About Eight Hours in Athens

Well...
Brian finally got to Athens. Unfortunately, thanks to a combination of weather, a cold, and business duties, he got about eight hours of sightseeing before having to spend a few days cooped up in a hotel. On the bright side, he now knows where things are. This is the Temple of Hephaistos, and it's remained basically intact for over 2000 years.

I have to say that Athens is one of the few cities I've visited so far where I'd love to have a holiday home. It's a madhouse, full of traffic and tourists, and not particularly clean. But it's very relaxed, not at all pretentious (unlike Rome), and seems devoted to enjoyment. I look forward to another trip.

Miriam Smith Egolf, 1922-2006

In one of life's odd juxapositions, Brian's grandmother died the same day we visited the OB.

She lived to see all her grandchildren doing well, the births of two great-grandchildren, and last night we told her of our new bundle of joy. She lived to see her 60th wedding anniversary. Her life was good until the last couple of weeks and she died in peace.

As a nurse in Atlanta during WWII, she loved to spend time with the babies in the maternity ward. So, even though she was on death's door, I hope our news gave her some happiness.

We both loved her very much, and she even adopted Erin as another daughter early in our lives together. She's the last Smith child, her two surviving brothers died in 2004.

This is a photo of Mim and her beloved brother Ed. Grammy, rest in peace. Your 'goddie angel' should be carrying you to Heaven right about now.

Spreading the Good News

Well, we've been tip-toeing around since Erin's pregnancy was confirmed by our family doctor two weeks ago. It's an exciting time for us, being our first and all.
Today we had our first visit to our new OB, Dr. Valerie Donnolly. She's a woman who, as Erin put it, could be one of the Curves girls in Houston who hang out with Jane. She immediately put us at ease, seems immensely competent, and we're confident that we made a good choice.

We also had our first photo of our sprout, who we're affectionately calling "Cletis the Fetus" in honor of Brian's dad. As you can see from the photo, he/she is about the size of a grape (15mm). By the size of it, we're at about the 8th week of gestation. Nice strong heart, the doctor said, so nothing but good news to report. No Jake, I don't know if it's a boy yet!

The Photo Says It All

 

The view from our patio

If you open the curtians in our living room, you get to see straight down the green. The building we live in is crescent shaped and we are right in the middle. The builders are still working on the apartment buildings along the right side but other than that, we have a great view. The Irish Sea is at the bottom of the green so we get to see it every day.


 

I've never been a big fan of snow

On Saturday while we were in Tennessee we were supposed to go to Mount Pleasant to see Brian's sister Michelle and her family. Sadly, when we woke up there was a good few inches of snow and the roads near Michelle's farm were iced over. Brian and I were disappointed since this meant we weren't going to get to see the Crook's or celebrate Jeremiah's brithday with him.

Jessica, Brian's youngest sister, was able to come into town to spend time with and and it was good to see her again. Here are Brian and Jessica in the snow.

 

Time in Tennessee

The next leg of the trip was spent in Nashville. It got a bit tricky since we have family and friends to see there but we made most of it work. I got to meet Brian's paternal grandmother and I admire what a strong woman she is. It was wonderful to sit down with her and hear about her life.

We also got to spend time with Brian's maternal grandparents. Here is me and Gramps. I keep having to warn Brian that if he weren't already married, I just might have to leave Brian for Gramps.

 

Trip to Texas

In February Brian and I took a trip back to the states to see family and friends. After a few flight delays, a missed flight, and a lost bag, we made it to Houston. All the headaches we had getting back were quickly remedy with a few of dad's margaritas. The next morning it was off to Austin to see my sisters and their families.

It was a quick few days in Austin but it was great to spend time with them. We spent the few days in Austin hanging out, shopping, eating and drinking. It was as if we never had left.



While we were shopping, Lisa took the kids on a gondolier ride in San Maros - it reminded me of Venice and Russ of the Venetian in Vegas.

Jake is hiding his head in embarrassment since the guy started singing to them. He was hoping no one he knew would see him.

A Quiet January

It's been a quiet January. As our company ends its fiscal year in January, we both spent extra time at work planning for the next year. Socially it was peaceful, with few trips or activities. Since we're planning a trip to the States in February we're just saving money and making preparations.


But we did have time for fun. We went to a party with Sofia, Erin's best friend in Ireland. Erin and Sofia have lots of fun playing ponies and talking about Dora the Explorer. They read books together and talk about school. Sofia is the daughter of our closest friends in Ireland so we see them often. 

Brian's Love for Innocent Smoothies

Here's a little known fact about Brian. He loves smoothies. And his favorite are a UK brand called Innocent (www.innocent.co.uk). Made without yogurt or sugar, they're nothing but the best fruit, prepared and delivered ASAP. They're yummy and funny at the same time. The labels have little quirky messages, and the underside of the bottles have funny notes too (my favorite: "Split in half for hamster kayak.")

Here you can see a lineup of Innocent smoothies with their winter hats on. It was cold that day, and clearly smoothies, though best chilled, don't like being TOO cold.

 

New Year's Day in Dublin

On New Year's Day we took Allison and Ben into Dublin to show them around. This is Allison and I wandering around St. Stephen's Green. It was a fairly mild day so it was good to be out and about.

10...9...8...7...

Happy New Year!! Brian and I rang in 2006 at Walter's Pub in Dun Laoghaire. We had some friends in town so it was nice to go out and celebrate. Walter's had a dualing pianos playing and the pints were flowing. At midnight Brian and I stepped outside to see if we could hear the boats in the harbor blowing their horns like they did last year, but it was quiet - that was the only downdside to an otherwise wonderful night.

 

Christmas in Ireland

This was our second Christmas in Ireland. I think we both enjoyed this one more than last year since we have more of a sense of home than we did last year. The tree looked great in the windows and we put lights on the outside of the apartment making it fun to drive up the street and know which was our home. The tree looked prettier since this year Brian had ornaments from his childhood on the tree as well.

Overall it was a quiet Christmas, just the two of us and a pile of presents. Brian woke me up at 9 am to open gifts and we had a great time going through everything. We had a great time.

Food in Rome: Nino (by the Piazza dei Spagna)

Everyone, if you're ever visited Rome (or indeed Italy), you'll be aware that Italy is full of restaurants. Here's my recommendation for the best restaurant we found in Rome.

Nino is a restaurant that's been in operation for about seventy years. Near the Spanish steps, it looks unpretentious and a bit boring when first noticed. But the food there exceeds anything else in the neighborhood -- it's perfectly prepared, Tuscan, with brilliant ingredients, little complexity, and great service.

It's also relatively inexpensive, four courses with wine for less than E45 each.
My compliements to the chef!

The Vatican

Coming down the staircase from the Vatican Museums, Brian caught this shot. Isn't she cute!