A House in Ireland

We have a house and a moving date!  The house is brand new, actually not even finished yet, but it will be by the time we get there.  Or at least by the time all our stuff gets there.  It’s about 5 miles NW of Kinsale, which puts us definitely out in the country.  It’s about two miles from Blaik’s work in Dunderrow (dun-DARE-oh), and he’ll walk back and forth each day. 

The house is big–5 bedrooms!  Small master bedroom for us, two smallish downstairs bedrooms that will be my office and an exercise room, and two larger bedrooms upstairs under the eaves.  Translation:  TWO permanent guest rooms!  Lovely large kitchen (although the small refrigerator and freezer will take some getting used to), and I think the best part is a conservatory–a sunroom to us Americans.  The grass isn’t planted yet, so they’ll leave a square for a vegetable garden for us.  There are sheep and a horse across the road.  Here’s some views from our front yard.

I know it looks like we’re isolated, but there really are other houses close by.  These are just the pictures I like!

We leave on June 30 (less than 4 weeks–ack!), and will arrive in County Cork on July 1.  Tim is coming with us for a month, and the company is arranging for a furnished apartment for us until our stuff gets there in about mid-August, so that’s nice.  Since we didn’t have time to do any touristy stuff during our househunting trip, Blaik will take a few days before he goes in to the office to settle in and we’ll take the harbor cruise and visit the remnants of Charles Fort, etc.  I don’t know the whole story, but Kinsale was where the Spanish Armada landed, met up with Irish from the north, and fought the British.  

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Choosing White Paint is Not for Wimps! (and other fixing-up advice)

Choosing white paint is not for wimps!  I didn’t think it would be any big deal, but it was.  The off-white we used at the Lebanon house seemed fine.  So I dipped a stick in it, had Home Depot do a color match, and bought 5 gallons.  Painted one coat in our bathroom.  It was green!  Was it because of the green drywall underneath?  No, the second coat wasn’t any different.  Dip a stick in the new paint, lay both above the edge of the shower surround.  The original was a tad green, but Home Depot’s was definitely greener.

Leave the bathroom paint problem for later, go to Lowe’s this time to chose another color.  An original color, not a color match.  Look at samples under the different types of light in the little paint department machine.  Go outside and look at it in bright sunlight.  Back and forth, back and forth.  I think I’ve got it.  How hard can it be to choose a nice, vanilla-ice-cream color?

Come home, paint bedroom #2.  It’s peachy!  What happened to vanilla?  It actually wasn’t too bad, the room wouldn’t have to be repainted, but it wasn’t what I wanted in whole house.  Back to H.D.  If they color-matched it wrong, they can darn well replace it, even if it says “non-returnable.”  Took a friend this time, looking for one gallon to test before I commit to five.  With a better sense for underlying tones than I have, Susan narrowed it down.  She pushed for a slightly whiter white, I pushed for a little creamier.  Just one shade different.  I win.  Go home, hold breath, paint main bathroom.  YES!  This is it!  Paint bedrooms #3 and #4.  Yes!  Still the one!

Paint whole house.  And paint.  And paint.  And hire someone else to paint a little.  And then paint some more.  And more.  And hire the painter again.  And keep going.

Anyway, the house is pristine, most of our stuff is in boxes crammed into the garage, and the Century 21 sign is in the yard.  Other things we’ve discovered through this very long and very exhausting process:

• Old English Scratch Remover is a miracle worker when it comes to reviving old woodwork.  Wipe on with a rag, wipe off with another rag, and be ready with a sponge to wipe off what gets on the walls and floor.  (There’s always some.)  Best if done before painting, but works afterwards, too.
• Rosin/Resin paper is great to protect the floor from drywall mud, but watch out if it gets wet.  It can stain the vinyl floor underneath so that it’s a big pink splotch and entire floor has to be replaced.
• Wear a tennis elbow brace if you’re going to be doing a lot of painting.  And if you start hurting, start wearing it even when you aren’t painting.  It may save you going to the doctor for a steroid shot and then wearing it 24/7 for months.
• If possible, try not to move stuff/people from room to room as you paint.  It makes for chaos, lots of work, and your kids not knowing where they’re sleeping that night.
• Definitely don’t try to be painting one area of the house while the carpet layers are working on another.  That leaves absolutely NO space to put anything!
• Have lots and lots of money available.  That way you can hire someone to help when you get overwhelmed.  Or better yet, hire someone to do it all.  And it gives you money for the repairs that will undoubtedly be uncovered.
• Breathe.  If we can survive this, so can you.

Slaintè!

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Orientation for Ireland Move

St. Patrick’s Day (last Monday) was our orientation about the move to Ireland.  Four-and-a-half hours cramming information into our heads, with two-and-a-half of it being about international taxes.  What the US requires, what Ireland requires, when we don’t have to double-pay, how Lilly pays the extra to make up for Ireland being higher, and on and on.  Suffice it to say that it’s complicated enough that Lilly arranges for PriceWaterhouseCooper to do our taxes for us.  Good thing!

Some of the rest of it was info we already knew, like the cost of living allowance and how they “gross it up” so that the money we get after taxes is what they promise (which is part of what makes taxes complicated), and they provide one car for us, trips home for us  and to Ireland for the boys, they’ll buy the house if it doesn’t sell, etc.  

Some of the info new to us is that we switch to a different health care plan, which covers us anywhere in the world with no co-pays (don’t know yet if it covers chiropractors), we need to register with the State Department so they can keep us posted on possible problems, although Ireland is considered very safe, and we have a horrendous inventory to take of everything before they pack us up.  How many of what, and what replacement cost will be.  Ugh.

We also get a full day of cultural orientation sometime in late April, when, of course, I’m cramming to get the house on the market.  In the meantime, I keep plugging away.  Stripping wallpaper in the 4th bedroom right now, and trying to find a home for the cats.  Any takers out there? 

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Welcome to Jennifer Jensen’s blog!

This is a big experiment for me, but one I’ve been thinking about for quite a while.  I’m not sure where to start.  I want to record some of what we’re experiencing right now, preparing to move from the United States to Ireland, plus some of my writing projects.  Undoubtedly some family stuff will show up, too, but I don’t want to get too personal.   

It snowed again last night, but I hoping spring will show herself sometime soon, even if it’s just for a peek.  I’m desperate to walk outside again, in between sorting out what we’re taking, what we’re storing, and what needs to go to Goodwill.

Today includes wrapping up my look-ups for the Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness requests, and writing two articles for Suite101, getting boxes to put books in, and possibly sorting through old videotapes.  Wish me luck!

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