Christmas in Carna

Photo highlights, top to bottom:

a house in the snow at sunrise
kids opening Kindles on Christmas
Abby, and kids at Christmas dinner
Abby Skyping with the Sanders in Wa. state
unique table, with poppers
relaxing after dinner
Gerard admiring a pub trick
more snow photos




Christmas is certainly a festive time here. This year, it was enhanced by lingering snow, which as a local said is "once in a blue moon." We learned to be creative in our gift giving, due to our rural location. Stephen gave out slips of papers, with free jobs, like one free car wash. We ordered some gifts from Amazon, the kids were thrilled to receive Kindles. We shopped locally, at the new chemist (pharmacy) which has more than prescription drugs, and in Galway, an hour and a half away.

Stephen and I went to a Santi (Santa) party at the local pub. There was a visit by a local Gaelic speaking Santi, who gave a present to all the children there. Stephen was not interested, especially after discovering the only pool table in town. I had a pint with a neighbor, and every time it got down to half full, someone would buy me another pint. I finally caught on after the 3rd free pint arrived. I finally had to give away one of the pints, in order to get out of there.

The week prior to Christmas, Justine took the bus to Galway, and that day the big snowstorm hit. The bus stop is about 20 miles from our home. I got stuck on the hill near my house when I attempted to go to get her. Gerrard felt his car would handle better, but he got stuck as well. Then I called Dr. Casey, who has a Volvo SUV, to get her. He later told Justine that trips like getting her was what he had bought that car for. Justine had asked everyone on the bus if anyone was going to Carna, and she was able to get a ride halfway here, with a friendly stranger. She waited at their house, until Dr Casey got her.

When you walk into the local shops on Christmas week, you are met by a cheery staff that gives you a glass of mulled wine. It is a warm, sweetened, red wine. So you drink this while you are doing your local shopping. The local shops were crowded, with everyone stocking up on food for the holidays. Everyone talked about the weather, and the roads, as they were bad.

There was no gritting (sanding) locally. After nearly a week, the national TV interviewed Dr. Casey, who expressed his concern about the conditions. We were certainly concerned about what would happen in case of a medical emergency. The next day, the main roads around Carna were gritted. The problem is that Ireland is not used to this kind of weather. Just as Washington state is getting hundred year floods every three years or so, Ireland is getting previously rare persistent freezing and snow now 2 years in a row. They will have to start developing an infrastructure to handle these new conditions. Many, many homes lost water, due to frozen external water pipes, which are either uninsulated or not buried deep enough.

A highlight of our holiday was having a cousin, Abby, stay with us. She is from Vermont, living in Boston, where she is in law school. She is in Galway for 3 months, working on an interesting project related to international copyright law. It was great to see her, and hear about her experiences here in Ireland. Here urban life is quite different than our country life, but with its own set of challenges. It was good to be with some family, over Christmas. She suprised all of us with nice gifts.

Christmas afternoon, we followed the Hookes over to a friend's house, for a wonderful dinner. Linda is a physician working in Clifden, and her husband Patrick is a fisherman. The have built a beautiful home on some waterfront land that belonged to his father. The food and drink was excellent, and we enjoyed their generous hospitality in their warm house. One tradition was opening poppers, seen on the table. Two people pull at each end, and inside is a riddle, and a prize.