Ireland day 0803. Sunday 10 December 2023- Recovery2 *

Ireland day 0803. Sunday 10 December 2023- Recovery2

Today’s summary	My recovery seemed to continue well. Val doing another double shift of work so I made breakfast, then got the things for a salad lunch and a pork casserole dinner. Managed to fit in a walk round Robswall in the afternoon. Another episode of the Sopranos later
Today’s weather	Wet and windy overnight. Drier and brighter during the day but more showers in the late afternoon. Strong south westerly wind. Appx 11c

Today’s overview location (The green mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The orange line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Robswall explorer

Commentary

(Summary blog only. Last full blog was Day 0368).

The day got off to a bit of a damp start this morning. We aren’t allow to dry things on the balcony but I shockingly tend to break the byelaws and put the washing out at night when nobody can see it. So I thought I’d give all the laundry I did yesterday a good overnight airing, expecting it to be dry and fresh this morning when I brought it in. The slight miscalculation I made was in failing to read the weather forecast, so when I looked out onto the balcony this morning all that I could see was a soggy mass of fabric scattered on the wooden decking. So it was back to square one again first thing, getting things cleaned off and then dried out again.

Once again Val was at work so as soon as I’d sorted the linen mishap, I made a quick breakfast and she scampered off to the museum. I didn’t hang about though, as wanted to get to the shops to get some nice ingredients for lunch and dinner. I fancied salmon salad for lunch and the pork casserole for dinner, so had quite a lot of shopping to do in advance. I was grateful for my €5 off €35 shopping voucher – thanks SuperValu.

Lunch was duly made – the salad made a refreshing change, I have to admit, and the salmon was particularly nice, if a bit expensive. Then the casserole went in the oven and bubbled away all afternoon. Val dashed back to the flat for lunch and then flew out again to get back the complexities of Mrs Claus and carol singers at the museum.

While she was doing her afternoon stint, I took a walk up Robswall hill to have a look round a part of the estate that I hadn’t explored before. I quite like it up there. Then the walk back along the coast was uplifting and therapeutic. Ideal for surgical recovery. Once I got back, I just had time for a cup of tea before putting the vegetables on and making the finishing touches to dinner.

Val rushed back in about 5:30 so we ate quickly and she was away again before six. I admire her determination to keep going, especially as it looks like another wild, windy and wet night tonight. I think she’s looking forward to a few days off in the coming week!

Well that’s all for now. Washing up to be done now, then I think I’m going to do a bit more Spanish practice. Even though classes have finished, I’m still trying to keep my hand in. Then when Val get’s back, there will just be time for another episode of the Sopranos. It’s shaping up well.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


You can just glimpse some of the Wonderlights illuminations through the arched gateway into the Talbot botanic garden	Fairy ring cunningly disguised as beech tree leaves

I couldn’t walk through the demesne without photographing my favourite tree!	Wonderlights food village

There’s always something vaguely exotic grazing in the field at the bottom of Robswall Hill. Sometimes it’s Highland cattle, today it was these curious brown faced sheep (According to Google Lens it might be a Romeldale California Variegated Mutant)	Lambay with hooded crow

Robswall estate by the Jameson Orchard