French Fried

Goodbye, Derek

2011-12-06T07:31:00.001-08:00

I've finally gotten the energy together to write about my beautiful son Derek's death last August 16. What a tragedy. It hardly seems possible that he could have taken his own life.

Now I face my first Christmas without him.

I will love you forever, Derek.

Husband abuse

2011-07-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

Doug has returned from Budapest with his dental implants and a very bruised face, something I didn't expect. The left side of his face is swollen and purple. We've been joking that it looks like I beat him up, husband abuse.

Today we mostly sat around the house and took it easy. Doug is on pain pills and antibiotics.

Not much else to report!

Hungary Dental Adventure

2011-07-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

Doug is off to Budapest to get his teeth fixed. Funny that I never noticed how many teeth Doug was missing until the dentist suggested that he needed to replace them.

So I'm home alone and a little nervous about it. Last night I went to see the Gate Theatre production of Molly Sweeny, and I spent the night at Cassidy's Hotel across the street. What a nice room I had there in the Executive Wing---Ha!

Tonight I'm home alone and typing Deeds from the ROD. Doug has been emailing his dental estimates. Tomorrow I've signed up to attend a creative writing class at the Irish Writers Center. My attempt to enter their monthly writing contest last month was a failure. :( Maybe if I take a class I can emerge victorious. Always that competitive urge, eh?

Sunday at Home

2011-07-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Doug returned last Tuesday with tons of things he bought in NYC, and pickles he actually brought me from the Carnegie Deli. Also a loaf of rye bread that eventually went moldy, but we put a good dent in it before the mold took over.

French has been placed on hold until I can Skype from home again. I've developed a dread of going to Internet cafes and just don't look forward to that experience anymore. Maybe because Sarah commented on how dirty they are ... which is true.

Friday Doug went to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda for his endoscopy. They found a new small ulcer forming, and discovered that Doug weighs over 200 lbs. Apparently our bathroom scale is WAY off. Next Tuesday he heads for Hungary to start his dental repairs.

Thursday we went to see The Conspirator, a film by Robert Redford about the assassination of Abe Lincoln. Very good! And Saturday we saw the last Harry Potter film in 3D.

Departure panic

2011-07-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

Sarah's flight was scheduled to leave tomorrow at 9 am, meaning that she would have to leave from here at 6 am. After calculating the costs, she opted to stay the night at Bewley's Airport Hotel.

I miss Sarah already.

What a strong, honest person I have chosen for my best friend.

Malahide

2011-07-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

Today Sarah and I went to Malahide Castle for the tour. The weather was perfect and because everybody else was at the O2 concert, we were the only people in our tour group. Very nice!

We ate lunch in Malahide at Gibney's pub, complete with Irish music. Then we took the train into Dublin to watch a French movie at the IFI, a period piece about a princess who was very spoiled and courted by 4 men and many great-looking horses. Ah well. The movie wasn't the best.

There was an hour to kill before our train left, so we had a glass of wine at a place near the Tara Street station. Then the long train ride home, and Sarah making us some great salads for dinner. Now we're on Disc 3 of The Tudors and finished all the episodes except one.

The Black Box

2011-07-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I spent the day in Drogheda. We climbed up to the Millmount museum and Martello tower, where the lady at the museum told us that the seagulls actually teach their babies to fly by pushing them off the top of the Martello tower. We were the only people there, and a seagull was definitely watching us from the top of the tower. The museum lady said that one of the seagull babies had fallen off the tower and landed in the yard of the man who lived below the tower. The man had picked up the dead baby seagull in his yard, and the adult seagulls were all attacking him. She said that ever since then, the man is attacked by seagulls every time he leaves his house.

When we came home from Drogheda, Sarah and I drank a glass of wine sitting in the beach chairs on the grass just outside our gate (where we sat with Bobbie and Laurie). We had been watching an unidentified black box floating at sea (through the binoculars) for days, trying to figure out what it was. I've seen it before, if you remember ... So we were quite interested when we saw the surfer dude next-door jump on his surfboard and paddle directly toward our mysterious black box. He paddled all the way out to it and then circled around back to shore. We were dying of curiosity, so we walked over and asked him about the black box.

The surfer dude's name is Robbie, and today he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt instead of the usual wetsuit. He told us that the mysterious black box is a buoy that provides a bit of safety for swimmers who need something to hang onto. I think it drifts with the tides, and he said he thinks it is part of a plane that crashed on the Laytown beach a long time ago.

I really enjoyed myself today! Good times.

Coppelia at the Grand Canal

2011-07-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I had a real Dublin day, starting with a nice surprise en route to Grafton Street. My friend from French conversation class has opened a new restaurant, KC Peaches, right across from Trinity College! It's salad heaven. Sarah was thrilled.

After lunch Sarah went shopping and I ran some errands until 5 pm when we met at Cafe En Seine for wine and appetizers. Then we walked over to the new Grand Canal Dock Theatre for the ballet Coppelia.

We rode home on the 11 pm bus with some people from Julianstown, Judith and Brien O'Brien, who were quite friendly.

Museums

2011-07-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I visited the National Museum of Decorative Art in Collins Barracks today, and then the IMMA, which wasn't too exciting. They were putting up a new exhibit, and what was on display wasn't too interesting. But we got to ride the LUAS, and we saw the Formal Gardens at Kilmainham, which are very pretty.

We also saw a movie from Iran, A Separation, at the IFI. Good movie, very well done.

We had dinner at a Mexican place, Cactus Jack's, which was pretty good. Then we came home to watch our video series, The Tudors.

It's almost midnight, and I'm getting very sleepy. Bonne nuit ...

Cork

2011-07-06T16:05:00.002-07:00

Yesterday Sarah and I debated whether or not to take a trip to Paris, Cardiff, etc., and somehow decided to go to the Blarney Castle and Cork. We'd picked up a flyer at the tourist office for a one-day trip and after so much vacillation, I just called them on the phone and reserved our places.

We had to take a taxi to arrive at the tourist office at 6:45. Then we took off in a 20-person van which was kind of cramped. We drove for hours until we reached Blarney Castle. It was pouring rain, but the place was green and beautiful. Sarah and I passed on kissing the stone.

For lunch our tour stopped in Cork. Sarah and I had debated staying the night there, but we didn't, and came back to Dublin with the tour group, where we ate dinner at the IFI, arriving back in Laytown before 11 pm. Then we watched The Tudors, our BBC video series, and called it a night at midnight.

Tiring day!

4th of July in Dublin

2011-07-04T16:08:00.001-07:00

Sarah and I spent the morning talking. We didn't get out of here until 1:15, when we caught the bus to Dublin. We ate lunch at the Candy Cafe and went to the Writers Museum. Then the War Memorial and the James Joyce Center across the street from Bel Canto.

Sarah wanted to shop for gifts, so we headed toward Temple Bar. En route, we stopped at a wine bar and bistrot and watched people pass on the sidewalk. Then we went to Grafton Street. After numerous shopping stops, we ended up back in Temple Bar for dinner and drinks at the Temple Bar pub. Then we visited the Quay ? pub where Sarah bought a T-shirt for Tessa.

We caught the 11 pm bus back home. Now it's July 5.

July 3 in Howth

2011-07-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an amazing day I had in Howth!!

Sarah and I arrived in Howth on a dazzling sunny day and I fell in love with the place all over again. We actually caught the ferry boat going to Ireland's Eye. After all this time, I finally set foot on that elusive island, and it was definitely worth the wait. I photographed the old Martello tower and abbey ruins, and dodged attacks from gigantic seagulls who were busy protecting their young. How cool was that?

The ferry boat picked us up an hour later and we went back to Howth harbor for lunch in the old village. Then we walked up the hill to the Martello tower with the radio museum, and then up the hill some more to walk around the abbey in Howth village. We finished the day by watching the seals just off the pier, and visiting the Howth tourist center/art gallery where we bought some wonderful artwork.

At the Howth Cottage Fair we bought some bread that was fabulous. I also bought an I LOVE HOWTH T-shirt, and that expressed my feelings exactly today.

Unfortunately, our train ride home wasn't much fun. We stopped at Howth Junction, and someone inside the terminal was slinging a broken beer bottle onto the platform. About 5 beefy security guards had just gotten off the train (because someone lodged a complaint??) and these guys escorted us to our platform. The next train home was due in 90 minutes, and the guards suggested that we take the train to Malahide, just to get out of danger. So we did.

We went to Malahide and we stopped at the rooftop terrace of some pub, which turned out to be a rather claustrophobic attic room filled with cigarette smoke. After 101 minutes, we caught a train to Laytown and made it home by 9pm. We ate a belated dinner at home and looked at old photo albums.

Today was just a really nice revisiting of a place that I loved so much when we first moved to Ireland.

Hop On Hop Off

2011-07-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday in Dublin, Sarah and I have purchased tickets for the Hop On Hop Off Bus. We hopped off at Dublin Castle/Chester Beatty Library, but the castle interior was being remodeled. We had a big breakfast at the Kingfisher on Parnell Street, walked for miles looking for this and that, especially an art sale on Thomas Street, then took in Potiche at the IFI just to be able to sit down for a couple of hours.

In our wanderings we walked into the most beautiful church on Thomas Street. Gorgeous! And the church bells were all ringing quite beautifully. On the map this area is called the Cathedral Area.

We looked in at Christchurch, where we reconnected with the Hop On bus, which took us back into City Centre at rush hour. The bus was barely moving, so we got off at the Liffey.

We walked to Cafe En Seine for wine and chicken wings, then caught the 9 pm bus home. We had an extra glass of wine in the back yard while listening to the CD Sarah brought me for my birthday gift. Nice music!

Today went by very quickly. I enjoyed it very much, and it's so nice to have Sarah here.

The Next Big Thing

2011-07-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

Sarah is here! She arrived June 30, and Doug and I found a new ping-pong companion. We played the rotation thing, of course, which isn't easy with 3 people.

Doug left this morning, July 1, at 7 am, bound for NYC to spend time with Lindsay. Sarah and I managed to catch the 9:15 bus to Dublin, and started behaving like tourists, hitting every gift and souvenir shop, and feeling overwhelmed by all the things we were trying to see. We went to the PO, Trinity College campus, National Library + Yeats exhibit, Temple Bar, and stopped at IFI for a movie, Incendies, just to sit down for a couple of hours. Then we ate dinner at the Gourmet Hamburger place in Temple Bar. After that we stopped at a pub where we saw Irish dancing, then caught the 9 pm bus home.

Now we're tired but ready to do it all again tomorrow.

Derek Turns 24

2011-06-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

Derek's 24th birthday this year was spent in Boston, where he was visiting his old CalTech roommate Albert, a very nice guy. I talked to Derek on the cell phone, and he seemed to be having a good time.

I bought a new French book about Civilization from the CLF people, so now I'm studying the various regions of France. I'm still doing the French lessons with Lucie at Internet cafes because Skype doesn't work here at home. At first it was kind of fun to get out of the house, but now I'm a little tired of spending time at the Internet places.

Birthday Celebration 2011

2011-06-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

My 57th birthday yesterday was a bit surreal, but nice. Doug had been marinating a sauerbraten beef roast for 3 days, and there was much anticipation in the air. We ate brunch at Relish in Bettystown, which was absolutely fantastic. Their truly unbeatable recipe: brown bread with chili relish on top, pouched eggs on that with cooked mushrooms, and melted cheese over all. WOW. I was impressed.

But when Doug dished up his sauerbraten with gravy (thickened with ginger snap cookies), I was even more impressed. Doug had bought a 10-CD set of German popular music from the 50s, which we listened to all day long. As I said ... surreal!

Bobbie's birthday package arrived here exactly when we walked up the beach from our Bettystown brunch, and she as always had sent me reminders of home, including a framed photo of myself at age 15? riding my horse Joe.

I was painfully reminded of Mom's absence this year when Doug asked me if we had any napkins to use with dinner. Mom had always sent me birthday plates and napkins every June, but this year they were missing. A sad moment.

On the bright side, the weather was fabulous on my birthday. Today, June 3, it is even better.

Our trip to Belgium and our day in Amsterdam were very enjoyable.

Doug and I have been practicing our No. 5 Bach Brandenburg Concerto duet on a daily basis. Doug told me that this is one of his favorite pieces of music of all time, so I'm trying very hard to learn my part.

Sarah has decided to accept my offer to travel here June 30 - July 11. Doug will visit Lindsay during that time in NY. Ineke Voogd has decided to drop in on Ireland ... I haven't seen her in 40 years, so it could be fun. So we shall see what the future holds!

Next week my French teacher, Lucie, goes on vacation to Italy. I feel so happy to have a vacation from French myself. Ahhh ... But I continue to be intrigued by the French way of perceiving the universe.

I have been reading Under the Dome by Stephen King, as I bought the sequel in Brussels (written in French). Big book, but spellbinding.

Special K Diet, The Week After

2011-04-27T00:17:00.000-07:00

A week after my 2-week stint on the Special K Diet, I am still behaving myself remarkably well. I now weigh about 107 lbs., and exercise daily in the hope of flattening my stubborn stomach. Doug tells me that older women should expect to have some fat around the middle, but I don't believe it's true. It just seems to be really hard to get back in shape at 57. REALLY hard. I can see signs of improvement, but it has been a gradual process.

We took a bus tour of Powerscourt Gardens and Glendalough that I enjoyed a lot. All the flowers were in bloom, lots of tulips. That was on Good Friday, and I skipped my French lesson in order to go. Now I'm trying to motivate for this coming Friday, speaking French again ...

I talked to Ineke Voogd on the phone. Ineke's family hosted me in Holland when I was 16, and I haven't seen her in 40 years. She married her boyfriend that she was dating when she was 16! They've been married almost 40 years and their 2 late-20s sons live at home. Whoa.

Lindsay is in London, England for the week and I envy her being in town for the Royal Wedding of Prince William on April 29.

My Registry of Deeds volunteer work has kicked up a bit since the contributors found out that I actually live in Ireland. Now they're sending me lots of requests ...

Lots of other stuff going on. The weather has been kind of cool and windy, but I still walk every day. Exercise, exercise! The end of this week should represent a month that I've altered my eating habits/exercise habits. I don't think my problems will be solved by then, however. I am puzzled by the relationship of weight loss to "being in good shape" and having a good body. When I started this, I thought weight loss automatically solved body issues, but now I think weight loss is only a small part of the process. Live and learn.

Oh, yes, on the French front I've been reading "Correct Your French Blunders", and I think it's a great book. Now that I've been studying French for a while it helps to go back and correct all the things I continually do wrong, and this book is very well written.

Special K Diet, Day Fourteen

2011-04-17T00:48:00.000-07:00

50 KILOS!!! I woke up this morning and did my usual weigh-in, and discovered that on the last day of this 2-week diet, I had reached my goal. I even asked Doug to check the scale when I stood on it, and he said it was actually a little below 50. WOW!!!

I think a big factor was last night's "dinner" of leftover cabbage soup, which was so unappealing to me that I only ate half of it. Otherwise yesterday I only ate a bowl of Special K for breakfast, a bag of Special K bits for lunch, and a few piece of kiwi fruit. And lots of water.

So the experiment has been a success. I lost my 10 pounds in 2 weeks with a Special K/Cabbage soup combo diet. Now it's a matter of trying to tone up my stomach, which still looks pretty pathetic. But my morale is high, and I don't think I will go back to my old eating habits.

Doug is having a Sunday breakfast of buttered toast, fried eggs and mashed potatoes, and I can't even watch him eat it. He needs to lost weight so much more than I do, and yet he gets pretty upset when I comment on what he's eating. At least I'm not bringing cookies, candy and pizza into the house anymore to make matters worse for him.

Today is Palm Sunday and we're going to St. Patrick's Cathedral (Anglican) in Dublin for a choral concert at 3pm. We've planned to go to Amsterdam next month, and Ineke Voogd tried to call me last night ... I haven't seen her in 40 years.

Special K Diet, Day Thirteen

2011-04-16T00:37:00.000-07:00

51.5 kilos this morning! Lucky Day 13. One more day to go. Will I reach 50 kilos?? Probably not! But I'm pretty close to my ultimate goal.

Special K Diet, Day Twelve

2011-04-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, yesterday I went about as low as I'm willing to go, calorie-wise. All I ate was a bowl of Special K for breakfast with yogurt, half a bag of Special K bits for lunch, and a bowl of cabbage soup for dinner. I wasn't really hungry, and Doug and I ran all over Dublin doing errands.

This morning I was at the 52 kilo mark on the scale, finally! 114.5 lbs., which is within range of my final goal of weighing between 110-115 lbs.

Today I went to the Registry of Deeds, walked all over Dublin again, and had my French lesson at the Internet cafe on Parnell Street. Very busy, tiring day, and all fueled on a bowl of cereal with yogurt for breakfast and half a bag of Special K bits for lunch. And a banana.

For dinner I'm having the smoked salmon, boiled eggs and zuchini. Yum.

Special K Diet, Day Eleven

2011-04-14T02:12:00.000-07:00

Wow! Is this really Day 11? The scale is still hovering above the 52 kilo mark. Is the scale stuck? Am I doing something wrong? I'm happy to have gone down from 121 lbs. to about 116 lbs., but I'd been hoping to go down to 110. Throughout my life I've always felt best when I weighed between 110 and 115 lbs. It would be nice to get down to 110 again, but I'm starting to wonder if that will happen.

After 3 more days, I'm not sure what I'll do if I don't reach 110. Maybe more exercise is the key.

Special K Diet, Day Ten

2011-04-13T00:45:00.000-07:00

Scale is hovering over 52 kilos. Yesterday we walked to the grocery store in Bettystown and carried stuff home in backpacks. Then I pulled weeds for 2 hours. The thinking is that there's nothing like physical labor to get you in shape. After Derek's birth, I lost the weight by shoveling snow. And I can see that my muffin-top is very slowly melting, from the sides to the top, like Mount Fuji. I can't wait until it disappears.

When we visited the grocery store yesterday, I bought a package of smoked salmon, and also found these little packages of Special K Bits for munching, 99 cal. per package. Last night I had 2 boiled eggs, mashed up, and put my salmon in the boiling water for a minute to take some of the salt out and cook it a little. I ate the eggs and salmon with Coleman's hot mustard and some boiled tomatoes. Very good!

This morning was April 13, the 150th anniversary of Handel's Messiah being performed for the first time in Dublin. I went to an 11am walking tour of Handel's Dublin, which was REALLY good, very enjoyable. The tour was attended by over 200 people, and we ran all over the city in a huge pack. It was great exercise, and ended at 1pm on Fishamble Street, where there was the annual street performance of The Messiah. Very uplifting! The street was packed with people despite the cold wind.

At 2pm I went to Eason's bookstore and bought a pot of hot tea at the Muse Cafe, upstairs. With this industrial-strength black tea I ate a package of Special K Bits, which tasted like little cookies, very sweet. I was pretty hungry and devoured the entire package in about 5 minutes. No munching for me.

I forgot to mention that Doug defrosted the fridge a few days ago and forgot to push the switch to turn on the fridge again once he'd put all the food back inside. So our fridge was turned off for about a day and a half. Doug realized this about 11pm one night, and cooked all the defrosted meat in the freezer around midnight. I've been afraid to eat any of it because I don't want to get food poisoning again, after the tofu incident, which was awful. So Doug has been eating a lot of meat.

I'm about to cook up some veggie soup for dinner, maybe without the cabbage. I'm very tired of cabbage. All in all, today was a good day diet-wise, as I ate very little and did a lot of walking.

In French, I'm reading Pleasures and Regrets by Marcel Proust, which is a book of short stories. I'm getting the gist of the stories, but missing the details. I tried to find an English translation at Eason's and at the Ilac library, but no luck. :(

Special K Diet, Day Nine

2011-04-12T03:30:00.000-07:00

Today the scale is hovering over 52 kilos (115.7 lbs). But the best news this morning is that I received a comment on my blog via email. This person recommended trying smoked salmon with the diet. As it is 11am and I am now already dreaming of tonight's dinner, smoked salmon sounds like the most wonderful treat in the world, so I'm going to the store as soon as possible.

I have to admit that it feels good to have started out at 121 lbs. (I think in American measurements, but kilos make me feel skinnier: Only 52.5 kilos!) and to have lost 5 lbs. in a week. Of course, I have to give some credit to the bad case of food poisoning I got from the tofu I bought at the shady back-alley Asian food store in Dublin. Never again.

Originally I tried to combine the Special K Diet with the cabbage soup diet, but after a week, I really need a break from cabbage. Last night I had boiled green beans, carrots and mushrooms on half a baked potato without the skin. I mixed some tiny bits of ham into this creation, and it tasted fabulous. One thing I've learned from this is that veggies and potato taste really good without being drowned in butter, salt and sour cream. They're fine just plain with some pepper and maybe the ham bits for the flavor.

My big meal of the day is still dinner at 7 pm. I just can't face eating a bowl of cereal for dinner. The hardest thing is eating cereal when I'm in Dublin at lunchtime. Yesterday I just ate fruit for lunch while I was sitting on the steps of the National Library. Then when I got home I had some chicken broth in place of the second bowl of cereal, just because it looked really good at the time.

Today I will get back on track. Yesterday I was still a little rocky from the food poisoning, but today I'm feeling fine again. I can't wait what will happen at the end of this week. My jeans aren't quite as tight today, and that feels very good. :)

Special K Diet, Day Eight

2011-04-10T23:57:00.000-07:00

The scale is between 52 and 53 this morning. Our scale is not very accurate and flickers when you bend over to read it. So ... always take the lowest reading!

My stomach is feeling better today, which is a great relief. I've been drinking peppermint tea and starting to like it instead of the caffeinated variety I've been drinking. Now that I have absolutely no stimulants I'll probably just fall over during the course of my day and be unable to get up.

I've been trying to practice pulling in my stomach, using the stomach muscles, now that my queasiness is gone.

Special K Diet, Day Seven

2011-04-10T02:34:00.000-07:00

Today I was dipping below 53 kilos, but at a cost. Yesterday I had an upset stomach and diarrhea. Bleeah! I think it was the tofu, which was kind of odd-smelling but tasted OK.

This morning my stomach is still unhappy, so I just ate a bit of probiotic yogurt and a banana. Also peppermint tea and apple juice. Couldn't handle a bowl of Special K this morning, unfortunately.

Yesterday we took a walk over to the gorse bushes behind the DART station, and Doug was really beat afterward ... too much sun. During the afternoon we just watched videos. A very slow day. Today is shaping up the same way. I hope I will feel better soon. :(

Special K Diet, Day Six

2011-04-09T01:54:00.000-07:00

This morning at 53 kilos. Not bad! Not dynamite results, but OK. Last night's cabbage soup tasted way better when I put chunks of tofu in it. MUCH better. Something to chew on. Maybe I can become a vegetarian after this.

Special K Diet, Day Five

2011-04-08T01:12:00.000-07:00

This morning the scale is hovering between 53 and 54. I guess that means progress has been made.

Last night I stuffed myself with cabbage soup, literally stuffed myself. I think this system of eating practically nothing all day and then gorging at dinner is not the best, even if you are just stuffing yourself with vegetables cooked in chicken broth. My stomach was a bit upset last night and I was really exhausted by 10pm. Maybe I will try eating the big meal for lunch.

I keep doing wimpy situps in the hope of losing my gut. Also drinking lots of water, at least 8 glasses a day. Tea with caffeine in the morning to get me going ... 2 big cups of it. Yesterday I ate a banana about 5pm, and it was the most wonderful thing I'd ever tasted. It seemed like an extravagant thing to be eating!

The first head of cabbage I consumed was an Irish-raised white cabbage, very dense and tough as nails. But I liked it. The second cabbage I am now working on is a Savoy cabbage that has very lacy leaves and an unusual texture. I found it difficult to cut with our usually dull knives, so I tore the leaves into little pieces to add to my soup. Doug calls this one an "elegant cabbage".

Today I went to Dublin to have my French lesson at the Internet cafe because our Skype does not work at home. While killing time, I found some interesting stomach-flattening exercises on YouTube. The most non-violent one involved taking breaths and releasing them, so I did that on my bus-ride home. I can feel that this breathing does work the abs, so why not try it??

Special K Diet, Day Four

2011-04-07T01:32:00.000-07:00

Still the same, weight-wise this morning, but feeling very good and energetic. For breakfast, I had Special K with probiotic yogurt, which I have grown to love. Maybe replacing the skim milk is against the rules and holding me back.

Doug got up at 3am for his conference call and had all sorts of problems with it, so he was disappointed. He has however, gotten below 200 lbs this morning, so he is quite thrilled. His diet is beyond my understanding. It's mostly protein, but he also eats pudding and other treats. The reason I started dieting was in part to support his efforts, so I'm glad he's having so much success. Partly, I'm sure, because I'm no longer bringing cookies home or convincing him to go out to restaurants.

There was a Garda car on the beach this morning with flashing lights, and then 3 guys with orange vests searching the beach on motorbikes, so I don't know what's up with that.

This morning I looked up the deed I found yesterday signed by Jonathan Swift, for the purchase of Impropriate Tithes of Effernock. He did it to give more money to the vicars of Laracor in 1721. Wow.

Special K Diet, Day Three

2011-04-06T00:27:00.000-07:00

Today still at the same weight. That's good, no gain anyway. I am feeling very good, actually. Yesterday I did a lot of walking. In the morning I walked to Mornington on the beach, and in the afternoon Doug and I went to Dublin to watch 2 different movies at the IFI. I watched Benda Balili!, which made me rather ashamed of my struggle to cut back on eating while there are so many people starving in the world. After that, it was easy to avoid all the tempting restaurants in Dublin.

I had my 2 bowls of Special K for breakfast and lunch yesterday and packed kiwi fruit for a snack after the movie. We got home at dinner time, when I had a big helping of cabbage soup. After eating that, I felt stuffed. Even so, I was tempted to snack during the evening but avoided it by filling up by drinking water.

I caught the 10am bus to Dublin to do volunteer work at the Registry of Deeds until 2:30pm, when I went outdoors and ate my banana and kiwi fruit lunch. Then I walked all over the place and took the train home. I bought a bottle of apple juice, but that was it.

Dinner at 7pm at home ... Cabbage! I ate a whole head of white cabbage in 3 days. Wow.

Today I found a deed signed by Jonathan Swift, which was pretty cool. Doug is at Bel Canto now, and at 3am has his teleconference call. A crazy world.

Special K Diet, Day Two

2011-04-05T01:59:00.001-07:00

Day One went well. I ate Special K for breakfast with skim milk, and mushed it up with hot water for lunch. Not bad.

For snacks at 2 pm, I ate a banana with a cup of skim milk, and later in the afternoon, 3 canned prunes (in sweet syrup, which tasted like extravagant dessert items compared to everything else I ate!). Dinner got a little out of hand. I made pork and cabbage with half a baked potato, but I was really hungry.

We went to the store yesterday and I bought some Yeo River non-fat probiotic yogurt, which I mixed into my Special K cereal for breakfast on Day Two. Tasted great. This yogurt is sour, no sweeteners or fruit added, but I like it. A new discovery. I had two huge cups of tea this morning, too, the first cup with honey.

For exercise, Doug and I walked to Bettystown to shop at the grocery store. I bought kiwi fruit, some 10 calorie jellies, and the yogurt. I was hungry, but controlled myself. I did some French yesterday, played the piano, but mostly stayed home. I'm reading a historical novel about Ireland that has me fascinated, so I've laid around reading lately. Weather is great in Laytown.

I weighed myself first thing, and found I was 54 kg, 1 less than yesterday.

Special K Diet, Day One

2011-04-04T01:38:00.006-07:00

Okay. OK! Special K!!!

So much for the pep talk. I decided to try to lose some inches off my ample waist. Doug has been complaining that I sabotage his diet by bringing cookies into the house (and ice cream, etc.), so I decided to go on a diet myself. Now there is absolutely no appealing food in the house at all.

I weighed myself this morning and came in at 55 kg or 121 pounds, which isn't bad. I tried to measure my waist, but didn't have a very good measuring tape. I think it was about 34 inches, which doesn't sound too bad, but I certainly feel very flabby these days.

This morning I had my bowl of Special K with skim milk, tea with honey (antioxidant, I refuse to give up my spoon of honey in the morning). I slept late so I wouldn't eat too early. My life does revolve around food since I've retired and don't have a set schedule. This is true.

Yesterday I tried making some cabbage soup. I considered going on the cabbage soup diet, but it sounds too extreme. The soup I made was actually pretty good, and even Doug liked it. After I ate my bowl of soup for dinner, though, I was still starving so I ate another bowl! The soup had some meager chicken bits in it and a few chunks of potato. And cabbage, which wasn't too bad in soup.

On the subject of French, I am reviewing old lessons. I haven't studied seriously in a month, and the past 3 times I've tried to Skype Lucie, there have been technical failures. I either have to pick it up again seriously or give up the fight. If I study French perhaps I won't have time to think about food.

One Good Turn

2011-03-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

Doug went to the airport seeking justice from Etihad Airlines for destroying his PC laptop, but justice was nowhere to be seen. Their policy is to take no responsibility at all for electronic devices in checked bags that are not pre-insured. They could have told him that on the phone, but instead they told him to go to the airport with his damaged goods. So sad.

But, the good news is that the nice Asian guy at our Internet cafe by the bus stop on Parnell Street managed to restore the data on the laptop's hard drive, at NO COST. How incredibly nice is that? It restores your faith in humanity.

Doug and I have been going through some hard times. Today we seemed to find common ground, but I feel we have grown apart lately. New Zealand was not a good thing for our marriage, and the cold that Doug caught there has been lingering, with him sleeping on the couch to keep it from going to his chest. I have never known anyone to sleep upright (except the Elephant Man?) like this for such long periods of time. And we still seem to be jetlagging, as Doug has gone to sleep on the couch at 8:30pm.

French lessons have not happened this week, due to poor Skype connections. :(

Fallout from NZ

2011-03-23T03:10:00.001-07:00

The airlines lost the big backpack that we were forced to check (due to weight), and Doug's laptop was inside of it. Last night they delivered the lost backpack to our door, and we found that the laptop had been demolished. It looked as if an airplane had run over it.

So today we sit by the phone and hope that someone will call and offer to pay for the damages.

Also, the 4 cute Kiwi birds we bought at the NZ airport have given me allergic fits. I emailed the company (ironically called "DerekCorp"), and they told me that the Kiwis are made from the pelts of various animals. I'm allergic to rabbit and sometimes cat hair, so it could be either or both. It seems strange that the Kiwi birds would be made of animal pelts when part of the proceeds from the sales go to Save the Kiwis. I guess rabbits and cats don't need saving, or squirrels?

The weather is beautiful today, but I'm still jetlagging. Doug and I have discussed me going to school in NZ to give us residency requirements, but I haven't had enough energy to really get excited about it.

French lesson today, after a month's absence! Ooh la-la.

Continued ...

2011-03-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

Doug had learned on his Ex Pat website that the sun in NZ is quite intense (True!), so he was told to buy a Tilley hat to keep off the sun. There is a store in Wellington that sells these hats, and we walked for quite a distance around the harbor in the broiling sun looking for this store. When Doug decided that we weren't going to find the store, we caught a bus back to the railroad station so that we'd know where to find it when we left for Paraparaumu in a few days.

The tourist center in Wellington sold us tickets for the Hop On Hop Off bus that took us around the city with a narrated tour by the driver. We found a stop on the bus route near the railway station and caught this bus in the afternoon. The first driver we had was not so good, showing open hostility to pedestrians who kept flagging him down, not realizing that it wasn't a city bus.

We got off at Zealandia, an ecotourism spot. It was very warm. The visitor center was interesting, dealing with NZ birds, but the introductory movie wasn't working for some reason, so we missed seeing it. I think the movie probably explained how Zealandia works, because we were a bit confused when we went outdoors and walked around.

We walked uphill on some pretty trails, around a lake. Then we got turned around and headed back where we started, accidentally. Rather than climb uphill again in the hot sun, we went back to the bus stop and waited for the bus to return. It was hot and we found some shade.

The bus arrived with a better driver on board. We got off at the botanic gardens, which are really beautiful. After a steep uphill hike, we reached the planetarium in time for the last show of the day at 4 pm. The show was OK, but not fantastic, dealing with what astronomers do.

After the show, we walked outdoors and down the hill to ride the cable car that runs from the planetarium back down to the city of Wellington. The cable car gives some great views of the city.

From the cable car station, we walked to the city library, which was VERY nice. We were impressed with the size and design of the building. The library collection was large and the people working there friendly. We sat down to rest for a while, and I read through some magazines in French. YES, the library has a collection of French language books, magazines and videos, so that was a nice surprise.

This was a jam-packed touristy day, and we had probably overdone the walking. Doug was really sunburned (I always use sun screen, but not him) and suffering from his cold. We walked along the waterfront finally, by the huge Te Papa museum and stopped at New World foods to buy dinner items. The waterfront area is tranquil and welcoming in the evening.

Our next day in Wellington, we tried once again to find the store selling Tilley hats, and once again we failed to find it after much legwork. After giving up the search, we went to the museum, Te Papa. This was a daunting place that one could spend days exploring. It's huge!

We also walked around and saw the various theaters in Wellington. What a large number of creative venues! Lots of culture. Wellington is an eclectic mix of architectural styles that make it an exciting city. We missed the old historical buildings of Europe, but found the lively atmosphere of Wellington very upbeat. Everyone talks about the strong winds of Wellington, but there were only mild wind conditions during our visit. There was a touch of autumn in the air and it was a bit chilly at times.

The third time we searched for the Tilley hat store, we found it on the harbor marina. After all that effort, however, they didn't have a hat in Doug's size. He really needed something, because he was burning up to a bright red in all that sun. The store manager promised to order a hat for Doug, and I ended up buying a hat in my size. I have to admit that that hat saved my life several times during the coming days. Tilley hats are pricey, but very cool. They have 2 straps, front and back, so the wind can't pull the hat off your head. They don't overheat your head in the blasting sun, and really give you good UV protection.

Wellington was fun. Doug was sunburned and suffering from his cold, and then I started catching the cold, and so we were not in the best condition when we left Wellington and caught the train to Paraparaumu. But we were eager to see a new part of NZ. After about an hour's train ride north on a tiny 2-car train, surprisingly old-fashioned, we arrived at Paraparaumu station.

What we didn't realize was that the train station and town mall were located quite a distance from the beach, where we had reserved a "bach" or beach house. So, we got off the train with our newly organized luggage: we'd bought a purple wheeled suitcase at the Wellington Salvation Army and packed the heavy stuff in that. The suitcase wasn't state-of-the-art and the wheels were a bit reluctant to roll, but it was better than lugging everything in overweighted backpacks.

A clerk in a convenience store told us that we had a good long walk from the train station to the beach, but Doug told him that "We like walking!", which is true. This walk, however, was no fun and a big mistake on our part. We walked down a highway in the blazing sun with our still-heavy backpacks and the draggy purple suitcase. Doug valiantly carried most of the weight, as he usually does, but we were both pretty tired after about a half-hour of trekking down the side of a busy highway.

We found another Salvation Army store along the highway, and Doug tried to buy another suitcase to break up the load, but alas, the store had no suitcases for sale. We stopped at an Indian restaurant along the highway and had some appetizers just to take a break and get off our feet. This was in the mid-afternoon.

As we continued down the highway, we found a bus stop! Talk about a life-saver. The bus soon arrived, and the very nice driver took us the rest of the way to the beach. We would not have survived the rest of that walk, I am convinced. And when we got off the bus at the beach, we felt revitalized. We walked from the bus stop to Manly Street, where our bach awaited. Per instructions received in an email, we found the key in a lockbox and settled into our little home close to the beach.

The beach community of Paraparaumu consists of some small restaurants and shops, and one fairly good food store. We were able to buy plenty of food to stock our fridge in the bach. The beach house was really wonderful and casual, with a well-stocked bookshelf, washing machine, and all the mod cons. The back windows faced the island of Kapiti, very large and impressive in the morning with clouds covering its mountainous peaks.

The next day we took the bus back to the train station. We bought tickets for the neighboring towns of Raumati and several others, with an eye out for a good living place. These little towns proved to have very little to offer to the pedestrian. Again, we walked for what seemed like miles along the suburban streets of sleeping neighborhoods in the blazing sun. I was soon wearing my Tilley hat and feeling glad to have it. Doug was getting more and more sunburned, however.

We walked along the beach and enjoyed the beauty of NZ. There were lots of fish heads strewn on the beach and the seagulls were pecking away at them. I assume these fish heads were discarded from fishing boats, but I'm just guessing. The weather was gorgeous and the scenery amazing. The sand was dark-colored and mostly hard-packed. I never saw anyone swimming on these beaches.

After a day of trekking around the burbs, we went back to our bach and relaxed. The following day, we walked to a hiking/biking trail near the Paraparaumu College, and this was our nicest walk in the area. The trail runs along a crystal-clear shallow river populated by lots of Mallard ducks. We actually spent 2 days walking along this trail, as it provided some nice shade.

Doug finally realized that his face was becoming bright purple after all his repeated sunburns. I admit that I got angry at him for not wearing sunscreen. He refuses to wear it. Finally he bought a hat at the second-hand store in Paraparaumu. Doug never was able to find a Tilley hat for himself, and the Wellington store never contacted him about his order.

We wanted to take a boat trip to Kapiti Island, but didn't find out until too late that you have to apply for a permit to go out there, and only 50 permits are issued per day. The fee to take the boat is $55 NZ dollars per person, and the permits are about $12, so it's an expensive outing. The boat drops you at the island around 10 am and picks you up about 3 pm. I wish we could've visited the bird sanctuary there, but we were unorganized.

Paraparaumu offers not too many tourist attractions that interested us. There is the Nyco chocolate factory, the car museum, the Estuary (too hot, no shade) bird sanctuary. Other things looked interesting, such as Owlcatraz, but you really had to have a car to get there.

Of course, we were both sick and grouchy during this trip, and for several days we just didn't have the energy to go out in the hot sun and hike the necessary miles to see things.

The flight back to Dublin was long, and when we reached city center, we thought it was Monday morning when actually it was Sunday! The International Dateline ...

Our trip was a good one for escaping the chill of Ireland during the last of winter. We arrived home on March 20, and now it is officially springtime. Doug is strongly convinced that he will be happy moving to NZ, and I'm dragging my feet. Jetlag has set in and we still have lingering cold symptoms.

Was it a good trip? Overall, yes. I love seeing new places. Wellington is a great city, and the NZ beach is definitely a treat. Will we move there??? We'll see. Large investments are required unless I can enroll in a university and live the student life. To be continued ...

NEW zealand

2011-03-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

We actually visited New Zealand, and I know I was hoping to find some new ZEAL there, but it didn't happen to the extent that I'd hoped.

First of all, there was the Christchurch earthquake which happened right before we left for NZ, which dampened my enthusiasm for life on the Pacific Rim of Fire. Then, there was the tremendously LONG trip from Dublin to NZ (2 days). We hit the ground in Auckland, staying for 2 nights in a depressing but cheap airport motel. But we had fun, watched TV, ate room service fried food.

The afternoon we arrived, it was raining a lot. The next day, the rain let up and we walked around the motel area in the heat. We walked around some suburbs which seemed to be inhabited solely by Indians/Pakistanis. We were looking for a grocery store (called a "Dairy" in NZ), and located some small neighborhood dairies that seemed to be frequented by a definitely non-white neighborhood community. (Naturalist notes: We found gorse bushes in bloom!)

I surprised myself by thinking that most of the non-white airport employees must live in these communities, and that the neighborhood would probably not welcome our presence. In fact, I was thinking how racist my thoughts had been during this trip. When we landed in Abu Dhabi (en route to Sydney, Australia, en route to Auckland ... Two days, remember?), I was amazed at how put off I felt by the sight of women dressed in full burka, following their white-robed husbands.

Well. Food for thought, but that wasn't the most enlightened moment of our trip.

After 2 nights in Auckland, we went by train to Wellington. From the train station in Wellington, we took a bus into the city. At this point, we were having some problems because of our luggage, or lack thereof. We had decided to travel light, and I had therefore packed everything into one backpack that was uncomfortably heavy. Doug had packed way too many things into his backpack, which I could barely lift. On the eve of our trip, I had considered mentioning something to Doug about weight restrictions for carry-on luggage, but forgot about it in all the chaos. When we reached the airport, we had to check Doug's backpack due to weight restrictions.

Anyhow, when we reached the Wellington train station, we were supposed to head for a B&B that Doug had reserved for 4 nights. We stopped at Neo's Deli, which was quite nice, and the waitress told Doug to take a taxi to the B&B, as it was nowhere near the city center.

We hired a cab and paid about 40 NZ dollars to travel to the B&B, which was way up on top of the hills and a half-hour away from Wellington. Doug had a great deal of trouble booking this B&B through Facebook, and I wish that he had never found it.

We arrived by taxi at Bettina's B&B in the late afternoon, and she (a German) and her husband (a Kiwi) were pushing for a social atmosphere in their home, including shared bathrooms, and I was feeling extremely uncomfortable. When I found out that Doug had booked us a room with twin beds (for 4 nights!), I was really angry. Doug fell asleep after the small tea party Bettina gave us and our fellow guests from the UK, very nice people. I stayed awake and washed my hair at the B&B, as they had a hairdryer.

Later on, Doug and I had a fight about the fact that we were sleeping in twin beds. Doug stays awake late into the night, and the temperature in our bedroom was absolutely freezing. There was no heat at all, and it was a cold and rainy night. I slept in my twin bed with my jacket and wool scarf. We actually both tried sleeping together in a twin bed, but that was not much fun and didn't last long.

In the morning we had breakfast with Bettina and Doug told her that we were checking out. No complaints about the miserable conditions, just a tactful excuse that we were located too far away from town. Bettina didn't offer us a refund, but she gave us a ride to the bus stop in her car. I was very happy to leave.

We met our housemates from the B&B waiting at the bus stop, and they were also disappointed that the B&B was so far from town. We rode the bus into Wellington and went to the tourist center to ask about new accommodations. We found an apartment in the Central Apartments right in the heart of town. So much better! We checked in and I discovered that something had bitten me during the hellish night at Bettina's place. The bites were on my neck and around my left shoulder and down the arm ... looking very much like bed-bug bite photos on the Internet. I was miserable and itchy. Not to mention another problem that raised its ugly head: After years of avoiding it, I suddenly had a yeast infection. So there was the uncomfortable situation of visiting a pharmacy to ask for the medicine.

Doug now had come down with a cold, too. He slept on the couch (as he usually does to keep the cold out of his chest), which didn't make our vacation any more romantic than it had been at Bettina's. I was in a bad mood for many various reasons and Doug thought I was just mad at him. Rocky times.

Wellington was a fun city, but we weren't in very good shape to enjoy it. We spent lots of time walking around looking for food stores. The New World food store in Wellington is like Whole Foods, so we at least ate well and avoided the constant restaurant scene.

To be continued ...

Winter BLUES

2010-12-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

November has been ghastly in Laytown. Words cannot express the ghastliness of it all! Exaggerating as usual, but it has been bad. Bobbie and Laurie visited us in September for the horse race, and we had a great time. It rained a lot then, and we thought that was bad weather ... but November has surpassed all our expectations!

To back up a bit, Doug came down with a cold in late September, and the cold lasted over a month. He went to the Laytown clinic for antibiotics to finally put an end to his suffering. Then he started talking about how the weather here was maybe not so good for his health, and suddenly New Zealand was proposed as our next abode. I'm all in favor of leaving Laytown after experiencing the deep-freeze here. I guess we are true gypsies after all who can't stay put for longer than 12 months at any one address. OK by me! Except for the rent penalties ...

We have been stranded by the Matthews Bus Service during the icy road and sidewalk phase of this arctic front.

French has been difficult to maintain with the Internet failure we've experienced since the cold snap. Today I went to an internet cafe to do French with Lucie. Eircom Broadband has been out for 2 weeks at least, and we are relying on the Broadband to Go stick, which isn't very reliable.

Pege's granddaughter Brandi has been caught passing bad checks and is in jail. Just in time for Christmas. Ahh.

I have been finding out more about my grandfather, Thomas Prosek, and his early marriage to Marija Jeras. Sigh.

Alouette

2010-11-12T14:55:00.000-08:00

Bonsoir! Doug and I are reading my French mystery story together, very, very slowly. White Wings of Terror has never been so terrifying, in slow motion. But Doug seems to be remembering a lot of his French vocab, grammar, and his pronunciation is mais bien sur ... super!

Today I visited the Public Registry of Deeds for the volunteer work and met Sharon, of the silver bowl research. Also re-met the crazy Aussie guy who is so nice.

My computer is not working well, so I'll call it a night.

November Haps

2010-11-03T03:06:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Doug's 65th. He had a really nice day. Pege sent him a musical tie, and I gave him poetry books and a new pitch pipe to replace the one he had lost. Lindsay sent a package with maple syrup and a photo book about NYC. We spent the day in Howth, rainy and windy, but saw SEALS. Then to Dublin for Alan Rickman play, John Henry Borkman. Long day, back at midnight. I made banana/blueberry bread, which was a success.

I've spent a little over a month volunteering to create a database of memorials at the Public Registry of Deeds. This is not exciting work, at all, but I hope it's worthwhile. I also just started looking into Jim Scavo's family tree, which I've found very interesting although it's frustrating that Jim so rarely checks his emails and rarely answers my questions. But I hope he's too busy making money for me.

Lindsay interviewed me about genealogy for her reporting class. It has made me wonder why I am so fixated on the genealogy stuff, why I am intrigued by it.

On Doug's birthday I received a copy in the mail of my grandfather's first marriage certificate. So he was married to 2 wives ... Ah, well. What are you going to do?

Today is appropriately rainy and gray for my first wedding anniversary. I just finished writing a murder mystery in French called White Wings of Terror. I finished it on Halloween.

I bought Family Tree Maker software at Eason's, but it is only for PCs, which cramps my style, but it sure is slick.

Derek tells me he has hives, some kind of allergy. Pege had her second knee replacement on Oct. 26, and I must call her to find out how she is.

A poem (?) I wrote about piano (just found it)

2010-07-31T01:20:00.000-07:00

Battling Brahms

The pale soldiers,
nervous and sweaty,
clamber onto black ledges,
then tumble down
into white foxholes.

Unsure of their mission,
they blunder into
occasional landmines
that shatter the air
with discordant thunder.

The commander, horrified,
watches all this
chaos on the battlefield
from above but
can't control the troops.

What to do? frantically
squinting at the battle plan,
the commander suddenly
breaks the almost
indecipherable code.

Smiling confidently now,
the fledgling commander takes
charge, drilling the soldiers
until they work
together as a team.

Charging boldly through
the trenches now, no
task seems too difficult.
victory is in the air, and
the commander savors its sweetness.

A voice from behind the lines
calls "Dinner's ready" and
the soldiers reluctantly
stop their labors.
"Good today," chuckles the mess tent cook,
and the commander beams with pride.

Bank Holiday Weekend

2010-07-31T01:13:00.001-07:00

Last week I visited Balrothery Cemetery, which is a very sad place indeed. I took some photos for a man named David Richardson, looking for his ancestors. I had a very strong sense of "anything goes" that day, freedom. I really didn't know where I was going or what was going to happen next. Lots of walking was involved as I had to go to Julianstown to catch the bus.

Monday we plan another cemetery trip to Cork and Dunmanway.

French conversation group at the AF in Dublin is over, and I can't say that I'll miss it. I don't feel that I learned much. The best part of the experience for me was the initial evaluation with a native French-speaker, and the thrilling feeling that when I spoke French to her, she understood me.

We spent a week in Scotland, getting back to nature, and I bought a used book there, Pour en finir avec l'Anglais. I scanned parts of it for Lucie, but I don't think she appreciated the humor. The book was making fun of England and the English language.

Bobbie and Laurie will be here in about a month, so Doug is doing all kinds of furniture moving and reorganizing the whole place. Drives me a little crazy, but ... I feel I have no input when he gets like this. But most of the stuff around here is his stuff, so it's his to sort through. I've been very restless lately, trying to figure out what to do with myself this fall before the big Xmas trip. Ah, well.

Monday back in Laytown

2010-07-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

Scotland was very pretty, but we'll take Laytown. Walking on the beach tonight at 10pm with the pink and lavender colors reflected in the tidepools ... you can't get that too many other places on Earth that aren't packed with tourists. We have found the undiscovered country right here in Laytown.

Our trip to Scotland made us realize that dealing with the B&B hosts is a hazardous occupation. If possible, from now on, we'll rent apartments. We stayed at Roseneath B&B for a couple of nights and found it extremely too straight-laced. Likewise with the Newton Lodge B&B in Scotland, where the host, Andre, was worried about us leaving our Scrabble game out overnight. His wife Freda seemed to like us, but immediately left town for Inverness and didn't return until after we left. I wonder if she hated us or what? Who knows. I think we disappointed them with our casual attire. Ha!

Since returning to Laytown, I've been to Dublin in search of genealogical records for some interesting cases: O'Sullivan/Cork, and Piercey/Trim.

Rainy day

2010-07-10T04:07:00.000-07:00

Hello, Blog, my long-neglected friend! We're leaving for Scotland today and it's raining, which is probably not good. The weather has been so sunny lately it hasn't seemed like Ireland at all.

My French conversation class at the Alliance Francaise is past the midway point, and I really don't enjoy it all that much. The people are nice, but the classroom is so small and hot and noisy. The teacher, Sophie, is OK. When she asks me a direct question in French I tend to freeze up like a deer caught in the headlights. We had a degustation of products from the Aveyron region of France, but it was way too crowded to be enjoyed. I'm missing Wednesday's class because we'll be in Scotland, but it's Bastille Day anyway and the class is moving to Thursday instead. Nobody seemed too happy about it.

This makes me appreciate what a great teacher Lucie is, if nothing else.

No meeting half-way

2010-06-18T12:55:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for waterproof boots in size 7-1/2. They don't believe in half-sizes here, however. I don't know what people do whose feet don't fit the Cinderella hiking boots!

Went to the dentist today in Balbriggan. It was weird. Half the stores on Main Street were out of business, and lots of thuggy-looking young guys wandering around. Not good. I wanted to walk on the beach, but there were scary tunnels under the railway bridge. I DID walk on the beach, etc., but didn't like the atmosphere. After seeing a DART board (ha) with the info that a train was leaving either in 14 minutes or an hour for Dublin, I decided to jump ship and board the next train.

The dentist told me my teeth were healthy, but if I want them to look movie-starrish, it will cost big bucks. Ah. Also that Irish people don't go to the dentist every 6 months for teeth cleaning, but only when they need to go. Bad policy?

Went to Dublin then to pick up Dad's Day stuff for Doug.

It's all good

2010-06-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

Okay. Week 2 of my AF class was really quite enjoyable, and once I got some one-on-one time with the teacher, Sophie, I really liked her a lot.

So glad, because I spent some euros on the class, and had such high hopes!

My conversation class is a mixed bag of young and old, proficient and not-so-proficient. I like Michael, who keeps cropping up in the groups that I've been in. This week I met Catherine (French husband and 4 kids) and ??? who is a music teacher and singer and triathelete. Very nice. Patricia, who sat next to me the last time, was a bit overpowering, but nice.

Today Lucie had a cold after a rainy weekend in Paris.

I came home on the 9 pm bus to find Doug sound asleep. There was an accident under the Laytown bridge today, but I arrived home without incident.

Laurie tells me that she and her mom are coming to pay a visit Sept. 4-11. Can't wait!

Conversation Class

2010-06-13T14:47:00.001-07:00

I started attending a conversation class at the Alliance Francaise in Dublin, after taking a proficiency test to make sure that I'd be able to keep up with the others. The first class was difficult, and I'm not crazy about the teacher, Sophie, who talks way too fast for my taste. But the people were nice, and maybe I will enjoy it and learn a lot.

The Internet kept going out on us, so we called Eircom, and they sent a repairman who set off our alarm. We had to ask our neighbour, Laura, for the code, because our landlord, Eddie Dillon, who kept dogging us for not answering our cell phone, has no cell (mobile) phone himself! Michael McMorrow, at ReMax in Bettystown, helped us out a lot after attending his friend's funeral.

I finished reading Les Sabots de Paris. Very good! Historical novel by Georges Coulonges.

I am actually scared to death to attend Week 2 of the class at the AF in Dublin, but please don't tell anybody.

56th BDay

2010-06-04T02:32:00.000-07:00

Interesting birthday this year ... Doug told me we were going to Dublin, but not why. We went to an Italian restaurant, La Toscana, famous for its banoffe pie, which I love. But somehow, the place was so chaotic that we never got any pie! Oh well. Then we walked around Dublin until we eneded up on O'Connell Street, and suddenly we got onto the Dublin Ghost Tour Bus. Quelle surprise! It was a 2-hour busride around town, with a guide telling ghost stories. We stopped at an old graveyard, where the "Blessed O'Hurley" had his legs melted off (Ewww), and also at the steps of the old Anglican church, supposedly haunted. Then Doug and I jumped off the bus, missing the 10 o'clock bus back to Laytown, so we had drinks at the Korean place next to the busstop. (Wine for me, Diet Coke for him.) Didn't get home until midnight, and I was exhausted, even the next day. Still exhausted, actually!

Bobbie sent cookies and lots of gifts which cost her a lot of postage. She's very sweet. Sarah sent a great Star Trek card, and Derek sent a nice card, too. Good birthday overall.

Last day of May

2010-05-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sunday, we went on a tour of the Boyne Valley. It was fun and touristy. We saw the Hill of Tara, and Newgrange ... the passage tombs.

Today was cold and windy so we mostly stayed inside and played duets. I'm trying to write a song to Ah Vous Dirai, using French verb tenses.

Maybe tomorrow I'll be brave enough to visit Alliance Francaise for an assessment for summer school. Ha!

Grand Canyon Gap

2010-05-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

I think I decided that blogging wasn't such a great idea after considering that:
1. Anyone in the entire world can read it, and I've said some pretty stupid things; and
2. What if they suddenly decide to start charging fees for your blog, and it's lost forever?
So I got turned off for a while, but now I'm back.

French is chugging along, up and down, small victories and embarrassing moments of defeat. I am so lucky to have Lucie for a teacher, because she never gives up on me and keeps prodding me to continue.

I so much enjoyed reading La Peste, suggested by Lucie.

Nowadays, I'm working on the genealogy stuff, trying to learn to accompany Doug's singing on the piano, and doing French. Doug and I had a big fight about his interactions with other women, but it was interrupted by our news of Mom's estate, bringing us $100,000, and the fact that Doug had a splinter in his finger, preventing him from playing piano for a while.

Does this all make sense?

Probably not. Mom's estate gives us the means to do lots of things we normally wouldn't, including giving Derek and Lindsay $5,000 each.

This week we went to 3 concerts at the National Concert Hall, in a wide range of quality and content, but it has been fun. We sat in the choir loft behind the orchestra for all 3 concerts.

Doug and I have been watching The Wire, and loving the HBO series. Just finished Season 3 today.

Derek is writing a Calculus textbook, and I've discovered that I'm lagging far behind his expertise, just trying to read what he's written so far. I bought a copy of Calculus for Dummies, and even that is hard to follow.

Oh yeah ... Doug invited Fenton and Francis for dinner here, and it was interesting. We ordered Indian food and Fenton, Francis and I drank large quantities of alcohol. They talked mostly about Bel Canto and I know Fenton wanted Doug to play piano for a sing-along, but there was the splinter in the finger, and the fact that I don't sing.

We walked on the beach after eating lots of Indian food and drinking wine and champagne.

Now Doug's splinter problem disappeared and he has been playing piano again, so we will see what transpires next.

Another big gap

2010-04-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well, now it's mid-April and we still haven't informed the landlady that we've moved. Doug has been painting the old place and etc.

French rolls along with many ups and downs. Lucie sent me a French recipe that I hope to try tomorrow.

There was a dead sheep on the beach for a few days, which was unspeakably gross, but it's gone now.

My genealogical volunteer work led me to Belfast yesterday, which was an amazing experience in spending way too much money to help someone that you've never met and who doesn't know how much money you've spent on their behalf.

Aunt Kay had pneumonia and just got out of the hospital ...

Doug has been helping me learn how to accompany his singing on the piano, and it's a scary thing for me, but I am trying.

The weather has been gorgeous; however, volcanic ash has shut down the Dublin Airport for a few days. Western Ireland has been showered, but we haven't seen anything here.

Lindsay has a new boyfriend introduced via Skype to Doug. Eric, from England, seems the perfect match. Lindsay's mom is visiting them in NYC this weekend after visiting Lindsay's grandmother, who had a stroke or something over Easter.

Doug has been accompanying a violinist, Christine Scott, and we met her and her sister Ruth at a concert at the Kilmainham Royal Hospital last weekend. Ruth is brain-damaged from a vaccination at childhood. Christine seems quite attached to Doug and kept telling us how her husband doesn't pay attention to her. Ahhh. What every wife loves to hear.

I told Doug that this disturbs me, but ... He tells me that he will be possibly playing music with many beautiful women in the future, and not to let it bother me.

Well, OK. I think. We'll see! Ha.

Spotty Coverage

2010-03-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

Another big gap in the bloggy! French is going pretty well, by the way. I finished reading Premier de Cordee, about mountaineers in the French Alps. It was a good book, and I think it improved my speaking skills to read French like that, in conversational style.

Today I'm in Dublin checking a genealogical request. We are now officially moved into the new house at 1 St. Patrick's Square, and it's a beauty. Yesterday Catherine helped us move the last of our stuff with her car. I was getting exhausted walking up and down the street with suitcases. I just couldn't take anymore. Doug said he was enjoying it, but ...

We still haven't informed the landlady that we're moving, even though we have already done it.

Last Sunday we had Catherine and her buddy Hilary over for a fancy lunch at our new place. I made mountains of food, and Doug and I ate the leftovers all week.

The phone and Internet were cut off at the old place, so I bought a USB Broadband To Go stick at Xtravision in Drogheda. It works amazingly well, even able to Skype France. The stick doesn't like Doug's computer, however. But Doug's computer has many, many problems.

We moved the piano over a few days ago, and the movers couldn't get their truck around a sharp bend in our driveway, so they had to carry the piano around ... Glad I missed that while I was in Drogheda buying the stick.

We met the new landlord and his wife, and they don't want to sell their lovely old house. I can understand why, certainly. They did most of the fancy finish work on the place themselves.

Moving away

2010-03-08T13:02:00.000-08:00

Big gap in the narrative, I know. Doug found a house he wanted to buy farther up the beach. It's not for sale, but for rent. Long story short, we're renting it. Moving again. Aaaah. It's a large step up in rent, but hopefully the lifestyle upgrade will be worth the change. The house is tigin ban, or white house, in Irish. Ironically, we are moving into the White House.

Today we went to Slane with Catherine, who drove us in her car. Very nice lady. Do I sound tired?

Yesterday Doug and I walked up to the big stone tower in Mornington, and it was a gorgeous sunny Sunday morning. On the way home we stopped at BT's Bistro and had an excellent breakfast, both of us looking like we'd just walked 4 miles in the sun and sand.

Life is a blur. Not sure what I'm doing at present. Keeping up with my French, though.

In memory of Mom

2010-02-26T14:17:00.000-08:00

Tonight at 9 p.m., when Mom's memorial service was held at the funeral home at 2 p.m. Colorado time, Doug and I scattered some of Mom's ashes in the Irish Sea.

It had been raining earlier, but when we went out for the ash scattering, the moon was shining and the rain had stopped. It was absolutely beautiful on the beach, and when the waves rolled in the moon was shining on the wave crests just like fireworks.

We scattered some of Mom's ashes on the waves along with a chocolate truffle and a red rose.

Then we came home and sat on the couch and cried.

FREEZING COLD

2010-02-23T14:15:00.000-08:00

On the lighter side, ha!, we went to see a house for sale up the road today. The house looked very old and worn. When we met the real estate agent, he was the worst salesman I've ever met. Doug had compiled a list of questions for me to ask the real estate agent while Doug went around the house taking photos and measurements.

I didn't really want to ask the questions Doug had listed, but I gave it the old college try. Doug had given me a list of questions, a clipboard and a pen.

"Is the foundation solid? Is there any settling?" I asked the real estate guy. He freaked out.
"Are you going to write down what I say?" he asked. "And then you're going to sue me, aren't you?"

I told him we had no intention of suing anyone. I noticed immediately that the house looked like someone had left all their belongings and fled.

"Ah, well, the old lady who lived here died and the family wants to get rid of the property. The place has been empty for a long time."

I told him that I thought that was very sad, and he said NO! There was even a framed poem to "Grandma" by the fireplace.

OK.

He then told me that he couldn't tell me anything about the house because it might incriminate him. He kept telling me that "it is what it is."

There was no heat in the house and it needed to have a new boiler installed. The electricity was questionable. He then became agitated that Doug was upstairs taking photos.

"What if he's climbing on furniture? I have insurance to worry about!" the real estate agent said, running upstairs. Doug wasn't climbing on the furniture, so he calmed down.

It was a wierd experience. Do I want to buy Irish real estate?????????

Monday after the fact

2010-02-22T13:43:00.000-08:00

Back in Ireland, back onto the genealogy trail.

Last week was so incredibly awful that I'm afraid I'm in a state of post-traumatic stress. But I carry on. I emailed Laurie a summary of Mom's life that fell far short, and I also sent her a bunch of old photos.

Today I visited the National Library for various genealogical things, including an old newspaper article that I found fascinating, re Edward Nangle.

The weather is absolutely frigid. Doug met up with his violinist again today when I went to the library. I feel a bit awkward about it, but that's the lot of a musician's wife. Doug is talking about buying a house here in Laytown, and that also bothers me, as the house looks like a real loser. We'll see ...

Back in Ireland

2010-02-20T14:23:00.000-08:00

Today we flew back home, and the house was mighty COLD as we arrived. The heat was off for a week, after all. And right before we left, we received our first heating bill (electric) for 972 euro, for 2 months. Yikes!

We came back with a portion of Mom's ashes to scatter in Hawaii, her Esperanza (Hope) ring, and locks of her hair. After she had died, the hospice nurse Lori Lee told us to snip off whatever part of Mom that we wanted. She even confided that when her dad was dead she wanted to cut off his earlobe for a keepsake! Glad to be leaving Lori Lee behind ...

After that, we went to the funeral home to pick up Mom's ashes, and the funeral guy told us all about how we had to take Mom's ashes in a checked bag. Then he went on to tell us all about how he went to the rifle range and had gunpowder all over his hands before he went through airport security, and on and on.

Thursday night we met Sarah and Allan at the Blue Star Restaurant in C. Springs for a gourmet and expensive evening. It was a great relief to sit there talking and laughing, knowing that Pege and Bobbie were probably still angry with us for leaving before the funeral service.

Friday morning we left our motel in the Garden of the Gods region despite the snow and traffic, and caught our flight home flawlessly. On the way we found a thrift shop with a suitcase that would hold all the stuff we had accumulated from Mom and our Goodwill shopping for funeral attire.

The flight was long (over 7 hours), and the temperature on arrival was forbidding (-3), but I've never been so happy to be home. And Mom came with us, in the form of ashes, hair, and her ring.

I miss you, Mom.

Aftermath

2010-02-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

We decided not to attend Mom's memorial service for many reasons, but the sisters are not taking it well.

Ironically, I have problems with my sisters, but more with their husbands. I have so much anger with Roger, Pege, Bobbie, Gary, Ellen. All are accomplices in this vile plot to bring my mom into a personal relationship with Jesus, which she expressly told them that she didn't want for 20 years.

To be continued, under extreme stress ...

Goodbye, Mom

2010-02-16T06:39:00.000-08:00

Mom died yesterday, Monday, Feb. 15, at noon. We dropped everything last Friday to fly out to Colorado as Pege thought the end was near. This time she was right, and our arrival was perfectly timed. On Friday, for the first time in days, Mom got out of bed and sat in her chair, even ate some thickened soup, and greeted us as we walked into Pege's house. Everyone said it was quite amazing that she was able to exert so much effort after lying almost comatose in bed for days. She did it for us.

We spent some quality time with Mom on Friday and Saturday, but Sunday she was definitely weakening and suffering. It was exhausting for me to watch her. Saturday in the late afternoon she pulled out her catheter, which must have been extremely painful. A hospice nurse came late Saturday and replaced the catheter, noting that there had been bleeding and swelling. We couldn't help but think that her pain on Sunday was related to that. Sunday in the afternoon she began moaning with pain, hallucinating, and pretty much leaving us behind. Sunday evening I was praying that she would just die in her sleep. It was a terrible thing to watch her writhing in bed.

Monday morning I woke up early, took a shower (we were staying in Pege's basement), and sat on the basement couch as Doug slept. Suddenly I started crying and couldn't stop. Doug woke up and tried to comfort me. When I finally calmed down, Ellen came downstairs, crying. Mom was much worse, and one of Ellen's friends had died in the night.

The hospice nurse, Lori Lee, came early Monday and told us that Mom only had hours to live. She was experiencing apnea, where you stop breathing for periods of time, and was only breathing about 5 times a minute.

Bobbie arrived just before Mom died and said goodbye to her. Doug and I left the house for tea when Mom died. I was just as happy not to be there for the end.

Aunt Kay was confused and anxious during Mom's dying hours. She said some inappropriate things and was snapped at, unfortunately, but stress was running high. I hope she will be all right in the days to come.

IFI Open Day

2010-02-06T15:02:00.000-08:00

Today was fun. Doug went to Dublin early, 9ish, to wait on line for free tickets to the IFI Open Day. He got me a ticket to watch an Irish film, Eamon, which was very well done. Then Doug met me and we both watched the oldy moldy film "Bringing Up Baby" with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. It was amazing on the big screen! The film got out of frame at one point and Katherine Hepburn's head was out of the screen just as Cary Grant told her to "not lose her head". For some reason, it was hysterical and everyone laughed.

After the film marathon we went to the Gourmet Burger Kitchen where we took Derek. Then we caught the 9 pm bus back to Laytown and I called Bobbie.

Bobbie visited Mom yesterday and didn't give a good report. Aunt Kay's feet are black but she still goes up and down the stairs somehow ... and Mom is shrinking away to nothing and barely eating. But Mom is keeping her spirits up as always. And Bandit cheered her up. Bobbie told me that she had a "meltdown" over Mom's situation, so at least I know that I'm not the only one who is feeling all this stress and guilt. Bobbie said she'd almost rather be in Pege's shoes because at least she knows what's going on all the time. I don't know anymore what the answer is.

Old age is to be avoided at all costs, I suppose. At least until they get the good replacement body parts.

Story Time

2010-02-04T22:38:00.000-08:00

This week I wrote my first story in French. I really enjoyed it, and I think it's a great way to learn. My story is called the Magic Seashell. I've just finished another one, too, called Fate. The stories reflect things I've seen here in Laytown and Dublin, most definitely.

The conversation group Wednesday at the Ilac Center was mostly Erasmus university students, and the French contingent mostly wanted to practice speaking English! However, I found a nice Swiss girl with a beautiful smile who spoke a little French with me.

The weather here is still rainy and gray and awful and windy. Ha! But I walked to Bettystown yesterday anyway because we had no meat at all. I walked back on the beach with a giant shopping bag full of ribs and chicken and all the dogs running on the beach became interested in following me.

Last night we played Scrabble and I ate lots of meat. We called Mom via Skype for the first time and it worked well, which will save lots of $$ on long-distance calling. She was hard-pressed to catch her breath long enough to say anything. I feel so bad for her. Pege says she continues to lose ground, but at least she's not in the hospital anymore. Aunt Kay is not well, either. We sent cards to them yesterday, but I always worry the cards will not arrive in time. Worry, worry. I often think we should go back to Colorado, but we've just started a new life here. Mom had a miraculous recovery after her hospital stay and I just hope she will not slip back down again.

Pege sent me an email saying that she went to a faith healer at her church who told her that God doesn't want to heal her. Hmmm. Why does Pege listen to these people?

Sunday at Gilna's

2010-02-01T01:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I walked up the back road toward Julianstown with my neighbor Catherine. We didn't make it all the way to Julianstown, but turned around and headed home to Laytown. It was cold! We stopped at Gilna's for seafood chowder and soda bread, very nice and comforting after the cold weather. Then I walked up the beach a ways and returned to Catherine's to watch a video. She had a nice fire in the fireplace, and is getting ready to have new insulation and radiators installed at her place.

After Thursday night's French conversation group at Dakota Bar in Dublin fell through (nobody showed up), I found another group that meets Wednesday nights at the Ilac Center Library. So I'm going to try that next.

Saturday Doug went to 2 classes at Bel Canto and met me afterward for a movie at IFI, Precious, which was quite moving and powerful.

Last night we talked a lot about Obama and health care, etc., etc. Everyone over here seems to think that Obama needs more time to "fix" the USA, but Doug is convinced that he has blown all his chances and sold out to the corporations. I'm perplexed by it all, myself. I get email from the US all the time, from people wanting genealogical help, and their feedback about Obama has been 100 percent negative.

Doug's endoscopy is scheduled for next week in Limerick. This time it will cost over 1000 euros, and we're a bit sad to hear it's even more expensive than in the USA. We thought things were better over here, health-care-wise, but I fear the worst. I'm trying to switch health insurers now because my company in Colorado is raising my rates, even though I've never made a claim. Maybe we need to move to Sweden, after all!

Full moon

2010-01-29T13:23:00.001-08:00

Tonight there is the most gorgeous full moon shining on the water, and no clouds at all. It was a cold day, but I walked on the beach and enjoyed it a lot. We played piano, working on Dvorak duet.

French this week went well. Lucie figured it has been one year since we left France, and she says I've made amazing progress. Well, she's very nice. But I do feel like I understand a lot more. It's just the speaking and listening skills that lag behind. I've finished my second novel in French from the Alliance Francaise, and starting my third. The intermediate grammar book from CLE is very good. It answers many questions that I've had.

Last night we went to meet the French conversation group (Meet Up) meeting at the Dakota Bar, but nobody showed up. It was raining and freezing, so we just went home. Very disappointing.

Mom is doing miraculously well, I hear.

Pianorama

2010-01-26T13:33:00.001-08:00

Today the piano arrived at high noon, as well as tons of other things in many boxes and suitcases!

We played duets, ate Indian food, and sorted through piles of our things. That sums up today.

Doug decided to stop going to Bel Canto Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights as it was getting to be too much night-life excitement for him to handle. Now he's going Wednesday night and Saturday morning instead.

Saturday at 2pm Catherine Porter, the neighbor who lives in the Bungalows by Pat's store in Laytown, came over and we walked to Bettystown for tea at the new little restaurant there. The place was packed. Catherine is kind of deaf, so it was a bit difficult for her in there. Then we came back to our house and Doug met her. She's very nice and funny.

Sunday we played lots of Ping Pong and loafed around.

Monday I went to the National Library and found some new ancestors for Cher in Chicago. I felt quite brilliant about my powers of deduction in connecting all these people in the Dunmanway parish register, although it was just common sense. Cher was quite happy, so I felt good about it.

Happy Ending

2010-01-21T08:21:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday Doug and I walked to Julienstown to The Gallops for snackies. On the way back I noticed my wedding ring was gone. Then last night Doug found it in the computer room on the rug. I was very, very happy to have it back. I had even called The Gallops, formerly known as The Julienstown Inn (and still known as that to the telephone company) to see if they'd found my ring.

That Saturday evening the neighbors, Owen, Leonie and Katja, came over for tea. I was a bit nervous about such social activity taking place around here, but Doug was the perfect host, arranging the table setting and buying cakes.

Back at Laytown

2010-01-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

Today the weather was beautiful as we traversed the country back to Laytown via bus.

What a tiring day! But I watched The King and I on video while Doug was at Bel Canto, and that was a nice retro adventure.

Aw, I'm too tired now to continue. But we're back home in Laytown and Mom's status is still uncertain.

Daniela Graduates!! Hooray!

2010-01-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

We've spent 2 days in Limerick helping Daniela graduate. Daniela was my classmate in ELT here in the Limerick Master's program when I graduated last year. Daniela left early and didn't get to graduate until a year later ... I can't help liking her, although she is an intense person and high maintenance friend. She seemed to appreciate our help so much, and Doug was a huge help in getting her on the bus to the airport and keeping her on track with her travel plans.

Doug also had a check-up with his doctor here, Oorla, although she told him he must now find a GP in Laytown. Too bad. At least she scheduled his ulcer check-up here in Limerick.

The first day here in Limerick, the weather was balmy, but graduation day turned cold on us. We're staying at Annville, a B&B with a wonderful host. I'm typing this early in the morning for lack of sleep. I'm either too hot or too cold in the bedroom, so now I'm in the cooling off stage. Oh, and I had a few slugs of Diet Coke. Doug is in the lobby, I presume.

Graduation at UL was pretty nice. I got to see Valerie and meet her husband. Also saw Itsy.

Mom is still in the hospital. I tried to talk to her on the phone, but she was too beat.

Croaking Clams

2010-01-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

Today the beach is covered with dying clams, their "tongues" hanging out of their shells. Rather distressing! Yesterday I worked on preserving some little starfish with rubbing alcohol, but I'm running out and it's hard to buy here.

I finished my French novel, The Evening Train, by Guy Lagorce. Not sure I understood the story completely, but it was fun to read French over an extended period of time. I started the CLF intermediate Grammar Book that I bought at the Language Bookstore on Pearce Street. It's definitely more challenging than the first book, which was a bit too insultingly easy.

The weather was gorgeous today and Doug and I walked up toward Bettystown. We were so beat that we took a long nap and decided not to go into Dublin tonight for the French group meetup. I may never go to that thing at this rate. The bar where they meet sounds a little yuppyish anyway, so I just don't know. Oh well!

Heard from Cher, the genealogy lady, again, and trying to revive my interest in research.

No news about Mom, still in the hospital with irregular heartbeat. Hope she's OK.

Back to the French ...

2010-01-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

Monday I had a very good French lesson, I'm happy to report. The whole purpose of this blog was to chronicle my progress in learning a second language, and I've gotten seriously sidetracked by my own personal problems, travel, etc. But I was quite surprised at the ease with which I spoke French via Skype with Lucie. The reason for this, I believe, is the extensive reading I've done. I've been reading a cheesy French novel, Le train du soir, and I've picked up a lot from following the dialogue exchanges. It helps!

The weather here is horrible, insupportable!, awful, awful. Doug and I walked on the beach and almost blew away. Mom is in the hospital after a sinus infection, and once again we don't know if this is the end. Lots of worry and anguish.

Monday morning I met the neighbor down the street who is interested in genealogy. She seems very nice, although a bit deaf. Her border (or lodger) Fergal is the 23-year-old guy I met on the Dart. I thought maybe he was a thug or something, but he's a garda!! What a surprise. Now I'm not so worried that he's after a black belt in karate.

Not much else to report here. WIND. Then rain. Yuck! Doug is going full tilt with Bel Canto. Singing up a storm. Ha!

Bon Voyage, Mon Fils

2010-01-10T05:02:00.000-08:00

Derek flew out of here Jan. 8, amidst a very bad cold front here in Ireland. He left on a Friday, and Wednesday a snowstorm threw Dublin into a state of complete chaos. That was the day we decided to take the bus into town to see Avatar 3D at the Savoy Theatre. The bus driver left us off at a side street because Parnell Street was too icy. The sidewalks were like skating rinks, and it was bitterly cold. The bus driver also announced that he wouldn't be taking us back to Laytown, due to bad roads.

Doug went to Bel Canto as Derek and I saw the movie. We had to take the train back, of course, and it was late and miserably cold.

Thursday we all stayed home, having had enough of the mess in Dublin. That night we ventured out in a freezing fog to have dinner again at the Saffron Steakhouse here in Laytown. We thought it might be better this time, but it wasn't! Never again. And the restaurant was really cold inside. We ate in our coats, once again the last and only customers except for an old guy who talked as loud as he could into his cell phone before leaving.

Friday morning Derek and I had to take a taxi to the airport as the buses weren't running. It was cold and snowing. We had some Starbucks, and I couldn't actually say the word "goodbye" for fear of crying. Derek looked sad, too, as we parted ways, although I'm sure he wasn't missing Ireland. Later on I checked the airport website and noticed that his flight had never left! It was delayed until late afternoon, and when Derek reached Houston, his suitcase had been lost again. Poor Derek! He was thrilled to get back to the USA.

Friday evening Doug cut class at Bel Canto because it was so miserably cold again. We've been watching the 3rd season of Lewis that Derek downloaded for us. This weekend has been spent mainly indoors because of the awful winds howling outdoors. Too cold and miserable to even walk on the beach.

2 a.m. January 3rd

2010-01-02T17:50:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve was one of our better days here at Camp Titanic. We went into Dublin and saw the movie about John Lennon's childhood, Nowhere Boy, and then on to Gourmet Burger around Temple Bar. We were going to eat at IFI, but Doug got the idea of going to Cafe En Seine about 4ish, and they were closing down. Derek was literally starving and very grouchy, but when we finally got our gourmet burgers, they were delicious (except for Doug's, which was falafel). Then back on the bus. We had champagne at home after Doug and I slept for 3 hours, waking about 11:30. Perfect timing. The moon was full and lovely, and the neighbors set off fireworks at 12.

It's still bitterly cold here. Sleet, snow, rain, wind. Aaaagh. We had a tremendous roof leak by the front door that stopped when the rain finally let up.

Yesterday, Saturday, we waited by the bus stop twice before calling Matthews and realizing that the bus wasn't running due to bad roads. Derek and I were so desperate to get out of the house after a long New Year's Day that we took the Dart into Dublin for Eason's, where we bought Derek new headphones, and all of us found books. On the way back Derek got a triple Espresso shot and turned into a manic, animated, talkative sweetheart. He started telling me a lot more about his classes and his life. Doug took a nap, and Derek talked on. Then Derek showed us episodes of his favorite TV show, It's Never Sunny in Philadelphia. It was a nice evening!

I'm awake now because Doug decided to use the upstairs bathroom with the door open. I guess he was freezing, and I didn't want to participate. Happy 2010. Mom started sending us email after she received her birthday flowers from FTD this year ...

Cabin Fever Rising

2009-12-31T00:57:00.000-08:00

The weather has been disastrous, and Derek continues to cough and sniffle. He is starting to act like a pacing lion in a tiny zoo cage. I'm not minding it too much because I have a book to read, and Doug and I are watching videos. Derek mostly stays upstairs and we interact occasionally. Yesterday morning I guess I did it again, suggesting that we play Scrabble way too many times. Then we played and Derek and I glared at each other ... Ah, well.

So we've been stuck inside while the wind howls and rain and sleet take turns pelting the house. The roof started leaking yesterday just by the front door, and the electricity refused to stay on until we unplugged a few of our thousand appliances.

Let's hope New Year's Eve is a happier event for all.

A Quentin Tarentino Christmas

2009-12-25T07:08:00.000-08:00

Derek arrived Dec. 21st, although his itinerary from Aer Lingus said he was due to arrive Dec. 20th. Doug and I waited and waited for him to arrive from the airport by taxi, and when he didn't, we got worried and Doug went out to the airport to check. As it turned out, Derek didn't arrive until the following morning and all was well. Except that Aer Lingus lost his suitcase. Fortunately, they found the suitcase, and Derek got his stuff back pretty quickly.

It was so COLD here on Christmas Eve. There was frozen hail and ice all over the place, making it a major effort to walk anywhere. Derek started feeling sick and coldish. We watched a couple of movies Derek downloaded, including Napoleon Dynamite, which was a nice warm and fuzzy flick. Then we watched Inglorious Basterds by Quentin Tarentino, and the warm fuzzy feeling was gone for good. The perfect Christmas movie! Anyhow, Doug sat through the entire movie, which surprised me, knowing how he hates violent movies.

Christmas Eve we walked down to the Saffron Steakhouse, where we were the only diners. It was so cold outside, and the streets so slick, that everyone else had canceled their reservations except us. The food was OK, not great. The waitress, dressed in her Santa dress, was nice and entertaining. We went home and Derek was freezing and miserable, and went right to bed. Doug followed shortly thereafter, and I stayed up answering genealogical emails.

The neighbor who is into genealogy phoned the day of Derek's arrival, and I still haven't gotten back to her, thanks to the cold and Derek's sickness.

We did get to Dublin for Christmas shopping and Korean food, so there have been some field trips. Not much fun on Christmas Day, as Derek is sick and very grouchy. Doug tried to light my Xmas candle with a paper towel on the stove, creating lots of smoke, and Derek got pretty wierd. Ah, well. We finally opened the gifts and got it over with. Sigh.

Cold Weather

2009-12-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

Last night was Bel Canto's last hurrah until next year. There was a nice party at The Shakespeare pub on Parnell Street, Korean food and plum wine. While Doug went to his class, I hung out at the library playing keyboard and then at the Savoy, watching the movie Where the Wild Things Are. I didn't think much of the movie, unfortunately.

Today our weather was cold and stormy, with sleet and wind. I stayed indoors all day and we played ping pong and rearranged the dining room. Then I napped. Big day.

Tomorrow I suppose I'll try going to the General Registry Office on Abbey Street again. My Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness stuff has been a bit annoying in part, but I am happy that I was able to please one customer, Karen Breslin from Ohio, who asked me to copy docs from the Valuation Office. That was satisfying. Now if I can only find Mary Toal's correct death cert, and ALL of Cheryl from Chicago's Irish relatives.

Not much else to say now. Derek's coming Sunday, and I've been pretty happy with my many beach walks. I met a strange guy on the DART, 23 and potentially violent. I don't know why I gave him my phone number, but I hope he doesn't call. He said his landlady knows all about genealogy, but maybe he's a serial killer. Yikes.

Permission to stay granted

2009-12-08T05:46:00.000-08:00

Our stressful trip to Navan was rewarded with permission to stay in Ireland for a year. Sadly, I showed the wrong passport and my last name was recorded as Goto on the card. So we try to make corrections by mail. This time it cost 300 euros to stay. The price has gone up.

My French struggle continues at the Internet cafes of Dublin. We won't get the Internet until Dec. 21, and the modem after that. Derek will not be happy since he arrives Dec. 20.

Doug and I have both spent hours cleaning our Laytown oven, and now it works with less noxious smoke. But we're not sure we'd want to eat anything cooked in it.

Doug has been going 3 nights a week to Bel Canto. We still await news of our stuff shipped to the UK for approval.

Almost Thanksgiving in Ireland

2009-11-24T06:18:00.000-08:00

Two days until Thanksgiving! We're in Dublin, trying to visit the Immigration Dept. and Pearce Street Library, but today all the government employees are out on strike, so nothing was open and picketers are everywhere. We managed to buy lots of household stuff, though, and here we are again at the Internet Cafe near the Spire.

Yesterday I had my second French lesson online at the Parnell Street Internet Cafe, and it didn't go as smoothly as the last one. We attended the French Film Festival at IFI, where a Meetup French discussion group was supposed to meet, but the film was sold out and we didn't find any French group. We did attend a showing of Bellamy with Gerard Depardieu later on, and that was very good.

Last night was Doug's first visit back to Bel Canto, which made him very happy. I stayed home and watched Leonardo DeCaprio butcher the film, The Man in the Iron Mask, again with Gerard Depardieu.

We're getting closer to having the Internet at home since we received our first ESB bill. Doug set it up with Vodafone, but of course there are always things needing to be found out before we can actually get the Internet. Frustrating.

I had a fabulous walk on the beach yesterday. The sun was out and the view was breathtaking.

Last weekend we discovered Sonairte, down the road. Lovely walking path along the Nanny River and that gorgeous view of Ballygarth Castle. Wow.

Tuesday in Baldoyle

2009-11-17T06:08:00.000-08:00

I'm typing this in Baldoyle, at the Public Library. It may be one of my last visits to this nice place with the friendly librarians because it cost 25 Euros return to get here from Laytown! We're going to Superquinn and looking for a library near us in Laytown while we're here.

Yesterday I had my first French lesson in Ireland at the Dublin Internet Cafe by the bus stop. It was fun once I got over my self-consciousness at speaking French in public.

The weather is nice and ice cold, but no rain. They just repaired the bridge in Malahide, so this is our first train trip since arriving back in Ireland on Nov. 11. We've been mainly trying to fix up our new digs, since the landlady, Bernadette, didn't clean up the place very well and left us with some questionable curtains and teapot, toaster, etc., which we've thrown away.

We've both been pretty tired since arriving. It's a big change, and we've had lots of shopping and housecleaning to do. Before we left, we visited Mom and she seemed remarkably better. Since then we've called her on the mobile and she sounded great.

We've been to Bettystown and found not much there, but in Laytown Doug has befriended Geraldine of the general store, and they have lots of stuff for sale there. I've been reading a lot since we don't have the Internet at home. We bought a bunch of videos, too.

The nicest time here so far was a fantastic walk we took on the beach in front of our home when the tide was out and the weather fairly warm. How beautiful it was! Looking forward to lots of fab beach walks.

Saturday night and no place to go

2009-11-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

Today was a heavy house-cleaning affair. Pege emailed that Mom is worse, and wearing Depends because she can't make it to the bathroom. My heart aches for this.

Fortunately, Bobbie volunteered to go up there today and spend the night. Mom will love spending time with her, and Bobbie is such a good nurse.

I spoke to John Mulvihill today on the phone, and he sounds 80 years old and worried about his legacy. I don't have the heart to break the news about Darden et al, and I don't see the point, although I do plan to pursue the Darden story because it fascinates me. Today I sent a letter to Kenneth Lee Hause, heir of Benton A. Hause. It was a wild card move, but maybe it'll pay off.

Last night Doug and I had a fight about packing, of all the stupid things. It was my fault because I started it. Our marriage counselor had pronounced us cured, but maybe it was premature. I am just so upset about Mom, and it's making me crazy. Today Doug did the nicest thing ever. He spent his birthday money from Pege to buy a new purse for me. I love this purse. It's totally flamboyant and in your face.

Doug is being and has been the most patient of husbands. I hope we can weather the upcoming storms together in good grace.

Birthday for Doug

2009-11-05T20:21:00.000-08:00

Doug is now 64, and I will still need him and feed him.

Nov. 2 we had a party with Lindsay at our house, and it was a nice one. Lindsay and I sang the birthday song in French, thanks to Lucie. We had Mediterranean food and a gourmet cake from the Spruce Confectionary next to Lindsay's job at Two Hands.

The next evening we went to our neighbor Marilyn's house for wine and snacks. We loved seeing her top floor apartment in the historic house. What a great space! The downstairs neighbors came later, Maggie and John, and they are so nice. We stayed until 11 pm, which amazed me. All our time in Boulder we could've been partying with our nice neighbors, but we didn't find it out until our last week here.

The next day we went for our last marriage counseling session with Catie, and we more or less told her everything was fine now. I don't really believe that, but things are definitely better.

Today we visited Mom, who is not feeling well at all with bad back pain and spasms. Pege seems to be doing worse, though, and is freaking out because of all the medication and stress, and Mom's stubborn attitude of doing things her way, no matter what. I don't blame Mom, and I don't blame Pege. Gary was leaving to fly off, and Ellen was going to a Christian retreat, and Pege was acting the martyr. We drove off at 2pm to get Doug's old violin examined by a luthior in Denver which I probably spelled incorrectly. The violin wasn't very fixable, so Doug gave it to the lady.

Then we drove off to Leadville. I'm so excited to get away from it all in this historic spot! Already I've had an email from the Leadville librarian, who sent me a copy of an article about John Jr.'s accidental death. And the address of the local coroner, who might have the inquest docs!

Pege and Gary gave Doug a birthday cake, and it was all kind of awful, but we left in a cloud of dust. I hope Mom's OK and not suffering. She's getting all sorts of painkillers, so if she can weather the storm, I think she'll recover from one more thing ...

Halloween in Boulder

2009-10-31T20:39:00.000-07:00

Our Halloween has been pretty quiet. Today, sadly, we sold Mom's beloved Bronco II to Janice Ebbits, a very nice woman who actually embraced us when she took possession of the car. Doug bought lots of Halloween candy, but we had zero trick-or-treaters.

Tomorrow afternoon I'm supposed to meet Jim Bretz, author of Mansions of Denver. I keep telling myself, "Don't offer too much information!" That's my mantra.

Doug's birthday is Monday and Lindsay is supposed to come over and we're eating leftovers or something. It's all very vague. Ahhh. The issues that could arise.

Tonight we walked along the Pearl Street Mall and took in the costumes and partying of Boulder at its finest. The big snow we had magically melted during the night with a big Chinook wind, and tonight people were walking around topless, bottomless, and both!

Daylight Savings ends or begins tomorrow, so we gain an hour. I had a long talk on the phone with Bobbie yesterday. Her dog Belle is dying of cancer.

On a French note, Bobbie sent us a funny Halloween card: Bone jour!

Day before Halloween

2009-10-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

Today we were able to navigate the highways to Castle Rock to visit Mom and Aunt Kay. Highway 93 was closed due to blowing snow, but we got through on I-25.

Mom was looking good, and Aunt Kay was cheerful. Pege was absent and Gary made a brief and grouchy appearance. Mom gave me some interesting genealogical stuff about Dad's side of the family, and I'm looking forward to studying it.

Bobbie is going through hard times as Belle is dying. I told Doug about it and he got upset, saying he is disowning Roger. Well, we never really owned Roger anyway. Nobody in my family has ever expressed any affection for Roger because Bobbie doesn't seem to have any great affection for him. In fact, she blames everything on Roger, so we don't ever bond with him.

So it's a sad time for Bobbie and we all feel sad thinking of Belle suffering. Doug had breakfast with Lindsay this morning and picked up a couple of her boxes for the Salvation Army. Lindsay is thinking of going to the Middle East after the New York thing, and who knows what.

The snow has subsided and now we're getting some sunshine and melting action. Tomorrow is Halloween, which used to be my favorite holiday when I was a kid. Walking home from the library today I took a great photo of a squirrel eating somebody's jack-o-lanterns, which I thought was pretty funny.

I'm sad to leave Mom, and today's visit was upbeat, but I know the end is near.

MORE SNOW!

2009-10-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

The snow just keeps on falling. I've calmed down a lot from my rejection yesterday at Norlin Library, and now I feel a bit stuck on the Darden issues. I keep hoping Laton McCartney will respond to my letter, but it's a long shot. I'm betting that Mr. Bretz has a 50/50 chance of remembering to meet me Sunday. Monday is Doug's birthday, and I've been gathering small bits of gifts and trying to remind everyone that it's his big day.

We ran errands today with no difficulty, as the streets are all clear. The Social Security office was closed due to bad weather, so that's another stop for next week.

Tomorrow we plan to visit Mom, and it's going to be difficult. Doug is meeting Lindsay for an early breakfast and will help her unload stuff for Salvation Army.

Saturday is Halloween, and the day we sell the car.

I'm not forgetting the focus of this blog, which is the process of learning French. Sarah is trying so hard to recapture her French from college, attending night classes in Denver at an intermediate level. I was able to help her with her homework, which made me feel a bit better. Also Doug has purchased Rosetta Stone beginning level stuff (expensive), which made me shudder a bit, but at least I talked him out of buying the $600 package.

Lucie is a great teacher, I think, although our lessons have been quite unstructured lately. But when I talk to Sarah, I realize that Lucie is giving me a very good education, and I appreciate it.

SNOW!!!!

2009-10-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

Boulder is buried. Today we have at least a foot of snow here, and it messes up all our plans to spend time with Mom. Our marriage counselor called in sick today and I lost a bit of respect for her.

Today I received the big package from Maryland, in regard to the estate of James G. Darden. But there's still not enough information! What a mystery. James Darden left the remainder of his estate to Phyllis and Helen Campion (as well as to Robert Bright, his attorney, and an unknown friend in Maryland) after leaving the bulk of his estate to his brother's children. Phyllis and Helen were rich and didn't need his money. Darden seemed indebted to the Campions, but he had no scruples, so why should he do this?

His widow, Margaret, was only given her due under the state widow's allowance. Why?

Darden left so many relatives lacking while awarding money to the Campions. Why?

Well, the question remains unanswered.

What made me quite angry today was the behavior of the Boulder CU Norlin Archivist, David Hays, who didn't inform me that the library would be closed at 2 pm today. I had a 3:30 appointment to donate my postcard collection, and after trekking through the snow, found the library closed. I hung out on the porch a while until these 2 homeless guys showed up, quite angry themselves that the library (their haven) was closed. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't had the collection in my arms, wrapped in black plastic.

I finally walked to the Boulder Public Library, where Doug picked me up with the car.

Is there some powerful white man message here? Do all these people know about the Campions' bad behavior and keep it quiet? Am I completely paranoid?? I believe the answer is yes to the paranoia, but I'm getting very tired of dealing with a lack of respect from this CU archivist.

Deep in the Heart

2009-10-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

Texas leaves a lot to be desired, or at least Houston does.

We arrived Friday afternoon to a huge and terrifying rush hour traffic disaster, but Doug navigated his way to our Super 8 Motel in Webster, Texas. What a barren and boring place. Sorry to sound so negative, but the incredible highway system of overpasses and underpasses just passed by numerous fast-food places and chain stores.

We hooked up with Derek about 7pm Friday for dinner at the Village near Rice University. Derek had located a gourmet destination, and it was FAB. We walked around the Village area for a while, finding nothing of real interest (Yuppie territory), and went back to the motel to crash.

Saturday we took Derek shopping at the HEM store, buying him numerous gourmet items, and then we went to see "The Invention of Lying" at the movies. We did lunch at a gourmet Tapas restaurant in the Village. Derek wanted to take a nap, so we dropped him at his postgrad apartment complex, and we played ping pong while he napped, but Derek suddenly appeared, with the announcement that his toilet was clogged. Doug and I rushed off to buy him a toilet plunger at HEM. Doug wanted to check out the parking downtown for our Steven Sondheim lecture the following evening, and we drove around the downtown area while Derek unclogged his toilet.

The downtown area was pretty cool, but looked like it was a bit dangerous, perhaps. Derek said he'd been warned about getting mugged there, and I believe it.

Later on, we went to a 5 star Japanese restaurant, and on the way back to Derek's apartment, we started talking about Derek's homework, math, and etc., which we'd been talking about earlier, making jokes about Knot Theory. Derek all of a sudden showed his anger: Why should I tell you about the math classes I'm taking when you'll just make bad puns and ask stupid questions about it?

Doug and I were kind of shocked, and I felt so bad about making math jokes earlier. But it apparently blew over. I emailed Derek an apology, and Doug gave him a verbal apology.

The next day, Sunday, we picked up Derek for a fun-filled day at the Houston Space Center (the number one thing to do in Houston). It was pretty bad. Mostly kids' exhibits except for the movies and the fabled tram tour, which we took at my insistence. We spent about an hour waiting in line to take the tram tour, and it was incredibly boring, ending with an hour's wait for the return tram at Rocket Park.

Then we returned to Derek's apartment and he found a steakhouse near the sports stadium where we could dine. Whoa! When we arrived at the steakhouse, it turned out to be a pricey establishment. The meals were incredibly delicious, however, and we got a free dessert for Doug's impending birthday. Doug was in the bathroom during our dessert choice, and Derek and I had perhaps our best moments together while Doug was absent and Derek broke into honest laughter. "He really takes his time, doesn't he?" Derek asked me about Doug in the bathroom, since a previous bathroom visit delayed our tram tour. I kept asking Derek to venture into the bathroom to find Doug, but he refused, saying, "I'm not going in there!" Derek has such a wonderful smile when he cares to show it!

Monday morning Doug and I woke up in the Super 8 to a major monsoon. I was depressed anyway, and the prospect of driving to the airport in the highway of terrors during optimum monsoon conditions was just too much. The rain was so bad that you couldn't see more than the taillights ahead of you, and it was scary.

But Doug, as always, drove safely to our destination. We flew back to Denver, where the weather was beautiful. Today, Tuesday, I met Sarah for lunch in Boulder while Doug delivered a bunch of unwanted items to Bobbie's house. I am preparing the postcard collection for the archives at CU Norlin Library, and it is proving to be difficult for me.

Not to mention leaving Mom for Ireland. But we've managed to sell her car to a nice lady, Janice Ebbetts, who just divorced her husband of years and years. And she introduced us to the Larkburger here in Boulder, which is enough to justify anything.

Halloween looms, and I know it's a bad time for Aunt Kay. The weather also weighs heavy on our plans before leaving Colorado.

Texas Tomorrow

2009-10-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning we leave for a Texas adventure in Houston. Doug has been such a great travel agent, as always, planning all the details. And I know that Doug is extremely uncomfortable about making this trip. I love him so much for doing this for me.

We saw our marriage counselor yesterday. I had read the book, Step Wars, and read most important passages to Doug. It felt good to know that what I've been feeling about our stepfamily situation is a commonly shared experience.

On the research front, I struck gold!!! Following the research trail established by Benton Hause, I have unearthed the lawsuit vs. James G. Darden's estate. WOW! The bad thing is that Doug went nuts when he heard that I'd done all this stuff without including him. We had a blowout about how Doug didn't think I trusted him. Ha! I trust Doug with my life, which he has saved several (many) times. I love Doug and owe him my life several times over. Our marriage counselor smoothed over this issue.

And you wonder why there are so many divorces every year?

Well. We visited Mom today, and the crocheted blanket for the homeless project has come to fruition! HoorayIt's absolutely beautiful and Pege took photos.

Now It's Late October

2009-10-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today was October 19, but it was one of the most beautiful days I've experienced since returning to Colorado. The weather was fabulous, for starters, and I had my French lesson at 8:30 am with Lucie in Narbonne, and the time flew by. Then I received a return email from Derek's history teacher at Iolani, Mr. Bickel, giving me the support I needed to go ahead and try to correct Laton McCartney and Francis Russell on their historical accounts of the Teapot Dome scandal.

I sent 2 letters to Mr. McCartney---one at his home address in Wyoming, and one through the Random House Publicity dept. I can only hope that both letters are not shredded or ignored.

The author of the book, Mansions of Denver, Monsieur Bretz, tends to avoid me, and I believe he is afraid of me, and perhaps with good reason. What a jerk! I have an equally low opinion of the CU library archivist. And it could've been so different, if they'd only treated me with a tiny bit of respect.

What else is new? Doug and I have been seeing a marriage counselor, and I wish I'd gone into that line of business. She earns $100 + an hour for just spewing out common sense responses to our problems. Doug likes her a lot, so I can't complain.

I'm looking forward to seeing Derek this Friday so much. So often I forget about my son, but when I hear his voice on the phone it all comes back to me.

The purpose of starting this blog was to document my progress in learning French, as an older student, but I believe this blog has documented the meandering process that an older student takes to learn anything. I have tried so hard to master a second language, but the process is very slow for me.

Ne jamais abandonnez le navire!

(I think that means "Never give up the ship" in French, but it's undoubtedly wrong.)

Ah well. I will keep trying to learn French in the hope that I'll live another 30 years. I could learn a lot of French in 30 years.

Back Home Again

2009-10-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

The last day of our East Coast vacation was relaxing/terrifying for me. It started out at the B&B in Vermont, where our hostesses Deb and Lucia prepared 5-billion calorie breakfasts for us with coffee cake and pancakes. Then we walked through the beautiful Vermont leaves for a while.

The day before we met Doug's old colleague Becky Graber in Brattleboro, VT. Her house is a complete shambles, but I loved it. She obviously places her life priorities on music and community service. She has a community choir, and her husband is active in many great projects, and I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet him. They are living the sort of life I'd like to be living.

After checking out of the B&B, we started driving all over the place: New Hampshire, Connecticutt, Massachusetts. It was going pretty much OK until we stopped for a short walk in Middleton, NY, and Doug left his jacket in a tea bar. After that, things rapidly slid downhill.

We had to reach the airport by 7pm for a 9pm flight, but we were late. It was dark and the highway was a nightmare. Doug started driving the Prius like a race-car driver, and I was absolutely terrified. I told him I saw my life flash before my eyes, and he apologized for frightening me. I called the Enterprise Rent-a-Car place for directions back to the car rental return location, because we were hopelessly lost. After getting directions, we arrived safely back at the airport car rental place and took a shuttle to the AirTrain to JFK Airport. It was a near thing, because Doug "had to sit" (as he puts it, when he has to spend long periods of time sitting on the toilet) right before our flight left.

When we arrived at the Denver Airport, we were totally exhausted, but Doug had the strength of mind and spirit to drive the Bronco home, even though I gave him a wrong-turn. He was gracious, but pounding the steering wheel. He's done that a lot, lately. Hmmm.

So when we got home we noticed that since we'd turned off the heat in our carriage house for a week, it was completely freezing inside. It was so cold, Cold, COLD!

The next morning I went to my 6-month dental appointment, which went well, and then met Bobbie for lunch at The Rainbow in Fort Collins.

East Coast Vacation

2009-10-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

We arrived in NYC last Tuesday, Oct. 6, and had a whirlwind tour of the Big Apple, including the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall, Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Natural History, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Carnegie Deli, Rockefeller Center, and the public library (quite beautiful). We stayed in the Super 8 motel in New Jersey, North Bergen, near Doug's old neighborhood, and I think the best part of the trip was seeing Doug's old neighborhood and the house where he grew up.

Today we've rented a Prius! at Enterprise Rent a Car and I was mighty nervous about mastering the technology of this vehicle, but Doug has supremely accomplished it. We drove through Connecticutt, Massachusetts, and Vermont, in the time it would take to maybe get through half of Colorado. We're staying at the Meadowlark Inn in Brattelsboro, VT, where Doug used to teach music. Tonight he found a listing in the telephone book for someone he used to know here. We took photos of his past homes in New Jersey and Wilmington. I think this journey has been rather cathartic for him, just as my genealogical journeys have served me.

I can only try to think of ways to resolve our differences before the next dreaded meeting with the Boulder shrink.

Derek is planning to visit us in Ireland (at our expense) for Xmas break, and that's great, I think. We're visiting him in Houston Oct. 23.

Porgy and Bess

2009-10-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight we watched a video of Porgy and Bess that was totally incredible. I wept throughout.

This morning we had breakfast chez Lucile on 14th Street, Cajon style, and it was tres bon. I also convinced Laurie to take Aunt Kay's home movies and give them a home. Hooray! I saw my first article published ON LINE in Women's Edition, in the current century, which was a major triumph, I must say, although the content was rather yuck.

Today was total hyperactivity day for me, while Doug seemed exhausted. Now it's about 11 pm and I'm getting ready for bed and Doug seems ready for anything. Ah, well.

I'm intensely intrigued with Benton A. Hause's line of enquiry into the Teapot Dome scandal and James G. Darden/Campions/et al. Why didn't he write his book? He traveled all over the country to investigate the story. What happened to him? I feel compelled to answer these questions for God knows what reason. Okay. It's because I want to know what happened. Just like I want to know what happened to my grandparents. What???

Oh, yes. Cousin Robin sent a beautiful photo of Dad and Aunt Bobbie in the mail, which was above and beyond the call since her mom's memorial service is next week. We framed the photo for Mom. We plan to visit Castle Rock tomorrow before leaving for the Big Apple.

I got $40 for the silver plates Auntie left me, thanks to the Amazing Garage Sale on Broadway here in Boulder. I wanted to get them back, actually, but it was too late. Time marches on. Ha.

October finally arrives

2009-10-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

My poison ivy has finally departed, leaving some red marks and dried-out skin, but I am very happy to see the last of it. And Autumn is definitely here in Boulder, bringing lots of fall flowers and changing leaves, and cool weather.

Mom got her Oxyview glasses yesterday, and I hope it will improve the quality of her life a bit. The guy I called on the phone was very kind to go out to the house and help her: Scott Durkop. Someone who went the extra mile!

Tonight Doug and I went to Sarah's house for dinner, and it was lots of fun. We got home about 11pm and plan to have breakfast with Lindsay tomorrow. Food fest!

The worst part of our week was a visit to a marriage counselor. I suppose it's been positive for me in the long-run, but going to her office was a nightmare, sort of like confessing your sins to a priest. We're leaving for New England Tuesday and coming back in about a week for more counseling fun. I only hope that Mom will be all right while we're gone. She seems to be losing ground lately, and at dinner tonight Allan was saying that his mom was on oxygen all the time too, and that when she lost ground it accelerated quite rapidly.

Lindsay showed us her new iTouch iPod, which was extremely cool. She got it from the proceeds of selling her grandma's old silverware ($500!), and that's nice. We're still trying to get a new washer from Lowe's after they delivered a defective one with a leaky door. They forgot to tell us that they had to take back the old one before ordering a new one. That's OK, though, because I've grown fond of the laundromat.

Day 7 of Poison Ivy Purgatory

2009-09-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

This was definitely an out-of-sorts day, and I felt bad about it.

We planned to visit Mom, who is discouraged after visiting Pege's new Christian doctor and finding out that she needs totally new medication, etc. I found some great new books for her to read, and had some more postcard questions, but en route to Castle Rock, the car broke a radiator hose, and smoke started pouring our of the AC vents, and then from under the hood. We called the insurance guy in Castle Rock and he was helpful as always. We got towed back to Boulder and are still waiting for an estimate on the damage.

The lady who put $500 down on buying the Bronco wants her son to look at the car this weekend, so I hope it will be presentable.

I am itchy and miserable and sorry that I didn't see Mom today. Bummers.

Day 6 of Poison Ivy Hell

2009-09-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Remind me to never go outdoors again.

I can't get rid of this stuff and it's making me crazy, literally. I felt some hope today after bathing in epsom salts, but I just found a new crop of bumps on my right elbow. The stuff is on both my arms and my neck. I hope it will stop soon.

I heard from Jim Bretz, a guy writing the Campion epic and obviously sucking up to the Mulvihills. Why can't people do history right? Ah, well. The Molly Brown story I just finished was very well documented, but I still got the sense that the writer was catering to the family. I suppose it must be hard to find the information you need without compromising your impartiality.

Today I paid $17 in library fines for overdue DVDs. I actually played a little piano today after a long absence. We await the FedEx truck delivering our new camera impatiently, and Mom called today wanting a visit, so we'll have to figure something out.

We watched a good DVD about meerkats, narrated by Paul Newman. Two words I must remember from now on: Unconditional Love.

Autumnal Freeze

2009-09-22T21:14:00.001-07:00

Well, on the 22nd of September, snow fell in Castle Rock, and some cold weather and rain hit Boulder. Looks like an early winter, and I'm glad not to be included in this deal.

Mom called today and said her doc in Castle Rock put her on new pills for her increased breathlessness. It's harder and harder for her to be active at all without having to take a break. She hates taking more pills, and it breaks my heart to see this slow decline. She's still fighting, and I try to keep things upbeat. What else can I do?

I have been reading a book about Molly Brown, Unraveling the Myth, and it says that the tragedy of the Titanic was so overwhelming for people to deal with, that everyone needed a heroic/comedic figure to distract them from facing this enormous tragedy, and Molly Brown fit the bill. I started reading the book to learn more about the Campions, and I have. I am quite impressed with Molly Brown's sense of social responsibility, while still wondering about the Campions. I think Nellie Campion was a good force for social improvement, but I wonder about her children.

In the midst of all this stuff from the past, I've been suffering from a case of poison ivy that has made my life pretty miserable. Today I was feeling particularly yuck, and Doug brought me a nice bouquet of carnations and a card with PUPPIES. Who could ask for anything more?

Today I mailed 20 postcards of Colorado scenes to the Colorado State Archives. Very satisfying to see these great old postcards archived without feeling pressured to do it.

Craigslist has been a godsend for getting rid of stuff around here. Mom's car was immediately snapped up by a very nice lady in the neighborhood. She put a $500 deposit on the grand old car.

Autumn Winds

2009-09-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

Winds of change are blowing through the Boulder atmosphere and through our lives. We plan to move out of here Nov. 10th, and have had many lively discussions to that end (arguments!).

Bobbie took me on a 2-day hiking expedition with a 1-night stand at Jim's cabin. There were many problems along the way, including a huge lightning storm on our first day's hike, and figuring out how to turn on the hot water heater at the cabin. But it all turned out well on the 2nd day, when we hiked all day.

Doug has been trying to download the entire contents of the Boulder Public Library onto his computer, and when it became an issue with me, he dumped everything into the trash, not realizing that he had also dumped some stuff that he hadn't stolen---his Front Range Chamber Players stuff---which he'd copied and then thrown away the original tapes. So now he's trying to recover the lost stuff, but of course, he's not good at that, and it's a sad state of affairs around here.

I visited Mom Friday and she seemed to be using so much more oxygen than before. We stopped at El Meson for lunch and Nettie hugged and kissed Mom. Mom gave Nettie the photo I took a long time ago of the two of them together.

On the genealogy front, I've received baptismal documents for Thomas and Louis from Slovenia. I have had no luck really locating my grandparents' death certs or graves. I've sent a letter to Slovenia to a Prosek in the Slovenian phonebook to see if he's related to us, but he may not even care to respond. Who knows?

About 2 weeks ago I went to the CU Library to look at the Phyllis Campion papers in the archives. I mentioned my postcard collection from the Campions and the librarian became quite pushy about archiving my resources, which was my intention. He said he'd contact the Campion family and a biographer doing a book on J.F. Campion. But so far I've heard nothing from anyone.

Joel's mother, Rosemary, died, and we've all sent sympathy cards. Cousin Robin sent a beautiful thank-you card to Mom, but I think she wants nothing to do with me.

A Visit to Mom

2009-08-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

Today we drove to Castle Rock, and I dreaded Mom's questions about our next move back to Ireland. Fortunately, Pege and Gary were absent, but Mom gave me a full grilling while Doug slept on the couch after our take-out lunch from Wendy's. Mom is still extremely sharp. She told me that living in Ireland wouldn't save us that much money since we'd be tempted to travel a lot in Europe (so true). She wanted to know the REAL reason we were moving, and I could only say that living in Boulder cost a lot, and that we missed Bel Canto, and maybe I'd get a PhD.

Well. Aunt Kay was happy as always to see us, and she is so very affectionate. I'm not sure she knows who we are, but she enjoys our company. She even came into Mom's room and sat next to me on Mom's bed, even though Mom gave her the evil eye. I showed Mom the death certificate I'd recently received from Chicago for Thomas Prasek (Prosek), and I think she was quite enthralled by it, as I have been. Finally I know what happened to my grandfather, how he died, and where he's buried. Closure!

After spending the entire day visiting Castle Rock, we watched a video of Katherine Hepburn in Long Day's Journey Until Night, a play by Eugene O'Neille, and Doug fell asleep. Bobbie called to say that her dog Belle is OK and back home, but needing TLC. Bobbie is very good at providing TLC, so I know Belle is in good hands.

Empty House

2009-08-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

Today our bed left us. It was hard saying goodbye to it after bringing it all the way here from France. Goodbye, notre lit! The house looks like a herd of buffalo ran through it. After selling so many things, it's hard to relax here, but we're trying.

I finally coralled Laurie Conklin in order to finish my Pulitzer-Prize-winning article about Beattie's Pharmacy. The sad thing is that I just don't care about the whole project and keep putting off writing it down.

I've been reading short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which were probably written as he worked up to Sherlock Holmes. They're not so good!

Still working on my French, but losing heart a little bit. Maybe in Ireland I can attend Alliance Francaise and become newly motivated. Lucie is very kind, but I don't feel challenged; Lucie sent me a "test" that was laughably easy. I finished the grammar book but I don't have a new one, so I finished the vocabulary book too. Trying to speak French with her on Skype is always frustrating. I know I've learned a lot of French in the past year, but it's still far from easy for me. When we were in Ireland, we met a man named Bernard who told us how easily he picked up new languages, and I wanted to strangle him. He compared it to playing music by ear. But, he said he doesn't read or write French, just speaks like a native.

Derek emailed that he is making new friends in Texas, which makes me happy.

Bobbie's dog Belle had surgery and survived, so she lives on. Probably lots of work caring for her after the operation---glad it's not me taking care of her. Reminds me of caring for Whitey after her heatstroke episode. Belle's vet bills are almost reaching $2,000 ...

Doug is looking into shipping the piano to Ireland. Tomorrow we visit Mom and hope for good vibes there. She didn't get her new hearing aids because she ran out of oxygen in her new big tank. Hope they filled it for her!

Moving to Ireland (Part 2)

2009-08-22T08:43:00.001-07:00

We spent a week in Ireland, got very sunburned, and found an apartment to rent in Laytown. Now we're in the process of selling all our big stuff, like the ping pong table. I put lots of stuff on Craigslist and the students came in droves to buy everything. It was amazing!

Last night Lindsay came over for dinner (tuna casserole) and we viewed her new writing job. I'm trying to do some writing, too, but it isn't much fun at all. I agreed to do some vanity writing for Women's Edition, and interviewed Trey Beattie, the druggist, who turned out to be kind of a creepy guy. Now I have to write a glowing article about his wonderful business. Yuck.

Laurie's back in LA. Bobbie's dog Belle seems to be dying, and she's pretty shook up about it. Mom is still going strong, getting new hearing aids Monday.

Can't think of much else to say ... November is the big move. Can't wait.

Tomorrow ... Ireland!

2009-08-12T20:56:00.002-07:00

What can I say?

Doug and I were walking around the block and suddenly we were going to Ireland. It wasn't my idea, but I agreed to go. Wow.

We were in the process of trying to sell used clothing before our planned trip in November, but somehow, we ended up leaving immediately.

So tomorrow the grand adventure begins at great expense. Oh boy.

Okay.

Laurie came back to Colorado to help her dad with the remodeling of his house, and I'm hoping to see again the infamous Randy Baird.

I'm rather alarmed at this whole process, but what else is new?

Well, it seems like a grand idea to me. Yikes!

Tomorrow ... Ireland!

2009-08-12T20:56:00.001-07:00

August 3rd

2009-08-03T20:29:00.001-07:00

Today was stressful but thrilling. I successfully taught an English conversation class in the Boulder Public Library, and loved every minute of it. I was so worried about what would happen, but it went quite well, with me adjusting to every unknown element in the class.

Six women came to the class, and they were so supportive of me and of each other. It was a very nice experience.

We started off telling our names and asking each other questions. This went so-so. Then I started a contest whereby each pair of students listed as many items as they could that they could buy at a supermarket. The students wrote their lists on the whiteboard, each pair adding things not listed by the others. At the conclusion, we corrected spelling errors and made sure that everyone knew exactly what each item was. I tried to discuss current events and news, but it went nowhere.

The funniest part of the class was when the German lady told us about how she visited Garden of the Gods and got rained and hailed on, and her husband and his friend took off all their clothes and dried them at a laundromat. It was a very funny story and definitely broke the ice!

So I had a great day. We went to King Soopers to look for Chester's Chicken after a student in the class told me that she worked at King Soopers and that this was something to buy there.

Tomorrow is French and Doug meets Lindsay for coffee. Wednesday is our 3rd anniversaire!

August Already

2009-08-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is August 3rd, and I'm supposed to do my second stint as substitute English Conversation Class teacher. Oh boy. I have all kinds of ideas, but after the last class, I don't know what will happen, so I'm playing it by ear, which is not good for me. We'll see how it goes. The idea of leaving Colorado and going back to Ireland has made me rather apathetic about accomplishing anything here, and my worries about Mom just make me feel like I'm always carrying a heavy weight on my shoulders. It's bad.

Laurie emailed that she is returning Aug. 10 to help her dad remodel his home. She sounds a bit defeated after breaking up with her boyfriend Chris.

Today Doug and I drove to Crown Hill Cemetery to view the Neuschler "family room" at the tower. What a bizarre and distressing experience that was! Lots of ice cold marble, and sticky fly traps underneath the Neuschler Family stained glass portrait of Jesus. Aunt Kay's empty crypt lies right under the stained glass window. Yuck. I couldn't wait to leave that place.

We did laundry again at the laundromat because I destroyed the washer/dryer unit here, and our new units are still on back order. Our landlord has been very kind, offering to reimburse us for laundromat costs. I feel bad that we're leaving him soon ...

Debbie Ikehara emailed last night with news of her husband's death. I was very sad to hear about his death, especially because I thought he'd been the lucky one to beat the big C.

Stewing a la Derek

2009-07-30T22:07:00.000-07:00

Derek sent me this recipe for stew, and we spent all day buying ingredients, chopping them, and stewing them. It was quite delicious, and well worth the time to experience something that Derek had enjoyed.

Today I walked to the post office and sent off a package of French language books to Sarah, and borrowed more videos from the library.

I feel so tired and burdened these days by Mom's impending demise.

Oh, and the new liquid oxygen machine that was sitting on Mom's porch ended up sitting outdoors in the rain when Gary Jr. put it there. I applaud his efforts.

Tonight Doug and I watched A Brief Encounter (Trevor Howard, 1945), which was a very good movie and reminiscent of the TV show Butterflies. Doug is getting obsessed with finding a place to live in Ireland, and I'm feeling guilt about leaving Mom or else wishing that she would die before we plan to leave. It's a bad feeling.