Áilleacht an Gheimhridh

Japanese spaces

Tokonomo
Tatami (mat)
Oshi-ire (bed storage closet)
Toko oshi-ire ?

Shamanic Drumming Circle

Dunderry Park.
Second time.
Beginning to create a guide - an elephant came to me tonight; or did I create it?

Nuair a bhí mé san Ind, rinne mé marcaíocht ar eilifint agus muid sa tóir ar thíogar.

Gann ar Ola

Rith mé as ola. Rith mé as airgead agus rith mé as ola. Tá cónaí orm i dteach mór a tógadh sna 1970idí nó 90idí. Tá géar gá le tuilleadh insliú - ní fhanann teas sa teach in aon chor.
Ach buíochas le Dia tá tine oscailte sa seomra suite agus tine leictreach sa chistin. Is féidir uisce a théamh le leictreachas. Mar sin níl aon ábhar gearáin agam! Is iomaí duine atá fuar is dócha agus gan na háiseanna sin ar fáil dóibh.
 
Taitníonn sé liom tine a lasadh agus teas a chur ar fáil dom féin sa seomra suite. Ach tá sraon ar mo chuid oibre freisin dar ndóigh - níl m'oifig nó mo stuideó teolaí. Fiú agus breis geansaithe orm!
Amanta is maith an rud sraonta - tá fadhbanna dá chuid féin i gceist le fuílleach roghanna.

Innisfree, the reality

Peace does come dropping slow.
And loneliness too.
I arose and went, I stepped off the pavement grey and sought out the bee-loud glade.
I took a small cabin, obeyed that which I heard at the heart's core. And maybe I need to give it a bit more time but right now I feel there is a lot to be said for living in the metropolis; the ready company, the easy access to other farflung places, the availability of everything.
Bees and honeybees and honey are one thing.
Linnets and purple haze are all very well.
Beans taste good but sushi does too.
The reality is, Mr Yeats, I miss my friends, I loathe having to travel for everything and invariably spend a night away from home, a structure of wattle and clay takes a lot of effort to maintain and upkeep. Effort which I, frankly, (and you too) would rather spend on creative intellectual pursuits.
I'm happy I am here, I'm happy to have the opportunity to try it out. It is an experiment. I don't mind my dreams being trod on. No treading softly around here.

Caoldra

Tá cónaí orm i mbaile fearainn Chaoldra le 5 mhí anuas anois. Bhog mé isteach ar an 26ú Bealtaine agus tá muid anois i mí Deireadh Fomhair - agus an Geimhreadh ag druidim linn.

Tá Caoldra i gCondae Liatroma. Loch álainn den ainm chéanna timpeall an cúinne ón teach.
Ach faraor, tá luchóga ag déanamh a mbealach isteach sa tigín anois. Tá orm an áit a roinnt. Agus ní theastaíonn housemates uaim, go háirithe má táim len iad a mharú. Thrastnaigh siad an teorainn. Seo m'áitse, níl fáilte romhaibh.

Bhí cónaí orm i Má Nuad agus mé páirteach i "Resilient Community" ansin agus le feirm darbh ainm Derrybeg Farm. Sampla de Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is ea an feirm. Bhí cairdis nua á bhunú agam agus daoine breátha á chastáil orm... agus d'fhág mé i mo dhiaidh iad.

Theastaigh níos mó spáis uaim. Bím ag obair ón mbaile. Theastaigh seomra uaim do gach tasc! Seomra suite, seomra bia/cistin, seomra leapan, seomra staidéir / oifig, seomra fúála, seomra folcadh. Agus tá siad sin ar fad agam.
Scríobhfaidh mé níos mó arís, táim éigcinnte faoina bhfuil uaim. Faoi dheacrachtaí an tuath etc.

An experiment in country living

I've taken a house in Leitrim. Renting. Found it on daft. It was advertised as a three-bedroom house. But really it has two reception rooms and two bedrooms. At any rate, it has more space than the apartment I was sharing with a flatmate in Maynooth. Here, I can afford the rent for the full house on my own.
The reason I moved, in one sentence is:

I wanted more space

I work as a freelancer. And I have taken up dressmaking. So I need an office and a sewing-studio.
But other ideas and reasons that I moved were...

• living in the countryside
• a more "simple" way of life

There is an aspiration among some of my friends to live "off-grid". It is seen as a badge of honour. To be able to live off-grid. To shun the world, society and all ills that goes with it and compose your own requirements and bring them about. I don't go this far, I think off-grid is often only made possible with the use of a solar voltaic cellular panel - and what kind of society brought that about?! It can't be all bad! Why shun it? But that's unfair, not all off-griders are shunners. In fact, in some remote locations, it's practical to generate one's own electricity, heating etc.
So yes, some part of me wanted to challenge this within myself and wonder if it's something I aspire to and how I might go about it if it was...
Additionally

• get away from people

People tire me, exhaust me, confuse me, distract me from my own thoughts. It would be nice to get away from cities and people. And on the flip-side, with the people I would meet, hopefully the relationships would be more real and not formed from a basis of consumerism.
My fear, however, was that I would go mad with loneliness.

The first few days, the weather was unusually cold for late May... all thoughts of avoiding oil-fired heating and lighting daily fires in the fireplaces quickly disappeared with the effort required. The unrelenting task of keeping an eye on the fires. Having fuel in stock. Cleaning. The dirt. Within week, I had rung the oil company and got a fill for the tank out the back. I am a cold person, I like to be comfortably warm. Learning point #1. I *could* do fire-lighting but I'd need to have prepared a stock of fuel in advance and it would become a large eater of my time. I'd rather do other things with my time and my life than enabling my living. If there's a switch I can flick, that's enabling thinking and more complex forms of living and engaging with life. Maslow, I was paying attention to your theory of the Hierarchy of Needs.

Space.
Undoubtedly, having space is wonderful. Although breaking up my duties and tasks into separate rooms, i.e. eating and food preparation = kitchen; leisure activities = sitting room; sewing = sewing room; work = office; hasn't really worked out because the sun and the light is different during the day and it was awful to have my office in the north-facing small room in the back. I think good design can compensate for lots of space though. For example, my bedroom doesn't need to be so big. Especially seeing as I have a dressing room in a separate room to my sleeping/bed room!

Internet
Also, very early on, I realised internet is a huge part of my life now. Mobile phone reception was poor so I got a landline telephone. I tried a few options of internet - having concluded that going to the local library was not feasible for a freelancer (especially one working in the publishing industry!) - and ended with a satellite dish. Excellent internet access now. Even without my work, I think it's hard to live in the modern life without internet - notices are posted online or on facebook now, posters and signs and newsletters can't be relied on for full updates, mind you word of mouth is still the best. I've heard of dance classes and a watercolour painting group and a Crafty Ladies get-together through the people I've met at a knitting circle.

Rubbish
Oddly, dealing with my rubbish and waste is something I *am* happy to tackle. I choose my purchases a little more carefully in the supermarket. I haven't paid for a rubbish collection. I burn some of my waste (paper), and compost some more. I admit to using my mam's or my aunt's waste collection but it certainly is getting me to think about waste generation, packaging etc and these problems are something I am happy to tackle and overcome - unlike internet access for example!

Loneliness and restriced activities are definitely a challenge. I have to drive everywhere. I don't have any friends yet. I have met a French artist/farmer and we are enjoying each other's company, I go to a knitting group in a nearby library.