I'm back from Ireland and slowly getting back into the swing of things. I still have a ton of stuff to do at home in the tidying-and-putting-away department, so I am looking forward to the weekend!

Ireland was great. I was there for three weeks. During the first week I was in Ballyvaughan with five other friends (including Martin) - we know each other from an internet music website. Yes, I'm still meeting "internet people" - you can't stop me, I've done it since I was 13!



We saw the Ailwee Cave, some Dolmen (standing) stones, the Burren, Ennis, Galway, and rather a lot of rain. And a very drooly cat:



In the second week three of us went up to Donegal. Audrey (blue shirt above) and I were signed up for two weeks of Irish language lessons at Oideas Gael. Some may remember that I went to this school five years ago during my summer in Ireland. It was even better this time than last time - they have broadband now!

Martin went home at the end of the second week (of the three) and Audrey and I finished up on the 5th of July. That's the day I came home, but she stayed on for a few more days in Dublin.

I've got LOADS of new goodies - I've been saving for this trip for months and am pleased to say I stayed within my budget (by 3%!). I got a surprising amount of wool (mostly free!), some yarn, about a million books in Irish, some CDs in Irish, a DVD in Irish (there aren't many of these in existence yet!), a jumper, a shawl, a new hat, a couple of t shirts, some gloves, and I taught myself a few Aran knitting stitches and am making myself a scarf from Donegal yarn. At the rate I'm going it will be done by winter!

An Irish language conversation circle has started up in London recently and I will be going to it on Thursday of next week. I have to keep practicing or I'll lose the Irish I regained on this trip!

In other news - I am about to apply for UK citizenship! I just have to dig a few documents out of my files and then I will be ready to go for it. It's costing us another £700...sigh!

On the 14th I'll be leaving for Ireland, and will be there for three weeks. It should be a great trip! So when the blog gets quieter than usual, don't be alarmed. And remember to check my photo page after 5 July to see any new photos that have gone up!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/avamil/

In other news, I am one step farther along in my quest to get a UK driving licence (that's how it's spelt here). Yesterday I passed my theory test! Now I have two years in which to take my practical test, but first I have to get some lessons arranged. I'm finding it more difficult to learn to drive here than it was in the US because no one I know actually has a car that I can practice in. I never thought I'd be nostalgic for that old station wagon that always stalled at stop lights...

Happy June everyone, and I'll 'see' you in July!

The camera was defective and I've had to return it, but I have my eye on a similar model which will be available after I return from Ireland in July.

I have a bit of a tradition that I've followed since childhood - every year I treat myself to something and say it's a gift from my parents. So look what my dad got me this year!



It's a real, honest-to-goodness digital slr camera, with interchangeable lenses. I got it for a great price (and a three year damage warranty thrown in!) because this model is being removed from the lineup of our local camera store. But wanna know the best part?

For the cost of a £13 adapter from ebay (or £105 from the manufacturer - guess which I chose?), I should be able to use old manual-focus Olympus lenses from film cameras with this digital camera. And I happen to have SEVEN old olympus lenses, thanks to the generosity of a retiring photographer whom I know. He gave them to me over a year ago but I haven't been able to use them because I don't shoot film these days.

So I'm very excited about the prospect of suddenly having eight lenses to choose from, including a 500mm (1000mm when used on this digital camera!) telephoto lens. Maybe I'll finally get some good shots of the moon!

I also got this, perhaps from my mom:



It's a graphics tablet for the computer. I've been thinking about getting one for ages. It hasn't arrived yet but I'm looking forward to using it for photo editing, sketching, and also I will be able to put my signature on my photographs just like the pros!

Isn't it great when your parents know just what you want for your birthday! ;)

From 2 May to 12 May Martin and I were on holiday, because my grandmother Jo came to visit us from New York. It was her second time in England and the first time we'd seen her since July 2007. We had great fun - an open top bus tour of London, a visit to my new office (more fun for her than for me!), a trip to Kingston to see Martin's Morris team perform at the May Merrie, and six days down in Dorset with Martin's parents. On the way to Dorset we also stopped at Stonehenge, which was great fun. I was surprised by how much Martin was surprised by how much I enjoyed visiting Stonehenge!

In Dorset Martin's mom really enjoyed having Jo come to visit. (Because of some generational gap quirks, my grandmother and Martin's parents are of similar age - his family tended to have kids late and mine tended to have them early!) We did some wandering of local towns and gardens, and the inevitable Stately Home (Montecute, in this case) and one day Martin and I went fossil hunting on the beach at Lyme Regis. it was great fun, and we spotted a really great one. Can you find it in this photo?



I bet you can.

We've 'hired' our 12 year old neighbour to look after Elbie when we travel; she absolutely loves to do it and her mum helps her when necessary. We give her a small wage for each visit, which really builds up in 12-year-old terms when we're gone for nearly a week! She'll clean up again in June, when we go to Ireland for two weeks! I'll be gone for three, actually, but Martin will be back after two.

In other news, I am making progress toward obtaining a UK driver's licence. I don't want to drive here, but Washington won't renew my US license which will expire on my birthday next month because I don't have a Washington address anymore. So in order to be able to drive the next time we're in the states (possibly 2009) I need to get a UK licence. Insane. Anyway, I've got my provisional licence (aka learner's permit) and on June 12th I'll take the written part of the exam. Then I will have two years from that point in which to take and pass the practical exam. So sometime late this summer or early fall I will be taking driving lessons and my practical. It's like being 16 again except I also have to work full time and don't have anyone around whose car I can borrow to practice!