Limerick
March 26

My last Wednesday in Ireland. I spent forever uploading photos and blog posts at the internet café, where I was greeted with a groan and “Why can’t you use our computers?” by the computer-illiterate owner. He was joking, but was a bit nervous about setting up my laptop. All went well though, so I left around 11 a.m. and headed for the Limerick Quilt Centre.

Everyone was busy working away on their sampler quilts. I am so glad I stopped by, as I got to meet Marion and Joan, both doing their sampler quilts by hand. I got a picture of Marion’s quilt at the meeting, so it was nice to meet the maker. Both are doing beautiful work on their quilts; I’m envious! Holly was working on a rail fence baby quilt; similar to the one she showed at the meeting, but in different colors. She is hand quilting it block by block, in a spiral design, and it’ll be for a new baby sometime in the future. Meg was also working on her sampler quilt, which she is doing by machine, in bold colors. Surprisingly it’s taking her longer to complete the quilt than it is Marion! But the logistics of getting the sewing machine out, versus sewing by hand frequently, make the difference.

I worked on my hat brim, which is nearly complete; I’ll add beads, but not until I get home. I also showed everyone the baby onesies for Jackie, which elicited the request to come back and teach a crazy patch class. Of course I would LOVE to come back! I need to find a more universal project than the baseball cap, but I’m sure I can figure out something. Meg said her guest room would be ready by the time I came back, and I was welcome to stay there; wasn’t that lovely of her! I could probably do some gardening for Meg and Maeve as well; wouldn’t that be fun! So hopefully I’ll be organizing a working holiday the next time I come to Ireland.

As we were packing up, Maeve’s sister Elinor came in with a Lithuanian friend, who’s name I can’t remember now, of course. I am guessing that I was so overwhelmed by the quilt she brought in, that her name just flew out of my head! Made with drapery fabrics, the log cabin quilt is absolutely stunning. The planning and design are just wonderful, including fabrics cut so that the design was displayed correctly (flowers and leaves were right side up, etc.), with not a log out of place. The drapery fabrics were just a little puffy due to their weight and the fact that the seams weren’t ironed, just finger pressed, which added to the attractiveness of the overall quilt. I didn’t have the camera with me, and I was having too much fun to go get it.

I finished my packing up, and purchased a couple of cat appliqués, and then followed Meg and Holly to the Horse and Hound for lunch. We passed The Moose Bar and Lounge, but I couldn’t persuade them to stop and eat there, darn it! But to be fair, we were meeting Meg’s husband at the other pub, and it would have made things awkward. So I took pictures instead. I don’t think they served food anyway.

We had a wonderful lunch; chattering about girlie stuff and living in Ireland and who knows what all. I am really missing this kind of companionship in Fairbanks right now, which made this lunch especially fun. I’ll be widening my circle of friends at home when I get back, you can be sure of that. Dan joined us shortly, and we ordered. Great food; pub lunches have all been just delish! Eventually we all had to disperse-back home, back to work, and I went back to shopping.

Across the street from the pub was an antique store that advertised laces in their window, and of course I had to take a peek. It was an exquisite store; unfortunately they no longer had any lace. It was lovely to just wander through the tastefully arranged furniture, even though none of it would fit nor be appropriate in the cabin. Nor could I afford any of it!

I walked back down to the car and took a couple pictures of the Moose, and then walked into St. John’s Cathedral. My first Catholic church experience since I was in Europe in 1978! I’m not sure what prompted the visit… it was just time to do it. The cathedral was just as beautiful inside as it was outside. The baptismal font was ornately carved wood, and everywhere you looked there was polished wood or some kind of decorative display. The altar still had the Easter lilies and other flowers, and there was also a small indoor garden with a fountain. It was a sunny day, so the stained glass windows were just brilliant, glowing colors. Someone was busy doing some odds and ends in the church, and though it was peaceful when he’d leave the room, his hustle and bustle was not conducive to contemplation. I did have a few quiet moments to myself though, and spent some time meditating on a couple of issues.

Next I drove over to King John’s Castle. I was in no mood to take photographs, so the camera stayed in the car. I’m sorry you won’t get to see inside the castle, but I really enjoyed wandering around without the weight around my neck, and going snapsnapsnap every two minutes. Many displays of medieval tools and life, including the process of minting coins. King John’s Castle is what I’ve been led to believe a castle looks like; the parapets are something I need on the cabin! Yeah, right ☺

The castle is undergoing considerable archaeological work and there were several displays relating to that. Eventually they will be open to the public as part of the castle, but for now we get to see how archaeologists work. I really liked going through the castle, but I feel like I’ve seen enough interpretive displays to last me for several years!

I was in kind of a contemplative mood (left over from being in the church?) and finally grabbed the camera, and walked across the Shannon River (right next to the castle) and down to the next bridge. It’s an interesting mix of ancient and new; watching kayakers practicing their skills on a riffle in the river, under the shadow of Robin Hood’s nemesis, King John (or so the clerk at the liquor store told me). Cars going over bridges that were once full of knights and knaves and horses and carts.

The next bridge had a house along one side. I thought it must be some kind of gatehouse or tollhouse, and maybe it was, in a previous life. Now though, it belongs to the Shannon Rowing Club, which thoroughly surprised me. I would love to live above the river! But this is a very busy road, and I think the traffic noises would get annoying very quickly. Anyway, it was a beautiful structure; I’m quite jealous of the rowing club members!

It was sprinkling once again, so I stuffed the camera into the pocket of my polar fleece pullover and trotted off to the car. Once again, I was happy to see the windscreen empty of any parking ticket, as I hadn’t found the box where you buy a parking pass. I didn’t have any trouble negotiating through the traffic and only stopped to buy what we’ve been referring to as cough medicine or preventive care… a bottle of Bushmill’s Irish whiskey. The clerk wanted to know if I’d visited King John’s Castle yet, and when I said yes, told me that Robin Hood was rumored to have lived around here. This is possibly the King John that Robin Hood stole from, but there’s no proof that Robin Hood is anything but a myth. When we were discussing this at dinner, Sheila mentioned that often someone who disagrees with, or is in opposition to the current administration, is sometimes expunged from historical records, and that may be why there’s no record of Robin Hood. I prefer to think that Robin and Friar Tuck actually walked across the bridge that I walked across.

I had a wonderful day, but a somewhat melancholy one. I’m not really homesick, but I am missing Gizmo and not getting lost and my own cozy nest. I love Ireland and someday, when Gizzy is playing Frisbee and chasing balls in upstairs, I will come back and live here for a year. I never thought I’d find another Alaska; another place that I would feel at home in, and comfortable with, but Ireland is like Alaska, in that sense, for me. It’s so different! And I can’t describe why it fits, but it does. Climate-wise, it’s much like California or Oregon in the winter; wet and windy with that sunny now, rain-in-a-minute weather. Green and lush and muddy unless you’re on a gravel road. Contradictory; history and modern all piled up together, and sometimes it’s hard to separate the old from the new, other times it’s ugly, and sometimes the mashup works wonderfully.

It’s been a hugely eye-opening experience. It’s been so long since I’ve done any traveling, other than going to the lower 48. And living with five other women; whooo boy, that was a scary thought! But we have been remarkably patient and kind with each other, and although being independent of the group has been a little awkward, it was never unpleasant. I never felt “other” in the group, just independent, which is probably why I never got uptight or cranky like I’ve done in the past. I had plenty of solitude and quiet, and time to replenish my spirit without having to say a thing to anyone. Wonderful trip, and only four more days to see Ireland…