Ireland has what is known as an "oceanic climate," temperate and with very few extremes. This is quite different from Michigan, which is quite extreme, temperature-wise-- well below freezing all winter, above 80° F most of the summer. Ireland, on the other hand, rarely gets down to freezing at all. I can count the number of times I've seen snow here in the last two years on one hand. And even then, it has always melted away by the end of the day. Of course, it also rarely gets above 70° F in the summer; I can also count the number of times I've worn shorts or short skirts in this country on one hand.
This is both the feature I love and hate the most about living in Ireland. My wardrobe year-round has very little variation, which gets rather monotonous. All summer, I miss the hot Michigan weather... I would much rather be too hot than too cold, and where I grew up I could just drive down to the beach any time I felt like it. Even when I was in college, I could either run down to the athletic center and use the pool, or drive up to Lake Lansing and take a swim there. Of course, all winter I love it here, because I don't have to deal with the horrible bitter cold. I never, ever miss the snow. I would be perfectly happy to have a completely green Christmas and never see the stuff at all. (Jim once described me as being "allergic to snow.")
As of this month, Ireland has finally swung into the time of year when I'm happier with the weather here and not jealous of my friends and family in Michigan. Galway has been almost unseasonably warm for the last two weeks-- on Wednesday this week, it was probably around 65° F! Today it is a little colder and rainy, but altogether it has been a very dry autumn, with only a few really rainy days.
Autumn used to make me feel a little depressed, because it meant that summer was dying away and that winter was creeping in. Here, I don't mind it so much, because even though winter is creeping in, that isn't so bad! I feel like I can enjoy the smell of fall leaves and the fresh produce, apples and pumpkins, much more in Ireland because I know they aren't harbingers of snow. Just more rain, which I can deal with.
...
Other than enjoying the nice weather, I have been very busy. Mostly, with doctoral stuff-- I have to write a chapter of my thesis by Christmas, so that is eating up most of my time right now. Also, I have a 5,000 word paper due November 2. Which I haven't started. And, to top this off, I have had a surprisingly busy social life as well! I have had dinner with friends five times in the last two weeks. Last night, my friend Bri had a housewarming party, which ended up being fairly small but also fairly convivial, because everyone who attended brought both wine and food. And for some reason, most people brought some type of Cabernet and some type of dip, myself included! Which, really, is everything a housewarming party needs.
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
is it fall yet?
Yes, summer vacation is over, and I am back in Galway. Finally. My (nice long) vacation was lovely, really, but it's also quite nice to be back in my apartment, sleeping in my bed. I got in on Wednesday morning and have spent the week unpacking, getting re-organized, and slowly conquering my jetlag. (I think I've mostly gotten it taken care of. Now when I sleep in, I have no excuse except laziness.)
I love this city, even though it's been mostly cool and rainy since my return. I also love my apartment, even though the problems I was having before my vacation didn't magically fix themselves while I was gone. The cold tap in my sink broke back in July-- this has happened before, and that time my landlord came over and fiddled with something that fixed it for a while, though it was still finicky. Also, back in June my shower had started losing pressure and gradually got hotter and hotter, until it began oscillating between scalding hot and icy cold. (This also happened before, earlier this year, and a guy came and fixed it while I was at school.) So, Wednesday, I called my landlord (hereafter referred to as "Frank," since that's his name) to inform him that I was back, and told him about these problems. Yesterday afternoon, he came over to fix things.
Yesterday was Saturday, and Saturday in Galway there is a great outdoor street market, with fresh produce and food vendors and all sorts of fun things. I had been looking forward to going, since it's been months, and yesterday was quite warm and sunny; I was planning on buying some vegetables and maybe getting some Indian food or sushi or fresh donuts. Then, right as I was starting to eat my lunch, Frank came by. He fixed the shower, and told me how to fix it myself next time-- the problem is limescale buildup in the shower head, so all I need to do is take it apart and clean it. Then he took apart the tap in the kitchen and discovered that the tap fitting (or something) was broken on the cold side, and that he'd need to get a new part. He left to go buy a replacement, and said he'd be back in two hours, at 3:00pm. By the time I finished eating and washing up from lunch, it was after 2, so I figured I'd just wait for him and thought maybe I'd go to the market after he left. At 4:30 he returned and replaced both taps in the kitchen sink for me.
I appreciated his fixing things for me, of course. The shower this morning was warm and wonderful, and having two working taps in the kitchen again is great. It's really nice to have a landlord who runs a construction company and knows how to fix household things. But instead of walking around the market in the sun, I got to spend the afternoon sitting around my flat waiting for Frank. I did leave at around 6:00pm to take a walk and maybe do a little late shopping, but all the stalls in the market were either gone or closing up. (I was surprised by how many were still there, honestly; they must have stayed late to take advantage of the great weather.) All the shops in town were closed or closing, too. Even on a Saturday everything in Ireland closes by 6:30, which I guess I'd forgotten.
There is a limited street market on Sundays, so I thought maybe I'd go there today. But, of course, today it's cold and rainy and blustery, and I really don't feel like walking around in that. Oh, Ireland, how I've missed you...
I love this city, even though it's been mostly cool and rainy since my return. I also love my apartment, even though the problems I was having before my vacation didn't magically fix themselves while I was gone. The cold tap in my sink broke back in July-- this has happened before, and that time my landlord came over and fiddled with something that fixed it for a while, though it was still finicky. Also, back in June my shower had started losing pressure and gradually got hotter and hotter, until it began oscillating between scalding hot and icy cold. (This also happened before, earlier this year, and a guy came and fixed it while I was at school.) So, Wednesday, I called my landlord (hereafter referred to as "Frank," since that's his name) to inform him that I was back, and told him about these problems. Yesterday afternoon, he came over to fix things.
Yesterday was Saturday, and Saturday in Galway there is a great outdoor street market, with fresh produce and food vendors and all sorts of fun things. I had been looking forward to going, since it's been months, and yesterday was quite warm and sunny; I was planning on buying some vegetables and maybe getting some Indian food or sushi or fresh donuts. Then, right as I was starting to eat my lunch, Frank came by. He fixed the shower, and told me how to fix it myself next time-- the problem is limescale buildup in the shower head, so all I need to do is take it apart and clean it. Then he took apart the tap in the kitchen and discovered that the tap fitting (or something) was broken on the cold side, and that he'd need to get a new part. He left to go buy a replacement, and said he'd be back in two hours, at 3:00pm. By the time I finished eating and washing up from lunch, it was after 2, so I figured I'd just wait for him and thought maybe I'd go to the market after he left. At 4:30 he returned and replaced both taps in the kitchen sink for me.
I appreciated his fixing things for me, of course. The shower this morning was warm and wonderful, and having two working taps in the kitchen again is great. It's really nice to have a landlord who runs a construction company and knows how to fix household things. But instead of walking around the market in the sun, I got to spend the afternoon sitting around my flat waiting for Frank. I did leave at around 6:00pm to take a walk and maybe do a little late shopping, but all the stalls in the market were either gone or closing up. (I was surprised by how many were still there, honestly; they must have stayed late to take advantage of the great weather.) All the shops in town were closed or closing, too. Even on a Saturday everything in Ireland closes by 6:30, which I guess I'd forgotten.
There is a limited street market on Sundays, so I thought maybe I'd go there today. But, of course, today it's cold and rainy and blustery, and I really don't feel like walking around in that. Oh, Ireland, how I've missed you...
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
weather? damn near killed 'er!
Holy crap! I am sitting here at my cubicle, working away, when I suddenly glanced up and noticed that it is snowing! Really hard! Huge fluffy chunky flakes! That is crazy.
I doubt it will stick, of course. I woke up this morning to weather reports on the radio talking about "bad road conditions" across Ireland due to snow, but by the time I left the house there wasn't any in sight. It's in the mid-high 30s today, so I'm sure it will all melt away as soon as it stops coming down. But still. Crazy!
... and it was so nice last week, too. In the mid 50s the whole time. I actually brought out my spring/fall jacket (a corduroy blazer) but now I'm back to my winter wool coat. Well, according to weather.com, it's supposed to cold this weekend but then back to normal Ireland weather next week.
I was going to make a post this weekend, about Irish Fat Tuesday traditions, but then I forgot. Maybe I still will, but right now I should get back to work. I just wanted to make a post documenting the bizarre occurrence of snow in Galway!
I doubt it will stick, of course. I woke up this morning to weather reports on the radio talking about "bad road conditions" across Ireland due to snow, but by the time I left the house there wasn't any in sight. It's in the mid-high 30s today, so I'm sure it will all melt away as soon as it stops coming down. But still. Crazy!
... and it was so nice last week, too. In the mid 50s the whole time. I actually brought out my spring/fall jacket (a corduroy blazer) but now I'm back to my winter wool coat. Well, according to weather.com, it's supposed to cold this weekend but then back to normal Ireland weather next week.
I was going to make a post this weekend, about Irish Fat Tuesday traditions, but then I forgot. Maybe I still will, but right now I should get back to work. I just wanted to make a post documenting the bizarre occurrence of snow in Galway!
Monday, January 19, 2009
everybody talks about it, but no one does anything about it
(Still don't have internet at home, so updates might be sporadic for the month of January. Apologies!)
Man, it is winter in Ireland! Friday was an absolutely lovely day, sunny and in the high 40s, so I was hoping for a nice weekend-- I had visions of myself ambling around the market, maybe eating a crepe or drinking a coffee, on Saturday afternoon. Alas, it was not to be-- the weekend was incredibly windy and blustery. There were winds up to 70 miles an hour! Lots of trees blew down, and there were warnings on tv and on the radio not to drive because of all the falling limbs. And, of course, there was constant rain and hail. Consequently I spent as much time indoors as possible, not even venturing as far as the college.
Then, this morning, I woke up to see snow! It didn't even melt off until noon! I know, in Michigan right now the snow is literally ass deep, but seeing any snow in Ireland at all is rare. Met Éireann promises "hail, sleet and snow showers in many areas this evening and tonight, with a continuing risk of thunder," and "an unsettled, wintry week ahead." Oh, joy.
Man, it is winter in Ireland! Friday was an absolutely lovely day, sunny and in the high 40s, so I was hoping for a nice weekend-- I had visions of myself ambling around the market, maybe eating a crepe or drinking a coffee, on Saturday afternoon. Alas, it was not to be-- the weekend was incredibly windy and blustery. There were winds up to 70 miles an hour! Lots of trees blew down, and there were warnings on tv and on the radio not to drive because of all the falling limbs. And, of course, there was constant rain and hail. Consequently I spent as much time indoors as possible, not even venturing as far as the college.
Then, this morning, I woke up to see snow! It didn't even melt off until noon! I know, in Michigan right now the snow is literally ass deep, but seeing any snow in Ireland at all is rare. Met Éireann promises "hail, sleet and snow showers in many areas this evening and tonight, with a continuing risk of thunder," and "an unsettled, wintry week ahead." Oh, joy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)