August

Well, I haven't had computer time enough to do this in a while. By the middle of September, we hope to have computer access at home, which will help.

We are moving on September 2 - to a 4 br house near Town Centre, Tralee. It has a room where I can do therapy on my Tralee day, which will be very convenient.

The 2 big tourist/travel events this month have been:
1. The annual Rose of Tralee Festival. We have been reading about it for months, and did actually enjoy it. It is reminiscent of all the festivals that the towns in Arkansas have - not as many crafts as say the DW Festival, but lots of food, music and activity. There was a carnival, a circus, and an array of 'bouncy' toys for kids. Our favorite thing was the French Market, a row of vendors from France with all kinds of food, clothes, toiletries, etc. We of course especially enjoyed the food. The focal point was the parade in which the 30 Rose contestants rode on very decorated floats in very fancy dress. We accidentally say the parade twice - we went to see it on Saturday night, then on Sunday thought it was going a different route, but saw it again! The bands were kind of fun - much like in US parades, but always with a few accordions. Also, they actually still have majorettes in all the bands! The Rose contestants were from all over the world. We were partial to the Rose of Kerry (our County) but she did not win. A young woman from Queensland, Australia is the 2006 Rose of Tralee. There were several US Contestants, including NY, So. Cal, San Fran, New Orleans.

2. Yesterday, we went lobstering - yes, really! A brother of the woman whose house we are in has sort of a side-line/hobby - he had about 10 lobster pots out just north of here - South of Ballybunion, North of Tralee, if you're looking at a map - near Causeway. We went out with him and help pull up the pots (he wanted them in because a storm may be moving in this week). Altogether we pulled in 10 lobsters and 1 crab, which he felt was a good haul! He sells them to individuals, so we were surprised when he sent home a lobster and the crab with us - what a feast, along with cheese from the French market! We also did some mackerel fishing - I caught 3, Dana caught 2 (feminist that I am!), and we will have 2 for dinner tonight. It was really fun - it was sort of an aluminum rowboat with a flat bottom and a small motor. It was gorgeous out in Shannon Bay, right near the mouth of the river Shannon. We were around cliffs that are the 2nd biggest in Ireland (after Moher). What a treat. Then, his brother and wife invited us for lunch, which was also fun - all in all a great day.

The other recent highlight is that Kerry is in the All-Ireland final for Gaelic football. This is a huge deal here - about as fervent as American college football fans! Yesterday County Mayo beat Dublin for the other spot in the final - a big upset. We were at the pub with the best of them watching it!

We miss our dogs and Dana hopes to come to USA in Sept. or early Oct. -= getting them over here has become quite complicated. In the meantime, we have made friends with an English Setter and a Springer Spaniel whose owners let us walk them occasionally!