the flights
We set our alarm for 03:30, as Google told Keldor yesterday that airport security at Skellefteå Airport opens two hours before the flight. However, the sign on the side of the road outside the airport, by the closed gate, says one can’t drive onto airport land till one hour before the flight. We could have had another half hour of sleep before travel…
But all went smoothly with check-in after it was possible to come into the building. The checked bags weigh 22.4 and 22.5 kg, which since the limit is 23 kg, is good.
Our flight to Arlanda landed 25 minutes early, so we had oodles of time, which I should have spent sewing, but wound up scrolling for much of it. Oops. Eventually, we realised that while we were sitting by the gate, it never opened, so we checked, and they had switched gates.
So we went to the new gate, boatded, and around 2 hours later landed in Dublin a few minutes early.
Ireland
Tania and Mike picked us up at the Dublin Airport and we drove the couple of hours out to their delightful stone cottage at Inistoige, where, after a very fast tour to introduce the place to Keldor, and show me the many improvements that have happened since I last visited, in 2010, we took a nap.
I woke after a half an hour, then enjoyed a snack and pleasant conversation with Tania and Mike.
the houses
Their stone cottage is really a collection of stone farm buildings around a courtyard which had sat vacant for around 30 years before they bought the place, and the bits that had been sheds and barns were in the worst shape when they got it, missing roofs and some walls.
The main house was in good enough shape that while they replaced the roof itself (and added skylights in the pricess) they were able to retain the original roof support beams.
Inside, the original fireplace was big enough to roast an ox, but now they use a wood stove instead.
We are staying in the nearly complete guest cottage, which has just this week gotten done enough to be usable. The last time I was here it, and the adjoining shed, had no roof, and no wall on one end (and walls that had crumbled some at the other three sides).
With the help of their friend Billy, who is tallented at stone work, both the uphill shed/workshop(left side), and the guest cottage (right side) now haave complete walls, with doors and windows, and a roof:
The wall at the end has fun decorations:
The door frame will be added soon. The guest bed has a glorious headboard that they have nearly finished restoring, but Mike’s emergency dental surgery a couple of days ago, followed by plumbing issues in the main house prevented the headboard being ready to attach before we arrived.
Given that we had gotten up at 03:30 to start our journey here, and had driven all day (and most of the night) the before, we tryly didn’t care about the lack of the headboard, but went happily and went directly to sleep.
the orchard
After eating Tania took me out to see the orchard, which has five surriving big apple trees of the nine that were here when they bought the place 30 years ago.
Much of the orchard wall between the farm courtyard and the orchard still exists, but the bits surrounding the other three sides have nearly crumbled away.
Tania tells me that the biggest tree, which long ago fell, took new root, and started over, makes big glorious tart baking apples.
The one to the left grows smaller, yummy sweet eating apples that have a narrow window between ripe and gone. Someday she would like to try making cider from them.
Of course, most years, their touring cycle has them heading back to their home in Saquamish, Washington in the autumn, so usually it is the neighbours who come pick their apples after they are gone.
dinner
Keldor woke an hour or so after I did, an after repeating a quick version of the orchard tour we went in to the Green Spice Indian restaurant in Thomastown for dinner, arriving soon after their 5pm opening.
The food, as promised, was excellent, and the company, of course, better.
Thomastown castle and bridge
After dinner we walked over to the river to look at the town’s castle ruins:
and the nearby stone bridge:
And the view up the river:
Music
Then we returned to the house abd chatted for a bit before heading upstairs to practice a bit for their next consert.
While there she showed me the Seattle version of the Norrbotten polja tune Babba Lisas hyfs’n which they call “missing link” due to the pause that they so in the music, which she believes is not present in the original.
I tried playing her dulcimer a bit, but found it difficult without the colour coding I have painted on my bridges. Just as Tania found playing on mine challenging as it is harder to see the white and black bridges (that most dulcimer players uses for orientation points) with my colour coding.
However, I am feeling inspired to play dulcimer again, and even did a quick video of her playing, in hopes that it will help me learn it.
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