The Man From Nowhere and Other Stories

I often heard Matty refer to my father's paternal grandfather as 'the man from nowhere.' It is true that there does not seem to be much information about him, or where he came from. It does not help that his name, John Byrne, was very common in Ireland. Imagine then my pleasure to come across this little snippet on the internet. It's from the Catholic Journal, an American publication. This section was titled,

The date given was between 1900 and 1903 but I think these items dated from 1900-1901. My great-granny Byrne was a widow in 1901 according to the census records.

Good to know that the priest picked an apt subject for the sermon. "Death" always goes down well at a funeral. I'm also glad to inform readers that the little church in Tannaghmore is still as neat as ever it was. And it pleases me to know that my ancestor was charitable as well as mysterious.

But the death of a man, no matter how mysterious, is still a humdrum affair and I was glad to read other lively snippets from the island of Ireland.

Longford folk came across as lively enough. The Widow Boyle certainly displayed a zest for living.

And Michael Fury does not care a fig for the government of the day.

Nor did the Kerry people care a fig for the Royal family.

There was more of course. So if anyone wants to know what the nuns, the priests, the plain people of Ireland and the United Irish League in Drumkeeran, Leitrim were up to at the turn of the 20th century, here is the link. Enjoy!

Remember How We Forgot - by Shane Koyczan and Hannah Epperson

We Were Actually In A Muddy Puddle

Martha and Evie's primary carers might like to see how the girls pass their time at Granny's house. As always Martha keeps it stylish with her silver handbag.

After I had given Evie a bath and dry clothes, and while I was carefully hand-washing the pink stuff, for that was a very muddy puddle, she bolted and fell in another muddy puddle. No shortage of squelch and mud around these parts.

Another Week Passes By

A whole week without blogging a thing!

I'm in the post-Christmas doldrums. The thing is, sometimes Nelly's Garden feels a little too full. I could write what's in my heart but then someone might read it who might be hurt that I didn't talk to them face to face.

I've been grumpy recently, not sleeping much and have not been getting on well with folk. I'm good with Bert though so that is a blessing.

Going to dust off the SmartPass tomorrow and head to Belfast. Maybe buy some books and do a bit of walking, clear away the cobwebs.

Starting The Year

Where did I ever find the time and energy to blog every day? Here is a catch up.

New Year's Day

I was very tired. All our guests went home except Hannah who went to bed early. Bert and I had a quiet and uneventful night in front of the television. It was blissful.

2/1/14

Martha and Evie were here for the day. Three of us to look after them! That meant they got to run wild as each of us kept thinking someone else was in charge. At one point I found them in the dunghill splashing happily around with Ziggy. Thankfully they had their welly boots on. Ziggy had to be showered which was a lot of fun for everyone except Ziggy.

Later that evening we all went to the Alternative Medicine Theatre pantomime. It was Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood. Martha instructed me to war a lovely dress and Bert to put on nice, clean clothes. We obliged. She herself wore a lovely dress, a sparkly ring, lip gloss and a dab of perfume to mask the faint aroma of dung. There had been no time for a bath. Evie and Zoe wore jeans despite Martha's protests. Martha's Dad was allowed to just wear his clothes. I think she must consider him a lost cause.

The pantomime was great fun. Martha was suitably unnerved by the Sheriff of Nottingham but enthralled by the Spirit of the Greenwood (a fairy). Zoe and Evie did not stay for the entire show as Evie was extremely tired. Afterwards we met the cast. Martha was still not sure about the Sheriff but she was delighted when the Spirit of the Greenwood admired her ring.

3/1/14

Spent all day cleaning house. Jakers came round and he and Bert spent the afternoon playing tin whistles. I picked up Ben and Jazzer for they were needed on Saturday.

I phoned a good friend who had a hospital appointment that day. He had worrying news. Nothing definite but huge cause for concern.

4/1/14

On Saturday we had our long-planned Day Out In Belfast. Jazzer stayed behind to look after Pearlie while Nellybert, the girls and Ben headed for the Big Smoke. Martha has requested we go to the Ulster Museum and that's what we did but of course we visited the Palm House and the Tropical Ravine in Botanic Gardens as well.

Martha and Evie love the Ulster Museum and are fairly regular visitors. It has been two years since Hannah and I were there with Martha and I don't expect she remembers it. These days she is the Boss Of The Ulster Museum and knows where everything is. We had a lovely afternoon but I was so tired. I was glad to have Ben and Bert to help.

Martha spent ages in this costume. She was with Ben when she first spotted it and another little girl attempted to take it. Martha had a tight grip on the outfit and a determined expression on her face. The other girl had to give in. Poor Ben couldn't cope. He turned to me and said, I can't handle this. Can you take over? I got her into the costume and added a hoop petticoat. Martha was in another world. Didn't matter that the room was full of other children, that there was lots going on, that it was noisy. She dipped those skirts and floated around, another girl altogether.

Today

Tired. Reading a great book. Dentist tomorrow.

That Was The Year That Was

Judy, Bonnie & Jess. Picture taken only weeks before Bonnie was put to sleep.

 I have been reviewing my year and at first ponder it seems as if it has been rather uneventful. For instance, the most interesting thing that happened last January was Martha and Evie building their first snowman and me taking a short movie of Evie stamping in a puddle. February wasn't much better as the highlight of the month was Jess' first trip to the beach.

In March I went to Fanad with the girls and their parents and although it was an enjoyable trip it was very cold. Roll on summer! And what a good summer it was.

Les erected a tiny little poly tunnel beside our big one and crammed it full of peppers, tomatoes and squash. Bonnie took her very last holiday to Fanad and, poor lamb, did not have the strength to make it to the beach. A month later she died.

In May Rusty knocked me down again and I spent weeks limping on a twisted knee. The treehouse project began.

July brought Leitrim Sister's amazing birthday celebration and a great family get together in that rushy county. Back home we had the drama of the sudden branch drop just beside the tree house and swing and moments after children had been playing there. Needless to say, the huge branch has been converted to logs long ago.

End of July and early August brought my trip to Vancouver to meet up with the BC branch of the family. A great time was had by me.

In September I celebrated my 60^th birthday with another family get together and a super night's craic in the BT club.

Also in September, everyone was saddened by the death of local poet and Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney. A great man, gone too soon.

October. Nothing happened and if it did I seem not to have recorded it.

In November I finally got around to getting my SmartPass (free bus and rail pass) and started getting out a bit more.

Then Christmas came. In December I blogged every day apart from yesterday. We had visitors who stayed until after midnight and I was too tired and didn't want to cheat by changing the date on a stop gap post. So. Today is New Year's Eve and a few folk are coming over tonight and I hope it will be a fairly quiet night. I might take a day or two off blogging to rest my muse.

Throughout the year I made a lot of wine. 25 gallons to be exact.

A very happy New Year to all that come here. See you in 2014!

Music Night In Pictures

Since Christmas (exhausting) I have found it hard to keep my promise of a post a day. So here's a collage of photographs from last night's party.

Thanks to all the musicians, friends and family who helped make it such a great evening. Tracey took the pictures in between singing herself hoarse. She was rewarded with a jar of our Springhill honey to help her vocal chords. Girlfriend makes a living from those pipes.

Music Night

I said I was going to post every day this month. Tonight has turned out to be quite the challenge,

Food on offer - turkey broth and delicious wheaten bread,

Drink on offer - the damson. God how I regret those trees that can do no more but the wine was, is, so GOOD!

Music - don't care if you are at Paul McCartney's house. What is going on here tonight is unbelievably GOOD!

And that is all.

Boxing Day Dinners: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

How good must it be when your older sister is in possession of a pink plastic Peppa Pig recorder that you want and that she will not let you have because she does not want your slabbers on it, and then, when you are at Nellybert's (your grandparents) Boxing Day party, a kind lady (Swisser) gives you a long tubular present wrapped in shiny red paper that looks like it might be a recorder? And your eyes light up with delighted anticipation and your granny helps you unwrap it (quick, quick!) and it is a recorder, a beautiful wooden recorder, all colours, including pink!

I think that the sight of Evie's thrilled face, when she got that recorder, was one of the best moments of our Boxing Day party. And Swisser didn’t even know she wanted one! What an inspired choice.

Miss Martha got a harmonica which delighted her.

This was the best Boxing Day in years. The food turned out well, a traditional turkey and ham dinner, with curried lamb for those who preferred it and a choice of five desserts. I made all the food myself except for the two very delicious ice-creams which were created by Zoe and Martha.

Tirimasu, Pear and Ginger Tart, Fruit Trifle, Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate & Whiskey Ice Cream

But as successful Boxing Day dinners do not make as entertaining a read as the disasters, I offer this for your reading pleasure,  

The 2011 Boxing Day Disaster

It has taken me a while to be able to share this story. I must warn you in advance that it is a very sad story and that you will probably cry. This is the story of Nelly's Boxing Day Dinner Disaster.

My day began at 6am Why so early? I wanted to get a handle on my day and a start made on my enormous 22 pound Black Norfolk Turkey, a gift from Clint.

By 10:30am the turkey was thoroughly cooked, in fact it was a tad over-cooked. I was a little dismayed but Bert said, never to worry, sliced in gravy, nobody would notice a thing. Still I was embarrassed to see it sitting there all black skin and singed legs so I got Bert to slice it up and I tucked it away out of sight.

All was under control – desserts ready, most vegetables prepped, a nice pork roast sizzling away in the slow cooker. I just had some stuffing to prepare. At 2pm the pork was succulent and only needed a quick blast in the oven to make the crackling. This was a method I was quite confident about as I'd cooked pork in the slow cooker at least a dozen times.

I put the oven on to high and left it for thirty minutes. To tell the truth I got involved with other tasks. Suddenly I remembered I needed to put the pork in for a blast of heat so transferred it to a roasting tin. Over to the oven, door open....

Oh dear God! There were my turkey slices, burned, dried out, totally fucked. I was so distraught I dropped the pork whereupon it fell on the floor and disintegrated. See! I said you would cry. I certainly did.

What Happened Next?

I saw Bert coming across the yard carrying a bucket of logs. I ran to the door. I sobbed,

Bert! Come in! Something terrible has happened!

He took one look at my anguished face, dropped the logs and ran in. I believe he thought I had discovered his mother lying dead. Little did he know it was far worse than that.

Then What Happened?

I had hysterics.

Then What Happened?

I stopped crying and went to collect Hannah and her friends. On the way in I started howling again thinking of that noble turkey who had lived and died in vain. I gathered up my guests who. I believe, were rather apprehensive about their evening's entertainment.

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch

Zoe and family arrived and measures were discussed as to how dinner could be salvaged. With the help of my lovely guests we saved the day. There was enough meat underneath the burned turkey and above the splattered pork to feed us all. Second helpings were in short supply but thankfully there were lots of desserts.

Last Year's Boxing Day Dinner

I seem to remember that there was also some sort of disaster at the 2010 Boxing Day dinner. I don't recall what it was about but it culminated in me running out and sobbing in the polytunnel and when I allowed myself to be persuaded back into the house the guests had eaten all the food. Ah well. I dare say it served me right for being such an hysterical bitch.

Next Year's Boxing Day Dinner

If God spares us things will be very different in 2012. There will be no more trying to serve two kinds of potatoes, three kinds of vegetables, stuffing, turkey and other festive meats to a party of a dozen or more, all at the same time and without a warming oven or enough chairs. Next year I'm going to go for a Polish-Irish feast. There will be thirteen dishes, desserts, casseroles, fishy things, pickled cabbage, mixed vegetables, turkey, pork, soup, flans, salads etc. Many of these dishes will have been prepared in advance. There will be a stack of napkins, plates and cutlery. There will be glasses and at least three bottles of vodka. There will be crackers. Because this year I forgot to put the bloody crackers out. Ah well. Next year.

The 2013 Boxing Day Success

Photo by Evie's Dad

It's stormin' like a demon out there. Hope the tree house stays up and the poly tunnels don't blow away.

I'm so happy that after a run of Boxing Day disasters, tonight's party was great. Everything turned out well. The guests were a delight. I did not have to go to the poly tunnel to cry fat tears of disappointment.

But I'm tired so I will tell you all about it on the 'morrow. If the power stays on.

Love, Nelly

Christmas Day. Here At Last. Soon Be Over. Thanks Be.

So here it is, Merry Christmas.

Task 1. Keep cat off the turkey. Bert's feelings about cat getting at the turkey? Sure there's enough for everybody...

Status. Ongoing

Task 2.

Rack wine.

Status. Completed

Task 3.

Long, luxurious soak in tub.

Status. Completed

Task 4.

Collect Hannah.

Status. Delegated

Christmas Eve 2013

The storm didn't come. According to a friend who works for NIE, and is one of those guys who repairs the lines when the power goes off, it passed above us on its way to the Western Isles. A relief for County Antrim, not so much for other places.

Before I knew this I was at the freezer taking out everything I thought we'd need for Christmas Day and Boxing Day. I also removed 4 pounds of frozen blackberries and started a gallon of wine. God spares us we'll be drinking that next Christmas Eve.

It's been another busy day. Lots of friends calling round and lots of baking and cooking. I felt a bit like Nigella except I expect her kitchen is nicer than mine and obvs she has access to better drugs. All I had was some paracetamol for my sore knee.

And regarding that sore knee - I was striding through Cully yesterday when it occurred to me that my knee hadn't troubled me for well over a week. Within moments it had started to throb. I wonder if it had been sore the whole time but I'd forgotten about it? The mind is a very curious thing.

Before The Storm

Preparing for Christmas (doddle) and writing a daily blog (really tough) is wearing me out. Every night at around 11:30pm I find myself totally exhausted and quite unable to do another thing.

Today I had the grandchildren around. Martha was pleased to see I had used her artwork to brighten up the kitchen. There were 4 pictures to start with but there had been some other small girls visiting a couple of days ago and they had found Martha's pictures, flung them to the ground, ripped one up and kicked the sparkly glitter off the rest of them. Luckily they did not get it all. Girls are very rough these days. The pictures are much safer pinned up.

Apparently the weather is to be hideous tomorrow. Ferocious winds are expected. If I don't post it will be because there is no power. That will be inconvenient but if the tree house doesn't blow down I won't mind too much about electricity.

That's enough for tonight. I have an hour left before exhaustion sets in.

The Wrong Kind of Snow

Thunder and lightning this morning. Not very seasonal. Then I looked out the window to see a dusting of snow which didn't look at all promising. Ah but it was horrible when I went out in it. The hens were still huddled in their house. They didn't like it either. The pigs are going to have a duvet day. Far too cold and miserable to stand in a field. I don't normally complain about the weather but today is horrible. Soon as I finish this cup of coffee I am for having a hot bath and then I'm piling on the thermals.

It is the wrong sort of Christmas snow, just great, freezing lumps of gloopy rain.

This day can only get better and, if it does, I'll tell you about it.

Lovely Day and Kimchi Recipe

I have had such a lovely day today. It started early. Out to my local supermarket to make a start on the Christmas food and drink shop. Ran in to my youngest, the incredibly hard working Hannah, who had been on the shop floor since 4am. People, think of all those folk who work crazy hours to make your holidays a big success. I know I do.

Then I cleaned house and racked wine. The birch sap and one of the elderflowers have turned out well. Swisser appeared for the wine tasting session and loved Elderflower 2 so much that I have reserved her a bottle. Elderflower 1 tastes slightly of cat pee but sure, you can't win them all.

Quite a few friends round tonight. Makes me feel all Christmassy. Even the dogs have had visitors, Ziggy and Rex. The house was quite mad for a while. Ziggy is staying the night as Hannah's current hours don't suit him. She is going to bed at 7pm, waking at 3am. Dogs don't understand that shit.

Now I know this post is a little bit woozy but when you rack 6 flagons of wine and sample a little bit of each of them (which you have to) it leads to wooziness, a dirty old job but somebody has to do it.

By the way, Swisser tried the kimchi and said she loved it.

Here is the recipe,




Quick Kimchi

Makes enough to fill a 1 litre jar. Preparation time 10 minutes. Fermenting time 24 hours to two weeks.

1 Chinese cabbage washed and dried

bunch of spring onions trimmed

3 cloves garlic, grated

5cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped finely

8 anchovies in olive oil, finely chopped

85 g chilli paste

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce




Remove outer leaves of cabbage, slice lengthways into 4 then crossways into 5 chunks.

Slice spring onions down the middle, then into 3 or 4 pieces.

Throw the rest of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl with 1 tbsp of sugar and salt*. Ad the cabbage and spring onions and stir to coat everything. 

Place in an airtight container, such as a Kilner jar and leave in the fridge.

You can use this after 24 hours, but the flavours really start to develop after about one week.



*I used much less salt and found the kimchi still quite salty.

Kimchi & Pineapple

Busy. busy day so this will be another brief posting.

We tried the kimchi. I'm told it goes with everything so we ate it with everything. Tonight's supper - bacon, boiled potatoes, brussels sprouts and kimchi. I love it and will definitely make it again. And to wash all that down? Pineapple wine. It is only eleven months old but it is delicious and strong. Now there is one lucky friend of mine who is getting a big jar of kimchi and a bottle of pineapple wine for a Christmas gift. Beats socks and I hear he already has some socks.

Kimchi is a strange food. It tastes pretty good when you're eating but for some reason it still keeps tasting great after you've eaten it. After all, as Bert says, 50 million Koreans can't be wrong.

Tough Day

This has been a tough day and it is not easy to blog on a tough day. The reason - Pearlie has not been in good form. There was something she needed to do, that she wasn't able to do and she was upset all day.  Bedtime brought respite and I found myself thinking (again) how fortunate we all are that she has such a brilliant team of carers. It wasn't always so but this particular group are diamonds.

And that is all I am going to say about that.

Except... we had the grandchildren today, lights of my life, and lights of Bert's life too.

More tomorrow.

Another Day Out In Belfast

Finished my Christmas shopping in Belfast today. Yippee! I had a really enjoyable day too. Just got it finished about an hour before my train was due so I took a little rest on the benches beside the Christmas market. I got in a conversation with an older gentleman who recognised my accent. Turned out he had been a Police Sergeant in my home town for nearly 30 years. After establishing that he had never had cause to arrest me, we dandered on to Great Victoria Street to wait for our respective trains. He knew all the people from around my part of the country so the craic was good.

It occurred to me that I am now a very junior member of a club, the folk who like to get out and about using their SmartPass.

There was one slightly sour note on the train home. I had grabbed a cup of coffee at the station and because I was early got on the train about ten minutes before it was due to leave. There was a choice of seats so I picked one with a table so I could put my drink down. Shortly before the train left a couple with two well-grown children got on and as they passed me the mother said, "One person sitting in seats meant for four." They headed past, obviously looking for four seats together. Moments later they came back and  she said it again! Making sure I got the message. I was telling Bert the story when I got home and he asked,

Did you consider giving them your seat?

What do you think? I should have said, 'Even though you are an ill-mannered harridan, I will let that go past. Please take this seat so that you, your ruffian of a partner and your great lumps of children can sit together. It would be my pleasure.' If they wanted a choice of seats they should have got there earlier. 

I have considered since that if it had been a sweet family, with two little children like Martha and Evie and they looked like they would dearly love to sit together I would gladly have found myself another seat.

Jilted!

There was this boy I fell in love with way back in 1976. It was a short relationship, late summer to Christmas Eve and its end took me by surprise. He was a very attractive boy, maybe a little on the small side but that didn't matter for I am short too. My mother did not take to him. I think she found him glib. To tell the truth she did not take to anyone I went out with for she suspected (rightly) that I was not adhering to the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church. This boy, I will call him David, was not from Ireland and he must have been quite lost to end up adrift in Ballymena. He had nowhere to live and was sleeping on various friend's sofas. I think he might have wanted us to find a place together but I had a daughter and I knew that she and I were both better off living at home with my family.

I was so happy then. Somewhere, at the back of my mind, I must have known that David and I were not going anywhere but I ignored these doubts. We were both so young. Our jobs were crap and we had very little money.

Christmas Eve came. I hadn't got David a present. He said it didn't matter. I said I would buy him a gift after Christmas. He said he had something for me but he would give it to me on Christmas Day. He wanted me to stay with him that night but I had my taxi booked. I needed to be home to sort my daughter's Santa presents. He pleaded. I was firm. I would see him at Rob's party the next day.

He never came to Rob's party and no-one knew where he was. There were no mobile phones in those days, no way to catch up with people. I tried to put on a brave face. A couple of days later a friend told me what had happened. After I left on Christmas Eve he had got talking to a girl and he had left with her. She had a cosy flat and he moved in with her that very night!

And that was that. I think about it every Christmas. And I feel for anyone who has a relationship fall apart during this season. But when I do look back what I remember best is the support of my friends and family. And am so happy that I put my little girl before my boyfriend. And I know now that he was definitely not the boy for me.

Jilted Nelly putting on a brave face at Rob's party, Christmas 1976

Dragging My Feet

I awoke this morning from an unpleasant dream in which I had hacked an unknown male to death with a kitchen knife. At first I was very relieved to find it was a dream but then felt disturbed to have dreamed the dream.

I am trying to watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button but am rapidly losing interest. It was moderately enjoyable when Benjamin was old and decrepit but now he is looking more like Brad Pitt I don't care for it so much.

I could watch this week's episode of Homeland instead.

Or I could finish this blog post.

I have two books on the go and I have a chapter left of each one and I cannot seem to get round to finishing them.

I did not go to the post office today to post Kerry Sister's present.

I have a cold and feel very tired.

But is it any wonder I feel a bit flat when I read this interpretation of my horrible dream?

Murder

To dream that you have committed a murder indicates that you are putting an end to an old habit and a former way of thinking. This could also refer to an end to an addiction. Alternatively, the dream indicates that you have some repressed aggression or rage at yourself or at someone. Note also that dreams of murder occur frequently during periods of depression.

Knife

To dream that you are carrying a knife signifies anger, aggression and/or separation. There may be something in your life that you need to cut out and get rid of.  Perhaps you need to cut ties or sever some relationship. Be more divisive. Alternatively, a knife refers to some sexual tension or sexual confrontation.

Blood

To see blood in your dream represents life, love, and passion as well as disappointments. To dream that others are bleeding signifies an emotional cry for help.

Guilt

To dream that you feel guilty about something relates to how you are handling your successes and failures or competence and incompetence. You may feel undeserving of your achievements. Or on the other hand, you feel that you have let others down. Alternatively, the dream is symbolic of repressed and negative feelings that you may have about yourself.

Here is a photograph of a kitten to cheer us all up.