Last Ireland Post

Well, our time is nearly up. The computer has to come apart tonight, so this will be my last post from Ireland. As expected, the time went very quickly. This was a great experience and I'm SO thankful to Trish and Soft Star for giving me the support to come. I'm a pretty lucky girl!

Kahlil's last day at the creche was today. The kids were very sweet and made him a card and an Irish flag. I'm sure the teachers gave a lot of help with making the card :-)

Today was windy, but very nice out. I saw several pairs of shorts walking around town today. There are trees in full bloom, birds sings, sun shinning and lots of daffodils. I'm sad I wont get to see Dublin in full spring, but I'm looking forward to getting back to my own yard before spring really sets in.

We had a great time here, but I think the Ireland we experienced was different from that of our 'single' friends that were here before kids. We didn't partake of the night life as much as we would have a few years ago... of course that could be as much because we are in our mid-thirties as it is we are parents. Either way, we still had a few nights out and lots of fun.

As for having kids here... the Irish are very accommodating for children. Most restaurants offered to make a side dish, mash potatoes and gravy or cooked veggies, for Kahlil free of charge. And they were generally taken with his "gorgeous brown eyes". That seems so strange to me, having grown up around mostly brown eyes.

We got recommendations to live in Dublin and out close to HP. We decided to live in the city and I'm very happy we did. Being here in the city center allowed Kahlil and I to roam around during the day. There were lots of options when I was looking for childcare and I could walk to every thing we needed. Of course we didn't get a chance to connect with many of the locals since we lived in a part of town where most people just visit or work, even the Irish. But Kahlil did charm the receptionists at the architect firm in our building.

We saw all the main things I wanted to visit while here. I do wish we had made it out to one of the fishing towns and more time exploring the Wicklow Mountains. Oh well, now we have something left for next time! I am VERY bummed we didn't get a chance to meet up with U2; our schedules just didn't allow it this time ;-)

I think that's it.

Cheers Ireland!

Corvallis... see you soon!

Pictures from Irish National Stud

For whatever reason, my pc is now back on line. So here are a few pictures from our trip to the Irish National Stud. I also included the text from "The Life of Man", the story that explains the walk in the Japanese garden. Enjoy!

Some of the mares and foals:

The water garden is actually called Saint Fiachra's Garden. Here are a couple pictures from walking around there:

And now the story from the Japanese garden. The bold text represents a stop on the walk.

The Life of Man

The pilgrim soul enters the garden through the Gate of Oblivion.

The Cave of Birth, a cavern in a mound of rock over-looked by the first stone lantern, symbolises life's beginning. From here, the first steps of life along the path of childhood lead to a dark tunnel, the Tunnel of Ignorance.

The darkness of the tunnel represents lack of understanding the child. Within the tunnel he finds the light of knowledge which leads him up the steps to the Hill of Learning. Here a tall pine tree tempts the student to look too high but an unguarded pitfall reminds him of the dangers which surround him and teaches him vigilance before he comes down the hill to the level of his fellows.

He resists the temptation of the easy path and follows the more challenging rugged path of adventure which leads step by step (through adolescent years) to the Parting of the Ways. Here he has three choices - smooth path of carefree life to the right (LH: I'm not sure what this is in real life... nobody gave me this option when I was growing up!), the narrow path of bachelorhood to the left, or the stepping stones of exploration across the water ahead which lead to wedded life.

After some hesitation he selects the latter and arrives at the Island of Joy and Wonder. (LH: Of course choosing wedded life will lead to joy and wonder!!) Here he meet his future wife and joins her at the Engagement Bridge. This bridge symbolises the decisive break in his life and together they come to the symbolic table of the prenuptial feast before crossing the Marriage Bridge.

Once across the Marriage Bridge, they take the Honeymoon Path to the right and in so doing, turn their backs on the path of bachelorhood. The Honeymoon Path is wider so that they may walk abreast, and so they continue light-heartedly until they reach an obstruction in the path, representing the difference of opinion. Here they part company for a while but are soon reunited and together commence to climb the hill of ambition.

They now see from afar the well of wisdom, from which they wish to drink; the steps toward it are steep, the way is hard and they have almost reached it but they suffer a Disappointment at finding themselves separated from it by water which they cannot cross. In disappointment they must retrace their steps and climb the hill of ambition from another direction. Further quarrels and disappointments are at hand, there are diverging paths and ups and downs, but they again become united and ascent together to the summit of the Hill of Ambition. From here they look back and see the past, it's joys, successes and failures.

Now in their declining years they descend together and pause at the waterfall to pray to their gods. The way is easier and the bridge across the water smooth. Crossing this they reach the Tea House and the miniature Japanese Village, before at last reaching the Well of Wisdom where they pause to wish for enlightenment before crossing the Bridge of Life to the Garden of Peace and Contentment beyond.

In the Garden of Peace and Contentment, as old age creeps on, they find the path is smooth and level - life is easier and tribulations are behind them. Thus they progress until they reach the tottering steps which lead to the hill of mourning. With his wife now seated in peace and comfort on the Chair of Old Age our wanderer traces his faltering steps to the Hill of Mourning where he is laid to rest, surrounded by weeping trees. His soul passes through the Gateway to Eternity and so the story closes.

Quick Puke Update

This will be a quick update because we are having internet access problems. The desktop computer decided it didn't want to be on line any more and we are so close to the end, I'm not sure how much more time we'll put into fixing it. So unless our pc changes it's mind, I'll have limited e-mail and internet access for the rest of our stay.

We went to the National Irish Stud farm yesterday. It was really cool to see the cute babies running around. We also saw the stallions... they were pretty impressive when a mare was driven by. There are also a couple gardens. The Japanese garden - which tells the story of life - was a kick to walk through. There were interesting things like the Well of Wisdom, The Tunnel of Ignorance, and the Hill of Ambition.

Yesterday evening we went to Carrie and Flor's to watch the rugby game... Ireland KICKED ASS on the English. It was the most points EVER scored against the English. It was nice spending some more time with Carrie's parents, Joe and Nancy. They are really nice people. Kahlil and Alex had a great time running around together. Alex is very good at sharing his toys which was nice for Kahlil. There was only a little tension when Alex tried to fold Kahlil into roll out couch. But other than that, they both had a great time together.

Kahlil shared his sickness with me... I was puking at 4:30 this morning. It was fun. Luckily this illness is pretty low key as far as flu / stomach bugs go. I would say I'm about 80% good - quite functional, but not very enthusiastic. I really hope I didn't infect the entire Harris-Marquina household.

Kahlil seems to be ok - no more puke or diarrhea. He has been grumpy all day so his stomach may still be bothering him... but his appetite is picking up... maybe he's teething again.

Melting Away

Well, the end is near. We have only six days until we jump on a plane and leave the Emerald Isle. I started getting our stuff cleaned out and organized today. Also finalized arrangements for a little vacation on the way home.

The vacation... we looked into spending some time on a beach at Christmas, but it didn't work out. Our shipment hadn't gotten here yet and I wasn't very organized. So we stayed in Ireland. Now that our time is up, most people expect us to go to Europe and spend a week or so there... I mean, we're almost there already. But when Jay and I were talking, we both agreed that we had already seen a lot of old buildings and historical monuments. If we had traveled at the start of our trip, I'm sure we would have done the Europe thing. But we aren't at the start, we're at the end. And it's February and it's been winter and we want some sun. So we are off to the Caribbean for a few days. This will let us make half the transition with the time change and get some sun and enjoy going nowhere but the beach.

The actual island is Curacao. We leave Dublin on March 1. We'll be on Curacao from March 2 - March 8. Coming and going we'll spend a night in Miami. That gets us back in Oregon on March 9th.

Holavarri health... I think I mentioned that Kahlil had the sniffles a couple weeks back. He may have had a bug, but he was definitely teething. He now has 12 teeth! The eight in the front and four molars. That means we are half way done with teething... thank goodness.

So the sniffles were over, but on Thursday Kahlil decided to puke all over the place. He wasn't running a fever and he seemed to be in pretty good spirits, except when he was actually throwing up. And for the last two days he's had stuff running out the other end. Poor guy. I'm not sure what caused it, but I'm suspicious of a milk sippy cup that had been out for several hours. It had rolled under the table where I couldn't see it until Kahlil pulled it out and was drinking from it.


The picture is one of my favorites from Morgan and Kataneh's visit. (If you want to see another GREAT picture of Kahlil... click here :-)

Jay and I are both in good health. Hope it holds.

Life in Ireland... over the last couple weeks it's been the Six Nation Rugby tournament. I really don't know that much about rugby or the tournament, but it's been BIG here. The Irish hosted the French a couple weeks back. There were a bunch of funny talking guys in berets walking around Dublin (and sometimes they would burst out in song in the middle of a pub :-). The game was close and in the last few minutes the Irish pulled ahead. There was much celebration. And then the French scored in the final few seconds and snatched the victory away from the Irish. It was pretty devastating for rugby fans... I could empathise.



This weekend the English will be here and it's quite controversial. The game will be played in Croke Park. Jay told me part of Bloody Sunday happened in Croke Park... English shot and killed Irish fans and players during a Gaelic football game. Since that event in 1924, the English have not been allowed in to the park. There will be protests. We plan to watch the game at Carrie and Flor's house.

Visitors from Another Planet

It's been a busy couple of weeks. We had visitors, normal life stuff, and preparations for our trip home are well underway. I'll talk about our visitors first and cover the other stuff later :-)

My baby brother, Morgan, and his girlfriend, Kataneh, got here on February 11. Morgan had been to Ireland before and had an idea of what it's all about. Kataneh had never been. The first day was mostly walking around with M&K in a daze trying to get use to the time change. The next day they took the tour bus and did a spin around the city. Unfortunately that was Monday and a lot of things were closed. On the upside, Kataneh found Penny's and decided it's her favorite store of all time. Monday night I meet up with M&K at a bar in Temple Bar. We had a few drinks, ate dinner, and got to hear a group of Frenchmen burst out into song in the middle of a bar. It was fun to experience some of the nightlife.

Tuesday the plan was for the Holavarri's to do our immigration stuff in the morning and then we would all meet up at Guinness for lunch and a tour. BUT I had no idea how long the immigration line would be. We waited an hour to get our number to get in the actual line. Then two and a half hours later, they just stamped our passports and sent us on our way. By that time lunch had passed us by but we went to Guinness anyway. The tour was fun and the sunset drink in the Gravity Bar was beautiful.

Wednesday Morgan, Kataneh, Kahlil and I hit the road. The first day we drove to Galway. Since Kahlil fell asleep, we pushed straight through and got there in the early afternoon. We had lunch and found a Penny's. Kataneh and I were pretty happy to shop for a bit. After a little checking around, we found a B&B that could take us for the night. Wednesday was Valentines Day... sort of a funny day to go out with your son, brother and his girlfriend :-) But we did go out and have a great dinner. Although I felt a little bad for the love birds in our immediate area as Kahlil was a little tired and cranky. After dinner Kahlil and I went back to the B&B where Kahlil fell asleep right away. Morgan and Kataneh, on the other hand, had an exciting night out. They found a bar that had live music. Kataneh struck up an affair with the 90 year old according player. She was quite smitten with him.

The next day we hit the road again. On our way south, we stopped at the Aliwee caves. It was ok for breaking up the drive, but that was about it. We continued on to the Cliffs of Moher. They just opened a brand new visitor center and stone walls so you can't fall over. It was really beautiful. But the most amazing thing was the picture of Morgan's twin. We walked into the visitor center and they had a bank of screens with pictures of people who recently visited the Cliffs. Right in the middle is a picture of 'Morgan'. We had to look for a long time to decide it really wasn't Morgan, but somebody who looked like him and had similar glasses and coat. After getting over the Morgan-has-a-twin episode, we took the ferry to shorten our drive to Killarnie. We got to Killanry pretty late and went out for dinner right away. There was an Indian restaurant just around the corner from the hotel. Sitting at the table across from us was a little girl about five years old. I'm sorry to tell Tivi she has competition for Kahlil's attention as this little girls was putting the moves on him. Not only did she smile, do the shy face bury and wave, but she WINKED! Kahlil was pretty taken. After dinner Kahlil and I headed back to the hotel and M&K hit the town. But I think they hadn't fully recovered from the night as they got back to the hotel shortly after we did.

Friday we kept heading south to go to Middleton. Morgan really wanted to see the distillery there. The tour was great. I told Morgan he should volunteer to be a whiskey tester at the end of the tour. He raised his hand, but since he had been picked to ring the bell at the pot still, he didn't get to be a tester. Next time. After the tour, we loaded back up and headed for home. Poor Kahlil was really sick of being stuck in the car seat and was pretty cranky the last hour of the drive. But when we got home and I took him out of the seat he was goofy happy and pretty attached to his dad.

Saturday we did some shopping around Dublin. Some last minute shopping for M&K and getting our warm weather clothes for us. Another trip to Penny's really made Morgan happy... NOT! That night Jay, Morgan, and Kataneh did the literary pub crawl. Since they didn't get home until after 3am, I think they had a pretty good time.

Sunday we were going to do some more exploring south of Dublin, but the evening before had taken a lot out of J, M, & K. So it ended up being a hang around the house day.

Monday morning M&K loaded up and grabbed a cab for the airport. It was great fun to spend the time with them. Morgan's favorite part of the trip was the Cliffs or Moher (I bet it was because of his twin :-), and Kataneh's favorite was seeing Kahlil. She is pretty attached to his cheeks.

One Step Back

Our health and the weather both changed about the same time. For the last week the weather has been very beautiful; dry with lots of sun. It was a little cool, but sitting in the sun made up for the chill. This morning there is blustery rain/snow falling from gray skies. And it's cold... not far from freezing, but with the wet air, it quickly chills your bones.

And our health has taken a slight turn as well. We were all feeling great for the last couple weeks. But night before last, Jay mumbled something about a sore throat. Last night on my way to bed, I started to have a sore throat as well. And then last night at 4am Kahlil woke up with a cough. I don't think any of us are in bad shape, we just aren't as healthy as we were two days ago. Hopefully the weather and the Holavarris will all have a turn for the better soon.

Kahlil got a pretty good bump on his head yesterday. He bonked his head on a sharp corner of a door frame. I don't think he hit it that hard, but since it was on the corner he has a nice little bruise. I still think a baby/toddler helmet would be a good idea. He has also taken to spitting. It started by watching Jay and I brush our teeth. He would take his toothbrush and after 'brushing' for a while he would spit. That's great, except that he wasn't over the sink. Now he just does it at random times with or without the toothbrush. It's pretty gross.

Random Thoughts On Ireland: Bags
Why does EVERY store hand out bags to cart around your purchase, except grocery stores? I sort of giggle when I look at the stack of store bags I've collected over the last couple months. I got a big paper bag for buying a pen and a small book, but when I buy a whole basket full of groceries, I have to provide my own bag or purchase a bag. Don't get me wrong, I really like the bags available for purchase at groceries stores. In fact, Ilene - an ex-Irelander - requested I bring a few home for her. I guess if you aren't going to hand out plastic bags like in the US, people have to do something to get their groceries home.

Buper Sowl Sunday

I know the football season is over - strange how it ended with the Chargers last game - but I had the most vivid dream last night. Jay made Kahlil and I go to see some strange game at a co-worker's house. Shannon, his wife (Angie) and son (Nathan) were great to invite people to see the Super Bowl. We got there about 8:30, which is pretty close to Kahlil's bed time. Kahlil didn't seem to mind though. He had a great time running around the house looking at all the cool stuff. Nathan did a great job of keeping an eye on Kahlil and keeping him entertained. Angie had made some wonderful chicken legs and there was plenty of chips and beer for all.

Some other folks were there... Carrie H. and her parents, Joe and Nancy, and Jim W. Joe is a longtime Bears fan, so this game was pretty important to him. He settled onto the couch and was ready for the night.

Kickoff here was about 11:30... far after Kahlil's bedtime. By kickoff Kahlil was cuddling with Jay or me and looking pretty sleepy. I laid with him on the floor at the back of the room and he dozed off. But then the game got going and there was some cheering every now and then - did I mention Joe is a BIG Bears fan? Anyway Kahlil moved in and out of sleep for a couple hours. By the start of the fourth quarter the game was looking pretty decided in the Colts favor. Even though the room had quieted, Kahlil was still not really sleeping. So we packed up and headed home. It was close to three by the time the three of us were in bed. Like I said, it was a very vivid dream.

Needless to say we all got a late start this morning. Luck for me, I got to take a long nap with Kahlil this afternoon.

We had a great time spending some time with other Americans. We had fun talking about some of our more unique experiences here. And we all voiced frustrations over our laundry appliances. I really feel bad for Joe; I know how it feels to have your team lose the most important game of the year. Of course his loss was a little worse.

Some good and bad news from home.

First the good... or maybe just news. Soft Star is having a big web sale in the month of February. I feel bad I'm not there to help but all those Corvallis Elves have been doing a great job of getting all those shoes packed and shipped around the world. If you need a shower gift, now is the time to stock up! http://www.softstarshoes.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=25

Now the bad... but getting better. My old horse, Ridge, has been on my mind lately. Now I know why. I got an e-mail just about an week ago from a woman in California. She asked if I was the same person on the Jockey Club papers for a twenty year old, gray, Thoroughbred that she had recently acquired. I was so happy to hear from Ridge's new owner! I replied back and said that I was and was excited to hear how he was doing.

Turns out the woman I sold him to was not what she said. She said she was in the Thoroughbred rescue business and she had a good record of placing horse in loving homes. She gave Ridge to a horse trader who then took him to the stockyard to be sold to a slaughterhouse. Luck for Ridge, a wonderful woman, Debi Locke, could tell Ridge was in the wrong place. She out bid the two slaughterhouses bidding on him. She took him home and he seemed to be doing well for a bit. Then it became apparent Ridge was having problems urinating. Turns out he has kidney stones. Debi doesn't have the means to pay for the operation needed to correct this issue. That is were Katie Moore, the woman who contacted me, comes in. She had Ridge shipped to her place in California and set up a charity to collect money for Ridge's operation and recovery. Ridge got down to California at the end of January and is settling in well. His surgery will be scheduled soon. You can follow his progress here: http://www.horsehomepages.com/watermarkfarm/

I feel awful for what happened to Ridge and I'm SO grateful to Debi and Katie for finding and caring for Ridge. I'm also thankful to the guardian angle that must have been with him that day at the stockyard. Katie invited me to come see him and I'm thinking about it when we get home.

Corvallis is Calling

We had two spectacular days here in Ireland. Yesterday Kahlil and I spent a couple hours in the park. There was some slide action, a turn at the swing, and lots of ball kicking. It was really beautiful.

Today the three of us went to Trim Castle. We were told it's the castle to see and I must agree. It was pretty impressive. I'm really glad I didn't live here in the Middle Ages. When it was first built, there were no fireplaces. I can't imagine living here without access to central heat or a raging fire. The people weren't very nice to each other either... lots of ways to kill the attackers.

Anyway, it seems the spring is trying to get a toe hold and it worked for a couple days. I'm sure it will be back to winter tomorrow.

Thinking of the season changing - it's getting close to time for us to head home. If there is anything you ex-Irelanders would like for us to pick up, I would be happy to do it. Just a few rules:
1. It can't be something that will spoil or spill and ruin the rest of our shipment.
2. It can't be larger than a breadbox
3. It can't weigh more than Kahlil.

Those of you who haven't lived here can also place orders, but you will be given J42 status.

Random Thoughts on Ireland: Smoking
I'm VERY happy the smoking ban took hold here about three years ago. I think it would be near impossible for us to go out to eat if smoking was still allowed in restaurants. Between 25 and 30 percent of the people in Dublin are smokers. You can definitely tell when you walk down the street. If you are out of cigarettes, just pick the right corner to stand on and you could get a contact smoke from people walking by. But this was all expected. I knew this was a smoking society and was prepared for it.

What I wasn't prepared for was the 'health' types lighting up. The first day we got here, we happened upon a photo shoot of a football team (imagine our surprise to see a group of guys in full pads and helmets in the middle of Dublin!). At the end of the shoot, they all took off their helmets and several of the guys started smoking right away. I know they aren't NFL players, but I would think heath would be important to them. The second, and much more surprising, group of unexpected smokers are bicycle delivery guys. Maybe this is just a Northwest thing, but any person I've meet who has a job or a hobby associated with bikes would have NOTHING to do with smoking. But that is not the case here in Dublin. A couple times a week I walk past where the delivery people hang out between jobs and I've seen more than one of them enjoying a little nicotine. Just a different way of life here.

Whiff of Spring

I got a little glimpse of spring this morning. It all started when Kahlil decided is was time to get up at a little after 6:30 am. I know some of you out there are saying "Yeah, so? That's what time I get up every day", and that is your problem. In my case, we typically start to think about waking around 7:30 or 8. Then we really get serious about it by 8:30. So this morning started a little early. As I was trying to convince Kahlil that sleep is really a good thing, I noticed that there were lots of bird sounds coming from outside. It's one of those things where I don't know if they have always been there and I just never noticed before, or if they were making a special show of today. I think today was special.

Since we were up so early, I got to see a beautiful sun rise. The clouds were bubbly and spread across the sky and the sun was making them glow pink.

After dressing and eating, we loaded up and were on our way to the creche. Walking through the park I noticed the birds singing, again for the first time. I also saw quite a few crocus blooming. I have noticed the crocus before, but this morning they were all open. The daffodils are not far behind. All the daffodil stems are about six inches tall and the buds are starting to swell.

I when went out to get Kahlil this afternoon, winter had settled back in. The sky was gray and the temperature had dropped and I didn't hear a single bird. The morning was just a peek at things to come.

Kahlil started peeling his own tangerines yesterday. I guess he picked up the technique from watching us peel him a couple hundred of them over the last two months.