Monday Nights...

I am stuck at home tonight.... my annual sinus infection has decided to come early this spring... maybe that means that we will have an early return to warm weather!?! I usually spend my Monday nights down in a local pottery studio. For the last 6ish years I have been making a mess and occasionally some pots. I love my two hours down there every week. I feel that it is just therapeutic to get messy... listen to fun music... and simply create. No agenda... no clue... just chating with friends and being surprised by what turns out (and by what does not turn out). I never take my camera... the clay would just love to get into my lenses... but I did think to take a photo of some of my latest work with my phone...







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Wallace has a light bulb moment...

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Epiphany: the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something.



As I was preparing to go to bed on Friday night I had a realization. It happened as I emptied my pockets (trousers and a hoodie). Here is what I was carrying:


- 4 pens all of different sizes (2 I don't remember picking up)
- 23.72EURO in change
- my phone
- my keys (which is made up of about a dozen rings that I don't need but that once served a purpose)
- 7 post-it notes (2 were written upon)
- a bottle of 'Sudafed' nasal spay
- my wallet - which is overflowing with receipts and no money
- a pocket screwdriver
- 3 screws
- a remote control
- a rock

As I stood there looking at my treasures, I had a realization....

I am my father's son... and I am just like him!

and I wouldn't want it any other way... I love you - dad!




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1,000th Post

I happen to notice as I prepared to update the website that this is our 1,000th post! wow! I never would have guessed that I would have SO much to say! ha!

Over the last few months Dee has been slowing reading over all our past posts. I too have been looking back at all that we have posted (well... I've been glancing over it). I have to say that my favorite posts came in March 2008.
Here is a link to the archive:
http://www.heyitsourwebsite.com/2008_04_01_heyitsourwebsite_archive.html

Thanks for stopping by and checking up on us!




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Happy Birthday - Irish Rain!

This week marks our little website's 6th birthday! I can't believe that I have been updating this several times a week over the last 6 years. In fact, this is my 980th post here. I have to say that this website has really been a lot of fun over the years... and it has often given me the chance to sit back and reflect on the world around me, and to see the amazing things that are going on all around me. I want to thank all of you who drop in on the website from time to time. Your comments and feedback really keep me motivated and encouraged!


In 2009 we averaged 97 hits a day from all over the world. Here is a map showing where all you guys are coming from:




Here is a graph showing the total number of visits over the year:




Our most frequent visitor (you know who you are!) came 1346 times. This was closely followed by someone who came 1240 times!

Wow... I am feeling the love! Stay tuned... we will keep updating!




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Street art

There have been some interesting things taking place on the city streets during the arts festival. Last week there were several street performances that took place at night. There were not really parades, but rather were stories being told by actors in a creative way. For instance: One night last week we were in the city around 10pm and witnessed a flying race. Five "inventors" had created "flying machines" and were racing through the city's pedestrian center. The only problem was that they kept breaking down. Once one stopped they all stopped and started trying to sabotage each others machine. Oh... did I forget to mention that some of the flying machines were equipped with weapons? And that they would occasionally kidnap bystanders and take them for a ride? It was crazy and funny! We walked down the streets and watched the madness! here are a few pics!

Off to a fast start the vehicle in front soon lost the lead. Notice the child that has already been placed on the front of the flying machine!





Racing in luxury...





No doubt that this was the fastest of the group... it also had the most 'flair'.



(see next post!)



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A few more pics...

(See the post above)



Showing off for the crowd... I'm sure that the kids was scared to death!..... I was!





The winners celebrate...










After the race - trying to extinguish his flying machine!




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The rest of the story...

So... I didn't spend all of the bank holiday weekend asleep in the garden! In fact, I had just come back from a very exhausting (and fun) adventure. You probably didn't know this, but Ireland is playing host to the world's fastest sailing boats as they race around the world. The two week stopover here has turned out to be a lot of craic (a real festival atmosphere). The west coast greeted the boats as they came in last week with giant bonfires all along the coast. The fact that the boats started coming in around 1am didn't seem to dampen any of the excitement. The docklands where the boats are being kept have been transformed into a concert and exhibition fair ground, and free events are being held every day of the two weeks. On Saturday (before my nap in the garden) the boats went out for a set of short races. Before the races began, however, the 'Red Arrows' (The British version of the 'Blue Angels') performed a free exhibition. It is estimated that around 110,000 people showed up to sit on the beach and watch the races and exhibition. This great crowd and the hottest day of the year (around 74F) made the whole event a blast to see and photograph. I ended up going in with a couple of friends and walking around for a couple of hours... needless to say - I was exhausted when I got home. Here are a few pics from the day.



















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A great day!

Today is a great day here.... "Why?" you ask.... Burger King has opened in our town! Ok... i know that may not seem like a big deal..... but when you never get to have a whopper it is a VERY big deal! We are going to go out to lunch there with some American friends to celebrate and toast our fries together!

To celebrate this grand opening (and because I have a ton of pictures that I want to post) I am going to post a random pic!







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Happy St. Paddy's day!

It is starting out to be a beautiful St. Patrick's day here! Dee and I are headed into the parade in just a little while... I'll post some pics just as soon as we get back! Hope that you all have a great and green day!

Here is a cute little story about St. Patrick. Hope you enjoy!





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TV in Ireland...

This is my new favorite commercial on Irish TV. hope you enjoy!

Opening the exhibition...

Well.... the dust is starting to settle... and I finally have a chance to update the website.

I did not really know what to expect going into the exhibition. I really did not know how many people might come to the opening... I didn't know how many pictures I would be able to hang in the hall.... I didn't know how the lighting would look (we couldn't set up too far in advance)...

Thankfully we had some great friends who pitched in and helped with the food and with setting everything up. I really had no idea how much would have to go into actually holding the opening, and I know that we could not have done it on our own. The setup went really smoothly, and I even had a chance to take a bit of a nap before the evening festivities.

The opening took place from 7 to 9 on Friday night... and believe it or not people starting coming right at 7 and didn't leave until 9:30! People made their way around the photos, and then hung around to chat and enjoy some of the food. There was always a good crowd in the hall, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I loved being able to hang out with everyone and have a chance to share about our time in the states. We were really happy that so many people braved the ice, snow and cold to come out and join us on the evening! It really was a lot of fun!

Here are a few pics from the night:





























Special thanks to M (the librarian) and P for translating the photo descriptions... to L and I for help with the food and set up... and to S and J for helping with the setup and for taking photos during the opening.

Quick update...

Just a quick update to say that the opening was a blast last night. Everything worked out really well, and we had a great turn out! I'll update again soon with some details and pictures... right now - we are just too shattered to think!

T - 10hours

We are really at the finish line now... the only thing left to do...

- decide on final picture list
- finish mounting the pictures
- hang the pictures
- finish setting up the room
- finish food prep
- translate descriptions into Irish
- make price lists
- change and get ready for tonight
- hopefully get a nap in!

Dee took a few "before" pictures yesterday evening while we were setting up some lights... hope to give some updates during the day... I had no idea that this was going to be so much work... hope someone actually comes to it!

Down to the wire...

The exhibition is tomorrow night... and I still don't feel like we are close to being ready. Dee and her friend L ( see the haggis post) are sorting the food... but I still have not settled on the final lineup of pictures. I found out last night that the exhibition was going to be a "news item" on the local radio station.... so... no pressure now..... I have keys to the exhibition hall, and we are going to start setting up (just lights and furniture) tonight... oh... I just thought of something else I need to do.... will update soon on how things are going.

Happy Birthday - Irish Rain!

Don't know if you have noticed... but we have passed a big milestone around the ol' website.


This month marks the 5th anniversary of our Irish Rain website! I can't believe that I have kept this going for SO long!

Over the past 5 years the website has had over 34,000 visits! Who are you people?

Over the past year we have had visitors from all over the world. Here is a map that shows all of the visitors locations in 2008:





This last year we had an average of 100 visits per day:






Thank you to everyone who drops in from time to time... and especially those of you that check on us every day! I can't tell you how much we appreciate you coming by the website! Stay tuned... I'll keep posting!




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Taking the plunge...

Well............. I can't believe that we are going to do it.... but we are!


(insert drum roll here.......)


In just under three weeks - we are going to hold our first public photo exhibition!


Wow... that is a scary thought! Our local library has a very large multipurpose room that is used for just about anything/everything. It is a courtroom (once a month)... a reading room... a concert hall... and even an art gallery. So... before I left to go back to the states I reserved this room for the month of February (yes - I picked the shortest month!). My plan is to hang/display photos that we took while in the States. We will have an opening on Friday the 6th of February 7pm to 9pm and then the photos will hang (and the room will be open to the public) for the rest of the month.

I went in to reconfirm that we do indeed have the room, and just talking about the details made me nervous. I don't really know why... but it does make me a bit nervous to have strangers and friends come look at my photos while I am still standing there...... But I also think that I need/want some push to evolve and... a reason to take more pictures. There is just something about being able to share what I see, and I think that it will be great to share our experiences in the states with our friends here.

So... there you have it... more details later...

Oh... and I have changed the timer on the top of the page to countdown to the show...



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A quick update!

Sorry for the long silence.... The last few days have flown by so quickly... and we have been home so little that I have not had much time to do much of anything (including unpacking).

Here are a few random thoughts/things:

Our little house was in great shape! Just about all of our plants (the most important ones) were alive and doing well. We happened to be coming back during what seems to be the coldest week of the year... Thankfully our neighbor came in and turned our heat on to start the long process of warming the house. We have this modern heating system that radiates heat from the floor, but it takes several days to really get warmed up all the way... Today (Tuesday) was the first real day that the house really felt warm. We did have one strange discover in our house. I'm not sure why... but we have an abundance of rolly pollies ( you know that cute little bug). I don't know why... but they are all over the house. not really enough to be a bother... but strange!

It was great to get back and see so many of our friends. We have had a ton of coffee and tea over the last few days... and it really has been fun to have such a great welcome back.

ok... i know that this post is a bit random... but I will update more soon!