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!