These last two weeks have been exceptional, even measured by so many exceptional weeks since our move to Ireland. We have been waiting for two years for Jacqui’s cataract operation and the day suddenly loomed large ahead of us. That last fortnight of waiting was one of the hardest ever as we were not sure there wouldn’t be a sudden cancellation or some problem postponing the whole thing. On top of that the sight in her other eye deteriorated almost over night and for the last few weeks she was virtually blind. This was, frankly, quite terrifying for us both. The days dragged on through the hardest fortnight with only the dim, fuzzy picture on the television to distract her.
To make things more exciting we had the annual service for the water system at the start of the two weeks. Everything out of the cupboards for the reverse osmosis tanks and the main system cleared and cleaned ready for the technician. Whilst it was a disruption and Jacqui was left dog-wrangling whilst I stayed with the engineer he was very efficient and did an exceptional job. Still, the water system wasn’t finished with us. I’m struggling to find a registered gas engineer to give our boiler a service, to no avail. Then it lost a bit of pressure one morning. I refilled it but the next morning the radiators were making strange groaning noises. The boiler was empty again. I refilled it and – joy – water started dripping through the kitchen ceiling.
It was, of course, a Sunday. Plumbers are only slightly less rare than unicorns in Ireland but by some miracle the wonderful man who fixed the bathroom basin agreed to come round on Monday morning. Some rapid detective work later aided by my eccentric floor plan and he found the problem. The hot water pipes in the loft were leaking and closer examination showed they had been chewed in places by mice. Mice, tiny field mice who tend to head indoors at this time of year, curling up on our warm pipes and nibbling at them, the ungrateful little….. As it has turned very cool we were so happy to have hot water and some heating again.
Tuesday finally rolled around and we were out early and heading for the hospital. From the moment we arrived everyone was kind, helpful and thoughtful. I was able to stay with Jacqui in the day ward until she was settled. Then I dashed to the shops and hurried back in time to see her heading off for surgery. The staff were all lovely and very professional, sending us off with eye drops, eye shields and lots of instructions. They say they will try to expedite the other eye but already she can see again through the new lens and can actually read a book for the first time in months. The first physical (not e-book) she’s reading is “Ted, A Pawtobiography” given us by our lovely friend Helen. Jacqui became a bit of a fan of “Gone Fishing” whilst waiting for her surgery because she said the craic was great and it seems just right she can enjoy the book now.
Well that covers most of the hardest bits but there are some of the best days too. First has to be the immense sense of relief the waiting is over and it has been successful. Jacqui felt confident enough to go into the wood with me and Charlie and could see the trees turning gold and red. She’s been out to the polytunnel, with suitable eye protection, and done some urgent pruning and fixing as the tomato plants have got quite above themselves recently. Despite the unseasonal weather and very high temperatures there are tomatoes growing and the fruit trees that survived the storms which stripped much of the blossom have given us some really nice apples this year. I am still doing the driving of course and this means some careful planning and juggling of tasks but hopefully she will be able to take over more of it soon.
Overall there is such a sense of relief and real delight that we are finally seeing some improvement. Charlie was very worried about her when she got back with one big white eye but he’s better now the dressings are off. I must add we would have struggled to do this without the support of our friend Catherine. She came over and sat with the dogs during the early afternoon, letting them out into the garden and giving them a big fuss. They quite rightly adore her and we can’t express how much that means.
It was the equinox this week and the weather begins to tip towards autumn with the occasional early storm. Soon it will be time to light the stove in the snug and settle to more indoor pursuits. Some different wildlife is around now as the house martens are gone and the robins are arriving. One young one was in the Majestic last week but finally escaped after I left the door open. Miss Calico, the semi-feral cat has been on our windowsill watching us as we make dinner and I removed a young frog to a place of safety after it decided the back step was a nice place to spend the night. There are many little things here that make life interesting, both good and occasionally bad, but that is part of the charm of our home. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Thank you for reading and thank you for all your good wishes these past weeks. They meant so much.
Jennie.
(c) Jennie Finch 2026