Well, I’m sure I didn’t mean for a month to pass between posts! Sorry about that, faithful readers.
It’s a lovely April afternoon here in Drogheda and I am, indeed, looking out upon my back yard as I write. The ground is finally all dug for the garden extension, but I still need to incorporate new compost and do a final cleaning out of rocks and other rubbish just under the surface. I might push it a bit late again this year, just because I’ve had so much else going on! But my mom has sent me seeds from the States and I am determined to try and grow a few more things this year. BBC gardening shows are all the rage right now, what with the big “R” over everyone’s heads, so I have plenty of outlets for advice on TV, online, and in current publications. I’ll probably break out Jamie at Home again as well – a birthday present last year from Frank that not only has great recipes but pictures and descriptions for how to grow your own produce.
But Spring is already fully fledged here – last weekend I was in St. Stephen’s Green with my old college friend, Leslie, and the tulips and hyacinths were unbelievable. The trees have been blooming for weeks now and the pink-blossoming cherry tree in front of our house is covered at the moment. It’s still not warm enough in my mind to go around without a jacket… but that doesn’t stop most of the other population!
Frank has been busy with a new short film and was shooting that for five days at the beginning of the month. It was quite an education for me, to go from working with filmmakers out of an office to working hands-on with them out in the field! The actors and crew were all really great to have around though, and despite a few days of pouring rain, we had smooth sailing. I tried to keep everyone fed and watered and helped where I could. Frank is editing the film now and it’s going to be great to see what it looks like when he’s got it all finished! So much work! I’m actually hoping to get a little baking done this afternoon to thank some of our generous neighbors who let us film in front of their houses!
Meanwhile, I have changed jobs again and I am now working part-time as a receptionist in a local doctors’ office. It’s just a ten minute walk from where we live and the staff are all really nice and fun to work with. It’s definitely a change for me – I never imagined myself near the medical profession – but it’s a great way to meet lots of people, use my brain and computer skills, and feel like I’m helping people as well. So that has been a real blessing to us.
That’s the news for now! I have more old friends coming to Dublin and Belfast next month, so hopefully I’ll be able to catch up with them at some stage. I am also keeping my fingers crossed that we might make it back to the States for a visit this year, but we’ll just have to see how the finances go. In the meantime, do keep in touch and let me know how things are in your neck of the world!
Frank’s 32nd birthday was yesterday. As I sit here writing to you, I am enjoying a leftover piece of his Devil’s Food cake with chocolate frosting, raspberries, blackberries and stiffly whipped cream. It wasn’t the most skillful cake I’ve ever baked, but it did not disappoint, just the same!
We had his parents around for dinner, and I served a variation of my grandmother’s Chicken Cacciatore. It was nice to sit and talk and eat good food! I am very thankful for a great set of in-laws who are always fun to have around.
It was someone else’s birthday yesterday as well! Frank’s sister, Lorraine, had a beautiful 7 lb. baby girl named Chloe at 10:15 a.m. She is truly a model baby – perfectly formed with delicate features and a quiet (so far!) yet independent demeanor.
This is the first in the next generation of the Kelly family and we are all celebrating! Mother, father and child are doing well and we enjoyed visiting with them just a few hours after the birth. Can’t wait to start babysitting!
Springtime never neglects to inspire me… so even with my mixed gardening results, I can’t help planting a few seeds indoors to try again to have healthy vegetable and flower beds in our little space. Above are the tender shoots of lettuce that have popped up in the sitting room window, just a few days after planting.
Fingers crossed! I’ve already had one new bed entirely ruined by the cats next door, so I’ll have to start again with that one… I think the only foolproof way to keep them out is by covering everything in chicken wire. Sigh.
It’s a lovely evening, though, and the days are definitely getting longer and milder. We have birds building nests under the eaves by our bedroom window and the trees around town are beginning to bloom as well. It’s a hopeful time of year, and one can’t help but daydream.
It’s amazing how fast news travels.
You’d think that the hometown goings-on from Montana, over 5000 miles and seven hours away from Ireland, would take a while to reach me. I know the mail certainly drags from here to there.
But not when it’s important, I guess – not when it’s something that really matters.
So I was shocked and dismayed last night, literally moments before heading out the door for Frank’s film fundraiser, to find out about a major explosion on Main Street in Bozeman that had happened only hours earlier.
It was “just” a gas explosion that “just” destroyed three buildings and at least six businesses. Currently, there were no injuries or casualties reported, “just” a missing woman. In the grand scheme of world news, this is a calamity, yes, but not a tragedy, and I think we are all thankful for that.
But still, to me, especially living so far away from those streets on which I grew up, this is immensely sad.
In my ripe old age of nearly 27, I’ve been realizing more and more just how important history is to humanity. Each place I live is older and older, civilizationally speaking (if that is even a word!). Here in Drogheda, I can see a 300 year-old prison wall and the remnants of Medieval Magdalene’s Tower out our front window, and I know that just a few miles away are ancient tombs older than the Pyramids. In Indianapolis, I soaked up tales of the Underground Railroad and The Civil War, while admiring buildings that dated back hundreds of years. And Bozeman? It still blows my mind that my hometown was little more than a row of tents in the 1870s. I think about the Gold Rush, stagecoaches and Indian raids going on in the Wild West of Bozeman… which was really not that long ago.
So it makes me sad when I see the history of that town, young as it is, turning to dust and smoke in a freak explosion! I know civilisations come and go and rise and fall… but there is so little left as it is! These businesses were some of my favorites, and were housed in some of Bozeman’s oldest brick-and-wood false-front structures. I am glad for the safety of the town and the capabilities of the city employees to put out the fires and turn off the gas… I am very thankful. But I’m sad that I won’t get to see the Rocking R Bar, or Boodles, or Lilly Lu, or the American Legion, or the Montana Trails Art Gallery, anymore. At least not in their beautiful, whole and original forms.
And this makes me feel even stronger about historic preservation.
Bozeman has already lost some of its finest mansions, the Opera House, hotels, schools… and the town is not even 200 years old! Indianapolis was the same – just look at the photography in “Indianapolis: Then and Now.” It literally makes my stomach ache, to think of losing the past so blindly! I do understand – fires happen, costs to update are staggering, and, to be blunt, sometimes old buildings just aren’t that attractive! But there has to be a way to make it right to our forefathers (and mothers) who worked and built and lived and died to pave the way.
OK, so maybe I’m being melodramatic. (I can hear Frank saying to me, “You? Dramatic much?” -sigh-)
But let me leave you with this – take a lesson from history when you think it’s not such a big deal when some old buildings collapse.
Here in town they’ve recently uncovered about 40 skeletons down by the river as they’re building a new parking lot and cinema. Big deal, right? Hardly any news or chatter about it (though here is one speculative article). Then I found out the bodies might be ancient – perhaps not just hundreds of years old, but possibly thousands. And the construction has been stopped several times, only to resume soon after. Furthermore, I found out that there was a similar situation years back when the neighboring shopping centre was built. As they were laying the foundation where Scotch Hall sits, next to the river, they found remnants of an ancient civilisation, probably as old as the neolithic tomb of Newgrange. There was talk, as the building proceeded, that the site would be preserved and glass floors would be installed in the mall so shoppers could witness the historical wonders that lay beneath. That was several years ago – Scotch Hall is finished and full and the floors are plain tiles. And no one talks about it, seems to care, or possibly even knows.
Time, just like news, travels faster than you think, and before you know it, our young history will be ancient… and what will we be leaving behind for our descendants to learn from?
OK, I’m getting off my soapbox now.
Just wanted to let you all know I am back on the job trail! As you may remember, I finished with The Wine Buff after the holiday rush. Now, after hours being cut and other factors getting in the way, I’ve finished my time at the Salthouse – but I am ready to embark on something new!
This time I am trying for something more administrative/secretarial/entry level… maybe that will serve me better for the long term. Film and writing jobs are sparse and, to be candid, breeding grounds for the whole “it’s who you know, not what you know” scenario, so I have figured it’s best to look at some other angles. Besides, I’ve always found that alphabetizing and collating can be quite Zen! Haha!
So… please keep that in your thoughts and prayers! I’ve applied for about 20 jobs (that I feel well-qualified to take on) since February, but no luck yet. Hopefully this will be my week! I’ll keep you in the loop.
We had a nice weekend – sunny and clear with lots of time spent in the garden, cleaning house, and reading Harry Potter. We also had dinner for my friend Wendy’s birthday last night at this great American-influenced restaurant: The Eastern Seaboard. Really great food and classy atmosphere for extremely reasonable prices. Frank had roast chicken with sausage stuffing, green beans and sweet potato wedges; I had crab cakes on ciabatta with sweet potato wedges also. Then we had to split a creme brulee, which was fantastic. I hope to get back there again soon!
We have come to the conclusion that, while the other opponents in this race were worthy, nothing says “Easter Eggster” quite like a Cadbury Creme Egg.
The judges found that MILK-chocolate Cadbury simply had the kind of finesse and approachability that chocolate lovers can return to again and again. It must be said though, that the recession did not escape this year’s ceremony, as the Dove nominee had to withdraw, citing flight costs as a reason. On the other side of the coin, though, some contestants (hint: Lindtog Millionare) were so overly confident of winning that they did not even bother to appear on the momentous night, and were thus disqualified. A close friend to Lindtog has implied that the rich, foreign egg may have been seen sharing drinks with Leonardo Di Caprio at the Ivy instead of hitting the red carpet, and was possibly captured on camera there by The National Inquirer.
The eggs who did show their yolks on this special night did so in sophisticated style, putting all other celebs on the red carpet to shame. The Mark/Spencer “outrageously gooey egg” came dressed to the nines, adopting the large bows and diagonal lines so popular this season. However, style did not help Mark/Spencer Gooey, which was proclaimed by one judge as “bland.” Sources claim to have heard Gooey later on in the ladies room, complaining to a friend that “the Academy just needs to get with the times! They don’t know how to appreciate free range yet, even in chocolate eggs.”
The host for the evening, Mr. Aero Flynn was dressed in his own classic, simple brown and white cellophane suit. While not nominated for a performance this year, Aero was the life of the party and impressed the judges with his “depth of chocolatey range.” He was joined by his partner and close friend of Mark/Spencer Gooey – Mark/Spencer Rattle and Roll Egg, who was proclaimed by the press as ”sweet, fun and crunchy, but ultimately unmemorable.” Sources say it was Rattle who comforted a tipsy Gooey during her bathroom outburst.
But the star of the show, as we said before, was MILK-chocolate Cadbury Creme Egg. She positively glowed in and off-the-shoulder vintage white Oscar de la Renta gown as she accepted yet another gold statue for her work. In a brief but gracious speech, she thanked the Academy, her fellow nominees, her agent, Dairymilk, her husband, Bourneville Dark, and dedicated her win to her 16 little hard-shelled eggs at home in bed.
Unfortunately, Cadbury Creme Egg avoided the red carpet this year, stating that she felt too old for the glitz and glamour. Sources say, however, that she was just self-conscious about her recent outbreak of Eggsema.
I am pouting because I just remembered the Oscars do not show live in Ireland or online, so I will have to wait until tomorrow night to watch the taped, edited version of the show. They show the US Superbowl live here but the world’s most watched awards program? Noooo….
So, in lieu of an Oscars post, which would have focused on my former expertise of film, I’ve decided to have my own awards show featuring my new area of expertise … chocolate Easter eggs!!! Welcome to the Eggsters, my friends.
And the nominees are:
“MILK-chocolate Cadbury Creme Egg”
The classic we’re all used to – you either love ‘em or hate ‘em. This was as predictable a nomination as anything that bears the name Sean Penn, Ron Howard, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg… you get the idea. That sticky sweet milk chocolate shell covering a creamy white and yellow goo made to resemble real egg yolks. Incidentally, these bad boys are scoring low in recent ratings compared to other brands of chocolate eggs… but will the Big Name win when the night is over? Will the “underdog” (that’s not really an underdog) again surface and save the day? Me? I never get tired of these… but I don’t know if they deserve the 2009 Best Eggster.
“The Curious Case of the Kindersurprise”
Let’s face it, you’re either investing in chocolate eggs for the chocolate or the novelty. While I enjoy the novelty (last time I got a pirate monkey and some stickers), the kid-aimed hollow milk and white chocolate shell on these is completely unmemorable. Still… the 2009 toys have greatly improved to the 2008 toys as my 5 year-old nephew can attest (“But Aunt Ya-Ya, what is it?” he asked last April when we opened one and were dumbfounded by some random pieces of plastic that were supposed to be a toy).
Chocolate for a middle-class audience… those of us who snub our noses at Mr. Hershey or Ms. Cadbury, but are not willing to fork out the money for Godiva on up. Yet, these chocolate truffle eggs are irresistibly good, particularly the dark chocolate ones, albeit non-traditional in their half-egg shape. (I like my egg to look and feel like an egg, darn it!) But are they good enough? Will you be thinking about these all year until next Easter? Or will you be just as happy eating their cheery cousins, The Dove Promises? Note: I can’t get Dove chocolate here, so if anyone can do me a favor and Fed-Ex some out here, this competition will be a lot more fair… thanks…
“Mark/Spencer (and their creme egg)”
These babies are so new that I can’t even find a picture of them (though if you click on the link above, you can see some of their other Easter treats this year). Made from Belgian milk chocolate (probably fair trade, as is custom with most M&S stuff) and filled with a fluffy vanilla fondant that borders between Cadbury’s filling and a marshmallow, I’m not sure what to make of this year’s indie nominee. Part of me feels like an alcoholic who just wants to go back to the cheap comfort of Pabst Blue Ribbon (i.e. Cadbury’s Eggs)… but the sweet crunch of Belgian chocolate is indeed very good and makes me curious enough to try another. And truly, if we’re talking about cost here, these are only 20 cents or so more than a typical Cadbury Egg.
The first thing you’ll notice about a Lindt Lindor Truffle Egg is that it’s probably a third the size of any of these other eggs. It almost takes it out of the running, as this is a competition for features, not shorts. Almost. But we figured that while size may be seen as a downside, you have to go to the heart of the matter – what does the egg taste like? How does that silky smooth chocolate make you feel when you indulge? Does it cause you to forget the outside world and want to be a better person? Or does it simply dissolve unnoticed in your mouth, causing you to look for something else to fill the proverbial hole? Even worse, is it offensive? We’ll let the judges decide….
Since I have to wait for the Oscar outcomes, you shall have to wait for the Eggsters… until then, fill in your ballots, charge your camera battery and get your tuxedo dry-cleaned because it’s going to be a big night for some lucky egg!
“And the Eggster goes to…”
Well, folks, here are the promised pictures. I’d love to tell you stories and details about each one, but as I’ve got more important things to do… hehehe… I’ll just give you a few of my favorite recollections from the trip.
Story 1: Since we were doing “Paris on a budget,” I found a well-recommended reasonably priced hotel online. Well… the “up-and-coming neighborhood” has still yet to get up and while the hotel staff were kind and the place clean, our room was a little wonky, to put it in Irish terms. Haha. The room itself was stuffed into a corner of a corridor (sort of like a Harry Potter moment) and once inside, the walls and ceiling were going all different angles! The bathroom smelled like rotten eggs and was sporadic with its hot water supply and we were only allowed one pillow each. We had a nice flatscreen TV, though, with about six channels – three in French, two in English (BBC and CNN) and MTV in German!!!
Story 2: On Friday, we went to the lovely little village of Montmartre. The cobbled streets and art galleries were everywhere, along with tacky gift shops (my weakness) and, on the nicer streets, cheese shops, chocolate shops, gourmet wine and spice shops, bakeries, toy stores, and cafes! We had lunch at Les Deux Moulins which, as fans of the film “Amelie” remember, was the cafe where Audrey Tatou worked. The strangest thing, though – I ordered what turned out to be a toasted cheese sandwich and the cheese was so strong that my lips and mouth began to tingle and itch like crazy! I thought it was just me, but Frank felt it, too, when he had some of the sandwich! Nice flavours, but a most unpleasant sensation! Oh well… it was a fun and romantic lunch anyhow!
Story 3: On our way up the hill to the Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, we (I) were stopped by a gang of African men making bracelets. No matter how many times I said, “Non!” and tried to dodge them, I got caught in their web and before I knew it, one of them was tying a “good luck” bracelet on my arm and telling me “don’t be afraid!” Of course, it was all a scam to get money (“Please lady, this is only 5 euros”), and in Frank’s attempt to rescue me, he got caught in the scam as well, though his bracelet seller charged him 10 euros. I honestly can’t remember the last time I was so infuriated (and embarrassed when Frank chided me). But what can you do in a situation like that? Walk away and not pay? Get stabbed on your Honeymoon in Paris??? Sheesh.
Story 4: My favorite meal was at this amazing Patisserie in a chic part of town, just down the street from the Louvre. Ironically, we followed some Americans in and, finding the price for lunch to be affordable, went in. The place was called Angelina, and it was gorgeous! From the lush decor and sunny windows to the fastidious waiters to the incredible desserts, it was a real highlight for me. Frank had a sandwich and I had an omelette with a green salad, and then – THEN! we dug into mind-blowing desserts. He had their calling card pastry, The Mont Blanc, which was a meringue filled with cream and topped with noodles of chocolate fondant. I don’t remember what mine was called, but it was a little lime cheesecake with strawberry cream, a white chocolate shell, and a strawberry, strawberry marshmallow dots and edible gold leaf on top! We also split a cup of their hot chocolate, which is basically melted chocolate in a cup with cream! (Anyone remember Starbucks’ Chantico? This is way better!)
Story 5: This one is a little funny and a little embarrassing! On our last morning in Paris, we caught the metro down to the islands so we could see Notre Dame Cathedral and the St-Germain des Pres area. However, we got off a stop too soon in the area of Les Halles (in the middle of an amazing shopping centre, I might add, that I did not have time to peruse!!!!). After walking around for a few minutes, I declared that we were looking at Notre Dame right in front of us. Frank disagreed. “The front doesn’t look right,” he said. I insisted I was right. “Look at the flying buttresses!” I said. “This is a gothic cathedral!” I said. “Why don’t you ever let me be right?” I said. Still, he disagreed. I got huffy. He told me if I was going to act like that, then I could just sit there by myself. So, together we went into the church which, as it turns out, was NOT NOTRE DAME. It was instead, the lovely and less-touristy Cathedral of Saint-Eustache (which did resemble Notre Dame, at least give me that much!). It was in the middle of being carefully restored and cleaned, but we both agreed, even after seeing the real Notre Dame Cathedral, that Saint-Eustache was even more impressive and beautiful. So my mistake was not all bad!!!
So now we are back to real life, and happily so. We enjoyed Paris and would love to go back… but it is nice to return to English speakers and frequent cups of tea!
For anyone interested, the Anderson University alumni magazine, Signatures, just published my most recent article!
Here is the link, if you’re interested:
http://www.anderson.edu/signatures/winter09/article.htmlMore to come soon… we just got back from Paris tonight and I can’t wait to tell you all about it…
As many of you know, my life over the years has often thrown me in the path of celebrities. From having Presidential candidate Ron Paul over to dinner… to haggling over prices with Margot Kidder (Superman, anyone?) and Becky Fonda (Peter’s wife) at Sylvester’s Bargain Emporium… to counseling baseball great Bret Butler’s daughters at theater camp… to looking after the likes of Dakota Fanning, Jeff Daniels, Patricia Heaton, and Michael Apted at various Heartland Film Festivals… I’ve luckily been well-trained NOT to act star struck around famous figures.
So when our local Drogheda girl, Evanna Lynch of Harry Potter fame, came into the Salthouse for lunch today, I was curious but well-behaved. The waiters seemed sort of in awe, but did not show it, at least not outside the kitchen!
More than anything, I just find it interesting to see people from TV or film in person so I can spot the differences from their “character.” You know… they might be shorter or have acne scars or are really shy… and you never know what they’re like until you catch a glimpse of them in “real life.” It’s always a little comforting to one’s ego as well, to see that so many beautiful movie stars are, while still beautiful, just normal people… the fates just made them a little more recognizable to the average film-lover.
So what was she like? I don’t really know, to be honest – I was washing dishes. But from the little I observed, I’d say she’s just a normal teenager. She was relaxed with family and friends on a weekend afternoon, laughing and telling stories with each other as we all like to do. However… I have to say I did find it amusing that while they all ordered salmon and lamb and such for their big Sunday lunch, she ordered just a plate of baked beans, cauliflower and broccoli!. Ha ha! To each his own.
Regardless, I think we’re all pretty proud of our local star and look forward to seeing her in The Half-Blood Prince, coming out this Spring.
Afterthought: Mom reminded me I once made coffee for Tony Dungy at Starbucks in Indianapolis… a Venti Mocha, I believe…
It snowed today! For the first time in over a year, the green hills are blanketed in white – enough white to stick!
It’s Georgie’s first experience with snow, at least as long as we’ve had her, and she loved it! It’s her new favorite toy! Frank and I stood inside and watched her out the window this afternoon as she ran laps around the garden, tongue hanging out, ears back, tail going in all directions! It was great. Considering how much I’ve missed snow myself, I felt nearly the same elation she did. Of course, when I went out to get some things for dinner, having the slush melt through my shoes and halfway up my pant legs was not so much fun! Not to mention the shops that were closed, cars that were stalled and general grouchiness of people on the town over the slick, white, bothersome mess! They’re not well-equipped to handle snow here, even if it’s just an inch or two, like today. From the news I learned that Britain is in even worse shape.
In honour of the cold, I made a nice pot of Chili and cornbread muffins! (In fairness, I loosely based my chili recipe on my dad’s Constitutional Chili – though I did not have any venison or bison to put in the pot…) Frank had never had chili before and I make cornbread sparingly because I had to bring the cornmeal with me from the States (they don’t sell it here, at least not that I can find!). There’s also a plum and apple crisp waiting downstairs when we are ready for dessert. Yum! Nothing like a homey hot meal on a brisk day!
I have to say though, my favorite thing about today was seeing at least three people on separate occasions walking around the town in a daze, holding unused snowballs! It’s as if they were each thinking to themselves, ” I should really make use of the snow while it is here… but now what do I do with this thing?” I smiled politely and amused myself by thinking who I would hit with a nice, solid, stinging slushball, if given the chance…
Other news… in just over a week, Frank and I will take our long-awaited mini-Honeymoon! I am so excited, I can’t even tell you. We are going to Paris for 4 days and 3 nights, February 11 – 14. It’s not really the best time to be taking a holiday, between the weather and the economy, but I’m really glad we’re doing it. A friend of ours is getting our accommodations as a late wedding gift, so we just had to pay for the airfares (just €60 each with all taxes and fees) and spending money. We’ve been checking out guidebooks and I’ve been emailing friends who spent time in Paris, just to find out what we should not miss! Of course, I foresee time at the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and probably the Montmartre area… plus plenty of relaxing in cafes with our journals. Hopefully this will be the first trip of many to France… and hopefully I will not make too much of a buffoon of myself with my poor French pronunciations! Luckily, I’ve been working on French film research lately anyway, so at least I’m familiarizing myself with the culture and general Frenchy sounding things.
Well! The doorbell just rang and I think it’s our friend, Kieran. Maybe it is time to bring the dessert out… until next time, au revoir!
