The long way home

A rainbow on our last night in Number 10 The Saltings, Annagassan, County Louth, Ireland. 

Looking forward to keeping the momentum, Cosgroves!

http://www.magisto.com/album/video/JyYpW1FNCQI_OHAHDmEwCX18?

What we saw:

Well...Donegal and Dingle next time! We did alright.

Stella constructed her own passport on the plane, just in case we lost hers. An 18 hour journey door-to-door and the kids were great. Nothing like a 40 minute sit on the tarmac because no gates are open then a 45 minute wait at customs, then Toronto rush hour traffic to test us on the last leg of the journey.

We came home with 450lbs of luggage, a bit more than what we left with in tangibles and of course, so much more of the important stuff that doesn't go in suitcases.

Happy to be home and reflecting on the trip. We will wax poetic about the transformative experiences when not on 24th straight hour awake.

*For those still viewing, we'll catch up on a few more posts we are still putting together (horses, people we've met, stories, what its been like to drive/not drive in Ireland, more sayings...), even if they'll be out of sequence. Thanks for following us on our journey!

Spirit Store

The boys with Declan O'Rourke

The parents had a long awaited night out in at "Spirit Store" in Dundalk for some live music. We saw "The Very Round Robin", which consisted of three acts:  a well known Irish folk artist named Declan O'Rourke, his friend and sometimes collaborator Roesy, and The Young Folk.

The Young Folk produced wonderful harmony, sounding at times like a softer version of Mumford and Sons, and pulled out a range of unrecognizable (to us) instruments to complement that harmony.

So many times with live music, the audience trickles in for the opening act, talks through their songs...it was great to watch the setup - with all three acts on stage at once, alternating songs.  The Young Ones, which by age and name they were, admired the other two and you could sense their trepidation about joining in with a twitch to their strings or beat of their foot. When all five did play, it worked.

These were our favourite songs of the night.

1916 is Declan's tribute song to the Easter Rising, about to have its centenary commemoration next year. The theme and lyrics, with a beautiful delivery, was quite powerful. The posture of the audience changed from a rhythmic bounce to near salute as if a national anthem. I would love the chance to see him play it at the commemoration.

Here is our video of it: https://youtu.be/wdPyOIH_Xb0


Here are some links to other songs Declan played:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZobP6M6w8q4


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5UaHmnOuRk

And of course, a couple magisto movies of the night!

http://www.magisto.com/album/video/JjkiXVFNCQI_OHAHDmEwCXl5?


http://www.magisto.com/video/P1oZKVYKRCJgQRZgCzE

 

Outside the Dundalk Cathedral

T

More GAA

This isn't that other soccer!  Gaelic Football is tough!

We are playing catch up with some posts now that our time is winding down. Here are some more pictures and videos from the kids' Gaelic Football practices. They have loved having Siomaigh as the coach and will miss their new sport.

A magisto movie here: http://www.magisto.com/video/KAFNIAEWHm05XBJgCzE

And some below:

The ticking clock

We are a bit housebound as Ronan still recovers and Stella is now bravely dealing with this nasty GI bug. We continue to hope that the virus is uninterested in Declan or the parents and that we get a few nice days to wrap up our sabbatical on a high note.

A few random pictures that never found a home on our thematic blog posts.

Pete the Pigeon! Wandered into our house. Maybe it is bird flu we have?

Workers let Ronan jump in and use the digger

Three Buoys!

SHARK!!  What we think was a Lesser Spotted Dogfish shark washed up on shore. About 20 inches long.

"It wasn't very fun at the hop-sit-al"

Our poor wee man had a nasty viral GI bug that gave him an overnight in the hospital for fluids and pain. He got excellent care (but if you ask him he did not make friends with the glucose-testing nurses) and is happy (pic above not illustrating that emotion) to be home. Great to have him here too - the Cosgroves and others on the cul-de-sac rallied around us and him to help out with babysitting, making him cards, etc. Let's hope this is the first time in Bowie history the GI bug does not get to anyone else, for we are to be boarding a plane home in 139 hours!

Happy to have her Ronan home

Bad hair day

Declan's curls are still lighting up the room. Siomaigh and I are hoping to dress him up as Father Jack, from the Irish television show "Father Ted", his doppelgänger:

Not easy to find appropriate Father Jack clips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dducMqMl8c


Here is a video of Declan seeing himself just out of the bath with his wet hair parted to the side, looking all preppy.

Can't get enough of Slieve Gullion Park!

Another fun day hiking and checking out the adventures of our favourite forest park.

A quick video courtesy of Seamus.

http://www.magisto.com/album/video/OTp6DFFNCQI_OHAHDmEwCXt2?



(note the videos play better in Chrome than Firefox for us)

Strandfield

An oasis. Strandfield is a gourmet grocer, lunch and coffee shop, and flower market about 20 minutes from our residence in Annagassan. We have made it a routine to sip their cappuccinos and machiattos while enjoying their egg stack sandwich, fresh baked goods, and other delights. 

It is a converted unit of a farm that is still in operation. They have made wonderful use of space and decorated it with antique furniture that is for sale. The flower shop is simple but stunning and there is always a new feature. There is an area in the back that Keela and Euan have rebranded as "Hip-n-Sip", a kid run cafe and play area. Just a great place. Maybe we will open one back home as a place to house Tribute Decor!