Nadolig Llawen!

Christmas Eve shadows on the prom looking out to sea (after a day of preparing for the Christmas 'feast').

Christmas Day - cooking too much, eating too much, and washing up too much!

But still lovely to enjoy the day with family.

Then time to relax by the fire - with a glass of wine, and a special 'Christmas tree' from Martin - lovingly made from his used hankie!

Hope your day was just as full of good food, good company, and Christmas spirit (of whatever kind!).

Merry Christmas!

Project Home Automation

For the last month or so Martin has been working on various elements of home automation . . .  from Wi-Fi plugs that switch appliances on and off (e.g. my Christmas Bling!), to Zigbee lights linked to motion detectors, which come on as we move from room to room, and remote sensors for temperature, humidity and the oil tank level.

We've now also got a new heating controller, and automatic valves on most of the radiators, to regulate the temperature in each room.  All controlled via the Google Assistant and Drayton apps, and which mostly work well.  

Just have to remember which lights I actually have to switch on myself!!

Time To Be Civilised

After 25 years together we thought that maybe it was time to do something about making it official.

So today we registered our civil partnership, which means our relationship now has legal recognition, and we're officially each other's next of kin with all that entails - unfortunately a consideration as we get older!

No big party  - the registrar said the necessary words, we signed the document, and went for lunch in Wetherspoons!

It's Christmas!

Well, it is December at least.

It may not quite be Christmas yet - but it doesn't seem inappropriate now to break out the decorations, and get the tree up.

Need to make the most of my Christmas Bling Time!

Project Shoe Rack

Martin's latest project has been to use some of the pallet wood we'd accumulated to make a new shoe rack for the porch - et voila!

And here it is in situ, complete with shoes, wellies, boots etc.

All the layers lift off, which makes it easier to move when we need to, everything is nice and accessible, and the porch looks much tidier.  

Job done!

Lighting Up

Time for another visit to family - fitting in some pre-Christmas tasks (such as sorting out the festive lights in the parent's garden, and bringing down the Christmas decorations).

Our visit also coincided with the switching on of the town Christmas lights - and with the 'fountain' in storage this year (due to the ongoing revamp of the town centre) - the 'tree' was the focus of the festivities.

And boy did it attract some attention - perhaps you can see why!

Likened to the 'leaning tower of Pisa', it made the evening news bulletin, and was even trending on the BBC News website!  

Apparently it is all down to a 'bent trunk' and it is perfectly safe, but they are going to contact the supplier 'in the hopes that next year's tree is a better one' . . .  

This one at least won't be forgotten any time soon!

Lest We Forget

 Welshpool Postbox from our recent trip - says it all.

Sights and Sounds in Shropshire

So with tickets booked to see Show of Hands in Shrewsbury - one of my favourite folk groups on their (possibly) final tour - we decided to have a couple of days in the 'big' city (well 'town' if you want to be technical about it!).

After a leisurely drive through mid-Wales, stopping along the way a couple of times - we arrived in Shrewsbury mid-afternoon, with time for a wander round the museum and a few shops, before enjoying a few drinks and a very nice curry in the evening.

The next day we actually got a bit of sunshine in the morning - taking a walk down by the river, and through the gardens in all their autumn colours. 

Along the way visited St Chad's Church - a distinctive and really interesting round building - further distinguished by the presence of an 'Ebenezer Scrooge' gravestone in its churchyard (used in the 1984 George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol.)  

Apparently it isn't a prop, but rather a period gravestone where the original inscription was no longer visible - not sure if was quite ethical to allow a film production to reinscribe it, but it certainly makes a noteworthy addition to the churchyard!

After our musical evening, made our way home the next day via Oswestry, and the British Ironwork Centre - lots more to see than on our last visit - from the original 'spoon' Gorilla, to Marvel characters, and an ecological sculpture park.

The cakes were just as good as last time too - although Martin got a bit of a shock on visiting the Gents . . .

All in all it made for a nice couple of days away - plus we got a bit of Christmas shopping done, and stocked up the wine cupboard at 'English' prices! 😊

Vale of Rheidol Visit

The local heritage railway, the 'Vale of Rheidol', has had a lot of work done recently with new engine sheds among other developments - and today, they had a free open day for the local community to see the results.

The interior of the shed was a really lovely space, with the original ironwork in the roof, and a new wood block 'parquet' type floor - not to mention the engines themselves, all painted and polished.

And the first class carriages - so beautifully fitted out and decorated, with paintings of marine wildlife on the ceilings, colourful upholstery, and polished woodwork.

Really interesting to chat to some of the staff too about where the engines had come from, and plans for the future - a first class trip is definitely something for the to-do list!

Project 'Lighthouse'

Having finally given in to temptation, and purchased the Lego Lighthouse I'd been looking at for months - and with the nights very definitely drawing in - it was time for the big build.

First job, open the box, and layout the contents - lots and lots of numbered bags of Lego pieces, and a couple of very hefty instruction books!

And then it was time to start building - from the 'ground' up:

At one or two 'stages' a day, it took near enough a week to finish the 'build' - I really enjoyed putting it all together though - and the finished lighthouse looks great - plus it works!

Home from Home

For a while now, we've been toying with the idea of buying a van, and converting it into our own 'camper' home from home.  We've watched umpteen YouTube videos, trawled our way through autotrader looking for likely base vans, and even drawn up possible layouts.

This would obviously be our biggest retirement 'project' yet, and as part of the continuing research (we do a lot of that!) we decided to take ourselves off to a proper Motorhome Show, to get more of a feel for how the professionals organise the available space.

It was certainly an experience - we'd never been to the NEC before, and there was plenty to see (and it did give us some ideas) - but my it was busy!  

Getting into the car park wasn't too bad, but getting out again was another matter - it took us a good half an hour just to get to the exit!  Glad we did it, but if we go to the NEC again I think we'll be letting the train 'take the strain'.

Of course, being half way along the M6 we couldn't pass up the opportunity to continue the journey to visit family in East Anglia.

Good to see everyone, catch-up and help out with a few bits and pieces.  And of course, any visit to 'home' there wouldn't be complete without a picture of Marci Moo with a shoe.

Playing Ball

I could probably have titled this 'Autumn Sunshine' as that was really what it was about - a lovely sunny Sunday, and a trip out to Aberaeron and Llanerchaeron to take advantage of same.

But then in Aberaeron, there was this dog on the beach enjoying life with a ball . . .  although it (the ball that is) did look a tad deflated!

And at Llanerchaeron, the current generation of boisterous young pigs - no piglets today - were busy nosing a ball around their pen.

All in all it was a beautiful day, and Llanerchaeron was looking lovely in its autumn colours, with the ancient apple trees, covered in moss and bracken, glowing green in the afternoon sunshine.

Folly Finishing

Back in September last year, we had some final work done to render the outside of the Folly - just leaving the job of giving it a coat of paint.  And with the last couple of days being fine and sunny, it was time to tackle that job, before another winter passed us by. 

So here we are . . .

. . . one Folly with a nice bright white finish - long may it last :)

Archive Girls On Tour Once More

This time it's taken us four years for what we always intend to be an annual archive girls reunion - of course the Pandemic did rather interrupt proceedings, and we'd only ever really managed a biennial event anyway!

Another new location (mid-Wales, a quicker journey for the Aber contingent), with Hay-on-Wye selected as our main 'day out' as a result.

Visited the fully refurbished Hay Castle, lots of bookshops (obviously), and enjoyed the last food market of the year, all on a gloriously warm and sunny October Saturday.  

For once I didn't buy any books, but did come home with a box of very nice cider!

Dinner out at the local pub on Friday night, then cooked-up a feast on Saturday while watching Strictly (as is tradition).

Finished our Saturday night toasting marshmallows sitting around the outdoor fire pit, glasses of wine in hand.

All in all a lovely couple of days - goodbyes were said on Sunday morning as everyone had places to be, but looking forward to (hopefully) doing it all again next year!

Just Life

Well, the rest of September has been pretty uneventful on the whole - just life really . . .

As ever the garden has needed a lot of attention, with Martin focusing on the annual 'autumn' hedge cutting, and me strimming back my 'still-not-a-proper-meadow' (although I have now invested in some Yellow Rattle seeds, which are supposed to suppress the grass and allow the wild flowers to thrive - so fingers crossed for next year!).

Started my next Welsh class - moving up to the Canolradd (Intermediate) level, with two online classes a week.

Continued with my swimming three times a week (other things permitting), and some home Zumba sessions too.

Also indulged in a Lego set - the brother-in-law is a huge Lego fan, and I finally succumbed to this Lego lighthouse, when it came on offer.  Haven't started it quite yet, but have been doing a few jigsaws again.

Martin managed to fit in a fishing trip or two, and of course we've been out and about walking the prom when the sun has shined on us.

Socially, we had a trip across country to visit family, and I had an online meet-up with old university friends (one now living in the US). 

Said goodbye to our Peugeot diesel car along the way - we've been looking for a van to convert into a camper for a while now, and although that search continues, it didn't make sense to continue to run two cars in the meantime (in light of the car insurance renewal quote anyway!).  

We were offered a decent price for the Peugeot and so let it go - that just leaves us with the petrol Astra we acquired when my Dad gave up driving back in 2021, which will do until we go 'electric'.  Still sad to see it go - especially when it comes to tip runs with the garden clippings!

So, nothing terribly exciting to report - but pretty good all the same.

Rainy Days and Sunshine

After the glorious start to the month, normal service has resumed, and the last week or so has been distinctly cooler and wetter, and even quite stormy at times.

Took advantage of the occasional sunny spell to get out and about, including a trip to Aberteifi (Cardigan), for a wander round the town, a browse through a few shops, and lunch by the Teifi (sans otters - except for the statue!).

Then today, during a break in the clouds, had a short trip to Aberaeron for lunch, followed by a peek at Cei Newydd (Newquay), before it started raining on us again.

While it looks quite nice in this pic, the sea outside the harbour was really choppy, and so this was one of the few occasions we didn't see dolphins. 😔

Hoping the autumn months still have some sunshine to send our way.

Back In Black

Well just a little sooty maybe . . .

Way back when, we had a feathered visitor to the wood burning stove, subsequently dealt with by stuffing the top of the chimney pot with chicken wire.  Then in March, we had something a bit more professional fitted as part of the chimney pot replacement.

Fast forward to today, and we noticed this little one fluttering about inside the stove.  It appears the mesh round the chimney pot isn't quite as effective as we'd hoped, and blue tits at least can still squeeze their way in . . .

Bird evacuation procedures were duly instigated (basically closing the door and all the curtains and opening the french windows wide to make the escape route obvious).  

However, on opening the stove door to freedom, our slightly sooty feathered friend, wasn't that quick on the uptake . . .

. . . he managed to spend a good few minutes exploring the curtain poles, light fittings, etc. before finally exiting the building.  But at least he didn't leave us any 'gifts' along the way . . .

Will have to keep a closer eye on the stove over the winter now - and maybe just get that cowl checked again to make sure there aren't any issues.

Hello Summer :)

After a somewhat dismal July and August, September has arrived with the sun, and some actual summery weather . . . 

Rali Ceredigion was back in town, there was a tall ship out in the bay, and the beaches have been packed (just as the lifeguard service shuts down!).

Even at sunset people have still been out and about enjoying the water and the almost Mediterranean evening heat . . .

We even fired up our new wood pellet pizza oven one evening - we bought this back at the start of the summer, but have only got to use it a couple of times so far.

It does make a very nice sourdough pizza - and Martin roasted off some of his chilli harvest while we were about it - hopefully there will be more opportunities to experiment over the next couple of months.

Aside from the lovely weather, we've both been suffering with heavy colds (not Covid - we did test!), so haven't felt quite as inclined to enjoy the sunshine as much as we would have otherwise.  Fingers crossed, for a sunny Autumn!

Po-tay-toes

Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew... lovely big golden chips . . .

(Samwise Gamgee)

Think we might be doing all that as it's been a good potato harvest this year - at any rate we won't go hungry!

In addition to the main crop, we also found some stray pink fir apples from last year, and planted those up too.

They have also done quite well, although they do produce some rather  strange looking specimens!

Filling the Freezer

This month, I has mostly been filling the freezer!

Tomato sauce, vegetable lasagne, savoury vegetable crumble, sourdough flatbreads, etc., etc.  Will be running out of space soon, and we haven't started on the marrows yet!

And . . . Back to Normality

With our Welsh courses finally finished, it's 'back to normal' life - whatever that is!

I spent a couple of days or so across country with family, helping out with this and that, and returning with a boot full of wood from a tree my parents had cut down in the back garden.  Couldn't take it all in one trip, but will be back for more - should provide some firewood for next year!

 

While I was away Martin took advantage of some nice-ish weather to get out and about, including a fishing trip with his Dad, and a walk up to the University's Penglais solar farm - where the panels are now up and running.  

For the most part though the weather has been a tad unsettled, and with it being mid-school holidays we've no plans to go anywhere or do anything much other than keeping up with the garden, etc. - so it will probably be a quiet month.  

Lots of time to practice our Welsh!

Harvest Time

Early August and we're beginning to harvest stuff from the garden - including the annual crop of 'only took my eye off them for a moment' marrows.

But we also have tomatoes from the greenhouse and sluggery, potatoes from the garden, and the apples won't be long now either.

Time to get cooking . . .