Oh the Murphy family is still here, don't ya know....
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Ireland
She is a rich and rare land,
Oh, she's a fresh and fair land:
She is a dear and rare land,
This native land of mine.
Thomas Davis..1814-1845
Muckross House Gardens
My golden chariot arrived early and whisked me way to Muckross House. Muckross House was built in 1840 . The owner, invited Queen Victoria to visit. He spent his entire fortune on preparing the house and gardens. Queen Victoria only stayed for two days. After the visit , and a few trips to the pony races, the owner declared bankrupcy and had to sell the estate. Guinnes Beer Company owned the house and used it as a retreat for their customers. After the next owners, the house and it's grounds were given to the people of Ireland.
Oh how they love the place..it is truly grand
The Queen has been away from the Castle
The Queen left early today, after first sitting on her throne.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
When all else fails, shop
Paul will be working 14 hours today. What is a girl to do? Shop of course. Limerick downtown is very similiar to old downtown Knoxville, except there are customers. School has started and the sidewalks were full of kids , dressed in their uniforms. The dress uniform for girls is a long-sleeve white shirt, tie, sweater with school emblem and ankle length pleated skirts. Seriously. A taxi driver says that their parents dress them like Nuns to keep them chaste. He is not sure it works. There were also small groups of little white hair ladies wobbling like weebles in the middle of the sidewalk. One asked me the time and I told here that in America it was 7pm so it was either noon or 1pm. Then I said, so , neither one of us really knows what time it is....I decided to buy a purse, just to have a goal for this wandering. I set my eye on one that cost 889 Euro....One Euro equals $1.30. It just wasn't the right color. All the stores have security guards, at the doors, walking in the store, just watching. It must be either very safe, or very dangerous in Limerick. There are two feuding familes in town and they like to run in gangs and murder each other. There is to be a trial soon, and one group is said to be planning to burn down the courthouse. They have so much fun fighting each other , they leave everyone else alone. The last group of sidewalk companions would be the lone staggering old man. They have had too much to drink or have very uncomfortable shoes. They walk, very slow, focused straight ahead, marching to an unheard drunk cadance. Left, right, other right, right?, wrong, wait..right.
I had fish and chips at O'Connells, open since 1910, so it is relatively new. The waitress sat with me and pointed out all the good places to shop. All were out of town. I spent my taxi money on a purse and headed to the bus stop to nervously wait for the 308 Bus. The Bus arrived before I did, but was empty. I friended up a University student and she said the driver was on his break. She volunteered to sit with me and show me my stop. But this plan fell through when the driver returned and declared the Bus dead in it's tracks. I hiked to the Tourist Office, dug in my new purse, and gathered enough change to take a Taxi back to the Castle. One nap later, I await the King to return....
I had fish and chips at O'Connells, open since 1910, so it is relatively new. The waitress sat with me and pointed out all the good places to shop. All were out of town. I spent my taxi money on a purse and headed to the bus stop to nervously wait for the 308 Bus. The Bus arrived before I did, but was empty. I friended up a University student and she said the driver was on his break. She volunteered to sit with me and show me my stop. But this plan fell through when the driver returned and declared the Bus dead in it's tracks. I hiked to the Tourist Office, dug in my new purse, and gathered enough change to take a Taxi back to the Castle. One nap later, I await the King to return....
The green , green, grass of Ireland
The fields of Ireland. Don't you know, now laddies, tis a grand thing to see.
Coming in for a landing
The trip back to Ireland , what can I say. It has been grand so far, don't you know.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Going to the birds in the burg
Our yard has been taken over by hummingbirds. We have seen five at one time flying, fussing, and swirling around the feeders. I put up a second feeder, hoping the birds would share but that only made them more fun to watch. I have set up two feeders in the sun and two in the shade. I believe they enjoy the ones in the sun because they can perch and see the whole yard. A ruby throated male has taken over the tallest perch.
Friday, August 04, 2006
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