Nice winter we're having, is it now?

Sorry - no pictures with this post, as my digital's batteries are dead and my battery charger seems to be broken.

Friday, July 29, 2005
on the road in Ireland

We woke up in County Clare to pouring rain and a full Irish breakfast of crispy bacon, sausage patties, sausage links, fried eggs, brown bread, and grilled tomatoes. We skipped the black and white puddings. From Lisdoonvarna, we drove through Limerick, to Tipperary, where we had lunch. Then Darren and the boys headed up to the Rock of Cashel. Nancy, Dani and I headed on towards Waterford, where we shopped for crystal, wool sweaters, and other souvenirs. Then we drove back here to Athboy. It rained all day. And it's been really cold, especially to our internal Texan thermostats. It's been raining a LOT here, but everyone tells us that July is usually sunny and dry. We've only seen the sun on rare occasions. Most of the time, it's been behind thick, gray clouds. We've been really lucky though, and have planned our road trips around the biggest storms, so we've been able to avoid the worst of it. The temperature has barely climbed out of the 50s, so we've really put our few long-sleeved items to good use!

Once back in County Meath (where our house is), we stopped at a grocery store so I could buy eggs for the next morning's breakfast. Walking into the store, a local woman said, "Nice winter we're having, is it now?" She was all bundled up in a long coat and a hat. :)

We actually turned the heat on in the house last night, because when we arrived home, it was only 60 degrees inside. I have to tell you....as much as I moan about the oppressive Texas heat, I have a new appreciation for our vast, blue skies! I miss the blue sky. I sorta even miss the heat.

And speaking of heat... It's been MISERABLY hot in Fort Worth, and apparently, all over the U.S. While we cuddled under down comforters here, Andrew and Tracy were sweltering at our house. The upstairs air conditioning unit went out on them last night, and was blowing warm air. We had the unit serviced two weeks ago, and had the freon recharged. We can only guess that it's been running so continuously that it froze up or something. And being a Saturday morning, we were unable to reach the repairman. Shouldn't A/C companies be open 24/7 in Texas during the summer??