Time is money here at the internet cafe, so I won't bother to put the photos in order. If you click on them you can see the titles I have given them. The one of the swallow on nest should be immediately followed by the cling film and rock solution for swallow droppings.
Thus far, Ireland has been mostly a place of rest and recoperation for us. We have gotten a whirlwind tour of Dublin from our house host, Fintan, who is quick to tell us that he is a Libritarian and add his Libritarian views to our tour. His wife, Eithne (pronounced Eth-in) had a wonderful meal of poached salnmon, green bean salad w raisins, mashed potatoes, and tossed salad w tomatoes and mozerella.
We were off to our new home on Clone Strand in Castletown. Finton was driving, and because we were having a political discussion, he missed the exit on the N11 and we had to go some distance to the next one. So, we missed our reference points for how to get to the town of Arkley, but we got a scenic tour. We were also treated to a ride into Gorey where we had a little Guiness (like chocolate) and enough of a tour of the Tesco to pick up provisions for the morning and get the basic lay of the land.
We are both driving. It's a Toyota Carolla automatic transmission. The roads are narrow, but here in the country there is little traffic and it is only occasionally actually hair raising, but always there is the possibility that something really big will come around the curve and you will have to occupy very little road space very quickly. Particularly annoying are cars similar in size to ours who insist on taking their half out of the middle. Cars here are mostly small, though I have seen a KIA Sorento and we have even seen a Hummer. Farm equipment is very big with enormous tyres that require one to totally stop as far over as possible to give them rightaway. Ideally there is a driveway or turnoff to pull off a bit. They don't go very fast, so you have time to look for space or back up.
So, Friday when we were on our own, we ventured into Gorey (Guaire) and had a shop. Several shops to be sure, and then a park so that I could check out the town and the internet cafe. Looks like we will be quite limited in internet adventures these days. There is one internet cafe in Gorey and it has use of only their coin operated computers. No wi-fi. Blog entries will have to be composed at home and posted at the cafe unless for some reason the computers cannot take my USB drive.
Friday when we were shopping, my tooth began to act up, and by Saturday morning I knew it was not home remedy responsive. Eithne was very helpful, but getting a dentist on the weekend was not going to happen. I was not too worried as I have a few narcotics and figured I could make it through. The thing is, if I take these narcotics small amounts at a time, I do fine, but continued use merits, well, gastric spew. So, starting Sunday morning I was an occasional toilet hugger and in pain. It took pretty much all day for the narcs to leave the system, and extra strength tylenol delt with most of the pain. I was worried about getting into the dentist. Monday morning Marcia and I were in Gorey looking for the first dental surgery when we got a text from Eithne that I had an appointment in Arkley at 11:15 with Dr Kavanaugh. So, we were on our way to Arkley.
Finding the Dr. was not so easy for us. Though we have a fairly detaled map of Ireland, we do not have little towns like Arkley mapped, and though the map we have shows that Arkley has an infornation center, it doesn't say where it is. We got several people to give us directions, including the receptionist at Dr.K's, but we were still going around in circles. Turns out that we were passing it time after time, but it is on the second floor between a closed bookstore and a clothing shop. We did find the information centre and met a lovely woman who informed us that Dr K is the best in town-more expensive, but the best. She gave us the most specific directions and it was fairly easy to find and to park.
Here is where culture comes into the mix. I had the information that Dr. K was in the Medical Centre in the Hibernian building. So, to my US mind, this is a medical complex and probably glass and steel. Nope! Go up the flight of stairs between the bookstore and the clothing store. It says Medical Centre on the transome over the door. Enter the door that says "Waiting Room" where you will meet either Dr K's wife or son. Since Dr K's wife had a funeral, we eventually met both.
I had made Marcia turn around when we left home, as I had forgotten my palm phone which has my list of meds and doses. I figured I could take the SD card out and they could print my list. I even took my usb photo reader in case this was needed. However, Mrs. K has no computer, and doesn't request a list of meds anyway. There was a form to fill out about my health history, but it was one page one side and fairly brief. I did note, with some relief, that she has a credit card machine.
It is quite a freindly and chatty waiting room with a tv running for additional chat material. Mrs. K introduced me to the other USer who happened to be waiting for the doc as well. She was just getting teeth whitening done. She is over here for a month with her boyfriend. Lives in Philly. Our converstaion was mostly about driving. She was impressed that we were driving. (we are simply nerve wracked).
She was called in for her treatment and replaced by an older man who just wanted 2 minutes to talk with the Dr. He was granted this even though Mr K, the son, did not know him-asked for his name. It's just that kind of practice. Next in was a mother and her softly sobbing 8yo son. Eventually the doc took him in and sent the mother back to the waiting room. Mrs K would make occastional excuses to check in on him and report to the mother that he and the doc were getting along quite well. The lad came out smiling and excited about his dental adventure. In the meantime, we talked about the tv drama of a couple who had moved from the UK to Spain as young hippies and were now considering a return for the sake of their young child-to get a good education. We all advised them to stay in Spain, but they opted for the UK.
My turn. I do like Dr K and his son. I explained, he checked it out and Rxed me antiboitics with a plan to call him back if needed and go to my doc when I got home. He did ask if I was good with taking meds as prescribed, and I said that I was very good, and I have been. It cost me E30.
The upshot of this trip is that we have discovered that Arklow (An tlnbhear Mor) is prehaps a shorter distance from us and has two internet cafes and a big Tesco and a little mall. We might just be headed back, since we have a tourist map and all.
I am better today, though the swelling has yet to disappear. No more pain and I am eating like I usually do. I'm very glad to have my coffee back.
This house if very fine! Eithne and Finton are as fond of light and open spaces as we are (though the house has a footprint about the size of our living room). It is a short walk to a beach or two on the Irish Sea. We can see it from our upstairs bedroom window, and enjoyed a full moon over the sea the first night here. I also got in a beach walk on Saturday, and intend to do it again soon. Though we have neighbors on both sides, we have high hedges that give us downstairs privacy (short i making it more like, preva-cy). Our closest neighbors across the lane (barely the size of one car) are a small herd of yearling cows. They greet us enthusiasticaly when we drive up-perhaps hoping we picked up something special for them at Tesco.
We are in love with the washing machine that has a short cycle at 32degrees. No more waiting for 2 hours for our clothes to get done. On sunny days we can do several loads. Loads are about 3 shirts and a pair of pants-perhaps a few socks as well. The clothes dryer is outside the block house that houses the washer. Finton built this little block house himself, even making the trusses-the only wood part. Wood is shipped in, probably from somewhere in Scandinavia. The doors of this house are in beautiful knotty pine.
It might be that I could work in one adventure today, and that might be to Arklow. Our mobiles work here, though we are charged at a higher rate, so I am running out of credit on my SIM card. We can text at 11pence but voice calls are 98pence (since we bought our phones in the UK, we are charged in pounds and pence as opposed to euros and cents). Texting has been a real challenge to me, as I cannot find the space key. I know that this is kharma. However, to my surprise, my techie guru partner is as challenged as I am on this. So, our messages tend to be one word if possible, and one very long word otherwise. To add to our frustration, the mobile times out as we are in the process (pro' -cess). Still, a few voice messages when one has a painfully swollen hot face are well worth it, and the alternative would be to buy yet another mobile here, which would cost even more than the phone calls we would make. I am grateful that our existing mobiles work at all. We did check into getting usb internet connections, which can be done like the mobile, on a SIM card, but the device alone would cost E80, so for 3 weeks the cost would be a bit much-even for the internet addicted.
So, that's the catch up. If you haven't gotten your email answered, it's because I cannot get to it. We will be back in the UK at a hotel, ideally with internet access in Aug 27. Otherwise, home by Sept 1.
KG
We were off to our new home on Clone Strand in Castletown. Finton was driving, and because we were having a political discussion, he missed the exit on the N11 and we had to go some distance to the next one. So, we missed our reference points for how to get to the town of Arkley, but we got a scenic tour. We were also treated to a ride into Gorey where we had a little Guiness (like chocolate) and enough of a tour of the Tesco to pick up provisions for the morning and get the basic lay of the land.
We are both driving. It's a Toyota Carolla automatic transmission. The roads are narrow, but here in the country there is little traffic and it is only occasionally actually hair raising, but always there is the possibility that something really big will come around the curve and you will have to occupy very little road space very quickly. Particularly annoying are cars similar in size to ours who insist on taking their half out of the middle. Cars here are mostly small, though I have seen a KIA Sorento and we have even seen a Hummer. Farm equipment is very big with enormous tyres that require one to totally stop as far over as possible to give them rightaway. Ideally there is a driveway or turnoff to pull off a bit. They don't go very fast, so you have time to look for space or back up.
So, Friday when we were on our own, we ventured into Gorey (Guaire) and had a shop. Several shops to be sure, and then a park so that I could check out the town and the internet cafe. Looks like we will be quite limited in internet adventures these days. There is one internet cafe in Gorey and it has use of only their coin operated computers. No wi-fi. Blog entries will have to be composed at home and posted at the cafe unless for some reason the computers cannot take my USB drive.
Friday when we were shopping, my tooth began to act up, and by Saturday morning I knew it was not home remedy responsive. Eithne was very helpful, but getting a dentist on the weekend was not going to happen. I was not too worried as I have a few narcotics and figured I could make it through. The thing is, if I take these narcotics small amounts at a time, I do fine, but continued use merits, well, gastric spew. So, starting Sunday morning I was an occasional toilet hugger and in pain. It took pretty much all day for the narcs to leave the system, and extra strength tylenol delt with most of the pain. I was worried about getting into the dentist. Monday morning Marcia and I were in Gorey looking for the first dental surgery when we got a text from Eithne that I had an appointment in Arkley at 11:15 with Dr Kavanaugh. So, we were on our way to Arkley.
Finding the Dr. was not so easy for us. Though we have a fairly detaled map of Ireland, we do not have little towns like Arkley mapped, and though the map we have shows that Arkley has an infornation center, it doesn't say where it is. We got several people to give us directions, including the receptionist at Dr.K's, but we were still going around in circles. Turns out that we were passing it time after time, but it is on the second floor between a closed bookstore and a clothing shop. We did find the information centre and met a lovely woman who informed us that Dr K is the best in town-more expensive, but the best. She gave us the most specific directions and it was fairly easy to find and to park.
Here is where culture comes into the mix. I had the information that Dr. K was in the Medical Centre in the Hibernian building. So, to my US mind, this is a medical complex and probably glass and steel. Nope! Go up the flight of stairs between the bookstore and the clothing store. It says Medical Centre on the transome over the door. Enter the door that says "Waiting Room" where you will meet either Dr K's wife or son. Since Dr K's wife had a funeral, we eventually met both.
I had made Marcia turn around when we left home, as I had forgotten my palm phone which has my list of meds and doses. I figured I could take the SD card out and they could print my list. I even took my usb photo reader in case this was needed. However, Mrs. K has no computer, and doesn't request a list of meds anyway. There was a form to fill out about my health history, but it was one page one side and fairly brief. I did note, with some relief, that she has a credit card machine.
It is quite a freindly and chatty waiting room with a tv running for additional chat material. Mrs. K introduced me to the other USer who happened to be waiting for the doc as well. She was just getting teeth whitening done. She is over here for a month with her boyfriend. Lives in Philly. Our converstaion was mostly about driving. She was impressed that we were driving. (we are simply nerve wracked).
She was called in for her treatment and replaced by an older man who just wanted 2 minutes to talk with the Dr. He was granted this even though Mr K, the son, did not know him-asked for his name. It's just that kind of practice. Next in was a mother and her softly sobbing 8yo son. Eventually the doc took him in and sent the mother back to the waiting room. Mrs K would make occastional excuses to check in on him and report to the mother that he and the doc were getting along quite well. The lad came out smiling and excited about his dental adventure. In the meantime, we talked about the tv drama of a couple who had moved from the UK to Spain as young hippies and were now considering a return for the sake of their young child-to get a good education. We all advised them to stay in Spain, but they opted for the UK.
My turn. I do like Dr K and his son. I explained, he checked it out and Rxed me antiboitics with a plan to call him back if needed and go to my doc when I got home. He did ask if I was good with taking meds as prescribed, and I said that I was very good, and I have been. It cost me E30.
The upshot of this trip is that we have discovered that Arklow (An tlnbhear Mor) is prehaps a shorter distance from us and has two internet cafes and a big Tesco and a little mall. We might just be headed back, since we have a tourist map and all.
I am better today, though the swelling has yet to disappear. No more pain and I am eating like I usually do. I'm very glad to have my coffee back.
This house if very fine! Eithne and Finton are as fond of light and open spaces as we are (though the house has a footprint about the size of our living room). It is a short walk to a beach or two on the Irish Sea. We can see it from our upstairs bedroom window, and enjoyed a full moon over the sea the first night here. I also got in a beach walk on Saturday, and intend to do it again soon. Though we have neighbors on both sides, we have high hedges that give us downstairs privacy (short i making it more like, preva-cy). Our closest neighbors across the lane (barely the size of one car) are a small herd of yearling cows. They greet us enthusiasticaly when we drive up-perhaps hoping we picked up something special for them at Tesco.
We are in love with the washing machine that has a short cycle at 32degrees. No more waiting for 2 hours for our clothes to get done. On sunny days we can do several loads. Loads are about 3 shirts and a pair of pants-perhaps a few socks as well. The clothes dryer is outside the block house that houses the washer. Finton built this little block house himself, even making the trusses-the only wood part. Wood is shipped in, probably from somewhere in Scandinavia. The doors of this house are in beautiful knotty pine.
It might be that I could work in one adventure today, and that might be to Arklow. Our mobiles work here, though we are charged at a higher rate, so I am running out of credit on my SIM card. We can text at 11pence but voice calls are 98pence (since we bought our phones in the UK, we are charged in pounds and pence as opposed to euros and cents). Texting has been a real challenge to me, as I cannot find the space key. I know that this is kharma. However, to my surprise, my techie guru partner is as challenged as I am on this. So, our messages tend to be one word if possible, and one very long word otherwise. To add to our frustration, the mobile times out as we are in the process (pro' -cess). Still, a few voice messages when one has a painfully swollen hot face are well worth it, and the alternative would be to buy yet another mobile here, which would cost even more than the phone calls we would make. I am grateful that our existing mobiles work at all. We did check into getting usb internet connections, which can be done like the mobile, on a SIM card, but the device alone would cost E80, so for 3 weeks the cost would be a bit much-even for the internet addicted.
So, that's the catch up. If you haven't gotten your email answered, it's because I cannot get to it. We will be back in the UK at a hotel, ideally with internet access in Aug 27. Otherwise, home by Sept 1.
KG
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