Rock Chalk Jayhawk Basketball

I got a call from the brother this past Monday and off I went to Lawrence.  To Allen Fieldhouse for my 5th visit of the year!  4 Games and Late Night.  That is certainly something I cannot complain about.

One of the most fantastic things about watching a game inside the Fieldhouse is the video before the introduction of the team.  It's loud, it's emotional, it recalls memories, and makes you completely ready for the game.  Best Pump Up Video ever!

My brother invited me to the game when he found himself with a second ticket.  If that every happens again, let me know!

It was a great game.  We won over Baylor 61-44.  The Jayhawks looked great in the first half, slowed down a bit and got a bit sloppy in the middle but it was still a trouncing.  The Allen Fieldhouse winning streak continues with 32 consecutive wins.

And now we have a new picture to put on our parents fridge.

Hopefully I make it there one more time this season.  If not to a live game at least to watch the Jayhawks on the scoreboard in the Final Four? You never know when a basketball ticket gives you a call!

Day 12 A Day in Dublin

Our full day in Dublin started later than any of our other mornings at 10am.  Most people had stayed out late the evening before so most of them were worse for ware.  Our hotel was very close to the main downtown street of O Connell where tons of people were always around.  Our first stop was at the National post office next to the millennium spire.  

The spire is 120ish meters tall, even taller than the statue of liberty.  Supposedly it used to be polished surface but it is no longer that way because of the blinding tendencies.  

From the post office we crossed the river to the more collegiate part of he city. We walked into Trinity University.  We walked around the square in through the bell tower.  Trinity has a similar super stitiom to KU's bell tower where if you walk though it during finals time you will fail. 

An interesting fact about the school is that until 1970 if you were a Catholic you had to ask permission to attend the school.  It was built outside the original center of the city by a Protestant queen so no Catholics allowed.  Maybe they needed permission from the Pope.

There were quite a few more stops along our walking tour to go so we didn't stay long.  Our next stop was at the House of Lords.  Like many of the other government buildings around the city there are 3 different figures on the tops.  They varied depending on the buildings but mostly had a figure for commerce and justice plus one additional figure. 

True to any city with a large university here has to be night life area near by.  In Dublin it is the Temple bar area.  For a city that is known for it's puns there really aren't that many.  We were told that Dublin has the fewest pubs per capita compared to the other cities in Ireland.  Temple Bar area has the most in one area and is lengendary for it's nightlife.  Everyone from our group went there the previous night.  They even saw an authentic bar flight where a guy got knocked out.  

We continued on to the west side of the city stopping across he street from Christ Church Cathedral.   The building was massive.  We did not get a chance to enter and I didn't have the opportunity to head back but it was really nice to see.  

Our last stop before our extra for the day was at the Dublin Castle.  As far as castles go it didn't really look like much of one.  We walked into the courtyard to looked around a bit.  

Most of the buildings were built 300 years ago and didn't quite have the details that some of the other buildings we had seen.  In retrospect Dublin Castle and Trinity college have very similar looks.

After walking for about 2 hours we made it to our last stop at the Guinness storehouse.  The building is very impressive.  The visitors center was built about 25 years ago in the shape of a pint glass.  At the bottom of the glass is the lease that Arthur Guinness signed for 9000 years. Not kidding, 9000 years.

The displays were impressive but there is not too much more you can learn about how they make beer after visiting 3 breweries before.  My favorite part of the displays was all the advertising material from the past 100 years or so.  Also they had the different bottles dating back to 1890 that were made from stoneware rated than glass.

At the top of the giant pint glass there is the gravity bar.  This was the highlight of the entire building.  You could get your free pint, aka included in your ticket price, and look at a 360 degree view of the city.  Looking at a city and seeing practically everything it has to offer is really amazing.  As for the pint I liked the taste of the beer alright but the after taste is killer.  I only drank about 1/4 of it before my upset stomach started to rare up like if likes to when I drink any type of beer.

I enjoyed the view of the city a bit longer before heading back to Temple Bar to find lunch.  After drinking Guinness and hearing about the steak and Guinness pie there I had to find some pelf my own.  I was successful and it was delicious. Even the mushrooms taste good and most of you know how I feel about mushrooms. And again some potatoes on the side.  Some people's entrees in Ireland had 3 or 4 potatoes side dishes.  No kidding.  

Some of the girls were keen on shopping but I was not in the mood so one other girl and I headed back to the hotel to do some laundry.  I also tried to take a nap but the hotel was loud and our room was hot.  And the sheets are strange.  So far I've only had one place with a top sheet, blanket and comforter.  Everywhere else you only got a comforter with a washable sheet covering it.  Its been warm in some places which led to being too hot while sleeping.  But so far I've survived.

At 6:30 a group of 11 from our 21 went back into town to grab some dinner.  Again the portion sizes where huge so I decided on a soup that was small but I couldn't even finish.  I also had an Irish Bailey's coffee could have taken up some room in the stomach.  

Baby quilt déjà vu

It seems a bit a déjà vu.  This quilt looks offley similar to another one I made.  And for good reason.  It's version 2.0 of the baby girl lattice quilt.  I finished the top a year or more ago.  Now it is finally complete and off my to do list!

Some baby girl will love this quilt.  The pink back makes a great frame for a girly quilt.  But as I am not one myself, it doesn't make it too girly, but enough.

 This quilt features the warm colors from the color wheel and green.  Green seems bend either way for baby quilts, clothes, decor, etc...  I love green, especially when it leans towards teal, and it completes the rainbow pattern within the size of the baby quilt.

It feels so good to mark a project off my list, even if it wasn't written, it's a weight off my mind!  

Day 11 Getting the Gift of Gab

Another food item to cross off the list.  Black pudding.  Basically taste like a heavy sausage with a little more fat than a usual sausage.  Not too bad.  So if you are counting - Yorkshire pudding, haggis, Irish coffee in Ireland, and blood pudding.

We left our hotel in Killarney early to start our drive to Dublin.  But it wouldn't be a good driving day if we didn't make a couple stops along the way.  Our first stop of the day brought us to Blarney Castle.  

The castle sits within a massive park.  This of course is where the famed Blarney stone is where if you kiss it you will be gifted with the gift of gab.  The stone sits at the top of the castle.  You have to walk up about 4 or 5 stories worth of spiral staircases.  Once you reach the top you sit down with the help of an assistant and grab the bars behind you.  You lean back while holding on and kiss the stone which is below the stone you are sitting on.  They even have an official photographer with the kiss cam.  

Now I official have the gift of gab and should be able to talk my way out of any situation.  

The rest of the park was beautiful.  Arboretums, gardens, streams and paths that wondered all around that castle.  I could have spent a couple hours there easily.  But we only had a little over an hour so I stayed close to the castle and wandered the paths around there.  And off we went to the town of Cashel.

Cashel is well known because of the Rock of Cashel.  The Rock of Cashel is a cathedral that dates back to around 1100.  It was used before that as the location that the local area would crown their kings.

  Most of the church dates back to he 1270's.  Some of the painting from that time still survive.  Which is amazing when you find out that the building has been is disrepair for at least the last 250 years with no roof to protect some of it.

  It reminded me of Edinburgh Castle because of the rock base it was on.  It is the famed home of St. Patrick.  I think that I was the only one in the group that paid to get in but for €6 it wasn't too bad of a price. 

Our destination was about 2 hours from Cashel so in went a movie on the bus.  

I logged all my experiences while the movie was playing. We arrived in Dublin at about four.  A couple girls and I headed down to the main shopping area.  There is a chain called Primark that everyone had been raving about.  Its like TJ Maxx and Target combined but cheaper.  What did I buy? A Disney shirt of course.  I couldn't help myself.  

And I bought a couple other souvenirs at a tourist including another thing that I cant live without, another tin which will be loved and used when I get home.

We had dinner at our hotel which was pretty close to downtown.  I planned on going out with some people after they finished their Irish night. But I missed them when they headed into Temple Bar.  So I ended up staying in for the night and got a good night's sleep.

A Lattice baby girl's quilt

As many of my projects go it take me a very long time to complete an entire project.  I'm superb at finishing the top of quilts but it takes me a bit longer to finish them completely.  But I'm happy to report that I've been on a roll lately.  So at least the next seven posts are completed projects!  I'm so happy I would be jumping with joy if it weren't for the need for me to be still to type up these blog posts!

So here we go with the completions!

 My first project finished was a baby quilt.  I actually finished three but gifted one of them to an expectant mom before taking a photo.  Once of these days I will get better at that too!

Like many of my projects I finished the top of it ages ago!  This quilt is no exception.

 I hand quilted the top, batting and back all together and then hand turned the edges.  Outside of the construction of the top everything else I did by hand.  I'm getting a good callus on my quilting finger now!

I love how this one came out.  It doesn't scream girl but it defiantly leans that way, especially with the purple backing.  I might have an order for a baby girl quilt or two here soon so I'm glad that I have some back stock ready.