End Of The Nine

For Dad's birthday we went and saw the Rise of Skywalker. Over time I have come to like the second movie less and less. This one is much better and pretty much ignores the second of the new trilogy which is fine by me. A nice way to end and I'm glad it's over because it frees them from this story cage and they can expand into better worlds. Like the excellent Mandalorian tv series.

I also didn't realize we saw the last one exactly a year ago on Dad's birthday. So here's to traditions we didn't even know we had.

Four Square

Mari always sets a beautiful table. Ham for four followed by a White Christmas and bundt cake. Can't beat that!

Her Too

Gigi likes toys too.

Collar Blue

Maddie and her new dress blues.

Collar Pink

Mystic modelling her new collar.

Christmas Toys

This Christmas was a bit laid back with just the Tennessee Greers around, but at least someone still gets really excited about unwrapping toys on Christmas morning.

Soup For You

Christmas Eve salmon soup. The tradition continues.

Only Embers

I really enjoyed the first Pillars of Eternity but for some reason the sequel didn't really click with me. Story, mechanics, it seemed like each piece didn't quite reach its full potential.

Dog Watcher

With Mom in the hospital and Dad hanging out with her, we get to watch Gigi! Not the best circumstances but she's always fun to have over.

Hospital Blues

 

Mom was supposed to go in Friday for a somewhat simple procedure, but it's turned a bit more complicated. So here we are on Sunday paying a visit. Hospitals are never fun but at least we have each other!

Jail Done

And here we have the final product, ready to move in.

Half Spoken

I never played the first Ni No Kuni, but like a lot of JRPGs the stories don't necessarily go together. Such as Final Fantasy where each entry in the series is completely stand alone. I bought this purely on the strength of reviews and enjoyed it. It's almost a classic JRPG with some kingdom management elements thrown in. Mostly done well with a few weak spots here and there.

WOTM

Winter wonderland edition.

The Tree And Me

And just like that the week was over, Ashley and Mackenzie were headed home, and work was looming on the horizon. At least we have Christmas cheer to help. A little.

Barn Find

Going to the zoo yesterday turned out to be the right call, as it poured down rain all day. We ended up heading out to a little craft fair held in a barn at a place called Bagsby Ranch. Nothing special but the ladies got to shop and it was pleasant way to kill an hour.

Lightscrapers

And even huge architectural displays flanked by dragons leading up to a house with Santa Claus that Mackenzie got to visit. What could be better than that?

Savannah

Herds of roaming light animals.

Fuzzy

There were illuminated forests of peach trees.

Neon Jellyfish

Most of the animals went to bed, but the entire zoo was lit up in amazing displays of Chinese paperwork. Although the pathways were a little too crowded for comfort it was still beautiful to see.

Getting Lit

We stayed at the zoo until it closed, then waited an hour for it to reopen for the special "Zoolumination" event.

Spotted

There were tons of things to do and see, but for me the best part was the Snow Leopards. I only wish I could have gotten a better picture of them.

Getting Wild

We were going to hit the zoo Saturday, but the weather forecast made us bump it up a day. After living in Nashville for twenty odd years this was actually my first trip here so i was looking forward to it.

Sharp Wishes

I totally forgot to take pictures during Thanksgiving, so you get my awesome carving knife and the wishbone. Rest assured the lack of pictures was due to enjoying myself and my family so much it didn't occur to me to take any until it was too late. Mari, Mom, Dad, Ashley and Mackenzie.

Old Enough To Drink

Today I have been married to the love of my life for twenty one years. The next twenty one will be even better.

Grand Ole Reindeer

Today we headed down to the Grand Ole Opry House to see a live production of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Not something we'd probably see again, but it was cute and fun so worth the price of admission.

Slackerday

Our first full day of family fun was pretty lazy, we got up and had breakfast with Mom and Dad, did some grocery shopping and that was about it.

Thanks Georgia

Ashley and Mackenzie are in town this week to celebrate Thanksgiving. Kenzie made herself right at home, she even found the special kid door we have.

All For Charity

After taking a few years off we hit the Nashville Christmas Village again this year. We bought tickets to the special adults only night, so no kids, no strollers and supposedly less crowds but it was jam packed as ever. Still it was fun to go with the Tennessee crew and interesting to see the new fairgrounds buildings. We also got to see Phil Ponder again and that's always nice.

Double G

Today we got to meet the newest addition to our family, Gigi! She's Mom and Dad's new pup, Chihuahua and Jack Russel mutt. Mutt is a good word in this family, they're the best! She wasn't sure what to make of Mari and I at first but she's cute and full of energy.

Aquatic Pineapples

Tonight we headed out to see SpongeBob the musical with no expectations. Neither one of us is a fan of the show, not for any bad reason we've just never watched it more than in passing. It was surprisingly good! We're certain we missed a lot of references, but it didn't take away from the experience. Fun plot, good singers, and really clever set design.

Here We Go Again

We're unboxing Christmas a little early this year so our Thanksgiving guests can enjoy our favorite holiday along with us.

Just Need JFK

 

We're officially an Irish household now, Saint protected and all.

WOTM

Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat!

2019 Irish Highlights

So I know it gets hard to keep track of things on this blog once the number of related posts exceeds the limit that it shows. So much like with the last tour I'm putting up a kind of index here.

I. Day One (Nashville - Boston - Dublin)
II. Day Two (Dublin)
III. Day Three (Dublin - Galway - Bunratty - Limerick)
IV. Day Four (Limerick - Moher - Killimer - Tarbert - Killarney)
V: Day Five (Killarney - Kerry - Killarney)
VI: Day Six (Killarney - Cork - Blarney - Youghal - Kilkenny - Waterford)
VII: Day Seven (Waterford - Wexford - Wicklow - Dublin)
VIII: Day Eight (Dublin - Bushmill - Stanocum - Belfast - Dublin)
IX: Day Nine (Dublin - Edinburgh)
X: Day Ten (Edinburgh)
XI: Day Eleven (Edinburgh - London)
XII: Day Twelve (London)
XIII: Day Thirteen (London)
XIV. Day Fourteen (London - Detroit - Nashville)
XV. Rainbow Round
XVI. Movies

Video Bonus Round

Here's some of the videos we took on our trip:

I. Castle Dinner
II. Cliffs of Moher
III. Attempts at Hurling
IV. Pub Dancing
V. Parental Pub Dancing
VI. Royal Mews Horse Warm Up 

Rainbow Bonus Round 4

And contestant number four.

Rainbow Bonus Round 3

Contestant three (double rainbow!)

Rainbow Bonus Round 2

Contestant two.

Rainbow Bonus Round

Just for fun, all of the rainbows we took pictures of. Choose your favorite.

Contestant one.

Irish Ending

Just like that it was over and we were giving the security at Heathrow Airport their turn at patting Mom down. It wasn't quite as magical as our European Dream but a grand time was still had by all and we're ready for the next adventure!

Circus Send Off

Stomachs happy we strolled down Piccadilly to window shop at all the stores, ending up at the Piccadilly Circus. It reminded us a little of Times Square with more of a historical edge. That gold statue is actually a living statue street artist who was very good at her act, as well as kind to some kids who wanted their picture taken but were a little intimidated.

Munchies

Layers of treats served with the perfect teas.

Getting High

No visit to Fortnum and Mason is complete without having high tea there. We kept meaning to try somewhere else but how can you top the best?

Wordplay

It has this unique mix of traditional high class and modern playful whimsy I've never seen anywhere else. For example they have this line of gourmet chocolate but the names of the different flavors are things like "Forever Chasing Supernovas", "The Obedience of Bubbles the Dog", "Adventures in Darkness" and "The Night It Snowed Stars." I love stuff like that.

Adult In A Candy Store

I'm not much for shopping, but there's something magical about F&M that draws you in.

F&M

With the trip winding down, our last day was all about taking it easy and shopping at our favorite store in the world; Fortnum and Mason.

Da Best

We headed back to the hotel and then out for a dinner stroll. We first went a pub that looked good online but it was packed to the gills. It turned out that the school right next to the hotel, Imperial College London, just happened to be having graduation and everywhere was stuffed with celebrating graduates and their families.

We walked further and found this restaurant called Da Mario which looked full too but Dad went in and asked anyway. Turns out hey happened to have an open table. What a find! The food was absolutely amazing. It was so good we tried to go back again the next night but they were booked solid.

Lion

For Mari, since she loves lion sculptures. This is a casting made in 1869 of Donatello's Marzocco Lion. The original dates to 1418 and now lives in the Bargello Museum of Florence.

Metal

For Mom, since she loves wrought iron. This is a screen from Chichester Cathedral circa 1250.

Really Big

Here's a good reference of scale. Even though it wasn't what we expected we gave it our best shot and checked out a good deal of the museum. We enjoyed it but didn't leave with any real wish to return.