February 2009
2nd England
is suffering
with heavy snow. Occasionally we get a small snow flurry, but
it
is usually over within 10 minutes.
3rd The Irish Prime Minister has announced that Government Employees (only). That means Melly and I will have to pay a Pension Levy of 9%, plus there will be no pay rises for two years and this is on top of the Tax Levy and VAT increase in December. We are looking at getting €12,000 less this year. He has no idea how to run this economy! We will have to seriously tighten our belts, that means spend less and buy less, which will mean that more companies go bust and more people will become unemployed. At least USA and the UK have the right idea! Ireland used to have taxes at 60% for the ordinary person in the 80's, which created a black economy (payment under the table). It was only when they reduced the taxes and gave people more money to spend in the late 90s, that the Celtic Tiger happened! The local elections are going to take place soon - I'll get my revenge!!!
5th Took Pearl (my mother) to Galway hospital (50 miles away) for her knee operation. we left at 6.00am and then I had to drive to work before my first class at 9.00am - made it with minutes to spare. Picked her up at 5.30pm. They couldn't do too much as the knee joint was basically worn away. So it looks like she will be having a knee replacement in 6 months. What an inconvenience! - as she wont be able to weed the vegetable garden during the Spring/Summer.
6th Sorcha's birthday! She woke up at 8.00am and opened her presents before Melly had to leave for work. She received many cards, lots of money, ipod speakers, guitar case, brush and CD holder. Unfortunately, she wasn't very well and to compound her misery she had to take a mock Junior Certificate examination in Geography at 1.00pm. she spent the first hour just "resting" as she felt unwell, but recovered enough to start doing the examination in the second hour. Later she spent a few hours with her friend Emer. At 6.00 pm Lyle came until 10.00pm. Then Caitlin joined her for a sleepover, with a pizza and a couple of videos. As I got up at 7.00am, she and Caitlin were going to bed!
7th Robin is presently enjoying his birthday on a caribbean cruise ship enjoying the hot tempretures with Angela, Colin & Chris. In the meanwhile we woke up to snow. It was about an inch thick and I took a few photos - see the left hand side. By noon most of it had melted and I spent several hours working outside. Sorcha and Caitlin woke about 2.00pm and we got her to blow out the candle on her cake and make a wish.
8th Woke up to snow again. This time it was about two inches thick. Took a photo of Melly in the snow. Went for coffee at my mother's cottage and felt much better when she told me that Robin had sent a text to say that they were experiencing gale force winds on the cruise liner - I'm so evil! as Rachel would say! Snow rapidily melted again and was mostly gone by 3.00pm.
11th 8.00 am, left our cottage to go to work in brilliant sunshine, half way to Athlone a very dense fog gave everywhere a cold, silent and gloomy look. Left Dante's world of Athlone about 12.00 and half way back to Roscommon the fog lifted and I was in brilliant sunshine and the temperature doubled. Very strange!
We have lost 12 eggs in 6 days! 3 this morning. We seem to have a rogue chicken "who likes to go to work on an egg". They peck open a hole in the egg and eat the contents. I have set up the video camera in the chicken shed and left an egg in a nest box. Unfortunately I have to keep returning to the shed every half-an-hour to rewind the tape. Despite survellence for over two hours, nothing happened! I'll keep you posted on the "great who dunnit".
13th The "great who dunnit" is solved! It wasn't chickens but Rats. The weather had been quite cold and they had burrowed under the walls and through gaps on the broken stone floor. By blocking the holes I haven't lost a single egg, plus due to the milder weather the chickens have been laying three eggs a day and on one day we got five eggs.
14th Valentines Day. Melly got her usual card and a present of super deluxe washing up gloves! I am kidding! She got flowers and a photograph frame with a nice picture of her taken at Christmas, inside it. She gave me a card and jacket. Sorcha got a card and flowers from Lyle - her first valentines card! Later they went to the Melting Pot for a Valentines Rave. Brent's taxi service bought them home about 1.00pm.
Found a Newt on the Greenhouse floor. Still seems to be in a state of hibernation, as it is alive but hardly moving. Place it in a moist box. They like slugs etc., but I have only seen one since November. So it probably wont get any food for a few more weeks.
19th Took Sorcha to the Orthodontist in Castlebar. Her teeth are quite straight now and I am sure it wont be long before her braces will be removed.
21st The weather has been dry, mostly cloudy and quite mild all week. The male frogs in the cottage pond are croaking like crazy to attract the females. The noise is set at a very low pitch and you have to be quite close to hear them - I must make a recording. We are expecting a lot of frogs this year as there seems to be a good response to their calls.
22nd Sorcha spent the day with Lyle and then finished it by having two friends (Caitlin & Lydia) overnight for a sleepover. They watch DVDs, ate popcorn and drank giant bottles of coke. They went to sleep as I got up at 8.30am. Amazingly they were all up at midday.