Greetings from Wicklow

First off, my apologies to anyone who has a hard time understanding this post as I am writing it from Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow and the accent is just a little bit more difficult here.

I am staying with Brian and Bronwyn as Manus left today for Miami. I know, I can't believe I didn't demand to go along... Certainly not my style. I did however, have a mini-tantrum - laid myself down on the floor, pounded my fists and kicked my feet shouting "It's not fair... I want to go! You never loved me... Katie's not your kid!!"

Manus is so sweet...while we were driving to Dublin airport he said, "I love being married to you." And I laughed out loud, waiting for the punchline. He was offended and I was flabbergasted. I guess I will drive back to pick him up on Sunday.

I suppose you aren't supposed to blog about the fact that you aren't at home in the event that there are burglars reading this site and 'casing me joint'. There really should be a warning note on the Blogger site about that. This new-fangled technology! Well, for all you burglars out there, the doors are locked, the alarm is on, the crossbow is rigged up to the door knob and the arrow is aiming for the heart. If you still insist on breaking in, be a dear and unload the dishwasher and put the clothes in the dryer before you go.

So just a few quick pics to post for your viewing pleasure... We had "the Americans" over for a few days. Our friends from Miami, the King family, took a European cruise and finished it with a few days in Ireland. We met them in Dublin on Sunday and they got to see the greatest game on earth at Croke Park.

What is Hurling?

Nope, not this (this time...)

After watching a bit of this...

We did a lot of this...

And even more of this...

here at Jacob's Well in Rathdrum.



It has been brought to my attention that I should have photos of Glendalough in the blog as it is here the ruins of one of the most famous monastic cities in all of Ireland lie.

It has oft been written about throughout history and is here that St. Kevin made his home around 500 A.D.

We brought 'the americans' here on Monday morning. As you can see it was a 'soft' day, as the Irish call it. (Soft is loosely translated to "so help me, if we have another flipping rainy day, I think I will lose my mind".)

Manus took his 'tour group' on a walk back around the two lakes that give Glendalough it's name.

Malinda waited in the car to avoid the softness.

London Broil

O.M.G. it was H.O.T!

Our London weekend was a lot of fun but it was so, so hot! I'd say it was like we were back in Miami only at least in Miami everything is air-conditioned. In spite of the heat, here are some highlights of our weekend:

Drove to Dublin on Thursday. Dropped off the rental car (again) and checked into the Radisson SAS Airport Hotel. It is a very nice hotel, recently renovated and we had some sort of businessman suite that included a Murphy bed instead of a real bed. This meant that the base of the bed had two metal pieces that stuck out to support the mattress and mangle the feet. After just that one night in the hotel, it will be no surprise if Katie's first words are "Muthafukensumofabitch! I kicked that Gawd-damn thing again".

Manus, Katie and I ventured into Dublin city centre via Airport shuttle 'cause I had my eye on a sushi restaurant I'd seen advertised and Manus knows the rule; "When in Dublin, must have sushi." We ate at a place called Aya. It is conveyor belt sushi - my FAVORITE kind of restaurant. Even better than all-you-can-eat sushi, which is good, but I'm still traumatized by that time I ate at the a.y.c.e. sushi restaurant and ordered too many hand rolls and was smuggling them in my purse to throw away in the ladies room because I was afraid they would charge me for leaving food on my plate and maybe cut off a finger or two. Unfortunately, the sushi wasn't that great, our booth was too high for the highchair and our placement on the belt was very bad. You could see something really interesting coming out from the kitchen but there were too many people between it and us so most of the goodies were snatched up before they could make it our way.

Then the bus we were to catch on the way back just didn't show. Twice. I don't know if that is how they do things in Dublin, but.... We didn't get back to the hotel until 10pm.

Friday, up and to the airport. Quickie flight to Stanstead in London and score one for Hertz Gold Club; the car was waiting for us when we got there. Hertz, unlike the 'Dan Dooley' we are using here has you review a "scratch and dent" diagram to ensure that you return the car the way you got it. As I went into the office/hut to return our signed copy of the damage diagram, Manus popped the trunk open and right into the metal Hertz sign. Quickly I returned to the service desk to add that they failed to mark that the "S" was missing from our VW Pas_at. We should get away with it unless they review their security tapes.

The hotel we were staying in in Essex, where Manus' cousin lives was...small, hot and cranky. Or maybe that was just me. Fortunately each room had its own bathroom, but you had to enter it facing the right way cause there was no turning around once you were there. A window opened to a lovely view of the building next to us and was small enough to avoid letting in any of that pesky breeze. Upon entering it was hard to tell which was our bed and which was Katie's travel crib as the two were the same size. The crib could only fit between the foot of the bed and the wall so every morning at 7am we would wake to Katie grabbing our toes and giggling. P.S. she learned the funniest trick about sniffing your feet and then wrinkling her nose and waving her hand in front of her face while we say "Poo Tinky Toes". the cutest thing. don't know which irresponsible parent taught her that one... We slept in the nude all weekend (all 3 of us) and after each night of sweating up the sheets, it was more than just our toes that were a little "poo tinky".

Anyway, the weekend was not meant for spending in the hotel, it was for family togetherness and cousin Esme's baptism, so lets get to that.

Friday night dinner at Prezzo, a local Italian restaurant. Katie and Esme at the head of the table, natch.

When asked how she liked her dinner, Katie replied in classic Italian fashion-

"Mwah!... Delicioso!"

Who IS this fantastic family??!

You know, I have been trying for the last hour to upload more pictures but BLOGSPOT is having some "internal errors" and I am just getting angry now. So, the story of the rest of the weekend will have to be told tomorrow. (or am I just lazy and I now that I have you captivated by my tale, can lure you back for the rest while I go and TAKE a rest?) You decide.

P.P.S. For all ya'll anon commenters out there, pls sign your name cause it is driving me batty not to know who is saying what. Except Laurie, your rambling, anti-punctuational style is unmistakable - no need to sign.

Since Last We Spoke

Also known as the weekend roundup. Howdy.

Since last we spoke, my cousin Anne had her third baby. Her first boy and his name is Max Robert Croyle. So congratulations to the Croyle family and welcome Max!

"Go Ma-ax, It's your birthday, go Ma-ax it's your birthday!" (and it was too!)

We went out with Paul and Ann, the people from whom we are renting our house on Friday night to listen to a man named Phil Donnelly play his guitar and sing. You may recognize the name as he played with Donovan back in the day. It was a very good show. He had a fun sense of humor and I liked the music. You know, he played with Donovan... The show was held in a small back room of Cleere's pub, a place well known for its musical acts and impromptu 'sessions' with local musicians. Somehow though, word must not have gotten out that a man who played with Donovan was going to be there as the audience was only about a baker's dozen. I mean, he played with Donovan, man! Did I mention he played....?
He's the one on the left. And another difference here in Ireland; Paul wanted to buy him a whiskey when the show was over and he said, "ah, man.. I'm actually a recovering alcoholic... I'll just have a glass of Guinness." That is hysterical. And, ps, this picture is just one I found on the web to show you the one, the only, the man who played with Donovan. I don't have any clue who the two on the right are...

Anyway, Saturday we slept in a bit. ahem. Then went for a walk out to the county hospital to visit Manus' aunt Mary. She looked quite good but OMG! the hospital!! Definite culture shock. Won't get into it now, but maybe its not such a bad thing that I cant work there...

Sunday we went to Dublin as we have to exchange our rental car every 30 days. This time we got a Ford Mondeo. It is so strange to have Fords and Toyotas and Hondas, but never a model I've ever heard of in the States. These are also known as Ford Contour or Mercury Mystique. Those I've heard of. Anyway, this old baby has been rode hard and put away wet, but she'll do for the next month.

Again, stock footage. Ours is black. And not as shiny.

We did some walking around in Dublin and I got my sushi!! Oh, it was soooo good. I can't wait til we have to go back! I love walking down Grafton (thanks O) street as there are always street performers or "buskers" and these two were really good. Well, I guess not that good considering the classical quartet was playing in the same spot last year when we visited...



And speaking of things that were in the same spot as last year..... So were we!!










If anyone wants to friggin help me format these g-d pictures so they can just sit next to each other, by all means do so. I am two photos away from seeing if this computer can fly.



We met Manus' cousin Mary and her daughter Maha for dinner Sunday night. We were to spend more time with them Monday morning (with the camera) before returning to Kilkenny, but alas, the bad old bug is back.
Both Manus and Katie had rough nights Sunday. I have been spared for some reason. I have been trying to But see, Ireland needs me as a nurse after all.

We made it home to Kilkenny yesterday afternoon and everyone is feeling a bit better today.

I've taken the cue from Ireland and am trying to find even more ways to go green! so I said "lets kick this energy conservation up a notch" BAM! and eliminate the clothes washer altogether.
Just hang your clothes up right before a damn rain storm and don't take them down til they're dry. These should be done next Tuesday.

And finally, it seems Katie's love affair with vegetables is over. She has become such a picky eater in the last few weeks. She has even taken to reaching into her mouth with her fingers to fish out any veggies that I sneak in and sticking her tongue out to block when I try to spoon feed her some greens. So I've taken to mashing up veggies and hiding them in things she will eat like porridge and eggs and pudding. She has even gotten to smart for that...

Okay, so maybe zucchini in apricot yogurt wasn't the most stealth move... But then -

...She shows me her gang sign and threatens to stab me with her Dora spoon if I ever try something like that again.

So I thought, hmm... there's a lesson to be learned here...

I guess she knows who's the boss now, huh?!