My Top Five Thrifty Christmas Gift Suggestions.

I know this is early but I think planning is required when picking thoughtful Christmas presents.

Nancy

When I was a kid  Christmas started when you got the Folens Christmas Annual, it was delivered through school, it was a mix of English and Irish stores, puzzles and fun facts. It is still available to schoolchildren and via their website to anyone. I think it is an ideal present for children who don't live in Ireland anymore and would like a little piece of the old sod. I have bought it for my nieces in Australia for the last few years,I wonder what they make of the bits as gaeilge. It is available in four age levels. They are €4 each.
Folens Christmas Annual 2014

I think a photo Calendar makes a lovely gift.  I am always taking photos of friends and family with this in mind. I even used my scanner to scan some old photographs of my friend and I to use in her calendar.
Group-on and other deal websites do deals on printed calendars or boots have one that you just slot in the photos.Boots Calendar



Plants have lovely names and sometimes you can find one with a name of someone you want to give a present to.

Whitney

I Planted some Narcissus bulbs in this planter and now they are starting to peep through.

It should make a lovely gift.

Tom

Busy shopping centers are not really for me I like to do my Christmas shopping in local shops,garden centers,craft fairs and gift shops (The national gallery has a lovely one)

Open House -2014

I love visiting buildings so Open House is one of my favorite events. The  Irish Architecture Foundation Showcase buildings old and new. Some are private  buildings not normally open to the public and some are public but with  the enthusiasm of the guides the buildings history and origins come alive.This year I decided to visit The  National Botanic Gardens and Broadstone Train station which is disused as a train station.  Thank you National Botanic gardens Bus Eireann and Irish Architecture foundation.

The room where a murder occurred
newspaper link

The view from the Bus Eireann Boardroom in Broadstone Train Station

I passed by this spot everyday on the bus to school, It was great to see the statue of our lady from a different angle.

There is a workshop now where the platforms once stood.

Broadstone Train station

Turner's Palm House

Teagasc College

Classroom

Our fascinating guide. OPW 'architect.

open house website

Glue-product review UHU Precision Super Power Gel

I am turning into my dad here,He was always buying glue,copeydex,bosteck wood glue and superglue (when it came out).It is hard to find the right one that works and yet doesn't get clogged up after the first use.
I had a tube of great glue. One day I found it in the press when I had a toy to mend. it glued metal,plastic and card. And then it was gone, I wasn't sure where it came from so I telephoned the distributor,they were no help,then my husband thought he got it in Lidl. .I emailed them, you would think they know what offers are coming up but no, subscribe to the newsletter was all the advice they had for me.
Then last week my husband spotted the glue in the Lidl brochure
Now I am happy fixing all the broken bits n bobs again.

I recommend this glue for all the little jobs around the house.
You squeeze out a tiny amount at a time no mess.

€2.99

Ben 10 was first on the list to be mended.

Glued this no problem , it has been hanging outside all summer.

Back to our past

On Friday I went to the Over 50'show in the RDS, Dublin.
I love this show because lots of the exhibitors are hotels with competitions.There are also interesting talks,I love Gerry Daly, he has me convinced I have a wildflower garden and not a weedy mess. They had lots of coin and stamp collectors selling there wears too.
The most important bit for me is the Back to our past section.
There were talks all day, I wish I could divide myself up so I could attend them all.
The first one I attended was about the Society of Genealogists.

www.sog.org.uk not free but worth a search to see what they have

http://www.lostcousins.com/

http://www.curiousfox.com/

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

http://www.genuki.org.uk/

Then I attended a talk by Jane Lyons of  http://www.from-ireland.net/
She is really passionate about gravestones
The best time to read them is in full sunshine, which was demonstrated with photographs.
You can also use a mirror to reflect the light onto the stone or a bright torch.
http://www.irishgraveyards.ie/index.html

http://historicgraves.com/

http://www.igp-web.com/

http://www.findagrave.com/

Then I caught the end of a talk about adoption
The book Directory of irish archives is available in library s

http://www.eneclann.ie/NLI-Lectures/FionaFitzsimons.pdf

.http://www.tusla.ie/services/alternative-care/adoption-services/tracing-service/adoption-information-and-tracing-services

Then There was a talk on tracing your Irish  Military ancestors by Nicola Morris

This is where I am stuck in my own search at the moment but more stuff is becoming available all the time.
 What to have For WW1
Date of birth
Name
Regiment
look in Medal rolls
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/905.htm
Unit Diaries
http://www.militaryarchives.ie/en/home/
http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/.for Irish records both sides of war of independence
map
1922 Military census

The last talk I caught was the Glasnevin Trust who have the records of
Glasnevin Cemenetry.  use the advanced search button, not free.to get records.
My previous post about tracing ancestors.

Presentation area 2 was upstairs in a lovely room.

Ahh a tea break

The view from above.

Over 50'show

Vanishing Art in Carton House Maynooth

The Boat House.

I love taking photographs and  art so I love a chance to combine the two. The vanishing art exhibition  happening in Carton House Maynooth is lovely.  It is great to see art in unexpected places. I didn't get a chance to see everything so I will visit again. It will be interesting to see how the exhibit changes with the seasons. Well done to all the artists involved.

Carton house is a very fancy place

Carton House MaynoothI

There is a photographic competition on
VanishingArt facebook page

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