The Travelers: My Mother in Law (A), her best friend (C), the best friend’s daughter (B), and me.

We arrived at the airport and had tea and delicious lemon muffins whilst waiting for the rest of our group. We met a couple of women on our tour. One expressed surprise that I’d be traveling with my mother in law without my husband. I commented, “Yes, it is surprising how well we get along. Meeting us is like finding a unicorn.” (Ok, let’s be honest, it’s nothing like finding a unicorn, but it’s kind of weird to need a response for “You REALLY get along with your mother in law?” when she’s sitting right there. Yes, I do. and I like her son too. He’s got excellent taste in women.)
Eventually, the whole group arrived and we headed to Bunratty Village…

The flowers in Ireland are unbelievable.

The moss in Ireland is enchanting.

If I were a troll, I’d live under this bridge.

See, I wasn’t kidding about the flowers. Unbelievable.

What the TARDIS looks like in Ireland

I am Groot.

Durty Nelly’s pub (This pub dates back to 1620, when legend has it, castle guards would grab a pint there.)



We had lunch. (The food was scrumptious, but I still don’t know what all of it was.)


And there was a shop filled with all things Irish. I was overwhelmed by all the cool Irish stuff and wondered how on Earth I was going to decide what to buy. I figured out I should only buy stuff I really love. like the Waterford bowl with shamrocks and celtic knots etched into it. It came with free shipping…for over 400 euros. ok. maybe not.

When working with yarn that might bleed, you’re going to want to wash it before you knit to make sure it isn’t going to bleed AFTER you’ve wrestled with it for eons.


Here’s the back story on that priceless tip:
I WAS thrilled with the Vanessa socks and gave them a quick cold bath (I’d let the water sit for a day so it would be cool since it is like 105 degrees out and my tap water is warm). While taking them out of slightly brown water they’d been in less than 5 minutes, I hoped/prayed the yellow would be less green when they dried and tried to ignore the sick feeling in my stomach. No such luck. The colors next to the yellow bled and there was a darkish stain down the middle. I resisted a frustrated cry and wrapped the less than satisfactory socks up for Turtle.
God bless her, she opened them and exclaimed over them like they were the Sistine Chapel. Only a day later when I mentioned the stain during the photo shoot did she even acknowledge it. She agreed that if she didn’t crease them on that line when she washed them, the stain might fade. I offered to overdye them so they’d be semi-solid but she declined, declaring that she still loved them which made me feel worlds better. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why she is now the proud owner of a second pair of socks knit by yours truly.

I delivered the Rainbow Vanessa Socks to Turtle and was happy to spend some quality time with her clan.

Knit socks also make great hats.

I also had a lovely time playing Marco Polo in the pool with my brother and nephews and niece. The gray socks fit my niece; I was so pleased to find them a home with someone I love enough to give hand knit socks to….and it healed my heart to have them go to someone that knows and loves my dad (the intended recipient).

The niece may have a future in sock modeling.