Best Friends

Mackenzie always gives Harris morning kisses first thing. But other than that, she keeps a safe distance. She has turned out to be a fantastic dog-sister. Harris though has been trying to get Mackenzie's attention for a couple of weeks now. He is really showing interest in the white blur that roams around. Last week he pulled her hair a bit hard and she has been a little wary. Today though she created a game of "catch me if you can" with Harris. While he was in his Bumbo seat watching me cook dinner, she would run up to him repeatedly and just let him barely touch her, then dart away. Harris laughed so hard. I wish I had been faster with the video camera. This video was just the very end of the game.

5 months!

This month Harris has really made progress in the hand-eye coordination game. He can grab objects and gets most of them to his mouth for gnawing on. He can nearly sit on his own. He loves trying new food purees. So far, he's tried out apples, pears, sweet potatoes, bananas and peas. He belly crawls a couple of feet before getting exhausted. And he flips both stomach to back and back to stomach. He loves his bath time and he really loves to chat.

What should I do with my last 100 days in Ireland?

We're moving back to Texas. It's official. We planned it perfect in my opinion. We'll be back in October, just as the awful heat will hopefully subside. Don't worry Texas, I promise I'll bring the rain back with me and the drought will end. But that is 100 days from today. And with that realisation, I suddenly feel panicked. Only 100 days left in Ireland?! I thought I had pretty much covered Ireland. Ring of Kerry - check. Connemara - love it, check. Blarney - check. Cliffs of Moher - check. Giants Causeway - amazing, check. Guinness Brewery - are you kidding, check 22 times. Okay, I've done just about everything a tourist could hope for in Ireland and definitely some of the less-touristy awesome things as well. But, there must be more. We tell ourselves we'll come back to visit. This isn't goodbye forever we say. But who knows when that will be. There's so much more of the world to see and there's that new travel-complicating addition to our life, Harris. So, the reality is, this might be goodbye for a very long time. So, what is my "Last 100 Days in Ireland Bucket List"? I think I want to hit my favorites one more time before I go and there's still a few things on my wish list that we never got around to. So here's my list in no particular order:

1. Howth on a sunny Sunday for the market and a pint at the Bloody Stream
2. Drive through Connemara with moody skies
3. Eat lots and lots of delicious salmon, smoked and otherwise
4. Ditto on the Irish mature cheddar
5. Have a bad-80s music dance session late night at the Barge (with no dance floor)
6. Watch some Irish rugby, football or Gaelic football at a non-Dublin pub
7. See a rugby match live
8. Visit Cavan again to see my Irish family
9. Spend a weekend eating the best seafood in Kinsale
10. Eat a Sloppy Joe at Honest to Goodness cafe
11. See a play at the Abbey or Gaeity theaters
12. See the new baby gorilla at the Dublin Zoo
13. Eat Murphy's Ice Cream on a hot day (hot for Dublin so 70F)
14. Stroll along the canal
15. National Botanical Gardens
16. Sally Gap in County Wicklow
17. Play golf
18. Giants Causeway at sunset
19. Go to the horse races
20. Stay in Ashford Castle

Now, who thinks there will be enough sunny days in Ireland in the next 100 days in order for me to fulfill my wish list? Hmmm, I'd better get started.

Beach Day

Nice Day in Nice

Paradise á la Mer

We finally returned to gorgeous bougainvillea-filled Villefranche-Sur-Mer and the French Riviera. Richard and I travelled throughout the area two years ago with our friend, Annette. I've been wanting to return ever since. We ate delicious provencal food, drank chilled rosé in the warm sun and swam in the Mediterranean. It was divine. Even the bit off flash flooding in this 300-days-of-sun area couldn't spoil the atmosphere. I'm already planning my next trip back.

The view from our rented apartment



Tired baby