Thursday, October 21, 2010

More on Ireland. With Dressage.

Ok, Mes Aimees, some pictures from my own personal camera. Not a lot, mind you, I lack photography skills, but some...

First however, a Link! I got this while in Ireland. Do you recall in the mad days before I left, I spent two mornings helping my Riding Teacher work on a Freestyle Dressage routine for an event she was doing? (Well, if you have forgotten, I did) Helped her pick out some clothes for it as well, including lending a handy corset and pirate shirt.

Here's the Video, of She Who Owns It All and her horse, Aliandro, riding what we came up with. If you don't know dressage intimately, you will love this. If you DO know dressage, honesty compels me to mention we did put this together in two days, with only two riding sessions, and the horse had only been back to work for three weeks after an injury. You will know what I speak of. And love it anyway. I do. And more importantly, I want to ride like that. And look that good doing it. More than want: I am going to. Check in next summer for a Pas De Deux. (The bar has been SET)

Find it HERE

As far as the first picture here. No idea WHAT it is, but I am calling it the Death Star of Dublin.

Onto a Graveyard. Hands down, this wins for Strangest Thing I Have Ever Seen On A Grave Yet. Not sure I need to say anything else, really. Its all there.

I like how this sign is right up on the fence, not buried in the fine print of a contract, or simply understood, but POSTED, so there are no misunderstandings about Common Graves.

There were other Signs in this Graveyard, if one knows where to look. Like this for the Low Road (or walk as it were) Bram Stoker's Mother and Brother were buried here, I was reliably informed by a local Bram Stoker expert. (Who was originally from Wisconsin, as it turned out)

And then, just to be clear about things, we have the Long Walk. Poetic. Sweet even. Much in the same way as "Taking the Dirt Nap" might be.

Now, most people here, are, as you can believe, quite Dead. And peaceful, but that is no reason not to have a Guinness Walk. Share a beer with your loved ones. Remember them fondly.

And a Restroom. With a nice cup of tea afterwords.

And then we have other signs, which tell us things that are certainly not widely understood. Not sure I understand even now, but being in a foreign country, I was glad of any advice, and certainly never turned my back on morning toast after that little warning.

This is a Bunny. From Hell, I believe. And a scarf. They are all over Ireland these days. In the Library Pub in Dublin. With Octokittys. As far as WHY I have this Bunny From Hell and WHAT exactly Octokittiies are, I believe I shall leave it to your imaginations. (Which will NEVER be as strange as the truth, I'm afraid.)

I loved Ireland. Every minute. More than loved, I left bits of my heart all over.



But I am also glad to be home.

Love and Horses and Ireland and I am sure home now!
Lorraine

70 Comments:

At 15:35 Blogger vampi said...

!!!! deathstar!

beautiful pictures. i love the signs you chose. i'm glad you had a great time. good luck with HOTR. i think i'm am starting to be ok with not going, but i will be in a sulk next week.

At 15:42 Blogger Marjorie said...

I love your pic of the flower hand grave decor!

I'm in the process of putting my Dublin pictures onto flickr, and blogging it all, bit by bit.

At 15:45 Blogger Hellie said...

Great pics - i think they capture the spirit of the place perfectly!

Sorting out my photos too! I had a really great time; thanks everyone for your general loveliness :o)

At 16:09 Blogger Laume said...

That ball looks more like something Doctor Who or the Torchwood crew would show up for than it does Star Wars. Well, to me anyway. Love the cemetery signs. Of course I love all things..... cemetarian?

At 16:17 Blogger Marjorie said...

Necropolistic?

At 16:30 Blogger ChiaLynn said...

Aliandro is gorgeous. And huge. Maybe even gigantic. And he looks so very PLEASED with himself.

I shall make it a point to visit the cemetery next time I go to Dublin. (There must be a next time. There are bits of my heart all over Ireland, too. Some in Dublin, several in Galway, a giant chunk or more in Wicklow...)

At 16:44 Blogger louisa said...

The "toast is deadly" made me laugh out loud, doesn't get more Dublin than that, not sure I want to spoil the fun by explaining it. Happy for you+bengals+dogs+Boss that you're home but Dublin misses you, come back again soon, there's only the entire rest of the island to explore!

At 16:49 Blogger Marjorie said...

Ickle_tayto did try to fob me of with some explanation as to how "deadly" doesn't mean what we think, in Dublin, but I suspect that she was simply acting as a mole for the Toast Liberation Front, trying to lull us into a false sense of security, so I kept my guard up to be on the safe side.

Evil breakfast foods are worst. They attack before you are properly caffeinated and you are helpless.

At 17:13 Blogger Dragonsally said...

There is more than one Octokitty?

I never thought I'd see Dressage done to Lady Gaga, and I am agog after watching She Who Owns It All on the most beautiful horse ever. And yes, ChiaLynn is right - he does look smug.

I love the pics of Ireland, but seeing three kitties draped over each other, heart singing stuff!

At 17:16 Blogger EmilyOliveP said...

Fanfrickintabulous. Welcome home.

At 17:18 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

There are LOTS of Octokitties. Everywhere. But only one EvelynEvelyn Conjoined Octokitty with an eyepatch and prosthetic leg.

I think Alex, as we call that horsie, is having too much fun!

At 17:32 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Welcome home! I bet the kitties are having a hard time of it, loving having you home and still feeling like they need to Let You Know that your absence was not appreciated...

At 18:27 Blogger EmilyOliveP said...

My brother William is THE best critic on the planet. He listens to my story, just this little thing, and he's into it, and he gives me names for chapter titles.

At 18:27 Blogger EmilyOliveP said...

Sorry, just as an aside.

At 19:28 Blogger C. T. Adams said...

Congrats on a wonderful trip. Glad you had fun, but I bet you're glad to be home. So that you can rest up. For the next time. :)

At 21:28 Blogger Jess said...

Very nice horsie action! I do not really understand dressage, but I liked it. And Poetry is looking fine. (Do we still call her Poetry?)

Toast is evil! Especially with beans on. Yech.

I have been getting acquainted with Anabel on the Twitter. Hope she comes here. She is nuts. In a good way. :D

In other news, we do some Socknapping tomorrow! Yay. And then Phiala will turn up Saturday, if all goes well. Me, with houseguests! I hope they like cheese. I like to pull out the mozarella salad recipe for guests.

At 22:48 Blogger Chantrelle said...

My cousin Toast (whose real name is Jeffrey but, nevermind that) needs to go to Ireland just to take a picture next to that sign.

Odd question for you Lorraine....do you have any ceiling fans w/ chain pull dealies to turn them on? (or anything will pulls like that?)....Nevermind why.

At 00:12 Blogger spacedlaw said...

The first picture is a Pomodoro statue. Did it rotate? The one in the Vatican does.

At 08:06 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Yes, you can call her Poetry. That's what she looks like when she rides.

The THING did rotate!!!!

I do have a ceiling fan. (Actually, I have lots of fans. I slay myself!)

Off to ride! This makes me happy!

At 08:20 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Ride on and conquer!

At 08:29 Blogger Ali Trotta said...

The Dressage was lovely! I adore the music selection and outfit!

Great pictures from Ireland. :-)

At 09:33 Blogger Chantrelle said...

OK, keep an eye on your POBox in about 3-6 business days :)

Off to school/work!

At 09:35 Blogger Pi R Squared said...

Good morning! (Tea and not so deadly toast over here.) Do not know much on Dressage, but everyone looked fabulous and it is rather poetic. Looks as though the bengals are happy you're home too. Welcome back Lorraine. Look forward to more pics and stories from Ireland.

At 10:40 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Awwww. Look at Magic being comfy and cuddly with the other Bengal Kitties. I remember when you couldn't find him because he was under the blanket on his stool. Fantastic.

At 11:31 Blogger Phiala said...

Looks like much fun!

I have neither time nor brains for much more in the way of commentary, sorry.

At 11:49 Blogger spacedlaw said...

I was trying to look for your bird candles, Hellie but could not find the one we saw at Butler's. This is the closest I get...

At 16:17 Blogger Phiala said...

For anyone having a holiday party.

At 16:31 Blogger Marjorie said...

I've been blogging about Ireland over at my blog and have a flickr set of pictures here, of anyone would like to see :-)

At 18:22 Blogger EmilyOliveP said...

Thanks for the link, Marjorie! They're fantastic pics.

At 18:25 Blogger EmilyOliveP said...

And yay times ten for those Billy Bones shirts.

At 21:02 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Marjorie - Funny, i have a very similar picture from Dublin ;-)

I love all the Billy Bones shirts too!!

Ben and neighbor boy are watching scooby doo. Lazy friday night.

At 23:10 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

I have two options. I can go to sleep now (which would be divine) or I can work on two entries for a project that's due on Monday and probably still go to bed an hour early.

I'm so sleepy!

In other news, I just got back from an hippie Shabbat potluck. It was fun, and I met a lot of people. I also got a free printer, and one of the guys there might hire me to tutor him in writing.

At 14:38 Blogger EmilyOliveP said...

Robyn, I think that sounds like a wonderful lazy Friday night. :o) And Wendy, tutoring in writing would be awesome! It's funny, I'm tutoring English to a non-native speaker right now, and love it, although I do miss tutoring Chinese. My student was a little. You know. Not into it. Didn't want to get to lessons on time, etc. But then someone today asked me to possibly tutor her in math. All these THINGS! ... It's fun.

At 18:26 Blogger dabbler said...

Very quiet here today! Passing through to tick....

At 19:23 Blogger EmilyOliveP said...

Mucho quiet. Just doing math ... so many numbers and so much numbery stuff.

At 19:24 Blogger EmilyOliveP said...

Of course around the HOUSE it happens to be ultra-loud, since Ben and Jack were giving a rock n' roll lesson to a younger kid. Bang bang bang.

At 19:40 Blogger dabbler said...

Quiet in my house...hubby is off camping (too cold for me) and I'm sitting here rooting for the Phillies to stay alive against the Giants. No loud R&R just terrible FOX sports announcers...Have fun with your numbery stuff!

At 08:24 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

This IS slow! My fault I expect. Working to much. Will try and be better but the next couple of weeks is going to be a bit wild.

I did go out last night, believe it or not, with Poetry. We were going to Roller Derby then a reading/music at the WI Book Festival.

Didn't end up doing either, Derby was so sold out, and the reading, at a country club, went on without us. Played cards in the bar.

Sounds strange, but there you have it. I had fun.

Just heard froma Twitter friend named Meg whose HOTR friend had to bail, and she is worried she won't know anyone there. I told her to come by here and the Fiends would be friendly.

So if she posts here BE NICE and DON'T EAT HER!

At 08:43 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

And this in: Naptown Roller Girls won their season opener last night in Indianapolis!!!!

Up against a Big Scary High Ranked Team. Naptown is going to be RECKONED with! If this blog has a team they are IT! Mostly because I know them. And they rock. And they WIN!

And our own Joan of Dark and Jane Ire will be not only at HOTR, but coming to visit me after.

I will have ALL THE ROLLER GIRLS!!!!

Well, two anyway.

At 09:33 Blogger Marjorie said...

Go Joan of Dark Knits & the Team!
And glad you had fun last night, even if it wasn't the fun you'd plannd.

I got woken up by fire engines last night. I think someone set a neighbour's fence on fire ( I can't see a fence which has been poured with rain on all day spontaneously combusting, can you?)

Today is clearly not going to be a day of achievements. I had stuff planned, but it ain't happening. Does anyone have about 12 hours of sleep they can lend me?

At 09:50 Blogger spacedlaw said...

I think I might actually have stolen somebody's extra sleep allowance already. Mind, I had a lot to make up for.

Don't eat her?
What type of an instruction is that? Now I don't believe this is going to make her feel very safe, n'est-ce-pas?
As if we routinely ate people round here. Sheesh. Only a few bites here and there. That's all. Playful like...

At 09:56 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Ok, don't bite her MUCH. Play NICELY. We don't want to SCARE people.

Ok, yes, we do, but you know what I mean. Let her get used to things first....

At 10:01 Blogger spacedlaw said...

You mean: Lure her into a false sense of security?
Sure.
No problem there.

At 10:16 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Yes. I believe that is exactly what I meant.

She will learn to like it here. With us.

At 10:23 Blogger meganagitor said...

Oh dear.
I'm sure I could handle a few nibbles,
but I don't think I'd much like being eaten. Especially if it involves onions. I despise onions.
Other than that I think I'm pretty easy going?

At 10:26 Blogger Marjorie said...

Oh, we never eat people with onions. Spoils the taste.
.
.
.
.
(Oops. Did I say that out loud?)

At 10:33 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Welcome, Meg!
Never mind the onions, we are mostly harmless (key word here being "mostly" of course) and mostly bite only when provoked.

At 10:33 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

New rule: We do not eat people with onions. Ever.

Welcome Meg!

Nibble back. Don't let them see your fear. And carry onions.

At 10:37 Blogger spacedlaw said...

What about cheese? Can we eat people with cheese on top? Au gratin and that sort of things?

At 10:40 Blogger Marjorie said...

Hello Meg! Nice to see you.

Nat-law do you have any specific person in mind? I am sure we can delegate any cooking to you and Chantrelle.

At 10:43 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Nobody special, really.
Chantrelle would never add cheese (or peppers) to the dish. The way Lorraine would never cook anybody with mushrooms.

At 10:47 Blogger meganagitor said...

I can't say I'm much of a people eater, but it's hard to think that anything would taste bad if cheese is involved.
[except for onions. i stand by my hatred.]

Thank you for the warm welcome!

I had a bit of an emotional freakout related to somewhat last minute cancellation of my HotR partner and [hypothetically] ran screaming to Lorraine for help and assurance. She Does know everything!

Already I can feel my excitement overcoming my fear at enjoying the weekend solo...

At 10:54 Blogger meganagitor said...

Oops. I'm still new to this, so. I think the up there ^ name changed, but I'm still Meg.
If that counts for anything?

At 11:16 Blogger EmilyOliveP said...

Don't WORRY, Meg, don't WORRY, I happen to be a vegetarian. Nice to meet you! I'm Emily. Or Lihua. Around here I happen to be both. LiEm.

At 11:24 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Maddy drives now. Just sent her out for food. You are making me hungry. Wonder who she will bring back...

I need to do a new post today. Don't I? I think you are bored of Ireland.

At 11:27 Blogger dabbler said...

Hi Meg! My husband I will be at HOTR, so feel free to seek us out. We really don't bite...though we DO eat cheese, AND onions, AND mushrooms... and many other things. Not cats, nor people.

And, just saying, I am feeling a bit shy about HOTR, so anyone, Please, say hi!

At 11:36 Blogger EmilyOliveP said...

Bored? As IF.

At 11:42 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Not bored? Well, might have a FEW more pictures. We haven't even Blogged Octokitty's adventures yet. And the thing now has an eyepatch and prosthetic LEG.

We'll do that.

Later today.

At 11:54 Blogger EmilyOliveP said...

Yay! Back to math homework ...

At 12:26 Blogger Chantrelle said...

I am a relatively recent convert to meat...haven't moved onto people yet, just got into pigs. And I won't cook anyone with these ingredients. :)

I can't believe we fly out on wednesday!! CRAZY!

At 12:28 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I hate pigs. Eat all you like. With whatever.

At 12:32 Blogger Chantrelle said...

I"m not a fan of them, except cured in salt :D I hated pork for years, one day it was good. Same thing happened about 3 yrs ago with beef. And about 8 years ago with chicken. Before that i was pescatarian (just veggie and seafood) for years and years. I follow my tongue. (hmm...not sure i should set up easy targets like that in this group!)

At 12:42 Blogger Marjorie said...

I missed Octokitty's new limb. Did you see Siobhan again on Monday?

At 12:59 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I did see her late on Monday night. She knits fast.

I will post pics of Octokitty. Just twitpicd one here:

http://twitpic.com/30ivx0

Will do this no doubt highly anticipated blog SHORTLY. Please, contain your excitement.

At 13:33 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Working on my Blog! Nathilie! Marjorie! Need Pics of Octokitty!

(Mine suck)

At 13:44 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Twitted you some and am emailing some more too.

At 14:06 Blogger Marjorie said...

Emaild you some. More to follow

At 14:20 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Gots 'em. Blog with WAY too many Octokitty's coming...

Not yet tho, hang on, need to write it...

At 15:23 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

New blog is DONE. And up!

Satring: Octokitty

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