Marlay Park Train Rides!

Day at Marlay Park in Dublin

 Today we happend on the last day of the octogenarian-volunteer-run train rides at Marlay Park. I've heard about this from friends and... it lived up to the hype.

Alright, he doesn't seem THRILLED, but this sweet old man is the conductor from April through September, every Saturday, for several hours with no pay of any kind. He's an angel, even if he looks a bit like a kermudgeon. (sp?)

 Those kids are strangers but the only "handle" is the kid in front of you, so she did as she was told by the train man.

You needed to be at least 3 to ride but we knew Norah could handle it so Wayne said she was just over 2 1/2 (lie). Well, half way around, the train stopped behind some trees and we thought maybe Norah wanted off but it was the two children in front of her (the girl she was holding onto) so here, the old man in the back is steadying her. haha! She sat there, still as a statue, staring straight ahead until they came back around. I love this kid. 

 I also love this old man. Honestly. I bet he's one of the greatest grandpa's on earth - come on, he's the conductor on a small train for children!  

This little 'service' provided by the elderly train-men just made me so happy. You know, there are lots of things we run into, on a daily basis, that make us feel pretty down about humanity. (alright, lots of things I run into) You need only walk down the street. (or for instance....this would never ever happen in the States....you know why? Liability and Lawyers. Hence children are robbed of something SO authentically pure.

But, then, on other days, (and this can be rare), you run into something that is so genuinely caring and selfless that you restore a bit of that faith in humankind's ability to be inherently good. THIS was one of those experiences. These old men, while they don't seem to be emanating cheeriness, are doing something 100% for the enjoyment of small children. They blatantly ask for nothing in return and, at the risk of using a terrible cliche - it warmed my heart.  Now I only feel terrible that I didn't thank them profusely - maybe I'll write a letter..... =)

 Marlay Park is hundreds of acres and this is one of many, many cricket pitches, with an actual game (match?) going on.

 The gorgeous walled gardens inside the park. Attached to this is also the loveliest cafe! I adore this place. (I go running here in Marlay Park, each week and we always end with coffee in these gardens)

Perhaps the actual door to Narnia. 

Wayne is 31 and Norah found a School

Wayne - on his 31st Birthday! Sept. 25, 2012

I think Wayne had a great day. He taught his first Statistics lecture (3 hours) last week and did very well. Then on his birthday he taught his first History and Theory of Psychology class to graduate students and he really loved it. (And they did too) He's a natural and I'm so happy he was able to give his first official, graduate level lecture, on his birthday. His friends in the Psychology department even made him rice crispie treats, complete with candles and singing.

 I wanted to make him a lemon meringue pie instead of a cake as this is his favorite (you'll notice some fore-shadowing there - do you think it all went seamlessly?)

Pie-shell from scratch, baked and done. Check. All under control.

No picture but - lemon meringue filling - check. Done. Squeezed the 3 lemons, grated the lemon zest, and made the filling along with sugar and cornstarch.

 What's that? It looks more like a pumpkin pie than lemon meringue? What's that you say?

Oh is a hand blender, not the same as a hand-mixer??? Is it now? (Because I Did Not Know That.) And could said-mix-up, be a fatal flaw when attempting to make meringue for the first time?? YES.  After 10 minutes the hand-BLENDER was smoking and burning my hand and I still only had liquid egg whites. So...thank goodness, I had 4 more eggs. Background - it was an absolute monSOON that day and I made the trek, with Norah, to get eggs and fresh lemons. So, the fact that I happened to have a second carton of eggs on hand was purely divine.

In a panic, I looked through a few websites and found that super chefs (super) can, in fact, create meringue with only a metal fork (all I had was a plastic coated whisk and it - the internet - said these will not do). Fast forward over 45 minutes (with cramps near my sternum from stirring so fast), and I had created what could, verrry loosely be considered "meringue". And so, rather than burst into tears (was very close), I poured my almost-meringue onto the perfect pie filling and crust and threw it into the oven. This was now 5 pm! (I had started at 2. No kidding.). And Wayne was to be home at 5:30, Norah had been watching cartoons for nearly 2 hours at my feet in the kitchen and I hadn't yet started the huge recipe for dinner. Anyway, the pie tasted fine but given that it was supposed to cool for over one hour, then be refrigerated for at least 2 hours, it was still a bit goopy by the time we cut into it.

 This is to show you the cavernous, majestic, peaks and valleys that were NOT in my meringue. 

 I eventually created the Zucchini-Spaghetti Pie with homemade breadcrumbs, homemade sauce, and a dairy-free garlic bechamel sauce.

 

Drawing Time:

 Drawing time - Smiley's and "X's"

 Some of Norah's lovely smiley-faces

And these are Norah's Red "X's". It's the only letter she's learned but she's getting very good at them. She goes "Ooonnnne, and TWO!" (as she draws each line) 

 

And the latest Develoment:

The New Playschool - in Monkstown

Exactly 1 mile from our house - all uphill - a 20-minute commute, on foot, (slightly shorter with bus).

 

Ok, so we're not putting her in "School" yet (she's only 2 years and 3 months) - but I have been longing for a more sustained 'play-group' for her (or anything developmentally stimulating). The last week she has been wearing her backpack around the house and pretending to do "school work" behind the curtains, so I started to feel guilty.

A friend of ours from the church told me about this playschool near us with a sliding scale if you're low-income (which, technically, we are). And given that most of the crèche's around here are about 100 Euro per week, this is the only option. So, I called them yesterday and we were able to go and have a visit. I cannot stress this enough....Norah LOOOVVED it. She was in heaven. There were stations for every play area - blocks, trains, dress-up, library, painting, sand table, play-doh, etc. etc. They even have miniature sinks and toilets for the kiddos! They have a great philosophy on education and play for this age group and I really liked it. I mean, it's a non-profit so it sure isn't fancy but I got a good feeling about the place, the staff, and it's more than Norah needs. All the kids (4 of them yesterday) are between 3 and 4 so Norah will be the youngest.

The teachers were very impressed with Norah and they were shocked at her speaking ability. She's certainly ready to be there now but their insurance can only cover them once they're 2 1/2, officially.  

 

Mind you, this will be for short stints - two afternoons per week for 3 hours each. Essentially it will be long enough for me to get back home, run, do chores, (write blog posts) or head to the gym. Or, maybe, on great days, take a nap or read a book to stimulate my rapidly atrophy-ing brain (see, I don't even think atrophy'ing is a word but I'll just go ahead and use it - willy-nilly - with no regard for the English language.) =) The only challenge will be to get her 100% potty trained by then. We're more than half way there but I think this next half is the real hard part. =)

  

So, as of Wednesday this week, Wayne was 31, had given his first full lecture at University College Dublin, and Norah visited her new school. Oh and on Monday I ran 11 miles (18K) as prep for next weekend's half-marathon. I think I might survive this thing after all. All is well in the Dykstra household.

Visit From Bill and Daniel - via N.Y.C. and Belgium

 Bill and Daniel were in our graduate program at Seattle U. Danny (Daniel) is from Miami and Bill is from New York. Well, now Daniel is living in Lueven, Belgium, where he has just started a Master's degree in Philosophy at the incredibly prestigious University there. Bill was travelling to Ireland for his family reunion and decided to visit Danny, and us, in the process. 

We had a very special cohort in our Master's program and our bonds have not lessened with the passing of time since graduation. In fact, we haven't seen Daniel for four years and yet it felt as if only minutes had passed since seeing him. Wayne and I both just adore these two people and it was so wonderful to have them with us for two short days. (way too short in fact but we're thankful we had them here) We got word on Tuesday morning that they would be arriving Thursday morning to stay for less than 48 hours. Having visitors come to stay is immensely exciting for us, so to have a visit so unexpectedly was amazing, from these two, no less, was amazing. 

First embrace. Meeting Wayne in the city after work and school. "Reunited and it feeeeels so gooood" (had to)

 The most incredible Irish Tweed shop. This is the real deal. 'Kevin and Howlin' is the name.

 

 Loch/Lough Tay (spelling differs depending on map, both pronounced 'Lock')- this is the lake leading up to an estate owned by the Guinness Family. Hence the majestic-ness.

 They say the lake looks like a pint of Guinness with the white sand being the foam on top.

 (Guinness Estate below) If you look at the picture with your eyes slightly squinted, you can just see the rainbow arc'ing across the center.

 We had intended to have a magical picnic up near Loch Tay but it was frigid cold, then Norah fell asleep and as things usually go, (when travelling with a 2 year old), we ended up having our picnic on these benches, in small village, one hour North, next to a Texaco station. It was romantic nonetheless. Why they have a Texaco station...I don't know. 

 We made the drive North to a small town called Nobber (10 kilometers north of another small town called Navan) to drop Bill off with his family for his reunion. Bill's aunts, uncles and cousins live in Nobber (The Brennan's). It was lovely to meet his bonafide Irish family here - we all seem to have Irish heritage (which is what it truly is) - whereas for Bill, his family lives here -Aunts, Uncles and 1st cousins.

Sweetest thing I've ever seen (Norah looking at Danny)