Ireland and Midsummer

Last Friday 13th we had an unexpected trip to the children's hopsital, but this time we had a much better day!
We set off to Manchester Airport in the morning and got the train across the Peak District. We had a smooth trip over to Ireland and Ryanair seems to have had a personality change and it was fairly civil for a change, including complimentary priority boarding and good seats there and back.

We hired a car and drove down to Carrick-on-Shannon where we met Olivia and Joe for a meal before heading up to Kilmore. During the course of the evening most of the family popped in and as always it was lovely to see them! On Saturday morning, we went over to Ruth's for a coffee and for Vera to play with her two cats, then we went to Joe and Claire where Vera played with Grace, Luke and Lily and fed Claire's chickens!
In the evening, we went to Jamestown as it was Ciara's 14th birthday. We had some cake and Vera played with her cousins outside. Pat and Ken's house is just by the river Shannon and it is such a beautiful view, especially on a sunny evening such as that!

On Sunday morning, we went to Lough Key Forest Park for a play and run around and then met Joe and Olivia for Father's Day lunch in the Landmark Hotel.
In the afternoon, Vera and I went down to the farm where Vera, Grace and Luke fed the calves and then Vera got to drive the tractor. A highlught of the weekend for sure!

After a relaxed morning on the Monday, we drove up to Dublin in our rented Dacia Duster :-) and got the flight back to the UK.

The rest of the week went quicky, on Thursday night Mark surprised me with a Midsummer foodbox from Scandinavian Kitchen - full of Swedish treats and goodies! He's so thoughtful!
That evening, I had my monthly WI meeting and this time we did ceiligh dancing. For those of you who don't know, it's Scottish dancing, usually done at weddings and such like. It's hard work and a lot of fun! We did 5-6 long dances, in pairs accompanied by a live band.

On Friday night after work and on a beautifully sunny evening, we celebrated midsummer our way. Alas no dancing, but lots of nice food followed by Scottish strawberries.

On Saturday I met an old work colleague for a day of shopping in an outlet so called "Designer Village ;-) near Nottingham. We had a nice day, coffee, lunch, chatting and a bit of shopping!

On Sunday I went to Ladybooth Equestrian Centre for a 2 hour trek in the Peak District. I got to ride a big, friendly horse named Prince and it was so lovely to be back on horseback and as a bonus, get to enjoy the beautiful views!

Wednesday

Ireland

We've had a great weekend visiting our Irish family.  More to come,  but here are a few photos

Swedish visitors

We had a lovely fun-packed week with momma and moffa! They arrived from Sweden and took the direct train from Manchester airport to Sheffield and then a taxi to our house. We'd left a key out and I popped home at lunch time to welcome them! The day after they arrived was a wash out so they hung out at home with Vera and dad baked Vera's birthday cake number 1! On the Friday, which was Vera's birthday we all got up and woke Vera up by singing Happy Birthday and bringing a tray with a cupcake, orange juice (Vera's all time favourite up there with milk) and all her presents! She got lots of clothes, her playhouse from us, a hobby horse from Catrine & family, lots of beautiful clothes and toys from Ireland and lots more! I hope I haven't forgotten to mention anything - all gifts are so appreciated and she is and we know she is, a very lucky girl. As Anna wrote as a comment on Facebook, 3 is probably the first conscious birthday, and this has been the focus for such a long time for Vera! Both Mark and I had to work, but at 16:30 I dashed home, picked up everyone and met Mark at the restaurant Graze Inn on Ecclesall Road. It's a great place, where kids eat free before 7pm. Anyhow, we shared a mezze planner to start and dad got his Fish and Chips that he has to have when in the UK. We came home and ate Vera's strawberry and cream cake which was lovely! On the Saturday, it was full steam ahead in the Collins household, we had an electrician in, Mum, Dad, Vera and I went shopping and to the park, home for lunch and then I picked up Terese at Dore train station. Terese came up from London for the weekend, and as always it was lovely to see her! Dad baked birthday cake #2 and we had yummy homemade pizza for dinner, before mum and dad headed out for a show in town. On Sunday, which was the big party day, we cleaned and tidied, prepared food and were so lucky to get a sunny day! At 2pm the guests arrived. Vera had invited 5 guests, more than enough for a 3-year old. 3 from nursery and 2 other friends. They ran around in the garden, played in Vera's playhouse and with Vera's Peppa Pig balloons, which our lovely neighbours brought in for her! Then they had a picnic on the lawn with snacks including vegetable crudites, homous, cocktail sausages, popcorn etc. They ate more than I thought they would! Probably hungry after all that running around. Then we played Pass the parcel, followed by some dancing! Terese had found a toddler play list on Spotify and they all had such a blast running around and giggling. Then we ate the gorgeous Peppa Pig cake that my dad had baked and decorated - he's such a great baker! We finished off with fiskedamm, a traditional Swedish way of handing out the party bags. They kids loved it, but were a bit perplexed to get carrots and potatoes on their fishing rod! We also had to cater for the parents so we had set up a table with coffee, tea, ginger biscuits and "moccarutor", which they enjoyed! After the party, our lovely neighbours Ann and Godfrey (also Mr & Mrs Collins!) came over for coffee and cake and a chat and we finished the evening with a BBQ before Terese had to return to London. Such a perfect day and a memorable party for Vera! On mum and dad's last day, I took a half day off (I dont have a huge amount of holiday since starting my new job) and in the afternoon we went to Chatsworth House. It's a huge stately home with massive gardens, but we only went to the farm and playground where Vera had a ball on the very tall slide and the zip wire. As it was a Tuesday, during term time, the place was nearly empty, which is always a bonus. Then we drove through the beautiful Peaks to Castleton, where we had a nice pub meal before heading home. Such a lovely time and thank you for coming momma and moffa! Now we look forward to our visit to Ireland next week, to see our Irish family! A long time overdue.

First cinema trip!

Mark is away this weekend so Vera and I went to the cinema together and saw Postman Pat, followed by lunch at Meadowhall.  A girlie day together!

Vera's much longed for birthday party

Momma and moffa visiting