Well, folks, it's New Year's Eve again! I'm sure I don't need to go through the reminders of what all has happened across the world in 2020. And I'm sure each and every one of you have had unique challenges and heartaches this year, and hopefully a few blessings and joys as well. As you …
Category: Family
Aches and Pains
Warning: the following is an acutely personal post. I usually try to keep things on the lighter side but tonight I'm going for honesty. Things have not been going the best for us this last while. I've been trying to hold it together, but the cracks are starting to show. This week I left work …
Where do you come from?
Have you ever felt like you belonged in a certain place, as though your blood and breath ran through the ground beneath your feet? I used to feel that way about Bozeman, my hometown. I loved every blade of grass, every sidewalk crack, every crooked tree, every gentle mountain breeze, every snowflake. I felt like …
Belle Bretagne
A couple of weeks ago, we took a family vacation to France. A work friend mentioned last year how her young family travels to Brittany every summer and it sounded so wonderful, I looked into it myself. I found an unbeatable Black Friday deal on Eurocamp.ie and booked us a week at a campsite in …
Under Construction
Just a quick note to let you know that I am still alive, I've just been insanely busy... working full time, having a third baby, moving back to Ireland! I plan on giving the ol' blog a little facelift and hopefully bringing you more new and interesting content and commentary within the coming weeks. Watch …
Making time, the Irish way
I was driving home last night with a shameful haul of used books from a local second-hand shop - it's an addiction, really - when I looked into my rearview mirror and noticed the sun setting behind a row of palm trees. It occurred to me that we've lived in California more than 2 1/2 …
An Irish Christmas
It's dark and quiet as I sit and listen to the clock tick this early morning while I drink my tea. I'm back in the corner of the couch in the kitchen I've sat in a thousand times before, contemplating Christmas, family, and jet lag. We're home in Ireland for Christmas!! This is the first …
Another Perspective
It's that time of year again - I am officially an "Apple Widow," as Frank works late most nights and into the weekend, trying to get ready for Apple's biggest launch and keynote of the year. His job there has a lot of great perks - plenty of vacation and sick time, free outdoor concerts …
Be who you are, be the change
I remember Election Night 1992 very well. My sisters and I stayed up late to watch Rocky IV (as you do) while my parents were out at a party, and we switched it off to hear the final results. We heard the newscaster read the percentages and say that Beverly Barnhart had won our precinct, and …
Welcome Spring
My thoughts are a jumble these days, thus why I have not done much writing. If you could open my brain, it would look like that corner drawer in your kitchen, overflowing with nails and screws, dried up glue and birthday candles, tangled string and electrical cords that belong to something, pens that don't work …
View From an Irish Back Yard 