Special Days

Tuesday was my (Autumn's) birthday.  It was a much needed special fun time for us as Casey had been sick again last week and the sun had been hiding everyday. 

On my birthday we decided to take a little afternoon trip to Belfast Castle. We took the #7 bus to a nice lunch in the City Centre and then the #1 bus to the castle which sits on the side of Cave Hill.  We don't have a car so the bus is our best way to travel.          

Looking down on Belfast.  The castle provides beautiful views of the city.  The sun was out most of the day which I LOVED, but it also continued to rain even with the blue sky.  I saw not one, but TWO rainbows on my birthday. 

Casey had class that night so we had to go out for a special birthday dinner the following night.  We went to a delicious Italian restaurant called Villa Italia.  Casey also gave me pumpkins and lilies for my birthday.  What a sweet hubby!

This week has been a good one for both of us as Casey is feeling better and I felt very special and loved.  Thank you to all those who sent birthday messages to me.  I appreciate it. 

Until the next adventure...

Rainy Days and Coffee Shops...

The last couple of weeks have been spent trying to get into a routine of sorts while simultaneously breaking the monotony of staying at home to study/work.  We find that it rains here most days.  Sometimes it pours sideways, sometimes the sky spits at us or does nothing at all when it looks most ominous, and sometimes, when we think it is safe to venture out, it rains while the sun is shining and the sky looks blue.  Needless to say, we get rained on a lot!  On the contrary, we see the sun a lot more than we thought we would in this country, so we are equally blessed.

One of the things I love about our city is the number of coffee shops and cafes around.  I have always loved coffee shops, and when I step into one it just feels so warm, cozy, and welcoming.  One of our goals is to visit different coffee shops, but we have found one fairly close to home that we enjoy called Common Grounds.  It's a good place for me to work on Spanish translation and Casey to tackle his reading list.  They also have great mochaccinos.

Last week we did have a couple of warm, sunny days so Casey took me to the Botanic Gardens.  Flowers are with coffee shops on my list of favorites, so I was excited!

 They had a beautiful rose garden.

 Below is the palm house.  Not only was it warm and cozy in there, but they had all kinds of tropical plants I recognized.  There were art students doing sketches inside the palm house, so that was fun to watch.  I felt too imposing to take a picture.

We also went to the Ulster Museum where we learned more about Northern Ireland and the Troubles. 

Most importantly, in the last few weeks we've settled nicely into a church family here, which has been such a blessing!  In addition to Sunday mornings, we have been going Sunday nights and have enjoyed going to someone's home for a group study.  Autumn also enjoyed a ladies' Bible study this week at the church.  We have been so welcomed at this church and someone is always willing to give us a ride or help us out when we need it.  We look forward to building more relationships and becoming involved in ministry there.

Well, the forecast tomorrow is....rain...