Finding Family - Not Always Folklore

My husband's ancestors lived in Scotland and Ireland. He talked about wanting to visit Ireland for years. I'm so glad that we could do it this year. While we were there he was able to connect, in some way, to his ancestors. My hubby's grandmother was born in Dublin. Having studied the family's genealogy for years, he even knew that she was born in the Rotunda Hospital, which still exists today, and still operates as a maternity hospital. 

According to his grandmother's hospital birth record, the family lived in Killiney, Ireland. We took DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit to Killiney (Cill Iníon Léinín).

Killiney has a pebble beach, and we walked up the steep hillside to the town. The area has many large, hillside homes, owned by affluent Dubliners and celebrities.

At one point Scott's great grandfather was a butler. It is possible that when his grandmother was born, her father was a butler for an affluent family in the area. 

Later records show the great grandfather as being a clerk of court, living in Castleknock, where his grandmother was living until moving to America as a teen. His great grandfather was killed while riding his bike through Phoenix Park on his way home from work. 

The view from our room at the Ashling Hotel, just outside Phoenix Park

Dr. Steevans Hospital is the yellow building- I didn't realize the family connection at the time I took the picture.

Our tour guide at the Pearse Lyons Distillery points out Steevan's Hospital (seen in the "window" created by the tree), where we learned, the great grandfather would have died following the accident. 

The cemetery above is not part of the family connection story.

But this one is!

We visited the site of an old Parish church in Dunleckney.

The graveyard was predominately used in the 18th & 19th centuries

Look closely at the eptiaph.

Oops, ran out of spac

                                 e!

Most of the headstones were illegible. 

However I discovered this notice:

We trekked to the library in Carlow

The librarian, a genealogist himself, was thrilled to help us and took us into a research room where the book just happened to be sitting on a table. 

He quickly discovered what we had been looking for. The grave of his great, great, great grandmother.

Although no inscription was made on the headstone when she was interred next to her husband, my husband has other documentation suggesting she was buried here. He was thrilled to discover that there was, indeed, a family connection in Dunleckney. 

Morning Routine

B minus 15 minutes and counting...

B minus 11 minutes and counting...

B minus 8 minutes and counting...

B minus 6 minutes and counting...

B minus 3 minutes and counting...

Wait for it....

It's beginning....

  BUBBLES!

Click Here

We do this every morning!

Potted

When we renovated our kitchen I selected a double oven/induction cook top oven. My only problem was that my mom's Revere Ware that I loved using,didn't work on the cooktop. The only pots I had that worked were a 3-quart pot from Cuisinart, and a recent purchase of a 1 qt cooking pot from HexClad. When that arrived, I was in love! 

There is something very sensual about the HexClad cooking pot. The handles, both that for the pot and that for the top,  feel good, and don't get too hot. My experience leads me to believe that cleanup is a breeze. 

I declared that it would be Christmas in July in our home, and I ordered a few more pots for cooking. I think I'm set now!

Now, if the weather would only cool down enough so that I was inspired to cook! 

I'll Call You Back....

Both my hubby and I are growing more and more irritated with businesses we call, and then we are told they will call us back. My response should be, "And when might I expect your call?!" This has become my latest aggravation. Both my hubby and I shake our heads wondering how people do business if they fail to return calls to customers.

 

Last week I called a bank about a trust account they once held. I had a question about the statement I recently received. I talked with the Trust Client Assistant. She assured me she would look into my concern  and would call me back. I'm still waiting!

My hubby discovered that he can't "call" the RV service folks, he has to text them and request that they call him back. Those calls don't always happen either.

Oh, and then there is the message saying to leave a message at the beep, and your call will be returned....only to discover that the mailbox is full!

Between those issues and the ubiquitous menus....listen carefully for our menu has changed...and drilling through 5 or more options, I'm about to give up. I think life might have been simpler with the operators of old, and their spaghetti of wires. 

Rant over...until the next time I make a call and I'm told I'll get a call back! 

On a positive note: I do like the companies that have an option in their voicemail for them to call you back, and they do!

Dealing with the Rainy Day Blues

Our late afternoon/early evening thunderstorms have shifted to stormy, gray, wet days. When it isn't raining, it is steaming hot. But, then again, it is Florida!

We still have a lot to do to "finish" the house. I have pictures to hang, and I certainly could do some cleaning, I could get out the rollers and paint brushes, and there are still objects to sell, donate or find a place for. But....

I could do that anytime! I wanted "me" time (selfishly?), and I wanted to play with colorful fabric to offset the gloom outside! 

Several years ago, while finding Paducah, KY to be along our path of travel, and coincidentally during the annual, huge Paducah Quilt Show, I took a side trip to Backyard Fabric. I was overwhelmed by the choices, and having no project in mind, grabbed a few 5-yard bundles to make future quilts. 

Well, that was 2023, and this is now. I took this particular bundle out, found a pattern, cut the fabric, and went to work - despite the crowded state of my sewing/guest room!

The pattern is by Fran Morgan from the downloadable book: Fabulous 5 Yard Quilts, available from Fabric Café.

I cut the fabric, and began piecing. One thing I like about the pattern is that the smallest pieces were sewn first, and pieces became larger, making the process of building the quilt go faster, and faster!

During the construction I decided that I did not care for the green fabric included with the bundle. 

I didn't care for the textured look, or the color. A muted, softer olive green, that better coordinated with the color in the  patterned fabric would have been much better. 

When I visited my local quilt shop I discovered a smoky blue fabric, with subtle olive green dots, that should work.  I am loving the "happy" look of the quilt now! (Vickie is eyeing it - good thing she can't get up on the bed, or she would be slap-dab in the middle of it!)

So, it is finished as much as it can be, until my sewing room is completed and I can set up my long arm machine to quilt it. 

Griddlin'

Last year we purchased an RV lot in a small Class A RV Resort near Lake Lure, NC. The former owners of the lot loved entertaining and the sale included a Green Egg grill, a large gas grill and a Blackstone griddle. I had never used a griddle before but decided to try it.  I fell deeply in love! I cooked many meals on it. 

When we returned home I decided to buy a small griddle for use at home. It's perfect! 

What's cooking tonight? London broil, asparagus and a medley of mushrooms and onions. Yum!

Once food items are nearly finished, I turn off the heat and they continue to cook and stay warm under domes.  It's almost like pan searing food and finishing it in the oven. When the food is ready to come off the griddle, it is put on plates with the domes to keep it warm while I quickly clean the griddle. Within minutes the griddle is ready to be used another day. 

It's taken a bit of experimentation, but the outcome has always been great! Grilling may be a bit healthier, but when it comes to sautéing onions and mushrooms, or roasting veggies, the griddle beats the grill, forks down!

Some random thoughts:

• use good quality spatulas, a scraper and long tongs
• keep oil and water in squeeze bottles by the griddle
• use a tray to carry food, plates, utensils, spices, butter and whatever to and from the griddle
• use a good quality paper towel to wipe the grill after cleaning (using the tongs!!!) 
• after I remove the food from the griddle I use the scraper to push excess oil and bits of food into the oil trap
• I squirt water liberally over the grill. The resulting boiling water and steam loosen any other food bits.
• I scrape again if needed, and repeat with the water
• using one paper towel sheet, I fold the towel to create a fairly tight roll. Using the tongs to hold the towel bundle I wipe the excess water and oil off the griddle surface. I do this at least three times.
• after each use I use the squeeze bottle of oil to add oil to the surface of the grill. I use another wad of paper towel to wipe the oil evenly across the surface and remove any excess. Occasionally I turn the heat back on and let the skim coat of oil smoke to season the grill. 
• never ever let the griddle get wet. Keep it covered when not in use. 

Bloc Loc Ruler - My Fav

When I first began quilting I joined a quilt guild in the community where we were living. The guild was perfect for me as they brought in many "experts" and I learned so much from them. One such "expert" was Janna Thomas. She created this tool out of frustration in trimming, or squaring up, what we quilters call half-square triangles (HST for short - read on for an explanation).

The Bloc Loc ruler is my absolute "must have" and my all-time favorite ruler. It's a square ruler, coming in many sizes, and has a channel along the diagonal. 

For the uninitiated, a HST is made by sewing two right triangles together along the diagonal (or in geometry terms, along the hypotenuse - the Math teacher in me just had to include that bit!) Most often sewing along the diagonal causes the fabric to stretch a bit,  or become slightly distorted, and the resulting piece is no longer square. In order for the HSTs to be sewn together accurately, or sewn to other squares, they must be trimmed to make a square. 

Trimming HSTs simply requires a ruler with gridlines of just about any size or sort. The ruler may be laid on top of the HST and positioned in a way to assist in trimming the pieced block to form a square of the required size, with the diagonal seam remaining the diagonal of the square. If the ruler you are using isn't the size of the block you need to cut, you can either be careful in lining up the lines of the ruler, or use tape to mark the size you want. It's pretty simple, right? 

Well...maybe not! Because of the thickness created by the seam allowances generally ironed to one side along the diagonal a flat ruler rocks and is easily twisted from the diagonal as you try to use a rotary cutter to trim the edges. This makes cutting a true square a challenge. Janna was frustrated by this. She tried putting layers of tape along the diagonal to make up the difference in thickness. She realized if a channel was cut into the ruler along the diameter that would  accommodate the thickness of the seam allowance, the ruler would "nest" along the diameter and while cutting the HST would not be as inclined to twist. Brilliant! And thus, the Bloc Loc was born. 

Sadly, Janna passed away in February, 2025. However, her legacy lives on and the Bloc Loc is available for purchase from numerous vendors or directly from the BlocLoc website at https://blocloc.com/

A Flying Trip

I recently took a freight train of a trip (not a train wreck!) It started out relatively slowly, and gathered speed as it went along! 

I flew from Tampa to San Francisco. 

As we approached I took this picture, thinking it was the Oakland Airport. It didn't look quite right, but I knew we were close. When I took a closer look, what I thought were runways (circled in red) were the railroad yards in Pt Richmond. The neighborhood where we had a house for a short time is circled in yellow. 

The first order of business was a bike ride to Boichik Bagels in Berkeley to pick up breakfast!

Bagels with one son

Then I was on my way to the grocery store with my other son.

This is Berkeley Bowl - the produce section is larger than most grocery stores!

I had time to take my granddaughter shopping for her Birthday. 

She wanted the hair clip she's wearing in the photo,

and she wanted to go to the toy store. 

At 10, she seems to be on the fence between a child and teen

I went to watch swimming lessons for my Grandson, and...

Got to see him swim in the tub!

I played Mahjong with my CA friends

I walked or rode my bike back and forth between our condo and the kids' house. 

I always go by this park...I love how folks have customized the sign!

Then, on to Seattle...

I had dinner with my brother and a good friend from high school

My brother and I took my sister out to celebrate her Birthday

And we all went on a boat trip through the locks, 

from one side of Seattle to the other.

Then, on to Denver...

First I stopped at my old house. Oh, how I wish I was still living there!

I stopped by to see if I could find Pippin's horse shoe. As we were packing to leave I came across the Amish-made corrective shoe, and I left it by a tree in the pasture as a memorial.

I didn't find Pippin's shoe, but the new owner's son put some shoes out in the pasture so that I could at least find a horse shoe! 

I attended the Birthday Celebration for my friend's ministry, the Son and Reins Ranch.

Sharron used to house/dog/horse sit for us, and we often had some of her horses in our pasture. 

I went out to dinner with friends from the neighborhood

and with an RV travel friend

Then, time to head home....

3 days in Colorado

2 days in Seattle

1 day in Denver

WOW!