Now that ought to get everybody’s attention! First, though, thanks to everyone who sent fine birthday wishes, and also for putting up with the endless travelogue in the past few weeks. We made it home safely, though I’m still not quite recovered from the time changes. Even the switch to and from daylight savings time messes with my head, so an eight-hour change is really doing it to me. I’ve been waking up at 4 AM, which wouldn’t be so bad, but I’m a zombie again by about 6 PM.
I just downloaded all the photos off my camera this morning (after I woke up at 4 AM in the middle of a Halloween-slasher kind of nightmare). There are over 700 of them, and all I can say is thank God for digital. John has his own camera, and I suspect an equal number of photos. He’s in charge of photo selection and album content, and once he gets them weeded down to a reasonable number, I’ll provide a link to the online version for anybody who hasn’t seen enough already. I might post one or two here and there, just because I can.
OK, here are a couple before I get down to the business you are all really interested in.
One last Guinness:
We found this building in Kinsale. Read the sign over the door. I might need to join after 16 days of Guinness, wine, and Irish whiskey. Click to make it big enough to read.
Here’s that sweater that several of you asked about. As we rounded Slea Head on the Dingle peninsula, we had to make a stop for the “facilities”, and found a nice craft shop. A lot of the “craft” shops in Ireland are full of cheap trinkets, what I like to call “rubber tomahawk” shops, but some are quite nice. They had some lovely Aran sweaters that were labelled as hand knit, and were pretty inexpensive if they really were handmade. I couldn’t resist. John thought it was pretty hilarious buying a wool sweater when I’m a knitter, but I was cold, hadn’t found any yarn as of yet, and there it was.
It’s quite warm, too. I more or less wore it for the rest of the trip.
OK, now the moment you’ve been waiting for, the free yarn. I found this in a craft shop in Leenane, which I blogged about while we were on vacation.
As the label says, it’s Aran weight tweed, 100% Donegal wool, in a lovely blue color with little tweedy speckles. There is no weight or yardage listed on the labels, but it’s all one dyelot, and each weighs 50 grams. This would be enough for a hat, and perhaps hand warmers as well. It’s labelled as “A Green Product”, and “Natural Feeling”, which I find amusing. Once again, click to embiggen and get a better view of that electric blue.
One of my lucky readers will win this yarn, along with perhaps a tiny surprise or two. This is simply shameless promotion on my part. Since I moved the blog, my RSS subscribers have dropped from over 700 to 38. The competitor in me finds this a bit demoralizing, so one of the purposes of this contest will be to get you to subscribe. Just hit that button over there that says “subscribe”, pick your blog reader, and Bob’s your uncle. Of course, I won’t really know which ones of you are subscribing, so here’s how you can get a chance to enter the contest. Leave me a comment on this post, telling me about your absolute favorite place to travel. If you don’t have one, tell me where you’d like to go, if time and money were no object. I’ll let the random number generator pick a lucky winner. The deadline will be, oh, let’s say Thursday, the 15th, at midnight my time. Good luck!
Looks like you have fun, and yes Thank goodness for Digital! My favorite vacation spot: Island Park, ID. Super touristy, but in a local sort of way. Plus it is gorgeous and I wish I lived within driving distance I would go every month.
My favorite place to travel is Australia. Enjoying your travel pictures and makes me want to travel to Ireland, the land of my ancestors. I too would have purchased that sweater.
Duly subscribed (although I don’t read blogs in a reader. I do it the old fashioned way….). Favorite place to travel…I love the desert, so my favorite place to travel so far is the Nevada and Arizona deserts. And New Mexico too.
I’d like to go to Glacier Bay, Alaska – before it’s all meleted.
I’m already a subscriber, but it may not show up because I’m using Newsfire.
Anyway, I’ve never been to Ireland, but I went to Scotland for a week once and it was one of the best trips ever! We visited a small island called Iona and the even smaller (teeeeeensy) island near it called Staffa. I would definitely go back there and stay a few weeks, then just move to Paris permanently. I know that a teeny island in Scotland is vastly different from Paris, but they’re both very close to my heart for different reasons.
Oh, I’d probably also go to New Zealand. I’ve always wanted to go there.
One last thing–I found almost no yarn while I was in Scotland, too, even though there were sheep everywhere. I don’t understand? If there are so many sheep, why is it so hard to find yarn? So I sympathize with you on that point!
Welcome home! And belated HB! I just subscribed–guess I really didn’t know what that meant before.
I would love to go back for more travel in Australia. And I’m planning a trip to Antarctica if I can figure out how to fund it. Perhaps saving on yarn purchases?
BTW, I’ve begun the bottom cable!
After having read the Gabaldon series, most definitely on the list is Scotland and Ireland. However, I think before i go there I want to go to Italy and France. So many places so little time.
There is a distant celtic connection. I love the sound of jazz bagpipes. My favorite place to visit
is Paris, took my beloved departed mother there, and
have been there about 7 times. London only once
and didn’t love it, but sent my parents their for their 40th wedding anniversary and they loved it.
I would like to knit my way to Australia, spend about 3 or 4 months there, maybe never come home. They have spinning, I hear…
So, do we get to enter if we’re already an RSS subscriber (Bloglines)?? My favorite place to travel . . . I’d love to travel all over the U.S. and visit every National Park. And 700 subscribers?? You greedy girl you. I’ve never topped out at more than about 52.
Money not an issue? Either Ireland or up to Vermont (where I’m from originally). My husband would like us to travel to Italy but I’m not too interested- I would much rather go to Scandanavia or Ireland!
Absolute favorite place I’ve been, Ireland! I went there in 2004 with 7 other women. It was a blast, my favorite place there was Cahir Castle. Between scenery and sheep, who could resist Ireland.
Absolute next place I want to visit. New Zealand. Sheep and a really funny variety of parrot that’s shenanigans are legendary and I’m d ying to meet in person.
Where do I go to learn about subscribing to blogspots? I hate to sound so uninformed, but I know nothing about subscribing. If I could go anywhere I would tour the United States of America from end to end. I have lived here all my life, and yet, there is so much I haven’t seen. It is gorgeous in so many places and ways.
Some day I hope to travel to New Zealand. The landscape looks amazing and I think I would enjoy hiking there.
Oh, my husband is always teasing me about my travel dreams. If I could go anywhere, it would be Europe. So many countries, so much gorgeous scenery, so many cultures, etc. to explore. Now lottery, how about helping this gal out with her dream?
Hi! wow, your blog is doing something weird! post comments are covering your post, all to the right with blank blocks over the blog entry. hmmmm…???
I would love to travel to ireland and new zealand, someday! of course my trip fund bought daughters car last year, so starting from scratch again! Hubby and i laugh as folks many times dream of hawaii, after living there for 13 years, we just have not been ready to go back yet!
I’m not hitting the subscribe button, but that’s because I’m already watching you through bloglines.
It looks like you had an awesome trip. I would love to go to Ireland myself. So far, my favorite places to travel have been Scotland and Italy. Can’t wait to go back at some point.
I love just about any beach!
Hey, I just want to let you know that I AM subscribed to your new blog since you announced the move. I have my feedreeder at bloglines. I just found out that previous comments I wrote (about your trip) have never shown up. Hope this one does. But as tempting as it looks, I don’t think it would be fair to send the yarn back over the big pond to Europe. It might want to stay over on your side of the Atlantic 🙂
Tina in Germany
oh I forgot – my favorite place to travel to is Britanny in north western France. But one day I want to see Ireland and Scotland, too.
Don’t need yarn, but isn’t it fun to see the lurkers come out of the woodwork?
I would like to return to Manaus (Amazon Rainforest – Brazil – South of America).It´s a beautiful place, and when I went there, I have no time to stay in a Treetop hotel.(http://www.ariautowers.com/).
I think taking an Asian cruise would be amazing. See the forbidden city and rub a real Buddha head.
I changed my rss feed through bloglines right away! And I loved your Ireland travelogue. Just catching up on blog reading – so glad I’m in time for the contest.
I’m about to go to my favorite place–Rhinebeck on a crisp fall day (although rain is predicted for Saturday).
Seriously, I’d love to take that knitting and garden tour of England that is run by Jean Moss (I think). And I’d love to get to Vancouver BC.
I’ve neglected my RSS reader for a while, and I just click on your blog periodically. How’s that for low tech?
I’ve enjoyed your travelogue (and I don’t always–they can be tedious). Good food, cool rocks, yarn…my kind of trip. My favorite place to go? I really do love the Southwest. Similar reasons: great food, rocks, even yarn. :o)
I have one follower of my blog. So much for competition.
I am in my favorite place right now. My bed with my knitting and a good book.
I personally like all your travel photos. It’s the closest I fear I’ll ever get to travel abroad.
And I switched my feed right away when you moved. So I must already be one of the 38.
I like most travelling, especially when I can slow down enough to feel I am getting a sense of the area. Ireland last year was great. Maine last week was a great breather–I have never in my life seen or conceived of so many oxen in one place as the Fryeburg Fair
I would love to travel to Ireland and Italy. Someday maybe… The yarn is very pretty!
OK – I think I subscribed – altho it has made this posting business wierd. Lots and lots of places i still want to go – Italy is one – but absolutely a return to Ireland. Our visit there in 2001 was fabulous – marred only be being there over 9/11, altho it showed what a loving, caring, and generous people the Irish truly are!
I think another really cool vacation would be a “haunted America” trip. Research all of the favorite hauntings stories and then travel to where they are and explore them. I would start with making it a haunted world tour and go to the tower of London. Then I would come back stateside and go to the Gettysburg site. I would also like to go to the Myrtle Plantation for a weekend. It would allow exploring of old castles, plantations, and historical areas. Fun times right!?!
Okay, I subscribed, though I’m not sure what that does. I’m such a Luddite. Happy Belated Birthday! I don’t know where I’d like to travel. Anywhere, really that isn’t too hot or too cold and has lots of yarn to fondle and buy.
I switched over on the day you changed 🙂
And obviously more than 38 people subscribe since there are 84 comments 🙂
My favorite trip is going back to Fairbanks, Alaska where I lived for most of my adult life…luckily my oldest son is still there which gives me a great reason to go back frequently!
I have your blog in my bookmarks and usually check once a week or so. Now you’ve inspired me to sign up for a Google Reader account.
My stepsister lives in Heidelberg, Germany. A few years ago she got married and my whole family went for a week. It was wonderful and I’d love to do it again!