Rames' in Ireland: November 2012

Life has been a blur or more like a marathon and when you get leave work at the end of the day, you don't seem to get to all the things you want, so you prioritise. With me, the priorities go something like this:

Survive the commute. Yes, my biking habits are still going strong. I'm proud to say that I haven't driven to work once in the time I've been in Ireland. I've been driven a couple times (but I had pneumonia for God's sake) and have taken the bus a few times (but realised that sick people ride the bus - people with pneumonia), but the bike rules. To work and home in under 20 minutes and wouldn't be able to do that with a car or bus. I've only been taken down once and survived with no lasting scars. Since September, I've been sharing the commute with Rod. Sounds like a great bonding experience, but reality is a stressful commute for Dad and he's not only looking out for his own skin, he's looking out or his son's (and his son has tendency to drift right).
Eat. Martha has been doing the vast majority of the work here. I've been working a lot of hours and my kitchen duties have been seriously shirked.
Clean the kitchen. I tend to try and own that part of the evening.
Hang with the kids. The boys aren't as much into hanging with Dad as they used to be, but Grace is making up for it. For a change, she's reading me a very long chapter book (The Faraway Tree) to me and I'm reading the Hobbit to her in preparation for the movie coming out. I think my 3rd reading of the Harry Potter series will be the final. And I'm just praying that Grace doesn't want me to head down the path the boys made me go after the Hobbit. Only so many times I can take that trip through Mordor with Frodo in the Lord of the Rings series.
IF I make it through the reading without falling asleep, Martha and I can hang out.
Finish work meetings. I actually have some Seattle meetings I attend later on some nights as the time we have to interact is pretty limited.

Since September, the events have been along these lines:

Kids go back to school. Rod is officially in Jr. High (secondary school here). Along with this milestone, he is also transforming into some unrecognisable being at times. I don't remember being this erratic when I became a teenager, but my Mom always said I was a model child that never gave her any trouble. Rod is continuing rugby. In fact, he couldn't actually avoid it. Rugby is mandatory at his school. You read that right. You go to St. Conleth's, you play rugby. Try that in some American school. "Sorry, you want to play clarinet in the marching band, son? Linebacker. Get your butt on the field." Haven't seen too many people complain. He likes doing it, so no problem for us. J.J. is in 6th class and already concerned about the potential of having to play rugby next year. His bad-mouthing of rugby as a stupid sport when he stepped off the plane is turning out to be a bad karma moment in the making. His guitar playing is going well. Stairway to Heaven is the latest tune. He's also continuing with Gaelic football and Hurling. Grace is doing very well in school and is a social butterfly. She's doing her Irish dancing and is taking Kung Fu at the Booterstown Parish Youth Club. I sense another old TV series we'll have to watch.
Visitors. Joan and Bill (Grandma and Grandpa) made a visit over Halloween. We went to Galway and the Connemara area in the west with them. If you love rocks, great place to be. Anne (Martha's sister) and Dan along with their two kids Aidan and Amelia are here right now. We will have a couple of weekends with them and they will do a bit of travelling on their own.
Work and volunteering. I've made another trip up to Norway and a short one to London for some work stuff. Martha has found her way to another volunteer position in a library. We probably both have a bit more on our hands that we feel extremely comfortable with, but some things don't change.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of the fall and will work hard to make more frequent appearances on the blog.

Birthday love for Dad!

Exterminate!!! J.J. and Grace in their Dalek costumes. They got lots of extra candy and complements for these. I think about 50 glue sticks in each of these.

Balintubber Abbey. We went to Mass here on a Sunday with Grandma and Grandpa. Mass has been celebrated here for 800 years. Our church in Booterstown is a baby having its 200th anniversary in 2013.