Waterford

FMM: 1 mi

Happy Monday, Everyone,

I hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving. We traveled by train to Waterford for a Thanksgiving dinner with fellow Fulbrighters. I guess they hadn't read the book on what and how much Americans eat for Thanksgiving, but the food was interesting and tasty. However, today I find myself longing for mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin and pecan pie with ice cream AND whipped cream upon it. Never mind, those thoughts probably make you sick by now.. The Waterford Crystal plant officially closed in October. Waterford was bought by a U.S. venture capital company that has moved the production to Czechoslovakia. That has been a huge blow to Waterford, but it is still a lovely historic town which dates back to 900 AD. They have something in the museum that exists no where else in the world: a piece of clothing from Henry VIII. It is a perfectly well-preserved "hat of maintenance" which Henry wore under his crown. We hoped to hear traditional Irish music on Saturday, but we got treated to another night of country western in our hotel. Think of an Irish singer singing "Okie from Muskogee". We were joined by a couple in their 80s. The man had never been out of the Republic of Ireland, not even to northern Ireland. He was a singer, so he got up and sang a few Irish tunes which delighted the crowd... We are having company for dinner -- yes, two people have actually agreed to come here tonight and eat with us before a concert. I got out one of my most precious commodities: a box of Betty Crocker brownie mix for which I paid $4.00. Then I discovered that the directions are in metrics! How dare they do that to me?? Make me pay top dollar (top euro?) and then put the directions in metrics? Since I have no mixing bowls, I used a large pan that I use for cooking vegetables. However, I'm a bit concerned that a slight green bean flavor may seep into my brownies. I then put the brownies into the same pan that I have to use for the lasagna, so I'm also concerned that at brownie flavor may seep into my lasagna....Anyway, I am off to make a third try at locating ricotta cheese lest I revert to Bob Bridwell's old recipe of using dried cottage cheese...Wish me luck. Remember, what people think of me is what they think of YOU as an American! So, I will try to behave myself.

Out doing something cheesy (I hope),

Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

The Morning After

FMM: 8 mi

Hi, Turkey-lovers (haters?),

In case you haven't gotten off the couch yet, it is now Friday...We went to the Hilton "American Thanksgiving" celebration. We fell for the marketing ploy and enjoyed sitting amid little American flags in the bar listening to a country western singer/guitarist while watching a real, live NFL game...Today we are taking the train to Waterford for The Fulbright Commission's Thanksgiving dinner. Packing is a breeze since I only have about 4 outfits...Currently, all my kids are at our house in Columbia, Mo and I'm not. I am sad about that. Nonetheless, I am soldiering on to new places today...NO BLOG TOMORROW OR SUNDAY..

Don't shop too much and eat a plate of leftovers in my honor,

Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Happy Thanksgiving!

FMM: 3 mi

Hi, Turkeys,

Shouldn't you be stuffing your turkey or a least yourself right now? Not us. Bob is off to work, and I am off to walk at the seashore. The forecast is cold (40s) and windy, but no rain. I won't need my plasto-bonnet or my phat hat today--what, you didn't read yesterday's comment section? You're slipping... Tim and Megan will be in Jefferson City with Megan's relatives. Molly will be in Jefferson City with Cody's relatives, and Nancy will be in Marshall, MO with Marie Schulte's family.

We will take the train to Waterford Friday for a Thanksgiving dinner for the Fulbright people.

I am nostalgic for the Thanksgivings of my childhood with Dad in his element happily carving the turkey surrounded by all of us. May you have a memorable day with family and friends today.


Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Secret Revealed

FMM: 2.5 mi



Hi, Curious and Curiouser,

I have figured out why the Irish are so literate. No mystery to me why there is an overabundance of readers and writers here: nobody wants to go outside. I wish I could play a soundclip of the wind for you. I did the next best thing; I went to Weather Underground and compared the wind in Columbia, MO to that in Dublin. Here's how it breaks down:

DUBLIN: Wind 37mph, Wind Gusts 55.3 mph
COLUMBIA: Wind 11.1 mph, Wind Gusts 21.7 mph




Nonetheless, I am determined to take a break from darning at the peat fire today... There was a nationwide strike by public employees here yesterday. It shut down many venues, including Bob's school. So, we had the day off to explore, but nothing was open. We did what you would do: nothing. We read, watched TV, and had my kids' favorite dinner: popcorn...No one has sent in a jingle or tagline for my my plastic rain hat campaign. Get busy, you slackers! Do you think you can read my blog for free? Here are a few I have come up with:

"My hat's phat." ( I must appeal to the 14-39 demographic).."How Dry I am." ( the rights to this song must be available)..Surely you can do better than this! So reply below or send me an e-mail. As you can tell, I'll read any drivel you send.


Winding through the wind like an old windbag,

Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Problems Solved!

FMM: 1 mi


Good day, blokes and folks,

I know you've all been wondering about my fashion idea. What fashion idea could T/T/T-M/M/L/E come up with that would sweep across the U.S. making her rich and famous once and for all? More later on that.

As Mrs. Magers often told her students, if you have a problem you can either own it or solve it. While I choose to own most of mine and whine about them incessantly, sometimes I figure out ways to solve them. Here are some solutions I've come up with lately:

No corkscrew?

A well-placed carving fork does the trick. A little elbow grease and some loud exhortations (can't repeat as my kids read this, you know) help the process. I will advise that paperclips, toothpicks, and regular forks don't work. Using this method actually improves the wine's flavor - or at least your ultimate enjoyment of it.


No basting brush?

Pour oil on your hands and rub the chicken. It works just fine and can be rather therapeutic.


Too cheap to buy nail polish remover?

Just let your toenails grow out and the polish eventually wears off. Then you can take a pointed nail file and scrape the rest of it off. This whole process only takes about 3 months, and no one wears sandals here anyway.


Umbrellas all bent and broken?

***Here is my fashion idea***Remember those plastic rain bonnets that tie under your chin? That's right, the kind Mom still puts on after she gets her hair done? Why carry an umbrella around when you can pull a handy rain hat out of your pocket and put it on? I really do think a plastic rain cap would complete my look -- purple wheelie cart, outdated light green jacket, worn out running shoes, and granny jeans...Molly, please ask Cody if he will get on this right away. I think this idea could take the world by storm (no pun intended). I need a marketing campaign... I will take your suggestions for slogans. Please send them to me and I will publish them right here on the Blog from the Bog. You can even be anonymous. Don't you want to be part of the Next Big Thing?


Always thinking (not always clearly),
I remain...

Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

All Wet

FMM: 2 mi

Happy Monday, America,

We had a bit of rain and wind here and now our two brand new umbrellas are in Dublin dumpsters. I thought perhaps we were the only ones dumb enough to use umbrellas, but we saw umbrella handles in several dumpsters yesterday. They couldn't all have belonged to Americans. I have been wanting to start a new fashion trend anyway. It occurred to me when Mom was here, and she wore this handy rain item...I'll tell you my plan tomorrow. If you want to guess, comment below. I think it would be a perfect complement to my purple wheelie cart persona...The Bridwell family had Thanksgiving in Paris without us yesterday. On-the-spot reports indicated that the babies didn't cry, the children behaved (even my own), and Mom made fudge (now that would be worth flying home for..)...Since _Doc Martin_ went off the air, our new Sunday night show to watch is an Irish dancing contest call _An Jig Gig_. No, I'm not kidding, and it's in Gaelic but there are subtitles...

Clogging and blogging,

Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Saturday Stuff

FMM: 7 mi

Hi, Weekend Wasters,

Shouldn't you be cleaning your garage? Well, since you want to waste your time, I guess it's my duty to help you...It was beautiful here yesterday and I got caught up on my walking quota for the week. I met Bob downtown and we enjoyed the Christmas lights. I persuaded Bob (shamed him into?) to carry home the 2 new folding chairs 2 miles. I wanted him to see how I suffer each day, but he walked briskly, raised and lowered the chairs, and claimed to be invigorated by the workout. Grrrrr......Kind of like when he had his first colonoscopy after my lurid descriptions, but I won't go into that...I got a nice surprise from Tim and Megan: a box of my favorite molasses chips from Flesor's Candy Shop in Tuscola! I sat right down and enjoyed several pieces for my mid-morning snack. Now that they have sent me snail mail, I have removed them from the "Wall of Shame" and added them to the "Snail Mail Honor Roll". Don't you want to be listed on that??? You know what to do. I will be publishing it shortly. E-mail me if you need my bricks and mortar address. Believe it or not, I do exist in the real as well as the virtual world..

Perched upon my new padded folding chair,

I remain,

Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth