tuesday and felix

i slept until 11.30 today. well, i woke up at 4am when dad took finn out to use the bathroom, but i fell back asleep. i had great plans to go for a run and enjoy a cup of coffee while the sun came up, but i was clearly too tired. tomorrow.

when i joined my parents in the kitchen, dad was preparing a snack - chicken in a light cream sauce and cottage pie. both dishes were made by denis. i poured myself a cup of FPC and visited with my mom and finn until our snack was ready. both dishes were incredible! while we were eating, mom got a text from her friend dawn who had planned to come over and visit. they made plans for 2pm which allowed time for dad to shower, me to wash the dishes and mom and finn to go for a walk.

i was drying my hair when dad announced that a parade was heading up the hill. mom, finn, eddie, ozzie (another neighborhood dog), dawn, tuesday and felix were quite a sight! when the crowd reached the door, welcomes were shared and introductions were made. mom, dad, finn, dawn and tuesday went inside and i stayed outside to play with felix, eddie and ozzie. felix is an adorable 3 year old with lots of energy and the most adorable irish accent. i found myself asking him questions just so i could hear him talk! when felix decided he wanted to go inside, i helped him remove him scarf, coat and boots and then we joined everyone around the kitchen table. tuesday is a beautiful 5 year old with long, wavy blonde hair. she was a bit shy at first, but later we discovered we both loved Roald Dahl, so we had lots to talk about!

dawn was very curious about my move and had a handful of questions for me. she had come to IRE from london on holiday 16 years ago. her initial visit of 3 months turned into 4 months and then became 5 months and before long she had married her friend, zack and was here to stay.

when the kids had exhausted dad by ringing the doorbell and finished their coloring projects, it was time for them to head home. we said goodbye, dad gave dawn some chili for her and zack (we all enjoyed another laugh about storing the chili in the boot) and they were on their way. we came back in the house to find finn fast asleep in front of the fireplace. he was exhausted as well!

dad planned a dinner menu and mom and i volunteered to head down to the centra in the village. i volunteered that we walk, so we bundled up and headed out. the walk into the village is just about a mile and in the brisk air, it was very refreshing. ozzie met us along the road and walked with us for a little while. there was a light mist as we made the walk, but it wasn't anything unpleasant. we found denis' food shop closed, so we only went into centra. we found all the items on our list, plus a few more, and were on our way back home. we stopped into cronin's to find out if dennis was going to open his shop, but due to a funeral, the pub was very busy and so his answer was 'not today'. i think we'll try back on wednesday.

as mom and i were walking home, we ran into joleen who warmly welcomed me to IRE and then invited us to 'film club' at cronin's which happens only once a month. the movie was to be a surprise, so jolene could only tell us that it was about 90 minutes in length and that the film was foreign with english subtitles. we told her we would seriously consider it and then walked back up the hill to the house. as we rounded the top of the hill, we were greeted by dad who was hanging his laundry up on the clothes line. finn came outside and did a little 'so happy to see you' dance and then we went inside and unloaded the groceries.

dinner tonight was grilled shrimp with mushrooms and leeks over a bed of spinach pasta with a spinach salad and malbec. delicious - although dad would only say 'we'll see' when we complimented him about how good it smelled and looked.

mom and i have decided to head down to cronin's and enjoy the film. dad has to go back to work tomorrow, so he'll be heading to bed shortly.

great day! tomorrow we are taking care of a few business items - mom applying for her irish passport and me sorting out my stay.