2022 Christmas Newsletter

 

I'm doing this as a group message, so there are many of you who probably already know most of this.  If I don't do it this way, I likely just won't get it done in time for the holidays. So please just take it as a review of the year as needed. 

Well 2022 has been quite a year. From the lowest lows to the highest highs. Fortunately the second half of the year was all the good stuff. 

I lost Mom in March. She was 91 and had a wonderful life. By the last few months she was so tired. It was a slow decline the last few years after two terrible car accidents (neither of which were remotely her fault) and the damage done to her lungs from smoking. I was with her right to the end and my overwhelming emotion by then was just being happy for her.  She wasn't scared and was ready to see her beloved husband and son, and sisters once again. 

As everyone who knew her knows, Mom was an extraordinary person and made so many people's lives better, most certainly mine. 

Then things took an upswing in June. I started to make my years-long dream of moving to England/Ireland a reality. 

The month of June I did a driving 'farewell tour' of the United States. I drove the southern route from Los Angeles to my first big stop in my old home town St. Louis. I stayed with my wonderful friend Patti in Webster Groves for a week. Did a 'Celebration of Life' for Mom, saw friends and relatives, my childhood home on Pepper Lane (abandoned and half burned down) and The Muny, the theatre where I worked for many years. 

Then Patti joined me and we drove to Philadelphia to visit my oldest friend from college, Marty, and the three of us spent some time at Patti's new home in Upstate New York. My friends Bob in Boston and Marta in Georgetown Delaware were also on the route. I then sold my car and flew out of Philadelphia to start my great adventure, beginning in England. 

Arriving in England: I decided to take the full six months Americans are allowed when visiting the UK. I set up a patchwork of cat-sittings and vacation rentals all across England and Scotland. 

The past six months I've experienced:

A week (and then the month of December) in Hampstead, a beautiful part of London.

Six weeks in Bicknacre, Essex, in the east of England near Chelmsford

Six weeks in Ashmore, Dorset near Shaftsbury -- a fairy tale looking village

Several weeks, at two different times, in a wonderful thatched roof house near St. Albans in Hertfordshire

A week in a beautiful cottage in the Cotswolds village of Coln St. Alwyns with my friend Marta who came over for the week. 

A week in a wonderful cottage in York, in the northern area of Yorkshire

A week in Perth Scotland

This is actually Pitlochry, a wonderful village I visited while in Perth

A week in the Lake District by the village of Kirkby Lonsdale

A week and a half in Lincolnshire near King's Lynn. 

I have wonderful long-standing friends in Hertfordshire who have become a 'second-family' for me. I've stayed with them off and on between cat-sittings and vacation rentals and will be spending Christmas with them. They have been so wonderful and welcoming. 

I'm now back in Hampstead at the same flat where I began my UK journey. I'm here for the whole month of December. We've gotten four inches of snow and it's quite cold but I've been getting out to see the Christmas lights, and just enjoying being in London. 

Even more exciting things are now right around the corner. I will be moving to Ireland on 3 January!  I have official permission from the Irish government to stay for the first year. I will have to renew each year for the next five years. After five years I can renew for five years and then at ten years, get permanent residency!  

I'll be driving my car over on the southern route England/Ireland ferry. I leave from Fishguard, Wales to Rosslare Harbor. It's a three and a half hour ferry ride. Should be interesting. 

I've already gotten private health insurance in Ireland, which is condition of my visa. It's amazing how different health insurance costs are there. I now have very comprehensive coverage for only €1,200 for the year!

I've rented a vacation property for the first two weeks in Ireland while I look for my new home. I plan to keep renting vacation places until I find the right home. 

My first choice of location is Southeast Ireland in Counties Kilkenny, Laois, Carlow and Kildare. I'm looking for a detached home outside a village or town. I've been watching the real estate site daft.ie for years and there are consistent additions of places added every week. 

So that's been my year so far. 2023 is looking to be exciting as well. I've gotten lazy about updating my blog, but I'll try to be better. 

I hope you have a wonderful holiday time and a great 2023!

Debra