Day 17 - Lost and found

 Day 17 - Lost and found

Well today started off in the usual way. 

I got up at  reasonable hour and read the comments on the blog, and emails etc... then had my breakfast and shower.

Went to 10 am Mass and lit some candles for my friend, Bernadette, who is having a tooth operation tomorrow. I only had a €2 coin, so I bought four. The only candles that were available were in front of the statue of St Anthony... which turned out to be a very fortunate choice in the end!!! Read on to find out why!!!

Candles to St Anthony

So I went down to Val's coffee shop as usual via the Prom and had my cup of coffee, and got out my Google Maps and decided where to go...

Lahinch Beach this morning

As you might remember I'm trying to cover all the places that are mentioned in the song "Clare, my heart, my home".

Today I decided on Inchicronan which wasn't too far away.

Lahinch to Inchicronan

 This is where the story of the day begins.

So I came home and got myself already for the journey - except one vital element was missing - the car keys!!!  Eeeeeekkkk.....

I went and got my clothes from yesterday and searched all the pockets, several times!! No sign of the keys. I was starting to get a bit worried!! I looked right through the house, even checked the rubbish bin.  By this time the stress levels were starting to rise and I was getting pretty worried!

The car was there and it was locked, so I knew they keys were somewhere within reach. In my mind I tried to re-trace my steps from last night. I had my Smithwicks at Danny Macs, then came home. I went out again for dinner at The Atlantic, but they took ages to find me a table, so I finished my drink there and went over to the Cornerstone for some Boiling Bacon and  Cabbage. Then I walked home along the Promenade. 

Too many possibilities... especially if you include the multiple walks along the Prom I had yesterday. But I set off and asked in every place I had been, and in places I hadn't been, in case someone had seen them and handed them in. I even put a post on the Lahinch site on Facebook.

No-one had seen anything. By this time I was getting pretty agitated, as I tried to work out what to do next.... because it's a hire car, I was thinking the nearest set of keys would be in Dublin and apart from actually getting them, it would probably cost me an arm and a leg to replace my set!!!

So I came home again, and called in at the Church next door and prayed.....

I emptied my handbag totally - definitely not there.

I had examined everywhere in the kitchen, so I decided to go through my wardrobe again....

I pulled out everything there, and lo and behold, in a pair of jeans, under another pair of jeans, there were my keys safely tucked away in a pocket. I don't even remember wearing those jeans yesterday, because it has been so warm here and I had my denim jeans on.

Which is a long way of telling you why there is no travelogue on today's blog.... I'm still recovering from the stress.... And by  the time I had done all my searching, then had lunch, it was probably a bit late to set out anyway.

I guess each story is a part of the journey though, and when I re-read this later, I bet my stress levels will rise again as I recall the drama unfolding. 

All I know now is that I will be extra careful with where I put my keys each day!! Lesson learned!!!

Thanks St Anthony!! Lucky I lit those 4 candles!!! 😀😅🙏