It’s slightly warmer today, with highs in lows 50s F / low 10s C — the kind of weather that’s makes it tough to pick the right coat or sweater; in the sun you feel a bit too warm, but in the shade you pull the zipper up higher. Mid-day, I meet up with O., an Australian friend I’ve made online, at St. Patrick’s Park for coffee and lunch. He has lived in San Francisco (briefly), as well as New York, London, and then Dublin for the last 10 years or so. We have a nice chat but then O’s lunch hour is over and he has to get back to work. Since I’m out, I might as well get some steps in, especially given my poor track record lately. I head to Iveagh Gardens, which I haven’t visited in a few weeks. The birds are in full song and the trees and blooming.
The hedge maze in Iveagh Gardens:
An archway and gate that look like something from a fairy-tale:
I set down on a bench in Iveagh Gardens for a quick rest, and I notice there’s a tracking update for the UPS package with my prescription meds. The update is time-stamped this morning (although I received no email alert), so I head home in case it’s out for delivery, cutting through St. Stephen’s Green and Grafton Street.
The Caretakers Lodge on the south entrance to St. Stephen’s Green:
Spring flowers in full bloom continue to adorn the parks here:
Fusiliers’ Arch, the entrance to St. Stephen’s Green across from Grafton Street, with a lone seagull watching guard on top:
The Luas light-rail train that passes in between St. Stephen’s Green and the bottom of Grafton Street:
Grafton Street continues to be relatively quiet:
The Marks and Spencer building on Grafton with its old-timey department store signage:
The sign for Mary’s Bar and Hardware:
Less than an hour after I’ve arrived back home, the buzzer to the building door rings — it’s UPS with the package! My sister put together an Easter basket of treats including my prescription, packs of allergy remedies and other OTC meds, and mini Reeses peanut butter chocolate cups/eggs:
Then, only about 1/2 hour passes before the door buzzer rings again — it’s FedEx with a shipment of goodies I had ordered online in the U.S. that were forwarded by my shipping service, including socks, shirts, hats, shoes, contact lenses, and a few other random items:
The news about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine being pulled in the U.S. has been widely reported in the Irish press today. Ireland was expecting to receive 600,000 doses from the EU’s allotment, but J&J is now pausing its deliveries so the impact to vaccine rollout plan is yet to be determined. Meanwhile, Ireland’s National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) has recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be given to anyone under 60 out of an abundance of caution. All the back-and-forth news with vaccines does not bode well for the rollout in Ireland and the EU.
Until next time….
