Jazz Session

Uncle Vincent had recommended Arthur's Pub to Patrick for some interesting gigs. Patrick actually headed there last night, and today I met up with him for dinner before we caught another concert at Arthur's together.

Tonight, the Scott Flanigan Trio performed jazz variations of The Beatles. To my "untrained ear," it was almost unrecognizable! Every now and then, I could just about hear the original tune peeking through the jazz. Patrick absolutely loved it, though, and it was a fantastic way to wrap up his trip to Ireland.

Barberstown Castle

 Just for a little break, Irene has booked an overnight in Barberstown Castle. She was there many years agon, just before she met me when her sister Paula married. A lot has changed since then. The grounds quiet nice and I liked the mix of old and  modern statues. 

The next day we do a little shopping in Kildare Village but the only thing I would like to buy is not for sale 😒

St. Patrick's Day Half Marathon Mullingar

 While Patrick celebrates in Galway, Giselle and I (and a good few more form the tri club) run the traditional half marathon in Mullingar. Giselle does extremely well, 10 minutes faster than last year! And I have to let her go after about 10k and finish about 3 minutes later, but very proud of my daughter!

Douwe's Room

 

After a small delay the carpet was laid this morning in Douwe's room. It all looks good now!

Patrick

 My Cousin Patrick has finally followed up our long standing plan to visit Ireland for St. Patrick's day. Today I show him around in the midlands, areas most tourists never visit. Like the Slieve Bloom Mountains!
Here is a small album.

As we pass one of the hill ("the cut") I cycled a few times lately, we have to drive to the top of course which, surprisingly, got covered with a decent amount of snow this morning...

Glendine Attempt #2

We gather with a small group from the tri-club in Kinnitty and cycle the exact same route as a few weeks back. But the hill as not got any less steep and I have to stop for a little break at exactly the same spot as last time. One day I'll make it to the top without stopping!
Some more photos in this album.

We even discover the 200 year old Pyramid of Kinnitty 😁

Walk in Carlingford

 Giselle wont come home this weekend but is working for 'the Hens' in Carlingford, which is about halfway so we decide to meet her there for a nice walk and dinner. Nice little town really!

Spring Inside

The weather outside is still dreadful, so we brings some spring flowers inside instead

Swivel Chair

Remember the AI-Experiment to see how the swivel chair we wanted to order would look like? Well the chair has finally arrived so we can compare the AI rendition with the real world result. AI on the left, real on the right:

Refurb Douwe's Room

 It's time, for a major refurb of Douwe's room. Away with the blue paint, laminate flooring. We have ordered some nice wallpaper and carpet instead. We cleared the room today, ready for the painter to come in:

Day 1; the wood trimmings and press have been painted