Weekend in Ennis - Random Entry

This weekend has been delightful. Let me start by saying the Fitzpatricks just keep getting more kind. Katherine came to Liscannor on Friday evening to bring us to her home. We arrived and shortly after she had prepared a delicious meal. Chicken and veggie casserole with mashed potatoes and french bread. Yum. During dinner most of the conversation was about the differences between the US and Ireland. They spoke a lot about their travels to the US and their shock at the size of the people there. I guess we have a reputation for obesity. Go figure. Everyone we meet also seems to have an interest in how Obama is doing. After dinner Katherine's daughter took us into the city where she showed us around. Told us about the good shops and the lively pubs. We finally got to meet Mr. Fitzpatrick. His name is Patrick: Patrick Fitzpatrick - talk about an Irish name. He is a man of few words, but whenever he does talk it tends to be something really hilarious. We have our own room in their house now. Katherine said we can come and stay any time we would like. Sometime in the next couple of weeks they are going to take us to Limerick and possibly to Galway as well.

Today Jared and I went shopping! Yes, Chelsea - shopping. The clothing here is really adorable and also about half as expensive as it is in the states. I got a pair of boots for four euros and a scarf, a sweater, a tunic, and a pair of tights for only 30 euros total. It was fantastic. We are going shopping every weekend! As soon as Jared reads this I am sure that he will rain on my parade, but for now I will keep on thinking that I can get more clothes each week. The only store that Ireland has that is the same as the US (that we have noticed) is Aldi which really surprised us. We went in, and it happens to be way nicer than ours, but just as cheap. We noticed a McDonald's and a Dominoes as far as food goes, but mostly there are just pubs. The people here refer to the food at pubs as "pub grub". Catchy. They also refer to the TV as the telly and where we would say "jank" or "ghetto" they say "pobbly-wobbly". I happened to love that phrase. We were talking a walk with Granne (Grahn-ya), Katherine's daughter and she was talking about the location of a shop and she said "it is just a stone's throw away." As soon as she left that was the first thing Jared and I talked about... a stone's throw away. We love it. I am making an effort to use that phrase in all of my sentences from now on. Well, not all of them...

This afternoon Patrick dropped us of at a famous castle that has been made into a hotel. I guess President George W. Bush stayed there during his presidency. The Irish don't have many nice things to say about him... They definitely don't like his foreign policies. Anyway, the castle was huge, ancient, and gorgeous. Surrounding the castle is a famous golf course and lots of beautiful land. It would have been wonderful to take a walk about, but it was pouring - just like every other day here! We stood under our umbrella instead and watched all of the cars pass. Almost every one was a BMW, Mercedes, or Audi. We definitely could not afford to stay at that hotel, but it was definitely worth the visit.

Tomorrow they are taking us on a drive along the coast and through some beautiful parts of Ireland. We have been looking for churches, but it seems we can only find Catholic churches. 95% of Ireland is Catholic and finding a Christian church in a small town is unlikely. It seems we are going to really be missing being around the body of Christ. I have a feeling this is going to teach us to really appreciate what we left. If you think about it, say a prayer for us.

A couple of random things I would like to include:
Today Jared found a Lily hair on my leggings. That was the saddest part of my day.
Also, we have a sandwich press here and I find it simply amazing. Someone remind me to buy one when we get home. It makes life much more simple.