And at the end of the day … phew

I love days like today … and I have a lot of them.

I had plans and they were open to any serendipity that happened through the day.

Coco pup had me out of bed at 7.30am … gone are the days when I wouldn’t get out of bed before 11 am … or later.

I had brekky and caught up on a pile of emails … some with my brother Marc as we plot the Life Dreaming adventure … some with readers of my blog … then checked all the rrs’d sites and blogs that I read … over a dozen or so on a range of topics.

Talked with a client in Dublin and organised my trip there for next week.

Time to get some fresh air and take Coco to Lock 5.

The sun was beaming down … even though the wind was very chilly.

It felt like the first real day of sunshine and I wanted to immerse my self in it before the clouds came along … as they will.

We had a great time … me strolling along enjoying the sun … the sound of the birds … that lovely sparkle on the water … and the first baby lamb.

Coco just going demented (she’s like the anti zen … or maybe a living zen) and running up and down … going really still if she saw a sheep or bird … then she runs and runs and runs … smiling all the way… I just love her … the sheer joy she lives … makes me laugh out loud.

Back for lunch and a quick hello to Dee and Mags.

Dropped in to Therese Hamill … my good friend and neighbour for a cuppa and a lovely chat by the fire for an hour or so.

Then took Eoin Hamill for a treat as his two older siblings are away on holidays … we had a lovely time over fizzy drinks in the Supavalu cafe.

We debated all the words we want to hang from the trees in the Sunny Funny Garden … lots and lots of words will be there.

Home again and I took Coco for another walk … then some work … and now I’m writing the blog.

The clouds gathered this afternoon … as I predicted.

And now for some excellent news.

My favourite maker of cakes and chocolates … Sharon Sweeney (Cannaboe Confectionary) has opened an online Chocolate shop.

Now folks … Sharon has a wonderful range of handmade chocolates full of ganache that she makes herself … and she already delivers locally.

• The milk choc – one filled with an orange flavoured ganache and the other a whiskey or brandy (whatever is handy) ganache.

• The white choc – one filled with a Irish cream liquour ganache and the other a coffee and whiskey ganache (I call it an Irish coffee flavour).
  

• The dark choc – one with a mint fondant and the other a rum ganache with a raisin. The chocolate itself is Belgian.

All you lovely people who don’t live in Ballinamore ( and I’m so sorry you can’t live in this little piece of heaven … come visit) can now order Sharon’s chocolates online.

She currently has two boxes available and I’m sure she would put together a bigger or different mix if you asked real nice.

Really … do yourself a great big favour … and treat yourself to her chocs.

If her chocolates were a person … I would be in love … forever … a devoted relationship … I would never stray.

Sharon’s Chocolate Shop

Go visit her site to see amazing photos of her decorated cakes and chocolates.

And more lovely news (life is just full of good news) … a wonderful reader and fellow blogger … Anne Richards … emailed to thank me for the Life Dreaming Workbook.

From Anne’s blog

She wanted to send me a donation for the workbook and we had a funny time sorting that out … many thanks Anne.

From Anne’s blog

Anyway … I suggested that she use the money to buy a few bees and call them Liz Biz Bees.

Well … she took that idea and grew it.

She and her husband are now going to name a whole new hive (they lost 3 hives this winter) … Liz Biz Bees … how cool is that?

And there’s more … she’s registered Liz Biz Bees as a website and will be telling the story of the hive as it grows … how bees do their job … what makes them happy … and sad … what we are doing to kill bees … they are literally disappearing … how bees are a sign of health or illness on earth.

The hive has 60,000 bees … unbelievable.

Anne has invited me and the Sunny Funny Garden gang to name some of the bees … and I think we’ll invite locals … school children … and Liz Biz readers … to choose a few names for ‘their’ bees.

Jeez … there’s 60,000 after all … and a lot of them look alike.

Check out Annes blog and read about her passion for bees.

I’m very excited as I’ve always wanted to learn about beekeeping … and  the Liz Biz Bees Hive will now teach us all online.

Photo from Anne’s blog

We’ll be able to follow the seasons and the development of the hive … and ask questions along the way.

Magic happens all the time on this blog and through Life Dreaming … it even sends me into a bit of a spin sometimes … how the serendipity and synchronicity of it all brings people together … how ideas develop ... how things can become a reality with the support of people you’ve never seen … and all from the computers of people like me living in small towns and cities … remarkable.

Finally Finally … just had a lovely visit from Miriam. She told me that there are still a few places left on the Build Your Own Wind Turbine course starting in Ballinamore next Thursday. Go to their site for details.

I hope your week has been going well.

I have to go deal with the dirt fairies and goblins that crept in since I cleaned on Monday … it’s war… and I’m losing.

Slan

Liz

p.s. This photo of Coco cracks me up. She is obsessed with flies and birds … I think she believes that flies are just small birds … I wish.

Anyway … she will climb over anything (including me) to watch a fly on the wall … and then chase it round the room … she looks at me to kill the fly … and then she eats it … a kind of posh survival of the fittest.

Yup … that is Coco balanced on the back of the couch …staring down a fly … mad dog… kinda takes after her mother.

p.s.s – was walking down the street today and sighed as I walked past the Moo Bar sign … then later in the day I was walking down the street again … and Brent was taking down the sign … sigh … all gone.

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A simple day

Sometimes a simple day just gives me a sense of ease and peace.

For some reason I’m sleeping and dreaming deep and waking slowly through the day … nice feeling. When dreaming and waking blurs … is fun for a while … very relaxing.

I have no major work pressures at the moment so I can drift a little and have serendipity days this week … no rush before my birthday on Saturday.

The day was covered in a misty rain that cleared and left a sense of damp stillness.

I wandered to the Sunny Funny Garden to see what the rain had done to the kids painting … a nice kind of blurring.

It’s funny …I must send out some bat signal … silent and only heard by certain children.

There I was standing silently by the paintings taking a few photos … when out of the mist came Maeve and Thomas.

And off they went playing with the paint again … they learnt what ephemeral meant and we chatted away about colours and people around town.

The kid keep me up with who’s who … and who’s doing what …

I left them to it as I wanted to chat with Dee … then she and Gabriel wandered up to the garden … and then a cat … the place is like a magnet.

I was going to start taking photos of the shops and the street to show you but it’s a bit grey outside.

Here is a shot of our cottages … Lynda and Derek in yellow one … Mags in Red one … moi in pink one.

Maggies flowers are looking lovely. A local man made the lovely wheelbarrow for her fab flowers … if you want one made go ask Maggie (or leave a comment here.).

I ordered one and will plant it for my birthday.

My plants are looking well as are Mrs H’s next door.

Oh yeh – and to the person who ‘liberated’ 2 of my wee plants … karma will get you sweety … nothing to do with me.

I think the sky is clearing so I might go out and take some photos or go play in the garden.

It’s that kind of day … full of simple pleasures.

Liz

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Thursday – July 3. Ballinamore/Paris Liz

Hi great readers.

I’m blogging live from the Sakai conference.

There are heaps of IT geeks (me too) typing away and chatting.

Feeling much more energised after my lolling day yesterday.

In the last hour I’ve chatted with two great women from the Uni of Indiana – Rita Pavolka and Uni Michigan – Linda Place.

They are really interested in SKIL2 and Rita has invited me to lunch with some other people so I can chat about SKIL2 and my perception of Sakai.

As a newbie – my sense is that the Sakai brand message says ‘Sakai is for universities’.

That could act as a barrier to entry for organisations – say non profits – who think it’s too complicated or only has tools that universities will use.

My sense is that Sakai has a steep learning curve but a lot of great tools that would build SKIL2.

The other added advantage of Sakai is the strong community.

Many top universities have provided their teams to build and test Sakai tools – it’s always evolving.

I’ll be contacting the people I have met in a number of universities in America and South Africa – and ask them if they will be SKIL2 support/partners.

Regardless of whether you are interested in open source or learning management systems – this journey is interesting as it’s like all new journeys we take.

It has

• risks,
  
• excitement,
  
• frustration,
  
• chaos,
  
• creativity,
  
• fear,
  

I have a very clear vision for this SKIL2 journey.

I can actually see what the SKIL2 learning space will look like.

The steps to the realisation of SKIL2 will be counted in the millions.

And I’ll need patience, persistence, a sense of humour & lots of champagne.

Still blogging live folks.

Sitting at this table is really useful.

People come up and link their computers and then say hi.

Just finished chatting with Patricia Sullivan – IBM exec from San Fran.

She is off to Dublin tonight and tomorrow night. She asked for some hints on Dublin.

She wants me to contact her when I get home. Cool. I’d love IBM as a support/partner.

Funny – I was sitting here thinking ‘ I’ve met some of the key universities. All I want to do now is meet someone from IBM’ and voila – IBM turns up.

Happens to me all the time – so I’m very careful who I think about.

I think I’ll just sit here at the table and see who else I meet.

So – how’s Ballinamore going?

Maggie– is it still raining? How’s the Sunny Funny Garden? Any more strawberries?

Lynda & Derek – I have found a street that has some contemporary film spaces. I’ll be going to them to grab some free film postcards for you.

After lunch I’m off for a wander to the Jardin des Plantes and maybe across to the Right Bank – to the Marais.

Have a lovely day.

Liz

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