I Can't Control Myself

Is it possible to have a book problem? In spite of the fact that we have recently huffed and puffed in the process of getting piles of books from Killybegs to Moville, I find myself gathering more, more, more!

Those are my current checked out library books. I have reached my limit of 5 e-books on the nook. The Goldfinch jumped into my hands one day at the library. I was just wandering around while Bill was using the computer and suddenly, there I was, holding this doorstopper of a book. I brought it home with me. Last Friday some of my requests came in and I dashed down to pick them up. Oh the utter joy of having a library just around the corner--I can walk there in about 2 minutes. I had given up on ever getting my hands on The Art and Architecture of Ireland, but this library system has all 5 volumes so I am requesting them one at a time.

 Last night I listened to the first installment of one novel on BBC Radio 4's Book at Bedtime and then switched over to RTÉ 1 for part 1 of the the Book on One. I have a couple of library books either still in Donegal Town or somewhere between there and here. I requested them and forgot to change my pick-up location from the default Donegal Town to Moville. Gerry, our local librarian, called Rory, the librarian there, and told him to just send them up when they arrived, so they should be here soon. There is another book in transit and a couple that will likely be soon.

We also have a Wee Free Library along the shore walk.

Yes, I have taken a book from there. No, I have not put any in there--yet. But I am happy to let Bill donate for both of us. He has also chosen a book from the Wee Free Library, but has added 3 others. Good job, Bill! My intentions are good,though, and I do plan to add many books whenever I get around to reading them.

I wonder if I should mention that there are three charity shops in this town and we now have more books than we did when we arrived.

It is kind of a cliché in stories about addiction and denial that before people realize they have a problem they will say things like, "I can stop any time I want." I won't even bother to go there. If there is such a thing as a book problem, I will happily own up to the fact that I am in it deep. Always have been. Someone once told me that I probably walked out of the womb while reading a book. I am sure that is not true. I would not have had a library card yet.

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Creating Through It All

Years ago I had a job as the archivist at the Alaska Native Language Center at University of Alaska Fairbanks. I had a small office full of various audio equipment--cassette players, reel-to-reel, a couple of computers, an audio filter, and maybe more that I have forgotten about. My job entailed digitizing the extensive collection of Alaska Native language recordings to ensure that they would still be available in future, since the tapes were mostly old and in various stages of deterioration. There are many Alaska Native languages and I was only studying one--Inupiaq Eskimo--so while I would often listen to those tapes as they were playing, for other language recordings all I had to do was make sure the tape was playing and the sound levels were good going into the computer. Then I could just let it go on its own and do something else, go get coffee, or whatever. This was a job I had been asked to apply for and at the time of my "interview" I was told I could do whatever I wanted as the tapes ran. Once I set things up in such a way that I had two hours until the tapes were done, so I went out for ice cream with a friend. Mostly though, I either read or stitched. As it happened, my time in that job coincided with a departmental move from a building on one side of the central campus to one on the other side. Everyone else was becoming increasingly agitated as the chaos of moving became more intrusive on people's work life. Since someone else was in charge of packing the contents of my office, I did not have to think about any of it. As everyone ran around like their hair was on fire, I was simply there with my tapes and my yarn. The tapes played and I crocheted. At one point, the department head looked at me and said, "Shari is our rock. She just stays calm." I laughed and told him whenever they were ready, someone could push me across campus in my rolling chair and I would just keep on crocheting.

That was not the first or the last time I have been grateful for my textile passion. I can always have a project to do that fits whatever situation I am in. If I need distraction I can pick up a project that requires attention and get lost in it. If I am stressed or even sick, I can pick up a mindless project and stitch away, either taking my mind off how lousy I feel or calming my agitated mind. If I am depressed I can make something quick and feel like I accomplished something. Needless to say, I have found much comfort in my creative activities over the last couple of months which were dominated by packing, moving, getting things sorted here, and by the arrival of y annual spring/summer depression. Last year the move to Killybegs alleviated that somewhat, but this move has exacerbated it and I am still working on making it more manageable. Creating helps with that.

Before I knew we were going to move and while I was still being foster mum to Little Man Fergus, I had decided to use a giant cone of cotton chenille that I had found at the charity shop for 5 euro. I figured it would worm if I knitted it, so I tried crocheting with it, but wasn't happy with that. I opted for Tunisian crochet and that was the right choice. With it being cotton it is a little heavy and since it was tricky to work with I dd not want anything fussy, so I decided on a large rectangle that could be a wrap or a blanket--I have used it as both since I finished it.

I did a checkerboard pattern with Tunisian reverse and knit stitches for the centre panel and then did alternating knit and reverse on the sides. Here is a close-up of the checkerboard section:

This was my downstairs project and I picked it up and worked on it as the mood struck. When I was finished with this I still had some chenille on the cone and by this time I knew we were moving, so I made a shower mat for our new place. I STILL had some chenille left so I made some washcloths and a cowl.

Upstairs I was making socks. I'd had this pair on the needles sine around Christmas and I finally finished the second sock.

They are plain vanilla socks on 68 stitches and a 2x2 cuff. Once these were done I cast on for another pair and got sock one done. Sock two was on the needles when we moved and got placed in the drawer of my bedside locker to be worked on at night whilst listening to the radio or podcasts.

These were done on 68 stitches with a 2x2 cuff and a 7x2 rib on the top of the foot. Both pair have star toes.

My first new project when we got here was to make a couple of cushions for the wooden dining chairs.

The top was knitted and the bottom done in Tunisian crochet. The yarn and the foam cushions were charity shop finds--the wool in Killybegs and the foam in Donegal Town.

As usual I have a couple of projects going and many more ideas in my head. I cannot imagine what would be going on in there if I did not have these ideas, but I am grateful I do not have to find out!

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This and That

I love it that almost all rentals here come fully furnished, right down to kitchenware and utensils. Saves the hassle of having to wrap and pack that stuff when moving and it meant we could come here with very little and not have to buy stuff. This place even had sheets and towels in the closet--it used to be a holiday home, I think. I packed them away since we have our own. There was one small problem though.

Happily, this was easily solved.

In both Ballinrobe and Killybegs I used the rack of the broiler pan as a cooling rack, since I never used it for anything else. I do not have one here so have had to improv.

 There was a splatter screen in the cupboard, so I stick it on top of my slow cooker so air can still circulate and use that. Works well.


It was census night here on Sunday. Interesting process--it is done every 5 years here and by law, the enumerator has to make face-to-face contact with someone from each household and hand them the form. The questions are answered on a particular night, in this case 24 April. There were questions about who was in the home on the night, who was not there but usually would be, and who was there but usually would not be! Even people in hotels were going to be asked to do this. They say that everyone has a legal obligation to fill out a form and there could be a fine of up to 44,000 euro for not filling it out. I am not sure how seriously people take this, since enumerators were having trouble getting into apartment buildings and even having people open the doors! One guy talked about how he would ring the bell and see people inside, but they ignored it. One woman walked up to the door and pulled down the shade over the window in the door. He waited outside one building for 40 minutes before he either gave up or got in--I forget.

The form itself was pretty clear though, and with just the two of us it did not take long to fill out. I was particularly pleased that they clarified question 13. Avoids any confusion for the men out there:-)

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Shore Walk in Photos

We are back online now and have been in Moville 4 weeks today. The move itself was a little bit bumpy, but I will save that story for another day!

We had a typical Irish multi-season day today. This morning as we were on our way home from a few errands, we got rained, hailed, and snowed upon. By this afternoon we were walking along the shore and wandering around a few of the beaches under dramatic clouds and sunshine.

This bird stood like this for quite a while.

 I never tire of looking at the rocks here.

Hope it's been a good day in your neck of the woods!

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March 2016: A Poem

In the early morning light
the birds announce their arrival
bearing gifts--
my spring shroud of sadness
and
the tiny lead seed
that burrows into
the pit
of my stomach
and
prepares
to germinate.

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Moving to Moville

Spring has arrived. This is always a tough time for me. My annual depression kicks in and I have to start to adjust. I can usually get used to it enough so that it becomes a sort of hum in the background of my life until the end of summer. I read a poem today and the last lines were, " Spring has arrived/ I must not despair." That describes me so well! This year I have also been coming to grips with the fact that we are moving--something I was completely unprepared for and not keen on doing.

Bill was unhappy about a few things here, some of which could be remedied and some that could not. I was feeling quite happy here and knew that the things that bothered me could be easily fixed. I was feeling settled and he was not. So we had to decide what to do, since our lease here will be up next month and we were required to give a 35 day notice.

We had planned a trip to Moville because we both wanted to see it and we were drawn to the shore path they have there. We booked a few nights in the Moville Boutique Hostel, which turned out to be an excellent place, and off we went on the bus. I liked the place. Bill loved it.

As it happened, there was a place available to let. In our previous meanderings around sites like daft.ie, we had come across Moville, which is how we even knew about it, but there was almost never anyplace suitable available for long term letting. But this time there was an apartment in a good spot that was not too big for us and with rent even less than we pay now. I had told Bill that if he really wanted to move, he would have to do all of the communication with letting agents--I'd done it the last two times and since he was the one who wanted to move, I figured it was his turn!

He called the letting agent and set up an appointment to see the place. I had said if it looked like it would be OK, I would agree to move. It did and I did. We knew there were people behind us wanting to look at it and it was unlikely to be around for long, so we agreed to come back with the security deposit before we left town.

I spent the next day sick in bed and Bill started having second thoughts. I told him that it really was up to him because I really had no interest in moving, although I could already see that there were plenty of things about Moville that will be quite good for us, and even better than Killybegs.

By the following day I was feeling better and was extremely hungry besides! We went out to breakfast and walked around town for a couple of hours. He decided to go for it, so we went and handed over the security deposit. We will be going back on 30 March to pay the rent, sign the lease, and get the keys. Our wonderful friends and neighbours are escorting us up to Moville with our stuff. It's about 2 hours away--still in Co Donegal (I really hope I never have to leave Donegal!!).

I will really miss Killybegs and my cottage here at the Old Coast Guard Station. I will miss looking out the window at the garden and the harbour as I am cooking. I will miss the people--both the humans and Little Man Fergus. That said, there are some really good things that I am looking forward to in Moville.

There is a local library branch there--tiny, but right around the corner from us. This means we will be able to request books and pick them up there. We will be able to pick books up at other branches when we are in other towns and return them locally. This is much more convenient than going into Donegal Town on a Thursday afternoon to do these things.

The shore walk there is wonderful--goes from Moville to Greencastle along the shore of Lough Foyle and to where it meets the sea. We only went halfway when we were there and I fell in love with it. Looking forward to walking the entire trail. I can see myself spending a lot of time sitting on any of the many benches just reading, stitching, or writing while listening to the water and the birds. It is only a few minutes from our apartment.

There is good bus service so we will be able to do lots of day trips to places like Letterkenny, Buncrana, and Derry, which is about 30 km south of Moville.

One huge thing is that the apartment has electric storage heat! Hurray! We would not have taken it if it didn't, I think. One of the things we have both HATED here was the open fire. We could have had kerosene delivered to run the boiler that is in our shed or we could use the fire which has a back boiler. Both heat the water and the radiators. The immersion hot water tank can also be heated electrically. We were totally clueless about this open fire stuff, but did not really want to be dealing with kerosene deliveries and minimums and all of that, so we went with the fire. I can now say that I hope to never see an open fire again. Neither of us did well--coughing, clogging, bloody noses resulted. We found out that in order to have a fire hot enough to actually heat the radiators, we would have to burn coal. They burn a lot of coal in this country. Once we needed fires every night I had a constant taste of coal dust in my mouth. We supplemented the coal with briquettes, some logs, and some turf that our neighbour gave us, but it was still expensive and I was always aware of the environmental costs. At least some of the electricity we use, both here and in Moville, is generated by wind. We had electric storage heat in Ballinrobe and it was wonderful--clean, efficient, easy to use, and no fumes or dust.

So we move along. This would not have been my choice and I have shed a few tears, but Bill would have really regretted not going. He said if I did not like it he would stay in Killybegs, but I did like it and could see no reason to deny him this. I spent a few days feeling sad, but decided that that was enough of that and it was time to stop acting like a spoiled brat. With so many people sleeping rough and/or having no secure place to live, I am going from one wonderful place to another with my favourite person. There is much to be grateful for and to celebrate. So I will.

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books at the charity shop

Found these on a couple of trips to the charity shop. The ghost stories book is a reprint of one that was originally published in 1926. Obviously the person that owned it did not care about the introduction because those pages were not even cut apart! Was very pleased to find these as they will be an interesting angle on Irish folklore.

We are off for a few days in Moville next week. Be fun to see another part of the island!

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