Today is what is known as a "Bank Holiday," and consequently I am the only person in the postgrad study room! In the U.S., we make up fake half-assed excuses for holidays, like "President's Day" and "Columbus Day," where the banks and post offices close but pretty much everyone else has to go to work. In the U.K. and Ireland, they dispense with the pretense and just declare a Bank Holiday every couple of months.

So anyway, today is October Bank Holiday Monday and therefore no one is on campus. It feels strange and deserted. Of course, I am on campus, because I have a big paper to write this week. It's important that I get a lot of work done this week, because next week...

MY MOM AND SISTER ARE COMING TO VISIT!

More on that later, I'm sure. ^_^


In other news: in the past week, I have twice set out to make something without a recipe and twice succeeded in creating a hella-delicious meal. On Tuesday or Wednesday, I decided I wanted salmon cakes. I half-remembered watching a couple of different people make them, and rather than try to track them down for recipes I just decided to wing it. And they turned out great! Not perfect-- I fried them a little too hot, and the browned parts were tough-- but still delicious.

Then, Saturday night, I made homemade bean-and-bacon soup. About a year ago I found a recipe for bean-and-bacon soup that purported to taste like the Campbell's variety. Campbell's bean-and-bacon soup has been my favorite food since I was a wee little child, and they don't have it here. So, I couldn't find the recipe I had used before, and I decided to just wing it-- I remembered the important parts, like the tomato paste. And it turned out even better than when I used a recipe! Though, as is often the case when not following instructions, I just kept throwing more stuff in the pot and ended up with way more soup than I planned on making. This isn't a bad, thing, though.

Relaxation

Hey look! An update on a Sunday for once! Crazy.

Well, the reason updates have been so sporadic is because I was in the middle some serious essay writing. I handed in my last midterm on Friday, though, and immediately felt a whole-body sort of sigh of relief. The fact that I was fairly happy with it helped. Not only did I hand in a paper, I handed in a good paper. There is something immensely satisfying for me in good academic writing. I really do love my career.

There is also something immensely satisfying in going to the library to return more books than one can easily carry. I had a stack of books that were slipping and falling out of my arms the whole walk from my cubicle.


This weekend has been fun and relaxing, too. Friday was my friend Jenn's birthday, so I went over to Jenn & Bri's apartment for dinner. I brought a bottle of wine and a bunch of daffodils, because I am physically incapable of attending a dinner party without contributing something, and I gave Jenn a pretty little headband that I made. Saturday-- yesterday-- I met up with Jenn in town and we went shopping together. Just for sundries, but it was the kind of shopping I do alone every weekend, so it was nice to have someone with me. We have also had absolutely beautiful weather all week, so it was nice to be out in the sun! I turned off my heat and have switched from my winter wool coat to my spring corduroy blazer, and crocheted a new spring scarf. Even though Ireland doesn't have the painful winters that Michigan does, it's still a nice change.

Also, I made some rather lovely chestnut and mushroom soup for dinner last night! It's not a perfect recipe-- for one thing, I think it would benefit from some sherry. (Of course, this would make only the third time in my life that I have required sherry to cook with, and since it comes in wine bottles but you only use about a tablespoon at a time, I don't think I'll be buying any.) Still, it's definitely a nice idea.

Today I slept in and have been crocheting and watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I recently treated myself and bought the complete series box set-- all 140-some episodes, plus lots of special features! I will never need television again.* Plus the box itself is really nice, great presentation... it would be very nice to get signed, say, if I ever meet any of the cast! A girl can dream.

I've been crocheting a lot as usual lately, but with the exception of Jenn's headband and the shamrock I made for Paddy's day (both of which took about half an hour!) I haven't been working on any specific project. Rather, I've been practicing crocheting flowers. I think I've finally got a good method down. And today I've been practicing granny squares, again using flower motifs in the center. I saw a cute openwork sweater at the store yesterday, and it gave me an idea for a project using these elements. It makes me really happy to see fashionable items for sale and knowing that I could make them!

So, it's been a very relaxing weekend, after several stressful weeks. The stress will start up soon again, but for now it's nice to just sit back and crochet the flowers. Nothing terribly exciting, but nice all the same.


Have I mentioned that Jim is going to visit me? No, I guess not... Jim is going to visit me! He will be here the last weekend of April. I'm very excited. ^_^





*Yes, I know that Buffy is a tv show. But I'm watching on dvd, on a laptop, and have only actually seen in it on a television broadcast maybe twice. I really love tv-on-dvd, and really hate television.

Easy come, easy go

It is officially summer. And yesterday was overcast and rainy and autumnal all day long, and today it's sunnier but I'm still wearing a sweater. Ah, Ireland.

Two of my friends-- Beth and Meredith-- are leaving this week. Meredith, originally from Boston, figured out that all the books she needs to finish writing her thesis are at the Boston College library. She also has a good job and a good boyfriend waiting back in the 'States, so she'll be moving back and submitting her thesis through the mail. Beth, on the other hand, is just plain insane-- she is done with the first draft of her thesis! She just needs to revise it. (Just so you know, I am considered to be ahead of the game because I have one chapter [out of about five] finished.) She is eager to get back to her family and find a job, so she'll be heading back to Minnesota.

Because of this, the last week and a half has been full of socializing. We've been going out a lot and just generally spending a lot of time with "the girls"-- Jenn, Meg, Meredith, Beth, and myself. Last night, I hosted a dinner party! It was quite lovely, just us sitting around the table drinking wine and eating delicious food. (I made my favorite pasta dish, Meredith made some amazing teriyaki chicken, Jenn brought mashed potatoes, and Beth brought chocolate pudding. Yum.) I really am a good cook, and it's nice to be able to cook for other people sometimes.

Today, we had a big "swap meet," as I called it. Meredith brought over a few bags of clothes to Beth's house, where Beth had large piles of her own, to give away. Both of them have more things than space in their suitcases, and are planning on giving a lot of things to charity shops, but they gave us first pick. I scored three large shopping bags full of things like clothing and office supplies and bread pans. Nice.


The leaving-town bug must be contagious, because I found out yesterday that Mhairi¹ is moving out! She has some family issues going on back in Australia, so she's leaving to be with them on July 1. (So we're now looking for another roomie. Anyone know someone who needs a place to live in Galway?) Julie will be gone for the next two and a half weeks, too-- she'll be traveling for work this week, and then on Thursday she's going to the 'States for two weeks to visit her fiancé. It will be rather nice to have the place to myself, I'm not going to lie... but I'll also have to take calls and (hopefully!) applicants to look at the place. And I'll (hopefully!) be busy working on my thesis. Ah, life.


As much as I miss my family, it is nice to know that I have a place to live and a life laid out in front of me for the next four years. I really do love adventure and travel, but I also definitely crave that sort of stability.




1: My third roommate was originally introduced to me as "Mary." I'm not sure if that's a nickname version of her name or what, but she goes by Mhairi, which I saw on an envelope for her once. It sounds like "varry," rhyming with "starry."