White O'Morn Cottage

Lakeside Break...Gone Fishin'

We finally got to spend some time up at the cottage last weekend. The weather was glorious which is unusual so we brought Mam with us to give her a little break away from the city. Here she is relaxing by Garadice lake, it was so peaceful. We will bring our fishing gear next time.

More lake pics

 

 I got a present of some money and spent it all on craft books. I will have to live to be one hundred to make all the lovely things in them. Below is a "Green" one with some great ideas for recycling stuff.

Below is the satin flower I made from the lining of a gift box. A Before & After picture of it.
before.......and after

And a long dress for me made from a duvet cover!

close up of the yoyos, I used old buttons and a broken necklace to decorate them

And I made one for a baby too.

and another one

 

Next one was taken in Carrick-on-Shannon. It shows Angie in front of the smallest church in Ireland. Angie is saying "Do I look big in front of this?"

and here she is attempting a breaking and entering of an old abandoned schoolhouse near Ballinamore
Angie found these fabulous 30's or forties knitting patterns for me in her MIL's house. I love the hairstyles....

...and look at these male models. Both are SMOKING! Would not happen today.

Angie and Ed threw a barbie on the deck of the Old Schoolhouse and we ate ourselves silly. Look at all that food!

It must have smelled really good as we heard a loud rustling noise and a horse and two donkeys invaded the garden. They just burst through the hedge in the background of the picture.
 

 

  

The cottage garden was very overgrown and neglected so I am putting up this old pic of it to remind me what it will be like when I put a few hours of elbow grease into it.

This is one side of it today mid way through my tidy up. Oh how I love to potter in the garden on a sunny day!

I never tire of looking at and taking pictures of the view from the cottage. It looks so wonderful with the gorse in full bloom.....

With that I'll say goodbye for now. Have a lovely weekend! Pam

 

Spring Dreams

Above is a great new site where you can browse online shops in virtual streets. I just LOVE it. Check it out..

http://www.theonlineshoppingtown.co.uk/user/home

Oh how I long to get down to the cottage for a break. As you may know we had a burst pipe that did a lot of damage and so we have not been able to visit until it is all sorted. I have made some new cushions for the new sofa bed we bought for the living room. We only have one bedroom there so it is handy to have a pull out bed for visitors. (above pic was taken last summer)

Below pic shows Pants, the cat snuggling up on the new sofa to get near the open fire. Also shown is my messy crafting storage area. (Note to self...SELF..tidy up) Oh, and do you see the round rose tin? Well, I found that on Etsy and it is from the thirties. Love it...I don't know what I will store in it yet but I'll find something.

I have been trying to get a good photo of Pants but she is all black and....well she has the strangest eyes.....LOL! She moved just as I was taking a photo in low light.

 
 
 

I made the cushions from a chenille bedspread and a flannelette cot sheet. I think these are my favourite colours at the moment.

and here is the before photo of them. Yeah, After first and then Before!

I had lots left so I made a few to sell and give as presents.

This is how the living room window looked before the deluge and will do again.

And this little fairy will be joining the rest of them soon..

I am very busy in work at the moment as it is coming up to submission of portfolios deadline (no exams in our centre, we do applied certs with p/folios built up over the year)

However, I still find time to craft and have so enjoyed making these baby garlands and hats.

And more cute shamrock shoes.

Speaking of beautiful green things here is a sweet little doily I will be using for St Patrick's Day decor. Unusual colour for a doily and that makes it special to me.

Can't get enough of beautiful linens so here is another favourite of mine. It is a linen bread/roll basket.

 

Anyway, I'm hoping to get down to the cottage this coming weekend and put it to rights. I'll leave you with one of my favourite photos taken there. It is of the smaller window in the living room.

I love these deep windows as they are great to display fav items. The little jug on legs was my grandmothers and the wooden sign was given to me by my sis. Teeda, years before when I was only dreaming of having a pretty little cottage one day. It says "Welcome to the Cottage"

Have a lovely weekend.



 

 

Pretty Cottage, Lovely Village, (+ 1 ugly dog) in Beautiful Fenagh

"STOP!" Screeches I.

"Screeeech" went the brakes.

"Wha'?" sez Himself. "

Now this is a conversation that takes place regularly between Himself and Meself when we are driving along in the car. (COMMUNICATION  is the key to a good relationship I always say)

 

"I have GOT  to get a pic of that doty gingerbread cottage for my bloggin' buddies"

So, out I hopped and took it. Very nice too - but could I leave it at one?

 No, of course not.

"I'll get a close up " says I...oblivious of the very curious looking sheepdog that can be seen near the gateposts in above pic. See him?

So I got a bit closer and.....and the shaggin' dog had HIS say...

"WOOF OFF!" says he in Dogaleese (which I understood perfectly... and did)

 

Here is a close up of of the ugly mutt. 

"You mangy hound you - I was only trying to promote Ireland to the tourists abroad...bad cess to ye' anyway" (No, I did not get near  to take it - I blew him up in the safety of Photoshop. Grrrrrhhhh!)

 

Paul had a little bit of a smirk on his face when I got back in..."I thought you considered yourself to be a bit of a dog whisperer?" sez he - all smuglike.

"I am" sez I...."But sure - that fecker was deaf!"

Let the women have the last word...that is the secret of a good relationship.

 

Fenagh in Lovely Leitrim

Fenagh, in County Leitrim it was. We were on our way back from Carrick-on Shannon after collecting the old cooker I showed ye' in last post.

Here are more beauties from the same area...

Below: an old church and graveyard. Still in use.

 

And right next to that was this old ruin of a church and graveyard. No longer in use.

Leitrim is known here as Lovely Leitrim. You can see why. My brother-in -law, - Angie's hubby, Ed, always says "I bought a house in God's Pocket" (see The Old Schoolhouse in my sidebar)... and so he did and so did we.

Below is the ruined church right next to the last one. Church and cemetary not longer in use.

 

Quinn's Bar with its lovely hand painted sign. Very much in use.

 

I love the Irish signposts. Across from Quinn's is this one that shows how we were on our way back from Carrick-0n-Shannon and going back to Ballinamore.

 

Main Street, Fenagh

...not a lot going on. A lovely sleepy Irish village on a quiet weekday. The Abbey Bar must have been a post office at some time as it has both an old phonebox and postbox outside it.

 

Below: The old,concrete, traditional, Irish phonebox. Not many of these left so I had to record it (this one no longe in use)

 So pretty...wouldn't you love to call your beloved in this and whisper sweet nothings in his ear? (Given that he was not hard of hearing like the dog)

 

...and if you preferred to write a love letter to him.... you would post it here.... P & T in the Gaelic script stands for "Posts and Telegraphs"

Ahhhh ....Telegraphs..how lovely.... All gone now. Telegraphs no longer in use.

 

Er...eh...don't know if I should mention this...but look at the shadow at bottom left....yeah, that's me.... havin' a bad hair day. ....The Bart Simpson look) Not easy to achieve you know!

 You need the wind to be blowin' north easterly-ish and the sun to be just a shade west of  45 degrees. If you can arrange that  - then be jealous no more...you too can have hair like me and Bart)

Just as we were about to leave Fenagh I spotted a treasure that had to be photo'd.

(So we had the "Stop...Screech" etc conversation again)

The original village pump. No longer in use but looking so sweet in a summer flower bed.

 

...and the inevitable close up...

 

So that was Fenagh, County Leitrim as I found it...two churches, two pubs, one house  (huh? Does not compute!)

Gotta love Ireland!

Vintage Sewing Lucky Dip Surprises & Irish Stew Recipe

I love a lucky dip and when I saw this little plastic bag in the British Cancer Charity Shop in Enniskillen, for 50p I knew I should have it without even looking inside.

When I got it home I had so much fun looking through it. Were the contents worth the 50p? Ooooh, yes.....

As you can see it had some handmade doilies and ribbon....

and this strange little kit for hanging your clothes up to dry indoors?

That's a great idea...but...will these tiny pegs hold up a wet sock? Methinks not!

 

There were several spools of lace making cotton, iron on binding....

and two truly beautiful hand crafted doilies - one in cream and one in emerald green...but the real treasure was this vintage,engraved, fine crochet hook.

 

I just love it and use it for picking up any dropped stitches when I am knitting (yes, I drop the odd one...(I blame the stew aformentioned)

 

So pretty.

 

I will treasure this little item and keep it close to hand in my knitting basket. It's both beautiful and practical. I wonder if it was a special gift for the lady who made the lovely lace items?

I have been on Ebay again and found this old needle compact. Such a beauty and again very practical. Why use drab, new packs of needles when you can enjoy using one like this?

 

 

 

Then I found these two in Virginia, Cavan on my way to Ballinamore. A lovely old decorative spoon and some sweet buttons.  It reminds me of the song..."Just a spoonful of buttons make....."(buttons  -huh?)

 

and a close up. Hmmm...these are just begging to be crafted into something SWEET! Let me work on it and I'll get back to you.

 

That put me in a frilly frou frou mood and so I piled my frilliest cushions on to the bed. The peachy roses one on the extreme left, I made - and the rest were presents and finds and the one at front right is a nightie case.

 

 

Remember in an earlier post I said I was going to copy this customised chandy?

Well I did it last weekend and I'm very happy with how it turned out. I may add some more to it and even fix some of the matching saucers around the stem. Like many of my projects it's a work in progress!

 

 

Also in the kitchen I have added the old 1940's cooker I collected from Carrick-on-Shannon. I found it on our freecycle site Jumbletown and the lady who gave it to me told me it belonged to her aunt who lived in Ballinamore. So it is coming home!

The old lady is still alive but getting on in years and had to move and was adamant that she did not want her cooker dumped and was sure someone would love it. It was in daily use until a few weeks ago. Her niece told her she would try to find a good home for it but did not think she would find a new owner.

Well!.... Mrs Reilly of Aughawillan, Ballinamore...your much loved cooker has found a new home in my kitchen and is wonderful. It makes a great Irish Stew!

 

...and here it is. Delicious!

As we say here: "Sure there's eatin' and drinkin' on it!"

Irish Stew Recipe:

Lamb or Mutton: gillions = loads!

Spuds: (whole potatoes) 2 each-ish

Onions & carrots: (chunky chopped)

Fresh parsley and thyme :(lash them in on their stalks and remove before serving)

Soup mix :(= dried barley, lentils, split peas mix)

Stock cubes: (chicken and/or veg)

Salt and pepper: (a whiff of each)

Water: (fill yer' pot if there's any room left)

Boil up until meat is tender and serve with crusty bread. DEADLY!

(I don't know the quantities - just use lots of 'em and make enough for the next day as something happens to it overnight and it tastes even better the next day. It's true! (I think it ferments into alcohol or something)

(update: day 3...I have jussss had wha' iz left and I tink it has moo-tated inna sUmm-ing illegal! Wheee!)

Day 4? Don't even go there! ...... We're talkim'  'bout nuke soup!

 

Serve it up on old Willow pattern mismatched crockery for a really old fashioned Irish meal.

Well, bye for now ...enjoy your stew!...Pam

 

Inspiring, Haunting, Sweet Sad Song ...A MUST SEE!!!!

I was listening to the radio the other day when I heard a riveting interview with singer Danny Ellis.

  Danny, now in his fifties, had been abandoned to an industrial school when he was just eight years old. The place was, the  infamous Artane Boys Home in Dublin. (I should add here that this story has something of a happy ending)

 Appalling brutality, abuse of every kind and total breaking of childrens' spirits and bodies carried out by the so called "Christian" Brothers for many decades.

(Photo shows a family of siblings coming into state care. They were to be separated not only boys and girls but by ages and would not be allowed contact with each other even if in same home)

What happened in these places to both boys and girls has been thouroghly investigated and dubbed "Ireland's Hidden Holocaust"

Anyway the story I heard that day is best appreciated by watching the Youtube video below of Danny singing this amazing song he wrote about a stranger but fellow inmate who gave this 8 year old some respite in the hellhole that was Artane. It has a kind of happy ending (in as far as these things can - further details in the comments section)

 

Above: boys working in the cobbler's shop at Artane.

Below: one of the dormatories at Artane.

 

Thanks to Awphan on Youtube.com for the piece and following information.

Danny sings about "Tommy Bonner" a singer who inspired him in Artane Industrial School, an abusive Irish orphanage. From his album "800 Voices.

Danny hadn't seen or heard from Tommy in 45 years even though he'd "Googled" him many times. Then he wrote this song and put it on his website. Then amazingly, in May 2008, Tommy's son, Kevin, did a Google search for his dad and Artane School, wanting to know more about his dad's youth. Within minutes he was "gobsmacked" to be listening to this song. He emailed Danny, whom he'd never met and said; "Forgive the intrusion but I think you might be singing about my dad." Danny is now back in contact with Tommy because of this song.

Click on either of the links below to watch.

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Danny's album 800 Voices is available and is this year's must have album.

Festival Fun

Just back from Ballinamore where they had their annual festival last week. Paul was tired so we only got out to one night of fun. There was something on every day and every night. We did a bit of a pub crawl on Wednesday night so as not to miss anything!

In the open air in High Street there was a great band on called Simply Tina....can't guess why!!!

 

We then headed off to Bobby Joe's Bar...Zinda, Paul and Angie getting into the spirit of it.

 

Next we went to the Poor Scholar...they were having a karaoke night...One drink, a good girlie giggle and a quick exit before we were tempted to sing!

 

Next one shows Paul having a scoop in Jackie's Bar where there was a country and western singer on.

He was good too and Angie and I got up to do The Tush Push (line dance) and made a holy show of ourselves and Angie pulled a hamstring......so it was off to Priors to see a Jazz and Swing band. Also pretty cool. We finished the night there.

 

The next day was Ladies Day but we could not get a ticket - sold out!

We had our own ladies day in Carrick-on-Shannon (shopping) and later in the Old Schoolhouse (party and craft night) Hmmmm....lots of party and not much crafting!

Katie arrived and showed us her gorgeous range of handmade, by her, bridal jewellery collection.

Talented lady Katie, she is a hairdresser, teacher, mother and jewellery maker! Well done Katie! More details to come over on Angie's blog The Old Schoolhouse (see sidebar)

 

Thrifted Finds:

Found some lovely goodies in Carrick - like this "Cross stitch" Home Sweet Home plate.

 

A sweet cake stand with...roses

 

 

Not that it was all fun and games...no, no, I had some home improvements planned. Above: Me shiftin' a mountain of sand and gravel to make what is locally known as a "street" to park on.

Talk to ya soon...Pam

 

 

 

WATCH OUT! I'M TURNING THE HEEL....

Yes, I am making progress on my sock challenge...a bit hit and miss but the shape is very sock like so I'll carry on.

I have done the rib, cuff, flap and shaped for the heel. Now I have to pick up stitches down one side and across and up the other side and go hell for leather heading for the toe. Sounds easy right? I think I can actually do this.

I must admit I have been wary of knitting socks before but I did get used to using all the pointy needles and now it looks like I am going to get around the heel. I may even make a second one! Or I could just not bother and save myself the bother of loosing one in the washing machine. Where do they go???? Is there a secret compartment built into every machine to abduct socks? and if so ...why?

Anyway I bet Herself, Kimme, is clickity clacking like a mad thing with her weapons of mass construction! How's it going Kimme?...are you at the heel yet? Are you having fun? I am actually enjoying it and it's getting easier as I go along. I'll be unstoppable if I get this done. Thanks for the challenge!

 

My Dream Roof

People often have a dream home or dream car in their minds but I have a dream roof! It is one of the small things I wish for (but don't actually need) is a thatched roof on my cottage. If I ever realise this little dream it will look like this....

 

 

 

Isn't this a work of art? This little cottage is in my village in Dublin, Baldoyle. I think it is the oldest dwelling in Baldoyle and is now nestled among modern. Only a few hundred yards from my home. It was very run down until recently when the owners got in a master thatcher to put on a new roof...and he put on my dream roof. Ahhh, some day.

I also dream of a camper van so I can go visiting rural France and Germany and their flea markets. Again... some day it will happen.

And when it does....I hope to find treasures like this beauty....

 

It is a vintage, hand embroidered cotton pillowcase given to me by Kimme. You have me spoiled! I love it and it is even monogrammed with F for Flynn. The detail is amazing in this. All those tiny circles are hand worked  and the edges are scalloped and embroidered and it is open at both ends which I have never seen before. I use this regularly as I don't believe in saving anything "for best" .....Today is the best day to use any lovely thing especially if someone has given you a gift of it.

COUNTRY COTTAGE CUSHIONS

 

 

Just listed in my the White O'Morn Cottage Shop are these wonderful brand new cushion covers. Pure  Scottish wool from Edinburgh Mills and shades of moss green and heather. £25 sterling for all three and it includes shipping worldwide.

Laura Ashley Cushions

 

Angie found two of these Laura Ashley silk cushions in a charity shop  for 2 Euro each and used them for a while in her her schoolhouse. Then she gave them to me. Later we found them in a Laura Ashley catalouge listed for £62 each!

No, you can't have them back! MINE ALL MINE! HAHA!

 

 

 

Calming Things, Places and Crafts.... Handmade in Ireland

  I find crafting so calming. I always think that knitting or crochet are like using worry beads! Another thing I love are things or places that I find calming to contemplate. So this post is a bit of both. First let me show you some gorgeous things that have been handmade in Ireland (some of them by lil' ol' me!)

My Patchwork is Finished

This is my patchwork bedspread that my mam bought me the materials for as a Christmas gift. I have been working on it since and have just finished it. I made a lot of mistakes (as it was my first) but learned from them. I am overall pleased with the result.... and it now is on my bed in White O'Morn Cottage. Thanks Ma! 

 

 

An Irish Prayer

Next is an old handcrafted prayer given to me by my lil' sis' Angie.

Now I would not be the most religious of people but I must say I really love this one. It was made by a nun, Sr Mary O'Donovan, using calligraphy, art and real shamrocks (which have dried and faded over the years)....Thanks Angie!

It never fails to astound me when I come across an especially fine piece of embroidery...this is one such piece. I can do embroidery but don't because I can never match this standard. Photos show a vintage table runner in Irish linen done many years ago by some unknown woman. I used my macro setting to show the amazing detail of this lovely piece.

 

 

 This will soon be listed on my website *see address below.

Exquisite Set

I came across this truly beautiful set of pure Irish linen handmade and hand painted napkins. Tiny fairies and bluebells are the graphic used. They are presented in a handmade box and each one is tied with its own napkin holder. Made by Irish master crafter Alison Doherty- These are pure eye candy. I have put them up for sale in my online shop for the simple reason that I would never be able to take them out of the box and use them........ www.suchprettyoldthings.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soul Stilling View

I hope I never get so used to the view that I stop noticing it. This is the view from the bedroom window. The windowsills are so deep one can put a cushion there and curl up and read a book or just look out over the quiet hills while sipping on a cup of tea. This is one of my favourite things to do.

Lately there has been a radiator just under the window so it is even more cosy now! ...Thank you Jamie!

(Jamie is my son, a plumber- he qualified just this week - he did all the plumbing in the cottage for me for a great price) Well done Jamie. You worked and studied hard for five long years. Best wishes in the future. Anyone got a job out there for him? No work here at the moment due to recession. Ah well, this too will pass.

John McGahern, Irish Writer

If you look at this view on a clear day (through the bottom left pane of glass) you can just make out a white church steeple on the horizon. This is the church in Aughawillan (pronounced " Ock-ah-will-ann")  where a celebrated Irish writer is buried and this is just down the road from Angie's schoolhouse which, of course, is John McGahern's former schoolhouse that he wrote about in his book Memoir. He wrote many award winning books but Memoir is an exceptionally wonderful read....Anyway, his hometown of Ballinamore have commemorated him with this stone bench in the town. The writing says...."The best of life is lived quietly, where nothing happens but our calm journey, through the day, where change is imperceptable and the precious life is everything" ...Angie's blog "The Old Schoolhouse" is to be found on my sidebar

 

Mountain Waterfall

...and now I leave you with a natural creation that is so calming to spend time looking at and listening to. This is the waterfall, Pól an Easa, (pronounced pole-on-ay-sah) in Aughnasheelin (pronounced ock-nah-shee-lin)

White O'Morn Cottage is situated in Aughnasheelin too- so this is only a stones throw away... (if you are good at throwing stones that is!)

Both winners of my Patrick's Day giveaway - a week's free stay in White O'Morn Cottage, have been in touch and are delighted to be coming for a visit. They are Twiggy who is from Yorkshire in England and Heidi, who is from New Hampshire, USA. Congratulations to both of you. I hope you enjoy your stay in the cottage. I so enjoyed this giveaway that I think I will do it every St Patrick's Day. Why not?

Happy St Patrick's Day! ....Lá Féile Paidraig! ....& A Give Away! I Mean Two Give Aways!

It's the big day so to celebrate I am having a BIG double give away! See details further down the post...  You just have to leave a comment to be included in the draw!

      

Wishing you all a fabulous St Paddy's Day! I am so looking forward to it this year. Everyone in great form, lots of ultra happy tourists who seem to enjoy it more than we do!

 

Leprechauns leppin' about the place, (which is what they do best) green white and orange flags, faces, clothes and normally sane people shouting

 " Whup -ya-boy-ya! A truly magic day to be Irish! :) ...Reality and Recession both suspended for the day.

The celebrations have been going on since last Friday here as we now celebrate it as St Patrick's Festival and they take a week - right? Suffice it to say we are in overdrive!!!!!

So many of my readers have Irish ancestors and the Irish diaspora is said to be HUGE. We always have oodles of extra visitors at this time and we give them a big "CEAD MILE FAILTE" which translates literaly as "A hundred thousand welcomes" The parades are fantastic and everyone is in very high spirits - a day when everyone loves everyone (a bit like Christmas but greener)  Pity we can't bottle the feeling for later use!

 

Pressies from Japan!

My good blogpal in Japan -japanesekeane, who is Irish mad has sent me a great gift for the day that's in it...It popped into my mailbox this morning and I was so delighted to see the goodies he had sent me...Here they are

A gorgeous leather Hello Kitty (Dia Ghuit A Caitlin!) all dressed in green ready for the party! I love her!

 

Also included was this old Irish stamp with a picture of St Patrick on.

 

OHHH....and some yummshous chocolate beans (millsean) which I stuffed myself with all day.

 Go raibh mile maith agat Keano! (this means Thank you very much Keano) he will understand though - as he speaks Gaelge! Yes, an 18 year old Japanese chap and he knows as much Irish as me! ...and Kimme (Irish Cottage Dreams) is studying it too...I'll have to catch up to keep up with them! (Kimme has some great links to the parade on her blog so I wont repeat them.  (Use them to see the parades live)

Eat your National Flag!

....and speaking of yummy things how's this? I was out with Ma at a market in nearby Howth and we found these to have with a nice cup of tea when we got home.... They are done in the Irish flag colours of green, white and orange. What a great idea! The lady had made them herself and arranged them in the box. They were selling like hotcakes and what's more...NO CALORIES..... as St Patrick has given us all a dispensation just for this day. (I wish)

 

 

 

Someone told me the colours mean green for Ireland, white for peace, and orange for Northern Ireland. In this case I ate Northern Ireland so I did!

Check it out...just listed on my website: www.suchprettyoldthings.com a baby leprechaun hat. Unique, one of a kind (....'cos I lost the pattern) cute little hat for the little leprechuan in your life. Hand crafted in Ireland and very reasonably priced. Price includes postage! Listed under the Handmade With Love section

Next for your enjoyment I have a link to a cute piece of animation for your enjoyment... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W97M5i05xUo

 

Got Irish in Ya? ....Test yourself for Irishness.....

Did you like that? Yes? Well here is a real treat for you. Do yourself a favour and spend the next three minutes watching this with your volume UP! It will resonate with any Irishness in you and get your pulse racing! ENJOY.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B718RsboGEI

Phew! I'm tired after watching that!

White O'Morn Cottage Give Away

Now to the give aways...you can enter for the goodies giveaway alone or the holiday giveaway alone - or both if it suits you :-)

Goodies give away...goes like this...you will receive a selection of my hand made lavendar sachet, a hand made doorhanger heart, a small patchwork Christmas pillow (Christmas is coming fast!)  Two crochet cookies, and a framed real shamrock, grown in my own White O'Morn cottage garden. More pics to follow (well I have just thought of these and don't have all the pics ready) Don't be rushin' me! 

 

 

Stay in White O'Morn Cottage for Free!

Giveaway no. 2 is a week's free stay in my country cottage White O'Morn Cottage in Co. Leitrim.

In these hard times one has to do one's bit for the tourism trade. So this is my "bit"

If you are thinking of visiting Ireland soon (or even next year) you can spend up to a week FREE in a 250 year old Irish cottage that is a close copy of the cottage in the cult film The Quiet Man. It started life as a Weaver's cottage and is still known as The Weaver Duignan's. The Duignans are the family who built it and it stayed in that family until we bought it. We are good friends with the present day Duignans and they might even visit you for a chinwag during your stay! (for more details just browse my blog) The facilities are basic but comfortable, with one double bedroom and a pull down bed in the living room.

I am always offering it to people as I love to share it with others who appreciate it as much as I do and I can't spend all my time there and want to spread it around. Kimme has spent a weekend there and is coming back for more! Maith on cailín Kimme! Anyway that's why I am offering it as a giveaway to any blogger who wants it. Just leave a comment letting me know which give away you are interested in...and you're in. 

(Kimme, you are disqualified from the cottage giveaway as you are my favourite American and more than welcome anytime! :) Wheee!

Everyone else is welcome - you don't have to be a regular reader or commenter or anything -  just be someone who would like to stay in an old Irish cottage for free!

Have a great St Pat's Day!....love Pam

Ps.. Fur babies welcome!

Both draws close on 21st March

Sepia Memories in Virginia and other Head Ramblings!

 

While passing through Main Street, Virginia, County Cavan I came across some lovely old photos in G Fitzsimons shop. The owner has  a collection of her relatives displayed at the cash register and what a great set of photos they are! The shop is pictured in the photo below - taken in the thirties and the two romantic ladies are her aunts with a very popular local man! This one was taken in the forties. Aren't they fabulous!!

Be sure to call in and see them if you are in Virginia. The shop has some really lovely gifts and things and the owner is really friendly.

 

Virginia also has this wonderful original hardware shop. Unchanged since it was built and full of character and charm both inside and out..

Also in the same street is this lovely black and white former shop. I really like the old name over it. It translates as E O'Kelly 

Seachtain na Gaeilge 

This is Seachtain na Gaeilge which means we celebrate our national language.  So with that in mind I went about taking pictures of signs in Irish around Ballinamore....

first is the school bus - Bus Scoile

  

Siopa Eadai is a clothes shop 

 

Tailliur...Tailor?

TOURIST iNFORMATION 

 

...And the crest outside the Garda Station (Police)

It is quite beautiful with celtic scrolls, intertwined G and S and reads...Garda Siochana na hEireann which means Gaurdians of the Peace of Ireland

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cute Quill Pen!

While we were in Virginia we called in to Manna Charity Shop and were delighted to find these quill pens. They are actually modern pens or biros witha  feather fitted over it. Perfect for the guest book in the cottage! 

Macro setting on Camera

I love to get really close to patterns to really catch the detail on items. This is my vintage cake slice up close...very close And now - up close a soft fluffy throw in robin's egg blue that I got in Cavan. So snuggly and warm and the colour is just the business....