Ireland #2

Continuing with the Ireland vacation...........

We were doing a car tour of Ireland - not one of those tourist guide things, which I do not like. We like the freedom of driving on our own and just catching the "local flavor." We left San Francisco, went to New York and then to London and then to Shannon to start the trip. WE arrived in Shannon; our luggage went to Austria! One of those glitches, huh. Now usually when we traveled I had a backpack with the essentials: bathing suit, extra underwear, sandals and suntan oil. Not this time. I was in heels, skirt, sweater, pantihose (!) and raincoat. The next day at the hotel Jack said to me, "I've been in the same socks for 36 hours." I said to him, "Don't even talk to me until you've been in the same pantihose for 36 hours!!" He was silenced. Finally the suitcases arrived and all was well. We had tried to purchase underwear the day we got there and found out we had no luggage yet, but all the stores were closed on Sunday. That was actually kind of nice.

We went to several places in Ireland but were not allowed to go into Northern Ireland with a rental car. That was fine. Castles everywhere! Lovely people. In Blarney we gave the man at the castle a t-shirt with San Francisco on the front that we had special made to take as gifts for people we met. He was so appreciative that he invited us for drinks at the local pub after his work. I went into some of the shops in Blarney and gave some of the people working there t-shirts also. Later they came into the pub and gave me a beautiful Belleek vase. How kind of them. We noticed that the pubs were very quiet. None of them had loud music playing at all. Just very quiet. A couple of times we would see men come out of the pubs "falling down drunk" and then we'd see some teenagers come along and assist them home. Very gently. Not one of them seemed to take advantage of them. This happened a couple of times. Those Irish are hard drinkers!!

Waterford was a grand place. We watched them blowing the glass and for the life of me cannot figure out how they didn't blow out their lungs! It was astounding. If a glass wasn't just perfect, it got smashed immediately. Broken glass all over the place. I didn't need any glasses or stemware as I have oodles so I just purchased one glass as a momento. This was 20 years ago and that one glass cost me $27.00. I still have it. Waterford store is "candy for the eye"; it just sparkles everywhere.

But my favorite memory of that trip and my last entry is of one night spent on the sea near Waterford. We found the food of Ireland absolutely delicious - especially the potato soup. (One quirk we found in Dublin was that they eat pizza with a knife and fork. They probably thought we were heathens when we picked it up and ate with our fingers! And they have MacDonalds there that tastes just like it does here in the U.S., except the ketchup was a bit different.)

It was late for dinner - about 9:30 pm - raining heavily so we found a little tiny restaurant with a fireplace and on a cobblestone street. There was only one other table occupied. The maitre d' was the hostess/waiter/busperson and, we suspected, the cook also. Absolutely fabulous food. Very quiet and romantic. Then we went for a walk along the sea coast in the rain and watched the waves. Then we returned to the thatched cottage for the night. It was one of the most romantic nights of my life. Just out of a story book: lashing wind, crashing waves on the seashore, rain, fireplace, good food, cobblestone streets, old cottages and shops, my hubby, almost vacant restaurant, being catered to by the "staff" and loving the whole experience. Wonderful.

Then we flew home and 3 months later I grabbed my daughter and granddaughter and we were off to Puerto Vallarta for a week to soak up some sun!!

Ireland - the land of "Green!"

Jack and I went to Ireland about 20 yrs ago in the month of February. We always wanted to go off-tourist season when we went on vacations so as to not be bothered by the crowds. I have to say Ireland is a delightful country. The people are warm and friendly and it is as green as everything you've ever heard or read about! And it rains - A LOT! That didn't bother us at all. We loved it. However, Ireland may not be the same! (She says laughingly!)

At one hotel (old castle) we stayed at, I blew their electrical system. Of course, I didn't say it was ME. Ya know those "universal" plugs they sell for travelers so that your shaver, curling iron or dryer will fit. They lied!! Mine got stuck in the electrical outlet and blew it. Hey, I was innocent, I tell ya! Well, when we got to the thatched cottage I didn't have an adapter to fit and they only allowed certain electrical things anyway. So I had to improvise.

I'm a girl that washes my hair everyday. Only get it done at the beauty shop for cut and perms. So I washed it every day in Ireland but what do you do when you can't plug in your hair dryer or curling iron? You turn the electric blanket on high (theses were allowed in thatched homes), jump under the blanket and use your fingers to "tossle" your hair until it is dried. It worked!! I usually have that tossled look anyway so no problem. I just went "natural" that day.

Blarney was an experience. Just a tiny little village actually. But let me tell you that castle is HIGH. I'm not a "height" person. I hugged that wall all the way up. It's kind of open so you are climbing up and watching the ground below slowing getting smaller and smaller. Jack wanted to kiss the Blarney Stone. You lie down on your back, a guy up there holds your legs and you scoot out on your bum. You are hanging upside down on the outside of the castle kissing the stone - probably 5 stories!! Jack, of course, didn't want to pay the guy $2 to have his picture taken while kissing the stone as we had just purchased a brand new high tech camera (not digital at that time) and thought I could take the picture. Well, when we got back to the next place on our itinerary we noticed that the film wasn't on the roller and completely lost that roll of film!

Dublin was lovely. Just as you would imagine a very old european town. There are a couple of things I noticed about it that stick in my mind: the windows are always being washed, even in the rain(!) and sparkled, almost all windows had gorgeous lace curtains on them, just about all men wore sport/suit coats - even the street cleaners and construction workers, just about everyone over the age of 10 smoked and candy was sold in any and every store we went into. I have since learned that Ireland has the biggest consumption of sugar per capita than any other country.

This is long enough for today. More tomorrow...........

Thoughtfulness

I am a very thoughtful person. In other words, I am genuinely concerned with other people's comfort when they are in my home.

I keep wool lap throws, purchased in Ireland years ago, scattered around in the winter in case they feel a chill. Every phone has a cup of pens and a note pad by it. (Actually, that is more for me to indulge my laziness! I hate looking all over for a pen and paper.) There are boxes of tissues in every single room in this house - even beside my chair. There is always something cold and refreshing to drink in case someone "just drops by" - which is becoming rarer and rarer in this society. :-( My sofa and chairs are purchased with my comfort and visitor's comfort in mind. I have footstools and ottomans at every single chair in the living room and family room. Plus my coffee tables are "put your feet up" kind of tables. That does not mean kids can walk on them; they should be taught respect for other people's things and also courtesy.

Lastly, and certainly not least (!), toilet paper is in abundance in my bathrooms. This is absolutely essential in my book. It stems from a situation several years ago at a relative's home. They had a huge condo and the powder room was right off of the entry, which was quite close to the living room. During a holiday dinner I had to use the facilities and guess what?! I was stuck in there and badly in need of toilet paper. I looked under every cabinet in there but there was none to be found. I was truly in a "pickle" and couldn't call for my hubby. If I recall correctly, I did the best I could with a tissue in my purse. Now, why I took my purse in with me I'll never know but I did. From that moment on I swore to myself that no one ever would be in that position in my home. I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but it was something that should have been considered when having a dinner party. I keep an extra roll on the back of the toilet. I have a little toilet paper holder in front of the toilet that holds 3 extra rolls plus the one being used and a 12 pack under the cabinet always - always.

Think about it!! :-)

Since we're talking about birthdays, I thought I'd post a bit of ephemera for you. I was born during the war and my father was on a ship in the Pacific Ocean. He didn't see me until I was 18 months old, but that is what happens when men go off to war to fight for their country, our freedoms and their loves ones. This was the telegram he received several days after I was born. With this, I salute all of those brave young men and women who are fighting for my freedoms at this time. This family salutes you!! You are always in our prayers and we wish you success wherever you are.

Today is my only granddaughter's birthday. She was our first grandchild and I can't tell you how much we adore her! She is 27 years old today and I want to honor her. I remember the day she was born as well as I remember her mom's birth day. She graduated from University of California Berkeley and now works for Microsoft in Redmond, Wa. The man who married her is extremely lucky. Of course, we call her "girl" or "Bratski #3" or sometimes we just refer to her as "A" or "g" when her mom and I are instant messaging!!