a new toy

hi everyone!

it has been a very busy week so far. this is kj's last week of "staycation" at the La Balcono (exotic eh? that's our little patio by the way), so the hostess has been doing her very best to make his stay comfortable, fun, exciting, and the best ever. in short, we're having fun. he works in the computer, and i work on the laptop behind him. when i kind of miss him, i send him an instant message with google chat. wonderful eh?!  :)

seriously though, monday we were on the city centre to find the paper supplier. it was a long walk throughout the city centre and since i forgot to bring our city guide, we made lots of wrong turns and while it was very chilly, we were both sweating heavily under our coats. kj was saying under his breath that i better have photographic memory and take in all the turns we made because i am definitely going back there in the future on my own. hmmm. we'll see. he has never refused me yet.  :)

after about two hours, and asking directions from a very helpful (not to mention good looking) Garda and many other good-natured dubliners, we found Daintree. ohhh, the moment i walked in i forgot that i was tired and hungry and cranky. in short, we found the paper that i needed. i sniffed, oohhhed and aahhhed at all the papers galore. i touched, smelled, and revelled. i was in paper heaven, and ohh my, i didn't want to leave. kj even enjoyed the shop, and pitched in his two cents to what kind of paper i should try. it was wonderful, that my husband now shares my fascination with paper, and at least we can talk paper now, and he can totally get me. did i just lost you? sorry.

what i'm trying to say is that, i am printing notecards again, and hoping against hope, i can make a start again with it. my spirit is lifeless without my craft so this is important for me. i'm glad kj understands how much this is a part of me, and he has seen me work and concentrate that many evenings ago, he volunteered to do the dishes so i can soak and relax in the bath. very thoughtful eh?! we do have the dishwasher by the way but because we're both save the environment freaks, we don't use it. uses too much energy and water. enough said. not really freaks, but well, we want to do our part, somehow.

tuesday, it rained the whole day. welcome to ireland odette!!! 

wednesday, we picked up the bicycle kj bought for me last week....

presenting my new toy!!!

isn't she beautiful? strong yet feminine! graceful, yet powerful! to break the cycle, we cycled all the way to phoenix park, which is, very close to the city centre already. it's far, my friends, from where we were. really far. but of course, like my cycle, i'm girly yet strong. i don't back out to some dutch guy who has a bicycle for a twin. i have to prove i deserve this expensive baby. hmmm. tall order really. the last time i cycled was two years ago in amsterdam and i almost died from exhaustion. not really died, but i thought i was gonna die then. and prior that, was like 15 years ago in my brothers' bmx bikes. i have that much cycling experience you can tell.

anyways, we went to phoenix park which to my dismay opens up its roads as a diversion from city folks bound to west dublin. i wanted a quiet park you see, without people, in case i fall down while i try to grasp where have all my reflexes gone. but since there's nothing we can do about it, we cycled around just the same. the cycle paths were at least good enough. photos here are from the va-va-voom phone by the way.

i'm so glad i had these shoes on, as rain water can't penetrate this baby. because you can guess that it rained on our way home and the wind was blowing hard...i'll tell more of that at the end of this post.

here we were sitting in a bench, resting my buns. i was feeling soreness creeping in, and my knees a little... soft?

the bikes are so sweet together! they were quite tired too,  i suppose.

this cycle path is new and  smooth, i wish it runs  forever.

then we went  on top of that hill,  the wind was so fresh and cool,  and we even had a bit of sun! i cycled down the hill on the other side, and i screamed  on the way down. i didn't know what else to do, it went so fast and my stomach felt so funny, and i can feel my adrenaline rush  and it felt soooo good. it was like a roller-coaster ride, a little bit.  i was terrified at first so i asked kj to go first, then i wouldn't have any choice  but to go down myself. it was crazy, and  by the time my cycle stopped, i was covered in mud. there was much water by the grassy field below and  am i glad i didn't fall off! and, and, and. i wish i can stop saying that.

that's my cycle. with our shadows.

look at the dark clouds hovering! this is the US ambassador's residence by the way, inside the phoenix park. a few minutes later, before we were even out of the park's gate, the rain pelted down on us. and we cycled for more than an hour, which to me seemed like an eternity. it was cold and my hands were freezing, and we had to get down on the cycle to cross busy streets. i had longed several times to stop and seek shelter from a bus stop just to catch my breath. but the desire to go home and dry myself won over, so i cycled, uphill, downhill until i was rigid. kj was way ahead of me carrying our heavy rucksack on his back (filled new books from the library), and he was like my lighthouse. if i can keep up with him, i'll be fine. many kilometers away from home, and i started to sing to myself. this is a very important lesson i learned, and it always worked for me, so you might want to do same: when you feel like you can't go on anymore, but you know you must, just sing to yourself. some songs you learned as a kid, or your mom has taught you, some song that brings happy memories back - scrambling for the lyrics will divert your attention to the pressing task at hand. i sang "How Great Thou Art", from the church hymnal that i learned since i was young. and instead of the cold and fatigue, i saw a beautiful world. i got home safe and whole with the song. and though stiff and dead-tired and cold for hours, i'm glad i did it. kj has few words about it. "i'm so proud of you baby, i didn't hear you complain." well i was busy singing that's why.   :)