This week went by quickly, as they are wont to do when I'm busy, so busy this week that I forgot to write this on Friday.  While most of those who read it are still fast asleep, since it's 3 a.m. in the states, I woke this morning and realized that I didn't do it yesterday. 

After weeks of thinking that our shipment from the states was going to come any day, we received an email from Allied asking for yet another form before the stuff would be allowed to be shipped from Baltimore!  The form required, an Employer Identification Number -- EIN,  could only be applied for in the United States.  The fact that we are not employers made no difference.  Apparently when an employer pays for relocation it's taxable income and this is how they are keeping track of who is getting relo.  The instructions said it was 'easy' to get the required number, but when we tried, the IRS site detected we were in Ireland and would not let us submit.  The only way around it would be for us to come back to the states to fill out the form and use our US address as the 'employer.'  Way more than we wanted to do.  After a day or two of thinking about it, we decided that the shipment was not in the cards.

That decision actually was more freeing than I'd expected, a sensation I remembered from when we moved in 2006 from Wisconsin, and a 3,500 square foot house, to Washington, DC and an apartment less than a third that size.  The first year there we kept most of our stuff in storage but after a year of not using it and paying the monthly fee, we decided we didn't need all that stuff after all.  That's pretty much what happened this time.  We have been here since April 3 and except for Alan's lament that he put his winter coat in the shipment and had to buy another one, we haven't really wanted for anything and can't really recall what we shipped.  That, and the $3K to get it here and $3K to get it back convinced us that we could live without whatever it was, except coats, shoes and bikes!

Well, those of you who know me, know that was a license to shop! I went to my favorite store, Clearys on O'Connell Street, and bought a great coat, on sale because it's going to be spring here eventually, and a pair of dress shoes.  It was a pleasure, particularly that it took me hours, sans Alan of course, and then I had lunch in the tea room in the store.  It was just like old times, except for the void where my mother would have been!  Sometimes I miss her so much and shopping, with a splurge in the tea room, is one of those times.  She's my imaginary companion on these occasions now, I have to guard against verbalizing my internal dialogue with her lest I become the crazy old lady of Clearys. 

The one item in the shipment that both of us really lamented was our bikes.  This is a great biking city and our place in Sandymount is right on the sea with a bike trail into the city and points north and south for many, many miles.  Nice, paved, flat bike trails.  There's a bike store right in our little village so once we made the decision that the shipment was off, we went there and picked out two new bikes and all the essentials (helmet, toe clips, basket, lock, padded seat).  We were supposed to pick them up yesterday, but this is Ireland.  Hopefully that means they can be got today. We're hoping to ride today as soon as the rain clears out -- this IS Ireland.

Finally, I think I made a new friend, Mary.  I met her on the weekly Sandymount walking group outing a few weeks ago.  We went to a movie, a re-release of Cinema Paradiso, at the Irish Film Institute on Tuesday. She brought another of her friends, Noreen, and we had a great time.  Mary is a real match maker and took great pleasure in introducing me to Noreen because we have a lot in common as well.  I'm looking forward to how that will develop. 

Next week we are off to Bruges and The Hague.  We leave on Tuesday and return the following Monday evening, so my post will be delayed until I return on the 29th.  Hopefully there will be lots of fun adventures to report.