a chara...: It's my turn again

I've had the whole week off! It is now Friday and I've run out of to-do list items, except for this one. As some of you may know, Erin and I were due to be on some remote Greek island right now soaking up the sun, slathering on the hummus, and gorging on the Greek yoghurt. Alas, she got a 4 week assignment as a teacher in an English-teaching school that perfectly over-lapped with our holiday. And here I am, serving as house-husband for the week. It's rough. And stressful. The kitchen has been a frightful experience for me this week. Patience, coordination, experience... all things I have in short supply. I'll let Erin tell you how I got on.

Something that has made it difficult has been the lack of gas to the cooker and no hot water. It's hard to believe given that we pay a premium just to live in a modern 'luxury' apartment but we're going to be without a gas supply for up to 3 months! Maybe more!! As I type I have an electrician in fitting a big hot water tank to run off the mains as a temporary measure. As you can see below, this 'temporary' monstrosity is bigger than our old boiler and takes up most of our storage closet - not good!

Also, costs a fortune to heat compared to using natural gas. For comparative purposes:

Electricity Gas

UK: 0.28 0.09

US: 0.12 0.03

*Units: ($ / kWh)

What stands out about the table above? Well firstly, I don't ever want to hear any of you yanks complaining about bills. Be thankful that your forefathers found you such a rich and bountiful land with natural resources coming out your ears! Try living in a place where rain and wind is all you've got. Can't power a nation on rain! And you'd be lucky if one of those big ugly windmills could power a clock, never mind your home. Though I understand that you Californians are coveting that natural resource of ours these days. If only we could trade water for power.... Secondly, it will cost me at least 3x but possibly up to 6x (electric heaters aren't as efficient as my gas boiler) more to provide Erin with hot water.

Awh, a rainbow. Now, how to convert it to a heat source.

The day the cooker returned was glorious! I made Spag Bol.

All that to say, we made an offer on a house....

CALM DOWN everyone. I know what you're going to say. 'But that means you'll be there forever!' 'What about Lockheed, Chula Vista, DP, etc.' Don't worry. Lord willing, that'll come. Sometimes it just makes financial sense. We had a 3-5 year plan when we got married. We're 2.5 years in. This Belfast gig has a few years left to run. I've already paid off $45,000 of my landlady's mortgage. I'd rather be chipping away at my own. And before anyone gets ahead of themselves, they turned down the offer. So we could still be in the Bakery this time next year. Erin has said she'll cry when it comes time to leave it.

Could this be the end? Probably not!

I've had an expert realtor's opinion on the property. Seth and Heidi came to view the property on their first day with us. I put him straight to work! It's a project, that's for sure. But it has some potential. And it has far more space than the Bakery just in case we decide to expand ;) A garage too, which is a must for any self-respecting man.

This blog post could run and run. I've much to talk about so I'll split it up. This past weekend Erin went camping to the North-West of Ireland. I'll leave her to tell you about her experience if she wishes (she probably won't - nothing to write home about). However, in her absence my parents came to town with Avril. They stayed up for the weekend and we had a lot of fun. This was the weekend of the 12th, a 'cultural spectacle' some might say. Not my mum! Dad knows all too well what happens on the 12th. He grew up in this part and as a Catholic he knew this was the time of the year to keep your head down.

What is being commemorated on this day? The protestant King William of Orange's defeat of the Catholic King James at the second battle of the Boyne about 320 years ago. What actually happens? It's a rub-your-noses-in-it festival for the British occupants of this land to remind the Irish that they run the place. What form does it take? Bonfires, parades, and the burning of the Irish flag:

This is one of the largest. So many pallets getting burned.
They guard these things day and night with their lives.

We arrived just as the scum were scaling the structure with Irish flags, and
stolen statues of Mary from the local church. My mum was so outraged. I had
to bundle her back in the car before we got stabbed!

Scum! Getting ready to torch our flag.
Erin feels even stronger than I do about this.

I respect their right to celebrate their culture but some of what they do is ludicrous

A bonfire I took my parents to on the Shankill Road. I told them before they
got out of the car not to say a word to each other or anyone else. If
someone had have caught wind of our accents we would have been toast, literally!

The fire department cannot put out the fire itself despite the clear dangerous it
poses to peoples homes and safety. This would be preventing them from 'celebrating their culture'.
Even lampposts melt and fall over. Instead they have to treat the houses themselves in case.