Sadie Dog! This is what's been fit to knit...

Sadie is a joy - we love this dog and her antics. She makes us laugh, loves to snuggle and is the sweetest doggie you've ever met. I hope she's happy here too.

Happy

Happy Father's Day to: Daddy, Pop, Gerald, Eric and Kyle - all of the dad's in my family. I wish all of the dad's out there a happy father's day.

Ireland part two

The next two days in Ireland were spent on the wedding. This was a true treat in the most sincere sense. To be in another country and to be able to witness and even participate in traditions like a wedding ceremony is really special. When you love the two people who are uniting as much as we love Jonny and Aisling then it’s even better.We participated in the rehearsal as Chris was reading a Shakespeare sonnet during the ceremony. We were off to one of the most delicious dinners of our lives right after. We made it to a tempura / sushi place and the dinner hosted by Jonny’s parents. Jonny is from England and has come to Ireland to be with his now wife Aisling.His parents just couldn’t be nicer – or more fun. We were delighted to be seated with them for the dinner and had a smashing time (I picked up some vocabulary while I was there, ok?) hanging out with everyone. Afterward (I had the haddock with this amazing ginger sauce. I love that sauce more than I can write) we left the parents and other folks behind to join the other younguns (can I say this? We were all over 30) at the pub for a few pints. I was accosted by a ridiculously drunk woman on the street later who was very “grabby” – I did get out of it with my wallet and all of my jewelry. We hopped a cab quick and headed for Knocklyon and to try and help Jon write his speech for the next night.

The wedding was beautiful and Aisling wore this amazing dress- she looked like a Greek goddess. Chris did an amazing job reading and the service was lovely. I could’ve listened to the Father in his deep Irish brogue talk about commitment to God and each other for hours. It was a lovely ceremony and very much Jon and Aisling. I was so happy for them.

The wedding reception was a blur of delish food and much, much red wine. I was reunited with my dear friend Britta and spent much time catching up and enjoying the good friends that we made while there. We drank a lot of wine.

The next day we met Britta and Steve and headed out for the Guinness Factory. It was terrific! We toured, we sampled and we hit the gift shop. I must remember to post for you a picture of me wearing my “Tall, Dark and Have Some Guinness” shirt. You’ll love it as much as I do!

Our penultimate day was spent at Glendalough – a tenth century monastic ruin. It bewitched me completely with its beauty and history and landscape. Glendalough was and is everything you want in your Ireland visit. It steals your imagination.

We flew home on Monday on a comfortable flight. I took in three movies (Slumdog Millionaire, Revolutionary Road and Frost / Nixon) and even had a little nap. Lots more leg room and the dreamy thoughts of all that I had seen and done in my minds loop.

It’s been a busy week since we returned. Like I said, we’ve been thinking a lot about others. Chris and I have been far behind in our charitable giving. I believe in giving, I believe we are expected to be of a giving nature. This weekend we happened to find someone who is very much in need of our help. We’ve adopted an 8-year old Spaniel named Sadie from a local animal shelter. We’re not sure how many years we’ll have with Sadie, but I will promise you this: Chris and I are going to make them the best she’s ever had. I’ll tell you more about her past in another entry. You’re tired of reading now, aren’t you?

I’ve got knitting on the needles and a house with a doggie in it! So for now, this is all the news that’s fit to knit.

Come on in - let's talk about Ireland...

I’ve been thinking about doing things for others a lot lately. It might be because of the recent Ireland trip where kindness was heaped upon Chris and me at every turn. The Irish people are so friendly and generally of such sweet and fun-loving spirit.I am pleased that my ancestors came from such a place. Here’s what really gets me about Ireland – we all know that she’s been through some really tough times and those tough times weren’t so long ago and yet I was greeted there by friendly faces and a general feeling of welcome.

I recommend Dublin as a first stop for your trip to Ireland, especially if you only have a week to visit like Chris and I did. If you can stay for two weeks, I think I’d recommend Dublin, the west coast and Northern Ireland. I need to go back for another visit to truly test this theory, but I believe I am advising you appropriately.

We landed in Dublin about an hour earlier than scheduled (which in these days and times of air travel seemed like a miracle). I won’t sugar coat it for you, the trip over was brutal. This was not the fault of our airline (Aer Lingus), but rather it was due to circumstance. We were in the Bermuda Triangle of bad seats: trapped in the same row as an infant (who screamed bloody murder for the first three hours of the trip) and behind bulk head (which cut off most of our leg room to accommodate their television screens and food service trays). It was very uncomfortable. It didn’t help that I had the foghorn-leghorn laugher sitting behind me. She found her in-flight movie to be the height of hilarity and would fog-horn laugh/blast every time she was amused. It was about 3 AM EST time. I was not amused. We also ended up sitting near the attendant’s station and were privy to their loud conversations and clanging preparation of dinner. Our flight home was much better, so I know this was a fluke, but it was a hard start to the trip.

Upon arrival in Dublin we went directly to our dear friends, Jonny and Aisling’s home and took a three hour nap. It was well worth it. We woke up at Ireland’s lunch time and had a bite and headed into the city for our first pint of Guinness in Temple Bar and dinner later on with Aisling (who couldn’t escape work that day).

Our next full day was sightseeing on our own and we did it up right with Dublin Castle, The Chester Beatty Library (my favorite thing ever), Trinity College and the Book of Kells, St. Patrick’s, Christ’s Church and dinner with friends again.

By far the highlight of my city sightseeing was the Chester Beatty Library where I saw Egyptian Scrolls dating from 300 BC! I saw copies of the Gospels of Matthew and John written in 90 AD. On and on with the amazing bits of history; my mind could hardly grasp what I was seeing and the importance of it. I was overwhelmed and completely thrilled.

The next day we took a country excursion with J&A to Powerscourt. It was amazing. It was the first time we really got to see those rolling Irish hills. The green was everywhere and the heather, well, the heather was romantic. I felt like I was in a Jan Austen book just waiting for Mr. Darcy to come charging over the Moore and through the heather field. Sigh. I miss Ireland.

Enough for today - to be continued! I should have a finished sock to show you too - but for now, this is all the news that's fit to knit!

A Tease...

We're back from Ireland and exhausted. Once we beat the jet lag, I'll share all of the details, but for now I'll tease you with some pictures of a great trip!

It's all the news that's fit to knit.