Inspired by starshine

Who is actually a person. One I really need to meet someday, because she totally rocks. She also takes some amazing photos, which you can see on the WD. So, she reminded me that I have some photos from Ireland that I am actually kind of proud of. I used to be strictly a point and shoot girl, but lately I am trying to think more about composition and colour and light. (Geez, any minute now I am going to break into a Sondheim song.)

So, here are some of my efforts. My personal favourite is the last one.


Steps at Howth


Shimmering Sands


Hydrangeas


Yellow Stairway

Education

I took a course this Spring. I just got my mark. I got an "A".

I maybe should have got an "A+" but I got exhausted from all the damn work.

Don't talk to me!

We just got back from the boat. I have not pictures, because I forgot the DAMN camera. Which Grant reminded me of as we watched the Canada geese posing off the back of the boat. "Look!" he said, "The perfect shot!"

"Shut up, bitch" I muttered.

Actually, I never call my husband "bitch", but I think I may start.

I was also grumpy because, unlike all the rest of you, I did not have "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" clutched in my vise-like grip. I did not spend the entire day ignoring all that went on around me, as I eagerly perused JKR's prose. I did not. I read...OTHER BOOKS! Yes, really. I managed...well, pretty well. After all, I was hours away from any bookstore and enjoying lovely scenery, warm days and the company of my darling bitch, I mean, husband. However. Even though, I am home again, I am still Potterless. I believe I mentioned this the last time there was a book release: all of my Potter books are the American edition, so I am forced to order from Amazon.com for my copy.Okay, I could drive down to Buffalo the night of the release and get one there, but that obsessed I am not. Besides, Saturday night, I was somewhere on Georgian Bay and driving anywhere was out of the question. So, I ordered it and planned on waiting patiently. At least that was what I did with the last release.

But now I am terrified and immensely jealous. The chances for spoilage are greater every single day. Plus, on Saturday, we took a dinghy ride and passed a boat with 2 adults and a kid. The kid's nose was buried in his very own copy of HP and the DH. He was a good quarter of the way through. Bitch.

See what a terrible person I am becoming?

Anyway, I have made a deal with myself. If my copy has not arrived by Wednesday post, I will hie myself down to Chapters and shell out the bucks for the Canadian version. I refuse to go up to the boat without my own copy and we are heading back up there Wednesday night.

Now I just have to avoid everyone.

The first of many posts featuring Guinness and rain

For two weeks prior to leaving for Ireland, I checked the weather. Showers. Every day. Every single day for the entire two weeks. Needless to say, Grant and I packed for showers. And we got them.


But we also got beautiful sunshine and high cloudy spring-like days. In one hour we were roasting in the sun and the next, shivering under my pashmina. Ireland has, without a doubt, the most changeable weather of any place I have ever been. We quickly learned to always carry an umbrella and light jacket.

Dublin is a really nice city. Our hotel was directly across from one of the walls encircling Trinity College and very central to shopping and many, many pubs. We went for our first of many pub meals; I had Guinness Stew, this particular version was beef, carrots and lovely pearl onions floating in a dark stout broth, and two pints of Guinness to accompany. Mmmmmmm, Guinness.

The next day, we started walking. We went to Dublin Castle (it was closed for a government affair. Stoopid politicians), the Chester Beatty Library (Leonardo da Vinci Codex and gorgeous religious texts), Christ Church, the Jameson Distillery, Kilmainham Gaol (lots of Irish Rebellion history here), and the Guinness Brewery (mmmm, Guinness). If you are familiar with Dublin, you will realize that we pretty much walked the entire city. We took a cab back from Guinness, and were shocked to realize we were a good 15 minutes from our hotel by cab.

Dublin Castle


Gardens at Beatty Library


Tile floor at Christ Church


Kilmainham Gaol: the "nice" part


Kilmainham Gaol: the terrible part

At Jameson, my fellow traveler, Peter, and I were chosen for a whisky tasting. (No, I did not beg and plead: I was only one of two women who raised her hand.) We were given 5 whiskies to taste: 3 Irish, 1 Scottish and 1 American. After our tasting, we got a full shot (and then some!) of Jameson. Please note the lovely glass. We all agreed it was the Best. Whiskey. Glass. Ever. and vowed to purchase it in the gift shop at the end of our tour. To our everlasting sorrow, we discovered that they weren't available. The guy at the ticket counter told us that they had wanted to sell all the old glasses first. In the meantime, the glasses in the tasting room had started at 12,000 and now were down to 1,800. Damn! We should have nicked them ourselves. Stupid morals.

I get to taste all this??


I DO!


Mmmmmmm, whiskey.


And a big glass to finish off


We also got a Guinness at the Brewery. Mmmmm, Guinness.



Later we had dinner. I suspect there was Guinness involved.



Aside: We arrived on a red-eye flight from Toronto. While waiting at the airport, I heard one person asking another "So, where you off to?". She replied "Barcelona." Not the words a musical theatre and Stephen Sondheim maniac needs to hear! Luckily, my iPod eventually drowned out the constant replays of my brain.

Home again

Got home yesterday at 3:30 pm Toronto time. We managed to do all the laundry and stay up until nearly 11 (4 am Irish time). Actual functioning only occurred up until about 7 pm, but I don't feel jet-lagged today, so the late evening was worth it.

I have fifty gazillion things to do today, so until I have time for a more lengthy post, here are some photos I particularly like from our trip. Enjoy!

Lighthouse at Howth
Howth Harbour

Timoleague Abbey

Sheep

Christ Church-
Dublin

'Til we meet again

There was supposed to be another post between this one and the last, but somehow, I never managed to get around to writing it. And tomorrow we leave for Ireland, so the post-in-between will have to wait for another day. In the meantime, another Off the Back of the Boat:






The first picture shows the unobstructed view we had of the bay.We moored at a dock called Little Dog, an apt name, as 4 of the 6 boats docked there did indeed have a canine crew member (or two, in some cases!) The view often included small boats speeding their way into a small channel on their way to various cottages nearby. The second photo features the BBQ setup that Grant and I Macgyvered. It only takes a minute to set up and is quite handy for cooking.

It wasn't quite the lovely Canada Day weekend we had hoped for. The wind simply wouldn't let up and although the temperature wasn't too bad, we found ourselves stuck in the boat for most of the weekend. Not much wildlife this weekend, perhaps due to the cottagers speeding by, although we heard a loon calling several times. I actually saw more wildlife when we got back to our marina. The estuary near our slip had an otter, a blue heron and several Canada geese in it.

I read nearly three books in that time, so it wasn't a complete bust. What books? you ask? Well, I finished the last of my Pern books and then started and finished Armistead Maupin's latest (and most likely final) chapter of Tales of the City: Michael Tolliver Lives in 6 hours. Actually, a bit less than that, if you count the time I spent making and eating dinner. Needless to say, I can recommend it heartily.

Then I reread HP and the HBP. I thought I should, just before the new one comes out. It still makes me tear up at the end. Anyway, that took another day and brought me no closer to formulating any good theories about what will happen next. I doubt Harry is a Horcrux,but I am still a bit worried for Neville. And finally, I started Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. Figured I should see what the fuss is all about. It's well-written and so far, I have found only a few things that I disagree with him on. We'll see...

I have a stack of books to take with on holiday. This time I made a conscious effort to have the books I take be in paperback form. But I still need to take a lot with me, as you can see from my reading speed when reading is all I am doing.

So, off to Dublin and Counties Cork and Kerry for the next 12 days. Here's hoping for clear skies and safe journeys. And a happy return.