Erin Go Bragh!

Slainte!!
The Heredia's love Ireland and all things Irish, so dinner is in our plans tonight. Irish beef stew with soda bread and champ are on the menu.
And the High Kings are on the radio.
And everything out my window is green green green thanks to that big storm we had a couple of weeks ago.

I hope your day is shaping up to be lovely, too!
I will leave you with this Irish proverb:
May your home always be too small to hold all your friends. 

And this little taste of the High Kings:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today I am going to close out the Ireland memories with an assortment of photos of the Irish countryside. The rolling hills, the ocean, the sunrises and sunsets, the natural monuments and the ever-present waterfalls are what make the beauty of the Emerald Isle truly unbelievable. These pictures do not do it justice, but you'll get the idea.




You may not know this, we didn't, but the ocean in Ireland is very different than it is on the central coast. And, it may be true of the Atlantic in general, I don't know. But it was calm and serene the entire time we were there. We asked some of the locals about it, and they said that, yes, it always looks like that. No giant waves crashing up on huge sandy beaches. Just calm and gentle beauty. Who knew!

This place is called the Giant's Causeway, and was actually in Northern Ireland.

This rainbow appeared on our very last day . So, we think that the luck of the Irish was upon us!

We started with a door, and we will end with one too. I hope you have enjoyed this little "tour" of the Motherland!

Now, let me just say, that 7 blog entries in 8 days is too much blogging! So, now I am signing off for a week or so!! I need to get to my garden and my quilting, but I will see you again soon. TTFN.

My Guy, The Irish Rancher

Only one little photo thought today, but is one of my favorite "Irish" photos. It totally cracks me up every time I look at my guy hanging out with the locals, discussing market values, the current rain totals, and whether or not our politicians are in touch with the needs of the people. He fits right in. Except, maybe, for the umbrella, sunglasses, shorts and white sneakers!

Traveling the Roads of Ireland

Traveling by car is our favorite mode of travel. We have driven all over the USA and Canada. But, we like to drive a big diesel king cab pick-up truck, and pull a fifth wheel behind us. There is no shortage of space, plenty of leg room and plenty of places to keep all our stuff plus all the other stuff we buy on the way. That is not the case when you travel abroad!

First of all, the cars are small. This may be the case all over Europe, I don't know, but big ol' pick-up trucks are not an option. Secondly the roads in Ireland are very narrow. Even in these small cars, sometimes when two cars pass each other the hedges and weeds on the shoulders of the road slap against the side mirror of the car. This is very disconcerting! Thirdly, and most commonly known, is the fact that you are driving on the wrong side of the road. Now mostly, my guy did just fine with this. But when he decided to stray, he did it with gusto! He put the fear of God into more than one little Irishman, add caused his family to age before our time.

This was the luggage and these were the people, plus ourselves, who needed to fit inside said car.
When we went to the airport counter to check in, the man laughed at us and said that we would need to up grade to a little bit bigger of a car, because we would never fit everything in the one we had reserved. But, we declined, having been cautioned by friends who had traveled to Ireland, about the narrow roads and the need to stick with a small car. Plus, we had anticipated this problem so my guy had packed some bungee cords and a tarp. (the very idea, now, just cracks me up!!) However, when we walked out and saw this car parked right up front, waiting for us, my heart sank.

Fortunately, this was not to be our car.

This one was. Phew! Everything fit inside, easy as you please, and we even had leg room! We were off and running.

Ok, maybe it was just a little bit squishy, but hey, we were on vacation!

Now, the next challenge. The roads were not always marked as clearly as you might hope.

Tricky Tricky Tricky. But, no matter, we were on vacation. It is surprising what you can overlook when you are on no one's timetable but your own, pursuing only your own pleasures. You just find yourself laughing, snapping a picture and picking a direction based on... well, nothing really. But the next great adventure is out there, just waiting...

This sign really made us laugh the first time we saw it. But, now it warms my heart. Soon enough that will be me and my guy, and maybe, even here in America, respect for the elderly can become a reality.

So, until tomorrow

The Coffin Ship

Today, there are just three photos. They are of Ireland's Coffin Ship Memorial. It is a very haunting image, that depicts some of the horror of Ireland's Great Potato Famine.
I am listing three links here, if you are interested in reading about the Famine. The first one deals with the coffin ships, the second is a short article about the famine, and the third is a more detailed Wikipedia entry. All are good, and worth reading, if you are interested. But, let me just say, that if you are at all politically minded, you should read these articles. You will be shocked to see the role played by government in allowing the deaths of so many citizens.

Little Notions

Little Notions
Friday, March 12

I believe that I am Irish, no matter what my People say.

I hope to visit Ireland again, in the not too distant future, and to connect with some families. I would like to get to know the country in a deeper way, not just as a tourist.

I just love Avoca!! Oh my, yes, I love Avoca. It is a shop in Ireland, and I understand that there is also one in Maryland, that is filled with all manner of things you do not need but cannot possibly live without. My pink thermos was bought there, and the photo of Becca "hamming it up" was taken there.

I am inspired by walled gardens! Yesterday's post got me thinking about them again. Man, I could really see myself tending one! Maybe I'll ask my guy about it again. I'm sure it will go over better this time....

I am creating a green string quilt. The block is a round-about, in honor of St Paddy's Day. When I told my girls about it, they both thought it was very funny, and appropriate. You see, on the roads of Ireland, everything is a round-about. Only the big cities have stop lights and signs. Everywhere else it is round-abouts. It's even how you get on the freeway (know in Ireland as carriageways and motorways).

I have learned how to make "champ". It is the national potato dish, and it is yummy! And it is NOT low in calories or fat!!

I am grateful for the ability to travel. It is a passion for me. We have been all over the USA and Canada. We have even made a trip to Mexico, but Ireland was our first trip abroad. And we sincerely hope it was the first of many!

I am reading Jane Eyre, still. And, even though it is not Irish, it is European. So, for today, that is close enough.

I really need to figure out the measurement conversions from metric to standard US so that I am not too intimidated to use my Irish cookbooks.

I really want another trip, of course!

Outside the county has turned green and beautiful. We even have and Irish Hills Plaza in a neighboring town, and this time of year it certainly does look authentic.

In my kitchen next week, an Irish feast will be prepared.

This week I have spent a lot of time reminiscing about our Irish vacation, as evidenced by this post!

A photo thought about...Ireland, of course!

The Walled Gardens of Ireland

Ireland is a very lush and beautiful country. It is filled with all manner of fabulous botanicals. And, the most amazing part, to us California natives anyway, was the blatant lack of any type of irrigation systems. Even water hoses were seldom seen! Big lush hanging planters were commonplace, and never short on blossoms. And the walled gardens! Oh those beautiful walled gardens!! A thing of the past, yet so well preserved. We visited several, and loved every one of them. Of course, I now want a walled garden of my own, but when I mentioned this to my guy he said "it ain't happening". Although, he did hesitate, tempted by the controlled, well manicured look that just speaks to his organized and orderly little soul.
Stranger things have happened.....

The Countdown Continues

Yesterday we got to laughing about the Irish ketchup. It's funny how these things sometimes hit your funny bone. So, let me share with you some little tidbits about Irish ketchup. 1) It is kinda yucky, and the yuckiness factor varies from restaurant to restaurant 2) It is called red sauce. But we did not figure that out for several days. Red sauce and brown sauce were offered to us all the time, but we declined, not knowing what they were. 3) One of the bartenders told us that when they see American's come through their door, they just bring a bottle of ketchup to the table. Clearly, the Irish don't get the whole ketchup thing!

That's enough about ketchup. How about some castles, abbeys and cathedrals:

This is Kylemore Abbey. It is a beautiful place.

This was also on the abbey grounds. It was a cathedral built in honor of a beloved wife who had died. She was laid to rest here. I have requested similar honor from my guy, but he says "it ain't happening".

This castle/gift shop was just at the side of the road. It was one of the smaller ones we toured.

This was part of another tourist site, but I cannot remember which one. Maybe the Cliffs of Mohr.

This was an incredible cathedral we toured. The stained glass depictions of numerous Bible stories was phenomenal. The whole place was impressive. We met a Korean man here, and oddly enough, ran into him again several days later down in Dublin.

And, finally, castles may seem big and impressive from the outside, but they are not all that. Now, there are some large and beautiful gathering rooms, but we came to realize that they are mostly just big, thick walls. The living spaces were often cold and small with low ceilings and very narrow, steep passages. We decided that being a servant, running up and down these stairways, caring all manner of stuff, would have been one crummy job!