Summer Air is Cooling Off....

...and the autumnal feel is starting to tighten its grip on Sneem.  While there are still tourists around, it's nothing compared to the height of the season.  Everything is calming down while we are holding on to the last rays of sunshine.

I cannot believe that we've been here for four and a half months already ! AND, I've been neglecting this here blog, big time !
It has been a busy old summer with visitors from Belgium coming and going.

My mum stayed with us for a month, accompanied by my 6 y/o nephew, Mathias.  It was delightful and they had a jolly good time.

Out on the water with Uncle Bert

 

 



 The daily chores

 

Pretty woman !

After they'd been here 2 weeks, my brother and the rest of his family arrived.  The weather had been fantastic and all kinds of outdoor activities were on the menu.

From swimming in the ice cold pond...

 



....looking for shells...

...to walking along the coast.

 

Very sad to see them return to Belgium, but I know they will be back regularly. 

After that we had to welcome a second cousin of mine and her 10 y/o daughter for a week.  Bringing them back to Cork Airport and picking up friends at the same time....

You see, we had a busy old summer.

It was a sad day when our beautiful Sam died.

He had been poorly since October last year (possibly a brain tumor) and while we could keep him content and comfortable most of the time with the aid of cortisone, the last two weeks where a bit of a struggle. We asked the vet to come and set him free.  Very sad.  We knew it was inevitable, but we take strength from the fact that he was able to move house and country with us. AND, that he had 2 gloriously happy months here.

Ending this post on a more positive note.
The planning permission for our house extension IS IN !  After the initial hiccup (read about it here ) everything went smoothly.
Our architect is now working on the plans for the builders before he sends requests for quotes.  Quotes that will be well above our budget, no doubt (I can already imagine Bert building up steam in his head, ready to explode).  We'll tackle our problems as they come and try to find solutions that won't break the bank ( and that will release some of the steam from Bert's head ;) )

This Monday I'll be going to Belgium for 5 days and I'll be staying with my mum. Gosh, I could do with the rest....

Thank you for reading.
Patricia xxx...x