My Birthday Break

Áras an Phiarsaigh

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Jenkinstown House

I had a birthday recently and my family treated me to a luxury weekend in this historical but modernised former castle in Kilkenny.

This is just one of the two spacious living rooms where we could hang out as a family, play games, chat and drink.

This is the banquetting hall where we ate our evening meal on the first night and where we held the birthday party on the Saturday evening. I felt like a queen.

My bed for the weekend

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New Shop in Ballincollig

This is Olga with one of her loyal customers, Carine, in her relocated wool and craft shop. It is a beautiful shop for the descerning crafter, full of beautiful wools and craft accessories.

It is located where Snout used to be.

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A Poem on one of my favourite Themes

   Love Continues

Grief is not a fleeting phase,
Nor a storm that swiftly clears.
It lingers, reshapes, and stays,
A silent partner through the years.

The world expects a swift release,
An end to tears, a closing door.
But loss removes our inner peace,
Rewrites the life we knew before.

When loved ones leave, time marches on,
Seasons change, the earth rotates.
Yet in our hearts, they’re never gone;
Their absence permanently weights.

Places once filled with their laughter
Now echo with a hollow tone.
Shared moments haunt us thereafter,
Reminders that we’re now alone.

Some may ask, “Are you still grieving?”
As if time’s passage heals the ache.
But grief is not for our relieving;
It’s love that death cannot unmake.

In grief, there’s strength, a resilience found,
In carrying memories, learning to live.
Honoring what was, while moving around,
Proof that love continues to give.

So let grief be, without shame or fear.
It’s not a weakness to display.
It’s love’s echo, ever clear,
A testament that will not decay.

For grief and love are intertwined,
Two sides of a coin, a single thread.
In mourning, love is redefined,
A lasting bond that is not dead.

Embrace the sorrow, honor the pain,
For in their midst, love’s light is cast.
Through tears and heartache, we sustain
The memory of a love that lasts.

MarkWaldrop

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A Fact

On January 30 1969, The Beatles made their last public appearance as a group.

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