...Hammer and Nails...

So it has been crazy over the last few weeks, but before I blog on that I need to finish my Christmas journey first, so apologies if this is a longer blog than usual:

So after the whole surprise thing and the whole returning to my house being decorated thing... I really enjoyed my time back in Belfast. We had a full house for the Christmas week as my grandparents (see picture)



and my middle brother (with my mum in the picture)



where in town for a week! I definitely enjoyed catching up with everyone and seeing many family and friends whom I had not seen in a year and a half! The full house also was a little frustrating at times as I think I adjusted to my own space and independence quite a bit but these were things you just had to get on with!

The week between Christmas and New Year was spent at lots of parties with families and the odd trip to the pub with friends! It was very funny to sit and catch up with some friends including one in particular who said I should have called him to come pick me up for the airport...which was very nice of him....apart from the small matter of when I left Northern Ireland he didn't even have his license and so I wasn't to know he was able to pick me up!!

We even made it to a couple of pub quizzes. I really struggle to find something which is as great a social event than a pub quiz. The mixture of banter with friends, few drinks and good humor with everyone else in the bar is just something that I really enjoy...which might explain why I did it for several years!

One of my parents presents to me was to go for a morning for some Clay Pigeon Shooting:










The gentleman who was coaching me (in the last picture) said I was a quick learner and was one of the best first time students he had had...I made it all the way around the site to shoot from many different angles. It was alot of fun!

So 3 weeks does fly and after many more visits with family, friends, several opportunities to speak in church and some work on the side...it was time to journey back to Allen Park. The day before I left Belfast it was a nice 55 degrees ( 13 Celsius)...and not 3 days after getting back to Michigan it was -35 degrees ( -37 Celsius)...bbbbrrrrrrrr!

To top it all, Allen Park decided to even save me a little bit of snow, that for the first time ever I snowplowed all by myself. A Typical Michigan winter apparently gets on average 44 inches, and to date we have had around 52 inches. If you look, at the wire fence in the first picture, along the side you can see the foot or foot and a half of snow layer that was cut away:



My back yard was pretty covered:



There was even a pretty big mound of snow once I had finished blowing it all off my driveway:



However, as much as I complain about the Cold weather...I really do love the snow:



All in all it was an eventful month from leaving for Ireland to returning to Allen Park. The month ahead looks busy with Winter Retreats coming up but I am loving every minute of my busy life here and long may it continue!

Love and Party Rings! SP x