Daydreams of Ireland

Just a few thoughts for today, while I expertly find more things around the house with which to procrastinate. Right now, I'm using the justification of having to figure out how to print a bunch of review materials in the format in which I want to study them. I think the major source of my frustration with the format-to-print thing is the fact that I'm using a Mac and our printer is a multi-functional machine that prints, copies, and faxes, as well as scans to PDFs. It's a great and useful tool, but the print previews and options that pop up when I click "print" on my Mac don't show me true previews of the options I choose. It's quite frustrating, and something I have to troubleshoot every time I go to print something other than a normal single page Word document. Maybe it's just that I'm not very tech-savvy. Whatever.

So the title of this blog comes from the fact that indeed, I love my afternoon tea time. I realized just how much I enjoyed it while on my honeymoon in Ireland. Without a care in the world about what day or time it was, having tea after a mid-day meal and just sitting gazing out at cute little Dingle and its harbor, I really do just love afternoon tea. The photo on the main page of my blog is of the town of Dingle taken from the bulkhead on the outside of the main harbor. I truly miss that place, and think about it on a daily basis. Maybe someday we will move there. Ah, the dreams of a dreamer...

Speaking of tea, if you're looking for an amazing Irish tea, an authentic one is definitely the way to go. Not authentic in the sense that it says so on the box, but in the sense that it actually came from Ireland. We still have some Barry's tea from the honeymoon, and as much as I love Trader Joe's tea selection and the fact that their Irish breakfast tea is $3 for 80 teabags, Barry's wins.

One of the things that makes me love Ireland more than pretty much any other place I've ever been is the hospitality. Oh sure, here in the US we have a HUGE hospitality industry, but I have to say that I personally enjoy Irish guest houses so much better. One could argue that it's part of Ireland's hospitality industry, which of course is true - who goes to Ireland and wants to stay in a Sheraton? That's not a real Ireland experience! There is something about the Irish people that really defines the term "hospitality." It's really about the people, not whether it's a Hilton or a Super 8. Irish people are just so warm, and welcoming, and the second you stand on their doorstep there's a pot of tea brewing and a fresh snack on the table for you, no matter what time of day. They want to know all about where you're from, what your life is like, all about you. And it makes you want to know all about them, too. And a beautiful friendship is born, no matter how brief it may be. THAT'S hospitality.

I suppose that should be all for now, seeing as how I now have four packets of printed board review material to go through. Until next time...if you've made it this far ;)