Reading my earlier posts I talk about getting fit and generally looking after my physically health.  I am still "working" on that!  I realise actually, more than ever, how important this is.  There is a very important link between our physical and mental health. I have had a few of those major changes in life in the last five years.  I have moved country and I have lost two of the most important people in my life, my parents.  I have struggled during this time with coming to terms with my life as it is now, together with menopausal symptoms and a brush with breast cancer.  I have really missed having friends and family around to lean on.  It has been tough 😯😵 I think I am seeing light in the tunnel at moment - it has been a long time coming...  As people say it is life, that it is all part of the journey and as banal as that sounds I am finding it is so apt.  We do have to control how we negotiate and react to the twists, turns, bumps, hills, scenic routes along the way

OMG!  Weekly is obviously too ambitious for me - should be called the occasional Blog of a Dublin Woman!! I am loving my garden at the moment!  Although in the heart of town it is incredibly peaceful and full of birdsong!  The scent of honeysuckle fills the air!  Enjoy the photos;  These Sweetpeas have just blossomed - they are in patio pots  I have four varieties of Hydrangeas in my little garden - I love them!  Teeny white roses! The smelly Honeysuckle! Regular visitors!

My Goodness!  It has been seven years since I have posted on this blog and when I look back at these posts I realise how much has changed in my life.  Some good but a lot of not so good.  Anyway it is a new year and I am really making a conscious effort to make a new start.  There are signs of new life all around me so what better time to start!  It is a cold and frosty day but the sun and blue sky is welcome.  I could resist this bunch of daffodils!

I have got to give myself a big push but I have been exercising , however I can always to more! Primroses used to be a regular feature in Ireland but I rarely see them nowadays. Such a very pretty flower, enjoy them when you spot them!!! Perhaps I can reward myself for all this exercise and healthy eating with a weekend in Prague. This is a city that I have always wanted to visit after hearing my Grandfather talking about his visit there in the sixties!! http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/travel/2011/0416/1224294771332.html Asparagus is a good food for breaking down bad cholesterol. Try steaming the asparagus and serving it on toast with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. MMMM! For more recipies check out this website; http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/our-best-asparagus-recipes?xsc=eml_edf_2011_03_29

Where is all my resolve and determination gone? I have got to get myself back on track. I have been walking but not enough. So I promise tomorrow morning I will do the hard, Killiney Hill walk. I always feel envigourated after I do this walk. The daffodils are so plentiful and so pretty in Dublin at the moment. We are enjoying a lovely sunny spring here this year. The countryside is looking gorgeous. Now that the clocks went forward at the weekend and the evenings are extending we can enjoy it even more. We did not turn the lights on until 8pm tonight and went for a walk after dinner.

Is it always the yellow crocuses that bloom first? Yellow first, then purple and lastly the white. For the last couple of weeks we have seen shoots appearing in the woods and parks, crocuses, snowdrops, daffodils, bluebells, tulips... In fact shoots appeared from the bulbs I have in pots before Christmas in the snow. Last weekend we walked up Ticknock, en famille. It was a gorgeous sunny day, I had even put a load of laundry out on the line to dry. We were so enthusiastic we headed up beyond the masts towards the fairy castle. We had always been too tired to make it up that far before. All of a sudden we were shrouded in clouds and it started to sleat! Needless to say we turned around and came down off the mountain very wet but happy with our adventure. From a bright sunny day it had very quickly turned into a hot chocolate sort of day! I only walked once this week, bad. bad, bad!! I couldn't help walking with a spring in my step today because it was so lovely on Killiney