Is May The Start of the Irish Summer or Not?

Teal seaglass pendant with flower detail (sold)

 Here's a real Irish conundrum for you. May is here, and in this corner of the world it is officially the start of Summer...right?? Well, according to Met Eireann, our national meteorological service, in line with the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, the summer months are June, July and August. Yet according to the Irish calendar (and popular, local understanding it would seem,) Summer is indeed May, June and July.

Celtic, Connemara marble keychain

 I don't believe we're just being awkward or trying to confuse the rest of the world. Nor are we exercising our very Irish sense of individuality...hmmm, well, maybe there is a bit of that.... But the Gaelic calendar dates back to the Celtic system of time keeping.

Butterfly button pendant

Click here for: the full story from good ol' Wiki but in  simple terms, in pre-Christian Ireland, the solstices (longest and shortest days of the year,)  fell bang in the middle of Summer and Winter, not at the start. Likewise the two days of the year where we have 12 hours of daylight and 12 of night, the equinoxes, fell in the middle of Spring and Autumn. Hence, from a cultural stance, with the Summer solstice falling on 20th or 21st June each year, the month of May heralds the beginning of Summer.

So be it. Summer is here! In fact the sun even came out today to prove it.

Raindrops

Wooooah, the rainstorm has come! We got away with a pretty mild Winter and Spring so far in Dublin. But it looks like Mother Nature finally let go of all that rain and wind she's been holding onto a bit too long.  It's pretty nasty out there today. Stay dry and warm people! Whatever other woes I may have of late, I am grateful to have a roof over my head.

A Burt Bacharach song my Dad used to sing to us is circling in my head. I won't quote all the lyrics to 'Raindrops keep falling' but will share a few lines from the popular 60's song. It was written by Bacharach and Hal David and sung by BJ. Thomas in 1969 on the soundtrack to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It got to number 1 and was obviously a hit with my Dad. I remember him singing it for yeeears whenever it rained. (Ha, it was frequently on the soundtrack to my childhood so!) You may remember it from the soundtrack to Forrest Gump in 1994.

Labradorite Raindrop pendant

'Raindrops keep falling on my head

And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed

Nothin' seems to fit

Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling...'

 

Larkivite and Swarovski Crystal Earrings

'...So I did me some talking to the sun

told him I didn't like the way he'd got things done...'

Blue Chalcedony drop earrings

'...Sleepin on the job

Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling..'

Golden sunshine agate pendant

'...But there's one thing I know

The blues he sends me wont defeat me

It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me.......'

Away With The Fairies. A Tale of Inspiration

I've had this dainty piece of drilled beach glass for at least a year. It's a little small for a pendant. And as white seaglass is common enough and I have plenty of bigger, more exciting pieces to work with, this little fella was lost and forgotten in my bowl of beach finds. I didn't feel inspired to do anything in particular with it.

Maybe it was my hike to Fairy Castle in Ticknock (which may look like a big pile of ordinary rocks, but is apparently the remains of an ancient cairn or tomb.)

Or perhaps it was this pretty fairy village I found in my cousin's garden? ( How cute is that?!)

But most certainly, it was my 5 year old niece who took me fairy-watching in the park over the Easter holidays and filled my head with stories of goblins, witches and fairy princesses....ok, maybe it was me who was telling the fairy tales, but all that magic had to go somewhere didn't it?!  TADA! And so appeared the Blue Fairy:

Blue fairy bookmark

Thank you to Alannah, for sprinkling a little magic dust and inspiring me to create something pretty. Oh to be a child who believes in fairies again.....

How To Keep Your Jeans Zip from Falling Down

Yes, I know the title sounds comical, but in all the years I've been wearing jeans I never knew this handy little trick for keeping your zipper up when it should be up.

Sometimes you get a pair with a wonky zip that is 'afraid of heights.'  I currently have two pairs like that in my wardrobe and rather than suffering along with a dodgy and sometimes dangerous safety pin, I decided to find a better solution.  

And then I came across this clever fix that is so simple I feel like slapping my forehead. How come I never knew about this or thought of it myself????

 Simply attach a plain split-ring keyring to the zipper pull.

Zip up and hook the ring around your button

Button up as normal, without a trace. 

If you're thinking 'pah, I knew that old trick' then why oh why didn't you tell me about it, eh?! 

I hope this helps someone somewhere from losing their dignity or getting pranged by another pin.

Agate charm for your jeans belt tag or purse zipper

Puppy Love key ring

For handmade charms, keyrings and zipper pulls please pop into the keychain and charm section of my Etsy shop

Forget Noughts & Crosses, How bout Hoop & Cross?

I came across this little mystery at the top of Bray Head last weekend. (Click here for a snippet on my wee hike in Bray posted on my Irish blog.) Erected in 1950, the concrete cross at the top of the steep hill is a landmark for the seaside town. Annually on Good Friday, pilgrims hike up the hill to make the stations of the cross and the final station is celebrated here at the top. 

On January 29th a rusty basket ball hoop mysteriously 
appeared, bolted fast to the top of the cross. According to local news bulletins, it caused quite a stir.  Some say it is blasphemy and/or vandalism.
Others, call it art.

As I see it, it is a truly witty statement, typical of Irish humour, whether the unknown perpetrators were Irish or not.  After all, we Irish are famous for being able to laugh at the ridiculous and poke fun at ourselves (um, one could argue that sometimes that can be one and the same...)

Some planning, design and effort must have gone into getting the hoop up there and bolting it on.  It is befitting that the 'culprit(s)' chose a rusty hoop. It looks like it belongs there and has been there for years. Perfect.

Granted, any damage left behind would, I fear,  indeed be vandalism. Would it be better if the authorities left the hoop there?


Whether placed by a cheeky joker or a serious artist (or both), for me it is up cycled art -a piece of  witty, modern sculpture. What do you think?

Divine Inspiration?