Just Hangin' Out

Well Tim's parents are on their way back to the states and we are back to life without guests.

We really did not do much of anything today.
The kids all spent time on the computer, what's new, as well as playing outside. The weather was sunny and warm so they took advantage of it while they could as it is supposed to rain all weekend.

They go back to school next week so we really need to get going with getting the last parts of their uniforms and any other things they still need.

I was able to get all the papers uploaded to the new site and even managed to add a bit more during the day today. You won't see any changes until the switch goes live which will be in a few weeks.

URGGGGGHHHHHHH.....

After deciding that I don't like the look of my current website and switching servers and site format I have spent WAY too much time redoing all of my stuff. The good thing is that I will have a current and accurate count of all the stock.

So far I have only completed about 75% of the paper section ~ I will have that done tonight before I go to bed.

The new and improved site should be up and running next week some time if all goes as planned.

The outlaws are leaving tomorrow morning and we have kept them busy and I am sure they are ready to go home and get back to their routine.

The Ebay Song, Hilarious!

This is really a nothing day but I had to post something! I chose this as I like the song and the boy on the left looks like Nicholas W. in a few of the scenes....

St Finn Barre's Cathedral

Our last day in Cork and the surrounding areas was spent in the Cork city center and a visit to St. Finn Barre's Cathedral. Built on the site where St. Finbarr founded his monastic school in the 7th century. This triple-spired cathedral is an excellent example of early French-gothic architecture, designed by William Burgess of London, and opened in 1870. The cathedral is built of Cork limestone and the interior of Bath stone and the walls are lined with red Cork marble.

Tim wanted to do a tour of the Beamish & Crawford Brewery but unfortunately tours are only on Thursdays and Tuesdays :-( He was disappointed but was able to get a few photos of the facility from the exterior.

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Blarney & Whiskey

Sunday we traveled to Blarney to see the famous Blarney Castle and the Blarney Stone.

The stone is believed to be half of the Stone of Scone which originally belonged to Scotland. Scottish Kings were crowned over the stone, because it was believed to have special powers. In order to reach the stone you need to climb up many narrow and spiral stairs to the top of the castle. The stone itself is set in the wall below the battlements and to kiss it, one has to lean backwards (holding on to an iron railing) from the parapet walk. The powers of the stone are that whoever kisses it will be gifted the eternal gift of eloquence (in Irish 'solabharthact') - the 'Gift of the Gab'. Both Tim and Chris actually kissed the stone...photos coming soon!


Blarney Castle was originally a timber hunting lodge built in the 10th century, which was replaced by a stone castle in 1210. The present day construction was completed by Dermot McCarthy, King of Munster in 1446.

After lunch and shopping in Blarney we then ventured to Midleton and took a tour of the Jameson Whiskey Distillery. The grounds include both the original 18th Century buildings as well as the new facility built in 1975. Irish whiskeys are distilled 3 times and age for a minimum of 3 years in oak casks ~ Jameson whiskeys are aged for a minimum of 7 years. Tim purchased a bottle of 12 year whiskey that was only available at the distillery and is not exported outside of Ireland.

Waterford and Tramore

Saturday we went to the Waterford manufacturing facility and took a tour and saw how the products are made. WOW is all that I can say in regards to the time and detail
that goes into making each piece. The glassblowers, cutters and designers all undergo a minimum of 7 years training before they are certified to make the products.

We saw many of the trophies that have been made for various sporting events throughout the world too! It was explained to us that for events 3 trophies are made; one for Waterford archives, one is sent to the event sponsors and a third is kept just in case something happens to trophy number one or two...we even saw and touched a Super Bowl trophy ~ how cool is that!!

The shopping gallery was full of beautiful sparkling products...I could not resist and bought a few sets of some awesome amethyst martini glasses. They are only available though Waterford in Ireland and I just HAD to get them. Now I guess I need to learn how to make some great cocktails to go in them.

We then headed down the road to Tramore a lovely sea side resort along the coast of the Celtic Sea, the part of the Atlantic that touches and shapes the Waterford County coastline. The kids were able to play on the beach, splash in the water and have a good time!

So...did you miss me?

Ok....admit it, you really missed my posts over the last few days. Well, we are back so stay tuned for more information.

Where were we? We went to Ireland for the bank holiday weekend. SO I have 4 days of posting to do and I will do them all today....lucky you :-)

On Friday we flew out of the local airport for our flight to Cork, Ireland ~ located in the South Eastern part of the country.

Life goes on....

Life has to go on while guests are visiting....
we are doing more than sightseeing and doing fun activities.

Here is what I am doing today ~ LAUNDRY!

It is a never ending process...why can't the little elves come at night and do it for me?

I want candy.....

Today we went to the John Bull Confectioners Factory and were able to see the rock candy and other sweets being made. We were familiar with the rock [sticks] of candy as we have bought some when visiting Whitby with friends and family.

Here you can see the workers actually rolling out the large pieces of candy. They roll the stuff back and forth until it is the correct diameter and then they cut the candy into smaller sticks.

The kids were able to make their own piece of rock candy while we were there. They were each given a large piece of todays flavor, tutti fruity, and they had to roll it into shape.

The final product did not look as nice as the ones above but they had a good time anyway. I am not sure they will actually eat it though :-)

118 118 Honda spoof!

For those who have seen the Honda Commercial with the people using their voices to make the sounds of the car this spoof is great!! It is a long distance company over here in the UK...enjoy!

Do we have to see ANOTHER castle?

YES!! When in England what else do you do with visitors than go and see some of the castles in the area. You can see castles that are in complete ruins, others are partially intact and others are still lived in. Today we went to Bolton Castle ~ this is an actual photo of the castle that I took today.

Bolton Castle stands in its prominent position, guarding the landscape of the North Yorkshire Dales, unchanged in over 600 years. In 1568, Mary Queen of Scots was held at the castle for a year before being moved elsewhere. There are a total of 5 floors that we were able to view and see within the walls of the castle. While much of the castle is in ruins there are some places that were relatively intact.

Here everyone is at the end of the day after walking up and down the narrow, winding stairs of the castle.

Lavender Fields ~

We went to a lavender farm today and it was a bit of sensory overload. The moment we stepped out of the car the air was filled with the scent of lavender.

Lavender oil is one of the most popular of all the essential oils. It is well know for its calming properties but can be used in many other ways.

Some uses for lavender oil:

• To aid in sleep, rub some onto the bottom of your feet
• To help a headache, rub on to the back of your neck and on the temples
• Can be used as an insect repellant
• Apply to stings and burns as it stimulates blood flow and may help in healing
• Use in water when washing your face and will help control acne
  

It's BACK!!

The X factor is back and can I say how excited I am about it!!

Yes, reality TV is all over the place but this is like American Idol but BETTER. The basic concept is that it is a singing contest BUT there are three groups of contestants ~ under 30, over 30 and groups. Each of the three judges Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh are mentors for one of the the categories so they have to help them to perfect their skills if they wish to go on in the competition.

So every Saturday night until the end of the year we will be either watching it or taping it.

Rain, Rain go away!

Even though the calendar still says it is summer it is more like early fall here with cool temperatures and rain. The weather today is quite typical of the weather in our area. The weather today is a cool 60 degrees and lots of rain.

It seems to get cooler every time people are coming over to visit. The outlaws, Tim's parents, are coming over for a visit and will arrive tomorrow morning.

A good friend, Diana , told me the following joke "what is the difference between in laws and outlaws? Outlaws are wanted" :-) So we now call them the outlaws and yes they know that!!

Well....here we go

Well, we have finally done it...we've gone and blogged :-) We found ourselves telling the same thing over and over again when talking to people so we decided this is the best way to keep everyone up to date. I think our lives are fairly boring but you never know we may do some exciting things too!