valeriesbookofme

This past week was challenging both in terms of health (back was still painful and tender) and in terms of patience. With the prospect of our nice cottage awaiting us in Dunmore, staying at Ballitore was difficult. Especially as, because I couldn't really walk very far without pain and there was nowhere in the house that was comfortable to sit except a straight back chair, life was a bit dull. So we watched quite a bit of youtube and kept changing our moving plans. We were originally going to move on the 17th. And then we decided we would move on the 15th. And then, because church is in Waterford, we decided we would move in on the afternoon of the 14th and save ourselves an hour's journey. And finally, when Brian the realtor said he was fine with our moving in any day we wanted, we decided to move in on Friday the 13th. Packing the car was quite a job. Even though we had a larger car than we had arrived in, we had bought a few rather bulky pieces like a duvet and a TV and a ...

This past Thursday, the day after my "down day", the only thing of note that happened was that I tried driving a different car. David suggested I try an Auris, which is the European version of a Corolla. I enjoyed driving it, Richard was still nervous but David, who was sitting beside me in the front, reassured him that I was doing just fine. But the car is a 2004 and rather tired looking. So it is was a no go. We asked David if he could find us a Fiat 500 which, as Jerry knows, is our favorite small car. He said he will probably have one in three weeks. The rest of the day we spent at home, watching The Sandbaggers, an old TV series about British Secret Service, and as we were both feeling rather tired, napping. Thus ended Thursday. Friday morning we were getting ready to go out for awhile so our landlady could take photos for daft.ie (the rental website.) I bent over to pick up something and--OUCH! My lower back felt like an elastic that had been pulled just too far. I ...

I had a down day today. Not really surprising, I have been dealing with so much change lately and I am tired. It's unrealistic to think I would keep sailing through without some wobbles. I picked up one of those UK magazines called Woman and Home at the supermarket today. Kind of like those weekly women’s mags in the States that promise huge weight loss in record time and then are full of recipes for chocolate cake and BBQ'd spare ribs. Anyway, there was an article called “Beat Stress… even when your world is in a Whizz” which featured short snippets from popular self-help books. The comment from Eckhart Tolle, who wrote “The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment” got me thinking: “Problems are mind made. Ultimately, it’s about realising there are no problems. Only situations—to be dealt with now, or left alone and accepted as part of the present moment until they change or CAN be dealt with. Ask yourself what “problem” you have right now, not next year, tomorr...

Today was the big day--we signed a lease for a house in Dunmore East! A yearlong lease!! So we are now more or less committed to being in Ireland for a year. (No comments from those who know us well please.) Before we signed, we went back to Dunmore East to check the house out again. It was another sunny day, cold but beautiful. And Dunmore East was just as lovely as before: We had met the estate agent who manages the property, and will be our main contact, in Waterford first. Brian is the real estate equivalent to Dave, our car guy. Talks a mile a minute, half of which we can't quite catch, but is kindness itself. He wanted to know all about us, but in the kind of way that your new next door neighbors (Hi Jerry, Jeanie & Gary) want to get to know you. And, like Dave, he didn't seem overly bothered by small details like when exactly we would move in. Although the lease payments start on January 17th, he is giving us the key this Sunday. Because we ...

This past weekend has been very quiet. We went out on Saturday during the day, visiting garden centers. Garden centers here carry more than just plants and gardening implements. They have clothing, accessories, kitchen stuff, etc., as well as a restaurant. I bought a new raincoat (as my other "dress up" one was in the lamented luggage) and a non-stick frying pan. Now I can cook fried eggs with ease. Ah yes, quite the gourmet cook I am. A dab hand at reheating a Tesco casserole and excellent at spaghetti bolognese. I am planning to attempt scalloped potatoes for a church pot luck next Sunday. Mitzi came along with us on our jaunting around the countryside. One of the garden centers had a lovely forest walk that was dog friendly so she enjoyed that. We went down to a pond to see the geese who luckily were behind a fence. It was double trouble as far as Mitzi was concerned--the dreaded water and these large hissing birds. Being a passenger in a car driven by an American is a...

Golly I am tired tonight! We had a really busy day. We went into Carlow town to return a pair of sweatpants that R. bought and didn't like. I also went to the Bank of Ireland and started up my bank account. They do things very differently here than in Sierra Vista. There are no tellers for simple deposits or withdrawals; the bank branch in Carlow consists of four ATM machines and one international exchange cashier. And three personal bankers who are extremely helpful. I discovered that you don't make a deposit, you make a lodgment. Weird, eh? We went to Tesco's after the bank to get our every-other-day food shopping done. Small refrigerators--have to be careful in buying. We also bought some new "orthopedic" pillows that will hopefully help our neck issues. Bought a couple of pre-made sandwiches and ate them in the car when we parked at Duckett's Grove. Duckett's Grove is a ruined 19th century great house whose owners kept redesigning the original house ...