At last I have my domain name sorted ~ DaisyCottageDonegal.com.
Now for the hard work!
Monday 30 March 2009
Friday 27 March 2009
PHOTOS OF DONEGAL
At last I have got around to starting to collate my photographs of Donegal. They are stored in village and town names but there are just so very many of them that actually picking through and gathering the best of them has been one of those 'long finger projects'.
But I have started ... and it is an on-going project. I will be adding to my flickr account very regularly.
You can check the photos added to date by cutting and pasting the link into your toolbar:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36710853@N06/
But I have started ... and it is an on-going project. I will be adding to my flickr account very regularly.
You can check the photos added to date by cutting and pasting the link into your toolbar:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36710853@N06/
Tuesday 17 March 2009
OPERATION TRANSFORMATION
Operation Transformation, as I am now calling the works on Daisy Cottage (with apologies to the fabulous RTE presenter, Gerry Ryan, for borrowing his phrase), is nearing it's completion I am so happy to report!
Yesterday he and me went to Daisy Cottage to meet some guys who are going to finish off certain works. But the main reason for the trip over was for us to finish off the livingroom.
It took us about 2 hours to load up the car and leaving Letterkenny we could have been mistaken for the Beverly Hill Billies sans granny on top. He kindly pointed out that as I was a gran, I could sit atop the car in my rocking chair. Well, he didn't but poetic licence and all that. Plus we don't have a rocking chair.
I had being doing extensive lists all week of what we needed to take. I'm a great believer in lists. And more lists. And new lists when half of one list ticked off. The list had such things as bucket & mop, ornaments (I took 6 boxes of these because I couldn't decide which ones I'd use), paintings, prints, tealights, cleaning materials, window washers, and on and on.
We arrived after lunch, imagining it would take 5 hours top to finish but as it turned out we finally packed our weary bodies into the car at 1.30 am. I am not kidding, I was so sore and tired I moaned at least half the way home. Himself was so sweet though, even though he had worked ten times harder than me, he didn't point that out at all.
Anyway, the best laid plans ...
I wanted to take pictures when it was all done and had thought we would have the work completed in time for a daytime shot. Not a chance! But that wasn't a major problem as I'd thought I'd manage a pretty nice night time shot with the fire lit.
Himself went off to McMonagles (where we bought the granite worktop) in nearby Mountcharles to purchase a new fire front ~ the old one was horrid. So whilst he was away I thought I'd get busy and lift all the debris left behind by the builders in the fireplace. I cleaned out all the ashes and other stuff and then, never being able to leave well alone, decided I'd just check to see if there was any soot in the lower chimney. Up went the shovel ~ down came a black avalanche! I'd forgotten to have the chimney cleaned.
So obviously no fire could be lit. After a few polite words to myself, I remembered I'd bought candles the previous week in Donegal Town. Out to the kitchen to find the bag. Yes, there they were. Perfect. So when himself came back I put in the new firefront and nest and arranged my candles (after way too much wrapping was removed) in the grate for lighting later.
The fireplace. We both hated the 'dirty dishwater' colour someone working on the house had decided to paint it and agreed it had to go. But what colour? We had been debating about it all week and had decided to go with cream. The bricks around the opening are oldish red, the railway sleeper as a mantle, brown so cream seemed the best option. So after he sanded it down and wiped it with white spirit, I stained it a dark oak colour. It worked very well. I then went on to paint the brace in cream and that too worked very well. The new (black) fire front, which incidentally has a clever little enclosed box beneath the nest for easy removal of ashes, matches perfectly with the newly painted and stained fireplace.
We hoisted my Edwardian cabinet into the room as I had wanted it to the left of the fireplace but horror of horrors it was too big! Luckily, I had another cabinet I could use. This was one I bought in one of my hunts for old furniture for Daisy Cottage some time back and I had intended it to fit in the soon to be alcove in the kitchen.
Himself pointed out that my 'bread & butter' cabinet (the one I will be painting red) would go perfectly in the new alcove and the other in the living room. I really had no option but to agree given my Edwardian one didn't fit. We measured it, measured the side of the fireplace and bingo! Perfect. Note to self: should have done that with the Edwardian one before I had it hoisted all the way to Daisy Cottage.
Moving on. I then had to clean the flipping thing from top to bottom and that was no mean feat as there are umpteen glass panels and they were filthy. Beyond filthy actually. It took ages to get them sparkling inside and out.
Himself was busy making up the tables for the living room and I have to say, they turned out perfectly. One thing, the tv cabinet to match the coffee table and side table was way too huge for the living room. Furniture always looks so small in showrooms!
At this stage the living room was still pretty much a tip. Wet paint, wet stain, packaging all over the place, you get the scene.
Himself then had to put up the lovely metal curtain rail I'd chosen. This was a riot. There he is teatering on a chair, measuring, marking the wall and drilling. Until me, poised on one of our red sofas, pointed out that the right side hole was further over than the left. Not at all said he, but yes said I. And it was ~ 2cm out! Yay! More drilling. (Polyfilla on shopping list). At last perfect.
So I got out the new voile I had bought, hooked up one and (after making himself wash his hands lest he dirty my nice white voile) he hung it for me. Lovely. Opened the second pack of voile. 'Ready to Hang' it said, as did the first pack. I searched one end for the hooks part. Nope. Ok, other end. Nope. Must have made a mistake I thought. Checked again. No blooming hook tape! Not impressed. Another run to the shops to replace it. We then had to abandon the idea of taking pics of the window. And me after spending half an hour earlier cleaning the window inside and out to within an inch of it's life!
He got the painting we'd chosen for the livingroom hung perfectly and it goes so well. It is a painting by a Donegal artist, Martin Gallagher, and I think it looks great in our Daisy Cottage livingroom. I'd taken a print of a poppy which I'd had in a room here at home. I love the print with it's single poppy and crackled gold type frame but I decided it would be so perfect for the livingroom I had to give it up. He hung it to the right of the fireplace and it's great there.
It's funny, writing up about the livingroom finishing off, I wonder what the heck took so long? It's weird really ~ we worked all day with no break, luckily our new kettle is there so we had teas and coffees but no meal break.
Anyway, I was seriously flagging I can tell you. We had no idea of the time having no working clock and neither of us wearing watches. Yes, we could have checked our phones but it didn't really occur. The first notion I got that it was late was when I saw the lights in houses across the road going off in their livingroom and on upstairs. But we still had the final clean to do ...
I swear, I cleaned faster than I've ever done in my life so desparate was I to get home and put my feet up! Floor brushed and washed, cabinet (painfully) lugged from the kitchen into the livingroom, sofas dusted and cleaned, my groovy new checked mat rolled out, tables installed and polished, ornaments polished and placed, new flat screen tv in place, and the cream lamps I'd bought for one of the bedrooms stolen for the livingroom (where they go very well I think), my lovely red 'chandelier' hung, new bulbs in all lights.
Then a quick whiz around to light all the tealights and candles in the grate and after sitting a while on the sofas (which I have to say are very comfortable!) to admire our hard work, it was out with the tripod and camera. As readers of this blog will know, I absolutely love taking pics but I was so tired at this stage I nearly couldn't do it but I forced myself and took a number of pics.
So, 'operation transformation' on the livingroom complete, here's the comparison pics:
BEFORE
AFTER
I am so happy with the way it turned out!
And I'm also happy that I think the bedrooms will all be so easy after the hard work in the livingroom. Well, I'm cheerfully optimistic anyway!
Yesterday he and me went to Daisy Cottage to meet some guys who are going to finish off certain works. But the main reason for the trip over was for us to finish off the livingroom.
It took us about 2 hours to load up the car and leaving Letterkenny we could have been mistaken for the Beverly Hill Billies sans granny on top. He kindly pointed out that as I was a gran, I could sit atop the car in my rocking chair. Well, he didn't but poetic licence and all that. Plus we don't have a rocking chair.
I had being doing extensive lists all week of what we needed to take. I'm a great believer in lists. And more lists. And new lists when half of one list ticked off. The list had such things as bucket & mop, ornaments (I took 6 boxes of these because I couldn't decide which ones I'd use), paintings, prints, tealights, cleaning materials, window washers, and on and on.
We arrived after lunch, imagining it would take 5 hours top to finish but as it turned out we finally packed our weary bodies into the car at 1.30 am. I am not kidding, I was so sore and tired I moaned at least half the way home. Himself was so sweet though, even though he had worked ten times harder than me, he didn't point that out at all.
Anyway, the best laid plans ...
I wanted to take pictures when it was all done and had thought we would have the work completed in time for a daytime shot. Not a chance! But that wasn't a major problem as I'd thought I'd manage a pretty nice night time shot with the fire lit.
Himself went off to McMonagles (where we bought the granite worktop) in nearby Mountcharles to purchase a new fire front ~ the old one was horrid. So whilst he was away I thought I'd get busy and lift all the debris left behind by the builders in the fireplace. I cleaned out all the ashes and other stuff and then, never being able to leave well alone, decided I'd just check to see if there was any soot in the lower chimney. Up went the shovel ~ down came a black avalanche! I'd forgotten to have the chimney cleaned.
So obviously no fire could be lit. After a few polite words to myself, I remembered I'd bought candles the previous week in Donegal Town. Out to the kitchen to find the bag. Yes, there they were. Perfect. So when himself came back I put in the new firefront and nest and arranged my candles (after way too much wrapping was removed) in the grate for lighting later.
The fireplace. We both hated the 'dirty dishwater' colour someone working on the house had decided to paint it and agreed it had to go. But what colour? We had been debating about it all week and had decided to go with cream. The bricks around the opening are oldish red, the railway sleeper as a mantle, brown so cream seemed the best option. So after he sanded it down and wiped it with white spirit, I stained it a dark oak colour. It worked very well. I then went on to paint the brace in cream and that too worked very well. The new (black) fire front, which incidentally has a clever little enclosed box beneath the nest for easy removal of ashes, matches perfectly with the newly painted and stained fireplace.
We hoisted my Edwardian cabinet into the room as I had wanted it to the left of the fireplace but horror of horrors it was too big! Luckily, I had another cabinet I could use. This was one I bought in one of my hunts for old furniture for Daisy Cottage some time back and I had intended it to fit in the soon to be alcove in the kitchen.
Himself pointed out that my 'bread & butter' cabinet (the one I will be painting red) would go perfectly in the new alcove and the other in the living room. I really had no option but to agree given my Edwardian one didn't fit. We measured it, measured the side of the fireplace and bingo! Perfect. Note to self: should have done that with the Edwardian one before I had it hoisted all the way to Daisy Cottage.
Moving on. I then had to clean the flipping thing from top to bottom and that was no mean feat as there are umpteen glass panels and they were filthy. Beyond filthy actually. It took ages to get them sparkling inside and out.
Himself was busy making up the tables for the living room and I have to say, they turned out perfectly. One thing, the tv cabinet to match the coffee table and side table was way too huge for the living room. Furniture always looks so small in showrooms!
At this stage the living room was still pretty much a tip. Wet paint, wet stain, packaging all over the place, you get the scene.
Himself then had to put up the lovely metal curtain rail I'd chosen. This was a riot. There he is teatering on a chair, measuring, marking the wall and drilling. Until me, poised on one of our red sofas, pointed out that the right side hole was further over than the left. Not at all said he, but yes said I. And it was ~ 2cm out! Yay! More drilling. (Polyfilla on shopping list). At last perfect.
So I got out the new voile I had bought, hooked up one and (after making himself wash his hands lest he dirty my nice white voile) he hung it for me. Lovely. Opened the second pack of voile. 'Ready to Hang' it said, as did the first pack. I searched one end for the hooks part. Nope. Ok, other end. Nope. Must have made a mistake I thought. Checked again. No blooming hook tape! Not impressed. Another run to the shops to replace it. We then had to abandon the idea of taking pics of the window. And me after spending half an hour earlier cleaning the window inside and out to within an inch of it's life!
He got the painting we'd chosen for the livingroom hung perfectly and it goes so well. It is a painting by a Donegal artist, Martin Gallagher, and I think it looks great in our Daisy Cottage livingroom. I'd taken a print of a poppy which I'd had in a room here at home. I love the print with it's single poppy and crackled gold type frame but I decided it would be so perfect for the livingroom I had to give it up. He hung it to the right of the fireplace and it's great there.
It's funny, writing up about the livingroom finishing off, I wonder what the heck took so long? It's weird really ~ we worked all day with no break, luckily our new kettle is there so we had teas and coffees but no meal break.
Anyway, I was seriously flagging I can tell you. We had no idea of the time having no working clock and neither of us wearing watches. Yes, we could have checked our phones but it didn't really occur. The first notion I got that it was late was when I saw the lights in houses across the road going off in their livingroom and on upstairs. But we still had the final clean to do ...
I swear, I cleaned faster than I've ever done in my life so desparate was I to get home and put my feet up! Floor brushed and washed, cabinet (painfully) lugged from the kitchen into the livingroom, sofas dusted and cleaned, my groovy new checked mat rolled out, tables installed and polished, ornaments polished and placed, new flat screen tv in place, and the cream lamps I'd bought for one of the bedrooms stolen for the livingroom (where they go very well I think), my lovely red 'chandelier' hung, new bulbs in all lights.
Then a quick whiz around to light all the tealights and candles in the grate and after sitting a while on the sofas (which I have to say are very comfortable!) to admire our hard work, it was out with the tripod and camera. As readers of this blog will know, I absolutely love taking pics but I was so tired at this stage I nearly couldn't do it but I forced myself and took a number of pics.
So, 'operation transformation' on the livingroom complete, here's the comparison pics:
BEFORE
AFTER
I am so happy with the way it turned out!
And I'm also happy that I think the bedrooms will all be so easy after the hard work in the livingroom. Well, I'm cheerfully optimistic anyway!
Friday 13 March 2009
THINGS TO DO IN DONEGAL ~ Garden Trail
I just recently discovered that there is a Donegal Garden Trail and I thought I'd add the information here as it might be something guests to Daisy Cottage might like to investigate further.
There are a number of the gardens within easy driving distance of Daisy Cottage and you can check their website at:
www.donegalgardentrail.com
The gardens are beautiful and well worth a visit from those interested in gardens and gardening.
Thursday 12 March 2009
RESTAURANT TENFOURTEEN
We ate in this restaurant last night having first eaten there a couple of weeks ago and so good was it we couldn't wait to get back. First, a little about this unique restaurant.
It is run entirely for and by a charity, CASA ~ Caring And Sharing Association. From their website:
"CASA (Caring And Sharing Association) is an Irish Charity, which for over twenty-five years has been providing social outlets, friendship, and one-to-one care for people with disabilities.
With 450 volunteers working in 20 separate groups CASA is active throughout the country providing one-to-one care to those who need it most. It also organises holiday breaks; currently CASA operates two respite houses, a holiday centre in Dublin, and arranges an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes for our members who are terminally ill or have severe disabilities.
Since it's founding in 1981 CASA has proved itself to be progressive and forward looking. In June 2008 it took brave new step: Restaurant TenFourteen, situated on the Clontarf Road opposite the Bull Wall, is a local eatery serving high-quality lunch and evening meals in a relaxed atmosphere with friendly, efficient service – and it is wholly owned by CASA. All profits from Restaurant TenFourteen go directly towards supporting their activities in the community."
Is that not amazing? And pretty unique, certainly in Ireland.
I'd first heard of the place on RTE radio last year and at the time I thought it was a brilliant and very good idea but I'm embarrased to say, I'd sort of imagined, totally wrongly as it turned out, that it might be a bit, well, good heart but no substance, food wise. How very, very off the mark I was there.
We were in Dublin a couple of weeks ago and thought we'd give the place a spin. I think being in an economic downturn makes you focus more on exactly how you want to spend any money you do so this restaurant fitted my bill in that all the profits go to charity, we get to eat dinner, and even it it was a bit ropey hey ho. But further from ropey you could not get.
The staff, the place, the food, everything is excellent. And the location! Clontarf is a beautiful seaside town just 3 and a half miles/5.5 km from O'Connell Street, Dublin city centre. These are photos of Clontarf I took earlier this year:
Here's the Bull Walk (which leads to Bull Island) which is just across the road from Restaurant TenFourteen ~ imagine have a post luncheon stroll there to walk off all those delicious calories?
So, our meal last night in Restaurant TenFourteen. First, the welcome was just as friendly as our first visit. And I love their decor, check how they decorate the fireplace:
.JPG)
We were seated and our menus and wine list were propmptly delivered and our drinks order taken. Delicious home baked bread with butter was left with us to start us off.
And my g&t, presented in a pretty glass (and husbands scotch on the rocks but my g&t was prettier in my opinion!
Another thing they do in this restaurant, and something I wholeheartedly approve of, is that they come round regularly with jugs of iced water and top you up if you so wish. No pushing expensive bottled water here.
Along with the menu, they also have a chalkboard showing 'today's specials' kind of thing. Last night's board:
Something that made me smile last time I was there and indeed this time, is the entrance into the restaurant proper. You go in the front door and then there is a curtain curved out from the door, obviously in place to make sure no drafts annoy the guests. You pull aside the curtain and make your entrance. And me being me, with my very fertile imagination, I imagine a Vaudeville group striking up and me tap dancing my way in, bent sideways, arms outstretch and hands fluttering to the music. Thankfully I got control of myself, and this imaganitve entrance remained where it should ~ in my head. Still makes me smile though. If you look to the right of the chalk board picutred above, you will see the curtain I refer to. *Thinks* a man could enter to the tune of Hey Big Spender. But I digress.
Our meals. I had been looking forward to a starter of their delicious scallops since booking earlier in the day and I was so disappointed to find there was no scallops on the starters menu. I asked the friendly waiter if it was at all possible if the kitchen would allow me to have scallops as a starter. He checked and was back promptly to say 'yes' (and I expected nothing less than a yes from this customer friendly eaterie so I was not disappointed). And the scallops were delicious I'm please to report. Last time I had the scallops starter I could have licked the plate so good was the dressing on the accompanying salad and it was just as good this time. Thankfully, as with my tap dancing Vaudeville entrance, I managed to resist licking the plate. But had I been at home ...
My husband had the chicken & bacon terrine served with slow roasted tomatoes, caramelised onion and parmessan salad and declared it moist and tasty.
Just before our starters were served we were given an amuse-bouche, in this instance a little ring of perfectly cooked calamari with another very moreish dressing.
Our wines, as last time, were served at perfect temperatures. I had a beautifully chilled Sancerre, he had a warmer fruity Bordeaux.
My scallops:
His terrine (I'm not 100% sure of the addition of the tiny gherkins though):
Between courses we were served a pretty little berry sorbet which we ate at the tables outside so mild was the weather. In Ireland, in March!
For our mains we both chose dishes from the chalkboard. I had the hake, and he had the aged Kerry beef. Both delicious. The beef just fell apart and the hake was moist, tasty and perfectly cooked. They also serve a little dish of veg & salad so there is no need to order 'extras' which can quickly notch up the bill in a lot of places.
My hake:
His Kerry aged beef:
We skipped dessert and asked for an americano and a cappuccino to be served at the outdoor tables.
We had a bit of craic with other diners out there. Some local ladies told us of other excellent restaurants in Clontarf and I'm sure we will try them in due course ~ if we can pass Restaurant TenFourteen that is!
A little while later the chef came out and got chatting to us. What a nice chap he is. His name is Gaz and he is of Irish decent but was born in Oxford, England. He told us more about the restaurant and something I didn't know about. Apparently they close to the public one nigh a month and treat people who are assisted by CASA to a meal there. How lovely is that? He very kindly treated us to a couple of brandies, which arrived in warmed glasses. Excellent.
Later Gaz was out again, now dressed for home and was chatting to another member of staff, Chef de Partie, Jack. It turns out that Jack is one of 3 Jacks in Restaurant TenFourteen. There's Big Jack (here pictured with Gaz), Medium Jack, and Little Jack ~ we got to see all three as they bade us a cheery farewell later.
Big Jack and Gaz:
Here I must add an apology to Gaz's wife for delaying him in chit chat. He was on his way home to cook a meal for his wife. There are pluses and minuses to being married to a chef: the minus, long, late hours (especially when engaged in conversation with guests!), and the plus ~ he comes home and cooks you a meal. I think the plus outweighs the minus. And congratulations to both of them on their new baby.
I'd recommend this restaurant if you are in Dublin (obviously just stopping over on your way to Donegal!).
You can contact them by email at margaretbutler1014@gmail.com (Margaret wasn't there this time but she was last time and she's good craic too), telephone 00353 (0)1 8054877 or view their website and read more about them at http://www.restaurtant1014.com
It is run entirely for and by a charity, CASA ~ Caring And Sharing Association. From their website:
"CASA (Caring And Sharing Association) is an Irish Charity, which for over twenty-five years has been providing social outlets, friendship, and one-to-one care for people with disabilities.
With 450 volunteers working in 20 separate groups CASA is active throughout the country providing one-to-one care to those who need it most. It also organises holiday breaks; currently CASA operates two respite houses, a holiday centre in Dublin, and arranges an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes for our members who are terminally ill or have severe disabilities.
Since it's founding in 1981 CASA has proved itself to be progressive and forward looking. In June 2008 it took brave new step: Restaurant TenFourteen, situated on the Clontarf Road opposite the Bull Wall, is a local eatery serving high-quality lunch and evening meals in a relaxed atmosphere with friendly, efficient service – and it is wholly owned by CASA. All profits from Restaurant TenFourteen go directly towards supporting their activities in the community."
Is that not amazing? And pretty unique, certainly in Ireland.
I'd first heard of the place on RTE radio last year and at the time I thought it was a brilliant and very good idea but I'm embarrased to say, I'd sort of imagined, totally wrongly as it turned out, that it might be a bit, well, good heart but no substance, food wise. How very, very off the mark I was there.
We were in Dublin a couple of weeks ago and thought we'd give the place a spin. I think being in an economic downturn makes you focus more on exactly how you want to spend any money you do so this restaurant fitted my bill in that all the profits go to charity, we get to eat dinner, and even it it was a bit ropey hey ho. But further from ropey you could not get.
The staff, the place, the food, everything is excellent. And the location! Clontarf is a beautiful seaside town just 3 and a half miles/5.5 km from O'Connell Street, Dublin city centre. These are photos of Clontarf I took earlier this year:
Here's the Bull Walk (which leads to Bull Island) which is just across the road from Restaurant TenFourteen ~ imagine have a post luncheon stroll there to walk off all those delicious calories?
So, our meal last night in Restaurant TenFourteen. First, the welcome was just as friendly as our first visit. And I love their decor, check how they decorate the fireplace:
.JPG)
We were seated and our menus and wine list were propmptly delivered and our drinks order taken. Delicious home baked bread with butter was left with us to start us off.
And my g&t, presented in a pretty glass (and husbands scotch on the rocks but my g&t was prettier in my opinion!
Another thing they do in this restaurant, and something I wholeheartedly approve of, is that they come round regularly with jugs of iced water and top you up if you so wish. No pushing expensive bottled water here.
Along with the menu, they also have a chalkboard showing 'today's specials' kind of thing. Last night's board:
Something that made me smile last time I was there and indeed this time, is the entrance into the restaurant proper. You go in the front door and then there is a curtain curved out from the door, obviously in place to make sure no drafts annoy the guests. You pull aside the curtain and make your entrance. And me being me, with my very fertile imagination, I imagine a Vaudeville group striking up and me tap dancing my way in, bent sideways, arms outstretch and hands fluttering to the music. Thankfully I got control of myself, and this imaganitve entrance remained where it should ~ in my head. Still makes me smile though. If you look to the right of the chalk board picutred above, you will see the curtain I refer to. *Thinks* a man could enter to the tune of Hey Big Spender. But I digress.
Our meals. I had been looking forward to a starter of their delicious scallops since booking earlier in the day and I was so disappointed to find there was no scallops on the starters menu. I asked the friendly waiter if it was at all possible if the kitchen would allow me to have scallops as a starter. He checked and was back promptly to say 'yes' (and I expected nothing less than a yes from this customer friendly eaterie so I was not disappointed). And the scallops were delicious I'm please to report. Last time I had the scallops starter I could have licked the plate so good was the dressing on the accompanying salad and it was just as good this time. Thankfully, as with my tap dancing Vaudeville entrance, I managed to resist licking the plate. But had I been at home ...
My husband had the chicken & bacon terrine served with slow roasted tomatoes, caramelised onion and parmessan salad and declared it moist and tasty.
Just before our starters were served we were given an amuse-bouche, in this instance a little ring of perfectly cooked calamari with another very moreish dressing.
Our wines, as last time, were served at perfect temperatures. I had a beautifully chilled Sancerre, he had a warmer fruity Bordeaux.
My scallops:
His terrine (I'm not 100% sure of the addition of the tiny gherkins though):
Between courses we were served a pretty little berry sorbet which we ate at the tables outside so mild was the weather. In Ireland, in March!
For our mains we both chose dishes from the chalkboard. I had the hake, and he had the aged Kerry beef. Both delicious. The beef just fell apart and the hake was moist, tasty and perfectly cooked. They also serve a little dish of veg & salad so there is no need to order 'extras' which can quickly notch up the bill in a lot of places.
My hake:
His Kerry aged beef:
We skipped dessert and asked for an americano and a cappuccino to be served at the outdoor tables.
We had a bit of craic with other diners out there. Some local ladies told us of other excellent restaurants in Clontarf and I'm sure we will try them in due course ~ if we can pass Restaurant TenFourteen that is!
A little while later the chef came out and got chatting to us. What a nice chap he is. His name is Gaz and he is of Irish decent but was born in Oxford, England. He told us more about the restaurant and something I didn't know about. Apparently they close to the public one nigh a month and treat people who are assisted by CASA to a meal there. How lovely is that? He very kindly treated us to a couple of brandies, which arrived in warmed glasses. Excellent.
Later Gaz was out again, now dressed for home and was chatting to another member of staff, Chef de Partie, Jack. It turns out that Jack is one of 3 Jacks in Restaurant TenFourteen. There's Big Jack (here pictured with Gaz), Medium Jack, and Little Jack ~ we got to see all three as they bade us a cheery farewell later.
Big Jack and Gaz:
Here I must add an apology to Gaz's wife for delaying him in chit chat. He was on his way home to cook a meal for his wife. There are pluses and minuses to being married to a chef: the minus, long, late hours (especially when engaged in conversation with guests!), and the plus ~ he comes home and cooks you a meal. I think the plus outweighs the minus. And congratulations to both of them on their new baby.
I'd recommend this restaurant if you are in Dublin (obviously just stopping over on your way to Donegal!).
You can contact them by email at margaretbutler1014@gmail.com (Margaret wasn't there this time but she was last time and she's good craic too), telephone 00353 (0)1 8054877 or view their website and read more about them at http://www.restaurtant1014.com
DARREN AND HIS AMAZING DISCO TAXI!
So. We came to Dublin last night, he to attend to some business in the city today, me to go to the catering wholesalers to pick up my order of dishes and baby high chair for Daisy Cottage.
I had booked to eat at Restaurant TenFourteen, Clontarf (named after the Battle of Clontarf in yes, you've guessed it, 1014). I booked this restaurant because we'd been there a couple of weeks ago and had enjoyed it so much we couldn't wait to get back. But more about Restaurant TenFourteen later.
I had booked the table for 9pm and we arrived in our hotel carpark with about 15 minutes to spare. We were going to whiz in, sign in, and pop out and grab a taxi to Clontarf a few miles away.
As we parked my husband saw a taxi pulling up in front of the hotel, and without so much as a backward glance at me off he went, to book it. He asked the guy to wait for us to sign in and then take us to Clontarf. I was a bit peeved - I thought it was one of those uncomfortable mini bus type of things which have these slippy seated bench type seating. And the thought of having to slip and slide along all the way to Clontarf was not an ideal start to the night! Why do so many of these vehicles have that slippy 'leatherette' stuff on the seats? It's a mystery. And not one I care to ponder on for too long.
Anyway, I hadn't time to say much as we were in such a hurry to be on time for our booking. And I'm so glad I didn't get husband to cancel the 'mini bus' type taxi because if I had I would have missed a real gem! And a lot of laughs.
He and I got into the back of the taxi ~ not at as it turned out a mini bus at all, but a plush, comfortable people carrier ~ and the first thing I noticed, with a huge sigh of relief, that it had real seats. And ones with material and not that horrid slippy stuff. The next thing I noticed was row of disco lights - you know the kind that they used to have when discos were discos and not clubs? My husband and I both burst out laughing and then got chatting to the driver asking him what the story was with the lights. He said that he'd had the idea last year to have a 'disco taxi' and that since he started it had proved a great success. Lots of bookings for students attending their proms, party nights out, etc.
Of course the first thing I did was whip out my ever present camera and here's the disco taxi:
Darren was saying that what he did was put the disco lights on and then played music as chosen by his passengers and that he was in the process of buying 5,000 tunes to give a bigger option to his passengers. Sounds good. And I have to say, there was something mad as a box of frogs, but super fun, whizzing through the Dublin traffic with disco lights flashing and music playing. Honestly great fun. Made all the better by Darren's witty banter.
He was telling us that the next thing he wanted was a karaoke taxi. Once again, mad as a box of frogs but I bet it will be the success Darren's Disco Taxi is!
As an aside, on the way to Dublin earlier in the evening. we were listening to Dave Fanning on the radio. He was chatting to some guy who has written a book on the history of karaoke and the guy was saying about the man who invented it. As is the way with many inventions, he didn't actually make money on his invention, having given up hope of making money and selling out just before it kicked off big time. But what that inventor of the karaoke machine was making money at was, and I find this extremely odd, selling machines that kill the cockroaches that apparently like to make their home in karaoke machines. Go figure. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on this link and scrolling down to How Karaoke Conquered the World: www.rte.ie/arts/drivetimewithdave
Back to Disco Darren. Arriving at the restaurant, thankfully with the disco lights off again, I wanted a pic of Darren to add here but he all of a sudden came over unexpectedly bashful. He said he'd come back for us when we were ready if we wanted and so that was the taxi back to the hotel sorted. And I thought, I'll get your pic on the way home.
On the way home we learned more about Disco Darren. It turns out that Disco Darren has more strings to his bow - he enjoys trap racing. I think there is another name for it but I'm unsure of the correct term so trap racing will have to do. We were chatting about racing horses and I told him about taking pics of men doing just this on Rosnowlagh Beach, Donegal. Here's my pics of the horses and the trap to give you an idea of Darren's hobby:
.JPG)
Back to Darren's pic. As I knew I would, I got him to pose, albeit reluctantly, before we left him and here is Disco Darren:
.JPG)
If you are in Dublin, I'd highly recommend this guy - he's great fun, charges the normal rate, and you don't HAVE to have the disco lights going. But you should, it'll make you smile.
If you want to book Disco Darren for a trip around Dublin he gave me permission to publish his number and you can contact him on 086-3676112. Unfortuately he hasn't got an email for you to contact him via email ~ he's a typical Irish fella and depends on his mum for this. Hello Disco Darren's mum! You raised a great son!
I had booked to eat at Restaurant TenFourteen, Clontarf (named after the Battle of Clontarf in yes, you've guessed it, 1014). I booked this restaurant because we'd been there a couple of weeks ago and had enjoyed it so much we couldn't wait to get back. But more about Restaurant TenFourteen later.
I had booked the table for 9pm and we arrived in our hotel carpark with about 15 minutes to spare. We were going to whiz in, sign in, and pop out and grab a taxi to Clontarf a few miles away.
As we parked my husband saw a taxi pulling up in front of the hotel, and without so much as a backward glance at me off he went, to book it. He asked the guy to wait for us to sign in and then take us to Clontarf. I was a bit peeved - I thought it was one of those uncomfortable mini bus type of things which have these slippy seated bench type seating. And the thought of having to slip and slide along all the way to Clontarf was not an ideal start to the night! Why do so many of these vehicles have that slippy 'leatherette' stuff on the seats? It's a mystery. And not one I care to ponder on for too long.
Anyway, I hadn't time to say much as we were in such a hurry to be on time for our booking. And I'm so glad I didn't get husband to cancel the 'mini bus' type taxi because if I had I would have missed a real gem! And a lot of laughs.
He and I got into the back of the taxi ~ not at as it turned out a mini bus at all, but a plush, comfortable people carrier ~ and the first thing I noticed, with a huge sigh of relief, that it had real seats. And ones with material and not that horrid slippy stuff. The next thing I noticed was row of disco lights - you know the kind that they used to have when discos were discos and not clubs? My husband and I both burst out laughing and then got chatting to the driver asking him what the story was with the lights. He said that he'd had the idea last year to have a 'disco taxi' and that since he started it had proved a great success. Lots of bookings for students attending their proms, party nights out, etc.
Of course the first thing I did was whip out my ever present camera and here's the disco taxi:
Darren was saying that what he did was put the disco lights on and then played music as chosen by his passengers and that he was in the process of buying 5,000 tunes to give a bigger option to his passengers. Sounds good. And I have to say, there was something mad as a box of frogs, but super fun, whizzing through the Dublin traffic with disco lights flashing and music playing. Honestly great fun. Made all the better by Darren's witty banter.
He was telling us that the next thing he wanted was a karaoke taxi. Once again, mad as a box of frogs but I bet it will be the success Darren's Disco Taxi is!
As an aside, on the way to Dublin earlier in the evening. we were listening to Dave Fanning on the radio. He was chatting to some guy who has written a book on the history of karaoke and the guy was saying about the man who invented it. As is the way with many inventions, he didn't actually make money on his invention, having given up hope of making money and selling out just before it kicked off big time. But what that inventor of the karaoke machine was making money at was, and I find this extremely odd, selling machines that kill the cockroaches that apparently like to make their home in karaoke machines. Go figure. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on this link and scrolling down to How Karaoke Conquered the World: www.rte.ie/arts/drivetimewithdave
Back to Disco Darren. Arriving at the restaurant, thankfully with the disco lights off again, I wanted a pic of Darren to add here but he all of a sudden came over unexpectedly bashful. He said he'd come back for us when we were ready if we wanted and so that was the taxi back to the hotel sorted. And I thought, I'll get your pic on the way home.
On the way home we learned more about Disco Darren. It turns out that Disco Darren has more strings to his bow - he enjoys trap racing. I think there is another name for it but I'm unsure of the correct term so trap racing will have to do. We were chatting about racing horses and I told him about taking pics of men doing just this on Rosnowlagh Beach, Donegal. Here's my pics of the horses and the trap to give you an idea of Darren's hobby:
.JPG)
Back to Darren's pic. As I knew I would, I got him to pose, albeit reluctantly, before we left him and here is Disco Darren:
.JPG)
If you are in Dublin, I'd highly recommend this guy - he's great fun, charges the normal rate, and you don't HAVE to have the disco lights going. But you should, it'll make you smile.
If you want to book Disco Darren for a trip around Dublin he gave me permission to publish his number and you can contact him on 086-3676112. Unfortuately he hasn't got an email for you to contact him via email ~ he's a typical Irish fella and depends on his mum for this. Hello Disco Darren's mum! You raised a great son!
Monday 9 March 2009
OOPS! I DID IT AGAIN! AND AGAIN!
Attend the car boot sale that is.
I have to come clean and admit that I have been a couple of times recently. Is there such a thing as CBA ~ Car Boot Anonymous, if so, my name is Catherine ... and I am a car boot addict.
And here comes the excuse: what happened was that I wanted voile for the windows in Daisy Cottage and I remembered dealing with a lady at our local car boot a number of years ago when I was looking for a large amount of voile. So, off we went a couple of Saturdays ago ostensibly to find voile at good prices.
Of course I had to visit 'our woman' (I would call her 'our lady' but that is a totally different person to many), anyway, i refer to the lovely lady who runs the stall I like best. And there she was, just where we'd left her with (hopefully) lots of goodies for me to buy I thought. Husband had a good old moan on the way to the stall "gonna give her a heap of the stuff you have lying in boxes" grumble, grumble, grumble, and so on.
Sadly there wasn't lots of things I was interested in but I did find these dotey fairy reliefs. Is that the correct term? Sounds right to me but I'm not 100% sure. Okay, the one on the right has slightly dodgy looking legs but we're not all perfect.
I also bought this cute litte ornament because I love blue tits ~ we always hang bags of nuts outside our house and it is such a joy to watch the blue tits feeding. The funny thing about this ornament is that my mum has a penchant for similar ornaments and for many years my attitude to these things was a, granted childish, 'YUK'. They say you become like your mother, but they are referring to looks, but it seems that as I already do look like my mother, I am now developing her love of the twee! Hey ho, that's the way it goes it seems! And I could do worse ~ she's not that bad, well actually she's pretty great. Her taste in ornaments however can be dodgy ~ and now I'm heading that way too!
I'm not sure if these pieces will go to Daisy Cottage or stay here but we'll see.
As an aside, for all his moaning about car boot sales, my husband still manages to acquire all sorts of rubbish whilst there. Well, I call it rubbish ~ cds for instance when he already owns something like 5,000 cds, and books, when we have a house coming down with books! Which, yes, is a bit rich coming from someone who is addicted to buying knick-knacks when I have a house, an attic and a storage unit packed with the stuff. But in my case I NEED these things. Who needs cds I ask myself! But I don't mind his buying them ~ it keeps him busy while I wander around checking incase there is anything I NEED.
So, after leaving 'our woman', I went in search of 'the lady with the voile', but could I find her? No! I was up and down the lanes and not a sign of her.
Then it started raining and as I'd only done my hair before leaving home and it was beautifully curl free having used my trusty ghds, rain was the last thing I wanted. Panic! But nearby I spotted a stall with a cover and sought refuge there with the intention of pretending to browse the curtains and so on the seller had. And guess who popped out of the car attached to the covered stall ~ yes, my voile lady. I told her what I was looking for (whilst remaining firmly within the safety of her cover from the rain). She didn't have any voile with her but we had great craic as she tried and tried and tried again to sell me curtains!
I said 'nope, no curtains'. And still she tried. I was laughing at her attempts to achieve a sale, it really was funny. The curtains were so not what I would want. Firstly, I'm not a 'curtain' person ~ we don't have even one pair here at home, and secondly the colours she was proferring ... vile is the word that springs to mind (of course I didn't say that because I would not insult her, but I still thought it). But she did her sales speel in such a good humoured way you didn't feel at all pressured and a lot of it was very tongue in cheek. Honestly, this woman could sell snow to Eskimos she's that good! I actually purchased a fireside rug from her ~ not for me but for my mother, she loves that sort of thing. The woman was happy, I was happy, and later my mum was happy. It's all good!
Back to the voile, the whole point, my voile lady said she'd do her best to have voile the following Saturday. Yippee, I thought, another excuse to come back to the car boot! Reee-sult!
So last Saturday back we went. Only to buy voile you understand. But it would have been be so ungracious not to call to say hello to 'our woman'.
'Our woman', sadly for me and gladly for he, hadn't a lot I wanted. But I did find another relief. I must be into reliefs at the moment. Weird. But this one will be perfect for Daisy Cottage don't you think?
Actually, writing here and taking the pics to add, I have just noticed that the relief of faries and the relief of the poultry have daisies on. Subconsciously picking things with Daisy Cottage in mind I reckon.
She also had some bookends that I wasn't sure about but being stuck for anything else to buy, I got them. Now I'm happy I did. I think they will look nice in Daisy Cottage, perhaps in the window of the living room ~ the window ledges in Daisy Cottage are nearly all very deep, maybe 16" deep - something like that, but certainly wide enough to easily accommodate my bookends and a few books.
Perhaps the close ups of the bookends above are pics of me and he in our dotage? Although even his dotage I can't imagine himself with high waisted red trousers!
Wandering around last Saturday I spotted this brass object on another stall. I thought it was a book holder and thought it would be so perfect for Daisy Cottage. You know, sitting proudly on the worktop holding open a recipe book?
Later on Saturday our great friend was over and I was showing him our purchases. I produced this and said 'isn't this a great book holder'. He laughed and said, no, Catherine, it is NOT book holder. Cue puzzled look. It seems it is actually a thing (sorry no name) for holding either a nice painting or a mirror perhaps. You learn something new every day. But I was megga annoyed! I don't need a mirror holder! Or a painting holder for that matter! But then it struck me! My relief of the rooster and poultry might look very nice on it. And it would look super in the diner window in the kitchen/diner of Daisy Cottage. Perfect.
And all's well that ends well. I have the bits and bobs I didn't actually want but am now glad I got. And another excuse back to next weeks car boot sale!
Oh, I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE car boot sales!
I have to come clean and admit that I have been a couple of times recently. Is there such a thing as CBA ~ Car Boot Anonymous, if so, my name is Catherine ... and I am a car boot addict.
And here comes the excuse: what happened was that I wanted voile for the windows in Daisy Cottage and I remembered dealing with a lady at our local car boot a number of years ago when I was looking for a large amount of voile. So, off we went a couple of Saturdays ago ostensibly to find voile at good prices.
Of course I had to visit 'our woman' (I would call her 'our lady' but that is a totally different person to many), anyway, i refer to the lovely lady who runs the stall I like best. And there she was, just where we'd left her with (hopefully) lots of goodies for me to buy I thought. Husband had a good old moan on the way to the stall "gonna give her a heap of the stuff you have lying in boxes" grumble, grumble, grumble, and so on.
Sadly there wasn't lots of things I was interested in but I did find these dotey fairy reliefs. Is that the correct term? Sounds right to me but I'm not 100% sure. Okay, the one on the right has slightly dodgy looking legs but we're not all perfect.
I also bought this cute litte ornament because I love blue tits ~ we always hang bags of nuts outside our house and it is such a joy to watch the blue tits feeding. The funny thing about this ornament is that my mum has a penchant for similar ornaments and for many years my attitude to these things was a, granted childish, 'YUK'. They say you become like your mother, but they are referring to looks, but it seems that as I already do look like my mother, I am now developing her love of the twee! Hey ho, that's the way it goes it seems! And I could do worse ~ she's not that bad, well actually she's pretty great. Her taste in ornaments however can be dodgy ~ and now I'm heading that way too!
I'm not sure if these pieces will go to Daisy Cottage or stay here but we'll see.
As an aside, for all his moaning about car boot sales, my husband still manages to acquire all sorts of rubbish whilst there. Well, I call it rubbish ~ cds for instance when he already owns something like 5,000 cds, and books, when we have a house coming down with books! Which, yes, is a bit rich coming from someone who is addicted to buying knick-knacks when I have a house, an attic and a storage unit packed with the stuff. But in my case I NEED these things. Who needs cds I ask myself! But I don't mind his buying them ~ it keeps him busy while I wander around checking incase there is anything I NEED.
So, after leaving 'our woman', I went in search of 'the lady with the voile', but could I find her? No! I was up and down the lanes and not a sign of her.
Then it started raining and as I'd only done my hair before leaving home and it was beautifully curl free having used my trusty ghds, rain was the last thing I wanted. Panic! But nearby I spotted a stall with a cover and sought refuge there with the intention of pretending to browse the curtains and so on the seller had. And guess who popped out of the car attached to the covered stall ~ yes, my voile lady. I told her what I was looking for (whilst remaining firmly within the safety of her cover from the rain). She didn't have any voile with her but we had great craic as she tried and tried and tried again to sell me curtains!
I said 'nope, no curtains'. And still she tried. I was laughing at her attempts to achieve a sale, it really was funny. The curtains were so not what I would want. Firstly, I'm not a 'curtain' person ~ we don't have even one pair here at home, and secondly the colours she was proferring ... vile is the word that springs to mind (of course I didn't say that because I would not insult her, but I still thought it). But she did her sales speel in such a good humoured way you didn't feel at all pressured and a lot of it was very tongue in cheek. Honestly, this woman could sell snow to Eskimos she's that good! I actually purchased a fireside rug from her ~ not for me but for my mother, she loves that sort of thing. The woman was happy, I was happy, and later my mum was happy. It's all good!
Back to the voile, the whole point, my voile lady said she'd do her best to have voile the following Saturday. Yippee, I thought, another excuse to come back to the car boot! Reee-sult!
So last Saturday back we went. Only to buy voile you understand. But it would have been be so ungracious not to call to say hello to 'our woman'.
'Our woman', sadly for me and gladly for he, hadn't a lot I wanted. But I did find another relief. I must be into reliefs at the moment. Weird. But this one will be perfect for Daisy Cottage don't you think?
Actually, writing here and taking the pics to add, I have just noticed that the relief of faries and the relief of the poultry have daisies on. Subconsciously picking things with Daisy Cottage in mind I reckon.
She also had some bookends that I wasn't sure about but being stuck for anything else to buy, I got them. Now I'm happy I did. I think they will look nice in Daisy Cottage, perhaps in the window of the living room ~ the window ledges in Daisy Cottage are nearly all very deep, maybe 16" deep - something like that, but certainly wide enough to easily accommodate my bookends and a few books.
Perhaps the close ups of the bookends above are pics of me and he in our dotage? Although even his dotage I can't imagine himself with high waisted red trousers!
Wandering around last Saturday I spotted this brass object on another stall. I thought it was a book holder and thought it would be so perfect for Daisy Cottage. You know, sitting proudly on the worktop holding open a recipe book?
Later on Saturday our great friend was over and I was showing him our purchases. I produced this and said 'isn't this a great book holder'. He laughed and said, no, Catherine, it is NOT book holder. Cue puzzled look. It seems it is actually a thing (sorry no name) for holding either a nice painting or a mirror perhaps. You learn something new every day. But I was megga annoyed! I don't need a mirror holder! Or a painting holder for that matter! But then it struck me! My relief of the rooster and poultry might look very nice on it. And it would look super in the diner window in the kitchen/diner of Daisy Cottage. Perfect.
And all's well that ends well. I have the bits and bobs I didn't actually want but am now glad I got. And another excuse back to next weeks car boot sale!
Oh, I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE car boot sales!
RED!
I love the colour red. Bright, vibrant cherry red. And as a result I have bought a number of items in this glorious colour for Daisy Cottage. It all started so innocently ~ I saw a red leather (not real leather for those of you who are against animals being skinned for sofas) suite for the living room and thought 'perfect'. When I had that bought I thought the red 'chandellier' style lamp shade I have in our side hall here at home would go perfectly and in due course this will be 'stolen' from it's current location and moved to Daisy Cottage.
MY RED 'CHANDELLIER'.
Then my mum bought a new carpet for her living room and it is the most wonderful red. Initially I was going to go for a more neutral cappuccino coloured carpet for the stairs but once I saw the one my mum bought I thought it would be perfect for Daisy Cottage. Anyone standing in the hall in Daisy Cottage can see throught the glass door into the living room and the red sofa and I thought that along with the black and white tiles in the hall, a cherry red carpet, like my mums, on the stairs would be the thing to bring it all together.
So on Saturday I went searching for a red carpet and although the store didn't have the exact carpet my mum has, they had a less expensive one but in an equally bright red. I'm not sure whether or not the idea of a scarlet stair carpet would alarm some but I'm sure with the netural wall colour, the black and white tiles, and the age of the house it will look just gorgeous and in keeping.
SAMPLE OF CARPET
The red has spread through to the kitchen diner a little too. I found these really nice ceramic jars for tea, coffee, and sugar. They are plain white with a red lid and a pretty red poppy painted on the side. Lovely.
And then at the weekend I had the good luck to acquire from a friend, free of charge, a kitchen press. It is one of those old type from around the '50s/'60s ~ you might know the kind ~ where you pulled down a leaf 'to butter the bread'.
Anyway, I had the idea to paint it in scarlet, glossy paint. And in doing that, I don't think I'm far from the traditional cupboards. I remember my great-uncles having one in their kitchen and it was painted bright blue and in my husband's home as a child they had one in blue and white and at another time a yellow one. For me it's going to be scarlet. I think inside I will cover the shelves with red & white gingham style sticky back plastic (this was traditional too).
My scarlet cupboard will be a splash of lively colour against an otherwise quite neutral background. Plus it will give me extra storage space for all those flipping glasses I just had to have!
UPDATE: I have to have a highchair in the house both for our own use and for guests who may bring babies. But what I didn't want was one of those light, and in my opinion, unsafe highchairs of course and I found a commercial highchair for use in cafes/restaurants. It's made by Rubbermaid, has a wide leg base so very stable, it's made of moulded rubber and very tough and very easy to clean, and best of all, my catering company emailed me today to say they have it in ~ you've guessed it ~ red. Perfect.
MY RED 'CHANDELLIER'.
Then my mum bought a new carpet for her living room and it is the most wonderful red. Initially I was going to go for a more neutral cappuccino coloured carpet for the stairs but once I saw the one my mum bought I thought it would be perfect for Daisy Cottage. Anyone standing in the hall in Daisy Cottage can see throught the glass door into the living room and the red sofa and I thought that along with the black and white tiles in the hall, a cherry red carpet, like my mums, on the stairs would be the thing to bring it all together.
So on Saturday I went searching for a red carpet and although the store didn't have the exact carpet my mum has, they had a less expensive one but in an equally bright red. I'm not sure whether or not the idea of a scarlet stair carpet would alarm some but I'm sure with the netural wall colour, the black and white tiles, and the age of the house it will look just gorgeous and in keeping.
SAMPLE OF CARPET
The red has spread through to the kitchen diner a little too. I found these really nice ceramic jars for tea, coffee, and sugar. They are plain white with a red lid and a pretty red poppy painted on the side. Lovely.
And then at the weekend I had the good luck to acquire from a friend, free of charge, a kitchen press. It is one of those old type from around the '50s/'60s ~ you might know the kind ~ where you pulled down a leaf 'to butter the bread'.
Anyway, I had the idea to paint it in scarlet, glossy paint. And in doing that, I don't think I'm far from the traditional cupboards. I remember my great-uncles having one in their kitchen and it was painted bright blue and in my husband's home as a child they had one in blue and white and at another time a yellow one. For me it's going to be scarlet. I think inside I will cover the shelves with red & white gingham style sticky back plastic (this was traditional too).
My scarlet cupboard will be a splash of lively colour against an otherwise quite neutral background. Plus it will give me extra storage space for all those flipping glasses I just had to have!
UPDATE: I have to have a highchair in the house both for our own use and for guests who may bring babies. But what I didn't want was one of those light, and in my opinion, unsafe highchairs of course and I found a commercial highchair for use in cafes/restaurants. It's made by Rubbermaid, has a wide leg base so very stable, it's made of moulded rubber and very tough and very easy to clean, and best of all, my catering company emailed me today to say they have it in ~ you've guessed it ~ red. Perfect.
GLASSES
I went shopping for dishes etc. in a cash & carry wholesalers on my way back from Dublin last week. I wanted to check on what was avaiable and what suited us. So, I managed to find some very nice white dishes which I'm going to go for. Then myself and husband decided to go into the 'glasses' area. My plan was to buy wine glasses and tumblers for juice and other drinks. But the array of what was a available was vast - a very bad thing for me! Too many choices, too many 'ooo, I could buy those, and those, and those ...' and convince myself that Daisy Cottage NEEDS all these glasses. And true to form that is what happened. The guy coming around with us thought I was slightly mad to have such a choice of glasses for a holiday rental, but hey ho.
So, we found some very acceptable wine glasses ~ not too big, but certainly not those tooty wee glasses you sometimes still see in cafes. Ok, wine glasses. Check. Next we need tumblers but after much discussion we went for 'high balls'. These are suitable for juice, long cool drinks with room for ice and of course g&ts (total necessity in any civilised house in my opinion). Ok g&t glasses sorted.
Next up, I wanted Irish coffee mugs. The man really thought I'd lost the plot here. But think about it, would you want to drink an Irish coffee out of a pottery mug. Of course not! So Irish coffee glasses. Check.
And a must have - champagne glasses. At this stage the man said 'just how much are you charging for this holiday rental!!!?'. But, undeterred, I insisted we would need them. Look, when people are on their holidays they might decide to open a bottle of fizz and just where would they be without champagne glasses! Stuck. That's where! So our guests will be able to open bottles of fizz at will. Well, providing they bring it with them ~ I'm not that magnanimous!
And brandy glasses - a nice brandy in front of the fire after a relaxing meal. Perfect way to end the evening.
I also decided we absolutely need sundae glasses and purchased a box of them. Well, you know how nice they will look filled with fruit and ice cream on a sunny day.
And on the subject of glasses, of another kind. I was in one of those pound shops or euro shops and saw these spectacles of varying degrees of strength. I thought it would be a good idea to buy a number of different pairs to leave in Daisy Cottage for use by any guest who might have forgotten his or her specs. I can't get over the idea of pay a couple of euro for a pair of spectacles - how good is that?
So, Daisy Cottage is now well stocked with all the glasses a person could need.
So, we found some very acceptable wine glasses ~ not too big, but certainly not those tooty wee glasses you sometimes still see in cafes. Ok, wine glasses. Check. Next we need tumblers but after much discussion we went for 'high balls'. These are suitable for juice, long cool drinks with room for ice and of course g&ts (total necessity in any civilised house in my opinion). Ok g&t glasses sorted.
Next up, I wanted Irish coffee mugs. The man really thought I'd lost the plot here. But think about it, would you want to drink an Irish coffee out of a pottery mug. Of course not! So Irish coffee glasses. Check.
And a must have - champagne glasses. At this stage the man said 'just how much are you charging for this holiday rental!!!?'. But, undeterred, I insisted we would need them. Look, when people are on their holidays they might decide to open a bottle of fizz and just where would they be without champagne glasses! Stuck. That's where! So our guests will be able to open bottles of fizz at will. Well, providing they bring it with them ~ I'm not that magnanimous!
And brandy glasses - a nice brandy in front of the fire after a relaxing meal. Perfect way to end the evening.
I also decided we absolutely need sundae glasses and purchased a box of them. Well, you know how nice they will look filled with fruit and ice cream on a sunny day.
And on the subject of glasses, of another kind. I was in one of those pound shops or euro shops and saw these spectacles of varying degrees of strength. I thought it would be a good idea to buy a number of different pairs to leave in Daisy Cottage for use by any guest who might have forgotten his or her specs. I can't get over the idea of pay a couple of euro for a pair of spectacles - how good is that?
So, Daisy Cottage is now well stocked with all the glasses a person could need.
Saturday 7 March 2009
MR. MCGINTY, JFK, & AN TANAISTE
On Friday we were going to Daisy Cottage after my husband had completed a business trip to a nearby town. I decided to stop off in Donegal Town because I wanted to buy those lovely old style lace mats for putting on top of our chests of drawers in Daisy Cottage. I had hoped that a shop in the town, 'Wool 'n' Things', might have just the thing. I had been in this shop before and so I knew it was a little treasure trove for those who enjoy knitting, crocheting, etc.
To my dismay I found that the gentleman who owns the shop, Mr. McGinty, no longer stocks my much wanted lace mats. Even though he stocks nearly everything else including tweed caps, a plethora of aran jumpers, tweed waistcoats, etc. It really is a veritable treasure trove. Except for lace mats of course.
But my disappointment was soon fogotten as we got chatting - what I had intended to be a 10 minute visit to his shop turned into a 2 hour visit! His banter and chat and knowledge of all things local made me want to hear more.
We got chatting about fitted kitchens and as we have only recently had a new kitchen fitted in Daisy Cottage and he was in the process of having a new on fitted, we had lots to chat about. We compared notes on who we used (we had used the same kitchen company) and then on to worktops so I recommended the company we used in Mountcharles for a great job well done with our granite worktop. It turns out that Mr. McGinty and his wife also own a B&B ~ the kitchen of which is being renewed ~ and he quickly brought his B&B up on the screen of his laptop for me to view. It's a beautiful house set on the shores of Lough Eske. What a location! I would imagine, given Mr. McGinty's banter and the fabulous location, many people have had happy stays with Mr. and Mrs. McGinty. The house is called 'Ardeevin' and if anyone is looking for a B&B in the Donegal Town area - just type Ardeeving B&B Donegal Town into your search engine because I can't get the link to work here.
But I felt I had to point out to Mr. McGinty that his photographs of Lough Eske on his website were not as good as my own pics of Lough Eske. We jokingly argued about this but he I think I won him over and he had me place one of my Lough Eske pics as his screensaver!
I persuaded him to pose for a pic, and after a swift comb of his already tidy hair, here is Mr. McGinty. Do call into him if you are in Donegal Town - I promise you'll enjoy the craic and maybe even pick up a very nice Aran jumper or tweed cap to take home.
After the photo taking, my phone rang and it was my husband who was back in town and ready to collect me for our trip to Daisy Cottage. He found it most amusing that 2 hours later I was still in the same shop he'd dropped me off at. However, when he parked and came into the shop, he too enjoyed a while in the company of Mr. McGinty so he understood why I had paused so long.
But the time to move on was upon us and we bade a fond farewell and left the cosy shop and stepped out into pouring rain. I popped into a Euro shop near Mr. McGinty's and bought a rather snazzy polka dot umbrella for €2. And weirdly ~ what do you think they sold in that Euro shop? Lace mats! Ok, they're not the old real lace but they're not bad (I am trying to convince myself ...). Anyway, I bought a few and will decide later.
After stopping off for a bite of lunch we headed back to the car park. On the way, we passed this little antique shop ~ into which I wanted to go but into which I could not go. And not for the usual reason that husband would be grizzling about the fact I already have way too many bits and pieces, but rather that it was closed. But the window ~ oh my, a pic of JFK and Jackie O together with, for some bizarre reason, lots of pics of our Tanaiste, Mary Coughlan all scattered amongst the items for sale. I'm not really sure what the owner was trying to convey to possible customers but it made me smile anyway.
To my dismay I found that the gentleman who owns the shop, Mr. McGinty, no longer stocks my much wanted lace mats. Even though he stocks nearly everything else including tweed caps, a plethora of aran jumpers, tweed waistcoats, etc. It really is a veritable treasure trove. Except for lace mats of course.
But my disappointment was soon fogotten as we got chatting - what I had intended to be a 10 minute visit to his shop turned into a 2 hour visit! His banter and chat and knowledge of all things local made me want to hear more.
We got chatting about fitted kitchens and as we have only recently had a new kitchen fitted in Daisy Cottage and he was in the process of having a new on fitted, we had lots to chat about. We compared notes on who we used (we had used the same kitchen company) and then on to worktops so I recommended the company we used in Mountcharles for a great job well done with our granite worktop. It turns out that Mr. McGinty and his wife also own a B&B ~ the kitchen of which is being renewed ~ and he quickly brought his B&B up on the screen of his laptop for me to view. It's a beautiful house set on the shores of Lough Eske. What a location! I would imagine, given Mr. McGinty's banter and the fabulous location, many people have had happy stays with Mr. and Mrs. McGinty. The house is called 'Ardeevin' and if anyone is looking for a B&B in the Donegal Town area - just type Ardeeving B&B Donegal Town into your search engine because I can't get the link to work here.
But I felt I had to point out to Mr. McGinty that his photographs of Lough Eske on his website were not as good as my own pics of Lough Eske. We jokingly argued about this but he I think I won him over and he had me place one of my Lough Eske pics as his screensaver!
I persuaded him to pose for a pic, and after a swift comb of his already tidy hair, here is Mr. McGinty. Do call into him if you are in Donegal Town - I promise you'll enjoy the craic and maybe even pick up a very nice Aran jumper or tweed cap to take home.
After the photo taking, my phone rang and it was my husband who was back in town and ready to collect me for our trip to Daisy Cottage. He found it most amusing that 2 hours later I was still in the same shop he'd dropped me off at. However, when he parked and came into the shop, he too enjoyed a while in the company of Mr. McGinty so he understood why I had paused so long.
But the time to move on was upon us and we bade a fond farewell and left the cosy shop and stepped out into pouring rain. I popped into a Euro shop near Mr. McGinty's and bought a rather snazzy polka dot umbrella for €2. And weirdly ~ what do you think they sold in that Euro shop? Lace mats! Ok, they're not the old real lace but they're not bad (I am trying to convince myself ...). Anyway, I bought a few and will decide later.
After stopping off for a bite of lunch we headed back to the car park. On the way, we passed this little antique shop ~ into which I wanted to go but into which I could not go. And not for the usual reason that husband would be grizzling about the fact I already have way too many bits and pieces, but rather that it was closed. But the window ~ oh my, a pic of JFK and Jackie O together with, for some bizarre reason, lots of pics of our Tanaiste, Mary Coughlan all scattered amongst the items for sale. I'm not really sure what the owner was trying to convey to possible customers but it made me smile anyway.
Monday 2 March 2009
THE KITCHEN
I finally got around to taking updated pics of the kitchen. I love the units and think the vanilla colour with the black granite worktop looks really well. The dishwasher, tap (which I've yet to chose!) and double fridge/freezer just has to be fitted and the kitchen is ready.
I have incorported lots of drawers of varying sizes as I think storing stuff, and more importantly, retrieving stuff from, drawers is so much easier than poking around in the back of cupboards. I also chose to do away with "eye-level" units. Kitchen designers please note: they are not eye-level to those of us not 6' tall! I will never bother with these ridiculous, clutter gathering, sky-level units again having taken them out of our own kitchen at home a couple of years ago and finding how much better it is to have everything handy as opposed to having to find a chair to perch on to reach stuff at the back of "eye level" units!
The dishwasher and the fridge/freezer are both shiney black and will complete the vanilla/black theme.
These pics show 3 stages of reaching (nearly) the end result (doncha love before and after pics?!).
.JPG)
I had been worrying that perhaps the 2 tables and 12 kitchen chairs I bought for the dining area might be too big. Yes, I had measured and was almost sure but when the kitchen was full of boxes and debris from the fittings it was hard to imagine. Yesterday we cleared all the debris out and I took this pic from the diner window end of the room. The old pine table to the left of the pic is quite large and though the 2 tables which will replace it are a bit longer, I think there will still be lots of space of comfortable dining. And certainly either side of the table and chairs has lots of space for ease getting into and up from a seat.
To the left of the diner end window (no pic) there is an inverted area into which I have been going to have a cupboard fitted. However, when we moved the antique glass cabinet to the place I had been going to put it (against one of the diner walls at the side), it just looked wrong. My husband had the idea to try it in the space where the fitted unit was to go. It fitted perfectly! So now the glass cabinet will sit in there and I can fill it with lots of little knick-knacks! Perfect!
We had one of our sons with us to help with all the shifting about and he pointed out that the house and furnishings were going to be at the least electic. And he's right, but as I love electic that made me happy.
And speaking of eclectic ... into this country style kitchen with it's antique cabinet, I think I found the perfect lights. I really don't go for those strip lights in the kitchen area and as our ceiling is a little higher than the norm, they would probably be wasted anyway. So, on Saturday when I was searching for a suitable tap (more decisions) I happened to wander into a lighting place, as you do, and I saw these glass light shades with a definate 1950s flavour. I just loved them and I think I will go for them for both the kitchen and dining area.
What to put on the walls? I found some tin 'coke' signs my husband had bought some time back and of course I will use them. But there's lots of wall and I would like to have something on the walls of the dining area. I thought last night that I might try to take a range of food photos and have them framed. I am thinking single fruit or veg in bright colours and maybe mounted on canvas (I'm starting to sound like some frilly sleeved interior designer!). I will have to work on that but in the meantime i think it would fit me better to go off now and ring to arrange delivery of our fridge/freezer and dishwasher!
I have incorported lots of drawers of varying sizes as I think storing stuff, and more importantly, retrieving stuff from, drawers is so much easier than poking around in the back of cupboards. I also chose to do away with "eye-level" units. Kitchen designers please note: they are not eye-level to those of us not 6' tall! I will never bother with these ridiculous, clutter gathering, sky-level units again having taken them out of our own kitchen at home a couple of years ago and finding how much better it is to have everything handy as opposed to having to find a chair to perch on to reach stuff at the back of "eye level" units!
The dishwasher and the fridge/freezer are both shiney black and will complete the vanilla/black theme.
These pics show 3 stages of reaching (nearly) the end result (doncha love before and after pics?!).
.JPG)
I had been worrying that perhaps the 2 tables and 12 kitchen chairs I bought for the dining area might be too big. Yes, I had measured and was almost sure but when the kitchen was full of boxes and debris from the fittings it was hard to imagine. Yesterday we cleared all the debris out and I took this pic from the diner window end of the room. The old pine table to the left of the pic is quite large and though the 2 tables which will replace it are a bit longer, I think there will still be lots of space of comfortable dining. And certainly either side of the table and chairs has lots of space for ease getting into and up from a seat.
To the left of the diner end window (no pic) there is an inverted area into which I have been going to have a cupboard fitted. However, when we moved the antique glass cabinet to the place I had been going to put it (against one of the diner walls at the side), it just looked wrong. My husband had the idea to try it in the space where the fitted unit was to go. It fitted perfectly! So now the glass cabinet will sit in there and I can fill it with lots of little knick-knacks! Perfect!
We had one of our sons with us to help with all the shifting about and he pointed out that the house and furnishings were going to be at the least electic. And he's right, but as I love electic that made me happy.
And speaking of eclectic ... into this country style kitchen with it's antique cabinet, I think I found the perfect lights. I really don't go for those strip lights in the kitchen area and as our ceiling is a little higher than the norm, they would probably be wasted anyway. So, on Saturday when I was searching for a suitable tap (more decisions) I happened to wander into a lighting place, as you do, and I saw these glass light shades with a definate 1950s flavour. I just loved them and I think I will go for them for both the kitchen and dining area.
What to put on the walls? I found some tin 'coke' signs my husband had bought some time back and of course I will use them. But there's lots of wall and I would like to have something on the walls of the dining area. I thought last night that I might try to take a range of food photos and have them framed. I am thinking single fruit or veg in bright colours and maybe mounted on canvas (I'm starting to sound like some frilly sleeved interior designer!). I will have to work on that but in the meantime i think it would fit me better to go off now and ring to arrange delivery of our fridge/freezer and dishwasher!
PATIOS, BBQS & HONEYSUCKLE
On Saturday we went looking for outdoor furniture for the patio area of Dunkineely. I am so excited to think we are near enough to completion to start thinking about the outside areas. Anyway, I had been told of a man near Letterkenny who makes strong wooden furniture so took a trip to his place.
When we got there we discovered that not only does he make furniture but he makes trellis and suchlike to finish off the garden or patio. His garden has various displays he made up and I fell in love with a great trellised area with honeysuckle growing up it - imagine the lovely scent on a summers evening? I could and decided I want that!
He will also make the furniture any size his customer needs which is great for us because the standard bench table seats 6 whereas we need it to seat 10 to 12 for enough space for both our family when visiting and also for our future guests to have space to dine al fresco too. The patio area measures 17' x 17' so that should give us ample space.
I am going to email him photos of the patio today and tell him what I want for our area and he will make out a plan for approval, and the price being right, we will roll with it immediately.
And once that is all in place, the bbq is built, the warmer evenings to arrive and we're ready for summer bbqs and long, lazy evenings sipping cool wine under the honeysuckle. Ahhhh ...
When we got there we discovered that not only does he make furniture but he makes trellis and suchlike to finish off the garden or patio. His garden has various displays he made up and I fell in love with a great trellised area with honeysuckle growing up it - imagine the lovely scent on a summers evening? I could and decided I want that!
He will also make the furniture any size his customer needs which is great for us because the standard bench table seats 6 whereas we need it to seat 10 to 12 for enough space for both our family when visiting and also for our future guests to have space to dine al fresco too. The patio area measures 17' x 17' so that should give us ample space.
I am going to email him photos of the patio today and tell him what I want for our area and he will make out a plan for approval, and the price being right, we will roll with it immediately.
And once that is all in place, the bbq is built, the warmer evenings to arrive and we're ready for summer bbqs and long, lazy evenings sipping cool wine under the honeysuckle. Ahhhh ...
IRISH WEATHER & IRISH ROADS
We went to Daisy Cottage yesterday and as those who read this blog will know, I always have my camera handy. Sometimes, to pass the time, I take pics of our Irish roads. Perhaps I need to get out more when I get out!
Anyway, as it happens, yesterday's pics show our Irish weather so well. We left Letterkeny with blue skies, sunshine and fluffy white clouds, a mile or two out of town grey rain clouds were gathering and so we had rain shortly thereafter which lasted for about half an hour of our journey.
Nearing Donegal Town the rain was coming down in torrents and, much to the amusement of our grandson in the back of the car, I started saying: blue skies - no rain repeatedly whilst waving my arms around as if casting a spell. He thought this very funny - until, as I had hoped, blue skies came back loudly supported by lots of sunshine! While I reluctantly have to admit it wasn't my skill with the weather that brought back the blue skies ('though I do believe in positive thought in such things), it certainly shows how quickly our weather changes.
Above I have added a series of pics taken along our journey which takes us from Letterkenny to the Ballybofey road, then onto Barnes Mor gap and on to the road near Dunkineely with the sea alongside. These show not only our changebale weather, but also our very varying road widths from 2 lane nearer larger towns to smaller country roads.
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