vulgar comfort

2011-02-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

2011-02-02T16:12:00.000-08:00

saw Black Swan tonight.
snapped these in Limerick over the weekend - that crow is gigantic!

2011-02-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

this time last year, a tiny tuft of steam coming out of the roof. might be something far away but i think it's the roof.

2011-02-01T15:16:00.000-08:00

some bleary eyed tea — I'm slowly working my way through my tea collection which includes a lucky dip jar. There's one down the bottom I'm not too keen on...

2011-01-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

see that gull on the right? he's gonna finish the pattern!"

2011-01-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

how to connect them, well, they both are or have "sacs"
makes a monster too!

"what did you do while i was away?"
"...work..."
"yeah? anything deep, interesting...arresting?"
"oh yeah sure..."

2011-01-29T14:51:00.000-08:00

In winter i'd rather have a dandelion sunburst than a watery sun

2011-01-28T14:48:00.000-08:00

took a little trip to the natural history museum
we had our suspicions this guy's head was swapped with another...

2011-01-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

james beamed in
we had a nice time goofing around in the national gallery bookshop last weekend

2011-01-26T14:43:00.000-08:00

As I left a party last Friday (a goodbye party - we will be a-part[ie] - terrible joke...that's for you J) I had to laugh at all the bikes locked outside. such a lovely sight. We left ours at home, they never get to go to parties - poor dears.

2011-01-26T14:12:00.000-08:00

seagulls wearing little headphones and a mould creature creeping up a fridge-forgotten jamjar.

2010-12-23T00:22:00.000-08:00

I just want to hear that trickle of a thaw — like nature programs about foxes and their cubs...pan to a stream of spring melt water.

I have a cold so my mind is a little melty

2010-12-15T14:49:00.000-08:00

Peter Peter pumpkin peeler.

I took some peas out of the freezer and saw that they all had icy coats on.
The texture reminds me of the item I'm knitting at the moment. (I say item because it could become a present.) I love settling the stitches on the needle — it's like stroking a scrawny cat's back.

The middle photo is just funny...

2010-11-23T15:37:00.000-08:00

A little lunchtime sunshine. I snapped these on my way back in from lunch.

2010-11-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

Sunshine on a rainy day [quiet]sunshine[/quiet], Makes my soul, makes my soul...

I'm wrapped in my lovely super soft base layers again - I hate being cold (my blood is made of microscopic blue and milky marbles) but I loooove wrapping up for winter. Right now I'm frozen but I'm looking forward to hopping into bed. If only you could live your night-time temperature life backwards - suddenly in the morning you'd be bloody freezing and hop out and into a cozy hot shower...

I think this photo of a my perfectly poached egg epitomises the life of somebody who, dare I say it, "blogs". Yeah I take pride in my tiny achievements! BTW, the only secret to perfectly poached egg is that it's laid that morning. There's just no point in making one unless you like stringy wet strands all over your toast.

2010-10-31T17:33:00.000-07:00

Six black cats in the car park behind my house; if I were superstitious...

Fireworks over neighbouring rooftops — everytime we nipped inside because we thought they were over another bout of them would erupt and we'd leg it out to catch the end. Happy Halloween guys : )

2010-10-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning out my tiny freezer and I found this guy inside (one of James' illustration escapees)

2010-10-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

Before I locked the hens in for the night I took a photo of them asleep on their perches — very night vision : )

2010-10-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

I'm finally learning to drive! My dad took me for a practice run up Mount Leinster last Sunday where we had a cup of tea in the car and watched the paragliders (you can see two in the top photograph)

Lass, hanging around outside the kitchen window, waiting for a tasty bit.

2010-10-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

I go for a walk before I start work in the morning — leaving the house and returning as if it's my office.

2010-10-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

There was a naturally occurring camera obscura in the bathroom! Needless to say I had to have a look every time I went in there. The dark patch in the top right corner is a holy bush that was shaped like a christmas tree just outside the window.

2010-10-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

Rainbows AHOY! I wasn't quite as excited as Double Rainbow Guy. It makes me laugh everytime : )

2010-10-08T05:22:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Rachel brought me out for dinner last weekend for my birthday! It was so nice — we should do it more often. (hint hint...) We went to l'gueuleton on Fade Street where i celebrated my 21st birthday, our 1 year anniversary, our 1 and a half year anniversary (any excuse) and now my 26th birthday!

2010-10-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

got caught in the rain today
baby sunflower seeds and baby buns

I actually just found this post I never published in my drafts folder! I wrote it just over a year ago

2010-10-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

Our first morning in Holiday Part II (Connemara) I got up early and saw this guy nibbling on some clover outside the window. After some careful peepin' and creepin' I realised he couldn't see me through the glass at all - even when he looked right at me!

2010-10-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

a few snaps from our holiday to Berlin!

I think I'll remember the food, graffiti and lots of flowers in window boxes (and rain) I love the leaves on top of the baskets of nuts and the aubergine graffiti : )

2010-09-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

resplendent!

2010-09-04T13:10:00.001-07:00

wheat growing around the base of a tree — some wild food!

2010-09-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

Today I took a little break from work to the cafe 3fE on Abbey Street (the photo is from March when it first opened) and had a coffee. Wow, it was so good! — Only had half a shot as I go a little crazy with too much caffine but it tasted like polished wood and toffee (if that makes any sense?) no bitterness or that nasty metalic taste. They do a tasting menu too...

If I had a cat there'd be loads of photos of it here but I'm a dog person in the city so I have plants.

2010-09-02T01:17:00.000-07:00

there's a spot of light farming going on in the Phoenix Park this morning — you can see hundreds of bales of haylage all smelling like really cheap almond essence — which is kind of nice when it's not really cheap almond essence.

some/a lot of my running photos turn out like this — but i like how you can see my stride in them. no heavy breathers today, just a family looking at the deer.

2010-09-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

said pumpkins.
wow, this pie is heaven in a square. (of course squares never look as good as rounds)

It's a Blazing Salads recipe so no wheat, dairy or even sugar.

hoping to hang out this sunflower head for the birds to nibble on when it gets a bit nippier. little humbug breath mints for them...

a special note to Sarah — make this! all those pumpkins need a good home (tucked up in almond and maple pastry in the freezer)

2010-08-31T10:33:00.000-07:00

yesterday evening was beautiful --- autumnal bright and crisp. Got some pumpkins awaitin' a roastin' and a smashin' and a bakin' (pumpkin pie)
Below, you can see them all green in the tunnel last month --- literally hanging out of the rafters : )

2010-08-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

we were near the front so you can't see how many people were out but there were lots – even though it was raining for half an hour beforehand. six of us (plus bikes) squashed under a tiny tree to try keep dry – i'm always amazed how much rain trees keep off! (until the big back-soakers jump down the nape of your neck that is.) we cycled slowly through the streets in a huge group – the people with bells rang them and everybody else just smiled bemusedly back at onlookers.

2010-08-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

We went for a run in Phoenix Park at 7.00am this morning!
It was totally deserted and wonderfully quiet. (Apart from the horror movie style panting that suddenly appeared behind me in the trees - seriously runner who was listening to headphones - you gotta get that under control)

The photos above are from a couple of days ago in the evening: deer/anteater, a dragon/serpent and a tree person with huge teeth.

We're going to the Critical Mass Cycle tomorrow — yey!

2010-08-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, etymological definition, very art college - but it completely clarified why I want to continue with this little documentation project! (anybody often mix up entomology with etymology? - that was almost an insectual definition. insectual...say it out loud...)

I've been taking note of all the everyday comforts. I especially like that the word "comfort" that says it strengthens you. Like a hot sweet tea : )

Vulgar: late 14c., "common, ordinary," from L. vulgaris "of or pertaining to the common people, common, vulgar"

Comfort: late 13c., conforten "to cheer up, console," from O.Fr. conforter "to comfort, to solace; to help, strengthen," from L.L. confortare "to strengthen much"

2010-08-19T04:10:00.001-07:00

TOP :: A yellow buoy in Courtown
BOTTOM :: A yellow buoy in Seapoint

2010-08-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

from sea to our first homemade smoker!

2010-07-29T02:52:00.000-07:00

ever get the feeling you're being watched in the (dust) bath?

i think the hen in the background looks like she'd just 'nipping by' in a towel the way you do in a swimming pool changing room.

2010-07-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

just some details from the past few weeks : )

2010-06-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

my indoor and outdoor city garden

we ate a green bean each last week - anything grown by your own fair hand is delicious
: )
I've been thinking about adding some "weeds" to my garden! It seems pretty silly to buy packaged nettle and dandelion tea when I could have a pot of them outside!

2010-06-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

i saw this 'clogucopia' today : )

2010-06-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

a doodle i found in my notebook and the chickens a-roaming free this weekend.

2010-06-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

when the watchers become the watched...

2010-06-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

what does a girl do during the day when she's not working:
notices light shining on the edge of a paper bag
watches John Berger's 'ways of seeing' while ironing
thinks the light in the bathroom is quite nice
stocks up her newly appointed pantry a little more
plants out her beans and a tomato plant.

what does a girl do at night after work:
goes to see 'the tallest man on earth', who is actually tiny but strums up a storm with the coolest horse tattoo on his inner forearm. It's just standing there like in an ABC picture book. I took a million photos of his feet, for some reason they were mesmerising. He'd cock up his heel a certain way but I'd always miss it...
get home lock up our bikes and have a sit down.

2010-06-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

some charm bracelets i researched for my degree thesis.

2010-06-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

Lass and James helping with the silage this weekend. it was scorching on Saturday but we were working so hard no time for pictures! so I got this one on the overcast Sunday.

we were tidying the sides which entails combing the huge wedge of compacted grass with sprongs — like it was a giant molting housepet.

one man went to mow...

back in dublin now

2010-05-29T05:17:00.000-07:00

sunshine inside

2010-05-28T04:22:00.000-07:00

this reminds me of the bit in superman when he's in the crystal cave...is there a bit in superman when he's in a crystal cave? ...i think there is :-)

Musical Solar System - based on real orbital frequencies

2010-05-20T04:37:00.000-07:00

Indeed, it HAS been a trifle dull here lately. It's time to cast off the bathrobe of sloth and lace up the boots.

Like James' mountain hiking goat :-)

2010-05-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

a walk (slash run) on the beach last weekend with Sarah.

the grass looks like the tufty hair of a just licked calf

2010-04-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

2010-04-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

a tulip's colour bleeding out and my morning matcha meets some old spring onions from the fridge.

2010-04-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

12 sunflowers! i took the lid off to water my seeds and there they were! two days ago there wasn't a peep out of them but now...

our terrace faces another apartment block so it might cheer their view up a bit :) although i'm not sure i'm the sunflower type — it was an impulse buy — coupled with over planting.

i'm totally behind on my veg planting this year.

i saw a great documentary called the future of food a few years ago. watch it. be warned, you'll get pretty angry!

best facing

2010-04-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

the sky has become 3D again

2010-04-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

april showers! — we went into town to run some errands this afternoon and to have a SUPER healthy lunch in Blazing Salads. it was sopping wet out so when we got home we shared a fruit almond pie that's made with things like ground almonds, oatflour and maple syrup.

also, i now have a watch — what a nice day!

2010-04-02T06:02:00.000-07:00

"Red beans and rice did miss her" — if you know this song line i applaud you.

All out of porridge this morning so i'd rice, yoghurt, banana and cinnamon — pretty nice!

New house / new blog, i still brought my belongings with me though. decided to make the images smaller because 625px was a bit obnoxious really...

I can see the wind is making my washing touch my bin so i'm going to go live the rest of my day :)

2010-03-31T15:23:00.000-07:00

my little sister — she cooks, she washes up and makes cake!

the sun is getting higher and creeping across the back wall of our kitchen now

i love the different tones in paper pulp tomato cartons

2010-03-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

we woke up to soft hunks of snow falling from the clouds this morning.

but now, good night!

2010-03-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

you can see the lovely tree James' parents gave us as a house warming gift outside our bedroom window. i'm looking forward to planting it up in it's pot tomorrow evening and making use of that hour we lost last night. Rachel and i had roast beetroot with our dinner — it took sooooo loooooong to cook but it was worth it!

2010-03-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

a behind the scenes shot of my stylist friend charlotte's lunch at a photoshoot today. you can see a smidge of a beautiful piece of furniture she has restored but i can't show anymore until she does!

2010-03-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

we went to the Botanic Gardens for a cycle and it was a perfect day — the sun shone, james took lots of reference pictures for his illustrations and later we had three types of Polish cheesecake (Sernik)! the base of our ones were made from pastry rather than biscuits so they weren't too sweet and they were baked so they had that slightly soft, chalky texture. if i made it myself i'd leave out the intruder raisins though.

i've been trying to get a picture of a robin for years and today i did! a mixture of stealth on my part and an obliging sort of guy

2010-03-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

just like how you always count in your native tongue, when i notice something i'll always think "that'd be a beautiful brooch or maybe an earring"

just spent two hours going through old folders of jewellers i like because this reminded me of something i once saw. in the end i was totally off the mark but i found so many people i loved (and saw how my taste has developed over the years!)

so as a little tribute to myself here's one i made earlier : )

2010-03-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

this day two years ago we spent easter time with james' family in connemara

as you can see he is seriously communing with the crustacean he's going to eat in white wine and butter — not the heartless carnivore we all thought.

2010-03-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

does our new can opener not look like a cockrel!?

it reminded me of my work in core year of art college when i made little birds out of watch parts. i found a few grainy old pictures of some of them. they might be nice made out of gold?
they could have little rose gold combs on top of their heads : )

2010-03-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

I made a poached egg this evening for my tea but something very strange happened : )

it's an oological tribute to the Equinox (on Saturday)

2010-02-18T13:45:00.000-08:00

don't click here if you have looming deadline!

2010-02-12T14:10:00.000-08:00

We're moving into our new apartment TOMORROW! I was so excited today that I brought over the grass vase my little sisters gave me for Christmas just so something of mine was there. I found the terracotta pots out on the patio, cleaned them up and brought them inside. The hyacinth is part of the group of objects I gave James for good luck.

Salt - for good luck
Bread - for plentiful food
Olive oil - for health
Wine - for lots to drink (not just alcohol i'm sure!)
Candle - for light and warmth
Honey - for sweetness
Plant - for a long life

All this moving got me to thinkin' about the first place I lived after college. The photos below are for Marianne my Booterstown buddy! You're playing face jenga in the third one – pretty good at it as I recall! Tischtennis, Toshiba and tea.

2010-02-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

2010-02-04T04:47:00.000-08:00

that's the moon that is!

we're living out of boxes at the moment, but not for long! we found the most amazing apartment which will hopefully be ready by next week!

i can't wait.

2010-01-29T17:14:00.000-08:00

since we've moved back into town i go to the central bus station to catch my bus home.

this weekend: small silver things are going to appear.

2010-01-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

2009-12-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

2009-12-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

2009-12-05T15:55:00.000-08:00

pudding making

2009-12-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

little presents for my little sisters from Mieke Willems came yesterday — wish i'd bought one for myself.

you know when you put your hand in a winter coat and you find some paper money?
that happened to me today (but it was a notebook from college). i feel like i should do some thing special with it but i don't know what...

some moss sporangia

2009-12-02T16:56:00.000-08:00

2009-12-01T13:07:00.000-08:00

2009-11-27T09:54:00.000-08:00

james took friday off and now we're re-watching a Bourne movie
— prepare for impulses to join a gym

animal ambush

2009-11-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

2009-11-24T15:42:00.000-08:00

walked to and from work today — i think i'm going to cycle less and walk more
maybe get a better umberella...

it's enforced reflecting time.

— Noah's Ark on New Year's day
— My brief flirtation with Masanobu Fukuoka's planting method two Springs ago.

"kill your darlings" (your creations, not your overfed children)

2009-11-22T15:39:00.000-08:00

Scout! our newest foundling

2009-11-20T05:18:00.000-08:00

if i sit down to "make something" i get a block, but if i sit (or crouch on the floor) and imagine i'm making a card for somebody things just fall into place and time slips by.

this is not the case with jewellery. i make it only for me — if i think it's for another person, i start wondering what they'll like and the design generally descends into pasta on a string (which i think is really cool if somebody under 8 made it for you but is generally not a good thing).

i collected the shells, above, on the beach, below, last time i was in connemara. we walked over to an island at low tide and just about made it back before we got soaked.

2009-11-20T05:10:00.000-08:00

today's weather

yesterday's weather

2009-11-18T14:11:00.000-08:00

grilling potato farls while looking out my kitchen window this morning

is there anything better than a farl fried in butter? ...but that's weekend talk
it's healthy living all the way through the week

lots of bright brown twigs on the road this morning

2009-11-16T17:15:00.000-08:00

holiday photos from five years ago!
Nice, Berlin, Venice to Vienna by train — all recorded on my tiny digital polaroid.
we look so young.

2009-11-14T02:22:00.000-08:00

some fun work in process

2009-11-12T15:15:00.000-08:00

saw Alice Maher's new show and thought it was beautiful
— some things you shouldn't talk about, you should just go and see.

2009-11-11T16:29:00.000-08:00

summertime trampolining!

another rainy day in Dublin

2009-11-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

fireside brothers

here's a face in a place for Sarah!

2009-11-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

just like crying, there's pretty rain (like this a few days ago) and there's rain you have to cycle home in. i was not pretty

2009-11-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

sunday evening in wexford

2009-11-07T14:36:00.000-08:00

cold outside
warm inside

2009-11-05T02:54:00.000-08:00

i've been having a minor love in with yellow the past year.

for some reason i can't bring myself to post my real jewellery here
so my fun sketchy (half made) stuff will have to do for now.

maybe i'll work up the guts someday.

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just got an e-mail that the new tools i ordered are just in!
butterflies!!!

sorry bank account — i can't say this will be the last time

2009-11-05T02:31:00.000-08:00

last night was "for the love of" live.

way to go on the live illustrations sweetheart!
it was brilliant.

i was enjoying it too much to take pictures

it's a peek at amy making a dress live which was amazing to watch — i love how dress makers handle fabric and measure and pin — it looks like it's just coming out of their finger tips.

james preparing

2009-11-03T13:50:00.000-08:00

chicken broth with apple and barley
hot water
hot chocolate
apple juice and echinacea
more hot water
more chicken broth

so many liquids
so much cotton wool behind my eyes

— i've got a man cold

2009-11-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

i see this guy on the bank of the canal on my way home from town

this soup looks like what i need for the scratch in my throat.

2009-11-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

four and twenty magpies in herbert park on our walk
chocolate milk in the morning and hot chocolate in the evening

i can't believe i'm already looking forward to christmas!

2009-10-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

james and me after having a paddy jack farmer's lunch sandwich — while were munching we got a smile of solidarity from another sandwich eater — it was that good. I really regret not getting a whole one for myself.

terrible photos of my favourite vegetable stall in the temple bar farmer's market but this is to remind me to get out of bed early on saturday morning to swipe to best stuff! we got sorrel, sweede, black kale, new potatoes, and spicy salad leaves.

all their vegetable produce is from their own farm and they're always really cheerful and ready to laugh — mum if you're reading, i think you'd be really good at this kind of thing!

2009-10-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

man: gives us three glasses of milk
sarah (seeing his amusement): "we come from a dairy farm!"

rachel's contribution to movember...

(sorry about the dodgy second picture sarah)

a portrait of sarah today

2009-10-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

a shelf full of my teas and jars of herbs (which i drew last year) and part of my wall which i haven't looked at in months. this realisation has given rise to the...

new rule: no casual internet surfing for one month. (does anybody say surfing now?)
i'm going to be like a man shopping for socks.
where are socks
here are socks
price is good
purchase socks
leave

i'm not looking forward to this — all the more reason to do it.