Author Archives: Kim Halloran-Fry

Barns

Posted on by

This week's theme at Snapshots Around the World is 'Barn'.  Sue was saying the German barn looked too nice for animals.  The barns in this part of Germany DO look similar to the homes.  In fact, many of them are connected to the farmhouses and form one long unit. I dug through my phone and files to see how many I had pictures of and came up with a few. 

barn
In the picture above the farmhouse actually is just offscreen to the left coming out at a 90 degree angle from the barn section.

barn

The older barns are made of crude bricks like the ones above and below. 
barn back

They are usually covered over in stucco and whitewashed or painted to match the house.  (the house is off left of this pic below as well)
barn

Many are used as garages today though others still house livestock. In fact the place two doors down from us has a little herd of goats in the paddock right now mowing their lawn. : ) 

2010 Steinwenden barn web

This farm below has a separate barn (shown) which was huge but the same brick/stucco construction as the others.  Unlike the others it is in the country.  Darned if I wasn't happy to see those Oberhasli's that day. : ) 

2010 Trippstadt goats barn web

Just over the border in France the farms look entirely different. Whereas here the farmhouses and barns are right in the villages and the farmers commute to the cropland and pastures, in eastern France little farmsteads dot the countryside much like rural communities in the states.  They also have pole sheds there which are largely absent from this area. It is fascinating how different the world is.  

Check out the other barns around the world linked at the Snapshots blog and leave us a link to one in your part of the world. 

The 3 Amigo’s this week

Posted on by

They have been moving at top speed this week.  Lots of giggling, running laps in the yard (and the upstairs and the living room and…), funny voices, loud singing to 15 renditions of Old MacDonald played on the piano by Brendan. 

I looked at the three of them in mid-flight today – hair all wild, faces erupting with smiles. You just have to smile back.  Happy like that is contagious.

Jun

We did settle down for some stories today. 

Jun

Some with Mom.  (pic by Brendan ; )) 

Jun

Some they read to each other. 

Jun

And sometimes you just close your eyes and soak it all in.  Summer is good. 

County Kerry, Ireland

Posted on by

My husband and I had a brief but extraordinary trip to Ireland this past week.  It was a rare, early anniversary getaway alone – so rare we can't quite remember having gotten away completely alone before since usually alone means we only have one or two children with us. : ) 

room
We first checked into the historic Lake Hotel in Killarney, which was a sight to behold all by itself.   (view from balcony)

lake hotel
What followed was a whirlwind journey through a couple hundred miles of coastal Western Ireland. 

coastal farm
farm walls
We trekked up mountainsides dotted with farmhouses surrounded by a patchwork of pastures separated by ancient stone walls.

ruin farm
farm fence
We ventured down into hidden bays. 

st finian's bay

skelligs

Portmagee
Portmagee harbor
and colorful streets of local fishing villages. 

houses

We wrapped up with a drive through Killarney National Park just before dark.

killarney natl park
Far too soon we were winging our way back to Germany.  It is almost surreal to think of where we were.  We are already plotting our return.  If there was any way to stay forever, I would find it.  Even taking into consideration my lifelong devotion to our Irish heritage this is an amazing place, full of warm, smiling faces. We talked to more people we didn't know in those few days than perhaps in all the months we have been in Germany. I felt so incredibly relaxed and at home. 

I will resize and upload a few more pics before the wknd is over. 

the only way out is through

Posted on by

Becca: Does it ever go away? 
Nat:  No, I don't think it does. Not for me, it hasn't – has gone on for eleven years. But it changes though. 
Becca: How? 
Nat:   I don't know… the weight of it, I guess. At some point, it becomes bearable. It turns into something that you can crawl out from under and… carry around like a brick in your pocket. And you… you even forget it, for a while. But then you reach in for whatever reason and – there it is. Oh right, that. Which could be awful – not all the time. It's kinda… 

Nat:  …not that you'd like it exactly, but it's what you've got instead of your son. So, you carry it around. And uh… it doesn't go away. Which is…

Becca: Which is what? 

Nat:   Fine, actually. 

Some thoughts about grief from the movie Rabbit Hole, applicable to many traumas.