A Happy Group

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My niece Kathy, me (Janet), my sister Ruth, and Simon the Westport Cat

How long ago was this photo taken? Long before we moved to Seattle in 2010.. My sister Ruth passed away in 2017. My niece Kathy is alive and well and living in Kittery Maine. We still have that sofa and the Westport Cat Simon is residing under my television stand.

An Old/New Postcard of Dublin Ireland

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Grafton Street, Dublin Ireland

I recently received this postcard along with a new book, The Postcard History of Dublin. The book looks really interesting. The caption for this postcard is as follows: “

A No. 10 bus drives down Grafton Street in this classic John Hinde postcard. The upmarket shopping street was pedestrianised in 1982. Switzers is on the right of the picture. In 1990 , this elegant department store gave way to Brown Thomas, the spiritual home of the Celtic Tiger.”

I remember this transition as we had been living in Dublin since 1968.

Two New Postcards From Ireland

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Ring of Kerry – Ireland

Kerry In the south-west of Ireland is an area outstanding beauty – including the world-famous ring of Kerry and Killarney’s perfect blend of mountain and island-studded lake, wooded shore and glen. With its many coastal resorts, excellent angling waters and golf courses, Kerry has for many years been a favorite resort for tourists.

The Skelligs

Against a backdrop of the South Kerry coastline the oratories, beehive dwellings and monuments of Skellig Michaels’ monastic site, re-create an atmosphere of 1400 years ago.

KNITTING

~ Janet McKee ~ 2 Comments

Anne's avatarSomething Over Tea

Over the years I have knitted a mountain of squares on behalf of a school charity programme that collected the squares in order to make blankets to distribute among those in need during the winter. Knitting these plain squares was never particularly interesting – choosing yarns of different colours was the only variation I could enjoy. In retrospect, I would have preferred knitting the long strips favoured by the annual Hospice project.

There are few things as warm or as comforting as a hand-knitted cap, jersey, scarf or blanket. I have always wondered exactly who the recipients of these ‘charity blankets’ are and how many of them actually reach those most in need of them. Having spent many years working for an NGO, I am acutely aware of the temptations that arise with every arrival of boxes of donated goods.

The yen to knit would wax and wane with nothing…

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Notes on the ML 7.8 Earthquake in Turkey

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Wickersham's Conscience's avatarWickersham's Conscience

The most powerful earthquake to strike Turkey in the last hundred years has caused incredible damage and loss of life in southern Turkey and Syria. It’s instructive to look at the underlying geology, because it has important lessons for folks living along the San Andreas Fault.

The earthquake and aftershocks are along the East Anatolian Fault, which is the geologic boundary between the Arabian Plate and the comparatively small Anatolian Plate.

Map showing main tectonic structures around the Anatolian Plate on a base taken from a snapshot from Nasa’s World Wind software. Arrows show displacement vectors of the Anatolian and Arabian Plates relative to the Eurasian Plate. The locations of the various structures were taken from many published maps. (Map by Mike Norton, via Wikicommons)

As the Anatolian Plate is squeezed between the northwesterly motion of the Arabian Plate and the Eurasian Plate, that Anatolian – which is most of…

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