Weekend Picture Update

August is summer festival season!  Last weekend, we went to the Scariff Harbor Festival.  We went very early because we were afraid we wouldn't be able to find parking.  I guess we still think like New Yorkers, LOL -- there were still less people at the festival than Times Square at 3 AM in a snow storm.  Anyway, there was an adorable little crafts fair where I bought a ring from a jeweler from Barcelona, a lavender-scented mini pillow, and rose-flavored chocolate (tasted as self-indulgent as it sounds).  The other highlight was taking a horse and wagon tour down to the marina.  Aiven was squirmy the whole time, but overall we had a blast.

 

One of the first things I did when I got to Ireland was sign up for Living Social.  Soon after I signed up for it I got a great massage deal but haven't done anything since.  Except that when Alex went to print out my voucher for the massage, he happened to see a great deal on a tourist attraction and bought it on the spot.  That voucher sat around unused until this week.  It was a family pass for a place called Craggaunowen which is a park that recreates traditional settings from Ireland's past.  We thought that it would be pretty cheesy but that we would try it out anyway.  To our surprise, it was a lot of fun.  The different exhibits were laid out along a walking trail that was enjoyable in its own right as it weaved through the woods and up and down the hilly terrain.  Near the end of the walk, we froze in our tracks as we heard the unmistakable sound of a wild animal grunting.  Our arm hairs stood on end as we paused midstep.  Then we saw it.  A wild boar staring down at us from a rocky outcrop, a wicked gleam in its eye.  Then we noticed the fence separating it from us and it was all good.  What a cute little piggly wiggly!

Here are the random cute pictures of Aiven from this week.  I had a couple naked ones of him but I am afraid Aiven will not be amused when he finds them on the Internet years from now.

We have been going on daily morning walks on the path behind the house.  There is a tree mushroom that is huge and keeps getting larger.  I also tried wearing Aiven on my back in his carrier.  It worked out better than I could have imagined.  It was much easier on my back and the hair pulling issue was solved when I put it up in a bun, too high for him to reach.

 

 

We bought organic duck eggs from a farm stand, and look!  A green egg!  Ham sold separately.

Where we are staying this summer is wedged between the towns of Tulla and Feakle.  Besides its unfortunate name, Feakle is known for the annual Feakle Music Festival.  It's apparently a big deal if you're into Traditional Irish music.  We were really looking forward to it because we always root for the underdog, and there are literally thatched cottages in this village.  Alex had a hell of a time trying to buy tickets, so we gave up on that.  Instead, we decided that we would just drop by whenever we could and listen to the music pouring out of the bars.  (By the way, every village in Ireland has at least one pub.  That's probably why we're not on the map.  No pub).  Anyway, tomorrow is the last day of the festival and there are a lot of children's activities planned, so we really hope to tell you about it in the next Weekend Picture update!