December - Christmas in Waterford, Ireland

The Christmas Blog of Elder and Sister Weber

Life is accelerating here in Ireland.  The days are flying by and things are happening way too fast. We really enjoy hearing from all of you and encourage you to keep on writing.  Remember John Dunn and "WRITE YOUR MOTHER IN IRELAND." We love hearing about your families and wards.  Here is a new convert of about 5 months.  Patrick Connolly, his son and daughter.  He is now our Branch Mission leader.  He is an ex-minister, and very helpful to us.

He had us over for dinner, and as you can imagine they heaped on the food.  They usually do not ask what or how much, they just put it on and we eat.  Karen was too slow, and her plate was as large as mine, she had to quietly ask me to help her out, and even then she was nearly ill when we got home.  The food was so very good, but she didn't want to offend anyone.  I do not think they would have been offended, but we are not used to waste, so we normally try to eat what we are served.  It was very good, and they are very kind.  They have so little and yet they give us so much.

I will have to tell you a story about Brother Patrick Cleary, here with his son, John.  Everybody in Ireland is named either Patrick, John, or Michael.   Anyway, you may know by now that our telephone is nearly not worth having.  If I don't stand in the kitchen to talk, it just does not work.  That is only one of it's problems.  Another is that sometimes when you hear it ring, you can hear nobody on the other end.  I am never sure if it is me not knowing how to use it, or the phone just being it's normal worthless self.  Anyway, the other day it kept ringing, and I could not get anyone to answer on the other end, so in my frustration I shook it and nearly threw it, and yelled at it.  I fortunately didn't say any swear words, but the phone knew I was not happy with it's dysfunctionality.  At any rate, little to my knowledge, the person on the other end could hear me.  It was Brother Cleary, and he thought I was yelling at him.  We had an appointment with him later that night.  So we showed up, and he was not home.  when we turned to go, we saw him walking across the street, coming from his son's house.  He came up and let us in, and was cordial.  In talking to him, we discovered what had happened on his end of the conversation, and learned that he thought I was yelling at him, and he was going to leave a note on the door telling us to get lost, but decided not to.  We ended up having a good laugh over it, and he suffers from the same frustration as I do about the telephones service here.  He was apologetic, and the next Sunday gave me this tie as a peace offering.  I still get very upset at my phone, but I do not yell at it any more.  He is a very good man.  The tie has on it the letters from the Celtic Alphabet from the Book of Kells.

This is the Espejo family.  They are Italians from Argentina.  They both are in school and are raising their family here near Waterford.  They are such good people.  He is studying to be a forensic computer guy(like Abbey on NCIS), and she is getting a degree in some kind of social behavior.  I don't understand it all that well.  They seem to like us though because they have trouble with English in that they are uncomfortable with the papers they each need to write for their theses and other papers for classes.  He had us do an experiment for one of his, and Karen helped correct her thesis paper.  We wish Allison were here, but there was not time to send it to her for help.  They are great members of the Branch.

Cookie day has arrived.  We go through a lot of cookies, and some times we have to take a half day just to bake up a supple.  Karen goes a little nuts when she starts making Christmas cookies.

You know, the sprinkles, the frosting, the little Santa cookies, he Tree cookies, the bells,  you know, all of that stuff.  They are beautiful, but then there are Gary's cookies.  They have to have a crunch in every bite, no flare, just lots of good stuff, like, oatmeal, chocolate, nuts, coconut, you know hearty stuff, manly cookies. So here they are.  The Hers and the His cookies.

Now, my cookies have a story.  Doesn't everything?  I grew to like Museli, the breakfast cereal.  It is sort of like oatmeal, but with lots of other stuff in it.  It is good just with milk, or cooked, that is the way I like it best.  So, there are so many kinds of Museli that I tried to find the best one.  Then decided to make my own by mixing all of the kinds I could find ( about 8 bags) then adding in coconut, nuts, chocolate chips, and it just went on and on until I had this great tote full of my favorite cereal. (about 6 gallons) Well, it became obvious that I had too much and tried to find other things to use it for.  Well, using it in cookies was a grand idea that Karen and I had almost simultaneously.  So here is my cookie base.  And here are the cookies. They may be my best effort ever.

I use the basic Mrs. Fields recipe and add this mix in.  Everybody loves them.  I make about 12 dozen at a time.  Karen's cookies were put on lovely plates and given out when we visited people over Christmas and when we were invited out to dinner.  All six of us missionaries went visiting our neighbors with cookies and copies of "Joy to the World" people were interested and pleased. Maybe it was the cookies.

As a Senior Couple, we get to inspect missionary apartments about once every "moves" or 6 weeks.  They have very nice places.  Here at the two who live in Waterford.
We also inspect the apartments in Cork.

We have the missionaries over to eat quite regularly, and help them with teaches and rides when the weather is pretty difficult.  They are brave soles and don't mind long walks because "we get to meet people along the way and it is fun."  They are amazing.

Stop

About half way to Cork there is a city called "Ring."  because it circles a bay on the coast, I suppose.  This little town is unique because all of the signs in the town are are written in Gaelic, or Irish.  Even all of the writing in stores.  I learned today that nearly everyone in town speaks fluent Irish.
They speak English also.  In public places here in Waterford, if you insisted on speaking Irish, they would have to search for someone to speak to you.

 It has been quite an experience going around to the different members homes during the holidays and celebrating with them. Each is unique. We’ve had two hearty Irish breakfasts with mega bacon slices, sausage, white pudding, black pudding, melon, scrambled eggs, and juice. White pudding looks like sausages. It is made up of every animal part except the meat, organs, brain, etc. you get the idea. Then there is black pudding made from pig’s blood mixed with flour and put in sausage form. They were okay, but not a favorite.

On Christmas Eve we were invited to dine with two families in the town of Tramore on the South coast. The Bucklands served us breakfast as described above. They had other family members there too. Patrick and Martina have three darling little girls and a baby boy. We’ve forgotten how busy it is with little ones four years and under. Later that evening we had dinner with Brother and Sister Ryan and their family, which included the Bucklands.
 

In between meals we were able to get a little exercise by cleaning the church with the Elders. We were glad we could help in that way.  It was nice to have young muscle with us too. The Elders are great!

On Christmas day, Dad and I, the Sisters, and the Elders had two dinner appointments lined up. But we had a new member with no family here and no place to go. So we decided to have the missionaries and Jonathan over for a breakfast. Afterwards, we went around the neighborhood caroling and delivering plates of cookies. So it turned out great.

Next, we had been invited to the Moylan’s for lunch. Our car isn’t big enough for all the

missionaries, so Brother Moylan graciously agreed to come and pick up the Elders. We didn’t want anyone left out on Christmas. It took us an hour to the Moylan’s, it’s a good thing we had Brother Moylan to follow, it was very involved. They live clear out in the country, down a few rabbit holes.

Brother Moylan has a novel occupation; he is a traveling history teacher. Interesting huh? He is hired by schools to put on historical presentations. He has a trailer full of costumes and props: armor, swords, guns (not real ones, although they look real) and other gear from different periods, including a sub machine gun. He has the school children dress up in period costumes and act out stories. He brought out his assorted collection for the missionaries, thinking they might like to dress up, and they really got into it. The Elders and Sisters had a wonderful time dressing up and acting silly. Dad tried out a few hats and a wig too.

The Moylan’s served us a bigggg Irish breakfast.  We had an enjoyable time there. After our meal and visiting, we headed to the Condemi’s, an Italian family in the ward. Brother Moylan brought the Elders again.

Condemi table

We all spent Christmas at the Condemi home. They have such a sweet family. Brother Condemi runs a Gelato shop and makes all his own Gelato.  Karen would like to live in the back of the shop. The 15 year old girl next to sister Condemi is Leah and she plays piano for the Branch, and does a wonderful job. Sister Condemi is a trained Chef, and loves cooking for the missionaries. You can see her wares on the table.  She makes the very best roasted vegetables.  She showed me how to do it, and tomorrow I will try to roast some for the missionaries on New Years Day.  That is a "no proselyting" day, so we will have them here and cook for them and we will watch some good movies.

Before leaving, we shared a Christmas message on Dad’s computer with the family, as soon as it was finished, who should Skype us, but Ben! And so the Condemi’s were able to meet Ben and Ana and speak a little Italian. Ana, at the same time, was Skyping Marko and Ornella, we said hi to them too, screen to screen. Crazy huh? Wow, doesn’t technology blow your mind? Brother Condemi drove the Elders home. It was so nice of these individuals to leave their families on Christmas to do this service for us.

Williams Family

Unfortunately, the next day was Boxing Day and more eating! Dad and I and the Sisters, were invited to the Williams for lunch. Sister Williams served us Bubble & Squeak. Strange name? This dish is made with leftovers from Christmas dinner - mashed potatoes, and different vegetables maybe a bit of turkey or ham. It is combined into patties and fried in a little oil. As it cooks it makes a bubbling and squeaking sound, hence the name.

While we were there, we met Sharon’s daughter, Shenda, her husband, Razor, who is Iranian, and their two children. It was a treat to get to know Shenda a little better, we’ve heard so much about her.

The origins of Boxing Day go back to “The alms-giving tradition that has always been closely associated with the Christmas season —

During Advent, Anglican parishes displayed a box into which churchgoers put their monetary donations. On the day after Christmas, the boxes were broken open and their contents distributed among the poor, thus giving rise to the term Boxing Day. Maybe.

            But wait: there’s another possible story about the holiday’s origin. The day after Christmas was also the             traditional day on which the aristocracy distributed presents (boxes) to servants and employees — a                   sort of institutionalized Christmas-bonus party. The servants returned home, opened their boxes and                 had a second Christmas on what became known as Boxing Day.  

Karen's Corner - Winterval Excursion

Friday, Dec 13, 2013

We finally made it to Winterval. It was a beautiful day for walking. I sure wish I had Bonnie and Allison with me. Dad has such a difficult time walking around, he tends to be not much fun on excursions. There are a couple of museums that I’m dying to see, Dad groaned when I suggested them. The Medieval Museum is built on top of a 13^th century Church Chorister’ Hall that is underground and a 15^th century wine cellar. Actually, during the festival, they are using the Chorister’ Hall as Santa’s Groto where the children can come to visit St. Nicolas. Then there is a large building called the Bishop’s Palace. It has a Georgian floor of displays and a medieval floor.

Reginald's Tower

The Winterval activities, exhibits and Christmas market booths are set up all around the city center. Dad and I began at the Viking long boat in which Santa Claus arrived to Waterford. There we met a group of school children on a field trip taking in the sights. We’ve seen numerous school groups the last 3 weeks.

Fieldtrippers saw me taking photos near the boat and swarmed
get in the picture when I called to them to smile

Next to the boat was Reginald’s Tower. The tower was built during the 12^th century and is believed to be the first building in Ireland to use mortar. By taking a small windy stone stairway, one can explore four more levels. Each floor has period artifacts and miniature dioramas of the city from the Viking period to Medieval-times, to the present day.

 Inside Reginald's Tower the stairs go up Clockwise making it hard to climb, but easy to defend if you are on a higher floor.  It is really weird climbing up that way and you can see how it throws you off balance even when you are walking.

During Medieval times, Port Lairge, (Waterford) as it was anciently called, was fortified with 27 towers and a 20-foot high stonewall around the city.
Remnants of the wall and a few towers are still visible throughout the city. In fact, J.C. Penney’s has incorporated a portion of the wall inside the first floor of their department store.
 They built the store around that stretch of wall, probably because the old remnants are protected by the government and you are not allowed to remover or destroy them.  We will get you a picture of that soon.

Now That's a Cookie

Karen amongst the Booths

We headed up to the Bishop’s Palace passing numerous Christmas market booths.  Karen saw some very large cookies and had to have one.  I think I ended up helping her with it.  

Singing Christmas Tree

We stopped and listened to the singing Christmas tree. This was a large, tiered bleacher, shaped like a tree covered with greenery where choirs sang to the holiday crowds. It was lovely and put everyone in the Christmas Spirit.

As we were taking in the sights and sounds, whom should we come upon but Father Winter, a 11-foot tall walking puppet; he too was wandering about the festival. I had to have a picture with him.

We stopped to visit a couple selling wooden models. They had all sorts – animals, vehicles, houses, airplanes, wind up contraptions. Originally from Washington State, they now live in Donegal, Ireland. I found an owl for Dad; I just had to buy it.

I enjoyed the chance to visit with a fellow American. I gave them a pass along card with the Mormon.org website. She told us she knew about the Church and had a Book of Mormon, so Dad challenged her to read 3 Nephi 11:11-17. She said she would. One always needs to be ready.

In the city center square a carousel was set up for Winterval. Next to it was and an 8-foot tall Santa’s mailbox, plus many Christmas booths.

Up the street was a store set up like a Polish Village shop. Inside we had a bowl of Borsht. They had pastries and crafts.

Dad is standing in front of the Christmas Train that took passengers on a tour of the festival sights. They also had a double-decker bus drawn by shire horses.

Doesn't He look tired?

After driving in and out of streets and alleys, we found the Winterval Winter Garden complete with wooden deer and polar bears. Close by was also Santa’s reindeer.

Last we stopped to see the re-creation of a Viking village put on by a local Viking Re-enactment Group. The actors depicted authentic Viking life and dress, showing skills such as: basket making, cooking, belt weaving, chain mail and weaponry.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of Winterval!

Vikings left over from 1000 years ago

A Want-to-be Viking

The Irish can't dislike the Vikings, because most of them are now descendent from them.

 The Vikings used to be considered the evil conquerors, but after so many generations now almost all Irish have Viking blood, and they are quite proud of it.

May we always the reason we do all of these things.  For the Glory of our Heavenly Father.  May you all be well this Season and always.  We love you all so very much and we miss you.  Our time here is already 1/9 over and we have so much left to do. - elder and sister weber