A Year of Excitement and Turbulence. 2013.

First and foremost. A Happy New Year to all of my handful of readers.  You are extremely appreciated.

What was I thinking ? Had I forgotten the Irish winter storms ?  How could I forget the times when fallen trees damaged our beloved stone outbuilding and a caravan that was occupied by a Slovakian lodger ?  How could I forget the time when our conservatory roof took off, swiftly followed by the slates from the main roof ?  How could I forget the many times we were without power and telephone ?

The fact is, I never forgot, only, the anxieties and pains fade away over time.   That was during our first stint in Ireland from 1996 till the end of 2003.

Now, here we are, all these years later, facing the Irish winter storms again.  Lightning, thunder, high winds, horizontal rain, hail and whatever else it throws at us.

This time we didn't have any life changing disasters though.  Before, during and after christmas the power has been off several times, the modem has burnt out twice now in just as many weeks, and we're still waiting for the 3rd one to arrive by snail mail. In the meantime I'm writing this blogpost on New Year's day in Word to be copied and pasted on the internet when it is in working order again.  Bert's dingy (that's his  little boat, yeah) went off on its own one evening when it was blustery.  One minute I saw it and  the next it was gone ! A few days later a neighbour from accross the water visited us to tell us he might have found it at his place.  This man was so wonderful that he even rowed it back to us during the next couple of days and tied it up well and proper.  In the meantime Bert has learned his lesson and brought his dingy to the safety of our shed.

With a lull in the weather, christmas day turned out to be beautiful indeed. Good enough to take a stroll along the beach at Derrynane with the dogs and my mother who stayed with us over the christmas period.

 

This past year, known as 2013,  has challenged  our mental and physical strength.  Selling and buying a house, moving house is stressful at the best of times. Moving abroad is a whole other ball game.  But we're seasoned pros and we take it in our stride, exhausted as we feel at this moment in time, we know it will only be temporarily.

 

We  have many, many boxes still unpacked that will stay unpacked till we have build our extension.  I dare not ask Bert about the expected start or finish of this build, but most of all I dare not ask if it fits into our budget.  Probably the budget doesn't stretch that far, so we'll have to do it as and when money comes in.  We'll be able to have it wind and water tight, but  the interior finishing will have to wait. 

Our beloved greyhound Sam passed away early July after a long illness.  We gave him a lovely spot on our land to rest in peace.

 

There were way more positive than negative happenings in 2013.

We gained another family member in October or November (I can't even remember exactly). Blackie, our adopted lurcher.  Another lovely boy from the greyhound clans. He loves it here and we love him. Millie has a lively playmate  whom she can race around the garden with.

 

 

All the pets have settled in their new surroundings once more. Bar Fergus who had to disappear on us for a whole 10 days after we'd just been here for  little over a week. He came back of his own accord, starving and frightened.  Not that he remembers any of it right now.

 

The most lovely spring and summer we've had since our arrival mid April.  The weather was beautiful.  My mother and 6 y/o nephew, Mathias came to stay for a whole month. My brother and the rest of his family arrived 2 weeks after my mum did. It certainly was a month made of memories.  Mathias, in his later life, will think back fondly of his fantastic time he spent with auntie Patty and uncle Bert. Let's hope he can add to this in many years to come, together with his little sis Sarah.

We've started and 'almost' finished quite a few projects in and around the house and 'the other project' that I promised to write about so long ago and never did.  It still isn't finished either and that is what's stopping me from showing it to you all. I can give you a little taster though with a couple of photos. This is the other house we bought on one of the village greens. 

sitting room. before

sitting room after

 

Bathroom before

 and after

 

With the help of 2 Spanish HelpX volunteers we have now drained a little piece of land. A chicken house, a bird feeder has been build by Fran, who also moved a lot of earth to provide us with a planting area for the cottage garden. He also cleared much of the little stream on our land, so the road doesn't flood anymore with heavy rainfall.

 

We've had a shed build.  We were in desperate need for storage that we couldn't find anywhere near the village, so the best solution was to have one on the property. Trying to set up a business is hard in these times, but we'll put our backs into it and hopefully something half succesfull will come out of it.

The time for planting trees is here and it is also on my mind, as well as the goal of starting at least a small patch for vegetables.

 

We have it all mapped out in our heads and some of it even  on paper, all the things we would like to achieve in 2014.  Will we achieve everything ? Possibly not, but planning is half the pleasure. And the plans may  change along the way. It doesn't matter. We'll take it all in our stride.

We are happy to be back in Sneem amongst most of our old and also new friends.  We are grateful for being able to live in such an unspoiled area. The sea, the mountains, the rain, the wind, lightning and thunder, the sunshine.  The rainbows.

We'll take it all in our stride.

Thank you for visiting.

Patricia xxx...x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

One month in.

We are settling in. In the area. Which we know and are familiar with. The landscape, the seascape, the village, the people, our friends....

The house will take more persuasion to become 'ours' entirely. The setting is better than we could have hoped for. A stream or brook on the land for me - there are, as a matter of fact, several, a seaview for Bert - which we have. We are, as a matter of fact, right beside the water and our land has extensive water frontage. Okay, it is not a vast and wide seascape, like most people would envisage a seascape to be, but a sea inlet, with tidal water and everything. We also have 360° mountain views.

The little stream, cascading from the rocks into a pool

Now ! All of that is worth having to live in a house that is not perfect - yet.

The first week felt as if we were holidaying in a self-catering cottage. Good quality and trendy (it has to be said) furniture that came with the house, lacked personality and character, and, it wasn't ours. Bare walls, a minimum of kitchenware... I did however bring some throws and cushions by car, also a couple of garden ornaments - concrete cats - to put by the door, determined to put my stamp on it straight away.  A few essential kitchen utensils and ingredients so I could rustle up a meal. A friend of ours, Charley, gave us some violas and pansies, so my mum and I went to Kenmare to buy some window boxes and other planters. Bought more violas and potting compost and set to work imediately.

Note to self : that front door definitely needs another colour.

The dogs and cats felt at home amazingly quickly. After a week, we decided to install a cat flap, which is being used frequently - unless we are there, then the cats DEMAND that we open the door for them - "rolleyes". Our Fergus went missing for 10 days, and I was heartbroken. I know my Fergus ! He doesn't leave the house for more than an hour and he is a bit of a scaredy cat, so he wouldn't go off, galivanting the countryside in an entirely new land! My guess is that he accidently got locked in somewhere and bided his time to escape. I was so relieved when one morning he was home ! I gave him lots of cuddles, which is all fine and dandy, but it was food he wanted, more than cuddles. In the meantime he has recovered from whatever ordeal he's been through and has also found his place in the new home and surroundings.

 Gabrielle, sitting pretty

 

Fergus, finally relaxing

Our first container arrived approximately one week after we did. That's when it all started. The furniture that came with the house was moved into the house in South Square (that's another story) and our own stuff came in - in dribs and drabs. And it still is. Every time I feel I have accomplished something and our home looks half decent, another couple of boxes are being dumped into the hallway. Everything then needs to be reorganised again and again. We have too much stuff !

 Container arriving

Getting into the spirit of Ireland

Or the house is too small...

We firmly believe that is indeed the case. Our plans for extending the house have already been sent in to the county council. We also got them back again ! Declared INVALID ! Why ? Well there needs to be put up an application near the roadside, which is what we did. Only the guidelines concerning this are so fluid and very open to interpretation, we did it wrongly. Just how wrong we don't know, as they didn't say. But we put it a bit different, closer to the road, a bit closer to groundlevel, more, or less, level, looking at it from a few meters distance, closing one eye and tweeking here and there... you get the picture. Oh, maybe I should take a picture for future reference. Anyway, we sent in the application again, plus another €1000, thank you very much. Fingers crossed for a speedy planning permission without too many hitches, but we won't hold our breath. I will keep you up to date.

Here are a couple of photos before and after.

 Entrance before

 

Entrance after

 Sitting room before

 

Sitting room after

 

 Sitting room before

Sitting room after - note : carpet gone and wooden floor laid

Those windows HAVE TO GO and be replaced with white frames without the 'trelis' in between the double glazing !

 

 

 The kitchen before. A trendy show home kitchen without space for what's important : food preparation

 

Kitchen after. Eclectic (to say the least) and chaotic, but with extra storage, which is always a bonus.

I have rejoined the choir, but at this stage I feel I'm still whispering the songs instead of singing them. That will be sorted as soon as I'm feeling comfy again with the songs. And I'll be belting them out for anyone who wants to hear and for anyone who doesn't.

With a little a lot of persuasion from friends I have also joined excercise classes on Wednesday mornings. Jeezes! My muscles don't hurt, as they have all but disappeared over the years. But my joints - ouch ! I will persevere.

Next instalment on this blog will be about 'the other' project.

Thanks for visiting
Patricia xxx...x

It's been 4 weeks tomorrow

since we left Belgium.

We've had some pretty hectic days before we left. Last minute packing, container arriving, loading and container leaving again, before we could set to the road, direction Ireland.

I have difficulty writing about those last days, as I really don't want to think about it much, plus the fact that I was so exhausted that most of it happened with a foggy brain (mine).

Anyway, the cats went to my cousin, Nancy's cattery on the Friday till Monday, when we picked them up and began our journey.

 

 

The container got delivered Thursday afternoon.  Great start ! He got stuck on the small road  near our house and had to be pulled free by a neighbouring farmer and his tractor.

 

That settled, the driver decided not to attempt to offload the container at our house (not possible, he said), but dropped it off at the neighbours, who were kind enough to accommodate. But it meant that all our belongings had to be transported 150 meters or so.  It was an arduous task, but with the help of some friends and family, we did it !

 

Or so you would think !

If only Bert had notified me beforehand that our belongings wouldn't fit into a 20 ft container, but in fact that we'd needed two three of them ! I would certainly have organized it differently (that's what I'd like to believe, anyway)

Just how many times have I said : "Bert, that will never  fit into the container, will it ?", Only to get as reply : "Of course it will ! "

Never in a month of Sundays.  

Thus we set to the road with more than half of our belongings still left behind. Lucky that the house sale hadn't competed yet or we would have been snookered.

Bert then arranged another container for 2 weeks later to get the rest of our stuff. He would be in Belgium then to sign the contract for the sale of the house.

The new owners were kind enough to let us have a day extra to empty and clean up the house. Which Bert did, by the skin of his teeth AND renting extra storage from Shurgard self storage

 

I really don't want to think about it for the time being, so I am going to leave it at that !

 

 

Monday morning at 7am the first container left and not long after we did too. Two cars. Bert driving one with our dogs, Millie and Sam, while I took behind the wheel of the other car with my mother and 5 cats. Calais, here we come !

 

A few hickups with the trafic in Belgium later, we arrived at the channel tunnel in Calais safely.  There we had to have the pets' passports and micro chips checked, which went very well.

Once in the UK, the journey from Folkestone to Pembroke was extremely smooth sailing, unlike the ferry crossing from Pembroke to Rosslare.

The Irish Sea is rough at the best of times, but this was something else entirely. Thank goodness all three of us were tired at the verge of exhaustion and that we had a cabin booked or we would have settled into the lifeboats for the night - just in case.

Never knew ships could make circular motions like that. A few times I was woken up because I felt being lifted off the cabin bunk and dropped right back onto it. All three of us between wakefulness and fitful sleep, too worried and tired to speak. The ferry toddled into Rosslare harbour an hour later than foreseen on Tuesday morning around 7.30 am.

Thank you, Ireland, for welcoming us back with a clear blue sky and the sun out, even if it was still somewhat blustery.

A gentle 5 hour drive later we arrived at the house, where we unloaded the pets and flopped out on the furniture that was left by the previous owners !

 

 

I would go through it all again for a this. ^

 

Thanks for popping in.

Patricia xxx...x

 

 



Perpetual Home Movers

So we are now the proud new owners of two houses in our beloved Sneem, county Kerry, Ireland.
My life feels quite surreal right now. Who would have thought that after leaving 9 years ago we would ever go back.
I remember when we left, Bert saying, "You do realise that we will never be able to buy a similar house in  similar surroundings around Sneem for the price we got from the sale of the house."
He was right - for a while.  House prices went up and up and up, until the bubble burst...
Being the restless souls that we are and, not forgetting, perpetual home and country movers (gosh ! life would be simpler if we were just to get rid of all our tat and bought ourselves a gypsy waggon and a horse), we decided to go back to Ireland. 
It took us 2 years to plan and  to get things in order.

The timeline of the big move is as follows.

• Friday, 12th April

- Arrival of shipping container (we bought a second hand one, that way we can make use of  it in Sneem as storage - we're gonna need it !)

- Cats go to  my cousin, Nancy's cat hotel , which is just on the other side of town.  Easy peasy.
The dogs will stay with us, hoping we'll be able to manage them as we load the container.

• Saturday, 13th & Sunday, 14th April

- Load container with the help of friends.  Neatly loaded, to make good use of the 20 ft space.

• Monday, 15th April

- Container gets picked up in the morning.
- Stuff 2 cars full of dogs and other belongings
- Get cats from cat hotel, stuff them in car too
- Pick up my mother (who will have made picnic parcels), she is coming for the ride and will get a suitable space in my car.
- Ready to roll by 12 noon
- Drive to Calais to get to the Channel Tunnel
- Hopefully all goes smoothly with importing the pets.
- Arrive in Ashford
- Drive through England and Wales towards Fishgard to catch the ferry....

• Thuesday, 16th April

- Ferry Fishgard - Rosslare at 2.45 am
- Arrival in Rosslare at 6.30 am (or thereabouts)
- Drive to Sneem with estimated arrival at 12 noon
- Brass band, cheerleaders, flags will be welcoming us back (haha)

The shipping container will leave the docks in Antwerp on Wednesday and arrive in Cork on Friday morning, so we will not be seeing our worldly goods till the next Monday at the earliest.

At this point the pets have had their shots, micro chips for the ones that didn't have one yet, passports have been updated, etc etc.  The dogs need a treatment for tapeworm between 1 and 5 days before arrival in the UK.

Boxes have been filled and many more still need filling. The weeks ahead are going to be hectic, to say the least.

Thank you for reading
Patricia xxx...x