The Author

The Author
Brian Haggard

My Dyslexia

Having the skill to write, spell, and punctuate has never been my strong suit. Growing up as a young child I was always nurtured to be creative and artistic which came naturally to me but I could never quite grasp written language. I now know that it's a learning disabilty with a name: DYSLEXIA.



I write from the heart and I make my best effort to get the words on the page properly but as you'll see I don't always succeed. I ask you to enjoy what I write and post but to be understanding and kind. Brian

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Friday, August 15, 2014

~How I Spent My Summer Vacation!~



~~~~~

Hello Everyone,

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer! Mine has been a busy but productive one and now here we are with Labor Day just around the corner. 

I wanted to slow down and take a little time to share some pictures and experiences that I had on my amazing Irish adventure back in June.




We were there for ten fascinating days, each one was filled to the brim with beautiful settings, interesting people and marvelous sites.  Me, being the visual person that I am, tried hard to capture every morsel of the beauty. That is why I ended up with more than two thousand pictures by the time I returned! I would like to share some of my favorites with you.


~~~

The flight was long and we arrived worn out but excited. The first night we wanted nothing more than a soft bed to fall into but after a restful night we were all raring to go.

Our group was organized through Sew Many Places, a travel group that caters to people with interests in all types of textile arts.

I acted as one of the two hosts for our group, the other was the spectacularly talented, Pam Holland.

If you are not familiar with her work please do yourself a favor and check out her website at:  pamhollanddesignsandproductions.com



Luckily for us the people in our delightful group made our jobs easy. It was truly a pleasure to share this holiday with each and every one of them.

Jane Haganman and sister Donna Baldwin
enjoying the beauty of Aran Island.

Our coach driver, a fact filled and fun guide that helped us along our way was D.B. He explained to us how he came by his unusual name. The initials stand for "Darling Boy" a name given to him by his mother.

He explained much of the Irish history and customs of the areas we visited and he regaled us with stories and information about this beautiful green country.


Our handsome driver D.B.
(Also known as
Darling Boy)

Our first day out we hopped on a ferry that delivered us to Inishmore, which is the largest of the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway Bay in south west Ireland.



One of the many, pony and traps used for touring
the island. Look at the size of this pony's feet!


The people living on Aran Island speak both Irish and English and are passionate about preserving the traditions of Ireland. They were all so welcoming and warm they made our day on Aran Island very special.



The shops on the island are thatched and whitewashed 
with cheerful colors use for trim.

Here is another thatched roof. On this one you can
see the rope used to secure a net over
the thatch. The net stops the birds
from borrowing the roof for nesting
material.


Each of the shops...

...had some of these...

...brightly colored chairs out front



This is one of many ruins on the island. This one was
once a beautiful church. 





Thinking that a passport cover would be something nice to have for future travel, I designed this for our workshop project:

These is the samples of what we made.




Part of the group working on their
passport covers.

White on brown


Pastel on white

Everyone made a beautiful memento of their time in Ireland.


...and what could be better at the end of a wonderful afternoon than relaxing with a bitey pint of hard cider. Wonderful!

I wish I could tell you how good this tasted!


On Friday and Saturday our days were filled with new sights, smells, tastes and sounds as we visited the Connemara marble shop, the Celtic Crystal factory and for me, one of the highlights of the trip Kylemore Abby and gardens.  We made and, YUM! ate scones and watched as a resisting sheep lost its wooly coat. I will share those memories in my next post.

I have so much more to share about our time in Ireland but will close this blog for now. I promise to post again soon with more pictures and thoughts about our trip.

Let me know what wonderful adventures you have had this summer and until next time be creative and have fun!

Brian

~~~