Posted on February 11, 2012 by lindaharley
I had wanted to put a photo of my husband’s chest scar, after his recent heart surgery, but he wouldn’t let me unleash that on the internet!
While he was in hospital, they recommended that he take off all jewellery. So I wore his wedding rings around my neck, symbolically next to my heart, while he was there.
It was a real comfort to have them so close to me – every time I missed him, or wanted to tell him something, I could just reach for the chain around my neck and give the rings a little caress.
Now, he did put them back on when he’d recovered and was out of ICU, but he took them off again for a final X-ray. And currently cant find them. The search continues, but in the meantime this photo is even more important than ever.
Filed under: photo, relationships, wedding | Tagged: heart, rings | 3 Comments »
Posted on February 8, 2012 by lindaharley
This is one of my favourite recipes – roast roots.
Dice some squash, sweet potato, and carrot (parsnip is good too)
Tuck in some herbs – rosemary and thyme work well. And some whole unpeeled cloves of garlic if that’s something you like. Season with black pepper and sea salt.
Toss in some oil – I used canola, but olive or sunflower would be fine.
Put in a roasting tray, and pop in the oven at about 180 degrees C for 30 mins, stirring half way through.
Add in some cubes of haloumi andchorizo.
Back in the oven for another 30 mins. Though this is very forgiving – another 10 mins while you finish cooking a slab of meat will not be a problem.
Serve.
Omit the chorizo for a vegetarian side dish. Blitz any leftovers with some stock for a winter soup, served with grated parmesan, or shards of parma ham crisped under the grill.
Filed under: Food | Tagged: chorizo, haloumi, squash, sweet potato | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 4, 2012 by lindaharley
The weather this week has been bitterly cold – I know it has been severe across parts of Europe. One of the local indicators of temperature is the lake in Hillsborough forest. It was frozen this week, causing the many ducks and swans to waddle uncertainly across the slippery surface.
This is one of my most common dog-walking routes. And its popular with many locals, the car park is usually full, even on a mid-week morning! It was Mini’s first experience, and she seemed to enjoy it immensely.
Filed under: Lisburn, photo | Tagged: flat, frozen, Hillsborough, photohunt | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 28, 2012 by lindaharley
Here’s baby dog, Minerva.
Compared to her big brother Max,, she’s decidedly fluffy! Weimaraners don’t take a lot of grooming, with their ultra short coats, but Mini’s had to have several baths, and be blow-dried with a hair dryer afterwards. My friend Marleen was enjoying making her hair stand up in a Mohawk 🙂
She’s starting puppy training class, and is a very good sitter. Now we’re working on recall, and walking nicely on a lead.
Filed under: Dogs, photo | Tagged: dogs, fluffy, photohunt | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 21, 2012 by lindaharley
It was tricky to capture what bliss means to me
A large cup of tea? A walk by the sea?
I don’t like to lie in the bathtub for hours
I’d rather have showers, but not scented with flowers
But I came home one day, and what do you think –
I found this in the sink! How it made me blink!
My husband’s been trying to give up the smoke
Like plenty of folk, so the ashtray must soak
It’s easy to start, not so easy to stop
But his heart needs an op, so they’ve now got the chop
And so now all that smell will be gone from the air
For our health we will care, and our future we’ll share
With more money and energy, full of good cheer
Hoping dreams will appear, Â year after year
Filed under: Lisburn, photo | Tagged: bliss, cigarettes, heart, photohunt | 2 Comments »
Posted on January 14, 2012 by lindaharley
I often walk Max in Hillsborough forest on a Saturday morning. I gain a real sense of calm by being amongst those magnificent tall trees which have stood there for hundreds of years. There’s always something to marvel at in nature. This pattern of moss on the side of a tree caught my eye.
There were quite a few dogs around this morning, although the mood was a little sombre: earlier this week 2 huskies had escaped and were worrying some sheep, and unfortunately had to be shot. So while I let Max have a bit of off-leash time, I was very alert for any weak points in the perimeter fence.
Filed under: Dogs, nature, photo | Tagged: circular, dogs, photohunt | 2 Comments »
Posted on January 8, 2012 by lindaharley
I might blog a few recipes this year! This one is based on a Nigel Slater recipe. I do love Nigel – he has a relaxed approach and an obvious passion for food which is infectious. This is a wonderful hearty soup/ stew, using mostly store cupboard ingredients.
Cut a chorizo sausage into chunks,and brown in a saucepan with an onion and some garlic.
Peel some carrot and parsnip, and cut into chunks. Add these to the pan.
Add a tin of tomatoes, and a tin of beans. I used borlotti beans tonight, but cannelini, butter, or chickpeas would be just as good. Add one canful of water. Stir it all together and season – pepper, salt, some basil or oregano, and a few dried chili flakes. And the zest of an orange.
Simmer with the lid half on for at least 45 minutes. Serve in a bowl garnished with parsley, accompanied by a hunk of crusty bread to mop up all the paprika-y goodness.
Enjoy!
Filed under: recipes | Tagged: food, recipe | 2 Comments »
Posted on January 7, 2012 by lindaharley
This one’s for sale!
Sputnik light fitting – I had this in my front room in Holywood (wow, 5 years ago). The room itself used to contain my interesting bits and bobs, and we christened it the “design shrine”. This light, with it’s twinkly bulbs and crystal dangly bits hung in there.
But all those tiny bulbs lead to lots of shadows, so it’s not a great light for reading by. And there isn’t a suitable room for it in EITHER of my houses! So I’m about to list it for sale on a local “buy and sell” page on Facebook. What do you reckon – £20?
Filed under: photo | Tagged: bling, light, photohunt, sale | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 4, 2012 by lindaharley
I feel a bit guilty that I’ve been such an intermittent blogger, so I’ve decided in 2012 to do thon photohunt thingy – each week there’s a theme, and I have to find or take a photograph which represents it.
This week’s theme is “gather”, whuch gives me the opportunity to share one of the photos my son took of me having my feet nibbled in a foot spas this week. My daughter had given me a voucher for Christmas, as I’d expressed an interest in trying one out. But oh my! Never again! I found the whole experience agonisingly ticklish, I was counting down the seconds until my 10 minutes was up.
The little ankle biters gather around
I’m turning the experience into a Guide Entry for the new improved h2g2, but I won’t be hurrying back. Some people claim they gain smooth feet and a feeling of calm relaxation afterwards – I experienced neither.
Hey ho, Happy New Year!
Filed under: photo | Tagged: gather, new year, photohunt | 1 Comment »
Posted on October 5, 2011 by lindaharley
Well, on Saturday we collected our new addition – Minerva von Thunder (or Minnnie for short), a cute little cocker spaniel puppy. Her mum is black and white, and dad golden – she is mostly black with tan paws, chest and eyebrows. So far I find her really intelligent – I swear she has different noises for “I’m hungry”, “I need out”, “I’m sleepy”, and “I want to play”. And her latest game “Help! I’ve climbed all the way upstairs and now I can’t get down!”
Now, sleeping through the night is always difficult for a young pup – getting used to being away from the litter for starters, and then going for hours without feeding or peeing. She’s in Max’s old crate (which is a bit big for her) in the utility room, and we’ve taken to leaving the door open so that she can get out of the crate of she needs to pee or poo (newspapers on the floor). I can put in earplugs to ignore the noise until a semi-respectable 5.30 at least, but I think Max would like some doggie ear-plugs too!
Filed under: Dogs, Welcome | Leave a comment »
Dancing At Lunacy 