From the papers

Last weekend we walked into the nearest town and then caught a bus into another town basically because that is where the nearest ATM is located. While we were there we stocked up on groceries and also bought a newspaper.

The paper offered some interesting information on the economic situation here. One article compared average prices in Ireland to prices in the rest of the European Union. Some (mildly depressing) facts:

• Food here costs 32% more than elsewhere in the EU, despite the fact that Ireland produces quite a bit of its own food.
• Alcohol costs a whopping 67% more than the rest of the EU. And again, a lot of it is produced here.

Another article gave a breakdown of how the Irish spend their money. Last year, the Irish spent 2.3 billion euro on tobacco and 6.5 billion euro on alcohol, for a total of 8.8 billion. Their for-home food purchases only totaled 7.5 billion euro. Even when factoring in 2.2 billion for eating-out expenditures, the total is 9.7 billion. Which means that the Irish only spent 12.5% more on food than on tobacco and alcohol.

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Last night, on the eve of America's independence day, my friend had to vocally restrain me from singing Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" at midnight in a bar filled with Irish folk. She then told everyone that I am absolutely the worst singer in the entire world, which I thought was a little harsh.

Anyway, today we'll be celebrating the holiday with the other Oklahoman, who will be making us some Frito pie with ingredients she brought from America. Go USA!