Business trip with to Skim
Harlem
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| Chris and Bryan Orme |
I was so very excited to go to and into the home of Corrie Ten Boom. (Beje) I've read The Hiding Place multiple times (and also Tramp for the Lord) and she is one of my hero's.
Rotterdam - I was included in the business meeting with Skim because I'm on the board of directors. Oh jet lag made this difficult! My head bobs and I write these notes to look like I'm interested as Brian drones on and on all fired up. It's amazing how slow time can go. I've never know it to go this slow. It's like the minutes are ticking by in slow motion. Wow, I'm experiencing time. Passing. Slow. Each. Second. That never happens in real life! The things I could accomplish if time always went this slowly!
I am just not fond of business. I would so love to be in a meeting with religion professors or art teachers or natural healing, nutrition or herbal plant discussion. That is where life is exciting and I feel such a connection but here I feel only dull and disconnected. I have trouble making conversation and trying to fit in where I certainly don't. I try to act comfortable.
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| Princess Diana got married while we were here and I got to watch the wedding on the television |
Delft - reading a book, wandered around the market of plants, flowers, produce, candies, fish, clothing, wood toys etc. I bought some black socks for Chris and dark Ritersport chocolate to bring home to our kids. The same old fashioned music machine that I loved last year is playing and the man is holding out a cup shaking it to the rhythm. I'll have change to give him tomorrow.
I went again to the pottery factory and watched them paint on plates and little windmills on ceramic "wooden" shoes. I went to a grocery store for lunch and got a seed covered brown roll and jar of brown beans.
While Chris and Bryan were in the conference meetings I got very brave and took a train by myself to the Keukenhof Gardens. Absolutely beautiful! I was nervous the whole time about getting back.
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| My first selfie ha ha! I found this tulip shirt in a thrift store in Sequim and was excited to wear it to the tulip gardens today! |
Ireland
Long ago people had to work hard to make the rocky ground good enough to grow potatoes. They'd dig out the rocks and make houses and many walls out of them and build up the soil with seaweed and sand. The narrow rock wall lined roadways are called carriageways because they are the same roads as the horse and buggy days, only it's now paved and a line drawn down the middle for two lanes of traffic going 60mph including large tour busses and semi's. You must hug the rock wall and come to a stop to let one of those pass by you. (Add to that, driving on the left and shifting with the left hand and phew! A bit tense!)
Pubs filled with that happy Irish jig fiddling kind of music. Delightful accents! Stayed in Kilkenny (kil is spelled cill in Irish and means church). Went to church in Waterford - a tiny branch - nice people - struggling - kids go to Catholic school.
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| Kilkenny Castle |
Toured the Waterford Crystal Factory
Concert in Dingle and another in Kilarney.
An interesting thing happened in Kilarney as we were walking around the grounds of a beautiful mansion.
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| Muckross Estate |
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| Rock of Cashel |
An older couple said to us "So did you like this or Cashel Rock better?" We looked at them in surprise and they smiled and said they'd seen us at Cashel Rock a couple days earlier. How did they notice us enough to remember us now, I wondered." I asked where they were visiting from and they said Chicago. I asked what part and they said "Oh it's a northern suburb called Northbrook." Our mouths dropped open as we exclaimed that we used to live there! They asked us what street we lived on and they were just two blocks from our house and both our kids went to Greenbriar School. I said "Maybe our kids know your kids." They said their youngest was 25. I asked what her name was and I was shocked to hear "Megan Mahoney"! I said "Our daughter, Jennifer...the man interrupted me and said "Jennifer King?!" Holy cow! We were all amazed and laughing. We exchanged emails and got Megan's email and took pictures of each other. It was so amazing. What are the odds?!
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| The Mahoney's from Northbrook |
