Have a Seat

I'm still preparing for the big move to Ireland in a few months. We are in the final countdown to the wedding, selling my house and leaving for Cork, but there is still much to be done! While I've been busy selling most of the furniture from the house in Texas, I have also picked up a few things to ship over, such as the previously mentioned dressing table. I recently re-purposed a stool to go with the table, so here are the before and after pics as promised!

And here is the finished result that will go in our bedroom--

Once we ship it over to Ireland I will post new pics of it in our bedroom, so stay tuned!

Today's Little Known Fact about Ireland

Songwriters Frederick Weatherly (who wrote the lyrics for Danny Boy), Jack Judge (It's a Long Way to Tipperary), and Thomas Westendorf (I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen) never set foot in Ireland.

Decisions, Decisions...what should I take to Ireland?

I have been back and forth a million times about what to take with me to Ireland.  I'm not talking about clothes, I am talking musical instruments, artwork, collectibles and FURNITURE!

I've done a great deal of investigation into the process of international shipping, and I can tell you that the price is as random an Irish rain shower!  Of course, the smart  thing to do would be for me to liquidate the bulk of my things since the house is fully furnished.  However, Seamus and I have actually bought furniture and accessories here in Texas to ship to Ireland along with my belongings. Not that we didn't try to buy them in Ireland, but my dream dressing table was nowhere to be found over there.

Here are the before and after pics of the piece I found at the flea market in Canton:

I have a passion for repainting old furniture, and this piece wil be gorgeous in our silver glam bedroom!  I will need this for doing my hair and makeup since there are NO electrical outlets in Irish bathrooms. I am working on the vanity stool at the moment and will post a pic when it's done!

 

Today's Little Known Fact about Ireland

In Ireland you will rarely, if ever, find the Irish saying, "Top o' the morning..."  That expression was made up by screenwriters Edmund Beloin and Richard Breen for the 1949 Bing Crosby movie of the same name.

Till the Cows Come Home

One of the things I look forward to most about the move to Ireland are my cows.  By MY cows I mean the cows that belong to the farmer that lives just down the hill from our house. You can nearly set your watch by those cows, coming up from the valley in the morning and returning in the evening.  I'll never forget the first time I saw them--Seamus woke me up and said come to the window!!" And there, coming up the path straight at us--97 of the sweetest, most beautiful black and white Chik-fil-a cows I'd ever seen.  They were taking their daily walk, what I now call the Cow Parade, that takes them up the hill, a sharp left turn in front of our house, and then a right to continue to the upper pasture.  Many a morning I've opened the upstairs window and moo-ed at them, which normally causes a quick stop by a few of them followed by a cold stare.  I don't care, this is one of those "life is good" euphoric moments that is joy at its simplest.  When I'm not in Ireland, Seamus often shows me the cows through the window via Skype.  Recently he told me that the cows stayed in the pasture directly in front of the house all night, which immediately caused me to worry that my bovine babies are keeping warm.  Seamus told Farmer Kevin that I had said not to be surprised if the next time that happens he finds them each covered in a blanket in the morning. To which the farmer replied, "Tell her she's going to need a shit load of blankets!"

Today's Little Known Fact about Ireland

The Celtic harp - not the shamrock - is the national symbol of Ireland. The harp depicted on government seals, coins, passports and the Leinster flag belonged to Brian Boru, High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. His original harp can be found in the museum at Trinity College, Dublin

Today's Little Known Fact about Ireland

Irish step dancing was created after the British conquest in the 1600s outlawed music, and cultural traditions had to be performed in secret. The dance form that evolved--body and arms kept stationary, movement confined to the feet--ensured that if the British glanced at the locals through a window, they would be unable to tell that anyone was dancing.

Today's Little Known Fact about Ireland

When someone has had enough, they might be told to "Say uncle!" This comes from the Irish anacal, meaning "have mercy."

Today's Little Known Fact about Ireland

Proper pub etiquette dictates that when someone buys you a drink, you should buy him one in return. No wonder it's said that in Ireland, it is impossible for two people to go out for just one drink.

Today's Little Known Fact about Ireland

Even without touring, and despite the fact that her only live performances have been a handful of TV appearances, Irish singer-songwriter Enya has sold more than 70 million albums.

Today's Little Known Fact about Ireland

When Arthur Guinness opened the original Guinness Brewery in Dublin in 1759, he signed a 9,000-year lease on the property, which required a small deposit and locked in an annual rent equivelent to $85 USD.

The Great Clothesline Debate

I am learning that our idea of drying clothes differs greatly with that of Ireland…

I noticed that many people in Ireland have clotheslines, which prompted me to ask Seamus if they don’t use clothes dryers there. His response and the conversation that followed was almost reminiscent of Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First" comedy routine. He replied, “Oh, yes we have dryers, but we first hang the clothes on the line before they go into the dryer.” At this point I must have given him the same look that Scooby gives Shaggy when they’ve just pulled the mask off the crook, because he went on to explain:

Seamus: “We hang the clothes on the line until they are ALMOST dry…then they go into the dryer”

Patti:"But what if it starts to rain?”
Seamus: "Then you have to start over…”
Patti: "Why don’t you just put them straight into the dryer?"

Seamus: "Because it’s bad"

Patti: "Bad for who?"

Seamus: "It’s bad for the dryer to put wet clothes in it…"

Patti: "But isn't that what it's for?"

Seamus: "It's okay to put DAMP clothes in, but WET clothes will ruin the dryer."
Patti: "Huh???"

Who knew I've been drying clothes incorrectly all these years? Seamus went on to point out that the Irish feel that it uses too much electricity to put clothes straight into the dryer, hence the need for a clothesline.

I thought my solution was perfect when I suggested that he continue to hang his clothes on the line and I will use the dryer…I even agreed to pay the difference in the electric bill until the day that I proclaim,”Oh my God, I can’t afford to dry my clothes in the dryer anymore!!!”

I know this debate is far from over, so I will keep you posted on the negotiations as we get closer to the move… in the meantime, please leave me a comment and let me know if you vote "DRYER" or "CLOTHESLINE". I'll post the results next week!

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Today's Little Known Fact about Ireland

Mixing traditional Irish music with punk, the Pogues originally called themselves Pogue Mahone, which is Gaelic for "kiss my ass." They were forced to shorten their name when the BBC refused to play the band's first single unless they did.

Note: You can listen to The Pogues hit, "Fairytale of New York" on my playlist at the bottom of this page.

Today's Little Known Fact about Ireland

Snakes are not native to Ireland. Saint Patrick may get credit for ridding the country of snakes, but the truth is they were never there.

What's in a name? Only the IRISH know for sure...

I have to say, there are some really unusual names in Ireland. While visiting my fiance' in April, I met some of his friends and relatives that had names I didn't know existed. Mind you, Fergal, Diarmid, and Finnbar were all lovely men, but I am trying to imagine naming a precious little newborn "Finnbar"! What would you call him for short? Finn? Finny? I was told that it's a religious name, taken from Saint Finnbar. It may be blasphemous, but I can't keep from thinking of the acronym, "FUBAR"...

Last names are similarly intriguing, for example, the name "Deacy". I thought it would be cool if the Deacy family named their kids Acey and Washington, but I think I was the only one who was amused by that notion. Sigh...my humor is sometimes lost on the Irish!

Here's a photo that I snapped, interestingly enough, in St. Finnbar's cemetery. Notice the name on the Celtic headstone; this may explain a lot about the name selection process in Ireland...

Which brings me to Seamus. This name confuses everyone. It is the Irish version of James. Most people call Seamus "Jim", but I like Seamus. He just looks like a Seamus. The real confusion came when I first told my mother about him. She said, "What's his name? Amos?" to which I replied, "No, Mom...it's Shay - mus..." She said, "Oh, it's Shame-Fuss?" You gotta love my mom, who took an unusual name and made it into something EVEN MORE...weird! Then she asked me to spell it! I said, "No, Mom...believe me, that won't help!" Sure enough, I sent her some photos of Eleni and I with Seamus in Ireland, complete with captions. Then, when the three of us visited my parents a couple of months ago, Mom called him "See-mus"! We finally got it straightened out, but maybe we should've just called him Jim...

Poor, sweet Seamus--I still can't resist the temptation now to call him Shamefus.

Today's Little Known Fact about Ireland

Measuring only 12 feet by 6 feet (and totalling 72 square feet), St. Gobhan's Church at Portbraddan, a tiny fishing village with six houses near Ballycastle, is the smallest church in Ireland--and possibly, the smallest church in the world.

Today's Little Known Fact about Ireland

The small town of Ringaskiddy in County Cork is also known as "Viagra Falls"; it has been home to Pfizer's Viagra plant since the mid-1990's.

Don't make me text you...

Here's where I need to say something that won't be popular with many of you--

I HATE TEXTING!!!! (OMG, do I hate it!) :-(

I have done a pretty good job of typing with all 10 fingers for about 30 years now, so forgive me for being reluctant to let 8 of them sit idly by while my thumbs do all the work. I will admit that it is handy when you want to send a quick message that can be conveyed in one sentence, but what drives me crazy is the text conversation that goes back and forth, back and forth like a ping pong match. If you can't say it in a sentence or two, CALL ME. Please!! It's what the phone was designed to do...just think how long it would have taken Alexander Graham Bell to invent the phone if it had included texting in those days. (Just the time it would have taken for him to have to continually spell out "Alexander Graham Bell" would have set the invention back years!)

I think the final straw was when my teenage daughter started texting me from her bedroom instead of making the 20 foot walk into the living room to have a live conversation!

The point of today's blog, before I went off on a rant, was that I have to confess that there is a certain advantage involved to texting. In my case, my fiance Seamus is a major "texter" when it comes to letting me know what city he's in while touring in Ireland. He will text to ask if I am online, I text back to say that I am on the way home from the store and will sign on in a few minutes. See? Short, concise texts that are informative and to the point. We admittedly exchange occasional sweet nothings, but I'm sure we aren't alone in that one...

When I met Seamus, I had a pathetic little phone where I had to use the number pad to do all my texting. This caused me to sometimes type the wrong word into my texts, much to the entertainment of my daughter and boyfriend. The "intuitive" feature of that phone would guess what word I was trying to type and fill it in for me, transferring "I'm picking up Seamus" to "I'm shaking up Seamus"...same keys on the phone with decidedly different meanings if you have ever followed AC/DC.

I finally broke down and got a smart phone, so now texting is a bit easier. That doesn't mean I like it any better, so for those friends who are reading this and get the urge to contact me...CALL ME!!

Little Known Facts about Ireland

In an effort to familiarize myself with my future home, I am gorging on Irish trivia. I will post a new item each day so we can all learn about Ireland together! Here's the first installation:

Before it became synonymous with step-dancing, the word Riverdance was a colloquial term for the act of committing suicide in the Shannon River.

Starting at the End...

Have you ever noticed that you don't really hear anyone say, "Ireland--YUK, I can't stand that place!" Most Americans have a warm and fuzzy, Riverdancing, Blarney stone-kissing, St. Patrick's Day green-tinted view of the Emerald Isle. I've been enamored with the place all my life, but it's what happened in the last twelve months that changed my view from a kindred fondness to a full-blown love affair.

Here's a quick recap of the relevent events of the past year in reverse order, in the style of the movie, "The Hangover" --

• Soon to be working as a tour organizer of golf trips for a tour company in Ireland, owned and operated by Seamus O'Leary
• June 2009, spent most of the month hosting Mr. O'Leary during his trip to Texas
  
• May 2009, returned from a second trip to Ireland
  
• April 2009, laid off after nearly 20 years on the job, 1 day before 1st trip to Ireland
  
• March 2009, spent Spring Break with my daughter Eleni in Ireland
  
• February 2009, became engaged on Valentine's Day to Seamus
  
• December 2008, hosted Seamus for the holidays
  
• November 2008, I turned 49 and spent many a cell phone minute talking to Seamus
  
• October 2008, made Spring Break plans to visit Seamus in Ireland
  
• September 2008, we discovered the benefits of video dating through Skype
  
• August 2008, found myself daydreaming a lot about a certain man in Ireland
  
• July 2008 was a life-changing event--I met the kindest man on Earth - Seamus!

That's all you need to know for now...the rest I'll fill in as we go along between now and the wedding and the move. I'll blog often and keep them short--see you tomorrow and thanks for coming along for the ride!