Tintagel Castle

Tintagel Castle is the birth place of King Arthur.  Honest.  Ok, in reality, whatever that is, the Castle isn't old enough to be Arthurian, but, in reality, it's the perfect setting.  Built on the edge of a windswept cliff, with the ocean pounding at it's base, one can imagine Uther Pendragon entering the Castle at night to seduce Igraine, wife of Gorlois of Cornwall, which resulted in the birth of Arthur.

To get to Tintagel, one must park and walk down a valley, to the visitor's center, then climb many, many, many uneven steps, carved into the side of the cliffs, before finally reaching the entrance of the castle.  But it is worth it; the setting is huge, even by castle standards, and the view is spectacular!

Thanksgiving in Tucson




Around our Thanksgiving Table.
 Eric's arm, Laurie, Debra, Mike, Robin, Dan, Bill, Mary, Jenn, Don, JP and Amy taking the picture.

  Thanksgiving is just about our favorite holiday.  An abundance of food, drink, friends, toasts, hugs and laughter.  Plus, no gifts to agonise over.  What's not to love?

This was the first year we celebrated Thanksgiving in our new home in Tucson. The menu was excellent!

Hor d'oeuvres:
Cheese and vegies with assorted dips, baked brie, sweet potato puffs.  Thanks to JP and Laurie!

Entree:
Turkey cooked on the bbq, chorizo dressing, cheesy potatoes, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts with bacon, homemade cranberry sauce, sweet potato biscuits, poblano gravy, and rolls.

Desserts:
JP's delicious Lemon cake, pecan pie, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, apple/cranberry crumble pie by Jenn, and pink stuff. (This is just a fruit salad with whipped cream, except the whipped cream had a dash of red coloring added.)

Drinks:
Kir Royales,  Korbel's Blanc de Noir champagne, and a wide selection of beers.  We had wine to open for dinner, but the wine drinkers just kept drinking the champage, myself included!

 There were 12 for dinner, including 4 newbies;  folks who wanted somewhere to spend Thanksgiving.  Bill and I started this tradition 35 years ago when we had all the people we knew who had no family close by, to come for dinner.  It has continued, now being carried on by our daughter and son-in-law.  This is truly something to be thankful for.

Learning From Our Experiences

One thing we have decided after our time in Cornwall; three weeks is not long enough to house sit in such a locale.  Our main priorities are the animals, then the house.  Take the time out for them, keeping our laundry done, cooking, time out for rainy weather, the slow travel time due to the narrow roads, and, well, three weeks wasn't long enough. 

I can hear you thinking, laundry?  When we travel, no matter how long we will be gone, we pack a carry on size suitcase, each.  Several times in European countries, we have found clothing must be line dried, as there is no dryer.  I think it has to do with the cost of electricity.  Also, washers take longer to do a load than in the US.  I don't know why, it's just the way of things. So laundry is not something you can start after dinner and have it ready for the next day.

The laundry room in Truscott.  It was the entry room, coat room, cat feeding room, and a place to hang the laundry to dry if it was too wet outside.  There was a hanging rack to left that could come down from the ceiling, then be raised back up.

The inside animals are a fun bunch.  Mr Pepper, is an elderly cat, pepper black, but in the process of loosing one coat as he grows in his winter.  Instead of being black he's kinda red.  He walks with a regal aire.  No wondering who is Top Cat in this house!


Mr Pepper showing both his black and red.


Sootie and Bella are the youngsters.  Just over a year old and still extremely playful and curious.  Sootie lounges on the back of chairs or the sofa in the living room.  Only opens one eye to make sure it is us.  Bella is a zoomer!  To the top of the chair!  To the top of the table!  Up the stairs!  Down the stairs!  Zoom!  After a few days, we figure out that Sootie is a hunter.  She hears a noise by the dining room fireplace.  When I move a coal bucket out scoots a mouse, then POUNCE!  No more mouse and Sootie is headed out the cat flap with a full mouth.  We also find body parts left around the house in the mornings. Thanks Sootie!

Sootie

Bella

We have never had cats as pets.  Bill and the kids were always allergic, especially to kittens.  But we had cat neighbors most places we lived.  It is nice to be able to get to know cats, even if for a short while.  They do take time, but the return is good!

A Day Out With Molly

Lovely Miss Molly

We're off to Chrysanter Village with Molly as our guide.  To get there, we drive on progressively smaller roads, until finally, we are on a hedgerow.  At least the car park is easier find!  The village is across the lane, through a large wood gate, then a quarter mile up the hill.  We pay our fee to a nice man in a small shop, who immediately take a fancy to Molly.

Molly has a wonderful time smelling every small animal trail, and trust me, she finds them all.  There must be a lot of critters who live here now, running all over the place at night.

As we are walking back to the car, we pass an elderly man with a couple maybe 10 years younger than us. They are on holiday from Wales.  The woman has a sister who lives in Miami who wants them to come visit.  She is afraid of flying, so I suggest she have a couple of drinks, get on the plane and sleep all the way to Miami.  She thought that might work.  Her husband mentioned that the only thing he wanted to see was The Alamo!  But the sister in Miami said there wasn't anything left of it, but a plaque.  We assured him The Alamo was still there for all to see, but that it was in Texas, which is 2000 miles from Miami!  The wife laughed and laughed!  "I told him the US was BIG!"

On to Penzance via the narrow roads.  Penzance is on the English Channel; how else could Pirates sail here?  This is a town which takes it's pirate heritage seriously, or at least economically.  There are pirate flags, pirate hats, pirate scarves, pirate swords, even the Penzance Sailing Club's birgee is a skull and crossbones!  We love it!

Walking around Penzance is fun.  There is so much to see, from a small harbor full of sailboats to huge ships having their hulls cleaned at dry dock. We have lunch at a place on the wharf.  Fresh caught fish with chips, which we eat at an outside table.  Molly curls up under our feet.  She isn't a beggar, but I share some of my chips with her.


Great place for lunch!


Penzance brings home the reality that this is a warmer area thanks to the Gulf Current.  Beautiful semi tropical trees and plants, everywhere!

Are we really on the banks of the English Channel?

Deisel or Unleaded?



Our Peugeot station wagon.  Molly rides in the back.

Up early to deliver eggs, then to Tesco to buy groceries and fill the car.  Molly goes with us.  While Bill fills the tank, I'm inside waiting to pay.  Our credit card doesn't work at the pump because we don't have a "chip" like the European cards.  It has to be run by hand at the cash register.  Bill finishes, then come running in all upset.  "I put in unleaded instead of diesel!"
The two women are very helpful.  Bill uses the BiB to find the name of the garage that Martin took us by, Race Hill.  A quick call to them and they will be over to tow the car, drain the tank, and put something in it with the new diesel to make sure it doesn't run the engine.  They also call a taxi to take us home, as it will be several hours before the car is ready.

When Kernow Kabs arrives, we load our groceries in the trunk, then climb in with Molly.  It is wonderful how no one looks twice at us traveling with a dog!  The driver knows exactly where we are going, as he knows Martin and Dy.  Seems his grandparents used to own the big house just down the lane.   The driver used to farm across the highway from Truscott, but with all the new rules and regulations since the last outbreaks of hoof and mouth disease and mad cow, he decided it would be more profitable to be a taxi driver.  He gives us his card, so we can call for a ride back into town.

By 4:30 we are back at the garage.  The owner is laughing when we walk up.  He asks which of us did it, and when I point to Bill, he laughs even harder. Apparently this happens all the time, even with the locals, not just the tourists.  The bill for towing, draining the tank and lines, 1/2 tank of diesel and diesel cleaning stuff is 113 pounds.  He asks if we want to charge it to Martin.  Of course we paid it ourselves.

Back to Tesco to fill the tank, AGAIN, this time with diesel.  What with filling the tank with unleaded, then refilling half a tank with diesel, and the garage charges, the total was over $300!  An expensive lesson.

Here Chick-Chick

Chickens are very curious animals.  They want to be helpful, especially when you are trying to clean up their messy house.  And when there are 20+ of them, that's a lot of help! 

Mr Cocky

Mr Cocky wakes us up most mornings with his happy crowing.  Actually I think he is just glad to still be alive.  We were warned by Dy that he is very old, so if we find him dead some morning, just put him in a bag in the bin.  Please don't die on our watch, Mr Cocky!  The morning crowning becomes something of a blessing; one more day with Mr Cocky; one more day without a dead rooster in the dust bin!

There are four young hens, who are just learning to lay eggs.  When I arrive at the house in the mornings, I have to be careful where I step.  You see, hens who are learning just seem to drop the egg where ever they are.  "Oh my!  Did I do that?"  Also, their eggs do not have a hard shell, more of a thick membrane, like a balloon, except it might break when you pick it up. 

The chickens are fed pellets, oyster shells, to use as scratch, and kitchen scraps, but not meat products.  They love the kitchen scraps.  Since there is a large garden and greenhouse, all of us are eating well.  In the mornings, I turn over bits of ground with a shovel so they can have the worms and grubs that show up.  There is quite the competition to see who can grab them first.  I always make sure Mr Cocky gets at least one worm.

Molly the Chicken Herder!

When I went out to close them in for the evening, one of the hens was outside the fence.  I tried coaxing her back inside; she really wanted in there!  But no luck, until I added Molly "herding" her from one side, while I dropped bits of pellet to entice her, from the other side.  Success!  Now Molly can add chicken herding to her resume!

Getting To Know Our Way Around And Around

Our first full day at the house was spent getting aquainted with our new "jobs".  After a wonderful walk around the hamlet of Truscott and out into the countryside, led by Molly the Collie, Dy sorted out how to feed the animals and the caretaking of the chickens.  Being a Vets wife, the chicken house was kept immaculate, including cleaning the roosts every day with Detol.  No pests or diseases on these hens!

Martin then drove us to the town of Launceston.  The road we took was a one car wide lane with occasional pull outs at gates, in case we met a car coming the other direction.  I never got used to driving on this type of road, some of which were actual numbered roads, on the map!  Part of our duties include delivering eggs one day a week to the surgery where Martin worked before retiring.  As we visited each place of interest; the groceries, surgery, car garage, butcher and the bakery which makes the best Cornish Pasties, Bill carefully put them into BiB, our GPS.  Thank Goodness!

Launceston is an old town built around a Castle.  Around being the operative word.  All the roads into and through town go around and around the hill the Castle is built on.  Some of the roads are now one way, either going up or down.  This is one of the few places in my entire life that I always felt turned around.

Not just a House, a Home

Have you ever walked into a place and immediately felt at home? This was the house in Launceston. The house was originally a duplex for two mining families. It was then combines into one house.  In the 60's the current owners added another two storey wing to one end. More bedrooms plus work space for the lady of the house, who is an avid quilter. The house has many levels, low ceilings and a two huge fireplaces., but only one of them is working. The kitchen is cosy with a breakfast nook. There are roosters everywhere; on plates, dishes, pictures, holding the doors open. I love this place!

The hall that goes between the dinigroom and the storage room runs behind the kitchen. A former window still opens into the kitchen from the hall. Makes it very easy to request something special from the pantry and wine cellar! Also in this hall is an ancient Grandfather clock which has been in Dy's family for several generations. She turns it off, so we won't have the responsibility of not breaking it.

Our room is spacious, with a double bed, wardrobe(being England there are not closets) windows on two walls, and an ensuite bath with a wonderful instant hot water shower. The hall just outside our room has a large table full of books just waiting to be read.  How can we not enjoy this place?!

Cornwall in September

A year ago, we had a house sit in Launceston, Cornwall. It looks like you would pronounce it Lawn-ces-ton or something similar, but this is Cornwall, it's Laan-son. Is this where the southern accent came from? We found the sit through housecarers where most of our jobs come from. It was a fluke. Martin, the homeowner, had posted his ad, then removed it. It showed up again, so I replied. His response was that the position was filled, and he had hit the wrong button. Then, a few weeks later, he sent an email asking if we were still interested, as the original person had backed out. After a quick check for flights, to see if we could afford the tickets, we agreed to come.

Martin and Dy are the type of folks you feel immediately at home with. They both have big smiles, warm personalities and welcoming hugs. They met us at the bus station in Exeter where we arrived after taking the National Express from Heathrow Airport. Fortunately, Martin had sent us pictures so we could recognise them, even through out bleary, sleep deprived eyes!

Before we agree to a house sit, we see pictures of the place we will be, the pets and the homeowners. Martin sent us pictures of his 65th birthday party. We even knew what their friends and family looked like!

House Sitting

We have been members of housecarers.com since 2006. (You can visit their website by clicking the link in the sidebar.)  My sister sent an article on house sitting  from AARP. It sounded like fun, and as we were without house, we decided to give it a try before settling down.  Even though we have now settled down, we are still house sitting.  It is a good way to see the world without the expense of hotels.

When we joined housecarers, we were a bit hesitant to apply for sits.  Silly us.  There are those looming questions.  What if we don't like the place when we arrive? What if it's not as represented?  What if their pets don't like us?  What if?  What if?   We finally decided to just chuck the What ifs? and go for it.  After all, we were just house sitting, not buying the place!

So far, we have not been disappointed.  Sometimes, it's different than our expectations, such as the Ireland sit where the homeowner never left.  But the houses and the pets have all been good!  Don't know why we worried about the animals not liking us, it has never happened.

To apply for a house sit, we send a reply to an ad, telling how we would fit their needs.  We have always had animals to care for, so they are the focus of our reply.  Most people wouldn't worry about leaving their houses, but their pets are an entirely different matter!

When we hear back from an interested homeowner, the negotiations start.   We send references, they send pictures.  Sometimes, we communicate over the telephone, but most of the time, it's by email.  Is this overly trusting?  Maybe, but Bill and I always go with our gut instincts, which have not failed us yet!

For our first housecarers sit, we paid a security deposit into a joint savings account, as well as paying the utilities.  We got back the deposit, with interest.  Since then, we haven't paid a deposit, and probably won't again.  We have only paid utilities one other time and it was a long term sit, which we felt was fair, plus we had the use of a car.  It balances out.

So if you want to spend quality time in one place,  stay long enough to get to know the area, shop like a local, and see things not in the guide books, give house sitting a try!

Places Not to Be Missed in Northern Ireland



The Giant's Causeway

Mount Stewart House and Gardens



Johnnie Joe's in Cushendall



Braghemore Stones

Springhill House

The Dalls

The Crown Pub, Belfast

Any of the still functioning mills. 

The Old City Walls, Derry

Country Fairs

Navan Hill

Carrick A Reed Rope Bridge

Bushmills Distillery

There are many more sights to see in Northern Ireland.  These are just a few which left an impression on us.