73 Sandhills

Here are a few pictures of the single bedroom upstairs. It’s what would traditionally be called the “box room” but it’s actually quite spacious. Considering that Sylvia uses it as her reception room – it has shelves, a table and chairs and one of the water fountains she sells – you might expect it to [...]

In one way – one of the least interesting rooms of the house – but for me there was more to it. When we lived abroad the washer and dryer were in the basement – we had to go down 3 flights of stairs to get to them. In my parents house the washer is in [...]

What do you say about stairs? They go up and down at the same time.   This is the only place in the house we put carpet – mainly because we didn’t want any footstep noise while going up and down. Our Interior Designer, Ann Gordon, suggested a specific dark (almost black) carpet. At the [...]

Here are some photos of the dining room. You can see the double doors in the background – these lead into the living room. There is a TV socket on the wall and we have satellite cables (for SKY TV) hidden away on the right. These go through to the living room. Click on the [...]

By popular request – here are some pictures of the kitchen. There are a number special things about it: – The kitchen itself was made by Trade Kitchens and Bedrooms in Carlow. We’re so happy with it that we’re getting them to make the kitchen in our new house. Not only that – but we’re keeping [...]

Here’s a photo of the downstairs loo. We keep the bins outside the window so we don’t have to go out into the rain.

Image by Meredith_Farmer via Flickr When talking about things to do around Carlow you can’t forget the Éigse festival. Every year Carlow is host to a multitude of different art, music, dance, street theatre, drama,  craft etc etc type events. There really is something for everyone. What I really like is how it seems to [...]

Hopefully we’ll get to visit the Delta Centre this weekend. They have a really beautiful garden where there is always some new detail that catches my eye. I especially love the sculptures. It’s only up the road from Sandhills – we just need to make the time.

This day last week we had the local elections. Sandhills is on a border so half the estate votes for one area and half the other. We were able to vote for the town council and the county council. There are a number of websites that gave information of the elections – including one I reviewed on [...]

As the house is in the middle of the town we don’t get much in the way of rabbits or badgers. Sometimes we have to make our own or wait for something unusual to fly in.

The brownshill dolmen is just up the road from us. It’s a nice place to bring the dog for a walk. The spooky photo happened when our camera was not working properly – I think it’s kind of cool. Click on the photos for larger versions.  

SLÍ AN CHROÍ is one of our favourite places to go for a walk. It’s so peaceful and has loads of nooks and crannies to make every walk different.

Before we returned to Ireland we already had a site purchased in Ballinacarrig – close to where my parents live. We knew all along that we would be moving and selling our home in Sandhills. That’s part of the reason why we have nice neutral colour schemes rather than bright pink and green like some other [...]

We get a lot of birds visiting in the garden. It’s been interesting to see how in the first months we had almost no birds – presumably due to the building work that was going on. Now we get sparrows, swallows, blackbirds, magpies, starlings, thrushes, crows (including smaller hooded crows) and a number of other [...]

Here’s a map of the estate itself. It’s a large estate but the layout makes it feel much smaller. At this stage we would be very familiar with most of the people on our street. The other neighbours we tend to meet on the central green area or during residents association meetings. Number 73 is [...]

OK – So it’s not a swimming pool but it’s one of the beautiful beaches that’s a short drive away from Carlow. In this case it’s Kilmore Quay. I’ll be adding a few more pictures soon of things that you can do in the area.

Yet another of the hidden treasures nearby – Duckets Grove. I’m not sure if the dog is allowed off the leash so shhh! don’t tell anyone.

For those of you that don’t know where Sandhills in Carlow actually is – here’s a map. Basically it’s on the Hacketstown road – right behind the new SuperValu.

Another example of what can be missed if you don’t look closely.

I had this picture open on my laptop and for a second someone thought it was real. The ferns add to the effect. It would be better later in the year when the ferns are in full action.

While not a permanent fixture in the house – our new “visitor” will be there until someone buys it. Can you guess from the pictures below what it is? Click on the photos for a larger version. It’s a massive Ametyst. It’s really beautiful and loads of people have commented on the atmosphere in teh [...]

As soon as I saw this plant hiding the angels mouth I though – Speak No Evil. I’ve still to find something for See and Hear.

This angel was given to us as a wedding present. I had wondered if if should be cleaned but I think the green adds to the atmosphere.