By mid summer....

Hi everyone,

The following was written the first week in July, 2006

A note from a friend inspired me to take a brief moment to catch up all those I love with the latest news from Ireland. I see that while my accent isn’t changing much that my use of words reflects some of the local vernacular.

Traffic, crowds, more neighbors

Summer at the beach is the name of the game these last few weeks. Adding to the congestion is Kinsale’s art festival which is this week as well. Together the place has “a great buzz” but little parking (smile). By that we mean seriously little parking and, as my New Zealand chiropractor commented, “an excellent time to see Irish parking skills.” You have to keep in mind that as of twenty years ago not everyone in Ireland owned a car, the roads are the size of an alley in Denver and not consistently paved. The result is an ad hoc type of parking. The little country road that gets us home also gets the public to the beach – with no parking at the end of the road the sides quickly back up with parked cars. While parking on one side is fine, cars can still go back and forth passing oncoming cars with care. With a car parked on both side it become treacherous, So treacherous in fact that the Castlepark residents are once again asking council to intervene with some signs to help the situation. There is little likelihood that anything will happen though as the trauma is only two months a year – and then quickly forgotten. The entire situation is “mad!”

More of our neighbors have arrived. Castlepark is not about 2/3rds full – and some of the known crabbiest neighbors are with us. What has become clear is that there is nothing to worry about – a few engagements and then they will be gone. You may remember that we bought a house around which there had been a great deal of contention within the residents association, due to the building behavior of the last owner. Glad to say that the tension between our neighbors has lessened with time. Plus we have well mannered dogs that don’t bark much and a fountain with flowers to beautify this section of the village. They seem to have better things to worry about than the Americans who seem to be behaving ourselves. All is good.

The neighbor in front of us, and our dear friend, is not someone who behaves himself. In fact he has a pretty typically Irish “if you can get away with it all is well” attitude. The latest adventure happened one day at the beginning of summer, when low and behold a large lorry drove up with gardening supplies. The next thing we see is that the gardeners are taking out turf and building a deck off of our neighbors’ property. Keep in mind that none of us own the land around our houses – it is communal. You should also know that most, if not all houses have encroached on that land from time to time, but doing so always causes a hot reaction at the time. This day John and Kate build a deck in front of their sliding door on the communal green. In fairness, they didn’t fasten it to the ground, and should there be a problem it can easily be removed but we had the president of the residents association over to see, calls made, letters written, etc. It also seems to have blown over with time.

Dog(s) win awards

Margie and I spent Sunday last at a pet show in Belgooly. The yearly event was part of what would have seemed similar to a fair in the states. A bit of history is important to this story as well. Ireland has always had a strong agricultural community, one that until the 1970s was not mechanized. Then in the mid 70’s vast changes happened as the local farmer moved from taking their milk to a creamery everyday where it was made into butter, then that butter competed with every other Irish creamery’s butter – getting them all the lowest possible return on their money. Then almost like magic, in the mid 70’s Ireland joined the European economy, got guaranteed prices on goods, stopped competing within itself region to region and developed a world identity. This story becomes important because a fair here has tractors, and other types of farm equipment that is ancient and yet in great working order – after all it was still in use not long ago.

In addition to tractors, and old cars the fair had a circus, food booths and of course the dog show. Margie had never been to one, and my dog Stefan has bad hips, and they couldn’t care less if the breeds were pure (although most were I think). Margie and Shadow took third place in two events, large pets and gun dogs. The gun dog one we hadn’t considered because our dogs wouldn’t know a gun if they saw one, but the judges asked us to come in – I think they agreed with me that the Dalmatian that entered was not really much of a gun dog – but then neither were our two.

When we got home we reassigned one of the little wooden plaques to Stefan and called him the most adventurous dog in Castlepark. He earned his title today, when we were up on the hill picking up rubbish left by campers over the weekend. Margie suddenly screams that Stefan is down in the water below us (a drop of about 20 feet). Luckily for us all he was able to scramble back up the hill – otherwise it would have been a cold swim around from the beach to rescue him.

Vacation in Scotland while others visit in Ireland

We’ve had a run of company. While I went off to the north of Scotland with two girlfriends, Margie entertained another three here in Kinsale. The apartment came in handy as the place we live is too small for company, plus the apartment lets people enjoy the real buzz of life in a medieval town where our house is more separate.

So far we have done well to continue our work writing a book while being able to enjoy friends. Speaking of the book, we are working on Chapter 6 of 10. It is due to the publisher in October, and after that we will celebrate by going to Budapest for a week. Not a bad life after all (Grin).

Finally, the colors here are changing to purples set against the green. There are tons of purples to running to reds caused by the huge butterfly bushes to the hedgerows of fushia. About two weeks ago I noticed that there were also two colored “mists.” The first, created by short grasses that had gone to seed on top and then turned brown in the sun, edged the green of the grass on the hill with what looked like brown, ankle deep mist – Lovely. The second type was created by fishing lines. On the walk into town there is an area where the fishermen store their gear. One of their nets is a blue monofilament knotted in a diamond pattern, which, when laid on the ground around their pots, creates an aqua misty looking area of contrast to the bright orange and brown of the rest of their ropes and pots.

Love to you all,

Alana

Two months into Ireland

Hi everyone,

The following was written after we had been here two months. The stress of setting up was over and we were starting to feel more at home in our new lives.

Sunday 19 March, 2006

It has now been a month since our container arrived from the US. I think in whimsy I will name this the month of daffodils as we have had them blooming inside and outside our house for the entire month. Now we are down to two inside and I am heartily glad to see the end of them for this year. Outside we have the late blooming ruffled edge variety going and they will take us through to the 24^th which is the official Daffodil day in Ireland. Lots of groups will be out on that day selling real and artificial blooms for charity.

Today is lovely and crisp. The sun comes out from light cloud cover periodically and when it does the bay shines silver in its path. The tide is in, making the waves roar (or as close to a roar as we get here in our little bay) but loud enough to set a soothing backdrop of sound to the morning walk up the hill with the dogs. Staying in the present moment is a challenge, one with which I have wrestled for years. Part of moving here was to slow life down, to allow more ease on the “staying in the present moment” side of that equation. Perhaps it is similar to tides – at times they are in and I can stay present to the air, the sound, the light, and then they go out, and I get caught in the challenges we face with the granite counter top at the apartment, our taxes in the US and setting up the c computer equipment in my office.

Our home is cozy, the apartment will be done, or mostly done this week, in time for our first renters. Indeed, life in general has progressed. I have attended my first Rotary meeting, and this week Margie and I will go to dinner with my new club members, if all goes well, and we have a good time without the more conservative types standing back in dread of our partnership, then I will soon make my first foray into building fellowship with others outside of our neighborhood, by joining Bishopstown Rotary.

I came here to write and to do artwork. True to the way in which I move through life, I have a vision of the life I want to be living. Corny to say it is somewhere between Murder she wrote and Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. Not that I want to have dead bodies regularly popping up or mysteries that need to be solved, but that I see myself as becoming such an intricate part of this neighborhood that, as a much older woman, I lead a fascinating and worldly existence while firmly rooted in this little place.

Writing and art require daily discipline and that is my next step. I am working on setting up my old laptop for artwork, and the new one for personal writing with the desktop taking the brunt of the business writing. Writing and art bring me back full circle to the challenge of staying in the NOW. NOW the sun is shining the little birds are enjoying the birdfeeder, although a beautiful larger bird just vacated a place where he was looming over it, in hopes that somehow the food might do for him as well (which it won’t because of the squirrel proof features of the feeder.

What would I like to capture in my art? The brilliant sunshine and the sense of fresh beauty that accompanies it when it breaks through the clouds on a day like today..

What would I like to capture in my writing? The subtle tensions of life, those that define us by how we handle them. For instance, how do I learn to be sole loving to Margie even when I am full of worries? How do I learn to relax even when I am worried about some small aspect of the future? How do I forget these tensions completely and live NOW. And so it goes, back to the tensions with NOW once again.

The tough side of reinvention

Hi everyone,

Looking back on February 2006 I remember the tension caused by the old and the new colliding. This is the tough side of reinventing a life. Fortunately for me, I had some healthy habits that helped re-establish equillibrium - as you will see from the note which follows.

Diary 8, February 2006

I am sitting up in the loft or mezzanine of 8 Castlepark and it is twilight (5:16pm). The sun is going down behind the bridge to my right sending zig zags of brilliant white yellow across the pale blue waters, broken by small ripples in the Bandon river. The water in the bay to my left is gently lapping the shore, although just before it crests into mini waves it appears still and shiney as glass. The wind has died and it is still except for the occasional voice carrying from either the beach or the car park next to it. It is a perfect time for dogs and children to be finishing their play times before they come in for supper.

This is my life and I am beginning to feel at home here.

This week found me starting new habits, putting the daily routine of life together and that helps the sensation of being at home.

On Monday nights I go to Weight Watchers at 7 pm at the Trident hotel. This is a 20 minute walk on nights when I have the energy, smartly setting out in my designer (tongue in cheek) reflective vest. I am the latest fashion in my lime green overvest with silver criss cross stripes, but this vest and a torch (flashlight) in my hand and I will be safe.

On “the Tuesday” I went to the chiropractor, working long hours up to 9pm + helping those of us whose lives put our backs a little out of kilter.

On the Thursday I will start going to Yoga, that way Margie can go with me to the beginners session and we will continue on to the main session at 7pm. I met Coleen, the instructor going into the temperance hall on Tuesday – when she asked how I knew she was the yoga teacher I responded that the mat in a carry bag from India was a sure give away. She is influenced by Angela Farmer, a teacher whose work I am unfamiliar with so I will appreciate a new influence.

It was Yoga that got me back to myself while going through the feeling of powerlessness and frustration brought on by the woman Orlaith who felt at the beginning of the week as the impenetrable wall between us and our stuff every making it through customs. Thank heavens for the serendipitous occurrence of having BKS Iyengar’s book on Yoga on my IPod and the “coincidence” of listening to it while I painted a wall. While I am sure that in other circumstances Orlaith must be a very nice person – to me she was snide. In Irish terms she treated me like an “eegit.” At the end of the day, we fired their firm. It will cost us more, but the lack of aggravation will make up for it.

I quickly settled the problems with customs, having conveniently been given the name and number of their director as I shuffled through their system trying to find the right office. A charming man, Brendan pointed out that he couldn’t read the packing slip – I acknowledged that the writing was hard and asked if he would take a version I had made up myself as I packed. He took it and subsequently quickly OK’d it – although the dreaded Orlaith had assured me for a week that this was not possible. Nor did he question any of the other two or three points which she was conveying. The frustrations may not have been entirely her fault as she was working with a customs middle man who was working with another customs official. Needless to say that by the time my messages to help them interpret US paperwork came through to the other end it was like the child’s game of telephone – everything was garbled. We were headed towards a difficulty experienced by a woman from Philadelphia who our new removal (moving) man told me about. Her container was taken to the dump (in case her items were explosive) and everything had to be unloaded, expected and then reloaded in her container. If our extra charges are 1500 Euro, I can only imagine what hers must be.

Alls well that ends well and I am grateful that we are privileged enough financially speaking to be able to afford to make this work at the end. Even with the extra charges by hiring a new removal company, we are coming out ahead of our second bid. I am beginning to get excited about making this house our home, removing the furniture to the apartment that is multi-use and casual, suitable for a weekly beach house situation, and putting in our small touches. I look forward to a turf fire in our fireplace, to setting up our office and to being able to have craft parties, although realistically that is still a few months from being finally done.

The apartment will shape up quickly – Ted will start putting in a new floor next week and the new kitchen will be installed on the 24^th – then two weeks later the granite counter top comes. Margie is a cleaning fool there a couple of days a week now and will soon take up the paint brush and roller. In the off times we are writing a textbook – aiming for our first three chapters into the publisher by the end of the month. Still unless people think we are working hard, the reader must put this in the context that we go to be at ten, get up at 7 and don’t start work until 10am or so, then lunch takes an hour and we have stopped working by six – with at least one walk to the hill or swim in the bay somewhere in the middle – the typical Irish schedule suits us well.

Alana

February 2006

Hi everyone,

In February our stuff arrived. Follows is a note from that time.

Happy Sunday morning from Ireland!

Margie is out this early Sunday morning driving into the 24 hour Tesco store in Cork – not because we desperately need the milk she is picking up but because she is using the lack of traffic on a Sunday morning as a great time to practice driving on the alternate side of the road. I had an advantage in adjusting to driving on the right because I came here more frequently in the last two years and stayed for longer times, hence Margie’s desire to practise. (you’ll notice I am practising my Irish English spelling as well).

As I write I am listening to RTE1 – the public radio station in Ireland and what is absolutely sublime radio. For any of you with broadband, should you be interested, I recommend that you go to the RTE website and check out the saved versions of one show that is a Sunday morning standard in Ireland. Generations of children have been raised and multitudes of morning Rashers have been cooked to “Sunday morning miscellany.” This mixture of short story, essay and poems interspersed with music is both touching and extremely entertaining. We find it charming.

So what has been happening? The fun news

We went to a community meeting this week and I ended up volunteering to help. In Ireland there is a very prestigious award called “Tidy Towns.” It is given by a committee to smaller towns and is given in Silver and Gold awards. Twenty years ago Kinsale was a silver Tidy Town, and STILL displays the notice on a big sign as you enter town. This is false advertising from my point of view as, since we have purchased property here, we have seen the charm and cleanliness of the town decrease, to the point it has been a bit worrisome to folks who are investing in the area as we are. This decline has not hurt the tourism business a bit – but we can’t help but feel that “tidying up” would be a good idea. Therefore when we saw and advert for a Tidy towns committee meeting in the weekly publication, we decided to walk into town that night and see what was up.

As most of you know, I have been part of community groups for years and the reason I love them is that I am charmed by the energy that is always apparent when groups of people come together around a common cause, no matter how down-to-earth that cause may be. Certainly an hour discussing the difficulties of “rubbish” fits a description of a down-to-earth discussion. Kinsale is a small town, rubbish pick up has to be paid for and many who live here are foreign nationals (Polish young people primarily) who work in the restaurants and hotels. They don’t want to pay for their rubbish pick up. Therefore the “bins” are full almost as soon as they are emptied. When this is mixed with the fact the Ireland became the most progressive country in Europe by banning cigarette smoking in pubs and restaurants, therefore driving smokers out the door where they smoke on the step (leaving their butts on the curb) Kinsale is faced with these challenges. Anyway, here were the Americans, unexpectedly showing up for this meeting, being welcomed (although looked at with curiosity) as it was discussed how the committee would market their plans and how they would spend their finances to help the situations described. One of the ideas that caught my interest was the idea of “before and after” pictures – with celebrations of places which improve as the town gets ready for its season. Long story cut short, I found myself volunteering to take some pictures. On sunny days for the next month Margie and I will take pictures and will keep you up on what we find. The best thing we get out of our involvement is a small bit of insight into the folks, most of whom who have lived here their whole lives, who are instrumental in the way the town is run. As Margie chides me – we have lived here a whole of two weeks and already I am volunteering for things (smile).

Some of the first relationships I made three and a half years ago were with stores and businesses. Many of you may remember the story of when I had only two hours to buy all the appliances we would need for the Castlepark house because I had to give their measurements to Celtic Interiors who were designing and supplying the cabinets and countertops. As I left the store the young man who had shown me the various design elements of each appliance looked quite worn out. Circumstance has us returning to those same vendors now as we remodel our apartment in town. We are turning its use into a “holiday home” or letting by the week. I don’t know whether to be pleased or embarrassed to learn that these vendors all remember me. I think it may be because of what we call the “Beverley Hillbillies Syndrome” meaning those constant small cultural errors that we make in all innocence everyday. Certainly these errors become even more common during home remodelling, where the difference in the ways in which Americans use English become even more apparent. Whatever the reason, this Thursday and Friday were a bit like old home week as we once again sink our feet into the challenges of remodelling.

The Cat in the Hat story with customs

It all started because the foreigners didn’t know their telephone number. Most of our neighbours have numbers in the 477 exchange, so it was natural to put our number in that exchange as well, when really we can be found at 470-6990. While we figured it out and made the proper changes the fact that we had made cards with the wrong number still haunts us in unexpected ways – the fact that the shipping company had that number is one of them.

Our container arrived in Dublin harbour as expected on Saturday 21 January. I called our shipping company and also the local moving company on Monday the 23^rd – to give everyone our correct number. I was told by the local moving company that they didn’t expect the shipment until 13 February, a fact they confirmed with the shipping company. Because of this correspondence both Margie and I and our shipping company relaxed, expecting the shipment to take a couple more weeks. MEANWHILE customs is trying to reach us on the wrong number.

I wasn’t even expecting customs to call us. We had paid to have the moving company take the things through customs, so I was very surprised to later learn that customs had called us for four days and had finally resorted to calling the moving company – who had not only the wrong number but an email address from my previous work. The first week had gone by.

This last Monday I receive an email from the moving company and their very frustrated representative annoyed. They tell us that we have to move fast because now our shipment is being charged storage fees by customs. A reasonable person might think that this would be the end of the miscommunication but alas that is not the case.

The next problem was that it took three hours spent to fax the moving company with my relocation forms. First we would drive into town to a fax, then because the fax number didn’t work we would drive back to the house, only to drive into town to try again. This continued three times before the local Dublin exchange was properly sifted from the international dialling code and the fax went through. THEN customs wouldn’t look at the faxed copy so the originals had to be sent – but no one told us that they needed to be special delivery, in fact the woman in the Post assures me they would arrive the next day. WRONG – the next afternoon the representative from the moving company both calls me VERY” annoyed that the originals aren’t there but also emails me. She is by this time documenting every possible error, in case I intend to keep up my belief that I am not completely culpable for these errors and therefore the storage fees which are being incurred.

As I write the latest renegotiation with Macquire International has to do with their balking when I reminded them that there are a few very heavy items in this container which require special handling – handling for which I prepaid. They tell me that they never heard of such a thing. This resulted in my writing an email to both the shipper and the moving company – written in what I hope is a tone of reconciliation even though I really feel like throwing a temper tantrum. If all goes well this will sort out without too much more annoyance on everyone’s part and our things will be delivered either this week or next.

To keep this saga in perspective, the container has arrived and someone knows where it is. Our next door neighbours had friends come back to Ireland after 10 years in the States, shipping three containers (and I thought we had a lot of stuff) but only one arrived. Touch wood, that hasn’t happened here.

Goodbye for now

If you’ve made it this far, then it is time to say goodbye for now. I am off to take the rubbish to the skip (dumpster) and then the dogs and I will go up the hill. Stefan has taken to running madly in all directions (as one of our neighbours said, “He’s a mad fool isn’t he?”) and then coming back and gently touching our hand before he dashes off in another direction. It is as though he and Shadow are constantly thanking us for bringing them here. Samson (the cat) is asserting his dominance and superiority by stamping (as only a seven pound cat can stamp) through the house, dashing sometimes up the spiral stairs to the loft or down the main stairs to the glass doors. All in all we are a happy crew.

We also have found very inexpensive ways of making long distance phone calls – for instance we get 900 landline to landline minutes for twenty Euro. At that price we would love to talk with all of you – just let us know what morning works for you. We are between seven and eight hours ahead of you – so mornings work best. Webcams make it all the better because we can then see each other as well.

Lots of love to all,

Alana

Looking back to when we first got here

Hi everyone,

As promised, I am cutting a pasting my early updates here - starting with January and then progressing. I will get them all in today (31 July) so that they will quickly be stored where only the adventurous or truly interested will find them (grin)

25, January 2006

I sit at our couch area, looking out to the rough surf on a fairly grey day. A large seagull just landed on the platform where kayaks tie up during classes. In the background, Margie is varnishing our new closet (built in wardrobe) and has RTE 1 on the radio while she works listening to a mixture of talk and music. Earlier this morning they extensively covered gay rights to cohabitation and it has been recommended that new legislation ensure partner rights by through a registration process.

I have just returned from town where errands went well. There is great satisfaction in finding which stores sell the things we need. For instance coffee beans can be found at Quay foods, a shop of about 300 square feet off of the town square. I was delighted to find out that Kinsale has its own coffee roaster – so fresh roasted coffee it is. The co-op has large bags of dog food – pay inside and drive around back to have them load it from the same place they would load pallets of feed for farm animals. The man at the hardware store and I spent 10 minutes sorting out the hose endings that we need to hook up Margie’s new power washer. Once it gets going she will be in heaven as she sprays down the patio, that has gotten a bit green over the summer. Finally, the grocery store had the ginger root she has been looking for ending the adventure as a satisfactory trip all around.

We came to Ireland needing an automobile and we proceeded to thoroughly investigate the issue. We purchased a small rag with cars for sale and marked the dealers in Cork. Then we asked our neighbors and it turned out that they all buy their cars in Bandon (a larger small town about 17 km away). Off we went and the matter was quickly solved. Tomorrow we pick up our 2003 Maroon Ford Fusion, complete with sunroof. Margie is on the internet figuring out our best moves for registration and insurance. We came to Ireland with international drivers licenses which allow us to put off our driving tests for 6-12 months – this is good as most folks here fail the driving tests, often multiple times. We have heard that it is so bad that gift stores will carry “Sorry you failed” cards along with their birthday selection.

Just before we left I called GlobEx our moving company and they anticipated arrival of our container into Cork harbor on Sat 21 January, 2006 and they gave me the name of Maquire International Movers as the local contact. Dutifully, I called yesterday am only to be told that Maquire wasn’t expecting our load until Feb 13^th. It is now back in the hands of the New Jersey office and we hope to know later today about when we can expect our furniture to arrive. It may work out rather well if the date is February as by then we will be completely settled and ready for the next upheaval. Either way, we sent about half of the furniture on to the apartment so we are now down to the essentials. With a couch, a couple of chairs, a dining room table with chairs and a bed we have all that we need.

Sunday there was a bit of excitement on the hill as hounds, horses and riders descended from the area with the 600 year old James Fort down to our beach and back out through the public car park, that borders the Castlepark property. They weren’t as loud or noisy as you might expect, but our black Labs certainly paid close attention. We had neighbors over for tea later that afternoon and they told us that likely this was not a fox hunt but rather a training exercise where they take a rag, covered with scent and drag it through the area first, setting up a course for hounds and horses to follow. Fox hunting will continue later in the season. Evidently animal activists have created quite a stir about fox hunting in England of late, but the fox seems to have a 50/50 chance that the hounds won’t catch up with them.

We went out Sunday to buy five different newspapers, not because we wanted to compare local coverage of the news, but rather for the goodies contained in each. We made quite a haul: 2 DVD’s, a CD and an international map (in English and in Irish) that maps the endangered species in the world. At the cost of between 1.10 and 1.8 Euro this is cheap entertainment indeed.

Our animals are happy as clams. Not only did they make it through the trip with no problems at all but they are now living in circumstances that match their wildest dreams. For the dogs, they sleep on warm floors and walk at least once a day on the hill above our house. While there are lease laws in Ireland (something we only just heard of) no one enforces them – dogs typically run free on the hill and ours are no exception. The cat has regressed 10 years and is playing with his mouse like a kitten. He also has a better relationship with our dogs than he has displayed before, perhaps because they all went through the trauma of the plane ride together. As we sat on the tarmac in Newark we saw them being loaded on to the front of the plane, the man loading them was speaking soothingly to Shadow while Stefan was barking his head off.

We tried ordering our food online, not that we won’t keep most of our shopping in town, but our neighbors suggested it as a means to ensure we don’t have to go out much, especially on weekends, in the summer. It seems that frequently the traffic on our road is so bad as to inhibit locals from getting into town. Margie ordered online while we watched TV on Monday. What was delivered today was a bit of a shock – the great deal we thought we were getting on a bottle of wine turned out to be a bottle big enough for one glass and the almonds turned out to be ground fine for cooking. The delivery man would not accept a tip – it is a matter of some pride for the Irish that they are well paid and sure “it isn’t necessary” means just that.

I went for my first swim in the bay on Sunday. While I was here in September I found that one three mil wetsuit made it as comfortable as swimming in a pool. Therefore more mils would be necessary at this time of year. To that end we purchased a shorty wetsuit to go over the full bodied one and a hood with torso suit to go over that. These add up to 9 mils over my core, 6 on my head, upper arms and thighs. While getting in was a shock, from which I had to remind myself to breathe, I found this coverage completely adequate and when I got out after 20 minutes it was more because I had done my bit for exercise than because I was so cold I could no longer stand it. Next I will work on my music selection and will try again tomorrow or Thursday. My goal is to swim at least 30 minutes at least 3 times a week.

As I finish writing this first bit of Irish diary I confess that I am learning once again what relaxation feels like. Margie and I regularly remind ourselves that we are not on holiday – that we will not have to return after three weeks as has been the case in the past. As long as we move a bit ahead each day on the multiple strands of tasks: 1) apartment remodel, 2) life at #8 and 3) work required by Jones International University or the Web Based Professional Development Project, then this amount of work seems satisfactory. There are two of us doing these tasks and they seem to unfold naturally.

My diary from the same time says:

We are truly blessed. In fact I cannot imagine that many who have taken the risks involved in moving have found themselves so well ensconced as they landed in their new homes. It is true that we have a minimum amount of furniture left in Castlepark, but we have all we need to be completely comfortable.

The pine dining table serves double duty as our table for eating and as my desk for work. The different contexts for its use are signaled by its placement in the room. It may be snuggled in next to the corner, with cushions on benches on two sides and pine chairs on the other signaling its appropriate use as a table for eating. On the other hand it may be, as it is now, slid far out away from the corner and the cushions so that it almost reaches the kitchen. When it is in this placement I sit at the short end and can turn my head to the right to see the bay.

As I write this it is almost 8am and today should be partially sunny for a while – Margie and I will go swimming while the sun shines. Last night we got started watching the tutorial for the card game Magic: The Gathering. We have several new games with us and jigsaw puzzles will arrive with the container. TV is never a constantly good entertainment so games will give us relaxation in the evenings.

Evenings are longer here – starting about 5pm at this time of year and lasting until just 8am. I find it soothing to have my days cut short. If I can keep my work days to about 5-6 hours (as I was able to do yesterday) then I believe I can keep up this gentle mixture of work and relaxation. This is easier now that it was in the States as I don’t have six people calling me and adding their requests on to my day. I am appreciating this half hermit lifestyle and with it I get to revel in the joy of hanging out with Margie.

She has fixed up the loft to suit her – which suits me as well, so she takes care of much of her business from there. She has taken on the tasks such as updating insurances and paying off utilities on the apartment, registering the car, etc. She also has time to cook, and as we explore the Core foods from the Weight watchers list I am eating better, with more satisfaction, at the same time I am losing a few pounds. If I can just keep the exercise up my body will naturally trim to a healthy weight.

We had our first dinner party the night before last as our friend Louise Tobin came to join us. Margie and I had spent the afternoon out and about picking up the car and returning the rental and arrived home at 5:30 needing to prepare for a 7pm dinner. I have never enjoyed cooking with someone else in the kitchen as it has always before lead to getting in each others way – not so with this kitchen. We can each take a side for most of our work and when tools we need are on the other one’s side it becomes a dance – not a boxing match! A lot can be said for extra counter space and an easy nook into which the sink sits, allowing Margie to face slightly at a different angle to the kitchen so our butts don’t bump as we move around.

The table was set with many loving gestures from our friends. My sister’s candle sticks, plates and bowels from our friends Alice and Maggie, our water pitcher from our friend Sunniva, candles from Louise who was our guest and flowers from Louise who is by oldest friend from Denver. Everything we set out not only looked well together but was a symbol of people who care for us – again we are blessed to have some of these things available during the time that we settle in. I imagine that in most cases these treasures come much later and that the first few days of settling in are made due with things in furnished apartments or hotel suites.

The reinvention process at that time was going well (big grin).
Alana

Swimming in the bay

Hi everyone, I laugh when I see myself exhibit characteristics which I have, up until now seen as being typical Irish. Today it was chasing the sun. In Ireland, because the sun comes and goes, if people have a part of the day planned for an outside activity they will drop everything and go do that when the sun comes out. My chiropractor, who is another "blow in" (this time from New Zealand) pointed out that this is quintessentially Irish.


This morning the sun came out, the view from the window in my office was glorious and we dropped everything and went out for a swim. Donning wetsuits, with water weights and swim flippers we stroll the 150 yards to the beach. There we swim around the penninsula on which Castlepark is located, usually to a private cove about half way around. There we cavort, making up water aerobic activities to work out our muscles and stress. Today because it was high tide we stayed closer to the beach, but far enough out to have it feel like we were swimming in liquid silver. Slight swells raising us up and down as we played tag and practiced twists. We delight in the feel of tired muscles on the return trip - to warm up and relax further in the hot tub as the perfect ending of an exercise cycle.

There is something about the sun on the water that is guaranteed to lift the human spirit.

I hope everyone who reads this is also having a glorious day!
Alana

How did we get here? An overview

Hi everyone,
I imagine that this blog will go back and forth from current time to the past for a while as I catch it up on the reinvention process. Perhaps that is what our memories/thoughts are most of the time anyway - some in current time, but much in the past or the future. This tendency is perhaps aggravated throughout a reinvention process.

Four years ago I attended a yoga conference in Italy. Leaving that conference, meeting Margie, seeing great art, being frustrated by not being able to speak, all of these set me up for Ireland. The language - the welcome - the lovely feel that the earth has here resonated in my soul and I felt at home. Within days I was saying to Margie, "I wonder if we could live here? Would they let us? Would you be interested?" Thank heavens she said yes, the government of Ireland said yes and my imagination soared. We came back in six months to see what it was like in the middle of winter,and during that trip found Kinsale, saw Dolphins in the bay, and found an unfinished house with great "bones."

Four years ago I had a different level of education, worked at a different job, lived half way around the world, was 40 lbs. heavier and could only imagine the life I live today in my sweetest daydreams. Today it is all true. Many steps went between then and now:

1. We found this house and started remodeling
2. I got my doctorate in Education.
3. We sold our big house in Denver and moved into a basement apartment that was the size of our previous bedroom. This allowed us to live on one salary and stash the other to pay off bills and prepare for the move.
4. We visited Kinsale 3 times a year, got to know our neighbors and build plans for our future.
5. We packed every weekend, off and on for two years, sorting and resorting until we had "just the right stuff."
6. We got the dogs and cat ready to move, their records allowed them to travel here without quaranteen.
7. I changed jobs, allowing me to work primarily online.
8. We said goodbye.
9. We moved.
   

I will catch up our first impressions of living here - and the ins and outs of moving by copying letters home I wrote during our first few months.

All the best,
Alana

Triathlon in the rain

Hi everyone,
It is now just past noon in Kinsale and the sun just came out. Unfortunately the triathlon started this morning about three hours ago and it poured cats and dogs for most of that time.

Our little man made village sits at the edge of a lovely small beach. Because of the beach our residents association, years ago made arrangements to support a small bit of car park, bordered on the back side with a field that Margie and I call "the paddock." And use mostly to take our dogs out at night. Starting yesterday teams of people arrived to erect the metal bike stations in half the field, designating the other half for parking. The local Garda (police) posted men at the end of the road, stopping traffic at key intersections and making our access road one way. All this worked brilliantly.

The event started with everyone pouring into the bay and swimming out and around the buies, and back. I was in town at the beginning of the race - slogging it back on foot in the heavy rain in time to see most of the contentents on bikes cresting the top of the small hill at the end of our road. Traffic was held up so long that I actually believe I made better time on foot for the mile or so it takes to get home.

What didn't work so well, in addition to the weather, was that the event planners hadn't planned, or at least did not execute any public toilets. What did they think, that it was fair for the 400+ participants to use the toilets at the local pub? Someone should complain to Gatoraide who seemed to have been the corporate sponsors. Perhaps that would get their attention. As this is the third year for the event, it seems nothing else will.

Any way well done to all the athletes who braved the elements - many of whom are now playing with the families on the beach. WEll done, you are an inspiration to the rest of us!

Alana

Profile shot

Getting started with our blog

Hi everyone,

This actually "goes live" almost to the day 6 months after the BIG move (from the US to Ireland). Lots has already happened in our quest to completely reinvent our lives, slow down and become sane. Those events I'll catch everyone up on in a bit by uploading the letters to family and friends which have been emailed before now.

I anticipate this blog will help me:

• keep up on my reflection of the life changing process we have undertaken
• be a forum for conversation with others who want to become expats (or who are ahead of us on this journey)
  
• be a place to post pictures of the places in rest of Europe, now just a small journey away.

Looking forward to hearing from others who: a) love Ireland, b) are adventurous or c) are much more hooked into this blog idea than I am :).

All the best for now,
ladyreinvention