Just found these pictures on the camera, and had to show them to you to prove just how enormous the Irish sky really is.
This is the same sunset seen from Clai House in two different directions.
Impossible? No.
Beautiful|?
I think yes.
LOVE.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
one more thing...
Hey. Me again.
Just found these pictures on the camera, and had to show them to you to prove just how enormous the Irish sky really is.
This is the same sunset seen from Clai House in two different directions.
Impossible? No.
Beautiful|?
I think yes.
LOVE.
Just found these pictures on the camera, and had to show them to you to prove just how enormous the Irish sky really is.
This is the same sunset seen from Clai House in two different directions.
Impossible? No.
Beautiful|?
I think yes.
LOVE.
a day trip, a night in a hostel and rock art
Hi!
So I've got some more pictures for you -- from Ireland, this time. Over the weekend (Sun-Mon) we went to the Aran Islands, the Burren, Doolin (and its cave) and scenic drives along the way. (We being 12 of us, coworkers, residents and children of coworkers. It was a lovely mix).
The plan was supposed to be: get to Doolin, get the ferry across on Sunday, stay the night in an Aran Island hostel and head back on Monday. And the cool thing is I planned all this and booked the ferry and booked the hostel, because sometimes I can be an adult. :) If I must. :)
But...the weather on Monday was forecast to be stormy and terrible, so the ferries made Sunday their last day. So, instead of being stuck on the island or being shipped back to Connemara instead (totally NOT where the car was), we decided on the day-trip-and-stay-in-a-Doolin-hostel plan instead.
It was awesome. The island (Inis Oirr, "East Island", the littlest one) is beautiful. There are stone walls snaking all over the island -- and not like the tiny stone walls you find elsewhere in Ireland, like the Burren. These are serious, shoulder-height walls. And a lot of the stones are on their heads...which begs the question how is the wall staying up?...but it does. Stone magic, I suppose.
We didn't get to see all of the island, since we opted out of the driving tour (which was good -- I think you get more out of walking around a place like this anyway). We made it near the lighthouse, and to the castle ruins, and to a cafe for lunch. And to the beach, although I didn't bring a towel (or anything resembling a towel), so there was no swimming. And we were hurrying to the ferry back to the mainland...so maybe a swim would've been a mistake. Unless I was to swim all the way back to Doolin. Unlikely.
Also, then we stayed on the boat and got a free tour of the Cliffs of Moher from the water (not the usual view), as a sorry-for-the-inconvenience-of-Monday's-storms. It was cool to see the people on the top of the cliffs, because I've been up there three times already. That's right -- I haven't yet been to the North, but I've been to the Cliffs four times. Is ok, though. They're really pretty. :)
And then we found a hostel in Doolin for the night, and we played some card games and watched some TV...and had a lovely communal supper (spaghetti, cooked in a team effort by yours truly and two other coworkers) which felt more to me than it does here sometimes, maybe because I've never been to a hostel with that many people...and it was interesting to experience our normal eating routine (minus the blessing) somewhere else.
And some of us tried to go to the pub for a music session that night, but it was PACKED (which, as well you know, I hate), and we only found seats in the part where you couldn't hear the music. We stayed for a drink...and then went back and watched more TV with some others. :)
And then we had a relaxed day yesterday, slowly heading back and stopping by various points of interest -- see above.
The Doolin Cave is this underground cavern formed by water dripping through the limestone rock above, and a passing stream, and there's this huge stalactite in the middle of it. I was torn during the tour -- partly interested, cause the stalactite looks like cloth from the way the water falls through it and because I haven't been into a lot of caves. And partly creeped out, because the stalactite was just a little too big (weird, but true) and because I didn't like the story of how the two men who found the cave crawled through a tiny tunnel for an hour and if they had come to a dead end would have had to crawl out backwards. I've decided I never want to explore caves -- I like wind.
Which, in fact, we had plenty of when we went to see the Burren (see previous post). We explored a different part of it, with very little vegetation and huge expanses of rock open to the wind and facing the ocean. It was starkly beautiful. And all along the rock there were little piles and formations of stones -- rock art. Like, actually, people passing by stopped to make little standing stones, or a tiny dolman (sacred spots from the Druids). So, of course I made an inukshuk pointing across the Atlantic (pointing home) -- and to do so, I took some rocks from what may have been other pieces of art, which felt less like ruining someone's work and more like continuing the cycle of impermanent (but beautiful) art that share the stones on that cliff facing the sea.
The Burren is most definitely on my Top 5 places in Ireland (and maybe the world).
And then off we went home, stopping for food and to pick up a resident who'd gone home for the weekend.
And no one messed too badly during the trip (I think it was enough just to be out of the house and routine and hanging out with new people -- the new coworker couple from England and their family came.) Yay meeting new people! :)
And that's that, for now.
Enjoy the photos, and here's hoping your week has been filled with moments of rock art. :)
LOVE.
the Burren
the Burren
my Inukshuk and I
sunset in Doolin
the base of the Cliffs of Moher
an Inis Oirr road
Inis Oirr walls -- see? Tall and everywhere.
Inis Oirr's 1960 shipwreck (all saved), which is pictured in the credits to Father Ted. :)
Inis Oirr from the ferry
So I've got some more pictures for you -- from Ireland, this time. Over the weekend (Sun-Mon) we went to the Aran Islands, the Burren, Doolin (and its cave) and scenic drives along the way. (We being 12 of us, coworkers, residents and children of coworkers. It was a lovely mix).
The plan was supposed to be: get to Doolin, get the ferry across on Sunday, stay the night in an Aran Island hostel and head back on Monday. And the cool thing is I planned all this and booked the ferry and booked the hostel, because sometimes I can be an adult. :) If I must. :)
But...the weather on Monday was forecast to be stormy and terrible, so the ferries made Sunday their last day. So, instead of being stuck on the island or being shipped back to Connemara instead (totally NOT where the car was), we decided on the day-trip-and-stay-in-a-Doolin-hostel plan instead.
It was awesome. The island (Inis Oirr, "East Island", the littlest one) is beautiful. There are stone walls snaking all over the island -- and not like the tiny stone walls you find elsewhere in Ireland, like the Burren. These are serious, shoulder-height walls. And a lot of the stones are on their heads...which begs the question how is the wall staying up?...but it does. Stone magic, I suppose.
We didn't get to see all of the island, since we opted out of the driving tour (which was good -- I think you get more out of walking around a place like this anyway). We made it near the lighthouse, and to the castle ruins, and to a cafe for lunch. And to the beach, although I didn't bring a towel (or anything resembling a towel), so there was no swimming. And we were hurrying to the ferry back to the mainland...so maybe a swim would've been a mistake. Unless I was to swim all the way back to Doolin. Unlikely.
Also, then we stayed on the boat and got a free tour of the Cliffs of Moher from the water (not the usual view), as a sorry-for-the-inconvenience-of-Monday's-storms. It was cool to see the people on the top of the cliffs, because I've been up there three times already. That's right -- I haven't yet been to the North, but I've been to the Cliffs four times. Is ok, though. They're really pretty. :)
And then we found a hostel in Doolin for the night, and we played some card games and watched some TV...and had a lovely communal supper (spaghetti, cooked in a team effort by yours truly and two other coworkers) which felt more to me than it does here sometimes, maybe because I've never been to a hostel with that many people...and it was interesting to experience our normal eating routine (minus the blessing) somewhere else.
And some of us tried to go to the pub for a music session that night, but it was PACKED (which, as well you know, I hate), and we only found seats in the part where you couldn't hear the music. We stayed for a drink...and then went back and watched more TV with some others. :)
And then we had a relaxed day yesterday, slowly heading back and stopping by various points of interest -- see above.
The Doolin Cave is this underground cavern formed by water dripping through the limestone rock above, and a passing stream, and there's this huge stalactite in the middle of it. I was torn during the tour -- partly interested, cause the stalactite looks like cloth from the way the water falls through it and because I haven't been into a lot of caves. And partly creeped out, because the stalactite was just a little too big (weird, but true) and because I didn't like the story of how the two men who found the cave crawled through a tiny tunnel for an hour and if they had come to a dead end would have had to crawl out backwards. I've decided I never want to explore caves -- I like wind.
Which, in fact, we had plenty of when we went to see the Burren (see previous post). We explored a different part of it, with very little vegetation and huge expanses of rock open to the wind and facing the ocean. It was starkly beautiful. And all along the rock there were little piles and formations of stones -- rock art. Like, actually, people passing by stopped to make little standing stones, or a tiny dolman (sacred spots from the Druids). So, of course I made an inukshuk pointing across the Atlantic (pointing home) -- and to do so, I took some rocks from what may have been other pieces of art, which felt less like ruining someone's work and more like continuing the cycle of impermanent (but beautiful) art that share the stones on that cliff facing the sea.
The Burren is most definitely on my Top 5 places in Ireland (and maybe the world).
And then off we went home, stopping for food and to pick up a resident who'd gone home for the weekend.
And no one messed too badly during the trip (I think it was enough just to be out of the house and routine and hanging out with new people -- the new coworker couple from England and their family came.) Yay meeting new people! :)
And that's that, for now.
Enjoy the photos, and here's hoping your week has been filled with moments of rock art. :)
LOVE.
the Burren
the Burren
my Inukshuk and I
sunset in Doolin
the base of the Cliffs of Moher
an Inis Oirr road
Inis Oirr walls -- see? Tall and everywhere.
Inis Oirr's 1960 shipwreck (all saved), which is pictured in the credits to Father Ted. :)
Inis Oirr from the ferry
Sunday, October 17, 2010
What I Want To Be When I Grow Up
BAM -- another post.
Wanted to make up for the last one, which was needed but not very exciting for the reading public. So, here's one for you.
We went to the Cliffs of Moher today, but first detoured a bit into the Burren (the limestone plateau area, where we went to visit those three church ruins from a previous post). We were picking up cheese from a friend of a friend -- which is amazing goat's cheese, by the by. Anyway, I fell in love. Such peace came from the place, and the people (the calm rhythm of their lives -- you have to wait a bit while the cheese does its thing as you make it, so there are enforced break times...and I believe you have to track down the goats (which are let roam in the limestone and grass fields, wandering as they wont) to milk them, hence enforced break and exercise). And it's so quiet...and the people there (the cheese-maker and her family) were friendly and at ease with each other and us...and the house (built from Burren rock and the ruins of an older house) is welcoming...and the horizons, when you get to a bit where you can walk without watching your step, are gorgeous. There's something about the starkness of rocky fields and fewer trees that is absolutely beautiful.
So there. I've figured out what I'm going to be when I grow up -- a cheese-maker in the Burren.
:D
LOVE.
Wanted to make up for the last one, which was needed but not very exciting for the reading public. So, here's one for you.
We went to the Cliffs of Moher today, but first detoured a bit into the Burren (the limestone plateau area, where we went to visit those three church ruins from a previous post). We were picking up cheese from a friend of a friend -- which is amazing goat's cheese, by the by. Anyway, I fell in love. Such peace came from the place, and the people (the calm rhythm of their lives -- you have to wait a bit while the cheese does its thing as you make it, so there are enforced break times...and I believe you have to track down the goats (which are let roam in the limestone and grass fields, wandering as they wont) to milk them, hence enforced break and exercise). And it's so quiet...and the people there (the cheese-maker and her family) were friendly and at ease with each other and us...and the house (built from Burren rock and the ruins of an older house) is welcoming...and the horizons, when you get to a bit where you can walk without watching your step, are gorgeous. There's something about the starkness of rocky fields and fewer trees that is absolutely beautiful.
So there. I've figured out what I'm going to be when I grow up -- a cheese-maker in the Burren.
:D
LOVE.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
a sad, sad little post
Ok, this one's a venting blog (for me). Just a warning...
Anyway, had a good evening tonight at another play-reading (again, Shakespeare, cause everyone loves the bastard. I say what about the hundreds of other playwrights of the time?).
Walked home with my shadow being cast by the moon and my face up to catch all the stars above me. Meaning, it was a beautiful night.
And then I come home, and am instantly enraged with everything and everyone. Not the least of all was one coworker, who said we'd make soap together, just heading off to the car with an armful of soap-making supplies and a fresh batch cooling in the kitchen. Fine, I understand it was his thing to start with and I may not have shown overwhelming enthusiasm every time we spoke about it. And fine, I get that earlier in the day he'd said, laughing, 'well, let's just say i'm going to make it' (whether I'm there or not). Still, I thought it was one of those bonding moments people have, sharing in the creation of something new. Also, we'd been planning it/talking about it for literally months, and boom. I'm not there on the day he wants to make it so whoops, my loss.
And I don't really care that it's stupid and self-indulgent to be whinging about not making soap (which, clearly, I can do at another time). Like someone in a movie once said, 'It's the principle of the thing'.
Fuck.
Anyway, I hope this post doesn't put a damper on anyone's day. I think I just need to weep for a bit, and maybe hug the plastic bag full of torn fabric that was, at one time, Pumple bear.
How sad am I? :)
Also, I love and miss you all, and here's hoping your day was like my beautiful night (minus the rage).
LOVE,
me
Anyway, had a good evening tonight at another play-reading (again, Shakespeare, cause everyone loves the bastard. I say what about the hundreds of other playwrights of the time?).
Walked home with my shadow being cast by the moon and my face up to catch all the stars above me. Meaning, it was a beautiful night.
And then I come home, and am instantly enraged with everything and everyone. Not the least of all was one coworker, who said we'd make soap together, just heading off to the car with an armful of soap-making supplies and a fresh batch cooling in the kitchen. Fine, I understand it was his thing to start with and I may not have shown overwhelming enthusiasm every time we spoke about it. And fine, I get that earlier in the day he'd said, laughing, 'well, let's just say i'm going to make it' (whether I'm there or not). Still, I thought it was one of those bonding moments people have, sharing in the creation of something new. Also, we'd been planning it/talking about it for literally months, and boom. I'm not there on the day he wants to make it so whoops, my loss.
And I don't really care that it's stupid and self-indulgent to be whinging about not making soap (which, clearly, I can do at another time). Like someone in a movie once said, 'It's the principle of the thing'.
Fuck.
Anyway, I hope this post doesn't put a damper on anyone's day. I think I just need to weep for a bit, and maybe hug the plastic bag full of torn fabric that was, at one time, Pumple bear.
How sad am I? :)
Also, I love and miss you all, and here's hoping your day was like my beautiful night (minus the rage).
LOVE,
me
Monday, October 11, 2010
oh, little bird. it's just your body telling you to slow down.
Hi all.
So, I meant to make this post really small (I just have an amusing story...amusing to me, at least)...but now that I'm here, I suppose I'll fill in the gap between Sept 24 and Oct 11.
We're expecting some new faces around here -- the Spanish Family (Camphillers from another community who've moved in with us and are planning to stick around for the foreseeable future) and another new coworker, coming on Wed for 8 months. It's good, now I won't stew about the future of our community so much. :)
This is also kind of sad news, because now I suspect I'll feel even more like I'm already halfway home. I've decided I hate this time, this in-between bit where I'm clearly not at home, but I'm not fully here anymore either. Stupid thinking about the future (even though it's exciting). Grr.
And also it's sad news because it means there's room for another coworker because the student who was here for a couple months doing her work placement has gone home to Germany. Which is sad. She's lovely.
Still painting (thought I'd gotten out of that after that disasterous two-week job a summer or two ago? Thought wrong :)). Doing the stairs yellow. It's bright and lovely.
One resident had a whole bunch of dentist appointments recently and ended up with some false teeth...and now there's a whole rigmarole of how to clean them. Which is all well and good, until it ends up being me cleaning them for her. I don't like my own teeth well enough to take care of them, let alone someone else's. So I had another little self-growth moment and spoke up, saying that I'd really rather not take this care on...and that's ok with the house. It's being taken care of by someone else. Yay!
Trying to get serious with MG -- went through the stack of books I have here on her, and am going through Internet sources now...and thinking about finding my way to Dublin again so I can go to the National Library/Trinity and do some hardcore, hopefully primary source research. Hm...should be doable.
Also, went to a music session in a local pub the other weekend and was just thinking, "This music would be lovely to tap to" to when a woman got up and started doing some hardshoe Irish. It was awesome...and then my fellow coworker agreed to drive home to get my shoes. So I (somewhat) spontaneously participated in a ceili (which I think means music session as well as dance) in a small fishing village in rural Ireland. Checkmark for another lived stereotype. :)
And the best part is that I went up to the other dancer after and we started talking, and she suggested we meet up for a few hours sometime and exchange dance forms -- I teach her tap, she teaches me Irish. Done and done. How exciting is that?! (Now we just have to find a time that works... :))
And yeah. The story that started this blog impulse is just a little one, that may in fact only be amusing to me...but still. Here you go.
We have a bunch of little metal cockerels on our kitchen table (from Portugal) -- there's a big one, and a smaller one and two tiny ones. They're funny enough on their own, because they appeared one by one over a few days. I kept half-thinking, "How are these tiny metal chickens reproducing?". Anyway, today they had been balancing on each other practicing their circus act when I suppose someone knocked them...because when cleaning the table I stumbled upon one of the littlest ones lying on its side with a small puddle of milk spreading out from its beak. Poor little bird -- must have had a stomach bug, and tried to do one too many circus tricks that didn't agree with it.
HA. I still think it's hilarious. :D
And on that note...
hoping all is well with all of you...
I sign off.
LOVE,
me
So, I meant to make this post really small (I just have an amusing story...amusing to me, at least)...but now that I'm here, I suppose I'll fill in the gap between Sept 24 and Oct 11.
We're expecting some new faces around here -- the Spanish Family (Camphillers from another community who've moved in with us and are planning to stick around for the foreseeable future) and another new coworker, coming on Wed for 8 months. It's good, now I won't stew about the future of our community so much. :)
This is also kind of sad news, because now I suspect I'll feel even more like I'm already halfway home. I've decided I hate this time, this in-between bit where I'm clearly not at home, but I'm not fully here anymore either. Stupid thinking about the future (even though it's exciting). Grr.
And also it's sad news because it means there's room for another coworker because the student who was here for a couple months doing her work placement has gone home to Germany. Which is sad. She's lovely.
Still painting (thought I'd gotten out of that after that disasterous two-week job a summer or two ago? Thought wrong :)). Doing the stairs yellow. It's bright and lovely.
One resident had a whole bunch of dentist appointments recently and ended up with some false teeth...and now there's a whole rigmarole of how to clean them. Which is all well and good, until it ends up being me cleaning them for her. I don't like my own teeth well enough to take care of them, let alone someone else's. So I had another little self-growth moment and spoke up, saying that I'd really rather not take this care on...and that's ok with the house. It's being taken care of by someone else. Yay!
Trying to get serious with MG -- went through the stack of books I have here on her, and am going through Internet sources now...and thinking about finding my way to Dublin again so I can go to the National Library/Trinity and do some hardcore, hopefully primary source research. Hm...should be doable.
Also, went to a music session in a local pub the other weekend and was just thinking, "This music would be lovely to tap to" to when a woman got up and started doing some hardshoe Irish. It was awesome...and then my fellow coworker agreed to drive home to get my shoes. So I (somewhat) spontaneously participated in a ceili (which I think means music session as well as dance) in a small fishing village in rural Ireland. Checkmark for another lived stereotype. :)
And the best part is that I went up to the other dancer after and we started talking, and she suggested we meet up for a few hours sometime and exchange dance forms -- I teach her tap, she teaches me Irish. Done and done. How exciting is that?! (Now we just have to find a time that works... :))
And yeah. The story that started this blog impulse is just a little one, that may in fact only be amusing to me...but still. Here you go.
We have a bunch of little metal cockerels on our kitchen table (from Portugal) -- there's a big one, and a smaller one and two tiny ones. They're funny enough on their own, because they appeared one by one over a few days. I kept half-thinking, "How are these tiny metal chickens reproducing?". Anyway, today they had been balancing on each other practicing their circus act when I suppose someone knocked them...because when cleaning the table I stumbled upon one of the littlest ones lying on its side with a small puddle of milk spreading out from its beak. Poor little bird -- must have had a stomach bug, and tried to do one too many circus tricks that didn't agree with it.
HA. I still think it's hilarious. :D
And on that note...
hoping all is well with all of you...
I sign off.
LOVE,
me
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