The thaw is proceeding slowly, which is what the authorities were hoping for. Perhaps this will avoid the flooding which is pretty much expected as this huge quantity of snow melts and drains into the rivers. The only area of Ireland that is mentioned on the news as a potential problem, aside from coastal towns, is the stretch between Bunclody and Enniscorthy. Guess where I have to drive!
This area remains on orange alert, or possibly by this evening, has been reduced to yellow. Everyone is encouraged to keep their cars at home unless absolutely necessary. Well, tomorrow it will be absolutely necessary to do a grocery run. I'll just buy a few prepared meals because I only have two full days left at Moss Cottage.
Today's weather varied from cloudy and dull, to raining, to bright sun and blue skies. However, the temperature remained a few degrees above freezing and the snow is disappearing. The cars are pretty much totally visible now, and somewhat cleaner than before Storm Emma dropped in.
I've trudged around in size 11 men's boots for a couple of days. Finally I realized that if I leave my slippers on and then put the wellies on top, the fit is much better. The orthotic, however, floats freely and makes walking something less than comfortable when the heel portion pretends to be the arch support.
Today I only ventured as far as the shed to do some laundry. That is my last attack on dirty clothes before the final packing. I'm putting some effort into determining what to take home (very little) and what clothes to leave behind (as many as possible). I am not storing them here this time but disposing of them by donating them to a thrift shop at the Carnew Community Care village where Kathy Doyle lives.
While the laundry was agitating, I managed to pick up a few threads of family stories I've been writing and think I've done a final edit on a couple of characters. When you only have records to reconstruct a life there's not much you can add but the facts, and a bit of historical context.
With travel being restricted, there will be no visit to Kilkenny to see the pubs and other points of interest with a family connection to the McGraths. That will wait for the next time. I'll stay in touch with my newly discovered distant cousins and with some luck and new record releases (no not the musical kind), maybe we will have figured out the common ancestor, or MRCA in DNA terms.
Enough blather about nothing at all. Hopefully tomorrow will bring a happy adventure to fill a few lines.
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