Four Years!

Today it’s been four years since we arrived in Ireland! Hard to believe it’s been that long, but I can honestly say that not a day goes by that I do not think about how grateful I am to live in this beautiful country. I never met Bill’s grandmother, but it was through her that he got his Irish citizenship, which helped get us here.

We landed at Shannon, where a driver picked us up and brought us to the B&B in Oranmore, where we'd booked a room for a week. Beyond that, we had no clue where we were going to go and where we would live. A week later, we moved into the apartment in Ballinrobe. Daft.ie was our good friend!

This is what we arrived with four years ago:

We have rather more now, but even so, most of what I see around me is not mine, but is stuff that is part of the dwelling we rent. I like that a lot. Stuff can be quite a burden and, with a few exceptions, I hold physical things very lightly. That said, I have to admit that I am quite happy about having replaced some books and, thanks to Bill, kind friends and charity shops, my yarn/stitching supplies collection is no longer meagre. And we have a funky old coffee maker given to us by a friend which I am quite fond of, too. Some stuff really does make our lives better!

And, of course, better than any of the stuff are the new friends we've made here, the many nice people we've met, and the interesting stories acquaintances have shared with us. Thanks to technology, we can keep in touch with old friends, too.


I hope this day treats you well, wherever you're spending it.

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