Papa vs. Baa, Baa Black Sheep

"Papa hit a Sheep. Boom. Now Papa has a boo-boo elbow"
That is the toddler version of Randy's bike accident last Thursday. Travel about two miles from our house out west and you get into Ireland's wild country where the sheep and the cows run free. The pastures are filled with baby lambs this time of year and they are very skittery on the open road. One decided to jump in front of Randy last minute, causing him to "yard-sale" over the handle bars landing him in the county hosipital for 4 days with a broken elbow and collar bone, not to mention road rashes. Thanks to Ireland's social medical system, he is walking away from major surgery (plates and srews were involved) paying only a 17 Euro pharmacy fee. After traveling and hour each way to visit him, we are happy to have him home safe and in recovery.



Randy on the Orthopedic medical ward at County Mayo General Hospital.

Brian Polke's Best Boy

Brian Polk owns the store/pub across the street from the Art Center. His family has owned Polkes since the mid 1850's. I have yet to meet such a kind hearted soul as I have in Brian. He has taken a shining to Soren and calls him his "Best Boy" offering him a banana with every visit. On our rare night's out Randy and I will walk through the store to the pub in the back, order our drinks to be added to our tab. We just paid off our tab with sadness to be leaving behind such a gem in our little town.

The Fabulous Baker Boys and Super Cool Sarah

One of our many blessing's here has been a fellow artist and his family, the Bakers. They arrived about 2 weeks after us, coming from Maine. The kicker is that they have two boys, Finn who is 5 and Corin who is the same age as Soren. Yes - we laugh all the time about how similar their names are. Soren and Corin are in the play school together and have weekly playdates. They have been wonderful to us, looking after Soren at times that Randy and I have gotten stuck in the muck on some rural road, picking up Soren from school, etc. Sarah has been my date a couple of nights at the Parish Hall on Monday night's for Bingo and just a dear soul. David is an amazing painter and he has been doing some paintings of Soren and I. Here he is working in his studio on one such painting. We will miss them dearly.

















One of the

A visit from Wendy

A friend of mine, Wendy, whom I have known since I was 5 years old came to visit. Soren loved having her here, as she has a very infectious laugh that had him in stitches all day long. As sad as we were to see her leave, Soren was thrilled that he got to send her off on the train from Ballina. The train conductor himself even gave Soren a private tour of the engine while Soren directed.

Soren practicing his right (wrong) side of the car driving skills....... "Left papa, left" is a phrase Soren picked up from no doubt me having to remind Randy to stick to the left side of the road. Those darn roundabouts get us everytime.

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On a walk in the hills behind our house.


Sitting on a stone wall next to Doonfenny cemetary. Behind Soren is a stone pillar dating back to the Neolithic Period.

Gaelic Football

We came across a Gaelic Football game the other night in a town near Ballycastle. Gaelic Football is a cross between rugby and soccer and is very popular in County Mayo. This game in particular was with teenager's and one of the boy's was a student I had taught that day during a photo workshop I offered through the Foundation.


Soren on the sidelines.


With Earon, the student, demonstrating a few gaelic kicks.

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Helping a player with a stray ball.


Soren looking "brilliant" - a term often used to describe him by the locals.

Dublin City vs. Baa, Baa Black Sheep

Last weekend we hit the big city of Dublin, a four hour drive away to pick up Grannie Annie who has come to join us for the last month. It felt good to be back in a roaring metropolis. We love the country life, but deep down we have come to realize we really are city folk. Soren was mesmorized by the double decker buses in Dublin as opposed to the tractors on the road that frequent Ballycastle.


Traversing the courtyard at Trinity College on the way to the Book of Kells.


This is for the Lewandowski family - as Soren has fallen in love with the concertina.


Driving back to Ballycastle after a big day in the city.


This is our neighbor John showing Soren the 3 day old twin lambs.

Touring Ballycastle

We found the perfect walking stick for Soren on the beach last week and he won't leave the house without it now. It came in handy while we hiked up to Downpatrick Head. In the background is the statue of St. Patrick and beyond that sheer cliff walls.


Soren giving an offering to St. Patrick.


Legend has it that St. Patrick personally struck the land with his staff to exile and kill a pagan cheif. What is left is the stunning Dun Briste sea stack, which seperated from the mainland in 1393. We kept a tight grip on Soren the whole time, but once you removed the toddler and shimmied to the edge, you can view the whole stack.


Hanging out with tea and scones at the local farmers market.


Soren's new buddy - Oisin.


This is dedicated to Molly - Randy and Soren went to the local Church Of Ireland's bric-a-brac sale and scored this great train set alog with numerous home baked goods. You would have loved it Mol!

Kiddie Korner Playschool

Soren now spends his mornings in the local playschool. He is the youngest child there, as the others are 3-5 years of age, but he really enjoys it. The girl in the pink dress on the right, Eron - keeps a watchful eye on him for us. The other images are all within a 1/4 mile from our house, the river and the sea - both great play areas.

Living The Irish Life Part 1

We have been spoiled here in Ireland. We arrived to a solid week's worth of sunshine and temps in the 60's. We didn't even notice that we forgot to pack Soren's rain jacket until this morning when the rain came pouring and the real Ireland finally showed her face. Rain or Shine, we have been having a wonderful time. Soren has adapted marvelously, taking everything in stride and loving every day's new adventure. Thank God he inherited that adventure gene from his mum and dad. We spent our first week traveling along the West Coast of Ireland starting at Galway for St. Paddy's Day, then onto Clifden, Connemara and then to Ballycastle, our home for the next 6 weeks.


Our little music man takes in every possible opportunity to listen to the street performers, popular in the streets of Galway.


Watching the St. Paddy Parade.


Bagpipes in the parade.


Randy and Soren at the parade. Soren made a quick friend with Siva, sitting to the left him in the picture.

Living The Irish Life Part 2

Playing on the beaches near Galway


On the pedestrian streets of Galway it is easy to be lured from one music performer to another and Soren is keen on getting in on ALL the music action, even while Randy tries to juggle a buggy (stroller), bag and active toddler.


Hanging out at Kylemoore Abbey in Connemara.


Soren's favorite mid-day snack, a baby gingerbread man, popular at all the bakeries.


After a week on the road, we arrive to our home in Ballycastle. We are just off of the sea - on the right of the image, and the wind is fierce so we have to bundle up.

Passports - Check, Tickets - Check, Adventures in Ireland - Priceless.

The Luck of the Irish

As an artist, I have been blessed with a wonderful opportunity to be a visiting artist at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in the Republic of Ireland. I have been blessed even further that the residency encourages family to come, so Randy, Soren and I are off to the Green Isle for the next 8 weeks with my mum joining us for the last 4 weeks.

I will try my best to keep the blog going. We will be in a small village and the internet connection is known to be spotty from there, but we look forward to sharing our adventures. We start the trip with St. Patrick's Day in Galway and promise to send a toast of Guinness back to you.

Shoveling up some Spring Fever

Singing Strings

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra along with Target offers music programs to little children throughout the year that one has to enter a lottery to get tickets to. We finally won some tickets to last weekends Singing Strings concert. The performance lasted a half-hour, the perfect toddler length. After the concert they have activities such as make your own string instruments (rubber bands, stickers and a plastic dish), face painting, coloring and to Soren's delight, playing a violin. Suzuki, here we come!

Sleeping Beauty Re-worked

It has been 6 months since that fateful transition from crib to big boy bed. From peaceful sleeping to a momentary dive into crazed rebellion (remember the room cleansing over the gate?). Now I am thankful that it just takes a few good books for Soren to knock himself out with and his little sweetheart Helen to kiss him awake. The road has been long and bumpy, but at least the drama has been entertaining and fun to visually document.

Flashback

While digging through a box of cameras, I found that one of my Holga cameras still had some film in it. I shot off the remaining shots and after bringing it in for film processing was surprised to find images from Muncie, Indiana and of Soren as a baby. It was a great find that tugged the strings of nostalgia for me.

Spellbound

I was thrown for a loop this morning when out of the blue Soren spelled his name. I knew that over the last few months he has shown interest in letters and spelling words, but this totally blind-sighted me when he threw out this new skill between bites of Cheerios, completely unprovoked. Randy was off at work, so I knew I had to get it on video in order for anyone to believe me, so I cornered him while he was on the potty. Randy confirmed that he has spelled his name out for Soren in the past, along with many other words. While this is no indication that I should be looking into any gifted and talented programs, it does represent what a sponge toddlers are and the power that language and the spoken word plays.

Comic Relief