This afternoon, I begin the process of getting an Irish driver’s license.

This post describes how to trim a piece of A4 paper to match the aspect ratio of U.S. letter size paper. This is needed for many paper airplane plans.

I started looking for one or two volunteer programs in the Co. Louth area, and came across a few interesting ones - and I’ve started work on one in particular that I’m really liking.

While we’ve been in Ireland, my morning meal of choice is a scone or some kind of bread. For a while now I’ve been picking up a four-pack of fruit scones from the Tesco in Dundalk, and it’s quick and easy when paired with a cup of coffee or tea.

It often happens that I run out of scones long before we need to make a trip to Tesco. The fallback is a protein bar or a piece of sourdough toast. But last week I decided to try baking my own Irish Brown Bread instead of getting scones.

We’ve been working on updating the front bedroom and en suite bath.

User manuals for the kitchen appliances.

Yesterday was very windy here on the northeast coast of Ireland, with periods of heavy rain. A storm system is moving across the island from west to east, and there was localized flooding of roadways in our area, but no significant damage. In the west and north of Ireland, there were major power outages and other related issues. This morning brought more of the same, with gusty winds and steady rain. Here’s the view from the front bedroom (click to play): The winds stayed into the afternoon, but the rain has moved on.

Our apartment in Annagassan overlooks the Irish Sea, with beautiful views of the sea, the coastline, the Cooley Pennisula, and the Mourne Mountains in the distance. In the Irish language, dearcadh is the word for viewpoint, and I think it applies quite nicely for the view we have out of the window in the Great Room. In Irish, dearcadh is pronounced dee-ARD-cah.

After some hiccups and the usual negotiations, we closed today on the purchase of the apartment in Annagassan. We returned to Ireland on 16 July, and hit the ground running. The solicitor who had been handling our conveyance work - first on the place in Carlingford, and then on the Annagassan apartment - had some issues that required an unexpected leave, so we transitioned to a new solicitor, who was great. We wound up closing at a price that worked for us, and the seller agreed to leave the furnishings which turned out to be a big plus for us. We were able to move in without the need to get beds, couches, a TV, pots, pans, and dishes, and all the other things we take for granted until they’re not there. We’re still at an AirBnB for another week or two while we get the apartment into livable condition - things like utilities and other basics.