Surprise!

Ahh, I felt a proper feeling of accomplishment when I got to yell that at Dublin airport Thursday morning two weeks ago. That was the little surprise myself and Mr S had planned for my visiting family. I had emailed dad with bus timetables and the like, instructing them to take the bus from the airport to Galway where we'd pick them up. Tee hee. They were pleased and so were we.

The five days they were here went by in a blur. We walked miles in the national park, the abbey, on the beaches, we ate well (thanks to Mr S's mother) and drank even better, listened to traditional music and generally showed them what my life is like here on the edge of Europe. It was so good to catch up! I got the usual pressies, too; rye bread, salmiakki sweets, coffee, chocolate and sausages. Yup, they really made sure I wasn't going to go hungry any time soon. Most of the sweets are gone, as is most of the sausages, too. I'm rationing the rye bread, mainly because it has an interesting effect on my digestive system, something Mr S calls "the after burn". So, in order for him to avoid having to use a gas mask on entering the house, I'm limiting myself to a couple of slices per day.

My parents brought me this painting. It's been sitting in their house waiting to be moved here and finally, after 10 years of me getting it, it's finally here! The vase/pot in the painting is the spitting image of a pot my granny used for butter in my dad's home. Granny brought the pot from what is now Russia, where she was born before the war when it was still a part of Finland and I'm sure it's seen a lot in it's day. It's still there, in the old kitchen where my dad's side of the family gathers for midsummer every year. Mum and dad spotted the painting somewhere and got it for me as a graduation present. It now has the pride of place on our dining room wall.

  My little bit of a holiday was over too fast and I returned to work with a bang. This Easter was the busiest we've ever seen it, making it exhausting to work in the process. It was all worth it, though, we did have a very successful Easter egg hunt in the gardens, and two Easter bunnies hopping about the place. More on that later, I'm off to enjoy the lazy day off with Mr S.