Let's catch up

Well I'm not quite sure how this happened but it's already December!

I finally finished my thesis and traveled home a few days later. The summer flew by before I knew it and I found myself back in Ireland doing a CELTA course; all the while I kept telling myself to do another post!

So here I am, it's December, I'm currently helping the McEvoy family with Turkey orders and looking for teaching English jobs around Dublin. But most importantly ... I have photos to share. So enough about me ... here are some photos from the summer:




I can't actually remember when I took these shots but there are some of my favorites, my apologies if I have already shown them.




Lucy, contemplating life ... or trying to decide if that is a hare she sees out there...

The beautiful field of barely in July.














A hike near Dublin







And another walk around Glendalough






Then the baby turkeys arrived!

And summer flowers...

While working on my thesis, a friend and I decided to take a break and walk around campus, we came across a cemetery behind the campus, where priests (and some nuns) were buried. It was a beautiful little cemetery with amazing Celtic crosses.

And here's a look at the beautiful Maynooth University, this is their south campus which used to be known as St. Patrick's College and is one of the oldest colleges in Ireland. I absolutely loved my time at Maynooth and appreciate how friendly and welcoming everyone was.






Well I think that's enough for now. I have a few more summer photos and then some recap photos from the last year before I begin my SECOND year in Ireland!
Enjoy and stay safe through the holiday season.

On Hiatus Until Thesis is Finished!

I want to write a quick apology to everyone who has been so kind to follow my blog and found it lacking recently. I have been doing my Master's course here in Ireland and for some reason thought I would have time to also keep up on a blog. I'll pause here while you finish laughing.

While I have not been able to post blogs, fear not! For I have still been taking pictures and boy do I have a lot to share with you all. Just hang in there and I promise to post again, just as soon as I finish my dissertation. Until then, you can find me nestled in the corner of my library's post-grad room buried in Irish texts and criticism.

Thank you all for your views and check back in August!


Wish me luck! Sláinte!!



Let me attempt to distract you with a few recent pictures of a barley field...

You can see Miss Coco making her debut in the top image and then again in the one below. She is always up for a walk through the fields, even if she can't really see where she is going...

Exploring Wicklow and Enfield

I know I have not posted in awhile, but once school picked up, I had my nose in a book for weeks straight. I have survived my finals (three, 4,500 word essays) with my sanity barely intact, although that might still be up for question. As a fellow classmate said, "When it takes six times as long to write a couple of essays as it did for God to create the universe, something has gone dreadfully wrong in the world." I know more than I ever thought I would about Joyce, Yeasts, and Freud ... no, he's not an Irish author, but believe me when I say, that man is everywhere (or at least his theory is everywhere). I also believe I have an ailment called book wrist. It is caused from holding too many books for hours on end and makes your wrist hurt. My mother suggests I wrap my wrists to help ... I asked if she had anymore ideas on how I can look more "nerdy". Maybe I should wear a sweat band and goggles, and stretch in the library before reading. Don't want to pull a muscle turning pages! Don't get me wrong, I love reading, but when it starts to hurt you ... there's problem. However, I now get two weeks off before the second semester starts in February. I am planning on enjoying it by knitting, reading for FUN, trying a few new recipes and anything else I want to since I don't have class. 

I am a bit behind in my photos so this blog will be all about catching up, finally! Before Christmas, I went on a few hikes around the Wicklow mountains as well as exploring around Enfield, the town I am living in. So sit back and enjoy the view! 

One of the hikes I went on was to Ballinastoe. We had to hike through a bit of the forest before coming out into the open. The view was amazing all the way up. However, once at the top, the fog rolled in and, unfortunately, I couldn't get any photos. 

I have to give credit to my Google+ account for editing this photo for me. I usually ignore their editing job, but this one I loved!

You can see the fog has rolled in, but we still made it to the top! 

This is the last hike we went on in 2014. While searching for the trail head we drove by this gorgeous house out in the country. I, of course, asked David to pull over for a picture. To be fair to him, he's getting more used to these requests...

It rained almost the entire time on this hike and we were soaked, but it still had amazing views and reminded me a lot of the Pacific Northwest in Washington State. 

It looks like the Pacific Northwest ... until you stumble across some ruin. We don't have these in Washington....

And finally, my walk along the canal in Enfield. Couldn't have asked for a better day and got to meet a few horse friends along the way. 

Couldn't resist this shot I got from my window. Great view of a full rainbow in between the rain. 

I also want to thank Ireland Family History for posting a few of my photos and mentioning my blog on their Facebook page. Returning the love, if you haven't already, please check out their page and give it a "like". https://www.facebook.com/IrelandFamilyHistory

I am already planning my next blog which is all about my Irish Christams. I realize my last few blogs have been very photo heavy and not so text heavy... I will try to talk more about my experience living in Ireland next time! So stay tuned....