Take Three: Hope on the Horizon

A documentation of Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Our landlady at Armcashel is very attentive and we are not allowed to skip breakfast at her specific instruction, and in order to serve each table with complete attention, she schedules each room in 15 minute intervals. So we were slotted for a 9:15 breakfast time with a 10:00 appointment, which meant hurrying through breakfast as politely as we could and scooting off to the house.

NF was there when we arrived, though she assured us she had only just arrived and that she was enjoying the view when we pulled in. We took her into the new house and she said it all looked good, that we didn't really need to do much to get it going and that we were lucky to have found an older cottage in such good shape.

She then went on to say that since it had already been modernized, it wasn't worth the expense and trouble of undoing things like the concrete facing to bring it back to it's original condition. She was, in fact, very practical about the whole thing and said that some purists would say we should scrap all the 'upgrades' but that she felt that things like the cement facing didn't harm the building at all and in her opinion created a kind of "a raincoat" that kept the dampness out. She kept apologizing for not "being much help" but I have to say that she was very reassuring and gave me a lot of hope for forward motion.

After we thoroughly examined the new house we walked up to the old house to check it over. NF was very patient while going over the new house but it was clear that she was excited to go look at the old one. We fought our way through the wild overgrowth of queen anne's lace and nettles and went in. She looked delighted! She was especially excited about seeing the outshot, as she had never seen one in person before and she thought they were fairly uncommon to find nowadays. She said overall the house looked like it was in really good shape, that what we really need to do first is fix the roof and chimney and that would keep it sound for another 100 years. She suggested we photograph the house in as much detail as possible so that when we are finally able to move forward with it, we know how things were put together, so we can replicate it.

Armed with that thought, LS and I set about recording the old house with my pocket camera, I photographed as much detail as I could and we lost ourselves in the task at hand. Birds serenaded us and the queen anne's lace scented the air with its heavy, sweet fragrance. we pushed past brambles, stopped down nettles, LS took a piece of wood she found and dug down until she found a concrete floor under all that dirt! I do remember when we first bought the house, thinking that we would dig out all the dirt and find something underneath. At that point cattle had used the house as shelter for so many years that the dirt was as hard as concrete and we couldn't make a dent with the shovel we bought. Now that a decade or more has passed the dirt was fluffy and loose, LS was able to dig right down with no problem and she was so excited when she hit the concrete. It looks like it might have tiny pebbles embedded in the concrete, whether decorative or just the material they used, it is beautiful and we were so pleased to find it there. LS was inspired to stay and keep digging, she wanted to go and find a shovel at DM's but the camera ran out of room and it started to rain so we headed back into town to find a cell phone.

Ahhh, here is the part of the trip that gave me the most trouble, (but not for too long) driving. I was fine driving in places where I had been before, even as a passenger on trips where TR was the driver. But when I suddenly found myself driving AND trying to find a store or other destination, it became very difficult and, well, pretty stressful. We drove around Roscommon town trying to find the landmarks RM had told us about that would lead us to the Cell Phone Store. We drove behind the main street, we took a couple of different turnoffs on the big roundabout, we ended up at Tesco, starving and went in to find ready made food. No dice. We headed over to Supervalu, found something to eat and sat in the car discussing what to do. LS texted the builder that the Ms had recommended to us and he called back while we were enjoying our car lunch. After making a date for the next evening, we headed out, following phone directions to find the Cell Phone Store and there it was right on the main street, practically next door to Jackson's. I popped in to see what I could arrange and LS went up to Frances Yarn Establishment to get another, badly needed, skein to finish up her project. All went well and we were done in plenty of time, we were going to head back to our room to freshen up and then go to dinner at The Moorings (RM had kindly made us a reservation which turned out to be necessary that whole week). As we sped towards Castlerea we decided that it would take too long and we abandoned freshening up for timelines, rerouted and headed to the restaurant.

We arrived 30 minutes early, which turned out not to be a problem. We were seated in the solarium, which was far too hot for LS and despite the waiter trying to open windows and close blinds, the temperature remained in the surface-of-the-sun zone for the duration of dinner. The food was really good and the atmosphere (heat aside) was charming and we had a delightful dinner.

Afterwards we had hoped to explore Boyle Abbey, thinking that it was the kind of thing that was just open to the public at all times. But no, it was locked up and we strolled along the sidewalk admiring the remains of what was once a bustling, busy center of the community. Afterwards we headed home for some much deserved rest.

And that was that!

main room and cold storage visible

"fix the chimney and roof"

stairs to the loft (also an unusual feature in this type of house)

window in the mud room

our concrete floor!

View from the chimney

fireplace with swing arm and pots

roof of the outshot

Boyle Abbey

Boyle Abbey

Take Three: Abbreviation

In the interest of posting something instead of nothing this will be a super abbreviated post. Let me add the reminder to myself that Wednesday which would have followed the last post was the day we met with NF from the Roscommon County Council and it was a great meeting. I will give details in the next post. In this post, photos!

ready for anything!

Off comes the rotten 'skirting' (I will be fully fluent in Irish Builder's Terms when done with this project!)

Skirting removed from the baby bedroom (it's time!)

clean up time

adding a little cheer

LS models the latest in demolition headwear

beside the hearth in the main room

main room de-skirted (my own technical term)

"tiles" removed from bathroom floor

before

after

Take Three: Up and Running?

On Wednesday, we did nothing, that's not entirely true, we did eat breakfast, as we do every morning, thanks to our wonderful proprietress RM. But let me back up to Tuesday...

Tuesday we planned to catch up on our social calls, as we had missed everyone on Sunday and Monday (except the Ms). We took care of our housekeeping in our room and headed to NW's for a visit, when was warm and wonderful and carried us into the afternoon. We were lucky enough to meet up with SC and had a lovely visit with her. Afterwards we headed to the Badger's Den... and checked in on it. All was in order so we flew away on and adventure. Well there was a period of rest back at our room for a little bit.

We drove up to Sligo for dinner at Shells, fish and chips! After eating all we could possibly fit in, we drove to Knocknarea for the long climb to Maeve's Cairn. Climbing up that mountain is tough on a full stomach. I have to confess, I used the Kimmy Schmidt method after a awhile, I just kept counting from 1 to 10 over and over. Of course the climb is always worth it and we were up top for quite a while, looking at the stones full of sea fossils and examining the exposed tombs and cairn. The view was breathtaking, clear, endless. We didn't know but it was a special night of bonfires and every direction we turned in there were plumes of some drifting upwards from a fire. As we descended, there was one where the flames were clearly visible and the closer we got we realized that the fire itself was as big as a house. It was late, darkness was descending and we climbed in our car and headed home. At one point we passed a bonfire that looked like it was practically on the road. Cones placed on the road warned of the upcoming obstacle, children skipped and danced at the side of the road, faces lit by the fire and with excitement, eyes sparkling.

Getting in late, we weren't sleepy and we stayed up far later than we should have, talking to our dear ones over vast oceans and continents. It was a glorious day in Ireland as usual, the countryside endlessly rolling out in waves of grass, bowing and bending as the wind brushes of and through it. The sky filling with clouds only to be blown away and then fill up again.

In the interest of progress, I am going to post this abbreviated post and then try for longer one later, here are some photos:

Knocknarea panorama

View from Kkocknarea

Ben Bulben

and Good Night?

Take Three: Baby Steps

We shall see if N@the RCC is in fact a lady or a man. For some reason in our emails I have thought of her/him as a lady. Then I looked the name up online and it was touted a male name. Then when we called on DM and LM they said it was a female name. So only time will tell.

It was a productive and full day, LS and I started out slowly, walking over from our B&B to the house of the High King's of Ireland for a tour. It was lovely, our tour guide is a descendant of the family, through his mother, and he and his wife still live in the family home. It is filled with unbelievably wonderful artifacts and antiques that have been his families possessions since they were new. We were shown a "bride", the stone that represents Ireland and was used in the coronation of kings for centuries, perhaps a millennium. There was the imprint of a footprint, the spot, that for hundreds if not thousands of years his ancestors placed their foot upon the rock and vowed their loyalty to the land and it's people. We were told that there are only two stones of that kind left today, the one from his family in his garden and the "King Stone" of Scottish fame that resides under the throne in Westminster Abbey.  His family has had a long and involved with Ireland and even at their darkest or lowest point they never gave up their identity or purpose. We walked into the grounds to the house and on the walk out, our host came driving down the road/driveway and stopped to offer us a ride. Pretty fab, I thought!

We went from there back to the B&B where we gathered up all ur thoughts and efforts, I checked in with TR, LS checked in with her family we got ourselves together and we took off for dinner and stuff. We had a delightful meal at Jackson's (is it telling that this restaurant is thousands of miles from my year round residence but they still know me there? Guess I eat at the same places all the time!) and then we headed out to our village to call on friend and family.

We literally popped in on NW, she was inside watching TV and didn't hear us but we heard some noises round the back and we investigated. We found HC and boy was he surprised to see us. I realize now that I have never met him but I introduced us and he showed us into the house where we had a quick visit with NW and planned a longer visit for the next day.

We went up the LM and DM's house where the eldest of the young Miss M's was still awake. We presented her with a teddy, which she seemed to love and we all sat for tea and a long chat about how to 'do up' the cottage, it was a lovely and very informative visit.

Armed with hope, a list of contacts and a plan we headed home where we stayed up way to late chatting online with our beloved family members and watching silly things on tv.

And now Goodnight.

the little bedroom

carpet out, 'skirting' (baseboards) off

tiniest fireplace ever

Take Three: Stepping Boldly Forward?

Each night I am completely settled, in my mind, in my plans and by the next morning all those thoughts and plans are scattered about, I am wildly looking around, grabbing at them trying, to gather them up as quickly as I can. As I spoke to TR last night and felt so settled by that, I was ready to tackle today with lots of enthusiasm and sure that progress would be made. Now I am, again, sitting thinking how silly those plans were, of course I have nothing to say the the ESB until the electricity is back on. Heaters won't be installed until the house is closer to being finished, I think.

As I mentioned before, I feel secure in my footing, until some advice comes along that topples me and I am ready to throw my hands up and say "whatever!". Now it feels as if it's simply the light of a new day that has thrown my plans to the ground.

One of my (oddly weird) stumbling blocks is that I uploaded pictures of the house so that I could post them here and TR would be able to see them and participate (as much as possible) from afar. Much to my chagrin, the photos appear in my photo application but I can't seem to access them when I choose to upload into the blog from blogger.com. Weird! I uploaded them from my phone, though if I choose the 'from my phone' option, they still don't show up. I am stumped, maybe I need to restart Safari, maybe it's deeper than that. I suppose I can google it and find out that way. First I will write down my list from the book, then, something else!

What I Have So Far:

• Investigate insurance (FBD?)
• Look into grants to replace: doors / windows / septic tank 
• Call B@ESB to enquire about timing of installing storage heaters
• Ask DM if he recommends a plumber to install radiators
• Check in with N@the RCC about meeting time

That seems like a fair amount of tasks, but really each time I get ready to tackle one, I ponder and ponder and decide it's really pointless. So I am going to put this entry aside for a minute, investigate some of the points I can and then we will go calling on relatives.

Here I go....

So it looks like we aren't eligible for grants of any kind, first because they seem to be mostly tax credits and we don't pay income taxes here (in Ireland), second because some of them appear to be income based and we make too much money to be eligible for a grant (which in the long run is only a good thing!) and third because for the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) holiday homes aren't eligible. So there it is, grants away, I can check that right off my list!

Now to investigate the photo syndrome....

Roscommon Castle - zockso

So as it turned out, it was just as it was always queried in the " IT Crowd ", I turned off and turned it on again and the picture were miraculously  there! More tomorrow, or perhaps later today if that's how I'm feeling.

Good morning!

Take Three, In Which We Start a New Project

It has begun. LS and I are in Ireland beginning the renovation/restoration of the Badger's Den (Named For All The Badgers We've Never Seen Nearby). We have been here for four days and here's what we have accomplished so far:

• Torn out all the rotten baseboards
• Pulled up the carpet in the two bedrooms
• Removed the moldy kitchen door
• Pulled up the tiles in the bathroom
• Taken down the plastic wall unit above the bathroom sink
• Removed the plastic skirt from around the bathtub
• Cleaned up the rose canes that had been trimmed (in our absence)
• Removed the weeds from around the house (they were practically growing up right out of the walls!)
• Accepted delivery of the skip
• Loaded the skip

All of that was done in one day (except the skip delivery and loading, which was done in about 10 minutes the following day). We worked like mad women and when we finished we looked around and looked at the clock and went "huh, now what?"

We have been checking back to the house every day, puttering, weeding a bit more, tidying here and there. After we seemed to hit a stalling point I felt a bit directionless. My plan was so clear and I had everything lined up ready to execute as soon as we got here, my first stumbling block (which wasn't such a bad thing) was that the actual tear out didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. I had allocated several days to the tear out so when we seemed to finish in one day, I had no plan for what to do with the extra time (a problem that has been duly dealt with). As my plans seemed to unravel I felt more and more disconnected from the whole project. I felt the stillness seeping into my psyche and washing all my momentum away. I wanted so much to talk to TR, to reflect my thoughts and ideas to him and find some clarity and movement. It took a few days but I finally connected to him and we talked it out. He was his usual supportive and level headed self. We asked all the right question, helped me find my feet and redirect my aimlessness and I feel much more ready-set-go than hiding-under-the-covers.

So now I need to drop payment for the electrical inspection, tear out some of the rotten door moldings, call the Georgian Restoration Lady, check in with the neighbors about a few things and check in with RC (Dublin Cousin, who may be known as RCDC from now on...) and see how I should handle that whole thing.

Okay, I'm not feeling so write-y tonight so I am going to link up some photos and add a bit tomorrow.

Good night

Due to technical difficulties, I am unable to add photos of the project, I will check in with my IT savior tomorrow but for tonight you get this:

Still Charmed by the Third Time: In Which We Have an Epiphany

I have heard that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, I must be well on my way. All day, everyday, I dream up plans and schemes to do wonderful things, paint the inside of the house, reorganize every room, write a book, make teddy bears, knit rugs and dish towels and blankets. All of these things swirl around my head like whirlpool and then by 2:00 pm I am tired and spent and I end up tidying minimally in the kitchen, half-heartedly feeding my family and sitting quietly until bedtime.

This weekend, I spent a large amount of time organizing and re-organizing stuff. I hauled things down from the cottage to the basement, categorized them, spruced them up, priced (most of) them, put them in boxes and shut the basement door. I do want to have a yard sale, I asked Primo to make a sign for me and he crabbed about how much I demand of him and how put out he was that he had to stop making his nerf gun mods, and he didn't make the sign. I was so dejected, I felt so alone and ignored. I have been asking my family for help with home projects for YEARS and I think that they just see me as crabbing because I hate to work. But that is not true, and as I pondered this whole thing before I sat down to this blog, I had a realization (here comes the epiphany...) I don't mind work, cleaning house, doing odd jobs, maintenance or improvements to the house. I actually really enjoy it, but I just don't want to do it alone.

There it is, in a nutshell, as tidy as you like. I want company while I do these tasks. Someone to mull over the-state-of-things with. Someone to bounce ideas off of, or that will put their own ideas on the table. Someone to hand me a pair of scissors or to ask me for a duster.  It's just as Piglet said, "It's so much friendlier with two".

Now I just need to find a way to bring company on board!

This is an extra short entry, most because I am tired and I want to make sure that I post something, it's been ages since I have posted anything at all. I have had great adventures and achievements and I have lots planned. But first I am just going to put this little bit out there. Tomorrow, when the sun is shining and my heart is full of promise and energy, I will write some of my adventures and plans down. But tonight, I am going to sleep.

Goodnight.

The Badger's Den, Named for all the Badgers We've Never Seen Nearby
next week's project!