Sunday, June 8, 2008
Alright, so it’s been a while since the last time I’ve had a chance to make a post. Warning: there will be a large gap between topics in this entry and the last. I don’t even remember what I wrote about last.
Anyways, well, I’m in Ireland and it’s beautiful. It reminds me a lot of Virginia flatlands, right when you’re getting into the foothills. It has no climate, only weathers in a day. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this as an Irish weather forecast: cold and foggy morning with possible snow. Afternoon: cloudy with sunny spells (yes, they say sunny spells, not rainy spells, or cloudy spells, but they keep their chins up and let you know that treasured moments of sunshine might be coming your way today). The evening has a chance of being in the low 20’s, Centigrade, with bountiful sunshine. Sunrise will be at 6:05 this morning and sunset will be at 22:45 tonight. It will undoubtedly rain overnight, but with a chance of not raining until morning when it could turn into light sleet.
Hahaha. And I love Irish time. It reminds me of Spanish time. Which I love J.
Well the family wedding was the 31st of May. Other than when I had to work (I’d rather not get into those GORY details. It was quite the experience and I prefer to not relive it), it was so fun. A weeklong party! The wedding reception was here at the house and I nearly killed someone during the craziness of preparation. But the hard work was worth it as I got to know probably ½ the people of Ireland and as we stayed until 6 AM singing Irish folk songs and laughing. The next day, the garden party (oh-so-“civilised”) was marked by a lot of hung over people, haha, but what really made it fun for me was the fact that in the morning (about 11AM) I got up and made coffee for the 3 people that were camping in my front yard, then spent the next 3 hours playing Frisbee and hanging out with them and other wanderer-ins. Those hours made me really miss Boone and all that we do, or don’t do, and all our hanging out. That night I went over to the bride and groom’s house where I hung out with the groom and his cousins until about 3 AM and then stayed the night at the cousin’s/at the groom’s sister’s house. It was fun just sitting around and talking about nothing. So anyways, the whole week was really fun. I don’t think I’ve ever spent more time being tipsy off high-dollar wine and Proseco than I have in the past week-and-a-half. The whole experience has, for the most part, been very civilized, leaving me yearning for target shootin’ expeditions and contra dancing craziness.
I started riding the horse the other day. Wow. I am out of practice. It’s been a while since my last lesson and since Marion (the woman who I earn my keep for) is a noted dressage judge and teacher, it is painfully obvious. With time, though, I think I might be able to get back into it. It’s been 3 days and I can feel myself bonding with the horse J.
So the family is Godfrey and Marion. They’re about 60-or-so years old and Godfrey’s family is very historical and of ooooold money, although I only know that because other people have told me. Marion reminds me, sometimes to the point that I cringe, of my Grandma Rupp. Ouch. But she’s very eccentric and loves to talk. Godfrey is quiet, and throws me off because of it. Natalie is the oldest girl, 30-something, and lives at home. She’s really pretty and sweet. She needs to get out of the house, in my opinion, to save her mind from her Mom. But I’m sure there’s more to the story than I know. Charlotte is 28 and is the one that just got married. She’s cool and I like her husband. Leo is the English Labrador. He’s about 10-years-old, but still has a little puppy in him. Butterfly, Bella, Magic, Dunn, and Molly, and Dreamer, are the horses. They all stay in the fields except Butterfly, who I ride, and Molly, who is trying to lose weight, and who I take for daily walks like a puppy dog, haha. I live in the caravan between Bella’s field and the barn. It’s green and one-of-a-kind. I like it because I’ve got my own little place out here. The house is a 1700’s “lodge.” Marion’s started a Bed and Breakfast (like a LOT of other big, old, farmhouses in Ireland) in it about 18 years ago. It’s a 7-bedroom, 7-½ baths, house. Pretty nice, huh? Well, the old family house is across a few fields (potato fields). Godfrey’s family is big and I like all of them whom I’ve met. They’re really nice. They all live here in the area or in England. From the riding ring I can see Kilkea Castle, built in 1103. It’s right across the field (hay field). It’s a ritzy hotel now, but still really sweet.
My main roles are to, number 1, take care of the horses. I feed, brush, pet, walk, ride, play with, holler at, and give kisses to them. Oh yeah, and I clean their stalls where applicable. My other roles include dish washer, kitchen-looker-after, receptionist, gardener/waterer, helper of the 72-year-old cleaning lady with the house when she comes twice a week, and the do-er of whatever else Marion wants me to, which ranges from grocery carrier, to cake baker, to, in the times between when Lucy the cleaning lady comes, bed sheet changer and floor vacuumer. So those are the things that fill my days now that the wedding is over. I won’t go into all I did before and during the wedding. It was a lot of work and would take forever to fully say. So, yeah, that’s my life. In my off-time, I play with Leo, I read the newspaper, I read a book, I sit in the garden-swing and watch the weathers come and go, I talk to my parents on the telephone, I clean my “house,” I sit in the grass, I listen to music, I pet the horses, I sometimes write in my journal, and I look forward to the week-and-a-half that Mom and Dad are gonna be here. Don’t be jealous—I know they’re a lot of really, really exciting free time activities, but don’t forget that I’m doing them in Ireland J.
Okay, well, that’s an update on my life, I guess. Don’t say I never wrote ya nothin’.
No comments:
Post a Comment