IRELAND: THE PLANNING

In my humble opinion, a person is able to enjoy each vacation at least three times.  For example:

Enjoyment Level I--The Planning Phase:   This is definitely a magical time for us.  It's our time for guide books, maps, Rick Steves, Rudy Maxa, AAA, and any web site ending in .ie.  Our days will be sunny, our beer will be cold, our money will stretch, and our luggage (despite a mere 90 minutes between flights at Chicago's O'Hare) will be in our cargo hold.  It's a good time!

Ever the control freak--moi?--I'm the chief planner of this journey.  It's a shocker after the Vermont episode, I know, but even that turned out pretty well despite everything.  However, I've eschewed Craig's List for Rick Steves and I'm confident that's a positive mid-course correction.  I've also collected itineraries from a number of travel companies and they provide a great guide.  They tell me where we must go, then Rick Steves tells us which are rip-offs, and AAA confirms one or the other opinion.  We're going with a two out of three consensus.  Sorry, Rick, but BC has his heart set on kissing the Blarney Stone!

A huge problem (worth too many frustrated afternoons) has been the time factor.  We have an actual 17 days for the land portion of our journey but Rick Steves' ideal time frame is 23 days while Brendan Travel can do it in 12.  But neither tour visits The Dunbrody Famine Ship near New Ross to examine its computerized file of immigrants who sailed on such "coffin ships."  And, sadly, neither tour really allots the time to stand at the port of Cobh while carrying the woolen shawl lovingly tucked around the shoulders of a tiny twelve year old County Westmeath waif in 1856.  That little girl (my great-grandmother) was sent to America, by herself, with her parents knowing full well they would never see her again. We'll take all the time they deserve.

Some travelers visit Ireland for its legendary beauty while others are deep into Irish history.  Many come for the camaraderie and music of the pubs, while the literati seek inspiration from the land of Yeats and James Joyce.  A few have embarked on a pilgrimage hoping to find a link that ties them to unknown cousins, uncles or grandparents.  I think we're hoping for a little of each.

And that time problem?  It will work itself out.

Wait! That covered planning, but I nearly forgot the other two ways in which we will enjoy this vacation: Enjoyment Level II of course, will be the actual trip itself. The going and coming and everything that fits in between.

And Level III? Well, that's the remembering. Sitting on the porch swing and asking...."Do you remember the time...?" That's one of the best levels (although they're all good)...because, God willing, we'll be able to remember and reminisce far longer than either the vacation itself or the current phase of planning.

URBANE BRONZE

This is our perfectly good kitchen island which we purchased three years ago when we gutted our kitchen for a full re-do. As you can imagine, I worried and fretted over which color the island should be--there were three or four offerings--and finally decided on "Moss Glaze" primarily because (I guess) it seemed to coordinate well with the beige walls and floor.  A year or so later in another fit of frenzy, we decided to rid the kitchen of  "Crisp Khaki" walls and give it a shot of "Caraway Shield."  Well, if you look closely at this picture, "Caraway Shield" has no business being anywhere near "Moss Glaze".  Were we colorblind, or could it be BC simply humoring me (yet again)?   No matter...the die was cast and we learned to live with the results.

As you already know, I took the fateful trip to the paint store, explained my situation, and purchased "Urbane Bronze" for the island, as well as the obligatory adhesive primer because...because, I guess, I needed it.  So...I sped home, wiped down the island and painted on the adhesive primer.  THIS was the end result of THAT.  BC blanched, but I assured him that two coats of Urbane Bronze would yield the absolute perfect kitchen island that would cause friends and strangers alike to pause, gasp, and break down because of the beauty and color coordination of our kitchen.

Monday afternoon, paint coat #1. 

In all honesty, the store did tell me it would take two coats.

On Tuesday and Wednesday I was too upset to take any pictures of anything.  Coats two and three were slightly darker versions of coat one.  It was so bad, BC and I drove to Super Target just to get out of the house and calm ourselves (OK--myself) with a heavy dose of shopping therapy.  We also stopped by our friendly ACE Hardware store where I bought a yet more expensive paint brush than we already had, a sheet of sandpaper and learned that problem paint situations are seldom the fault of the paint and MOST often the fault of a bad brush and a worse painter.  Despite the fact that I was painting walls before this ACE young man was born, I did listen and listened intently.

On Thursday morning it was what we, in the country, used to call "nut cutting" time.  I gobbled my cinnamon-raisin toast, threw down my one and a half cups of caffeinated coffee, and attacked that island again  And, whereas it's far from perfect, it is better after a full week of trial, a lot of error, and not a little frustration.  It proudly holds court once again, center stage.

Wait!  Is it me?  Perhaps my eyes??  Bad lighting???  Despite its promise to be "...incredibly rich and complex", my sinking heart thinks "Urbane Bronze" is nothing more than "Moss Glaze" in a semi-gloss disguise...Nooooooooo 

URBAN ORGANICS

Now, frankly, this is more like it.  Look at these colors:

And these...

Twenty colors, thirteen color families--A person could get into serious trouble with Urban Organics, but life isn't about staying in a comfortable, safe, little beige box.  Life is stretching, striding, reaching, gasping--oh, wait, that's the gym--life is to LIVE!  Life is Bold Brick, Bee's Wax and Jersey Cream.  Life is Burnished Brandy, Earthen Jug and Armagnac.  Life is Maison Blanche and Crisp Linen--"classic and contemporary at once."  Life is Good--but tricky to pronounce.

Twenty-four hours after obtaining the samples, I've made a decision.  Bear in mind, this will be a long project as we're going to paint the entire house before we're finished.  But at least we're off to a roaring start:  We'll be painting  the chopping block Urbane Bronze--because we're not going to "overlook the power of brown".  Hold us back!

NEUTRAL NUANCE

Some months ago I mentioned that I wanted to spiff up our house just a bit, but over the years, I'd become much less daring and seemed paralyzed with fear at painting over our Sun City Grand beige.  So, yesterday morning, emboldened by just having attended a funeral with its reminders that time is indeed fleeting, drove from the church to Sherwin-Williams.  I'd been reading about new services S-W was offering that had sounded perfect and I wanted to check them out.

The salesperson led me to their new line of paint--The HGTV Color Collection--with which (according to the newspaper) a color-challenged person could mix and match paints within a palette to her heart's content and the end result would be really good.  I mentioned the article and the mixing/matching part, at which point the sales person looked at me and said, "Well, maybe two colors..." before her words trailed off.  How could she know?  But, undeterred, I looked over the eight different palettes each with twenty colors and quickly chose my favorite. Despite her obvious doubts, I knew I could successfully mix at least three of these colors plus a nice cream for the woodwork.  I was excited, I was daring, I was getting my moxie back!  Then out of  the eight palettes I learned I had chosen  Neutral Nuance.  Neutral Nuance!?!  I passed up Coastal Cool...Color Pizazz...Urban Organic for Neutral Nuance?!?  I had no idea it had gone so far...

I quietly left the store with my ten sample colors, promising to return soon, and slowly drove home thinking about the strange places life leads us.  I laid out my ten sample colors and I looked at my ten sample colors...   

Finally, I turned over my ten sample colors to read about them.  For example:  On the lower right (Kaffee) which HGTV kindly translates for people like me as BROWN, can be "incredibly rich and complex" and "imparts a sense of cultivated refinement."  I might like that to be me, but I don't think that's me.

Then there's Baguette which translates as GOLD.  "bold...subtle charm...understated glam."  Unfortunately, I haven't been "bold" for years although I think I have "understated" down pretty well.

Third from left at the top (Blonde) which translates as YELLOW--kind of like a bad dye job--had a certain appeal.  But too soon,  as a resident of an "active adult" community, I realize why I'm drawn to it.    YELLOW "stimulates recall" and God knows, we're all about stimulating recall here.  Actually, we'd like to stimulate a lot of things but it's just too late for some of it.

OK--enough!  I trashed  Neutral Nuance and I'll be going back to Sherwin-Williams tomorrow morning to pick up Urban Organic!  And--watch out little sales person because I just might mix/match and do other things with all twenty of those Urban Organic colors!  Be careful and get out of the way!! 

CACTUS FLOWER

One of our patio cacti has been working toward blossoming ever since we returned from our Midwest Marathon and she finally pulled it off this morning.

She amazes me every year.  Early in the morning the blooms pop out--totally oversized for their stems--but it's a short life and by evening they're sad little droopers.

In the meantime, however, the bees have gathered from far and wide and are enjoying a very good day.  Unfortunately, in Arizona it is said that all bees have been Africanized and are mean as dirt.  The aftermath of this next picture sent me scurrying for the door.