FULLY BOOKED

I was recently checking over my Daisy Cottage availability chart that I keep on my kitchen wall at home.  It's handy to have a chart on the wall so that when I get an enquiry I can check at a glance and so respond quickly.

It makes me happy to see many weeks on the chart coloured in, indicating it is booked.  But looking over the chart, a thought struck me and indeed gave me a bit of a jolt ~ there is actually a personal downside to the happy position of being fully booked for June, July all but a few days, and as I write, up to the 21st of August.  How so?  Well the thought that struck me and filled me with dread was the thought that we wouldn't be able to stay there for nearly THREE months this summer!  Last year we had occasional gaps in that period so and so got to stay there from time to time.

I just can't imagine this summer not being able to jump in the car and 'escape' to our lovely Daisy Cottage.  What on earth am I going to do all summer without that slice of relaxation away from day to day work and life!  Well, yes, I will be in Daisy Cottage once a week of course but that will be to clean and make beds and then greet guests but I won't be staying.  In fairness I can't see any future guest lighting up with delight were I to say 'sure we'll just stay too'.  Not a runner.

Daisy Cottage living room with open fire

I'll miss the anticipation of a weekend in Daisy Cottage, arriving down on a Friday night, lighting the fire in the living room, enjoying a meal either in Daisy Cottage or one of the local restaurants, and later wandering next door to Mac's Bar for a few jars and chat with the locals. 

And I'll miss sitting at the kitchen table reading the papers on a Saturday morning with all the windows and doors open and the soft, fresh air flowing through.  I'll miss looking out the diner window watching village life going by as the people of the village take their walks, go to the store, stopping to chat, just the gentle buzz of the village in the early morning sunshine.

I will miss too not being able to walk down the street or drive the few minutes to Killybegs to buy freshly caught fish, maybe enjoying a relaxed lunch in there too.  And of course I'll miss being able to wander the area with my camera.

I embarrassingly have to admit to actually feeling a twinge of jealousy as I leave Daisy Cottage after settling guest in ~ I love it that much! 

So if I feel this way why let Daisy Cottage in the first place?  Well obviously the income helps pay the renovations, the mortgage and other household costs.  But after doing this for a year and the interaction I have had with our guests I know I will continue doing this even after the mortgage is finished, long time though that be. 

And the reason I will continue is that the joy I have felt showing guests around Daisy Cottage when they arrive, the chats we have in the house prior to my leaving them to start their holiday, the interaction I have enjoyed prior to their arrival and then the lovely comments they have left in our guest book upon their departure all more than make up for my not having Daisy Cottage for a while.

We have been blessed with the best guests any holiday home owner could wish for.  As do we, they have loved the house and the area.  And though I never lay down rules ~ I hate rules myself ~ they have all treated Daisy Cottage with the respect it deserves, never removing anything, never damaging anything and always leaving it sparkling clean for me. 

And I'm happy in the knowledge they return home with happy memories of their time in my lovely Daisy Cottage.