How do you say ewe?

Today was my (Joshua's) last day in the rolling green hills of Ireland. With the longest stretch of sun in a month over the last couple days, I have had some fantastic final adventures on the green isle.

Laura and I made the trek through muddy fields on the edge of the river Shannon to Castle Troy - the ruins of the old castle from which our neighborhood in Limerick gets its name. Half the castle was still standing and it was mythical.
                                                                                         
This past Sunday, as part of a going away party, we had a group of friends over and painted eggs after blowing out the yolks and whites. If you have never done this, it is lots of fun and somewhat messy, I encourage you to try it!

  

While Laura remains in Limerick until June to work on finishing up her masters degree I am off to the fair isle of Mull to volunteer with the Iona community at the Camas centre. The Camas mission is to "enable growth in love, respect and awareness of ourselves, each other, god and the environment” as we work with vulnerable and under privileged youth from the UK and a variety of other groups.  It is very remote - a 3 mile walk from nearest road on the ocean edge. I will be living close to the land getting food from an organic garden and limited electricity from a small windmill while helping to lead various activities for groups that stay with us for a week at a time. 

Going from Camas to Limerick is a two day journey. Today I started my trip on the bus from Limerick to Dublin at 8:30 am. While on the bus, I listened to the birth of a baby lamb on a farm in Kerry on the radio! The radio host was debating with various callers the proper way to say ewe/(you) while he was interviewing a dubliner who happened to be on the farm assisting in a lambs birth for the first time - it was full Irish! After that, I took the 2.5 hour bus to Belfast, then the Ferry to Cairnryan and arrived by bus in Glasgow at 8:30pm. Tomorrow I'll bus another 2.5 hours North to Oban and take a ferry to Craignure, on the island of Mull, and then catch a 2 hour bus ride to the Camas road end and hike to the old fishing villa that is Camas! 

Camas Centre

Freedom is Coming!

Sit still and imagine.

Imagine a smiling storyteller of a man standing in the middle of the rocky moonscape. You are in the Burren. Standing with a circle of people around. Watching expectantly, as he closes his eyes and starts singing. 

With an comedic introduction in exaggerated Irish, his well aged tenor voice vibrates to the song "My Get Up And Go."

The sun catches his silver hair as we lean in, and listen to his song. That October hike in Clare is a fond memory that regularly brings warmth to us here in Castletroy, Limerick.

The winter here has been long.  It feels like most weeks have had a total of a half-day when the sun breaks through the clouds, wind, and hail-rain. We don't know if the Inuit actually have 100 words for snow but the Irish definitely have at least 100 phrases for a rainy day!

A typical week's forecast for Limerick. If we are lucky, we get "A Thunderstorm in Spots," or the rare "Abundant Sunshine"

We have stayed dry and warm with good conversation, music and the occasional TV show (Father Ted). Get Up And Go, along with, Knocking on Heaven's Door, Brown-Eyed Girl, Cecilia, Ye Rambling Boys of Pleasure and Feet of a Dancer, and more recently, Freedom is Coming (in anticipation of spring!) have been our bread and butter - along with actual sourdough bread and scrumptiously creamy Irish butter, of course. 

Every week, Laura brings home a song or two from her Traditional Irish Singing lessons, and many more from her workshops and studies this term. But spring is coming, and with it, the Sun will return and change will be upon us at 86 Bru na Gruadan. 

Soon Joshua will leave the Green Isle to volunteer at the Camas Centre with the Iona community - hiking, climbing, kayaking, making food and fires, leading self discovery, trust building and nature immersion activities and exploring a whole new island - for the craic! Soon Laura will be putting the finishing touches on her community music business plan - so. Dreaming about creating a localized Mennonite watershed hymnal and traveling across Scottish isles collecting tunes, stories, sights and sounds until she starts her volunteer contract with the Iona Community. Waving distance across the bay from Joshua, she will be facilitating music at the Abbey built by Columba, himself!  

--- post script ---
See if you can spot the Irishisms in the paragraph above... Also, two experiences in Dublin over the winter that you'll have to ask us about next time you see us:

1. Puddin' Night 

 

2. Mother Kelly's Pub and Joshua's mysterious disappearance

Ancestors, Parents and Us

We were privileged this past January to have a visit from Laura's parents, Suzanne and Art. In 9 days of speeding around the country in a rental car, we saw many wonderful things, but more importantly, had a fantastic time visiting with family (even long deceased ancestors in graveyards and church halls). Click Here to see a bit of our road trip in photos!