Christmas Comes to Town.

Today it has been warm and grey with the occasional burst of sunshine turning the sea an odd greenish grey. 

In the afternoon I headed off to Aberystwyth to sing with the choir at the turning on of the Christmas lights festivities. I hadn't realised that there would be a sizeable Christmas market and didn't bring my camera. I had to rely on my phone and quite a few of the pictures came out blurry. I'm not so comfortable taking pictures with random people in them so try and take them too quickly.

There were quite a few stalls selling local beers and ciders and some tempting food stalls too. They were a bit pricey for me which helped me avoid temptation. I did buy a small wooden die-cut Welsh dragon Christmas decoration.

Before our actual 'gig' we met up in a (closed) live music bar to run through our songs. 

Photo from the website of The Bank Vault.

Our actual performance went well, we managed to fit on the small open air stage and people stopped to listen which we weren't really expecting. I'm glad we didn't sing any carols as another choir was following us and they were going to sing carols.

It was all very festive with Santa, elves and the Grinch wandering about and even a lady dressed as a Christmas cracker. Later on there will be a lantern parade before the official turning on of the town's Christmas lights.

The best window displays in town are in the three Polly's shops but my picture of the nicest one was way too blurry. (Polly's are independent boutiques that sell very interesting clothes but not quite my scruffy style.)

- I finally worked out where the photos from my phone were ending up on my pc and think I've adjusted the settings so that they go straight into my usual picture files.

A Spell of Sunshine.

I woke this morning to unusual warmth (5C/41F) brought by the southerly winds.

I was up at 7.00, just in time to catch the fleeting pink sunrise.

The photo below was taken 10 minutes later when it was already a lot lighter, 

and the one below 20 minutes after that.

It's no wonder we in the UK are obsessed with talking about the weather when it changes so dramatically, not only from day to day but from hour to hour. Plus the fact that it is often so grey and wet. I took the next group of photos as I was leaving the stables after my lesson.

I stopped because of the lovely sunshine but already that dark cloud overhead was expanding. By the time I got to Morrisons there was no blue at all in the sky and as I left town the temperature was plummeting and now we've just had a heavy shower.

I rode Cadno today for my weekly 'horse fix'. The boss is still on holiday and we were taught by Katie. It was all work in trot and a lot of it in sitting trot. Thankfully I'm regaining my 'seat' and with Cadno being a bit taller and willing to trot on the bit but very slowly I had a comfortable ride. That was fine by me.

The stables are further on along the valley and the track to get there crosses the railway line twice. Although the steam trains aren't running at the moment you still have to listen and watch out for the trains going up for maintenance and later there will be the Polar Express for the children. I had to laugh when I first saw the road sign warning of bumps as there are so many potholes all along the track. Some get filled in and others get squished in by heavy vehicles but it is quite an obstacle course for those of us with little cars. 

I did the usual round of shops and town after riding. The most exciting thing I bought was a rubber and coir doormat, good for cleaning muddy boots, that I've put outside the back door. I'm always tired when I get home on Fridays so I gave in and put my feet up with a mug of tea and a sandwich for a couple of hours.

Wintry.

We had a chilly start to the day with pockets of frost in the garden and a distinct nip in the air. It warmed up a bit later on but the low light levels made it feel dismal and damp.

I walked down to the surgery this morning and had two vials of blood taken. The nurse mentioned that the doctor had ordered a large number of tests from thyroid and iron levels to magnesium and vitamins. All good if it helps find out why my hair is thinning. If I don't hear from the surgery first I'm to phone on Monday for the results.

While I was in the waiting room I listened to an older couple chatting in Welsh. I was pleased to find that I understood about half of the words they used but I still couldn't follow what they were saying apart from the fact that as many Welsh conversations go they were chatting about people they used to know. Who had moved where, who had married whom, that sort of thing.

Walking back through the village there are already small signs of Christmas preparations (I discount the supermarkets' efforts to get us thinking of Christmas mood as soon as the summer clothes and toys have left the shelves.) Here the beach shop and next-door café, closed for the past few weeks, have set up their Christmas display including  a large miniature village. On my way a truck loaded with Christmas tree drove past me and on my way home I spotted the village tree lying by the RNLI station. At home I swapped out some peacock feathers in a large jug for branches brought home from the woods to give me more places to hang all those decorations I couldn't help buying. Nothing is going up until December when I shall have fun decorating the sitting room. I suspect I may well be moving away from my minimalist tendencies.

The zoom lesson went okay. Though there were different sets of mutations to remember, some numbers have masculine and feminine forms, some words lose their final consonant if the following word begins with a consonant and so on. No wonder it's taking so long to make progress.

 

It's disco aerobics again this evening, I've spent some time sticking back the crystals that came off my trainers using builders' superglue and I've had to swap out the light-up laces as the battery on one has run out and they're not rechargeable.

I do like before and after pictures so here is the door/gate in its sad state last August and below how it looked yesterday. Next spring I'll finish off all the odd bits of outside painting that need doing and you never know, we might even have a porch by then.

Sunny.

A much better day today.

There was a certain amount of sun though it was cold in the shade. I still didn't get to the zoo, partly because Peter needed the car (I didn't fancy cycling) but also because my back is twinging today.

First thing in the morning I rang the surgery and got an appointment for the afternoon which I have just returned from. He was very sceptical about the beta blocker causing hair loss, thank goodness I'd done my research (I bet doctors hate patients looking things up on the internet) and was able to point out that they do and it's even on the list that you get with the tablets. For all he knows I could be that 1 in 10,000 case. As there isn't an obvious alternative to the beta blockers he wants to rule out all other possible causes which is fair enough. Maybe it is my thyroid. But didn't I have my thyroid levels tested in the summer? Oh yes, they were all normal. but they might have changed so we'll test them again. What about stress? No changes there. Vitamin D? I take a daily multivitamin and spend more time outside than in. Iron? I know my almost meat free diet is low in iron so I've been taking daily iron (with the multi-vitamins) for at least 20 years. So I'm back to the surgery tomorrow for a blood test and we'll go from there. At least something is being done.

 

No problems identifying a wren when you can see its stumpy little tail.

Since it was relatively warm in the sun I was able to complete my latest flight of fancy which was to silicone glass pebbles to the frosted glass panels of the blue door. I got the idea after seeing a video of somebody who had decorated inside her house with ceramic mosaics during lockdown. They add a bit of fun and look especially nice from the inside with the sun shining through the pebbles. 

Once that was done I cut back the plants in the front garden that will turn to mush over the winter. That was chilly work and I was quite happy to come inside to do the ironing before walking down to the surgery. All that's left to do now is practise some songs before going to choir tonight.

One of Those Days.

Let me start by saying that no one is ill or injured and there have been no disasters that don't have a solution but I've had a horrible day. All my personal disasters were very minor in comparison to what other people go through but since they were all avoidable they made me very cross and then I got even crosser with myself for getting so upset. A vicious self reinforcing circle.

The day began well with bright wintry sun but from there things went downhill. Last night I'd done some research on hair loss and beta blockers. I'd written down all the suspect beta blockers and the name of one that doesn't cause hair loss plus a couple of other medications that could be used. This morning I rang the surgery at 9.00 to make an appointment only to find that I should have rung at 8.30 as all the appointments had gone. That's never happened to me before. I'll make sure to phone at 8.30 tomorrow morning. The good thing is that once I stop the medication the hair will begin to return but on the sad side I feel that I may have lost up to half my hair already and to grow back to its current length might take 10 years. That has made me feel very depressed but I'm also angry with myself for being so vain about something that causes no physical pain and doesn't affect my health. 

Knowing that if I went to the zoo to weed I'd spend the whole time mulling over the situation and getting more upset I decided to stay home and do some outside work. 

The first of my outside jobs was to do something about the car windows. I've got really fed up with trying to see through a smeary windscreen and very foolishly decided to try a hack I'd seen on FB, that is to use shaving foam on the glass both inside and out. DO NOT DO THIS! or you will spend at least an hour trying to clean it all off. I mean, how gullible am I? In the end Peter suggested using screen wash to clean it all off. Brilliant, I thought, we've loads in the garage, except we don't any more. I ended up having to switch on the engine to squirt screen wash up onto the windscreen and use that. I got it clean enough to be able to drive safely but what a monumental waste of time that was. If I had had an ounce of sense in my head I would have tried it on one of the smaller windows first but I just had to rush in.

 

My other outdoor job was to complete a small project on the glass panels of the blue outside door. But when I looked at the door I saw that it was speckled all over with the white compound the builders had sprayed on the walls. They had covered all the windows and the front door with plastic dust sheets but didn't bother with the blue door I had spent so much time restoring. Some of the specks came off with a damp cloth but most had to be carefully rubbed off with the edge of my thumb nail, one speck at a time. It took all day and I still have the worst section across the bottom to do. To say I was livid with the builders is an understatement. I'll have to paint the door again too but can't do that until spring as that gloss paint took ages to dry even when it was much warmer.

Another irritant was putting the sheets in the machine only for the wind to die down so now we have them filling up the utility room which is still in need of a good sort out.

Things got a bit better towards the end of the day when I got out the glue gun and made 25 driftwood stars to put up outside.

And of course going to Pilates was the ideal way to unwind, both physically and mentally. 

Windy.

Still wet and windy with drier spells between and the occasional rainbow.

I did admin in the morning and as soon as it looked dry enough I headed out to collect my prescription from the pharmacy. That of course included a walk along the beach but I didn't take my camera as it looked like it would rain at any moment (it didn't). What I did do was collect a whole lot of small driftwood to make more stars from my beach themed outdoor Christmas decorations. Those are currently drying on my study floor and I have enough to make at least 20 more stars. 

One job I did was to hoover our bedroom carpet something that involves having to spend time afterwards removing all my long hair that has become wound around the brush bit. I've noticed recently that I've been losing a lot of hair which I thought was an inevitable result of getting older. But then I started to think a bit more about what has changed recently and lo and behold hair loss is a possible side effect of the beta blocker that I'm still on for palpitations even though I don't have AF. Guess I'll be making an appointment with the GP asap. So it's good that I've found out the cause of the hair loss but I'm not looking forward to asking for a change of medication. It always seems such a battle.

 

Storm Bert.

Storm Bert is still hanging around bringing wind and rain but not anything dramatic. I had thought about going for a walk on the beach to pick up more driftwood but whenever I looked either it was raining or the tide was too high. There was no group walk today, I'm guessing the weather was the reason.

Instead I cleaned out all the plastic tubs of orchids that sit in front of the sitting room windows. Not only was there the usual plant mess inside the tubs but because of condensation and the damp issue there was also a lot of mildew. One good thing about plastic tubs is that they are easy to clean and once those were done I gave all the orchids a tidy up too. I had moved the orchids from the utility room where the sun was burning the leaves and I tended to forget to water them at all but now I see that even my weekly watering has been too much. I've moved them right back from the windows to make it easier when I have to wipe off the condensation but that's not an ideal solution. In a way I'd quite like to donate them to the next charity fair in the hall but each one was a present from Peter and I find it really hard to give away presents. 

 

We wondered if the RNLI lads would go out training this morning but there they were and it looked as if they were having a wonderful time going back and forth over the waves. I guess they need to train in rough seas too.

A touch of pink this evening.

Warm.

The rain began in the night but Storm Bert didn't arrive here until mid-day when it certainly got very wild and wet. What has been most noticeable has been the incredible warmth brought in by a weather system from the south. Later in the afternoon I saw three surfers out in the bay but although there was some enormous swell I don't think they managed to catch any waves.

This was the perfect day to devote to making truffle centres. I now have about 100 centres; plain, ginger, salted caramel and fudge in the freezer. The ganache needed stirring every 5 minutes and Speedy soon learnt to jump off my lap when the kitchen timer rang. It's easier making a bigger batch and there was only one messy process, rolling each centre by hand to make some approximation of a ball. Now that's done I can have a break from the kitchen and nearer to time I will dip them in chocolate which is something I've finally got the hang of doing without covering everything in chocolate drips.

Once I'd cleared up after the truffles I went on to make a large vegetable korma which will do for several meals. Not completely from scratch but I checked the ingredients on the sauce jar and they seemed acceptable. We usually avoid processed foods as a lot of the ingredients are so unhealthy. I can make naans as they're so simple to make, yoghurt, self raising flour, mix, knead a bit and dry fry but I won't tonight as we're having vegetable pakoras and I've had enough time in the kitchen. They're the Morrisons deli ones which were double reduced from £2.75 to 69p for four. Again they might be verging towards the processed foods but I'm definitely not deep frying anything.

 

Stormy.

The photo below was taken yesterday afternoon a short while before the stormy weather arrived. One minute all was calm if very cold and then the next storm force winds were blowing everything around. I thought I would have to drive to the hall for aerobics but the rain and wind eased off just as it was time to go and I walked down instead. It was bitterly cold and I was glad that I was wearing a woolly hat as well as Peter's thick jacket. It was quite cold in the hall so I kept my fleece and hat on to start with. My hat is one of those with a giant pom-pom on top so I think that's the reason Rachel (she runs the class) kept laughing. She's a real laugh anyway. All that leaping about soon had us warmed up and it wasn't long before I was back to my usual attire of vest top over leggings. The glue from the glue gun turned out not to be the best way of sticking the 'crystals' on my trainers and I had to rescue a few from the floor and stash them in my bra until I got home. I'll try the builders' superglue on those instead.

It was still cold and windy on our walk home but at least we missed the hail which we had heard rattling on the hall roof.

The winds continued blowing and the sea roared all through the night and into the morning. Fortunately there was no frost or ice in the morning. I see from the Met Office weather map that there are yellow warnings for rain for both tomorrow and Sunday plus a snow warning for Snowdonia tomorrow. Today there was just a light dusting of snow up on the hilltops. 

When I got to the stables the girls were all behind, a combination of the cold weather and the owner being away. Usually the horses are in the stables with their saddles on and we just put their bridles on but today we were asked if we wouldn't mind getting the saddles and putting those on as well. I think that we all enjoy messing about with the horses and having little conversations with them as we tack them up. I was riding Margaret who was wearing two blankets so I had more buckles to undo with my cold fingers. There were seven of us in the lesson but nobody was riding the new horses. I'm guessing the owner would rather be teaching us while the new horses settle in. We didn't do anything that exciting in the lesson and I messed up the first canter when all that happened was an extremely fast trot. The next time I was more organised and we had a sensible canter. I also got some very good trotting on the bit so I felt I was making progress.

Afterwards I did the food shopping but didn't go to any of the other shops. Arriving home I really wanted to flop down with a coffee after unpacking the shopping but instead went out and washed the dust from the rendering off the windows. They had hosed everything down but it still was mucky and needed a good wash. I also cleaned the recycling caddy and bin which had got into a terrible state when they hacked all the old render off the walls. Once all that was done I had a couple of hours of doing nothing much at all. 

Icy.

This current bout of snow is on its way out but the air has been so cold that a lot of the hail that fell yesterday was still here in the afternoon.

I had an appointment with the doctor at 9.00 this morning so I was careful to stay away from the ice as I walked down to the surgery and will take care this evening as I go down for disco aerobics.

I have been indoors for most of the day though I did go out to clear the ice from the car before putting a towel and old sheet over the windscreen in preparation for tomorrow morning.

 

The Zoom class wasn't so confusing today. Maybe because we have come to the end of the unit and were going back over the work we'd already done. Plus our Monday sessions in the library help a lot. I must be making some progress because when our tutor spoke to us (in Welsh) about the option to take the exam when we reach the end of the entry level course by January, I didn't have to think twice before blurting out 'dim diolch' (No thanks.) It's only the few who need the qualification for work that are considering the exam. The rest of us don't want the stress.

After the class I had a bit of fun arranging glass blobs for the next of my small 'projects'.

Some of the aubretia had just begun to flower again before it got covered with ice.