The fabulous week that was...

Fabulous house, glorious food, great people and fantastic work done, these seven days in deepest, darkest Monaghan went beyond expectations. So a massive thank you (again) to my sponsors, that was one big birthday present! And a hullo to my new acquaintances from far and further. (I'll let you decide for yourselves which of Dingle or Melbourne is 'further'.) As a result of this week, I have:
1) read a vampire book, which hadn't happened in a decade or so;
2) written a bunch of reviews and done a modest amount of editing;
3) dug up The Amazing Anna Moe and put her on such a healthy diet that she ended up 3000 words heavier. (Or longer, I suppose);
4) infused philosophy into Mad Cap and Fitzmarcel the Mysterious (ahem);
5) discovered where the word 'jazz' apparently comes from ;
6) learned about a writer's duty to their translator, a duty to be as specific as possible, in particular when it comes to family ties and Chinese translations (older or younger brother? grandfather on the mother's side or the father's side?) (there are no generic terms for 'sister' or 'brother' or 'uncle' etc in Chinsese);
7) eaten a schocking number of profiteroles doused in chocolate sauce (the lot home-made);
8) heard a stunning poem involving a birthday cake with black icing;
9) seen deer in the garden and
10) been served a pint of Smithwick's by an 87-year-old-and-kicking barmaid.
Oh, and I played a game of Jenga, too. Fabulous, I tell you!