Happy Michaelmas 2023! Have an Apple!
You have to grow tomatoes and peppers in a “polytunnel” here in Ireland. It’s too cold and windy outside. July was so cold, my homegrown tomatoes were still pretty green …
Happy New Year: 2023
2023 found us in in Texas with old friends. It was a great way to start the year! Our whirlwind of a holiday month started on December 11th with my …
Fourth of July: Burning Down the House
It took a while for me to understand the irony of booking a room in the Rostrevor Inn in County Down, Northern Ireland for the 4th of July. It’s a …
Another Year, Another Lockdown.
My old friend Jay Rascoe, known to many as the man behind Guns & Tacos sent me this lovely care package from Houston. The teenagers were overjoyed to see the familiar …
Life As We Know It: Covid Pandemic
Tourism is the dominant industry in the Burren region of Western Ireland. Now the Burren has gone eerily quiet. No bright green “Paddy Wagon” tour busses whizzing along the narrow …
Manchester
Visited Manchester for the first time in January to celebrate Julia and Andy’s wedding. The defining Mancusian experience– I watched Liverpool play Manchester United on TV at the Shakespeare Pub …
The Summer’s Gone, it’s Fall in Ireland
The days are getting shorter and the temperature rarely breaks 60°F these days. But it was quite a summer. Our 4th of July BBQ was a blow-out. Kelly’s Houston book …
Starting Over: An East Texan in Western Ireland
Storm Fion, the third named storm of the season is hitting the West Coast of Ireland at the moment. (And we thought we were getting away from Galveston’s tropical storms!) …
Next Chapter: Moving to Ireland
Dear Friends: I’ve been doing a lot of fishing lately. Spent three weekends in November on Galveston Bay, Matagorda Bay and the Lower Laguna Madre. I didn’t catch a lot …
Manx-Mex Chronicles: Chapter Fifteen: What’s On Offer
Tortilla chips and salsa, chili con carne, and fajitas are now typical European bar food. Rare is the English pub that doesn’t serve “nachos.” The influence of Tex-Mex on world cuisine …