As it turned out, St. Patrick's day was cold and windy, and gave our neighbor's daffodils quite a beating. It also made for a wet parade, but we didn't leave the house for that one. The following weekend was just lovely-very mild with blue skies. Isn't that the way it goes?

On the humorous side, here are some points that make living in Ireland interesting and amusing. My husband studied for, and passed the written test for a driver's license. The actual driving test, involving a car, however, can take up to a year to get as the waiting list is long. Back in the 1980's, the wait was so long that they decided to GIVE a full driver's license to anyone who had held a provisional license (learner's permit) for a year or more. Consequently, there are lots of middle-aged drivers who never actually passed a test. They called it an amnesty. Driving here can be quite a challenge. Here is something that has happened more than once!

Gaeltacht Traffic Jam!

We also have other animals using the roads from time to time. We have had to stop for these fellows more than once!

Friendly local ducks

And though they no longer are seen much on the roads, you still see some of these critters around the area:

Friendly local donkeys

Many of you know that we don't have internet access at the house, as there is no broadband in our area, and we have given up the dial-up service. But a couple of weeks ago, they announced on the news on television that they are, indeed, trying to cover all of Ireland with broadband, and expect the more remote areas to have it by 2012. My daughter spoke for all of us when she said, "I'm looking forward to it. I'll mark my calendar."

There are many competing bus companies here, some serving the major cities and others serving the more remote communities. We have about five different companies who operate buses in our area. So naturally, we phoned each company to ask about the schedule to Dunfanaghy. It seems that they all leave this area at about the same time, so there is little choice about when to go, and when we asked for the return schedule, the response from one company was, "Oh, now, I couldn't guarantee you getting back!" When pressed for an approximate time that the bus might return, we were advised to call a rival company that has a more reliable schedule.

When we left the house last Saturday on our way to a craft show, we noticed that a cut pine tree dumped by the side of the road had some smoke drifting up from it. We went over to the local hotel and pub to notify them, and ask if they could notify the fire brigade. They didn't seem very interested, as it was across the road from their parking lot--not near the hotel (as yet). So we went home and got a bucket of water and dumped that on it. It was still smoking. We went back to ask if they had an outside tap (they don't), and were told that they couldn't help us because they couldn't go on to some one else's land. So I guess if there is ever a big fire nearby, one shouldn't interfere. After all, it is some one else's land. We telephoned the fire department, and the lads were happy to come and put it out, although they missed us at first and went down to where a much bigger (albeit apparently "supervised") blaze was in progress.

We had a very nice visit from our neighbor, Anne, who brought us some of her home made treacle bread. It was delicious. We have plans to return the favor with some American chocolate chip cookies. It is now possible to buy a very small packet of chocolate chips at the supermarket. This is a new item in the Irish repertoire as the Toll House recipe is virtually unknown here.

The new sewing machine is getting quite a workout, and my last item has to do with a card that I decided to make. One of our musical friends had an accident, so I thought that a hand made card would be a nice gesture. Little did I realize what this would involve, since I neglected to plan ahead on this project. Several hours later, having dealt with fabric, stabilizers, paper, and the buttonhole stitch, I am nearly finished. Not to mention the lengthy get well message that I programmed into the machine to stitch out with precision. We went way beyond Hallmark on this one! And the get-well message was all in Irish, thanks to a little assistance from Anne. Here are some of the projects I have been working on.

Kimonos

Kimonos Detail

Miss Hollyhock

Miss Primrose

Wrench and Butterflies

My husband had a local craftsman, Jim McFadden, make a sewing table for me. As neither of us likes pressboard, (which is basically glued and compressed sawdust, but it is what most tables are made of), and as furniture grade plywood is hard to get here, we decided to do it in maple.

It was Jim's first venture into this type of project. Although he is a highly skilled carpenter (or "joiner") as they often call them here), his main line is wood-work and fitted cabinets in new or remodeled houses. However, we showed him some pictures, he took a lot of measurements to ascertain where and how I wanted the machine, table height, etc., and went to work. It is nearly complete, and it is beautiful!! Here is a picture of us in Jim's workshop for the "final fitting." Jim McFadden and his colleague Des are standing beside me.

Jim, Lisa, and Des with Lisa's new sewing table.

So that's it for this episode. Remember, don't put out any fires if they're on some one else's land.