Today's Random Pic...

Interesting...

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't  mttaer
in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht
frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl
mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not
raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.

Today's Random Pic...

A few more...

Winter time gives us many dark wet days... but it also gives us amazing sunsets that linger for an hour or more...

Today's Random Pic...

Last night's sunset was amazing!

More to come...

Oops.... a language story

OK.... in order to understand this story you have to know a bit of the background. I have been feeling a bit off all week. I feel like I am fighting a head cold. We were coming out of a local coffee shop where for the last two hours we had sat with a friend and had a great conversation all in Irish. I was feeling a bit better and was really encouraged by our time using the language. Dee and I walked down the street to our car talking about lunch when from across the street we heard a woman yelling to us in Irish. It was not much just a quick sentence that I didn't hear really well. We arrived at the car the exact moment that she started yelling at us. Dee didn't see the car and kept walking while I paused for a second and responded to the lady and then called Dee back to the car. This all happened so quickly that when I got into the car I didn't really know what I had said to the lady. I had just responded in Irish without thinking about it in English. I asked Dee what she said, and Dee said that she thought it was something about how crazy the weather had been, and it is a good thing that there are so many ways to describe it in Irish. But that is not what I heard. In the midst of the moment I got pieces of what she said... and I connected the dots.... all I heard was her say something about "good Irish". In the split second this all happened I thought that she had overheard us talking in Irish in the coffee shop and was impressed with our "good Irish"... so what did I yell back to her in response to her comment about the weather? "Thanks, I think that we are improving!"

A Winter's Morn...

Winter officially started here twelve days ago... but today is the first real winter's morn. There is a dark stillness over the landscape here.... Not a whisper of wind or sunshine... only the sights of fleeing fog... the sounds of horses in distant fields.... and the smell of last night's peat fire still lingering on the crisp air...

Wales...

Sorry that things have been quiet around the ol' website. Dee and I have been over in Wales for a friend's wedding. B - our friend- got married last week in northern Wales. The wedding was beautiful. The small Welsh chapel was filed to capacity with friends and family, and the service was sweet and beautiful. The Welsh are known for their singing... and the hymns we sung were belted out with gusto (I love to hear people actually sing with all they've got!). Weddings in Wales (and in Ireland) are very different to wedding in the USA. The service began at 11:30 and was an actual service with sermon and all. After the service, the happy couple held a reception that everyone was invited to. After this first reception, a second reception for close friends and family was held at a local hotel. Dee and I were so touched that we were invited to the second reception. It was lovely. The hotel was closed down for everyone on the guest list. We had the evening to sit and talk, mix and celebrate the couple's marriage. The evening ended with a very nice dinner. After the dinner toasts were made. I think the highlight was when the bride's father came in dressed as a cowboy (to make all of us yanks feel more at home). He dramatically reenacted B's asking permission to marry is daughter in his best American accent. The whole event was very classy and elegant, but most importantly, a lot of fun. The evening did not end till around ten thirty. We had a great, quick trip! Congratulations to B and S!

Today's Random Pic...