I bought a beautiful dress at Clara Ellen in Longford. It was basically a body glove (and I do mean glove!) with a lacy overlay. It was green and gorgeous! I had tried on other dresses - some lovely black and tan ones, but with the encouragement of Noreen and Aisling (the two women we met there last Spring with Amy Pinski) I went with the green one which really seemed spectacular. I did have to get my personal seamstress (Jeanie Beanie of course!) to shorten the straps on the glove, and it came out perfect!
On Saturday morning Steve and I left Zach in charge of the dogs, headed south to Athlone and checked in to our hotel. I scheduled to have my hair done at a shop nearby, and we walked there together and then Steve ditched me for a local pub.
The young woman who did my hair was really nice. She told me she had an idea and so I just went with it. She mentioned Downton Abbey and I was quite excited to see how it would turn out. Unfortunately, she apparently meant the Dowager Duchess and so I left the shop looking like Professor McGonagall! I tipped her and thanked her profusely because, as Dowager Duchesses go, it did look pretty nice, and then I was on my way.
Now that I'm looking at it from the back, it may just be the lines in my face that made it look like an older lady up-do... RATS!!! Oh well - can't do anything about that so let's move on!
I met Steve at Gertie Browne's Pub. The pub is lovely! It has a history of having been a hostelry for people traveling west and also a carriage house. I heard mention it was the oldest pub in Ireland, but I am certain the Brazenhead of Dublin makes the same claim and declares themselves as officially the oldest, so perhaps Gertie's is the oldest one in Athlone? Anyway, their web site does not make that claim but does state that the pub is over 1000 years old. Regardless of age, it is a charming pub with several nooks to choose from and we had a very nice time. While we were there a GAA football team came in. They were hilarious and kept chatting with us and the banter was so funny! We would love to have stayed but we had a party to attend...
Back at the hotel we went got dressed up and headed to the party where they started out serving mulled wine. We had a lot of fun talking and laughing with the people from Abbott and I saw several lovely dresses - but many were black and tan so I was happy to have chosen the green one! We had a nice meal and danced like crazy. I didn't think I would be able to move much in my dress - but it was a Christmas Miracle as I was able to raise my arms and dance like no one was watching! And no, I didn't rip the dress either!
I did not get a full length picture of the two of us that night, but here are two shots I took of the dress earlier at home.
So that was our big Holiday party. We had such fun and Steve's co-workers gave me high praise, telling Steve they all thought I was great craic! (That's pronounced "crack" and means "fun" in Irish). Steve even lost his tie that night, but they had it at the front desk when we checked out so it's all good!
The house is all decorated except for the tree. Haven't made cookies yet as I was waiting for the kids. We pick up Connor and Haley on the 22nd! We will go out for dinner on Christmas Eve. Most people here celebrate on the 25th, not the night before, and most restaurants and stores are open on the 24th. We will be meeting a friend, John Conboy, who walks at the Mall in the mornings when I am walking the dogs, on the 24th at the Longford Arms Hotel for a pint and then dinner. We will have turkey and dressing here at home on the 25th, and Haley's friend, Felicia, flies here on the 26th for a week. Connor's girlfriend, Kay, flies in on Jan 4th and also stays for a week! Looking forward to lots of activity for the next 2 weeks. Great friends, great food, great wine and great craic!
Hope the Holidays are a grand, peaceful time for all! Cheers!
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