Blogging from Ireland!

We have just arrived in Dublin and finally have a chance to get on the internet. It's been a crazy past few days with non-stop running around. We finally got some good night's sleep the last couple of nights. There have been mostly good times with a few bad ones. London was crazy and Melanie and I had a good time being off by ourselves for a while. We saw Stonehenge, which was really cool, but we hung out there too long forcing to just miss the last admission to Windsor Castle. I always seem to just miss seeing my castles. But the night wasn't a total loss because we barely were able to hook up with the other girls to see Wicked in London! Which was fabulous! However, Blarney Castle totally made up for it and we all loved it. The grounds are beautiful.

We had quite a few nail biting and holding in screams moments when we started in the car in Ireland. We were all able to fit into a very small van with bags but it was a tight squeeze. It was a manual so only three of us knew how to drive and they were stressed out quite a bit the first day. We did actually head into oncoming traffic once and I couldn't help screaming. But once we got out into the beautiful countryside the girls were able to get pretty used to the roads.

We went on a very lovely drive around and a small scenic hike with waterfalls and what felt like real Ireland country. Everyone there was so excited because Kerry county won the All Ireland Galic Football and so there was lots of drinking going on. We ran into and chatted with quite a few drunk men one who even took quite a fancy to me. Too bad he was not attractive and really only had one major tooth. Unfortunately, the girls have taken to calling him my boyfriend. But he followed me around for quite a bit.

We saw the Cliffs of Moher today and it was so amazing and gorgeous. The weather has been mostly wonderful during our visit and when it rains it just kind of drizzles. Then we saw another small castle that was fun and made it into Galway, a fairly large city which is the main problem for our drivers. But we dropped off the car today and took the train to Dublin and found our latest hostel.

Can I just say that the Irish people are the nicest and most helpful people. We have been so lucky on our trip. I'll go into more detail later. But that's the gist. We'll be in Dublin all day tomorrow and then take the plane to Edinburgh, Scotland in the Thursday morning. It's just been so fast. I can't believe that's it's Wednesday already. Anyway we are doing well and being safe. Well as safe as possible. But it's been great. Can't wait to tell you all more later.

Birthday Present for Lincoln

In my effort to save money, I decided to make a present for my nephew Lincoln for his second birthday. I decided on a quiet book and would try to use only things that I already had. I did have to buy a few things, but mostly I stuck to my goal. I'm pretty happy with the result even though it took a lot longer than I planned. I had to work almost every minute I could to finish it in time. So here it is:It's a quiet book!The fries actually come out.

The straws come out too.

Pull the tab...

and he slides down the slide, but it's not the best functioning, but I like it.



It would have been nice if this was his reaction to it, but he was pretty uninterested. That's okay though, I expected it. He'll like it when he's sitting in church. Right there he's looking at Curious George dvds that my mom gave him. He wouldn't put them down for the longest time. But hey, all the adults oohed and ahhed over it, which made me feel good. It's not the best sewing ever, but it was an experiment that I wanted to try. I did end up having to spend a little money on beads and fusible webbing and felt, but most of it is made out of stuff I already had in my fabric stash and old clothes that have been designated for fabric use. I figure why give clothes to the D.I. when some of it comes in really nice fabric that is totally useable. So one more craft under my belt. I do really like creating stuff. It gives me a sense of accomplishment that I don't get many other places in my life so please forgive me if I come off somewhat braggy about my projects. Anytime someone compliments me on something I've done I'll usually be pretty modest and say it was nothing and point out imperfections but inside there is still partly that but then there is also "Yeah, I know. I'm pretty awesome, huh?" Wait, no no that's not me. I am the all encompassing example of modesty. (;