this morning i woke with the sun and then had a lazy start. mom drove dad in to work so we could have the car. when she returned, i was making myself breakfast and finn was running around chasing his stuffed sheep. mom joined me at the table and we enjoyed the sun highlighting the grass on roche's point across the bay. after talking about the possibilities of the day, we decided on a hike and fish and chips at cronin's. we dressed warmly in sweaters, scarves, gloves and wellies and headed out into the back field.
we had to first climb the fence and then step over some electric wire before we were fully on our way. visiting the cows was our first stop.
they were a bit leary of us at first, but then they came around. did you know that the happiest cows are not from CA, but right here in IRE!!
we greeted the donkeys, nelly and kelly, on our way up to templebreedy cemetery. normally i find cemeteries to be somewhat creepy, but here in IRE they are mysterious and sad.
the church itself is mostly ruins and the roof has long since gone. there is ivy climbing up all four walls inside and a great view of roche's point from the east window.
mom and i spent a good amount of time looking at all the headstones, making comments on some of the truly irish names like 'paddy murphy', 'cissie o'reilly', and 'patrick o'connor'. we had a great view of crosshaven from the cemetery so mom was able to point out a few landmarks as well as the route that takes us into the village from the house. we continued to make a circle through the cemetery and then exited back out onto the road which lead us into the village from the west. since sidewalks aren't very common here, we had to stick to the right side of the road and hug the stone wall every time a car passed. fortunately for us, walkers are not an uncommon sight over here and each car moved over into the left lane to pass around us.
when we arrived in crosshaven, we made a quick stop in mary power's hardware store so mom could say hello and introduce me. she is the sweetest little lady! she told a few very laughable stories, one of them about a woman whose husband had recently died. when mary asked her if she missed her husband, she answered immediately, 'i don't.' just like that! we visited a bit longer and then were on our way to cronin's for our much deserved fish and chips. the pub was very quiet, which i appreciated. we took a table near the fireplace and warmed up while our sever poured a murphy's and a guinness.
when we were told that fish and chips were not available today, mom and i settled on a bowl of the soup of the day - cream of vegetable with beef - and split a roasted chicken sandwich. A-MA-ZING!!!
as she paid the bill, mom announced to our server that today was my birthday. '18?' was her guess. of course that made me laugh and i had to correct her. 'No, 30!' She smiled and told me that was her age and welcomed me into the world of being thirty. i think i'm going to like it!
the walk home felt a bit more chilly than when we started out earlier, so our pace was a bit brisk. we when reached the driveway, eddie appeared to say hello and walk with us up to the house. she got a treat from me when we got to the back door and hung around a bit until finn got on her nerves.
mom and i have been enjoying some down time this afternoon before we meet dad at annie's for dinner tonight. i've uploaded pictures from our day here.
thanks for all the birthday wishes i have received from friends and family today - they have made my day all the more special! 30 is going to be a wonderful year!! :)
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