*Culture Party

There was a big festival in town the past five days complete with dancing, music, art and activities for all ages.

Petter's parents were here for the weekend, and we went into town on Friday and went to the children's section.  The kids loved it.

Then on Saturday night Petter and I went into town and had a romantic dinner down by the harbour - burritos and nachos from a food truck.  There were tons of people out and the weather was perfect.  We then walked all over town (6.4KM - Petter measured on-line when we came home) and talked and talked.  It was a lovely evening.


(Violet has a little pink eye going on.)

The new day care is working out really well for the kids.  Gavin was THRILLED that they have a marble run toy there as that is his newest obsession (he is over Thomas the Tank Engine these days).  This morning when we were walking to dagis he said that he has many friends.  The teachers are young and really nice, and the whole atmosphere is a lot more open than his last dagis.  He was so wary going in there.  And he loves the lunch they serve there and told me that the fish that he had the other day, which was so good, was not like the fish I make.  At this dagis they have their own kitchen as opposed to the last one where the food was shipped in.

Violet is another section and that is going fine too.  Today she was there for two hours, and I was with her most of the time.  She was really excited to play in the yard today, as it is really big and there are sandboxes, bikes, swings, etc.  She had a lot of fun.  Half of Gavin's group was in the yard too, but since they could choose to play inside or outside, Gavin was in playing with the marble run.  Too bad, as I of course wanted to see him and see if he and Violet played together at all.  I am glad that they will be seeing each other out on the playground. 

I was worried about moving Gavin from his old dagis as there were many positive things about it, but it feels like we have all moved on pretty smoothly.  And even if we wanted to, it is not so easy at all to change back.

On Friday I was putting Gavin's belt on and lifted his shirt, and voila!  About 15 pock-type marks on his belly.  He didn't get anymore and they are already fading.  No fever or illness either.  Petter's chicken pox was very mild as a kid too, so this might be Gavin's bout.  They did not blister, so I am not sure if that is what it is, but Petter's mom was pretty sure it is (she is a nurse and she and my FIL were visiting this weekend).

I had chicken pox when I was about 4 and I think it was pretty thorough.  However I ended up getting shingles in about the third grade!  It wasn't totally painful like when older people get them.  My sister got the chicken pox in high school, and she said it was very uncomfortable.

Gavin woke up at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. this morning and didn't go back to sleep.  We sat on the couch and watched some Olympic swimming, and I was happy to see some finals.  Gavin also really liked watching the equestrian (jumping).  After a bit I brought him in to my bed, hoping that we would both go back to sleep, but soon after, it was Violet's turn to wake up - 5:30!  I fell asleep around midnight, so I wasn't enjoying this.  I tried to get her back to sleep in Gavin's bed, but she was awake.  She seems to have three wake-up times:

5:30 a.m. (rarely)
7:15 a.m. (most often)
8:30 a.m. (when she stays up later than usual)

She plopped down on the couch to watch Winnie the Pooh and Gavin soon joined her.  I snuck back into bed for much needed sleep.

Surprisingly she had a short nap today.  I took her out in the yard in her baby carriage after she woke up not rested and crying and she dozed a bit, but not for long.  Now she is watching Tigger and Gavin is asleep on the couch.  Good, he needs it.

They have been watching their videos a lot this summer: Tigger, Winnie the Pooh Xmas, Tom & Jerry mostly.  Gavin is a big fan of Sean the Sheep too.  And they both are getting their fill of Olympic competition.  But now those days are coming to an end (at least TV watching time) as dagis resumes.  Gavin started today, and Violet starts on Thursday.

Today Violet and I were there with him for an hour.  He is at a new dagis, as his old one was just for kids ages 3 and up.  We wanted them to be at the same place, so this is the one they got in to.  They are in different sections.  We were nervous about moving him, but we got good vibes at this new place and we didn't love the old one.  Hopefully this will be a better fit.  And it will be interesting to see what is environment-related for him and what is his personality.  This dagis and the staff there seem a lot more open than the previous.

He had a great time today, playing with the train set and in the play room where they had slides, mats, and pillows.  Just before we left he was THRILLED to find a box with a marble set in it.  He has a magnetic marble track on the fridge that he plays with a lot and he is fascinated by the ones he sees on youtube.  He did not want to leave and he threw a semi-tantrum, but he was reassured that he would be back again tomorrow and he could play with it first thing.  He will be there for three hours tomorrow on his own, and I think he will be just fine.

Violet will not be as happy to go tomorrow to drop off Gavin and not be allowed to go in and play either.  She went to dagis in the spring for a few months, so she knows the drill.  When I said to them this morning that it was time to get ready to go to dagis she jumped right up, raring to go.  She played in all the rooms too, and she is not shy with other kids at all.  She was pushing a doll carriage around, trying to jump rope (I did a little demo), and playing with trains.

We had to go through the yard to leave, and both of them were trying to ride bikes (another section of kids was out there).  Violet threw a major tantrum, and both of them were very unhappy to leave.  I have a meeting with one of her teachers Wednesday morning which she can come along to, and then on Thursday she starts. 

They will go Monday - Thursday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. I think.  I don't think either of them will be too excited to have to leave at 3 though.  They are both ready to be around other kids and up their level of play. 

Gavin is sick today.  He said his head hurt this morning, and then he threw up three different times.  He hadn't eaten breakfast though, so it was mostly clear and not much.  He didn't have a temperature, and he is now napping, after eating a slice of bread and drinking some water.

Violet is also napping.

And it is raining, raining, raining here.  Depressing weather.

I went for a long run yesterday.  I am running a 10K on August 23, so I thought it would be a good idea to run even farther than that.  So I ran 15K, and after a bit of rain in the beginning, I felt fine.  I ran comfortably.  But last night and today, my lower right back is so tight.  I think a 10K run is a good distance for me, so unless I am training for a half marathon, I am going to stick with training runs between 5 - 10K,

The other day I did a fartlek run.  I first heard that term when doing track in HS and kind of knew that it was a Swedish word (admidst the guffaws and snickering).  It's direct translation is "speed play".   It is when you go on a long run, you vary your speed and intensity throughout.  So I ran about a mile to my nearby running trails, then ran the 5K loop, pushing myself on the hills, letting loose on the down hills, and doing "pick-ups" at different points in the run.  The rest of the time just running comfortably or jogging after a particularly hard exertion 

When I finished the loop I ran another 1200 meters or so to the lake where I met the family for an after dinner swim.  Three heads and four arm puffs were seen bobbing out in the water.  Violet is fearless in the water.  She will walk right out into it where it is up to her chin, and if she has her arm puffs, she just kicks her legs up and floats or sticks her legs behind her as if she is going to take off with an innate freestyle.  She loves being in the water, and I am going to look into a class for her for the fall.  If she goes under, most times she comes up, spitting out the water like a mermaid fountain, blinking the water out of her eyes, her blonde hair slick past her shoulders.

Gavin has become much braver in the water, and he will also try to swim and he will float a bit, and he will even jump off the dock but only in water shallow enough that he lands on his feet as he doesn't like to get his head below water.  He likes to be able to touch bottom - but who doesn't?

Theoretically, I do, and unfortunately I am not a great swimmer at all, despite a stint at the Y.  I like to feel the bottom if it is smooth, and it is much preferable if I can see the bottom (like a Carribbean beach).  I remember going to Rockaway Beach when I was a kid, making it bravely past the shells and the incoming waves and then floating about and treading water like a mad woman, afraid to put my feet down to the bottom in fear that a crab, or rather a whole posse of crabs, would be down there to pinch off my toes.  Or worse.  Who knows, but not being able to see the bottom freaks me out.  We most often go to lakes here, and last week we saw a little snake zipping by in the water.  Lake waters are much more murky and suspicious, but when you are just in awe of your two little swim bunnies, it is easy to divert one's attention from what lurks beneath the waters.

I am working on cleaning up my tags and at the same time reading through some old posts.  And I came across this that I wrote two years ago.  Gotta keep focused on these things - what I always come back to.  I don't necessarily need to go back to school to do any of these things.

Some ideas I have had through the years:
1. Get a PhD in Sport Sociology or Masters in Public Health and become an expert in the field of women in sport, health and fitness for youth, work for a non-profit org running programs...this one is a little fuzzy.
2. Get an MBA and work for a brand/sponsor running Olympic or grass-root programs.  Again fuzzy.
I know I can do both of those jobs without additional degrees.
3. Work at a university in the athletic department and be able to take classes and work towards additional degrees - or just keep learning, taking a variety of classes that interest me, and then Gavin can go there for free, thinking of Penn, where I went.
4. Get an MA in creative writing, focus on writing free-lance, teach creative writing classes.  Maybe go back and teach high school?  Coach track again?  Organize poetry festivals, writing workshops and retreats. 
5. Go work at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and/or London 2012.
6. Works at places like Olympic Aid/Right to Play.
7. Start my own thing.
Hmmm...

I am listening to the "Twang" channel on accuradio - just thought I would try something new, and there is a lovely song on right now:

"One With The Sun"
by Shelby Lynne



And now another one I like:

"Thousand Dollar Car"
by The Bottle Rockets




Great lyrics!

Thousand dollar car it ain't worth nothin'
Thousand dollar car it ain't worth shit.
Might as well take your $1000,
and set fire to it.
$1000 car ain't worth a dime,
You lose your $1000 every time.
Oh why did I ever buy,
a $1000 car.
$1000 car is gonna let you down,
More than it's ever gonna get you around.
Replace your gaskets and paint over your rust,
You'll still end up with something that you'll never trust.
$1000 car's life was through,
'bought 50,000 miles 'fore it got to you.
Oh why did I ever buy,
a $1000 car.
A $1000 car ain't even gonna roll,
til you throw at least another thousand in the hole.
Sink your money in it, and there you are
the owner of a 2,000 dollar 1,000 dollar car.
(guitar solo)
If you've only got a $1000.
You ought to just buy a good guitar.
Learn how to play it it'll take you farther,
than any old $1000 car.
If a $1000 car was truly worth a damn,
then why would anybody ever spend ten grand.
Oh why did I ever buy,
a thousand dollar car.


I'll have to listen to this station more often.

Day Four - July 5th, continued

Here is the house where Edward and Betty had their kids.  Now a cousin's daughter lives there and has added an extension at the back.  It was empty in 1993 when we visited, and we explored the two rooms then, my dad pointing out the closet in which he and his brothers would sleep when they visited.


Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church.  Here are where they were all baptized and married.  Not too far from their home.


A close-up of a painting inside.  (a fresco?)

The interior:


Late that evening we attended the reunion's Medieval Banquet.  Great food, some nice entertainment, and some nice conversations.  There was also a craft fair before, and I bought an Aran cardigan for Violet and hats for Siobhan and myself.

Ok, the lady next to Siobhan is named Kathi and she is from the US.  She has been doing family research for a long time.  We met each other at the reunion and we are related.  The woman next to her is named Mary McLaughlin.  Her grandmother was Mary Ann Doherty, Edward's sister.  She, Mary Ann, married a Patrck "Paddy Mor" Doherty, and Kathi is descended from them.  Kathi has done tons of research on them, but had nothing much under Edward - and that is where I came in, to fill in that puzzle piece.  Mary, here in this picture, is 81 years old.  She came to many of the activities, and she was such a pleasure to meet: so funny, friendly, and full of life and light.  And she looks JUST like my grandmother.  They are first cousins.  (Note: my grandmother passed away in 1997, and the last of her sibling, Cassie, died in 2006,) 


My sister and I and a lovely woman named Carleen from England.  I hung out with her quite a bit, and she is related to the William Doherty that the movie The TItanic is apparently based on.


Day Five - July 6th

We spent the early afternoon at Mary and Mickey McLaughlin's house.  My cousin Mary knew them, and they both shared stories. 


Mary McDaid and Mary McLaughlin






Mary and I went for a meal afterwards and then just hung out at her house in the evening.

Day Six - July 7th

The group met up at the Tullyarvan Mill where we able to participate in various Celtic and genealogy workshops.  In the morning I learned how to knit!  And in the afternoon I attended the Celtic Art workshop.  Here I am with the instructor, a guy from SF, and Diego Doherty himself, straight from Guatemala.  It was a really fascinating lecture, and I also learned the very basics on how to draw Celtic design.


That evening there was series of round table discussions for Doherty genealogy discussion and sharing.  I was able to look on a computer database and check some dates on birth records, etc. 

Day Seven - July 8th

I left Mary's house in the early morning and caught the 7 a.m. bus to Dublin where I was met by my father!  He was supposed to come up to Donegal two days before, but the car he borrowed from my uncle broke down and he didn't make it.  Too bad, as I would have liked to have driven through Tyrone on the way home and have done a little exploring there too.  We took another bus to Navan and stayed with his brother overnight, and then we both flew out the next day to our respective destinations.  He was in Ireland to attend a 50 year reunion for his primary school in Cavan.  He had a good time.  Here we are with my cousin Michael and two of his three kids.



Overall, an excellent trip, and I am definitely going to try to attend the 2010 Doherty reunion and get my siblings and cousins to come along!

Day Four - July 5th

Mary, my dad's cousin took us for a drive up to Malin Head where our family was from.

Edward Doherty and Elizabeth McLaughlin had twelve children, ten survived.  Their two namesakes Eddie and Betty died young.  That is one of my tasks to find out when and why - Mary believes that at least one of them died in a flu epidemic circa 1919. 

Their children, in order:
Mary
Packy (short for Patrick)
Maggie
John
Eddie
Susan
Rosie (Mary's mother)
Betty
Bridget (my grandmother)
Cassie
George
Willie

There are so many Doherty families in this part of Donegal that they had nicknames.  Edward's family nickname was "Ned".  I am not sure if that was his father's nickname too.

My grandfather James Morris was from Tyrone (the Strabane area), and he was stationed as a garda (policeman) in Malin town.  Here is my sister and I outside the garda station where he worked.  He met my grandmother when she was back in the area while on holiday.  Apparently she lived in England for awhile and worked as "house help".


We then drove to the cemetery at Lagg to explore the grave yard a bit.  I have been to this part of Ireland only twice before: 1993 after I graduated my dad, sister and I drove around Ireland a bit and then in 1999 before I moved to Barcelona for six months.

Here is the cemetery, the only structure in this valley with a view of the water.  Absolutely stunning.






The grave of my great grandparents.  Apparently children Eddie and Betty are buried here too, but some cousins erected this headstone a few years ago, and Mary wasn't sure if the kids had been listed on the original (which is in somebody's house).


Betty McLaughlin's parents.  I got a copy of the 1901 census from Mary for their family.  8 kids between the ages of 24 and 4!  They listed the ones that were just in the house at the time.  Lizzie, the eldest child on the census, was listed as "Farmer's Daughter" and not married.  She could read and write.  Susan could read and write, but George could only read.  Both Irish and English.


Edward had two sisters and one brother who died young, I believe.  Elizabeth, here, married Cormac Logue and they had no children.  Mary Anne was the other sister, and his brother's name was supposedly Willlie.  I was not able to track down Edward's parents grave stone.  Mary is pretty sure that Edward's father's name was Willie, but during some research in birth records, it is possible that Edward's parents' names were John and Margaret.  It is possilbe that his nickname could have been Willie.  I am not sure who Barney is here.


Myself, Mary and Siobhan looking out over "Five Fingers Strand"


Myself, Richard and Siobhan

Day 3 - July 4th

Siobhan and Richard headed off by themselves to venture to Giant's Causeway.  Venture, as they didn't have a car, and they had to get there by hailing down a bus, taking a ferry, and walking long distances.  They had a great time though, and I am looking forward to seeing their pictures.  I hope to make it there someday.  Here is a picture I found on-line:


I headed off to the Supervalu parking lot in Carndonagh where the reunion group was meeting up to take a tour bus to Ulster Folk Park in Omagh, County Tyrone.  The bus was full, and I met some nice Dohertys.  There were tons of people at the park, and it was a nice warm day.  It is a living, outdoor museum with replcations of old buildings: an old thatched cottage from the 1700's, a working forge, a school room/building.  At each building there would be someone in period costume giving a talk and answering questions. 





Further along there was a street recreated to look like the last street the immigrants would see before they left on the ships to America and other countries.  You could go in a poke around the shops.  I had an interesting chat with the lady in the apothecary about the meaning of the different colored bottles.  Upon leaving the street you walked into a big building that had a recreation of part of a ship the immigrants would sail on.  They had the wooden bunk beds, crammed in, and you could get a little sense of what it must have been like to be on those ships. 

You walk through the ship and then come out the other side in America!  Again, a street recreated to look like the ones they would encounter upon docking in America.  I guess before Ellis Island?  Complete with a General Store and a Mellon Bank (the Mellon family emigrated from this area).  Further along there was a stone house from the mid 18th century that they shipped to Ireland and reassembled in this park.  Then log houses, a smoke house and spring house, a barn.  Inside one of the houses there were an assortment of dried herbs hanging above the fireplace.  There was a herb garden and corn cob outside.  I was really channeling my Lauara Ingalls Wilder!





Since it was the fourth of July, they did a reenactment of a Civil War skirmish where soldiers snuck up on a house - and well, basically shot their guns a lot and were rough to the poor old grandpa and his family inside the house.

Afterwards we were watching a band play and some of the soldiers were standing by a fence.  One of them looked so dreamy so my friend and I went over to get our pictures taken with them.  They were speaking in French accents, and apparently they are from France and traveling around Europe participating in these things: "It eez e hobbee!"  I couldn't tell if they were really French or just pulling my leg.  I felt like a fool, and here I am in all my foolishness.  I realized right after that I was "drawn" to the guy on the right as he looked just like Jonathan Rhys Meyer.  Maybe this is what he does in his spare time when he is not shooting "The Tudors" or being drunk in airports?  That thing in my hand is my Doherty name badge that we all wore on lanyards.  Good thing I took it off, so I looked a little bit hipper.



There was also a small musem on-site as well as a library/research center.  I would definitely go back and explore it all in greater detail.  And I also missed the gift shop.



An overview of the chalk marks they would make on your clothes after they examined you upon arrival at Ellis Island.  You did not want the dreaded circle with an X through it.  Then you definitely weren't coming in!


We finished up the day with a meal at Paddy Brown's Bar & Restaurant at the Mellon Country Inn, and then in the evening there was a play - rather a music and dance review performed by Carndonagh locals.  Young girls sang and Irish step danced.  Then several performers sat around a "kitchen" having a hoe-down.  Well, the Irish equivalent.  Lots of singing and story-telling.  There were some fabulous performers.

Yesterday was Violet's half birthday.  She is eighteen months (and one day) old now.  Here is the post from last year's half.  And a photo of her from a year ago:



And a recent one of her.  I took some yesterday, and I will have to post them soon.  I think I have posted this one previously, but I just love it.



Height: 85cm (2ft 8in)

Weight: 14.1kg (31 lbs) (Holy moly!)

Sleep Routine: Violet goes to bed around 8:30 p.m. and wakes most days around 7:30 a.m. (and sometimes as early as 6 a.m. (rarely, thank goodness) and sometimes as late as 8:15.  We are extrememly grateful that neither Violet or Gavin are early risers (knock on wood!).  She then has a nap after lunch, starting around 1 p.m. and lasting anywhere between 1 1/2 to 3 hours.

Favorite food: whatever is going.  She has a good appetite and eats most anything: yogurt, couscous, chicken, fish, hamburger, korv, cheese, potatoes, rice, pasta, grapes, bananas, cucumbers, carrots...and she definitely likes her sweets too.  Ice cream, cookies every once in awhile.  She also likes candy (godis).  I remember when Gavin was little the few times he had a chewy, gummy candy he would just spit it out.  Violet loves them.  One time she was eating a piece and I thought it was too big and I tried to get it out of her mouth and she just ran away.

Favorite activities: She doesn't sit too long playing with anything, it seems like she prefers to be on the go. Running around the apartment pushing her baby stroller (the baby is allowed to go for a lap or two and then it is thrown unceremoniously to the floor), going outside for walks or out in the yard to ride her bike.  She loves to kick a ball with pappa.  She does play with Gavin's cars and parking garages though (very cute) and sometimes she lies down on a big pillow and looks through books.  Gavin and Violet also flip through youtube and watch ABC and Sesame Street videos.  Gavin is a pro at flipping through the videos and of course Violet tries to work the mouse too.  She'll figure it out soon.  She loves watching "ABC's", and after I set up the page and get it to a good starting point for them she waves her hand at me and says "Bort!"  Go away!  It cracks me up every time, so of course I stand there until she says it.  We also have dance sessions where we will crank the Ramones and dance around the house.  I also try to play some Irish and swing music to get them moving too - and to share my exquisite taste in music.  A very fun family activity!  And I am determined to make swing dancers out of them - or any kind of dancers actually. 

Favorite songs: "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes", "Five Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed", "If you're happy and you know it...", "The Grand Old Duke of York" (that last one I learned at the English playgroup where most of the moms are British).  And we can't forget "Blitzkrieg Bop"!

Favorite book: "Teddy's Bathtime", "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"

Favorite movie: "The Tigger Movie"

Words: Byyyyeeee, bikes, bort (see above), mamma, pappa, Ga (Gavin), uppp, cat, baw (ball)........what else.  She tries to count and she says bee-cees for ABCs.  She blabs all the time and the words are slowly coming.  We'll be in the car and she'll start saying "Mamma, mamma. MAAAAAAmma".  "What, Violet?" I respond.  "Bueloublewhadhapidahfhgdkajf" she'll say. 

Gavin and Violet's relationship:  It is no surprise that Petter and I have two very competitive kids.  And of course that is par for the course with siblings.  Whatever Gavin has, Violet wants and vice versa.  If Violet is heading towards a bike or toy or ME for that matter, Gavin is in there at the speed of light.  We are working on that and he has calmed down a bit.  He is very fond of her though and I can see that he likes having her around.  I would say that in some ways she is the leader and he is the follower - but at the same time she copies everything he does also.  She has been hitting a bit which we are also working on, and he can get very mad at her too and push her and sometimes hit when she comes along and "DESTROYS EVERYTHING".  But overall they get along well and are keeping a close eye on each other.   Whenever we go on walks they often hold hands.

Traits and characteristics: Stubborn, determined, tough, impatient, independent, a good listener and follows commands and instructions easily - when it suits her.  Loves to laugh and cuddle. 

My funniest memory of her from this age: As I mentioned she is a little copycat and is very observant of what is going on around her.  We were at Botaniska Tradgarden, a botanical garden in town with a bunch of other expat moms.  The kids were running around playing while the moms were having a picnic.  Violet came over to me tugging at her sweatshirt.  I helped her take it off thinking she was warm, but they she was trying to take her shirt off.  I didn't know what she was up to, but she was very insistent so I just went with it.  Off came the pants, the diaper, shoes and socks.  She took off then, and it was hysterical seeing her little naked self strolling through this play area.  She walked up to a tree and leaned against it, stepping on the roots and trying to climb up.  I was highly perplexed and highly amused - unfortunately no camera.  One of the other moms said that some of the boys had been off to the side, peeing in the bushes - and she was copying them.  I don't know if she knew what they were actually doing, but this was her interpretation of it.  She was soon "finished" and then she came back to me and let me dress her again.

Day One - July 2nd

I arrived in Dublin and took the bus to Galway City where my mom's sister Phil picked me up and brought me to her house in Tuam.  Lovely day.  It was about a four hour ride and I dozed the whole way.  Phil made me a dinner of a typical Irish breakfast: sausage, rashers, black and white pudding, brown bread with butter and lovely Galtee cheese.  I can't stand tea though, so I skipped that.  I chatted with her and my cousins Neville and Suzanne and their respective partners.  I had a good long sleep and then I was off on my adventures the next morning.

Day Two - July 3rd

My Uncle John was kind enough to drive me up to Kiltimagh in County Mayo, where my mother's father was from.  I met up with my mom's cousin Seamus and his wife Frances.  They showed me around the old homestead area, and I met their daughter and her family.

Here is the remaining wall of the house where my grandfather was born.  They left a wall up so in the future people can build there with out planning permission.  I wanted to crawl through the long grass and dig in the dirt to see if I could find any artifacts.  But I resisted temptation.  Good thing too because it started to pour soon after.


This is the house they built in 1928.  Nobody lives there, obviously.  Apparently an English person bought it from the family and then the family bought it back.  Not really sure.  Just know the Higgins' lived there until 1993.  The house is gutted inside.  Of course I asked, as I would have crawled through the grass and nettle to get a peek inside.



Then Seamus drove me to the cemetery at Knock.  Knock is famous for its shrine to the holy mother.  In 1879 Mary appeared in a vision to 15 people there.  People having been coming on pilgrimages there since then.  I remember going as a child with my mom and other relatives.  Light a candle, say a few prayers, go to mass, walk around in the rain.

I videotaped our excursion through the cemetery and recorded Seamus' stories.  Of course I got a few pictures of headstones too.

My great great grandparents.  We have a picture of them and their 13 kids in front of their old house (the stone wall above).  I have a to get a copy of that and scan in it.


On some random headstone, I thought it looked interesting:


An overview of the cemetery at Knock and the walls of the old church:


A toppled headstone:


The shrine at Knock:


Seamus then left, and I had a nice lunch of fish and chips (with lots of vinegar and brown sauce), and then did a little browsing through the tourist shops.

I walked back to the shrine area and there was a funeral train procession walking through the grounds.  I tried to surreptitiously video tape a bit of it, but then stopped because I felt like a heel, and, with my big backpack, a tourist from a liberal country gawking at the Catholic natives.  It is a different vibe between Sweden and Ireland - and particularly at Knock of course where it is all about Catholicism.  But even on the bus trip from Dublin to Galway there was a radio program on where people were discussing same-sex marriages.  Definitely not as liberal in Ireland!

I also peeked into the chapel and there was a mass going on.  I think maybe they were saying the rosary though.  It was broadcast over the whole grounds, so you could hear the whole thing!

I headed off and caught the 3:20 p.m. bus up to Derry.  It was a lovely three hour bus ride, up through Sligo (we passed the cemetery where WIlliam Butler Yeats is buried (there was a sign outside).  Then into Donegal and the town of Buncrana which has the best surfing in Ireland apparently.  Beautiful scenery there.  Through Donegal town, Letterkenny and then into Northern Ireland and the city of Derry, where my dad's cousin Mary and my sister and her boyfriend Richard were waiting for me.

It was great to see Siobhan and the others.  We then drove about 35 minutes back into Donegal and up into Inishowen.  It is the northern tip on the orange peninsula, and the botoom map is the area in more detail.  Malin Head, the very top is where my Doherty-McLaughlin ancentors come from.

Hi Linda in NYC!



I wish I had a scanner so I could scan in some of our wacky high school pictures.  I have a few when you had boofy hair.  Do you still have that letter/e-mail I wrote you of our top ten memories or something like that?

XO

My kitchen window looks fantastic!  I can't believe it took me sooooo long to actually get around to cleaning it.  It was very dirty.

I just signed up for the Marian Keyes' newsletter on her fan site.

Speaking of fans, my youngest brother has a summer job at a company that organizes fan sites, etc. for music stars owned by David Bowie.  He has been reading the mail for The Jonas Brothers, and putting the contact information of the fans into Excel spreadsheets.  They are apparently huge, and the only reason I know that is from reading Perez Hilton.  I have never heard their music.

I have been back from vacation since Wednesday, but I have been on another sort of vacation the past few days, an absence from reality, if you will.  I have been reading the latest Marian Keyes book, and I have not been able to put it down.  I laughed, I cried, it was better than "Cats", better than "E.T." - but I don't think I am going to read it again as it was over 600 pages.  (And I read it in 4 days.)  She is an Irish author and very witty.  Nothing earth shattering, but she tells a great story and creates very interesting and funny characters and situations.



I have read all of her other books, and I was so shocked and excited to see a new one out when I saw it at a book store in Ireland. 

Now I can came up for air again, and get back to my family, unpacking, house cleaning, and maybe even get around to cleaning the freaking kitchen window that I have been meaning to do for months now.  Why can't I get started?  TOMORROW.

Or maybe I will get Petter to do it.

I am back from Ireland, and I must say I had a wonderful trip!  More soon : )