Tag: christmas

Some happy moments of Christmas 2017

Published on by HeliLeave a comment

There are not too many photos of this Christmas time. It doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything to remember. Even if things are so different, even if it has taken so much time and effort inside myself to accept it, even if I can never totally accept it, there have been nice, lovely and unforgettable moments and lots of love around me. I cannot deny it and I am learning to live with it, at least I am trying. I know that I am not perfect and sometimes it feels like I’m on the American mountains or on a rollercoaster and sometimes it feels that there’s a rollercoaster running inside me and I never know if I am up or down. It takes so little to get from up to down and it’s good that then up again.

But the GPO was decorated for Christmas as it has been every year. The Belvedere Boys were singing and having their sleepover outside for charity. The streets of Dublin were lighted with Christmas lights. The shops were full of people and sales. Even the Luas had started to run and I had even a chance to try it.

And I got some nice presents, some really nice presents. And we together also got some nice presents – 2 gift cards to 2 nice restaurants and we tried them both and even more. So really, I have never visited so many restaurants in Dublin than I have now since this June 2017. But I would give back all these restaurants and trips and everything if I could change the life back. But I know that the God or whoever decides these things won’t make this deal with me. And I know pretty well, that this is the way of thinking that I mustn’t do, so that’s why I said that I am learning to live with it and I am doing my best.

But the food was good, both in Salamanca and in Zaragoza and we enjoyed it a lot. And it reminded our Barcelona trip and the fantastic tapas that we got there. And we will go there again one day, not for this birthday but we definitely will.

 

 

Christmas is near again

Published on by HeliLeave a comment

It seems that Santa has noticed me again 🙂 it has started to happen since my close connection to Ireland, so it makes me think that maybe he’s Irish and doesn’t live on the North Pole at all. Ok, I know that he isn’t but being together with someone who really likes Christmas and when he’s Irish, it just makes you think like that. And it also makes you like Christmas a bit differently than before – it feels like you are a child again who gets excited about all these lights, shop windows, TV-programs, cute little bric-a-brac in the shops and of course the presents. It’s a good feeling and why can’t I enjoy being a child again after my own children have grown up. Actually, it feels nice to be spoiled a little and it really feels amazing to be loved so much.

And now I would like to send my wish somewhere there – and this is my only wish and it has to be heard. Christmas time is the time for all the wishes and miracles to come true and I just have only this one. I hope that it reaches the right place.

Here is what Santa said to me with the help of The Love of My Life 🙂 And there are just 15 days to count, so I am almost there.

Christmas_wish

 

Luminosity Festival 2016

Published on by HeliLeave a comment

This year the Luminosity Festival had moved by the river side and the show was displayed on Dublin’s Custom House. The first year in 2014 it was on the Trinity Colledge and the last year on the house near St Stephen’s Green, which we, unfortunately, missed because we didn’t find any info and supposed that it still had to be on Trinity’s wall.

This year we were well prepared and went to see it a day before the New Year’s Eve, just in case. It was the first day after the flu when I felt that I wanted to go out and so it was a nice walk from home. Even the weather was nice.

The location of the show was perfect, probably the best of all these three because it was also possible to watch it from the other side of the river and there wasn’t too much traffic in front of the Custom House. But I have to say that I liked the Trinity College Light show the best, maybe because that was my first one. We watched it from the Custom House side at first, then walked over the bridge and watched it once more from the other side.

Christmas 2016

Published on by HeliLeave a comment

It’s not the best thing to get the flu at Christmas time but this year I was so unlucky to have it. It wasn’t the worst type of flu, not a high temperature which would have kept me in bed but just an annoying and long-lasting bad feeling, headache and cold and so I couldn’t enjoy the Christmas parties as much I would have wanted to. And as it didn’t start with a high temperature I supposed that it would pass with some pills and didn’t pay enough attention at first but unfortunately, it didn’t and so I had to keep myself going with taking pills and suffering from a headache the whole Christmas days.

But anyway, there was a lot of nice things too, like the presents and loads of good food that I didn’t have to cook but only enjoy, nice wine, nice people around me and fun and joy. And I must say that I still enjoy these Christmas Crackers with the stupid jokes that nobody understands, ok they do and I also do but sometimes I have to read them twice to get the fun out of it. This year I got to know that besides these jokes there are also some Charade things written on the paper clips and we had a lot of fun with all that. When we got done with the Crackers but still didn’t feel that we are really done, one of the girls showed us an app game, which was quite a similar. for example, you had to guess the names of the Christmas Carols or other Christmassy things, just by watching the others acting them out. Not so easy as it sounds, especially if you don’t have the same background and language 🙂 Try to guess the word “cupcake” just by some movement if you even don’t exactly know the word. But I am very proud that I guessed “The Winter Wonderland” and the whole line of Jingle Bells, which was “the one-horse open sleigh”. And not to mention that I still had my flu.

A lot of photos were taken as well, and I am still hopeful to get some one day but as I didn’t feel well, I was not very eager to take any on my own. Here is just one of our Christmas table before we started to eat.

2

Belvedere College Annual Sleepout

Published on by HeliLeave a comment

Belvedere College Annual Sleepout is an old tradition and it means that a group of Belvedere College past and present students spend two nights sleeping out on the streets of Dublin and collecting money for the charity, especially for the homeless. With sleeping on the street, the students experience how does it feel if you really have to spend your nights outside but at the same time with the help of the public they also raise money for those people who are homeless.

The boys who stay out for the night are the senior year students. The younger ones give their part with the Christmas Carols concert in front of GPO. I was happy to enjoy their singing and the marvellous performance of their conductor for the second time already.

Winter Solstice

Published on by HeliLeave a comment

7th annual City of Dublin Winter Solstice Celebration Festival took place on 21st of December. The activities started at DIT Grangegorman Campus in the evening at 6 o’clock, and it was announced that after that there will be a parade and lighting the fire. We have never taken part of the previous Festivals but it seemed interesting to go and see what is going to happen.

 

Celebrating Solstice is an old pagan tradition and quite familiar also in Estonia and why not to celebrate the coming of the winter. Of course, we both don’t like it too much but maybe it’s a good way to get a better and milder winter 🙂 The good news which is worth to celebrate is that the days are going to be longer again and we are slowly going to move towards spring again.

We didn’t manage to go so early, so we missed a lot – for example making the Solstice Lanterns, pleading the Solstice Wreaths, making the wishes for throwing them into the fire and dancing Irish Dances, which we saw a little bit and we were also not so well prepared, so we didn’t have any lanterns, decorations or costumes either.

We marched with the colourful and noisy crowd with different drums and other jingling things to the Smithfield Square and took part of the Solstice fire Ceremony.

Despite haven’t prepared our papers with wishes we didn’t let this moment pass without making any, so we had to be creative. I found a napkin from my bag, so I pulled it into two halves and we both whispered our wish into the napkin, make a knot and send it away with the fire. Sean was a bit surprised because that creativity came from my side but a woman from this Solstice team heard me explaining it and said that it’s just the right way how these things will work. Of course, they are, I am from Estonia, I know how to talk to Nature, especially with Fire 🙂 Now our wishes are sent to the place where they are going to come true and they definitely will, I know it.

Nice Little Things

Published on by HeliLeave a comment

Christmas time is full of nice little things that make it real and enjoyable. You just have to notice them and that’s why I wanted to write some of them here.

file_000-1The first time in my Dublin Christmas I had an opportunity to go to the Carol Service – unbelievable, that I didn’t do it before, especially in Dublin but somehow we just have missed it. Even this time it didn’t come up as a plan but we just found it on our way to the Christmas Market when Sean took me to see the church where he had sung as a school kid. It was a nice big Cathedral, very near to us and just on our way to the Christmas Market – St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral at Marlborough Street. When we entered the Cathedral a Boys’ Choir were rehearsing for their concert and they were so cute and nice that we changed our plans and stayed for the Carol Service which was just to begin after an hour. It was the best choice because the service was so nice and it was so good to listen to a Boys’ Choir  – a real Christmas feeling with Carols. After the service, I had a chance to shake hands with the priest and say thank you. It was really one of these nice small things and I am so happy that we both enjoyed it – we both have been singing in choirs, so why not 🙂

file_002-1

After the service, we went to M&S to treat ourselves with some nice posh food and bought a big jar of partridge pateé with pear chutney which I named “The Partridge on a Pear Tree”, and which was really delicious. M&S Food Shop is among My Little Nice things without any questions asked and I am looking forward what kind of delicatessen we will find for our New Years Eve.

And one more nice thing is to get Christmas Cards as a couple – probably something that you never think about if you have been a couple for a long time but still so nice to me. And actually, nowadays you don’t get too many Christmas Cards in envelopes any more.

We wish you a Merry Christmas

Published on by HeliLeave a comment

1

That was exactly how Dublin welcomed me this time. When I stepped out from the airport exit door, a children’s’ choir with red elf hats was standing in front of me and singing Christmas Carols. I think it’s such a good idea to give the children a reason to learn the Christmas Carol,s and every visitor of Dublin a special feeling when entering the country. So I got my special feeling and afterward when I was walking in the town and doing some window shopping it really felt like Christmas. All the Christmas lights, decorations, shop windows, music, crowds of people and Christmas tree, a bit on a wrong place this time, but somehow a bit taller, or maybe it just seemed to me like that.It’s hard to describe how happy do I feel to be back again. And how much I like that I am able to feel how Christmas make me happy and light-hearted.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

12 Days till My Christmas

Published on by HeliLeave a comment

As there are just 12 days left to my next trip to Dublin, this song seemed really suitable to upload. Hope that all these 12 days will bring me as much joy as for the one in the song. I can count the tickets to the Mamma Mia musical that I bought today for myself, my son and his girlfriend, as a partridge in a pear tree but taking the French teacher whom I’m going to meet tomorrow as two turtle doves can probably be much more difficult, I guess. Unless he’s going to bring me two good French wines 🙂

Yellow leaves and Christmas lights

Published on by HeliLeave a comment

It’s always so nice to be back and feel that nothing hasn’t changed, only some things have appeared or disappeared and this time the Christmas lights had been lit just a few days ago. The lights in Grafton Street were turned on earlier but the lights on Henry Street had been turned on just at the weekend before I came. This time they had changed the lights and there was again something new and Dublin had got a bit different face for these Christmas. When I am coming back for the real Christmas I will definitely look around a bit more – do some window shopping and some real shopping, check the Tayto Crisps Sandwich display at Arnotts and visit the Christmas Markets all around the town, go to listen to the Christmas Carols, see the Luminosity Festival , the New Year Parade on the last day of the year and enjoy every single day of these weeks.

But despite the Christmas lights on the streets, the trees in front of our home were still yellow and it felt like in October. That’s OK for me – I will get snow in Estonia anyway if I want it or not 🙂