Trim Castle

We visited Trim Castle today in a very Irish drizzle to shower.  The children took it in turns to express their lack of team spirit so I missed a good bit of both what the tour guide was saying and reading the placards.  Since this is a far from rare occurrence, we've started springing for the 50 cent visitor's guides put out by the Office of Public works.  We can then later find out what it is that we saw and wholeheartedly endorse this strategy if you find yourself touristing with children.

The thing that keeps knocking me in the face is the saying about how "100 years is old to an American and 100 miles is far to an Englishman."  This church from the 1700s (I think) would be considered highly historic in an American town.

These shops are built on the doorstep of a 11th century castle.

I saw cross country practice next to the ruins of a medieval Abbey.

N R 1771

This graffiti from inside the keep is older than the Constitution and was written AFTER the castle was re-built 3 (or maybe 4) times, hosted 15th century Parliaments, and was abandoned to Cromwell's army in 1649.

Cambell 1743

Obviously, the best part of a castle is jumping on the drainage grate.

While touring, the big kids lead the way...

while Noah brings up the rear.

We had to wait for about 30 minutes, huddled under the trim gate which used to be where they pulled up the drawbridge, for the official tour of The Keep to begin.  Megan and I decided to venture out and I couldn't help but imagine what an incredible backdrop the ruins of the Barbican Gate would be for a small wedding.  I keep being surprised we don't see more bridal photo shoots at all these picturesque castle ruins but I suppose I can understand why outdoor shoots are rather rare in Ireland.


I did get to listen to the tour in the chapel.  These were 2 openings to keep the holy water.  After it was used, there were drains that made their way to the outside of the castle walls where they then drained down the walls to return to the earth- the only acceptable disposal of holy water.  Interestingly, the clergy would accompany their lords in battle.  However, they were not allowed to draw blood.  So, they were only allowed to use clubs and maces.  Inflicting death via concussion was apparently fine according to the powers that be.

I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty...*

Sorry for 2 tech posts in a row.  Trim Castle is coming next with plenty of misty Ireland images!

I have come to a whole new level of appreciation of my electronic gadgets in Ireland- especially my iPhone.  I don't actually use it to make calls since I don't have the international thingy that makes it work here.  Also, iPhones have a tendency to get stolen in Dublin.  Allen had his taken in the first few days we were here.  Someone in need of quick cash (often a person addicted to something) whizzes around on a bike and plucks phones out of people's hands- even while they are talking on them.  They then take it to someone else who wipes the phone and sells it.  So, Allen and I both have fairly cheap phones that we use for actual phone calls.  Anywho...

I didn't bring any paper books to Ireland. (gasp!)  Before we moved, I checked to be sure I could use the Dublin library system and planned to just borrow books.  But, I haven't been terribly impressed by the library system here or, more precisely, the librarians.  Never have I had so many encounters with people working at libraries that make you keenly aware that they are in fact civil servants rather than people who want nothing more than to unite you with the perfect book.  Using the local library tends to make me more homesick than just about anything else.

Luckily, since we are still residents of Blacksburg, I can check out e-books from our library back home.  They have a fairly good collection and it's growing by the month.  I also downloaded the free kindle app so I can buy books from Amazon.

I already really appreciated my phone as a book while I was rocking and nursing Noah- it's much easier to hold a phone than an actual book and no page turning to distract the baby!  But, it's been even more helpful over here since Noah is sleeping in our room.  An eReader means that I can read in bed without waking him.  Plus, any book I buy can come home with us without me worrying about weight restrictions, etc.  I'm getting a kindle for Christmas and can't wait!

The second thing I have really found helpful while abroad is twitter.  I can manage to read 140 characters while also caring for 3 young children.  I have it set up as basically a personalized news service through some fairly selective "following."  This allows me to keep up with what's happening in the US and even Blacksburg without wading through a bunch of newspaper homepages or a clunky rss feed with all sorts of poorly formatted news that I'm not interested in.  The very short nature of tweets makes it easy to skim and I can still click a link to read a full story.

A few follow suggestions for those that are twitter unsure :-)

The only news feed I follow is the BBC World service.  I've found this especially helpful with the political races heating up.  But, since it is the world coverage I also get links to bits and pieces of news all over the world.  It's not enough if you're a political junkie but tends to be as much information as I can really process at this stage of my life.  It's a strategy worth considering if you want to stay informed but not overly informed and one that I had already started employing back in the US.

The town of Blacksburg isn't unique in using twitter.  I subscribe to their feed and stay up on the biggest happenings.  When we live there, it lets me know where there will be road closures and the like.

I adore tweets by Neil deGrasse Tyson.  He's an astrophysicist with a magpie mind who is always putting out little science nuggets.  He is totally worth following!  I also follow a few museums.  The Air and Space is always sending out "on this day" sorts of things and the other Smithsonians will often link to unusual or interesting collections and the like.

A fair number of countries have national twitter accounts that are curated for a week by different people.  It's a fun way to find out what's happening in everyday life around the world.

*It's from the Little Mermaid

Keep them busy!

One of the things that we have struggled with a bit is the combination of not really knowing anyone, rain, and limited space so the children have been playing on the iPad quite a bit.  I tend to be pretty picky about what I'm willing to let the children play and I know the quest for decent iPad apps for the under 5 set is eternal so I thought I would share our top 5 picks.  FYI, Charlie is 6, Megan is 4, and Noah just turned 2.


First is anything by Shoe the Goose.  We have cookie doodle and donut doodle and the children spend ages playing them.  The children can pick from all sorts of dough, cookie cutters or types of donuts to decorate.  Or, they can make them from scratch, cracking eggs, shaking salt, cutting butter and then baking or frying before making them lovely.  Noah took a little while to get the hang of making them from scratch but can now do the whole process independently from start to finish.  The older children caught on right away.


Another family favorite is Robot Lab by Toca Boca.  The children build a robot and then fly it around a maze to collect stars.  At the end of the maze, it's wisked away by a giant magnet.  Noah does well with the robot building but the maze section is usually a joint effort between Noah and one of the older children.  It's a great way to allow your children to play collaboratively.

Farm School and Earth School are both put out by Yateland games.  Farm School is a great choice for under 3s- Noah loves it.  It has a bunch of very simple matching and find the animal games.  Earth School is better for slightly older children.  Children play a series of games that progress from the big bang through the evolution of dinosaurs- FYI this isn't a great pick if you are a strict creationist.

Make Me Music by FeeFiFoFun is a simple app where the children can "play" all manner of instruments varying from digeridoos to pots and pans.  It sounds like it would be misery on a parent's ears but it's not bad at all.  The children can even save their compositions and send them off to their grandmother.



Finally, a tie in the least likely contender category.  Both Spanish Cards by eFlash and Cula Caint are basic language flashcard apps.  You would think they would be the dullest "games" ever but the children actually really like them.  Spanish is, um, Spanish and Cula Caint is Irish.  The first several times, Noah kept arguing with the iPad about what a "bus" or whatever was called but he eventually came around.  The children pick a category (transportation is a favorite), touch the screen and a voice says the word in Spanish or Irish.

Come on over, come on over, baby.

Now that I've gotten some Christina (or if you prefer some Rosemary) stuck in your head...

I get a lot of comments about how jealous people are of me.  To be honest, I'm jealous of me!  Well, except for the last couple of days where it's been around 7 (45') and pouring.  It's supposed to clear today due to the "fresh to gale force" breezes.  So.

I think Ireland makes a great tourist destination for Americans especially if you've always dreamed of going to Europe but cost and language have held you back.

• In my experience, Ireland is a European country that really likes Americans.  This is a country with a long memory which mostly works to our advantage.  Among other things- we both fought our way out of colonialism and the US was the first country to establish diplomatic ties with Ireland.  America is still a land of prosperity and opportunity where young people think about going to start a wonderful new life (Friends is popular here)
• The Irish tend to be astoundingly friendly, helpful and kind- unless they are driving and then a friend summed it up best.  "Well, if a driver actually hits you he would definitely be in trouble."  Generally, though, they exhibit a depth of good grace while you figure out which one is the correct coin; they tell you the best place to get a pint; or they take your picture in front of a statue/building/scenic view.  
• The country is around the size of West Virginia so you can actually see a pretty big hunk of it in a week or so- especially if you take some of the great rail tours. 
•  The costs in Dublin are a little higher than in my small town but aren't out of line for big cities.  I find most of them reasonably commensurate with New York city pricing.  Plus, the Euro is on the weak side of the dollar at the moment.  
• Being lost is a part of the local culture and won't mark you for a mugging.  Dublin is over a 1000 years old and the layout of the city shows it.  The only place I've been with more odd twists, turns, and alleys that don't go anywhere is Cairo which is, notably, even older.  The streets and "corners" (it's rare to find a 90' angle here) aren't terribly well marked, the bus schedule is considered to be fairly inscrutable and the local rail system only posts the final destination for the trains.  This means that anyone who isn't hyperlocal is often slightly lost.  I get asked regularly what the next stop is and how to find XYZ street by people who are clearly native.  Bus drivers, train staff, and locals on the street would find it odd if they didn't get asked for help.
• The fare to Ireland is not a pittance but it's not completely out of reach if you plan and save up- think once every 10 years sort of trip rather than never in this lifetime.  It looks like a fare of around $800 is pretty achievable and it occasionally dips into the 700s.  That's more than a week at Disney (for one person) but not that much more and about the same if you fly to Florida rather than drive.  It runs neck and neck with prices for flights to Hawaii and I'm reasonably certain hotels and food are a lot less expensive here.  I get the impression that Ireland will be pushing for more flights (and perhaps a drop in prices?) for the next year or so in anticipation of The Gathering  If you don't ever take a vacation, maybe now is the time to start.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

Dream big and pack an extra sweater!

and maybe some long underwear

yes, even in July

seriously

Care Packages

My mother likes to send care packages about once a month.  The list of things that she can send for the children is endless but she is desperate for something she can send to Allen and me.  The children want fairly simple things like band aids with characters they recognize, special paper napkins to put in their lunch (all I can find are the standard sort), and clothing that is theoretically available in Dublin but difficult for me to access with travel and knowledge restrictions.  Allen and I are mostly embracing that this is a year of NEW.  This is our one chance to easily access sticky toffee pudding, freshly baked soda bread, and slightly odd yogurts.  A care package is really intended to be a little slice of home; of what you miss but the thing is that what I miss isn't easy to package up.

I miss knowing the things you don't even think about; knowing how to write the date- here it is d/m/y; knowing where to go to buy pretty much anything; knowing if I take Noah to the doctor or the chemist for his diaper rash; knowing which is the dime and which is the penny and which is, in fact, 2 euros.

I miss the appliances that make my housewifely role so much simpler- my rice cooker, stand mixer, slow cooker, salad spinner, and an oven with a reasonably accurate thermometer; 

Today was 8 C (45F) with pouring rain and wind.  By the time I had made the 20 minute walk to get Noah, 15 to get the big kids and then another 15 minute walk to get us all home, it was clear that I really should have invested in a fisherman's slicker when I got those rain boots.  On days like this, I miss my car even though preschool pickup becomes a Darwinian masterpiece and a bubble bath would have been heaven.

We can't figure out why the house is always cold.  I finally bought a thermometer so we could be more systematic about turning on the heat only to discover that the house feels cold when it is 70 degrees.  The only thing we can figure is that it has something to do with the damp.  I searched google for insight since my only real experience with humidity is with the opposite problem to find that there is little scientific consensus on the issue of damp cold.  The best I could find was here and even then it is muddled.  With my decidedly limited science background (I ran into the welcoming bosom of the social sciences as soon as they would have me), I have come down in the heat transfer camp i.e. water transfers heat more efficiently than air and so it's like the air is sweating for you which is really less than helpful when that wasn't really what your body wanted.

I miss the familiar and the cultural knowledge.  I'm forever having to ask about how various holidays are celebrated and how things are taught.  The constant translation from Irish to English which seems so innocuous until you read the school supplies list.

I miss streets laid out in a grid or something approaching it.  I miss street signs and well marked anything.

I miss take-out that isn't breaded and fried.  I got a vegetarian gyro in an attempt to skip the breaded and fried only to get what I think was fried breading.

I miss the diversity you find in the US.  I hadn't really realized how varied we are until coming here.  Most of the population looks vaguely similar in a way you don't find in the US.  For a while I thought I must be exaggerating or mistaken but every time I would look around and think, "Oh, there's a difference in hair; style; coloring; anything," I would then realize that the person was speaking a foreign language.  Other cultures are most certainly represented but you don't see that complete mish mash that you find in America.  The on-line grocery store has the doritos classified as Mexican food.

I kept finding it odd to see military trucks wandering through what is very much a residential neighborhood.  We aren't terribly near any bases although a UNIT (which I always thought was made up by the Dr. Who writers) training base is the next county over.  But then Allen pointed out that the country is roughly the same size as West Virginia.  If you are going to support and train a reasonably sized force there just aren't that many places for them to go.

I mostly really enjoy this opportunity to try all manner of new things but I do miss things, just not things that can be sent in a box.  Sorry, mom.

A Rose by Any Other Name...

Pictures from the National Botanic Gardens because this is a trifle dry!

When we named our children we consulted the Social Security name index.  We wanted names that were familiar enough that the children wouldn't be forever being asked to repeat their names. We went with the most standard spelling so they wouldn't forever be asked to spell them- at least their first names, there isn't much to be done about MacKenzie.  We wanted names that weren't too terribly popular.  Rebecca (Becky) was ranked 17th for my birth year.  One notable middle school biology class found my teacher being faced with 5 Becky's.  I also subjected each name to the Supreme Court Justice/plumber test.  The name or a variant had to sound appropriate for both vocations- Charles/Chuck  Megan/Meg/Madge Noah and, umm, Noah...

As an aside, my advice to parents looking to give a unique name is to make it the middle name.  If your child becomes a rock god, Xandirkke will be fabulous but they might rather have Frank on their medical licence.

"Charles" had hung out in the top 100 for the last 100 years, ranking 60 for Charlie's birth year.  "Megan" didn't hit the top 100 until 1975 but made a fast rise hanging out around 10 starting in 1984.  It started falling, rather precipitously, in popularity in 2003 and ranked at 100 for Megan's birth year.  We went a little wild with Noah but I was really attached to the name for unknown reason.  "Noah" hit the top 100 in 1995 but had a meteoric rise and ranked 7th for his birth year- 5th this year.  The big difference between Noah's 7th and my 17th is that the US is now significantly more diverse.  So, even the most popular names wind up being given to a smaller percentage of the population.  Somehow, I have yet to encounter another Noah in his classes at church or mother's morning out.

This all changed when we moved to Dublin.  "Charlie" (not Charles) is ranked 10th in popularity in the UK for his birth year (I couldn't find a good source for Ireland).  Charlie is one of 3 in his class of 32 children.  His teacher made a valiant effort to get him to go by Charles with no luck.  "Megan" is 15th for her birth year.  She's the only 1 in her class but it appears that there is at least 1 "Megan" per grade level.  "Noah" had an even more meteoric rise in the UK and flew up to 18th for his birth year.  So much for our common but not too popular plan...

Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real

Pretty

We cross over the Dodder River via the Londonbridge (makes me hum every time I see the name) and it is heavily populated with swans.  It's one of those small things that always reminds me I'm not in Blacksburg anymore.

We tried to visit Malahide Castle but it was still closed.  The path to the castle takes you though a lovely wooded area.

Funny

Megan has always looked at Noah with great favor as he was obviously destined to be her minion.  They played "baby school" yesterday.  Noah patiently sat on the couch with her while she read him a story.  From the IKEA catalogue.  She told an extended saga about a fork that had fallen off his planet and got lost.  He had many adventures in the lighting and bedding sections until he finally and joyfully reunited with spoon, knife, and plate in housewares.

Happy

While we didn't get to see the castle, Malahide had a wonderful playground.  I find European playgrounds a little confusing.  While I sometimes feel quite coddled with public campaigns about proper dishtowel hygiene, reminders to look painted right into the crosswalks, and ubiquitous high visibility vests.  But then the playgrounds have all manner of equipment you don't see much at all in the US.  There are high climbing structures, enormous slides, teeter toters, spinny things and, at Malahide, zip lines!  I'm afraid the pictures aren't the very best.  Noah kept attempting to run headlong into their path.

The younger child area had this fantastic sand play area with child powered backhoes, pulley systems and chutes. 

You also see a lot of group play items.  This was an awesome bicycle setup.

Real

This is the rear view from the upper story of the house.  The big spaceship looking thing is the Aviva Stadium.  On the plus side, they only have a big event once or twice a month, concerts have to finish up by 11 pm, and Irish windows are well built so the kids can still sleep reasonably well with their sound machines.  On the down side, the concerts are LOUD so even with good windows and sound machines, the kids are still a little cranky the next day.  So far we have been treated to Madonna and Lady Gaga (Lady Gaga fans freaked out the Garda way more than Madonna's) as well as the Navy/Notre Dame game (I think the football fans were the drunkest of the lot but the Garda adored them).  Dublin does a good job of blocking off the driveways, street sweeping, and foot traffic management but I think that there is a very good reason that the Aviva stadium has provided bribes grants to just about every project in the area.