Feis Day Two

Day Two of the Feis was Deirdre Haran Abeid Day.

The Haran School of Irish Dance was founded in Kettle Falls by Deirdre Abeid over 45 years ago. Her daughters Caitlin Trusler and Claire Worley have continued in her footsteps, running the Kettle Falls and Spokane branches of Haran for the past 25 years.

All signed in and ready to dance

There are breaks between the soft shoe dances and hard shoe dances.

Both Addy and JJ appreciated Uncle and Auntie being at the Feis on Sunday. I appreciated it, too, as Laura could get up close and take photos and videos that I was not able to.

Soft shoe, hard shoe and then it was time for another soft shoe competition.

There is a trick to lacing the soft shoes!

When all the traditional jigs and reels and treble and Hornpipe were completed it was time for the creative water/sea dance. The dancers who wanted to participate in this dance had to come up with their own costume and dance.

This is the outfit conception that Addy came up with thinking about water, ‘under the sea’. Here was the completed outfit Addy and her Mom created.

It is so good to have the support team of mom and dad in the dancers corner.

Waiting for their solo performances. I wish I could share the video Auntie Lolo took of Addy’s dance but I’m unable to on my blog. It was a wonderful performance and we found out while we were out to lunch that Addy had received a 1st place for her outfit and dance!

We gathered for lunch before taking Uncle and Auntie back to the airport for their flight home.

After lunch on their way home Dan and Jamie stopped by the convention center to pick up Addy’s prize for her creative under the sea dance and costume.

Her 1st place trophy!

After getting home Addy donned all her awards from her first Feis!

Well done, Addy. Your hard work was rewarded. Hmmm, I wonder if she’ll want to sign up for another Feis?

Thanks for coming along and for all your kind comments.

Adieu to Summer Hodgepodge

A summer sea scape dinner party to celebrate the end of summer from our deck in our former home. This is also a nod to Addy’s creative under the sea outfit at the Feis. (End of post)

It’s time for Wednesday Hodgepodge and Joyce has a fresh batch of questions to prove it.

Dinner parties were mentioned in one of our questions so here are a collection of dinner parties from the past with the Mennonite Girls Can Cook in Canada.

1. Are you more life of the party or more party pooper? If your answer is somewhere in the middle which side of the middle do you lean towards more?

I think I’m a little above middle, more toward life than pooper. 🙂 I might be one of the first ones to say goodnight these days.

Birthday party, beach party, cocktail party, dinner party, charity fundraiser, surprise party, costume party, garden party, Christmas party, reunion...what’s your favorite kind of party?

Dinner party and Christmas Party are my favorites!

2. Cheese, wine, and balsamic vinegar all improve with age. What would you personally add to the list?

Personally I believe human beings, relationships, marriage, and friendships should all improve with age. Most importantly, my faith and trust in Christ should improve with age and I should be more like Christ each new year. This is challenging and humbling and something I’d never attain to without the Holy Spirit, our Helper.

3. How do you feel about your birthday? How do you want to be celebrated? Or don’t you?

I enjoy my birthday regardless of fanfare. I do enjoy having special meals with loved ones to celebrate my birthday. I’m past needing or wanting gifts other than good times with family and friends. A card or note or text is gift enough.

4. What remarkable feat, interesting piece of trivia, or historical event occurred on your birth day and month? Not necessarily your same birth year, just the same date/month.

March 14th: It is Pi (π) day, 3.14.

In 1942 Anne Miller became the first American patient to be treated with Penicillin on this day.

5. Share two good things about your life right now.

Right now my health is good (I do have some typical old lady aches and pains) and my life in the country is good. I’m where I’m supposed to be. It is so good to be in the same town as our grandchildren.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

On Friday I’ll share more about Addy’s first Irish Feis!

This outfit isn’t representative of an Irish Feis but it played a special role in a creative dance challenge (Water, Under the Sea) at the end of the festival (feis).

The First Feis

A Feis (pronounced ‘fesh’) is an Irish dancing competition. The Word “Feis” is Irish Gaelic for “Festival.” Throughout the year there are many feiseanna (plural of feis) that dancers can compete in. Dancers are always encouraged to feis, but are never required to. Feising will help dancers set goals and gain confidence. They will learn how to win and lose gracefully while meeting new friends and cheering on other dancers.

This experience was a first for all of us, Addy, her parents, grandparents and Auntie and Uncle. None of us knew exactly what to expect. The event was at the convention center in Spokane conveniently located on the same property as our hotel. We walked over on Saturday morning wondering what the morning would be like.

We found some seats together and soon realized that if we wanted to see we’d have to be standing on the edges of the room. The judges table along with their water bottles placed strategically to block (just kidding) your view. Other hazards for good views and photos included the speakers podium and people. Parents and dancers hopping up out of their seats to check-in for their competition and parents moving about the cabin to watch their loved ones dance.

The dance music live! That was amazing to me. Four hours of continuous playing with short breaks in between each age grouping and type of dance, Slip Jig, Light Jig, Reel, Single Jig, Treble, Hurnpipe, etc. Yep…I have no clue what all those are but maybe in a few years, if Addy continues dancing, I will learn.

Each dancer ready for their time to dance.

First day complete and Addy placed in several of her dances, a first, third and fourth and then to cap things off an overall win with a plate to commemorate.

Addy, you performed well. Your cool and calm readiness and alertness was a pleasure to watch.

Addy’s first day of competition was done by noon and she and all her cheerleaders were ready for a nice lunch.

This years Feis had some heart tugs attached to it.

All of the Haran School of Irish Dance participants had this patch attached to their dance outfits.

Lucas was a gifted dancer and competitor with the Haran School of Dance in Kettle Falls. He had won many competitions. He passed away in a swimming accident this summer and it hit the whole dance and Stevens County community very hard. Not only was he a gifted dancer but an amazing piano player, too. He was deaf with cochlear implants. He loved His Lord and Savior and represented Jesus well with a wonderful attitude. We draw comfort knowing Lucas is with his Savior.

With Saturday’s competition complete we looked forward to Josh and Laura flying into Spokane to be with us for the Sunday morning competition line-up. I’ll save Sunday’s photos and commentary for another day this week.

All the Things

It wasn’t just Mother’s Day Celebrations like a Ladies Tea this past Saturday. We had other events stretching our calendars on Saturday and Sunday. Our First Baptist Ladies Tea and Blooms Luncheon was on from 11am to 1pm. My Beatrix Potter Tea Table was put together on Friday afternoon.

At 10am JJ had a Taekwondo promotion so his mom wasn’t able to be with us at the tea. (JJ’s daddy was working on Saturday). Uncle Andrew was able to be at JJ’s promotion, too, and JJ passed!

Uncle Andrew treated JJ to this monster of a sugar delight while we were enjoying our dainty tea sandwiches. We wrapped up our early events and spent a couple leisurely hours in the afternoon before we all met up for a Mother’s Day meal at a restaurant in Kettle Falls.

When our meal was done, Jamie and Addy left to get ready for Addy’s Irish Dance recital while the rest of us visited a local park for JJ to let off some steam before having to sit for two hours at the dance recital.

The park we picked had this great sculpture and tribute to the lady who started the school of Irish dance that Addy has enjoyed for a couple years now.

JJ had a lot of exercise while the adults kept a watchful eye on him and then we were off to the Woodland Theatre to get our seats for the performance.

Addy performed brilliantly for her dance routines and then as a leprechaun in the Giant potato play. I was busy with videos and did not get a photo of her in her costume but these group photos were shared with Jamie and she shared them with me. The narrated drama was fabulous and had us all in stitches!

Our Monday was full, too, with a drop in reception for our Assistant Pastor Candidate in the afternoon and then a Q & A in the evening with an ice cream social afterwards. It was good for many or our church members to be able to get to know the candidate and his family in a casual setting.

I’m sure many of you had busy weekends, too. I’ll be away from my computer most of Tuesday. Hope y’all have a great day!

St. Patrick’s Day 2025

“May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.”

An Old Celtic Blessing

May the blessing of light be on you –
light without and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine on you
and warm your heart
till it glows like a great peat fire.

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I love Celtic Crosses. This one above is from Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

“My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many. My father was Calpornius. He was a deacon; his father was Potitus, a priest, who lived at Bannavem Taburniae. His home was near there, and that is where I was taken prisoner. I was about sixteen at the time.”

“St. Patrick’s Lorica points beyond himself and his adventurous life. It points to Christ, the one he proclaimed to the people who had taken him captive:”

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

God bless you all, dear friends, with the saving knowledge of Christ’s redemptive work on your behalf. May God lead you to repentance and new life in Christ!

Are you wearing green today?

Do you make a special Irish dish to serve for dinner on this day?

Do you have a favorite Irish saying?

Have you ever been to Ireland?

Do you have any Irish relatives?

Collage from a St. Patrick’s day meal Russian style with Golubtzi in 2011.

Dance Recital

On Saturday after JJ’s birthday party some time was spent on braiding and curling Addy’s hair for her dance recital. Addy, her mommy and Auntie Lolo left early and we followed later. We waited with anticipation to see Addy come on stage.

The lighting was difficult but I was able to get some photos to show some of the dance moves.

In this shot you can see the braids and curls that held well throughout the performance. Hats off to Auntie Lolo and her mommy.

She really danced her heart out and it was great to see her confidence on stage. I wish I could have gotten the video to load onto my computer but it just didn’t work for me.

Baba and Gramps thought you did a wonderful job. You worked hard at your practices and it showed on stage! Well done, Addy!

Home to have a good rest before her next performance on Sunday afternoon.

We found out after the show that there were a few of the young performers who had challenges to overcome and they did it brilliantly. There was one young dancer who was completely deaf. Another amazing young man with a cochlear implant from the same family who was one of the stars of the show. Another performer came to the Haran Dancers without being able to jump or hop. All of these challenges were overcome with practice and patience. We are pleased that our granddaughter can learn and perform in this wonderful school of Irish Dancers with gifted teachers.

Early Spring at Our Country Bungalow

We are seeing more green around our country bungalow and the first pop of color are the Daffodils and the sweet Johnny Jump Ups.

I brought a bouquet in for the table and will be bringing in a second bouquet today for our weekend festivities.

On this past Tuesday we had our 2024 inaugural walk on the Rotary Trail. Speaking of inaugural, I mowed our acreage on Tuesday, also. This was an early start to mowing.

From a distance we thought this was a real heron but when I zoomed in it looks more like a statue.

There were lots of real birds chirping and singing as we walked.

This eagle was soaring.

This trail loop walk takes us just under an hour to complete.

Our glass fishing float was reflecting the clouds this past week and I zoomed in for a photo.

“This glass fishing float is one of the historical, handblown floats used for nautical buoyancy and fishing gear.”

We also have a basket full of smaller floats. This next photo of the floats was taken in the summer with our pest ‘Alvin’.

We have two car loads arriving at our Country Bungalow for the weekend and another Colville carload here for the late afternoon and evening. Today is Andrew’s birthday and we will celebrate him. Tomorrow we will celebrate JJ’s 5th birthday with a bowling party. His actual birthday is in the middle of this coming week. Tomorrow evening and Sunday afternoon Addy has a dance recital with her Irish dancing group. Fun times are afoot! I will be scarce here but busy in the kitchen and elsewhere.

Here’s todays birthday boy!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Dublin Finale

Our travel journal will come to an end with this post, our last several hours in Dublin on Monday, September 25th.

Our tour guide was great and the tour at Jameson was well done and we all enjoyed it.

After our Jameson Tour it was a straight shot along Mary’s Lane to the Church Cafe. We had a great table for the 6 of us right up front in the balcony with the Irish music and dancing right below us.

We had a lovely view of the Stained glass window.

Saint Mary’s (former) Church of Ireland was begun c.1700 to the design of Sir William Robinson and was completed by his successor, Thomas Burgh. It was the first classical parish church in the city and was the site of Arthur Guinness’s marriage in 1761. Wolfe Tone was baptized here and the church also witnessed John Wesley’s first Irish sermon.

The triumphal east window was designed at least in part by Robinson and has a grace and vivacity unusual in a city largely bypassed by Baroque influences. The style is supported by the tracery windows and represents the only extant exterior Baroque flourish in Dublin city. The plan form adds further to the site’s unique identity, with the convex quadrants being a departure from the usual rectilinear shapes found in similar churches, contributing a distinctive design and striking presence.

Lord how I love the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the Lord

Holiness becometh thy house O Lord forever.

I felt torn that this church didn’t survive for whatever reason but am pleased that it wasn’t torn down. The Stained glass window still echoes some of God’s truth for those with eyes to see.

We all enjoyed our dinner here and when it came to dessert, Sticky Toffee Pudding was on our minds. The Church Cafe did not have it on the menu so Andrew googled and found a restaurant in the Temple Bar area of Dublin that had it on the menu. We decided we would enjoy that to top off our last full day in Dublin so we walked across the river to the Temple Bar area.

How great it was to see this particular bar that was one of the jigsaw puzzles I completed before we traveled to Dublin.

The restaurant that was serving Sticky Toffee Pudding was packed and getting a seat for six didn’t look promising. With some gentlemanly coaxing, Andrew convinced the staff to fix up two servings for us to enjoy outside around a bench along the way with promises that we would certainly return the plates and utensils. It was a nice way to end our time before we ordered the last Uber of the day to take us back to our hotel for the night. Slainte!

This wraps up my travel journal for our time in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Dublin and England. On Tuesday the 26th of September we had our buffet breakfast in the hotel, checked out and traveled by Uber to the Dublin Airport for our 9-10 hour flight home. We went through customs in Dublin so we did not have to be delayed at all after landing in Seattle. Andrew and Katie drove straight home from the airport in Seattle and we drove back to Josh and Laura’s for the night with a stop for dinner at their local Mexican Restaurant. We settled in for the night to try to sleep before our next day departure by car over the mountains to our home. When we woke up earlier than expected due to Jet Lag we loaded up and drove home. Thankful for God’s providence in reaching our driveway safe and sound or half sound. Jet Lag is real!

Thank you for coming along on our journey.

Back to Dublin ~Day 11

Day eleven of our trip to Ireland and England was Monday September 25th. We walked across the road to the John Lennon Airport from our hotel early for our 9:20 AM flight back to Dublin. We didn’t realize how important adding the extras on our reservation were for this flight. We purchased priority boarding and it was money well spent as they divided everyone up into the ‘goats’ and ‘sheep’ at the gate. Our seats were guaranteed while others had to wait and see if there would be room for them. YIKES. Thankful again for the providence of the Lord we encountered all through our trip.

Another taxi ride from the Dublin airport to our last hotel on this trip, The Ashling. Andrew and Katie were already at this hotel and we were excited to meet up with them for our last day in Dublin. True to form the day was packed full with adventures.

After checking into the hotel and dropping our bags Josh ordered another Uber to take us across the river to our lunch destination, The Stag’s Head.

Our hunger satisfied we checked our GPS and walked to Trinity College.

No tours were available for us so we booked entry into the Book of Kells and strolled around the campus waiting for our entry time. The campus was packed solid with students and parents.

It was finally time for our tour and we lined up in the queue.

Welcome to the Old Library and the Book of Kells – a “must see” on the itinerary of all visitors to Dublin. Located in the heart of Dublin City, a walk through the cobbled stones of Trinity College Dublin will bring visitors back to the 18th century, when the magnificent Old Library building was constructed. Inside is housed the Book of Kells – a 9th-century gospel manuscript famous throughout the world.

The Book of Kells “Turning Darkness into Light” exhibition has displays of large screens showing copies of the pages from the Book of Kells. The actual volume of the Book of Kells is housed in the Treasury inside a glass case opened to a page that is turned every so often. No photographs permitted.

When we were on the Isle of Iona back in 2006 we were able to read about and see a copy of a page of the book of Kells which is most likely the location where the Book of Kells was created. Here’s a link with some good information.

These next four photos are needlepoint kneelers from St. Mary Magdalene church in Woodstock that we visited in 2022.

From the Book of Kells exhibit you proceed upstairs to the magnificent Long Room which usually houses 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books in its oak bookcases.

We were disappointed that all but 10% of the books were removed for cleaning and restoration from this magnificent library during our time in Dublin.

The Trinity College Harp (also known as ‘The Brian Boru Harp‘), dating from around 1400 AD, is an extraordinary instrument. Anywhere you look in Ireland, you cannot avoid the Trinity College Harp. It is used as the official emblem of Ireland.

From our time here we did some walking and shopping before we ordered another Uber to take us to Jameson Distillery where we had reserved a tour. The rest of day eleven will have to wait for another day.

Back to the Present: Our company over the last several days left on Monday morning. These last few days of November and into the beginning of December are very busy days for us. We have several events this week that require planning and thinking and organizing. We are starting our Christmas decorating slowly. I’ll have to wait for the majority of that decorating until next week. Choosing joy in the midst of busy! Hope all is well in your corner.

St. Patrick’s Day

It’s fun to be Irish for a day and to enjoy a meal of Corned Beef and Cabbage! The cast iron pot has been pulled out for the cooking of this meal for our family as they arrive for the weekend this evening.

Life wasn’t this kind of fun for St. Patrick. If you want to read about him here is a great article. Who Was Saint Patrick.

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“St. Patrick’s Lorica points beyond himself and his adventurous life. It points to Christ, the one he proclaimed to the people who had taken him captive:”

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God bless you all dear friends.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Irish