die Ferien bei Familie

9am Christmas Day: wach und bereit. Eva's mom was the only one awake and we sat in the kitchen having a nice catch-up chat over Irish tea and milk. i must have woken Eva up when i crawled out of bed, because she joined us shortly after. tell me this not the best smile to see on a Christmas morning!

[Eva früh an Weihnachten]

the McElligott lowdown: Jim is a first generation American-born Irish that went to Ireland to study and met Jacinta. they eventually made their way back to the States and had seven kids. Eva's the true middle child, and will always be my favourite. =) we met in high school and would regularly visit each other in undergrad; especially after her parents moved back to Ireland with the youngest two, Keith and Liah. her unique blend of smarts, fun and hard work with heavily seasoned wit has been close to my heart for over a decade now.

[St. Stephen's Green]

on Boxing Day we headed into Dublin to make use of newly acquired TopShop giftcards. unfortunately, we found that Trinity would be closed until the day i was scheduled to leave. no Book of Kells for me. =(

the next couple days, it just kept snowing. we attempted driving, but after a few miles of sliding all over the road, we opted to go back home and walk to the Vartry. that in itself was still a tough task and because of all the ice, we took about three times as long to walk just 100m.

[Jimmy, Keith and Eva gegen 4 od. 5h]

i think my average bedtime in Ireland was 6am. i didn't even sleep in as much as the others! for all the nights we were stuck in the house, there was plenty of beer to entertain ourselves. just as the mood would get mellow in the wee hours, the guitars would come out and we would be up for a few more hours singing and drinking. then someone would suggest a fry and we would be eating breakfast at the normal time and THEN going to bed.

New Year's was a blast. we had an epic snow fight with at least three generations of McElligotts. wish i had my camera, but i got to be neck deep in the mayhem. the house had six sizable bedrooms, but there were still no free sofas, chairs or warm spots by the fire! Eva and i walked with Deirdre and her mom, Geraldine, back to their house for beds and blankets. somehow we missed the boys coming later (we got there around 4 or 5am) and could not stir Kevin in the morning to catch a ride back to Roundwood. can't blame him, though. he hadn't had an actual bed for over a week at that point.

[Glendalough]

eventually, i said 'screw the snow' and planned to go to Sally Gap. everyone was down for it the day before, but no one woke up the next day. Kevin (the next younger than Eva) took Celtic out for a walk with me around Roundwood, trying to give the others time to crawl out of bed. still not a soul. the roads were still bad as well, so no Sally Gap, but at Glendalough we had a nice four hour chat as we walked and i took photos. towards the end, it started snowing hard again, so we turned to get back to a pub and have a few beers. Eva's dad came to pick us up, one more round and then we were back home.

[typische Sammelung von Mäntel und Schuhe, mit der Katze Fae]

back to the recurring theme about 'home,' the McElligotts are the alter ego of my family and i love them for it. i wouldn't be complete without them. wish i was better showing that in my photos. much much thanks for sharing everything with me, then a holla to Mom and Dad: glad you find the 'holidays' as insignificant as i do, and i will see you soon. XOXO to everyone and Happy New Year!