Florence Day 1

Douwe's exams are over and we promised him a little trip once he was finished. So we of to Florence, Italy for a few days! Gisele comes along too and since she was only there last year quickly decide to play tour-guide for us 😎Since we are hungry after our flight she start bringing us to the best place for Florentine sandwich and they are indeed delicious!

Aquathon Athlone

Well, this is my last aquathon of the series for the year – next week, I'm headed to Italy! Giselle can't make it, so Dom, a clubmate, is stepping in as my relay partner tonight. Our club had a huge turnout again; we really pushed for everyone to race and bring friends or family to help out with things like stewarding. Irene helped by taking photos while I was in the swim, and then I went back to my usual spot, snapping finish-line pictures. Check out the full album here

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Garage Doors

To do up the garage doors I needed a few dry and sunny days. The weather forest was looking good this week, so I started on Monday with removing the old varnish and sanding. This took 3 days and then another 3 days for 3 layers of new varnish. Finally all done by Sunday!

Elderflower Cordial

 Almost too late this year; the early good weather meant the blossoms in the field behind our house were gone too soon. So, I hopped on my bike and found a nearby field with elder trees. Luckily, their hedges were cut earlier this spring, leading to plenty of new growth and a later bloom. Perfect! So I quickly had a bag full of very strong smelling elder flower blossom!
The usual routine: shake the blossoms to get rig of dirt and insects etc. Soak with some lemons and lines for 24 hours.
Drain and filter trough a tea towel. Add about 1kg of sugar per liter. Bring to boil and fil the sterilized bottles...
Thanks to the large amount of fresh blossom the cordial tastes extra strong this year 😁

Pigeon Chicks Flying Out

 As I mentioned in this blog a few weeks ago, a pair of Collared Doves is nesting in our back garden. The 2(?) chicks are now almost as big as the parents and seem ready to fly out soon

This is one of the parents coming to feed them

This photo was taking 2 days later, obviously the chicks are flying now...

30c

The hottest day of the year has arrived; officially about 28-29c Our own thermometer hits 30c!
nice weather top finish the garage doors and enjoy the garden which looks great right now!

Kilkenny

 A day out in beautiful Kilkenny is always worth bringing the camera.
Click here for the full album.

Aquathon Lough Key

The 2nd edition of the midland aquathon series is in beautiful Lough Key.  Again a great turn out form our club. I still avoid running so did a relay with Giselle who ran particular well tonight! 

Owl

 While walking in Longford I notice this interesting mural in an alleyway just off main street. Have to go back with my proper camera someday... 

Evening Spin

 Have decided to take over Brian's TT bike. He also has added power meters now. So this evening I am trying out  a 'Garmin power guided' spin. But the ignore that guide to finally break my own KoM (by 1 second 😎)

Then I slow down again and enjoy the beautiful evening around Abbeyshrule