Surprise responsibilities and a dreary day...

I have had a busy past couple of days, although I didn't have to work at all! Having Friday and Saturday off is going to be so nice! Friday the three of us went to The Ulster Museum (Ulster is what they call Northern Ireland.) It closes on 4 October for a few years for renovations. We spent a lot of time in the Troubles Exhibit, still trying to grasp exactly what we are working with here. We spent some time walking around the University area as well. It is freshers week (similar to freshman orientation) so there are people and promotions everywhere. Alison will be working in the university area doing a coffee ministry from 11-3am on Thursday nights, the big party night. We have planned to check out the bars in that area then go meet up with her as often as possible. Having Fridays off will be nice if I am up til 3am helping her!

We got pininis for lunch in a cute little coffee shop in the city center then hit the shops. I got a new wallet with a good size change purse at T.K. Maxx, the Irish version of T.J. Maxx. Pretty funny. I also found some 7 Jeans for 20 quid (bucks), about $40. Pretty sweet find none the less. I got an amazingly cute dress that I will never wear here because I would freeze. Lauren said that I must wear it at her wedding (whenever that may be) in order to commemorate our year. The afternoon was a great chance to get out in the city and feel like part of society here. In the same way, we checked out some of the new bars in our area, one that we particlarly liked was The Duke of York. We found others, The Cloth Ear for example, to be very hoity toity and not all that good. We met some gents at the Duke (yeah, boo on the short name....), one of which had run track at Greensboro College of all places for a year. They were a wee bit older than we were though, but nice to have people to talk to.

We have finally finished painting our living room! It took us forever, complete with a crazy adventure on the buses for Lauren and Alison to go get more paint. We really weren't sure how it was going to turn out and even talked about repainting part, but I think it came together nicely, it feels more like our house since we have made it what we like. We are still in the process of trying to find a fabric store for curtains, but generally, it is 10x better... tell me if you agree!

Before:




After:



We like it a lot : )

Today I went to church at Fortwilliam and Macrory for the first time. Everyone was very friendly. Things are kinda crazy right now because Lesley is so sick and is out for another two weeks. We have guest pastors each week and Muriel, the clerk of session, is running the church pretty much. She has a lot on her plate, but handles it all really well. I also didn't know that I would be doing bible class this morning. Much like children's church at home, all of the kids leave after the children's sermon. The younger ones go to sunday school and the youth (11-18 year olds) come with me. While I wasn't prepared at all, I made do with some name games. The youth were pretty receptive to me, something I was kinda worried about. Doug warned us that they tend to get use to a volunteer, Kirk who was there before me, and then are kinda slow to warm up to the new person. I think being the first female in this church with PC(USA) for the past four years will be helpful. Tonight, I also have The Point, the youth group I will be leading Yet again, I had been planning on starting next Sunday but, thats okay... it is nice to have something to do!

I ironed a rediculous amount of clothes today, ironing t-shirts for the first time ever haha. But when everything air dries they are all pretty stiff, so t-shirts and socks were included in the ironing. Maybe when I get back to the states the habit will stick?!?

I spoke with dad briefly on skype this afternoon, it is his birthday (happy birthday daddy...hip hip horray x3 as is the tradition here...) He told me that my Grams husband Ralph is in the hospital and has had gal bladder (maybe?) removed. Keep him in your prayers.