Stormy Day, Buster bolts! 9th July 08

Drizzly morning, no accidents from Buster overnight. Excellent stuff. Had a long bath, eating my bowl of cereal and drinking tea while I was in it! Luxury.

Did some more of the parking area. Pete and Sandra drove off in their car and Buster whined! 10 minutes later I couldn't find him. Searched all over the place, then realised he must have followed the car. Headed down the lane to Jo and Hilarys' house and there was Buster, on a lead ready to be brought back home. Luckily they didn't mind as it gives their dog Millie some exercise! I took Buster home and he looked miserable as I was cross. I tried to block up his exits but it's almost impossible. Still, he remained in close proximity for the rest of the afternoon thankfully.

Decided as my little fire had been so successful to light another one today. It was going nicely and I'd done quite a bit of weeding when it started to thunder and lightening. No rain. Carried on blithely. Then of course the heavens opened! I had to get the motor wheelbarrow inside, get washing off the line, take in the tools and was soaked to the skin!! Buster had dived under Jim's car and wouldn't come out! I managed to tempt him out and scooped him up and took him inside! Much towelling and he was ok. He didn't like the storm one bit.

I spent the rest of the afternoon doing my ATCs. Really enjoying it. Jim was due home at midnight but his plane was delayed and he eventually got here around 1am. Much chatting and here we are. Not much else to report. To bed.

Sunshine At Last 9 July 08

My dear departed Daddy's birthday today.

Well, today the sun shone all day. Amazing, it is still in the sky after all. Jim went to the UK for 2 days. This morning I pottered inside. Buster has been clean ALL DAY. Miracle. Fingers crossed it's not a fluke.

Spent much of the afternoon weeding the top area of our parking space. It's all got really weedy because you have to have 2 dry days to spray weedkiller. It's not happened, so I've got fed up with it and have done bits by hand.

I'm eating chocolate. Thanks Jim.

Yesterday I made another ATC (Artist Trading Card) and I'm quite pleased with it. I did one the day before too. This morning my 'swap' came from Rachel. It's just fabulous, as I knew it would be. My first too. Must think about where to put them.

I gave one to Sam, my daughter in law, so should get one back from her soon.

Took Buster for a walk on his lead after his dinner. He was very good, but very scared of the dogs round the corner on the way to the lake. We ran off past them and he kept looking behind to see whether they'd gone!! We met 2 people and both times he wanted to go with them. No loyalty beagles!

I was getting midge bitten this evening, so lit a small camp fire and it certainly did the trick. Fabulous. Buster though it was great fun and I took a cushion out for him to sit on while I weeded!

I have some more photos of Buster and BlackJack. Will post them here.

Going to have a go at another ATC now. Back soon.

Rain, Rain, Funeral, Fun and Jack June to July 5

Sam and Jack enjoy a picnic. Jack and his new trolley.












We seem to have had nothing but rain for ages now and I'm heartily sick of it. The garden is soggy all round. I have managed to get out for the odd hour or so, but have been attacked by tiny midges with it being so damp. I have even resorted to wearing an old bee keeper's headgear, which makes me look like a demented spaceman and is green. It is also hard to see through, so I have to weed where I know I won't destroy any precious plants. Someone should invent something to keep these evil beasts away.

The vegetable plot is doing surprisingly well, broad beans are fattening, we have salad leaves a-plenty and everything else is shooting up (well, the potatoes are hopefully growing down). Jim's done very well considering how hampered he's been with back pain.

Buster the dog is growing daily. His legs are getting very long and he's very naughty. He still has the odd accident, mainly because he doesn't like going out in the rain. What a wuss. We took him to the vets on Monday where he was micro chipped and had his 2nd vaccination. This was 'the' main man vet, Gerry and he thinks Buster is a beagle cross collie. He thoroughly checked him over and declared him in tip top health. All good stuff.

The plans for the very long awaited extension are in their final stages. We just have to get hold of Paddy now and sort out quotes from builders. Will it ever happen?

I went to Suffolk on Saturday 28th June to attend a funeral on Monday 30th. The funeral was in London and was for Jan, my first husband Ken's long term partner. She had been diagnosed with cancer not too long ago but it spread like wildfire and she died last week. She was 50 in May so far too young.

It was still good to see Jason, Sam and Jack for a few days. We fitted in a car boot sale on Sunday and I managed to pick up some great bargains for my ATCs and raggy bags.

We travelled down to London in Sam's 'bus' and met everyone at Ken's house. He was pleased I had made the effort to come and cried when we hugged. The service was excellent, if different. A humanist ceremony, the chap leading it had a great clear voice and delivered the eulogy with genuine care and sympathy. Ken cried of course, Sam wept (she's not good at funerals) and I was fine until the song they played at the end, 'I Want to Live Forever' by Queen. Ye gods, what a song. That got to most of us!

I flew back to Ireland on Tuesday evening. Not before enjoying a lovely day in the garden with Jack and Sam. It was very hot all the while we were there. Such a change for me. We filled a blow up paddling pool for Jack and he loved it. Jack and I also did some weeding, carrying them to the compost bin in his new 'trolley'. Jack's latest saying is, 'don't worry, I'll do that for you'. So sweet.

Back to Ireland where it was raining. Now there's a surprise. Now it's Saturday and I don't know where the week's gone. Jim decided to fetch a paper from Canneys this morning and we called in at Mrs Broderick's amazing cafe for a cup of tea and home made scone for breakfast! One of her Grandchildren was in charge as Anne Broderick was getting ready for a few days holiday. Have I mentioned this cafe before? Anne runs the cafe, which has no menu, no charges and no security, for a charity in Zimbabwe. Her sister is a nun there and helps children with aids/hiv and all the money raised in the cafe is sent to support her sister's work. So you just pop some money in the collection tin as and when you feel like it but call for a coffee or tea anytime after 12 midday and you can have one for nothing. Ann did return just as we were leaving and she took my phone number for about the 3rd time as she's promised to take me for a coffee some time but keeps losing my number!

This afternoon was fine so I cut the grass along the edge of the snakey rose bed and weeded most of it before the rain came again! Jim planted the lupins he'd grown from seed in one of the arboretum beds.

Quick burst of Casualty tonight on tv, which was pretty rubbishy and here I am.

Puppy, Visitors, Rain and Wind.. 27 June 08

I cannot believe how cold it is tonight. It's late June and so cold and wet.

The puppy is now officially Buster. After several attempts at names (including Samson, Rocky and Brandy), we hit upon Buster. It seems to suit him and it's one I can remember!! Everyone thinks he is a beagle and so I guess he is, though his colouring isn't quite right. The more we read about beagles on the Internet, the more fearful we become! They are notoriously difficult to toilet train, obedience train and they run off a lot!

Today we took him to the vets as he had fleas and was due his 2nd vaccination and wormer. The 2 girls in the vets adore Buster and as we were the only customers, fussed over him like a baby! He was given a toy to play with and a doggy treat! Sadly the proper vet wasn't there and so we'll have to go back for the vaccination, but they gave him a worming tablet and some drops of flea stuff on the back of his neck. We have to keep him dry for 24 hours, so are having to keep him in our conservatory as he goes in and out of the cat flaps at will otherwise! More piles of poo and rivers of wee to look forward to.

It's been difficult to do much gardening lately as the weather has been pretty awful. I know his is Ireland but even so.

We have had our first visitors of the year, my daughter Kay and one of her wives, Rachel. They came for the first time, so I was looking forward to their visit no end and wondering what they would think of our cottage and land. I have been looking forward to attempting some ATCs (Artists' Trading Cards). Jim re-arranged the computer table and book shelves so that I had some space to work and I made my first one. I gave it to Rachel as I know she makes them too. The idea is that you swap them. They are never sold. I was pretty pleased with my effort bu forgot to take a photo of it. Kay please note.....

We knew the weather forecast wasn't wonderful but as it turned out, those 2 days were much better than today! The first day, Tuesday, we picked them up from Shannon airport and drove home. We decided to do local things as we also had the land to walk around. In spite of the drizzle, we did walk the land, which took some time. Kay and Rachel both loved it and wanted to move in! I knew they would really...

After our walk, we came back and dried off, then had the most gorgeous curry made by Jim. It was without doubt the best he had made by far. We togged up with coats and hats and headed down to the lake. It was a bit dark and drizzly but ok. The ground underfoot in the wood was a bit soggy in places but we poddled through it all with a spirit of adventure.

The wood is full of lichen on the trees and thick moss on the ground. It smelled of slightly damp moss, old leaves and the damp moss, gorgeous. We reached the lake which was much admired, especially the big stones and waving rushes. It was quite choppy and windy and the sky blackened, so we headed back at a fairly slow pace. Rachel has a painful big toe from a karate accident and Kay has aching joints and a dicky heart. And of course there's Jim's dodgy back too. What a group of invalids!

Much chatting ensued and playing with puppy and cats. It was great fun, light hearted laughter.

Everyone was exhausted, so we called it a day.

On Wednesday we didn't make too early a start to the day. We were off to The Burren, which is really not too far from our home. We had a very civilised breakfast, reminding Kay of my parents' breakfasts years ago when Kay and Jason used to go and stay with them in Lancing. I am growing into my mother apparently. Cereal, tea, toast and chat. Excellent.

Donning weather gear, off we headed to The Burren. The weather was showery with breaks in the cloud but so windy. Unseasonably so. We started off at the visitor centre at Kilfenora. Stopped for coffee and small eats. We took in a couple of tourist shops as Kay wanted to buy some presents. Just near the centre is a Church of Ireland cathedral, now pretty dilapidated, but it has a glass protective roof and is currently well looked after. Around the cathedral is a graveyard which has many beautifully carved Celtic crosses on the graves. We spent quite some time wandering around and taking photos. Kay has a very posh mobile phone with an excellent quality camera in it. Much photo taking went on with this piece of high tec equipment all the holiday! I managed to walk into a very low stone arch and momentarily saw stars!

We then headed off to show them the Dolman. I knew they would love it there and indeed they did. We timed our visit well, as one coachload of tourists were just leaving as we arrived and as we left, after quite some time, another coach pulled up. We met a couple from the USA who said no wonder the Irish left for other lands with our weather! It was blowing a real gale by then and we really had trouble standing at times. We still managed to poke about among the burren rocks and search for the plethora of flora hidden in the abundant nooks and crannies.

We saved the last part of the tour until the last part of the day. There is a tiny ruined church in some dense woodland on one part of The Burren. Not many people know of its existence and it is really beautiful there. It was quite a walk from the road, but still worth it. This part of the Burren was absolutely covered with orchids. Amazing. We squelched our way up the rather muddy path and into the thick cover of the trees. You are greeted by ancient lichen and moss covered trees and masses of ferns. There appears before you an incredibly pretty stream and a tree which is covered with ribbons and other 'presents'. A hermit used to live in a cave at the top of the wood and we clambered up to it. Jim sat pretending to be a gnome with a fishing rod!

We explored the cave, which was actually pretty small for a home. The hermit apparently paid for a vicar to come and live in the church so he would have some company. There isn't much left of the original building, but the whole atmosphere is spiritual and Kay and Rachel were as awe struck as we had been on first discovering this place. I think we probably picked the best places for our particular visitors this time.

As time was passing rapidly and we had left Buster alone, we headed back to the car. Jim hates wind and his back was obviously giving him pain, so he went ahead. We battled our way through the wind and arrived a short time afterwards. The relief when we sat in the car, out of the wind, was fantastic.

We headed back through Gort, our local town and home. Kay and Rachel enjoyed some rest and relaxation while Jim and I made a big spread of meats, nibbles and fresh picked baby salad leaves from the vegetable plot. It was really lovely and we sat around the table for a long time eating and chatting, discussing the day's events and delights - and weather! Kay and Rachel tidied up my computer for me, Rachel having fixed it the day before. Clever girl.

As they had to catch a plane at 6.30am we tried not to be too late to bed. I think I had 3 hours sleep!

It was a super couple of days. It's quiet now but we've busied ourselves taking the dog to the vets, a little shopping and generally tidying. We did go back to bed this morning to catch up on some sleep. It's been a dreadful day weather wise, almost incessant rain and cold. I do hope July and August bring some warm sunshine.

Must to bed soon. I have some great photos of the past 2 days, so will post some of them here.

Puppy Puppy Puppy 9 June 2008

The big news is the arrival of a new puppy. Totally unplanned, he 'found' us. Last Wednesday, we were heading off to Shanon airport as Jim was going to the UK until Saturday. It was teeming down with rain. Our lane to the main road is a mile long and about half way along we came to a grinding halt. In the middle of the road there was a wet, soggy, shivering bundle of puppy. I got out and moved it to the side of the lane, thinking someone would be nearby. It ran under our car. I tried again. It ran under our car again. I think walked about 20 yards behind our car and rushed back to it. The puppy bounded after me and ran under the car.... Well, we were getting nowhere and the puppy appeared to be on its own. We decided we'd better turn round and take it back to the barn out of the rain until I returned, which is what we did. I left him in a cardboard box with a big blanket, cold, wet and miserable!

Dropped Jim off at Shannon airport then did some shopping, including some dog food, just in case. It was quite late when I got back and I put the puppy in the car go try and find the owner. I only got as far as our neighbours down the lane. They only knew of one family with puppies and they said they weren't like this one. I decided to go back home and try in the morning. The puppy came inside in its box and drank some milk, turning its nose up at the water.

The cats were not amused! The poor thing grunted like a little pig and shook with fright. I put him in our conservatory so the cats wouldn't be able to hurt him and went to bed, having chatted to Jim on the phone.

Thursday saw a very different puppy, all bouncy and full of fun - and cat biscuits! The cats still didn't like this think much and moved every time he tried to get near them. I had to go into Gort, our nearest 'largish' town to finish getting the adverts for the Gort Show Catalogue, so left puppy in the conservatory again, with some toys.

It poured with rain in Gort, and hail!! Still, ads done, I stocked up with cat and dog food, 2 soft toys from Mrs Quinn's Charity Shop (1 euro each) and headed back to Killanena. I thought that if anyone at all had heard of a lost puppy it would be Mrs Broderick in her little cafe opposite Broderick's Furniture Store, so I stopped there on the way home. It's an amazing place, no prices, no menu and all for charity. Mrs Broderick's sister is a nun and is in Zimbabwe where she helps provide things for the poor children there. Mostly care and school uniforms and books, etc. The money donated at the cafe is all sent over to help. They collect an amazing amount.

I was duly given a cup of tea and a scone (I didn't ask, Ann Broderick knows I like them)!! I asked about the puppy and she didn't know of anyone who'd lost one but would ask around. By now I'm beginning to think the poor little chap has been abandoned. Mrs B realised she had to go and pick up her Grandchildren and take them swimming. She left me in the cafe alone and rushed off. I finished my tea and scones, washed up and put the jam, butter and milk in the fridge and left. No door locked. What a wonderful place. You won't find many like that in the UK.

By now, puppy has decided I'm Mum. As I wander about, I'm now followed by 2 cats and 1 dog! See for yourself (oh yes, I took photos on the first evening)! I think it's a Beagle or Beagle cross. He is utterly adorable and now ours. Mine. LOL. So I haven't achieved much since Wednesday. Lots of mopping up of poos and wees and playing with 2 cats and 1 dog. This morning we're off to the vets to get him sorted and see whether he has any problems. He certainly seems to fall over a lot and we wonder whether he has some back leg problems. We're having name problems. He's been Samson and Rocky but neither of those seemed to fit. Jim wanted to call him Jeremy, as in Jeremy Beadle!!! Hmmm. I think I'll call him Beagly. Any other suggestions? Photos on Facebook or here of course. How jealous are you all now?

I collected Jim from the airport on Saturday, 11pm and took Beagly with me. Half way there, the car filled with a noxious odour! I stopped where I could and pulled over. Beagly was not in his bed in the back but had crawled under the back seat and onto the floor behind the passenger seat, then onto the floor behind my seat. It was pitch dark and I could smell but couldn't find the offending 'present'. I plonked Beagly back in his box and pulled out this little mats. Aha, one was the little parcel, all splodgy and yukky. I had little choice, as time was passing, but to leave the mat at the side of the road! I drove with the windows open to drive out some of the smell.

At the airport, the plane was delayed, so I had a bit of time. Oh, also I was almost out of petrol. AAAAH! Anyway, Beagly was a bit messed up from his journey, so I took him into the ladies and washed him off in the sink. He thought this was ok, but didn't like the dryer much! Took him back to his box, came back and gave me a thorough wash! The plane then landed and I rushed back to the car and got him so that he could be there to meet 'Dad'!! Now the petrol problem.

Jim realised we were very low and we had to decide where was the best place to go where there might be a garage open at 12midnight on a Saturday night. He decided Ennis was probably a good choice and drove very economically along the new road, both of us watching the needle dropping further and further. I was so scared we'd run out and was feeling very guilty because it was my fault for not filling up the day before. Well, as we drove into Ennis, there in the distance we could see the lights of a petrol station shining in the darkness and welcoming us. Phew! That was a VERY close run thing.

Much relieved, we chatted dog most of the way home, missed our turning so decided to carry on and into Gort to buy some food. Back home and that's about it. Jim's back is in an awful mess so he hasn't been able to do much. A recurrence of the problem he had a couple of months ago. I think he needs the vets too. Poor man is in a lot of pain and can't get comfortable. He's also feeling sickly, probably from all the pain killers.

On the plus side, the garden looks lovely. The grass was very long and Jim did manage to mow. I cut all the edges hard back and it all looks very neat and tidy. Yesterday evening I did some bramble and nettle clearing from the other side of the fairy hill. It was getting very overgrown and some of it hadn't been tackled at all. The tiny midges drove me inside at 10pm!

So, our life has taken an unexpected turn! I know little about puppies so have bought a book on ebay about training your puppy and have read up about Beagles. Seems they have a few behavioural problems, but nothing we can't sort I'm sure.

The bottom 2 photos are from the first evening. How miserable does he look? The top right hand one is the following day, his tail wagging at last. Happy puppy.

Happy me.