Seeing Anew

Wandering around Dublin last week I was struck by a few things. One, the sun. And what a difference a sunny day makes to the mood of a city. It just felt happier. I felt happier. Even though I don't mind "Irish summers", the last few weeks had been quite grey, to the point that we were joking that we didn't know what the big, yellow disc in the sky was.

Turns out that there's lots of things around Dublin that I've never noticed  before. I walked past Hodges Figgis (my favourite bookshop anywhere, though that might change if Waterestones ever renames it) and down Duke Street. Nothing unusual in that, I've walked that route hundreds of times. But it was the first time I noticed the lovely art deco work on the Clarks' shop, which faces into Duke Street.

I was on my way up to Stephen's Green, hoping to get a Wellife Collapsible Cup -  unfortunately I couldn't find the shop (well, I thought it was in the Stephen's Green Shopping Centre but it turns out the kitchen shop is in behind the shopping centre).

There I was, walking around Stephen's Green, searching for a shop that didn't exist when I noticed the giant clock. I had never seen it before! And no, it's not new, I'm told it's always been there.




















So maybe my problem isn't bad eyesight, I just needed the sun to come out. 

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Another Belated Friday Feature: A Life in Yanbu

I'm cheating again. Instead of writing something I'm just going to link to Life in Yanbu, a blog I discovered through the MENA Cooking Club (on which I've been more of a lurker on than a real participant* but I'm hoping to change that soon).

Life in Yanbu has wonderful recipes, great photos, and honest commentary on the recipes. Apart from all that, Life in Yanbu humours my love of South Indian food by not only giving me hints and tips but also identifying things I've tried (oh, and then trying out recipes!). I'm thinking of murukku, a lovely little snack I've had lots of times in Dubai and India but had no idea how it was made until it appeared on My Life in Yanbu's feed for me! (It's great with tea.)

Murukku (looks a bit like pasta in this photo)

And now, another confession. The lovely blogger at My Life in Yanbu asked me to post photos of the trip I took to India in March. I haven't gotten around to it but maybe that can be my project for this week. It would also be plastic free!

* I wanted to take part in the last MENA Cooking Club challenge, I had planned on making chebab but couldn't find yeast in any of the shops in my town! 

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