Carol Wolfson

Hello from my favorite place in: Clifden.

Apologies to all for this near 3-month delay in updating this website “blog”! As many of you know, I am not a fan of lingering/surfing on the internet…”emails in/emails out and meet me for cocktails” is my motto. Primarily, SCAA has been overwhelming, wonderfully so, but distracting me from spending anytime even thinking about marketing my book. You can read in our July newsletter about how busy we’ve been and also that as of 1 August, I have stepped down as SCAA Executive Director. Hubby and I are leaving at the end of the year as Michael will be taking on a new posting in Kuala Lampur (hopefully for the next five years!) and I wanted to step down sufficiently early to give our new fantastic Executive Director, Milton Menefee, some quality transition time before I leave. I would also like some down time to finally enjoy (e.g. our lovely apartment, walks among building with amazing architecture, time purring with my cats, conversations with friends that do not include the words “cat”, “dog” and “hoarders” in every sentence—well, I still will be doing this I expect– and even possibly reading a book or two!)

Michael and I also planned a vacation in August, mostly so that I would be away from Shanghai and give the SCAA directors a break from my dictatorship (especially since I am no longer Executive Director!) and a chance to start running the organization independent from my constant input (although even overseas I still seem to be adding my two cents worth constantly—everyone forgive me please; old habits die hard!).

Also, our dear friends, Lindy and Mike McCollum, won the first prize at the St. Patricks Day Ball in Shanghai of a free trip to Ireland, so I happily volunteered my husband to tour us around Ireland (oops. Maybe I should have asked him first?!). I first had a couple of days in Dublin with Michael and had to visit my favorite bar, Café en Seine. It has been raining heavily (surprise) during most of this trip, so sitting in wonderful old bars is a delightful pastime! We picked Lindy and Mike up at Shannen airport and had one evening’s stay at the “G” Hotel in Galway. Very trendy, cool, fun and expensive (but everything in Ireland is expensive so no major shocks).

The next day we headed to my favorite place in all of Ireland, the Quay House in Clifden, which is where I am writing this from (See page 38). I found the name in “Ireland’s Blue Book” of country manners and special boutique hotels, and our first visit was about five years ago (or so…hard to remember back that far!). The hospitality of the owners, Julia and Paddy Foyle, was so endearing that I immediately felt at home, and the building itself was superb…built in 1820 for the harbor master, the house sits right on the edge of Clifden’s harbour. The hotel rooms have been extended to more than the original few rooms, but even on my first stay I was given the “Mirror” room which has its own fireplace. Heaven. I barely left the room on our first stay, instead lying by the fire, sipping wine and reading a good book. Of course, Paddy thought I was insane in the middle of an Irish “summer” lighting a fire, but he kept bringing wood and peat (Ireland is famous for its peat bogs and the smell of peat to me is like coming home….my husband’s Irish home). Although there was this beautiful huge bed, I slept on the floor by the fire, and again this trip, Julia and Paddy gave us the same room and I am cherishing the fire as I write this missive (as opposed to the fireplace I wrongly installed in our apartment in Shanghai, thereby spewing smoke every time I attempt to light a fire…can you hear my husband saying “I told you so”?!!).

Despite a bad rep, the food here in Ireland is fantastic and I’ve gained several pounds.(Oh well. Now that I am no longer SCAA Executive Director sitting in front of a computer more than 10 hours/day, I can start focusing on getting back a fit body.) Clifden still feels like a tiny village and we have visited the local restaurants and pubs. We are also here during the Connemara pony show (I had visions of tiny ponies but these are actually horses said to be the only native Irish horse:).

Found a lovely description of “What is a Connemara Pony on the website http://www.acps.org/ as outlined below:

What is a Connemara Pony?

The Irish have contributed much to this country, and any owner will tell you the Connemara Pony is the greatest Irish contribution. For along with great athleticism and versatility, the Connemara has a special kindness, a huge heart, and an ability to bond with their human handlers that is unique to this breed.

Good-natured individuals may be found in most breeds, but for the Connemara Pony a gentle disposition is its most outstanding characteristic. Next would be the ability to adapt to any situation, excelling in all equestrian sports. Born out of poverty, the Connemara evolved from an unusual blend of natural selection and human need.

Rocky, barren mountainous terrain. Craggy, lunarscaped strands, pounded by the tide and storms of the Atlantic. Endless desolate moors and bogs. This is the area of Western Ireland known as Connemara, which lends its name to its indigenous pony breed.

The history is obscure, yet the Connemara Pony is considered Ireland’s only native breed. The ponies were brought to Connemara by the Ancient Celts, who were skilled horsemen. Mythology tells us that the tribes of western Ireland were mounted. Legend has it that when the Spanish Armada sank off the Connemara coast in the 16th Century, the horses swam to shore and bred with the native ponies running wild in the mountains. They learned to live on the tough vegetation and survive the hardships of their habitat, as a misplaced step could send a pony crashing to its death.

It was a desperate and arduous life for the farmers of the area. With large families to support, they could only afford one good pony - often captured off the mountain and tamed. This had to be a mare who could give him a foal each year, to sell for their subsistence through the long, dark winter. She would pull a plow, a cart, work from dawn to dusk at whatever task was needed under extremely harsh conditions.

Fitted with baskets called creels, they carried a heavy load. Tons of rock were moved by them, to claim the land. Seaweed used to fertilize the barren fields was dragged from the shore by the ponies. They carried turf cut from the bogs, used for cooking and heat. Strong, sturdy legs could maneuver through the muck, which might swallow a different type of horse. Never a day of rest, she also carted the family to Mass on Sunday. She had to have the hardiness, stamina and disposition needed, or she was replaced with a mare who could. In this manner, the good mares were kept in Connemara reproducing these qualities in their foals.

Stallions would travel the primitive roads between villages, covering many mares and many miles in one day. Local racing was popular and the Connemaras competed equally with the larger Irish Hunters and Thoroughbreds.

The Connemara Pony Breeders Society was formed in 1923 in Clifden by the local breeders for the purpose of conserving and developing the breed. Centuries of natural selection, some interference needed for human survival, followed by the past 72 years of selective breeding has given us the quality Connemara we have today.

The Connemara “Stands on short legs, covering a lot of ground”. The cannon bone is short, dense, flat and clean, measuring 7 to 9 inches below the knee. The body is deep and compact, well-balanced with depth, substance and good heart room. The Connemara has a good sloping shoulder, length of rein, and moves freely with little knee action in surprisingly large strides for its height. On this strong, sturdy body sets a handsome pony head, with a well defined jaw and good width between large kindly eyes. Easy keepers, they do not require a rich diet to stay healthy and fit.

The most common colors are gray and dun, but there are blacks, bays, browns, chestnuts, palominos, and an occasional roan. Black points are common, but paints are not acceptable.

The Connemara is the largest of the pony breeds, ranging in height from 13 to 15 hands, with 14 to 14.2 hands as the average. Full maturity is at five years of age, sometimes older, and they can live well into their 30’s.

The Connemara has a natural jumping ability, and its rectangular build lends it suitable for dressage. They often beat horses 16 hands and over with staying power, intelligence and heart. As a show jumper, working hunter, eventing, western pleasure, endurance, driving - Connemaras can do it all, and can be your best friend!

When one thinks of a pony breed children come to mind, yet the Connemara has always been a suitable mount for children AND adults. Here in the United States, the largest market for the Connemara is middle-aged women.

There are no large commercial breeding farms. Most keep only a few mares. After all, the Connemara breed was built on one good mare per farm. Foals are raised with much human contact.

Like the Irish people, the Connemara has been exported to all European countries, New Zealand, and Australia. Adapting to extremes of climate, they have made useful working partners with those who own them, and have competed with the best of the sport horse breeds.

The Connemara is the image of strength, kindness and trust. Their inner peace will calm you as they charm their way into your heart.

This description of the Connemara Pony written by Maureen Loughman Abel is based on her article in the October, 1995 issue of The Western Horse.

Very cool. So, the four of us paid 10 Euro each to enter this all-day event, but I was “ponied” out very quickly….and clueless what the show was all about…loved looking at the ponies (and lots of dogs out and about) but a bit expensive to just observe and get tired of pony-gazing after an hour. Regardless, I feel this precious two days in Clifden was magical and my deepest thanks to Julia and Paddy who make us feel so special whenever we visit (AND, one of their sons just gave them a black puppy pug, named Banjo, who Lindy and I spent several hours with…too precious for words). I highly recommend the Quay House to anyone who wants to experience the magic of the West of Ireland.

And hello from Donegal

Now we are in Northern Ireland, in Donegal. It’s pissing rain. It’s cold. It’s freezing. Why the hell are we here?! Well, Mikey (of Lindy and Mikey) has ancestors who are from this-a-parts and my husband offered to bring them up to see if we can find any dead/living relatives. Mikey is a McCollum, originally Scottish stock, who then moved to a village called Rathmullen. I chose to stay in the hotel, cold as it was, instead of heading out on this adventure as I needed to catch up with emails and a nap in a warm bed instead of risking pneumonia outside. It was an amazing day for as soon as they arrived in the village graveyard they found several tombstones with Mikey’s relatives names on them (as well as few Garveys for my husband). They then went to the local community heritage center (note: there are over 40 million Americans with Irish passports…the Irish government requires that to vote you must BE in Ireland, otherwise American Irish could decide the fate of the 4+ million Irish Irish—not to say they already don’t but that’s another story!). In any case, my hubby enquired about a possibly living “Alfie” McCollum and the rep there pointed down the road saying he was alive and owned his own antique shop down the road. Unbelievable! Alfie was a bit reticent at first (can you imagine: Here walk in people calling themselves relatives: what do they want?!!). But, not only was he alive, he had old family photographs and another member of the family had created an entire family tree, complete with our friend Mikey’s name on it! Alfie took them to see Mikey’s grandfather’s house and the original stone wall of his great grandfather. I swear: Only in Ireland).

Yet Again Musically Vindicated!

So the McCollums were very pleased with their adventure of the day; later however, none of us were particularly pleased with our hotel, the Red Castle. Euro 130/day per person, in crap bedrooms, bad heating, no service (well, one good porter actually), no laundry, bars that closed far too early and two out of the three nights we were there, weddings being celebrated far too late into the night with screaming rugrats below our rooms and no parents around to beat them into silence (it took SEVERAL phone calls to get hotel staff to come around and yell at the precious darlins.). My husband was avoiding letting me go down to take matters into my own hands (most of you know why from the way I handle SCAA meetings….!).

My highlight at this hotel was sitting outside the bar in the lobby (wedding parties took over the bar while it was open) while a local singer on guitar was entertaining the masses. Lots of Irish ballads, with very drunk lads belching out the words (literally, as it was now 10pm and they had been drinking at least 12 hours already…). Then suddenly, singer and lads start yelling out the words to “Day Dream Believer” (by Neil Diamond, made famous by the Monkees)….as I wrote in my book, page 229, this is one of those few songs everyone throughout the world knows the words too. Here we were on the northern tip of Ireland, and the one song everyone in the bar could sing was from the Monkees. Can you say vindication?!!!

One more “Ireland is too small” story.

After three days, we parted company with our friends who were heading off to Waterford. Michael/I had a couple lovely, romantic nights in Dublin (no oxymoron anymore!) while our friends headed South. Now I am on an airplane after spending four fantastic days in warmth at my best bud Mary’s (see chapter 49, page 235) home in Chicago. God I love my city. We drove down Lake Shore Drive (see page 228 about my favorite song in the world) and took the Chicago River Architectural Tour one day….fabulous! And poor Mary suffered while we ate three nights of divine American Chinese food (see page 1), kosher hot dogs downtown, and a superb Italian meal at Café Lucci (one of Mary’s favorites!) for my birthday. On top of all this, Dr. Tara Temple, who started SCAA with me back in 2005, her husband Gary and new (8 month) baby Noah all came along too….what a reunion. Tara says hello to everyone she knows in Shanghai and says she misses you all. And now, I am on my way to spend a week with mommy dearest (see chapter 61) in Bothell, WA before heading back to my own bed in Shanghai and my own baby Sonny (so good to “adopt” a grown daughter at 28 who can already make a perfect martini) and my cats Princess and Pumpkin who I miss pathetically. (Michael has arrived home already and when I called him today, like the good man that he is, put the phone up to Princess’s ear so I cold talk her….response was a look like “where the hell is she?!”)

But I digress. Lindy and Mikey headed down to Waterford for the historical sites and of course, to buy Waterford. It so happens that my husband Michael has a cousin who works in the Waterford outlet there, but he didn’t even mention her name to our friends thinking she might have retired. Lindy and Mikey walked into this very busy complex and were moved from sales staff to sales staff until one woman took care of them beautifully. She asked where they were from and when they said “Shanghai”, she looked astounded and then told them she has a cousin who lives there….needless to say, they ran into Michael’s cousin Mary. WAY too small a world (and apparently Mary is sending a wee birthday gift my way via Lindy….so kind!). It just proves once again, you can’t misbehave anywhere in the world anymore as there is bound to be someone in the vicinity that knows you and your family…

Book Sales & Where to Buy:

Book Sales are coming along as smoothly as possible, considering I have done zip/nada to market the book since the 20 May launch in Shanghai. I am hoping that the coming months will give me time to start working seriously on the book (including updating and fixing all the errors/typos that make me insane every time I glance at the book…but I still love the book cover designed by Marianne Kaulima, with the photo of Princess glaring at the world…she did not want that photo taken and had her claws deep in my knees which is why her face is saying “Let me down or it gets worse” and mine, “Hurry up and take the f—-g photo!”).

I have heard that over 100 books have sold in Hong Kong without any marketing at all (that’s about one a day…who the heck is buying them I wonder?!) and although I am pretty clueless, I hear they are being sold in Singapore. Shanghai sales at Garden Bookstore have been steady and one of these days we need to do an overall accounting. Since I wasn’t all that concerned about the book’s publication, I feel no pressure about book sales (happy it’s “out” there) but all involved hope a major publisher will take the book on worldwide (the more for us, the more for charities we support)…..”man man lai” (“slowly slowly coming” as the Chinese say) and I figure when it’s supposed to happen, it will. My husband would prefer soon than later so he can grow the ponytail and start back-packing around the world (Note: That’s alone as I only plan to meet him at resorts along the way!).

You can now buy the book on Amazon as well, so that’s pretty cool. And you can always write to me to order as we have yet another mechanism you can order out of Shanghai although we don’t publicize this.

Please Blog back!

If you have read the book, I would so appreciate it if you would send a comment to this blog and/or to Amazon. This help gets more people coming to the site (not that I understand but our website guru Milton does and is pushing me to get my blogging act together…)!!.

SCAA Withdrawal

Not. I know very well that the best founders of organizations are those that do their best to create a strong infrastructure for long-term sustainability and then get the hell out and let professionals and those who are passionate and who think out-of-the-box take over. I am pretty damn exhausted after creating and building SCAA over the past 2 ½ years (page 63) and I am ready to let others take over. So many of our directors have exciting plans for SCAA and I am so tired that I am barely at the maintenance mode. So, although I do look at my emails every day while traveling (and when I get back to Shanghai), and I do provide input and comments while this transition period is going on (which will end when we leave Shanghai at the end of the year), I can already feel the burden ease and so seamlessly because the people in place are so amazing professional that I knew when I stepped down, I could die then and there and it would not matter to the short/long-term sustainability of SCAA. I am proud of everyone (our directors, foster parents, volunteers, writers, editors, graphic designers, fundraisers, sponsors, etc. etc.) and feel as if this is already a major sign of success for SCAA….I can move on and it doesn’t matter. (Always available for advice, input and a shoulder for all to whine on!).

Missing Shanghai and my cats:

Of course I will miss being a daily part of SCAA after 2 ½ years of 24/7 involvement but believe it or not, I have a career, other charity commitments, a husband and family, a business, and my babies Princess & Pumpkin who I miss terribly when I travel or have to push them away because I’m in the middle of 10 hours straight at the computer. No more. During these last few months in Shanghai, I look forward (I hope) to slowing down, sleeping in (I love sleep period), a cup of coffee on the patio with my cats, doing emails, reading the paper with a cup of tea on the patio with my cats, exercise, walks around old Shanghai with husband on weekends when we are in town, and oh my God, maybe a brunch one Sunday (I have given up Sundays for 2 ½ years with SCAA)! My cats love their afternoon naps and I plan on being right there with them. I am even thinking of cooking a meal to shock Michael. I haven’t decided about my infamous yearly Thanksgiving Party yet, which this year would also be our going away party…I might do this and make it an SCAA fundraiser. And of course, the Xmas ball is my last hurrah for on-the-ground fundraising for SCAA. Next year, I’ll primarily be pushing the paypal button and if the book makes money, donating proceeds of the profits to SCAA. The organization CANNOT survive without donations as we are a homegrown org without overseas funding, so please donate when you can…

Well, time to order another Bloody Mary on this flight. Do write and comment and more later!