Road Trip!!

You have the to be really careful on who you choose to go on a road trip with.  It's vital that you choose someone who is into decent music and is not in the least bit fazed by driving twenty km out of your way because you saw a sign saying 'free range eggs and sunflowers down here'.

I have . .. three of those kind've people in my life.  Sinead, Carol and Ger.  Sinead sometimes prefers looking at things from a distance, as in:"Nah, let's not get out of the car (cos it's raining) let's look at the deer from here (where it is dry)".  But she will travel any distance for a cool tea shop and pretty things to look at.

Ditto Carol.  We have driven all over the place just looking at nice things and drinking tea. Taking the longer routes because we're the only people we each know who will willingly take the longer route.

Most recently though, most of my road trips are done with Ger.  We went to Birmingham last November (staying with the Lily) and down to Cork last weekend for a one day round trip to a cake show.  Cackle.

I know I've mentioned our trip through Wales in a previous post so I'll just tell you about the Cork one.

It started off with me waking up 15 minutes after the alarm didn't go off.  Ugh.  I'd only just gone to bed too, or so it seemed.  I'd had the Sandymount crowd over for dinner the night before and had a couple of glasses of something nice, great night by the way if a little sad.

So, I arrived at Ger's house and she said 'Jesus, you look rough', nice, huh?  Thing is, I did look rough.  When I was leaving the house I thought I just looked disheveled and er, sexy but really I looked like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards.  Twice.  I also drove to her house with shades on, in the fog.  I.  Was.  So.  Tired.  Not hungover, tired!!

Ger did the entire drive down as she didn't seem to think I was up to it.  It was a nice, quiet, trip until I noticed every place we passed by seemed to be named after Cheese.  Great motorway art too though, one piece looked like Wolverine's claws.  I wasn't allowed take it with us.  Yeah, so we drove, bickered over the radio station, thought about putting the world to rights and then just simply ignored each other because we were now both tired.  I had gone from tired, to happy and then very definitely to grumpy.

Hate the mornings.

We hooked up with fellow cakers and met with the lovely Kelly Cope, nabbed our cupcakes and then sat in Ger's car making sex noises whilst each eating a cupcake.  I've told you before, but I'll tell you again, the woman's cupcakes are magical.

Looked at more cakes and resisted buying stuff and then set off for home.  With me driving.

I think I made it to Cashel without getting too hysterical.  You know how you do when you're tired?  To keep us going Ger produced a bag of jellies  . . . we ate them all.  Then, 10 minutes later, another bag came out.  I think it was that second bag that did it.  We were hyper!  Like, REALLYHYPER, which isn't a good thing, necessarily, when you are driving a car.

The thing about eating that much sugar is, it wears off quickly. You eat a sweet and you turn into hyper bunny . . then, two minutes later, you crash.  So you have to eat more jellies.  

Then it turned into a competition.  Who could stick a jelly on their tongue and not bite it.  Then it turned into . . who could put a jelly on their tongue, stick their tongue out, not dribble and not eat the jelly.  My jelly shot off my tongue at one point I was laughing so hard and we, er, changed lane.  Bad drivers!!  Bad, bad, drivers.

Once the jellies were gone, and the sugar had really  kicked in, it was time for car karaoke.  Holy shit, that was the best fun I've had in a car.  EVER.

Saturday night radio is always brilliant.  It's geared at people getting ready to go out so the music is all pop and old and brilliant.  We gave it socks to Queen, Michael Jackson, The Bangles, The Lumineers (Ger is fucking hopeless at the "Ho", "Hey" callback bit, she disappointed with Arrested Development too).  Loads of stuff that I can't remember.

I have visions of all roadside cameras being trained on our car as we drove down the N7 or M7 or whatever it was called, first with our tongues out and then singing with gusto all the way home. 

Love road trips.

p.s. saw the above picture and thought "yeah, that's what we're going to do next time.  'Cos, there will be a next time".

Kelly Cope - Cupcake Queen

I'm not a huge fan of cupcakes. Or rather, I'm not a huge fan of butter cream so I LOVE Kelly's cupcakes. They are divine. I buy them whenever I can which, unfortunately isn't often as she only lives in bloody Middleton. That's Cork by the way, which is way south of Dublin. Sigh.

The first time I tasted them was when she came to a party at my house. Oh divine god. Someone lost six, sorry Ger, and they were found two days later under the small sofa. A bit battered and worse for for wear but still completely and utterly edible. (Sorry Ger).

I got my hands on another dozen when I went down to Cork on Saturday for the Cork sugarcraft show. Hahah, Kelly and her beloved pulled up in their jeep and swung open the rear door. There was a scrum . . . there were lots of bags ..... lots of cupcakes in those bags and, well, I took my 12 and immediately ate a strawberry one. Ger got her 12 (and Gillian's 12) and we legged it to her car. The plan had been to put them in the boot and go back into the show but, that would have been wrong so, we each chose a cupcake. Apple for me and a Toffee one for her.

..............silence..............weird sex noises.........you know what I mean!! Lots of mmmm and muammmmummmms. Cackle.

Ger kindly swapped a s'more for a strawberry and that's what myself and Himself are fighting over. Hahahahha. It takes a seriously talented baker to make that many cakers travel that far for a cake. You really, really have to check her out. www.craftyconfections.net

Who knew?

Whenever we go out as a family on day trips or whatever we always seem to head north and occasionally west. Last Friday I headed south with two great friends, M & V.  We went to Fountainstown in Cork.  M's in-laws have a beautiful little house sitting on the edge of the sea there

Drove down at night and scared the shit out of M by doing a three point turn at the top of the cliff.  Next day, in full sunlight, I scared the shit out of myself too 'cos I could see how mental and 'aaaaagh' it was.  I do the 'sucking all the air out of the car' thing when I'm nervous if himself is driving.  This was the first time anyone had sucked the air out on me.  Not good.  But she kind've deserved it for reminding me as we drove under the Lee tunnel that there were several million tonnes of water above our heads.  I hate tunnels and I hate water (under pressure!!  Hoover Dam???  Shivers).

Got to house and it was perfect.  V. made us close all the curtains in case someone would look in on us (who??) and M made up a fantastic fire.  We drank wine, ate chips and put the world to rights.  I went to bed, V threw up (tummy bug, actually tummy bug AND wine) and M. messed.

Woke up the next morning to a phone call from the borrowed boy's mammy.  She was trying to give out about the borrowed boy's dad leaving stuff in our house but I had just seen the view so was useless to her?  

What a view.  Next stop America kinda thing.

We had pancakes, played with binoculars, M reversed car out of mad driveway and we, I, finally got to the English Market.  It was worth the wait.  Also got that mad Cork accent which I've never really heard.  Mostly just heard people taking the piss out of it.  Cork people sing!  When talking!!  They also talk really bloody fast and are very helpful.

M. got a cool dress in Enable Ireland and then the 3 of us had fun trying on shoes.  Hit a craft shop and tried not to spend as much money as I really, really wanted to.  Got a cool knife though.  It goes on your finger like a ring and gives you 'better control' apparently.

Time for a few pints for them but not for me!!  I was still bloody driving.  Then off to the Kilkenny Design Centre where I got lovely earrings and a pendant and then it was time for Indian.  Happy, happy days.

On the way back to the house there is a point on the road where it is completely black.  So . . . driving very slowly. . .  we turned off the car lights and disappeared.  Mad looking.  Don't think I've ever been anywhere that was that dark.  Ever.  Maybe when in Tunisia but I can't remember.  Definitely not anywhere in Ireland where you can actually see the stars it's so dark.  Loved it.  The stars not the sitting in a slow moving car with no lights on.  That was a bit nerve racking.

Up not so nice and early on Sunday and went for a clamour on the rocks.  V cooked brekkie and M went off to find stones.  Ate.  Cleaned house and left.  2.5 hours back to Dublin and then another hour or so in Avoca on the Kildare or Dublin Road to Kildare.  More nice stuff.  Then home.  However, whilst in Paula's House, we talked about the following things (during our 'putting the world to rights' er, session):

Our men

Babies.

Family.

Religion.

God (does he exist?)

Scary stories.

Food.  

Fat!

Flowers.

Missing our men (mostly V).

Is it possible to just eat one square of chocolate? Nor for me and V. but definitely for M.  Freak.

Michael Jackson.

Family.

Making stuff.

Depression (don't want to go yet? and which drugs are best lol).

Music.  Lots and lots of music.

Yup, we came back knowledgeable and refreshed.  Not bad for a two day, well, day and a half trip to Cork.

I always find it so funny.  Can't wait for some quiet time and then the minute I'm close I can't wait for the kids.   # 2 did his usual "I miss you" card thing which I shall put away (with the many others - I think he's trying to tell me something) and # 1 had already given my hug away to Fiona when she arrived to say hello (he'd thought she was me).  Poor # 3 wasn't well and was curled up on the sofa, much the way he is curled up in my bed right now.  

I love Cork and I can't wait to show himself and the boys how great it is.  I feel a road trip coming on.