Happy (Hilarious) Holidays

In Ireland they might speak English, but when Lucy-Anne and I were chatting about how we'd decorate for Christmas, we realized we were speaking two different languages. Oh the laughs. Apparently Irish and American traditions aren't as close as I would have thought.

 

We were discussing how we'd decorate the tree, what themes and colors we'd use and how we were both on a budget, when I mentioned that we could string popcorn. I must have sprouted another head because the look I got from Lucy-Anne was something else.

 

"Popcorn. You put popcorn on your tree." Burst of laughter.

"Yes."

"Popcorn. Do you just throw it on?"

"No, you string it - like a garland."

"How do you string popcorn?" A smirk appears on her face and I know she's going to loose it again.

"Well, you pop the corn kernels and string it with needle and thread. We usually do it while watching a Christmas movie. Some people string cranberries."

Another fit of hysterics, but she manages,"And what do you do, just nibble on the tree all December long? Yeah, well here we don't decorate our tree with the items from the fridge."

 

I figured I'd skip mentioning the cinnamon cookie ornaments. Why add wood to the fire. I knew I'd never live this down. 

 

The following day we went out to purchase a tree and after some searching, found one at a lot in town. We squished it into her little European car, drove home and carried it into the living room (uh, sorry, sitting room). She was holding the tree up as I was screwing in the stand when I realized we'd forgotten something.

 

"Oh, we forgot to get a tree skirt."

 

Down went the tree and down went Lucy-Anne in another fit of laughter. This time I couldn't stop laughing either. If you think about it, the idea of a tree wearing a skirt is a little funny. It was a good few minutes before either of us could compose ourselves.

 

"I've never ever heard of a tree skirt before. We don't dress our trees or put food on them. Seriously, I'm starting to wonder what your trees look like. You'll have to have your sister or someone send a picture along because the mental image I have right now is nothing short of comical."

 

Good times!

 

November Travels

My mom came to visit me last month and we had an amazing eleven days together traveling the countryside! Our itinerary was as follows:

 

 

Nov 16 - Met at the bus station around noon and (after many hugs) dropped our luggage off at our hostel and walked around the city.

Nov 17 - Took a tour bus to the Cliffs of Moher. Saw the beautfil sites and got thoroughly drenched.

Nov 18 - Took a tour bus to the Connemara region and saw Kylemore Abbey. Again, got drenched.

Nov 19 - Hired a car and drove down to the Dingle Peninsula. Staid at the Lantern Townhouse there for the next couple of nights. (I will bitterly interject that I was unable to have the world's best fish and chips and the world's best bangers and mash. BOTH restaurants were closed. The worst of luck!)

Nov 20 - Drove to Killarney and saw the Muckrock House, through Moll's Gap and around the Ring of Kerry.

Nov 21 - Drove down to Blarney Castle (decided not to spend $15 each to kiss a stone that's been slathered more times than is hygienically appealing) and to my home in Cork.

Nov 22 - Thanksgiving!

Nov 23 - Relaxed at my house and in the evening went to the Cork Opera House to see the Sleeping Beauty Ballet with my housemate Lucy-Anne and her mom.

Nov 24 - Hired a car again (actually got the same car!) and drove to the Rock of Cashel and Kilkenny.

Nov 25 - Drove throughout the Wicklow Mountains and returned the car at the Dublin Airport that night.

Nov 26 - Toured Dublin and shopped til we dropped.

Nov 27 - Parted at the airport after many hugs and I took the bus back to Cork.

Ross Errily Friary



In Cong

Dingle Peninsula

Ross Castle

Ring of Kerry

Abbey in Cashel

Rock of Cashel

Wicklow Mountains

Thanksgiving in Ireland

Despite being thousands of miles from the festivities at home, I managed to carry out the traditions of the day quite satisfactorily; all without skimping or shorting any of the goodies that mark the day. Everything looked and tasted familiarly American. This of course was made possible by submitting a grocery list of the ingredients that cannot be found here, such as pumpkin pie filling, cranberry sauce, french fried onions and the like, which were duly packed into my mom's luggage and brought over. A box of delectable See's chocolates were of course included in this motley assortment.

My mom and I started the preparations for the meal on Wednesday night. We had actually just arrived in town that afternoon, and as we still had the rental car, made use of such a luxury for our grocery shopping. There was no way, even with the two of us, that we could ever successfully manage carrying all the items home that we needed for such a feast. So we loaded up the car with everything (or so we thought) minus the turkey which we would pick up Thanksgiving morning at the butcher's shop. That night I made the pie crust and mom cut a loaf of bread into little squares, placing them in the oven to get toasted for stuffing.

After a stormy night subsided, inclusive of thunder, lightning and rain, the anticipated morning arrived and so the hustle and bustle began. Just before noon we took a walk to the butcher shop to pick up our turkey and a few of the ingredients we'd missed the night before. When the butcher brought out the bird that was to feed four and that we'd specifically ordered small, I got a shock.

The thirteen pound bird was monstrous; much bigger than you'd ever guess thirteen pounds to be! The twenty-four pound turkeys I usually fix for a large group back home closely matched its size. The only difference is those are taller and this one was longer. While the butcher fretted about finding a bag large enough to put it in, I fretted over it fitting in our tiny matchbox oven! By the time he came back with a cardboard box, I had reached the conclusion that there was no way our oven could mouth this bird whole. I apologetically explained my plight and asked if he had something smaller. He replied that unfortunately he didn't, but explained that if he cut off the legs and bound the body tightly, it would fit. I agreed to this alternative and hoped for the best.

And I'll just say that not only did it look like twenty-four pounds but it also felt like twenty-four on the rainy walk home. I am now an expert at balancing a turkey while holding an umbrella and have more muscle to show for it!



Houston, we have take-off!



 

The evening was wonderful! Everything fit and tasted delicious. Our menu included:

 

Turkey

Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes

Gravy

Green Bean Casserole

Cranberry Sauce

Rolls

Sparkling Apple Cider

Hot Mulled Apple Cider

Pumpkin Pie

See's chocolates

 

We were excited to spend the evening celebrating and introducing this American holiday to my flatmate, Lucy-Anne, and my friend, Valerie.  Holiday music played over dinner and conversation was most enjoyable; a portion of it revolving around typical Thanksgiving traditions and other holiday rituals, both Irish and American. After thoroughly stuffing ourselves, we went to the living room where a fire was ablaze, sipped on hot spiced cider, nibbled on See's chocolates and watched a Christmas movie. Amazing day and so much to be thankful for!

Autumn Stroll

It was such a beautiful day, I just had to spend the morning enjoying it, so I strolled along the River Lee for a good few hours. The sky was blue and the only grey clouds that could be seen were off in the distance. Although the sun was casting a radiant glow through the golden foliage, there was a nip in the air that made your cheeks rosy and your nose a kin to Rudolph's. The cold breeze seemed to be whispering that Winter's arrival is near.

View Larger Map
Marker A is my house and Marker B sits on the walkway along the marina.

Catching Up

Nothing I've done recently is inherently Irish in nature. That doesn't mean I haven't been busy. And among the various tasks and activities is one very un-Irish thing.

So after the ballet, I spent the following week getting together with a few people from church; I also helped clean the new church building and did a little job hunting.

Finding a job feels like a job. I had already updated my resume, or CV as they call it here, and had created a few cover letter templates. That was easy. And finding positions in my line of experiences and applying with hiring agencies hasn't been that difficult either. The jobs are there. I've even gotten several bites. But once it's known that I'm an American with no work visa, the call for an interview never comes.

Despite the odds, I'm maintaining hope. Just this week I found two incredibly amazing positions with Apple and Amazon. Obviously both are large enough companies to not be daunted by the visa issue. In fact, Apple specifically stated they would pay to relocate the chosen candidate from anywhere around the world. And, the positions they're offering are amazing - I'd love it! Both companies are looking for customer service project managers, so really, I'd be doing exactly what I loved best in my last job. So fingers crossed on these.

On Saturday, I spent the day cooking and baking as I had invited a group of people to come over after church the following day. On the menu, but not in this order, was chocolate chip cookies, Shannon's amazing peanut butter cookies, salad, baked spaghetti and ... the very un-Irish, all American, good ol' mac and cheese. And let me now elaborate on the feat it took to perform such an un-Irish thing!

The week before I had really been craving something from home and we Americans know how to make the cheesy meals, so I decided upon macaroni and cheese. Ha! The odds were not in my favor. At the grocery store, I searched the pasta aisle, the ready meals aisle and did find it but in the most unlikely and disturbing of places. In the canned section. Yes, that's right - canned mac and cheese. I couldn't do it and cringe even now. So I thought I'd make myself some from scratch. I didn't have a recipe but figured it couldn't be that difficult. I headed over to the cheeses and that's when I got a second blow. I think I literally recognized only three cheeses out of a selection that took half of a refrigerator aisle. Mozzarella, Cheddar and Parmesan. No Swiss, no Provolone, no Jack. None of what seemed to be their basic cheeses matched ours. That kind of did it for me and I gave up on the mac and cheese idea, went to the freezer section and got an extra cheesy deep dish pizza! I admit I was defeated that day, but I armed myself with a recipe a couple days later and marched back into the store to conquer. If you're interested in the recipe I used, which by the way turned out fantastically for the get-together, visit here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/04/macaroni-cheese/.

And yes, the get together went well - I thoroughly enjoyed myself. In total, I think I had ten people over which was the perfect number. There was enough food and everyone fit fairly comfortably in the living room, where we ate and enjoyed the warmth of a crackling fire. We chatted for a while and then everyone voted to watch The Hunger Games before we left for Ignite, the college/career group at church. It was definitely a fun, relaxing afternoon.

Yesterday and the Ballet

Yesterday I went to a wedding, a favorite restaurant for dinner and the ballet. Could a day be much better? Okay, I can think of one other element to add; but we won't go there.

Due to travel arrangements, or rather the lack of, I skipped church and slept in. I then spent the rest of the morning primping for the wedding. All girls love having an excuse to wear a nice dress, sport heels, style their hair and add a little more glam to their make-up - I am no exception. And weddings and opera houses are such great excuses.

The wedding was lovely. The groom is the pastor's son and he met his bride while they were both interning at the church. Both were so aglow with love. The bridal party wore coral, gray and broad smiles at the pleasure of seeing their friends unite. The beautiful decorations - arches wrapped in white tulle and pink flowers stood in the aisles and flower arrangements graced the stage - all looked so lovely in the new and recently remodeled building the church will now be holding their weekly services in.

After the short reception of cake and tea, Lucy-Anne (my roommate) and I drove over to the opera house to pick up our tickets to the ballet. She went off to the formal wedding reception with plans to meet back up with me for the ballet that evening. I went to Scoozi's, a little Italian restaurant that exudes an ideally quaint atmosphere from it's candle lit tables, brick walls and charming decorum.

An hour before the ballet, while I was sitting in the opera house's cafe reading Seabiscuit, I received a text from Lucy-Anne that dinner had still not been served and that most likely she'd be missing the performance. I teasingly replied that if that be the case, she should pass her ticket on to a cute guy. Jest aside, I was very sorry to hear that we would not be sharing the experience together.

The Moscow State Ballet performed Swan Lake beautifully. I have heard the gorgeously moving music so many times and have even played movements of it myself, but to see the story unfold through dance was wonderful. The costumes, the stage, the graceful movements all choreographed so well to the heart of the music - such an unforgettable experience.

Such an unforgettable day.

Laundry

 

 

Last night the wind was driving the rain into my window pane something fierce. This morning, looking out my window, it doesn't look much better. Nothing like letting the weather dictate your day. Domestic duties it is. And secretly, I like it.

I take a shower and make myself a hot breakfast of eggs and sausage before gathering up my laundry to head back in the kitchen. Yes, the washing machine inhabits this room too. At first, I'm not sure how much I can throw in, as the casket appears to be only six inches deep, but as I keep tossing things in I realize there is more depth to this little machine then meets the eye.


After a shocking two hours, the clothes are done and I transfer them over to the dryer, which in our house, is located in the stairwell closet. Besides removing the lint, you have to pull a container from the bottom that collects water from the clothes. I empty this out in the kitchen sink, select what I hope are the right settings and pray that my clothes come out in a size that fits me.


In an hour or so I'll find out!