Can’t believe our stay in Dublin is almost over – that time has passed quickly and we’re slowly adjusting to the different time frame. It is quite cold over here but inside the buildings are very warm so we’re constantly adding and taking off layers of clothing to adjust to the temperature differences.

Today Marie Kirk came down from Monaghan to meet with me in the morning and we spent an hour discussing the Virtual Assistant industry both here in Ireland and in Australia. She is enjoying being able to work at home and be with her young son of 3 years and I could share with her my own experiences of being home the past 12 years as our own 5 girls grew up.

She shared with me the challenges of giving and sharing information with other women here in Ireland wanting to know about the VA industry and I told her that it can take up a lot of time ‘counselling’ others whilst still finding time for one’s own business. I gave an outline of how I got started, how the network got started in Australia and how I’ve worked toward assisting others in the industry. The industry is still very young here in Ireland but slowly taking hold.

After Marie left Graham, Christine and I went for a walk to Black Rock along the beach path – about 3.5 or 4 kms from our hotel, had lunch and then walked back. We were amazed that the train line goes right along the foreshore – we’d not seen that before. We also visited a Saturday market – not a lot different to the markets at home, with much of the same type of ‘junk’ as well as interesting items, and occasional items that were Irish, just as we have Australiana at our markets.

The bird life here seem to be on steroids – massively bigger than our birds in Australia. The swans are huge, as are the seagulls and other bird life. There was a lovely park on our walk and we stopped to photograph the swans and other bird life as we passed through. We also took photos of a couple of the old churches – the buildings are really quite beautiful as well as being old. KMT

How Many Sleeps?

Someone asked me today ‘how many sleeps?’ and I knew she was referring to our forthcoming trip.

I hadn’t really thought of it in those terms until then - too busy getting work done, making sure that everyone who is filling in for me whilst I’m away, knows what to do and where to find things or how to find them out, making sure that everything continues to run smoothly whilst I’m away. But after that question it kind of hit me with some reality - it’s 3 more sleeps…. Christine got her luggage packed yesterday and weighed it - just inside the allowable amount.

I packed mine today and then had to unpack some of it - was 2kgs over! Graham has started putting his things together and should finish tomorrow. And then Monday we’ll spend picking up last minute things - some items at the dry cleaners, my travellers cheques and overseas currency.

The cat needs a new ID disc - he’s lost yet another one, so a trip to the Council as well for that. Different cat this time - Shadow (on the left here) - who hates his collar and the disc attached to it. So he made sure we couldn’t find them - bright purple collar, you’d think that would stand out in the garden somewhere. He’s now got a bright blue patterned one on instead.

By the way, Beauie is doing great, his fur is nearly fully grown back and he’s looking normal. The upside is he now spends a lot more time in the house - instead of outside as he used to do.

Some items to post off before I leave, tidy up my desk (hate it to look untidy) and then we’re just about ready. Hope it’s much cooler on Tuesday. They’re forecasting 41C for tomorrow and that’s really hot. From really hot to really cold - we’ve heard that UK and Europe are experiencing their coldest winter in a long time. Not sure if I’m ready for that but I’ve been told ‘layer upon layer upon…’ should do the trick. I look forward to posting photos and updates to you once we’re over there! KMT