"Twenty years from now..."

“...you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Welcome to a tour of my new life in Ireland! I'll give a bit of an overview of my last few days, but this post will be mostly pictures. Enjoy!

This is the front of my lovely house. I'm living in the downstairs apartment. The window on the left side of the door is right in front of my bedroom. I'll be sharing the downstairs with one of the school teachers. She's away until July, so for now, I'm on my own. 

The sitting room that has a bunch of lovely windows. The sun just streams in during the afternoon. I'm told that the kitchen table normally goes here, but was moved for the summer.

My kitchen. See my little refrigerator and oven? Through the door, my tiny dryer sits next to an equally small washer. About 4 dresses per load. Makes laundry take a long time!

The resident feline, Patty. I was elected to take care of her, because the other girls don't like her. She's a sweetie. :)


 Friday afternoon, after my shift at the bakery, several girls asked if I'd like to join them in swimming at a cove near their house. I said I'd love to go along, although I wasn't too keen on swimming (I thought maybe, just maybe the water would be cold). I ended up walking part of the way, because they weren't ready to leave yet. Here are some pictures I captured there and along the way.

The bright yellow flowers are gorse. When it's not in bloom, it's a dull green prickly plant. It grows everywhere here!

 This was a view I had coming up over a ridge. It took my breath away.

 At the cove. I'm sorry, I really don't have a decent picture of the cove. This will have to do until I take another.
The sun was so bright and intense, I actually got a sunburn, but, as I predicted, the water was freezing! I walked on the sand and let the waves cover my feet, and before long, they were numb! I'm really glad I didn't actually go in the water.

After swimming, we lounged about on the rocks and pried limpets off. The medium sized white one on the right is Herbert, and Sally is the big brown one on the left. I orchestrated their meeting. Someday, I may tell you their story. It's touching. 

Jaybee's is the convenience store and gas station that the Mennonite community here runs, and the bakery operates out of the back. Every Saturday, Jaybee's sets up a stand in Waterford at the market to sell our bread and cakes. To the left of the stand is Hannah, and inside the stand is Victoria. We had a lot of fun that day. We took turns running the stand so the others could have a break and find a place inside to get warm. Victoria took me on a tour of the city's thrift stores.

Just a view of the street and all the commotion. 

I know I promised you pictures of the bakery, but for some reason, both mornings I've forgotten to take them. Tomorrow! And my story of how the first few days went. :) 

Thank you for your interest! Check back soon!

Coming next: Pictures of the bakery and a vocabulary lesson from Ireland -- “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener