Fall Squam 2014
Each time I blog about the latest Squam retreat I'm reminded of how inadequate language truly is. It's impossible to convey the transformative magic of this place to someone who hasn't been here.This was my first time teaching, and while I came with the express intent of stepping into my teacherhood, I received SO much more than that. People (who'd taken my class, or had heard good things) kept asking where else I was teaching, if I offer e-courses and the like, which has me thinking deeply again about creating my own opportunities. I connected with kindred spirits—special shout outs to Liv White, who picked me up at North Londonderry a day early so we could help decorate the playhouse, and who has one of the purest hearts I have ever encountered; and to Sarah Greenman, whom I love with a fierceness that is eerily disproportional to the precious-little time we spent together IRL. I did the woo-woo thing with my wonderful cabin-mates (and fellow teachers), some of whom (fortunately for me!) live in the Boston area. I shared a story from my childhood at lunchtime on Saturday and wound up bawling onto my empty plate; it was a huge breakthrough and I'm so grateful to Dixie for her insight. Even when I found myself in conflict with a very dear friend, I could (eventually) see it for the gift that it was.Because EVERYTHING is a gift. Even when it's hard, it's a gift. How else are we supposed to grow? 
I also can't adequately convey just how excited I am about life right now. I'm hatching all sorts of plans for workshops and books that will go even deeper than I had time for in only six hours, and I've taken down the old stuff on my "learn with me" page to make space for these new projects. I'm so, so grateful to my dear friend Elizabeth for giving me the opportunity to share what I've learned, and go on learning as I do so.
A parting gift from @ccerruti at @squamlove. pic.twitter.com/LlOeWSyfAS
— Camille DeAngelis (@cometparty) September 14, 2014
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
I spent the first weekend of August camping, volunteering, and listening to terrific live music at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival near Hillsdale, NY. My friend Miranda has been going nearly every summer since she was (literally) in diapers, and I'm so happy she convinced me to come along! 
Miranda plays one of her original songs for her dad, Aldon. 
#100happydays, day/drawing #33: inspired by the Horse Flies' banjo player at @falconridgefolk. pic.twitter.com/AQ4c3BJbqk— Camille DeAngelis (@cometparty) September 1, 2014
My favorite musical "discovery" is Boston-based Darlingside. Even after listening to this song at least two hundred times, it still gives me chills: Gorgeous, right? 
Plotting the Course
My Up & Writing workshop prep has been somewhat addicting. I love shaping and refining my thoughts for (what will hopefully be) maximum impact. I leave for Squam bright and early tomorrow morning! 
Random Ireland
When I slack off on the blogging, all the interesting things start backing up! So I figure I'd better get back to it. For the next few Tuesdays, collections of interesting photographs from Ireland that didn't quite fit into a themed post: 
June Squam 2014, part 3
("Blossoms unspooled from her mouth"; June Squam 2014, part 2; all Squam entries.)
Why has it taken me two and a half months to finish blogging about June Squam? I guess I've wanted to focus on drawing rather than writing about drawing. I'm doing it, I'm really doing it—one drawing a day for eight minutes (or more, depending on how much I'm into it). Some drawings are meh and others I'm really proud of. Either way, the point is, I'm doing it, for almost sixty days in a row now!—and I'm tweeting my drawings. I'm so grateful to Kerry Lemon for giving me the space and encouragement to make that breakthrough.
An essential part of this drawing-and-sharing process has been learning to recognize the stories I tell about myself—stories that are outdated, or were never accurate to begin with. In this case, the story was I'm a better writer than I was an artist, with variations on that theme:
If I were talented enough, I would have run with it when I had the chance.
I didn't get that portfolio together in time to apply to art college, and that was MEANT TO BE.
I should leave drawing and painting to people who are real artists. People with VISION, who know what they're doing. It's enough for me to appreciate and support the real artists.
I can't draw faces.
And so on, and so on. Most of these "stories" are nonsense, and yet we live out our lives believing them, and letting them hold us back. It feels so good to have reached the point at which I don't care what anyone says or thinks of what I make, if anyone considers it "worthwhile." It's my time, so I get to be the person who decides that. And anyhow, everyone who saw my drawings said lovely supportive things, so it's not like I have any naysayers buzzing nearby. I'm so blessed to have friends and family who support me no matter what I want to do. 
There'll be more Squam awesomeness coming soon, since this time I'm going back to teach!
Boston to NYC, 1704 style
Bright and early (7AM!) I am hopping on a bus to NYC en route to, as Kelly B. says, "the dirty Jerz." I thought it would be fun to contrast a 21st-century four-hour Megabus trip (air conditioning, WiFi, &c., &c.) with this description of the same trip made in colonial times:
In October 1704, Sarah Kemble Knight, aged thirty-eight, set out alone on horseback on a trip from Boston to New York. She picked up companionship along the way, often with the post rider, for New England had a mail service now. She endured shabby inns where village topers often kept her awake at night; meals that varied from the unpalatable to almost decent; rocky, unmarked ways that sometimes led into dead ends; but not once did anyone attempt to rob her or threaten her with bodily harm. It did not disconcert her to wake up one night and find she was sharing the room with two men in a nearby bed. The few times she thought her heart might stop came while crossing a stream in a tippy dugout canoe or on a ride to the next stage during a moonless night "that rendered every object formidable," when "every lifeless trunk with its shatter'd limbs appear'd an armed enemy, and every little stump a ravenous devourer."
(From David Freeman Hawke's Everyday Life in Early America. Professor Hawke does not specify how long Mrs. Knight's journey actually took.)
Of Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax
Last month I spent a very happy Saturday at Essex and Ipswich with my gentleman caller. We went to the Shipbuilding Museum (new-new-new book research!) and whiled away the afternoon at Crane Beach (above). 
If you are even a little bit into nautical things, I recommend a visit to the Shipbuilding Museum. Those guys are REALLY passionate about building and preserving old-fashioned sailing vessels. Among other things, I learned the origin of the expression "caught between the devil and the deep blue sea": the seam between the last plank on the deck and the side of the boat was known as the "devil seam" because it was so tricky to seal, and if it began to leak mid-voyage one unlucky sailor would have to lower himself off the side of the ship to fix it up again. 
The rest of this post is just cool boat photos. 
Vegan Ireland: the Everywhere Else Edition
Here's my last post on dining out in Ireland, which makes me a bit sad—it was SUCH a lovely trip. (There are plenty more sightseeing photos though.)
My first dinner—a quality little Indian place in Boyle, County Roscommon. (According to the owner of my B&B, Chris O'Dowd and company ate there during filming of Moone Boy and said it was as good as any Indian they'd had in London. I concur.) 
Light lunch in Manorhamilton, County Leitrim: orange-carrot soup and tea sans milk. 
Roasted red pepper soup with almonds at a quaint little tearoom near Drumcliffe, County Sligo. (Paddy said, "If you take that picture, you are officially a hipster." To which I replied, "Then I have been a hipster for quite some time now." Also: the extreme cuteness of that espresso cup!!) 
Had a lovely light dinner with Kate M. in Galway (she was in town on scholarly business) and her colleague Sarah. We ended up at a Spanish tapas place—I had to pretend I didn't see the cured pig-legs suspended above the bar—but they did have great veg options. (When the greens came I said, "What is this stuff on top??" The waitress assured me it was shaved hazelnuts.)* * *After nearly a week in London and Edinburgh, I circled back to Dublin for my last couple days.
At the Hugh Lane Gallery I treated myself to not one but TWO soy lattes. (When you find good coffee over there you gotta take advantage!) Simple yummy avocado-and-salad bagel for breakfast. That salad dressing looked fairly sketchy, but the chef assured me it was vegan. And needless to say, I did not eat the chips. 
Diarmuid told me to go to Govinda's just before closing time for a one-euro dinner. VERY GOOD IDEA. Lastly but bestly—a gorgeous dinner at Cornucopia with Deirdre:
(Butternut squash yumminess with a refreshing beet salad on the side.)And I couldn't skip dessert on my last night in Ireland!: 
Next week: more farmshare love!
The most useful work there is
I just put this note up on Facebook, and I thought it might be worth reposting here. I have many more thoughts on this subject—Eric's situation has me thinking a lot lately about "rich white privilege" and to what extent we in the "first world" take our resources and opportunities for granted—but I think I'll leave all that for another post.
Thanks in advance for reading!
June Squam 2014, part 2
(June Squam 2014, part 1.)
Retreats like Squam Art Workshops are becoming more popular as people (okay, mostly women) realize how important it is for their emotional and spiritual well being to reconnect with their creativity, not to mention nature: the pines! The stars! The loons calling across the lake at night! You drink it all in and you are replenished.That said, I've noticed some people seem puzzled when I try to explain just how profoundly Squam has changed my life. I almost feel like they want me to justify spending that $1300—there's this implication hanging in the air between us, as if that money were better spent elsewhere. On something, you know, practical.Let me tell you something. The older I get, the more I understand that I can do very little good for anyone else if I am tired and depleted. You want to be with me when I am EXCITED ABOUT LIFE, right? You want some of that joyful energy to rub off on you.Sure, I draw inspiration from lots of places. But when I go to Squam, I "fill up" in the most mindful way—it changes me every time. I want each new experience to change me. That's something I first learned at Harmony Homestead Farm, and it allows me to find meaning in even the most seemingly random encounters.I may overuse the word "random" in casual conversation, but I know nothing truly is. I'll never forget the moment Anne sat down beside me in the playhouse back in June 2011 while the Yarn Harlot was giving one of her typically hilarious talks. Obviously we couldn't introduce ourselves until the talk was over, but we were absolutely communicating without words. I knew her. I knew we were going to be friends—no, that we were already friends, and had been for a very long time.So this year it was mind-blowingly delightful to be able to fall asleep in the same room after reminding each other just how far we've come over the past three years. Anne's blog is more popular than ever, and she is now under deadline with Potter Craft (Random House, NBD!) for Knitting Without Needles, coming out August 2015. I have a new home and a two-book deal under my belt. (Anne moved too, way farther than I did!)Anne's is one of the most satisfying friendships of my life, and you can't put a price tag on that. Squam has given me a wealth of satisfying friendships—Elizabeth and Amy Lou and Kath and Amiee and Jen, plus many more wise and beautiful women. I can't tell you how many times I heard someone call my name, embrace me, compliment my sweater, and how it made me feel to be recognized and appreciated for my creativity. It sounds so simple, but love and joy and unconditional acceptance aren't complex concepts. 
I need to write about Terri's woodworking class and Kerry's drawing class—a BIG breakthrough in Kerry's class especially—but I think I've written enough for one entry. I'll tell you more next week, including more about Sarah Sousa's poetry. (And Anne took my new author photo!! I'm so thrilled! I'll post those pics separately.)
Getting delightfully messy in @kerryannelemon's art class this past weekend at @squamlove: pic.twitter.com/CsvnX27MOF— Camille DeAngelis (@cometparty) June 9, 2014
It was a parade of smiles last night! Love seeing all my students in their new frocks. #squamartfair… http://t.co/hvXLiwWuyv— cal patch (@hodgepodgefarm) June 8, 2014
@cometparty @flaxandtwine I LOVED spending time with you on this hike. So glad we kept going! It was worth every single mosquito bite :)— Jeanne Lewis (@foundermom) June 9, 2014
Laughter and thoughtful conversation on a sunny lakefront porch with a favorite friend @cometparty… http://t.co/cRXXQPLfQY— Anne Weil (@flaxandtwine) June 7, 2014
Blossoms unspooled from her mouth
(A line from poet Sarah Sousa, who gave readings on Friday and Saturday nights at June Squam.)
Proper recap coming soon!
Vegan Britain, part 3
(Vegan Britain, part 2.)It was lunchtime when I got off the train at Waverley, so my first stop in Edinburgh had to be the Baked Potato Shop on Cockburn Street. I got quinoa and beet salad on a small spud, and (as expected) it was HUGE. Still the best-value meal in town. 
This is the only vegan boxed sandwich I found in ALL OF GREAT BRITAIN. (Don't you like how I made it sound as if I've traipsed all over, looking high and low?) But I bet hummus sandwiches-to-go will become much more popular in the future. Good on the National Library of Scotland for offering them—and their soups are usually vegan-friendly too; they're always vegetarian at least. 
Kate M. and I had seen each other for dinner in Galway a couple weeks before, but we caught up again over a lovely lunch at Henderson's. I got the veggie haggis (superb!) with the most amazing side salad (arugula, butternut squash, marinated tofu, pumpkin seeds, and I forget what else). 
Apart from Henderson's, David Bann is probably the best known vegetarian restaurant in Edinburgh; I've only been there once (with Seanan when he came up for a few days after Hawthornden), and I don't remember either of us being very wowed. It was good, not great—though I do remember the big juicy green olives we ordered for an appetizer. Those were perfect. At any rate, I'll probably just keep returning to Henderson's on future trips to my favorite city. 
One rainy evening I walked down to the Forest Café and ordered a hummus plate, with a slab of rich and simple chocolate cake for dessert. 
Lunch at Meadowlark Number 39. The menu wasn't as extensive as I was hoping, but the tomato-rice soup was simple and hearty and the green (er, brown?) smoothie struck the perfect balance—healthy, definitely, but still sweet enough to taste good. 
Nice to see healthier snack options at the Edinburgh airport—I bought dried pineapple and a vegan energy bar with my leftover pound coins. Next time: all the meals in Ireland I haven't yet blogged about!
A DIY Writing Retreat
How to create your own weeklong writing retreat:1. Decide where you want to be. If you are anything like me, you'll find that nature is essential. Fresh air, birdsong, and meandering country lanes are all very conducive to creativity, because you'll have given yourself some extra space to think. 
2. Find a self-catering establishment within your budget. (I recommend Green Lodge, where I stayed in West Cork. And I saved 10% by booking ahead!)3. Get your basic needs taken care of right away (i.e., do your food shopping for the whole week) so you can focus on the work. 
4. Don't be hard on yourself when "the work" turns out to be something other than what you planned. Just go with it. Trust the process. (I had planned to work my way through a substantial revision of my new novel, but I wound up working on short pieces instead. I finished that revision a week after I got home, still nearly a month and a half in advance of my deadline!) 
5. Stop and notice the world around you. Fill up. Enjoy. 
Vegan Britain, part 2
After lunch with Hana, I met Seanan at Kings Cross and we took the train to Brighton for a five o'clock dip in the ocean (brrrrrrrrrr!) 
Then we met up with Sam for coffee followed by dinner and drinks at the Prince George, which has an all-vegetarian pub menu. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Really good food, too. Sam says the standard is very high in Brighton; you won't find half-hearted pub grub anywhere, because a pub has to keep up with its competitors or it can't stay open. 
I'm looking forward to spending more time in Brighton on my next visit to the U.K.—it seems like a really fun and funky place (with, um, lots of pretty dress shops—which, again, were mercifully not open.) 
Let me tell you what an awesome friend Seanan is. While we were planning my visit, he said he had a few surprises and wanted to make a whole day out of them—“surprises" as in, I had absolutely no idea where we were going or what we were doing. Proper secrets!So we were walking in the Mayfair neighborhood, and when Seanan turned into the lobby of a posh hotel I thought he was joking. Turns out he'd made a reservation for high tea, with a vegan version for me! Apparently there is such a thing, though he'd had to ring several places before Flemings said they could accommodate us. Hooray for Flemings! 
Those of you who've had the experience of a proper English tea might be wondering if it measured up. Having had a "real" high tea at a cute country pub in Winchcombe during our Cotswolds trip, I can say that it did. I didn't miss the clotted cream one bit. The sandwiches had sunflower spread, the scones were of "I can't believe it's vegan" quality (you know how I champion vegan bakery, but it is hard to do things like scones well!), and the desserts were scrummy—a chocolate brownie, mocha cake, and a ginger cookie. Oh, and you should have seen the tea menu! It took me ages to make up my mind. (I settled on assam.) 
Next time: two days in Edinburgh!
Where We Make: Di Mackey
[This Friday I'm very pleased to host jet-setting photographer Di Mackey, who recently discovered this website through the wonderful rabbit hole that is the world-wide web. Di's is the first 100% random submission to Where We Make, which makes me even more delighted to have her!]
***
I'm a professional photographer, a writer, and a blogger too. I'm a New Zealander living in Belgium and honestly ... I never know which thing about me should come first.
I'm also someone who runs off to the sea and mountains in Genoa, Italy, as often as possible.
And the space where I make is important … whereever I am.
So, of course, my laptop is central to that space and from there I build up with what is possible. Here in Antwerp, at my house, I have a cocoon-like space. I'm tucked away in the corner of our L-shaped bedroom. I hang beautiful things on that desk-dividing red wall, there in front of me, things that I love.
I also love books, so my husband built me a series of red bookshelves and there my very best books live.
In this space I have an external keyboard that is English (my laptop is not) and a much bigger external screen. These are luxuries for when I'm working at home. Oh, and a fast internet connection too.
Quite often, over these years living in Europe, I have worked in places not my own. My second place where I make is in Genoa, Italy. It has been the same since 2008—a round kitchen table in a friend's apartment on a tiny street called Via Ravecca.
My place where I make is pared down. There's my laptop, a USB modem, and a plastic water bottle cut-down to act as vase for the flowers I always find on my first day back in the city.
My camera gear, all 6kgs+ of it, and every single cable and piece of equipment that I need to pack for the road has its place in that other space where I make. Sometimes I feel like a sherpa on Everest, as I move between worlds but honestly, it's worth it to have that second, much quieter space.
I've worked in Cairo, Berlin, Madrid, Istanbul, London and out on Flanders Fields here in Belgium. In Brussels, in Paris, in Amsterdam. Sometimes on a photo-shoot for others, sometimes just working for me and my website.
And so I realised, while writing this for Camille, that my laptop is key to the space where I make. Flowers help but I guess I can make anyplace … and I like it like that.
***
I love the idea of using flowers to brighten a temporary workspace, and that illustration on the wall above her desk at home! You can find Di on Twitter at @DiMackeycom and at DiMackey.com.
Vegan Britain 2014
From Cork I flew to London for four perfect days with Seanan. Deirdre happened to be passing through from Cambridge on her way to Belarus (random!), so the three of us had a lovely relaxed Easter Sunday bruncheon at Drink, Shop & Do. The vegetable curry hit the spot and the pineapple pumpkin coconut cake was just as amazing as it sounds. See what I mean about never "depriving" myself? 
I was really psyched to find a whole bay of vegan lifestyle and cookbooks at Foyles, including Vegan for Her, co-authored by fellow MSVA graduate J.L. Fields. 
I bet some of you guys suspect I go overboard praising vegan restaurants just because they're vegan, and if you do, I'm about to prove you wrong. 
I wanted to love Vantra, I really did—and you'd think it has the perfect set up, with a chill atmosphere, a HUGE and delightfully varied buffet, and a drool-worthy juice and smoothie menu. Unfortunately the buffet options I sampled (for all its eye-catching color) were on the bland side apart from one dish (the Moroccan chickpea stew between 12 and 1 o'clock), the smoothie guy forgot my order and I had to keep asking for it (when people who arrived after I did received their drinks rather quickly), and when it did finally arrive midway through the meal it was even more tasteless than the food. I thought of taking it back and asking for what were probably missing ingredients, and I guess I should have. I'm too embarrassed to admit how much I paid for this mediocre lunch.Ick—sometimes I really don't enjoy being honest. So now back to your regularly scheduled dose of AWESOME. 
And I'll tell you what is awesome: getting to know my lovely Penguin UK editor, Hana Osman, over a marvelous meal at The Gate, a vegetarian restaurant in Islington (with another location in Hammersmith). Seanan had spoiled me with a deluxe breakfast that morning (granola with almond milk, crumpets with sunflower spread, grapefruit, orange juice and tea), so I opted for two appetizers—potato and leek soup (above; I know it looks like sweet potato or butternut squash, I'm not sure which spice they used to turn the soup orange, but it was delicious) and a courgette flower stuffed with sweet potato (say it with me: courzhhhhette. So satisfying. I almost wish I were English just so I could get away with saying "aubergine" and "courgette.") 
Dainty and fun, and a happy combo of yummy and healthy. I hadn't had courgette (erm, zucchini) flowers since Harmony Homestead Farm! [And in case you recall the zucchini blossom fritter recipe I posted back in 2010, I've taken it down until I can veganize it.]And dessert? OHHHHHHHHHH: 
Fruit trifle with vegan sherry cream. O YES. It was gorgeous. Next time: Brighton for the evening and vegan high tea!
Irish Holy Wells, part 3
(Irish holy wells, part 1; part 2.)
This post is going to be almost all photographs. St. Culain's Well is one of the loveliest, most tranquil places in Ireland (and you know I have been ALL over). I'm so grateful to Bán for taking me there! 
This is the best example of a "rag tree" you are likely to find. Leaving a trinket on a rag tree is a form of prayer for a loved one in need of healing. 
The holy well is located just off the Lough Derg Way, and it overlooks this peaceful pond off the River Shannon. 
A bit of pottery I found in the spring. 
The last line cracks me up.
A Night at the Book Mart
I have to tell you about the monthly poetry open mic Paddy hosts at a wonderful secondhand bookshop in Sligo called the Book Mart.Paddy had assured me there'd be vegan food at the event, and sure enough, Donal and Adam (who work there) had prepared two really delicious and filling grain and bean salads, with French bread and cashews on the side, and orange juice as an alternative to wine. When I asked Donal if he were vegan himself, he said, "I'm not vegan, no, but why wouldn't I make food that everyone can eat?"BEST. RESPONSE. EVER. 
There was a good turnout (no more space to sit in the back room), and the readings were wonderfully varied—there was quite a bit of original work as well as original translations (I wish I could remember the name of a very young German poet who wrote of the horrors of war as if he'd witnessed them firsthand, yet he'd written the poem at least a year before WWI broke out; he was translated by a gentleman named Frank, and I was really impressed at how he'd managed naturally to preserve the rhymes), prose as well as poetry, and even some science fiction thrown in for good measure.One of my favorites was "Porphyria's Lover," written by Robert Browning and read by Paddy:
This poem reminds me of that line from one of the witchy Discworld books (Witches Abroad, I think?), about a proper "happily ever after" necessitating chopping the bride's and groom's heads off the minute they've said "I do." (Or, ahem, the morning after?) At any rate, all I remembered about Robert Browning was the schmoopiness of his romance with Elizabeth Barrett (though in fairness, "how do I love thee? let me count the ways" was probably not so cheesy back then), so this poem rather shocked me. But Paddy has a delightfully gothic sensibility (he is obsessed with the Grand Guignol, after all), so there was no better person to read it aloud. 
After the break I read a passage from Bones & All, and I think everyone was too taken aback to respond to it apart from "I know this isn't what you were going for, but I really want a hamburger now." (I suspect I'm going to be hearing a lot of that.) 
Vegan Ireland: Cork, part 2
After the night of that lovely Japanese-inspired meal with Emily at My Goodness, I headed out to West Cork (between Bantry and Glengarriff) for a weeklong DIY writing retreat (more on that later). I got off the bus in Bantry, picked up a load of groceries, and rang for a taxi.That week I made simple meals for myself—porridge with almond milk and flaxseed-goji berry meal, a vegetable and sprouted-bean stew (using tomato sauce as a lazy-girl's base, since I didn't have any broth or herbs/spices to hand), Linda McCartney veggie sausages with locally-made onion chutney, tomato and spinach sandwiches with hummus or vegan "mayo," and so on and suchlike.The mayonnaise alternative is downright sad compared to Vegenaise (or my new favorite, Earth Balance vegan mayo made from olive oil), but you gotta take what you can find and be grateful for it, right? (Particularly since I was in a small-town grocery store!) The next time I go back to Ireland I'm sure there'll be a wider variety of vegan products available. (And in fairness, I believe Bantry does have a health food store, but seeing as I had all my luggage with me it just seemed easier to plop my big red pack in a full-size shopping cart and get on with it.)
Vince happened to be taking an overnight hiking trip near Glengarriff, so at the end of that wonderfully tranquil and productive week he picked me up on the way back to Cork City. That afternoon I went to the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery (especially for the Harry Clarke room, more on that later too), and then to the Natural Foods Bakery for a date bar and a soya cappuccino to tide me over until dinnertime. (I ate a LOT of dessert on this trip. You'll see over the next several vegan-themed posts why I want to laugh every time somebody implies I'm depriving myself.)I'd said in my last Cork post that I didn't think I'd make it to the Quay Co-op this time around, but happily I was wrong! It's hearty good-value deli-style food (like Cornucopia in Dublin, which I'll also be blogging about). I like that you can go up to the counter and choose whatever main course and salads look the most delicious. (No dinner envy when the plates come out and your friend's dish looks nicer than yours!) There's also a grocery on the ground floor. 
The Quay Co-op also has a tempting selection of fancy juices and sodas. 
Emily and Vince and I had a great meal. I got the chickpea burger with gravy, and butternut and beet salads on the side. 
I convinced myself that Dandelion & Burdock soda is good for the digestion (hey! it very well might be!) 
See what I mean? Being vegan is SO, SO HAAAAAAAAARD.
Streedagh Beach
As you know, research is one of my favorite aspects of the novel-writing process—particularly when I get to drive around County Sligo with an old friend and call it work! 
I'd been to Streedagh Beach once (back in 2006, working on the guidebook), but I'd never paid this much attention to the fossils, the landmarks, the tufts of long dry grass on the tip of every dune. (Paddy is very good at spotting the fossils.) 
This beach has a sad history, having been the washing-up point for one of the Spanish Armada shipwrecks in 1588. Those who'd washed up alive were slaughtered by the English. 
This is the loveliest fossil I have ever seen. 
Alas, it'll be years yet before you can recognize this beach in my novel. Nice pictures in the meantime, though, right?