Bits and pieces to remember

...............Mick was teasing Colette & she said, "Chance it Lad"....promptness of meals 830...1300 and 1800...don't think about being late... Gourmet meals effortlessly brought to the table..."many hands make light work"....lightning fast needle work by Colette...honey..."did you get that?"....fresh sweet pea flowers every morning .......white and black pudding...special blend of whiskey in antique glasses...talking around the fire forgetting to make 6p.m. tea. Brown bread...teasing Kathy about her pending nuptials...being able to tell who is driving down the lane by the sound of the car...mail addressed to the city and county only...a small house where baskets of anything you are taking about magically can be produced.... digging new potatoes from the wind tunnel...the 'banger' and air gun that shoot every now and then to scare away the rabbits and crows...Mick shooting his rifle every day...the phone rings and Mick said .."it will be a long session".........making a point,then a nod and a slight wink ;-) ...

Anxious to go but sad to leave.

Tipperary to Kenirys "back home"

In Limerick late yesterday, I found a small treasure for Mare in a religious bookstore...Our Lady of Perpetual Help Car freshener with a motorist prayer on the backside! Since she has been exhausted everyday from dealing with my driving, I thought an extra prayer card would not hurt. We had a good laugh!

Actually, every time we start out I say my Guardian Angel prayer and the mantra for the trip: Go to the left, stay to the left"

We have a more typical day in Ireland with the weather, misty and cloudy, coming into Tipperary, you could hardly see the car in front for a while. This is not a good thing on twisty roads. Even though, it did not feel like a long way there ;-). (did ye get that one now?)


All praise to Pat Ryan told us to take the road outside Tipperary - a new motorway ..M8...we had not heard of a M road before??? ....it was a real freeway where you could actually see right and left and drive at 120K/hr...this almost felt wrong.Too fast and too open. Ah it was lovely!!! I told Mare I was doing a jig in my head and clicking my heels.

We arrived back on the farm where everyone took their turn in looking for "tips" in the car. Not a ding or a "tip" that was not there before hand! A wonderful tea was prepared by Colette....then on to bring the car back. The people at the car rental did the same dance around the car looking for "tips" as well.

A wonderful feast for dinner , a picture show of the trip and then on to stories of ghosts and spirits.

Farm update: the lamb is back among her own, no longer in sick bay. The broccoli survived, but it is too wet to plant again tomorrow. The vet is coming for TB testing. We have not big plans... just getting ready to come home. Since two planes have crashed into the ocean lately, we might be looking for prayer cards for planes.

The Litany of Saints should be helpful.

Limerick

Spent the day in Limerick walking through the streets and shops. It is has a fairly small town center- so was quite manageable.

No Kevin Kelly...but found a very handsome tour guide on the tour of Limerick...so here is my ditty:

Kevin Kelly I could not find, but Pat O'Brien was just as fine. Thank-you, thank-you very much!

We went into St. Michael's church were some of Mom's side of the family was baptized. See picture--hope you can see the writing (holy water from a milk can...what a hoot!)

Had a small lunch beside the Shannon River. In the pub they have high top bar tables with what I thought was decorative Guinness taps-- ut oh, not only were they real- but the tap is on an electronic meter ...how fun and slightly lazy is that...you don't even need to raise your hand to wave down a waitress to ask for a refill..right there waiting for ya. Brilliant! -as they say.

Weather - 23 or about 75 degrees. Only one rainy day so far.

We met Sheila Healy and Mary & Pat Ryan who are also related back several generations on the O'Connell side. They gave us a tour of the Killaloe area.
Very sweet people.

Limerick & Adare, Ireland

Went to the Poet's Corner pub last night in Ennis, stayed for 3 short ditty's. There was a young man about Roman's age who joined in with the musicians playing a concertina; his father was hovering the entire time..quite cute. No Kevin Kelly's...in fact, we are seeing more Americans and German's that Irish.

We went to church at the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul in Ennis, Ireland. The priest was perfectly Irish, gave a great summon...all in all done in 35 minutes!
Remember how fast MA Burns used to say the rosary? Maybe this was the reason why...heritage.

On to Limerick today, quick stop at the hotel and then on to Adare. A quaint village with thatched roofed buildings ...lovely...lots of abbey's dating from the 12 & 13th century.

We had an early dinner at the Wild Geese restaurant in Adare... the chef is award winning and is listed in the book as one of the top 100 restaurants in Ireland...(can you imagine... there are almost as many restaurants as gravestones!!!.)..YUM! I had scallops and a potato pancake....could have cried it was so yummy. Mare had corn fed chicken stuffed with black pudding and pear sauce with another sauce that had a hint of horseradish...are ye mouths watering now? (creme brulee with homemade lemon curd ice cream with a bit of chocolate...now you are looking for a ticket to Ireland--huh?)

Walking around Limerick tomorrow and meeting Sheila Healy...relative on the O'Connell side of the family tree....

I am anxious to go back to Mick and Colette's farm .

Happy Birthday, Maggie.

Connemara to Doolin on to through the fields to Ennis

In other words, running ass big time! We drove a short loop route through Connemara. The scenery is amazing,everything from barren areas to lush forestry, mountains and lakes. We stopped into a wonderful little garden (Brigit garden) and had a tea served by a lovely french man ;-). They have the largest sundial in Ireland here---very accurate as well.

We then drove down to Doolin, County Claire. The road was windy and bumpy and big enough maybe for one cow, but not two. Half way there I told Mare if it was a carnival ride I would be asking to get off.

Doolin is right across from the Aran Islands. I will attach one of my favorite road signs, because it did dead end at the sea! We had dinner at O'Connors pub, no music,it was overrun with American college students.

Have a very disappointing night at the B& B..(oh well!). ....The best part was hearing how the other travelers are white knuckling the drives as well. The husband was stating that he could only look 100ft in front of the car and the wife was "helping" him drive too) Since we barely slept we were up early today (Saturday) and head toward the Cliffs of Moher...as breathe taking in person as in the photos! The weather has been perfect...almost too hot, so the view was phenomenal. Back down the mountain, we found a castle in the middle of a farm field, reminded me of Shrek.

Then on to the Burren...look it up and amazing huge area full of all types of flowers including orchids !...and limestone. We saw a flyer for the perfumery, so we took another cattle road into what felt like the middle of the Burren and found another magical site. The Burren perfumery (www.burrenperfumery.com) was straight out of a fairy book. The smells were wonderful. We have a favorite- Autumn Harvest. They had a tea room so of course took advantage of that. A plate full of local cheese-delicious.

Then we followed the GPS over the Burren --seriously-- through a field with a few stones they called a road and into Ennis where we are staying in a 150 year old home for the night. Worried, this is the place with the reported smelly sheets! Will update later.

Knock Shrine- we prayed for you.

Went to Knock to see the Shrine. As luck would have it we were able to attend a mass at the Shrine and received a blessing to boot!

Back in to Galway city proper where it was crazy! Small street,loads of people...I'm saying FUN! Mare is saying get me out of here I feel claustrophobic!

Took a tour of the city via bus, some shopping, had fish and chips over looking Eyre park.

Did you realize that Claddagh was it's own country that has King and everything?
Small little area near Salthill.

Driving to Galway

We left the Keniry farm this morning with Cathy in the middle of the road making sure we did not hit anyone,Mick went into the barn and closed the door...we pull out into the lane both saying "stay to the left, turn to the left"...in the rear view mirror I saw Cathy holding her head with both hands....off we went. The directs Cathy drew were perfect! No glitches in turns or anything. We stopped promptly at 1p.m. for dinner (Colette would have been proud of the promptness!)and had lunch in Gort. Then onto Galway and found the hotel. We were exhausted from the driving. We had a complimentary SPA...sauna=no too dry & hot, Steam room, much better! Then a turn in the aromatherapy room ( not sure I could really smell anything, but enjoyed the idea.) Then we relaxed on warm benches and listed to SPA music. We decided to drive over to Salthill for the evening.

Directions here are terrible at best! But we made it & found a nice little Italian bistro Ristorante L'Osteria Da Roberta. A small Cesaer salad and warm chicken, piece of bread, ah it was Grand! Then people watching at the ocean with a soft warm breeze.

The drive home was much harder...nothing is marked and all roads have multiple names. We have a huge L at the back window the Irish use for Learning drivers; you'd think people would not tailgait like they do!


Are ye bitchy after that driving? yes, I am.

Farm Day in Ireland

We spent today on the farm. After breakfast, Mary Keniry came down to help out with the broccoli planting. Mick drove the tractor while Cathy, Mary & I sat in the back feeding seedlings through the wheel that dropped the plants into the soil. It only took about 2 hours to complete the task of planting this section of the field for the day. Mick saying for the planting: " a fish with no bones and a field with no stones are no good". Then on to laundry that we hung outside in the sun shine and fresh Irish air.

Mare and Colette worked on sewing projects for part of the day.

Mick and Cathy took me to the fields where they have their bullock cows (castrated males or males with no jewels as Mick said). The cows were quite interested and came very close to the yank that was visiting. They are very inquisitive. They followed us in herd back to the car. Shoot, the only time without a camera.

Mick saying in the field: a field without thistles is not worth buying.

Dinner: farm fresh green cabbage, fresh field potatoes, bacon (ham). Then farm fresh strawberries with cream fresh for desert. During dinner, Colette said to tell someone to go 'hop'.

Mare and Cathy negotiated the car rental. We drove down to Colbh to pick up the rental. Poor Cathy had to take both of us out for our initial drives to negotiate
the wrong side of the road. I white knuckled it all the way home. Mare drove down to the sea after supper so the 'darlings' (Mary's daughters) could go swimming in the sea. It was HOT today - probably about 80 degrees...very warm for Ireland.

When we got home from the sea,Colette gave us a nip of Irish Whiskey to calm the nerves. The sale of whiskey will probably go up in the next week with us on the road!

Tomorrow, we leave for Galway, God help us!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Day 3 Cathy's little lamb

This morning after breakfast, Cathy came in to tell us that one of the lambs on the farm was quite ill. It looked like it possibly had meningitis...almost lifeless. We read in the reference books on lambs that it could be caused by a change in diet or a B1 deficiency. So, off to the vet a shot of B1 and antibiotics & this evening is doing much better!

Today we drove into Cork and wander through some of the 'charity shops'- mostly looking. We found a few books. Then off to Blarney to wandered through the woolen mill there. Drove past the Blarney stone and castle, no kissing for me, they say the local chaps pee on it at night...Colette said I could probably get just as much luck by kissing Mick.

We got rock star parking at the mill ... but Colette's saying is: The devils own children have the devils own luck!" The other thing she asked Mare was ..."are ye being bitchy?"...mare laughed. I tried the same question a few minutes later, but got yelled at!

We then drove down to Kilsdale near the sea.The town is quaint with loads of sailboats. Every restaurant we past seemed to have a long history of awards. We choose Jim Edwards. Colette & I had smoked chicken over spinach with a red bell pepper sauces a small cubes of roasted potatoes. Mare had salmon with a salad...it came "marinated"...it looked like it was pickled. More strolling through the village and then back home. It is 930 in the evening and it looks like 7p.m-amazing.

Just before we came in for dinner we stopped to see Colette's son Ned and family who live just around the corner as they are off to Cape Cod for several weeks. Colette is an ON TIME type of person. We had stayed the allotted 10 minutes, so Ned was still talking, Colette left and got in the car and started pulling out of the drive way engines revving like Mario Andretti.

Tomorrow I am going to help Cathy plant some Broccoli in the field. It is a 3 person job, someone drives the tracker & the other 2 feed the plants through a device that plants them... we'll see how long it takes for me to get fired. We will probably get the car ( God help us) too. We have tested the GPS...it seems to find major attraction areas or general towns better than specific addresses.


Answers to questions: The weather at the warmest part of the day is about 64 degree's. It is quite warm when the sun is shining. We have been blessed with very good weather. Mick watches the weather every evening at 9p.m. without fail.





No Kevin Kelly yet, still looking!

Day 2 June 21 Summer Solsitice in Ireland

Well, let's just say that snoring must be in the DNA! - enough said. (I will wear ear plugs tonight as whomping with pillows only had the minimal desired effect!)

The morning started with a tour of the farm and flowers. We then watch Colette make a "fryed breakfast" on the cooker (gas stove). Rashers (bacon); bangers (small sausage links) eggs. Also black blood pudding. Did you know that it is like a sausage? I actually thought it was like tapioca....how embarassing! Then a cutting board full of breads and scones as well. YUM.

Cathy, Mick, Mare & I then headed to out for the morning to the Sea near Cobh (said like cove). The tide was out so we could see seaweed, muscle, periwinkles that looked like small snails that Cathy said were exported to Spain where they are very popular. We saw sail boats about to race and a huge cruise ship half the size of the mountain behind it. Mick said the next stop was America. Cathy told us that 90% of the people that came over during the potato famine left from this harbor.

Back "home" for dinner at 1.p.m. Colette had prepared a huge feast for dinner. After that huge fried breakfast, we didn't think we would eat much,but...Lamb.-- the taste was amazing! Better than any beef roast you ever had. Not the least bit gamey or wild tasting. Also, we had the first of their new potatoes with Irish butter and carrots. Heaven!

I have decided to learn to drink tea. This is monumental.I have managed about 3 full cups now. I think with milk and sugar is the better way so far.

We left Cathy and Mick with the dirty dishes and headed out to see Mary Frances Herlihy- a distant cousin on Mom's side through the Hogans. So this was tea at about 4 p.m. with finger sandwiches, breads,cookies and the lot! We will be 100 stones by the time we get back! Mary Frances lives in a quaint cottage with a beautiful garden and archway to the pasture where the two cows were grazing. A cousin Eddie O'Conner was there. He greeted Mare with a handshake and hello, then promptly asked where the chocolates were. Mare had sent some chocolate over a few years back but stopped sending it because she heard that MF was diabetic. Apparently, Eddie had come over at Christmas & told MF to get out the chocolate, that he knew Mare had sent it and felt she was holding out. Mare was really tickled by this story. She told him that she did not know she was sending chocolate for two! I'm sure that he only walked over for the chocolate today! He made sure Mare understood that he likes chocolates before he stomped up the path!!

On the drive back the clouds were hanging low over the mountains. The weather is sunny and perfect. 21 C. We stopped by to visit Colette's "darlings". Her grandchildren from Mary Keniry- her daughter. More tea and biscuits, then back "home" to have a glass of wine by the fire place with Mick and Colette. To clarify, only we drank.

Mick's phrase for the day: "go to bed you rascal or you'll rue the day"...."did you hear that"

I also noticed that the Irish make a sucking sound when they are listening to a story and are impressed by a point being made (ssssssssh--but make sure it is inward).

It was 1030 tonight and the sun was just setting. Not sure what the agenda for tomorrow...shopping, a "charity shop" and roam around a small village. Dinner is already planning...cabbage and bacon. Mick's favorite.

Day 2 Saturday- Arrive in Cork

As luck would have it with multiple connections we were late to each one, but amazingly,we were able to make each connection. Although Mare told me last October that she was going to be crabby once we reached Healthrow, she was not T.G. & was a trooper walking the MILES of corridors from one plane to another. If we would have had the pedometer-- for sure it would been 5000 steps or more.

Colette met us straight away at the airport and whisked us back to their home driving on the "wrong side" -made me sick to think we would be doing this in just a few days. (Please pray to St. Christopher or any other favorite saints, do they have one for race care drivers or the insane?) Once off the major roads, it was almost magical to see the tree canopied lanes with wild flowers all about. Loads of wild yarrow and floxglove are in bloom right now.

We arrive at the Kinary's --and it is perfect. The very image of what I was expecting to see. A wall lined farmhome- dark cermet colored with a barn attached. Wellies are near the door! ...(now I just need to find the Kevin Kelly to go in them).

Mick has not changed a bit- just white haired now. Very handsome for 90 years old...and still has that Irish sense of humor!

Mick: there is a new law in Ireland now for a woman marrying an Irish Farmer...she can walk down the isle with only a bouquet of flowers and then married go back down owning half a farm! Apparently, the new laws do not recognize pre-nuptial agreements.

Mick and Colette were "discussing" how to take us to see the horse and new foal...I said to Mick, are you still trying to instruct her after all these years. A few minutes later...Colettes says.. .we've been married for 47 years & would have divorced long a go..but neither one of was wanted custody of the children! !
The dialect is very hard to catch on some of these country folks, makes Bob Dylan and Ozzie Ozborn look like great orators! (I wish there was a subtitle scroll,I am sure I am missing a lot of good stuff!)

Collette made a beautiful dinner: Potatoes with lime and coriander and cilantro; chicken and cauliflower with fresh peas from the garden.

A speed mass (35 minutes) tonight at 8 p.m. , then conversation around a small fire
in the living room. Very tired, long day and only an hour power nap.


Ask Mare about the toilet seat ! Mick could not stop laughing (secretly am very glad it wasn't me!)

day one the journey begins.

So, we arrive at the Minneapolis airport timely, looking cute in our travel clothes, only to be delayed by the thunderstorms in Chicago ... Ugh, we were praying to our guardian angels and any other less used saints for safe travels. It appears we should have included one of the Greek gods of thunder. Who was that Thor? Oh well, chocolate and a good book. Advil ans pain patches should help for a few hours . Stay tuned... Might not be able to up date until we get to UK........730 pm, enjoying the thunderstorms, wicked rain and wind in Chicago ....no take off in sight