American Chores we don't have in Ireland

Take a look at my historic bed and breakfast website at
www.theironhorseinn.com

Living in the US has been an interesting adventure for me as an Irish woman. However there are a number of chores here that I didn't need to worry about in Ireland. For example watering the grass - in Ireland mother nature pretty much takes care of that one - it rains so often it is not necessary to water the lawns - that is why it is so green over there! However here in Texas, keeping the lawns in our lovely old bed and breakfast is a constant chore and there are so many types of sprinklers to do the job! Paul and I took a trip to our local Home Depot at the beginning of the summer and I was mesmerized by all of the gadgets there are to keep the garden watered! They spin, wave, rotate, squeeze and who knows what else - fascinating!
This is part of our 1 acre gardens that we are constantly watering here at the Iron Horse Inn


Another chore I didn't need to worry about in Ireland was controlling the air conditioning. We never get summers so hot that we need to air condition our homes in Ireland- although when I talk to folks from home they tell me they can't bear the heat waves when the temperature is in the 70's over there! I remember feeling exactly the same before i moved here, but now I can work out in the garden in 100 degrees and more! In this big old house we are constantly changing the temperature on the air conditioner to cut back on electricity when we don't have guests in certain parts of the house.
I have also discovered that air conditioners are temperamental creatures and regularly break down and need expensive first aid. Replacing these units costs a pretty penny too as we have discovered.

A constant chore in Ireland is to "turn off the immersion". Every home has a tank to heat water that we call "Immersion heaters" or "the immersion" These can be the bain of our existence! We would turn on the immersion heater to have a bath and the constant chant in most Irish homes from parents was "did you turn off the immersion!" We lived with a fear of the electricity bill from over use of the "immersion". There is a comedian in Ireland who tells a story about someone sitting on a packed bus who tells the person next to them "Oh no, I think I left the immersion on" and the entire bus empties of passengers as everyone hurries home to check if they turned off their own immersions!