slip sliding away

i bough this sweater for an ugly jumper party. it's from a charity shop. only €4.50!
it has little hanging bits all over like tiny ornaments. the party is the 13th of December.

hubs heading out into the winter

so glad i bought these wellies shoes before moving to Dublin

i call this one 'fountain with husband + snowfall'

'fountain with me + loaf of bread + snowfall'

We went out to buy a loaf of bread from Spar to make garlic bread for dinner. As you can see, the idea of shoveling snow and clearing walkways is foreign to Dubliners. There is ice everywhere. Crossing the street ends up being a good leg exercise from tensing up and trying not to slip. I think they are just waiting until it all melts to walk on the sidewalks again. Hubs and I walk around gripping the other's hand for dear life! Everything might be covered in ice, but to be honest it isn't that cold. Yesterday it was -2°C, which is about 28°F.

In other news, the guy at Spar is my new best friend. He asks me & hubs what we are doing here, how we like the snow, how long we've lived in Dublin. It's nice to have a friendly face pop up in your normal routine and somebody to make small talk with. I think the Spar man is originally from India. In Europe, most Indian or Middle Eastern people call themselves Asian. Of course they ARE Asian geographically but I am used to people in the US being more specific about where they come from. To me, Asian means Southeast Asian more than anything. It's funny the various connotations of words in different countries.

Anyway, Spar-man was surprised when I said we are used to much more snow than this where we are from (Minnesota). I've heard on the news that this is the 2nd coldest winter in Ireland since they started recording temperatures. Everyone probably thinks this is a horrible blizzard.  Spar-man also questioned why we would leave the US to live in Dublin. "Isn't United State more better for job?" he asked me quizzically. "Yes you are probably right," I told him, "but we wanted to live in a new country and experience new things." He smiled and nodded. "Me too," he said.
Irish vocab:

"jumper" = sweater

"bits" = pieces or things

"footpath" = sidewalk

"there now" = we are done (with whatever we were doing)

This is what shop ladies and Spar-man say to me when they are done ringing me up and I've paid. There now. It sounds so final!