Avondale

Yesterday we went to Avondale House for our Picnic and were joined by Sally and her three delightful children Chris, Sam and Chloe as well as Dillon's friend Rory. Avondale House is situated about 50km from Dublin in Rathdrum, Wicklow and was the home of Charles Stewart Parnell who is said to have been one of the great Irish political leaders. Avondale house is set in a large park and woodland, if you don't want to take a tour of the house you are charged a nominal €5 to park your car and from here there is a whole days entertainment ahead of you.

We started with our picnic, on previous occasions we have barbecued here, before setting off for a walk. There are many different paths and walks to choose from ranging from half an hour up to five hours. The route we chose took about two and a half hours with some natural breaks for us to have a rest, enjoy the scenery, have a drink and paddle in the river. We ended up at the house where we enjoyed a cooling ice lolly and the children had a second burst of energy in playground before it was time to head home after a very enjoyable day.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

When you were a child, which crayon colour was your favorite?

Yellow, now it would be purple.

Soup

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how likely would you be to change jobs if it required you to move?

2

Salad

Take all the numbers in your birthday and your phone number and add them up, one by one. What’s the total?

50

Main Course

Have you ever “re-gifted” anything? If so, what was it and who did you pass it on to?

I frequently 're-gift' toys the children are given from friends at their parties. They may be toys the children already have or ones they would never play with. They go into my present box and when the children have a party to go to they choose a gift from the box that will suit the birthday child.

Dessert

Name something you need from the store.

Juice.