Hello Fans!

Even though we are enjoying some snow flurries at the moment, we know that spring is on it’s way.  (Just don’t know if it will make it before we go home!)  We have had some sunny days though, so we got out here and there and did a bit of sightseeing.

Love the retro taxi’s all over the UK.

Parish Church of St. Malachy (Church of Ireland) in Hillsborough, County Down, NI

Celtic Cross at the entrance of the Parish Church of St. Malachy

The return of one of our YSA...

...Elder Curtis Baker

“Baaaaa!” 

Church of St. Joseph and St. Conal (Catholic) in the village of Bruckless, 

County Donegal, Republic of Ireland

Slieve League Cliffs, County Donegal, ROI

A Napoleonic Signal Tower at Slieve League ~ A means of visual signals (“optical telegraph") popular in the late 1700 to early 1800’s.  Built in response to the threat of a French invasion. There were 81 of these around this island operating simultaneously.  Low cloud and sea fog, all too familiar on the Irish coast, were very real threats to the effectiveness of the system.

Picturesque wee church and village near Slieve League

Our District & Zone leaders ~ Elders Gill, Meyer, White, Blick, Johnson, Edwards & Schroeder

Sisters Morgan, Hansen & Blick

A bunch of Hermione’s at Tayto Castle/Crisp Factory.  ;)  (Love school uniforms!)

Yep. Crisps are made in a castle here in Norn Iron.  We got to go on a tour here AND best of all, we got to meet Mr. Tayto!!! We took home sacks and sacks of free crisps!

Tayto Castle in Tandragee, County Tyrone, NI is over 500 years old.  Has been a crisp factory since 1956.  Crisp flavours produced here are Beef & Onion, Cheese & Onion, Pickled Onion, Prawn (Shrimp) Cocktail, Roast Chicken, Salt & Vinegar, Smoky Bacon, Spring Onion, Wuster Sauce, Ready Salted, Bang Bang Spicy Thai and Chargrilled Steak. Other snacks are ~ Cheese & Ham Toasties, Onion Rings, Saucers, Texas BBQ, Spirals, Curry Chips, Bikers Spicy, Sweet Onion, High Fives Bacon, High Fives Cheesy, Mature Cheddar & Sweet Onion, Sweet Chilli & Red Peppers, Roast Beef & Peppercorn Sauce, French Onion and Texan Grill.  If you don’t like any of the above, you've got one serious problem!!!

Wall and corner watch tower at Tayto Castle

Beaghmore Stone Circles near Cookstown, County Tyrone.  This sight dates back to 2900-2600 BC!!!  One three letter word for that?  O L D !

Sisters Morgan and Hansen and Elder B.

A granite statue of St. Patrick on Slieve Patrick in Saul, County Down, NI  

 Built in 1932 to celebrate the 1500th anniversary of Patrick’s return to Ireland

Saul Church ~  two miles outside Downpatrick, built in 1932 to commemorate Saint Patrick’s first church in Ireland

Plaque on Saul Church

Stained glass inside Saul Church

Wow!  Do we ever love this wee country!  So much to explore. So much history and cool old stuff!  ;)  We just got back from the Preston (England) Temple with our beloved YSA.  It was the perfect way to spend some of our last days here.  Will blog about that next time.

Time is winding down.  I really had no idea that time could go this fast!  We are not looking forward to leaving all the wonderful people here, but we do want to get reacquainted with our kids and grandkidlets, so it’s a real bitter-sweet thing. Kinda looking forward to drying out for awhile though, and seeing the sun on a more regular basis.  ;)

Cheers!
Sister Blickenstaff 

More of the Same, Part II

This may or may not be the last entry I am allowed to post to this blog. Since none of my posts are actually worth reading, it really won’t matter one way or the other. In any case, here is the second half of my extremely valuable mission photograph collection. (You may notice that my second half is larger than my first half. This is made possible, in part, by a Title IX grant to San Juan High School, in Blanding, Utah, where I learned my maths.)

Irish wheelchairs look an awful lot like dresses and camping cots

So just chill out

Trespassing ok

Groovy

They can steal but they can’t spell

I don’t think this applies to Americans

Designed by a cyclist

So am I

I always wondered what happened to him

For him or me?

Looks a wee bit like shoveling to me

Ever!

Meet me at the fireside

This church is rubbish

Classy

Ditto

This sign was outside a church in Lisburn, Northern Ireland

My kind of lawsuit

Pay attention all you right turners

I always knew there was a connection between ozone depletion and toilets - also note that drinking is not permitted in the ozone or the toilet

Hmm

So is everything else

Me too

Tesco knows wise men when they see them

Billy? He’s just a half mile down there on the right - You can’t miss him

Now there is some helpful information

Ever since 1860, nothing smells as clean as coal tar

Love you too

Yes, we call that the ocean, unless this sign refers to the person’s head buried between the posts

When we found this helpful tip in the owner’s manual of our mission car we stopped parking on paper, gunpowder, napalm and marshmallows 

I gotta get me some of that

Now yer talking - I stopped making sense years ago

And don’t you forget it!

I have no idea what this means but it can’t be good

The 3 Stooges

This sign would make sense if it was somewhere helpful, but we had been driving for 3 hours when we came upon this helpful reminder

When we go, we go to the Loo of the Year

He don’t look like slow children to me. However, that is not the point. This is the point: in Northern Ireland, the school crossing sign clearly shows an older sister protecting her younger brother from running out into the street ...

... whilst in the Republic of Ireland, the school crossing sign clearly shows an older brother pushing his younger sister into the street

Yes, but not a very large one from the look of things

Senior missionaries rule! (or is that drool?)

We met some of our best friends here

Could there be a third half? You do the maths, but with posts like this, I’m sure I will be back by popular demand. Maybe.

Elder Blickenstaff