We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Ho Ho Ho... Merry Christmas!!!!!

We have escaped the mobile home for Christmas. Well, we were in the mobile home for Christmas morning so that the boys could open their presents from Santa and then made our way to Wexford for Christmas dinner and lazing about by the fire. Bliss....

The boys were very controlled this morning and got up at 6.30am, which isn't too different to normal. Daithi had put a big arrow outside pointing to the mobile home so that Santa wouldn't get confused and we tracked Santa on Christmas Eve round a friend's house using the NORAD website. As soon as we got back home they got dressed in their pj's and took themselves to bed. I don't know how they managed to get to sleep they were so excited.

The boys were really pleased with their presents. Conor can not leave his Siku Bale carrier alone! Liam has been in Ben 10 mode all day! They got what they asked for anyway which was the main thing and then they got a few other bits and pieces to fill the stockings. They have had a great day with the uncles, aunts and cousins (and more presents!). We should be here for a couple of days then it is back to work on the house while Daithi has a couple of weeks off work.

The month of December saw more insulation arrive and wiring done in the kitchen. Plasterboard can put up most of downstairs now I think. We still have plenty of windows to finish but we are getting there. Can't remember if I posted about our rat last time but I saw a huge rat (the size of a small cat) in the kitchen when I went to take the washing out of the machine one day. It wasn't scared of me at all and just strutted past me and out of a hole in the floor where the waste pipe for the washing machine will be. I sent Conor in with a big stick to chase it every time I went back into the house in case it was still there. Daithi got a rat trap and we managed to catch the thing. The creature filled the cage and its tail curled around the outside. Daithi went to get a bucket to drown it but as he approached the rat started thrashing about and started to break out of the cage. In self defense Daithi had to clatter it over the head numerous times! We haven't seen any since in the house but living in the country with fields of beet all around we know there are plenty around. As long as they don't bother me again I don't mind!

2009 is soon approaching and who knows what is in store for us all at Ballydaniel house. I hope that 2008 will be the last Christmas morning we wake up in the mobile home.....!

Coldest night so far

I am frozen. I have managed to escape to the library to use the internet and keep warm. We had a heavy frost last night and there was ice on the inside of the living room window of the mobile home! Liam thought there was snow outside and wasn't too disappointed to find out that it was only ice. It was a beautiful picture - blue sun and silver, glistening fields. I suppose that it is winter now!

We have one finished window in the house, complete with brass fixtures. It looks fantastic and I am so proud of Daithi for being able to make it. The wait was well and truly worth it. Now we have to work on getting the others in. Hopefully they shouldn't take so long as we know what to expect now. The only problem is that we have run out of lead for the weights. Daithi has managed to cast 20 out of the 60 we need (4 per window) using lead we sourced from the home place in Wexford, but we have no idea where to get the remaining amount we need. Obviously robbing a church roof isn't an option!

Sorry about the lack of photos recently. I don't have anyway to load them on at the moment. I will edit the last few posts and add them as soon as I can.

The Duovac has arrived

It is here.... The Duovac has arrived safe and sound from the UK only a week after we ordered it. Conor was beside himself when it arrived at lunchtime and opened all the boxes straight away. When I took Liam to piano lessons this evening Conor was telling Daithi all about it. When we returned half an hour later we found Daithi and Conor busy putting the finishing touches to the pipe work for a demonstration. Every time we have seen the central vacuum systems at exhibitions the demonstrator has enthralled all the kids with the way the system works by sucking up lots of colourful balloons. Conor had found lots of Halloween balloons left over from last month and couldn't wait to suck them up. I think Daithi and Cian will have a willing tester over the weekend!

Tough week

A very kind brother-in-law has left his laptop and modem with me for the week. It is great to be connected to the world again! It is a shame that I've tonsillitis ever since and today is the first day that I have actually wanted to use the computer!

We have been really busy trying to get all the windows in. The new glass arrived a few weeks back and I am so glad we got replacement units rather than fiddle about with the ones we had because they look fantastic. It has been a lot of work so far to get just the sash boxes in. So far each of the boxes has been slightly larger than the hole it was intended for (better than being too small I suppose), which has meant that the jack hammer has been working overtime! It has taken two weekends of solid work by Daithi and Cian to get 12 out of the 15 boxes in. But each time a box goes in is a big step closer to the house being finished.

This weekend should finally see the first sashes going in to the boxes. The glass is in all of the downstairs sashes already. Daithi spent most of all Sunday afternoon/evening perfecting the technique of casting lead weights. I finally convinced him that he should get a proper mask to protect him, but not before he had probably inhaled far more lead fumes than he should have done. The lead weights is last piece of the window puzzle. Better finish painting them!

Another milestone - we have ordered the central vacuum system. We went for Duovac in the end. The system is more powerful, a cyclone system and is cheaper than Cyclovac. Unfortunately we couldn't get it in Ireland so it is being shipped in from the UK. It should arrive shortly! Exciting times ahead!

A new home for now

It is a week since we moved into the mobile home and I have to say that I am surprised at how well we have settled in, the boys especially. Of course there has been a bit of tension: 2 boisterous boys bored in a mobile home while storms rage outside is a recipe for disaster! But on the whole things have gone smoothly enough. I am really happy that they were at school for the most part.

The move itself took forever! I don't think Daithi realised how much stuff was in the garage. We had a loan of a fantastic van from our neighbour (Daithi was smitten) and oh my did we need it. The house was empty by early afternoon and I went off trick or treating with the boys at their friend's house. Conor really got into the spirit of things this year. He was a vampire and was such a sight running from house to house collecting sweets. I forgot my camera (again!) so I am hoping to get photos from my friend and will post them up. I have managed to make the sweets last all week but next year I am going to remove the majority the same night, before they get an idea on how many are in their bags. We left Daithi at 4pm busily packing up the garage and returned at 8pm to find him doing the same!

I have to say that first night in the mobile home was freezing!!!!!! It was the coldest night so far this autumn/winter and we felt it. We were completely unprepared and spent as much of the night wrapped up hugging hot water bottles. The gas couldn't be connected because the cooker was leaking gas so we had no hot water or heat apart from a small electric heater. The boys were safely tucked up in bed and seemed completely oblivious to the ice forming around them. I felt very guilty heading off at 5am to Dublin for the knitting and stitching show (well a little bit ;) ) .

Poor Daithi had a bit of a stressfull day by all accounts. The boys were extremely clingy and wouldn't stay with friends while Daithi finished clearing the house and taking the van back to its home. As a consequence they arrived at Liam's classmates birthday pary 2 hours late, just as it was finishing! Finially they had been invited to friends for dinner, which the boys refused to eat. And to top it off a freezing mobile home to sleep in because they had been out all day! Meanwhile I was enjoying my lovely full Irish breakfast (veggie version), embroidery workshops, exhibitions, spending money and 3 course evening meal! I got back at midnight to find Daithi wrapped in 2 quilts, full pyjamas and hat looking completely stressed out.... oh well!

The Sunday was a beautifully sunny day so we were able to sort ourselves out. Cian brought down a replacement cooker from uncle Josie's house (hope he doesn't come over from England to soon!) and we were able to get the gas connected... hot water on demand, cooking, heating...hoorah! Friends have loaned us a great electric heater which is sufficient to heat the place too. Daithi connected up the washing machine in the house but I have to find a way to dry the clothes now. I have no drier so will have to find a launderette somewhere I think. We also put up spare sheets of insulation around the outside of the mobile which has worked really well at making the bedrooms and bathroom more cosy. So now we are comfortable and much happier than we were in the rented house! I even slept much better when Daithi was in Galway for his 3 day stint. It feels like the final stage now..... I can see the house from my window and know that we will be in soon enough!

Moving Day...

Tomorrow we move...to the mobile home. Our landlord very generously stayed a few months over our contract but now it is time to let a paying tenant move in. The packing has been going well although I didn't realise how much junk we have. I am dreading opening up the containers to see what we actually brought from the UK nearly 3 years ago!

The mobile home is surprisingly spacious and we have managed to fit all the essentials inside. Unfortunately the gas cooker leaks so we got that out of the place and I have borrowed a gas hob and grill from Janet (Tigger) - Thanks Janet! I am actually looking forward to being close to the house. My friend has been trying to get me to change my mind because she is worried about our security while Daithi is away but I am sticking to my guns at the moment. Next week could be a different matter when Daithi is going away. We shall see. The boys seem quite pleased with their new room and are generally happy about living there for now.

We will be busy for the next few days at least. Tomorrow is Halloween and the boys are excited about trick or treating with their friends. It means a meal out too. Saturday I am in Dublin for the Knitting and Stitching show (I can't wait!!!) and Daithi is in charge of the boys. I hope they get on ok although Liam has a birthday party to go to so that will break up the day a bit.

I am hoping to get a broadband connection at the mobile home but that may be some time. Apologies if the blog gets a little bit behind....

Things get better.. well almost...

After a good night's rest the rest of the bank holiday has passed without major argument or incident. I managed to get in my painting hours in the mornings and am really pleased with the finish of most of the windows. We just have to wait for the glass now!

On sunday we caught a glimpse of the most perfect rainbow. I couldn't manage get a full photo of it due to its size but it was a complete rainbow that framed our view of Youghal town. It lasted about 10 minutes before slowly disappearing. It cetainly improved my mood of the day. Would have been nice to find the gold at either end!





But all good things come to an end as they say.... we had a phone call today from the landlord the result being that we have to be out of the house by the end of the week. It had to happen some time. So it will be into the mobile home we go. It is perfectly livable now we have got new carpets etc. Daithi checked today that the hot water system works, which it does. But the oven does leak gas so we either have to find another or just manage with a camping gas hob and a microwave for a while. The boys aren't bothered in the slightest and have decided which toys to pack and which to put away already. My main concern is the cold. Next week is supposed to be very cold. However, I'm sure we will get used to it in time.

I think I'm losing it.....

It is bank holiday weekend in Ireland at the moment so of course it is raining! The weather hasn't helped to improve my mood. I think I must have woken on the wrong side of the bed this morning because I have spent most of the day snapping at the boys for doing things that wouldn't normally bother me.

The start of the day was ok. The plan was that every day this weekend I would go straight up to the house and finish painting the downstairs windows and boxes. I was there at 8.30am giving a final coat on all the relevant windows that needed them. Great....! It is such a relief to have them done at last. The next step of the plan was that Daithi would go and start putting in the glass which we had delivered a couple of months back. So far so good except that Daithi came back after about 20 minutes with an ashen face.... The double glazed units are the wrong size! We never even thought of checking the size of them when they arrived. We had a problem with the colour of the spacer inside the unit and we contacted the manufacturer about that but never dreamed that the size would be wrong (the depth is ~4mm out which means the window would have a very sunken look to it when the beading holding the glass in is set in place). Daithi made contact with the supplier and will speak to them again on Tuesday to get them remade. We could possibly work with the panes we have but it would mean remaking the beading - all that fiddly painting started my bad mood off. If it was our fault then we would have to live with it but we checked all the correspondence and the size we asked for is not the size we got so in my eyes we get replacements! It just means another delay and I am now giving up hope of being in the house by Christmas.

After that I have been a bear with a sore head most of the day and the boys have been on the receiving end I am sorry to say. At least we all had a bit of a break from my mood at a birthday party in Perks, Youghal. The aim is to have an early night tonight and wake refreshed and re-energised and in a much better mood.

When will the painting end?

Every spare moment that I am able is spent painting these fecking windows! I can smell white spirit everywhere. I actually enjoy it when I am doing it but I can only paint when Daithi is here or both the boys at school. This makes things very slow! I feel a bit pressured because we need the windows in before the plastering can be done. Thankfully the sashes for downstairs are almost complete but it is the fiddly bits that will hold the windows in which are the pain. The weather hasn't been good enough to take them all outside to spray paint so I have been doing them by hand and have now moved to a roller which is so much quicker although the finish isn't as good as the brush so I will do a final coat with the brush I think.

On saturday we were feeling shattered so we decided to have a break and head into Cork to the Modern Homes Show. The exhibition was the same as any selfbuild show and fortunately we didn't have to pay to get in. We only really went to see the CycloVac people about their central vacuum system, which is on my wish list for the house. The CycloVac seems to be a bit more poweful that say Beam or Vacuflo, but it has a bag inside which is something we want to avoid. We would prefer a cyclone system similar to that found in a Dyson. The guy on the stand was very informative and is coming to the house next week to give us an idea of what we need and how much it would cost ( a DIY kit of course!). We shall see..... The boys were really good. Shows such as these don't really hold a child's attention for too long. Liam was dressed as a mummy (Halloween costume of the moment) thoughout our trip which drew a few glances especially when we had our dinner in Scoozi's! A nice relaxing day for a change!

Getting closer

Cian was here again this weekend and it is always handy for Daithi to have an extra pair of hands to do some work although they do like to have long breaks for lunch etc.

All the stud work is now complete downstairs and part of upstairs too. The stairwell was a bit of a pain because it required some of the steel to be joined together to make the height. I was promoted to drill operator to screw the steel studs together while the lads kept them in place. I wasn't too bad at it either and was quite proud of my self!

The wiring has been completed for the two front reception rooms now so all that is needed to finish them is to put more insulation between the studs, then plasterboard and then plaster. We have a couple of numbers for decent plasterers in the Youghal area and are waiting to hear back from them. We shall see from their keenness if the recession is starting to bite..... My next job is to get my bath so I am off to buy it from a shop on ebay. Daithi is a bit sceptical about it but it looks exactly like what I want and the price is good too. I will post more details if I am successful.

Summer in September

We have had fantastic weather this last week and it looks set to continue for a while too. The whole area is taking a huge sigh of relief. The combines have been working non-stop to bring in the grain and the balers are busy packing up the straw. A few weeks back the news was that the harvest was a disaster but I think things have turned around now.

This is Conor's favourite time of year. Last year he managed to get a ride in a combine harvester and he was chuffed to bits. This year we are waiting for the maize to be harvested. The maize harvester is Conor's favourite machine. The field surrounding our house is full of maize which is almost ready to be chopped. I hope we will be around to see the event.

We spent all of Saturday at the Ballydaniel house. Liam spent most of the time colouring and drawing in the mobile home whilst Conor and I did some manual labour, filling in a trench containing the pipe from the mobile home to the sewer. The boys couldn't be more different: Liam is the real artist, Conor is the worker. Liam made me laugh because he kept popping his head out of the door shouting things like "Put your backs into it", "You can do better than that". He thought it was hilarious. Conor had enough after a while and went off to build a wall with old bricks. He did a great job too.

Who Am I?

Ireland has the series "Who Do You Think You Are?" like the UK, where celebrities trace their family tree. Well I was bored last night and decided to look at the UK census records to see what I could find.

My mum's side of the family has been fairly well researched by other of the family but I don't know much about my dad's side. Fortunately I knew my greatnan, Isabella, on my father's side and remember asking her about her family for history homework so I could remember her year of birth and maiden name. She was my starting point and before long I managed to trace back to my great great great great grandad John Doolan, born in Ireland (possible in Ringaskiddy not too far from where I live now although the record was only patially legible) c.1816. He was living in North Wales in the earliest available census, 1841. The family moved about a bit and ended up in Scunthorpe where my greatnan was born and reared. I though that the Irish connection was much later because my dad remembers coming over to Cork in the 1950's to visit greatnan's family so the connection must have been maintained even though none of the children were born in Ireland after John moved over. Interesting stuff and amazing what you can achieve in an hour or so if you have a starting point. I shall continue.....

Sooooo Slow!

Work on the house is so slow at the moment. Daithi is working in Galway 3 days a week (about a 4 hour drive away) so all work is taking place at the weekend again!!!!! I didn't think this would happen. I though we would be getting someone in at this stage to do it for us but Daithi is reluctant to let anyone take over :(. Moving in seems so close yet so far. I got Munster Interiors through the post today and I didn't have the heart to open it and look at all the lush houses!

I have started to paint the windows in earnest now, when I get a chance that is. Conor is at preschool 3 mornings a week and I can get one coat on one side of all the downstairs sashes in the time he is away. I love painting them and now I am painting them in upstairs of the house I am starting to get a real sense of the place. I am actually starting to feel like it is our house now and can see us all living in it, relaxing, arguing, cooking, cleaning, playing, although I do look nearly 70 years old in the scenes.... hee hee. It is a very peaceful place and comforting too. My friend, Heather, bought me a lovely Kitchen Design book ('The New Kitchen Planner' by Michael Beasley) which has some great advice about designing a kitchen and has some pull-out cabinets and appliances to shuffle around your own plan. I had to extend the grid by another 5m - it is a big kitchen dining room.... Anyway, thanks Heather....

Back to school and more rain!

I can't believe this weather. Last year we had a wonderful indian summer and I remember not having the heating on until at least the end of october! My evenings are spent beside the fire with a hot water bottle at the moment. I am secretly glad that we didn't move into the mobile home when we said. I am surprised that it hasn't been knocked over in the gale force winds!

Luckily I managed to salvage some windfall cooking apples from the orchard and make apple and elderberry jelly... yummy! I will have to get more jars to make some chutney next. Conor eats the wonderful blackberries before I can pick them so I may have to wait until he is at school and take the opportunity to collect a bucket load for more jam.

The boys have settled back into school very well. Conor is now at playschool 3 mornings a week so it gives me a bit of time to some essentials (at the moment finishing painting the windows). Liam is in his new classroom which is fantastic. Clonpriest NS really needed the 2 new classrooms and the extra space. The kids love it! I am waiting for the local paper to come out tomorrow becuase Liam's photo in the new room should be in it. He's really excited.

Daithi and Cian managed to finish the back roof before the weather turned very windy and rainy. We are still missing the ridge tiles which does mean that there has been a few very minor leaks when the rain has been monsoon like. Daithi assures me that once the ridges are on then things will be fine. Who am I to disagree with the man who built the roof!

This last weekend was spent putting up the steel studs downstairs in preparation for plastering. It is actually proving quite difficult to decide where to put sockets and light switches in each room before the wiring is done. Decisions, decisions! Anyway it shouldn't be long before we have moved into the downstairs of the house. Yippee can't wait!

The Olympics is over

Oh well! The summer is well an truly over now. The 2008 Bejing Olympics has ended (sob sob) and I have no reason to laze around in my pj's in the mornings. My best efforts to get the boys interested in any of the sports so that I could one day follow them to an Olympics was unsuccessful. They both liked the diving and the gymnastics but that was about it. They were more interested in the Monkey animation from the bbc! There is still time. Come London 2012 I will have inspired them to at least be excited by the games. Roll on London - I have already told Daithi that I want opening or closing ceremony tickets for my 40th birthday(!!!!).

Progress on the house continues.... The mobile home now has new carpet in the living room and boys bedroom. A section of the floor in the living room had to be replaced as it was rotten before we could lay the carpet. No problem for Daithi.

I gave the bathroom a good bleaching and the toilet has now been connected to the sewer. We should now be able to move in next weekend! I actually can't wait for it. Don't get me wrong I am dreading being in such a small space with the boys but I feel very much in limbo here at the moment. We will really get stuck in to finish the place when we move on site.

The boys and I went to the Youghal medieval festival this afternoon. The boys thought the re-enactments were very interesting and loved the costumes everyone was wearing. Liam tried out some armour and I had a go at the archery. The weather stayed fine for the event too. Unfortunately it was on at the same time as the Cork v Kerry SFC semi-final but there was still a good crowd there. Lovely Baileys ice cream too! The gardens are a great setting for the event. They are next to Sir Walter Raleigh's house Myrtle Grove. He was a former Mayor of Youghal and is famed for bringing potatoes and tobacco to Ireland.

The sun shines at last

It is lovely here today: warm, sunny and beautiful.

The glass for the windows arrived today from Wexford. We got such a good deal from Viking glass but were slightly dismayed when the units arrived to find that aluminium spacers had been used in the glazed units when we had specified white. The guy we were dealing with was so sorry and found out that the request had been mistyped in the computer because he distincly remembers checking to make sure the white spacers were available. We could have sent them back and had them remade but they took another euro 300 off the price if we kept them. All in all 1500 euro for all the glass for 15 sash windows. Not bad!

We are still hoping to move into the moblie home sometime this week but a lot has to be done. Emmet was here giving the place a facelift. It needed a good clean and Liam helped too. We still need to lay the carpets and do a few repair jobs. If the weather stays nice then I won't mind moving at all.!

Will the rain ever stop?

What a summer! I am secretly glad that we haven't moved into the mobile home yet - the rain and wind yesterday was awful! There was a stream running down the hill when we got up this morning and there's more forecast tomorrow. At least it did stop and brighten up for a while.

Daithi and Paul put in the lintel above the back door today and hung the huge french windows which were my bargain reclaim. They look great - I had visions of me with my glass of wine walking out to the orchard and sitting in the summer sun(!) with a good book when it is all over (global warming may make it summer here by then).

We have a new carpet for the living in the area in the mobile home and the boys bedroom. The bathroom still needs a good clean but there isn't much rat damage that I can see. I will be bleaching the whole place thoroughly though! D-Day for moving in looks to be next weekend just in time for Liam to go back to school but Daithi needs to lay the carpets and do some work on the underfloor first. I hope the landlord will tolerate us for a couple of weeks if we need it....

Nearly back to school

We are back from holidays in England. We had a great time. The first week was low key mainly because everyone in England was still at school so I couldn't meet up with many friends. Plus we were shattered from the journey. The second week was spent trying to cram in visits to friends and family. It was lovely seeing everyone again. Nan looked very well and will be completely different when her hearing aids, that she was convinced she didn't need, are in place. We won't be able to talk about her at all when she is in the same room.....!

Daithi arrived safely for the last week. Liam made a poster that we took to Stansted in case he forgot what we looked like. The kids were so excited, Conor especially. He is a real Daddy's boy. Daithi's visit started with a trip to a very hot and sunny Southend-on-Sea and a trip to the LazyTown show. The boys had no idea they were going until the last minute and were thrilled. The show was at 2pm and Conor was a bit tired for it after wandering round the sea front and the adventure park but loved it nonetheless. It was all Sportacus and Co. on the way home. We went by train too which made the trip even more exciting.

We had a day to recover before heading to Butlins for the rest of the week. It was Daithi's first holiday camp experience. He was a bit wary at first but he could see how much Liam and Conor were enjoying themselves and was happy enough then. Crowds and noise, of which there are a lot in Butlins, are not really his thing so I don't think he found it very relaxing but he had a good time. It was very different this year I suppose because the boys are that much older. We couldn't get them out of the waterworld this year; Conor wouldn't go in last time! It was so nice to have a family holiday which we haven't really done since Daithi's Cancer scare. Hopefully it will persuade Daithi of how important those trips are to the kids and for him to spend time with them away from the house.

Anyway we are back in Cork trying to decide what to do next. Ballydaniel House has been transformed by the O'Leary's. The site has been cleared and the mobile home and containers have been moved to more appropriate positions. The landlord says that we can stay in the rented place for the month of August rent free but we don't really want to take advantage of his generosity. However, looking at the rain and wind over the last few days I am tempted. The boys will be like caged animals in mobile home in the rain!

The good news is that we have the services connected in the mobile home (sewerage included) we just need a couple of new carpets and a bit of awning out the front for shelter. I think the move to the mobile home will spur us on to get cracking with finishing the downstairs of the house and it will mean I can do work too when the boys are asleep.

The glass for the windows has been ordered and should be here in the next couple of weeks. We got a great deal through a friend of Daithi's father and I can't wait to see that first pane go in. The boxes are all painted and most of the sashes too (thanks to Eileen and Niamh). Thay look fantastic. I can't wait to see them in the house.

O'Leary Building Contractors Ltd.

The plan while I was away with the boys was for Daithi to work without disruption on the house. Unfortunately he had to return to work but the O'Leary's have stepped in big-time: Pat, eileen, Niamh, and Cian came down yesterday to work for a week on the house. Karl and Emmet arrive later this evening. In one day the group (without Daithi!) have:

1. Put all the lintels in the windows
2. Painted one coat of top coat to the sash boxes
3. Insulated the kitchen - all that remains is the hall stairway
4. Made good around all the windows (i.e. made them square, level and even) ready for the sash boxes to slip in place.
5. Scrubbed the kitchen floor of the rented place (Eileen with her bad knees too!). It now looks like a completely different floor apparently!

I am starting to actually believe that we will be in the house by the time we get back to Ireland! I am feeling extremely guilty that I am not there at least making the teas and coffees but I know that getting the boys out of the way was a must if anything to allow everone to have a bed to sleep in. There will still be plenty of work for me to do when I return!

Daithi has also managed to arrange for someone to sandblast the house next week when he is here in England. He is a local guy located from a local contact so should be reliable at least. I can't wait to see the transformation for myself. Daithi hasn't posted any pictures to me....

I wonder what is going on?

The boys and I are on holiday and have left Daithi in charge of finishing the house in 2 weeks he he he. I have no real idea on what progress has been made apart from one sash box has been fully painted and our broadband guy is due over to check that we can still receive the broadband signal (what will I do if we can't!!!!?).

And..... Rosa won Super Garden!!!!! well done her. I am looking forward to seeing what she comes up with for Bloom 2009!

Daithi is back at work full time now and so the work will definitely slow again. We knew that he would have to go back sometime but he was hoping that he could hold out until after the august bank holiday so we could complete the 2 downstairs rooms and move into them instead of the mobile home. I don't mind moving into the mobile home as long as our stay doesn't drag into the winter. In fact now that it is cleaned out and I have cleaned all the upholstery and curtains it seems quite a comfortable place to be. I still haven't tackled the bathroom of the place because Daithi had heard rats in the room and had shut it off! It could have been one of his wind me up stories however....

I am back in England with the boys. We have been here for almost a week now and I only just feel recovered from the journey. The ferry crossing (Stena Express) was lovely and smooth but the drive to Essex is sooooo long- we landed in Wales at 5pm and got to Linford at 11.20pm. The boys were great the whole way but were shattered the next day.

Not much has changed here: too many cars, too many people, too hot. But Ikea is still THE best place for cheap fabric, furniture etc. And Next choice is THE place for great discounted Next clothes. I bought a lovely jumper dress thingy reduced from £18 to £3! You can't beat this place for shopping and value for money. Sorry Ireland but you are a rip-off - even my groceries for the week, which normally cost in the region of euro 150 came in at £90! Wish I had a van big enough for everything!

Sanding and painting

I know how my next week of evenings are going to be spent... sanding... priming.... painting! Oh the joys! But for 2 years I haven't really been able to do much because I am crap at anything DIYish but I can paint!It would be lovely to do some during the daytime but the boys just won't cooperate and who can blame them really! I didn't realise how many peices there are in these windows! The boxes, sashes, glazing beads etc etc. They will get done over time, which is something we don't have much of at the moment.

On a positive note, we have finally arranged the layout of the bathroom and en-suite. I shall have my freestanding bath! Yippee. B&Q (www.diy.com) have a great online bathroom planner. It shows a 3-D layout as well as a 2D image and the app spans round the room too. Thank goodness for broadband!

Only a week to go until I head off to England with the boys. Lots to do before then, like pack up the house. Daithi will be here for an extra 2 weeks before he heads over too for a week at Butlins with my parents and the boys. I would love to have Hiro's stop time ability this week!

Last Month

Well it is all hands on deck for the last month in our rented house. The final pay check for the rent has gone out hoorah! Now we have to get our house liveable(!). Emmet is still here helping out and our good freind Paul is lending a hand after work. He renovated his own house so is a good person to know. Rosa, Paul's wife, came this evening and minded the boys while I went up to help for an hour. At last I get to do some real work and get mucky!

The place is being rapidly transformed. The insulation in the walls will be finished this evening and the interior walls will go up over the next few days. The windows are still taking time (painting etc). We have finally decided on 'Milk White' in an eggshell finish from Crown paints for the color of the frames and I will start painting the boxes hopefully tomorrow when the paint arrives. Most of the sashes are done now but we have a shortage of clamps so have to wait for glue to dry before we can glue the next lot. I am so impressed with my husband! What a find!

We finally managed to sort out the layout for the main bathroom too. And it will have my freestanding bath in the middle. Now we have to find all the items for it and buy them! It is so exciting!!!!!

A week of windows

I can't believe a week has gone by already!

We managed to get to see the Thundercats race on sunday. The boys were more interested in the funfair and eating sausages and chips on the beach (there is nothing like sandy chips!). The weather was perfect which was a relief. Liam's first week off school was a rainy one but he has settled into the holiday now. The two boys get on so well that I am starting to feel redundant at home!

This week is the week of the windows. The individual pieces for the boxes and sashes were delivered by horse box! A couple of boxes had been assembled already but the rest of the week was spent putting the remainder together. It took about 1.5 hours to make the box. They are huge and once painted they are going to look fabulous. All the boxes were completed by early today.

Emmet has been helping Daithi get to grips with them. They moved onto the sashes then but found that the first sash, made by Daithi and his workmate Dave in the workshop, had been assembled incorrectly. Daithi turned pale at the thought of all the others cuts of wood being incorrect but thankfully only one side was the problem; the groove for the seal was facing the wrong way and was easily solved with a bit of cutting and re-gluing. Phew!!!

Rosa and Paul came over after dinner and the painting began!. We had a great production line set up: Daithi, Paul and Emmet sanded; I blew away the dust with the compressor and wiped the wood down with cellulose and then Rosa painted with aluminium primer. We primed7 windows by 10pm. The kids mainly entertained themselves and got on really well thankfully. More tomorrow....

Rain, Rain and more Rain

The one day that you wouldn't want it to rain and be misty in Youghal is today!
The whole town has been gearing up to a weekend of festivities for the European Beach Challenge. Last night was supposedly fantastic and the fireworks looked spectacular from here. But today has been mist, fog and heavy rain. The organisers managed to get in 3 races between 2 and 3pm in during a break in the weather but none of the other events could go on. What a disappointment for the town!

Liam collected his prize for his art today. I still haven't seen his picture! He really loves his trophy and it is proudly on display above the fireplace. Mrs Breslin was there and gave him 2 euro for doing so well. He spent it on some Lego. The prize giving was on when the power boat races were taking place so we didn't see any of the races.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for the races....

School's out for summer

Where has this school year gone!

I can't belive Liam has finished his first year at school and will be a senior infant when he returns at the end of August. What a transformation in him too! He has gone from a "Don't leave me mummy!" boy to a "See you at 2 o'clock then" child. I wonder how he will cope with just his brother and mum at home. We will have to set up lots of play dates to stop us from going stir crazy I think.


Conor went to his last Tweenies session too. He will be at playschool on tuesdays and fridays next year so won't be able to go to this great toddler group. They had a fantastic balloon artist for the summer party. Of course Conor asked him to make a tractor for him, which Viktor the Balloon Man duly obliged. It took him about 10 minutes but what a beauty! I love the farmer! Conor was completely entranced!


This week has been a winning week for us: I won 50 euro in the Silver Circle draw (school fundraising thing) and Liam won 2nd prize in the regional arts competiton! He has to go into Youghal to collect his prize tomorrow at 2.30pm. He is so excited about getting his photo in the paper but we have no idea what the prize is. I haven't even seen the picture he did. All I know is that it is a picture of a pirate ship in pastels and it is titled "The Jolly Roger". Better check the lotto numbers!


It is a big weekend in Youghal. The Visual Arts Festival is on (hence the schools art competition) and the Thundercats (a type of power boat) are racing too. The weather is supposed to be awful but apparently the worse the weather the more exciting the races are. I am waiting for the fireworks to start - we have such a good view of Youghal bay from here that it should be an impressive site. The only problem is that it doesn't start until 10.30pm because it doesn't get dark until then! Hope I can stay awake!

Daithi is at the house again. Cian has just arrived and gone up to help. I think they are putting in more insulation. Daithi went to see a form of plastering which is a DIY system. It means that we can finish the house room by room and not have to rely on very unreliable plasterers! But when he got there they were closed (typical!). We were supposed to be getting the windows transported from the workshop today too but the guy let us down. Next week I shall be busy painting them. Great stuff!

Late nights

Now the deadline of moving out of our rented house is looming near Daithi is out every evening doing work on the house. It is still fairly light down here and it is almost 10.30pm and the weather has been dry so it is busy busy busy.

The windows are being assembled this week although the horns haven't been finished (!) and those that were complete were wrong, but can be adjusted to fit. I think the guy has gone back to do the others but Daithi and his woodworking buddy, Dave were not impressed!

Emmet is still here helping out providing manual labour. The boys love having him about. Conor is constantly saying "No! Emmet do it!". Poor Em has had to dress, cleen teeth, take to the toilet amongst other things. Will he come back?

I have fed him well since he has been here so maybe...

Too busy!

I've been so busy I haven't had time to post at all!
Our good friend Rosa O'Connell is in RTE's Super Garden TV programme tomorrow night 8.30. Daithi did a lot of the work on the transformed garden for her. It is so exciting. The finished garden is superb but we have to wait until the show on July 15th to see if she won the competition. I have been busy making a website for her - http://www.rosaoconnell.ie/. My first freelance web design experience! It has taken ages because all the photo's had that horrible red date in the corner that I had to remove! Still I only had a week or so to do it so am quite proud!

Daithi has moved on to fitting the insulation in the house. It is dusty work. Brother-in-law Emmet will be back tomorrow to help out. The august move in date is still on and I am now starting to believe it. The sash windows are almost done. We had to send away for the horns to be made because Daithi doesn't have a bandsaw (about the only thing he doesn't have!) to do the job. Plenty to be getting on with in the mean time.

Back to editing the photos.....

Summer must be here...

My mum goes home after a week's stay and the sun comes out!!! It is just typical! It was lovely having her here. The boys miss her loads but we will see her soon.

The weather this evening is gorgeous! We had our dinner outside in the bright sunshine and watched the tractors bringing in the sillage in the field across the road.

Liam's school play was a great success. All the kids really enjoyed themselves but are so tired after two performance. We are so proud of our bee! And it is all on video to embarrass him when he is older!

Daithi has been continuing with the windows. He has made one complete window and has cut all the individual pieces. They look great. I can't wait to see them in the house when they are finished. He reckons that they will be finished by the end of the week. Yippee! Cian is back for the weekend to help out on the roof or the interior depending on the weather and Emmet is on his way. I hope I have enough food for the workers!

We are celebrating a new addition to the family too. I don't know the name yet but another O'Leary boy! Born today 6pm ish.

Insulation has taken over the house!

The insulation, steel, plywood, etc. for the interior of the house arrived yesterday and today. It takes up 2 entire rooms and let me tell you may arms are killing me from carrying most of it into the house! At least I feel like I have contributed a little to the build.

I am started to get excited now - the interior can be worked on even if the roof hasn't been completely finished. The roof should be done over this weekend if the weather holds. Cian is coming down over the weekend too (he's a star!).

A robin and some swallows are nesting in the rafters. In fact they are neighbours. The robin chick managed to fall out of the nest into a spare chimney pot. It is funny to watch the mum (or dad) come in and listen for the chirping chick and pass down the food. They don't seemed too worried that he can't get out of the pot. Daithi tried to take him out but he flew back in so he put down some sawdust to raise up the level a bit and we will keep watch. Maybe there was a family tiff.

My mum has come to stay for a week. It is great to have visitors but it is especially lovely to have family stay. The boys love Nanny June so I am getting to have a cup of coffee without interruptions! She is useful too: Liam is a bee in the school play and she has been busy helping make the costume. He will be the best dressed bee in the play!

Another week goes by...

It is friday again! I can't believe that a week can go by so quickly!

There has been no progress on the roof since last weekend when my wonderful brother-in-law, who is always helping us out, came to give Daithi a hand putting slates on the roof. They did a sterling job but could only do so much because we need some lead in the valley at the back of the roof. He won't be here this weekend and Daithi is doing an important favour for a friend so I doubt that much will get done over the coming few days, apart from the purchase of the lead.

Daithi made some progress on the new sash windows. The preparation of the timber for the frames is almost complete. He will need one more day in the workshop to finish some bits and pieces before assembly of the frames can commence. It will be great to see a finished frame. We now have someone to spray paint them too. He has so many people that want sash windows made that he is tempted to start his own business in his spare time. He loves that type of work.

What wonderful weather

Wow! Since the 1st of May what a change there has been. It has suddenly become warmer and sunny!

The bank holiday weekend was very busy. Daithi and his brother, Cian, spent most of it on the roof puting up new slates on the roof. The two large sides are done now; only the rear of the roof to go. The rear is the most complicated to do but it is smaller so hopefully it should be done soon. The slates arrived on the friday and our neighbour farmer helped move the palettes with his fork lift JCB. Conor was impressed!

The slates came from India, I think, and they are a lovely blue colour. The only problem was that they had a tendency to shatter when they were being nailed to the batons. Daithi was ready to throw in the towel after the first day but then moved on to screwing them down. When the screws ran out they moved back to nailing them again with better results. Needless to say they were so tired by the end of the weekend.

The May bank holiday always turns out to be a milestone weekend. Two years ago, Daithi and some polish colleagues stripped the house out completely. Last year the roof came down. This year the slates go on the roof. Hopefully the June bank holiday will be as productive. Back to the windows now!

My Kingdom for some windows....

The windows have been started today! Yippeee. Daithi is made up using all the saws and industrial equipment. All the boards are cut to size now and the next job is to make the profiles. Tomorrow should see the first full one assembled! We need 15 in total but the first one will be the most timely. I can't wait. We even have a painter organised for them (relation of the horse man).

Homer went on Friday. Very strange really because before he left he jumped onto the window sill of the living room and looked in at us before he flew off. I'd like to think he was saying goodbye.... Hope he got back to Dublin ok.

And Bob the shire horse went too. The house is very quiet without him....

Melancholy Days

What is it with moods!?
We are all in a melancholy mood: up and down all the time. The boys are annoying each other and us of course. Conor is having tantrums about anything and I don't believe any of us has smiled very much today at all!

Daithi tried to cheer himself up by sorting out the timber for the windows but is still in feeling ugh. I almost turned to the chocolate biscuits but went for a herbal tea instead. I'm not sure it has had the desired affect but I won't get overweight drinking it!

The lads have been at the chimneys again. The scud coat of plaster went on today and this should be followed by the skim coat tomorrow. It is due to rain so this may be put back a bit. Daithi added to his skillset by learning to weld lead at the weekend, which is used for the flashing around the chimneys. And he has a new friend Dougie (head chimney man) who loves the handmade chimney pots, was very impressed with Daithi's roofing skills, and can't wait to see the finished windows (neither can I!).

Over the winter we had our scaffolding ladders stolen!!! We heard through word of mouth that a haul of stolen builders equipment had been found in the whitegate area. Daithi called the Garda station in Midleton to check if the ladders were on the list. We hope to hear in the next few days. It would be nice to get them back.

We have a new addition to the family too - Homer the lost pidgeon. He was wandering around the garden in a daze for a couple of hours. He is now housed in a box in the garage eating us out of popcorn and rice. Hopefully he will get his strength back and be able to continue his journey. We contacted the Irish Homing Union with the ring number on Homer's foot so if he doesn't improve they should be able to track his owner. Lucky for him he landed near us and that a fox didn't get him.

Feeling better already... must be the herbal tea!

It is windy today!

Most of the week we have had wonderful weather. It has been sunny and dry. Perfect weather for roofing. Typically the guys coming to finish the chimneys (put lead flashing on them and plaster the outside) come on the worst day of the week - gale force, freezing easterly winds and horrid cold rain. Who would believe that it is April! To give them credit they did do some work and will be back tomorrow. Let's hope the weather improves for them.

Daithi spent most of the morning at the Cork Building Providers getting a list of price for 'stuff'. The prices there have gone down enormously a sure sign that the building industry is in decline. Good for us though. Anything to save us some money is good! He was very good not to be drawn to Kinsale to visit his friend. He would have been there chatting and having coffee all afternoon had he done. Perhaps my nagging is getting somewhere?

Only one horse up at the house now. Dusty, a rescue horse, was taken to another field with more grass and more shelter. We are exposed up on the hill here and the poor things needs some feeding up to get strong enough for this sort of weather. Bob, being a shire horse, doesn't really mind what the conditions are I'd say.

Not the first day

It has been two years!!!!!
And we are still not in the house. I thought we had better record our successes and failures for us to remember in the future.

Things are progressing at least. Some slates are on the roof, chimneys are up and we have some timber for Daithi to build the windows.....

He thinks we will be in by August. I have my doubts.

But talk about luck! No, we didn't win the lotto (we will keep trying!). We have found a man that knows everyone and everything that could be useful to us: carpentry workshops, furniture painter, plasterer. We are on a roll. He also has two lovely horses that are mowing our garden as we speak - but I have stopped taking the boys to see them because the electric fence has been connected. Conor and electricity definitely don't mix!