Well, the weekend has been packed with fun things and spending time with lots of friends! Last Thursday I went to our friend Stasia’s house for an impromptu session with her trad group – one of my favorite things to do! Even after living here for nearly two years, I am still amazed at how everyone picks up music by ear. I brought my mountain dulcimer, on which I know four chords, but it didn’t matter that I wasn’t a virtuoso because everyone was so interested to see a new instrument. The mountain dulcimer is not very familiar over here, although it came from the Scots-Irish immigrants in the Appalachians. I’m going to miss sessions next year!
Emily and I visited with our friend Dominick on Friday afternoon. We exchanged stories and photos of family and home. The bible Emily mentioned a couple weeks ago is just as impressive in person! After visiting, we trekked down to the Wexford Omniplex to see a movie. (You can guess which one if you caught that pun.)
My friend Róisín from Irish Dance has been telling me that I must get to Kilkenny before heading off, so on Saturday, she took Emily and me for a day trip over there. The weather was lovely, the main street was charming, and I always love looking around castles! Kilkenny Castle was one of several built in the 1200’s which fell into disrepair, but has been restored to its Victorian era glory. I must say that the green was exceedingly well-designed for the view of a mountain at the end of it. We arrived back in time to celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity at the Vigil Mass at Clonard.
Emily at Kilkenny Castle gardens. The mountain is to the right of this photo…
Kilkenny Castle. It is not actually bent in the middle, I don’t know why my panorama assist did that.
The pub where we had lunch. Note the ferns and flowers growing out of the wall!
And the next day was Scoil Mhuire’s First Holy Communion day! The two children whom Emily and I have taught on Sunday mornings since November received their First Holy Communion with one of the classes. It was such fun to see how happy they were for the day, and to see them celebrating with their families. The teachers at Scoil Mhuire were so great to make the kids from outside the school feel welcome and involved in the Mass. All the kids were good as gold. May the gift of the Eucharist nourish them every day of their lives!
That night, our friends Ann and Donal joined us for a delicious meal, curry-tesy of Chef Emily. We know them from Confirmation retreats and programmes and the Passion Play, respectively, but they are both just as interested as we are in providing parish programs for young people. We had a good brainstorm session when we weren’t eating or talking about delectable food. What a whirlwind weekend! And this week, class Masses!
