A lord's medieval hall in Ireland?

While we were in Ireland, we attended an SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) event. This was the hall, partly set up for the feast. Yes, the chairs are not period, but still the overall feel was quite medieval. The food was good, too.

-GRG

More of the chair...

The two side panels of the Cruachan chair (or throne) are carved with bulls. this is left panel (from the point of view of someone seated in the chair).

-GRG

(Photo: G. R. Grove)

The chair...

A wonderful object we saw in Ireland at the Cruachan Ai Center. We also met the carver a few days earlier. The chair is made of three kinds of bog wood, the darkest being oak. It looks to me like a seat appropriate for Arawn himself - or his Irish equivalent.

-GRG

The end of autumn...

Saturday was the last day for the Cherry Creek farmer's market. It seems appropriate it should end on Samhain. Observe the large piles of snow in the background from Thursday's storm!

Wrote a couple more pages tonight. Sometimes it's drop by drop.

-GRG

Progress

Finished the third chapter last night - update on the sidebar. Most of the characters Gwernin's seen before, but there's one new one who should be fun. Reading the Chronicle of Ireland yesterday gave me an idea for a new plot element. Just time enough today to start the next chapter before I go back to work tomorrow. At least the snow is gone off the roads -- it was over sixty today -- though not out of the garden. And I'm writing about spring...

(Photo: G. R. Grove: Dowth South, Bru na Boinne.)

-GRG

Happy Halloween!

More about Samhain tomorrow. In the meantime, a Samhain tale from a previous year. Enjoy!

-GRG

It's stopped snowing...

...and I've started writing again. Progress indicator on the sidebar, below the cover/blurb for The Druid's Son. The standing stone on that cover, by the way, is the Cuchulainn stone, about which more later.

-GRG

Snow, snow, and more snow...

It's been snowing here since Tuesday night, although I think the storm is finally winding down. Looks more like December or January than the end of October. I hope this is not a sign of things to come.
-GRG

Still here...

Back from my travels, and playing with photos... this is the first cut of one possible cover for the next book. As you can see, I'm thinking of changing the style for the second trilogy.

We actually got back from Ireland last week, but I came down with a bug almost immediately and am just getting going again - in time for a Denver fall blizzard! A good day to play with photos.

Snow pictures later, and more from Ireland.

Autumn is here / Mae'r hydref yma

We took a trip up into the mountains last weekend to ride the Georgetown Loop. Mountain fall color is well advanced.

Heavy frost this morning after rain. The garden's over for the year; time to clean it up and think about next year. Time for more writing, too.
----------------------------------
Cawson ni tro i fyny i'r mynyddoedd i reid y Georgetown Loop. Mae'r lliwiau hydref mynyddoedd yn ardderchog.

Rhew trwm y bore'ma wedi glaw. Mae'r ardd llysiau wedi dod i ben am y flwydden; amser ei llanhau a meddwl am y flwydden nesaf. Amser ysgrifennu hefyd.

-GRG

Glaw Ysgafn... / Light Rain...

Glaw ysgafn heddiw, efallai gan tipyn of eira heno? Mae'r stwrn aferol canol Mis Medi. Amser tynnu tomatoes! Wel, os mae hi'n bwrw glaw heno, gobeithio bydd ddim rhew. Mae'r tywydd yn dda i meddwl am bacio i Iwerddon, beth bennag.

Gwnes i ddim ysgrifennu dros y penwythnos. Rhaid i mi geisio yn galedach y penwythnos nesaf.
-------------------------------
Light rain today, maybe with a bit of snow tonight? It's the usual mid-September storm. Time to pick tomatoes! Well, if it's raining tonight, hopefully there won't be frost. The weather's good for thinking about packing for Ireland, anyway.

I didn't do any writing over the weekend. I have to try harder next weekend.

-GRG

Dydd Gwener / Friday

Dydd Gwener, diolch i'r Duwiau. Dim ond wythnos o bedwar dyddiau i fi, ond yn digon hir beth bynnag. Roedd y penwythnos diwethaf yn rhy brysur - digwyddiadau SCA Dydd Sadwrn a Dydd Sul, a dim ond Dydd Llun i ysgrifennu. Mwy o amser y penwythnos hon, gobeithio. Dw i wedi dechrau yr ail bennod Mab y Derwydd.

Fel ddweudes i'n gynnar, bydd y dosbarthiadau Cymraeg yn dechrau y chweched Mis Hydref. Byddwn i'n athro unwaith eto. Dw i ddim yn siwr faint o fyfyriwr bydd gynnon ni. Welen ni'n fuan. Yn y cyfamser, bydd y Cymdeithas Cymreig Colorado yn cynnal noswaith am Owain Glyndwr Nos Sadwrn y 3dd Hydref, a byddwn i yno gan copiau fy llyfrau. Mae mwy o wybodaeth yma.

----------------------------------------------

Friday, thank the Gods. Only a four day week for me, but long enough anyway. Last weekend was too busy - SCA events Saturday and Sunday, and only Monday for writing. More time this weekend, hopefully. I've started the second chapter of The Druid's Son.

As I said earlier, Welsh classes will start on the 6th of October. I'll be a teacher again. I'm not sure how many students we'll have. We'll see soon. In the meantime, the Colorado Welsh Society will be holding an evening about Owain Glyndwr on Saturday the 3rd of October, and I'll be there with copies of my books. There's more information here.

-GRG

Welsh language classes in Denver

The Colorado Welsh Society's Welsh language classes will be starting again soon - see the class blog for more details. Cymru am byth!

Writing and thinking

I've got a little more work done on the new book this week. I also started a sort of pre-publication page for it on LibraryThing, for those who are curious, and will be adding to it from time to time.

-GRG

Ysgrifennu a garddio / Writing and gardening...

Mi gais i tipyn mwy o waith wedi gwneud ar y lyfr nesa dros y penwythnos. Meddwl yn bennaf, ond tipyn o ysgrifenny hefyd. Mi awn ni i'r Iwerddon am pethefnos yn Mis Hydref, a bydda i'n gallu weld y leoedd ble bydd y stori yn cael ei digwydd. Dw i'n edrych ymlaen ato fo!

Mae'r tomatoes yn dal ato, a dw i wedi gwneud lawer o chutney eleni. Wn i ddim pryd byddwn ni'n cael y rhew cyntaf - cyn bo Mis Hydref, yn debyg.
---------------------------------------
I got a bit more work done on the next book over the weekend. Mostly thinking, but a bit of writing as well. We're going to Ireland for a fortnight in October, and I'll be able to see the places where the story will happen. I'm looking forward to that!

The tomatoes are keeping at it, and I've made a lot of chutney this year. I don't know when we'll get the first frost - before October, probably.

-GRG