Sammin Christmas

Since Paul and I will be in Minnesota for Christmas this year, this weekend we celebrated Christmas with Paul's family. Paul's parents, PJ and Bridget, sister, Marie, and her fiance, Brian spent the weekend with us. It was my first time ever making a turkey and being responsible for the Christmas dinner. I was a bit nervous, but I think everything turned out quite well! I had lots of help which was great!

Everyone headed out after brunch this morning, and now it's time to get the suitcases out and start packing! I leave for MN on Friday, and Paul will be flying over the 23rd. I'm also looking forward to watching the Vikings game shortly- it's one of the NFL games to be televised here today, and since it's the early game I'll actually be able to stay awake for all of it!

Here are some photos from the weekend!

The turkey!

I added some American touches to the Christmas dinner- sweet potato and green bean casseroles

PJ, Bridget, and Paul opening gifts

Brian and Marie opening gifts

All of us- Paul, PJ, Brian

Me, Marie, Bridget

Our Site!

It's been awhile since my last post! These pictures were actually taken back in October- over the October Bank Holiday weekend. During the week previous to that, our site in Louisburgh was cleared and a temporary stone road was put in to be used for access during construction. It was amazing to see it, as it was a huge transformation! We have no definite plans for building and will continue to take things very slowly.

This one was taken from the middle of the site, standing toward one side. That's Croagh Patrick in the background behind the clouds- Ireland's holy mountain.

Taken from across the road- that's Paul's parent's house on the left.

We hope to be able to keep this tree if it doesn't interfere with construction.

Anniversary Weekend!

Paul did an amazing job of planning a fantastic surprise anniversary weekend for us.  I really had no idea where we were going or what we'd be doing.  I was told to have my bag packed (carry-on sized with a ziploc bag of 100 ml liquids!) and be ready to go at 11:45 on Friday.  We headed to the airport, and our first destination is listed below:

When we arrived in London, Paul had all of the directions for where we needed to go printed out on a sheet of paper that I wasn't allowed to look at!  Here we are waiting at the Underground at Heathrow waiting to go into London.

We arrived in London, checked into our hotel, then headed out to dinner.  After dinner, my next surprise was Wicked.  I loved it!

The next morning I was told we had to go one Underground stop from the hotel, and we had to be there by 12.  Turns out it was the King's Cross/St. Pancras Station.  Were we going to Hogwart's?

No, even better!  We had tickets on the Eurostar train to Paris!  Here we are in the boarding area.

We arrived in Paris, checked into our hotel, then took the Metro to Notre Dame.

Dinner in the Latin Quarter.

Breakfast the next morning on the Champs Elysees.  Delicious!

Paul at the Eiffel Tower.

Happy 1st Anniversary!  Thanks for an amazing weekend Paul!

Happy Birthday Paul!

Paul's birthday was this past Wednesday, the 14th.  We celebrated by going out to dinner with Marie, then some of the guys came over to watch the Ireland football match.  Happy 29th Paul!

Autumn happenings

The leaves are changing, and we have enjoyed some beautiful autumn days here in Dublin!  No, Ireland is not always 100% green!  Two weeks ago we were in Louisburgh to celebrate friends' Dave and Sally's wedding reception- they got married in Florida the previous week.  See how the night progressed:

At Paul's parent's house before leaving for the reception

Jean, Dermot, and Paul- relatively early in the night

Paul, Matt, Jean, and Sean- quite a bit later in the night

Dermot- you know you've had a good night when someone ends up on the roof of your car!  And no, those aren't snowflakes, just the rain reflecting with the flash

Paul was in Louisburgh again last weekend meeting with a couple of people about getting our site cleared, and it should be started early this coming week.  We hope to have all the clearing done by Christmas, but we'll be taking the building very slowly.  Our jobs are still in Dublin with not much chance of anything happening for us in Louisburgh anytime soon.  This way we will have plenty of time to research options and negotiate the best prices possible for everything for the house.

This coming week we'll be celebrating Paul's birthday on Wednesday with dinner and a movie- the big celebration will come next year for the big 30!  We are also going away next weekend to celebrate our first anniversary, but I don't have any idea where we're going!  I've been told to be in the apartment at a certain time on Friday, and other than that I haven't a clue!  I'll keep you posted!

Racing

Another month has come and gone since I last posted!  Work has been busy for both of us.  A physiotherapist from one of the hospitals in Dublin and I have started a community-based pulmonary rehabilitation class in the area that I work in.  The class is twice a week for 8 weeks and involves exercise and education for people with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).  We have 13 participants, and the classes started this past week.  So far, so good!

Today Paul did the one race of the season that he planned on doing.  It was a non-championship race (so there were no points awarded), but it was for something called the Leinster trophy- probably the biggest award in Irish motorsport.  In qualifying this morning the car had an electrical fault and caught fire, so he finished 16th in that.  That meant he had to do another qualifying race to get into the main race for the trophy.  In the qualifying race he started 5th, got up to the lead, then the race got red flagged (stopped).  When the race restarted he got hit coming out of the first corner and dropped to 31st.  He worked back up to 9th (the top 9 got to go into the main race) and got the fastest lap of the race.  So, in the main race, he started 17th and got up to 6th.  The safety car came out because two cars got in an accident, then they decided to end the race there.  One of the other guys ahead of Paul had a jump start penalty, so Paul finished 5th.  Hope that all made sense!

The weather here has been beautiful the past few days, so it was a great day to be out at the race track!  We were in Louisburgh with Paul's parents last weekend.  It rained nearly the whole weekend, so we took it easy- relaxed and I got some time to catch up on my reading.  Time seems to move at a much slower pace down there- it's great!

Here are a few pictures from today!

Paul making some adjustments before the race

The car- borrowed from a friend for the weekend

All lined up to start the race

Paul speeding by!

Maybe Next Year...

Yesterday afternoon Paul, Dermot, and I took in the Gaelic Football quarter final match in Croke Park in Dublin.  Mayo played Meath, but unfortunately Mayo lost by 3 points.  Gaelic football is kind of like soccer, but the ball can be kicked or fisted over the crossbar for a point.  A ball kicked into the net is a goal (3 points).  A player can also run with the ball, but every three steps they have to "solo" it to themselves.  Each county has a team made up of the best players in the county, and they are unpaid.  It's an interesting game to watch, and Croke Park is HUGE!  It seats over 80,000 people!  To compare, the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis seats a little over 46,000 when set up for baseball.  Here are a few pictures.

Croke Park

Mayo in red, Meath in yellow

Paul and Me

All moved in!

Moving day on Friday went very well!  The weather cooperated- we had a warm, sunny afternoon.  We had three friends helping us, and with my car and two vans, we got everything moved in about 3 hours.  We spent Friday evening and all day yesterday getting unpacked, and we've made great progress!  Now all we have to do is get Paul's office furniture moved over from the old office.  We're taking a break from all that this afternoon and heading to the Mayo Gaelic football match in Croke Park.  They're playing in the quarter finals here in Dublin!  Below are some pictures of the new place.

View of kitchen from dining room

Another view of the kitchen

View of dining room from sitting room

View of sitting room from dining room

View from balcony off of sitting room

Paul's office- a work in progress

The guest room- always ready for visitors!

Our room

Minnesota and Wisconsin!

Last Thursday, July 23, I departed Dublin for about 10 days to visit Minnesota and attend my friend Meghan's wedding in Wisconsin.  I had a wonderful time and was able to see so many family and friends.  I spent time in Duluth, Floodwood, Hurley, WI (where the wedding was), North Branch, and the Twin Cities.  I was able to do some "touristy" things that I hadn't done in a long time- the Science Museum and Minnesota Zoo.  I also took advantage of the things I miss in Ireland- Target, Dairy Queen, Coldstone Creamery, etc!

Me and Meghan- it was a beautiful wedding, and my sister Margo was my date

Dad, Me, and Mom at the Rose Garden in Duluth.  Mom and Dad met Margo and me in Duluth on Friday on the way to the wedding and on Sunday on the way back from the wedding

I spent time in Duluth seeing some of my wonderful friends- Jessica with Isaac and baby Piper

Courtney and Benjamin

I also stopped in North Branch and had dinner with more wonderful friends.  Here are Connor, Sara, and Jarett

Justin and Margo playing at the Science Museum

Margo and Me at the Science Museum

Margo and Ella at the Minnesota Zoo

I arrived back in Dublin around 7 this morning.  It's a Bank Holiday here today, so I'll be back to work tomorrow.  Then, Friday is moving day, so I'll be busy unpacking my suitcases, then packing the rest of the boxes!

Packing, packing, packing!

As I write this, I am surrounded by boxes.  We are moving to a different place in less than 3 weeks, and I leave for Minnesota for 10 days on Thursday!  A couple of weeks ago we decided to look for a new abode.  We viewed one place last Friday night, fell in love with it immediately, and put the deposit down last Saturday.  Currently we rent a 2-bed apartment and Paul's office, so we're combining the two into a 3-bed duplex.  We've decided to stick with renting for now, and we got a great deal on the new place.  I am so excited because it has a dishwasher, 2 1/2 bathrooms, and TONS of storage, including an attic!  So, when you come visit there will be a bit more room for you now!  We'll be moving on Friday, August 7th (4 days after I get back from MN), so I'm trying to get nearly everything packed and ready to go before I leave on Thursday.

I am really looking forward to my trip to MN!  My friend Meghan is getting married on the 25th, and I plan on meeting up with quite a few friends and family too.  I plan to play tourist as well, hitting up the MN Zoo and Science Museum.  I'll be sure to get pictures up of my trip and our new place as soon as I can!

We took in a Bruce Springsteen concert on Sunday night- he is incredible!  He played for about 3 hours straight.  Not bad for a man of nearly 60!  

Sorry the posts have been infrequent and this is quite short, but the empty boxes are calling!

June Recap

Where has the month of June gone?  The weeks of summer are flying by for me.  Here's a recap of what we were up to this month:

-First weekend in June was a Bank Holiday- spent some time in Louisburgh, then went on to Galway for a night to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday

-Saw the theatre version of "The Shawshank Redemption" at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin

-In Louisburgh last weekend for a wedding reception on Saturday night and celebrated Father's Day and my birthday (a bit early) on Sunday

-Have enjoyed the nice weather- it's been around 70 degrees Fahrenheit (I know it's not as warm as it is in MN, but still warm for here!) and sunny for quite a few days this month

-Today we spent the day enjoying the sunshine in two seaside towns just north of Dublin- Howth and Malahide.  We walked along the pier in Howth, had lunch, then relaxed on the sprawling lawn of Malahide castle with the newspaper.

-Have been working, and I have been trying to get to classes at the gym on a regular basis.  Paul has been out on his bike every week.  For my birthday I got a set of golf clubs from Paul and his parents and sister, so hopefully we'll be out on the course soon.

-We've decided to hold off on buying anything in Dublin at the moment.  The economy is still so volatile and property prices are supposed to fall even more, so we're just going to sit tight for a bit.  We'd rather put our resources into starting to build down in Louisburgh.  Hopefully in the next couple of months we'll have the site cleared.  

Here are a few photos from the month:

Flowers from my 95-year old patient that she picked from her garden!

Celebrating my birthday a bit early in Louisburgh last weekend

On the pier in Howth today

Relaxing at Malahide Castle