When the DJ asked me what song I wanted to end my surprise 40th birthday party with, I hesitated for just a moment and then this Jersey girl instantly yelled, “Living on a Prayer!” As we were dancing and singing at the top of our lungs, Brianna turned to me and said, “Mom – we …
Our school schedule & routine in Ireland is quite different from the States! Brianna and Billy leave the house at 8:10am, walk about 500m and board the LUAS (a public transportation train). They are on the LUAS for about seven minutes then hop off at Milltown where a High School bus is waiting to drive …
For my entire life, January 2nd has always signaled the “back to school” after Christmas break. As a student, I remember the dreaded morning wake-up call on January 2nd, just a mere week after playing with all my new Christmas toys and visiting with family and friends. Then fast forward to my 1st job teaching …
Thanksgiving for the Schindlers this year was not like any other –but it was still magical, nonetheless! Airfield gratefully allowed us to use one of their rooms inside their museum section of the Estate, and so we took full advantage. We entered the room, and we were delighted to see, that under the magnificent Christmas …
We have so many pictures. How do I organize this journey? How do I highlight the crazy adventures we have already experienced? The Netherlands in 2013, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, England, Bill’s TV show, The Great Human Race? I have been rolling these concerns over and over in my mind and I think I have …
““I feel welcome and safe with all my new friends that I made . . .”” — ALYSSA
So there are two ways I can accomplish some really significant, deep conversations with my husband. Head to pub and order two Guinness (can’t accomplish this at home because the kids will interrupt and Guinness is not the same from a can) or Go for a run. Yesterday, we headed out for a 7-miler and …
As I sit here in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, the washing machine whirling in the background, I can’t help but have a smile spread across my face. We’ve done it! 3 months in and we are comfortably settled in our life in Ireland. I feel like our trip last week during mid-term break to …
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017 12:00 PM 2:00 PM UCDIRELAND (MAP) GOOGLE CALENDAR ICS Dr. Bill Schindler shares his experience filming the National Geographic television series, The Great Human Race with UCD’s master’s and PhD students. He will specifically focus on the stonetool technology shown throughout the series and how it relates to the archaeological record.
In high school my mother used to warn me that I had tunnel vision. And she was 100% right… I believe the first time my mother warned me of the dangers of becoming too focused on one thing was during wrestling season in high school. I got a late start in the sport – in …
MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 20179:00 AM TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 20172:00 PM GALWAYIRELAND (MAP) GOOGLE CALENDAR ICS Jason O’Brien & Bill Schindler will be participating in this year’s Food on the Edge event in Galway, Ireland. Food on the Edge is a coming-together of top international chefs for a two-day Food Symposium in Galway city on the Wild Atlantic Way. …
In addition to learning as much as humanly possible from food acquirers and producers this project is also about disseminating information to a broad audience. I had a unique opportunity to do just that alongside Chef Kevin Thornton when we co-taught a foraging class in the Wicklow Mountains just south of Dublin, Ireland. Kevin recently opened up his cooking school, Kevin …
Brianna has an insatiable appetite for good – I mean really good – chocolate and well, . . . just about anything sweet. She knows that in order for something containing sugar to be allowed in our house it has to meet three requirements: It had to be made entirely from scratch; It had to …
Today Dr. Roeland Paardekooper and I met with the new MSc students in the experimental archaeology and material culture program at University College Dublin. This incredible opportunity is one of only a few experimental archaeology graduate programs in existence worldwide and is the result of the hard work and ingenuity of Dr. Aidan O’Sullivan. Today marked the …
This morning Christina and I made sure the kids were settled at their schools and rushed as quickly as possible to County Waterford located on the southeast coast of Ireland to meet Marie Power. The drive to the town of Tramore (Trá Mhór, Irish for Big Strand) where we were meeting Marie is a full …
The Food Evolutions project is about finding ways to connect modern Westerners with ancient and time-honored food technologies from the past. This weekend I am thankful to have had the opportunity to spend two days fulfilling this mission at the Airfield Food Festival. The Airfield Food Festival was a 2-day festival organized for the public to “engage with …
Tonight was an inspiring night filled with brilliant and passionate speakers! I am thankful to be in attendance honored to be a part this food series titled, Food Literacy: Closing the Knowledge Gap. The event was organized and hosted by Airfield Estate, Dublin’s only 38-acre working farm open to the public, to continue their mission to connect …
“VILLAGE DAIRY” MILK PRODUCTION VISIT Today we had the opportunity to see for ourselves an example of why Ireland is known for such incredible milk! And it is so much more than just the year-round grass that the cows have access to here in the Emerald Isle. What happens after the milk is collected is …
This somewhat secluded beach is easily accessible by car. It overlooks Galway Bay and is bounded by cliffs to north and rocks to the south. The shallow nature of the beach makes it a perfect location to forage for seaweed. When we pulled up in our car Brian was already out on the beach with …
ACQUIRING STARTERS WITH NEIL BARRETT It took a week but I was finally able to replace most of my cultures here in Ireland! Chef Neil Barrett was generous enough to share his sourdough mother, kefir, jun (a kombucha SCOBY that feeds off of honey), and vilili (a traditional heirloom Finnish yogurt). Thanks, Neil for helping me keep my …
It doesn’t get more magical than this! True place-based, hands-on learning about the first farmers in Ireland with Seamas Caulfield, emeritus professor of UCD School of Archaeology. While his father, Patrick, first discovered the ancient fields in the 1930’s, Seamas conducted the excavations at both Céide Fields and Belderrig for decades as archaeology field school through UCD School of …
SEAFARE WITH KEVIN THORTON Landed in Ireland with the family only 4 days ago and now we are in Belderrig, Northern County Mayo cooking with Michelin Star Chef, Kevin Thornton! Jason O’Brien has spoiled all of us with the most amazing ingredients with which to cook. In addition to the Roundstone Bread, Burma steaks and ground …
