Bitter and very Sweet Memories

As y'all know I am TERRIBLE at posting in this blog. I blame Facebook . . .it's just too easy to put a quick bit every day (sometimes four times a day but who cares?) Just thought I'd write a paragraph or two about my emotional state today. Long, long story short . . .Charles and I are moving to St. John. Yes, St. John. The one in the Virgin Islands. Really. I can still hardly believe it myself! When Charles worked for Starwood before we always, always tried to get Employee Hot Rates to go there but you never could. So we had knowledge of the island and always dreamt about going there. Now we are. For several years. The Universe is funny like that.... But this post is not about St. John. It's about Nashville. And journeying and, hence, leaving. Charles and I have left many places, cities and small towns. We do leaving well. This time was different, for me at least. We LOVE Nashville. Truly love everything about it (except for 95 degree humid summer afternoons). The people, the restaurants, the museums, happy hours, the smell, the parks, the coffee shops, the accents, the pride of the town. I love that people don't honk their car horn if they are sitting behind someone at a light and that person doesn't see that the light has changed to green. They REALLY don't! When I arrived here from Chicago that was AMAZING to me! There are treasures here which we haven't had elsewhere. The Belcourt Theater. The Southern Book Festival. The Frist. The Wild Cow. Percy and Edwin Warner Parks. The Full Moon Picking Parties every month at the barn. Buttercup's Pet Hospice. Dr. Brasher at Belle Forest Animal Hospital. Great neighbors. The way this town pulled together and lifted each other up out of the floodwaters back in May 2010. I have met and made so many wonderful friends and it is very hard to fly away from all of this. It is a constant battle in me . . .the need to see what else there might be, around the next corner. Good, bad or ugly, I want to experience it all. There's also, now that I am older, a side to me that KNOWS and acknowledges when something is good. That recognizing, in the moment, that this is a good time in life. The stars were aligned. The tea was sweet. The fireflies were bright on soft, summer evenings. The people were SOOOO good. Alas, that wondering if something else might be fun for a while has finally got the better of us, and we are off. Of course we wonder if we are doing the right thing. But how can we know....we just have to go and give it a shot. We are keeping our house, ostensibly so that it might gain value but, for me, as a tie, a reason and a place to return to, should I need to come home.

The movers came today, packed and moved a lot of our stuff. I am sitting in a virtually empty house. Alone, but not alone. Memories of these last six years have flooded this place today as forceful as those floods filled homes back in 2010. As the afternoon has worn on I have been (in my mind at least) on our deck with my girlfriends, sipping wine or sangria or some new-fangled tequila cocktail, laughing till our eyes watered. I've been laying on a blanket with my dogs in an open field at Percy Warner, watching fluffy white clouds cross a sky so blue it made me weep. I've watched Nigel take his final breath, right here in front of the fireplace. It was at that moment that one of the wonderful women, Laura, who had come to help Nigel pass entered my life and I'm so grateful for her friendship over the past couple years. I found, serenity and a bunch of new friends at the best yoga retreat (Gray Bear) in Tennessee. I walked past a woman on a trail in the park and we smiled and said hello and realized we were both English, and Dawn and I have been friends ever since. I've made Cosmopolitans for my friend, Karen and I, with my mum watching, in my kitchen to start the celebrations for my 48th birthday. I've called a friend and neighbor, Laura, when my Jack Russell was critically ill & needed to get the vet in a hurry and I couldn't drive for sobbing...and she came within a minute. I've watched the house fill with good friends on a bathroom pit stop one cold night on a limo tour of the Christmas Lights in a limo with blacked out windows (we couldn't see one light!). I've learned about open heartedness and a gentle spirit from my friend, Pallu, as we've excitedly discussed where else in the world we want to travel (we plan on meeting in Guatemala next June). I've busted a move at a bootcamp three days a week for two and a half years, at 5.45 in the morning, and watched the sun rise while jumping rope or doing push ups! I've had Thanksgiving celebrations with my American family over in Donelson who thought it strange I didn't eat meat! (Fun memory) I celebrated Christmas in a hotel room in Gatlinburg with my dear friend and her tender hearted mama, the room LIT-UP with lights and decorations, and we gorged ourselves on sweet potato casserole and bread pudding with whiskey sauce. I remember so many long walks in Percy Warner Park with my husband and our beautiful dogs - Christy, our Border Collie; Nigel, my 'child' and Kit, a short and so so sweet addition to our family in 2013. All three of them are at Steeplechase now and it hurts to leave them even though I KNOW those ashes are not their spirits. I remember a whole day (I think it was 13 hours) of baking holiday sweets, cookies and truffles before Christmas with Katie and Nicole and planning on doing it again this year! I have taken care of dogs and cats all over Nashville . . .every one of them a treasure. I miss the ones that have passed and I'm a little sorrowful that I won't get to see the ones still with us grow old and gentle and gray. I remember two wonderful evenings, each a year apart, with dinner in a picnic shelter on the back side of Edwin Warner Park lit up from a hundred tea-light candles, the space glowing with candlelight, firelight and moonlight. I'll stop, though I could go on and on and on..... When my friend, Leesa, suggested we move to Nashville we were more than hesitant. We resisted. She persisted. She said it was a great town and we would like it. Understatement of the century...thanks Leesa! So, it's adios to Nash-Vegas for a while. We have a new horizon to reach. I do LOVE journeying and I am pretty good at being, fully being, wherever I am at that moment. So I know it will be fun. St. John is a quirky little place & we will drink it all in. But Nashville, oh Nashville, I'm sad to say farewell.

St. Patricks Day

Woke to pouring rain this morning . ..the first rain in my seven days here (apart from one, brief, drizzly early morning). My routine has been to get up (between 6.30 and 7am) and go for a long walk with the dogs, come back and make coffee and toast or cereal and climb back into bed with my computer or a book for an hour. I was up at 6.30 this morning and I guess the dogs knew it was raining because they didn't even stir from their sleeping spots!! Ha Ha! I made coffee and just came back to my room to get my Facebook fix and blog a few lines. I spent Monday, St. Patrick's Day, in Galway. Gwen dropped me in Gort at the bus station and I got the 10am bus into Galway. I was excited to go to Charlie Byrne's bookstore, a big old bookstore that's been there a long time. Well, because it was St. Patricks Day it was closed. Bummer. The town was solidly packed with people, friends, lots of families, children, all painted in green, carrying flags and balloons, noise makers and streamers! I wandered the streets for a bit, watching people and scopinjg out a good spot to watch the parade. Now those that know me well know I am not at all into parades. Never have been. But, hey, I'm in Galway, Ireland on St. Patrick's Day . . .surely I should watch the parade? I watched about 20 minutes before having my fill of marching bands and pom poms, and then wandered away. (The parade continued for an hour and a half!) Galway is a delightful old old town. There's not much standing of the original wall from the old town, just a couple of arches. I went to go to the museum but, you guessed it, it was closed because of the holiday! I walked and took photos, walked and took photos. Cafes were getting ready for the onslaught of parade goers, setting up tables on the cobblestone sidewalks. Eventually I stopped in a little French bakery for a pastry and coffee and sat, writing in my journal. After the parade the crowds fill the pedestrianized area for lunch and, more to the point, beer and Guinness! As the afternoon wore on, families and kids disappeared and young people stayed around and the vibe was party central. LOTS of drinking and drunkenness! Towards the evening every third person I saw was either staggering or throwing up around the side of buildings! St. Patrick's Day looks the same in Ireland as it does in Chicago! Walking past a little place in a side street called Cava Bodega I saw my favorite spot in Spain. Couldn't help myself and I wandered in for some tapas and vino! I need to continue but it's time to have breakfast and go to do some planting! More later!

The farm in Fa Ha

I arrived at the farm yesterday about 4pm and met Gwen (Irish), her husband, Matthew (Australian) and their 4 month old daughter, Rosie . . .their adorable, elderly terrier (Luna) and Rex the Border Collie. Plus 3 cats! Everyone is delightful! We had a pasta dinner and stuffed mushrooms and I was asleep by 0pm! This morning was a balmy 38 degrees with bright sunshine and the temp climbed to 54, though I think its a cold 54. But I wasn't cold for long! We started working at 10.30. They lost a number of trees recently in the storms and, while Matthew sawed the big branches down, I broke up smaller ones and twigs to smaller pieces to fit into their fireplace. We stacked everything in the wood shed and made a kindling pile and a log pile. Broke for lunch around 1.30 (falafel, hummus and salad. Oh, and lentil soup). Matthew was saying he had wanted to go watch Ireland play rugby today at a friends but "I've got to feed the horses". You KNOW my ears perked right up! Apparently his neighbor is away and he feeds them when they're gone. Of course, loving horses the way I do, I said "show me where everything is and I'LL feed them!" So the four of us (including Rosie) went for a walk over there after lunch so he could show me, and I went back at 5pm and had a great time feeding ponies (I even brushed them a bit, despite that not being on the to-do list!) These guys are a lovely little family, and their place is in the prettiest, greenest valley. Another Wwoofer (Stella from Brazil) arrives Tuesday so that'll be fun, getting to know someone else). I want to write more but I.m in bed, exhausted, so calling it quits today. Again . . . not spell checking so forgive typos!

See ya later Doolin

Well, I'm checked out of the hostel, though still here, in the lounge, waiting for the bus. I took one last hike this morning to an old tower I had seen up in the hills the last couple days . . .it took about an hour to walk to but it was fenced and the sign read "Private". . . .ran into a car load of Americans there so I took their photo for them and they drove off and I had the place, and the peaceful countryside all to myself again! It is grey and cooler today. The wind off the ocean is wonderful. The smell of sea, soil, grass and manure (!) remind me of my childhood and at one point I just stood there, breathed it all in and actually got a little teary-eyed. Not sure why . . .just remembering my young life and great childhood, my pony, Sweetcorn, spending days at the farm, staying overnight in the barn because I didn't want to go home but wanted to sleep with Sweetcorn! They were GREAT years and that smell on the breeze this morning just took me back there, I guess. I'm looking forward to getting Gort this afternoon and meeting Gwen and her family, and seeing my home for the next two weeks! I'm especially excited to be living in a house with two dogs! Going to pop out for one more walk . . .got an hour before my bus comes and all this sitting around is making me cold!

We're up!

After many many tries of doing a new post, and losing either the connection or the computer freezing up, this one feels hopeful! Yay! I was going to say my travel day (the flight) was uneventful and, for the most part, it was. Upon boarding the plane I was at the window, an an older Irishman, Billy, was on the aisle. A yound, kind of nerdy looking young man came and sat between us. He was acting a little wired and told us both that he'd been up for 28 hours with no sleep, had flown in from Seattle that morning and had spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Boston. He said he fell asleep in the sirport about 4.30pm (our flight was at 8.30) and that 'they' said he'd had a seizure and he was rushed to a hospital in an ambulence! I wonder if he discharged himself because a stewardess came and told him that he could NOT take the flight as he didn't have a doctors note, saying it was safe for him to fly. He said he had a discharged sheet from the hospital and the stewardess went to talk to colleagues while he showed me (who really didn't want to get involved) he sheet. I didn't read it, really I didn't but I saw it said "confusion" and "You MUST see a neurologist upon arrival in Ireland"! Yikes! Anyway, the next thing I know a security possie came and told him he had to deplane, which he did without incident. Billy and I chatted ab9out it (Billy believing him to be high on drugs, me just grateful for a bit of room in the middle to stretch my legs and not fall onto someone if I managed to sleep). It was the only empty seat on the plane! Billy and I had fun, learning about each other's life (he'd been in Boston for a surprise 40th birthday present for his son). He was a fun and happy seat mate. I LOVED Aer Lingus. All the staff were Irish and, I can honestly say, every Irish person I have ever met (and I've known a bunch) have always been super nice and friendly, as was the case on the plane! Billy eventually popped a sleeping pill and tried to sleep and I watched ALL IS LOST, the Robert Redford movie. After the flight and trip out here I checked in to Doolin Hostel. It's a cute little place, one of many hostels and B&Bs in the village. (In fact, as small as this village is, apart from a few pubs and souvenir shops, most of the buildings are hostels)) In the summer the area is a big draw for surfers, bikers, ramblers, cavers and sea kayakers. Lots of buildings have little stations outside them with a hose to wash down your gear (bike, board, kayak, etc) after a day of fun!

I wish I could post photos but until I get to a town with a phone shop I don't have the cable I need . . . I spent yesterday trying to stay awake until the evening to reset my sleep from jet lag. The big draw here are the Cliffs of Moher (I think it's one of Ireland's biggest tourist draws). They are about 9km south of Doolin. There's cliff walk/trail called The Burren Way that starts here, just outside the village, and ends at the Cliffs, so I set out yesterday to check it out. It was GORGEOUS yesterday afternoon, about 58 degrees and bright sunshine! As you walk on this beautiful trail, every turn brings you an even more breathtakingly gorgeous view. Farms and fields come down to the cliff top, all with old stone walls dividing them. There are ruins everywhere, old castles or old cottages. I used my phone to snap photos every step of the way. The trail is directly on the edge of the cliff, in some places you are 2 or 3 steps from the edge! The noise is incredible. The roar of the waves below as they come crashing in and hit the rock, sending spray up and over the top is awesome! One plus about coming now? Despite the amazing day, I only saw 3 people!The thing that happened yesterday was my battery light came on and my phone was almost dead! I think I had walked about 3 miles. In retrospect I wish I had just continued on and saw the BIG cliffs a couple miles further on. I was chatting to a guy on the trail, Steve from Alabama who is a grad student at Auburn and we said our byes, and I said I'd get the bus the next day to the Cliffs and walk BACK to my hostel. I walked the 3 miles back to Doolin and went to Fitzpatricks Pub for a vegetable curry, before crashing in my bed by 8pm! The moral of this story is "If you can do something today and not put it off, especially if it's weather dependent, DO IT TODAY!" Today I got the noon bus to the Visitor Center at The Cliffs and you couldn't see a thing! The fog was sooooo thick! Ha Ha! I was a little disappointed but told Charles we'll both just have to come back. I took a photo anyway and, once I get the cable I need will post yesterdays and todays so you can see the difference a day makes. To rub it in, this morning while eating breakfast in the hostel I see Steve, the Auburn dude who finished the walk yesterday. He said it was one of the most spectacular sights he's ever seen! Thanks, man. (LOL!) Well, I could ramble on all evening but pub times-a-wasting. Gonna walk over to O'Connors for a little bite and a bevvy. . . . I love having a pub one hundred yards away! Ha Ha! Not even gonna spell check as I don't want to jinx the computer!! I go to the farm tomorrow. . . check in soon!

Off to Ireland!

Okay . . .I think I'll get better at posting for the next few weeks as I'm traveling! As some of you know I had been saving a little here, a little there, for YEARS, in anticipation of my 50th birthday year. I thought I'd take a BIG trip, like India or Africa.  I want to share that with Charles and when we started looking at it, we need much more time than he can get off work at this point in his career :-(
So, the wild and crazy trips are being put off, and that's okay with me . . .hopefully there's time for us to experience those amazing places.

Long, convoluted story short - I am going to Ireland to volunteer with WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) on a small farm, owned by a couple who have a baby and 2 dogs. They farm 7 acres with veggies and herbs. It's in County Clare in a pretty remote location  (well, as remote as you can get in a country the size of Virginia!) and looks beautiful. I will spend 3 days on the west coast first, go to the farm, spend 2 weeks there, spend 3 days in Dublin, and then take a cheap Ryan Air flight to England!

The hardest part so far as been trying to pack for a month in my backpack!!!

 

 

But I finally, today, 12 hours before I leave, have done it!!!! One big backpack to carry on my bag and one small one to carry in my hand on the plane!

 

 

 

 

So . . I'm not going to ramble right now (as you will see I tend to do in this blog). I'm going to hang out with the Spouse for a few hours and make dinner but I'll be online in a day or two!

Bon Voyage to me!



 

 

Hmmmm . . . let's try this again, shall we?

Okay. . . .a friend said tonight "You should write a blog". To which I replied "I have one." And I decided to look it up and see when I last posted to it. Next month, it'll be two years!!!! That is wild. And dumb!  So much good stuff has happened! I have kept up with my handwritten, paper journal but seem to have an aversion to blogging!  No matter. New Year. New intention (again).

Of course it's late now and almost time for bed but herein is my Intent. I will try to write in here at least once a week, but hopefully twice a week. Beginning in the morning.

Really.
I will!

See you tomorrow friends!