Xmas Traditions in LBJ's Family

Merry (Happy) Christmas.  We had an enjoyable Christmas - the kids are enjoying playing with all their presents.

Although I cannot speak to all Irish Christmas traditions, I will explain how a typical Christmas day works in LBJ's family.

I am very happy to say that our girls will wait quietly in their rooms until 730am on Christmas morning, before exploding into our room to ask permission to go downstairs and see what Santa brought.  Here is what Santa brought in 2014:

Santa's offerings 2014

FABJ got a magician's trick set and magician's costume.  ORBJ got a Princess Palace Pet (Beauty - Aurora's cat).  (Note the old-school antenna in the upper left - yes, we use it to watch Irish TV.  We also have a satellite for UK TV.)

The stockings had several enjoyable items and only one filler - a clementine (i.e. "easy peeler").  They got gloves, hairbands, crochet sets, and I forget what else.

Anyway, back to the LBJ family tradition.  We opened our gifts, then had breakfast.  LBJ's family came over for brunch around 1130.  After that, two of LBJs family (her mom's cousin, I believe) hosts a noonish (i.e. early afternoon) gathering with munchies and beverages.  The girls get to see two of their cousins as well as ORBJ's fairy godmother (LBJ's cousin).

Then, we go to LBJ's parents' house for the afternoon.  With the arrival of the girls, LBJs dad has started dressing up as Santa and delivers presents (with the help of his elves):

Santa and his elves delivering presents

LBJs parents went all out this year, as you can see.  Santa had a new onesie suit and new beard.  I think the sack and beard are new, too.  Maybe the hat, too.  FABJ is wearing what is supposed to be a scarf / neck warmer.  If you're 7 and really thin, it can be a totally inappropriate skirt!

Then, we had Christmas dinner around 5 or 6.  Smoked fish and shrimp are the starting course, followed by a main course of ham, turkey, potatoes, red cabbage, cranberry sauce, and stuffing.  Dessert is the traditional plum pudding, although the girls and I had a chocolate ice cream cake that Santa, I mean LBJ's dad was not impressed with.

We spend the evening recovering from dinner.  Aside from being the designated driver, I had an enjoyable day.  The rest of the family did too.

Now, I am frustrated by technology.  My stupid Mac has no ethernet connection, so I can't hook up our internet booster (lousy signal in the kitchen).  Had similar problem when trying to hook up the wireless printer (which didn't work - have to print with a USB cable).  Sigh - I sure have a lot of Apple devices for not being a fan of their products.

December 2014 home update

Progress has been made in the house.  In fact, the only remaining renovation is to put down the flooring in the living room and sitting room.  Instead of what's not done, let me list a few of things that have been completed in the house.

The kitchen looks great.  We're quite happy with all of it (well, except for the loveseat, which is on back order and apparently won't arrive until January).  However, we've found something to fill the space in the mean time:

Getting into the holiday spirit!

Apparently, Christmas sweaters (called jumpers over here) are quite the rage.  My brother-in-law and sister-in-law got me this last year, and the girls like to see it.  In fact, they asked for Christmas jumpers of their own!

Our bedroom is nearly done as well.  We got handmade closets (called wardrobes here) that look great.  J&J did a fantastic job.  Of course, waiting a month for them helped with the anticipation and excitement for them once they arrived.  In fact, because they were half-installed for a week, without door handles, it took me a few days to get into the habit of using the door handles.

Custom closets, shelving, and headboard

For the first time since moving in with LBJ, I finally have enough room in the bedroom for all my clothes!  The dream has come true!!!!!  The small closet on the left in the above photo is my closet space.  The photo below shows LBJ's closet space, and her dressing table.

LBJ's closet space and dressing table - note the sunny day!

The garage is also finished, so I can store my bike there.  LBJ is getting a bicycle for Christmas / birthday (although it hasn't arrived yet - I've had some troubles with presents this year, particularly in my orders from Amazon in the UK), so there will be room for hers as well.

All in all, we're thrilled with the house.  Sure, we'll make a bunch of changes over the years (such as the upstairs bathroom), but we love the location and the views.  Sorry that a photo won't do justice to the view - you'll just have to visit.

Finally, I close with a photo of ORBJ from her school's Christmas play.  She was one of the wise men, the one who brought gold.  Note the evil grin!

Evil King ORBJ (who acquired a sheep as well)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Scotland 2014

Over the October Bank Holiday weekend in Ireland, we spent a long weekend in October.  When we bought the tickets, we thought it would be good to get a break from the unpacking after the move.  HA!

Instead, it was a needed break from the stress of the upcoming move (which occurred the following weekend), as well as a change for LBJs parents to get a much needed break from us (without having to leave their house.

We had a great time in Edinburgh, aside from the kids whining every time we were in a restaurant.

Getting the kids excited about economics!

Needless to say, I was quite excited to come across this statue!  I hadn't realized that Adam Smith was from Scotland and had lived in Edinburgh.

We enjoyed the touristy spots - the Castle and the Queen's Scottish residence.  LBJ and I enjoyed the food - had some excellent surf (LBJ) and turf (me).  I even found time for a "wee dram" of the good stuff.

A windy moment atop Edinburgh Castle

There were a couple of keys to success for the trip.  First, either a guided tour or a self-guided audio are very useful at entertaining the girls (and, to a lesser extent, me) - kids' version are particularly good.  Second, having a kids' focused area is a big plus, especially if there are costumes where the girls can dress up.  We found these at Holyrood Palace and the National Museum of Scotland.  Third, a separate bedroom for the girls is very important as well; a separate room for each would be even better but usually not worth the extra money.

Audio tours are the key to happiness in our household

The real reason for the trip was for me to present a paper at the University of Edinburgh.  I enjoyed meeting people and got some good feedback on the paper.  Not to mention a pint, a good meal, and the afore-mentioned wee dram.  It was a just a little strange that there were no Scots among the staff, and at least half the staff were from outside the UK.

One happy kid (no, the beer is not hers)

Oh, that reminds me, the above photo shows another essential part of a good trip with the kids - coloring books.  Keeps the kids entertained in restaurants.

We'd definitely return to Edinburgh, as there are plenty of sights that we didn't see.  The flight was short - under an hour - and cheap - around 70 euro per person, round-trip.

House update (long overdue, I know)

Geez, I can't believe it's been over two months since my last posting.  So sorry!

A lot has happened since then.  Most importantly, we finally moved in to the "new" house (i.e. new for us - it's a 1930's house).  We have been here since the beginning of November.  The first couple of days were a bit challenging.  We had no fridge the first night, and we were without a kitchen sink or working dishwasher for nearly 10 days.  But we managed.

Four weeks later, the project continues, but it is nearing completion.  If all goes well, we'll get our custom-built bedroom closets (i.e. what they call wardrobes in Ireland) tomorrow, and we'll get the garage door fixed.  The latter is important for me because I have been carrying my bike through the house to store on the back porch, as we have no side access to the back of the house.

Another big accomplishment today was the installation of door handles for our ensuite bathroom.  The door is an original 1930s door, and we'd lost the tiny screws for the handle.  So the old handle, which they took off when painting the door, was useless.  So we can now close the door when using the bathroom - before the door would stay open at least two feet.  That was not good, for obvious reasons.

In addition, classes ended today for the fall (called autumn in Ireland) semester.  And LBJ returns after 3 days in Italy.  So I am in a good mood this evening.

I'll try to get some more photos taken soon of the house.  For now, here are the girls' rooms, which - along with the attic room - were the first rooms renovated (or at least finished - FABJ had a big hole in the floor of her room for several weeks, a fact that greatly disturbed here when we'd visit the house during renovations).

FABJ's room

I picked out the rug - IKEA's finest - and put together the dresser (IKEA again - I've been there 3 times in the last 6 weeks - a bit tired of the place now!).

ORBJ's room

LBJ picked out the rug and put together the dresser (you can guess from where!).  She also picked out the lamps and curtains in both girls' rooms - NOT IKEA in this case.

Ok, I'll try to post more regularly now.  For example, we went to Scotland in October and I'm off to Switzerland next week.

Happy belated Thanksgiving.  Gobble, gobble, gobble!

First Day of School 2014

Before we knew it, the first day of school was upon us - a Thursday.  The night before, we had "moved" up to the road to the in-laws house.  The move saved us 10 minutes in driving each way.  Plus, our stuff was being moved to the "new" house (a 1930s house we bought in May) on Friday.

The girls were pretty excited about their new uniforms, although the excitement lasted about two days.  Now (3 weeks later) they complain about the itchiness, warmth, and all the other faults with the uniform.

ORBJ took "big school" very seriously.  The first few days, she took a nap in the afternoon because concentrating on school was simply too much work.  Apparently 3 hours (and 10 minutes) was simply too much time - her school let her out at noon for the first 2.5 weeks, which was a real pain for LBJ and me, at least for the last week once I started teaching (and the in-laws had left for 5+ weeks in France).  But we survived!

First day of school excitement

On the bright side, our child minder is working out great.  She works part time at a nearby school, and was looking for extra work.  She has a car and picks up the girls at 230pm and brings them to our house (ok, the in-laws house currently, but she will bring them to our house once we've moved in ... October, hopefully).

Another nice thing is that the school has an on-site after care for the youngest kids, as they get out at 130pm.  In comparison, the older kids (grades 1 to 6) get out at 230pm.  So the girls finish at the same time.

Who likes to have their picture taken?

Before I forget, Pre-K is called junior infants in Ireland.  The next grade is senior infants, followed by first class (i.e. first grade).  Primary schools have 8 grades, from junior infants to 6th class.  Secondary schools have 6 grades.  There are no middle schools, just primary and secondary.

The kids seem pretty happy in the school.  It's a 12 minute walk at Orla's pace from the house, which is very nice.  Or at least it will be once the house is ready.  It is a girls' school (no boys), which wouldn't be my first choice.  But it is close, it had room for the girls, and we quite like the neighborhood (and our house).  So I can live with it.

Dublin is a small place (despite having over a million people).  FABJ's teacher is the sister-in-law of one of my colleagues.  The teacher's sister (another sister-in-law of my colleague) also volunteers in the classroom.

I'll close with a good ORBJ story.  The girls are taking about princesses, as they often do.  Then they start talking about queens...
FABJ: I want to be a queen bee.
ORBJ: I want to be queen A.  (Smiles triumphantly at her sister.)

Never a dull moment!

Fun at the local playground

birthday girl and pony camp

FABJ turned 7 last month.  She was quite excited, as you might expect.

7 going on 17 - look at that attitude!

She enjoyed her presents, even the walkie talkies that do not work very well at all.

We had some family over in the afternoon for "tea," and she got to play with her cousin AMcG.  As FABJ got roller skates for her birthday, we asked AMcG to bring her skates, too.  A good time was had by all:

Double trouble on wheels

Triple trouble on a roll

The following week, FABJ went to pony camp (with a girl down the street), while ORBJ and AMcG were in a camp together in the neighborhood.  At the end of camp, ORBJ got a five-minute horse ride.  Suddenly, pony camp will be twice as expensive next summer!

Purple pony power

"Me Too"

I guess we need to start saving now for next summer.  Donations welcome.

International Man of Mystery (IMM)

We were delighted last month to host a good friend of ours, whom we affectionately call an International Man of Mystery.  He has a lot of global business dealings, many of which involve sensitive details that he cannot reveal.  All very mysterious - very Austin Powers-esque.  Plus, he looks like a world traveler, speaks multiple languages, has multiple passports, etc.  I once got an e-mail from him saying that he was hanging out in the players' lounge in Wimbledon sitting near Richard Williams (Serena's and Venus' father).

He is, by the way, our first house guest from San Francisco.  (AP and her parents were our first - and only - house guests from Kentucky, and my sister was the first and only house guest from Iowa.  We haven't had a lot of house guests.)

Although the weather wasn't great that weekend, we tried to show IMM some of the sights.  On Friday, I took the day off from work (kids were still on summer break), so we checked out a museum and met LBJ for lunch.

On Saturday, we went to Malahide Castle, which also has an excellent playground.  The tour was a bit touristy, but the grounds of the castle were beautiful.  This picture doesn't do it justice - wrong time of day for this shot, I know.

Malahide Castle from the wrong angle

We left just as the rain started.  The rain let up, so we stopped in town at St. Stephen's Green so IMM and LBJ could look at the shops while I took the girls to the nearby playground.  LBJ's parents kindly took the girls for a sleepover so we could enjoy a relaxing dinner out.  Indeed, we had a splendid dinner at Camden Kitchen, followed by a leisurely drink at a "typical" Irish pub nearby (to give IMM an Irish pub experience on his first trip to Ireland).

On Sunday, we explored the Kilmainham area.  The most notable attraction there is the jail, where many famous individuals, particularly those fighting for Irish Independence.  We took the girls there not too long ago, and it's the most appropriate attraction for the girls.  So we went to the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA - clearly an appropriate venue for IMM!)

The museum had an exhibit where you could play in the sculptures, etc.  The girls loved it.  Our only mistake was to go there first, so that they were quite bored with the rest of the museum where you could only look at the stuff.  But the museum cafe had toys, so they were happy again.  And a nice sculpture garden.  The only down side was that I was a couple of minutes late in getting the car, so IMM and the ladies got a touch wet.  But an enjoyable outing nonetheless.

Royal Hospital Kilmainham

We finished the visit with another dinner out at a South County Dublin institution, the Goat.  The girls loved it.  We drove by it a couple of times since, and FABJ always asks when can we return.

The grounds at the IMMA (where's IMM?)

From our point of view, IMM's visit was a great success.  We hope he'll visit again, especially once we're in the new house.

Neolithic & Megalithic Ireland

Our weekend up North ended a bit earlier than originally planned.  But we awoke Sunday to rain, rain, and more rain.  We figured that our good fortune yesterday was unlikely to be repeated, and we saw all the major sights already.  So we packed up and starting driving back, planning to stop if / when the weather improved.

Sure enough, the weather improved a bit south of Belfast.  So we decided to visit the Boyne Valley, specifically the Bru na Boinne visitors center.  Our plan was to visit one of the megalithic tombs with tours, either Knowth or Newgrange.  As it turned out, the tour for Knowth was a lot sooner than the tour for Newgrange.  Plus, I had done the tour of Newgrange back in April with the IMF, so I preferred Knowth (which I hadn't toured in ages).

On top of the mound, enjoying a break in the rain

We enjoyed lunch and some sunshine before making our way to the tour bus.  Then, being Ireland, it started to rain and get a lot colder.  Still, we enjoyed the tour, especially the few minutes inside (i.e. out of the rain).  It's not every day you get to tour a site older than Stonehenge or the Pyramids in Egypt.

Knowth tomb with a side of FABJ

There was a brief respite from the rain, but only brief...

Megalithic snack time out of the rain

We then went back to the visitor's center and enjoyed looking at the exhibits there before one last hour in the car (at which point, AP was grateful that her parents didn't ask us to take her anywhere else in Ireland, at least by car).

Pretty neat, huh?

Giant's causeway

Our rental was perfectly located - basically across the street from the sea, with a beach only a couple of minutes' walk away.

So, upon arrival, LBJ took the girls to the beach, and I went off in search of dinner.  AP enjoyed a little peace and quiet after sharing the backseat with two noisy girls for 3-4 hours!

The beach was a big hit.  The next morning, AP and I walked to the Giant's Causeway while LBJ took the girls in the car.  It was about 2-3 miles to the Causeway - too far for them.

The Causeway was a big hit as well.  Except when we tried to scramble up one of the steeper parts of the Causeway, at which point one of the volunteers encouraged us to find an alternate route.

Girl power on the causeway

Our timing could not have been better, as it started to rain as we reached the car.  However, I do have to point out the stupidity of the UK National Trust.  We tried to get a snack at the visitor's center, but access to the cafe and gift shop were only allowed if you also bought a ticket to the exhibit in the visitor's center.  So, they lost out, especially since the cafe did not seem to be all that busy.

The Causeway

Instead, we headed into the town of Bushmills for an early lunch.  Despite the rain, we found a nice cafe for lunch.  We discovered that AP loves sausages as much as ORBJ - kindred spirits.

FABJ on the hike back to the car

After lunch, we headed on in the rain to a nearby castle, Dunluce Castle.  The weather was pretty lousy, as the rain just seemed to get heavier and heavier.  Still, the girls had a great time because they got a kids' audio guide (which happened to be free that weekend).  A smarter parent would have gotten a kids' guide as well so that we could help out, but LBJ and I were too excited about getting our own audio guides.  Still, the girls enjoyed the treasure hunt on their audio guide.

He, he, he - free audio guides!

Location, location, location

The only challenge was that, by the time we'd done the tour, it was still only 2pm.  What to do now with such lousy weather?

Medieval dress up time

After the dress-up time, we found an exhibit about the archaelogical digs at the castle.  So that got us to 230, at which point we returned home.  Fortunately, the skies cleared, so FABJ and I went to the beach and built sand castles, while ORBJ and LBJ - worn out from the day's activities - took a nap.  (Once again, AP enjoyed a bit of peace and quiet, even though she was only stuck between the girls in the backseat for 30 minutes, tops).

We had dinner at the local hotel - the only place to eat in town.  It was a nice meal, and the restaurant had a great view of the coast.

Belfast 2014

For approximately 4 weeks in July and August, we had an au pair looking after the girls.  Her dad, my former boss in the U.S., had a simple request during the visit - take AP (for "au pair") somewhere in Ireland.

So, when LBJ had a Friday 1/2 day meeting in Belfast, we seized the opportunity to head North for the weekend.  It was an early start, but we got LBJ to her meeting on time.  More surprisingly, I was able to get us to the "Titanic Quarter" without getting lost.

Happy kids (despite looking into the sun for the photo)

The above photo is of the SS Nomadic, the last remaining ship by the company that built the Titanic (White Star Line).  As you can see, it was a gorgeous day - warm and sunny.  So what do we do on such a beautiful day?  Spend it in museums.  First up is the Titanic Museum.  I was skeptical that the girls would enjoy it, but FABJ really wanted to go (and she knew about the sinking of the Titanic).

Another picture looking into the sun

Although the girls got a bit bored by the end, they generally seemed to enjoy the museum.  AP also enjoyed it.  I did, too, even the cheesy "ride" through the docks.  I don't really know how to explain it - it's a like a slow motion roller coaster type ride through the shipyard, illustrating the construction of the Titanic (up to the day before the launch).

All in all, I'd highly recommend the museum for people who enjoy historic and / or cheesy touristy stuff.  But it is expensive.

Then, we took a break for lunch - not very many options at lunchtime, but we managed to find a cafe with pretty good sandwiches and soup.

Next stop was the science museum, called w5 (who, what, where, when, why).  This was, not surprisingly, an even bigger hit with the girls.  They pretty much wore themselves out here.

Our little scientists

 LBJ joined up with us, and eventually we were able to drag the girls away.  After a snack (and a near meltdown), we made the drive up to Giant's Causeway, where we spent the next two nights...

Belfast Marina

Summer U.S. Trip 2014 - Part 4

The last destination on our U.S. itinerary was a visit to my family in Iowa.  My family was in good form - doing well and in a good mood.

FABJ was signed up for a week of pony camp again, but we didn't sign ORBJ up for anything (a mistake in hindsight).  Still, we had a couple of enjoyable activities - a morning at a splash pad and a snowflake making activity at the library (a somewhat odd choice in July).

ORBJ at the splash pad

One of the most enjoyable trips was to the Iowa Children's Museum.  It was about a 45 minute drive away, and it had a ton of fun stuff for the girls.  In fact, we basically ran out of time.  We will definitely visit again, if only to visit the "Blue Room."  It was a room full of giant blue blocks.

The blue room

Taking your order in the science museum

Another fun part of the trip was a dinner out with LBJ, as my sister and brother in law took the girls for a sleepover.  So we went to a local Cuban restaurant, which was extremely tasty (and modestly priced).  We hope to go there again!

I look forward to the next visit home to see the family.

Summer U.S. Trip 2014 - Part 3

It was a rather painful travel day to Chicago.  I foolishly suggested the scenic route out of the park.  It seemed to add 5 minutes to the drive and avoided Gatlinburg & Knoxville.

It was scenic and enjoyable.  Until ORBJ threw up, that is.  At least it was at the end of the curvy road.  LBJ and I did well, I thought.  However, we used up the time allotted for a stop then, so we had to eat our snack in the car and skip the fuel stop.  So we paid the ridiculously high cost for fuel at the rental car place (for 3/4 of a tank - a difference of $30).

But the car rental and security at Nashville airport was a breeze.  The girls were well behaved on the flights (yes, plural - got to spend an hour or so of quality time in Detroit's airport).

But it was great to see our friends in Chicago (TK, JK, and their kids AK and LK).  They were the gracious hosts as ever.  We had an enjoyable time renting paddle boats on a nearby "lake".  Too bad the boats were designed for people 6+ inches shorter than me - rather challenging (and painful). 

ORBJ and LK enjoying their paddle boat ride

In fact, LBJ and I needed a rest after that outing:

Worn out after 1 hour of paddle boating

But the kids were not fazed by our absence, having fun of their own.

Another day, another princess costume

All too soon, it was time to say goodbye and make our way to the promised land, Iowa (ok, maybe it's not the promised land, but it is always nice to see my family).

Whiskey School, Part 2

Sorry for being out of order.  I didn't realize that I forgot to the posting for the second day of Whiskey School.  Although, to be honest, the second day wasn't all that busy.

School in session

It was enjoyable, as I got to watch "my" whiskey go through the triple distillation process.

My barrel, from Jim Beam

Also my barrel

At the same time, there was a lot of waiting around, while the distillation occurred.















The other side of the barrel - which I'll get to keep after the whiskey is bottled.

Difference in color between sherry, bourbon and port barrels

Photo-op with the distillery's owner

Receiving an important document from the master distiller

After-the-fact quality control

Now, I just have to wait 5+ years for it to age.  (As well as figure out what to do with all the bottles - some friends have expressed interest in a few bottles, which is good.)