Quiet Weekend - 8 weeks til return date

It's Sunday evening and I have had a blissfully quiet weekend. I read, slept, ate, and just bummed around. After nearly 6 weeks of company, I needed some R&R. I loved having everyone here, but I was worn out! It feels like fall here (well actually winter the other day), so I'm going to make a pot of chili.

Now it is back to work to try and get lots done before I head back to the states in 8 weeks. See ya all soon!

Return Date, Visitors & Misc.

I have officially set my return date. I will fly back to Denver in mid-November, celebrate Thanksgiving with my family and return to work in the Denver office on November 26. I will be home to celebrate the Christmas season with family and friends!

I have a very full apartment right now! My cousin, Cherie and her friend (Susannah) and Susannah's sister (Corie) are all staying with me. The beds are full and someone will have to sleep on my very modern no-fluff sofa tonight. We just returned from church and some sightseeing in Dublin. We had a picnic on the steps of the church in Trinity college and tried to get some shelter from the rain. They have 3 more nights in Dublin before they head to Paris for a few days.

In other news, it appears that my apartment complex is very popular for other people on assignment with my company. There is one guy who is in the building next door and we can wave to each other from our balconies. (Kinda like the building on Friends). Well, a new Canadian guy come to Dublin a couple weeks ago and he moved into my building yesterday. Not just my building, but MY FLOOR! For someone who usually keeps work and personal life a bit more separated, it is weird! Cherie, Susannah and I were leaving for some touring yesterday and we ran into Jeff with all of his boxes moving in to the building. I guess I'll have to think twice before I run to the grocery store in my sweats for coffee! :)

Also, I forgot to mention in my last blog about my manual driving skills. So, as many of you know, I have not learned to drive a manual and over 90% of the cars in Ireland are manual. It is very difficult and much more expensive to rent an automatic car. So, when Bill was here, he drove. One evening in Edinburgh, Scotland we found a great parking lot and he let me drive. I have to say that just a couple weeks before I had done the same thing with my dad and managed to move the car about 5 feet as I jerked it 5 times and killed it each time. So, when I was driving the second time I was sceptical that I would even get the car to move, but I am happy to report that I drove it in figure 8's in a parking lot and didn't kill it once. I still haven't gotten out of first gear, but it was a vast improvement. At the rate I'm going, I may be able to drive a manual car around my 80th birthday! Maybe I'll have a late life crisis and get a sports car for 80....hmmm. Hopefully that brings a smile to anyone reading this!

Bill's Visit

Bill just left for the airport a couple hours ago and I'm washing the sheets and getting ready for my next round of visitors who arrive in 4 days. Bill and I had a wonderful time traveling in Ireland and Scotland. We visited some of the Dublin landmarks - Dublin Castle, Christ Church, Grafton Street and Temple Bar before leaving town. We rented a car and headed to the south of Ireland. We made lots of wrong turns getting to Powerscourt Gardens (in the Wicklow Mountains about 1/2 an hour south of Dublin), but we saw the most incredible scenery and Bill loved driving the manual car fast on the narrow winding roads. We stayed in Waterford and Lismore, and saw the Waterford Crystal factory, Lismore Castle and Cahir Castle. We also just meandered around some of the small towns in the Ireland countryside (Passage East and Dungarvan). We had a slow pace and just enjoyed our time. We happened across an arcade and played air hockey and later that night our B&B had a pool table. I'm sad to say that Bill won both. Seeing as my pool skills are severely lacking, I need to brush up on my air hockey skills!

I managed to work a little bit in the middle of the week while Bill was exploring Ireland and then we flew to Edinburgh, Scotland for a few days. We were not planning to rent a car, but after our earlier driving experiences, Bill decided to rent a car so that we could get to St. Andrews famous golf course. I did some exploring in Edinburgh and walked the royal mile our first night and then the spent most of next day at St. Andrews. I have to admit I don't fully comprehend the significance of St. Andrews to the game of golf, but Bill explained that it is the home of golf where it has been played forever. We looked at the prices to play the Old Course and found out that you have to apply over a year in advance in writing to apply for a tee time, which may not even be granted. Once you do get a tee time, the cost for 18 holes is about $275. I'd rather go shopping than play golf anyday :)

We also saw the Britannia Royal Yacht, which was the British Royal Family Yacht until it was decommissioned in 1997. Prince Charles and Princess Diana also honeymooned on the Britannia Royal Yacht. It is now docked a couple miles from Edinburgh city centre. Our last stop was the Edinburgh Castle which includes the stone of scone and the crown jewels. Jewels are always nice to look at, but the ones in London are much more impressive. Then we headed back to Dublin. Now its time to prepare for my cousin and two friends who are arriving on Thursday. I also need to spend some time focusing on work!