These little bags were a perfect project for a rainy day. Thanks, Sue!

My herbs sprouted in the sunny kitchen window. Dill, basil and cilantro.

Here is what the locals drive:

Christmas 2009

I was going to say something about experiencing my first Christmas alone but I wasn't. Alone, that is. The girls were here to celebrate the day with me. I love this first picture of Sophie. I title it:  Busted!

(Look at all of those red gifts from my friend, Rita.)

Here is smarty pants Lucy who knew exactly which present was hers and opened it without waiting for me or Sophie.

She immediately took her toy from Aunt Stacy to her bed while Sophie . . .

acted like the hedonist she is. The dog has no shame!

Look at the socks from my sister, Leslie. Cute! Sophie approves.

And, it's not for everybody but here is my Christmas dinner. A yummy buffalo burger! (King Eider, I miss you!)

So, just another day and we had a nice walk on the beach and look at the best gift of all at the end of the day:

Happy holidays, everybody

I had a productive day yesterday, running errands and getting to know the area a little bit. The wind came up and howled all night and look at the waves rolling in this morning. We couldn't walk on the beach this morning as the sand was flying in the wind and stinging our faces. Sophie had sand in the corners of her eyes when we came in, poor baby. 

Last night we heard a huge crash on the deck, which set the dogs off, and this is what we saw in the light of morning. The gas grill - and it's a big one - was blown around the corner and down to the other side of the deck.  The dogs were pretty sure it meant us all harm and approached cautiously with neck and butt fur up. V. funny. Thankfully, it was not attached to the gas canister.

I hope to finish unpacking today - I of course brought all of my fabric so need to find a place for it.

It's a sunny day, high of 60 - I'll take it!

on the cape

After a long walk this morning, we went off to the Piggly Wiggly for groceries, then to the post office to rent a post office box. Lots of southern accents. I finished unloading the car and manhandled - make that woman-handled - the cargo box off the Prius.  My condo is the one on the end, far right.

Here is Lucy gazing out to sea. Happy doggies finally out of the car and landed on a beach.

And here is Sophie doing crazy like nobody else can!

We're expecting a big storm to roll in tonight and looking forward to it.

This morning we took empty back roads consisting of spanish moss draping the pin oaks, lots of old trailers, and plenty of gator holes, while we gradually made our way to the coast.

Stopped at the Piggly Wiggly for some staples and took a long walk on the beach. We were all SO ready for some exercise.  Spent the afternoon unloading the car and tomorrow, I'll be scraping out the Prius and erasing 10 days of travel with two big hairy dogs. And, I'll think about emptying the rooftop carrier.

The girls and I have landed in a beautiful place. Here is sunset tonight. Hasta manana . . .

So I crossed from Georgia to Florida today at about 4pm to 75 warm degrees and sunny skies! I love Florida. Well, I rolled down the windows and suddenly there was a blizzard!  Of Sophie hair, that is.  It started flying around the car and out the windows and just everywhere. The Prius must have looked like Pigpen surrounded by his dirt cloud. I had no idea she had been shedding so much but I will get out the Furminator in the morning!  

Well then I drove and I drove and I drove and no motels, no nothing. At last a rest stop and the girls got a break and had their dinner. Then, back on the interstate. I have finally landed right outside Tallahassee and it will be fun to see it tomorrow as I've never been.  Tomorrow, we will sit for a spell, a nice long time, as the girls and I have had enough driving for awhile.  

More anon.

A visit to the Lancasters of Chattanooga

Another challenge this morning with thick as pea soup fog all morning through the mountains. The road was frozen when the girls and I went for a walk but by 9am we were good to go (even though you could hardly see your hand in front of your face!)

Anyhoo, just another new challenge in a sea of many. I drove right to Brynne and Bo's house and the dogs were thrilled to run and run and run and get muddy and wreak havoc, you get the idea (and thank-you Beth - they are now your biggest fans.) I got to meet Willa for the first time and she is a happy little baby, sweet and beautiful - looks just like my niece, Brynne.

 Don't you love this picture of Marin fishing? She tried to land Sophie but Sophie decided she just wanted to bathe!

Two happy little water babies.

I found a dog-friendly motel (yuk as usual) and then met Brynne and Bo and the girls at the Blue Water Grill right downtown and let me tell you, it was fabulous! I had the best sashimi which is apparently flown in from Jacksonville every day. The only thing better than the food was the company! Miss Marin is quite the tickler and so articulate and funny - oh do I love her! 

 Here are Zia and Marin. 

Finally! Back on the Net after three days of living in the dark ages!

Thursday morning found me at Annie and Josh’s fabulous new house in the Germantown section of Philly.  OMG what a wonderful house! High ceilings, huge rooms, hardwood floors. It is also my absolute favorite kind of house: a fixer upper. What a great project they have in front of them. Sure, daunting but oh the potential! This house is going to be really amazing when they get done! (Nice job on the light fixture, Frank!!)

I also want to say that Miss Faerie Princess Lucia KNOWS what the hokey pokey is all about! She is quite the dancer.  Here she is waltzing with Josh, obviously her daddy and Prince Charming all in one. And, Micah? Going to be a baseball player, no question. What an arm! Seriously, they are such beautiful and funny and sweet kids. I am honored to be their Zia!

Annie and I and the kids took the dogs to the arboretum for a little exercise before the trip to Mercersburg. What a beautiful place on such a sunny and frigid day! Both dogs, of course, went in the pond so I got to drive the three+ hours to Mercersburg with eau de dog permeating the car.

* * * * * *

I stayed for three nights at Whitetail Ski Resort where the dogs could actually stay home instead of in the car where it was too cold to leave them. I’m looking forward to some warm weather next week. My friend, Stacy drove down and we explored the little towns of Chambersburg and Greencastle and found some unique shops. She is a horrible influence on the girls as they are both allowed in bed with her!

We took Josh out to dinner in Mercersburg and Stacy left Saturday morning. Josh and I had lunch and went Christmas shopping and he visited with the girls who were thrilled to see him, as he is one of their favorite people. I swear he is even taller then in September and he is growing his hair long. It looks fab and no, I didn't take a picture and I'm kicking myself for it. Suffice to say, he looks great and is enjoying life.

So, I woke up this morning to rain and sleet and a half inch of glare ice on the road. I thought the road was merely wet and when I stepped onto it to walk the girls this morning, I went down and split my knee open. Ouch!  I turned on the TV and it said ice emergency until 1pm. Well, I went out and checked every hour or so and couldn't even get to the car door, it was that slippery. Finally, I put down a rug from the condo and got in the car and drove it up on the snow in the yard. Loaded up, put the dogs in and slid my way up the drive. No way was I going to stay another day with NO INTERNET! We crept down the mountain and finally got to where the sand truck had been. Then a morning driving through pouring rain, to drizzle, to fog to a nice sunset. A little bit of everything. We've landed in Dublin, Virginia (how appropriate!) at a Holiday Inn and happy to be here and to have made some progress towards Chattanooga where we plan to arrive tomorrow.

Everybody wish my nephew a HAPPY 30th! Natonio, I hope you had a super fun partay and sorry I missed it!  xoxo

The girls woke up in the middle of the night to driving rain and howling wind. The next thing I knew, I was pinned under the sheets with an 80-pound dog on each side. Honestly, these two are getting so neurotic in their old age!

So, because they absolutely refuse to learn how to use indoor plumbing, off we went at 6:30 this morning into the storm. We got absolutely soaked. Like pants clinging to the legs, eyelashes glued to the cheeks soaked. Well, when ya gotta go, ya gotta go.

I spent much of the morning catching up on email and trying to re-pack things for a better fit in the little Prius. Then, off we went to Twining Village to see my in-laws. Here are Mom and Dad O. and aren't they cute and festive and smiley! They have a lovely little apartment in a really really nice complex. We had lunch in the dining room and it was wonderful! I'm so happy for them and I did say that once I was "of age" I would be moving in but then I thought well, no ocean, so forget it. (I'm sure they were relieved to know I was not going to be a neighbor anytime soon!)

The dogs and I had a long hike in the woods afterwards where Lucy pretended she was the mighty hunter put on earth to annihilate the squirrel and chipmunk population in one fell swoop (uh huh, I let her believe that but with the cataracts she's getting, not much chance of it-thank goodness!)

After they had dinner, back in the car for a nap while I met my sisterfriend, Karen, then her husband, Frank, and finally, my niece, Annie, for dinner at Garrabaldarrinis or some such Italian place. It was actually really good. But best of all, I felt the love of my family and I know I am so lucky to have them.

Off to bed because these two will have me up at the crack of dawn, I'm sure.

Catch-up

So, let me catch you up since my return from Ireland. Busy busy busy, packing up and leaving East Boothbay for the winter. These images are what I saw when I woke up on Sunday morning.  So beautiful and my Florida doggies thought it was fabulous!

Look at my sweet little house . . .






Off we go! The newest adventure!

Our first stop was Lexington to visit my sister Leslie, her husband Tom, Zoe (little pocket lab, poor thing is terrified of Sophie and with good reason, oy) and two of the lights of my life: Anna and Will. Here we are. (This, btw is the "Ryder smile" - inside joke.)

I left early this morning (Tuesday) and set the GPS for Teaneck, New Jersey. I drove through Mass, Connecticut, New York - saw the NYC skyline, lots of graffiti and the traffic and trucks, oh lordy the trucks!  Lucy decided to open the back window twice while I was navigating heavy traffic. There is nothing quite like concentrating on the traffic with ever fiber of your being when the sound of trucks enters your back window and you feel that diesel engine in your backseat. Yikes!  Freaked me out just a leeetle bit.

We stopped in Southport, Connecticut to give the girls a bathroom break and OMG! Giant piles of mansions, one after the other, I mean who lives in these places - big as hotels, green rolling lawns, you get the idea. I was not impressed but have to admit I gawked!  Found a little beach so they could run and I picked up some shells and sea glass. Nice break.

Then, New Jersey for the highlight of my day, where I stopped to see my beloved eldest nephew, Aaron and his beautiful Carla. Oh do I love them. They took me to lunch and I barely registered what I ate (although I can tell you it was yummy, and well it was tuna sashimi - ok I did register what I ate) but I was SO basking in their presence. I forgot to take a picture, darn it, but take my word for it, they are lovely. Thanks, guys!

After that, we had a quick doggie break and drove on to Pennsylvania and a cheap crappy hotel that takes dogs and has a kitchenette (those are the ONLY two positive things about it and okay, I can live with that.) I'll be here two nights and will check in tomorrow - lots of rain and snow predicted. No problem. I am woman hear me . . . yeah whatever.

 nighty night. Love, Liz

Lizzie goes to Ireland for un-Thanksgiving

My first flight in many years was just fine, thank you very much. Lots of cute red headed Irish flight attendants with pink cheeks. I was prepared with my noise canceling headphones and my eyeshade (which I made - cute, right?)

I checked into my awesome hotel (AbsoluteHotel.com) in Limmerick on the River Shannon (which was raging by) and had 3 hours of sleep before touring the Cliffs of Moher, stopping at King John Castle, dating to the early 1300's

(reached by traveling over a relatively new bridge - only 500 years old!) along the way and Ireland looking just like well, Ireland. It is beautiful. I've seen so many rainbows, I've lost count.  And, it's true about the 40 shades of green. The temperature is comparable to Maine right now but there are palm trees. Weird. Here are the Cliffs of Moher.

The bus broke down at the Cliffs so I missed the dinner at Bunratty Castle, darn it. I did see the pub where Frank McCourt's father "looked for work every day" called WJ South, if you remember the book, Angela's Ashes. Also the church where he had his first communion. The neighborhood where he grew up has been torn down and replaced by habitable dwellings, thank goodness. People seem a bit embarrassed that Frank McCourt would tell about this blight in Limerick. 

I definitely stepped outside my comfort zone again the next day when I rented a car. It was a bit nerve wracking, especially the roundabouts but the drivers are all very courteous. The hedgerows are amazing - it's like you're driving in a narrow little green maze.  I went to Blarney and climbed to the top of the castle which was rather terrifying and I almost stopped and went back down a few times but I made myself do it. I DID NOT however kiss the Blarney Stone - gross! Imagine the germs! But I saw it (it's at the very top).  Then, I shopped the Blarney Woolen Mills which were not all that spectacular. The town of Blarney is very cute and I walked around and had smoked salmon in a pub for lunch.

I had to circumnavigate many villages as they were  flooded. You can see evidence of high water everywhere and I saw a car that had gone off the road into the flooded fields. Yikes!

So on to Killarney. It is a resort town so about half full right now, nice and quiet, however the pubs are all open and I went out to hear some traditional Irish fiddle music.

I met a nice bunch at dinner the first night (really good piece of cod and yummy local goat cheese) and they dissuaded me from driving the Ring of Kerry by myself, for which I'm glad - very narrow and windy with sheer cliffs off to the side plus a lot of flooding. I took the motor coach (about 15 of us) and it was wonderful. What a beautiful country. The sky was blue (!) and our first stop was to gaze at the Magillicuddy Creech, topped with snow. Lovely against the green farmland dotted with sheep.

The guide was Tony and he is sort of the Irish version of Richard Gere. Very charming and funny and knowledgeable too and I loved the sound of his brogue.

We stopped at a traditional bog village with the thatched roofs and peat fires where there were the most gorgeous, albeit wet and muddy, Irish Wolfhounds in a paddock, as tall as me – looked me right in the eye! So I got a little doggy fix.

Check out the pile of peat next to the cottage

Went to the Red Fox Inn for lunch and could have kicked myself for not having the fish and chips. Wow – it looked amazing. Had the potato leek soup instead. We had two shopping stops where we were served Irish Coffee when we stepped in the door - apparently in appreciation for shopping with them this time of year. Hot coffee with brown sugar and a pile of fresh cream on top! Not a lot of tourists around. Saw the Atlantic from this side and went to Lahinch where surfing is  relatively new to Ireland - they apparently have 50' waves here!  I was taken by the circle forts where the people and their cattle lived 2000 years ago. Like in England, you get such a sense of history and what a grain of sand you are in the whole scheme of things.

It is so easy to live in the now in Ireland where there is something new and fabulous around every corner. Not too much time to think about any worries.

      

Saturday night in the pub. In what must be the highlight of my trip, I spent Saturday night at O’Connors Pub. I went with four new friends and we found a small table in front of the peat fire, not three feet from the musicians: a squeezebox, a fiddle and a guitar. They were wonderful. The pub filled up fast and in comes a little old Irishman, straight through the door and dancing a jig right in front of us, heels hitting the floor hard.  Every time they sang a song about Ireland (most of the songs actually), pints were raised, eyes closed and the lyrics belted out by every voice in the pub, an occasional tear running down a cheek. Oh my. It was a sight to behold.

Suddenly, a man with a broom jumps onto the floor in front of us and does the “brush dance”, the broom moving in a blur of motion up, down, between the legs, twirled in front of him. Amazing and the crowd went wild.  The best part though, was Folks: Tiny from Cork is going to sing us a song. Up comes a HUGE man with a GIANT beer belly. He takes the microphone, stands in front of the fire, finds his note, and out of his mouth the sweetest tenor you’d ever want to hear! As he gets into the song, his eyes close and the hand with his pint drifts down. Rhonda (new friend from Chicago, a professional singer) takes the pint from him and puts it on our table. He sang three or four songs and then disappeared to get another pint with much backslapping along the way.

I got quite the beer rinse in my hair, let me tell you, as the night wore on.  So much fun. I left my friends there around 11pm and walked back to the hotel.

Unfortunately Cashell and Dublin were wash-outs. Literally.

here is Cashell

It was pouring when I woke up, poured all day and all night. So, after looking through the raindrops at some of the sights around the city (the oldest pub in Ireland was kind of cool: The Brazen Head, dating to 1198!), we voted to do the tour at Guinness. It was seven stories of the history of the making of Guinness. It was interesting and hope the beer gods don't strike me dead but I am not a huge fan of the taste of Guinness. 250 years ago the founder signed a 9,000 year lease and you can see that set into the floor. The present day factory is on 60 acres and has the tallest public space in Dublin - although with the rain, the view was not exactly crystal clear.

So, a week later found me back on Aer Lingus for the trip home. I had a lovely and somewhat turbulent flight, picked up the girls and drove to home sweet home. I am a huge fan of Ireland and inordinately proud of myself for making the trip. I plan to go back and tour Dublin and points north as I pretty much stuck to the southern routes, mostly due to the flooding.


Thanks for the love and support and you know who you are, and thank you, Dan, for telling me, just go to Ireland, just go!  xoxo