Bits and bobs

Random thoughts about random things by a random person

Author Archives: Lucy C


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Day 9 (Sept 20/19): So glad I bought a cell phone and a keyboard!

My regular cell phone back home is a bit…glitchy and it’s not fancy. When it comes to cell phones, it’s completely about basics for me – text and call, primarily for travel or emergencies.

I have a simple pay-as-you-go monthly plan for $11.30 per month that includes a limited text plan.

That’s it.

Anyway, because I don’t have a regular monthly plan, I can’t get a temporary international plan added on and because the phone itself is glitchy, I didn’t feel confident about just getting a new local SIM card.

So….I opted for a whole new cell phone.

I wanted one because the place I’ve rented doesn’t have a phone at all and pay phones have almost completely gone the way of the dinosaur. I wanted to have something in case there was an emergency – just for a bit of security.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve had to call or text the owner of the place several times – to figure out how to fix the WiFi, how to operate the oven, and now today, how to operate the washing machine. (Thank goodness that the owner is such a nice lady!!)

No…none of them were emergencies, but not figuring them out would have put a real crimp in my plans. Particularly the washing machine bit. I had packed based on the idea that I could wash clothes half-way through my trip.

Having the phone meant I could pop her a quick text and within seconds she called and told me what to look for and it was done! (MUCH faster than if I had had to handwash everything!! 🙂 )

So while I hope the absence of emergencies continues, I am still very glad that I decided on the phone and already consider it money well spent.

Another techy thing I have to say I’m grateful I bought is the Bluetooth keyboard I’ve been using to write my posts.

I bought it on Amazon a couple of months ago. I don’t mind using the regular tablet keyboard when I’m just typing something short – like a post on Instagram or a quick email – but for something longer – like a WordPress post – I use my laptop at home. I didn’t want to bring my laptop, though, so I decided to get a keyboard for my tablet.

And boy am I glad I did! It’s tiny, of course, but still easy to use and so much more convenient than using the screen keyboard. Ugh. I can’t even imagine. Well, I just wouldn’t be writing as much. It would be way more of a chore and not at all enjoyable.

So if you’ve ever wondered about getting a Bluetooth keyboard for your tablet, I highly recommend it. I charged it once, before the trip, and haven’t had to recharge it again yet, so it’s got a lot of juice in it! You can see the one bought here.

My writing station!

Note: I’m not getting any sort of benefit for recommending this keyboard. I bought it myself and just really like it. It’s the only such product I’ve ever used so I can’t speak about it comparatively towards any other keyboard.

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Day 8 (Sept 19/19): You’ll never guess what I found when I dropped off my garbage

One of my planned outings today was to dispose of a bag of garbage. Not exciting, I know, but necessary all the same.

A notice here in the kitchen says that it’s to be dropped off at the community centre. That was easy enough to find on the ol’ Google machine and off I went.

I actually decided to take a different route than Google maps had suggested. The route it proposed was mostly the same route I’ve done for most other places I’ve gone whereas the other one would bring me somewhere entirely different.

Uh huh.

It brought me to the police station.

Not exactly what I was going for so I backtracked and took Google’s original route. Not that it mattered much. Yes, it almost doubled the time it took, but that only meant it took about 11 minutes instead of 6. Hardly enough to put a crimp in my day.

Anywayyyyy….on with the story!

On the other side of the road from the garbage/recycling/community centre is a place called Tech Amergin – a community arts and education centre.

When I crossed to that side of the road to head further back into the village, I saw a sign that they have a community garden and visitors were welcome.

I thought, “Hey! I’m a visitor!” So in I went.

If you’re thinking fancy botanical gardens of large urban centres, get that thought out of your mind. You’ll only be disappointed.

But if you adjust your expectations you’ll be charmed.

It was lovely. Nothing fancy and a bit unkempt in parts, but maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be.

In any event, it was a lovely and tranquil spot to poke around and sit for a little while. I’d have stayed longer, but it was quite warm out today and the garden was in full sun, with hardly any breeze – the trifecta of things that send me inside. 🙂

I snapped a few shots before I left, though.

Hope you enjoy them!

A babbling little waterfall
A chair being reclaimed
A dragon protecting the garden
Some of the miniature houses that were throughout this part of the garden
A seating area at the top of the garden
Not part of the community garden…just some palm trees I saw on my way to or from lunch

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Day 7 (Sept 18/19): End of trip plans booked – check!!

OK, so it’s now the end of day 8 and I’m only writing about this now, even though it’s about yesterday.

Because it took up a good chunk of the day yesterday, and I’m pretty excited about it, I figured it warranted a post.

(Plus, I haven’t thrown in the towel yet on hitting 50 posts from my last birthday till my next – which is this weekend. It’s now Thursday night and I only have 5 to go after this one!!)

Anywayyyyyyy……

I didn’t book things for the back end of this trip beforehand because I wasn’t really sure exactly when I was going to head to Killarney or back to Dublin. I didn’t know if I’d want to give myself 2 days in Killarney or 2 in Dublin so I left it.

A few days ago, I decided to give the extra 2 days to Killarney. As I mentioned before, I really want to go to Killarney National Park. I would rather do that than tool around Dublin for 2 days.

Nothing against Dublin. It’s just not where I want to spend a chunk of time this go round.

So I got on the Google box yesterday and started hunting down hotels.

I figured in Killarney I’d stay at the same place where I was last week. But the prices this are a lot higher than the rate I got for last week and I’m being a good girl and sticking within my budget.

So, the search continued and my patience paid off!

Remember the place where I had the big club sandwich in Killarney? It was at the Café du Parc, which is part of the Killarney Plaza Hotel and Spa.

Oddly, it seems a lot nicer than the first hotel but the price fits quite comfortably into my budget, so who am I to argue?

It’s also easy walking distance from the bus station and to the train station, and super close to where I’ll take the National Park tour and shopping.

Dublin was a little harder.

I wanted to find somewhere easily accessible from the train station and to the airport, as well as easy walking to something interesting.

I’ll only have the afternoon and evening as I have to go to the airport in the morning, so I wanted to get the biggest bang for my buck.

After spending some serious quality time with Google maps and Chrome, I decided on the Hilton Garden Inn Dublin Custom House and booked a nice room with a river view.

I was originally looking for something closer to Trinity College. I love old college buildings. But none of the hotels (that I would have liked) near there fit closely enough to my budget, so I kept looking and that’s how I found the Custom House.

While it’s on the other side of the river and a bit away from the “thick of things”, it is next to the EPIC Irish Emigration Museum and I’m pretty excited about that.

I do some genealogy, so I’m looking forward to what I might learn there about Irish emigration to Newfoundland.

I know…it’s not everybody’s first thought of fun things to do in Dublin, but I’m pretty excited about it. 🙂

I also booked the train from Killarney to Dublin. That was easy once I figured out everything else.

I’m glad to have that done. It was on my mind that I needed to do it and now I can push it to the side and enjoy the present without that distraction or reminder of the end.

I mean, obviously I know it will end. I just don’t want to think about it. 🙂

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Day 7 (Sept 18/19): Irish VAT rate – Why I may never complain about HST again!

(I just discovered that I hadn’t actually posted this last night when I wrote it…Oops! Not hard to tell why I’m not blogging for a living! 🙂 )

When I was purchasing some things in a gift shop this morning, the lady asked if I’d be claiming the tax back. I said I had planned on it, but didn’t know the process.

She helpfully explained it to me and gave me the card I would need.

She said it’s worth doing because even though I would get the full 23% back, it would definitely add up.

23%!!! I almost choked.

Before you ask, no I didn’t already know the tax was that high. Everything I’ve bought to this point was the price that was advertised so I had no idea how much of that was tax.

Anyway, it makes our 13% HST in Ontario seem rather paltry now…

I guess all things really are relative!

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Day 8 (Sept 19/19): The view from the window

Before I get into this post, I should say that I am not normally one to sit or stand at the front window and spy on my neighbourhood. Perhaps the anonymity of being on holiday has brought out the Nosey Nellie in me. 🙂

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After a decadent morning reading in bed, I came downstairs and opened the curtains across the wall of windows at the front of the house.

Almost immediately I noticed three distinct white spots on the sea at the horizon. I squinted a bit to see if I could see more distinctly what they were.

Then I remembered: I have binoculars!!

I grabbed them and headed back to the window.

There was a large white sailboat heading to the north and two motorized boats – one larger than the other – heading south.

No idea what they were, though. Something about the larger one made me think maybe Coast Guard or something. Don’t know why – I couldn’t see it that closely.

If it was a yacht it was a seriously beautiful boat!

In moving away from that, I noticed the beautiful waning gibbous moon.

Up to the eyes with the binoculars again… 🙂

It was very cool and fun to see so many more details and craters than the naked eye can see. I’m really enjoying this gift!!!

After that, I sat at the table by the windows to do a little drawing (I didn’t finish it, so no picture, plus it was just a learning exercist – how to draw a tree).

Not too long later, something else caught my eye: a guy out on a paddle board.

Out came the binoculars once more!

He didn’t look quite proficient at it and I would not have been surprised if he had gone into the drink. At one point he did sit down, but was up again before too long.

Good on him! I wouldn’t even give it a go.

I am not a fan of standing up sports/activities in general. I’d go arse over kettle on that thing before I got one foot off shore. In fact, probably even if I just tried to stand on it onshore!

I do better sitting down – which is why the recumbent exercise bike is my preferred activity of choice.

I left him to it – keeping an occasional eye on him while I was drawing, until he was safely on shore. 🙂

I’m pretty easily entertained, what can I say…

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Putting the right perspective on other people’s opinions

When it comes to this topic, the most common thing I hear is that we should never let other people’s opinions influence us.

I don’t think that’s necessarily true, or healthy.

And I don’t think the opposite is true, or healthy, either.

Other people can provide a distanced perspective on things in our lives and help us see things slightly (or even sometimes completely) differently than we see them.

Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees and we keep waltzing deeper and deeper in.

Even unasked for advice can provide some valuable insight on something – even though it can be as annoying as all get out.

That’s not to say that we should always follow the advice we are given. Listening and following are two completely different things.

If we are able to sit and really listen to what is said and allow ourselves to be distanced a little from the situation, we can evaluate what has been said a little more objectively. We can pull out the things that we accept and then push aside the things we don’t want to accept.

It might help us with some of the decisions we have to make – or possibly even help us extricate ourselves from some situations already-made decisions have put us into.

Of course, it’s easier to write those two paragraphs than it is to put them into action!

It takes a certain amount of, I would say, emotional maturity to do that. Depending on the situation – or the person giving the advice – we may have more or less of that than in other situations, or if we are hearing it from someone else.

A few things that could help in determining if we should listen or not are listed below. This is not an exhaustive list. And you may already have your own formula for how to deal with other people’s opinions. These are just some things that have helped me sift through the occasional morass of opinions.

1. What do I want and why do I want it? What do I expect to accomplish or get from it?

We can be very easily influenced if we don’t have a solid idea of where we stand on any given thing. Before we start listening to what other people have to say, we should at least have an idea of our own position on it and why it’s important.

2. What is the intention of the person speaking to me?

If we know that the person genuinely loves us, then we can assume that they are speaking from a place of concern. For me, that makes them more worth listening to than someone whose motives I’m not so sure about.

3. How much do I trust that person?

This is related to #2.

If the person is someone we trust, then why wouldn’t we listen? Even if it’s something we don’t want to hear, it might be that we need to hear it. I would rather hear something like that from someone I trust than anyone else. Or worse, not hear it at all and make a really stupid decision because I was maybe too stubborn to listen to another perspective.

4. How many people are saying the same thing?

If everyone around us is telling us practically the same thing, that’s a really good sign that we should stop and at least think about it.

Unless we’ve completely surrounded ourselves with awful people (and why on earth would we do that??), at least some of those people should be people we know and trust. If that’s the case there’s a good chance that what they are all saying has at least some value.

5. What do I want and why do I want it? What do I expect to accomplish or get from it?

Hopefully you have paid enough attention that you have noticed that this is the same as #1. 🙂

That’s because after we’ve heard what everyone has had to say, we should re-evaluate our own thoughts and position.

Has anyone said anything that shows that we won’t actually achieve our goal by following our current plan?

Or maybe has someone articulated a fear that we already had – or a consequence we hadn’t though of – and, hopefully, even provided some suggested solutions?

After all that, though, ultimately it is our own decision, whatever comes of it.

What’s that saying? Something to the effect that

We are free to choose, but we can’t choose the consequences.

So we have to accept everything that comes with those choices – the good, the bad and the ugly.

In a nutshell: Don’t dismiss what others have to say just because you don’t want to hear it. And don’t automatically do what they say just because they want you to.

Easy-peasy, right? 😉

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Day 7 (Sept 18/19): A perfect night

Well, folks, the cloudless sky of earlier did not disappoint.

The sky tonight is, if you’ll pardon the pun, stellar.

Even though I’m still inside the village and there are a few lights around, the light pollution is really quite minimal.

If I walked just 10 minutes to the right of my place, it would be much darker, but like I think I said before, I’d also end up in a ditch or down over the cliff (it is the Cliff Road, after all). Even dressing in reflective gear wouldn’t help really.

And, really, who cares? The sky here is still beautiful. I know it would be even more spectacular if it were completely pitch black, but if we constantly chase whatever we think perfection might be, we miss out on what we already have.

And what I had tonight was fabulous. I stayed out looking up, wayyyyy up, until I got a kink in my neck!

The binoculars my brother and sister-in-law gave me for my birthday allowed me to see even more, too, which was great! (I had no idea how shaky I am, though!!! Even with my arm resting on something, it was hard to get it to hold still. I’ll be looking for a tripod adapter and tripod before too long!)

When Mother Nature decides to put on a show, she really puts on a show.

There was a star fairly low on the horizon, over the entrance to the bay that was so bright, it even reflected off the ocean! It might even be a planet. Venus and Mars are out and about tonight, apparently, so Mr. Google just told me.

I love looking at the sky and appreciating the beauty, but I am absolutely not at expert at deciphering what I see! Well, I can recognize a plane or a satellite…cuz they are moving, and I can find the Big Dipper and sometimes Orion’s belt, but that’s about it.

Anyway, it was spectacular to me. The beautiful show in the sky, complete with the Milky Way Galaxy, the ocean rolling gently onto the beach…

An absolutely wonderful way to end the day!!

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Day 7 (Sept 18/19): Beautiful sunset #999?

I know, I know… enough with the sunsets!

But can you really, truly ever have enough of them?

This evening’s was/is spectactular. Remember the reds and vibrant colours I mentioned yesterday? Well, we had them this evening!

Unfortunately, my tablet doesn’t have that good a camera, so the pictures below don’t show them that well.

If you can use your imagination, paint the whole bit above the hills a beautiful deep red and orange red.

AND…the clouds haven’t come in yet, so I think I’m going to get the starry, starry night tonight. 🙂

Sunset, Waterville (facing towards Ballinskelligs), just after 8pm, Sept 18/19

Sunset, Waterville (facing towards Ballinskelligs), just after 8:30pm, Sept 18/19

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Day 6 (Sept 17/19): I’ve got mail!!

I can’t believe I forgot to tell you about this yesterday! So even though this is being written on day 7, it’s about day 6, so that’s how I’ve titled it. 🙂

As I was sitting at the sea-side of the house yesterday, doing my drawing, I heard some rustling at the back door. (That’s the door that I think I already told you is broken and I can’t get open.)

I looked up and through the frosted glass, I could see a man there in a red shirt. It looked like he was trying to put something in the mailbox.

That wouldn’t have anything to do with me, so I went back to my pencil and paper.

Then he knocked.

I went to the door and let him know it was broken and I couldn’t open it.

Then, quite unexpectedly, he asked, “Is this Lucy Cove?”

I was awash in a mixture of surprise and childlike, Christmas-morning glee! Mail for me? Here?!?!

I maintained my cool outwardly and simply asked him to put it in the box and I would go round later to collect it.

He did so and left.

Never, since I got here, had I wished that door wasn’t broken like I wished it in that moment!

I couldn’t just pop around the house to get it, either. It’s an end unit townhouse, with a carpark next door. I had scoped out earlier in my stay if there was a quick way through the carpark to the upper road.

Unless I magically develop some decent parkour skills on the quick like, it wasn’t going to happen.

I would have to walk down to the other end of the block and then back to this end of the block (on the back street) to get into the garden and claim my prize.

I was tempted to go right away, but I knew if I left off the drawing without finishing it, I would never finish it and it was something I really wanted to do. Plus, I’ve been practicing telling myself no and this was another opportunity for me to learn to wait.

So I waited – until I had finished the drawing and got dressed to go out for lunch.

It wasn’t easy. Every now and then I would look towards the back door. Or I’d look at the paper and think, “I could finish this when I come back…” (knowing full well that I wouldn’t).

I wasn’t curious about what it was – I’m hitting the big 5-0 while I’m here so I assumed it was a birthday card.

I did wonder, however, who on earth would have sent something to me while I’m on holiday in Ireland?? I remembered my friend Kelly had texted me a few days before I left, asking when I would be leaving for my trip, so I thought then that it must have been her.

Despite the temptation and curiosity, though, I persevered and waited!

Once ready to go, and still not really wanting to go down the block, to come back a block, and then have to turn around and go back up that block (which was the actual direction I needed to go for lunch and errands), I thought I’d take another look at the carpark.

Maybe I could scale the stone wall? Maybe it wasn’t as high as I remembered?

I scoped it out and, yeah, it was high. Too high for my almost-fifty, unathletic body at any rate. Bummer.

I took a gander to the left side of the lot to see if there was any hope in that direction…Hmmm…Did I see a break in the large boulders that bordered it? Did that look like a path between the boulders and the fenced-off field next door??

Off I toddled to check it out. Sure enough – there was a small path that I hadn’t seen before! I scrambled between/over two boulders and up the path to the other road. Then I went through the gate to the back garden and, through a little jungle of flies and webs, I claimed my prize!!!

There was another surprise when I didn’t recognize the handwriting. Kelly and I have known each other for decades now and I am familiar with her writing. This wasn’t it.

Now, totally flummoxed, I looked to the top left corner of the envelope.

It was from my friend Trish!!! That was even more unexpected because she is on holiday right now in Portugal!

I looked at the postage cancellation mark and sure enough – she sent it from her holiday.

So here I am, currently in Ireland, getting a birthday card from Portugal, from a friend who lives only about 3 hours away from me in Ontario! How fun is that??

Take that, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks!!


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Day 6 (Sept 17/19): A beautiful evening

Waterville is located in the Kerry International Dark Sky Reserve.

A dark sky reserve (or preserve) is “a public or private land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural, heritage and/or public enjoyment.” (darksky.org)

I do enjoy a beautiful starry sky so I have been looking forward to seeing some stunning night skies while here.

Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a clear night since I got here.

This evening, though, when I was out on the patio reading, it looked hopeful – a beautiful blue sky with only a smattering of clouds.

Having a read in my favourite spot

However, before too long, the clouds began to roll in from the east and my astronomical hopes were dashed. Boo hiss.

That said, the sunset was quite lovely. There were no bright reds and oranges – colours normally associated with stunning sunsets, but it was beautiful nonetheless. I’ve included a few shots and you can decide for yourself. 🙂

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