Summer moments

This break was longer than I expected. Thank you for the nice comments and e-mails I received while I was gone. The summer has been tough, and while it was good to be at home with my family for four weeks, that time was spent in hope, a hope that ended up being crushed as soon as I got back here - I thought I was prepared, and yet it hit me so much harder than I had feared it would.

But I am trying to focus on good things: my health, my work, the house I live in and the wonderful people in my life who have made me feel so loved. And all the small-yet-big things that are part of it all: the sweet peas on my windowsill that a friend brought, one of many unexpected gifts; the beautiful end-of-summer weather we have had; the books I am reading that are teaching me so much and those I am reading in the middle of the night when I can't get back to sleep; gradually being able to run for longer and faster; Connemara in golden light; feeling more serene in the face of obstacles; making new friends...

These pictures are from my time at home. I didn't capture the best of it on camera (my family, obviously), but they were there, surrounding what can be seen here.

| The cats are part of the family, of course.

 

| An all-female outing (my mom, my sisters and I) to see this exhibition.

| Evening sky on the way to Heidelberg.

 

| Trying on dresses my sister made

 

| ...and having afternoon tea at her place.

| Colourful fruit

| Summer reading while cat-sitting. And the nice feeling of being able to wear a summer dress or bikini all day long (here in Ireland it's bath robes and scarves in the house again).