Thursday, August 18, 2011
Bubbles
So, we've gotten a cat! It's actually kind of a funny story. I've been keeping the patio door open on our balcony in the sitting room while I'm home during the day. About 2 weeks ago, a cat started coming up onto the balcony, and eventually she was coming into our place and spending all day with me. We would put her out at night because we didn't have a litter box or anything. She had a collar, but no id, and she was so well behaved that we knew she wasn't a stray or anything. I put up posters all around the square we live in and put a little attachment with a note on her collar. We went down to Mayo this past weekend, and so we put her out on Thursday evening when we left. When we got back on Sunday she was laying on our doormat in front of our door! So, I decided I'd go get a litter box for her. While I was at the store getting a few things, I got a phone call from a guy. He said that he and his wife had inherited her from another couple in the area that didn't want her after she had gotten pregnant. She had her kittens and weaned them, but then she turned kind of aggressive with the kittens and left their house and won't come back any more. They had her spayed and she's up to date on all of her vaccinations, and he said that she was a very good cat other than the issue with the kittens. He said he was happy that she had found a new home where she was comfortable, especially with the autumn/winter coming. So, we are now pet owners! She's so good- sleeps in her bed most of the day, uses her litter box all the time, and (mostly) uses her scratching post to scratch. She's named Bubbles, after a character in the TV show The Wire, which I have become addicted to.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Bad Blogger!
Wow, over 5 months since my last post- I think that's my personal worst! Here's a quick re-cap of the past few months:
MARCH
-A group of 7 other girls and I began a series of dinner parties based on a tv show here called "Come Dine With Me". In the tv show, a group of 4 or 5 strangers take turns cooking a 3-course dinner each night during one week, and they score each other 1-10. The top score wins 1000 pounds or Euro. We did it a bit differently- we cooked in pairs, spread it out over about four months, and ended up not scoring each other. It was basically a good way to enjoy some good food, good wine, and good company!
-Started attending a weekly Pilates class- would recommend it to everyone!
-Spent a long St. Patrick's Day weekend in Louisburgh with Paul's family. Here's part of the parade:
APRIL
-We enjoyed a night away at the Lyrath Estate near Kilkenny- when we arrived we received an added bonus of a complimentary upgrade to a suite. We first thought that a piano in the room was a bit odd
but it turned out to be a bar!
-I made a trip to Minnesota for nearly two weeks over Easter and the May Bank Holiday (first Monday in May). I was able to see lots of family and friends, took in a Twins game, and did some shopping for my niece, who is scheduled to make her appearance in early September! I'm just realizing that I took very few pictures this trip, but here's one of Margo and Justin at the Twins game.
MAY
-The abstract that one of my colleagues and I submitted regarding a joint pulmonary rehabilitation programme between hospital and community physiotherapy services was accepted for presentation at the Rehabilitation and Therapy Research Society Conference, so I did a short presentation at the conference, which was held at the University of Limerick.
-The Queen of England and President Obama visited Ireland within a few days of each other, and the security was CRAZY! As you know, English/Irish relations don't have the best history, so the queen's visit was very significant, and security was extra vigilant. The afternoon before she arrived, there were members of the gardai (police) patrolling along the side of the motorway that I take to and from work, and this lasted until her departure. She wasn't ever really even on this road! Other roads, including pretty much all of Dublin city centre, were completely shut down. A few days later Obama made a very quick visit- he went to Moneygall, County Offaly, to where his ancestors have been traced, and a public rally was held in Dublin. Paul and I were in line for about two and a half hours, and we didn't even get through the security screening. We were roughly a mile from the stage, and it was solid people all the way. Luckily a large screen was set up behind us, so we all turned around and were able to watch his speech. Even though we didn't get anywhere near him, the atmosphere was great.
-The Mayo World Convention, a gathering of all the Mayo Associations in the world, was held in Westport at the end of the month. Paul (who has now been elected the treasurer of the Mayo Association in Dublin), was on the planning committee, and it was a great event. The Taoiseach (Prime Minister), is a Mayo man, so he was the guest of honor at the black tie dinner on the Saturday night. He made it a point to meet everyone there, so I got to shake a hand that within the past two weeks had also shook Obama's and Queen Elizabeth's! Here's Paul and I on the night.
JUNE
-Enjoyed some dinners and cinema trips out with friends
-Spent two weekends in Louisburgh
-I had surgery to remove a uterine fibroid on the 29th and spent 5 days in the hospital. The hospital experience was a bit different to those I've seen in the States. Because I have private health insurance, I was lucky to have a room to myself, but people without this insurance stay in 6 to 8 bed wards. Here's a pic of my room:
Paul said he kept waiting for sirens to go off or something because it felt quite war-era!
JULY
-I got home on the 4th and have been feeling better everyday. I can't drive or do any heavy lifting for 6 weeks, so I'm not scheduled to go back to work until August 17th. I've read a few good books (Tina Fey's Bossypants has been my favorite so far), and have become hooked on 30 Rock- I sense a theme here! Paul has been taking great care of me (and the house), and I've had lots of great visitors too.
MARCH
-A group of 7 other girls and I began a series of dinner parties based on a tv show here called "Come Dine With Me". In the tv show, a group of 4 or 5 strangers take turns cooking a 3-course dinner each night during one week, and they score each other 1-10. The top score wins 1000 pounds or Euro. We did it a bit differently- we cooked in pairs, spread it out over about four months, and ended up not scoring each other. It was basically a good way to enjoy some good food, good wine, and good company!
-Started attending a weekly Pilates class- would recommend it to everyone!
-Spent a long St. Patrick's Day weekend in Louisburgh with Paul's family. Here's part of the parade:
APRIL
-We enjoyed a night away at the Lyrath Estate near Kilkenny- when we arrived we received an added bonus of a complimentary upgrade to a suite. We first thought that a piano in the room was a bit odd
-I made a trip to Minnesota for nearly two weeks over Easter and the May Bank Holiday (first Monday in May). I was able to see lots of family and friends, took in a Twins game, and did some shopping for my niece, who is scheduled to make her appearance in early September! I'm just realizing that I took very few pictures this trip, but here's one of Margo and Justin at the Twins game.
MAY
-The abstract that one of my colleagues and I submitted regarding a joint pulmonary rehabilitation programme between hospital and community physiotherapy services was accepted for presentation at the Rehabilitation and Therapy Research Society Conference, so I did a short presentation at the conference, which was held at the University of Limerick.
-The Queen of England and President Obama visited Ireland within a few days of each other, and the security was CRAZY! As you know, English/Irish relations don't have the best history, so the queen's visit was very significant, and security was extra vigilant. The afternoon before she arrived, there were members of the gardai (police) patrolling along the side of the motorway that I take to and from work, and this lasted until her departure. She wasn't ever really even on this road! Other roads, including pretty much all of Dublin city centre, were completely shut down. A few days later Obama made a very quick visit- he went to Moneygall, County Offaly, to where his ancestors have been traced, and a public rally was held in Dublin. Paul and I were in line for about two and a half hours, and we didn't even get through the security screening. We were roughly a mile from the stage, and it was solid people all the way. Luckily a large screen was set up behind us, so we all turned around and were able to watch his speech. Even though we didn't get anywhere near him, the atmosphere was great.
-The Mayo World Convention, a gathering of all the Mayo Associations in the world, was held in Westport at the end of the month. Paul (who has now been elected the treasurer of the Mayo Association in Dublin), was on the planning committee, and it was a great event. The Taoiseach (Prime Minister), is a Mayo man, so he was the guest of honor at the black tie dinner on the Saturday night. He made it a point to meet everyone there, so I got to shake a hand that within the past two weeks had also shook Obama's and Queen Elizabeth's! Here's Paul and I on the night.
JUNE
-Enjoyed some dinners and cinema trips out with friends
-Spent two weekends in Louisburgh
-I had surgery to remove a uterine fibroid on the 29th and spent 5 days in the hospital. The hospital experience was a bit different to those I've seen in the States. Because I have private health insurance, I was lucky to have a room to myself, but people without this insurance stay in 6 to 8 bed wards. Here's a pic of my room:
JULY
-I got home on the 4th and have been feeling better everyday. I can't drive or do any heavy lifting for 6 weeks, so I'm not scheduled to go back to work until August 17th. I've read a few good books (Tina Fey's Bossypants has been my favorite so far), and have become hooked on 30 Rock- I sense a theme here! Paul has been taking great care of me (and the house), and I've had lots of great visitors too.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Mayo Association Dinner Dance
Paul has become involved in the Mayo Association here in Dublin (there are branches all over the world for people originally from Mayo), and their annual Dinner Dance was this past Friday night in Dublin. A few of us from Louisburgh attended and had a great night!
Amie and Mike
There were over 600 people in attendance and over 60 raffle prizes. Amie won Paul's donation of lighting- what are the chances?!?
Paul and Me
Weekend in Edinburgh
The weekend of January 21-23 a group of us headed over to Edinburgh to celebrate a few 30th birthdays. We took in a lot of the sights and enjoyed nights out. Here are a few pics!
Martin on the tour bus
Bagpipes!
Paul at the Scotch Whisky Experience
Sean, Jean(one of the birthday girls!), and Paul at Edinburgh Castle
The gun is called "Mons Meg"
Monday, January 3, 2011
Christmas in Louisburgh
We spent a nice, long Christmas break with Paul's parents in Louisburgh. We got down on Thursday the 23rd, and I came back up to Dublin on New Year's Day to get unpacked and settled in before heading back to work tomorrow. Paul will be getting a lift back with a friend later today.
We went to church and opened gifts on Christmas Eve, then ate ourselves into a coma on Christmas Day. I did the turkey again this year, and I was quite proud of how it turned out! Over the few days we got in lots of time by the fire, read, watched tv, went to the cinema, visited friends and family, and checked out the after-Christmas sales. It was a really nice, relaxing holiday!
We went to church and opened gifts on Christmas Eve, then ate ourselves into a coma on Christmas Day. I did the turkey again this year, and I was quite proud of how it turned out! Over the few days we got in lots of time by the fire, read, watched tv, went to the cinema, visited friends and family, and checked out the after-Christmas sales. It was a really nice, relaxing holiday!
Christmas Happenings
As we were snowed in a lot during December, it gave me a chance to break in my birthday/Christmas gift from Paul- a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I love it!
Paul and I got in the Christmas spirit one Friday evening by taking in the Christmas markets in Dublin. We drank mulled wine and punch, ate German sausages, and browsed around the stalls. Snow was falling gently, so it made for a lovely evening!
The Saturday night before Christmas, I had a girl's Christmas night out in Dublin- we went out do dinner, then drinks. Here's a few of us enjoying the evening.
Paul and I got in the Christmas spirit one Friday evening by taking in the Christmas markets in Dublin. We drank mulled wine and punch, ate German sausages, and browsed around the stalls. Snow was falling gently, so it made for a lovely evening!
The Saturday night before Christmas, I had a girl's Christmas night out in Dublin- we went out do dinner, then drinks. Here's a few of us enjoying the evening.
The Big Freeze- Again and Again
We arrived back in Dublin on the morning of December 1st, and we were quite lucky to arrive when we did- the airport had been closed up until about an hour before we landed and closed again a few hours later due to snow. Ireland was experiencing freezing temperatures and snow for about five days before we got back, and it lasted another ten days after we got back. I made it to work each day, but we didn't do any home visits because the roads were so bad. The main roads were bad, and the secondary roads and estates were terrible. The army was driving the public health nurses around, but unfortunately us physios don't rank that high! Paul and I even got to go sledding- mind you, it was on a garbage bin lid because they don't sell sleds here!
We got a reprieve for about a week and a half before it hit again. In the week before Christmas, it took one of my co-workers 4 hours to get home one evening (typically a 30 minute drive)! We also lost water in our office because the pipes were frozen and again, no home visits because the roads were so bad. I finished up work on the morning of Thursday the 23rd, then Paul and I headed to Louisburgh. The drive took us 7 hours! Usually it's 3 1/2 to 4. We arrived safely though, so that's all that matters!
The freezing weather lasted until the day after Christmas, and when things started to thaw, pipes started bursting everywhere. Luckily Paul's parent's house was okay- they did have a burst pipe in the flat attached to their garage, but it was caught quickly and didn't do any real damage. So, Paul and his dad were very busy over Christmas fixing pipes! They were out until 3am Christmas night and rung in the New Year with their heads in a cupboard fixing a leak in a hot water heater!
I think I may start a business importing shovels...
This was the view from our dining room window during the first round of snow-
We got a reprieve for about a week and a half before it hit again. In the week before Christmas, it took one of my co-workers 4 hours to get home one evening (typically a 30 minute drive)! We also lost water in our office because the pipes were frozen and again, no home visits because the roads were so bad. I finished up work on the morning of Thursday the 23rd, then Paul and I headed to Louisburgh. The drive took us 7 hours! Usually it's 3 1/2 to 4. We arrived safely though, so that's all that matters!
The freezing weather lasted until the day after Christmas, and when things started to thaw, pipes started bursting everywhere. Luckily Paul's parent's house was okay- they did have a burst pipe in the flat attached to their garage, but it was caught quickly and didn't do any real damage. So, Paul and his dad were very busy over Christmas fixing pipes! They were out until 3am Christmas night and rung in the New Year with their heads in a cupboard fixing a leak in a hot water heater!
I think I may start a business importing shovels...
This was the view from our dining room window during the first round of snow-
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