I haven’t posted a snapshot for several days, mostly because I’ve been a lazy slug, but today I was shopping for a robe to pack for Ireland and wandered into J.C. Penney in Tallahassee. Finding nothing in the lingerie department to suit me, I checked the swimsuit section because sometimes swimsuit cover-ups are the perfect light robes for travel.
Imagine my confusion when this sight greeted me in swimwear. I’m calling this one, “Not Your Daughter’s Bikini.”
Thanks to my Fitbit I’m just four pounds shy of my pre-Ireland trip weight loss goal. I’m not sure if the Irish will fully appreciate the lengths to which I’ve gone for my visit to their fair shores, but Fitbit seems proud of my efforts.
Just a couple of days ago the fine folks at Fitbit awarded me this prestigious badge. I’ve walked 1,600 miles since slapping the precocious pedometer on my wrist, a total equal to the length of Australia’s The Great Barrier Reef. Perhaps Studly and I should visit down under instead of Ireland.
Peace, people.
Studly Doright came home from work this afternoon and dropped this packet into my lap. I’m calling this, “Instant Mood Lifter!”
We completed work on our faerie home and placed it on a stump in our backyard. We checked on it first thing this morning, and sure enough, a family of wee folk had already moved in.
It seems they’d already had a home there, we just couldn’t see it until we built one! Fae magic is a strange and wonderful thing, indeed. Their story, that of Clan O’Laughlin, is recorded below. I had a little help with the telling of it.
“Clan O’Laughlin”
According to legend, over two hundred years ago, young Seamus O’Laughlin accidentally poached a lamb from his faerie king, the fearsome Grady O’Grady. Seamus wasn’t a thief, but his family was starving and when he came across the lamb wandering along a country lane he didn’t think twice, but took it home to be made into stew.
His wife, Brigid, knew immediately that the lamb belonged to Grady O’Grady and that if the king discovered the crime Seamus would be hanged in the public square for all the wee folk to witness. After cooking the stew Brigid gathered her loved ones together for one last meal in the family home.
“We must flee this place, and be quick about it,” Brigid told Seamus and their little ones, Ian and Aileen, as they partook of the hearty lamb stew.
That very night Brigid and Seamus placed their few valuable possessions into their small wagon. The door to their humble domicile, constructed many thousands of years ago by Seamus’s great-great-great grandfather was laid atop an heirloom bench and Brigid’s wash tub for their journey to parts unknown.
After many days of rough journey across the Irish countryside, the O’Laughlin family arrived in a port town and stowed away on a huge ship. Safely belowdeck, Seamus scavenged for leftover food from the human passengers while Brigid tended the little ones and made tasty meals from scraps.
Weeks passed before the boat docked in a place the sailors called “Florida.” Anxious to be off of the shop, Brigid climbed to the crow’s nest undetected by human eyes and scoped out the prospects for her family.
“Seamus,” she said, returning to their hideout after breathing the fresh air and looking out over the green land, “I believe we can make our new home here.”
And Seamus, eager to make Brigid happy, agreed. The family once again loaded the wagon and set off for the interior of Florida.
Many strange creatures accosted the family on its journey. They quickly learned to avoid lizards, snakes, and alligators. Seamus lost a finger fighting off an aggressive gecko, but Brigid nursed him back to health with herbs from Ireland that she’d packed for the trek.
Finally Seamus led the small band to a forest beside a lake. Here he and Brigid built a home and established Clan O’Laughlin on American soil. And to this day, Seamus’s family resides near Havana, Florida, in the shadow of a home occupied by kind, peace-loving humans.
Ever since I first heard “Take Me to Church” by Hozier the lyrics and the sexy, haunting melody have been stuck in my head. According to Pinterest, I’m not the only one. Many people are loving the song and its handsome messenger.
Seldom do I look up musicians on Google, but after watching a clip of Annie Lennox performing with Hozier on the recent Grammy broadcast I googled him. According to Wikipedia,
Andrew Hozier-Byrne (born 17 March 1990),[1] known mononymously as Hozier, is an Irish musician and singer-songwriter from Bray, County Wicklow.[2] In 2013, he released his debut EP, featuring the hit single “Take Me to Church”, and his second EP From Eden in 2014. His debut studio album, Hozier, was released in Ireland in September 2014 and globally in October 2014.
I hope he is more than a one-hit wonder. Only time will tell, but I’d sure appreciate it if I could get this song out of its continual loop through my mind. In the meantime, take me to church. Please.
Praying for Eyebrowz 