More pictures

Since I have been lax the last couple weeks in posting, here are yet more pictures.

Us

These are pictures of us during our trip to the west coast. :)

cliffs of moher

On Saturday, Christine, John and I went to the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast, a couple hours south of Galway. It was rainy, sunny, and really windy.

Galway

This is the Conemara region on the west coast of the country, north of Galway.

Christine's visit

week with Christine

So I haven't written in forever. :( Things been very busy and I have been working some long hours. Daylight savings time ended today so it is dark by 5:00. That makes me sad because it means that winter is coming. But that also means that Christmas is coming and I get to home and see lots of people.

My friend Christine came to visit us for a week. It was a really busy week. We went on the Jameson Whiskey tour, drank Guiness at the Guiness storehouse, went to my local pub almost every night, ate out at all my preferred places, and also went a way to Galway for a couple of days. Pictures will follow, honest, but I need to make dinner and pictures take a long time. :) So Galway was pretty. It rained and was windy, but it was still beautiful. We spent a lot of time driving the country side but got to tour a castle and walk around a bit.

Bray to Greystones

On the 16th of Oct. John and I walked from Bray to Greystones. It is a 7 kilometre walk along the coast and is really pretty. We took the train to Bray and then walked to Greystones and the train back into the city. It was a great walk.

pets

good weekend

This weekend has been good so far. Last night John and I met up with some of my mates at the Porterhouse North to enjoy their Oktoberfest celebrations. I had three beers and 2 cocktails total. It was a lot of fun. Not just because of the drinking, but it was fun to just get out and be social. Today I worked on programming a communication device then went to the Porterhouse by us. We had dinner and drinks and it was yummy as usual.

Today was a beautiful day and it was a shame to spend it inside but hopefully it will be nice tomorrow so we can go do something fun. Caineal and Darshin continue to get along pretty well, as you can see by the pictures.

Last weekend M and I went shopping at a mall in the suburbs. They have a larget pet store and we got the pets treats. Caineal especially liked hers. :)

good day

Today I had  long train ride to get somewhere outside of Dublin.  My train ride was about 50 minutes. It was a really nice ride since I got to see farm land and the sea lots. At one point, the sea was on both sides of the train. When I got off the train, I saw that the train stop overlooked the beach! Even in the rain it was quite pretty. After I was done with my task and back at the train station, I got to watch the sea and smell the fresh sea air for half an hour because I missed the train I wanted. Normally I would be frustrated but I was actually glad since it meant I got to spend time by the sea.
 

Today was cold and rainy. When I got in the taxi this morning, it said it was 9 degress. That is 48 degress Ferenheit. I think it got colder throughout the day, not warmer. :( I turned the heat on a bit and am curled up in a nice wooly blanket.

Boxty restaurant

Tonight John and I went to dinner at an Irish restaurant. It was tasty. I had boxty vegetarian chili and John had a chicken dish. Mine was wrapped in a potato pancake (but tasted like a normal pancake)! It was quite interesting but tasty. The chili was actually spicy and pretty thick. John had chicken on the bone with mashed potatoes. It was called Avoca chicken. The strange part of this place was that we were seated next to two other people that we didn't know. They were already seated at a table that could be for four and looking at their menus. We were then seated next to them. The funny thing was that the two ladies next to us were also from Chicago (Arlington Heights)! It was funny. It was their last night in Dublin and wanted Irish food. In the four days they were here they also did more sightseeing than I have since June!

This morning on my bus ride I really valued the Americans with Disabilities Act. There was a guy in a wheelchair getting off the bus and he fell out of his chair! The bus driver didn't pull all the way up to the curb and the "ramp" didn't work so as he got off the bus he fell. We had to wait for the ambulance to come and then another bus of the same route came and we all got on that one and went on our way. I think that the guy was OK because he was able to talk on a mobile phone and seemed to be talking to people. The paramedics were wrapping his head when I got on the new bus.

good pets

Caineal and Darshin are getting along much better. They like each other's food, though. I don't mind since Darshin could use to lose weight and Caineal is still underweight. She eats the cat food pretty quickly, though. Last night they slept pretty closely to each other and don't fight much. Caineal asserts her dominance every now and then but seems less anxious than she was. I think she has finally learned her new name, too. :) Oh, they even sniff each other's noses sometimes!

more pictures

sightseeing

Yesterday we took a bus tour to the Wicklow mountains, Glendalough, and Powerscourt. It was really pretty and we got to do some hiking. This is a pretty part of the country.

Happy cat, stressed dog

Darshin and Caineal are doing pretty well in day 2. They mostly follow each other around and try to smell each other. Darshin tries to smell Caineal's nose but she shows her teeth then. I think that when noone is home they get along because Caineal sleeps on the couch and Darshin greets us at the door. Caineal barks at Darshin when he is on the bed or trying to get my attention. Basically, I think that Darshin is happy to be back with me and not that bothered by Caineal. I actually think Darshin likes her. Whenever I go near Darshin, he purrs and rubs against me. He hisses or growls if I am petting him and Caineal comes close. He is a silly kitty. The two main problems with Caineal right now: she digs in the litter box to eat Darshin's poo and has peed on the floor yesterday but has done better today. She is also jealous of Darshin.

Today Susan, John and I went on the Wicklow/Powerscourt/Glendalough tour. It was nice but a little long. We hiked a little and got to see some pretty scenery and finally got out of the city. I took some pictures which I will post another day.

I am really tired since Darshin woke me up last night to be pet and sleep around my head. He also kept licking my face.

cat and dog

Today I got my lovely white Siamese kitty. He had to wait an extra day because the vet signed the flea and tick treatment wrong and it was done 22 instead of 24 hours before he got checked in at the airport. So, it cost me an extra 60 Euros to have the flea and tick treatment redone and stay a night at the vet/quarintine. But my friend M and her boyfriend J came to the place to get me and we took my kitty home. Darshin and Caineal met on the street and growled/barked at each other.

We separated them into different parts of the apartment so they could get used to being near each other and smell each other but Darshin pushed the door open and entered the dog territory after less than an hour. They growled, hissed/barked and then were OK. Now the dog follows the cat around all over the apartment. Caineal smells Darshin and growls and barks if Darshin is out of her reach. Darshin hisses and growls and swats occassionally but doesn't put his claws out. Darshin is quite good with Caineal and I think he doesn't see Caineal as a threat.

The dog and cat also like each other's food and water. So, Caineal eats Darshin's food and vice versa. Good thing that Darshin needs to loose weight and Caineal needs to gain weight. :)

Susan got here yesterday and travelled with Darshin. She is a very good friend. Today we went to Malahide castle and tomorrow we are going to Glendalough and Powerscourt gardens. It should be pretty and a nice day.