An Odd Time

I always find November an odd month and, as it's just round the corner, I'm in that place again. The summer months are gone, as a busy mum I'm settled back into the routine of the children at school, the homework and all the clubs and sports they attend during term time.

As we've seen through the havoc caused by Sandy on the US East Coast, the weather has slipped into wet, cold, windy months. We're being warned of gale force winds and heavy rain to hit us tonight, though it's put into perspective by the scale of Sandy and the destruction she's causing.

Thoughts have started to turn to Christmas but the excitement isn't there for it yet. For parents it's that stage where the children are starting to think about lists and you're worrying about how to keep them at a manageable level. It will be weeks before the lights and decorations go up and the house starts to feel festive. I enjoy Christmas, especially the excitement the children feel in the build up to it. This year we are having family from England coming to stay with us, bringing two more young children with them so I have a bit more planning to do but we are looking forward to spending the holiday with them and their visit adds to our enthusiasm. Until then we have November. A month when we feel the effect of the clocks turning back, with long nights and colder weather, a month of expenditure and planning for parents and I end up looking back to summer or forward to Christmas.

If we had an American-style Thanksgiving Holiday to look forward to in November would it lift this in-between month or would it just be another burden to plan for?

So, here's a post that looks back to a day at Murlough Beach in Dundrum, before I gather the energy to start the work towards Christmas and my next goal of editing The Glass House in the hope of seeking an agent for it in the new year.

The dogs in these pictures are mine and this post gives me an opportunity to promote the rescue of abandoned and unwanted pets. Both our dogs came from rescue situations. Our lab/staffy cross ended up in a pound after being found as a stray with no microchip or ID and when we first decided to get a dog that's where we found him. Our Irish Red Setter was adopted from Donegal Pet Rescue after she was surrendered by her previous owners. Even this posts links to my writing, as it was during the journey to collect Molly (the red setter) that I drove through Sion Mills and became intrigued with the village and its architecture, in turn choosing it as the setting for The Glass House.

For more on Sion Mills: http://www.sionmills.org/

Murlough Beach in Dundrum is at the foot of the Mourne Mountains and, due to its dunes, this beach is maintained by the National Trust.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/murlough/