Dublin

Emme ole mieheni kanssa kaupunkimatkailijoita. Dublin tuli nahtya ja koettua mutta ensisijainen tarkoitus oli viettaa aikaa mieheni aidin, siskon ja hanen miesystavansa kasnsa. He lensivat Englannista viikonlopuksi meita katsomaan.
Upeaa arkitehtuuria. Historian siipien havinaa. Paljon turisteja. Tekemista pienille lapsille ei hirveasti tuntunut olevan. Kieroajeluita jos jonkinmoisia ja se, joka olisi ollut kiva lapsille olisi maksanut niin paljon koko porukalle, etta jatimme sen suosiolla valiin. Kavelimme paljon, ihmeen hyvin lapsetkin jaksoi. Tai siis pienempihan matkusti selassa. Shoppailjalle varmasti mukava paikka. Paljon kauppoja, isoja ja pienia mutta hintataso on Suomen vertainen.
Pieni sadekuuro yllatti meidat sunnuntaina iltapaivasta mutta muuten saimme nauttia joko auringosta tai puolipilvisesta saasta. Meita varoiteltiin kovasti etta Irlannin saa muuttuu hirmu nopeasti ja saman paivan aikana saattaa niskaansa saada vetta, lunta, rakeita, kovaa tuulta, tai nauttia lempeasta auringosta. Saat suosikin meita koko matkan ajan. Parina yona satoi mutta paivisin saastyimme kuivina.

My husband and I are not really town/city travelers. Dublin has now been seen and experienced but the primary goal was to spend time with my husbands mother, sister and her boyfriend. They all flew from England for the weekend to be with us.
Gorgeous architecture. You could feel the history around you. Lots of tourists. Not very much to do for little children. All kinds of sightseeing tours and the one which would have been great for the children would have costed so much for all of us that we decided to skip it. We walked a lot, and the children managed surprisingly well. The little one of course traveled on my back. Shoppers would like Dublin. Full of big and small shops of all kinds. But the price level is quite high in comparison with US.
A small rain shower surprised us on Sunday afternoon but otherwise we were allowed to stay dry and enjoy clear or partly cloudy clouds. We were warned about the Irish weather: at this time of year you can get anything from snow, rain, hail, wind, and sun within one day. But as mentioned before weather was on our side. It rained during few nights but that was ok.

Aloitetaan oleellisemmasta / Lets start with the most obvious

Eli keskitytaanpa sitten kasityokauppohin. :) Niita loytyi Irlannista. Ja voi kuinka ihania. Hypistelin villaisia tuotteita ja huokailin ihanien neuleiden, shaalien, ja muiden kasitoiden peraan. Yksi tuote jai erityisesti mieleen. Punainen villaviitta huppuineen. Oli kuin Punahilkan viitta. Sen olisin niin mielellani ostanut itselleni, mutta viitalla oli niin huima hinta etta ihan rupesi heikottamaan. Viitta jai siis kauppaan odottamaan jotakuta toista, joka rakastuisi siihen ja jonka kukkaron nyorit aukeaisivat enemman kuin minun.
Kaikki villatuotteet oli kotimaisia eli kaikissa komeili "Made in Ireland" ja mikas sen sopivampaa tuolla lampaitten luvatussa maassa. (Lampaita nahtiin paljon, siis todellakin paljon.)
Eritoteen mieleen jai Avoca:n kauppa. Se on perheyritys joka keskittyy siihen etta se myy Irlannissa valmistettuja kasitoita laidasta laitaan. Heilla on myos omia Avocan nimea kantavia elintarvikkeita. Olisin voinut jaada asumaan siine putiikkiin. Kaikki oli esilla niin ihanasti. Kuvia otin lahinna villatuotteista.
Yhtaan lankakauppaa ei suureksi harmikseni tielle osunut. Yhdessa kaupassa oli muutama kera esilla myynnissa. Mutta vain todellakin muutama kera.
Korupuoltakin vierailluissa putiikeissa oli hieman. Ja eritoten turisteille suunnattuja kelttilaisia syboloje koristavia koruja. Ostin itselleni yhden hopeisen korun jonka syboliikka puhuu myyjan mukaan syntymasta, elamasta ja jalleensyntymisesta. Itse tutkittuani asiaa tama kyseinen triple spiral (kolmispiraali) katkee sisaansa monenlaisia asioita. Suosituinpana vaikuttaisi olevan kolmen naisen voima: neitsyen, aidin ja vanhan eukon. Kolmispiraali on merkki naisen voimasta ja erityisesti siita voimasta jonka, nainen saa kasvaessaan/kehittyessaan lapi elamansa ja saadessaan uusia rooleja.
Ja pitihan sita tietysti ostaa huivi ja sorruin mina villatakkiinkin. Villatakissa on kivoina yksityiskohtina vetoketjun vetimissa roikkuvat kelttilaiset symboolit.
Olisin voinut koluta kasityolaiskauppoja vaikka kuinka mutta se oli vahan hankalaa kun kannoin selassani pikkuneitia, joka aina esitti kovin aanekkaita vastalauseita menopelinsa pysahdellessa.

PS: Yritan saada kuvat huivista, villatakista ja korusta tanne myohemmin. Nyt niita ei viela ole ja kameran akku on loppuun kulutettu.

In other words, lets concentrate on craft shops. :) There were plenty of them in Ireland. And oh how lovely they all were. I was feeling woollen products and was sighing after gorgeous shawls, knits and other hand made things. There was especially one product that is still in my mind. It was a red woollen cape with a hood. It was gorgeous! I think it belonged to Little Red Riding Hood. I wanted to get it so badly (I mean SOOOOO badly) but the prize tag spoke completely different language from me: I nearly swooned when I saw the numbers on it. So I left the cape in the store waiting for someone else to fall in love with it.
All woollen products I saw boasted a "Made in Ireland" tag. And why not in the promised land of sheep. (We saw a lot of sheep. I mean a A LOT OF sheep.)
From all the shops, there was one that really stayed in my mind. Avoca. It's a family owned company who concentrates on selling craft products made in Ireland. They have their own food label as well. I could have stayed in their shop forever. Everything was displayed in such a beautiful way. I took pictures mainly of the wool products.
I did look at the jewellery in these shops. And those celtic symbols directed to tourists. I did buy one silver necklace with triple spiral on it. The seller told me it was about birth life and rebirth. When I researched a bit more it seems to have several meanings and the most commonly used is the powers of maiden, mother and crone. The triple spiral is a sign of female power and especially power through transition and growth.
And of course I had to buy a scarf, and I did get a cardigan as well. The cardigan has nice small details of celtic symbols hanging on the zipper.
I could have gone into every single one of the craft shops we saw and admire the products and handiwork but it was a bit challenging at times as I was carrying the little miss and she protested quite loudly every time her "vehicle" stopped.

PS: I'll try to get pictures of the scarf, cardigan and the necklace later. At the moment they do not exist and the camera battery is on a "holiday" so to say.;-P

Takaisin kotona / Back home

Ihanaa on matkustaa mutta on ihana tulla kotiinkin. Kotona siis ollaan aivan mielettoman hienon matkan jalkeen. Tulimme takaisin sunnuntaina illalla, mutta tassa on kestanyt vahan ennen kuin on saanut pyykit pyykattya ja tavarat purettua laukuista, koiran hakemista kennelista, ruokakaupassa kayntia, valmistautumista arjen pyorittamiseen.
Matka oli siis ihana ja Irlantiin mennaan ihan varmasti uudestaan. Niin paljon nahtavaa ja koettavaa jai viela nakekematta ja kokematta. Tulen tassa seuraavina paivina taatusti kertomaan kuvin ja sanoinkin matkastamme. Kuvien lajittelu on pahasti kesken. Yritan saada niita kuitenkin teille mahdollisimman pian. Isanta otti paljon sellaisia otoksia joista saa kasattua panoramakuvia mutta niiden kasittelya saan odottaa viela kauan. Sita en osaa itse tehda. Yksi opittava asia lisaa siis. :)

It's so wonderful to travel but it's also wonderful to come home. We are back home after an amazing holiday. We came back on Sunday evening, but it's taken time to unpack, wash laundry, pick up the dog from the kennel, food shopping, getting ready for the weekly and daily routines that were oh so blissfully missing during our trip.
The trip was successful and so great that we will definitely go back to Ireland. So much still to see and to experience there. I'm going to tell you with pictures and words about our trip. Sorting out the photos is in progress (in its early stages). I will try to get them to you ASAP. My husband took lots of photos that will have to be "stitched" together to create panoramas and for those I will have to wait for some time. I don't know how to do it. One more thing to learn in my list.

Pakkailua / Packing

Hurrikaani Sandy meni menojaan, hulmautellen helmojaan taallakin. Onneksi vain suhteellisen nopeasti. Sahkot pysyivat vaikka valilla vahan hirvitti kun kuunteli tuulta. Olin aivan varma sahkon menevan jossain vaiheessa. Mutta voimakkaimmat tuulet kestivat yllattavan vahan aikaa (vain nelsien tuntia) ja sen jalkeen tuulet laantuivat huomattavasti. Nukkumaanmennessa ei ollut enaa huolta.
Viime yo meni sitten pikkuisen ollessa tosi levoton. Oli pakko ottaa viereen ja sitten alkoikin tuulimylly pyorimaan. Sen seurauksena mieheni otti ja meni nukkumaan vierashuoneeseen. :) Nukuttiinkin sitten pitkaan.... pikkuinen herasi vasta kahdeksalta. Isompi yhdeksan jalkeen.
Isanta teki puolet paivasta toita kotona ennen kuin lahti toimistolle, joka oli jalleen avattu. Koulutkin oli meidan kaupungissamme taas taydessa kaynnissa. Monissa naapurikaupungeissa koulut olivat kiinni.
Mina olen tuijotellut listoja, yrittanyt laittaa lasten tarvitsemat tavarat yhteen paikkaan. Omat ja mieheni ovat viela laittamatta. Huomenna aamusta pitaa laittaa koiran tavarat valmiiksi.
Meinasi iskea viela ylimaaraista stressiakin. Koska vaihdoimme lentomme paivaa piti myoskin muuttaa meidat hakemaan tulevan taksin tilaus. Se tehtiinkin ja tanaan sitten tuli puhelinsoitto ettei taksikuski loyda osoitetta. MITAH???? Sehan on vasta huomenna. Joku oli sohlinyt oikein kunnolla eika kirjannut muutosta. Ja nyt sitten heilla ei ole autoa joka voisi tulla hakemaan meidan huomenna. ARGH!!!!!!! Yritettiin monta muutakin taksifirmaa lapi mutta ei onnistunut nain lyhyella varoitusajalla. Sen jalkeen piti lahtea soittamaan ystavia, ja kyselemaan voisiko joku olla niin ystavallinen sielu ja ajaa meidat kentalle. Ja loytyihan se pelastava enkeli. Eli stressinaiheuttaja poistettu kuviosta. Nyt vaan pitaa saada kaikki tarvittavat tavarat matkalaukkuihin.
Tyttaret viettivat paivan melkolailla piirtaen, askarrellen, muovaillen. Pienimmainen mukavasti "koytettyna" syottotuoliinsa niin ettei minun tarvinnut koko ajan olla varuillaan etta mita pohkopaavo juttuja neiti on tekemassa koko ajan.
Nyt meinaan losahtaa sohvalle ottaa kutimet kateen ja yrittaa saada vihdoinkin ne Kanoko poksyt pikkuneidille valmiiksi. Matkalle mukaan lahtee koukku ja nelja keraa "Enkelin hiuksia". Tiedossa on monta iltaa hotellihuoneessa muksujen mentya nukkumaan. Aikaa tehda muutama joululahja.:)
Mietin viela otanko tietokoneen mukaan vaiko en. iPad lahtee ainakin mutta lahinna ajattelin etta paasisi kasittelemaan otettuja kuvia. Hmmmmm....... Paatoksia, paatoksia. Eli taman jalkeen jos minusta ei kuulu yhtaan mitaan ennen kuin palaamme kotiin, tiedatte etten ottanut lapparia mukaan. Totaalinen loma.... kaikesta. Onko minusta siihen? ;-P

Hurricane Sandy did affect us with storm winds which lasted only aout 4hours which surprised me. I was expecting longer onslaught. When we went to bed there was no worries. And we didn't loose electricity at all which was nice.
Last night went with a super restless little one. So restless that I had to take her next to me. She started her windmill sleeping which resulted my husband going to sleep in the guest room. :) We did sleep long... the little one woke up at 8am, the older after 9am. My husband worked half day from home after which he went to the office when it was opened after the storm. Our town opened the schools but many of the neighbouring towns kept theirs still closed.
I've been staring at lists, tried to get all the children's things together in on place. Still have to do mine and my husbands. Also tomorrow morning I have to get the dog's stuff together for him to go to kennel.
We almost got a last minute panic time as the limo company messed up big time. We changed our flights, changed the time for limo service pick up, except that they tried to collect us today, without luck as they couldn't find the address. Now they do not have a car for tomorrow to come and pick us up. ARGH! We tried with several other limo services but didn't have luck with such a short notice.. After that we started calling through our friends trying to find our saviour. And we did find our saving angel who kindly will take us to the air port. So, no stress makers anymore. Now I just have to get all our things together and in the bags.
The daughters spent the day pretty much drawing, crafting and playing with Play Dough. It was nice for me to have the little one "tied" into her high chair without me having to worry what kind of trouble she's getting next.
Now I intend to just collapse on the sofa and knit for a bit hoping to finally finnish the Kanoko pants I'm making for the little one. For the trip I'm taking a hook and 4 skeins of Angel Hair. I've got several hotel/B&B nights after the girls have gone to bed. Time to make few Christmas presents. :)
I'm still thinking if I should take my laptop or not. iPad definitely if not laptop. But I was thinking that I would have time to get through some photos I take. Hmmmmm..... Decisions, decisions. It will be evident that if you don't hear from me in 11 days I've left my laptop home. Complete holiday..... from everything. Am I ready for it? ;-P

Kuvernoori kaskee / Governor orders

Kuvernoorin kaskysta kaikki osavaltion koulut on suljettuna tanaan. Ja ihmisia on kehoitettu pysymaan kotona hurrikaani Sandyn takia. Toistaiseksi taalla vaan sataa ja tuulee voimakkaasti. Ei viela mitaan poikkeavaa. Valilla taalla tuulee todellakin kovaa ja tama ei ole yhtaan sen kummalisempaan. VIELA. Seurataan tilannetta. Olen jattanyt talla kertaa television seuraamisen vahemmalle. Viimeeksi vanhin tytar meinasi saada totaalisen satkyn kuunneltuaan reporttereita.

The governor has ordered all state schools to stay closed today. And people have been told to stay home because of hurricane Sandy. So far it's only raining and we have strong winds. But it's nothing exceptional really at this point. Sometimes the wind here is gale force winds and this is not even there. YET. We'll be monitoring the situation. I've left watching the tv for less as last time our oldest daughter got very distraught after listening all the reporters.

Synttareita ja "Frankenstormin" odottelua / Birhdays and waiting for the "Frankenstorm"

Tanaan vietettiin sitten esikoisen synttareita. Pizzaa ja muffinsseja jai yli eli niita syodaan huomenna. :) Lapsilla oli hirmuisen hauskaa ja sehan on paaasia. Aikuisetkin tuntuivat viihtyvan. Oikein onnistuneet synttarit.
Taalla paassa odotellaan myoskin hurrikaani Sandyn tuloa ja sen vaikutuksia elamaan. Melkein tasan vuosi sitten (taisi olla pari paivaa aikaisemmin) tanne iski hirmuinen lumimyrsky, jonka seurauksena olimme 4,5 paivaa ilman sahkoja. Ei ollut kauhean hauskaa puoli vuotiaan vauvan kanssa. Mutta siita selvittiin. Nyt tannepain on saapumassa hirmumyrsky Sandy. Vaikkei se ihan tanne varsinaisesti iskekaan, niin vaikutukset tulevat tuntumaan taalla varsin hyvin. Meidan kaupungin koulut on suljettu huomenna. Mieheni tyopaikalta tuli juuri viesti etta yhtion kaikki toimipisteet Uudessa Englannissa seka New Yorkin ja New Jerseyn osavaltiossa on suljettu huomenna. Meilla on siis tiedossa kotipaiva. Myrskytuulta ja kaatosadetta tanne on luvattu. Toivon vain ettei sahkot katkeaisi. Takalainen sahkolinjojen infrastruktuuri on vaan sellainen etta se on melkeinpa itsestaanselvyys etta ne menee. Toivon kuitenkin ettei mene. En haluaisi heittaa kaikkia pakastimessa olevia ruokia menemaan. Varageneraattoria meilla ei ole. Jos tanne kuitenkin jaamme pidemmaksi aikaa niin sellainen hankitaan ihan varmasti. Ulkokukat on kannettu autotalliin, samoin kaikki tuulen mukana lentoon lahteva. Grilli pitaa viela aamulla siirtaa lahemmaksi talon seinaa.
Siirsin lentojamme paivalla eteenpain. Saimme siihen mahdollisuuden ja kaytimme sen hyvaksemme ollaksemme varmasti turvassa ja nailla nakymin paasemme kuitenkin osallistumaan haihin, joihin Irlannissa olemme menossa. Ei kylla kamalasti naurattanut kun tajusimme etta tama myrsky tulee sotkemaan matkasuunnitelmat. Nyt ollaan sitten jarjestelty uudestaan vuokra-autoa, peruttu yhta hotellia jne.
Pitakaa siis peukkuja, etta meilla ei taalla puita kaadu ja etta sahkot pysyisivat ja etta myrsky tuulineen on keskiviikkona illalla jo sen verran kaukana tuulineen ettei se enaa vaikuta lentoomme.

Today we celebrated our daughter birthday with a party. We have so much pizza and muffins left overs that tomorrows menu is pretty much taken care of. ;-) The children enjoyed themselves immensely and that was the main thing. Even the adults seemed to have good time. Good party over all.
We are waiting for Hurricane Sandy to arrive and how it will affect our lives. Almost exactly a year ago we had a big snow storm here, because of which we were 4,5 days without power. It was not particularly pleasant experience with a 6-month-old baby.n But we managed. Now Hurricane Sandy is coming towards us and will affect the weather quite a lot in the are even though it doesn't hit quite here. The town has shut all its schools for tomorrow. My husband just got an email saying that his company is closing all offices in New England as well as the states of New York and New Jersey. So we are in for a home day tomorrow. Very strong winds and torrential rain is in the forecast. I'm just hoping the electricity won't go. However, the way the US electrical infrastructure is set up it's almost given that the electricity will go at some point. I'm just hoping really badly that it won't. I really do not want to throw all the food from the freezer away. We do not have a generator but we will definitely get one if we will stay here for longer. I've carried all the outside flowers in the garage as well as all loose items that could be tossed about with the wind. Just have to pull the grill closer to the house wall.
So because we changed our flight a day later because of this weather. We got the chance for it without any extra cost and we took it to be on the safe side. At the moment it still looks like we can attend the wedding we are going to Ireland for. You can imagine that we were not amused a bit when we realised that this storm was going to affect our travel plans. Now we're been re arranging some hotels and rental car at Ireland end.
Please keep everything crossed that we won't have any trees falling down on us and that the electricity would stay on and more importantly that the winds will have subsided enough for our flight on Wednesday evening.

Auringon kultaamaa / Gilded golden

Aitys / Motherhood

Aitiys on suurin lahja, jonka nainen voi saada. Minusta tuli aiti kuusi vuotta sitten. Enka vaihtaisi hetkeakaan pois. Aika kuluu vain aivan liian nopeasti. Lapset ovat lainaa ja me olemme taalla heita varten eika toisinpain. Se rajaton rakkaus, jota tunnen lapsiani kohtaan kasvaa paiva paivalta. Eika sita voi minulta mikaan vieda pois.
Tanaan olemme siis juhlistaneet vahimman tyttaremme syntymapaivaa. LEGOt oli varsin mieluisa lahja. Koulussa neitia juhlittiin myos. Veimme eilen tehdyn ja kasatun halloween talon neidin luokkaan rikottavaksi ja nautittavaksi. Ja tanssitunnin jalkeen suunnistimme Cheesecake Factoryyn syomaan synttari-illallinen. Jalkiruoka tosin piti ottaa mukaan ja nautimme sen huomenna.

Motherhood is the biggest gift a woman can get. I became a mother six years ago. And I wouldn't change a moment. Time just slips away too fast. Children are a loan and we are for them and not the other way around. The boundless love that I feel towards my children just keeps growing daily. And nothing can take it away from me.
Today we have celebrated our oldest daughter's birthday. LEGOs were a "lovely present" as she said. They celebrated also at school. We took the haunted halloween house, that we built yesterday, to the class room to be broken down and eaten. And after her dance class we had birthday dinner at Cheesecake Factory. The dessert had to be taken home so that it can be devoured tomorrow.