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

Overnight Visitor

After getting unpacked and doing all the laundry on Monday, I returned to work on Tuesday.  Paul's sister, Marie, was working in Dublin this week, so she stayed with us for the week.  Last night the two of us went to a couple of shops near our apartment, and when we were getting ready to leave we spotted an adorable little dog wandering around the parking lot.  We waited awhile to see if anyone was with her, but no one appeared.  We asked the security guard in the parking lot about her, and he said she had been there awhile but not with anyone.  She had a collar but no ID tags and was well looked after- beautiful coat and teeth.  We knew she had to be someone's pet and couldn't just leave her to wander near a busy road.

So, we tried taking her to the nearest Garda (police) station.  We were told that normally they would take her, but they had prisoners in all the cells and would have no place to put her.  They gave us the phone number of the dog warden, but when we rang, we got a message saying it was basically a 9-5 service.  We tried ringing another Garda station, but they wouldn't take her because technically she was found in the area of the first station.  There was no way we were going to let such a nice dog wander all night, so we took her back to the apartment.  Meanwhile, Paul was out getting my car serviced in an area where there is no mobile phone coverage, so he had no idea of our adventures.  When Paul finally got home at 11:30 last night he found us sitting up with the dog, and I'm pretty sure it was love at first sight!  He even let her up into the bed because she was whining.  

This morning I rang the dog warden to give the details of the dog but said that we would be more than willing to keep her until her owners were found.  She is such a good dog (perfectly house trained, didn't chew on anything!) that we couldn't bear the thought of her in a pound.  When I was finished with work I took her to a local vet to see if she had a microchip- no luck.  We printed posters, and when I was distributing the one to the security office of the parking lot where we found her, the worker said that someone had just been there with photos looking for the same dog.  We got in contact, and it was a very happy reunion between Penny and her owners.  Turns out their nephew had taken the dog out, switched it's collar with one of his friend's dogs, then lost the dog.  He didn't tell them until 11 at night because he didn't want to get in trouble!  At least it was a happy ending, and below is a photo of Penny.

Honeymoon in Jamaica

We got back this past Sunday night from a wonderful week in Jamaica.  We stayed at an all-inclusive resort, the Sandals Grande Ocho Rios.  After an eventful landing in Jamaica- it was raining, and we were going a bit too fast, so we touched down for about two seconds then took off right away again- we arrived at our resort on Saturday night, the 16th of May.  

We spent time reading, relaxing by the pool/beach, playing chess and ping pong, and enjoying the warmth!  Snorkeling and a glass-bottom boat ride were included at the resort, so we took part in those activities.  We also climbed Dunn's River Falls- Jamaica's famous landmark, went golfing, and spent most of a day at a nearby Sandals resort (Dunn's River).  The mornings were beautiful, and our jet lag worked in our favor.  We were awake by 7 each morning, so we were able to make the most of the day, as it usually got humid and rained in the afternoon.  It was a fantastic getaway!  Here are a few photos.

The beach at our resort

In our villa

Out on the course

After dinner one evening

At the Dunn's River Resort

The beach at the Dunn's River resort

At the Hard Rock Cafe in Ocho Rios

Enjoying one last drink- a virgin Jamaican Smile (half pina colada, half strawberry daiquiri) before getting on the bus back to the airport.