Very Dear

Speeding along on this train through Scotland I feel so enriched by the experiences of the last two weeks. Yesterday was a wonderful conclusion to our time in Northern Ireland as the sun finally came out giving us a cool clear day to explore Giant’s Causeway and the north coast. We even saw some seals out sunning themselves. Last Sunday we went to church at Maghera Presbyterian church with John, Valerie, Caroline and William Sloss. We all sat in one pew, thus filling it up with Slosses, which hadn’t happened there in some while according to John. I felt a sense of rootedness here as I looked around the church and recognized some of my father’s cousins who still attend there. After the service we headed out to the church cemetery and saw the grave of my great grandparents Robert and Nancy Sloss. John and Valerie had us over at their place for another traditional Sunday dinner with food galore. Susan obtained a scone recipe from my great aunt Josephine that Sunday, and on Tuesday we baked up quite an acceptable batch, yum. I think that they were even better than the ones that we bought at the bakery for 50P a piece. We also tried our hand at soda farl (bread) successfully too. These new found baking skills are part of the culture that we’ll be taking home with us. We’ve been having fun learning the local lingo. For example if someone says that they had some good crack (spelled craick), it means that they had a fun spirited time. The word dear is used to refer to something expensive. It is very dear means it costs a lot. In this light our last two weeks have been very dear and full of riches both for my family and myself. John and Valerie treated us to a great day Monday, walking the walls of Londonderry and visiting the Famine Village in Donegal. They also hosted another grand get together of extended family Thursday evening…great craick. We were also treated to a great outing at the Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh on Wednesday by my father’s cousins Stanley Lytle, Nancy Anderson, and Etta Lytle. We traveled through the beautiful even when wet Sperrin Mountains, then walked through the outdoor living history museum without getting wet. The museum was very well done. They had even imported some authentic period cabins and houses from the US. Meeting a loose cow in the road didn’t detour our return and Etta’s scrumptious home cooked meal to top off the day. All in all we won’t soon forget these past few weeks and the new connections that we’ve made with our extended family in the land of my ancestors.