December 2022, Week Six

 Hello again my lovelies, and happy New Year! I hope you're all doing well? I apologise for being AWOL for so long, I had a wonderful Christmas with my family in England, but then ended up being very unwell and needing surgery, so I was away for longer than I intended. I am back in beautiful Inishowen now though, and hope to catch up with myself as I continue to heal and get stronger.
My last update was from the end of November and beginning of December, so I'm going to continue where I left off.

I'm not often up early enough to see the sunrise. It was beautiful! 

My friend Rich left in the early morning of Monday 5th December, and after that I had a fairly quiet week, so I don't have much to tell you. I wrote Christmas cards, worked on a few small craft projects, and went on a few walks.
Later that week, it snowed! Snow doesn't happen often here, and although it was really only a dusting, it was absolutely beautiful, so I took a lot of photos while I was out and about.

Sunlight breaking through the clouds over a snowy Bulaba/Bulbin.

A sprinkle of snow atop Raghtin Mor.

Melting ice with snow in the background.

I love the contrast of green and white here.

I don't remember if I've mentioned this before, but I don't have a car here. It means that I am somewhat limited, but I'm so lucky to live in a place that has so many amenities within walking distance. There are a few shops nearby, and since I am walking, and have to carry everything, I am only buying what I NEED, and wasting less. I really love being able to walk to the local shops and buy local, fresh produce. It's a well known stereotype, but in America things tend to be bigger. Bigger grocery stores, bigger bulk foods, bigger cars to transport things, bigger homes and fridges to store it all... but that also means that there is a huge amount of waste. I made a conscious effort to create as little food waste as possible when I lived there, but I was still guilty of it. Here I am having to plan my meals and shopping better, out of necessity, and I am glad of the change.

St Mary's Church, Clonmany. Several of my relatives are buried here.

Snow on Raghtin Mor.

Snow on Bulaba/Bulbin.

I am jealous of this house and the incredible views they must have!

At the weekend, I was invited to go out on a Girls Night with some of my new friends. Sometimes you just have to dress up, have a few drinks, and set the world to rights. We started in Clonmany, got a taxi to Buncrana for a change of scenery, and then back to Clonmany later. It was a great evening, and we had a lot of fun, although I must admit to not remembering all of it!
Once again, I would like to say how incredibly grateful I am to everyone here who has been so welcoming to me. I have met so many wonderful people and made good friends already. I consider myself very lucky.

Doing my best Scottish Widow impersonation to brave the cold on a night out.