the west coast of Ireland...

The Wild Atlantic Way...

We are staying at a little cottage up a narrow windy road, with stone walls and hedges, and cows, and a view of the sea....



This isn't the cottage but it's on the road to the cottage.


We may or may not have stopped in at a chocolate shop...







Fish and Chips!


Chips...they're just fries.


Coffee in Galway...



Back at the cozy cottage (don't you love the stairway?) We spent the day in the city...walking around, having coffee, then lunch, then an afternoon Guinness...which is not my normal, but hey, when in Ireland...

We came back here as the rain started. The little fireplace warmed it up, and we may or may not have a bag of pastries...I made some coffee, and here we are, almost packed to leave tomorrow to drive back across the green isle, all the way to Dublin to make our way back home.

Yesterday, we went to the Cliffs of Moher...

It was windy up there! And stairs! I walked up so many stairs! I'm glad I've been going on my walks every morning, so it wasn't so bad. It was so lovely...




After arriving at our cottage yesterday, after a long day of winding narrow roads, and beautiful views, we were hungry. We drove back down the lane to this place:

Right on the water!

A local brew from down the road...

A local cider....

Slow roasted beef and gravy over potatoes, with veggies on the side...it was just the thing after a long day, and on a chilly night.

This trip has been interesting. It's been and adventure taking double decker buses in Dublin, and for Mirielle to drive on the wrong side of the road. We had to get used to the alarm system in the first apartment we stayed at, and figure out the shower, and how to lock the door, and how to start the car (there's a trick to it, we almost had to call roadside assistance but Mirielle figured it out!). We enjoyed the city today, but it was pretty touristy.

Things are different here. They don't flush toilet paper, and the sink spigots in the bathrooms, the taps, are usually two separate units, as if you want either cold water or hot water, and not WARM water. Seriously. Coffee, regular yummy coffee...is not to be found. It's espresso. With...milk. Good thing we know to bring our own bag of Starbucks, some filters, and the pour through filter thing-y, and to buy the cream at the grocery store. The coffee in the shops is okay, but not just a real cup of coffee. But the people are friendly and fun, and we have had too many good laughs. Now, I'm tired, and we need to get ready for our last epic adventure...driving back across the country...:)

a day in Dublin....

The bus stop is right across from our apartment, so we kept the car parked and took the bus today, the double decker, and yes we sat on the top floor.

The first bus took us into the city, then we had to walk a few blocks and get on a different bus, to go to the Guinness factory tour. Lots of walking, and we found it.


We walked over a bridge and saw the River Liffey.


At the factory...


We learned the proper way to pour.


We stopped at a pub in Dublin for some late lunch...the beer was a local brew on tap, we finished the pints but not the pizza.


We don't even feel like having any now, but this seemed like a good idea when we were in Tesco.

All comfy cozy back at our little apartment, my feet up on the coffee table...reflecting on the day. It was confusing to figure out where we were going, but it was adventurous and the Guinness factory storehouse was interesting. The best part was pouring our own pint at the end, then drinking it on the 7th floor, with a view of the whole city.

The whole country of Ireland only has 4.7 million people. New York state has 19 million something, even without New York City, New York has 11 million. It is very much a Catholic country, and the population is not racially diverse at all, 94 % white. The police here do not carry guns. Pepper spray and batons only.

Tomorrow we will leave the fair waterside apartment and say goodbye to Dublin, as we drive across the entire country (ha, 3 and a half hours!), to the Cliffs of Moher, then up to Galway on the west coast...so we need to pack.

here in ireland...oh dear!

Our airplane selfie. The plane ride was...horrid. Yeah, horrid. We wanted to sleep, and the cabin crew wanted to serve food...all food and beverages were for purchase, not even water was free on this flight. We had brought our own, so we were fine, just wanted to sleep. Well. Wrinkling and crinkling of wrappers and papers. The guy across the aisle from me alternated snoring, then waking up and unscrewing his soda pop bottle, which hissed loudly. The lady in the row behind us sniffed. Rhythmically. Sniffed. The guy behind me stretched his legs out of under my seat, slamming his footsies into the back of my legs, waking me up with the jolts. The overhead screens flickered, and people walked down the aisle, bumping into the seats. So it wasn't a night for sleep. But it was still fun. We laughed our heads off about how Mali would have been with the sniffing. She detests sniffing.

Morning came, and we were in Dublin. We walked a few miles through the airport to immigration, where we were greeted with: Mirielle, is it true you had issues and were denied entry to the U.K. a few years back? Oh, the fun and games of standing there after taking 999 naps on the plane all night, wanting coffee and having to use the bathroom...this Irish dude was serious. He wasn't going to just let us into his country if we were going to try to find jobs and stay! No sir. He needed proof of Mirielle's employment, and lots of other details. When he finally stamped those passports and we were on our way to the luggage carels, we thought our trials were over. uh-hum.

The rental car. Can you say Driving on the WRONG side of the road? Well, we didn't even get to that point yet when our gps/wi-fi device wouldn't work. Mare had to go back in and get the correct password. Then...we drove away in that spiffy little rental car, her driving correctly on the wrong side of the road, but there was a beeping! Incessant beeping! We were buckled, it was in drive, the lights were on...but it wouldn't stop. We turned around and drove right back to that rental place got out of the car...the tire was smoking! The guy thought we were rather funny, he took the car for a spin, and declared, "Thar's obsolutely nothing wrong with this carr." But, he got us a different on anyway. We drove away in that, and it was also beeping like mad...ooops, emergency brake. ha.

Anyway.


We tried some fish and chips, and yeah, chips are just french fries.

We shared one, and it was still too much food.

We just couldn't go to Starbucks in Ireland! But...at least it is in a castle ruins, or church ruins...


Then we went for coffee...


Then we walked around Howth...




We went to a store, Lidl, to get some bread...we chose pumpkin seed bread, and some yummy Irish butter...and some raspberry jam, and real Irish cream for the coffee.




This is our front window view from our little apartment...the Irish Sea!

After we settled in a bit, brewed some coffee, and unpacked, we headed to the village on foot, in search of a pub. We went to an old one, highly reccommended...I walked in first, and it was totally.full.of.men. Nary a lady in sight. I turned right back around, smacking pretty much into Mirielle...so we tried the little place across the street. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I walked into that place and explained that we were from out of town, and wanted to go to a pub, but the place across the street was full of men! They offered the meal menu, but I said we only wanted a beer. Mirielle had a glass of wine, I had one beer on tap. It was good...but with the jet lag, and not much to eat...oh dear me. It was more than enough. We walked back here, and had toast...the pumpkin seed bread...mmm.


It's not very late, but we are tired and trying to figure out the bus schedule...we are hitting the Guinness Storehouse tomorrow and don't want to drive in the Dublin traffic....

if I could put time in a bottle...

Remember that song? Today is a day to go into the bottle, to save up for the middle of winter. It's absolutely deliciously gorgeous out there, some sun, some clouds, 72 degrees...the wind is rustling the trees, lulling me to sleep here in my quiet house. Yes, I said QUIET house. Now if you've been reading my blog, you already know that as the mom of sixteen kids, I have had a noisy house for years...and years...and years. So this new quiet thing is still yummy.

It's still rarely quiet. With two grandchildren visiting frequently, and babysitting one year old Anne, and having three homeschoolers, plus six other kids living here, adult kids who visit and come for dinner, the house is still hectic.

But today, after sweeping and washing dishes and cleaning up, and helping kids out the door with daddy to go to church, where they will eat lunch together after, I finished up my packing, and ha, here I sit. I still need to take a shower and remember my toothbrush and phone charger, and to pack up this nice little chromebook, so I can blog in Ireland, of course...but I like to wait until the last minute then hurry up.

You all know what today is, right? Besides being Sunday, October 8, it is the day we depart for Ireland. I cannot. believe. it.

Mirielle and I are sharing a checked bag, then each bringing smaller carry-on bags. We both tend to be over-packers, but she wins, she had FOUR toothbrushes packed. Four. But she realized that was ridiculous, so she took one out. I can't help it, I keep laughing about it. If I don't remember to grab my toothbrush last minute, one of those is going to be for me, and she'll be all justified in bringing so many, but also lamenting that she only has one extra. It's too funny.

We are bringing a bag of Starbucks coffee, and some of those miniature half and half things so we can have our morning coffee. Also the Melita pourover filter in case there is no coffee pot, and of course coffee filters. And bars: Quest bars and Balance bars, and no I am not getting paid to say that. We have emergency rations consisting of small packets of three varieties of M&M's. We have wipes and hand sanitizer and any over-the-counter meds you can think of, times two. Band-aids? Check. Boots. Sneakers. Sandals. She brought flip-flops for the shower. Of course she did.

Last evening I went online and purchased the tickets to tour the Guinness Storehouse! We have already researched where to park, she screenshot them and has them on her phone. We are going to the village of Howth, to do some cliff walking, hope I don't huff and puff myself to death. To say that I am excited about this trip is putting it mildly. One of the very best parts is spending time with Mirielle. You know, having eleven daughters is more blessing than one person deserves as it is. But the fact that I get along well with all of them, and enjoy spending time with each of them is unreal. I am not bragging, honest I'm not. And also can I mention that my daughter-in-law Ashley is my friend too? I love her more and more as time goes on. It reminds me once again of the parable of the man with 100 sheep, he lost ONE and was upset, he left the other 99 to find it. It IS possible to love so many kids, the 5 boys as well, each with all of my heart. I haven't spent much time with Emily lately because she is finishing up her Master's degree while still working full time. She is extremely busy and I know she misses us too, and when she graduates in the spring, we are going to have the biggest party! Anyway. I miss them when I don't see them often. Kathryn is in California, and ouch, I miss her. And seeing Ben and Ashley so often hasn't gotten old. They came over for dinner last evening with Anya, and I LOVE it. She says, "Grandma, Grandma...!", and I realize that she's talking to ME. I am GRANDMA. :)

(Mirielle is second from left in back, between Evelyn and Mali Rose)

I win Off On A Tangent!

My point was that spending time with Mirielle is one of the best parts of this trip. We are good at adventuring together, as we drove across the country to California a while back. In January! Riley is still teasing us that we brought a snow shovel. And since we drove out there and flew back, we left our supply of emergency snacks there: it filled up a whole cupboard. Protein/granola bars, by the dozen, I kid you not. Seeds. Cashews. Almonds. And water, oh the water we had in that car. We could have survived for a month. But over-packing aside, Mirielle is a great travelling companion. She is level-headed, but also open to drinking an Irish beer. I can't wait for her to drive on the "wrong" side of the road, as we are renting a car. It'll be the first pic. :)

I should go take my shower and get ready. Mirielle will come over all ready to go and I'll be sitting here in my raggedy Adidas capris with my messy hair, feet up, sipping coffee, and then I'll certainly forget to grab my toothbrush...

And don't worry, I am going to take pictures!

bad bad dream...

Did you ever wake up from a really bad dream, just crying? And did you ever try to tell someone about your dream, only to have them sigh with boredom?

Oh dear, last night in my dream, I was in the airport, ready to go through security for our trip to Ireland. Oh, joy, my sister was there to see me off! (And Cheryl, you looked like a million bucks). Then I realized that all of my daughters were there too, waving and giving me hugs. Then...there were men in black, shooting. Shooting at my girls. I can barely even write this, it was horrific. I ran I screamed I ended up outside the airport. Paul was there. I asked him...and he whispered that Kathryn was shot in the head. No, he said, it was Evelyn. All of them were shot, but Evelyn was gone. I cannot tell you how I wailed in that dream. I shouted and screamed NO NO NO. NO. I didn't know it was a dream. I even told strangers, as they filed out of the airport, shell shocked and dazed, that my Evelyn was gone. Hysterical doesn't even begin to describe it. Then I woke up. It was five o'clock. All I could think of was getting up and hugging my girls.

Now, since I AM a psychiatrist, I know that I have issues about leaving the kids for my trip. And yesterday Evelyn was being all prickly, and we agreed that although we missed her terribly when she was in California this summer, it was more peaceful here. I felt guilty about saying that, as evidenced in my dream. (and about it being more peaceful, when you have a lot of children, taking one out of the mix for even a little while changes the dynamics, and Ev being the middle girl of the five-girls-in-a-row born in five years, she has to stand out, and I get that. So she's spunky. I love her immensely, of course I do, but there can be hissing among the girls, ha)

Also, this horrible mass murder which took place in Las Vegas has affected us all. I try not to watch the videos, but I have read stories. And I will say this: this is the real America. Those heroes who drove strangers to the hospital in pick up trucks, those who held pressure on wounds of people they had never seen before, those who ran through the crowd, carrying wounded out then going back in for more, disregarding their own safety. Those are Real Americans. Not all these social media critics, calling for more rules, more laws, even going so far as to blame this senseless murder on people who support the right to own guns. um, really? (Murder is against the law, does anyone in their right mind think that this guy stopped to think about that? Would he not have stockpiled guns just because they were illegal? Most drugs are illegal. Our emergency rooms here in the states are brimming with overdoses. Making something illegal only makes it more difficult to obtain, and criminals have to be more crafty. Law abiding citizens who want to protect themselves are the ones who would suffer from stricter controls) Laws and more laws. Slap those band aids on. I don't believe this world is going to get any better with more laws.

But anyway, that was a tangent. And one I am sorry I went off on, the way the media turned this tragedy into a political discussion so quickly was sickening.

Anyway. I told Evelyn a little about the dream this morning, and that I love her, and of course I'll drive over to school and pick them up early today so they don't have to sit through the Pep Rally!

This fine morning, it's dark and rainy. It's so cozy it's not funny. I have brewed pumpkin spice coffee, and I am thinking of crawling into bed with a book for a bit, would that be so bad of me? I've been up since five o'clock...

counting the blessings....

First of all, I would like to quote one of my favorite songs, from the movie Frozen...."Let it go..."

It's comforting, healing, and peaceful to let it go. A thought that plagues me about someone, or something so unrighteous that happens, or hurt feelings that could so easily cause bitterness...let it go.

And here are the things I am deciding to be thankful for today:

1. Ibuprofen. Yesterday's headache decided to settle in and stay a while, building to a monster by bedtime. As I went on my walk this fine morning, headache-free, but in one of those day-after fogs, I realized how blessed it is to be able to open that bottle and take a few pain relievers.

2. D-Mannose. It works! I have been having pains and twinges of a UTI, and started taking this stuff again. It really works.

3. Being flea-free! Not to sound like an advertisement for the Seresto collars, because I am certainly not getting a cent for plugging their product, but they work! No more fleas!

4. I've been going on my walks every morning! I am not in marathon shape, and my muffin top is more like an extra bed pillow spilling over top of the jeans, but at least I have been walking, and it feels good.

5. Babysitting for little Anne. Yesterday she didn't feel well, and had a slight fever. But rocking babies is my specialty, and even though this little girl is one year old, when she doesn't feel well, she likes to be rocked and sung to. (ha, it's nice to sing to a baby who doesn't yet understand how terrible my voice is!)

6.
This girl. Miss Char, Charlotte Claire, my tenth daughter, my fifteenth child...my 11 year old teenager. She does not give up, she wants to learn a standing back tuck, she learns it.



7. Coffee. Pumpkin spice coffee. Joseph made the pot a bit ago, it smells heavenly in here, with the crispness of the morning and the breeze blowing in the trees, the dogs snoring...it's a beautiful day.

And...I have to get up and sweep the floors, put in a load of laundry...

can you say cozy?

It was only 39 degrees this morning when I went on my walk. brrr. But I am not complaining. The little heater is going in here, with it's fake flames and sleepy hum. Joseph had brewed pumpkin spice coffee.

But peaceful and good, the world is not. This mass shooting in Las Vegas: horrific. Having worked concessions for the same Jason Aldean at an outdoor concert, wow. Just wow. But amidst the insanity there is goodness: the people who drove the injured to the hospitals when ambulances were overwhelmed, and those who are donating supplies and food to the ones still in shock there in the venue... There are no words.

I have been having dreams about my mother, that she lives in a village a few miles from here. In every dream, she lives in Liverpool. And in every dream, I wonder why I don't visit her more often. In one the other night, I realized that she was living there and I hadn't visited her in years, then comforted myself, in the dream, that she had my brothers there with her. Then I realized, in the dream, that my younger brother had grown up and gotten married and had two kids, and that my other brother had died. It was as if I was hearing it for the first time about my brother Billy, and I woke up crying. Grief changes as time passes, but it never goes away. Especially with my brother. Sometimes I remember how he died, (suicide by shotgun), and I cannot bear it. I simply cannot. There is guilt (why didn't we know something was wrong??!!!!). There is horror, there is shock, there is just deep deep sadness. It gets a little better, with time, but then sometimes it sneaks right in and I can't believe it's really true.

Then these things happen, mass shootings. These lunatics! The horror and grief inflicted on all of these people...I know it doesn't help them one bit that I'm sad for them...but I am.

Paul has been bow-hunting. He was in the woods for most of the day yesterday. Evelyn and I took a little trip to the thrift store, and yay, I found some nice sneakers!!! Adidas slip-ons, almost brand new, look like they were tried on and never worn, for $8.99. I also bought a purple Little Tikes car, which was too small for Anya, but Lydia will fit nicely in it. So much for clearing out the toys when the kids grow up, ha.

We had a nice busy dinner last evening: Paul and I, Emily, Abigail, Ben and Ashley and Anya, Joseph, Sam, Margaret and Adrian, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, Jon, Char, and Cam, and the girls' friend Irene. We had lasagna, which the girls had made for a church fundraiser (Thank you , Evelyn, for all of your hard work!!!) We also had Italian bread, hot sausage, salad, and for dessert, apple pie with ice ream.

This fine morning, the kids are doing school work, and then we are going out to lunch in the small city up north, meeting friends there.

Ben and Ashley's baby is due in three weeks. Yeah, oops on me booking a trip to Ireland, I hope that baby doesn't come too early! I am looking after Anya while that new baby is being born, :)

This time next week, I'll be in Dublin! The kids will be staying with Margaret and Adrian, and will still be doing their school work while they're there. They are pretty excited about it, they said I could stay as long as I want to. The big girls don't seem to mind too much either, wah. They're planning to make really good dinners and homemade pretzels...