My Irish Cousins
It was so moving to be halfway around the world from my birthplace, and be greeted with hugs at the doors of my unknown, distant cousins. Family roots are deep and strong. First, there I was sitting...
Crockawaddy Glebe
There is something deeply stirring about standing on the farmland of the homesite where my great grandmother, Bridget Manley, was born. I had hoped simply to find the region and share a glimpse of...
Long Time No Post
I know. Long time no post... I haven't posted much in the week since I got back from Ireland even though I have a hundred ideas of things I want to write about and post photos of! Oh, the images!...
The Canal’s End of Summer
I rode along the canal this evening. It's shifted. The seasons are changing. The temperature may be a couple degrees cooler. It may all look a little different. But the biggest difference is in the...
Where the Heart Is
I'm Home! Just returned from Ireland tonight and it FELT like coming home. For all the challenges and the treasures, the frustrations and delights, this is home for me at this moment, and it's good...
Stone Heaven: Giant’s Causeway
At the far edge of Northern Ireland, jutting toward the north Athlantic along the Antrim Coast, the Giant's Causeway is a heaven of columnar basalt. (As a rock fiend, I swooned.) The Causeway Head...
Have a Pint or Two
This is what one comes to Ireland to experience: a pint of Guinness and some traditional music. It was after 10:00 on Wednesday night and we walked the half dozen blocks into the town of Carndonagh...
“Trad Night” in Carndonagh, Ireland
2:00 a.m. Just back from the pub, "The Persian Bar" in Carndonagh, Ireland, in Inishowen, the northernmost region of County Donegal, in the Republic of Ireland . THIS is why people come to Ireland...
Hooded Crow
The ubiquitous crow comes in a different color pattern here. These birds are often in the fields and grassy areas either along the canal or in the city parks. I was intrigued by their standard...
Ferragosto
15 Agosto - Ferragosto. A major Italian holiday, the high, midpoint of the Italian exodus month, and "the day when Roman Catholics believe the Virgin Mary ascended into heaven". Having heard about...
Milanese Ghost Town
When they told me you could play football in the streets of Milan during the month of August, they weren't joking! I had been asked the standard question, "where are you going for August?"...
Where’s Ischia?
Ahh, my wonderful sister (yes, she really is), always mindful of the details, asked me to update my map to show where the island of Ischia is. You can now find it on my map page:...