
My parents have a house in Connemara on the west coast and we've been hopping from here to there all summer. The beaches in Roundstone are magnificent. White powder sand turquoise sea and framed by dusky mauve mountains... Divine. The air is so clear and the place is never too busy, it has to be good for the soul. Then there's Cashel House... Run by the wonderful Kay Mc Evilly it's like a little oasis where hustle and bustle is shown the door and it's all about relaxation. Suffice it to say I am now half a stone heavier and finding it rather difficult to get back into the swing of things.
The childers are both back in school as of this morning. We had a couple of days of the staggered thing where one was in for two hours then the other had a team building afternoon... I'm sure it's all a marvelous plan for the children, but it's a royal pain in the ass for the parents. Sacha is in his second year in senior school and Kim is doing her final year of junior school. We've hit the teens with a bang and both are now wondering (hand on hip for Kim - shaved head and earring for Sacha) how I manage to get through a day without their constant advice. I remember thinking my parents were both akin to pond life and wondered how on earth they managed to exist without my help. God I'd hate to be a teenager again. I couldn't think of any thing worse in fact. So far they're happy enough to stand beside us in public and even manage to have the odd conversation from time to time, so I'll take that gladly.
We have a new addition to the family. A labradoodle pup by the name of Herbie! He's a tad confused at the moment as his name was changed several times in the first week. He was Joey first, then Harry, then Ollie and finally we've all settled on Herbie. He's the cutest little fella but it's like having a new baby. Either myself or himself has to get up at around 3.30am each night to let him out for a pee. That's fine and he's a great little man to let us know, but I'm one of those people who can't get back to sleep once I wake up. So I now look like I've aged ten years and have peppery eyes all day and have been forced to up my coffee consumption so I don't fall asleep in my key board, dribble and electrocute myself.
I'd better go and do some work. My Christmas novel 'Driving Home for Christmas' hits shops next month in paper back. My brand spanking new novel 'Summers at Caracove' is written. The editing process now begins, which is always exciting. I love the story and hope all my readers will too. I'll tell you about it another time because I have to get back to work now. I might see Irish readers on TV3 on Midday and for over seas folk I'll be back here again soon. Hope you're all well!
love
Emma xx