First, a picture from last night. This is me dressed as Velma ready to go out for a Scooby snack. Maybe there will be a crime for me to solve on the way and some old local will say, "Those meddlesome kids!"

This morning we walked through pea-sized hail to get down town but at the end of our street was the IBM building! I was tempted to go in and answer a few emails but managed to hold myself back. Big Blue is everywhere.

I'm sure you can all guess my first stop...a book store!! Hodges & Figgis is the local independent (directly across the street from Waterstones) so of course I had to give them my business. So glad I did - they were awesome. First they noticed that one of my books might be marked down in the basement and sent someone to check, then they said that they had a signed copy of another book I chose so they sent someone off to get that. When I mentioned having to get my bounty home they offered to ship them for me. I took the chance hoping that they will be more successful than I was shipping from Edinburgh. Plus I bought enough to get a 10 Euro frequent shopper discount. AND we got a great lunch recommendation. Seriously, the man at H&F did us well.

Then it was off to lunch at a great spot with beautiful stained glass windows, full of Christmas decorations and carols. An Irish woman came over to ask if we needed a shot of the two of us together so we wound up having a whole modeling shoot from different angles. She was more patient then we deserved. As she was leaving with her parents (the cutest old couple in Dublin) they all wanted to know where we were from and what we had seen. When the mother asked if we went to St Patricks and we said no she shrieked "How could you miss it?!?" Then told us about the deal on tea for the restaurant's 83rd anniversary. I hope I'm that cute when I get old (which isn't too far off, is it?)

Bill bought himself some whiskey but there are no pictures of that. We just got back from our last pub meal. We watched most of a West Ham vs ManU game but West Ham was up 3-0 so it wasn't much of a match. Travel day tomorrow - where did the vacation go??

On the road again

A snowy commute to Dublin. We are in the dining room of the Dublin B&B in Ballsbridge (that bit of detail is for you, Diane) - both of us typing away on our laptops after the long drive. Bill is on Trip Advisor looking for a nearby restaurant. (Fun fact - Trip Advisor was started by the co-founder of CenterLine Software where Bill and I met.) Hoping for dry weather tomorrow as we have a lot to pack into one full day in Dublin.

We watched a big football match in Keily's pub in Dublin. Real Madrid, led by the lecherous Renaldo, took a shallacking from Barcelona, 5 - 0. For a Monday night the bar was full of young fans. It was billed as Renaldo vs. Messi. Messi was involved in almost everything going on. All Renaldo did was to shove the other coach. A strict no-no. We hate pretty boy Renaldo.

Jen and I were interested in the game, but when a picture on the wall of guy in a powdered wig started to move we were mesmerized. It was a digital photo and every twenty minutes or so the guy would, a la Harry Potter, do some weird thing. He'd start to smoke a cigar then realize he has to go back to posing so he didn't light it. Then he listened to his iPod before going back to being a picture in a frame. We're easily amused and distracted.

Dingle Peninsula

Dingle Peninsula seems to be the most western point in Ireland. So after lunch we decided to drive Slea Head which is the loop drive of the outermost point....WOW!

Here is a shot of the drive and the landscape with all the little stone walls dividing up the land. Most of the little plots have sheep grazing. The road doesn't look wide enough for two cars, does it?

Of course the real spectacular view is over the water.

This is a shot looking back at the road which I think was the farthest point west. Its a little hard to tell where the road is vs the stone walls but it's just below those white houses.


The sunset was gorgeous but then it gets dark quickly and Bill and I started to get nervous that we took a wrong turn since all the signs were in Gaelic. We are the only people who can get lost on a loop road! We made it back to Dingle town without incident and rushed in to blog for our readership.

Bill in Dingle

What do you call someone from Dingle? A Dingler? A Dingle-ite? A Dingleberry? (ok, I know, couldn't resist) Well, today Bill was a native Dingler, fitting right in to his surroundings. First, we took in the sites at the dock where Bill decided he wanted a shot of him climbing down the side into the water! Could you imagine the lawsuits in the US if a ladder into the Bay like this was available to every visiting moron?


Next it's off to the bookie to make a bet on the Ireland v. Argentina rugby match. Bill put 10 euros on Andrew Trimble to try anytime. (that's like someone getting a touchdown in our football...you can bet on the first try or a try at any time during the game). Needless to say, that's 10 euros we will never see again.

Next - a late lunch with the Sunday Independent. Notice the Irish knit sweater Bill is wearing? Just one of the many purchases at the wool shop (see previous post). Doesn't he look great??

And finally, here is a picture of what we looked like at lunch - both of us entrenched in our own sections of the paper, just happy to sit quietly having our tea on a couch in a restaurant in Dingle.

Irish Bail Out: Jen Singlehandedly Revives Economy

I am going to have to break today up into multiple posts so that I can include as many pictures as possible of Dingle. The view below is from our B&B window. That's Dingle harbor in front of the snow covered mountain. Below that is looking at our B&B - with palm trees in the yard.




Breakfast was delicious - full English options with scones and jam and tea...we chatted it up with the owner and another couple from Minneapolis. Then we took a walk into Dingle Town


Fortunately for the Irish and for us, the one store that I saw last night that I decided was a "must shop" was one of the few open on Sunday. It was full of wool - sweaters, blankets, scarves, hats, and little woolly sheep. I was the happiest little American shopper in all of Dingle as I loaded up the counter pretending that some of my purchases might actually be given away as Christmas presents (fat chance). I spent so much that it flagged my credit card and Chase declined it! I was able to use another card and had to go call the credit card company to swear that this was really me shopping out of control in Ireland and not some hooligan who stole my card and ran to by wool goods. My card is now back in action and I have a LOT of wool to bring home.

Winter Wonderland

Before we left for Ireland several people told me that they were here during a rare snowstorm. Clearly this is a story the locals tell the American tourists "Oh! It never snows here. This is a unique experience you are having on our snowless island!"

We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. At home we would have referred this as a "dusting". In Ireland, it's called crippling. The Dublin airport was closed. The streets were messy and the drivers inept. Bill had a bit of a white knuckle morning navigating the narrow streets on the wrong side of the road in a slippery slush. I, on the other hand, was in awe and fascination at how absolutely god damn gorgeous the landscape was. Seriously, it was brilliant! My pictures do not do it justice.




This one is my absolute favorites. We were driving on a not-quite-highway-ish road when all of a sudden we drove into a town (blink and you would miss it) where this group of kids was building a snowman on their tiny patch of grass on the side of the road. Their snowman was full of leaves and dirt. But when they saw me pass with the camera they all waved and hooted and jumped up and down for the picture. For that spit second we were all one with the joy of a first snowfall.

After several hours on the road we stopped in Adare for lunch and a rugby match on the telly. At each pub we pick up more bits and pieces of how to play. Now I know that you can kick the ball forward but you can only pass laterally and behind you. I love the inbound passes when the team picks up a player by the legs to catch the ball over the heads of the opponents.

Tonight we are in Dingle. I tried to photograph the scenery as we were driving into the peninsula because we were on the most twisty windy mountain roads while overlooking Dingle Bay - beautiful!! But the sun was already down and the pictures were too dark. Poor Bill had several more hours of driving than we anticipated but as you can probably tell, being a passenger was a great day.

Kilkenny

We arrived early this morning after a horrific flight of turbulence and gas. Bill says that we are not going to talk about bodily functions on the blog (who does he think he is talking to?) but there is no way I can not mention the foul stench that continually wafted towards us from some old man in a row nearby. Bill and I had to breath into our blankets for half the flight. Just as we were able to breathe normally one of us would catch a whiff and whisper "incoming!" and up go the blanket filters.

Anyway, we arrived in Dublin at 5:00 AM and discovered that the sun doesn't rise here until almost 8:00. And neither do the people. After a 90 minute drive to Kilkenny we found the town dark and still completely shut up at 7:30 AM. We had to walk around for an hour before we could finally get into a cafe but once we did we were very happy.

Kilkenny is decorated for Christmas with strings of lights like the ones cascading down the front of this building.

The big tourist event in Kilkenny is the castle so we did the obligatory tour.


After the castle we wandered into a little craft shop enclave where Bill bought a new silver ring with the pattern of the book of kells. Here is the cute little man who made it in his back room trying to oxidize it since Bill didn't like the shiny version. Or maybe he just went back there to toot.

Next on the agenda should be dinner - but Bill has fallen asleep while I was writing this. More tomorrow!

drunk already....

Bill has forbidden me from making the "I don't approve" face for the rest of the vacation. I've already violated the rule 3 times. Now he wants to go get some Sbarro pizza - its taking every ounce of will power I have not to make the face.

We have decided to fly internationally every Thanksgiving - no lines, no crowds, and no one even touched our junk. We wound up packing an extra empty bag because I'm determined do some shopping and those irish knit sweaters are bulky.

And to really top off the day, we listened to the Patriots beat the Lions as we pulled into our parking pace at Logan. Then we sat at the terminal bar and watched highlights over a couple black and tans. Only a little longer until we board! Erin go braugh! (I don't know how to spell that or what it means...just sounded appropriate.)

Bill: Unwound

We are officially on vacation. Bill logged out at 2:00 and headed out to the golf course. My first vacation event was a power walk with Denise.

Then Bill decided to unwind with an after dinner drink....Nothing says vacation like a wee bit o' scotch.

Maybe not such a wee bit after all. Drink up, Billy!

McCallans did not pass Trudi's sniff test.

Sadly there was no photo of me taken this evening. And I'm newly coiffed for Ireland!! I'm sure there will be many many many photos taken of me over the next week on the Emerald Isle.

Battle of the Bluestockings

"It's a simile" "No! It's a metaphor!"

Jen and Alison engage in a bookclub battle for domination. Anyone who knows Jen knows not to unleash her competitive nature. Look at those teeth! Those straining muscles! It's a fight to the death!

Have no fear, trusty blog followers. Like the Kardashians, the Housewives, and Sarah Palin, Jen and Alison are just mugging for the camera. We had an Un-Bookclub tonight - a small group and no book talk but plenty of wine, cheese, and good conversation. I just couldn't bear to go a month without a night with my bookclub.

1% of Americans Stutter

Bret's back on the road again. He bought a 2005 VW Golf. I've seen enough of car dealers for a while now. Let's hope there isn't any need to go back soon.

Our salesman was a good dude. He has a prolific stutter. It's an interesting disability for one whose business it is to influence through communication. I saw the sales leader board and he was near the bottom. I don't want to believe it's the stutter. He's only six months into this gig. Hopefully he'll make a comeback once he gets his schtick down.

I did a quick search on famous stutterers. It's an impressive list.

Winston Churchill

Marilyn Monroe

Bruce Willis

VP Joe Biden

Julia Roberts

Carly Simon

Emily Blunt

John Updike

and John Stella, used car sales at Honda North in Danvers

Yearbook photos

Who knew that these days you can submit your own yearbook photo? The boys went out and found a basketball court facing the right way so we could take advantage of the lighting.

Damn... I wish I had that option. My yearbook photo is horrific. Bad skin, hair that looks like it's helmet...painfully ugly.

Bret is wearing his new toe-shoes. Vibram grip... supposed to be great for climbing. He looks a little alien-like,

His boys are too cute... love having them around more.

H-A-R-R-Y P-O-T-T-E-R!

It was a beautiful fall Saturday in Newburyport. We were a bit sluggish this morning after having drinks the previous night. Even with a little hangover Jen looks great. I look rough with or without a hangover.

And then we regrouped for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One.

We loved it. Although thinking about the final installment of the movie is sad. After that, Harry Potter will be done. We've had a Harry Potter event for the past, what, 15 years?

After I first separated from Brenda I worked hard at making the most of my time with the boys. When Jen and I read Harry Potter books to the boys in bed it was perfect. Bret and Joey were riveted to every word as Jen and I took turns reading and acting out the characters voices.

We waited in line outside of The Book Rack a couple of years to get the book at midnight when it became available. The bookstore would hire a local actor to read the first chapter. At the time, I remember thinking that keeping my little guys up past midnight was worth the family memories. Today it's even more obvious. Those are some of my favorite parent moments.

When the kids got older Harry Potter made readers out of them. The books were bigger than toaster, but they plowed right through them. We bought the UK version because we thought it the right thing to do.

Nowadays, the boys are a few books behind. Parenting and teenaging have slowed them down. But Jen and I are always right there for the next Potter event. Not that we ever need any prompting, but it makes us feel like kids again. It's not over yet, but I'm already sad that the next movie installment ends the most impactful entertainment series of our lives.

It's been a while

Jen and I practice for tonights Aimee Mann concert. Do the kids still light lighters?

Concert was great. I don't think there is a cooler chick than Aimee Mann.

She's talented, pretty, funny and she played at our Nock Middle School.

Propelled by Aimee we went out on the town after the concert and had drinks with friends at the Port Tavern.

Good start to the weekend.