Thank Goodness for the NRA. . .

So here is a picture of John as a baby. I don't know how old he is here, but isn't he cute??
I also need to make a correction about the last post. I am 10 months old in the post, not 15. But still am enjoying my first Twinkie. Thank goodness for moms to set us straight!

So our weather here is Cork has been interesting this week. Mostly it has just been downright cold! Monday and Tuesday morning we (actually, just John--I was nice and warm inside) had to scrape ice off the windshield. Fortunately, John's NRA card works very well for this purpose!
And what about that rumor that if you pour hot water on your winshield, it will crack it? Phooey! I saw a lady out with her tea kettle giving her Passat a good soaking and there was no problem. Guess that's some sort of urban legend!
Yesterday was an absolutely crazy day! I started with dropping off dry cleaning (which we have now learned is cost-prohibitive here and we will just do it on our own) and then met with someone downtown. This is easier said than done because it is difficult to know where you are. I got lost, but made it on time. Later in the afternoon I picked up John and two of his co-workers so we could register with the local Garda (police) station. We really got a glimpse of what life must be like for immigrants coming to the United States. Nothing is clear or easy, and you must wait in long lines to be told you are in the wrong line at the wrong station. And that you do not have the proper documentation. Sigh. So of the four of us who went to the station to register and get our identification cards, only one was elegible. The Cork City station only handles people who live in the city. Since we live slightly east, we had to go back to Cobh to take care of ours. Sigh.
After you get registered with the garda, then you go to the Department of Social Welfare to get a PPS number--basically like a Social Security number. We all went since it was the boss who got his ID card and wanted to take care of the PPS as well. The rest of us were just out of luck.
So after two hours of walking around downtown in the fog. Have I mentioned that it has been incredibly foggy? Like no planes flying, foggy? Like, can't see your hand in front of your face, foggy? Anyway. . we got back to the car, I dropped everyone off, and then had a few minutes at home before collecting John after work.
Fortunately, I was able to contact the Cobh garda and set up an appointment to take care of our registration that night. At 8:30 PM. !!! So I jumped at it because the officer/garda was going to let me have our marriage certifiate faxed today but wouldn't hold us up from getting registered. Whoo-hoo!! We were in luck! Ladies, if you ever go on assignment with your husband, just bring any kind of official documentation you have. That's easier than bothering family members to frantically fax or FedEx whatever you needed yesterday!!!
So the drive to Cobh was especially frightening since it is totally surrounded by water and was completely engulfed in fog. And you have to drive on tiny, windy roads with no street lights. !!! But we made it. . .
We met with this awesome garda guy until after 9PM. Totally an awesome local guy! Very nice and helped us out a lot! We can pick up our cards once our payment for the registration goes through (100 Euro each!!!). Then hopefully next week we will get our PPS numbers and be done with it! We'll be official and won' t have to worry about setting anything up for some time! Yippee!!!
But it really has made us think about how difficult this process must be for someone who does not speak the language or a couple that is not married (how do they prove that she is a dependent if there is no certificate???) or if you have kids you have to haul around for this. Made us feel a lot my sympathetic for people who are honestly trying to do all the right things, but who find obstacles at every turn.
But enough about that. . .
It's almost Christmas here. Apparently spiced beef is a traditional dish so I picked up one at the grocery store. The cooking directions indicate that you boil it (??? boiled meat?? yuck!!!) so who knows. I have some backup options. And I got one of the many puddings (which look like small bundt cakes--no clue why they are called "puddings" but I'm sure someone like Tami could explain) and some scones and I guess that is going to have to do for getting us started. They don't have prepackaged green bean casserole here and I don't even know how to make it. Every recipe I start to think I can cook runs into a snag because the key ingredients cannot be found.
I have assessed that it is difficult and/or impossible to find pecans, dried cranberries, and black beans here. Perhaps I need to try several more stores, but I'll be honest--I've been exhausted lately and if it's not at the local grocery, I'll just do without!!!!
The most popular Christmas song here is possibly "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues. If you don't mind spending the $.99, download it from ITunes or wherever and just enjoy it. But you might want to just ignore most of the lyrics as they are full of shock and awe. But the tune is really catchy. The radio is playing tons of Christmas music from many different decades so that is cool!

And, finally, some things I have learned here in Ireland:

1. A "bookmaker" is not a cute, small publishing house. It's where you place your bets. They are everywhere. Guess that's where the term "bookie" comes from.

2. Okay, I'm too tired to make a list right now, so I'll have to work on this later.

I need a nap!!!
Happy Holidays!!!