strung and loves chasing after trucks that drive by and chasing stones if you kick them on the pavement. He lives with a Jewish family of Julia and Matt with 3 year old daughter Hannah. Hannah is looked after by her Russian grandmother who I talk to every time I go into pick up Plato. she is a mine of local information and just fun to chat with.
Plato comes running as soon as he hears my key in the back door and loves to stand with his head bowed in front of me letting me pat his head and play with his floppy ears.
In these photos he is a bit shaggy as he needs to be clipped. It was so funny when he was just clipped as he looked really gaunt and like a completely different dog.

These two beauties are Tango and Romeo the cats. They are not my regulars and only get looked after when their owners - The Horwitzs - are on holiday. They remind me of Trudie, Jethro and Dexter when I visit them. They both come running when I go in the house and their favourite game is to lick your hands and arms clean with their rough little tongues. Very loving cats and always look like they could get up to a lot of mischief.

This tiny wee thing is Ellie. She is a Chihauhau/Rat terrier mix. She was an abused dog who was rescued by her owner. It is heartbreaking to think of someone mistreating her as she is such a loving little thing once she gets to know you. Because of the abuse she does not like people very much until she trusts them and it was sad at first to see her so scared of me as if I was going to hurt her. She actually bit me the first time I went in and tried to get her collar and leash on but she was just so terrified - it wasn't an aggresive thing but just self defense. Now when I go in she comes running and jumps up onto my leg and then runs to the door to get her collar and lead on.

She loves her walk as she has so much excess energy and I almost have to run to keep up with her which is so funny as she has tiny little legs. I look forward to this walk as it is usually my first of the day and it is a good fast walk for half an hour.

This funny little face is Buffy the pug. She is very loved by her owner and is left at home during the day with her own blanket on the couch and the tv left on showing all the soap operas and Project Runway on. When I go she jumps of the couch and goes and chooses a toy from her toy box to bring to me. Her favourite toy is the frog in the second photgraph, so cute.

Buffy hates the rain and when you take her outside in it she won't move and gives you a look as if to say "WTF you dragged me away from my warm couch out into this" as she has a very expressive face.

I have found myself tucking her under my arm with her wee Burberry coat on and carrying her away from the house a couple of blocks so she has to walk home when it is raining.

Did you know that pugs have very sensitive throats so you should never walk them with a collar and leash and shoudl always use a harness so that you are not tugging on their necks!

These next two ladies are Ubu and Maggie Moo. Two large black labradors. I have them for an hour most days and they are a right handful to walk together. I try and walk them together and they love being with each other but some days I have to take them out individually when I am to tired to handle them both. Maggie is fatter, older and a bit slower and is very well behaved, if a little excitable. She loves to meet new people but will sit in front of them and get patted.

Ubu on the other hand is still a puppy in labrador terms and is very strong and pulls a lot. When she spots a squirrel or another dog I have been known to almost fly off my feet if I am not ready for her drag.

They are both very loved as they belong to a couple who are having trouble with fertility. Lara is an art teacher and has been struggling with fertility issues and mental health issues and the dogs are her babies. I have met Lara a couple of times and she seems really lovely if a little sad. The karma of the house is a bit sad overall.

I certainly get a good workout when I walk these dogs as it is an hour of being dragged at quite a good speed.

This old dear is one of my favourites. She is Sheba and is a twelve year old Black Lab. She was also an abused dog who was rescued when the son was 21 years old. She walks really slowly and plods along like a big brown bear.

Her owner is unsually in when I pick her up and she is very complimentary of me and says she only keeps the company on because Sheba adores me so much.

I usually walk her mid way through my day and it a nice respite and restorative walk after my other more energetic clients.

This intelligent chap is Rufus. He is a Nova Scotia Duck Retriever. He also looks forward to his walk and has a real intelligence behind his eyes when you look directly into them. His family is lovely, Lynn and Rich and their two wee daughters Esther and Maia. He is a very loved dog and is so loving and well behaved. I got a Christmas present of a lovely hardback book full of doggy photos from him.

This puppy is Rosie. She is a yellow labrador. While she is a lovely little thing I don't enjoy walking her so much as she doesn;t really walk but just sniffs about. We don't usually cover much ground and she can be very stubborn and I spend half my time trying to drag her home.

The plus side to this dog is that she lives close to a woods. Most of my walking is on suburban streets so it is nice for once to get into some trees and off the streets. A family of deer live in the woods and we quite often come across them. Luckily Rosie is not bothered with them so we get very close to them without Rosie trying to chase them away. the worst part of this walk is that Rosie like to try and eat the deer poo, so I have to be quite vigilant when she is sniffing around so that she doesn't.

Well that's all the ones I managed to get photos off and most of my regulars anyway. I have just signed up two more houses on my normal route.

Ziggy is a mad, vegetarian, holistic dog. Not sure what that entails but she is crazy and poos a lot of sweetcorn!

Calvin and Meli and 2 sweet puppies, one black and one yellow lab. They are so young and frolic about with each other. I take them out together for now but will need to separate them when they get bigger and stronger.

Well I love my job still even when it has been mad for the last week with a lot of people being away for the holidays and having lots of extra houses and pets to visit. The other day I was walking for 6 hours in the day with different dogs. Completely knackered at times but very happy with it (and with the extra money!).

Hope you enjoy the photos and my brief descriptions of each of my clients. Take care. Xx

Fall has landed

It is beautiful here with all the leaves falling of the trees and seeing the vast array of colours. What is strange is the ever changing weather. Some days it feels like winter while other days it is 70 degrees and I am out walking with shorts and t shirts. I never know what clothes I am going to wear from one day to the next as it can change in the blink of an eye. The one good thing is that the weather forecast usually gets the prediction right for each day and then that day stays constant – unlike in Scotland where you get caught in a snow drift in the afternoon after leaving the house in a summer dress because the sun was out in the morning. The one piece of advice that has been useful is layering – I always wear several layers so that I can adjust my outfit throughout the day with the weather.

Well the dog walking is going really well and I can already see a change in my fitness and body shape from it. My metabolism has got faster again and I am constantly eating to keep my energy levels up but not putting on any weight as I am walking so much. I am also please that I am still going to my yoga and pilates class each morning and I am now really seeing the results in the change in shape of my body. Jar noticed that my butt had tightened the other day and described it as a “nice pilates bum” and that has always been my problem area.

The job has been doing everything I hoped it would as I am getting so much fresh air each day and I am out even when it is pouring down and I would otherwise not be venturing out in it. I have just taken Elaine (Dingsy) advice on buying myself a very decent pair of waterproof walking boots. I had a pair of good hiking boots but they have never been right on me and always ripped my feet to shreds so we went out over the weekend and bought a new pair which I thoroughly tested in the shop but I guess only time will tell if they work well. I certainly need them as my trainers were not waterproof and I couldn’t really do all the walking and driving in wellington boots. While I was at the sports shop getting them I also bought myself a wee cheap pedometer as I am curious to see what distance I am covering each day – no reason other than sheer curiosity. I will start using it tomorrow so will let you know.

The dogs are just so loving and are genuinely bonding with me. I have been doing the same basic route for the last 3 weeks so have the same core clients each day, with extras added on every other day. It is so lovely when the run to me and bounce around very excited. I will try and get some pictures over the next few weeks and write a blog about my clients. So many different dog types and mixes that I have never come across.

What else have we been up to?

Well we experienced out first American Halloween. They really go in for it in a big way. In the suburbs where I do my walking, every other house had Halloween decorations outside – lots of spiders webs complete with giant spiders and grave yards in gardens complete with grave stones and skeletons climbing out of the ground. Lots of pumpkin carvings as well. We decided not to bother with any pumpkins or decorations as we knew that we were going out for Halloween and would not be having any visitors or trick or treaters. On Halloween night we met up with Kim and Andrew in Georgetown for an early dinner. The restaurant was, aptly, named The Tombs and all the staff were dressed up. My favourite was the barman dressed as an Oompah Loompah. I went as Galadriel (the queen of the elves) from Lord of the rings and Jarlath went as William Wallace from Braveheart. Jars costume was outstanding and certainly got him lots of attention on the Metro as we were coming home later on – if one more person shouts Freeeeedom I would have probably screamed. After dinner we headed up to the Dupont Circle area and went into a bar called Lucky bar as it looked like fun. It certainly was fun as again everyone in the place was dressed up in some way. It was amazing to see almost everyone out that night had made an effort to dress up in some way. I got overexcited to see some of the muppets from Sesame street and almost passed out when I found a Hobbit to go with my costume. Well we ended up going in for the costume competition and Jarlath came a healthy second place to win a $50 voucher for the place. We will go back and have some dinner and drinks soon as it is a nice place. He was beaten by Oscar the Grouch which was a superb costume although it is available to buy as a completed costume on the internet whereas Jarlath’s was homemade from items we had in the house so I felt he deserved his prize just for that! Anyway it was lots of fun. Jarlath and I went to get the metro home just after midnight which was quite a surreal experience as we were surrounded by some strange people – although I am sure we looked just as strange to them. I ended up sitting beside Jesus Christ complete with Crown of thorns and had quite an interesting conversation with him on our way back to Bethesda. When we reached Bethesda we decided to drop into our local Irish pub for a last night cap. Luckily it was still open and some of our friends were still there so we had some fun for another hour before eventually giving it up for the night and getting a taxi home for 2.00a.m All in all a fun night. Here are the photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=155526&id=626078744&l=9c0296b532

And here are the photos of the pumpkin patch we visited even although we didn’t buy any:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=153804&id=626078744&l=7fb3beeb4f

I have been quite remiss in visiting any museums or places of interest lately so decided to go into downtown DC and visit a museum. I wasn’t in the mood for anything of high intellect so we chose to visit the Crime and Punishment museum. It was quite interesting and had the usual sections of medieval torture instruments (which I love) along with more modern serial killers from America. They had a CSI crime lab which was fairly interesting and would be more so if you watched the program, I am sure. It was an interesting day out if a little overpriced – it was a privately owned museum and not part of the Smithsonian. It is also still quite exciting to just wander around down town DC as it is still new to us.

Even more photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=159791&id=626078744&l=6793db8016

We also decided to take advantage of the good weather last Sunday by going out a long walk. Vicky had given us a book called 50 hikes within 50 miles as a house warming gift and we have been trying to use it every so often. We chose a walk in Rock Creek park. This park was established in 1890 and covers 2100 acres in the heart of DC. When Sarah (Sazzymch) was passing through on her way to Texas we had tried to find the park to go a walk but only succeeded in finding a small wooded area full of garbage and condoms. Well I am not sure how we couldn’t find this park as it is so big and has lots of sports facilities, planetarium and lots of trails. Jarlath and I found a 9 mile walk in the Northern wooded area and had a lovely afternoon out as the sun was shining through the trees. We also visited the nature centre where I got to handle lots of pelts from real animals, which was a bit gross, but interesting.

Some photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=159780&id=626078744&l=80e515c4e3

This Sunday was another lovely day so we again decided to have a day out somewhere different so decided on driving to Annapolis to see the Naval academy and harbor. You forget how close some places actually are and realized this was only a 45 minute drive out towards Chesapeake bay area. The temperature was at 70 degrees again so the drive was lovely and when we arrived we parked up and went a walk up the main street to look at all the quaint little shops and then around the harbour. We then decided to take a 40 minute boat trip around the bay with a tour guide giving us some history on the Naval academy and local area. It didn’t really tell us very much but the boat ride was quite pleasant and for once I didn’t feel queasy or sea sick. After our boat trip we decided against the tour of the naval academy as we wouldn’t have time to do it properly so we found a lovely restaurant and sat out on the deck overlooking the harbour for some lunch. It was a nice trip out for a lovely Sunday afternoon. All a bit middle aged but I guess we are getting that way now!

Some more photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=159783&id=626078744&l=c42df7190f

Well spending this week having the book group at my house and getting reading for our week long Thanksgiving trip to Toronto in Canada and Rochester, NY. So, I should have a bit more to write about for my next blog.

Hope I haven’t bored you too much and that people are actually still reading!!?

Happy Christmas and Thanksgiving planning everyone.

H Xx

Ps Hugs to Trudie (notblondereally) and a fast recovery from her post op infection and to Elaine well just because!