Sunshine and Soft Days

In Ireland they have "soft days".  In any other country we would call these days gray and wet, complete with a steady drizzle from sunrise to sunset.  That is in other countries.  Here in Ireland they are "soft" with the steady rain a blessing that everyone knows is necessary for the green and fertile fields.  Yesterday began as a soft day but then turned a little too wet, even for the Irish.  I realized the difference is that on the soft days you can still go about your daily business with little to no inconvenience.  The rain is light enough you hardly notice that it's there, you just may have to change when you get home as you will be a little damp.  This was not the case yesterday - every time I ventured out I got soaked to the bone in a matter of seconds.  Julia and I went into Bantry yesterday so that I could see the doctor.  I had to get an antibiotic for the sinus infection I have.  It's not too bad, just terribly annoying.  We ended up having to drive to the different stores that we had to go to even though Bantry is a very small town.  It was raining cats and dogs!  I have discovered that I much prefer the soft days and their
calm wetness.

On Sunday evening we went out to one of the local pubs, Eileen's.  Every Sunday she has live music and Mike and Julia make it a regular occasion.  This past Sunday it was a mother/daughter duet who were quite lovely.  As it was one of the last nights for Renny and Jean we got them up to play as well.  Jean sang and played a couple of songs and Renny played a few while Heidi sang before doing some of his own.  I loved the whole atmosphere of the evening, with the warm fire and the Irish blokes discussing the week's happenings.  There was one man that they had warned me about, Finbar.  Finbar is a gentleman in his early forties who looks to be in his mid fifties.  He has a very bushy beard and mustache that are always full of foam from his excessive drinking.  On his head we wears an old sailors hat.  He staggers around the bar asking all the women to dance with him.  Oh, and he has very tight pants :(  He spotted me rather quickly and asked/pulled me on the dance floor.  There he proceeded to dance with me, I had to keep pulling away a bit just to not get too close.  He is a very kind hearted man, he just gets a little too exuberant/drunk.  He told me many times how pretty I am and that I am a lovely dancer.  He also asked me repeatedly if I was married or had a boyfriend.  Apparently he has proposed to most of the women there.  I managed to keep a marriage proposal at bay (at least for the moment) and insisted a couple of times, when he got a bit too persistent, that I really had to go talk to Renny or Heidi.  All in all he was quite the stereotypical drunken Irish man in the bar.  After our excitement at Eileen's we went to a much quieter pub to finish off the evening.  The couple who own the second bar are quite a pair, at least the wife is rather interesting.  As a visiting friend of ours said "She must have eaten all the lemons for her face to look like that!"   Julia hushed her saying "We have to live here with her!"  It was a very different atmosphere then our first place.  When Heidi asked for a cider the sour puss woman said "That's an awful lot for just you."  I think there is definitely something wrong for a person like that to be running a bar.


Monday was a most excellent day.  The sun was shining and I got a large amount of weeding done in the gardens.  To top of a beautiful morning and early afternoon my luggage finally arrived at 3:30.  I excitedly checked that nothing was opened or missing.  Then I gratefully took a shower and put on a full set of CLEAN clothes.  I still had about forty-five minutes before I had to feed the animals so I walked up into the hills a bit to get some pictures of the sun setting.  It was magical as it sunk over the hills, casting an orange-red glow on everything.  I also saw a rainbow while I was outside working on Monday.  I debated with myself for a good twenty minutes about going to find the pot of gold at the end.  Then I decided that I would surely see another one at a more convenient time.  I was rather dirty and didn't want to go visit the leprechauns in my coveralls!  Monday night Renny took us all out to dinner for a last supper.  We ate at a pub in Bantry called "The Snug". It was very good, I had the vegetarian lasagna, and the decor was excellent.  There was a tree growing out of the middle of our table!  There were also a numerous number of tress around the place.  I came up with two reasons for the name: One is that the woman's bathroom is rather snug.  Two is that the portions are so large that when you leave your pants feel very snug.  It was a lovely evening and we all miss Jean and Renny very much.  


Tuesday was dedicated to painting as it was sunny again.  I have been painting all of the wood outside - the fences, chicken coop, duck house - green.  That is what I did this morning as well.  Tuesday afternoon Renny gave Heidi and I a ride into town when he was leaving.  We had some errands to run and a few items to post.  We walked back from town which takes about and hour and a half.  It was a rather soft afternoon and when we were about twenty minutes from the cottage a car stopped in front of us.  It was our friend Sheila who teaches woodworking at a local school.  She gave us a lift to the house her friend is watching right now.  We all sat down for a cup of tea and a chat.  I was very grateful to be out of the drizzle with a warm mug in my hands.   It was a very pleasant afternoon.  


I'm off for now.  I'm putting up some pictures and a couple videos as well.  So far I predict the Ireland and I are going to become great friends...