Just got back from Georgia last week. I finally got to see one of   my grandchildren graduate from  high school. Husband Leonard was always too ill to travel when the first three grandkids graduated. He died around a month after our granddaughter graduated three years ago. Now she’s soon going to be starting her senior year in college!

I enjoyed my visit and have some good pictures from the graduation and also from our little hike along the Chattahoochie River which is a short distance from my youngest daughter’s home. Here’s a photo of my honors graduate (who also is an Eagle Scout)with his proud grandma and some of the Chattahoochie.

 The first two pictures are the Tullamore Dew distillery and of the houses in Tullamore across from the distillary’s visitor center…..good Irish whiskey made there. I had a sample of their “Irish Mist” (really great tasting stuff), and we learned how they make their unique whiskey. The next ones are of a typical Irish dairy called the Molanna Farm we visited near Adare. The fifth photo is the bridge in Limerick. The last photo is of a thatched roof home in Adare. Nowadays they are more rare in Ireland.

Some of you may have seen this, but I hadn’t and thought it too interesting to keep to myself.

SEVEN KINDS OF SEX

Results of recent research shows that there are 7 kinds of sex.

The 1st kind of sex is called: “Smurf Sex”
This kind of sex happens when you first meet someone, and you both have sex until you are blue in the face.

The 2nd kind of sex is called: “Kitchen Sex”
This is when you have been with your partner for a short time, and you are so needy you will have sex anywhere, even in the kitchen..

The 3rd kind of sex is called: “Bedroom Sex”
This is when you have been with your partner for a long time. Your sex has gotten routine, and you usually have sex only in your bedroom.

The 4th kind of sex is called: “Hallway Sex”
This is when you have been with your partner for too long. When you pass each other in the hallway you both say ‘screw you,” and make the woo woo sound.

The 5th kind of sex is called: “Religious Sex”
Which means you get Nun in the morning, Nun in the afternoon and Nun at night. (Very Popular)

The 6th kind is called “Courtroom Sex”
This is when you cannot stand your wife any more. She takes you to court and screws you in front of everyone.

And; Last, but not least, The 7th kind of sex is called: “Social Security Sex”
You get a little each month. But not enough to enjoy yourself.

Yes, I kissed the Blarney Stone….an eskimo kiss with my nose. It hurt. The castle was really interesting and the grounds beautiful. Here are some photos of the castle and surrounding area. The first ones are the view of the castle as we were walking toward it. I took photos from the tower. Climbing up to the top of the tower via the narrow winding stone stairway wasn’t easy. I don’t think kissing the stone made me more eloquent or better in expressing myself but at least I did it. The view from the top was lovely. We were really blessed or had “the luck of the Irish” as far as weather is concerned. The beautiful sunny days even surprised the Irish. We had no rain the entire time we spent there until the day we left …. then just a few sprinkles on the way to the Dublin airport.

   We learned a lot of history on this tour….especially about the many invasions of Ireland by the Vikings and Spanish and Ireland’s long struggle for home rule and independence including the IRA and Michael Collins and heroes of that fight for freedom. The bullet marks are still visible.  Our journey began in Dublin with a tour of the city, the lovely Georgian architecture and St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Guiness Brewery. My friend and I decided to walk back to the hotel in order to see the shops and the large city park. It took us a bit more than an hour since we stopped frequently at shops and in the park. Here are some photos I took in Dublin.

We learned the reason for the doors being painted different colors. It seems at one time they were all the same color but it only took a few inebriated husbands trying to get in the wrong doors in the wee hours of the morning to encourage the practice of individualizing each entrance.  There were also the metal things to scrape boots that are still at the entry ways. Many of these are now offices. I really enjoyed walking around for the weather was perfect…..sunny and not too cold the entire time…..which was a surprise to the people there for it is usually very rainy….every day…..in March and early April there. The spring flowers and trees were all in bloom and just beautiful.

When asked what impressed me most, I have to say it is the people of Ireland. They were so cheerful and gracious and helpful in spite of all the financial woes their country is facing….and the Irish girls are beautiful …. as are the young men too.  I’ll try to add photos and notes of the various places I visited. Dublin was just the start of our trip.  St. Patrick’s is beautiful but a little dark inside. I’d love to attend a service there.

Jonathan Swift was buried under the floor in St. Patrick’s with  with a couple of his dear ladies. He had an interesting life.

    A fountain at St. Stephens Green in Dublin stands as a mark of Germany’s gratitude for the kindness that was “Operation Shamrock” which was begun to save children from war torn areas. The sculpture in the fountain shown here was a gift from the German people for taking care of the German children who were orphaned or homeless during WW 2. Most of the children returned home afterward, but around 50 of them were adopted by their Irish families and remained there.

I’d forgotten that Ireland (the Irish Republic) was neutral during the war. They did however steer downed allied pilots to Northern Ireland where they could get back to their units. We found other sculptures commemorating special events of their nation’s history and struggle for independence in this main city park, St. Stephens Green  in Dublin. The photo of me with a pint of Guiness was taken on the top floor of the brewery which is all glass for a 360 degree view of the city. I found Guiness a little too bitter for my taste.

I have packed, unpacked and re-packed a dozen times in getting ready for my trip to Ireland this coming week. Friend Julia and I are going to be part of a group of retired Lake Co. teachers touring southern Ireland. They’re flying out of Chicago. I thought maybe we could drive up to So. Bend, leave the car at daughter Val’s house and take a shuttle to Chicago to go with the Lake County group….a non stop flight to Dublin from Chicago. But friend Julia really wanted to leave from Indianapolis, and I’m not keen on driving that far at my age, so we’ll go to Newark first and then on to Dublin on a different plane….but on same airline so won’t have to go to a different gate. We’ll meet the Lake County teachers in Dublin. 

The reason I needed to pack so often was because of all the great advice I’ve gotten from family and friends who’ve already traveled to the Emerald Isle. Ann said to take a couple of washcloths since they don’t have them in the hotels. She said I’d also need two pair of shoes since we’re going in the rainy season and will need to wear one pair while the other pair dries out. Cousin Molly Moloney, who spent her honeymoon there a few years ago, said to wear layers since it’s very cold this time of year. Friend Barbara Murray said to take a raincoat for it rains almost every morning….and sometimes later and unexpectedly and very hard at times. I also couldn’t decide what to wear to a medieval banquet and to an evening at a pub and Barb also said to avoid wearing orange or red in southern Ireland …. not hard since I don’t look good in those colors…..and I’ve lots of green clothes anyway.

By the way, I had dinner this St. Pat’s day with Barbara who will be 95 this coming Saturday. We talked about kidney stew and blood pudding and the wonderful but tiny lamb chops that made her feel a little guilty to eat….but worth it since they melted  in her mouth. She didn’t like the blood pudding that came with every meal….doesn’t sound good to me either. My Irish grandpa Jim loved kidney stew. Grandma agreed to make it early in their marriage and followed the directions he’d given her on how his mother prepared it. However, even after soaking it many, many times she couldn’t stand the smell while it was cooking so threw it out….kettle and all….vowing she’d never use that kettle again, and if he wanted kidney stew he’d have to go back to Phildadelphia to his Irish relatives in order to eat it!

I’ve got euros, lots of batteries for my camera and toothbrush, and a Kelly green satin blouse I may wear to that castle banquet. I’m ready. Or maybe I’d better see if that blouse is prone to wrinkles first and pick another one just in case….and Val says two pair of slacks may not be enough so maybe I should take another pair of slacks….the black jeans or just the regular blue jeans? Vests for layering….got two. Hmmm…..

 Friend Julia and I are getting ready for our trip to Ireland. I went to the bank this Friday to order some Euros to take. We’ll not be going to  Northern Ireland so didn’t get any British pounds. I’d like to go there someday to see the area where my grandfather’s family had lived before coming to America. Anyway, I’m getting excited even if the rate of exchange isn’t so great and even if it will be very cold and rainy. We’ll enjoy seeing the countryside and the spring lambs…and I’m taking a raincoat, umbrella and extra shoes.

We’ll be visiting a pub, of course and Guiness too and will sample some Irish whiskey and beer. I’m looking forward to our banquet in a medieval castle. I’ll take a bunch of photos to share when I get back. In the meantime I’ll be singing all the Irish songs I know while working around the house…..and I know a lot of them! My Irish Grandpa Jim used to entertain me by singing them and teaching me to sing along with him too. He had a very nice singing voice. “Ireland must be heaven for me mother came from there,” and “When Irish eyes are smiling, sure it’s like a morn in spring,” plus lots of  old ones frome Ireland his parents and grandparents had taught him. I’m looking forward to hearing some real Irish music while there also……can’t wait!!!!

This fellow has always intrigued me. I wonder how they do these animated graphics. Sometimes I have a lot of trouble uploading photos to my Xanga files. The Xanga uploader wasn’t working very well for me. Kept getting a message to check my internet connection, etc. etc. Anyway I decided to just click on the photos tab on my site and try to upload a photo from there….and it worked!!! Hope all of you are having a great “Thumbs Up!” day!

Happy St. Valentine’s Day Xanga friends. Do any of you remember those little one and two cent valentine cards from the late 1930′s and 1940′s? My mother always made sure I gave one to each and every boy and girl in my class at school. The biggest and nicest ones were for my teachers. Mrs. Newman, my homeroom and reading teacher in grades 4 through 6, always had a large box covered with red and white crepe paper and hearts with paper lace doilies…..and a slit on the top to insert the valentines. She’d choose several privileged students to be the mailmen to deliver the cards. I always felt sorry for the classmates who only got a few cards. We would all count our cards and see if there was a special one from that “special” boy or girl. Here is a link to a little Animoto film I made using these old cards. Some of these vintage cards are from Victorian times….the music is nice too. I hope you’ll check it out and perhaps send a card of your own. The card images are from the Dover catalog. They send their online catalog with images you can download, etc. http://animoto.com/play/5x7urGQnf3zP0Z24A04ShA?utm_source=&utm_medium=player&utm_campaign=player