Dear family,
My flight to Ireland (AYE-er-land) was pleasant. (Not every knitter gets to fly in The Writer's knitting bag.)
I wore a plastic bag to protect myself from the rain, because they have a lot of rain in Ireland. I'm a doll, and I don't want to get water inside my head, because it could make the inside of my head moldy. Real children should never wear plastic bags over their heads. Real children don't get moldy insides of heads, so they don't need it, and real children need to breathe. You can't breathe with a bag over your head, so it's dangerous. It's good I don't need to breathe.
We flew over some land covered with snow and then the ocean. The Writer held me up to the window, so I could see.
The writer said Ireland is close to another country called England. She said that was where the English language started. (I knew that, of course. I read a lot.)
The sun was shining when we landed in Shannon, but it was raining by the time our ride reached the hotel. I was glad I had my boots and umbrella.
Shannon is the town where one of the main airports in Ireland is located.
We went hiking in one of the big parks. We could hear a cuckoo bird calling from a long way off. It sounds just like the little bird that pops out of the clock in the hall to tell us what time it is. There were lovely yellow bushes everywhere. The Writer said they were gorse bushes. (Gorse rhymes with horse.)
We took a ride in something called a jaunty cart. It's a nice way to travel, and it doesn't go very fast. That gives you plenty of time to look around. A horse, not a gorse, pulls the jaunty cart. (A gorse doesn't do anything much besides sit there and look pretty, so a gorse pulling a jaunty cart would be really slow!) There were lots of jaunty carts on the road, so we decided that a lot of other people had the same idea we had.
I discovered that there are a lot of sheep in Ireland. Sheep make all that yummy wool, which is where a lot of knitting yarn comes from. I think sheep are my favorite animals, other than cats, of course...and dogs...and horses...and goldfish.
We have been seeing the sights, too. That's called sightseeing (SITE-see-ing). Sightseeing is when you go to places you have only read about.
Ireland has some great castles you can visit. We went to see Blarney Castle. It was built in 1446, which was 574 years ago. That's a long time, especially in doll years. It was built long before there were dolls like us.
Of course, one of my favorite things about the trip was visiting the wool shops. Those are what we call yarn shops.
The writer told me I could buy something, and she would pay for it. I picked out some nice yarn to bring back with me.
This is the yarn I picked out. It will keep me busy for a while.
The pubs in Ireland are very nice. The word "pub" is the short name for "public house." That's a place where human people go to eat and drink. It's like a restaurant (REST-uh-rahnt) or a cafe (keh-FAY). They have drinks for grownups, like wine and beer, but they also have drinks for everyone, even children and dolls, like tea and soda. You can even get milk!
When you drink a toast in Ireland, you say, "Slánte" (SHLON-shuh), which means "health." To drink a toast, you gently touch your glass or cup to someone else's and say "Slánte."
I've been pretending to drink the lovely local tea with milk. I have my tea with something called "soda bread." It's tasty. I like the kind that's brown best. Sometimes it's still warm from the oven, with butter on it.
Some people bring musical instruments to the pubs and play for everyone.
Sometimes people get up and dance (or pretend to dance, which is easier for me). I watched the human people dancing and pretended to dance the way they did.
Ireland has a special holiday we also have at home. It was St. Patrick's Day. That's when people in Ireland celebrate (SELL-uh-brate) the man who brought the Christian religion to Ireland. That means they do special things to remember him, like have a party or a parade. There are people of all religions in Ireland, but a lot of them are Christians. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated every year on March 17. Everyone wears green. I wore green almost every day anyway. I knew I would need green clothes in Ireland! People keep telling me I look Irish.
Much of Ireland is very green. I think green must be their favorite color. It is an island, so it is surrounded by ocean. Sometimes the ocean is green, but often it is blue.
The seaside towns are so pretty, and there are lots of boats.
Some of the people who live close to the ocean make a living catching fish. They catch the fish to eat or to sell to other human people to eat. (Don't read this part to Cleo!)
Today is our last day, and it has been very exciting! We stopped in a pub for tea, as we have done every afternoon. It was raining (again). When we came out, the rain had just stopped and the sun had come out. There was a real rainbow!
I've heard that leprechauns hide their pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, so I went to look. The part of the rainbow that touched the ground ended by an old fence. I was very surprised to find a pot of gold-colored yarn!
That was not what I thought a pot of "gold" would be. I wonder where the leprechauns hide their other colors. I didn't take any, of course, because it didn't belong to me; it belonged to a leprechaun. (We shouldn't take things that don't belong to us, and besides, I am a guest in their country.)
Our return trip may be delayed because of flight cancellations (KAN-suh-LAY-shuns). That means the airline couldn't fly as planned. The writer said that she can ship me home in a box, but it may take a couple of days. That's OK, because my new knitting wool will keep me cosy. See you soon! (If The Writer's flight is cancelled, we may have the house to ourselves for a while.)
Love and XXX,
Mandy
P.S., The Writer says not to worry if she can't get a flight home just yet. She will stay in Ireland and work on the stories by email with Mariah. Mariah and Billy can decide what photos to take. The Writer will come home when she can, but we should please stay out of trouble!
Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Marmalade: Purrrfect Cats from KTL
Cleo: Herself
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