Ballina Again

Last October, we spent a few days in Ballina, County Mayo. We both loved the town, so we decided to come back. Here we are. Like last year, it was raining steadily when we arrived. We are staying in a flat Bill found on AirBnB, so when we got off the bus we headed there. We were,uh, a bit damp when we arrived. Jim, one of our hosts, said that if he'd known we were coming on the bus, he would have picked us up. I told him it was OK--I enjoy the rain. He offered us the use of his dryer, which is elsewhere in the building, but we said the clothes horse he got out of a cupboard was fine. Things can air dry. You can see them in this pic of the living room area:

I love the little nook with the chair there by the window. I told Bill that if I lived here, I'd keep the chair in that spot, add a table and a bookcase--it'd be the perfect stitching/reading spot! There's one in the bedroom, too:

 

It's nice to have a kitchen.

The book on the table is called Dear Old Ballina--we're going to be looking for a copy to buy and take home when we're out tomorrow. We're going to go to the library to see an art exhibition that's there and find the street art as we walk around. There's also an art exhibit at the Civic Building, just down the street from us. All of that is part of the Ballina Fringe Festival, which is going on now. We didn't know this when Bill booked the flat, but we were happy about the timing. 

We didn't do much today, other than take some scenic bus rides, walk through part of town to get from the bus station to the flat, and pick up a few groceries--we're tired. This night owl got up at 5:30 this morning. After trying unsuccessfully to fall asleep earlier than my usual bedtime last night, I looked at my watch, saw that it was 1:10, and told myself that if I could fall asleep within 20 minutes, I'd have four hours. I must've drifted off, because the next time I looked at my watch, it was 3:15 and I happily noted that I still had a couple of hours. Then suddenly, I was hearing the alarm on my tablet making the 'early morning' sound. I grabbed it and was trying in vain to turn it off. My mind was foggy and I was confused, thinking there must have been a mistake. Just a few short minutes before, it had been 3:15 and I had two hours before the alarm would go off. Alas, there was no mistake and I got up. I am reminded once again that I am no longer a spring chicken. I can remember when I would get about 4 hours of sleep every night, and run round the next day doing a bunch of stuff, particularly in grad school. Those days are long gone. I remember them fondly, but have no wish to live like that anymore! It's nice that the flat is so comfortable--we can have a good sleep and then head out in the morning.

I hope you're having a good day, too!

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