Where did my day go?

My average day usually consists of bouncing back and forth between travel consulting and fiction writing. My days seem full enough with those two subjects. Really, I'm writing all day in one form or another, whether it be travel itineraries or my latest romance. I tend to wind down in the evening with a little knitting while watching CSI, Criminal Minds, Reaper or similar program. One would think I really didn't have time for anything else. Right? Well, how wrong we all are!


Then came...





Ravelry is a free service that came on stream about 18 months ago, and has been growing in popularity and membership like a runaway freight train. The site is still in beta test mode, but the last I heard they had more than 165,000 members from around the world! Me among them. They have a wait list for acceptance into the site. Where once there was a wait of several months, they're not joining members every couple days.


Once joined, the site offers a plethora of options for knitting/crochet enthusiasts. The site originally started as a place to keep track of knitting/crochet projects. They have a projects page where members can post photos and details of each project. Those listings are comprehensive and include needle/hook size, yarn used, where you bought your yarn, pattern used, who designed the pattern, who the item is for, when you started and finished the project...even a notes section so you can leave comments on the project, pattern, yarn, whatever. And you can include photos of your work, from your first cast on stitch to your last cast off stitch, blocking and assembly.


If that's not enough, the service includes a pattern library for free and paid patterns, a section that lists all known yarns and yarn companies, a members section and groups you can join. There's also a library where you can search for and list all the books in your library, a section where you can list all of the needles/hooks that you own, a stash section so you can keep track of what's in all those bags under the bed or boxes in the closet, a list of queued project and favorite projects from other members, you can contribute a pattern as a designer (indeed you can list yourself as a designer), a list of all of your the friends you've linked to (hopefully they've linked back to you), an on-site messaging service and untold numbers of groups you can join to share your thoughts with other likeminded people. And there are groups for just about everything you can imaging, from tv programs to dog owners to charity crafters...you name it, there's probably a group for it, though most groups are broken down by country/state/region, by yarn company, and even by magazine. Members can even post their own special avatar, known as Ravatars...anything from pictures of your pet doing silly things to your favorite yarn or project...or even your own visage.


And that's just the surface of it. Join groups and, even if you're just a lurker, you can spend your whole lunch hour reading through messages. If you post and have replies, well, there goes your lunch hour, and some of your work day. And if you want to add to your projects pages, there goes your afternoon...between taking pictures of your item(s) and getting them loaded to Flickr then setting up your project page for each project...etc.


I'm guilty of spenting long hours on Ravelry...of taking up valuable hours that should be spent on my clients or my fiction, or indeed just taking the dogs out. I've neglected the dishes in the sink, watering the potted plants and even doing laundry all so I can play on Ravelry. I have to constantly remind myself, especially when my DH comes home and looking for his dinner that Ravelry is NOT my job!


At least I'm not alone. I know there are more than 165,000 other members in the same boat with me.

Ravelry has a lot to answer for. They're like a drug supplier. Give the unsuspecting a taste, then make it free. They'll never get enough once they're hooked...and they're hooked from the first taste.


This addict is now heading back to Ravelry to post my most recent project. Of course I'll need to take the photos of where I am in the project first. Then I'll have to post a new page and start listing what it's taking to create this item. The dogs? Surely they can wait to go out for another hour. Can't they?

Move over MySpace, Shelfari's in town!

Amazon seems to have their hands in many pies these days. They're latest adventure is a site called Shelfari. The company's own mission statements reads, "Shelfari introduces readers to our global community of book lovers and encourages them to share their literary inclinations and passions with peers, friends, and total strangers (for now). Shelfari was the first social media site focused on books, and will continue to innovate as it brings together the world's readers. Our mission is the enhance the experience of reading by connecting readers in meaningful conversations about the published word."

The site was launched in October 2006, but after poor user response, Amazon pumped money into the program and has now found a surge in popularity for authors to promote their work and to link into reviewers who have pages up, as well as publishers promoting their author's work. MySpace was originally a place for musical performers to meet, but soon saw an influx of users of every kind, including authors, publicists, publishers and book reviewers. Those people are now flocking to Shelfari because this is a literary dedicated service.

Not only are industry professionals using this as a marketing tool, but those valued readers are filling their "My Shelf" pages with books from their bookshelves from home. And why not? This site also offers a tracking facility whereby users can add private notes on who they've lended their precious books too...the borrowers name, date of lend and expected return date...just like at the library! And each book users link to shows how many other people are reading that book, including those from the user's list of friends. Click on the book to see who else is reading the book. By clicking onto their user pages users can request friendship links, join discussion groups and send notes...ideal ways to join into a public or private discussion of shared interests.

Of course, because this is an Amazon adventure, each book listed on Shelfari is linked to Amazon for purchase. Here's where they get really sneaky. Anyone familiar with Amazon's affiliate program knows that if you sign up and link your addiliate number to the book you want to buy you will get a commission on the sale of the book. Any online shop that links to books do this to earn money. Commissions are a great thing if the site linking to Amazon has a lot of buyers. However, Shelfari has linked their own commission generating account ID to the amazon links so Shelfari earns the commissions rather than the person who's listed the books on their Shelfari shelves or the buyer, who's undoubtedly a Shelfari user as well. Remember...Shelfari is part of Amazon! So basically, Amazon is earning themselves commissions at their own company!! Do I smell conflict of interest here??

Regardless, Shelfari seems to be blazing a trail across the internet, picking up users along the way at a pace similar to a snowball rolling down hill at a hundred miles an hour. Why it's taken so long for interest to pick up is unknown. Perhaps an added marketing campaign or just that Amazon has now aligned themselves with Shelfari? Who knows!? But whatever they're doing, it must be working...oops! Just got email and guess what? Two more invites to Shelfari! LOL

So have I succombed to this phenomenon? Of course. There's nothing like a good bandwagon! I signed up my reviewing website for now, but will add my author website eventually. Click on the reading lady image (Charles Edward Perugini's Girl Reading) to log in, or click SHELFARI to log into My Shelf. I had joined MySpace a good while back and immediately found it cumbersom and annoying, and full of YouTubes (not ideal for someone on dial-up). This week alone I have been hit no less than ten times by invitations to join Shelfari. After ignoring the first couple invites, assuming this was some form of spam, I logged in to see what all the fuss was about.

Compared to MySpace, Shelfari has a basic appealing color scheme, links are easily navigable and, sure, it's a great way to connect with friends and make new ones. Similar to Yahoo Groups, there are message boards dedicated to every genre and subgenre imaginable. There's even an added option to leave your friends notes on their pages, or to send notes privately via email.

Now that I've gotten used to how the program works, keeping in mind this site is still working in beta version, there is a large segment of authors being overlooked. Simply said, if a book is not listed on Amazon, it doesn't get on Shelfari. Many electronically published authors whose books are only on sale via their publisher's websites for electronic download will miss the boat on Shelfari. I'm sure they will rectify this eventually, but for now, those authors may want to push their publishers to start listing their e-only books on Amazon to get listed on Shelfari...and to generate more sales of course.

So what do you think? Have you visited Shelfari? If not, log into their site and check it out...SHELFARI . If you have, come by My Shelf and drop me a note. Better yet, send me a friendship request. One can never have too many friends =-)

~Kemberlee

Bunratty Renaissance Faire

We attended the Bunratty medieval faire Saturday, 30 June. We didn't like the weather down here, but my contact in the park said "come on up" so we did. The day was actually very nice, even though the national weather service was calling for winter-like rains. We took the dogs with us and they loved it. We had a really good day in the park. I just wish I could say the medieval faire part of it was.

Basically, this is how it went. They opened a cattle pasture at the back of the park, roped part of it off for a medieval battle and had a few "ye olde tents" around the perimeter of the field, which included a livestock area with various hunting birds, a fox, hedgehogs, Irish hare, pigs and a couple Irish Wolfhounds. The rest of the space was for walking around...mostly spectators. Because of the numbers of spectators and the level battle ground, there wasn't really anywhere to see the battle unless you were at the front ropes. The performance lasted all of about 15 minutes.

The tents were all privately owned by the performers and doubled as changing rooms and sleeping tents at night. Some tents were also open for trade. There was someone there repairing armor and another chainmail, another selling jewelry, another selling wooden kiddie size swords and shields, another tent open for displaying authentic recreations of weapons and garments, etc. They weren't big selling areas...nothing much bigger than a standard card table, but the wares and trades were interesting.

And yes, there were wet cow patties all over the field. Ireland has gotten a lot of rain in the last couple weeks and Friday night there was one heck of a downpour in the Shannon region so everything was pretty soggy.

There were supposed to be tents set up at the castle itself, but there was nothing there. The only place the medieval stuff was happening was in the cattle field at the battle. The cattle field was so far back in the park it almost wasn't part of the park, and a long walk to get to for such a short program. I think we spent about an hour overall in that area, but performers were scattered all over the park sightseeing and eating...then the big battle, followed by loads of photo ops for parents to get their kids' pictured with the performers. Then we looked at some of the tents displaying their wares and looked at the animal area. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around the park, looking in some of the cottages, having lunch in the tea room and fending off lonely tourists who wanted to grope the dogs. OK, so the dogs loved it =-)

Anyway, I wasn't expecting anything big and spectacular, but I was expecting more than what was there, to be honest. There weren't any jousts...no horses whatsoever actually. No royalty, no cooking demos, no crafts people demonstrating, none of the stuff one would usually expect at a faire. Really strange that Bunratty would advertise such an event then have the performers only stage a short mock battle...between the O'Brien and the Fitzgerald clans...and to have the Fitzgerald's win....incidentally, the O'Brien's once ruled the Shannon region and owned Bunratty Castle, so it seemed fairly insulting to me that the park would allow the Fitzgerald's to kick the butts of the O'Brien's on O'Brien soil.

And don't get me started on the amour and weaponry. It all may be recreations, but there were warriors from every era all fighting together. Some participants weren't even wearing all the gear from one era, but bits and pieces from all of the medieval years and just wore what they liked. There were guys in full face buckets to beanie caps. One guy wore a helmet so new it was as shiny as if it had just come out of a box...of Star Wars gear! Looked just like a chrome Darth Vadar helmet.

As for swords, one guy had a sword that was supposed to be a type of broad sword but the blade was wavy from hilt to tip. I've only seen daggers like that, but I'm not sure either are authentic recreations.

The group performing were all part of the Fingal Living History Society who were down from the Dublin area for the weekend. This group is similar to the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) who put on a really authentic event that includes demonstrations of many of the traditional crafts such as spinning and weaving, cooking demos, jewelry making and other "need to know to survive" crafts and chores. And yes, battles, often including jousts and more than just two sides battling. They're run like a medieval tournament event with everything that goes along with it.

Traditional Ren Faires allow spectators to join in the fun if they wish, including renting costumes and at least participating in gaming. But the one at Bunratty was purely spectator-only, which made the overall
experience very bland.

We did have a lovely day over all though. What we did see at the battle was pretty OK. Not brilliant, but entertaining. But unless they organizers put a little more backbone into the next event, we'll probably give it a miss.

Below are a few more pictures just for fun. Enjoy!!

Kemberlee

The truth about Border Collies

Some things are just too funny to not share. Laughing Dog Press is a virtual kennel that pokes fun at some of the more offbeat things about owning purebred dogs. In this case, I refer to the "world's smartest breed" -- the Border Collie. Anyone who has Border Collies, or rather, any Border Collie who has owners (and there IS a difference), you will appreciate the humor of what I'm about to share. For copyright reasons I can't post the articles in their entirety, but I can share the link. Laughing Dog Press - Border Collies

Laughing Dog Press says "Many casual dog owners have mistaken this (Border Collies) for an ordinary dog and taken it home. They spend an average of six weeks in rehab getting over the experience."

Boy, can I appreciate that!!
"Church of the Divine Border Collie" suggests that owners of said breed do so because they believe in a supreme being, because a) (Border Collies) are the world's finest sheepdogs, that they have a stunning intelligence, and that even in a world of technology, they will never be replaced by a machine. Clearly this dog is seen as superhuman; and b) Border Collies have a trait called, "THE EYE"...a hypnotic stare that the BC turns on anything it wants to control. Imagine here a domineering mother in law, but this trait in the BC often turned on humans as much as livestock.

The CDBC also sites "Every time a BC stares, there is a single message embedded in the gaze... communication was clear (in the case of a non-working BC): BALL, BALL, BALL, BALL, BALL."

"Other religions have hair shirts and Hail Marys. The Church of the Divine Border Collie has "THE EYE"."

Uh-huh. Ayep! I hear ya on that one!!

c) "Border Collie owners operate by a different set of rituals than other dog owner. They dedicate their days to channeling their dog's energy...quit their jobs...(and) are forced to buy acreage."

Another scary truth. And more often than not, it's not because the homeowner wants a bigger house. Said owner will eventually be forced to invest in sheep just so the dog will having something to do besides obsess over the BALL and more property will be called for.

As a result of having sheep, we now get into the fact that sheep have to be sheered a couple times a year. What do to with all the fleeces? Learn to spin your own yarn, of course. With that comes learning to card and clean, dye and spin and weave. Then there's the other forced purchases of the hand carders or drum carder, dyes, spinning wheels, knitting needles and/or crochet hooks, pattern books, embellishments for the finished garments, and so on. The final forced cost is that of the therapist for all the friends and family who find themselves under mounds of hand made items they have no intention of wearing because they're too big, too small, one arm is longer than the other, the colors are a little loud or in the rare case, the item is just too beautiful that wearing it would be a crime.

There are pages and pages of funnies, that really aren't so funny if you live with a Border Collie, or worse, multiple Border Collies. You just have to log in for yourself and reconsider if a Border Collie is for you.

But hey! How can you pass up on faces like these??

I'm a 32!

Everyone has a personality of a cartoon character.

Have you ever asked yourself what cartoon character do you most resemble?

A group of investigators got together and analyzed the personalities of well known and modern cartoon characters. The information that was gathered was made into this test.

Answer all the questions with what describes you best, add up all your points (which are next to the answer that you choose) at the end and look for your results.

Do not cheat by looking at the end of the test before you are done.

Then forward this to all your friends (including the person who sent it to you) and change the subject of this message to what character is you.

1. Which one of the following describes the perfect date?
a) Candlelight dinner (4 pts.)
b) Fun/Theme Park (2 pts.)
c) Painting in the park (5 pts.)
d) Rock concert (1 pt.)
e) Going to the movies (3 pts.)

2. What is your favorite type of music?
a) Rock and Roll (2 pts.)
b) Alternative (1 pt.)
c) Soft Rock (4 pts.)
d) Country (5 pts.)
e) Pop (3 pts.)

3. What type of movies do you prefer?
a) Comedy (2 pts.)
b) Horror (1 pt.)
c) Musical (3 pts.)
d) Romance (4 pts.)
e) Documentary (5 pts.)

4. Which one of these occupations would you choose if you only could choose one of these?
a) Waiter (4 pts.)
b) Professional Sports Player (5 pts.)
c) Teacher (3 pts.)
d) Police (2 pts.)
e) Cashier (1 pt)

5 . What do you do with your spare time?
a) Exercise (5 pts.)
b) Read (4 pts.)
c) Watch television (2 pts.)
d) Listen to music (1 pt.)
e) Sleep (3 pts.)

6. Which one of the following colors do you like best?
a) Yellow (1 pt.)
b) White (5 pts.)
c) Sky Blue (3 pts.)
d) Dark Blue (2 pts.)
e) Red (4 pts.)

7. What do you prefer to eat?
a) Snow (3 pts.)
b) Pizza (2 pts.)
c) Sushi (1 pt.)
d) Pasta (4 pts.)
e) Salad (5 pts.)

8 What is your favorite holiday?
a) Halloween (1 pt.)
b) Christmas (3 pts.)
c) New Year (2 pts.)
d) Valentine's Day (4 pts.)
e) Thanksgiving (5 pts.)

9. If you could go to one of these places which one would it be?
a) Paris (4 pts)
b) Spain (5 pts)
c) Las Vegas (1 pt)
d) Hawaii (4 pts)
e) Hollywood (3 pts)

10. With which of the following would you prefer to spend time with?
a) Someone Smart (5 pts.)
b) Someone attractive (2 pts.)
c) Someone who likes to Party (1 pt.)
d) Someone who always has fun (3 pts.)
e) Someone very sentimental (4 pts.)

Now add up your points and find out the answer you have been waiting for!

(10-16) You are Garfield:
You are very comfortable, easy going, and you definitely know how to have fun but sometimes you take it to an extreme. You always know what you are doing and you are always in control of your life. Others may not see things as you do, but that doesn't mean that you always have to do what is right. Try to remember, your happy spirit may hurt you or others.

(17-23) You are Snoopy:
You are fun, you are very cool and popular. You always know what's in and you are never are out of style. You are good at knowing how to satisfy everyone else. You have probably disappeared for a few days more than once but you always come home with the family values that you learned. Being married and having children are important to you, but only after you have had your share of fun times.

(24-28) You are Elmo:
You have lots of friends and you are also popular, always willing to give advice and help out a person in need. You are very optimistic and you always see the bright side of things. Some good advice: try not to be too much of a dreamer. Dreaming too big could cause many conflicts in your life.

(29-35) You are Sponge Bob Square Pants:
You are the classic person that everyone loves. You are the best friend that anyone could ever have and never wants to lose. You never cause harm to anyone and they would never not understand your feelings. Life is a journey, it's funny and calm for the most part. Stay away from traitors and jealous people, and you will be stress free.

(36-43) You are Charlie Brown:
You are tender, you fall in love quickly but you are also very serious about all relationships. You are a family person. You call your Mom every Sunday. You have many friends and may occasionally forget a few Birthdays. Don't let your passion confuse you with reality.

(44-50) You are Dexter:
You are smart and definitely a thinker... Every situation is fronted with a plan. You have a brilliant mind. You demonstrate very strong family principles. You maintain a stable routine but never ignore a bad situation when it comes. Try to do less over thinking every once in a while to spice things up a bit with spontaneity!

Guess which cartoon character I turned out to be! No surprise that when the DH took the test he turned out to be Elmo! Makes me want to tickle him ;-)

Yeah, yeah, I know. So little time on Earth and SO many stupid internet quizzes. I hope you had fun with this anyway.

~ Kemberlee

Four Things You Never Knew About Me

It's been a while since I've posted, and I do have a few things that will be coming soon, but until then, I thought this might be fun. The answers are in no particular order other than they came to me in that order.

Four jobs you've had in your life:

1. Island Technician (Pumping Gas)
2. Greenwear Cleaner
3. Travel Consultant
4. Writer

Four TV shows you love to watch:

1. Veronica Mars
2. CSI: Miami (the others are just OK)
3. Eastenders
4. any and all cooking shows

Four movies you could watch over and over again:

1. Last of the Dogmen
2. Last of the Mohicans
3. Excalibur
4. The Highlander

Four books you could read over and over again:

1. anything by Elizabeth Chadwick
2. anything by Denise Lynn
3. anything by Isabo Kelly
4. anything by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Four CDs you could listen to over and over again:

1. Luka Bloom
2. Christy Moore
3. Etta James
4. 80's classic rock

Four places you have lived:

1. Carmel, CA
2. San Jose, CA
3. Dublin, Ireland
4. Cork, Ireland

Four places you've been on vacation:

1. NYC and Washington DC (same trip)
2. Ireland
3. Scotland
4. Wales

Four places you'd like to go on vacation:

1. The Galicia in Northern Spain
2. Australia
3. Japan
4. Route 66

Four websites you visit daily:

1. eBay
2. Yahoo Groups
3. Online Banking
4. various blogs (mostly crochet related)

Four of your favorite foods:

1. Chicken Tikka Masala
2. Chocolate Cake
3. Tacos (basically any Mexican food)
4. Mom's Bread Pudding (and lots of it!!)

Four places you'd rather be right now:

1. Hay-on-Wye, Wales
2. Edinburgh, Scotland
3. Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland
4. home visiting family

Four bloggers you'll be tagging:

1. Denise
2. Kat
3. Eve
4. Adrienne

I hope you had fun with this. I did, though it's hard to just pick 4 of anything, isn't it?!

Kemberlee

Doing the Snoopy Dance!

So, we went back to Killarney today to see the bikes again and check out the closing ceremony. Most of the attendees had already gone, but out of 15,000 bikes, there was still a couple thousand around to look at. There was definitely a subdued atmosphere, but the weather was great and everyone was having a great time. H.O.G. Village was open for last minute sales in the seller's area, people were still eating and drinking from the on-site pub tent and generally just milling about.

Why am I doing the Snoopy Dance? Well, if you read my post from yesterday, you'll see how disappointed I was not to have found a biker I dubbed The Preacher. Well, after wandering around for a couple hours this morning, we were just starting to walk to the exit when what did I spot? The Preacher's bike. When Peter turned around I was gonzo!

It's funny how first impressions are the ones you keep with you, even when continued evidence tries its hardest to refute your beliefs. Like how when I saw this particular bike with it's cross-shaped sissy bar pad and cathedral window styled decoration on the handlebars. The bike has a very Gothic feel to it...more so "Goth" in a more modern sense...ie: Goth as in a much "darker" meaning. The following pictures will show you what I mean.

The artwork on this bike was incredibly well done. The front fender has a night scene, as are all the scenes on the bike. This one is the full moon looking over a Gothic castle on a clifftop, the gate of which is in the foreground of the image. A lot of detail for a narrow "canvas."

The tank had several images on it. On the left side was a wolf and full moon overlooking a couple grave markers, one marked with the owners name, Kruger, and the other with a Bible chapter and verse. Yeah, I looked it up.

Revelations Chapter 6 Verse 8 -- "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."

See what I mean by a darker meaning?

The other side is a reclining lady vampire in a very sexy outfit. The grave marker beside her says Job Chapter 18 Verse 5 -- "Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine." Looked up this one too. The internet is a wonderful thing!

The top of the tank was no less impressive. If anything, it was the most impressive of the collection of artwork on the bike. Here, he's painted Death on a chariot racing through a fiery inferno.

Other interesting details included the cross stitched into the saddle (seat), the custom handlebars with the cathedral window-style detail and the padded cross shaped sissy bar pad, as well as a smaller artwork detail on the back fender, skull tail light and a half skull air intake cover.

As you can see, this was a pretty unique bike. There were thousands of unique bikes, of course, but there's always one that really makes an impression...the kind of impression where when you see it you stop and go, "Wow!" and spend more than the usual time checking it out.

In case anyone is wondering, this bike got it's start in the world as a Heritage Softail.

I wish the owner of the bike would have stuck around for some pictures, but I did find a picture of him in the several dozen I'd taken at the start of the parade yesterday so you can see what he looks like. This morning he wandered off with his lady just as we stepped up to the bike. I think she was less tolerant of the attention his bike was getting. Her little yellow un-costomized Sportster is the one in the background. Nice bike, for sure, but nothing like the Preacher's. Yeah, I'll still call him the Preacher...even though I'm certain his name is Kruger, by the numerous notes on the artwork and on the license plate.

Yesterday I mentioned the Kawasaki that thinks it's an Indian. Here's a picture. The one I took yesterday didn't really do the bike justice. This is a lovely bike, but it ain't no Indian! And certainly no Harley.

There were some other very handsome bikes on show. One of them was actually parked at a seller's tent. It's really hard to describe this bike other than to say it's a Heritage Softail like the Preacher's bike, but is in structurally original condition. It's the artwork that makes this bike unique. You've heard the saying, "A picture tells a thousand words"? Well, here are a couple thousand words to mull over.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our weekend. It was fun. Who am I kidding? It was awesome!! Still thinking about trading the Mini in for a Harley!! If I do, I'll have to find that sign seller guy from H.O.G. Village to buy the sign that read, "I'm the person your mother warned you about." =-)

~ Kemberlee
PS...As always, click on the pictures to enlarge the view.
PPS...for those of you asking to see more Scotsmen...here you go!

I think my world just got better...

...at least for the day. You see, I have a special place in my heart for a motorcycle. Not just any motorcycle, but a Harley Davidson motorcycle. And the Harley isn't just a motorcycle. It's a BIKE.

This is my rambling part, so bear with me...

Now, I wouldn't necessarily call myself a biker. Perhaps, more of a woman with biker tendencies. I've always loved the look for the Harley, the styling, the rumble when you're driving down the road...the Culture.

It's the Culture, and I capitalize it because it's like a religion to many enthusiasts, that seems to amaze me the most. Doesn't matter if you're a dyed in the wool, true-hearted biker to your core or just a weekend warrior; if you own a Harley you're an automatic member of a special culture that no one else is allowed into...no matter how Kawasaki, Honda and the others try to manufacture bikes that look, smell, sound and feel like a Harley! While a H.O.G. membership is ideal for all kinds of Harley perks, it's not required to be part of the Culture.

Certainly, there are those who don't own Harley's who are in the Culture. Your average Biker Betty, the Harley owner's better half, shall we say, doesn't own a Harley. BUT, she probably owns the butt that's in the saddle in front of her. And she's probably a Lady of Harley if she's on an associate membership. Even kids get Harley perks...and all the cool leather gear!

Harley, even for those who don't own a bike or are part of the Culture, can still change the average persons life. Just read God on a Harley by Joan Brady and you'll know what I mean. This was a small "spiritual fable" published back in the mid-90s that changed my life...well, was included in many things that changed my life at the time. This was a story of a mysterious biker HUNK who helped a woman see what the important things in life really were.

It's because of this Culture that no matter where you go in the world, if you meet up with a biker community, you're home. Plain and simple. All Harley owners and enthusiasts are family. Harley isn't just an iconic symbol. Harley is a way of life, no matter how often your butt is in the saddle.

So this all brings me to the subject at hand and why I love Harley's and why my world just got better, at least for today. Keep in mind, the Culture.

It was the 15th Annual H.O.G. European Rally this weekend and it was staged in the beautiful Southwest of Ireland -- Killarney, County Kerry. Some 15,000 bikes from all over the world were expected to attend. And we went! While the opening ceremony was Thursday evening and the closing will be tomorrow at noon, it was really a full two day event, today -- Saturday, being the Big Day.

H.O.G. Village opened at 8am, but as I've been to Harley rallies before, I just KNEW there wouldn't be many people about that early (not after the "night before"), so we headed in and arrived around 10:30am...30 minutes before the big bike parade through Killarney town. We didn't go into town. We would have been mad as Hatters to do that. We stayed in H.O.G. Village in probably the best spot possible...at the center of three driveways onto the main exit for the main road for town. We had bikes leaving the village in front of us, bikes coming out of the side car park to the right of us and more bikes coming out of the rear car park to the left of us. Parade staff let each exit point out in turn. Good thing or would be nursing whiplash by now! OK, more than we already are.

It took about 30 minutes to get all the bikes out. Once they were gone, we headed back into H.O.G. Village to see what was what...lots of sellers stalls, food vendors, an indoor stationary show of 2006 bikes, sponsor tents, etc etc.

Let me back up and say we took our two Border Collies with us, Daisie (l) and Poppy (r). It was because of them that a good number of people came up to us to pet the girlz and tell us they'd left their dogs behind at home, how they missed them, etc. The people just wanted to pet the girlz because they missed their own dogs so much. It was a great way to meet some of these people and hear their travel stories.

When I said being involved with Harley is family, it's really true. We met people from all over the world, most of who DROVE their bikes to Ireland. We met people from Lithuania, Poland, German, England, America, Canada, Australia, France, Spain...even one guy who came in with a few pals from....Saudi Arabia! The story of all the ferries he had to take and the cross country trek was just amazing.

No one sees nationalities, politics, religions, skin color or anything else that could otherwise fuel anger or hatred. All they see are Harley enthusiasts...the customizations, the models, the character each bike exuded, the travel stories getting to the rally, stories from previous rallies...all sharing in the single Culture that is Harley.

The man here is from England with his wife. We didn't get his name but he came up to us because of the girlz and we had a nice chat about his home, how long they took to reach Killarney, what they thought of Ireland...and of course his crazy helmet. Very Lordi, don't you think? He said he was looking for a Lordi mask so he must have also watched the Eurovision Song Contest this year!

Bikers may have a bad reputation, mostly thanks to Hollywood (which has a lot to answer for), but if anyone wants to see an almost perfect way of life one only has to look at the Harley Culture. Sure, crazy stuff goes on. It does in all clubs. But nothing like other clubs.

Example: We own an older model Austin Mini, now called a classic Mini. We joined the national Mini club in Ireland and for 5 years attended every monthly meeting, even when we moved an hour away from the meeting place. When the new Mini came out, all hell broke loose in the club. Suddenly you had the classic Mini people and the new Mini people, and no one talked to the other. The club broke down because of prejudice and politics. In Harley, if they come out with a new model, it's cheers all around and a welcoming in of any new members to the Culture because of the new model. If it's Harley, it's part of the Culture. Apparently not so with the Mini people. Pretty sad. Needless to say, while we still own the classic Mini, we're no longer part of THAT culture.

Anyway, this rally was very much like any other rally I've been to in California, just more cultural...for the lack of a better word...remember we met people from all over the world. In California, it was meeting people from all over the US, Canada and Mexico mainly.

One man from Lithuania is working in Ireland for a while, but he told us about getting his precious bike to Ireland. You have to understand that most of the eastern block countries have very little work, even if they are part of the bigger European Union now. Every penny goes to food, housing, clothing, education, etc. This man must have put in a serious amount of overtime to be able to afford the bike he was on. It hadn't been customized, but it was a lovely bike nonetheless, and he treated it like his baby (don't they all?!).

We met a couple from Italy. The wife didn't speak any English, but the husband did a little and told us how they'd left their three Afinpinchers at home. This couple had incredible cowboy-style boots! Another couple were from France. At one point I thought the wife was going to share a real French Kiss with Daisie, but they were very nice and missed their dogs, too...didn't they all. We were stopped all over the place by people wanting to pet the girlz. Crazy! One would have thought the show revolved around them and not Harley.

As unique as the people were, so were the bikes. The bikes were really an amazing reflection of the owner. I shot loads of digital video, which unfortunately is not loaded to this blog because we're on dial-up, and tons of photos. For the sake of download, I will attach some of the *cooler* bikes at the bottom of this bloggage, which included hundreds of Fatboys, some Heritages, Sportsters, trikes and various hard and softails...most of which were customized to some degree...some to a huge degree!

Lord help us, they snuck in a Kawasaki that looked like an old Indian and a Honda to die for, pictured right. (geez, did anyone hear me say that?!) Yes, that really is a Honda. Any doubt? Click on the image.

One of the coolest bikes was one I didn't get a good picture of -- he was as elusive as a raith! By the end of the day when we were looking for it, I started calling the owner The Preacher. The whole bike was custom, go figure, but handlebars looked like a frame from a Gothic window, sans the glass. The sissy bar in back was of a similar design. The backrest was built into the sissy bar frame in the shape of a Gothic cross and well padded in black leather. The tank art was of a spiritual nature and the air filter cover was a chrome skull. The owner was a tall man with a beanie style helmet that looked chromed and he had an overall appearance of someone preacher-ish. You had to see it.

There were bikes with side cars, bikes with little trailors, trikes (one of which carried four people, picture below), and people from all different walks of life. I'll never forget the sight of the Scotsmen in their kilts driving back from the parade, hems flapping to reveal just enough to leave a girl wondering what Scotsmen really wear under their kilts!

The most amazing thing I saw over the course of the day was a little fellow with his special hand made attire. I didn't catch his name, or that of his travel companion, but I did see they were collecting for the Battersea Dogs Home. By the time I got my hand out of my pocket to put a donation in their little bucket attached to the front of the bike, the line of bikes had sped off again...never did find them again, but this little pooch was the talk of the show...along with Daisie and Poppy I dare say.

Thanks for reading my ramblings. As you can see, we had a brilliant day today, and will probably be talking about it long into the coming weeks. Hell, I could keep talking abou it here!

Enjoy the photos.

~ Kemberlee
PS...Click on any of the images on this blog and the larger photo will come up.