17 posts tagged “vacation”

Normally about right now I'd be stressing out in a major way.  I love the holiday season, but just cannot deal with the stress and chaos of it all.  December traditionaly makes me want to hide; it wears on me until I'm prone to tears and tantrums at every little thing.  This year though?  Don't care.

A week in Ireland alone with my BFF and soulmate over Thanksgiving has completely reset my perspective on things this year.  I wouldn't say I don't care about anything, but so very much of it all really isn't important.  My yard looks like a muddy war zone.  Don't care.  I've only barely put up any of my holiday decorations.  Don't care.  The outdoor lights we did put up before we left, were a mess up front and not working at all out back when we came home.  Don't care.  Almost all of our many strands of indoor lights are completely non-functional in a werid coincidence.  Don't care.  I've only just started shopping for gifts, and though I know what I want to give people, I haven't actually got anything yet, nor have I started making the gifts I want to make.  Not worried.  We may or may not get cards in the mail this year -though I don't even have any picked out (or made) yet.  Don't care.  Our schedule for the month is cram-packed and already there are double-bookings.  Whatever.

It's just not bothering me.  Vacation is always good.  Vacation in Ireland with my sweetie seems to have been the perfect medicine for my holiday nerves.  Bloody brilliant.  I expect these holidays will be so very far from fancy, organized or even pretty, but given the difference from my unusual December state of mind, I'm also figuring they'll be the most pleasant I've had since I was a kid and had nothing more to worry about than being good for Santa.

I think maybe I'll hang another garland and a wreath or two today.  Maybe do some online shopping.  ...Then again, *shrug* maybe not.  Definitely need to make a latte to sip while I get some work done though.  It is the holiday season after all!  :)

This is the calmest I've ever been before even a day of fun, let alone a week's vacation and travel.  I don't know why I'm not having any stress or anxiety, it's not at all like me, but I'm not about to stress over the lack of stress either!

I am feeling some guilt over leaving Mia.  I wish she'd focus during her english lessons and learn human language already so I could clearly explain to her that we're not giving her away to strangers and abandoning her, that we want her to have fun exploring a new place for a week, but we can't wait to bring her back home.  I miss her when I'm away for a few hours, a week is going to be tough!

I looked out the window this morning and the side yard is filled with little green flags marking the current sewer and water main lines, so that's progress on the plumbing front already.  I just need to drop off a house key for them before we leave.

I have a good idea what I need to pack, and it's going to be very light.  Clothes will be casual and allowing for layers.  I'm going to wear my hiking boots, and that's all the shoe I'll be taking.  I wasn't going to take any electronics other than the camera, but now I'm thinking I'll take my mp3 player and my Kindle (for the plane).  Aside from that, I'm just going to pack a sketchbook, a pen and some drawing pencils.  I'm not even planning on packing much in the way of toiletries, since I'll just hit up a store in Dublin when we get there to get some shampoo and soap and such.  Packing will be so easy.

I have a few phone calls to make today, a couple errands to run, a little laundry, some light chores...  then it's just time to pack.  Now worries at all.  ...Which is weird, but also lovely.

What a fabulous afternoon!

We went to the museum and I headed straight for the Chihuly exhibit.  It was a decent size exhibit, all stuff from the museum's own collection, but most of which I hadn't seen on display before.  He really is great with color and form.  There were some gorgeous pieces, many of which had me wondering how they were made.

As we were leaving the exhibit, we walked past the hot shop and saw there'd be a demo in fifteen minutes.  I've seen a couple demos there before but I still really wanted to see another.  :)  We went into the cafe to have a quick bit of refreshment, and just before the demo was supposed to start, I noticed the studio was near full.  Glass walls, you see.  (Pun intended.)  We chugged what was left of our orange juice and snuck into a couple of seats in the back row of the studio.

It was a great demo, a one woman show, which is kind of unusual.  She did a great job though, managing all of the pipes and punties all by herself while explaining a ton about glass and the blowing process.  It ran almost an hour, and in that time she demonstrated some basic techniques as well as optic molds and thermal shocking for that crackled effect.  By the end of the demo, she'd made a gorgeous 10" diameter amber, footed glass bowl with a scalloped edge.  She'd used a special glass that gets an irredescant finish when it's flame-treated at the end of the process.  I have some of that glass, but I haven't yet figured out how to work it in my torch flame to bring the metals to the surface.  Craig very patiently waited while I hung around after the demo to ask a few questions, and I got dibs on the bowl she made!  Assuming it survives the annealing kiln, it's reserved for me, and they only charge $50-60 for the bowls made during demos!  (Procedes to benefit the museum, of course.)  That's 1/3 to 1/6 what you'd pay for a similar piece sold by the artist!  I can't wait to go pick it up!  It'll be ready Tuesday.

After the glass pavillion, we went back to the main building.  We took a quick look through the gift shop, which is a fabulous gallery filled with beautiful, original art pieces, lots of which is glass work!  Then we attempted to check out the LitGraphic exhibit, but I was too wound up with too much glass on the brain.  I couldn't focus on the graphic art at all, so I asked Craig if we could bail and come back to this exhibit another day when I could give it my full attention.

So we were only at the museum for a couple of hours, but it was an absolutely fabulous couple of hours, and it left me totally recharged, wound up, and filled with inspiration.

We did a little shopping while we were out, getting some rain pants to pack for Ireland so we won't get soaked if it starts to rain while we're out tromping through bogs and looking at ruins.  :)  We each got a few lightweight shirts to pack for the trip too, so we're pretty much ready to go now!  ...This is going to be a long week.  :D

*And* on top of the awesome time at the museum and the great shopping-fu, we also had a late lunch at Panera.  They've brought back their mac&cheese!!!  I had a small cup of that sinful yum with one of their fuji apple salads, which are so delicious.

It was a great day out, but it wore me out completely.  I'm going to spend the rest of the day just chilling and waiting for bedtime, I think.

The challenges of the past few weeks are now history.  Mia has a reservation for boarding, we're ready for our trip to Ireland, work is caught up for the first time since I took that job years ago, our sewer and water main will be replaced while we're away, and my sister and I managed to actually surprise my mom with a 60th birthday party at my house last night.  Challenges are behind me, vacation is just ahead, and my house is squeaky clean.  Today I finally feel like myself for the first time in many months.  I can breathe ...and just sit, without guilt or anxiety or anything hanging over my head.

We're going to go to my house of worship today, the museum!  There are four totally awesome exhibits there right now that I've been really wanting to see, but something has always seemed more pressing.  By the time we get back from Ireland, the "Chihuly Toledo!" exhibit will have ended.  As a glass artist, I -will not- miss this exhibit, so that's really the only thing on my plan for the day so far.  We may or may not check out the other exhibits too.  They're all free (love our museum!!!), but the other three will also be running for a bit longer, so we'll have time to catch them on future visits.

The party last night was a smashing success.  My mom was genuinely surprised.  :)  My sister made a gorgeous and -delicious- cake.  It had Baileys in it, lots of chocolate flowers and tons of buttercream frosting....unf.  Everyone had a good time.  Craig talked radio with the uncles.  The kids were totally enchanted with the bunny, who, surprisingly, didn't seem to mind them too much.  Uncle Mats thought our potrack was brilliant (thanks, Deb & Brian!) and since we still had the other one from the set in the garage, we we able to send them home with one.  Everyone talked and talked and laughed and laughed.  Good times.

I need some gum and a neck rub.  My jaw is so tired and sore, my neck and shoulders so knotted, ...for days now.

I bailed on the funeral today.  I'm not proud of it, but I am glad I didn't go.  I got up early and got my shower and workout out of the way so I could go.  I ate a high fiber cereal and some yogurt for breakfast to anchor my nervous stomach.  But when it came time to put up my hair and hit the road, I totally chickened out.  My stomach started rolling, my blood pressure shot up and I was shaking and dizzy.  Stupid nerves.  It was the usual social anxiety plus dreading driving myself to the nasty part of town where the funeral home is plus dreading being introduced to 3rd and 4th cousins, all on top of other stress I'm dealing with this week.  I started feeling like I was going to throw-up and/or pass out, and I totally bailed.  Instead, I put some comfy clothes back on, lit a candle for my dad's Aunt Helen, wished her well on her journey, and asked her to say hi to my Dziadzi for me.  I do need to call my dad and apologize though.  I hope he understands.

The plumber came by with a contract yesterday.  $4800 worth of work to be done.  Aieee!  It's kind of working out that we're saving money actually though.  We were told our water main was ready to fail at any time last year, so we've had our fingers crossed on that for a while now, knowing what a huge and expensive project it would be.  Now our sewer line received the same diagnosis, with a quote of $3500'ish just for a new sewer line.  So we're saving quite a bit of money by having them both replaced in only one dig-up-the-yard event.  I'm trying to remind myself of that anyhow.  The near $5k bill still hurts.

But, the work is scheduled for the week we'll be in Ireland after all.  Both Craig and the plumber really thought that was fortunate timing.  I'm a little antsy about having people in my house while we're half a world away, but the plumber is a good guy, and as long as he's over-seeing things, I can feel some peace-of-mind.  ...or at least keep telling myself I do.  It's not that I'm afraid of anything going missing.  My house is just completely sacred space to me, and it feels very wrong to have near strangers moving through it while I'm so far away.  It'll be ok though.  And, we won't have to worry about coping without usable plumbing while the work is done.

As for the party planning, ...oy.  Lots of little twists and turns there, but the head party-planner is a smart and sassy, dedicated woman and she's ironing out all the wrinkles one by one.  I'm going to have to find some way to show my appreciation for her efforts in all of this.  Right now my role is pretty straight-forward: I have location and beverages.  *breathes*  It's going to be ok.

Tomorrow is Mia's vet appointment.  *Fingers crossed* that all goes well there and they say she's fit to board.

...One thing at a time.

...And later, batting my eyes at my husband to ask him to work out the knots in my neck.

I'm so not a multitasker.  I know being able to multi-task is a badge of pride these days, but you know what?  Fuck that!  I can give one thing my full attention, thoroughly accomplish a task with integrity and confidence, and then move on to the next.  Multitaskers are always doing just enough to get by.  I wasn't designed to work that way.  (Another in a long list of reasons why I've never wanted children.)

But, I digress...

Feeling the pressure today.  There are too many important issues/concerns on my plate right now, and it's grinding on my nerves hard and fast.

I made the reservations for boarding Mia while we're in Ireland.  I can almost check that off my list, except they want to examine her first.  I don't think that'll be a problem, but I'd really rather just know that finding a plan for her can be checked off my list of worries already.  I feel tons guilty enough about leaving her for a week as it is.  So, Friday she has an appointment, and I have all fingers and toes crossed that my sweet (*old*) girl is deemed healthy enough to take on as a boarder, and that she likes it there.

I really need to make a packing plan for Ireland already, while I still have time to acquire any wardrobe essentials that might be needed.  We're staying casual and packing carry-on only, so packing light is the name of the game.  It's going to be colder and rainier this time around though, so quick-drying layers are ideal.  I think I'll sit down with a cup of tea in a bit here and start working on that list, just to get it settled in my mind a little.

Oh yeah!  I need to call the bank too and see how much time they need to order some Euros for me.  Must have the monies before we leave!

Then there's the party planning.  It's nigh impossible to say no when it's for someone you love dearly, but I have to start doing that.  "No party planning ever" needs to be one of my hard and fast rules.  I do not like parties.  Attending them is hell enough, planning them is excrutiating!  I've already committed to this one though, so I have no choice but to plow through.  I'll have to get back to that today too.  I put it on the back burner last week when I had other priority issues eating my time and sanity.  I can't put it off forever though.  It's been haunting me and I just want to be done with it!

Today's election day.  We'll be going out to vote when Craig gets home.  Not a big deal there.  It's a simple ballot this time and I know exactly how I plan to vote.  I still get performance anxiety about it though.  My brain and all of it's stupid anxiety!  Oh well.  That'll be a non-issue by 6pm, ...sooner if I can't manage to push it out of my head, because I'll just go out on my own and get it over with for sanity's sake.

Then there's the plumbing.  We're now looking at replacing both the sewer line and the water line.  Both need doing, disaster is imminent in both cases otherwise.  We're talking about $5k in forseeable expense.  Oof.  The money's not even the biggest stressor, though it certainly registers!  We're also talking two, maybe three days without functional plumbing.  Argh.  It really needs to be done before permafrost, which means before Ireland and preferably before the party I'm hosting, ...which means work needs to start this week ideally.  argh.  Not much I can do about that right at this minute other than worry, and worrying gets nothing done, so for today at least, I'm going to try to just not think about it.

There'll be a funeral for one of my great aunts this week too.  I can keep that bit of stress out of my head for now because details haven't been arranged yet.  Hopefully it won't coincide with Mia's vet appointment or the start/progress of plumbing work, because we're down to the wire on those things which need to happen ASAFP and I don't have rescheduling options.

Ok.  So if I can get at least three of those things taken care of so they're not weighing on me any more, *then* I can start thinking about the holidays.  I really need to jump on that as soon as possible, because holiday stress builds exponentially for me with every passing day.

I do feel better just for having listed it all out though, honestly.  All that vague pressure and sense of impending doom never looks as bad when it's organized and prioritized.  It'll look even better if I can deal with some of it and just get it crossed off the list though, so I'd better get to it now.

I'm getting so very excited about our upcoming vacation.  When our travel agent started looking at airfare, the best route to Ireland was through Amsterdam, so Craig asked him to give us a one day layover on our way home so we could have a little time to get a quick peek at the city.  It's not a lot of time at all, not for some place we've never been, but it's a nice way to audition the city for future vacation plans.  I figure we'll probably have enough time to check out a museum or two, walk around a bit to get a taste of the city, and find a good restaurant for dinner.  The Steltman Gallery that features Michael Parkes' lithographs is in Amsterdam, so I'm going to have to look up the location and hours for that.  :)  WOOT!  I love exploring new places!

I'm totally stoked about the driving tour through Ireland though!  I'm looking forward to going back to a few of our favorite spots like Cashel, Ennis and Slea Head, but I'm also looking forward to seeing new places like Dublin, Connemara and Galway!  I'm looking into a visit to the Hill of Tara too, hoping to see it before the M-3 highway project trashes too much of it.  It looks like our suggested driving route takes us pretty damn close to the area on the way back to Dublin, so it shouldn't be too difficult to work it in.

It'll be good to experience the weather in Ireland in November too, given how much I currently want to move there.  I did some quick research, and it looks like November can be rainy with a chance of snow.  I don't know why, the thoughts of warmer sea air probably, but I wasn't expecting that Ireland ever saw much snow.  I still want to move there, my thinking being that we'd be close enough to the mountain ranges of Europe for some awesomely snowy winter vacations if I really needed a snow fix.  I told Craig though, if it snows in Ireland while we're there, I'm taking it as a serious sign that we're supposed to stay.

I went and looked up all of our hotels yesterday, and they are swank!  They all have fitness centers and pubs and complimetary breakfasts.  The hotel in Killarney has a *gorgeous* pool, and the Galway hotel has a spa with all sorts of crazy offerings including an ice cave(!) ...whatever the hell that is.  *L*  Of course, I don't expect to be spending enough time in our hotel to take advantage of most amenities, but it's still nice to know we'll be staying in clean, beautiful, comfortable places, and the fitness centers and pool could come in handy if I can stay disciplined enough to get through a daily workout when there's so much sight-seeing to do.  ...Honestly, I'm not going to feel *at all* guilty if there's too much to see to make time for working out, but it's nice to know I have the option.

I was thinking I'd board Mia at the vets' for the week we're gone, but I'm starting to have second thoughts about that.  I have to get out there to see their boarding facilities.  She's used to having the run of a quiet house.  If they're going to have her in a small cage listening to squaking parrots and exotic birds all day every day, well I don't know if I can do that to her.  That's kind of like sending your kid to San Quintin while you jaunt off to Europe for a week.  I'm thinking about getting a house-sitter if the boarding thing doesn't look as swank as our hotels are.  It's always so tricky making sure our bunnies are going to be well looked after when we travel.  I have a few options, I suppose.

We spent an hour outside last night looking for meteors.  The neighbor's porch light came on almost as soon as we stepped outside, and it was on for quite a while, but we still managed to see a few meteors despite the light pollution.  We counted 13 meteors (numbers 10 and 13 being amazingly huge with long, bright trails), 4 bats, 2 satellite(or ISS?) sightings and countless planes.  And I only got a couple mosquito bites.  :)

Well, my coffee cup is empty and I'm starting to feel my brain kick in, so I guess I'd better get busy and get some stuff done today.  I have big plans for today.  Big plans for tomorrow too.  ...And Saturday.  Pretty much, big plans from here on out for the forseeable future, ...'til the end of the year at least.  :)  Life is *really* good!

We're sunburnt, still smiling, and thoroughly spent!
What an AWESOME TRIP!!!
*collapses*

(Details to come later after I've had time to sort through the pictures.)

I had this lovely post planned about how beautiful Vermont is and this crazy-hysterical off--roading road we took the poor Kia down today and watching the sunset in a little beach cove with my man and not a single other soul and about lobster casserole which is very likely the world's most awesome comfort food... *breathes*, but we're sitting on the balcony of our hotel room in the dark (but for the moon and our laptop screens) listening to the wind rustle the dry trees and roar through the corridors, and I'm just going to turn this stupid thing off now.

Good night.