This post will be a catch up of several weeks.
It is now nearly Christmas. It has taken some time to get a few more photos on this blog. During Mom and Helen's visit we took in a show in Belfast with Irish dancing and Irish music. It was wonderful. My favorite part was two young people playing their bohrans (Celtic drums). They were all so very talented.
And then came a later fall than we are used to in Saskatchewan. It was truly glorious with such wonderful colours. Even after the leaves had fallen, many tree trunks are covered with ivy which stays green throughout the winter. Mom, Helen and I spent an afternoon walking at Mount
Stewart.
The white stag stood out so clearly against the red maples in the background.
Helen was amazed by the height of this tree. With her standing beside it, you have a good idea of how tall the tree really is. It must be all the rain that allows trees to grow so tall.
We went for dinner at the Old Inn in Crawfordsburn. Helen and Dave and Mom are sitting on a bench outside the front of the inn.
This is the lobby in the Inn. There was a fire going in the fireplace as you came in. There were also fireplaces scattered throughout the various rooms - pub and dining rooms. For you C.S. Lewis fans, this is where C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham came and stayed for their honeymoon.
What a beautiful day we had to explore the Walled Garden outside the Bangor Castle. The Garden was just opened up to the public about 6 years ago so it was very interesting to see.
One part was for vegetables, one part for a rock garden, another area for fruit trees and vines, and another section for flowers. It is amazing to see flowers blooming in the middle of November. The gardeners were hard at work planting primroses that would bloom through the winter.
Helen was delighted to find a holly bush complete with berries. There were lovely walking trails outside the Walled Garden through the Castle grounds.
We are back on the North Coast looking down at the sea from the cliffs over the Giant's Causeway. Once again we had a beautiful day to explore the area together.
Here is Helen, Mom and Dave down on the shore close to the basalt columns. Helen and Mom were great travellers. We had a good time together. We rented a "self catering" cottage for the weekend.
You can see Dave's back as he walks down to look at Dunluce castle, or the remains of it. In the 1600's they were having a banquet at the castle and part of the cliff gave way taking the kitchens with it into the sea. Shortly after the castle was abandoned.
We couldn't keep Helen and Mom from the beaches. We spent an afternoon in Portrush, had lunch in an amazing restaurant then headed to the beach for a walk. There is just something about being near the sea, especially on a nice day.
The sun is setting and this shot is looking back at Portrush where we had been.
We went by the Bushmills Distillery but were too late for a tour so just checked out the gift shop.
As we were driving home via the north coast there was a detour and way out in the middle of nowhere was St. Killian's School. It was an impressive looking place.
One of our excursions when Dave was in school was to the Ulster Folk Museum. The Museum is like King's Landing or Upper Canada Village where they have people in period costumes acting out the parts of various people in the village.
One of the houses had the wardrobe open and period clothes hanging ready to wear. My teacher curiousity was on full alert when I learned that school children get to come and stay in the village for a couple of days. There are dormitories for students, their teachers and parent chaperones to stay in. They are given period costumes to wear and get to learn first hand about the workings of a village from the early 1900's. It is about the same time period as the displays at Government House in Regina.
Mom Gorrie is just about to go into the garden in front of the Rectory, one of the nicest houses in the village.
This shot was taken of one of the streets in the village.
It was chilly the day we visited so most of the buildings
had fires burning in the fireplaces - some wood and some
coal. It is definitely on the list of places to revisit.
Daylight is nearly gone by 4:30 each afternoon. Here Mom is standing close to the shore in Groomsport. Just after this we headed to Newtownards to pick up Dave from work.
First snowfall of the year. It melted within a few days. We have quite a bit more snow now - maybe 4 or 5 inches. Our neighbours say they have never seen this much snow in their lives. Of course the children are loving it because school is canceled and they get to play in the snow. There are great snowmen everywhere.
Mom and Helen left for Canada Nov. 17th. The next day Dave and I ended up in A & E (Emergency ward) at the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald. I was admitted with gall bladder problems and stayed in hospital for two weeks as they checked and sorted me out. We call it "Marion's home away from home".
In the middle of my time there I got to go home for 2 nights. Here is Dave bringing me back to the hospital. I thought this corridor was very much like corridors in hospitals everywhere. I did receive excellent care while there.
Dave did double duty working then getting to the hospital
each evening for a visit.
Here is my corner of Ward 8. There were 6 of us on the ward and I met some lovely Irish ladies while there. The next step will be for me to have surgery to remove the gall bladder. Hopefully that will occur early in the New Year.
With my being in the hospital and then recuperating at home, it seemed like we hadn't been to the sea for too long. This is just outside Groomsport and a high tide. It was wonderful to watch the waves crashing onto the rocks.
Here is Dave checking out the rocks on the shore. Dave and I want to wish all of you a Very Merry
Christmas and a wonderful New Year in 2011.
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