Traffic Jams: Not Just on MoPac

Here I present the traffic jams of
Ireland (cows)
and Scotland (pheasant and sheep)

And we squeal with delight at each one.

Limericks July 25

At dinner last night, I explained what a Limerick was to the kids. We had LOTS of giggles and ended with these gems:

There once was a boy who was funny
This Jackson, he often got wrecked, sonny
He was sort of Coo-coo
He went off to Peru
And he picked up his own pet bunny


There once was a girl named Molly
And she has a friend named Holly
They jumped on a plane
And left in the rain
And now they live over in Bali

There once was a girl named Lilly
She was small and also quite silly
She really liked blackberries
And also ate cherries
She then got a kitten named Billy

She also liked chap chap


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Horse and Carriage

What else should one do if: it's cold and raining in Dublin, you're leaving the Guinness Storehouse, there are no 6-passenger taxis available and your 6-year old daughter is FULL of logical and convincing reasons to "*please* can we take a horse and carriage??"

Well worth the euros for the thrill.

Clip clop clip clop...

Guinness Storehouse visit, pt 2

Guinness Storehouse visit

The the old warehouse or "storehouse" and now museum was actually really amazing. I don't really like beer to begin with and Guinness or "the black stuff" is not really my wheelhouse. However, I have a new appreciation for it now. It was interesting learning about the brewing process and the older-than-the-USA company history. He museum is beautifully designed and built within a centuries old building used for storing the product and the interactive museum is definitely a destination for all ages. The kids were delighted. Having seen and read about the ingredients and roasting process, I can even appreciate the coffee and chocolate flavor within the beer. While I only had a small sip, it was a an fun experience and Joe, of course, was on cloud Guinness.

Sick Day for Mom

Well, if it had to happen, I suppose I'd rather it be me than the kids and be in this comfortable house in the Irish countryside instead of in Paris.

But I've been in been sickity- sick all day. Ive finally turned the corner and have some sprite and chicken broth and am sitting up but have incredibly bad aches- I feel like I've been in a car accident. It might have been the sour cream with dinner last night (we opened a new tub at the end of our taco night dinner and I was the only one to get some from that container) or it could be some virus I picked up along the way- who knows. But it's a doozy.

Again, happy to be here than other places to be sick and recover. Except recovery will have to be quick because we plan to get up early in the morning tomorrow to start the 4 hour drive to Dublin so we can make the most of our quick time there. Hopefully I'll be a-okay [enough] to not be totally miserable.

This was super sweet: Jackson was playing on his piano app on his iPad and got the sheet music to Gymnopedie and came and sat in the bed and played it for me a few times. So precious. He has a heart of gold.

On another note- now that I'm sitting up. This is one of the views from my bedroom window. If you shot an arrow from where I sit and slipped the corner of the rock on the left- that arrow would sail around the world and pass over Austin. To the right, the arrow would make it to New York. So stretched out before me, over that wild Atlantic Ocean is the (almost) whole of the United States. Pretty lovely thought to go along with a pretty lovely view.

Limericks

Last night at dinner we discussed how the town Limerick wasn't too far from us and the brilliant poetry they spurred.  So we made some of our own:

There once was a boy who was funny
This Jackson, he often got wrecked, sonny
He was sort of Coo-coo
He went off to Peru
And he picked up his own pet bunny


There once was a girl named Molly
And she has a friend named Holly
They jumped on a plane
And left in the rain
And now they live over in Bali

There once was a girl named Lilly
She was small and also quite silly
She really liked blackberries
And also ate cherries
She then got a kitten named Billy

PS...She also liked chap chap (chapstick)

Girl in Pink

Find the pretty little American girl with the Irish name standing near the wild Atlantic

Ireland

If Paris was a giant inhale of all things I love - Ireland is an equal exhale with its gorgeous rolling green hills and dramatic layers of slate punctuating hills and cliffs, sea breezes, friendly people and the echoing sounds of waves, birds chirping, seagulls crowing, and seals howling. The natural air conditioner of the breezes and the gentle sun rays are incredibly relaxing. Imagine if a population the size of Dallas was spread across a rolling green space that stretched between Dallas to Houston and the only traffic jams were caused by sheep and cattle and the fact that the narrow roads edged with wildflowers and greenery bursting out into the street are sometimes too narrow for two cars to pass at the same time- yet everyone carefully watches and happily awaits to let each other through.

Ireland is also the first place since leaving the US where we've seen both people working out and over weight people. And much to Joes delight- we hadn't even left baggage claim before he exclaimed his delight for a place where things are so easy because they speak English! He walked right up to someone, asked a question, had a conversation and got information! Easy peasy!!

Its delightful to roll through these gorgeous gentle green filled roads and countryside scenery only to turn a brushy green corner and be entering a quaint and colorful little village full of all the things a town would need: a pub nor tow, a grocer, perhaps a charity shop or a housewares shop... all with some colorful banners draped across the street and hydrangea bushes that look more like trees.

I can't believe I have never been in this gentle, kind place before. The week just started and I'm already planing our return!


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A Room of Her Own

Lilly is SO PROUD to point out "my" and that she had a room all her own. She even called me outside with that cute little open palm "come here" sign she does with her hand to point and show me, too.

Skipping Rocks

(By Jackson and Mama on our walk back to the house while Jackson walked backwards)

We skipped rocks into the Atlantic Ocean this morning. At the end of our driveway is a beautiful pier of raw slate rock jutting out of the ocean full of seaweed, barnacles and other ocean plants. We even saw a jellyfish bigger than Lilly's head. 

Jackson became quite proficient at rock skipping.  Molly learned and although most were good practice rocks, she had had a four-skip rock! Lilly got in on the action by plopping big rocks into the water! She was so proud. 

.

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Irish Exploration

We wandered down the long driveway for about a mile today and into the pastures until we made our way to the pier with the beautiful raw slate jutting out of the earth and covered in seaweed and all sorts of plant life - including a jellyfish and a few crab legs.

We saw donkeys and sheep along the way, as well as tons of blackberry bushes- most of which are about 1-2 weeks from being beautifully ripe. Lilly was a HUGE fan of the be-bes (berries) and asked for them on repeat.

High of about 67 today and overcast with the sun occasionally peeking out. We feel like we're cheating the system a bit, learning that it's 109 at home today.

Mussels Served

Fresh mussels caught in this morning's high tide, cooked in Guinness and served with U2 playing on shuffle.

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Fresh Mussels

So we were walking down the driveway this morning on a little home towards the water when an old man in an old Ford two-door compact car (of a model not available in the US to my knowledge) rolled down the road. We waved and he slowed down and in his lively thick Irish accent asked if we might be interested in any fresh mussels he collected "dis mornin" I quickly agreed and before we knew it, Jackson and I were loaded into his car to head back up to the house to put some in the fridge. 

Since Joe had the money, we hopped back out, measured them and paid. In the meanwhile, Molly and Lilly decided they wanted to go, too. So we rolled up the driveway to the house and put them in the fridge. Along the way, I got to chat with  Michael and hear about his family, how the German lady down the road rang him to ask for some so he went out today to get them. I learned that Ireland had been using English since the 60's but you still had to learn Irish in school and had to speak it in the Guard or Military. We talked about how to prepare the mussels. He said we could steam them for a couple minutes and could boil them in white wine, Guinness, salt water or fresh water. And if we didn't eat then today, we could just dust them in some flour and cover them in water and they'd feed on the flour.  He was charmed and asked "how is it that some American kids all ended up with Irish names?! Are ye Irish?"

10 Euro bought us a little over 2 kilos of mussels, but I think I would have paid that for his company. 

I looked up a quick recipe for guidance to make sure I did it right- but I went for the Guinness preparation of course. And scrubbing these Atlantic mussels with all their barnacles and beards was a small labor of love.  

Here was the recipe used for guidance. 

The Guinness-y garlic and onion Mussel broth was amazing and we of course ate them al fresco in the afternoon sun with the salty Atlantic sea breeze in the air.

Cooking action shots by Molly. 

The eating pictures to follow. 

Creamy French Mussels

Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4 as a main or 6 as an appetizer

Ingredients

• 2 lb. fresh mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, very finely minced
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions

1. Scrub the mussels well under cold running water and remove their beards. Place them back in your fridge while you prepare the sauce. 

2. Place a medium sized pot over medium high heat. Add the butter and, when it has melted, add the shallots. Sauté the shallots for 3 minutes then add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.

3. Add the white wine and bring the pot to a boil.

4. Add the mussels all at once to the pot and give them a stir. Put the lid on the pot and let them cook for 3 minutes.

5. Stir the mussels and remove any from the pot that have opened wide and place them in a serving dish. Continue to remove the mussels from the pot once they have opened.

6. Discard any mussel that remains tightly shut after 6 minutes.

7. Remove the pot from the heat, stir though the heavy cream, fresh cracked pepper and chopped parsley. Pour the cooking liquid over the mussels in the serving bowl and serve immediately.

Mussels are great served with a side of crusty bread and a couple of spoons for sopping up all the tasty broth.

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