Time and Change

I am amazed at the way time can change a person's life. The last time I blogged, I was an emotional wreck. I was trying to cope with missing what I had; I was coming to terms with where my life was; and I was wrestling with my feelings on my current relationship. Oh, how a year will change you. I do not know if it is just because I am still relatively young that my life can change so dramatically from one year to the next, but it seems that I am constantly experiencing something new. So, when I got back from Ireland, the next month my boyfriend proposed to me. I had decided after I got back and had a little freak out that I loved him and could see myself with him. It was odd because I do not love him the way I have loved in the past, but in some way, I feel like this love is more real. It is not about the drama, excitement, and romance. Maybe, I was in love with the drama, with the story of what we were. Now, I feel like I am in love with a genuinely good person. With a man, who will stand by me no matter what. With someone who I can love and respect. Someone who can take care of me as I take care of him. We were married on February 9, 2013. The time leading up to the ceremony was calm for the most part. There were a few instances of stress. But, I had a great feeling of sure-ity, when I said my vows. I said them; I meant them. I was overcome by peace and happiness that day.

Reclaiming Ireland

I know that I am not Irish. But, apart of me feels like I owned it. It was my Ireland. I knew tons of places to enjoy nature and life. There were high crosses and unprotected cliff paths to explore. Finding coves, rock beaches, and ruins were the way I spent my afternoons in Kilkenny. But, I feel like I lost that sense of adventure when I decided to put more time into one relationship. I still did some of that stuff, but it was much less. I put my time and energy into something else. I also shared these places I loved with someone who crushed me. So, in a way, I feel like I lost some of the places that I loved. This trip I took a day to reclaim the places I love. Margaretha and I went to Anne’s town beach and walked the cliff path. We went to Standbally Cove. When I got there, I was overcome by a sense of sadness about the promises that were said and broken. I composed a letter in my mind that I will never send. It spoke of hurt, grief, and lost visions. I had to shake off that mood because it is not fun to travel with someone who is sad. It took me sometime, but seeing Jennifer and helping her with the ceremony made a huge difference in my mood. Now, I just want to raise a pint to lovely memories in lovely places; to the old and new; to staying true to myself; and to not losing hope. Slàinte!

Jennifer's Re-wedding

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Second chances are necessary in life for friends and lovers. That is why I really appreciate Jennifer and Garry doing a second wedding celebration here in Ireland. It gave me an opportunity to be apart of their joy and excitement. I wanted to go to the first wedding in October 2011, but by the time I was looking for tickets, I was also moving into my new place, which caused me to bleed money. During this time, I was also feeling weird about going because the only person I really knew was Jennifer, and I thought I would be in the way.  I doubt that would have been the case, but like I said, I was feeling weird. My official thanks go out to Jennifer and Garry for their lovely celebration yesterday night at Stephen James Stephen hurling Club in Kilkenny. It was a lovely affair. I went over early to help Jennifer get into her dress. Then, after helping bring cakes to the club, I had to dive Garry back to the house because he had forgotten his wedding ring. HE had taken it off in the shower and just a few minutes before the ceremony started Jennifer realized it was gone. We ran back to the house. It was great to be able to spend the 10 minutes with Garry. I am happy that Jennifer found such a wonderful man. They had a renewal of their vows. Garry’s twin sisters Margaret and Ellen read the readings from the wedding. They lit a unity candle, and said ‘I do’ all over again. Then, there were sandwiches, sausages, and sweets. By the end of the night, when the crowd had thinned out a bit, we enjoyed dancing with the bride and groom. It was all a bit of good craic.

Narvik, Norway

Train left abisko at 11:45. It was a great day. We got a map from the tourist station by the railroad and we were hungry so we went and got a pizza. It was delicious, warm, and vegetarian like all of our meals. Then we went to a look out point that you could see all of Narvik. We went to a tourist shop and the things were very similar to sweden except they said Norway instead of Sweden.   It was a beautiful train ride through themountains. Narvik is on the Norwegian Sea. We then returned at 3:14. Margaretha is a great friend and a wonderful person to travel with. 

Some more pictures of the area

Picture one- Just near the river. There are cows everywhere! Dairy is a huge industry.
Picture two- The new friary. There is a bridge the connects it to the old one at the back of the building. It is used now by all sorts of groups. There is a child care center located in it, and theater groups will use it.
Picture three and four- this is called the cross. West street intercests with Green Lane here. The Vaughans is a great place for hamburgers or fish and chips. They serve the great garlic cheese chips. Then there is a pub and another take away shop, but it is not as good. There is a newer coffee shop here also called 'The Cross Cafe'. The green pole there is actually a post box. I think it is super cute. The building next to Vaughan's is a charity shop called Hunter Gatherer. I got a great braclet there today.

Callan Augustinian Friary, known locally as the "Abbey Meadow"

The Callan Augustinian Friary is an Augustinian friary situated in Callan, Co Kilkenny, Ireland. It is known locally as the "Abbey Meadow" and is located to the north-east of the town, on the banks of the Kings River. The new Augustinian Friary located in the town via the river is connected to the Abbey.

Edmund Butler of Pottlerath, a noted patron of literature, successfully petitioned Pope Pius II for the foundation of the friary in 1461. After Edmund died in 1462, the actual buildings were erected by his son, James, probably after 1467 when he received a papal dispensation to marry his concubine, to whom he was related.

In 1472 the friary became observant—its community adopted the fashion then spreading across Europe for the strictest observance of the monastic rules — and in 1479 it became the center of the Irish Observant Congregation.

After it was closed (dissolved) and its lands confiscated by the order of Henry VIII in his campaign against the church, it passed into the hands of the Earls of Ormonde. A new monastery for the Augustinian friars was founded in the town of Callan in 1766.

The friary church is a long, rectangular building with a central bell-tower. The east end or choir, is lit by a fine east window and in its south wall is one of the finest sedelias (a seat for officiating priests) in Ireland.

The domestic buildings and the cloister court no longer survive. However, a freshwater well still remains on the grounds of the abbey.

 For my first walk in Callan, I walked over the the Fiary. I love this old building. It is in the middle of a great big field with a lot of paths to walk on. It was great to go all over it. It still has a running well on the grounds and I took some video of that, but I need to get it off of my phone. I looked up the above history on it, because I did not really know the detail about it.

Pictures

The first picurte is of the new house called An Solas. It is HUGE! But, it is great because it was made specially for L'Arche so it has everything that the core members need. The second is the new Chalets that the ladies live in. They are super cute, and I would not actually mind living in them. The last picture is of a bar in Kilkenny that I love the name and the whole look of it. It just is so Irish! Love it.