The tears flowed down my cheeks as I filled the flask
I looked for all my pens today
I write in the new notebook Tara gave me
She knows I like to write in notebooks
Does she have any idea what I write
I had a good walk with the dogs in the sunshine
The swim was good, bright and warmd
I have made a start
My photos might tell a better story
I look forward to stones making a path
Missed swim today due to UCD class. I did manage to swim though!. I went early, wanted to be on the road at 9.30, so swam for 20mins, beautiful sunshine, dead calm, wanted to keep going and skip class.
Swam again at 3pm, same distance to the end of wall and back. Believe I missed a great day, 21 there, Angelika’s dad visiting for the wedding and he got in too.
some day I'll get this far..
Yesterday was a beautiful day on the beach and I swam to the first arch. I stayed on the beach afterwards for a few hours and read saturday’s Guardian, I also went up to Mum’s and refilled my flask.
Today started really sunny but a haze set in. I made some lunch as I had yesterday and was optimistic that a long swim might be on the cards. I arrived on the beach just before 12.30 and got ready to go in. Frank arrived and I said to him I was going on in to avoid the long discussion and possible delays. I knew the sea looked calm and was a low tide so a long swim was going to be possible. I swam breaststroke and felt I was going very well on reaching the first arch. So I carried on , I was under pressure at all, saw a jelly though and it made me hesitate. I knew i would have no problem getting to the trees but felt there and back might be a little too much. So feeling I had enough done having gone further than ever before I turned back at the driving range. I swam the front crawl back. Maurice and Teresa were at the second arch and it looked like they may have been waiting or looking out for me. They swam on though and that was good as I then tried to swim a bit faster to try and catch up with Teresa. They stopped again so I did catch up, but I then slowed down again as they said there was a jelly in the vicinity. All done 1hr5mins swim and felt very good. There was no apparent current in either direction. May well go for the trees soon, Robert might go too, he won’t swim back though. Company would be good. I don’t like to talk though and like to lose myself in the actual activity and the beauty of the sea and environment, it is not all about the exercise, precious little is.
Great craic afterwards. PLums, apples, tomatoe, kathleen, line dancing, ballroom dancing, didn’t leave until after 2.30. Mairead got fed up in the Happy Pear waiting for us!!. Tara came to pear, robert, paul, maurice too. Continue reading
Tim Winton-came across Breath by accident or , divine intervention (serendipity) in the library last week. I went in to look up books by Allende, Isabel;Winton, Tim;Coetzee, J.M; and a russian poet who I have decided to defer reading until after my course begins. I have read some Winton before and loved Dirt Music , however I didn’t realise he had written a new novel called Breath. I read it over a 24hr period and loved it.
It is about surfing, and the culture associated with the sport. But it is about a young boy and the growth of his obsession with the sea, the sport of surfing, fear, control, addiction and friendship. It could be about other issues as well and will deserve a second read.
I am going to find his other works and read them.
Sep 1st-have started Isabel Allende’s(IA) Daughter of Fortune, has started promisingly.
I copied the quote below from another blog
Have you tried Harry Eastwood’s book ‘Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache’? There’s some great zucchini/courgette recipies in there– It’s won me over to baking with all kinds of veg instead of using oil or butter. It’s only published in the UK, but I bought one off Abe books and sent it to my mom State-side.
I want to look up this book and try the recipes. I recently made a “courgette” cake , (irish name for zuchinis), following a recipe by Nigella Lawson, boy was it a good cake. However it could not be described as “healthy”, cream cheese icing, lime curd with butter filling and other “nice” ingredients too. I prefer muffin recipes to cupcakes and would love to try the version of the ginger and courgette as seen here on other post.
Michael says that Autumn officially starts tomorrow or 25th August and lasts until 25th November. For us all year round sea swimmers it is the wind that affects us the most. I started swimming at the South Beach, Greystones, Ireland on a regular/daily basis last November 2009. And I managed to continue through what many say was the coldest winter in many a year. However it was very dry. There has been a group of swimmers at this location in Greystones for almost 5 years. The “president” is Maurice Ketterer. He is known as El P..or worse. Swimming in the sea has many well documented health benefits. The bonus for me has been the social benefit of being accepted and welcomed into this very diverse group of swimmers. As the blog develops you may get to know some of the group better, in this regard I should maybe use nick-names, but maybe initials will suffice. The accounts of the swims themselves will not be exciting as we do not move location, however every day there is a tale to be told. If it is not big waves, bigger jelly fish, huge seals, it is hot teas (of many varieties), chocolate and courgette cakes (nigella’s recipe), barking toddy, greedy Rosie, happy Penny.
