my parents and i arrived at their home in crosshaven shortly after 9am. the drive home from shannon was done in record time - something my dad prided himself in for the rest of the day.
i met finn and fell instantly in love with him! he ran around the house and jumped with excitement as i talked to him. we played for a few minutes and then i helped my dad bring my bags inside. after unpacking a few items, mom and finn and i went for a walk. eddie, the neighborhood terrier, joined us and led the way. she isn't too excited about finn...yet. i think she's a bit jealous that finn has invaded her family!
when we got home from our walk, we found dad making breakfast. eggs, bacon and toast with almond butter. it took all my energy to keep my eyes open while we ate - i was exhausted!! mom pointed out the dolphins playing in the harbor, so i concentrated on them while we enjoyed our meal. when we were through, i excused myself and went to lay down. i think i was sound asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
i awoke to puppy kisses on my face. it was after 3 and my mom and finn came in to find out if i wanted to get up or sleep through the night. :) not wanting to miss out on anything, i got up and joined my parents in the living room. we decided to head down to cronin's, a pub right in the heart of crosshaven. my parents are quite fond of the owners and their two children, denis and joleen. denis attended ballymaloe and is an impressive chef. he maintains a small food shop next door to the pub and is in charge of the kitchen at cronin's. he was in while we were there so i was able to meet him. he only had great things to say about ballymaloe and was very excited for me. mom and i had french onion soup and the mussels. dad had fish soup and the three of us had a Murphy's. stomachs full, we say farewell and headed home.
when we got back to the house, we sat around and chatted, checked email and just relaxed. dad had prepared some chili earlier in the day, so we ate some of that along with a few large shrimp and cocktail sauce. the chili was delicious (or gorgeous, as they say here) even though dad ensured us that his next batch would be better. he had to improvise a bit as most of the ingredients aren't readily available here like they are in the states.
after a glass of my favorite vino, i decided to head to bed. not before dad put the chili out in the boot of the car (that's the trunk, to you and me, russ). my parents have a fridge that's larger than most fridges over here, but it still isn't big enough to hold a large pot of chili! mom and i got such a kick out of using the boot for a fridge!
exhausted but laughing, i headed to bed.
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