19th July 2015 - Almost there

I'm close to signing the papers for my apartment. Next week I finally will be able to get into the apartment again; take pictures and have a look at whether there are outstanding items for repair or replacement. It's very exciting as well as unnerving. I have an appointment tomorrow to get life-insurance cover and somehow this all makes me really nervous. It sounds so serious. I'm looking forward to my new place and currently I'm spending a good bid of money of things for the apartment.

As mentioned in one of the previous posts I bought a lovely Tiffany-style lampshade that I'm currently using. I always had a thing for Tiffany and I'm delighted somebody was willing to part with it. Next Sunday I'm planning to be at the market again in hope of finding more spoils for my new place.

Still can't believe that it was only €5 and the light is lovely.

I went to the Next Sale on Saturday which meant getting up at 2:40am in the morning to queue at 3:30am - the Sale started at 5:00am. Sounds crazy but honestly for the amount of stuff I got and for the prices I got it at it was worth it. I got two pairs of trousers, one pair in red and one pair in rose and a few tops and I cleared their Homeware department and got myself glasses, cutlery and a pretty set of dishes. And I saved about 50% if not more. When we went back again for another round, my friend and I, I noticed that everything household related that had been on sale was gone. So lucky me that I made my purchases earlier.

The Sales prices are about the same as IKEA but the items wouldn't be as nice as in the picture above so I'm happy I bought everything. I inherited a toaster and kettle last Friday and a few wine glasses and coasters as well. I can't complain my collection of house stuff is growing well.

Additionally, I've decided to work on a quilt or Granny square blanket, not sewn but crocheted instead. I have a lot of one-ball yarns left so while watching Breaking Bad and waiting on calls regarding the apartment, I work up squares. They go quick enough and I have made about 70 since the last weekend. Bad news is that I need 300. For some reason I have it in my head to make a 15 x 20 square blanket plus border. I have no idea how long this will take me. But at least Breaking Bad is keeping me company and avoids spending too much money otherwise - unless it's for sale items of course!

My current selection of Granny squares.

Sample idea with a few of the squares. This is 8 squares by 7 rows which makes it pretty large. I hope to cover part of my double bed when I'm done. Otherwise it will be fine on a single bed as well.

Before anyone asks, I went back to bed after the sale at around 11:00am and slept on and off until about 2:30pm. Looking forward to tomorrow now in the hope to get a message from the estate agent that I can get into my apartment. Hope to be able to post more soon.

7th July 2015 - Weekend in Bundoran

I've just returned from Bundoran only to be greeted by rain. All of Sunday was very wet; we drove through a thunderstorm near Virginia in Cavan. It was like the flood gates had opened.

At least on Friday when we left we had gorgeous weather. We arrived in Bundoran at 5:30pm on the dot, checked into our room and went for a long walk afterwards.

Main Street in Bundoran.

Picture of the surf school. Our room was the last window on the right.

Bundoran is located in Donegal and a very popular spot for surfers. There are three beaches that are used for surfing. We went to the closest one: Tullan.

People surfing Friday afternoon. The beach has cliffs at the side where we went for our walk to and I took this picture. Tomorrow afternoon it was going to be us down there.

Another picture near the cliffs. Bundoran is very picturesque and it was certainly not the last time I was hear. It turns out that I already had been here before. I figured it out when we went for drinks that evening. It's just that I only had seen one side of the main street and never went up to see the rest.

Bundoran is very pretty, even though there isn't much going on as such. As usual there are a few pubs, restaurants, hotels and a few shops. But it's unbelievable how close it is to Dublin. It took us about 3 hours and we were on the other side of the country.

My friend took all the pictures of us in the wet suit the next day when we got dressed for the surfing lessons. I have to say that they are a nightmare to put on especially when they are already wet. We received shoes with them already full of water. And the noise they are making. I scrapped by fingers a bit. It's difficult to hold on the fabric and the next day was even worse. But I had fun.

We got onto a minibus and where brought to the beach. We received some training instructions after a warm-up and some safety instructions and then it was off into the Atlantic Ocean. I have to admit I'm not very good at surfing. It struggled holding my balance and when a wave came I usually wasn't up to speed enough to get carried by the wave and I ended up in the water. Our instructors were very good though and before we knew the two hour session was over.

On the same day the hostel had organised a barbecue. We brought our own drinks. We sat on bean bags while eating watching the sun go down.

There are a few mobile home parks around in Bundoran and one is just behind the surfing school. Somebody was so kind and took this picture as we had to climb up the van to see the sunset properly.

Sunday flew by and before we knew we were back in our wet suits for Sunday morning surfing. The weather had changed slightly, rain had been announced and the sea was slightly wilder which made the surfing even more entertaining. The waves came quicker at us and were higher than the day before and it was even more fun. I still didn't get to surf properly and spent more time swimming in the water or lying on the board but even with the rain I just simply enjoyed it.

We left Bundoran around 1:30pm and were back in Dublin around 5:00pm. I pretty much fell into bed immediately, watched a movie and slept on and off during the night. I'm off today so I have some time catching up, do the washing. I have to get a few things sorted for my apartment but I'm getting there. Hope to move now soon.