Chloe hunting wabbits

Dogs and Driving

Took the dogs on their daily drive to Moyne School to drop off Haley and then to the leisure center to walk on the path at the  mall.  Chloe has a tendency to whine in the car, but Haley found the solution to be music.  If music is playing in the car, it calms the pup.  Like that saying, music calms the savage beast!   Mom always said she would play classical music for when school got out, just to calm Jack, er, the kids, when they came home from school!  Bottom line is, it works!

When we take our walk, many people say hello and will stop to pet the dogs.  I am  getting to be known as The American with the Golden Retrievers!

 There is a school nearby that often takes  trips to the park.  About a week ago, three kids came up and asked if the dogs would bite.  I assured them they were friendly and they got pets and the kids  asked their names.  When I said Chloe, the girl said "That's MY name!"  and they all laughed and ran off to play.  Today there were more kids who wanted to pet the dogs, and  of course, Chloe and her friends were there too.  One boy  said, "I know this is Rugby, but I can't remember the other one's name" and Chloe (the human) smacked him upside the back of his head and said  "It's MY name!"  It was quite funny and we all laughed (including the boy who got smacked) and  again, we went on our merry way.

The dogs are doing quite well.  As you can see from the back garden photos, Chloe likes to bark at the cows.  It makes them run away, but they always come back and they just stare at the house - a little  freaky, but they seem friendly....Chloe has also tracked a bunny living in our yard, and often-times the only part visible on Chloe is her tail sticking out of the shrubbery while she tries in vain to catch the bunny.  I have seen Chloe almost engulfed by the shrub while the bunny hops off the corner of the yard to  wait until we go back inside!  It's like Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd!

Finally found the dog brushes so their coats look much better now, as does my living room floor!  They have both lost weight  due to the exercise they are getting, so have had to increase Rugby's food allotment.  He is already a very skinny golden!  Chloe is looking very svelt and we will keep her that way.  Now for me.....

So  had to fill the car with gas - It's funny because when it's full, the tank reads like 1300 km to empty!  The car takes diesel and I am here to let you know - the diesel pump in the US may be the green one,  but in Ireland, the green pump IS NOT  DIESEL!  Fortunately, I realized the error quick enough not to do any damage to the car - shew!  So for us, the diesel pump is black.

I am learning.  Diesel pump: black; speed limit signs: mean what they say. 

More Rainbows

More cows in the back garden

Walk Through Derrycassin Wood

Sunday morning and we take the dogs on a walk through the woods.  Reminiscent of Glacial Woods in Ringwood, it feels like we are back home with the dogs taking a hike.  Big difference here is that there don't seem to be any rodents, much to Chloe's dismay!  We have been on many walks since we have been here, and have not seen any squirrels, chipmunks, or mice.  Chloe is a champion mouser and has taken her share of mice, chipmunks, rabbits, and moles back home in Illinois, but here in Ireland she has been "skunked"!  We have a rabbit family in the front yard, but they are big enough to escape Chloe and that is good as they are really cute in the yard!  

On our walk in the woods, we saw tons of blackberry bushes, holly, rhododendron, ferns, moss, mushrooms, and a bright yellow fungus!  The woods were once the site of a house and walled garden built in the 1760's. the house no longer stands but the garden wall is still partially intact.  Our vet told me to take a picture of the map at the beginning with my phone, and it turned out to be sage advice as one could get a bit lost on the numerous paths in the woods.

The Dryer

Beautiful sunny week!  Even saw a couple driving a convertible!  With the top down!  That is NOT a common sight in Ireland!  Finally getting almost everything unpacked and put away, so will be able to hang pictures soon.  Yay!  Now onto my continuing observations of ordinary life in Ireland.  

Interesting appliances here.  The dryer is loud and it will rotate, then stop and change direction.  There is a pan that fills with the water that gets pulled out of the clothes, and you have to dump the water out into the sink through a hole in the upper corner.  I assume the dryer's in the US have a tube that disposes of the water as it is pulled out of the clothes. It is rather amazing to see how much water actually comes out of the newly washed clothes!

Cloudless Sky in Longford

Okay, Haley is learning all the school lingo.  Hard copies are hard-covered notebooks, and soft copies are paper-bound notebooks.  She needs a 3 ring binder - I thought no problem, I  have one.  Well, paper sizes here are not the same as back  home - so they  would  stick out the top! I wonder if our  printer will operate okay with Irish size paper?   

Haley has finally got her class schedule worked out and has gotten her school locker. She has found everyone to  be friendly and yesterday she came out of school chatting away with a group of classmates, so it's all coming together.

I can also report that the speed limit signs ARE NOT GUIDELINES!  I am the sad recipient of a speeding ticket...  So today,  I  drove the speed limit and I was passed by 3 people!  They will learn that those signs are NOT just suggested speeds!!!  The worst  part is that the ticket is by camera, so they  mail it to the registered owner, which is Steve's boss!  Oh I will never again succumb to my lead foot!!!

Today  is the third  sunny  day in a row!  It has been in  the  upper 60's though it is expected to cool to the 50's starting  tonight.  Still, it has been lovely for walking the dogs and getting into town to pick up hard copies and soft copies and all those things Haley needs.  I did pay the 2 euro I owed to the key-maker and I can happily report that all the keys are grand!

Off to the school supply store and then to enjoy more of the sunny day (though there are big puffy clouds now!).