Happy Christmas and Happy New Year

In Ireland, they say Happy Christmas, not merry. If you say merry people look at you funny. I almost didn't make it to Ireland. Seems like I am destined to live in fog and in London they have freezing fog which airplanes are not allowed to take off in. Luckily I flew out of Gatwick which was not as affected but Heathrow saw the grounding of almost all of their flights. I still managed to almost miss my flight. I had to run to the gate and push children out of my way. (Why do parents let their children roll on the ground in airports?) But I made it and it was a very lovely Christmas indeed. The first couple of nights I stayed with Stinky's brother who had what I like to call the Christmas room, complete with beautiful Christmas tree and yummy smelling candles. Finally it began to feel like Christmas. I brought to them some Santa party bars and chocolate oats which they quickly commented on how sweet they were. Really? Does that mean I can eat the rest of them? We took off for Derry Saturday and spent the next several days with Stinky's family. He has a big family as well so it was almost like being home. His mom is a magnificent cook who made me special vegi dishes but who I think thought I had some sort of eating disorder as I never managed to clean my plate. They eat so much! Just a plate full of potatoes in every form imaginable and then something cheezy and yuumy for me that is even more filling than the meat on their plate. His brothers and sisters liked to harrass me for being so quite. At one point his dad called me "quite chops". I tried to explain that I just like to sit back and observe but I think they didn't believe me. Brian and I also went to Dublin for a day to visit some friends who were back from the States. It was so nice to see them. I think the best part of this trip was just being around people I could talk to and who knew me. I didn't have to try to be entertaining in hopes that they might want to be my friend-they already are my friend. After that we went back to Belfast to try and clean poor stinky's house as it is in shambles and then back to Derry for New Years. We went to a ball with Brian's brother and sisters and some of their friends. A five course meal was served and after horrible music by a miserable band. The ball was nice because we were able to get dressed up and be out but not have to bother with crowds and long lines. After the ball we headed back to the Walsh's and stayed up all night long. I came home on Tuesday and boy am I tired! I am even a little sick. My coursework is due tomorrow and I will be happy to have it out of my way so I can enjoy the next three weeks of not having anything to do except go to Paris and hang out with mom and dad. Poor me ;-)