Advent update

O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: 

Come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Just four more days until Christmas.  The presents are purchased - as of around midnight last night.  The decorations are up; the lights are on.  The cookies are baked - and almost all consumed or given away (grasshopper bars, coffee cream sandwiches, double chocolate chip, sugar cutouts, and gingerbread men).  And now the bags are getting packed to head to the grandparents' house.  The Advent season is winding down, just as the shortest day of the year and the year itself draw to a close.  It is a time for remembering what we have to be grateful for, as well as a time of anticipation for new gifts, especially the gift of beginning again, a new start with each rising of the morning star.  We are ready for the opportunity to begin again, and welcome the celebration of the Feast of the Nativity as a reminder of the joy and promise of new life, eternal life.

Some critter has been provident and stored many acorns

Trying to harvest mistletoe with an eye to selling kisses

Looking for  November tadpoles

Sisters

One large live oak or several growing in unity?

Fire 

Fire in the sky

St. Nicholas was here

Preschool visit to the retirement home

The oldest son in one of the oldest cities

Punny Santa at the library

One big brother home!

Time to decorate the tree!

Fires and other incendiary topics

While we are in the midst of Christmas decorating and filling our house with stuff, some people are sifting through ashes.  Our hearts are with our friends and family members in Ventura these days. The Thomas Fire, named for Thomas Aquinas College where it was first reported, is still out of control, consuming homes and property in its path. Over 450 homes have been lost, and Thursday a young firefighter lost his life, leaving behind his wife, a two year old and a baby on the way.  Fires are also still burning around LA and northern San Diego County and Tijuana. Our 11-year-old, the disaster specialist, keeps asking if we are at risk, but we live in an area protected by water on three sides.  Air quality is so poor in Ventura that schools have been canceled a second week, and my husband's brother and his family are packing up to head to Grandma's house in Oklahoma a week early.

The four of them and their dog and guinea pigs spent a few days here last week, after just being here several days at Thanksgiving.  They offered to take our two older girls with them to Gram and Pop's, where we all will gather in another week.  Although this would give us a lot more room in our car, I don't want to give up my time with the girls.  The school break started yesterday and goes until January 2nd, so they don't have much time after we get back from the Christmas travels to hang out with us and with friends, but we do have this week before we leave. I have some dental and eye doctor appointments scheduled, and I want to do some holiday fun outing - something to build memories and traditions especially for the youngest.

After Thanksgiving, I was feeling very protective of family time.  Two of my husband's brothers and their families came for the holiday, which was wonderful but also exhausting. We were still recovering from jet lag when the first set of cousins arrived less than a week after we returned from Ireland.  His brother from Ventura arrived Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving, and we had an excellent adult night out dinner. The challenge was that the next couple of days we had competing ideas about how to relax over Thanksgiving, which made the weekend not so relaxing.  We needed more vacation time to recover from vacation.

So the next weekend, just before the first Sunday of Advent, I scheduled a mandatory family fun activity. The weather was beautiful, and we hadn't been camping since the spring, so I thought some time in the woods would do us all some good.  The kids weren't so sure. Although no one had any major events planned for the weekend, no sports or birthday parties or socials, none of the kids was enamored of packing up to sleep on the ground and miss potential fun back at home. And the older kids did have a pile of homework.  So I compromised. I gave up camping - mainly because I myself was still so tired from the week before, but we did go spend a day in the woods.

We headed up to Mount Palomar, explored the amazing observatory and had a fascinating conversation with an employee - better than a guided tour because he gave us an insider's understanding of the work the scientists are doing. It costs around $10,000 a night to operate the telescope, where astronomers are looking for the tiniest changes in the night sky to determine what is happening in the universe now and millennia ago. After expanding our brains with these complex ideas, we stopped for ice cream at a little camp store before taking a medium length hike through the state park. Then we cooked hot dogs and marshmallows around a tiny campfire as we watched the sunset over the hills. It was a beautiful day, and the kids, once they got out into the fresh air, did exactly what I had hoped they would do - they climbed rocks, played with sticks, and had fun with each other gathering mistletoe and making up narratives about the future. Something about being outside together, away from the competing needs at home, helps them reconnect with each other.  Sometimes turning a deaf ear to complaints about doing things together ends up being the best way to create memories and reconnect as a family.  Which is why I declined the invite to send a couple of the kids in the cousins' car for the 2 day drive across the southwest. There will be plenty of complaints in our car, but we'll also have some fun eating at cheap restaurants, listening to books on tape, and having the occasional conversation about something meaningful.

For instance, we have had a couple interesting conversations about issues in the news. At the kids' high school, the varsity soccer team shaved the new team members' heads, somewhat against their wills.  A friend whose son is on the team was furious about this hazing, but because the boys won't say anything about their teammates to the administration, nothing is being done other than requiring the team to write an essay about hazing.

This slap on the wrist has my morning walking friends and me upset.  With all the news about sexual harassment cases, the deaths of students in fraternities after hazing events, and even the recent bullying video that went viral, the school's response to an event of hazing seems to turn a blind eye to an event where the younger boys didn't want to have their heads shaved, but went along because bigger, more powerful people intimidated them.

Granted, this incident isn't on the same level as these other events. And some of the kids who got their heads shaved may even think it does give them a sense of membership and belonging.  But it is an exertion of power and aggression at heart; the younger members of the team didn't choose to have their heads shaved.

Thoughts have been swirling about these events - and the case of the kid whose mom posted the video of him crying online about bullying. Sympathy overflowed from celebrities and a fund was established. $50000 was donated before someone noticed that the mom had posted a photo of herself with a Confederate flag on her facebook account at some point in time. Then someone suggested the kid was bullied because he was a racist.  This is a stretch.  Kids bully for all kinds of reasons, but rarely, I suspect, because they are motivated by social justice.  And are the sins of the mother the sins of the child?  Is it reverse bullying to make this national news? (I heard about it on NPR.)

Evidence of original sin is everywhere, even though everywhere we go Christmas spirit is marketed, and kindness and mindfulness are encouraged by all. Still people persist in sins of the flesh and of the spirit.  All the more reason why we need a God with skin offering mercy and redemption.

The last full day in Ireland - Killarney and Rock of Cashel

After two days of gray skies and drizzling rain, we woke to sunshine on our last full day in Ireland. We had another delicious breakfast at the Orchard House b and b, not quite as big as the day before, but prepared with more care. Loaded up on instant coffee, we were ready to explore Killarney National Park. This was our nature day, after spending the previous days in towns.

The terrain of Killarney is much hillier than the interior of Ireland. When planning this trip, I spent a lot of time trying to decide how to get the most out of our short visit without spending too much time in the car. This area is the home town of our parish priest, and received so many recommendations that even though it was about 3 or 4 hours from Dublin, I thought it was a worth a visit. And Joe had not been to this southwest corner of Ireland on any of his field trips, and probably wouldn't have time in the semester to come back. My husband initially was skeptical of driving this far, but when the sun shone on the beauty of this locale, he, too, was glad we had come. 

We started the day with a stop at Muckross Estate, which is just outside of the town. I thought there would be a fee to walk around, but at least at this time of year and this time of day, it was open to visitors. We parked and walked the grounds with other early morning risers, some of whom seemed to be making this their morning exercise. The carriage drivers, known as jarveys, were out and offering rides to the lake, which we declined, but I'm sure riding in one of their "jaunting cars" would be pleasant. The estate is not especially old, dating to the 19th century, but it is grand, and at one time owned by wealthy Californians, who gifted it to the Irish nation. The gardens are beautiful, and the location on the shores of a small lake is breathtaking.  It was easy to pretend to be on the Irish version of Downtown Abby while walking the grounds.

 

Steps to the Japanese garden

Rhododendrons blooming

 After we'd circled the grounds, we drove a short way to the trail head for a hike up to Torc Falls. The falls were just a short hike up from the parking lot through an autumnal woods, but I had read about extending the hike up to the top of Torc Mountain, an out and back hike of about 5 miles. Again, I had to convince my husband to take the longer walk, and again, the views and the friendly people we passed while walking, including a lively group of young scouts and a dedicated hiker of about 80 some years. Everyone we passed commented on the lovely day.

A field of red deer, difficult to see, but large like elk.

A view of Muckross Lake and Lake Leane, two of three lakes in this area.

Torc Falls

  

Moss covered trees made the wood seem habitable by little people

A different terrain as we headed up the mountain.

The walking path. We really didn't see a lot of people on the way up, and only a few on the way down.

Windy at the top of Torc Mountain.

  

After the hike we talked about eating a hearty lunch, but ended up getting snacks at the grocery store, and loading up on Cadbury chocolate to take home to the kids. Since Irish food isn't the reason people visit Ireland, we skimped on meals to stay in our budget.  The drive back to Dublin was along major roadways so it was not as stressful as some of the other drives, but it still took us past some pastoral views, and right through the town of Cashel, where we stopped to visit one more medieval ruin, the Rock of Cashel, which was another site where some structures originally dated from the 12th century, but others were built in the 15th. This site has nice museum and again the ancient stone cross has been brought inside and a replica put in its place. I wouldn't have known the replica was a fake if I hadn't read it.

The Rock of Cashel

The stone cross here had a unique design with supports for the crossarms.

Ancient carvings still exposed to the air.

The clerks hall for small men.

A sturdy Madonna and child.

Reproduction of the kitchen

St. John

A memento from Queen Elizabeth's visit - a carved wooden pen, an interesting gift

The town of Cashel

On the Rock

We left Cashel just after the sun set on this beautiful day. It had filled us up with fresh air and an appetite. Upon our return to Dublin, we hurried back over to the Newman church for Sunday night mass because the choir was singing a new Mass written by Steve Warner for the renovation of the church. It was a lovely way to end the day.

By this time we were famished, and I was ready for something other than pub food, so we ate a warm and filling meal at an Indian restaurant before stepping over to the pub where the Notre Dame students meet after their evening class at the O'Connell House on Merrion Square for one last pint of Guinness. I actually was full of beer by this time in the trip and just had a half pint. This pub had lots of photos of police and firemen and rugby teams and was designed with "snugs" - little nooks for private conversations, maybe discussions of cases and crimes. We didn't sit in one, but I liked the idea.

Good night, sun.

Our most delicious meal

Another full day drew to a close as we drove our son back to campus where we picked up the hubcap from his friend (perfect fit!) and a few things he wanted to send back with us from his room.  We said goodbye here, before heading back to the Merrion Ballsbridge Townhouse, because we had to leave early for our flight the next morning. I had hoped to meet for one last cup of coffee and pastry, but we knew we had to drive through town during the morning rush and return the car. It was a bittersweet goodbye.  Our son will be home in a couple weeks, but it was such a new and wonderful experience to spend time with him as a grown young man.  We don't often have one on one time with our kids, especially the older ones, and these times are sure to grow rarer as they move out into the world on their own.  Our son's ability to navigate the city gives us confidence in his future adventures, as we look forward to welcoming him home briefly before sending him out again.

Everyone happy at home

Ireland days 3 and 4

Although it is now the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I am still catching up on memories from November... 

  Get ready for more photos of Ireland than you ever wished to see. We may not have spent many days in the country, but we took a ton of pictures. Our son teased us about it. He told us our memories would be less vivid because we took so many pictures, but we reminded him that he will forget much of what he has seen and done if he doesn't record it in photos or ink ... so here is some of both.

We left off Friday morning - Joe had an early class, so we took a quick walk around Dublin before loading up in our Micra to head west across the island to Galway.  This trip takes about two and half hours without stops, but we broke it up with a stop at Clonmacnoise, another ruin of a monastery village.  We talked about stopping at the Tullamore Distillery, but we couldn't do EVERYTHING - although I was up for trying! 

Round tower of Clonmacnoise

Clonmacnoise has more complete structures than the site in Glendalough, but the site at Clonmacnoise is more of a museum/tour site experience, whereas in Glendalough, you can just walk up to ruins, although there is a visitor center there, too.  Clonmacnoise, founded in the 6th century by St. Ciaran, was a major site of learning and trade for over 600 years, and the manuscript, The Book of the Dun Cow, was written here in the 12th century, along with many other manuscripts and works of art.  It is hard to imagine how the monks worked in such primitive conditions to create such beautiful works of art.  The monastery was subjected to multiple attacks by Vikings and other marauders over the centuries, but finally succumbed to competition from other locations. A last looting took place in the mid 1500's by the English.

Small country road - not the highway.

Green pastures of Ireland. I should edit this photo to bring out the experience of the color. 

On the shores of the Shannon

The ancient pilgrim road

Gotta love wax monks.

This ancient cross with its story of salvation history has been moved inside for preservation after spending over 1000 years outside. There is mention of it in a text from 957.

There are three church structures still standing

Beautiful stonework above the "Kissing door" 

Pope John Paul II visited Clonmacnoise in 1979, and for years it was a site where ecumenical services took place. The day we visited, a funeral was taking place in the modern graveyard behind the ancient one, and a group of girls with sashes like beauty pageant participants were lining up to have their photo taken in front of the different structures. They seemed to be having a tour of the site, as well.  Based on some photos of the site showing great crowds, we were blessed to be there on a cold, damp day in November when the place was quiet and nearly empty, and we could imagine monks moving from church to church in their heavy woolen robes.

From Clonmacnoise we arrived in Galway around 3:30, in time to find a little bed and breakfast, the Asgard, mentioned in the Rick Steves book.  The room was tiny, but the breakfast was substantial and delicious. It was served in a greenhouse atrium with views of a pretty backyard garden populated by whimsical statues.

Still blooming in November

 

After checking in and dropping off our bags, we walked into Galway. The sun was already setting on this gray day, so we didn't take as many photos, but we did enjoy the atmosphere. But sadly, we saw no sunset over Galway Bay, even though we sang the song to try to conjure one.

Walking along the River Corrib in Galway

Galway Cathedral had beautiful mosaics but odd lighting

I loved this picture of Mary and baby Jesus

The Galway Cathedral

   

Shopping

We spent the afternoon in Galway going in and out of shops to pick up some souvenirs for the kids back home. Our third son had requested an authentic handknit Irish sweater.  Prices ranged from almost 300 euro for a thick, chunky, 100% undyed wool handknit, to 40 euro for the mass produced part acrylic one. He had sent us with money and a detailed description of what he wanted. We ended up getting one of the 90e sweaters that said "handknit 100% wool," but I'm still curious about the labeling on these because compared to the 3000e ones, the knitting is so uniform. Other gifts included a claddagh ring for me and one for the oldest daughter and claddagh earrings for the other. I found a book of Irish legends for the youngest, and we picked up a shirt and a tin whistle for the other son. My husband got his shoes repaired while we were walking around, since he had already picked up a shirt in Dublin at the ND program office.  I admit I picked up a book for myself, also, by Elizabeth Bowen, a writer I wasn't familiar with, but whose name I kept seeing.

Dinner in Galway was probably our most disappointing meal of the trip. We ducked into a little restaurant on a side street advertising a fixed price menu. I'm almost positive this meal was microwaved.  My stew was okay, but my husband's mashed potatoes looked like they came from a box. The service was lackluster also. An older couple sat across from us all dressed up like they were on a fancy date. She even had on a big fancy necklace. I wondered if they were on an anniversary date, but couldn't afford someplace nicer.

The idea behind trying to save money on dinner was that after eating we were going to spend the evening listening to traditional Irish music in a pub.  And we did.  The first place was deceptively large inside, and we sat down to listen to a couple guys playing live music. As the place filled up, we were joined at the table by a trio of twenty-somethings. The two girls were both from Germany, and the guy, who was one of the girl's boyfriend, was from England where he still lived with his parents. They all had met while the girls were studying Chaucer in London, and now were meeting up in Ireland where one of the girls was working on a translation of Boethius as part of a graduate fellowship. I was having a fascinating discussion with the girls, but my husband and son quickly became annoyed by the guy, who had already had too much to drink, or was just naturally high spirited. We couldn't figure why the one girl was hanging on to him. Maybe this trip was bringing out their unsuitedness for each other.

When I finally got the clue that my husband wanted to leave, we made our exit politely and headed a couple doors down to a different pub. By this time all the pubs were filling up, but we squeezed into one with good music and a space in a corner to sit down. We soon got drawn into conversation with the people sitting next to us there, too, and ended up talking and laughing so hard we didn't really even listen to the music, which was hard to hear anyway, as more and more people packed in. Our tablemates were three friends and one of the guys' younger brother, who were visiting Galway from Dublin for a wedding. They had never been to Galway, although the one had spent a summer in San Diego and remembered buying a $12 hot dog in Coronado. On the other side of them was a family from North Carolina. The son and fiancee were working in Dublin, and the mother and sister had come to visit, so we talked about weddings and moving and living abroad. The conversation was animated and entertaining, making the evening the kind of experience that makes people fall in love with Ireland.  When we returned to the hotel, I realized I had left my purse back at one of the pubs so we added to the magic of the night a run across town.  Happily, it was waiting for me at the bar.

The next morning, after our filling breakfast of eggs, sausages, muesli, yogurt, and fruit, we packed up and drove south to see the Cliffs of Moher.  It was another cloudy, rainy day, and we started out the drive with a disagreement about which way to go - the longer, scenic drive through the Burren national geological monument, or the more direct route. Google and my paper map disagreed. I, of course, wanted to take the longer route and stop at various ruins, but we made a compromise and took a road that passed a few old castles and some rocky hills that were representative of the geological formations of the area, before winding through Doolin along the coast a little ways to the Cliffs visitor center. Once again, I was happy we were visiting during the off season. It's obvious this place caters to busloads of tourists, but on this foggy, cold November day, only a couple tour buses were parked in the lot. Unfortunately, this weather also prevented us from experiencing the awe of the cliffs, but our imaginations filled in the details. The experienced reminded me a bit of visiting the Grand Canyon, however, not because of the view, but because of the informational signs telling visitors what they are seeing and the line of people snaking along the fenced path taking selfies.  Of course, we took one, too. .. .

O'Brien's Tower at the Cliffs of Moher - we did not pay the extra fee to enter

Watch out below!

This sign was from the Powerscourt Falls visit, which caters to school children.

There! A break in the fog

Can you hear the bagpiper in the distance?

After wandering the cliffside and studying the museum, we loaded up to head south another couple of hours to Killarney. Based on a recommendation from our priest's nephew whom we had coffee with in Dublin, we stopped in the little town of Adare for a cup of coffee and to break up the trip. Adare has a cute little downtown and houses with thatched roofs. We walked through the park, spied on a wedding in the beautiful stone church, and strolled down the main street. A sign for The Olde Creamery caught our son's eye, so we walked a few extra blocks to get to this place that might have coffee and ice cream. But, surprise! It was not an ice cream place at all, but rather, a Christmas store in what was once an old creamery. Lots and lots of Christmas tchotkes filled room after room in this funny little store.  Upstairs they did have a tea shop, and we walked in on a charming little tea party made up of young girls, grandmas, and great aunts having a high tea complete with little tea cakes on a china stand.  High tea had to be special ordered, so we just had tea and scones - and chocolate cake for our son. A cozy way to warm up on a misty, cold day.

The Augustinians church. The Trinitarians also have one in town.

A thatched roof in Adare

City park in Adare

We arrived in Killarney at dusk with no reservation.  My son called a couple of places from our books, but they were either closed for the season or booked. I was happy that our 1990 Fodor's guide had numbers that were still in service, but none could take us. My husband, who hadn't wanted to drive to Killarney in the first place, was getting grumpy and frustrated, especially after we stopped at a hotel and they were booked, too. He was tired of driving, hungry, and it was getting dark. Blessedly, he second bed and breakfast we stopped at did have rooms and was very affordable for much more spacious and luxurious. The little St. Therese holy water font by the front door was a sign.

Orchard House B and B

Not fancy on the outside, but friendly proprietors, although when they heard we have seven kids,
they told us how they eloped to save money and broke the law by using contraception after they were married. They were happy to help Joe set up his wifi to watch the Notre Dame football game in their game room. The game was airing after midnight Ireland time.

More purple lights at St. Mary's Cathedral in Killarney where we went to Mass before grabbing dinner Saturday night.

Is Duckett's Lane a nod to the martyred bookseller?

Dinner at the Danny Mann pub, named for an assassin who murdered a woman on behalf of her spurned husband.
My husband and son chose this place not just because of the name, but also because it had the Ireland soccer game playing.  There were a couple of musicians trying to play as well, but everyone was watching the game, and their sound system was off, unfortunately.  This was a much better dinner than our meal the night before. More meat and potatoes.

After Mass and a good supper and game watching at a pub filled with soccer and rugby fans, we were happy to get a good night of rest, at least for me. My husband and son got up in the middle of the night to watch part of the Notre Dame vs. Miami game. My husband gave up and came back to bed when he found out  ND was losing badly, but our son kept watching and communicating with friends into the wee hours. I get frustrated by this devotion to football, but they bond over it, and they promised me they would wake up refreshed and ready for our last full day in Ireland --- which I'll post about later!