Day 15

Day 15: Rain, spitting, mist, clearing, wind. Repeat. This has been the recipe for weather this summer in Ireland. Everyone is talking about how it’s the dreariest summer in ages, and how the weather has been declining into instability over the past few years. On the news this morning they said that they used to count on six weeks of beautiful weather in the summer, but no more.

Colin and Kari slept nearly until noon to replenish their bodies some much-needed rest. When they rose we decided to go into Glengarrif to have a little lookaround and get out of the house. After stopping at the recycling center and making a great racket crashing the bottles and cans into the recycling domes, we drove in the lashing rain to Glengarrif.

A stop in Quills netted Colin a linen tablecloth and napkins, and a stop at the Cottage Inn netted a zero in terms of lunch quality. On account of the rain we gave up the sightseeing and headed into Bantry to the Supervalue greocery. We should have a credit card there, we drop so much cash. The rain was simply gunning down when we left and continued to lash when we arrived home.

Clare had, as is usual, fallen asleep just 5 minutes from the cottage, and I sent everybody inside while I sat with her in the car. Usually she’ll sleep 20 minutes and roust about, ready to go, but after an hour, she was still zonked. I was quite enjoying myself, thinking and resting in the car, protected from the Irish rain, while holding her head and hand. When the hour was up I went inside and put her in my bed, where she slept for another hour. At seven pm we finally woke her. I think, like Colin and Kari, she needed to catch up on sleep.

As evening neared Colin sat in the front window which overlooks Dunmanus Bay and worked his watercolors. Kari sat peaceably beside him, knitting the beginnings of a rose colored scarf. Clare whipped up a few beautiful abstracts in vivid brushstrokes with her own paint set. Tom rested while watching the Olympics swimming excitement, and Lisa typed away, trying both to catch all the little quiet details that make a vacation an experience, and also in attempt to flesh out a few exercises for both her English classes this fall.

After a tickle fight between Colin and Clare, we had a lovely dinner of rose-colored trout, barely steamed broccoli, and basmati rice with a lovely little Semillion-Sauvingon Blanc for dinner. Lisa picked up a nice little pear and custard tart earlier at the supermarket and that finished off a nice meal.

More rain is forecasted for tomorrow, and people are being advised to stay off the roads, so we don’t know quite what to plan. Probably it will be a trip to Mizen Head to see the cliffs. The weather here is almost as fun as it is in Italy. Whereas the Italian version of delivering the weather is to shrug, point, wave about the hands while pointing at numerous unintelligible symbols on the greenscreen while speaking for many many minutes on end, Irish weather is a sheepish young newscaster huddled at the edge of a large green island covered in black cloud symbols, most with sun peeking out. He or she will say: Showers today, heavy at times, with spells of sunshine. Heavy downpours and periods of sunny clearing will continue into the evening. For tomorrow: more of the same. Tom and I look at each other and giggle every time.

téigh in éag (means: to end!)