Fun with Forts...

Chris and I went out for dinner, drinks (far too many of these) and Karaoke with some of his work friends on Friday evening. See Chris' blog for those pics:

http://cmccarley.blogspot.com/

Next day, I was in no condition to host another of Chris' work friends, Mark, and his family (little Rhys and wife Sandra). Now I do believe it would have been impossible if Chris hadn't let a little known secret slip out...turns out my husband can cook! Who knew right? So, with me yelling instructions from bed, Chris made the pizza crust (Lavosh/flatbread style), baked it off and cut up all the toppings! What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty, mighty good man! My contribution was making the salad.

We made it in the nick of time. Turned out Sandra (who is two weeks away from her due date with another little family member...what a trooper) caught a cold and was unable to join the festivities. Rhys (pronounced Reese) was a little bit shy and unimpressed with anything in our apt except the balcony and the faux fireplace! So after lunch we all made ourselves a nice big fort in the living room!

It was Mark's good thinking to use the dining room chairs for height and the pillows to keep the comforter from slipping!

Little Rhys...

Big Emily...

Chris cold chillin in his new digs! Watch out MTV Cribs!

Mark somehow made it without getting a photo!

Fleetwood Mac...

Though Chris and my first year anniversary was in June, he treated me to a concert of one of my favorite bands...Fleetwood Mac. I started getting into the Mac when I would visit home from college over Christmas. Our family (my parents and I) would head next door to the Heck's house for our annual card games (Shanghi Rummy and such). Gene would be in charge of the music and would inevitably start playing the Mac. It stuck in my head. Luckily, that same year, my roommate was a Mac fan as well and was participating in a radio contest where the listener who came up with as many words spelled from the letters in the band's name won free tickets. Unfortunately, she didn't win, but she did play their songs over and over and over again. I learned to love them, but alas, that was the last time they toured (that I was aware of)...ten years ago. Chris, being an avid concert goer, stays abreast of all the shows coming to the area and surprised me with tickets...

Lindsey Buckingham stole the show (closely followed by the amazing Mick Fleetwood). JohnMcVie was solid on bass guitar. Unfortunately, Christine McVie did not tour with them, which is a shame since I love so many songs in which she's featured. Stevie Nicks was...well, let's take into consideration that she is over 60 years old and still rocking out...not quite as hard as the guys, but still rocking. She was obviously on something...Chris and I couldn't really figure out if she was mentally altered or if the blank expression she carried through the show was a result of a massive injection of Botox...regardless, she was definitely on something.

Here we are at the O2 arena.

They played two encores...and played for 3 solid hours! That's pretty impressive considering Lindsey is the youngest at roughly 61 years old!

Lindsey's solo...Big, Big Love!

Dude knows his way around a guitar!

Gearing up for Halloween...

Chris and I are heading to Katie and Dermot's place for game night (Catan and Guitar Hero...), so I made Rice Krispie Treats and popcorn balls for dessert. Hope we don't get everything all sticky! Dee-lish!

DLR East Pier...

I am constantly being edu-ma-cated by my walking group on awesome places to visit...for free...in and around Dublin. This week, East Pier in Dun Laoghaire. We walked it on Thursday and found out the Battery/lighthouse would be opened for this weekend, then close for the season, so I took Chris on Saturday.

I've determined these type of signs are purely artwork, as they don't seem to result in less dog fouling, as they call it.

View of a seagull longingly looking at the West Pier...

View of DLR from the East Pier...plus band shell.

That red thing is the lighthouse in the battery...

Peter Pan is so jealous right now!

The lighthouse...

Inside the battery...this was built for protection against the French invasion (that never happened)...these windows can also be seen in castles, as they are perfect for gunmen to shoot with a wide range while limiting the enemy's range for retaliation.

The view...

This is where one of the canons were kept. There was evidence of a rigging system that allowed the canon to be pushed from side to side to allow for aim...

The evidence...

View of the West Pier Lighthouse (and fishermen) from the East Pier.

The old fog bell...

canons from the top...

Grown where?

We bought "large" pumpkins and will soon be carving...so look for the pictures!

Ummmmm...

So perhaps this is how Europe sees the last supper for Americans...

and for a hefty price...this could belong to you! Ho Jayzis! (as they say in Cork)