Welcome back to the blog! We've had a busy month and are already a week into February. I taught a workshop on hand applique at the Workhouse on January 20. Five ladies came for this class, and we certainly had an enjoyable day. We made some leaves and flowers, and I showed them my favorite method of applique. We were treated to a delicious lasagna for lunch, made by May, one of the participants.

The Workhouse, of course, was not originally built with central heat in mind (just a huge, oversize fireplace which has since been blocked up). But the little portable heater that we carried from workshop to tea room kept us comfortably warm. Being here in January with warm clothes, good food and a heater makes you think again about the conditions that the first occupants had to live with. When our day was over, I was given a lift home by a very gracious member, Attracta, who lives in my area. She has a daughter in Alberta, Canada, and a son in Salt Lake City, so she has visited many quilt shops between those two destinations!

And speaking of destinations, I must briefly recount a friend's experience with one of the local bus companies. Our friend has started a job in Derry, and she doesn't have a car yet. She rang up the bus company and asked if she could get a bus from Bunbeg to Derry. She was told insistently, and several times, that it couldn't be done--that she could only go from Bunbeg to Letterkenny, or she could go from Dublin to Derry. They did offer the information that you can get to Derry from Bunbeg in the summer only. Then they hung up the phone. She knew that Derry was mentioned on this company's brochure, so she rang them up again. This time she asked if she could go from Letterkenny to Derry, and indeed, they told her what time the bus leaves Letterkenny for that trip. Apparently, the company is unaware that you can take their bus from Bunbeg to Letterkenny, and change to another of their buses for the trip to Derry. Sounds like a joke, but this is for real! Sounds a bit like the Irish policeman who says, "If you want to stand there, you'll have to move along."

We've just had a wonderful weekend with my friends, John and Sue, from England. To begin with, I might mention that our shipment from America arrived the first week of January; consequently, we had about 60 boxes (I'm really not exaggerating this time!) loosely organized in the areas that we thought they belonged in. When friends tell you that they're coming for a long weekend, it provides the necessary impetus to spur you into action. We were deeply inspired to rearrange our detritus, and by the time John and Sue arrived, we were ready for them!

My husband provided near-continuous food service--some really fine dinners and full, Irish country breakfasts, and the rest of us (my daughter Leah included) went for long hikes and played six games of Scrabble. The weather was brilliant--the best we've had since we arrived--and we hiked up the coast to the Bloody Foreland. This is the windiest spot in Europe and is so-called because of the many shipwrecks that occurred on that coast. The views of the coast are spectacular, and after John persuaded us to climb fences and walk through sheep-infested fields (one that contained only rams with curly horns) and tiptoe through private property, we hiked up to the Foreland Heights Hotel for a restorative drink, where we also tried four different kinds of crisps (potato chips), notably prawn-flavored and shrimp cocktail-flavored varieties. Unbelievably, that is exactly what they tasted like!

Our other hike took us down to the beach at the Ostan Gweedore (Gweedore Hotel) where the tide was way out, allowing us to examine a shipwreck, and walk along the beach admiring the various shells that the tide uncovered. Oddly enough, there were no sea gulls to be seen. After our walk on the beach, we went to investigate a small square tower perched high on a hill which gives a good view of all of the surrounding countryside. It is a reconstruction on the site of the old fortress of the O Boyle's, allies of the O Donnells who were once the lords of this area.

O Boyle Territory - The tower

Then we went down to the harbor in Bunbeg where we watched the ferry boat come in from Tory Island.

Tory Island Ferry

Sue, John and Lisa at Bunbeag Pier

In the winter, they only send the ferry twice a week, but in the summer it goes twice a day. Tory is nine miles from the mainland, and in the 1970's, the government tried to force the islanders to evacuate the island and move to the mainland. Some did leave, but after a long, hard fight led by their local priest and aided by other EU countries that included island populations, they won the right to stay and to be given the basic services that people on the mainland enjoyed.

So after a couple of nights of non-stop Scrabble and lots of good food and conversation, John and Sue made their way back to the ferry. We are still enjoying the lovely goodies they brought us. The pate and crackers, the cheese, the ploughman's pickle, clotted cream fudge, the Tewkesbury mustard and Shrewsbury cake (but not together!), the divine lemon and lime curd, etc., etc, are all delicious. And they also brought us an oak seedling descended from the original Royal Oak at Boscobel House, which sheltered King Charles II on the night of September 6, 1651. The bark was delicious--oh, wait a minute--were we supposed to eat that or plant that??

After a few days recovery (only kidding!), we went a bit farther afield to Mountcharles, Co. Donegal. This is a very scenic drive with some stretches of road that twist and turn so sharply and frequently that you might think you are on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Apart from the ubiquitous peat bog that covers a large area of Donegal, we also saw lots of peat bog. And there are also peat bogs that are being reforested with pine trees, most of which are managing to survive the high acidity of the peat bog. There are lovely lakes in the peat bog, and lots of new houses being built that overlook the peat bog. So, as you can see, it was a scenic drive.

And now to end this chapter, I will recommend a book that I read a few years back about an English gal who grew up in Africa in some very difficult times. Do not read this if you are already depressed! The title is, "Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight." I'm sure your local library can get a copy. I'll try to think of a funny one to recommend next.

Stay warm and well, and out of the wind.