Festival Doings

My back is still quite sore, but I am being more aware of it and trying to relax more and not carry heavy things. I stopped at the corner pharmacy and bought another gel pack. That way I have one to heat and one in the freezer. The heat has felt good, but so far no noticeable improvement over the long haul.

I am enjoying some of the ironies of life. Remember I was going to make stew the other day, but didn't have a can opener and the recipe called for tomato puree? Well I made a trip to Argos and purchased a basic can opener and then later in the day when I was ready to make the stew I got everything assembled only to find that the tomato puree had a pull tab on the top. Haha, joke on me.

I wasted several hours yesterday going back and forth to the library trying to scan a page I had to sign and then sending it back as a pdf. For some reason it would not send it to my email; finally as a last resort (at that point I was planning to take a snapshot of it with my iPad and send it as a jpg) the librarian scanned it and sent it to herself and then forwarded it to me. At any rate, job completed.

I was hoping to go to more art exhibits yesterday, but spent the afternoon in bed with a hot gel pack on my back. I got up in time to get ready for the Jack L concert and even had time to FaceTime Payton. She makes my day!

I got to the concert early but soon met up with Anne. She and I went in to the bar to wait for the earlier show to get over and wait for the rest of the TidyTown folks. They didn't have Clonmel beer, which is my Irish beer of choice, so I followed Anne's lead and had a hot whiskey. It was a shot of whiskey in hot water with a lemon slice with cloves in it. It was okay, but I don't think I would order it again. I am not particularly fond of the taste of whiskey.

The Jack L concert was fabulous; I had listened to some of his songs on youtube and expected a crooner, but in addition to his own songs, he performed Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Rolling Stones - amazing. Quite the stage performer, he spent a good amount of time getting the audience involved and walking through the crowd while singing. Here is "Open Up Your Borders" a very timely song.

I got home after 1 am and was not quite ready to shut down, so I FaceTimed Adam's little girls in the bath. Boy how I miss my girls - all 5 of them - Payton, Katie, Morgan, Zoë, and Harper. The girls were in rare form last evening; Harper is changing the most as she transitions from a baby to a kid. She says "Hi" now and I am hoping to hear a "Nana" pretty soon. She interacts with the picture of me in a fun way, jibberjabbering all the while. And Zoë always keeps me entertained. Then just as I was getting into bed around 3, Cathy messaged me to ask about family offspring and birth order so she can share it with Joe's Sara when she arrives today to help celebrate Mom's 91st birthday. I am sorry to miss it, but I am planning to FaceTime while the party is in full swing. It will be great to wish Mom a happy birthday face to face.

I received my insurance card in the mail yesterday, so now I have all the pieces I need to go to the Garda to get permission to stay here, but I think it will wait until next week to report. I actually have until November 23, and am thinking I may have to pay €300 for a residency permit. The local Garda station doesn't take credit cards, so I will need to have cash. I am still waiting for my cashiers check to show up in my account and will take care of this business once it appears.

Also yesterday, my bathroom light bulb burnt out. It hangs from the ceiling and I have no means to climb up to it, nor do I want to do any climbing. I sent a text to the landlord and was immediately answered by Eileen telling  me that Stan was on the way with a ladder. He came by and changed the light bulb and was carrying a package (reading lamp) with him. He gave it to me and then said he had more of the things I had asked about earlier in the week in the car. He brought me small plates, a floor lamp, a folding outdoor chair, a small frying pan, and tongs for the companion set by the fireplace. Best. Landlords. Ever.!! 

It is warm again today and quite breezy, expecting rain this afternoon. I don't know if I will get out before it begins or not. I am still in my pajamas. It is 13º C, which translates to about 55º F. Very pleasant! Looks like it is quite cold in Michigan. Stay warm my dears!

Tata....