A Place In The Sun

Hooray for the sun coming out! We've got 12 days left of our holiday here in Ireland and the first couple of days here were glorious and sunny. But for the last week it's been overcast, raining and we've had bitterly cold winds. When it's like this there's not much you can do but stay inside and keep warm.

We're staying in my mother-in-law's 2 bedroom cottage and it's gorgeous, but probably better suited to 1-2 people, not 3 adults and a toddler who just wants to run around all the time.


On Thursday night we picked up hubby's other two children who live here in Dunfanaghy. Now we have two teenagers, 3 adults and a toddler in a two bedroom house. It's slightly crowded to say the least however I think we're all coping enormously well.


So when we woke this morning and say blue skies and felt the sun through the kitchen windows we were all so happy. My mother-in-law Helen has taken the children swimming this morning and hubby has gone to the gym. Emily is asleep for her midday nap and this has given me some peace and quiet to do some writing and just relax. Aaaahhhhhh.......

Early morning sun hits the hills and we wake up to a glorious view of the valley

I love that everyone lives next to each other here. That is that my father-in-law Jimmy has the house next door to Helen's (they separated some time ago but remain friends) and my brother-in-law Adam and his partner Olivia and son Reuben live in the little cottage next to Jimmy's.

Adam and Olivia's little cottage next to the main house

Having everyone at your doorstep has been fabulous. Both the little ones have been sick at various times and we've been able to run panadol back and forth and bulk buy nappies and wipes since they're both the same size. We've shared food and wine such as the delicious Rhubarb Crumble cooked by Helen with Rhubarb from Jimmy's garden, and Spaghetti Bolognaise cooked by Jimmy and eaten here by the whole family.

One decimated patch of Rhubarb

Every where I look here there are reminders of a wonderful family life. There are animals everywhere and gardens that are well looked after. Emily has fallen in love with the little white horse named Holly who lives across the road behind the house. 

Holly the friendly neighbours horse

Helen has a little dog named Coco Michelle and she was happily sleeping on my feet while I was writing this until the sound of typing must have annoyed her and she moved to the little bed next to me on the couch.

Coco Michelle having a wee nap

Jimmy has a wonderful vegetable patch with potato's, leeks, carrots, spring onions and strawberries growing. He also grows Christmas Trees that he sells at the end of the year. The whole family is musical with Helen playing guitar, base guitar, saxophone and various other instruments, Jimmy plays the guitar and is a very well-known musician around here, brother-in-law Adam plays the drums and is in high demand with local bands and hubby plays guitar and base guitar. I keep waiting for them to break out into some sort of partridge family type gig but they are all way too cool for that.


Tonight we're heading out with the in-laws for a bit of frivolity and fun at the local pubs. We'll watch my Jimmy play in his band and drink some Guinness. Tomorrow we'll all wake up with headaches and no doubt Adam and Olivia will wander down at some stage to join in with our recollection of previous nights antics over a bite of lunch. At some stage Jimmy will wander through the trees that divide the house and pop his head in the door to just say hello and see how we're going. The kids will play and run about in the garden chasing the cats and dogs. It's a lovely life and I'm quite happy to just relax and enjoy it for now.

Emily walking up the lane

Touring Around

We spent today driving around checking out the scenery and sites on the Atlantic Drive near Downing. It's bitterly cold so a great day to sit in a warm car and check out the amazing views and beautiful coastline.

Something that has been very noticeable since arriving is the effects of the recession. There are so many vacant houses for sale and businesses closed down. While driving through The North of Co. Donegal you see loads of almost finished houses that builders just abandoned when the recession hit. It's incredibly sad to see a country that was so prosperous suffering in this way. Amazingly the people are still happy and always have a funny story to tell and a smile on their face.


We stopped at a little pub call Glen Inn and the men in there were quite interested in what Australian life is like. They asked about recent flooding and the Victorian bush fires.

Now we're back at the house enjoying a glass of wine by the fire. Maybe we'll go to the Pub later and listen to some music. One things for sure, rain or shine its a fine life in Ireland.

The Trip So Far

Well we made it! 40 hours to get here but we're finally in Ireland!

I thought I'd fill you in on the trip so far....

We took this at Singapore Airport. It's amazing that after sitting on a plane for the last 8 hours Emily still found the site of them landing a thrill....

Emily finally fell asleep on the last leg of the journey after much coaxing and crying. She looks sweet here but half an hour earlier she was a nightmare!

Day two and Emily was enjoying some time with her cousin while watching CBeebies. These two were born three hours apart on opposite sides of the world but their friendship has been instant and they are a joy to watch together.

My mother-in-law took me for a walk on this beach which was just gorgeous, although freezing cold, and absolutley pristine.

This is the view of the town of Dunfanaghy Co.Donegal where we're staying and it's taken from Horn Head which boasts the second highest sea cliff in the world.

Hubby has a cold so there's no going anywhere for a couple of days but this is really a blessing in disguise as it forces me to do nothing and just relax. The jet lag is finally subsiding so hopefully we'll get out and see some more sites this week.

What are your best travel tips?

And We're Off!

Yesterday I did my final market before our holiday and I'm so happy it went well.

At the recent Beechworth Night Market I sold one of my own skirts that I made and it was great. But this market I sold one of my dresses and I'm completely chuffed. I'm chuffed because this dress was so original, one of my own designs (although you can say it's similar to other designs) and no one else had anything like it on their stalls.

Normally I'm selling other peoples creations but more and more I'm making my own and I have so many ideas for stalls in the future.

This market was flat out from the start and after working in the shop selling kids clothing all day Saturday I was already pretty tired. Thank God I had my Mum there to help me. After packing up the shop and loading the car with all the handmade clothing and gift ware on Saturday afternoon, we were up early Sunday morning to set up for the Little Me Market in Wodonga. No sooner had we set up than customers started pouring in. And they didn't stop until well after 2pm!

It really was a great atmosphere with kids everywhere, Mum and Dads busy looking for clothes, toys and home wares, live music and plenty of yummy cupcakes........

After packing up I headed home to start on the washing and cleaning because tomorrow WE GO TO IRELAND!!

I can't believe it's already here and tonight is our last sleep in Albury before we leave. It will take 35 hours to get to where we're going and I'm so nervous about the flight. My husband has been wonderful the last couple of days. I've had a few small meltdowns, mostly about what to where on the plane and what to pack.

We've weighed our bags, locked all the deadlocks on the windows, made sure a stop has been put on the mail and organised emergency contact numbers in case something happens while we're away.

I don't know how I'll sleep tonight and when I'll get to blog again. Hubby has promised me I can blog while I'm away but it might be a couple of days before I get the chance to.

Anyway.....see you on the other side!