AUTUMN IS EXTENDED!

It's mid November. Mr D. and I are here in Ireland.  We have had a few very nice trips to our holiday home in west Cork.  It's been great to have somewhere to escape to over the summer and autumn but now the days are mostly dull with lots of cloud cover and rain.   However it has been unusually mild and most days, we walk in our local park where there are many beautiful trees by the river Lee. 

Normally by November, we would have had one storm stripping  the leaves from the trees leaving us with a bare landscape.  This year we still have leaves with stunning autumn colour to brighten even the dullest of days. 

 

 The days are really short and it's dark by 4.45pm. The nights are long but I keep myself busy. I've just finished a painting of a sunset at Banna beach in Co. Kerry. 

 I have a few sewing projects to do and I plan on redecorating the spare bedroom if I can find some nice wallpaper for one of the walls.  I am doing some online Spanish classes and can't wait to try out the language when we eventually get to Spain.  I would so love to be in a warm sunny country just now but friends have told me it's a huge hassle travelling in these times.  Covid19 figures are rising again so we haven't been able to book any trips abroad. We will just have to wait.  We are being very careful and thankfully so far we have not caught the virus.  Fingers crossed we will be able to meet up with friends and family at Christmas.

SEARCH FOR A HOLIDAY HOME IN IRELAND

 We have had a lot of time over the past 18 months to think.  The ongoing pandemic and travel restrictions have allowed us to stay in Ireland and get to visit places which we have never been to before but are within a two hour drive from Cork where we have been living since we sold our house in Turkey.  Once we sold up in Turkey our plan was to look around southern Spain with the intention of buying a holiday apartment there.  The availability of flights, choice of airlines and shorter flight times make it a very attractive country for get away breaks for family and friends. I've been learning Spanish on line for the past few years in anticipation of this new chapter. But as the saying goes " The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry" !

Before we left Turkey and since we returned to Ireland I literally spent hours surfing the internet for properties and locations.  I did find a lovely Spanish town which ticked most of the boxes and there were plenty of nice apartments and townhouses which would suit us perfectly.  However,  because of the pandemic we could not travel abroad.  Mr. D suggested we should look at properties here in Ireland.  At first I was very much against this idea.  I felt if we bought a house here then that would put an end to my Spanish dream. Mr. D pointed out that our initial plan was to firstly rent in Spain, find  a location we liked.  Renting would give us the option of seeing new places and we could even spend time in other countries like Italy where we enjoyed great holidays in the past. If in the future we still wanted to buy in Spain then we could sell the Irish property. We would have options.  I eventually agreed this made sense.  So we both started looking online for apartments.  After about six months of searching we agreed on and viewed a very nice three bed apartment close to a long sandy beach in East Cork. We put in an offer and waited.  Another offer came in and we made a final offer just above our budget.  A week later we got news from the estate agent that someone else had made a higher offer and it had been accepted.  I thought to myself, " we will have to wait until Spain" !

A few days later I was lazily browsing sites for West Cork/Kerry properties.  Prices are very high in these areas. Because of the unspoilt beauty it attracts many rich foreign buyers. This is good for the areas because they bring in money from abroad to renovate old properties.  They employ local builders and spend their money locally.  On previous searches of these areas I couldn't find anything within our budget. 

 I was pleasantly surprised when I found two properties which looked good in the few photos and were just at the top of our budget. The nicer of the two properties was going to be sold at auction so I wasn't sure how high the final price would be. 

 It was early December 2020 and we were now allowed to travel within our own county.  These properties were just two miles away from the Kerry border.  This place was right in the middle of unspoilt beauty.  We decided to make a day of it and head west. 

 We were cautiously optimistic.  We had arranged to meet the estate agent in the beautiful town of Castletownbere on the Beara peninsula. Half the peninsula is in Co, Cork and half is in Co. Kerry. I asked him to first show us the apartment which was in the town.  It was a newly built first floor apartment in a block of three.  It would definitely work as a holiday home. We both liked it but didn't get that 'Wow I must have this' feeling.  We said yes we would think about it.  I had a gut feeling about the property we were to see next.   I had checked it on Google maps and it was in a remote village about fifteen minutes drive from the town. It was a dull grey day as we drove at speed trying to keep up with the Estate agent.  The narrow road had twists and turns. We both prayed we wouldn't meet another vehicle speeding in the opposite direction. The unfamiliar road seemed much longer than we had anticipated and Mr. D commented 'This is very remote!'   I replied, 'Let's wait and see'. Suddenly we could see the sea on our left and mountains on our right. This looks good I thought. Are we in Kerry? I asked.

We arrived in a beautiful village with a river and a bridge at the entrance.  We parked the car and followed the agent.  We all wore our masks. The only sound to be heard was the bleating of sheep. He opened the door and we stepped inside the house which was in a neat row of about 12 terraced houses.  Immediately I got a warm feeling. 

The beautiful staircase and natural wooden doors looked like they were just fitted. He pointed out the downstairs bathroom.  He led us into the main reception room which was open-plan leading to a large kitchen.  We both looked around and then at one another. Instantly we both knew we had that 'Wow I must have this' feeling. And we hadn't seen upstairs yet! 

Upstairs was more than we had expected.

There were three double bedrooms.  The main bathroom was a good size and the windows were double glazed. If it looked this good in the middle of winter, then it could only get better in summer.  

 He explained that the house would be going to auction. I asked what would the sellers accept if we were to buy it without it going to auction. He gave us the figure and I felt my heart rate speed up. Within 15 minutes of seeing the house we put in our best offer. It was now up to the sellers.

On the drive back along the peninsula we took our time and admired the stunning scenery.  Would we be lucky enough to get this dream house?  

The estate agent wasted no time in getting back to us the next morning.  The sellers had happily accepted our offer. I pinched myself and was so happy that the East Cork apartment fell through. The scenery there was nothing like the scenery here. We had been to other parts of west Cork and Kerry over the years and have many happy memories but now we were about to have our very own house in a most beautiful magical place.  Maybe for some unknown reason the universe steered us here.  For now we will enjoy all it has to offer. A selection of views from our walks around the peninsula.

I will let the photos speak for themselves.  

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THE BIG DIG

There are some garden jobs which are a bit daunting and therefore get put to the end of my to do list.

One such job was a rather large Euphorbia.  I have had them in my garden for years.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_mellifera

They keep seeding and I pot them up and donate to charity plant sales.

One of these seedings grew in my sunny part of the garden and as it grew it blocked out light from other plants. Being away in Turkey for so many years I noticed a huge difference in it when we moved back to Ireland.

With the improvement in the weather and warm April days I decided to cut it back.  This I did and was left with a huge stump.  I dug away the soil as much as I could but there was no budge in the roots.

Two days later and more digging and still no budge. 

My sister Ber said she would come armed with a crowbar and we would stay at it until it came out.

She arrived next day prepared for work dressed in her gardening clothes and we set to work.  She reminded me to take breaks stretching our backs and doing spinal exercises as we went.

The crowbar was good. It got in under the roots where the spade would not go.  

 

 

A TASTE OF FREEDOM AND A GARDEN VISITOR

The long awaited day has come at last.  12th April,  we can travel beyond the confines of our local towns beyond the 5km limit and all around our own county.  All children are back to school today and residential construction has been given permission to open. We can meet people from one other household in their gardens while keeping our 2m distance.   This means I can visit  my sister and my friends at last!  We will do this gradually because everyone is planning meet ups this week and we don't want to overlap.

  

The vaccine roll out has been ramped up in Ireland and across Europe.  We are looking forward to getting vaccinated but this is not without stress due to The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac)  recommending limiting the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to the over-60s, following reports of some rare blood clotting events among younger people. A month ago they stopped giving it to the over 70's but then changed this recommendation again.

We don't know if we will have a choice of vaccination but will have to wait and see.

Mr. D. was looking out the kitchen window yesterday when he spotted an unusual visitor!  He called out to me 'Quick! there is a ginger cat in the garden, 'quick before he goes away!' 

I was still in my slippers but made my way quickly to the garden.   Mr. D. knows how much I love cats and have been missing having them in our lives. We took care of 2 kittens at the end of last year but haven't had any since due to the strict lockdown.

There in the garden was this most beautiful cat.  I recognised him immediately.  He belongs to one of the neighbours somewhere on the road behind ours.

He first came to our garden around two years ago when he was still a kitten.  I've never fed him but he just loves humans. Then last summer he came by on two separate occasions.  He would quickly make himself at home in our garden.  He would sit on my lap purring.   

So yesterday after not having seen him for almost a year,  I was delighted to see this beautiful happy cat again.  He is obviously well loved and cared for by his owners.  His coat is smooth and shiny and I can see he is well fed.  I lifted him up into my arms and said hello.  He sat on my lap on the patio for ages. When he got down eventually, I did some gardening chores while he checked in and out between pots and plants.  He sat in the sunshine and watched me while I worked.  Then he left.  Well it was lunchtime.  I hope he visits again soon.  He made my day!

 

FELT LIKE SUMMER TODAY!

The weather forecast is good for the next 3 to 4 days. There is a high pressure over Ireland which is going to keep our skies clear therefore wall to wall sunshine.  Hurray!!!!

I woke to the sunlight penetrating the curtains.  I couldn't wait to get up.  Not usual for me these past few months!

After a lazy breakfast I set about doing some chores. While carrying a machine load of washing out to the line I heard the birds happily chirping.  I gazed at the cloudless blue sky. It felt like being in Turkey again.  After I pegged the clothes I watched them gently floating in the light breeze. They would bask for the day in the glorious sunshine. 

After lunch Mr. D and I drove to our local forest.  

We took a leisurely walk admiring the beauty of nature as we chatted.  A solitary fisherman stood on the riverbank.

The trees looked stunning with dappled sunlight filtering through the edge of the long forest which stretches by the river.

We sat for a while and just took in the beauty that surrounded us. 

 

MY ART

I liked painting this scene.  It's one I painted at my art group when I lived in Turkey. Painting together with a group of friends in such a relaxed and beautiful setting was absolutely wonderful.   We would bring homemade cake and have tea and a chat before setting up our easels. Then as we eased ourselves into our painting the chatter died down and the creativity began.

There are some beautiful silver birch trees in our local park here in Cork, Ireland. During the autumn the colours are at their best and I felt inspired to do another autumn scene.

2021 NEW YEAR NEW PROJECTS

We are into a new year and still under level 5 of this our third national lockdown. It began on 31st December and is set to continue at this level until 5th April when it will hopefully be reduced to level 4 or even level 3.   Life goes on.

The days melt into weeks.  Unfortunately too many people met up with families and friends over Christmas and the new variant of the virus has spread like wild fire. There were days when the number of cases were over 8,000 in a day and that was without contact tracing being done.  They simply hadn't the resources at that stage.

 We waited and waited for news of a reduction in Covid figures. Eventually in February the numbers started to decrease but then hit a plateau by end of February.  Some people refusing to obey the rules.  They won't wear masks and continue to have parties.  It is very frustrating for the majority of people who have stuck to the rules since march 2020. 

 The weather has been very wet and also very cold.

Mr D and I continue to take our afternoon walk.  We mostly walk by the river which is part of a very big park near our home here in Cork Ireland. 

 Since everyone in the town has the same idea it is quite a busy location. The park is spread out and there are many areas with trees where we can avoid passing too many walkers and joggers.  

It's difficult to keep finding new projects to keep oneself busy but today I decided to tackle my beloved reading chair.  I bought it originally for my mother.  She rightly said our chairs were either too soft or too low and she wanted something comfortable to relax in when she came to visit. I now use this chair when I'm reading and it's a great chair. Since it's a bit dated I thought I would brighten it up with  bright paint and new cushion covers.  Today I made a start.  I took it outside and gave it a good sanding.  Next I applied a light coat of lime green spray paint.               

It will look better when the cushions are back on.

I need to make new covers for the cushions.

I have a vision in my head of a lovely bright floral pattern.  Maybe next month the shops will reopen and I will be able to complete the project.

Meanwhile I will get back to my little studio. A painting is waiting to be finished.

 

 

Autumn and Winter 2020 Ireland

Sorry for being so very late publishing this post.  I had a major problem with my electronic equipment.  We were fostering 2 kittens when  I managed to drop my phone and two tablets. Not the cat's fault!  I absentmindedly left my devices on the arm of my chair on more than one occasion!!  The kittens were doing what kitten do,  jumping from the coffee table to my arm to climb and play when there was a sudden crash....O crumbs! another device smashed.  

My laptop came out in sympathy deciding to go really slow and despite my nephew inserting new storage into it, it still wouldn't open my emails.  My phone is ok but too small to work on.   On rare occasions I have been using Mr. D's tablet but I have been warned not to use it when cats are in residence. 

The guilty parties ...........................

We are still making sure to get out for our daily walks.  The woods are beautiful especially in the autumn .

The trees in the park get more beautiful every year.