Uploading old photos and videos

A dead spider on a CD..

With the new laptop and all, I thought this would be a good time to organise my virtual pile of photos. So, I've been uploading and archiving old stuff that had piled up on the old laptop..

If anyone feels like stalking, I've done the missing bits of October 2011, July 2012, and I am now uploading some August 2012 stuff (I have monthly sets on Flickr).. Or, just browse back on my Flickr Photostream.


I never used that handbag much.. It was too small, and had no shoulder strap.


Sketching misc. everyday things..


Hallowe'en wig fun..


Activism.. (Pic by W.A., blogged with permission.)


July 2012 video, with Ginga, Oimo, and Thatsit.. Only Thatsit is alive now, and she's having health issues.. =/ (I use that helium voice with the cats as it works well, especially with ferals..)


Late Ginga..


Heavy metal Ginga.. ;-)


Thatsit..


Daisies in the back garden..


Glencree grotto..


Sugar Loaf..


Late Oimo..


Evening clouds..

Phew - all my old files are back

I took a few days just to get used to Windows 8, and install necessities on my new laptop, but yesterday, I finally took out the hard drive from the old laptop, and transferred all my old files to the new laptop.

It still feels somehow mental, that such a tiny piece of material can hold so much stuff.. Thousands of photos, thousands of emails, etc.. Pretty much 5-6 years of my life, except for the years of photos I'd already backed up elsewhere.

Devastated about not being able to use my dear Photoshop Elements 1 (it being the only version of Photoshop Elements, that doesn't work with Windows 8..) - using Photoshop 6 instead, but it's so.. grey..

Also, my Logitech Fusion webcam doesn't work with Windows 8 (and no, there aren't any tricks for that, either, at least not yet..), which is disappointing, because I like having an external webcam, especially with an extra USB cable.. But now I'm stuck with the laptop webcam =/

Mo féinphic

“Selfie” has been added to the Irish language dictionary / focal.ie - selfie

Done with September

September, in my ShutterCal.

September briefly;
I took the last driving lessons.. I bought some LIDL boxes.. I enjoyed the last bit of summer, in the garden.. I took, edited, and printed out the pictures for a 2nd learner permit / driving licence application.. I watched a very quick protest in the neighbourhood.. I went for a late night spin in Wicklow.. I found that Friday 13th is not good for a driving test.. I applied for a new learner permit.. I went to Naas, and Maaria and I went to IKEA - foggy mountains.. I saw my first ever badger.. I got a FourStar mega deal.. I organised stuff in the attic.. I got a parcel from Finland.. I went to Naas again, and this time, Maaria and I went to Maynooth (Tiger, Russell Library, Cafe Bon Bon) - foggy mountains.. I saw the badger again - it was dead =/ ... Thatsit was put on meds again, and it looks like her back leg problem is here to stay.. My old laptop died.. I bought a new (very expensive) laptop..

New laptop - and I'll be living on noodles for some years..

HP ENVY m6-1300sa

I had to buy a new laptop, so I went to HarveyNorman in Carrickmines, yesterday. (Had my first ever underground parking experience, too.)

I'd checked out their website already, and had some ideas of what I might have wanted.. However.. (LOL..) I decided to get something better, and hopefully I won't have to buy a new one in the next 5+ years. This means that I really have to be living on noodles for a couple of years or so.. :o

Not really loving Windows 8, but everything seems to come with it now. I've been getting used to it all night, installing stuff, bookmarking this and that, etc..

RIP laptop

My apple green Dell inspiron 1520 had been on its way out for a long time.. I got her in March 2008, just before my urgent trip to Finland, after the previous (ancient) laptop had died.. I'd used her pretty much 24/7 ever since.. Her battery died ages ago, so I could only use her when she was plugged in.. This year, I'd mainly used a USB keyboard with her, since parts of her own keyboard didn't work anymore..

But yesterday, her graphics died. Not even the nearby Sony Bravia could help.

I'm coping with my cheapo tablet, but blogging is a pain, and anything that requires using an actual browser, is slooow.. So, until I get a new laptop (hopefully on Tuesday), I'll be mainly playing Tapped Out, and using Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter apps. They're fast.

Maynooth, on Thursday (via Naas) - and a dead badger..

I went to Naas again, on Thursday morning, being grateful for my L plates as my driving was all over the place, that morning! And it had to be very foggy and sort of rainy on the mountains, again.. (Every time I drive there, grrr..) I don't mind the rain (well, it reminded me that I still need to replace that windscreen wiper blade..), but I hate driving when I can barely see the road.

Maaria had muffins in the oven, so we had some breakfast first, and then we went to Maynooth, where I hadn't really been before (other than a quick there and back, a few years ago). The underground parking at the shopping centre, reminded me of Dundrum - really clean and lovely.. And it was free! They should have free parking everywhere! It doesn't matter how many "Shop Local" banners you have, if people have to pay for parking - and this is especially aimed at whoever decides about these things in Bray. Jeez, I've even driven to send a small parcel from Kilmacanogue post office, to park for free! (Yes, I did pay for the petrol, but I was vaguely heading to that direction, anyway, so I still saved some money and effort..)

For once, I took pictures of something else than my lunch.. =D (Don't worry, I got the lunch covered as well..)

We'd actually started by doing some shopping at Tiger. I'd seen some Finnish friends talking about Tiger shops online, but I had no idea that they were in Ireland as well, until Maaria mentioned it, last week! I'll tell more about my shopping, later on, with a picture.. Loved the shop, btw, and stayed well within budget!

Then, we went for a walk around the old campus - beautiful!

Yes, I've gone a bit effect happy, with some of the pics.. =)

Like an outdoor cathedral, this path took us to an old cemetery..

Celtic cross factory, I joked.. =) You rarely see so many of them, in such huge size, in one place!

Two pics of the same spot.. Just playing with effects..

So, these two crosses were talkin', and.. =P

From the other end of the 'corridor'..

Earlier on, Maaria had wondered if she should phone a friend who works in the library, to see if she'd be there. She decided to leave it, but just a little while later, we happened to meet that friend outside one of the buildings! So, we ended up getting a private tour of the Russell Library, while it was closed for the lunch hour. Very interesting!

I loved the Very Old globes, where Australia was still New Holland, etc.. And I'd have loved to see their old Bibles, but it's a research library, and you can't just go and paw the books. I liked it more than the Long Room at Trinity, of which it reminded me.

After the library visit, we were both very hungry, so we left the campus, and...

...went to Cafe Bon Bon, where we'd already decided to have lunch.

We totally fell in love with their mint lemonade, which was sort of like alcohol-free mojito, and couldn't believe that we'd never thought of making such stuff at home! As soon as I can find (and afford) some fresh mint, I will definitely attempt making my own version of it.. So Good..

Maaria had mushroom bruschetta, I had a chickpea burger, and the side salad was also very nice. (My burger was a bit difficult to eat, but it was otherwise lovely.)

They had lots of lovely cakes available, but we were so stuffed, that we could only manage a slice of lemon drizzle cake each. I couldn't even finish my coffee, I was so stuffed! =D

We visited some more shops, and then returned to Naas. I took a picture of all my Tiger shopping (above). Two rain ponchos (I'd wanted those for ages, I'll keep them in the car), neck cushion (probably for the car as well), cute tin box of plasters, rye sticks that look like Finn crisp (I haven't tasted them yet), touch screen pen (great buy - makes it much easier to hit the tiny links and buttons on the tablet, and leaves less marks on the screen), finger skateboard (K already sent me one from Finland, but when I saw the cute tiny tools, I had to buy another one..), bead cutting nippers & round nose pliers, sheep tape, heart tape, toothbrush holder (for travel purposes, I think), kitty key chain with a torch & meow sound (I know... we were freaking out Maaria's cats with it..), stickers, and two gift bags, which I also used to carry all my shopping.. €31.32 for the lot! Not too bad.

We continued watching Brave, from where we'd left it the week before, but didn't finish it yet. We also tried to "box" one of Maaria's cats, who refuses to be boxed (for a vet visit), but it wasn't happening.. =) And then it was time for me to head home again - via petrol station.

The weather was gorgeous, and I was hoping to get some lovely sunset pictures on the mountains, but by the time I got there, it was all foggy again! Grrrr!!!

Oh, I saw that badger again - on the very same spot.. Dead.. This time, I was able to slow down enough to take a better look, and its face was flat, looking as if someone had driven over it (before it moved to the side of that small road).. My heart was hurting.. Had I been able to stop somewhere, last week, and go check on the badger, I'd have seen that it was injured, and maybe I could have done something to either rescue it or have it put to sleep (the latter option being more likely, seeing the state that little face was in..) I did have a funny feeling about seeing a badger in daytime, and in such place.. Whatever happened to the poor badger, to cause those injuries, must have happened shortly before I saw it the first time as it was still generally healthy looking (as quickly as I saw it), whereas now I could have instantly told it was dead, even if I hadn't known to look for it on that spot.. There was just something so obviously dead about it.. I have been kicking myself for not reporting it to some wildlife page or such, last week. It would probably have been too late, anyway, but this hindsight stuff never leaves you alone.. There really wasn't anything I could have done, there and then - had I stopped somewhere further on and walked back (quite a hike), I still wouldn't have been able to move the animal, if it was still alive.. Also, I'm not sure if that area even has mobile coverage (mountains..) But I wish I'd thought of reporting the badger sighting, at the time! Had I actually seen the facial injuries, obviously I'd have done something about it - I should have trusted that gut feeling, though. But there's nothing I can do about it anymore, and it's eating me..

I stopped at Lough Tay, to take a few pics.. Above, the fog I'd just driven through.. (Compare to the blue sky, in the previous picture.. It was like that, all the way from Naas to the mountains.. And then it got foggy.)

There was some more fog ahead (above), but it pretty much cleared after the mountains..

I stopped to do some shopping at Bray Centra, and arrived home just before 8pm.

Naas, IKEA, badger.. (Thursday)

Applegreen petrol station in Co. Kildare.

I had a bit of a panic morning, on Thursday.. Maaria and I had decided to do another IKEA trip, so that I would go to Naas first, she'd drive us to IKEA and back, and then I'd drive back home.

I was about to leave home around 8am or so, went to my car, pressed the Unlock button on the key - nothing. Crap, I thought, imagining the key battery had died. Oh well, I unlocked the door manually, got ready to go, was about to start the car - nothing. Only then, I realised that the key battery was grand, whereas the CAR battery was flat!

I had to wake up D, to come and give Esmeralda a jump start. He's had some trouble with his car battery, so there was just enough life in it, to actually get my car started!

Edit; I forgot to mention the mind fuck bit.. Esmeralda's lights had been on, which killed her battery. It's just that I hadn't used any lights, the last time I was driving! It must have been my handbag or something, that had caught the switch while I was taking my stuff out, and accidentally switched the lights on without me noticing. It's easy not to notice the lights during the day - especially if you haven't actually used them while driving, so there's no reason to check that they're switched off.

One of Esmeralda's back tyres needed air, but I decided to drive to Kilmacanogue first, to get the battery charged a little bit.. (Even then, I didn't dare to switch the engine off, just in case - I'd taken the jump cables with me, though, for some extra security..)

Then, the hilarious bit; before realising that the CAR battery was flat, I'd played with the keys, and I must have hit the Lock button last, so that my alarm was on, when I got the car started - well, this meant that the hazard lights were going on & off, without me being able to control them At All, and since I couldn't risk switching the engine off and taking the keys out, I couldn't kill the alarm, either - until turning from Roundwood Road to Djouce, just to find a quiet spot to stop and do it. LOL.. I kinda felt like driving a stolen car, or something.. =D Live and learn..

So, anyway.. I made it to Naas.. It was more or less rainy, up to Sally Gap.. There was a beautiful rainbow, and then it got very misty, for Blessington Road.. I think there was some drizzle, after that, but nothing like the heavenly runs, the last time I did that trip..

On our way to IKEA, Maaria stopped to get petrol, and I spotted interesting kindling bags at the Applegreen station (see the photo above).. I made a mental note to stop there, on my way home (as I needed petrol as well), and buy a bag for crafties..

IKEA Dublin, lunch with Maaria.

As usual, we started with some lunch. I really, really, really miss the lovely meatballs, but since they contain pork, I'm not having them anymore =/ Not that there was anything to complain about the salmon options I chose.. I absolutely love the 'marinated salmon' (on the right, above), but since I was really hungry and that's more like a starter, I also had the salmon and spinach lasagne, which was fantastic! Well, I actually had the lasagne first as I didn't want it to get cold.. I had some bread as well, and lovely organic lemonade. Mmmm..

Then, we were ready to do some shopping. I was on a very tight budget as I had to save money for a casting trip to Dublin, so I'd made a list of stuff that I really needed, but you can't go to IKEA without buying at least something that you hadn't planned to get.. I only spent an extra €10, though, and it was stuff for Christmas, so nothing too bad..

I got some goodies from the food market as well (pics of my shopping, later on..), and then I felt like getting a cold drink or something. I queued up to the junk foody place, which is next to the food market, and saw their milkshake ad - I decided to have a banana milkshake (as there was no vanilla option in the picture).

Mistake.

Instead of getting a milkshake, I got a small paper cup, a regular straw, and a coin-like token, with directions to the milkshake machine around the corner. I was like, WTF?!? Had I known that I'd have to get it myself, I wouldn't have bothered! I was done shopping, I just wanted something refreshing before walking out with my stuff, FFS..

It turned out that the machine did have a vanilla option as well, so I got that. It was too thick for the regular straw (hard work to get anything through that straw), it didn't taste nice, it was too sweet, and it wasn't even that cold. Complete disappointment. I was wishing I'd gone to the vending machine instead, or bought something cold from the food market..

Mental note: never ever get an IKEA milkshake again.

Three of Maaria's five cats =)

We had tea at Maaria's place, watched the first half of "Brave" (I loved it!), and she showed me a beautiful quilt she's working on, then I showed her some stuff online, which I'm not blogging about =P

After getting petrol and buying those 'craft materials, I took the same route home, which I took the last time (as in, slightly different from the route in the morning), and actually saw my first ever badger, on the way! It was between Blessington and Sally Gap, and I wanted to stop and see if it was OK, but there really wasn't anywhere to stop, nearby.. It was on the side of a small road, definitely alive, but not moving, either. I just thought that it was strange to see a badger during the day..?

2 x Kusiner, 2 x Dröna blue..

Vessla green & white lid, 2 x Ribba white, Framställa green.

Craft material =)

Lingonberry jam, herring, mustard & dill sauce.

I also bought a packet of sliced smoked reindeer (mmm..), which was hard to find, and I only knew to look for it as Teemu had recently bought some! If it wasn't so expensive (for me), I'd have bought more, but maybe I'll get some more, next time..

Keep checking your bank account balance regularly

I'm not going to mention who, which bank, or which country, but as this is something that could happen pretty much anywhere, I thought I'd blog about this..

A friend opened a bank account, about ten years ago. There were no fees, but a minimum balance of §X00 (using the Simoleon symbol, for "neutral currency") was required. The account owner lodged §X000 (over 13 times the required amount), thinking it would be a nice amount for a rainy day, and never touched the account since.

Well.. They have now received an overdraft notice from the bank.

After the account hadn't been touched in a year - so, around nine years ago - the bank had started charging a monthly service fee of §X0, for an inactive account. They never notified the account owner about the fees, there were no balance updates (giving the impression that they didn't actually even want the account owner to notice, until they'd had a chance to milk the account dry..), but once there was no money left to continue paying the outrageous monthly fees, THEN they didn't hesitate to contact the account owner, expecting them to pay for the overdraft!

NEVER TRUST A BANK!!!

Even if you have an account that you're not using, and therefore have no actual reason to keep checking the balance, it's still a good idea to keep checking the balance regularly. At least it comes up as some activity, and if your bank is into quietly milking your account, at least you'll notice it before they've stolen ALL your money!