The Best Time to Visit Ireland

I've often said that the best time to visit Ireland is the months of May or September. The reason I know for a fact that these months have the best weather is that himself's birthday is in May and our anniversary is in September and for years we have celebrated these occasions with outdoor parties. And this year so far has cemented my idea. For the past two weeks here in Donegal I have recorded temperatures each day outside our house on my thermometer and the average temp was around 27 centigrade (80.6 f ), with a high of 31 degrees.

We have managed to eat outside most evenings this month and even had a dinner party outside last Saturday where we were able to dine around 9pm and then sit on and chat afterwards until the early hours in a perfect heat.

Indeed the heat began to get a little uncomfortable which most of those abroad would not believe could be the case in Ireland, but believe me, it was!

Added to that we now have daylight until around 11pm.

So, you can see May is indeed a great month to visit!

The Green Green Glass of Home ~ Car Boot Sale 17th May 2008

Today was very much the day of the Green Glass. It all started at the first stall I called at, a stall I have bought at most every week since I ventured to the car boot sale. I saw this set of frosted green glass and thought it would be so pretty on a dressing table in Daisy Cottage. Like all of the glass I bought today it would date from around the 1950s. These along with 2 other odds and ends of green glass I bought for €15 from this lady. Oh, and this little pottery veggie dish was another item I just couldn't leave behind!

Next I came across this little glass vase (on the right in the pic) on another stall ~ €3! Then at my 'dresser people' (said dresser not yet purchased!), I found the glass vase on the left here. At the same stall I spotted 2 very old brown ceramic mixing bowls of the sort most houses would have had years ago. One was about 30 years old and I think the other, larger one, is very much older. I think I will keep the bowls at home as they are quite special. Maybe one will go to Daisy Cottage ~ we will see. Anyway, I asked how much for the 2 bowls and the glass vase. The guy said to the woman 'you say a price and I'll say less'. She said €20. He said €10. Nice one. Oh, and the dresser may appear next week but I fear with the units I have chosen for the kitchen it may not now fit but knowing me, if it is pretty enough, I WILL find a space for it!

At another stall and on the way back to the car and (my purchases ostensibly finished), I spotted this little jam dish which will go perfectly with the butter dish I found a couple of weeks ago. It is a lovely salmony pink shade with a fleur de lis pattern.

I found this green carnival glass vase which was a bit dearer ~ €12 but as it was the day of the Green Glass and all that ... And just for a change, I got this Cornish ware milk jug (€9) which I just love and will use in my kitchen here at home.

My prize purchase this week was this art deco cut glass perfume bottle which will take it's place on my dressing table here at home. It stands about 6 to 7" high and cost me €20 and I just love it.

And I also love car boot sales!

Last Week's of Car Boot Sale

Still managing to hit the car boot sale!

Last week I got a few bits and pieces of pretty glass items (I wonder what an addiction to glass items is called?). A wander round the car boot sale resulted in the following items, some of which will be for Daisy Cottage and some will be for home. The total I spent was somewhere in the region of say €30 between various stalls ~ pretty good for all these pretty things!

The first picture here is of a set of blue glasses and a matching decanter. It was 6 glasses but the journey home saw the demise of 2 glasses! If I am only going to use them for display in Daisy Cottage then I can simple glue the broken bases of the 2 broken glasses and they will look fine. The entire set was only €6 and I bought them after the smart lady on the stall overheard me saying to my husband as we passed her stall 'oh, those blue glasses are pretty'. Quick as a flash she called after me: 'the set is only €6' and we laughed at her enterprise at catching a customer so quickly and of course went back and bought them. I commented on her quick thinking to catch my attention and she said that she'd been observing the woman on the stall next to her who was having roaring sales by, well roaring and she'd decided she'd give it a go too!

These two glass dishes will be ideal for crudite or even simply for display. The tray on the right is fairly old plain glass and the tray on the left is frosted with a wash of coloour on the leaves and the fruits.

I liked these little shot style glasses ~ not at all sure what I'll use them for and whether they will stay here or go to Daisy Cottage, but hey, they're cute!

This is a very pretty dish which I reckon is perhaps 1950s. I think it may be too delicate to be used for any real purpose other than just display but I love the colours and the hand painting on it.

At the same car boot sale I got a nearly new and in perfect condition chopping table. Solid wood and very heavy ~ it took 2 men to carry it to the car! It's one of those free standing affairs with a heavy wood block on top, 2 drawers under it and then a shelf and then a wine shelf. I asked the girl how much it was and she said 'well, it was €25 but you can have it for €20'. I can tell you I didn't hesitate for a second and took it. What a bargain. The same girl had the most doty little potter milk jug and sugar bowl - totally useless but very pretty. I also bought a wicker picnic hamper from her for €6 and this is now at the side of our range in the kitchen and stores the unsightlies like pokers, brushes, firelighters etc.

After the car boot sale we wandered around the town and for the first time saw the door of a local artist open. This guy I want to interview for my website (http://www.welovedonegal.com/). He is enjoying a lot of success and was chosen to do the stone carving outside the old National Ballroom in Dublin. He also designed and carved the stone celtic cross now erected in the carpark outside Letterkenny's Cathedral. He did a series of stone carvings of famous musicians and my husband has long wanted the Jim Morrison (The Doors) one he did. We enquired about it but it was part of a set which he will never replicate, the others being Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix. After some negotiation my husband, to my shock, purchased the set. They are amazing and unique I will grant you but the price, which I will not repeat here lest you pass out as I almost did, made me laugh at him telling me that I was crazy spending piddly little amounts at the car boot sale. A point which I intend to labour for EVERYTHING I buy FOREVER!!! I wouldn't mind but we have absolutely no wall in our house large enough to accommodate this set. Still, himself is a music fan and, like me ,loves art and particularly supporting Donegal artists, and so in reality I am glad he acquired such a valuable set.

Daisy Cottage Renovations - 17 May 2008

The renovations are moving on quickly and we are very happy with the pace of works being done. As of yesterday the following are now complete/started:

PLUMBING:
- First fix complete
- New radiators now installed
- Oil tank moved from shed to yard
- Shower trays in en suites now in

UPSTAIRS:
- Bathroom floor replaced
- Walls and ceilings now rebuilt and plastered
- Walls drylined
- Floors repaired
- All rewiring done
And now ready for painting next week

DOWNSTAIRS
- Hallway ceiling studded and ready for plastering
- Hall floor removed and new sewer installed and floor ready for tiling
- Door frames removed
- Doorways raised in height
- Old kitchen cupboards removed
- Floor in kitchen/diner leveled to a single level as opposed to the 2 different levels previously
- Pipes in for large fridge/freezer which supplies chilled filtered water and ice cubes on tap
- Kitchen/diner ready for painting

- Utility area picked and plastered
- Downstairs bedroom picked and plastered
- Downstairs en suite plumbed and ready for tiling
- Walls dry lined

The roof on the games room area has been releaded and the roof on the extension is reslated

The new staircase will soon be ready and the new banisters and ballastrade too. I think these will be white with a dark wood main newel. We chose a nice cappuccino coloured carpet for the staircase and it's neutral enough to allow me to paint the walls in the hall any colour I chose.

So, there's plenty done and now we are getting ready to have the new kitchen fitted. We went yesterday to pick a kitchen style and this will be handmade over the next few weeks. We went for a beautiful old style kitchen which will be in a creamy vanilla colour.

The major splash out here is a solid highly polished black granite work top. This of course adds a lot of expense but I think it will be worth the extra money and will look fabulous with the creamy coloured kitchen.

Using a large plumbed in fridge/freezer adds a lot of expense too but being used to one at home, I think it is well worth the money. I guess we are just totally spoiled at this stage having ice on tap and chilled filtered water on tap! I'm sure our future guests will appreciate these extras.

This afternoon we went to the tile store we will use and I nearly passed out at the price of the tiles for downstairs - before we even begin to take into account the tiles for the bathrooms! Initially we had decided on all tiles, then changed to hardwood and now we're back to tiles. I want the traditional style black and white tiles throughout as I think these will look very clean and set off any furniture added. While in the store I saw some gorgeous mosaic tiles in a beautiful aqua colour which I may use in the bathroom.

Last week I bought a beautiful cherry red sofa suite for the living room. I went for 2 three seaters and one two seater which gives lots of comfortable seating. I found a really beautiful old cabinet which may go at one side of the fireplace (if it fits!). It is a really unusual cabinet - double glass doors, legs and the top curved into 2 domes. The wood is dark but I'm not sure what type of wood it is. It may go in the living room or I might have to find somewhere else for it as a delightful old cabinet I bought about 20 years ago is being given back to me by my mother who no longer wants it. This cabinet is a dark wooded Edwardian affair - really ornate and a delightful piece and this is the one that may go into the living room. We will have to wait and see which one suits better. Oh, and to go with the cherry coloured suite I found a really groovy chandelier with red beads on it! Wow!

I also found a really nice Edwardian sideboard last week. Once again, it is dark wood and has 2 side cupboards and I think 3 drawers in the centre and stands on very nicely shaped legs. It is inlaid with a paler wood and will probably be in the hallway.

I really feel the house is coming together really well and I hope it will end up looking as great in real life as it does in my mind!!!

First Day of Summer - 1st of May

Happy summer time everyone!

Today is the first day of summer, the swallows arrived last week, the may flowers and the gorse (pictured above) are in full bloom and after a shower of rain this morning, we have blue skies and sunshine here in Donegal.

Yesterday I leapt way ahead of myself again and started buying lots of outdoor dining dishes and picnic stuff for Daisy Cottage. I got some cute salad bowls, salad servers, plates, bowls, picnic dishes and cutlery and a very large ice box and ice packs. So, come the lazy days of summer we'll be prepared!

The trouble I am having with buying up all this stock for Daisy Cottage is that I am rapidly running out of storage room in our home.