Is it a little wierd that they enjoy this???

Granny popped over for supper this evening. We had a lovely roast duck dinner that the chef had let slow roast over the afternoon and as he knew it was one of Granny's favourites he made a lovely orange and cranberry chutney to dollop on top of it.

After dinner and too much ice cream for the children, they wanted to show Granny their art project from last week. Ron had taken a bucket of old clothes pegs and asked the children to paint them.

I think that most Granny's would be worried that encouraging this kind of behaviour would lead to possible piercings in the future but clearly our dearest darling Granny was only encouraging the brats.

I guess we can send them to her when they come home with the idea that they want a tattoo as well!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

Halloween has come and gone..........

When I was a young girl, I remember Halloween was a really lovely time for us. In our little village, all the children dressed up (in homemade costumes and masks) and were allowed to traipse around the neighborhood for hours trick or treating.
We had to either sing a song, or do a little dance or something in order to get our treat which usually consisted of nuts, apples and possibly money of we were decent entertainers.

Then, somehow everyone ended up back at our house where Mum & Dad always had a huge amount of games lined up for us to play. Bobbing for apples in a tub of water, Hanging apples from a doorway tied to a string, and with your hands tied behind your back you had to try to take a bite out of the apple (this, may sound easy, but is actually impossible) and my favourite one was a plate with a large mountain of flour poured onto it. Perched atop this pile of flour was a little grape. Each child had to (using a butter knife) slice away the flour until the grape tumbled of the pile onto the plate. Whoever dislodged the grape had to stick their face into the flour and rescue then eat the grape!
Needless to say, we have come along way since then with the commercialism of everything. The children were permitted to dress up on their last day of school before the Halloween break. Above, Ms. Rory Belle, the ballerina princess is sharing the limelight with one of her school mates - Molly, the Witch.

Not to be outdone by his sister, Jack also joined in the fun as Spider man and is quite attached to this costume (literally, we have to peel it off him).

Getting ready for trick or treating but of course always has time to pose for the camera.

Thankfully our little street is very small with only a few houses so it only took about 30 minutes of craziness - they should rename this holiday to Candy Exchange.

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

Very Cool 'Coole Park'

I woke up early this morning and surprise surprise, it was raining outside. I crept downstairs hoping not to wake any of the little ones and got the rare opportunity to browse through the photos we snapped yesterday on our excursion to Coole Park. This, is one of the most beautiful parks/nature reserves I have ever been to. It is less than 30 minutes from home (less if Granny is driving) and I am sure you will see it referenced many times from now on as it is a place of refuge and inspiration for all. Check out the website when you have time.
Needless to say, Granny and the children really enjoyed exploring together.
This is called the Autograph tree. It is home to autographs from writers such as William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, John Millington Synge to name a few.
This park had just about one million spots that acted as a perfect backdrop for taking photos of ones children. I know you are probably getting tired of all the photos, but this is the phase I am in right now - so suffer it along with me...............................

I stole this photo from their website to show you just how gorgeous the sunsets really are. As we wrapped up the day here at Coole Park, we stopped for a spot of tea and dessert in their little cafe. Mum opted for the rhubarb tart and I choose the blackberry and rhubarb crumble. Seriously, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. If you all remember, I am not that big on desserts, and to be honest could not tell you the last time I ordered one in a restaurant. I even passed up a slice of the Chef's bread pudding. HOWEVER, when I walked into this little cafe, the smell of baked goods was enough to whet any ones appetite. I scoured the display case to see what was causing this sumptuous stench and spied a gorgeous piece of this blackberry rhubarb crumble. The crumble on top was a little darker (even slightly burnt but I like that) than one would normally expect a crumble to be, but I went for it.
I wish I had taken a photo of this to help explain just how delicious it was. It was sweetened just the right amount and I assume the fruit was the showstopper because the flavor was so intense. It just melted in my mouth helped along with the very generous dollop of whipped cream they gave me. The treadmill is still in storage somewhere - I feel that it will be dug out as soon as we settle into our new home - otherwise we will not be able to fit in the door!

That is all the tasty WiseWords for today,
WiseMóna