Lizziedripping's Blog

I’m back

lizziedripping — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 15:07:33 +0000

I stopped blogging for quite some time although I have been writing on a couple of forums. Now i think I’d like to put fingers to keyboard again, i don’t really mind if anyone out there reads this stuff, it’s like a diary, a catharsis of sorts. What have i been up to? The usual stuff, working, living, trying to make sense of all the bad things that happen in this world to good people. But I’m not here to moan and whine about things I have no control over, i just want to keep a journal to remind me of what it is to be me. Yesterday i took a trip into town with a friend to see a photographic exhibition, one of the things that i will pursue when i retire is photograpy. The images were all from the world wildlife competition and some of them were amazing, from tiny leaf cutter ants to majestic tigers all captured in a single special moment of their lives. Afterwards we headed for tapas and wine, sitting on a little balcony overlooking the entrance to the complex, we could see all the young women arriving for a night at the clubs. We are both ladies of a certain age (50ish) and as we watched the very scantily clad girls go by we reminisced on our teen years and how we dressed then. I had to admit that I was into mini skirts and boots but no boobs on show, and mostly it was jeans and t-shirts. I’m afraid that i found some of the girls outfits way too revealing and some of the larger ones should have covered up a lot more, but hey maybe i’m just getting old and should actually admire their confidence. Watching the posturing and preening I’m really quite glad in some ways that i don’t have to go through all the rituals anymore, i don’t have the energy. Today has been a glorious spring day with sunshine and a light breeze, i made the most of it by weeding my garden and then sitting with my ebook and just relaxing for an hour or so. Normally i would have indulged in a glass of wine but I started a healthy eating plan with the intention of dropping 44+ lbs before the end of this year and so my wine is rationed, i will have a glass later with dinner though, it is good for the heart after all. So far I have lost 16lbs, i go up and down as i eat out quite often and then it’s hard to be really good but i am trying. Outside i hear children laughing and playing and wisps of smoke are floating past my window from a neighbour’s bar-b -q. Nothing ever seems quite so bad to me when the sun shines, but it doesn’t shine a lot here. My cat has just arrived and wants to walk all over the keyboard, obviously i have neglected him today so i will have to stop writing and make a fuss of him. Enjoy the rest of your day, wherever you are.

Henri Thunderpaws

lizziedripping — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:40:44 +0000

I have an animal companion (i believe that the term pet is now not politically correct). He is a ginger cat called Henri, he earned his Native American name (Henri Thunderpaws) because of his lack of lightness of paws when jumping down from things. I had not intended to have a cat but he was about to meet the great vet in the sky and my son persuaded me to step in and save one of his feline lives. Once convinced i went shopping and spent a lot of money on cat paraphernalia and then we went to collect our new house guest. Upon arriving at home the ungrateful beast wriggled and squirmed and escaped!!. For four days I left food at the front door and occasionally I I caught a glimpse of a little ginger furball darting away. I moved the food dish to the windowsill where I could keep watch and the next time I saw him I moved the food into the hall and then into the kitchen, he followed and bam, he was trapped. Then I began to worry that it wasn’t the kitten we had rescued but my son had taken a photo of him so after comparisons were made we happily welcomed him to his new home. Now he rules the house, he’s a very vocal cat and very fussy about his food but I love how he calls to me in the morning when it’s time to get up and how he announces his return after a wander outside with lots of meowing and then a leap into my lap to have a snooze. I love my cat and I think he loves me.

Tagged: Pussy Cat

Lost

lizziedripping — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:06:41 +0000

As a young woman I was anti lots of things, anti-war, anti-apartheid, anti-authority etc. Everthing was black and white, love conquered all and peace was the only way forward. Then life stepped in and everything changed to grey, there were still things i didn’t feel you could compromise on such as the apartheid issue but when i was forced to look at the alternatives to dealing with events like the holocaust i had to admit that standing by and protesting peacefully would not have stopped the Fuhrer. Coming from a Catholic Irish family my decision to join the Army Medical Services Volunteers caused a wave of disapproval amongst the outer reaches but my immediate family knew that i must have thought about the ethics of it before deciding. I believed that as a health care professional i could help those who were injured in the pursuit of their duty. I don’t always agree with the powers that be and their decisions but then neither do a lot of the soldiers, but in many places they bring stability and freedom to people. Over the years i have read more and studied the conflicts and have been appalled at the inordinate waste of young lives at times but have also marvelled at the courage and tenacity of many of our soldiers. On a visit to Monte Cassino, Anzio and Syracuse we walked among row upon row of those who had died and now lay far from home. The graves commission do the most wonderful job of maintaining these places and you will always meet someone who has travelled far and wide to visit someone they lost.

Cemetry at Cassino

Anzio

Syracuse

Tagged: Lost

Politics

lizziedripping — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:09:55 +0000

When i was growing up i couldn’t wait to vote, i appreciated what the sufferagettes had fought for and wanted to continue to raise the awareness of womens rights. However it is so difficult to follow through on this when you are presented with little choice and don’t agree with a lot of their policies. At the moment in the UK it is hard to have any respect for politicians as wave after wave of disclosures show that they have been cheating the public of tens of thousands of pounds on spurious claims. Greed and lack of integrity are the order of the day so where do you place your X. In N Ireland it is even worse with all the different Unionist Parties (UPs)- the DUP,UUP,PUP etc etc, and the other side with their extremist ideas as well. Don’t get me wrong they have some good policies but it’s all wrapped up in bigotry and tribalism and i don’t trust any of them. But not to use your vote is wrong too so i have to pick the least offensive and hope for the best.

Banging the drum

lizziedripping — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:05:58 +0000

It is May which in N Ireland terms means it is creeping closer to July and the “Marching Season”. Where i live the band has started to practice, they use the community hall to hone their tunes and the streets to hone their marching. Along side these musicians come the men with their tin cans collecting money for the band and so begins my yearly dilemma, do i refuse politely and risk being targeted, or do i relinquish my principles and throw a few coins their way. So far a mumbled, sorry no change , seems to have seen me through until August when things begin to quiet down again so here we go again.

Tagged: 12th July

The written word

lizziedripping — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:52:48 +0000

I enjoy words, reading them, speaking them and listening to others using them. I have no problem with accents and colloquialisms but i dislike bad spelling and grammar. Am I old fashioned or too stuffy? I can’t help it, i find myself cringing especially if it is someone i think should be able to write with more attention to detail. Take this morning, my “sort of ” boss is writing a reference for me and he sent it to me for a quick look, it is full of spelling mistakes, poor grammar and complete sentences that make no sense. And as for his punctuation!! So how do i gently correct it without seeming to criticise his efforts or do i just plunge right in with the red pen. I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but i try to read back over my draft to at least check if it is understandable, is that so strange?

Tagged: Grammar

Glorious day

lizziedripping — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:36:53 +0000

What a glorious day it has been. I have weeded, hoed, planted and then sat back and enjoyed. If only there were more days like this. Many years ago on days like this i would have got on my motorcycle and headed down the twisty windy roads that hug the lough shore, stopping at the tip of the penninsula to watch the ferry cross to the other side a mere 7 mins away, have a 99 slider (ice cream wafer with a flake in it) and then take the other road back home. Someday i’ll buy another bike, just for days like these. I’m starting to go over the Italian phrases i might need when i get to tuscany, i have a cd which is pretty good and allows me to speak and have my pronunciation checked so i hopefully will be understood. My sister celebrates her 25th wedding anniversary next week and i just couldn’t decide on a present. They are both private people and really don’t want a fuss made but i couldn;t let it pass so i have bought them a silver birch tree. They have a fabulous garden which they both work hard to maintain so i hope they will enjoy the tree.

Been sick

lizziedripping — Sat, 09 May 2009 17:50:46 +0000

Had an awful few days with a very heavy summer cold but am bouncing back. Just waiting for my friend Jen to visit, it will be pizza and wine and gossip. Can anyone of my transatlantic readers tell me why bangs are called bangs, here we call it a fringe and i can see why it might be called that as a fringe kind of hangs down as a cover but bangs?. So if you can help me out i’d be grateful.

Tagged: Bangs?

Is summer here?

lizziedripping — Sat, 02 May 2009 20:59:40 +0000

Today the weather gave me a little hope of a summer, i managed to get out into the garden and plant some new shrubs and flowers after clearing all the weeds. Ireland is lush and green but it comes at a price – RAIN and lots of it. But when i had finished and sat down to survey my work, the tree with it’s gorgeous pinky white blooms and the clematis just about to burst into full flower and all the other little plants with their kaleidoscope of colours, i was content to be here. It may not be big and impressive, the area might not be exclusive but it’s my haven.

Home comforts

lizziedripping — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:54:29 +0000

I’ve just read a fascinating post from 20th century woman on subsistence living, a concept that i was not totally familiar with. I have now researched it on a very superficial level and realise that my sister has begun this in a small way as all her vegetables are home grown and she has made her own wine from fruits in her garden. My partner would be deemed a bit of a survivalist as he has deliberately over the years learnt many skills in order to be as self sufficient as possible in the event of a disaster. He is an Army medic, but can turn his hand to most household requirements, from plumbing to carpentry to electrical work. He learnt how to drive, fly, ski, ride a horse, just in case!! I’d never thought about it before but if the worst were to happen i would trust him to help us survive, his ability to solve problems other people have given up on makes him a great leader and teacher. His motto is improvise. adapt and overcome.

In a similar vein I watched an amazing programme on the Nenet tribe of Northern Siberia as they moved their reindeer herds in the autumn migration. The entire migration covers around 1100 kilometres and includes a 48 km crossing of the frozen waters of the Ob River. For these journeys the reindeer are used to pull sledges that carry the people and their camp. The chum is the living space and is made of reindeer skins that are laid over a skeleton of long wooden poles, many of which have a special position in the structure and are not interchangeable., these chums are moved every other day during the migration. The children attend boarding schools and only return during the summer holidays. Watching their daily life in such harsh conditions i was totally amzed when they arrived at Yar-Sale, which is the administrative centre and where they sell their reindeer, to see that they had a large house there with all mod cons, stove, heating and TV. Then when the sale was completed they packed up and went back to their herding, I’m such a woosy, I would have said ok off you go but i’ll just stay here. They spoke about the freedom of the tundra and not liking to be confined, i just saw freezing tents and very hard work, i’m way too used to my home comforts.