It's hard to believe. But I know it's finally sinking in
because I've recently gotten a tiny butterfly constantly
moving around in my tummy reminding me things are
about to change. The end of a chapter. And the start
of a new one, which I'm really excited about.
We had a nice enough weekend. David went to a work
related golf event in Cork on Friday, three hours south
and west from where we live. His group came in second.
So, each of them won a Waterford vase. We really like it.
It's from one of the more modern collections. It was also
really kind of Colm to send David back with a shirt for
me from the course they played. I was touched by that!
Now that I'm a seasoned par three golfer, it'll be nice to
have some actual golf attire to wear the next time we go!
Saturday I did a little cleaning, laundry and packing.
(I think that's when I got my butterfly.) David got home
around noon and caught up from what ended up being a
tiring week for him. That gave me a chance to find some
pictures of Dublin, taken in the spring, that I didn't post...
Signs of new construction are everywhere. There's been
remarkable amount of growth here in the last decade.
Even though there is a lot of new construction happening
in Dublin, they are melting the new with the old, which
lends to the character and charm of this country. There's
something to be said for rennovating and preserving. I
am becoming a real believer in that.
"Best illustrating Ireland's overnight economic
transformation are the covers of two issues of
The Economist, published nine years apart," said
http://www.seoulshamrock.co.kr/. "The 1988 issue
depicts Ireland as the 'Poorest of the Rich,' referring
to the state's lowly position in the wealthy EU, while
the 1997 cover story glowingly describe the same
country as the Celtic Tiger, 'Europe`s Shining Light,' "
the site continued.
Ireland struggled financially for many years before 1988
however. These statues were errected in remberance of
the Potato Famine which started in September 1845. An
airborne fungus, "originally transported in the holds of ships
traveling from North America to England", according to
http://www.historyplace.com/, infected potato plants and
spread ferosiously. At the time, potatoes were a staple of
most people in Ireland. The loss of the potato crop, which
lasted more than one season, had devastating effects.
In a consise and interesting record on the famine,
historyplace.com discusses how it started and spread,
what the British did and didn't do in response,
and the effects. Over a million people died as a result
of the Great Famine and over a million and a half
immigrated to America. This was massiely devastating,
especially when you consider such great loss in such
a small country. Afterall, Ireland is only the size of
Indiana. If you're interested in reading up on it, click
here. Worth checking out, and a pretty quick read.
A closer look at one of the statues in the group.
Moving onto another aspect of the city itself...
I've mentioned before that the keys seperate
the main street that runs west to east through
Dublin. Here are a couple pictures showing a
little of the keys and the city to it's side...
Towards the end of the river is an area that's more built up
with new construction, you can usually spot an old, big boat.
You can see the buses stopped in traffic on the north side
of the Liffey. The DART is crossing the river.
A view of the side walk just east of O'Connell
Street along the keys.
Just one of the many life preservers along
the side of the river. Safety first, right Aaron?
*******************************
The margin grew a little more since my last post.
I added 'This Day in History'. It'll update daily for
your reading pleasure.
'From the Week' has been updated.
There's also a new 'He Said, She Said' in the margin.
I'm a new fan of this woman's work.
Hope you like. Click here to peek at her website
and learn more about her. Pretty talented and
interesting chick.
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