Nothing much happened

 Greetings

There isn't much to report about Monday other than it came and went. Because I have a cold, my company opted not to join me for dinner. With other health issues going on, it was too much of a risk. Maybe if this cold clears completely, we can arrange a raindate.

Today it's not raining so I'm about to go somewhere - as yet undecided. I can't waste a dry day. 

The play last night, The Wake by Tom Murphy, was intense. The acting was superb, and the sets were really imaginative and set the scenes well. I wasn't expecting it to be the way it was, based on the summary in the program, and it took me a while to adjust. I wondered if they'd mixed up the descriptions of the action we were expecting. The second act was more like the description. There were some quite comical moments but this was about family conflicts and how they were resolved, or not. I have to give the actors, director and others involved in the production full credit. Those seated around me were as confused as I was about the action unfolding in front of us. 

The adjudicator, Imelda McDonagh, is fabulous. Part of the fun is watching to see what she will be wearing. She always looks lovely and her clothes are slightly unusual and suit her to a T. She introduces the play and the author and goes on to critique and praise all aspects. It's quite the learning experience. I viewed it just from the point of view of being entertained.

Not much actually happened during the day other than doing laundry, reading and wondering if and when the rain would stop. 

I think Altamont Gardens will be my destination now. It's a short drive away and always lovely and I want to see what's in bloom. I'm sure there's a shorter route than I'll take, but I can get there without the GPS and that's good enough. 

Tonight's play is The Gin Game, which I've seen, so depending on what else comes up, I might (not) attend. 

Slan

And a wonderful day it was

There's no better place to be on 17 March than in Ireland. And no better place in Ireland than among the relatives. And it didn't rain, and it's not raining now. 

Around noon I found the Byrne connection at Jim's pub in Carnew, where they had gathered to watch the parade. 

Jim the publican, smiling at his customers

It was very much a country parade and lots of fun. 

They drive tractors at a very young age here; but fear not, he's on Daddy's lap

The biggest smile in the crowd

Carnew Community Care, a senior living facility was the official grand marshall as it was celebrating 40 years of service. It's kind of like a village within a village. All the residents live in their own "cottage" and make some of their own meals. It's always an option to have dinner in the Centre and share the companionship of your neighbours. And those dinners are delicious and filling. 

After the parade, we returned to the pub, where I had a Guinness and, of course, more conversation. The antihistamines kept my very runny nose in check, and I hope I didn't spread this cold to too many people.

Let it settle, top it up, let it settle and then enjoy

In the evening, I enjoyed dinner at Coolruss and a very rural experience of Jim bringing a little lamb into the house to be bottle-fed. He was the smallest of a set of triplets and his mama could only feed two. Today, they hope that a sheep whose lamb died will accept him and continue with a more natural feeding.

Dinner time for the little lamb

To back it up a little, the play on Saturday night was "I do not love thee, Dr. Fell." It was a great comedy which was a take-off on the encounter groups in California in the 70s. The characters were all well-played, and the psychiatrist/group leader produced an amazing American accent. I would have believed she was a California girl, but she was not. The adjudicator liked the play as well, and that's important as her comments and rating will determine whether the play will end up in the All-Ireland finals in May. 

It had rained all day and I caught up on my reading. There was nothing to be enjoyed outdoors for sure. Yes, I finished my book and started another. I came reluctantly to the e-reader but it's perfect for travellers. I will never run out of something to read.

Today is a bank holiday to make up for St Paddy's Day falling on a Sunday. However, the stores will be open at least from noon. I'm having company for dinner, but don't tell anyone that I'm going to purchase the entire meal and "cook" it myself. Ahem. The kitchen is well-equipped but somewhat unfamiliar when it comes to creative cooking. At least, that's my excuse.

I'll be off shortly to see what I can find to explore in the vicinity. However, as I look out the kitchen window, I can no longer see the nearby hills. Fog is rolling down quickly, and it could be that the promise of a dry day was too optimistic. Maybe I can go madly off in a different direction and stay dry.

Sunny all afternoon - YAY

With the forecast NOT calling for rain, I simply had to go to Avondale, Beyond the Trees on Friday. And I was certainly not disappointed. While Ms Google had a different idea of the route to take, by making a compromise and using the parts of the route that I'm familiar with, my rental car took me to Avondale. Where I climbed up and out in only a few minutes. Here is the nefarious bucket seat with its horrible raised sides. Why did they design them like that? As a challenge to a quick exit?

My timing couldn't have been better. It was a school day and the only children I saw were little preschoolers with their parents. Most of the visitors were adults and none of us were in a hurry to get anywhere. Starting off at the information desk, I paid for my ticket and had a nice chat with a gentleman who is involved with the Rathrum Historical Society. Somehow if you are into genealogy/history, a conversation is probably lurking around every corner.

Suitably briefed, I headed out for the treetop walk. Everything was accessible, meaning there were no stairs to navigate. Everything is ramped. The treetop walk started at ground level and the incline was never more than 6%. 

It is very early spring now, so there were a few flowers here and there, and the deciduous trees were still bare. That, of course, meant that some views were more open and not blocked by lovely green leaves. I was surprised to see so many Eucalyptus trees and had a momentary flashback to my long-ago trip to Australia. I scanned for koalas, but not surprisingly, there were none. 

The treetop walk takes you along a pretty route with lots of potential diversions and detours for kids (and their parents it seemed.) In case anyone was watching, I didn't bother with those but they might have been fun. Plenty of signs indicate what you are looking at, notably the wildlife, of which I saw none.

At the end of the trail is the tower—a giant spiral, again with great signage and views along the way. On the inside is a huge spiralling metal tube that flexible and adventurous people can use for a quick descent. If you wish to use that slide you must pick up a mat before heading up. It's like a thick felt toboggan, and the rider's feet go into the pocket at the front. I roughly timed the trip down by that slide, to something more or less than 10 seconds. Given that my body has the flexibility of a steel construction beam, I opted to walk both ways.

The famous slide - exit and try to stand up while everyone is watching? No thanks.

I took a vertical panorama shot so it looks a bit wonky;
 it was not designed by the architect of the leaning tower of Pisa

I had lunch in the cafe and the sun came out. It would have been a waste had I driven straight back to Carnew. The destination I chose was Glenmalure. With all the recent rain, going back to last June, and being almost constant since then, the waterfall was indeed worth the trip. The sun was not in a good position for the photo I wanted to take, but eventually, a cloud drifted in front of the sun, and I got a picture. The one below cropped off the very top of the hill. Imagine, wishing for a cloud. That road beckoned me to drive farther along.

There I encountered an Irish traffic jam. Those sheep were little devils. A farmer came along on his ATV with his trusty sheepdog who made many attempts to keep them together to get them home. It was quite the task, which allowed me to get photos and a little video of them. I drove all the way to the dead end, which was a parking lot for hikers. My feet had been through enough for the day, so I walked about 75 metres along the river and doubled back to the car. On the drive back, I didn't see the farmer or his sheep at all, so he either gave up or managed to successfully get them home. 

It was no surprise that I couldn't get a phone signal there, but eventually, I did, and Google Maps reset to take me back. I followed directions until I got onto a familiar route and then made Ms. Google do a lot of re-routing as I went home my own way.

The first play of the Drama Festival was last night. Although there were a few moments of humour, I found it to be mostly serious. The actors played their roles well, but as the adjudicator said in her comments after the show, they could have played up the comedy quite a lot more. 

It's just a short trot back to the house and I called it a day about 11 pm. 

I didn't blink so I managed to see the sun today

An early bedtime last night and late awakening this morning took care of the jet lag and the totally sleepless night on the plane. The morning weather was not worth opening the curtains for, but it was worth a couple of cups of coffee to get me off to a good start. There wasn't enough liquid in my Overnight Oats, but I ate it in slices anyway. Almost tasty.

I decided to walk around the block. Note to self: find out if there is a block first. Turns out there isn't. The street around the corner is a dead end. Anyway, it was drizzling and very windy, so I was happy enough to cut it short when I got back to my "own" place. 

The afternoon weather, after my nap, was somewhat more pleasant. It was just misty, not showering, but I took along an umbrella which I used as a sidewalk tapper as I strolled along. 

Having watched hours of videos on iPhone photography, and learned that my phone is more sophisticated than its owner in what it can do, it was time to do some experimental snapping. I didn't see anyone I knew but did get and return several friendly greetings. I don't know if the greetings were followed by quiet snickers, as I snapped pictures of things I'd never have thought of capturing if I hadn't watched those videos. For example:

Just some moss on the church wall

Different moss on a different wall

Goes without saying, but was spotted on a gate.

I could, but won't bore you with more pictures taken along the main street of Carnew. Instead, I'll show you some of the flowers in my front yard. First of all - the house. It has a roof, by the way. 

My current location on Coolattin Road in Carnew, Co. Wicklow

And just a couple of hundred metres down the street is the location of the reason why I'm here

You can see from that picture that we had some blue sky and sunshine today. It lasted about a nanosecond but it was very bright, if not warm. Neither is it really cold, and, in fact, because of the dampness, it feels colder than it is.

So, in my front yard, I tried to take some snaps of the lovely plants and flowers. Wouldn't it be nice to look outside in Ottawa and see flowers at this time of year? Some of you have noticed the odd crocus, but today I saw tulips down the street. Be patient, Ottawa will have some soon(ish). I don't have a close-up lens, but I managed to get quite close despite my camera showing the message "Move farther back."

Hellebore

The perfect Camelia; the white ones are still buds

Hellebore, according to the iPhone

Tonight will be quiet with another early bedtime but somewhat later than last night. I want a relatively early start tomorrow. The plan is to go to Beyond the Trees at Avondale. I expect the camera will get quite a workout. And I won't forget to just enjoy the surroundings either. I'll try to be there when it opens at 10, so I can get home and have a nap before going to the theatre tomorrow night. This is a description of the play.

Eccentricities of electronics impacted internet and phone access so ...

Well, the flight was smooth and on time and the luggage arrived with me. I got the rental car with no problem, and then the fun began.

Before leaving home, I thought I had purchased a phone, text, and data plan for my cell phone using my Irish SIM card. I am able to use the same number as last time because it has been less than six months. After some initial struggles, I was able to get on the Dublin Airport Wi-Fi, set up Google Maps to get me to Carnew and get underway. It's a good thing it downloads the maps.

It's not that I don't know how to get to Carnew, where I'm staying. The problem is exiting from Dublin Airport and knowing which lane to be in for the several roundabouts that finally spill you onto the right motorway leading (hopefully) to your destination. The roundabouts are so large that they have traffic lights and go madly off in all directions. With Google issuing instructions, it's not a problem. The real problems were yet to come.

Picture this - I left the airport in my unfamiliar but spiffy rental car at 8 am. This is a large city. Yep, first gear was all I needed for about half an hour. I was on the right road drifting slowly along until we got to the exit for Tallaght. Traffic speeded up to normal then. If you are that curious, or bored, ask Google where it is and how far it is from Dublin Airport. 

Subsequently, the only hiccup on the drive was the weather. It was alternately pouring rain, drizzling, stunningly sunny while still raining ... well, you get the picture. The windshield wipers are exhausted.

Having arrived at my destination - to see Mary Harte at Carnew Community Care Village - I had to exit the car. The seats of this little beauty have raised "lumps" that one has to surmount to perform that exit. I was tired after a totally sleepless night, stiff from so much sitting, and parked at a slightly tilted angle so that I had to get out "uphill." I did a quick visual survey to be sure nobody with a smartphone was filming this little episode to entertain others on YouTube or whatever. The coast was clear, so I clambered up and out. It only took a few minutes.

After a nice visit with Mary, a couple of slices of toasted brown bread (yes, THAT brown bread) and a cup of coffee, I got instructions from my host, who generously lent me her home for my stay. The key was under the mat, as I'd been told. It turned easily in the lock. But the door wouldn't open. This is particularly fun on a rainy day with a suitcase now sitting on the ground. Eventually, although I didn't know why at the time, the key magically worked. 

In the past, I've been baffled by the locks here. They are very secure. They've kept me securely outside of my accommodations on many occasions. The secret to this one is you have to make more than one turn of the key as it clicks over, twice, and then a tiny little extra turn before you gain entry. But now I know. And the suitcase didn't leak while it waited patiently.

Mary had provided a Wi-Fi hotspot, which worked a treat for my phone, but the laptop would not and still does not, connect to it. Unless on Wi-Fi, I could not use the phone.

Insert hours of frustration on a support chat from Vodaphone, typing first to a robot who offered a nice selection of issues, none of which covered my basic problem. I'll spare you the details, but after a very long time, it was determined that my payment had not gone through when I'd topped up the plan from home. By this time I had a live human being on the other end of the chat line, and he provided a link to do the top-up. The robot probably went back to tormenting other people whose issues were not on its approved list. All good until the final step. My VISA requires two-step authentication for online transactions. Very safe. However, I had the Irish SIM card in my phone and VISA sent a verification code to my Canadian cell number. It was not set up to give me the choice of text or email to verify. I can't do anything about that from here. How was I going to use the phone when out and about? How could it provide a hotspot for the laptop?

Off I drove to Coolruss to ask for suggestions and maybe pay them to use a credit card. It turns out that all I had to do was go to a shop about 200 yards from my current "home", give them €20, and I'd be good to go. That's done now. All good with the phone. 

But then, when I tried to use it as a hotspot for my laptop, the darn computer wouldn't accept that hookup. I've done this many many times at home. Arrrggghhh. However, my phone gave me an alternative - just connect the phone and laptop by a cable and Bob's your uncle. Done now. 

I retired early, brain-dead by that point, and slept for a long time. My bed has an electric blanket. I've never had one and I think I'm in love! It was perfect, and being on a timer there was no danger of being fried alive while I slept.

After a refreshing shower and a cup of coffee, my day has begun. It's closing in on noon, and of course, it's raining. Tomorrow is supposed to be dry, so it's time to make a plan that involves the outdoors. 

So, I'm catching up on email and generally hanging around the house today. The rain seems to be taking a break so I'll go for a short walk. I've done my grocery shopping and will be well-fed. The long-term forecast indicates that the waterproofing on my jacket will be worn out by the time I get home, so every day, I will have a plan A and a plan B. Stay tuned.

Gearing up for the next chapter, full of drama, in County Wicklow

The packing is underway, reservations have been made and I'm celebrating the Spring Forward by heading to Ireland once again.

This visit was a spur-of-the-moment decision to attend the South Wicklow Drama Festival. I'll be based in Carnew, and my evening plans are already made. The program holds great promise. A great bonus is that I will be there to celebrate St Paddy's Day by watching the parade and, later on, lifting a pint of the Black Stuff in Jim Byrne's pub.

I'll have time during the day to practice some of the iPhone photography tips I've been trying to absorb over the past few weeks. Of course, I'll visit with the cousins when the lambing doesn't interfere. If all goes well, I can catch up with some friends, too.

Almost time to wander home but ...

Last night in the cottage. All is calm as I type this but Storm Debi is to roar across Ireland overnight and tomorrow morning. Driving conditions will be awful. Falling trees, winds up to 100 KPH and driving rain are expected. I foresee a late return of my car. Better safe than sorry.

I had a lovely day today with Mary Harte at Ann and Tom's place. Ann cooked a lovely dinner and when I was about to say it's time to leave, some of the Kavanaghs arrived so we extended the visit. I took Mary back to Carnew and made my way "home."

Just the packing up to do now. I will be ready to depart tomorrow when the roads are again declared safe to drive. This area won't be hit so hard, but I'd be heading into rough weather en route to Dublin. The schools are closed until at least 10 am and people are advised to work from home if possible. The storm puts a fitting end to this visit. I arrived at the tail end of Storm Babet. We were more or less bypassed by Storm Ciaran, and Storm Debi will usher me out. I imagine flights will be affected tomorrow. Luckily, mine is on Tuesday. I'll be staying at a hotel near Dublin airport tomorrow night.

So I bid adieu to another Irish adventure and will resume my travel narrative at some future date.

Genealogy alert

No real progress with finding another generation back, but some sources have been examined, found wanting, and crossed off the list. More to come. New sources found. More research in December at the National Library manuscript room. No, not me, but a trusted researcher. Who knows what will turn up.