Friday, October 25

Our first truly rainy day in Donegal. Skies overcast all day with intermittent rain. Nice to just hang out in the living room with its magnificent views—in every kind of weather.

Was able to catch up on my blog after all those days of relaxing fun and still read enough to finish the library book I had picked up at the Holywood Library before we left for Donegal.

Alison, Maurice, and Lucy went for a short walk in the early afternoon when the rain had stopped for a moment but Santo and I decided to stay in. When they got back, we had our cheese, meat, chutney, tomato, and fruit lunch with the leftover bread I had made.

Late afternoon – almost time for the pub. But first we drove to the beach across the way, beyond the golf course, which was too soggy to walk on. Since it was low tide, we were able to walk the beach all the way into Dunfanaghy. The dark clouds were lifting a bit, showing the twilight light beneath them. Colors from pink and purple to blue, gray, and black were contrasted by the cream-colored sand. It was lovely to see the village up ahead and recognize the buildings. We have been here long enough to know the landmarks. Feels like it is OUR village.

Once in town, we headed for Arnold’s Hotel for drinks in their lounge. There was a wide, airy lobby with tartan plaid rugs and red plush furniture. We walked through the lobby to the lounge, which was similarly decorated, and I was finally able to get a truly comfy chair from which to sip my “double zero” beer! There was a lively group at a large table behind us and we were able to enjoy their jovial banter since the plush furniture and carpeting made it easy to converse above the background noise. Our last pub visit in Donegal! There is not the same pub culture back in Holywood, so we will miss these late afternoon/early evening respites from the world beyond. We will need to find places to go at home to give such welcome pause to our days.

We enjoyed a dinner of beef curry with rice, accompanied by yogurt and chutney to cool the heat of the curry. Alison had prepared the meat earlier and just needed to heat the curry and cook the rice and we were ready to eat. After dinner, we dove back into Ted Lasso, finding it more enjoyable with each episode. So nice to have these characters in common now with Alison and Maurice. While watching, we enjoyed a dessert of brioche buttered-bread pudding that Alison had warmed in the over and served with crème fraiche. Life does not get much better.