Tumnus' Thoughts

Parting Shots

2006-06-17T02:31:00.000-07:00

The time has come to say farewell to Greenisland, Northern Ireland. It's a bittersweet affair: we're leaving behind many good friends, quiet green hills and clean air, and returning to many good friends (some who have had kids since we last saw them!), brown (and hopefully not burning) hills and hot, brown air. Then again, we're leaving Northern Ireland just before parade season begins. We'll also be missing some remarkable bonfires (here's an artsy one).

Six months seems like a long time until it's almost over. When K and I first arrived, we didn't know anyone, or where to buy groceries, or even how to operate the shower... (and our hair was shorter, too -- see pic). But the folks at Greenisland Presbyterian Church welcomed us in, showed us around, and tried their best not to laugh at silly questions like, "How can you hold your fork like that?" and "Where do we get coal for the fireplace?" (answer: the local grocery sells 25kg (55lb) bags for about GBP£7 (US$13) -- lots 'o fun to bring home on the bicycle).

But now our hair has grown long, and those same folks who first welcomed us are now good friends. Our last week here has been one long goodbye session, starting with an announcement in church on June 10th. We were at a church dinner last night, and several folks were genuinely surprised to find that we were still here. It's been great to have a full week to visit with folks one last time and say our goodbyes in an unhurried manner... but we're ready to stop saying goodbye, now, please! I mean, closure is good, but c'mon... talk about long goodbyes!

So what has six months of holiday away from the office done for Mr. Tumnus? Well, it's given me some good perspective on time, for one thing. The time's going to go, whether it goes over hill and stream, or over desk and screen... there's no slowing it down, not like when we were kids. Also, it seems to me that I experienced about as many "moments" here as I might have experienced in six months of working life. What are these "moments", you ask? They're those little experiences that manage to touch deep, making one pause... for me, these "moments" are associated with a non-intellectual knowledge that there is a deep order and goodness in the world, that there's hope for good, even in the midst of tragedy. Maybe you experience such "moments" differently, or maybe you haven't any idea what I'm blathering about. If I haven't experienced many more "moments", I have found more time to reflect on them...

So what's next for Mr. Tumnus? Good question! Work, certainly... and K has another year or so of school to finish, so we'll be focusing on that effort. After that, we'll start saving in earnest for a house, and... who knows? One of my own goals will be to keep time in my schedule open for reflection. Riding a bicycle or walking around town; getting up in the mountains (and out of the heat and smog)... easier said than done?

Thanks to everyone who's kept up with my ramblings. I may continue to update this blog, but if so, updates will likely be even less frequent than they have been these past six months! If you're planning a holiday, I wholeheartedly recommend Northern Ireland; if you're planning on going, feel free to contact us* and we'll be glad to pass along a few tips!

Cheers and So Long,
Mr. and Mrs. Tumnus

* If you don't know how to contact us, then you probably shouldn't. We're not altogether safe. Try this resource instead.

Deutchland in May

2006-06-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

K and I have returned from 10 days in Germany, visiting with some of K's relatives in Dresden. We had a rocky start, as K misplaced her boarding pass and was nearly not allowed on the plane; the plane was delayed an hour (for reasons unrelated to K's boarding pass)... but things went from bad to worse. We landed in Berlin, and had intended to spend a day doing sightseeing there, before driving south to Dresden. Instead, we spent the day navigating Berlin's public transportation system (which is quite good, by the way). Here's what happened:
We had booked a hotel online that we thought was close to the airport in Berlin. However, when we told our taxi driver the hotel adddress, his nav-computer told him hotel was across town to the north, when actually it was in a neighboring town to the south. Recent events suggest that taxi drivers aren't altogether keeping up with the latest technology, and after a 40min, 50euro ride, we arrived at a small dark building which did indeed have a "Hotel" sign on it... but ringing the bell failed to produce any reaction from within the doors. Now almost midnight, we asked a passerby if the hotel was the one named in our itinerary -- she had no idea. Our taxi driver volunteered to take us to another, much larger hotel nearby, where we might find lodging for the remainder of the night. We agreed, and another 10euro ride later, we checked into a (smoking) room in a ritzy health-club-slash-hotel. Dinner was a hurried search through cold, dark, wet streets until we found an open liquor store, where we bought their last loaf of bread, some peanuts, and a bottle of chocolate milk.

The next morning we ate a much better breakfast at the hotel (it came with the price of the room), we walked back to the "Hotel" and confirmed what we'd expected - and set out to go back to the airport, where we needed to pick up our rental car. Rather than spend another 50euro, we decided to take public transportation, which ended up costing only 10euro, but took 2hrs. We got the car, found the real hotel, and konked out in our room. So, the only thing we saw in Berlin (besides train stations and backyards) was the Gedachtniskirche (Gesundheit!), all lit up at night, from the taxi.

After that, our visit to Germany went much more smoothly. The drive to Dresden was uneventful and fast on the Autobahn. Dresden is a beautifully-restored city that still bears many scars from World War II. We spent two full days exploring the old city center, and our relatives also took us to some places where we could appreciate the surrounding countryside.

Many thanks to Traute & Deiter, Danni, Katja, Brigita & Deiter, Dirk and Frau Pellmann for making our stay in Germany a wonderful one!

Sorry... no pics this post. My next post will be my last one from Northern Ireland - we'll be back in the States in just under a fortnight. ...

Ireland in a Week

2006-05-22T04:16:00.000-07:00

Just to prove it can be done, our friends Rob and Julie visited with us last week for a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle. Our weather was cloudy, cool and wettish, but they said that was a welcome change from the already oppressive Southern California heat (pushing 90F!) and smog. Here's hoping for some "June Gloom" upon our return...

We spent a few days in Greenisland (the true center of the Known Universe, according to my friend Charles) before driving up to Bushmills for a couple pints, and then down to Dublin for a couple more. Did I say pints? I meant nights, of course... Along the way, we saw several places that K and I hadn't been before, including a windmill in Skerries, Ireland, and the Jameson Distillery in Dublin.

We also saw quite a few places that we had seen before, and are beginning to know like the back of one's hand... Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle, the Guinness Storehouse... Rob and Julie left with two more suitcases than they came with! Actually, only one was half-filled with souvenirs... the rest of the space was taken up by things that K and I won't need between now and the end of our stay, a mere 4 weeks away...

Next week we'll be in Germany, visiting distant some of K's distant relatives. I'll share pics when we return to Greenisland...

Cheers,
Mr. Tumnus

At Long Last...

2006-05-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

No, not world peace... Pictures!

These are a few shots from when my parents came to visit last month. This first one is of a megalithic tomb, aged roughly 5000 years, found in The Burren, a unique limestone landscape in south Ireland. Old stuff!

Considerably more impressive was this ring-fort, though I forget the exact location... perhaps one of my folks will be good enough to leave a comment with it's name and other tidbits of information... Click on the picture to see a larger panoramic view.

And lastly, here's a picture of some truly ancient... cliffs. The Cliffs of Mohr are a popular tourist stop, and are quite spectacular. Made me wish I'd brought a rope.

Touring Ireland With the Hine Parents

2006-04-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

First off, don't get too excited. There's no pics in this post. I don't know whether it's the internet connection here at the public library, or the fact that the server is on the other side of the globe, but I've had a difficult time getting pics onto my posts lately. Don't worry, I'll keep trying.

My parents have been visiting with us this past week. They flew into Shannon and we were to meet them in Galway on Monday. They were a bit late meeting us, due to some of these on the roads they were travelling.

We eventually all got together and rode in their rental car up and down the west coast of Ireland. Our first stop was the Cliffs of Mohr, which you've probably seen in advertisements for travel in Ireland... very picturesque. Weather was good, all things considered - windy and cloudy but not too much rain.

We toured our way up the west coast, through Galway and up to Sligo, staying at various B&B's and hotels. We ate lunch in the famed walled city of Derry (aka Londonderry). We then drove up the Inishowen penninsula, past the ancestral home of my mother's family (she's of the O'Doherty clan). We took a ferry across to the mainland and drove to Bushmills, where we visited impressive Dunluce Castle and toured the distillery (my 2nd time, K's 3rd).

The last few days of my parents' visit were spent in Belfast and Greenisland, kicking back and enjoying some of the best weather we've had to date. Today, however, it's back to more typical Irish Spring weather (don't believe the soap commercials!) -- grey, cold, and wet!

Long Time, No Post...

2006-04-06T06:54:00.000-07:00

Here come the excuses: First, K's family was visiting with us for a couple weeks, and we were going here and there, including a week in Scotland. Second, I've been ill (feeling much better now, thanks!). Third, there've been technical difficulties in getting pictures ready for this post. Fourth, I've been spending most of this week thinking up these excuses.

Despite Excuse #3, I do have some pictures to share. We visited the highlands of Scotland and I neglected to take my digital (still) camera! These two pics are from some digital video footage we shot. They're from Glenfinnan, Scotland; one shows the great curved viaduct featured in one of the recent Harry Potter films, and the other shows the Glenfinnan Monument to Jacobite leader Prince Charles Edward Stuart.

NOTE: I just realized that I never transferred the pictures to my wee USB drive. I blame me wee brain. Well, I'll release this post anyway and hope to add the pics in the next couple of days. Sorry!

Scotland was great - we spent most of our time exploring the west highlands area between Fort Augustus, Mallaig and O b an. We visited several castles, including Uruquart and Dunstaffnage. Of course, no visit to Scotland is complete without a visit to a whisky (scotch) distillery - we enjoyed being shown around (and tasting the product of) Oban Distillery which has been in operation since 1794 (it's relatively young!).

Back in Northern Ireland, we travelled with K's family up to the north coast, to Bushmills and several nearby sights such as Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. We also toured the (truly ancient) Bushmills Distillery (click here for their official website). Personally, I preferred Oban's 12-year scotch to Bushmills' 12-year irish whisky... but after the third draught, it gets pretty hard to tell one from the other. ;-)

Visitors, Guinness, Bathtubs and Tombstones

2006-03-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

The past week has been an interesting one. First, we've had our first visitor from the states, K's friend Hannah from Vermont. Hannah had been over in Northern Ireland with Kristina in 2000, when they were both here as part of their respective churches' youth volunteer programs. K and I have been waiting for our visitors to arrive - it's good to see friends from home, plus it gives us an excuse to visit some of the more touristy bits of the island. While Hannah was here, we visited the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, visited the Ulster Museum in Belfast, and had dinner with Doug (the volunteer coordinator who had worked with K and Hannah back in 2000) and his family.

The week was made even more interesting by a puddle of wetness that appeared on our bathroom carpet one evening. We found that the leak was coming from the pipes beneath the bathtub, and had to turn off the water to the entire apartment in order to stop the leak. The next morning, I phoned my trusty friend Charles, and he determined that the leak was coming from the tub's cold water tap. Getting at the nut required the purchase of a special wrench, as there's only a couple inches of space to work in back there. We persevered, and a mere 2 hours later, we'd succeeded in changing a washer, reconnecting everything, and voila - no leak! Now, if Charles' home network would only behave so well...

Last weekend Charles and his wife Gillian invited me to visit Friar's Bush Graveyard, the oldest in Belfast. Our guide was quite good, though I don't recall his name; perhaps Charles will provide it in a comment. At any rate, he's the fellow in the black coat. The oldest remaining headstone is dated 1717, but the graveyard is believed to have been in use since before Christianity arrived in Belfast. The memorial visible in this photo was for one of the wealthy publicans. The graveyard also includes a mound where lies more than a thousand victims of the Famine (click for brief or detailed info). The graveyard is now open to the public, and the gatehouse has been converted into apartments for college students (spooky!).

When is Muck Not Muck?

2006-02-27T04:01:00.000-08:00

I've been getting around a bit, thanks to the walking club and friends like Charles Douglas. In case anyone thinks Charles might not really be my friend, be sure to see his comments on the previous post titled, 'Birds and Boats'. Charles and I recently tried to find the entry to an old sea-cliff path called the Gobbins (info and pics of this amazing path are hard to find on the web... try here for a start). The path has fallen into disrepair, and it is not often sought out by tourists anymore. We think we may have gotten close, but the cottage below me in this picture had No Trespassing signs posted, and the adjacent cow pastures were impenetrable fields of wet mire and muck (and cows).

Disheartened, we headed off to another place called Portmuck. The name notwithstanding, it was a good bit less mucky than where we'd just been. Portmuck is a small community and protected port for small ships, and is famous for its sodalite. On the other hand, it is notorious for its public toilets, as seen here.

As we arrived at Portmuck, we were treated to a bright and bold rainbow, half a circle of colors against the gray sea and sky. Charles turned to me and, with tremendous gravity, told me that the rock shown in this picture is the actual location of a large cauldron full of genuine gold. Mmmm hmmm. Just how daft do these people think I am? I told him that everybody knows the gold is actually found at the right-hand terminus of the rainbow, not the left. Duh.

Who Are The People in Your Neighborhood?

2006-02-13T06:54:00.000-08:00

Folks in Northern Ireland have been exceedingly warm to us, despite the mixed reputation that the United States has in the world these days. We've enjoyed getting to know some of these folks; I've already mentioned Charles, my Wednesday walking partner, in a previous post. This post will introduce two more locals...

David is a member of Greenisland Presbyterian Church, and sings in the choir. Kristina and I often encounter him and his little terrier dog out for a walk when we're travelling to the public library or the train station. David is a very capable indoor bowler, and he's been a kind mentor, helping me learn the rules (K was already a pro by the time I arrived). I don't have any pics of myself bowling, but here's one of Kristina:

The fellow next to me in this next picture is Tony, a member of the Church of Ireland in Greenisland. We're standing in front of the Stall, a small collection of nearly-expired (but still perfectly decent) groceries. Prices at the Stall generally can't be beat, and the proceeds go to charity - in fact, Tony recently travelled to Africa with GBP £10,000 (approx US $17,500) to put towards the foundation of a much-needed orphanage for children whose parents have died from AIDS. Tony is incredibly energetic, charismatic, and gregarious. Every time I see him working as a volunteer at the Stall, he offers me 'a wee cup of tea'. He's got a heart for service, and he tells me it brings him a deep joy. I wouldn't mind being a bit more like Tony.

Note: Anonymous Comments Now Welcome

2006-02-03T05:51:00.000-08:00

Someone pointed out to me that they were required to join Blogger before they could leave a comment on this blog. I've changed that setting, and now (hopefully) anyone can leave comments, regardless of whether they're a Blogger or not. - Tumnus

Birds and Boats

2006-02-03T05:29:00.000-08:00

Hey all... I've realized that I've only posted 4 pictures so far on this blog (though you can see a few more on my wife's blog. So some of you might be hungry for some more visuals from "Nor'n Ire'nd", as many folks pronounce it here (it's almost monosyllabic)...
Well, here's a few more pics! The first is taken from a bird observatory located near the mouth of the Lagan river. My friend Charles and I happened upon it quite by accident while looking for a place to do our weekly (Wednesday) walk, but it's a marvelous facility - not only are there sheltered benches from which to view the birds, but the observatory includes heatlamps (for the viewer's comfort), borrowable binoculars, and a volunteer to help answer questions. Funny story: when Charles and I walked into the observatory, the on-duty volunteer stood up, greeted us, and then turned to me and said, "You're Jason, right?" Turns out he knew me from one of the organized walking groups that K and I participate in each week... but of course, it seemed to me like this complete stranger knew who I was... and that sort of thing has happened to me a few times, in locations well outside of Greenisland. Guess everyone remembers the foreigner, eh?

My friend Charles is the fellow in this next picture, taken on the deck of the HMS Caroline, the oldest floating commissioned ship in the Royal Navy, or something like that. Charles smuggled me on board while he ran a quick errand (he works with the Navy). The ship hasn't seen battle in many years (the 6" guns were removed about 20 years ago, I think); it's now primarily used as government office space (!) and as a special treat for Boys Brigade (UK's version of Boy Scouts).

Ok, hope that satisfies the eyes for a bit! The weather has been unseasonably warm and dry, and many flowers and buds are threatening to erupt early... which would be nice, unless there's a frost... and there's almost certainly going to be at least one more heavy frost before Spring really sproings. We shall see...

Cheers, Mr. Tumnus

Getting soggy with the culture.

2006-01-24T02:34:00.000-08:00

Even after having been here for a month, both K (my wife) and I are still encountering new terms, concepts and situations that are unfamiliar to us. For example:

In Northern Ireland, this... --> ... means this in America.
trousers --> pants
pants --> underpants
braces --> suspenders (they hold your trousers up)
suspenders --> garters (they hold your stockings up)
diary --> day-planner
brilliant --> awesome
petrol --> gas
gas --> natural gas
bin --> trash can
tin --> can (of food)
film --> movie
co --> short for Co-Op, one of the major markets in the area

Accents and pronounciations add to the confusion; 'film' is pronounced FILL-um, one carries a MO-bial phone... One of our friends recently told me she'd been feeling 'pearly'... I wasn't sure if she meant like what's found in oysters, or perhaps she meant the 'pearly gates'? Turns out she was saying 'poorly', meaning she'd been ill.

Plenty of opportunities to laugh at ourselves, no doubt! I've got a couple more pictures to share, but Blogger's picture-posting application isn't working correctly... perhaps the pics will be postable later this week. Until then...

Settling down with some light reading...

2006-01-17T03:11:00.000-08:00

Things are quieting down, now that the hols are over, and that's fine with me. I've been able to start concentrating on some projects and books that've been backburnered for years.

I've a keen interest in the dialogue between science and faith. The most well-known aspect of this dialogue is the notorious creation-evolution debate, but there are other aspects as well (such as the question of miracles or 'divine action'). These topics are highly susceptible to pseudo-sicence, meta-physics, philosophy disguised as scientific fact... it's realtively easy to pick and defend a stance that appears to support one's own beliefs, whatever those might be. The dialogue therefore happens mostly between people who are more open to considering all the different ideas, who understand their own ideas well but don't cling to them with an iron grip. I'm delighted to report that such people do actually exist!

I've just about finished reading a book titled, 'Quantum Evolution' by John McFadden. In a nutshell, his thesis is that the wierdness of quantum physics plays a crucial role in the ability of living systems to make headway against entropy and outpace the Second Law of Thermodynamics. He even suggests a path by which quantum events could have expedited the appearance of life on earth. McFadden appears to have done his research, and his ideas seem reasonable, though he admits they're currently untestable. This is not a big problem - it often happens that years pass between the suggestion of a new scientific idea and its verification by experiment. If you've an interest in such things, and have an educated layperson's level of familiarity with the topics involved (physics, biology, chemistry) I'd recommend giving it a read.

And just to keep the pictures coming... here's a picture taken Saturday, Jan 14, from the top of a wee hill up behind the Greenisland Golf Club. The ship leaving Belfast Lough is, I think, one of the older ferries headed for Scotland.

Cheers, Mr. Tumnus

A Few More Pictures...

2006-01-11T03:04:00.000-08:00

Due to an impressive demand from Viewers Like You, here's a couple more pictures. The first is from the same walk as the two in my previous post, at Cave Hill Park, just north of Belfast. It took me about 1.5 hours to ride/walk the 8 uphill miles from Greenisland to the park; I could've done it faster, but there was a headwind, I was in no rush, and I ended up having a 10min conversation with a fellow I stopped to ask directions along the way. Oh, and I'm a wuss.

The second image in this post was taken the last week of December, in a bit of woods above the golf course right across the street from our flat (apartment). I'm thinking of heading up there again today, as the sun has come out (the last few days were more typical winter weather for NI - grey, windy and chilly-but-above-freezing). The bicycle needs to be cleaned before I take it out again; it gets pretty messed up after just one ride in the muddy muck that collects on the roads' shoulders. If you click on this pic, you'll get a full-size version suitable for framing (or for using as your desktop background).

Lastly, a brief plug for my friends' (and wife's) blogs, links to which can be found on the right. If you have a blog and I don't have it listed, leave me a comment (click the 'comments' link at the end of this post) with the address, and I'll add it! For example, I know Josh & Sabrina have one... but I don't have their blog's address... Feel free to leave comments for other reasons, too.

Testing... testing...

2006-01-05T08:14:00.000-08:00

Hmm... even though there were no error messages reported when I published my last post, the pictures I added failed to appear. I'll try this once more: Honk if you see pictures below.

- Tumnus

And Still No Pictures...?

2006-01-03T03:35:00.000-08:00

My apologies. Blame it on the 'hols' (holidays, that is). I'm still quite optimistic that pictures will appear here within the next week. I've you've been holding your breath, well, sorry for getting your hopes up.

It's the slower pace of things over here. Even my typing speed has diminished, from 45 WPM to about 30. Doesn't help that the left Shift key on this Eouropean keyboard is the size of a raisin, or that the double-quote and 'at' symbol have exchanged places on the keyboard. Could be worse, I suppose... we could be in a country that doesn't use the western alphabet.

The church's internet has continued to be a source of frustration. I spent two hours on dialup downloading a 10Mb file, and then was told later that the dialup service was charged by the minute, though the amount was uncertain. I envisioned rates of 10p/min, which would translate into £12 (about US$20) for those two hours... but my mind was momentarily put at ease when I was told the charge was likely just 1p/min. No sweat! But wait... that word 'momentarily' is there for good reason. Turns out that I'd forgotten to disconnect the dialup when I'd finished, and the connection remained open for 4-5 days before it was noticed (this happened over Christmas)... I've not yet been told the exact damage, but the bill is likely upwards of £100 (about US$180). A rather humbling (and expensive) oversight. Today I write from the public library, which is free and always has a working broadband connection. A much safer bet, in my book.

Christmas and New Years' celebrations went quite splendidly; I've a rather rounded gut to prove it. K and I've been going on walks to try and nullify the effects of the food... mumble mumble pictures mumble grumble mumble.

I've been recruited to operate the Audio/Visual at the church. This has nothing to do with the large dialup internet service bill... I made the mistake of telling folks I'd helped run the sound at my church (First Baptist Church of Redlands or 'FBC'). Believe it or not, Greenisland Presbyterian Church (GPC) has a considerably more complex Audio/Visual setup than does FBC. Here at GPC, one operator controls both the sound and a powerpoint presentation, makes recordings on both tape and MP3 simultaneously, plus controls three remote monitors for transmitting the service to various other parts of the church. Needless to say, GPC is short on volunteers willing to try and serve as A/V Operator. I'll be seeing what I can do to help streamline and simplify things, and maybe help put together some training materials for new operators. In the meantime, it's fun, especially when I forget to turn K's microphone on... hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure it will.

... two days later...

I intended to finish and publish this post on Tuesday morning, but due to unexpected errors and lack of time, I didn't. The bad news is that you had to wait two more days to read this drivel; the good news is that there are finally some pictures to share. So without further ado, here's a couple pics taken on recent outings... maybe?

- Tumnus

Slight Technical Difficulties

2005-12-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

Nothing that can't be managed, but I'm wondering yet again whether computers are, in fact, worth the trouble. If they worked flawlessly, I suppose unemployment would be up... but perhaps we'd all be less stressed, too.

The most annoying issue I'm looking into is the high-speed internet connection here in the church. It won't stay connected, even if someone's in the middle of using it. Some of you (mainly my co-workers) may be interested in the following details (everyone else can skip down):

The church is on a wireless network that's working fine. The church's router is set up to talk to a wireless NIC installed in the minister's home computer (his house is next door to the church); the NIC and router are talking just fine. The home computer connects to another wireless router (completely different network) via an external wireless NIC. That NIC is connected to the home computer by a 12' USB cable (actually two cables and a USB mini-hub), which allows the NIC to sit up in the 1st-floor rafters, close enough to the house's wireless router to get a decent signal (that router is on the 2nd floor). The home computer talks to the home's wireless router OK. The home's wireless router is the internet gateway for botht he house and the church. Intermittently, the church will lose connectivity with the internet, although the house computers will still be able to get on the internet, and the church computers will still be able to see each other on their intranet. There are at least 2 firewalls involved; Windows XP Firewall on the minister's home computer, and the wireless router at the church. I still need to review each NIC and router's config settings to gain a better understanding of how they're talking to each other... ArcIMS is not involved. :-)

So I'm currenly connected via modem at 19.2Kbps - blazingly fast, aye. The second technical difficulty has to do with getting pictures onto this blog: I seem to be missing the drivers that allow my camera to upload pics to my wife's laptop. Not a big problem; the drivers are available from www.driverguide.com... and in another 1.5 hours, I'll have downloaded the 10Mb file and can begin trying to get the drivers to work.

- - -

Don't worry, I've not been spending all my time troubleshooting computer problems. K and I have been going here and there, getting ready for Christmas. K prepared a wonderful meal for our host family on Thursday: chicken stuffed with couscous, bacon-wrapped sausages, roast potatoes, steamed brussel sprouts (almost delicious), candied yams, and pumpkin pie with whipped topping for dessert. The pumpkin pie was made using canned pumpkin I brought over from the States... it's very hard to find canned pumpkin here. We were all quite impressed with the dinner -- it was a lot of work and everything was hot and tasty! I showed my especial appreciation by belching happily and often throughout the rest of the evening.

This past week we went grocery shopping in nearby Carrickfergus. The biggest difference seems to be in the produce section; there's only a dozen or so varieties of vegetables in the crisper; brussel sprouts and parsnips (look like white carrots) are staple items. We managed to find some pizza crusts and make some mini-pizzas for dinner on Friday. Cooking is interesting; there are no measuring cups -- ingredients are weighed on a scale instead.

We've also gone into Belfast for some errands, and done some small rambles in the woods up the hill. I've unpacked my bicycle and it appears to have survived the trip, so I hope to take it out and about in the weeks to come. The weather has been unseasonably warm and dry -- today was full-on sunny and around 13C. Doesn't look like Northern Ireland will be having a white Christmas, but we're not complaining.

If all goes well, I'll be posting a picture or two next time, but no promises! Here's hoping you and yours are enjoying the holidays.

Cheers,
Tumnus

Welcome...

2005-12-20T03:19:00.000-08:00

I'm sure that the first post in almost every blog starts with something like, "Welcome to my blog! This is where I'll write about my parakeet!". Not being one to break with such fine tradition, I'll welcome you to this: a collection of thoughts (and an occasional picture or two), spread like chunky peanut butter over this virtual white bread. Hope you enjoy it!

I'm starting this sandwich primarly to share my experiences over the next six months. My wife "K" and I are temporarily found in Northern Ireland, where she's doing an internship with a local Presbyterian church; her adventures and thoughts are described in her blog. The internship provides us a place to live, but that's all, so I stayed home in southern California and worked for the first three months of the internship, saving up funds... many thanks to those good folk who have helped us in ways large & small in this endeavour!

Now I've rejoined K here, one week before Christmas. I brought with me more than 200 lbs. of stuff, including my bicycle, with which I hope to cheaply explore a fair bit of Northern Ireland. Another 20 lbs. were gifts for folks here; K has become good friends with many of the people in the community, and they'll get a bit of California for Christmas.

The weather is cool and damp, but neither cold nor wet at the moment. Sunset came at 4:30pm yesterday, and the sky didn't grow light again until 8am this morning. Yesterday's partially clear skies were obscured by a thin layer of low clouds that caught the rising sun's rays, turning them lavender and pink. A grey mist is still rolling down off the hills just north of our flat... cool and damp, indeed!

I hope to update this at least once each week, possibly more. Coming next time, a few Before-And-After pictures...

Cheers,
Tumnus