Officially...

Note: All accompanying pictures now on http://smarie.phanfare.com : )

17sept06
Went out to the Wicklow mountains for what became a one on one tour of off road and tourist sites through the eyes of “a friend of a friend” who was born and raised in Ballyfermot, an avid sportsman intimately familiar with the area. A delightful day, filled with exploring, stories and lore delivered only as the Irish can.

16 sept 06 Drove on the left (on the right within the vehicle!) and off the beaten path exploring to the north today…if you’ve got a fair idea of where you’re going and how to get there you’re okay…if you miss a signpost because a vehicle passed by at an inopportune time…you might not know you’ve missed the turn for miles and miles….Ireland signage is spare and low…I KNEW there was a reason for working all those jigsaw puzzles when I was younger!!! In Ireland you're not "lost" you're simply taking another road...love that!

Took in Bru na Boinne and the Newgrange and Knowth monuments there (called passage tombs). 60% of all Western European Neolithic art is represented there, carved on 1 to 10 ton "kerbstones" that form the base of the passage tombs in combinations of spirals, lozenges, chevrons, triangles, parallel lines and arcs. There are more than 300 such decorated stones in the great tombs of Knowth, the greatest concentration of megalithic art in Europe. Some of the more dramatic designs are on the orthostats in the passages on the approach to the chambers. Amazing, still more so in knowing that the art and the tombs themselves are older than the Egyptian pyramids...dating to 2500-3000 B.C.

Newgrange is the largest passage tomb, unique for its roof box over the entrance, designed to catch the rays of the rising sun for the six days surrounding the winter equinox. On those days the perfect alignment of this box captures the sun’s light, illuminating the inner cruciform chamber for 17 minutes before all goes totally black. It is the only time of year the tomb is lit with natural light. To experience that as a simulation within the original 5000 year old stone and earth structure is both humbling and awe-inspiring.

In Knowth one can go inside and site down the long eastern passage, and get a sense of the structure itself. The mounds were constructed in such a way that to this day they are water proof and dry…an amazing testament to the knowledge of the builders of the stone age. The people lived in thatch and stick huts as opposed to the composition of these much larger structures. They lived an average of 30 years, and the structures are estimated to have taken in excess of 60 years to complete…evidence of a mission or intent larger than themselves? And a focus on something outside themselves…repeatedly struck by layers yesterday…layers involved in the physical structure of the passage tombs, layers of living imposed on top of them over time, while respected the location and in some cases the hallowedness of these places, layers of understanding unraveled in puzzling through how things were constructed then, layers we cover ourselves with literally and figuratively now as then, for protection, enlightenment, territorial things, and so much more.

I wonder at how complicated things become….green living strategies developed in the stone age that will continue to outlive anything we erect today….is our knowledge base sending us backward versus forwards??

The passage tombs from an arc from Wicklow Mountains to County Mayo (kind of rainbow style)…at least those still in existence today….how did they do it? Each new bit of knowledge increase our understanding and or appreciation of what we see around us….the undisturbed mounds in surrounding fields are pieces of history older than the pyramids…tended today by the livestock that graze on and around them.

Other sights/observations…. The overall countryside an hour north of Dublin is rolling and beautiful, with driving lanes arbored by trees (they trim only enough to accommodate double decker buses, versus shaving whole sides away as we so often see in the states), and often single lanes shared by whatever comes your way! Ever read “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulgum? Sharing, playing nice with others, all come into play driving one lane unmarked roads!

Monteboice….has the familiar stories high monastic tower, and the fascinating juxtaposition of old and new…from headstones completely weather worn by the centuries to a days old interment. For whatever reason I had in mind that ruins such as they would not have new burials, nor would they hold graves (common or otherwise) within the walls of church ruins, etc., but this seems a familiar theme on more than one site/location. This location as so many others boasts the familiar farm ambience of childhood days (read eau de livestock here ).

The Old Millefort Abbey….interesting for the remains of the octagonal wash area used by the monks…must have been extraordinary in its day, and hints of what my imagination conjures for ruins in other parts of Europe yet to be seen…

Hill of Tara….it is said that one can hear the voices of past kings there…no kingly voices heard (that's for Tom), just a pastoral setting filled with sheep grazing and ravens cawing, the suggestion in earthen shape and form of past battles, occupation and glories.

11-15 sept 06 Work officially began at our Ballymun refurbishment site as we hosted the first volunteer crew there (YAY!) Filled two mid-sized skips (dumpsters) with material and started cleaning in earnest to prepare for a plethora of repairs, painting, and so on. Progress!

Let loose on the unsuspecting Dublin public as well...sharing a Toyota Yaris hatchback to facilitate getting to and from both work sites, picking up tools and supplies, and on days off, potentially roaming a bit farther afield. Opposite side of the road, opposite side of the car, stick shift on left, no turn on red, minimal street/road/traffic signs, and nary a straight street to be found....an adventure to be sure! All is well, and find the challenge to be finding things versus driving the vehicle (though I still reach to the left for the seatbelt (decades of conditioning at play, no doubt!)!

Howth (rhymes with "both") and the city

Note: Pictures galore are posted at http://smarie.phanfare.com/ for this and all previous posts...

Sunday 10 sept
Explored "Ireland's Eye", a small island north of Howth Harbor and reachable only by "ferry", a large, no frills and well worn dinghy that seats up to 30 (snugly, I imagine). In Celtic times the island was called Eria's Island. Eria was a woman's name and this became confused with Erin, the Irish name for Ireland. The Vikings substituted the word Island with Ey, their Norse equivalent, and so it became known as Erin's Ey and ultimately Ireland's Eye. Its The island is "host" to a Martello tower c1800 and a ruined church said to date from the 6th century, and serves as a sanctuary to a variety of seabirds, including thousands of guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, gulls, and gannet (and a plethora of rabbits as well).

From its highest point there is a beautiful 360 view of the surrounding land and water, and the island itself surprises with "Nature's Sculpture", several rock formations (the most spectacular is the huge freestanding rock called the Stack), along with lichen-based "paintings" among the rocks, a bit of heather, and fields of fern like growth and blackberry brambles reaching 3-5 feet in height…a bit of a jungle exploration at 4'10" . Visitors are free to explore all, with comings and goings dictated by tide and weather.

Lots of sailboats showing their stuff in the brisk winds of the day, and a salty spray laden ride back to harbor through white caps and wind on the return trip.

Howth hosts a Sunday farmers' market, a tasty punctuation to the day's island hiking, with fresh produce, cheeses, meats, breads and a craft or two. Many an organic vegie found its way home with me today!

Sunday eve...
Into the city center for the Fire Installation on George's Dock. From the blazing "chandelier" over the River Liffey to globes and garlands of firelight, this "luminous landscape" opened the 2006 Dublin Fringe Festival, 3 weeks of music, art, comedy and performances. Check out http://www.fringefest.com/ for more info; the fringe festivals occur in a variety of cities, including Orlando, Florida.

The "lights" are medium sized flower pots filled with parafin, lit with lantern oil on rag wicks, enough to heat and ignite the oil for a warm and unique firelight display of lights. The lighting is a bit like watching slow motion long lasting fireworks. Dramatic and beautiful (and quite toasty!).

Saturday 9 sept
Out to Howth Summit to "cliff walk", a series of pathways high and low on the water side of this island like extension north and east of Dublin proper. Beautiful, restful, exhilarating, and WINDY!

Descended into the village of Howth, to chat with locals and peruse the harbor, home to recreational and fishing vessels. Tides vary greatly here, and trawlers tied at the east pier quay were actually laid over on low tide….amazing to see.

A fisherman recently in was feeding harbor seals (they’re HUGE)….an au naturale version of Sea World…

Tuesday thru Friday 5-8 sept….
Days at the office planning tasks in detail for our two refurbishment projects, time at the sites, successfully resurrecting water and power to both (Yay!), and still waiting for the keys to wheels to facilitate tool and supply purchase and delivery (translation: no car yet, so the streets of Dublin are still free of our anticipated learning curve with stick shift/opposite of the car and road driving!).

Bits ‘n' pieces…
Terms:
You follow = understand?
Straight away = ASAP
Tipper = dump truck
Canteen = cafeteria
Aluminium = aluminum
Hire = rent
Rampai = ramp = speedbump
No bother = we’ll work it out = no worries
Meet vs meeting
A proper shop = shopping trip or provisioning

Phrases:
How’re ya keepin’
I’ve done me work
That’s crack = awesome, fabulous
Craic = conversation

Oddities and observations:
· Less superstores, nothing really like the "convenience" of Walmart or Kmart
· Texas/Tennessee/AND Kentucky fried chix seen so far : )
· US----more choices, greater quantities, more variety (except in the "crisps" (potato chips) selection….if there's a flavor you can imagine, they seem to have it here!)
· Litter runs rampant in the city…not as clean a city as I’d imagined
· Mad as a hatter was coined from the malady incurred by hat makers exposed to chemicals that made them, well, you know, MAD!!

"Labor Day" weekend

Monday 4 sept

Introduced Regis to both work sites and met with new construction supervisor Paddy Carroll today. Will spend the week getting everyone up to speed in anticipation of being out of the office and on site effective next week. Again I say, “YAY”!

Sunday 3 sept

Toured Wicklow Mountains by bus, experiencing a bit of the countryside this gal form the states associated with Ireland through John Wayne’s “The Quiet Man” and similar films. Very beautiful, and for the first time since arriving, could imagine myself staying, tucked up into the hills within walking distance of one of the tiny towns I saw, living as the “quiet woman” (okay, perhaps THAT’s a stretch!). Friends who’ve already seen more of the country suggest the Wicklow area’s just the start and the west will be even more enticing…..plans to go that direction are underway even as we speak….

Caught one of the brightest rainbows I’ve yet seen anywhere, seemingly within hands reach (sans leprechauns or pots o’ gold spotted) on a rise overlooking a portion of 5000 acres held by the Guinness family, replete with a mansion on glacial Loch Tay (Lake Tea), named for its tea (or perhaps Guinness?) color, whose sandy beach looks like the head of the country’s most popular stout. The mansion sits at one end of a beautiful extended valley with mist rolling over the mountains (3000 ft at the highest, but dramatic relative to the surrounding area), or in our case “blowing stink” (lead boots would’ve been helpful!). The Beatles’ Paul McCartney was inspired by the surroundings and penned the song “Yesterday” while walking the paths of the Guinness mansion/valley as a visitor there in the early 60’s.

Continued on through wide fields of “the blooming heather” heralded in many an Irish folk song, much of it topping bog where peat is still cut and dried for “fuel” in standard fireplaces (versus wood, a rare commodity for steady heating of a home here, with only 2% of the country “timbered” at this point in time (per our driver….facts/figures not verified ).

Interesting related facts: Deciduous trees are indigenous to Ireland; the conifers seen here are not, a purported bone of contention with some local environmental groups seeking to maintain the natural flora and fauna of the country. The “tea” color of the water in this area, which could easily be misconstrued as polluted, is actually produced as water flows/ filters through the dense natural vegetation that makes up the bog fields. Carrying the Guinness theme a step further, the falls and steams in this area look a bit like a steady cool stream of Guinness….quite the image/mirage for a thirsty hiker (or “hill walker” as they are sometimes referred to here), yes?

On to Glendalough (glen-da-lock), or “valley of Two Lakes in English, site of a sixth century monastic settlement, a fair share of which remains intact today. Pictures from this point on were visual only (camera battery died ), but a collection a pictures at http://www.bamjam.net/Ireland/Glenda.html will give you a feel for what the layout was like. A round 110 foot tower dominates the remains, and is typical of such towers built in monasteries around the country. Beyond suppositions about its height and purpose is the impressive nature of how it would have been constructed in the sixth or seventh century. Amazing to ponder for this builder “wanna-be” today . The “cathedral” ruins feature an older section whose “floor” is laid with flat tombstones and has no windows; the gable end of a Romanesque style room added later is dominated by a jagged edged oval “window” standing testament to the stained glass art once held there. Cemetery areas stand flank the cathedral and tower and are still in use today; when the last members of two families in the area are laid to rest there, the grounds will continue untouched for an additional 50 years….readable headstones/tombstones date back to the 1600’s, and the remains of founder St. Kevin are said to be there as well, from the sixth century. I continue to be captivated and humbled by the history reflected in the stones of the buildings in the myriad places like these that I see…..history come alive yet again…. A final stop in Avoca afforded the opportunity to watch weaving as it has been done by the Avoca Mills since 1723. Several of the looms on the premises are in excess of 150 years old, in full use today, and as a textile artist, fascinating to see in operation. The mill yields a plethora of high end goods made from all natural fibers, and distributes to locations both local and worldwide.

A leisurely ride back to Dublin with glimpses of the sea and rolling farm and pasturelands giving way to Georgian home and estates on the city’s south side completed the day. A final note: perfect winding roads for a bike ride….four motorcycles “group riding” spotted en route, and imagined the possibility of absorbing the views that way….mindful of sheep, cows, horses, and mountain goats (spotted four at the upper lake at Glendalough!) having the right of way, of course!

A bit of culture....

Saturday 2 sept
Explored downtown Dublin in search of an open farmer’s market (one discovered on Henry Street), tahini, almond butter and things organic (found two organic food store(s), and just to enjoy the day. Spent the afternoon at St. Stephen’s Green, a beautifully manicured garden like park in the city, and stumbled across “Public Shakespeare”, a group of local theater students that present fractures Shakespeare twice daily in the park through the summer. Delightful 2 hour “show” presented “theater in the round” style with a wee bit of audience participation included…an unexpected treat! The theater theme continued with an evening at the Gaiety Theater watching “Legends of Irish Folk”, as well known Irish folk singers shared stories, a bit of blarney, and several crowd pleasing Irish ballads.

Friday 1 sept
Picked up international volunteer "partner" Regis Richard at the airport at o-dark-thirty in the morning. His arrival, the hire of a local construction supervisor and the first slate of scheduled volunteers coincided to cap off a week of forward movement relative to the Habitat projects here…..YAY!

Spent an enjoyable day/weekend introducing him to Dublin and our neck of the woods, and am delighted to have a counterpart to help build the refurbishment program here.


Gaelic vocabulary:

Glen = valley
Baile (pronounced “bali”) = town
Lough (pronounced “lock”) = lake
Tay (pronounced “tea”) = tea

Random thoughts and observations:

28 aug to 1 sept:

Terminology:
· Dodgy = unsafe/unsavory
· Bit = stretch
· Done up = prepared
· Half 6 = 6:30
· Electric = sparks

Habitat:

· The volunteer concept is an oddity here as building and the trades go, with terminology like “volunteer professional”, “volunteer amateur” and just plain “volunteer” entering printed and shared commentaries ….a reminder of how tenuous language and terminology can be…
· Several security concerns continue to be raised relative to the worksites due to the areas they’re in. Mindful of the inherent and steady progress to a safer environ as groups like HFH partner with Dublin City Council to change the prevailing culture of the areas we and future folks will be working in here. Cool.

· The Dublin City Council currently works to commandeer a well intended 25-30,000 government subsidized dwellings without clear community development programs in place to support them…add in a government mandate that 20% of new construction be socially directed…lots of political implications, push/pull, grievances, agendas. They are beginning to build alliances to reduce renters’ handholding posture/dependence on DCC while alleviating and improving the housing situation overall. Enter HFH as one of a growing number of “trial” partnerships (HFH being unusual in its approach as a volunteer non-profit org), and one captures the importance of creating a precedent for not only decent affordable housing, but the construct of a mechanism to get folks in those houses. Humbling and exciting to be a part of that process.
· Ballyfermot project viewed in person for the first time, a study in spray paint grafitti, broken glass and eclectic smatterings of garbage throughout (along with some colorful original decorating), but largely sound and imminently doable as a primarily volunteer project. Cool. Every visit and view to a site here adds to the Sheila-bank of Irish building quirks and codes. Cool.

Curiosities…
· digital kiosks along the main roads into DCC telling how many parking spaces are available….walk signals that are distinctly auditory….get your heart racing as they flip to “walk” …intentional effort to hustle you across??
· Finding that I notice more details, and sometimes wonder how much is actually different versus my simply being more aware as I seek to learn this new environment …
· Buses are amusing, inexpensive, and occasionally time consuming….sometimes faster just to walk!!
· Advertisement: Your seat and feet thank you for binning your gum when you’re done!

Weather:
Spectacular cloud formations east over the harbor and as storms blow in...definitely can experience four seasons a day, from seeing your breathe in the morning to shirtsleeves in the afternoon, sun to rain…sound familiar, WA friends and family?? Dublin Harbor lies about 5miles east of where I live….sunrise still beautiful… very active water between England/IE/ Scotland…stands to reason the skies would partner in splendor…


Culture:
· Kids tend to be bold, scrappy, irreverent, independent and lively to talk with…
· Cell phones and iPod type devices run rampant; it’s the odd one out who isn’t sporting one or the other or both…
· Baseball cap are not indigenous to Ireland, rather, they’re a sign that you’re either from the US or have visited there…
· Dual language signs ****

Buildings:
· Very few single family detached homes
· Even the most formal brick/stucco fronted homes are often brightly painted
· Thatched roof home discovered enroute to airport, with decorative work from peak…very cool….
· Did you know that “ensuite” means there’s a bath attached?????
· Wire bundled "bales" of stone at toll areas are set like exterior wall faces for highway patrol/garda (police) type offices…very interesting…
· Bridge spans…from stone to new age curved metal…
· A city center building under construction has a full face façade that looks like the finished product in the interim (building in the center below)…safe, easy on the eye and quite convincing on a cursory glance!

Etc….
Notice the change in date presentation? Like baseball caps, a telltale indicator that you’re not of Ireland or the European Union is in recording the date by month/date/year (e.g. 9-4-06), versus date/month/year (e.g., 4 sept 06). The origin of yours truly was deduced this way in Safe Pass class this way. Who knew?