by connal on September 28, 2009
I came across this, translated from another old text in the Book of Kells exhibit at Trinity College in Dublin. It’s simple but I thought it was interesting. Because there was no photography allowed in the exhibit, it was only fitting that I had to copy it down by hand into my own journal.
A Medieval Allegory of the Scribe’s Tools: A mediaval monastic sermon from Durhaks interprets the tools of a scribe as spiritual aids for a Christian life:
The parchment on which we write is pure conscience; the knife that scrapes it is the fear of God; the pumice that smooths the skin is the discipline of heavenly desire; the chalk that whitens it signifies an unbroken meditation of holy thoughts; the ruler is the will of God; the straightedge is devotion to the holy task; the quill, its end split in two for writing, is the love of God and of our neighbor; the ink is humility itself; the illuminator’s colors represent the multiform grace of heavenly wisdom; the writing desk is tranquility of heart; the exemplar from which a copy is made is the life of Christ; the writing place is contempt of worldly things lifing us to a desire for heaven.
by connal on September 25, 2009
I cannot tell you how excited I was to finally touch down in Ireland. We were finally leaving the States and beginning the adventure Anjel and I had dreamed about and planned for the last 6 months! From this point until we return home, every step will be on foreign soil, the languages will become more exotic, currencies will change, and customs will differ. I was practically running off the plane and through the terminal on the way to customs.
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by connal on September 21, 2009
…and we’re fudging the numbers!
We just completed 7 days walking around the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. We expected to have more internet service along the way, but we didn’t… to the tune of none. We were also surprised to find that 3 of the towns we stayed in didn’t have shops; and we don’t mean like, there’s no mega-grocer, or a small corner store… but not even a gas station where you could buy a bag of chips if necessary. There were hostels and B&Bs, and we obviously survived, it was just a little surprising. Regardless it was a FANTASTIC time - but we definitely have a backlog of postings to put up. So we’re working on it! 
In the meantime, I’ve fudged the numbers a bit. We stayed in the States for a week or so longer than originally anticipated. Our statistics sheet over on the left lists the country we’ve stayed in for the longest, along with the city we’ve stayed in for the longest time. We’ve just reset the counter to start as soon as we left the country. Sorry Aurora (longest city) but we thought it would be more interesting if that stat actually changed while we travelled.
That’s it for now. We’re currently in Tralee and tomorrow morning we hop a train for Dublin!
by connal on September 3, 2009
As we prepare to end the domestic portion of our adventure, here’s a quick look at our stats for the continent.
USA Statistics
Total Days: 29
Total Miles: 2963
- by Motorcycle: 2065
- by Plane: 896
- on Foot: 2
Nights Spent Camping: 4
Nights of Paid Lodging: 1
Total # of Lodgings: 9
Average Daily Food Expense: $17
Average Daily Total Expense: $32
Pictures Uploaded to Flickr: 770
Next Stop: Ireland
by connal on September 2, 2009
We have our passports! As of 10:o0 this morning, our passports, complete with Chinese and Russian Visas were delivered. They’re weeks later than expected, and we originally intended to fly to Ireland 6 days ago, but I’m sure it’s not the last delay we’ll experience so we’re just trying to roll with it. We fly out Thursday evening, arriving in Dublin Friday morning!
If you check our Flickr photosets, you’ll see several days of photos that we haven’t mentioned yet – we’re still working out exactly how much to write down and post on a regular basis; every little thing in brief posts, or more thoughtfully composed and (potentially) more interesting posts with less frequency, with the occasional quick post thrown in. Who can say? In anycase, as we prepare to flee the country, here’s a quick update on the last few days.
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by connal on September 2, 2009
