Not Quite A Month Ago -

Just shy of a month ago I was embarking on my journey to Cairo - a place I'd never imagined I'd see, or become so enchanted with.

The richness of the culture, the taste of the amazing food we had at every turn, the sights, sounds, smells and more that dazzled the senses.

Ancient cultures and civilizations have always captivated my imagination as I try to fit myself into my own tiny blip of life in the timeline of this world.

This was Egypt on the day of our arrival - some I expected, some I had no clue at all.

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Congrats, Grads!

Something really fun happened while I was on my way to Egypt at the beginning of the month.

Two of my nieces have graduated high school!

I am so proud of them both and can't believe that they are now entering the world as adults and making grown-up choices about what they want to do with their futures.

Of course, this means that Auntie Bonnie sends quilts.

My biggest hope, of course, is that I will send quilts that they will love - that go with how they want to decorate their dorm, apartment, or shared house in the next few years.

This is what I sent them!

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Starting Off Slow -

Happy Wednesday, Quiltvillians!

I am alive, kicking (but not real hard) and resettling myself after a month away.

And while I was away, there was a whole lot going on behind the scenes here at home.

I walked into the aftermath of many little whirling dervishes - the most of which were already resolved before I came home.  That's a good feeling.

As my favorite mantra has been for the past 3 years - "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from!"

And just to show that there WAS some handwork going on over the past month - I present to you a lapful of hexies.

This project will continue when I make my way to Poland and on to Italy in September.  But for now it will stay in my busy bag for a 2 month time out.

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Thoughts From A Galway Hotel Room -

Hello from Galway once again.

Yes, It's been a while.

And I'm facing a bit of a time struggle.  And also a desire thing.

Let me liken this to a UFO that gets set aside - at first for just a little while because time is short - but there is a full intention of getting back to it ASAP.

And then, life gets in the way and that UFO sits longer and longer and the desire to get back to it gets more difficult to muster.

Since I left home on May 30th to start my journey on to Cairo Egypt, and then directly to two back-to-back tours in Ireland I have been running to catch up.  Wake up alarms at dawn, go go go go through the day with approximately 40 travelers in each group to keep moving from place to place and getting back into bed only late at night to once again set that alarm for dawn.

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Kylemore Abbey with Group 1!

I've been looking forward to - and telling folks about this place - our visit to Kylemore Abbey.

Not only is it an idyllic setting - I mean, look at this place - but the journey from Galway through the beautiful Irish countryside makes this destination even that much better.

Driving in a bus out through the farms and fields with iconic low stone walls, and hillsides dotted with sheep or Connemara ponies - it's breathtaking!

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All On A Monday Morning -

This post comes with a warning - "Beware of Sheep!"

We had a grand start to our day as our on-the-bus time was scheduled for 11am meaning there was a time to walk around our area of Galway after breakfast.

It seems that there was a miscommunication with our workshop room (we have two back to back groups and that sometimes can happen. No worries!) so this turned into a bonus morning with time to walk the promenade.

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From Dublin to Galway - Group 1!

They are here!  And I know just how "middle-of-the-night" they felt as they rolled through the doors into the international arrivals hall, terminal 2.

As for me?  I thought they were coming into terminal 1 - the same way I did from Cairo the afternoon before and there I sat - not seeing anyone.

When I finally checked the reader board and saw that they came in to terminal 2, I gathered my bags, and hoofed it outside, down a long side walk, across an intersection, into the building - just in time!

Yes - jet lag is a real thing.  But we gathered, hugged and welcomed and we were off on our bus journey to Galway with our fabulous Craftours guide Holly, and magnificent bus driver and all around funny guy, Pat!

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From Abu Simbel To Dublin!

Good Morning from Dublin, Ireland!

My body clock has been a bit jerked around and since it was light here at 4:30am and birds were chirping in the hotel courtyard beyond my window - I'm up.

It also means I've finally had some decent restorative sleep after arriving from Cairo yesterday afternoon.

You can only imagine how nice it is to go from 115 in the shade desert to a beautiful 62 with a slight breeze.

As stated in my ONE post I was able to upload to the blog by phone app - internet connectivity was a big issue while we were cruising the Nile, and I just threw up my hands and went with it.

While we were in Cairo, our days started pre-dawn and went past bedtime - so I also made the choice to just live in the moment and enjoy my travelers, partaking in everything, rather than sequester myself in my room trying to get enough signal to post photos.

I know you get it! 

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Before Dawn to Beyond Bedtime

This morning on the way to the Valley of the Kings- balloons taking flight at 6:30am!⏰️

We've been on the go from before dawn to   late bedtimes filling every moment with incredible experiences since our feet touched ground in Cairo. 🤪

I wouldn't trade a minute! 🤗

We are currently on our Nile cruise and the  wifi isn't strong enough for blog posting. 🙃

I promise to catch up when I can.

In the meantime I'll watch the banks of the Nile roll slowly by while I watch the phone spin while trying to upload one photo here and there.🌴🌴🌴

All is well and a social media break now and then is an opportunity for unplanned unwinding. 💻

Breathe deep.  Look and observe. Be in the now wherever you are. 🤗

Life is more than good.🥰

Bonnie

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