Week One Down!!

Friday, April 25th

Last night was the first really busy night in the restaurant. There was some sort of BMW convention taking place in Leenane and we had a house full of bikers. Irish bikers by the way are just like the ones in America. They spend hours talking of nothing but their motorcycles and they wear a lot of black. I think the BMW crowd is slightly more sophisticated than the Harley crowd though. I can't figure out how they spend all day riding in this weather...it hasn't stopped raining since I got here.

Tonight is going to be a full house and I'll be working in the dining room with Oran. So far I haven't spilled on any of the guests or broken any dishes. I'm rather proud of that. Otherwise, I really am a terrible waitress.

Love, Kim

Tuesday, April 29th

That's what I wrote last Saturday, but forgot to actually post it. Sunday and Monday were very lazy days, which I really needed. We had lots of sun and temperatures over 50 degrees...absolutely gorgeous. Oran and I went car shopping because we'll need a second vehicle when I go back to work. I told him I'd be happy with a little beater, but he wants something newer and safer that gets good gas mileage. Smart man. We went to the VW dealership yesterday and I may end up with another Baby B, although this one will be diesel, manual, and the steering wheel will be on the wrong side.

The roads around here are absolutely nerve-wracking, but I have been practicing. I've driven to the beach twice now and I'm hoping to be able to pick my cousin up from the airport next week by myself. It's at least two hours each way to the airport and I'll have to drive through Galway, which is very intimidating for me. I'll admit it, roundabouts are my nemesis. When I drove to the beach earlier today I had to navigate through a group of charging sheep and their lambs (it's lambing season, so they're everywhere!), a very feisty chicken that was giving me the stink eye, an old lady being tailed by two shady looking goats, and a group of backpackers. And the roads are very, very narrow. Can you blame me for being such a nervous Nelly!!

Wednesday, April 30th

Well, we found the car we want. It's a bright blue VW Golf and it's actually really fun to drive. Now we just have to figure out how to pay for it!

Love, Kim

Before and After

I'm sorry it took so long for this post. I have been really busy the last few days. Last night was the first night I got a really good night's sleep and I think I've finally caught up.

On Monday Oran and I went shopping in Westport, the closest town, and bought paint to redo the den and bedroom that will be our home for the next few years. The bedroom was a lovely shade of baby blue that kind of reminded me of Easter. Neither of us were huge fans. It was really cool picking out colors together...our first step in making the space "ours." Tuesday we got up bright and early (i.e., 1:30pm) to get started. As soon as we started taking stuff off the walls we realized that the layers of paint were so thick that it was peeling off the walls in sheets. I kind of thought it was wallpaper at first. Unfortunately, it meant that we couldn't paint until we stipped off all the existing paint. Here's what it looked like:

After several hours of stipping paint off the walls we were able to prime everything before we ran out of steam. Tuesday night Oran went to the pub to hang out with Johnny (you'll hear more about him) while I went over to Lizzie's house. She's my best friend in Leenane. You'll hear more about her too. Anyway, we ended up staying out way too late, again, so I still couldn't get on a proper sleep schedule.

Wednesday morning I forced myself out of bed at 10am. Keep in mind though, that's 5am EST. Around noon Oran and I were back in the bedroom to paint. And paint. And paint. I'm not kidding, it took four freaking coats of paint and we still weren't finished!! I thought it would take us a day. When we get our own place we've already decided we're hiring professionals.

So that brings me to yesterday. We finally finished the trim, the ceiling, and the closet. Here's what it looked like. I'll send a picture of the room when it's completely finished later. We're still waiting on a new dresser we ordered and our bed to come from the U.S.

Tonight is the first busy night of the season. The guesthouse is completely booked and we're expecting a full house in the restaurant. I'll be waiting tables tonight and tomorrow and I'll help out cleaning the bedrooms in the morning. It's a lot of work, but I'm really happy to be here and getting to spend time with Oran. Also, I figure at this rate when it's time to go back to work I'll be excited for the chance to finally relax!!

Love, Kim

I Made It!!

Well, it was a loooooong time coming, but I finally made it!! Both flights were uneventful except when one of my pens exploded and I was covered in ink. That was a fun mess to clean up. Also, I didn't get a single minute of sleep the whole night. When I got to Shannon I was so tired I could barely form a coherent sentence. I arrived yesterday at 10am Irish time (5am EST) and when I walked through customs, there was Oran with a big bouquet of flowers. Yes I teared up a little, but it may have been from sheer exhaustion. After we loaded my suitcases into the van (no easy task, considering stupid Aer Lingus charged me $100 for going over the weight limit), we drove two hours to Leenane. When we walked into the house, this is what we saw (a suprise from Oran's Mom):

Last night after the dinner service at the restaurant, which I slept blissfully through, we went to the village for a pint or two. It was absolutely packed. There was live music at Gaynors, a going away party for someone, and an engagement party for one of the locals. I'm pretty sure I met at least half of Leenane last night. I also met the two new staff members, Tamara and JK. Tamara is from Australia and is a fellow list-maker. I pretty much love her already. JK is her boyfriend from Poland. (I am dying to find out how those two met!)

Tomorrow Oran and I are off to Westport to do some shopping. We need to make our living quarters a little more "girl-friendly." I've already made a list.

Love, Kim

Moving to Ireland

I've been threatening to start this blog for months and at long last, here it is! As you all know, I'm moving to Ireland and I hope this blog will be a good way to keep everyone up to speed on all my adventures. Before I go any further though, I want to thank everyone that came to my party last Saturday (and those that were there in spirit). It was AWESOME!!!! I am a very lucky girl to have so many wonderful, generous (and, I dare say, attractive) people in my life!

So on Wednesday the movers came. One of them was this Russian guy who reminded me a lot of the IT guy ACA used to work with... very angry and looks a lot like Stewie from the Family Guy. The other two guys were scared of him I think. They worked really fast though - in an out in under four hours. My contact at the shipping company said everything should go out on Monday, which is great because it would otherwise sit there for weeks before they could fill another container. Today I turned in my cable box, had lunch with a friend, and returned the rental car I've been driving around in all week. A quick note about that...I was given a VW Beetle by Enterprise because it was the last car they had left. Did you know that you can fit five women and all their shoes in one of those things? Swear to God. I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Also, Beetle drivers like to wave at each other. It's a little creepy.

Tonight is officially my last night in VA before I take up residence in Ireland. My flight leaves tomorrow at 7pm. I can't wait!!

Love, Kim