H.A. Larson's Blog, page 44

Remembering Ireland: Galway and Corcomroe Abbey

On the train to Galway.

Good morning! It's Monday, and we have three more installments of Remembering Ireland to go. Let's get this one going.
After all the hectic, but wonderful, touristing we did in Limerick on our one full day there, we landed in bed that evening exhausted. That's not to say we didn't round out our time there well, because we had a late supper at the Bar & Grill on the second floor of the Absolute Hotel (where we were staying). The next day we packed up and made our way to the train station, although this time we walked instead of catching a cab. It wasn't that far and it saved us some money. 
This train ride was much shorter than the one from Dublin to Limerick, but it was less crowded and we had a relaxing and enjoyable time traveling to Galway, the next leg of our trip (if you'd like to see a clip of our train ride between Limerick and Galway, I posted about that awhile back here). In Galway, we stayed at the Clayton Hotel, which is actually a good ways away from city centre and the train station. Luckily, Galway has a decent bus system and we were able to get back and forth without a problem. We checked into the Clayton and that evening we grabbed some supper in The Enclosure Bar and Bistro, located in the lobby of the hotel, and then wandered across the street afterwards to the Briarhill Shopping Centre where a Dunnes Grocery Store was located. We picked up goodies for us to eat to save a few more bucks on this leg of the journey (especially since was the only hotel where we got complimentary breakfast), and enjoyed walking around seeing the differences between Irish grocery stores and American ones.
After a good night's sleep, I was anxious to head downtown as I had decided on taking a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher. We had passed by a Lally bus tour shop after we arrived in Galway, so we headed downtown on the city bus to book our trip there. We were pleasantly surprised to find the girl working behind the counter to be an American, but we also heard an American talk on his phone during our bus trip back to the hotel that night, so Galway must be a place to live for young Americans. Anyway, I'm glad we booked with Lally, as it was advantageously perfect for us that day. We walked down the block to the main bus station, and boarded our tour bus, which was much smaller than the other tour bus lines. There was only ten of us on the tour bus: me, my best friend, a German girl, and seven Italians.

Our first stop was at Hazel Mountain Chocolate farm. Nestled in the Burren, this 300 year old farm gives tourists a hiking detour up in the hills of the Burren. As I had sprained my knee on the Bunratty Castle stairs, I elected not to take the hike, as did my best friend, and the German girl. The bus driver told us that since we weren't taking the hike that he could drive us down the road to Corcomroe Abbey for a quick visit, so we jumped on the chance.



Corcomroe Abbey was a monastery that was established, sometime in the early 13th Century (1205 approx.), by Cistercian monks. Tucked away in the Burren, it's not far from the Cliffs of Moher. Now, I have to tell you that this entire day was a stroke of luck from the get-go. It rains frequently in Ireland, and this day was no different. However, it stopped shortly after we arrived and stayed away until right before we got back on the bus. Incidentally, when we got back to our bus, three larger tour buses pulled in while the rain came pouring back down. Not only did we get relief from the rain to see this beautiful place, but we didn't get overrun by the massive influx of other tourists that stopped there as we were leaving. Lucky, no?


Exterior shot of the Abbey and outside cemetery.







The door of the main entrance.







A view just inside the doorway.


The ground, inside and outside the Abbey, are filled with graves.












Just look at that Romanesque architecture.




The tomb and effigy of King Conor na Suidane Ua Briain, the person that legend dictates commissioned the structure.


A grave from 1682.

A view from an old window that looks out onto the Burren.

Someone leaves flowers for an older grave 

This was an amazing experience, and while I'm a bit sad to this day that I missed out on the Burren hike, I'll never be sad that I got a wonderful, mostly-dry, private view of an ancient piece of Irish history. 
We are down to just two more installments -- just two more Mondays -- of Remember Ireland. Next Monday, we'll dive into the majestic beauty of the Cliffs of Moher. Until then, have a great beginning of your week!
-H.A.

Coffee Talk: New Adventures, Writing Again, and Slow Sundays

Good morning. I know I didn't post yesterday, but I was really busy getting ready for a fun day. It was a fun day too. 




I posted recently about my extreme case of wanderlust. Whenever that happens, and I can't readily just leave the country, I strike out on adventures closer to home. Last weekend then, we ended up spending a few hours in the Iowa Mountain (the Loess Hills), only this time we headed South


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I've mentioned before that I've started my next book. As you know, I've decided to do things differently with this book, at least in terms of the process by which I write, and so I'm taking my time. Life is also very busy for me right now, in one way or another, which means I don't have a lot of time to devote to it right now. I won't be this busy for much longer, but until then I'm just going to take my time. I want to be more mindful of my writing anyway, so this will help.



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Today is Sunday, and like I have for the last several months now...I'm taking it nice and slow. I have always been one of those people that moves fast. I like to get things done and get them done now, but as I've gotten older -- especially over the last couple of years -- I can feel myself being more deliberate with my time. I think it has a lot to do with how quickly time is going by for me. The older you get, the faster it goes, and I think in an effort to enjoy my fleeting time on this planet...I'm moving slower and more thoughtfully. I want to relax and enjoy my time all while living with purpose.
In no place in my life will see this play out more evidently than on the weekends. Saturdays though, I often have something I need to do. Not so much on Sundays. I've set aside that day as my day to get up late, drink coffee for a long time, and just relax. I usually round out the day by doing something outside, weather permitting, or just getting out of the house. Slow Sunday, I call it, and it's almost my favorite day of the week. In fact, the weather is gorgeous so I have my windows open and I can hear the birds singing, crickets crinking, I'm in my pajamas, and I'm on my second cup of coffee. It's a gorgeous day, and I'm just going to sit here and enjoy every second of it before the rest of my household wakes up.
Enjoy your day my friends,
H.A.

Autumn is Coming

Okay, okay...so I might be jumping the gun a bit, but, hey, I'm excited! The other day at work, my supervisor handed us all our new calendars for August -- we have office calendars we print off that shows the important dates and coworker vacations -- and I had to pause for a moment. I work at a college, and in less than a month the Fall semester will begin, and in less than two months, it will officially be Autumn.





To my faithful, long-time readers, you already know of my deep abiding love and affection for my favorite season. To those of you new to my blog, let me tell you that there is nothing more amazing, beautiful, awe-inspiring, and magical than Autumn. This is especially true here in the Midwest where we are fortunate enough to experience the look and feel of the season. Autumn means cooler weather, beautiful & warm foliage, bonfires, spiked apple cider, hayrides, pumpkin patches, bountiful harvests, and Halloween.





When I say there's something magical about Autumn, I mean it. I can picture myself, right now, walking among the gold, bronze, and ruby-leafed trees of the forest. I'm wearing a light jacket or a long-sleeved shirt while a gentle, ever-so-slightly cool breeze surrounds me and christens me with clean, crisp smells. Leaves crunch under my feet while the sun hangs low on the horizon, and I can hear nature all around me as it revels in the perfect temperatures.





I can't wait to go to pumpkin patches and drink mulled cider while Nature Girl runs and plays. Of course, who could forget about Halloween? Only the best holiday in the Universe....well, at least according to me.
I know we have a little ways to go, but we're getting closer my friends, and I. Cannot. Wait.
Happy Friday to you all! Enjoy our not-quite-Autumn-yet weekend. 
-H.A.

Ipsy's July Glam Bag

Hello, and welcome back to my site! It's time to reveal my latest glam bag from Ipsy, so let's check it out.




The bag and the card. The theme for July is Over Easy, and the bag has a character called Gudetama. I have no idea who it is, although Nature Girl told me it's a cute character created by Sanrio, the same company responsible for Hello Kitty. The card says to head over to www.ipsy.com to check it out, but I haven't yet.




The contents of the bag.




First up: tarte's Rainforest of the Sea Deep Dive cleansing gel. It's a facial cleanser, and I'll be trying it soon.




This is Chella's Tantalizing Taupe Eyebrow Cream. One end is a soft, angled brush, while the other end opens up into a small tub of eyebrow cream. I've already been using this every day since it arrived and I love it! It makes perfect eyebrows that taper off perfectly at the end. It's my new favorite thing!




Next up is Caudalie Vinosource creme. It's a face moisturizer and, from what I can tell, is wine-based. I've heard of wine's antioxidant properties, so I imagine that has something to do with it.




Seraphine's Ginger + Gold Peach & Gold frosting blush looks delicious. I love blush, and can't wait to try this sumptuous looking color.




When I first saw this I was like, "Oh man, not another treStique lip gloss in frosted cream!" If you've been following me for awhile, you know I've received that lip stick several times already. Fortunately, this is actually a concealer stick, and I am happy for that. Hopefully, it works well. I will keep you posted!

And there you have it, another month's ipsy glam bag. If you're curious about ipsy and love makeup/beauty supplies, I highly suggest checking this out. I put a link for their website under the first pic. Enjoy!


My latest book, The Box, is available through different retailers for $3.99! If you like short, campy, horror books, you will love The Box! 
Pick it up by following this link: The Box by H.A. Larson 


For information on my other books, link up to my Pronoun Author Page.

Remembering Ireland: Grange Henge

Good morning! I have my coffee and my breakfast, so I'm ready to get this Monday started. It's also time for another edition of Remembering Ireland. Last week, I showed you all Bunratty Castle and the fun time we had there visiting the Folk Park and attending the Medieval Feaste. If you remember, I mentioned that our day in Limerick was incredibly busy. First we went to the Hunt Museum and St. Mary's Cathedral before heading back to the hotel. Before we even went to Bunratty, we took a quick trip to Grange Henge.
Now, when most people think of a henge in Europe, they think of Stonehenge. While certainly the most famous of henges, there are actually henges spread out throughout the Ireland and the U.K. Since there was one a half hour drive south of Limerick, and the largest stone circle in Ireland, we figured we shouldn't pass it up. Known as Grange Henge, or the Grange Stone Circle, it's not accessible by public transportation so we hired a cab to take us there.




Grange Henge is just west of Lough Gur (or Loch Goir in Gaelic), a large lake in the region. A sign at the Henge tells you about the lake and it's relevance to the circle.




I tried to get a picture of the entire circle while still being able to see the stones, but this was the best I could do. While Stonehenge is made of large monolithic stones, most other henges are made of "smaller" stones, although you can see the largest stone in Grange Henge at the upper left-hand corner called Rannach Chruim Duibh, or Crom Dubh's division. Crom Dubh, or Dark Crom is a mythological figure of Irish folklore.




Here is a nice shot looking along the left-hand side of the circle. You can see the largest stone again in the upper right-hand corner, just off to the left of there. See it?




A shot moving along that same side of the circle, this time you can see Rannach Chruim Duibh in the exact upper right-hand corner.




The original main entrance to Grange Henge.




Visitors to this old, sacred site leave offerings to the gods here. Here we see a statuette, some simple jewelry, some bones, and coins. These were placed on the stone just to the left of Rannach Chruim Duibh.




In this photo, I'm standing right next to Rannach Chruim Duibh.




This is the road sign outside the standard Irish stone gate that surrounds the private property this henge is on.




The sign is old and cracked, but gives good information about Grange Henge. See the diagram on the right? It even has all the stones drawn out below that.

While it was raining the whole time were were there -- which kept us from staying longer -- I really enjoyed this. There was something surreal about this experience, even more so the castles and the cathedral. This henge dates to the Neolithic/Bronze Age and has been standing here since 2500 - 1800 B.C.E.! I was so awe-struck thinking about the ancient peoples who had stood here before me, centuries ago, as they prepared for their ancient rituals and celebrations.
Well, that's it for today. I'll be back next Monday with Galway. Until then, have a great Monday, and I'll be back Wednesday with this weekend's fun.
-H.A.

Latest Libations: 8th Edition

Good morning. I know I said yesterday that I would do an Ipsy post, but I'm going to wait until next week sometime. It is high time though that we have a libations post! So, here we go.



I tend to stay away from commercial ciders and beers for the most part, but I picked up this Strongbow Cherry Blossom in a mix-a-six pack awhile back. I like to get dark, heady brews and balance them out with lighter, and at times, fruity brews. This one wasn't bad, but I think the cherry flavor kind of masked the lower quality cider. I've never had their original cider though, so I don't have much to go off of.




New Belgium, like Boulevard & Lucky Bucket, make some of my favorite brews. This is their lovely Tartastic, which is a lemon ginger sour. It's not a sweet beer, but rather a crispy, tart ale that is perfectly refreshing on a warm day.




Boulevard puts out special 12-packs sometimes that will offer a few of their tasting room brews, and this Spicy Rye Ale is one of them. It's a dark rye with the perfect blend of spices to make this a true taste sensation. If you like dark beers with complementary notes, you will love this one.




My husband picked up a case of classic Coors, a good old-fashioned Grandpa beer. I begrudgingly had one, as I didn't remember ever liking Grandpa beers, but you know...this isn't as bad as I remember. I think my refined beer palate has grown so much over the years that I have some appreciation for these older brews.




I love, love, love radlers, so when I saw that Boulevard was selling Ginger Lemon Radler, I knew I had to grab a six-pack of it. It's sweet, lightly tart, and delicious.




Aunt Sally, made by Lagunitas Brewing, is a hoppy, tart, sour mash ale. I wasn't as thrilled with this as much as I had hoped to be. There's too much going on - with such a mixture of different beer types - that it's hard to enjoy. I would skip this one if I were you.




Snake Bite Apple Cider Shandy (with a splash of cranberry) is made by T.W. Pitcher's Brewing. It's a nice shandy with a great fruity taste. It's pleasant and perfect for summer. Incidentally, I recently had their Blood Red Grapefruit Radler recently, and, man, it's a new favorite of mine.




Being the huge Iron Maiden fan that I am, I had given up hope of ever running into their Trooper beer. I started going to a different brew shop recently, and found a four-pack of this. While I kept one can for collection reasons and had high hopes, I didn't like this beer. It was a cheap, not very tasty, pub ale. 




Last, but not least, is Infusion's Vanilla Bean Blonde. I've had this on tap before and loved it, but find their bottled version to not be as tasty. It's a bit sweeter and the vanilla bean is more visible in the tap version than in the bottled version, but it was still a good brew to drink anyway. It is a bit disappointing to be expecting something and not exactly getting it, but still, it's worth the price as it's still a lovely beer.


And there you have it, another installment of Latest Libations. I hope you get to try these brews, or some new ones, soon. Happy drinking!


My latest book, The Box, is available through different retailers for $3.99! If you like short, campy, horror books, you will love The Box! 
Pick it up by following this link: The Box by H.A. Larson 


For information on my other books, link up to my Pronoun Author Page.

I Am Restless

This week has been unbearably hot in Nebraska with not a single day under 96 degrees F. The worst days were yesterday and today (with tomorrow predicted as well) with temps over 100 degrees F -- for my non-American readers, that equates to 36-38 degrees Celsius. There's nothing like the extreme cold of winter nor the extreme heat of summer (both of which we get to experience here) to leave one banished to the indoors. I know not everyone feels this way, but I am one who does. Whenever it's unbearably cold or hot, I hide within the climate-controlled confines of my home. This always leads to some cabin fever, and whenever cabin fever strikes -- and I wish I were out adventuring somewhere instead of being stuck indoors -- my wanderlust kicks in.
I've been restless for the last few years, something I've talked about here often. You all know that I have a dream to not only travel around the world, but to live around the world as well. And it is times like this when I have ample time to think about my dreams. I'm ready, more than ready actually, to start my adventure, but it's not my time yet. I sure wish it were though. Until then, I will continue to dream, and occasionally sigh wantonly. 
Have a great weekend my dear readers, and I'll be back tomorrow with another Ipsy post!
-H.A.


My latest book, The Box, is available through different retailers for $3.99! If you like short, campy, horror books, you will love The Box! 
Pick it up by following this link: The Box by H.A. Larson 


For information on my other books, link up to my Pronoun Author Page.

Basic Financial Fitness: Adopting a Smart Money Mindset

Recently, I talked about how there's no financial advice out there for regular folks. I've decided, then, to start giving out the wisdom that I've learned over the years. No, I'm not an expert, but I am a regular person with not a lot in disposable income; who still lives largely paycheck to paycheck; and who has spent a nice chunk of their adult life making stupid money choices and fumbling around. Out of necessity and a sheer determination, I set about learning how to control my finances and stop letting my finances control me. Over the years, then, I've looked to the internet, books, and even friends, to help me navigate my way through, but have found advice for the Middle-to-Poor Class (i.e. regular folks) of people to be completely lacking.
 So, while I'm no expert, I've gotten really good at managing my money, and I have started learning how to invest for my future. If you want some commonsense advice for managing money as a regular poor to lower middle-class person, and even beyond, I'll give you my two cents. (If you want to know more about me as a person and what I do, head over to my "About Me" page.) Here then is a new blog series I'm starting called Basic Financial Fitness to help people like myself using what I've learned.
Where do we start? Here: the first thing one needs to do if they want to start learning the money basics is to adopt a smart money mindset. How do you do that? Keep reading.



Adopting a Smart Money Mindset


1. Do not spend more than you make. 
This seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, it's the simple truth. If you spend more money than you make, you're going to have money issues almost immediately. They say money is the root of all evil, but that's a lie. Spending more money than you make is the root of all evil. This is how massive debt is accumulated, and to say it's a problem is an understatement. For example: the average American household debt (including home mortgages) is $135,924 as of December 2016. The average household credit card debt for the same time period is $16,425. That's insanity!
2. Don't spend your money before it gets here.
Do not plan out all the cool things you want to buy and fun activities you want to do before your paycheck even arrives. In fact, don't even think about your paycheck until the day it hits your bank account. The reason? It's easy to slack off on your bills if you have all these things you want to purchase with your "next paycheck". Regular folks like us don't have much, if any at times, disposable income, so to start spending it before it arrives is not only dumb, but irresponsible. 
3. Own up to your debts.
This can be a hard one for people. You might have one or two, or even more, little bills floating around out there that need to be taken care of. For example: that $40 co-pay at the doctor's office, or a $120 final bill from a daycare that you used to take your kid to. Do not ignore these bills! They will no go away if you ignore them, and, oftentimes, it will swell up with interest/late fees and will, eventually, go to collections. You never, ever want bills to go to collections.
4. Adopt a simple method for paying your bills.
Now, I'm not saying you need to come up with some mind-blowing, fantastic budget. Most regular folks, honestly, don't have enough income to budget every aspect of their lives...they just don't. Regular folks need to be able to pay their bills, in full (or on a payment plan) and on time! Leftover money can then be allocated to things like food, gas, and household supplies.
5. Be realistic.
We all have things we want, every single last one of us, but wanting things and being able to afford things we want are two different things. Do not confuse the two. There's a cool tattoo I'd love to get, and I would love to have a new outfit, but I need to put food in the fridge and I really need electricity.
6. Get organized.
The best way to get your financial house in order is to keep order. Get organized with your bills and stay organized. It's the best way to keep track of your finances.
7. You don't have to spend money to have a good time
This right here is one of the biggest barriers for people, especially regular folks, to getting their finances on track. We've been inundated and raised in a consumer culture and, because of it, we feel that we need to spend money to have fun. Look around you...everything costs money. Furthermore, a direct result of this consumer culture has led us to feel entitled. We feel we're entitled to that outfit, that meal out (even if it's cheap, then we'll really justify it), or that evening out with friends. I'm here to tell you no, no you're not. You work to subsist (unless you've got lots of disposable income) and put away a bit of savings every time your paycheck rolls around. Unless you make tons of money, get over it. I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say that they can't afford to save money but yet they go out and spend money constantly whether it be eating out, grabbing a cup of coffee, buying a CD, or a new outfit. Americans spend roughly 43% of their income on eating out! "Well, I only spent $3 on this meal at the Bell, and I deserve it for working." Yeah, and that's money in addition to your groceries and it still costs more, dollar for dollar, than if you made it at home. If you don't get this sentiment of spend, spend, spend out of your mind...you'll always have financial troubles.



So, how can you deal with the aforementioned points?

1. Get real about your finances and your spending habits. The easiest way to do this is to spend a week keeping track of the money you spend everyday. Keep all your receipts, log them in a notebook, and tally them up at the end of every day. Tally them up again at the end of the week and see where your money has gone. I guarantee you'll be quite surprised, and that you'll see where you can save money. The goal here is to live below your means while still being responsible.
2 & 4. (These two go hand in hand.) When your paycheck hits your bank...that's when you sit down and pay your bills. I highly suggest using the Budget Folder method I talked about back in October. It's detailed and a great way to pay bills when you live paycheck to paycheck.
3. Understand that your debts aren't going to go away. They just aren't. So, the sooner you accept them and formulate a plan to pay them, the better off you'll be. I work in the financial world, and I can tell you with all certainty that any payment is better than no payment. If you have to, make a $5 payment every month on something rather than ignore it. $5 isn't much to part with and it will keep collections from happening. Best of all, it -will- pay your bill eventually.*
5. Have an honest conversation with yourself, and the people you share a life with if applicable. What do your finances look like? Do you want to get in control of them? Where do you see yourself in five years? How do I turn this around?
6. Get organized! Again, you can refer to my Budget Folder method, or adopt one of your own, but get your finances organized. Even if you just keep a list of your expenses, debts, and necessities...you're making headway!
7. Get this into your head now (and keep it there): IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE TO SPEND MONEY TO HAVE FUN OR FEEL ALIVE THEN YOU ARE SCREWED. There are a million and one ways to have fun that cost nothing - or very little - that there's no reason to get trapped into spending money (this is another future post I'll make). I know this one is hard, especially if you have friends that are always asking you to do things that cost money, or if you feel left out because other people are doing things that cost money and, while you want to as well, can't afford it. Sometimes it's better to be honest with other people & yourself and say, "Not this time. We're/I'm trying to save money and/or get my finances on track. Have fun though!" I've done this before. I'll usually make excuses (there's nothing wrong with this if you don't want to admit you're broke), but sometimes you really do have to be honest. Honesty is better than going out with friends instead of paying rent/electricity bill/debt that needs to be paid off.

This is just a foundation for learning financial fitness for regular folks. In coming posts on this topic, I'll cover things like credit cards, having fun for next to no money, and saving on a shoestring. Until then, have a great week!
-H.A.



*I don't recommend paying $5 a month on debts as a standard, but it will do when you're already squeezing as much out of a dollar as you can. Also, this does NOT apply to credit card bills. This blog runs off the assumption that most regular folks don't use credit cards. That's not to say that regular folks don't use credit cards, it's just not as common. I WILL cover credit cards in another post down the road sometime, but this is not that post. Let's get the financial basics in order first. :)




My latest book, The Box, is available through different retailers for $3.99! If you like short, campy, horror books, you will love The Box! 
Pick it up by following this link: The Box by H.A. Larson 


For information on my other books, link up to my Pronoun Author Page.

Remembering Ireland: Bunratty Castle Folk Park & Medieval Feaste

Good morning, and welcome back to Monday! As has been the case with the past several Mondays, I'm posting another installment of Remembering Ireland. This time, I'm showcasing Bunratty Castle Folk Park and the Medieval Feaste. Let's get started!
After spending the morning in Limerick going to the Hunt Museum, St. Mary's Cathedral, and then getting lunch at the Locke Bar, we took a cab to Grange Henge (which will have it's own post next week). After spending a bit of time there, we then took a cab to Bunratty Castle Folk Park. 
Bunratty Castle Folk Park is comprised of Bunratty Castle and it's village, all contained within stone walls, in the village of Bunratty. The original site is estimated in the 900s, while the first castle was erected around 1251. The current Bunratty Castle was built by the MacNamara family around 1425. I was told that back in the day, villages would grow up around castles, whose nobility/royalty would then protect the inhabitants behind it's walled-in borders. Today, it's been reconstructed, but you get a taste of what life would have been like back in the day. There are traditional Irish homes, fancy homes, an entire downtown, animals, ponds, fields, a church, and, of course, the big castle.




One of the old Irish homes that sits on the property.




A look inside the home.




A view into the doorway of the Tea Room.




Old chicken coops.




A view downtown.




Along the other side of downtown. As a side note, all the little shops are still in use, but they are for artisans and craftsmen to sell their wares. I got some ceramic earrings, wine stopper, and choker from the potter.




Some of the animals that live at the folk park, these are deer.




One of the fancier homes of the park.




A view inside.




One of the many idyllic walkways of the park.




A view as you enter the castle grounds from the doorway. You can spend a day visiting the park and looking into the castle, but after around 4 p.m. they close the castle to park visitors to get ready for the Medieval Feast. The Feast is an authentic dining experience complete with period tradition, food, dinnerware, and entertainment.




A view down into the dining hall of the castle. I had purchased the Medieval Feast tickets before we even left the states. You all know how much I love medieval stuff, so I wasn't going to miss this event! We spent our time waiting for the feast by visiting the rest of the Folk Park, which was lots of fun.




We were all led to the top floor of the castle when we arrived for the Feast. This is the reception hall which was adorned in the Medieval style. We were serenaded by harp & violin while drinking meade and eating salted pieces of bread, a traditional hors devours back in the day.




A better view of our pre-dinner entertainment.




My best friend Keith at the banquet table. After reception, we were led down to the dining hall where they sat all guests across from one another to allow you to see each other better, and to get to know the people beside you.




Throughout the four-course meal, we were serenaded by different entertainers who sang, cracked jokes, and played instruments. The feast always crowns a lord and lady of the Castle for the evening, and this night they chose a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary from the U.S.
One of the highlights of the evening was when they grabbed a random American from the audience, and claimed he was a 'thief'. He was told to sing as his punishment, and so he started singing "Take Me out to the Ballgame" at which time everyone joined in. It was a fantastic time and I hope you can experience something like it one day.




As we left the Feast, we were treated to bagpipes. I love bagpipes!




A view of Bunratty Castle from outside the walls. You can see the phone box and Durty Nelly's pub. We stopped in there for a drink afterwards.
Bunratty Castle Folk Park is run by the Shannon Heritage Foundation, the same Foundation that runs the other castles we saw in Ireland (this was the last one we actually went into). For more information and to reserve tickets, visit the Bunratty website.

Portrait of Omaha: Gerald R. Ford Birthsite

Today's post is another entry in my photography series: Portrait of Omaha. In this series, I showcase a unique or distinct area/place of the city I call home. This entry is about the Gerald R. Ford Birthsite. Gerald R. Ford was the 38th President of the United States, who assumed office in the wake of President Richard Nixon's resignation. Ford had been Nixon's Vice President, so was next in line to assume the Presidency.
He was born in Omaha in 1913, but was only here for the first sixteen days of his life when his mother moved back to her home in Illinois. The large Victorian mansion he was born in was largely destroyed by a fire in 1971, and was razed. The land it had once occupied was purchased by a businessman in 1974, after Ford became President, and the idea for a memorial was hatched. It was dedicated in 1974, with the rose garden - in memorial to First Lady Betty Ford - in 1980. Ford attended the latter dedication personally.
Today, it is home to the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center (only available by appointment) which is surrounded by beautiful porticos, flower gardens, statues, and an exhibit kiosk. 



A statue of Ford. One of his wife is down the walk from his.




A shot from the rose garden down towards the Center.














Coming up on the portico.




A shot of the exhibit kiosk.




A full frontal view of the beautiful portico. The memorial slabs you see list all the Presidents of the United States.




A side view of the portico.








Looking out into the gardens from the portico.




A shot of one of the information buttons at the exhibit kiosk.

If you are ever in Omaha, check out this memorial site. It's an incredibly beautiful and peaceful place to take a stroll and collect one's thoughts. I love to admire the beauty of the design and read for awhile. You'll find it located in the Hanscom Park area. For more information, you can read about it here and here.



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