Blast Off!

Hi!
I’m posting from the dial-up connection at my in-law’s house. I can’t get this ancient computer to recognize my camera, so I can’t upload pics of the Irish people. But they are very nice, and I feel comfortable leaving my home in their care.

I guess now that I’ve met them, I should stop calling them The Irish People and start recognizing that they have names. They are Andrew and Tracey Owens-Griffith, and their children are Meara and Elliott – boys ages 8 and 5. And they’re not actually Irish at all. They’re Brits who’ve only lived in Ireland for 5 years. I took a photo of them on my porch swing, and will add it to my bulletin board when I get home.

I wish you could see my house. It’s HOTEL CLEAN!!! There’s not an unfinished project in sight. There’s not a stitch of dirty laundry. It’s sorta sad to work so hard to get it in such good shape, and then leave it. ;)

The Owens-Griffiths are vegetarians. I was completely intimidated by the thought of cooking up a vegetarian meal. I mean, I’m COWTOWN Stacy. We don’t call Fort Worth “Cowtown” because we think cows are sweet and cute. Our history is marinated in ground pepper and lime juice, and smoked over mesquite coals. We are MEAT EATERS. I decided that I wanted to serve them “TexMex”, so I invented enchilada recipes today. We had avocado/corn/green chili enchiladas, and black bean/chipotle/cheese enchiladas. Mexican rice and salad were the side dishes, and we pigged on Ghirardelli brownies with Vanilla Bean Blue Bell ice cream and candied pecans for dessert. I must say: I’m not one to brag on my cooking, because frankly, dumping a box of hamburger helper in a skillet and yelling “voila” doesn’t usually earn me the right. But tonight was different. Tonight was GOOD!

At nine, we finally threw our suitcases in the van and drove away, while The Irish People – er, I mean the Owens-Griffiths waved goodbye from our front porch. That was a very odd feeling. Our first house swap has officially begun! I got disturbing news tonight, speaking of House Swapping. The Owens-Griffith house in Ireland is on, - GASP! – dial-up! They live in a rural area, and while I’m sure its steeped in charm and historical significance, it’s unclear whether I’ll be able to upload my photos every night as planned. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to blog every night. When I said, “Surely there are lots of Internet Cafes in Dublin”, Tracey and Andrew threw their heads backed and laughed in Irish.

So, tonight, instead of showing you a picture of the Irish People, I’ll instead show you some pictures of Hotel Kocur. I made Dani take the pics and upload them before we left.

Tomorrow morning, we “blast off” (in Aidan’s words). The next time you hear from me, I’ll be posting from the Emerald Isle, with a Bailey’s in one hand and potato in the other. THE LIFE!