Pigs Do Fly

We decided to take a break from packing to watch the St. Patrick's Day parade in Derrybeg because one of our musician friends, Seosamh Mac Grianna, a great local musician on pennywhistle, flute and accordion, was playing in a marching band. His music is delightful, and melodious as the song of the blackbird. You can now get Joe's marvelous playing on his album, Lui na Greine, in CD or digital download format from CD Baby, Apple iTunes, Rhapsody, and other sources. Being a small town, it wasn't a big parade, but there were some highlights, as you can see from the photos.

Joe playing in Parade

Local Parade

After taking that break, we went back to packing and getting ready for the shippers. We also needed to reassemble a bed we had moved out of my studio. In this project, we were assisted by a helpful neighbor, Brian G. He and his wife had moved in to the house next door just a month earlier, while their own house is under construction. I also had a last, long visit with Pam, who had come up from Dundalk with her husband, son and son's friend. Believe me, those boys came in handy when we needed to start carrying my tubs of books and fabric and quilting supplies down from the studio.

Lisa & Pam

So there we were, sorting and packing and packing and sorting. On the day we expected the shippers, our friend Richard arrived from Connemara for a last goodbye. The shippers arrived at about 6:30 pm, and the boxes flew out the door with Richard's help. Everything was shrink-wrapped and loaded on to the truck, and then they were gone. We decided it would be a good time to take Richard to dinner.

I walked back to the bedroom and saw a large trunk, full of books, that should have gone in the shipment. We didn't have the energy to panic, but we all jumped in the car and went on Mr. Toad's wild ride, chasing the truck to Dobhair (pronounced "door," you ninnies--you should be used to this by now), home of the moving company. They were already getting our shipment ready for the trip to Dublin, and they kindly sent a smaller van back to the house to pick up the trunk. If we had decided to wait till morning to let them know, our shipment would have gone to Dublin that night without the trunk.

Heaving a collective sigh of relief, we tried to find a place to eat dinner, but after 9 pm in Derrybeg, you're not likely to find much. We made the best of what we could get(which shall remain a mystery, so as not to offend the offending take-out), and after a fireside chat with Richard, we all went to bed.

We had four or five more days in Glassagh before our trip home. We mailed about eight boxes home, containing things that we'd like to have right away when we got there, and things that somehow didn't make it into the shipment, even after all the endless sorting.

A few days later, the wonderful Sheephaven quilting ladies gave me a farewell party at the Workhouse. They brought all kinds of home-baked treats, including an excellent Dutch cake that was made by Pauline. So we had our tea and lots of delicious offerings to go with it, and they presented me with a precious little quilt top that had their names embroidered on it. This little friendship quilt is a treasured keepsake that will always remind me of the fun we had together at the Workhouse and Pauline's Country Quilts.

Lisa & Pauline

On our last day in Glassagh, our friend Marian came by for a last visit, and then we went to our neighbor's house to say goodbye. Ann was there with some of her family, and we took some photos of a wonderful neighbor and a good friend.

Lisa & Marian

Ann Bonner and Family

More adventures were in store, as my husband had made a deal to sell our car to a lady in Monaghan on our way to Dublin. We were now down to our traveling kit--a lot less than on the trip over, but still more than you'd really want to travel with. We had a rucksack (if it weighs more than a Q-tip, I won't carry it), two laptops, my fiddle, my husband's music case with whistles and bazpipes, and my enormous guitar, which we had padded and strapped into a large, unwieldy shipping box with no actual handle (again, it didn't pass the Q-tip weight test).

After a late start, we made it to Monaghan in three hours. Leo was waiting for us at a pre-arranged hotel, and we transferred our barely-manageable luggage into his car while waiting for the lady who was buying our car. After a bit, she arrived and signed the papers with my husband, and Leo drove us to our hotel near the airport. If you check your map of Ireland, you will see that this was by no means a short ride, and he expertly landed us with ten minutes to spare before the kitchen closed. We had our farewell dinner, and retired for the night.

Leo & Lisa

We had a direct flight from Dublin to San Francisco on Aer Lingus, so we only had to check in once. The guitar, which seemed to have grown overnight, went in to the Oversize Baggage chute, and we settled down with just the computers and the fiddle for the trip. We were grateful that the seats were comfortable, and the food was better than expected; also, there was plenty of it. Ten hours and ten pounds heavier, we landed in San Francisco.

That evening, we went to dinner with my son, Chris. I had only seen him briefly last August at the family reunion, and it was wonderful seeing him in his home town. The next day we had San Francisco fun--riding a cable car, going to Fisherman's Wharf, looking at the boats and having a superior meal in a charming restaurant. And, of course, the following day it was back to the airport with our abundant luggage. Chris met us there, and we had our coffee and buns together (if you'll pardon the expression). Then we had our most comprehensive security check of the whole trip before being allowed to proceed to the waiting area. I wouldn't have been surprised if they had asked my husband to take off every scrap of clothing right there in the middle of the airport.

Lisa and Chris

Lisa and Seamus in San Francisco

We flew to Portland and got the shuttle down to Corvallis, where we spent the night at the Hilton Garden. I mention this because they have the best breakfast of any hotel I have stayed in. You don't have to stay there to enjoy the breakfast--you can just walk in and buy breakfast if you happen to be in the neighborhood. Then we called Enterprise and they came for us in a rental car which we drove to Newport to begin our current adventures on the Oregon coast.