We are staying in the most precious cottage, which belongs to some of our former landlords. They have several guesthouses on their property and we are blessed enough to be occupying "the coach house." More to come on that tomorrow.... But we had a very important date that we were late for, so we quickly dropped our bags and headed for dinner to the Bennetts'.
Al and Suzanne Bennett are easily our closest Northern Irish friends from our time here and we treasure their friendship. Since our time in Belfast when we were both young in our marriages and without children, we've kept close through the years through e-mail and Facebook and have ended up with children the same ages, met in London for our 30th birthdays, and Suz came to New York two years ago to meet me for a long girls' weekend. So when they insisted we come for dinner on our first night in, we were beyond honored! It felt so great to be in such a cozy home and with such beloved people--and all our kids playing together for the first time! What a gift! And speaking of gifts, Suzanne's mom brought something by earlier in the day that wrapped me up in a gigantic food hug: PAVLOVA. Ahhhhhh, my favorite!!! Thank you dearly, Mrs. McComb!!!
We woke this morning to a much wetter Ireland than we saw yesterday. At some point in this vacation, I may tire of the rain...but today when I saw it, there was something inside me that said, "there we go...that's the Ireland I know." And it felt comforting. When I'm at home and it rains, I'm almost always glad--it just settles my soul. I absolutely believe it has a great deal to do with our time spent here. It makes hot drinks taste better, it makes my spot on the sofa cozier, it makes my flannel pajama pants a more perfect choice (as if that were even possible).... Having said that, we will head up the Antrim coast tomorrow and for that trip, sunshine would be appreciated.
My heart OVERFLOWS with gladness that I type this entry from a cozy coach house sofa just outside Belfast, Northern Ireland, my tummy still happy from Mrs. McComb's pavlova, British accents from the BBC News in the background on tv, and my children settled in soft beds with suitcases unpacked and everything put away in drawers. It's 12:30 a.m. and my heart could just burst!!
In contrast to the weather yesterday.
We're getting close!! Carrickfergus is the area of town we lived in during our time here, so seeing the road signs made my heart flutter!
Dinner at Chez Bennett! I am "told" this is a rare event and that my friend, Suzanne, doesn't just do a spread like this for friends, willy nilly. Well, maybe you should, Suz, because it was perfect!! Cat's out of the bag--hostess with the mosses!
I love it when my kids are so distracted with unfamiliarity that they actually behave at dinner. It was just lovely--every bit!!
Here she is, Chef Suzie! Steak and guinness pie, chicken and broccoli bake, mashed potatoes, beautiful garden salad, bread and the yummiest butter (have I mentioned the butter in this country is second to none? There's just something about it) and little munchies at the table--we ate like royalty! And I haven't even started on dessert....
TA-DA!! Pavlova is one of Lesli's primary love languages and I was filled to the brim tonight!
Another worthy angle. Try to mentally grab hold of the perimeter of this cloud and the textural epiphany that happens as your teeth break through the edge right before it just dissolves in your mouth.... Trumpets and angels!!
My slice. If you're not a meringue person, please just stop reading this now. We will not speak the same language. I told Suzanne it would be a dream come true to have her mother teach me how to make pavolva. Sadly, Suzanne acted like that probably wouldn't happen.
Thanks to a connection Al and Suz have, the men pictured here will get the coveted chance to play golf at Royal Portrush on Thursday. They are certifiably giddy (if men are allowed to be) and this is Al going through each hole on some app on his iPad and them both laughing at their chances of conquering any of them.
My friend! I am beyond thankful for you and am so honored to have feasted in your adorable home tonight!! We're here (still so hard to believe)!!
The Bennett and Douglass children meet, play, bond. It was just meant to be.
Both our second borns are pretty much cut from the same cloth, from what we've deduced over countless conversations as mothers. Tonight, it took them less than 5 minutes from meeting one another to just disappear and start playing. They're both gonna break some hearts one day!!!
Have you ever been welcomed to someone's home with a feast AND a "welcome" banner?? I have. It was flippin' amazin' (emphasis with a Belfast accent). What a gift!! xoxo
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