off we go

so the Ireland trip we booked a year ago finally arrived...

off we went on an overnight flight to Shannon airport.  We had splurged and booked business class so we had the new Polaris experience with a pre-departure club and believe it or not - decent food on board...

in the club we had small pot pies and caprese salad and smoked salmon along with many sweet choices- there was also an a la carte menu with table service if you wanted something more substantial than what the buffet offered - everything was refreshed all the time and was excellent (gasp!)

on board we had a good meal with several choices - here is the set up (main- choice of five- not shown)

the flight arrived early and we had quite the wait to get through passport control but still we were at the meeting point (LOL) waiting for the driver at the exact moment the flight had been scheduled to arrive.  Phil had met the driver last year when he was here so knew he was a good guy and he was there about ten minutes later...

we had booked the room for the night before since our arrival was 6:20 and we wanted to go to sleep ASAP... The Bunratty Castle Hotel had our room and we crashed for four hours and got up for lunch.

the day was lovely so we went across the road to Durty Nelly's to have a bite to eat before heading into the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park...

there was actually a nice little carry out place in the Castle park and they had out door tables but we didn't know this until we got there-

so into the folk park we went- it is quite large and we had limited time since we had dawdled in the sunny afternoon at lunch...eating outside on one of the picnic tables...

below - an early Murphy bed perhaps? LOL

a few lads stopped by on the way out to have a pint (or a glass)

the crowning glory of Ireland- green green green and flowers everywhere! (the heart is the music, just in case you were wondering....)

and that was all in the first ten hours of our trip LOL- we headed to dinner at Gallagher's a seafood place for an earlier dinner (time change) and had the first of many many many seafood chowders-

some photos of the ambience of the place and then the food and later the outside of the "cottage" where Gallagher's is located

I had gravlax for a starter and Phil had the seafood chowder.  Then I had seafood chowder for a main and Phil had the mussels... we shared a sticky toffee pudding for dessert-

for some reason the only photos I have of the hotel were of the bar (go figure- LOL)

clearly my intention was to show the full number of choices of things on tap - a scene which would be repeated throughout the trip.... so we are off - tomorrow we have scheduled a walking tour of Limerick and then the following morning we meet up with the group on the music tour, including tour host Johnsmith.... so lots to follow- stay tuned...

half a week LOL

so the father's day weekend came and went and Phil got stuck for hours and hours in NYC waiting to get back to Chicago (while we had no more than five minutes of rain despite being desperate for it) so I went off the the Chaine dinner at Salero without him (boo hoo for him)

We had a very nice meal but the company was even better as I got to sit with Shari & Kevin and John & Stephanie and to renew acquaintances with Jennifer and Steve as well.... and meet potential new member Mai who is working towards being a Master Somm....

I have no food photos (the professional ones from the Chaine site are always fabulous and I will add some when they get posted) only one to credit to Todd Arkebauer who had such a fabulous shot I had to use it for the opening one of this post! Isn't this magnificently composed and mouthwatering at the same time?

photo credit- Todd Arkebauer

so here is the menu-

and these were the wines-

a little background on the Chicago Chaine

a lovely evening with good food and friends!  the end of the 2016/17 season - the Chaine will be back in September with a new year of amazing dining and wine events----

So that was Monday and on Tuesday night we went to Brian & Tina's for a potluck for the summer solstice

another wonderful evening of friends and food...

today I got the deck ready for being away and having someone come in to water plants - I usually stand on a ladder for the hanging plants but I moved them all to the table for easy access and to speed the process up for Tim and Eva who will be covering while I am away-

I have a few hooks that are very long and can give access at waist level to hanging pots so I put two of the five pots on those and vowed to get a few more- meanwhile I put the other three on the big table where they can be reached with ease-

the sky became overcast and despite not getting any rain - which we desperately need- I did get a funky reflection in the four top nearest the door - so because it caught my eye I took a picture LOL

now off to make up my packing list and start gathering things for the trip- my last minute list for things like - paying the cat sitter and moving the car to paid parking so it doesn't get ticketed/towed when the street cleaning happens (which is ALWAYS scheduled for when we are away LOL) stuff like that---

Always things to handle- we both say we don't have a clue how we once found time to work as well as handle the details of life but we weren't as over scheduled then - or at least not on a personal social level- more work stuff (I didn't become a million and a half mile flyer with United by staying home LOL) Probably won't see or hear much from me on the blog until we return from Ireland but meanwhile feel free to zip along the side bar with the dates of the previous hundreds of entries and just randomly choose a post or two - if your lucky you'll pick and exotic trip - if not - well- pick another!

See you soon!

father's day

So I find father's day a tough one each year - and yes it is easier now than the years immediately following my father's rather unexpected death but still... he was my dad and I miss him... I miss being able to poke fun at his stodginess and get him to smile or laugh.  Most of the sense of humor that I have and that my late sister shared came from my dad.  He had a great and quirky sense of the absurd. I have written posts before about him and how good he was at being a father - teaching us how to ride bikes, swim, drive cars, fix stuff...

here are a few photos of my dad over the decades -  with his grandmothers in 1952

at a company golf outing in 1962 LOL - quite the dresser he was! (second from left)

in 1972 still up to date with clothing choices (hey! it was 1972) It kind of looks like he is wearing a mini print of the wall paper LOL

this one is actually 1983 because I didn't find any labeled 1982-

in 1993 at his 65th birthday with his daughter Janna and granddaughter Sarah-

sadly he didn't make it to 2003- this photo was from our wedding reception in the summer of 2001 and by then he couldn't travel anymore- he died roughly ten weeks later- still miss him- especially on Father's Day

Last week we caught up with Zack (now a Dad to two little girls) and Becky and their little ones Abby and Maya- for a quick dinner at Burt's Place-

yesterday I finished a book called The Rise and Fall of Great Empires by Tom Rachman and in this book there were several characters who were "fathers" to the main character (a young woman) and I was struck by how this woman cobbled together the mystery of her past and made dysfunctional into something that ultimately became a sort of enlightenment about the way humans can be so resilient in the face of the most difficult situations. Through the first half of the book I just found the story weird but as the story coalesced it became completely engrossing and by the end I was totally involved. Highly recommended!

and this weekend Phil went off to NY to visit with Jeremy at the Clearwater Festival on the Hudson River - along with friends Ron & Mary-

When I go away Phil eats Hecky's and Popeye's and when he goes away I eat my personal guilty pleasures - Skyline chili and Waffle House breakfasts! LOL

So we go on- and coming next is a Chaine event for Monday dinner (already tomorrow - wow time flies) Suckling pig is on the menu, along with many other favorites I am sure.  The event is at Salero- more to follow on that one- so stay tuned!

friends visit

So last weekend we had friends visit from out of town.  They arrived on Friday mid afternoon and we hung out until dinner which we had at El Maya - again terrific food but now they are no longer BYO even with a corkage so we won't be going there with any regularity from now on...

Saturday we relaxed on the deck and had pizza for lunch and dinner at Bistro Campagne.  Afterward port and discussion of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness...

Then on Sunday we went for a mediocre lunch

and then to a house concert of Joe Jencks (we BOTH like this performer and our friends liked him too)-

we by chance ran into Ron & Mary at the house concert and ended up having all six of us at dinner at Mythos Sunday night.  (below- Ron and Joe)

Our friends left at the crack of dawn this morning. We are preparing for a busy week ahead with Phil heading to NY for the Clearwater Festival with Jeremy and I too will be on the road.... then next week we have a Chaine event and then we are off to Ireland...

so good times with good friends and more coming up... #lifeisgood