Fall has come to Kinsale

Hi everyone,

Fall and spring my favorite seasons - I now have to adjust due to how different fall is in Ireland than anywhere else I have lived. Instead of lovely colors we have the gorgeous days of summer followed by cold winds which changed the green to brown. Now don't get me wrong - not much is brown, only some of the hedgerows and the bits around the edges. The lawn is a lovely green, many flowers are still blooming and we can now see the birds again because the trees lost their leaves.

These days have been the first cold days of the fall/winter - cold enough for turtleneck shirts and flannel jeans. An advantage to the high wind is that our beach is seeing rushing waves at certain tides. Most of the time we can bearly hear the water - but lately it seems to roar. This may also be a function of no leaves in the trees to capture the noise.

While we haven't had much leisure time as we finish the book we have put in a few hours gardening - planting bulbs, etc. Mind you with a container garden all the work for the season only took us a couple of hours. When we get a bit of time to read we moved a big chair into the area right inside the front door, this bit of glass catches some of the nicest sun in the house, AND we can watch our neighbors as they come and go - the American busy bodies - that's us!

To stay in shape and keep our spirits up through the long dark season we joined the health club "leisure centre" at the local hotel. Lovely place to swim, if only 15 metres long. This plus yoga has us looking better than we have achieved in years. Just one more stone and I will graduate from weightwatchers. Since my weight has been the one challenge I never have completely overcome, reaching this goal will mean as much to me as anything else I have done!!

Love to all for now,
Alana

When I get old I want to live like my cat

HI everyone,
I have a friend, Marsha (the cat lady) who has always said that she wants to come back as her cat. I don't know about that, but when I get old I want to live like our cat lives.

Out of the five of us, Samson has benefitted the most from the move to Ireland. First, he sleeps on warm floors, he has a plethora of soft places to lay about, and he gets to be "cat about village" and go outside at will. He gets to lord over the dogs, the staff (that would be Margie and I) and the rest of the village (whether they know they are being lorded over or not).

As is shown in the picture he has taken to sitting on the cushion on the bench at the kitchen table, waiting for me whenever one of us starts to cook. If we are delayed past our usual lunch time he will wait, knowing that sooner or later food will arrive. Then he sits next to me and purrs. Should I be inconsiderate and not give him a small tidbit from my plate, he will encourage me to consider his needs by tapping the table with his paw!!! We hate to confess how successful a maneuver this has become, rationalizing as we do that he is an old cat (now about 20) and that "really he deserves to get what he wants."

Samson's health has definitely increased since the move, he prefers the food in Ireland, and he gets out for a regular bit of excercise. All his needs and most of his wants are met almost as soon as he voices them (herding us as he does into the room where his food is kept). He sleeps and eats on his own time table. His life is interesting to him and he has diverse company.

Definitely the life I want to live as I get older (big smile),
Love to you all,
Alana