What?! Friday again? (Part two)

Here I am with another week under my belt and no posts to show for it. Ah well. Such is life. I'm Happy to announce that on Monday we will be moving into a lovely little place. It is (very) surprisingly the top two floors of a townhouse in a section of townhouses, but seeing as it is the first place that has felt all around "right" to me, it is perfect. Plus there's a lot of kids around so, mine will have friends to play with. And it's well under my allocated budget, so that means a lot of opportunity for travel expenses to be where they need to be to fully appreciate this remarkable country.

We are off to Galway City early Saturday morning for a Lego League event my son's classmates are involved in and we are staying over night to explore some of the countryside over there. It is a two and a half hour drive due west, so I figured we'd make a weekend out of it!

More great news! I think I found the river in my book yesterday! It is called the Avonmore River and since the kids have a half day at school today, we are going to return there (I was there yesterday) and have a picnic on its banks. I am already excited to be back by it. It flows by the house I thought to be Sophia's which, to my utter disappointment the day I first saw it in person, is not the house of Sophia. But now I understand the house was there to lead me to the river I needed to see. It is so ingenious the way this all works out in life, don't you think? :)

Well, I must be off to gather picnic supplies before I pick up my fellow adventurers, so until next time (hopefully in much less than a week) take care and keep smiling. It lightens your soul.

cheers!
Becky

Friday again?

Well that week went quickly!

Science fair was a big hit and I think it was an afternoon well spent. Once again, pictures will eventually make it. Lol The house I had thought we might be in by now got rented while we were in Dublin, but it was my fault for waiting until we left the city to call the renter back. The kids were a bit bummed, but I told them that just means there's a better place for us out there! So, we're still at the hostel. We've made friends with a traveler from Poland who has been living in Ireland for the past ten years. He is a globe trotter but is helping the owner a bit around the building.

It's been a grand week. The first swimming lesson was on Monday, I returned the rental car and bought a cheap used car (that I am going to hopefully trade in for a better car soon) and we looked at another great house on Tuesday, finally got all the correct school books sorted out and found a tie (!) on Wednesday and I discovered Devil's Glen outside Ashford and discovered a Paulo Coelho in a thrift shop I had never heard of on Thursday. My favorite part of the week I'll disclose was on Thursday morning when I put pen to paper directly writing on the book for the first time in almost a month! I had been using my writing time to make preparations before we left, and here, I had been using it running around trying to "get stuff done" and it felt so lovely to hang out with my characters again. Even if it was for an event that ended with Sophia storming off from a conversation she had with Tristan before he leaves for the war. I think I missed them. I wrote four pages in the time I had and it felt great. All in all a productive week despite winds of gale force yesterday and the day before. Remnants of the hurricane, I suppose.

So, here we are on Friday again and I am happily perched on a leather chair next to a window making me fondly reminiscent of my writing days at Wm Van's in Springfield. I randomly drove down roads this morning I hadn't driven down before (always a great idea when looking for a place you're not quite sure what place you're looking for) and saw a coffee shop at the end of a "T," saying, "Hello." Ahhh, the luxury of strong wifi and a full-sized keyboard at my finger's disposal to type out this blog! Pair that with a tasty Americano and I'm a happy camper!

Well, I am going to sign off and finish the rest of my wifi necessary work before my battery leaks dry. I forgot my converter at the hostel, so there's no recharging the juice until I get back up there.

Have a beautiful day and remember the magic!
cheers

Hello, First Relic!

First ruins sighting today!!! I sure wish I could figure out how and on what device I can post pictures to this blog from ... Bet you do, too... Well lucky thing there's an edit button! The pictures will make it eventually.

The building was an old church and it was on my way to Arklow to find a tie for my son's uniform. (No, he still does not have a tie) I came upon it after a curve in the road and (of course) doubled back for a closer look. The way it was overgrown was stunning and the wind shared little secrets with me as I followed a faint foot path around its exterior.  Remarkable and so inspirational. Thanks for the lovely surprise on my drive!

Tomorrow finds us driving into Dublin so my son can support his classmates at their science fair. Should be a good time. I'm looking forward to entering the city center for the first time! I better get some rest. Loves!
cheers

Crossing fingers and winking for our new home

I neglected to post last night, but I assure you, you were all in my thoughts while I lay under three blankets and couldn't convince myself to type out a post using the usually functioning keypad on my phone in the chillyness of our hostel room. I knew you'd understand!

I am very expectant and excited to see what is in store for our new house and I am sure I will be posting the results by the beginning of next week if not sooner! For now, I will post a picture of the beautiful view from the car park of the hostel as I was leaving to take the kids to school this morning. Last night's menu was pizza for dinner and tonight will be.... Leftovers!!! Good thing I like spaghetti so much :) I don't think any of the gluten free pizza crust will willingly be shared with me. I am just happy to have found it for him.

Tomorrow I go to look at a car. It's not diesel, but it sounds like a good car. And it has other perks, like seat warmers and a moon roof. Sounds good to me! And it's manual, which was nonnegotiable in my mind. These hills are very fun to drive through, but I wouldn't want to approach some of the inclines without a dedicated first gear I can independently shift to, to rely upon. There's also something called NCT that a friend told me I should make sure is current for the whole time I'll have the car, and this one has one valid til October.

I enjoy feeling myself taking steps closer to be able to actually go out and get started doing what I came over here to do. The hostel is very near the Avondale House, which I found pictures of back in the States of the house reminiscent of Sophia's home, and I am glad it is so close. I am reserving the time to drop by and check it out for the first time until it feels right. I'll know.

One more really fantastic thing before I go... Right next to the coffee shop I've enjoying an Americano in every morning is a pottery shop! I stopped by yesterday and they are beginning classes again at the end of the month, so now I will have the opportunity to remake a bowl of mine that sadly did not survive the trip over here. My daughter is very interested in classes as well! The two talented artists I've met there are extremely kind and lovely girls. I feel so blessed for the opportunities given and care taken in making my life so wonderful. Thank you thank you thank you world!!!

Much love!
cheers

Well, not a good wifi here at the hostel, but the kitchen at our disposal allowed me to make some kickass spaghetti! So yummy! I cooked dinner in a kitchen so cold you could see your breath while the kids got their homework done. Hot tea helped the process... Well, since the radiators kick off in our room soon, I'm calling it a night to try and conk out while it's still decent in here. Kids are buried with blankets. Thinking warm thoughts!!!
cheers

The Best Bowl of Soup Ever

Today I got to meet a few kind fellas that I feel were brought along my way quite intentionally in a seemingly unintentional way. I was getting a bowl of soup and writing in a delicious little cafe while my clothes dried in the launderette next door and five of the most pleasant gentlemen sat down at the table next to mine. In need of a little extra elbow room for their breakfasts, they scooted their table up to mine and what followed was the most informative and delightful conversing I feel I've done since I've arrived. It was enlightening and each of them had well wishes for my endeavors. I feel blessed they sat down at that exact time in that exact cafe, and grateful I followed the rather sudden urge to eat soup while my clothes dried! What's more, when we got back to the hotel tonight, I got dinner fixed for the kids and went down for a cider on our last night's stay here, and who should be sitting down in the hotel pub, but one of the fellas from the cafe! It was a treat to get to see what, according to me, was a familiar face sitting in the pub. We didn't chat too long as he had a meeting (with another kind chap from the café and some others) to attend and I had two children eating dinner up in my room. I would like to have stayed and hung out, but was pleased just the same. 

Of course the other exciting news of the day, both kids did wonderfully on their first day at their new school! I am a proud mama. It'll still take a little adjusting I'm sure, but they both came home happy today, and that's all I could ask for. That and the permission to remain students there. ;) They are both looking forward to tomorrow, too, so that's a huge plus!

While they were in class, I got to investigate Wicklow Main St. a bit and found a place to get a decent Americano! Yay! (Sorry, its been almost a week and the whole instant coffee schtick is getting old. Not that I have anything against a delightful pot of Irish tea, but hey, old habits die hard. It's a lovely town and I can't wait to see more of it! On to tomorrow's adventures!

cheers!

Ballygannon Wood aka Murk Wood

After enjoying our delicious breakfast buffet this morning (Yes, I accidentally put porridge on Shiloh's potatoes thinking it was sausage gravy) we made our way down to the rocks on the beach only to find that the secret cave C & S were going to explore were quite filled with water! It appears the tide had risen sufficiently enough to submerge them. Methinks the full moon is to blame. So, we each got an ice cream instead and ate it in the 39 degree weather on the windy beach and laughed the whole time. After ice creams were eaten and our bodies were shivering, we hopped in the car to go checkout where the hostel we are moving to in two days is located.

The drive was wonderful and when we somehow missed a turn, we found ourselves turning around at an entrance for the Ballygannon Woods. The logic voice in me said, "No, let's turn around and finish finding the hostel. We can always come back and hike it after." Then, luckily enough for me, my heart voice (sounding an awful lot like my seven year old daughter) piped up with, "Or we can just hike it now." So, we left our car in the carpark and went on an impromptu hike through these gorgeous woods. C & S got to have an adventure of a different kind after all! They found a river, a trail of light, and even a rugby match that we kept enough distance from so as not to be seen. And then we magically still found our way back to the car and after some help from a kind man at a playground, our way to the hostel.

The adventure of school begins for them tomorrow and seeing as I am the fire under that endeavor at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning, I think I shall retire this evening. Pictures will be added of the woods, because my words would fail its beauty. But hey, that's what I came here for. To find the words that will succeed.

cheers

The Loud Typist

I have now become well acquainted with the hallway outside our hotel room, as it offers me the perfect place to write my blog since, apparently my son can sleep through rock and roll concerts, but not the sound of keystrokes on a keyboard. So, here I sit, listening to the Amelie soundtrack (it was Debussy last night...) through headphones and am glad they actually got to bed at a normal(ish) bedtime tonight for the first night since we've been over here. This morning I meant to begin our getting up at an earlier time than one in the afternoon but circumstances beyond my control took hold and we can try again tomorrow morning.

We actually got started with a bright and early wake up call this morning at six when my daughter got sick in bed. I rushed her into the bathroom to finish up there, and she was feeling much better after it was all out. She was even singing in the shower, so I figured, as I was cleaning up the spots on the carpet and rinsing out clothes, she's fine and we just got an early morning start to be able to make it down to our one morning of breakfast buffet we're partaking in during our stay. The buffet did not start until seven-thirty, so we had a half hour to kill. We decided to read a book together and after about fifteen minutes of reading, her tummy hurt again. And I got up, thinking oh yeah, I was going to move the waste basket by her, ya know, just in case. And as I am empathetically saying, "Oh yeah? Your tummy hurts again?" she manages to get out, "Hurry!!!" It is at that point I realize I should have had the bucket there. Oh well, I got it there for most of it.

No breakfast buffet today. She kept some apple juice down, then fell back asleep. I was working on convincing myself my stomach didn't hurt and I was fine, but to make sure, I put myself back to bed, too. I'm glad I did because when we finally awoke at half past noon (oops!) my stomach was fine and she had toast and later a dinner with no repercussions. So, it may be bold of me to say, but I think tomorrow will be the day for the breakfast buffet. I'm looking forward to it and their walk on the beach to film The Adventures of C & S: Caves in the Rocks by the Ocean Episode. I'm sure they'll come up with a much snappier title. It is their last day before school starts and I want them to have a great day.

I will now quietly sneak back inside the room and silently lay down to sleep, because we are about to begin on early mornings once again. And sleep is vital. Sweet Dreams!

cheers

First things first

As I sit here at the end of our third day in this fascinating country, I am beginning to be nudged by the guilt bug. As we walked around the beach and they found hidden caves under the boulder piles and we drove to Wicklow to see their school for the first time and have some dinner, I was having great trouble in seeing how any of it had to do with the furtherance of my book and the main reason for these travels. This guilt bug is no new visitor at my side, which is a good thing. Having encountered it enough times throughout my life, I have successfully discovered powerful methods of detaching it from my side and watching it drift away, while it wonders why it has lost so much power over me.

I simply remember that I trust.

It helped me today, alone in this country, to not dwell on what I wasn't getting done. Instead it helped remind me to live in what I was doing and trust that the things that need to happen, will. I am addressing the concerns I knew I would have starting out here. Finding a home. Finding a car. Setting up a phone (check!) and I needn't be worried about what is getting done for my research quite yet. I still have my outlines and I still have my comfortable layout of the historical archaeology I aspire to unearth while I am here. I am in great shape with what I want to accomplish. The story came with me and it didn't weigh an ounce on the flight. It was more accurately the wings with which we flew over here and its fruition is a guaranteed outcome. I am blessed with the creativity and knowledge of these amazing characters and their story.

I'm sure in a couple days I'll be right back to wondering what I'm getting done "wasting my time" getting school set up for them, and driving around looking at houses. But Again, I will look at myself in the heart and remind myself that there is no room for worry when its all filled up with trust. (And a healthy dose of realism that we HAVE to have a house. Lol) These things right now are the unknown beginnings. That when they are known, pave the avenue for the superhighway of information to flow over during my time here. After visiting a historical society or museum or with a librarian, I will want to come HOME and put my newly gathered tidbits in a dedicated space. That is what I am making the time to find now. And there is not one second ever truly wasted.

So worry, be gone. For these unknown steps are taken with great certainty. Here's to the superhighway construction crew, gettin it done.

cheers

Dashin to Bray Beach

This morning we successfully made our second mad dash down to the ocean (Irish Sea to be exact) since we arrived yesterday. Each year, the town of Bray has a charity event where citizens go for a noontime dip in the ocean. We had planned to meet up at the playground pre-swim with the friends we met yesterday, but alas, the exhaustion of the trip seized hold and I did not wake until 11:45. I rubbed my eyes and squinted at my watch, hoping I was reading it wrong, but no. So, wrenching open the curtains, I gently woke up my two companions and informed them that the swim was happening in approximately twelve minutes, so if we wanted to see it, it was time to dash! These two remarkable souls, sitting up and rubbing their eyes, each took a deep breath and mobilized! I wasn't quite sure if that would happen, but it did. I helped them by finding clothes from suitcases to throw at them and getting them into their socks like some sort of dressing ninja. We had clothes on and coats and scarves on and shoes on and were out the door!

Bray New Year's Swim 2015

There were flocks of people all going to a centralized place on the beach that was practically in front of our hotel and I quickly realized we had almost gotten ourselves swept up with the parade of swimmers themselves! Some had costumes that were colorful and a few had wings. They all made it down to the crowded beach where the main throng of people stood parted by a passageway demarcated by blue rope. We made our way down towards the edge of the water and saw that there were many people who had already taken the plunge. It was a relaxed atmosphere with bouts of laughter here and there. I realized many could have been doing this as a tradition since when I was a child. Put on by the Bray Lion's Club, the event has had great success in raising money for local charities. Shiloh was not interested in going back to the room for her suit, however.

Now, our first successful mad dash was spurred the night before by a wistfully made comment of mine about wanting to be dancing on the beach shouting Happy New Year to the ocean when the time came. "So, let's do it," was the matter-of-fact reply I received to my wistful comment. It was something that seemed so out of place when I said it back in the states, a hare-brained idea that only a mad woman would suggest. Something to laugh off, like, yeah THAT'll really happen. And here I had the completely calm tenor of a seven year suggesting it like she were discussing bananas for breakfast.

Quickly we bundled into our layers over our pajamas, for of course it was fifteen til midnight when the idea was mentioned, and rushed our excited selves out the front door of the hotel, past the pub which was active with revelers and the wonderful Irish music still being played from when we were gifted its presence at the tail end of our delicious dinner earlier, and across the street, the grassy lawn, the ocean walk and the beach full of smooth large pebbles til we were standing breathless at the edge of the rushing ocean.

We were early! Seven minutes early! But I suppose when you grow up with a mother who constantly forgets things until the last minute you become very adept to throwing something on and getting out the door at the drop of a hat. My children are EXPERTS apparently. So, we had time to walk a bit on the beach and each find a smooth stone to remember our night. Then our countdown began and when we reached one, by golly if we weren't all dancing on the beach shouting Happy New Year to the ocean! They were armed with flashlights (Thanks Gramala!) and had a blast dodging the surf that never comes up to the exact same line twice in a row. It was a fantastic New Year and a perfect ending to our first night in Ireland.

Hotel Esplanade, Bray, Ireland

Our hotel, The Esplanade, looked beautiful as we made our way back in and up to our room to message New Years greetings to family, then finally curl up and go to sleep. Because you know, we had friends to meet in the morning.
(Good thing I have her number. Now to just get the phone set up.)

I hope you all had a magnificent New Year's Eve and have a magical 2015, where all the harebrained ideas you come up with that make your soul sing happen, each and every time. Much love!
cheers