A Good Morning.

The day began warm and carried on getting warmer and warmer. Right now I'm very glad of the breeze which is blowing in through the window next to me. Having open doors at either end of the house also helps.

Once I'd been revived by the tea helpfully brought to me by Peter I had a very good morning. I had just got up when one of the builders arrived at 8.00 to reposition the porch letter box. For the sake of an hour's work and one extra concrete block we now have a letter box at the front of the porch. And the letters will land on the bench seat that is going to be built across that end of the porch. It sounds like the rest of the porch is being delivered to the builder this week so hopefully work will continue soon.

Then as we were eating breakfast Peter spotted a dolphin fishing close to shore. It was in such shallow water that it left a wake on the surface as it circled the fish it was hunting. I've not seen the dolphins that often this year so the sighting made the morning special.

After breakfast we headed off to Mach to meet up with our friends to practise our Welsh. It's been a while since we met up in the library since even with only four of us it's hard to find a mutually convenient time. 

 

Afterwards we went to the Café Owain Glyndwr for lunch to mark the end of our fourth year of learning Welsh together. Next year our lessons will be three instead of two hours so we should progress a bit more quickly. For lunch Peter had ham, eggs and chips with really nice ham and I had a bowl of carrot and sweet potato soup. Unlike last time when I found the bacon and lentil soup too salty this soup was perfect with a good kick of black pepper which is one of my favourite spices. 

Afterwards Peter went to play pool while I drove home. I took a chance and did some washing which has almost dried out on the line. 

Then I painted some more shields this time using paint for concrete floors. As it is not water based I didn't want to waste a paint brush but used an old toothbrush to dollop on the strange grey paint. I think it might be textured because it feels as if there is a lot of sand at the bottom of the tin. It doesn't matter so long as it works on cardboard.

I did some dead heading and used up the water from the water butt in the back garden which was beginning to smell stagnant. That butt fills very quickly with the water from the garage roof, one night of rain and it will be full again.

I did some sewing too, gathering the neckline of a top and even found time to sit outside during a sunny and very hot spell.

Warm-ish.

The day began with rain, around mid-day the clouds began to clear and the temperature started shooting up. But that was only temporary and soon the clouds rolled back down from the mountains bringing a low bank of sea mist. Not the best conditions for the washing I had out on the line.

I spotted a new type of board/boat thing? on the water this morning. It looked to be a powered kneel-on (as opposed to stand-up) board. I think I'll make a file of all the different kinds of craft and stuff I see out on the water as there's always something new out there.

Peter made an early trip to Lidl as we were out of a few staples such as milk, croissants, bananas, taramasalata and humus not all of which can be found in the local shop. He got there early and then had to wait (18 minutes) until 10.00 to pay due to Sunday trading rules.

I got some gardening done, did some house cleaning plus my usual routine (but not squats yet) and then later some ironing. Most of the washing is now hanging in the utility room as the light breeze didn't do much to counteract the humid conditions.

Whilst contemplating the garden I was pleased to see a few butterflies, a peacock butterfly and a fleeting glimpse of a small blue butterfly as well as the usual small whites. The buddleia should attract a few more as should the big sedums which are about to flower.

I spent some time watching and photographing the bees and flies in the stachys but with at least 240 species of solitary bee and 270 species of hover fly identification is not that easy. I did find out that the bees with white tails were not white-tailed bumble bees but worker buff-tailed bumble bees. Fascinating though all that is I don't see me becoming a serious entomologist.

PS. For anyone who is interested I've added a video from the RNLI ceremony to yesterday's post.

Out and About.

Although it's been warm I'm sure this doesn't count as a heatwave unlike other parts of the country.

Having stayed home for the last ten days it made a nice change to get out today.

First I drove down to the community gardens for another of the mini jumble sales in aid of a new bus shelter. It was a chance to get out, maybe see a few people I knew and of course eat cake. And that I did. I chatted a bit, had a piece of carrot cake and even found a couple of items in the jumble sale, a useful extra large cotton shopping bag and a cut glass bottle stopper. Today's jumble sale made nearly £100 so with any luck we should have a new shelter before the autumn and the children won't have to wait for the school bus in the rain.

In the afternoon we walked down to the RNLI Station for the official blessing and hand-over of the new D-class lifeboat, D-839 Annie Lizzie. It is named after Miss Annie Elizabeth Niederman who left money in her will for the purchase of a lifeboat. There were some words, fortunately quite brief, said by various people including The Lord Lieutenant of Dyfed (a lady) followed by a service led by the local vicar. Both the Welsh and British National Anthems were sung accompanied by a small silver? band. Amongst all this the lifeboat was officially handed over to the station and had a bottle of something fizzy poured over its bows. Something interesting I learned was that in the 59 years Borth RNLI has been operating over 250 lives have been saved. Not bad for a village of just over 1,000 people.

Then the lifeboat was launched and splashed its way dramatically through the waves for a while to show its capabilities after which there was tea and a good selection of sandwiches and cake. I chatted to a few people that I knew before heading for home. Peter stayed on and I understand that they would then be going on to the pub for a while.

Photos from the internet.

The plant supports were waiting for me when I got home so they have been unpacked and used to prop up any of the taller plants that looked ready to succumb to the wind or were resting on top of smaller plants.

Here is a video of the ceremony.

Cloudy.

Whilst some parts of the UK have been under an official heatwave warning here it has been warm but cloudy with steady rain by the end of the afternoon.

I've got so fed up with not doing much outside that today I just got on with things the first being shield painting using one of the paint tins rescued from the dump. There was about a third of a tin of a light sage green paint. The colour that seems to be still very popular for window frames and doors though being a traditionalist I prefer white. I used it to paint one of the large shields and eight of the smaller ones. Being water based it dried quickly and I got three coats done over the afternoon.

I did also finish taking up my study curtains so that's another job done.

 

The other thing I got on with was cutting back in the front garden. Even though it hadn't quite lost all its lavender coloured flowers I cut down the large geranium and discovered it is in fact three plants. I shall dig up at least one when the ground is less dry and relocate it at the zoo. 

I will also make sure to put in more supports next year so that it doesn't flop over everything else. I find the metal bow supports work well and have ordered more of the 100cm ones which should arrive any day. I was able to find a UK firm rather than going through Amzn which I would rather not shop with. And it was a few pounds cheaper even with a the delivery charge.

Below is half-way through the job though in the end I decided to take the whole lot down. There is a lot of bare earth now in that bed but at least I have a better view of the blue hydrangea.

Peter was out manning the RNLI shop this morning and afterwards he met up with Dave to discuss rowing club stuff. As I had run out of frozen cauliflower one of my daily vegetables, I walked down to the shop to see what they had. No frozen cauli which I had expected but I got a fresh one instead and possibly some ice-cream. I also wanted to see how my foot felt after walking all that way and so far so good.

Windy.

The day has been windy with spells of sun.

I have to say that the lack of physical activity is leading to a certain amount of boredom on my part. I can do things like playing the piano and guitar, sewing and of course browsing the internet and even some floor exercises but it is the same each day. 

I have lots to be thankful for including not being in pain or at least any more than usual and a lovely garden and view to look at but I would so love to stretch my legs on a good walk. I've almost finished turning up my study curtains so I could be thinking about starting another craft project. Plus I've still got to paint all the Viking shields for the carnival, 22 small ones for the boat and two large ones for us. So really there is plenty for me to do.

I've sat outside a couple of times today but the warm spells never lasted that long. At least it hasn't been raining.

 

The Sun Returns.

Having been somewhat put out to hear that Aberaeron just down the coast had over nine hours of sun yesterday and had been one of the sunniest places in the UK it was a relief to finally see some sun this afternoon.

The fact that I needed to do less walking about today and the fleeting nature of the good weather meant that as soon as all the usual routine was done I settled myself on the terrace. Sun lounger, kindle and mug of tea all made for a pleasant sojourn though wouldn't you know it eventually a grey cloud loomed and I felt the first spits of rain. 

It was only a fleeting moment of dampness though afterwards the world turned grey again so I did some more curtain hemming. The wide street facing window in my study has a double layer of curtains with instead of a lining, thick curtains made from a woollen blanket that help keep out the cold and the light from the street light on the opposite pavement.

Before getting on with the morning jobs I'd spent some time sitting down by the shingle garden. Although the tall flower spikes of the stachys are starting to look quite dishevelled as the flowers turn brown they are still full of many different types of bee, wasp and fly all buzzing about harvesting the nectar from the remaining flowers so I can't cut the spikes down yet.

I'm also keeping my eye on the hardy geranium in front of the blue hydrangea. There are still too many of the pale lavender flowers for me to start cutting that back. And yes, that is just one plant spreading across the whole of the flower bed.

Another hardy geranium doing well is Ann Folkard which has worked its way into the hedge and is sending out flowers 4ft up. The verbena bonariensis has shot up above the top of the hedge and is contrasting nicely with the brilliant purple buddleia. It's a real pleasure to see so much colour in the garden at the moment.

Windy.

It has been grey and extremely windy all day with a hint of sun later in the afternoon.

The garden is looking quite windswept at the moment. One of the fennel plants had flopped right over and needed a couple of tall poles to provide support. 

The ruta, which after the winter was nothing more than a couple of 6" sticks has done well. It's only because it's my namesake that I've allowed a yellow flowered plant in the shingle garden. (And the curry plant which has silver foliage and pleasant smell.)

My day has been much the same as yesterday; Duo Lingo, piano, guitar, exercises and curtain hemming. I also altered a vest top. I'm very specific in the style of clothing I wear ie loose vest tops but I wouldn't want to be seen in something with baggy armholes so alterations need to be worked out. One top was done quite easily but another needs some thought. 

The strong winds have brought out the kite surfers and some adventurous and hopefully experienced surfers.

Windy.

Wild and windy today. There were some moments of sunshine but for most of the time it has been grey and cloudy.

I've continued trying not to do too much walking around though I did go out and tie up the tomato plants which are growing nicely. I've also done both piano and guitar practice and then went on to do some exercises. 

I can't do my squats but did some shoulder exercises and then lay down to work on my hips and abs. I tried to remember all the exercises we do starting from 'dead bug' and even did 'the hundred'. Anything to keep the core muscles working.

Later I began shortening the curtains in my study, a job I had scheduled for this time. When I made the curtains I kept them long enough to hang below the window sills but they keep catching on the boxes on my craft shelves so up they need to go. I prefer to hand sew curtain hems which I was able to do sitting at the kitchen table. 

Rain.

We're definitely back to typical British summer weather with grey clouds and rain. 

Due to the worsening sea conditions the Aberdyfi Regatta was cancelled for a second time much to Peter's disappointment. He and the rest of the crew had been training hard but hopefully it will be third time lucky or they may even make it to one of the other local regattas. 

My foot is still telling me that walking around is not the best just yet so I'm still trying my best to not do too much. I may possibly have done the odd bit of snipping in the garden whilst checking out the latest flowers to emerge. Fox and cubs, (above) and hypericum (below). And as my contribution towards the meals I've done some food preparation but that has been about it. 

I didn't even get much time sitting outside because no sooner that I sat down than down came the first raindrops sending me scuttling indoors clutching cushions and kindle.

Muggy.

Yesterday.

We had another lovely sunset at the end of a very hot day. Even after the sun had dropped down below a distant cloudbank the beach was filled with families cooling off in the calm sea. A number of people were still there after 10.00.

Zooming in with the camera produced this intense (but misleading) photo.

Today has been warm and humid with a lot of clouds, the occasional moment of hot sun and a few short showers. I'm sure I heard the odd rumble of thunder too. Probably more of a typical summer's day to mark the solstice and the official start of summer.

I've spent the day trying to do as little walking around as possible but I did go round to my neighbours' garden to pick these sweet peas. I'd been invited to do so as there won't be anyone there this weekend and you get more flowers if you pick them as soon as they open.

Peter went rowing first thing and then into town to do some shopping at Lidl. I'd stocked up on non-perishables but we needed fresh fruit and veg and the odd thing that I had forgotten.

Phew !

Even hotter today. First thing this morning (4.30) the sky was filled with pretty pink clouds which then turned into a cloudy and windy morning that was still warm. Then come the afternoon the clouds disappeared, the wind dropped and the temperature soared. Inside the house had been kept comfortably cool by judicious opening of windows.

Following instructions, this morning I removed the bulky bandage and dressing (will spare you the details) from my foot and replaced it with a simple dressing. Everything looked fine though the stitching looks quite basic. But as I'm not planning a career as a foot model that's fine. 

Having decided that I was probably being too cautious by only putting weight on my heel I then started walking a bit more normally only to find that wasn't the best idea. So I'm back to hobbling about. 

Peter had an interesting row this morning, first they had to chase one of the rower's hat which had blown onto the water and then they got to see a seal dozing upright in the water and a dolphin too. Even with those sightings I'm not tempted to go out rowing.

I pottered around in the morning making breakfast, washing up, watering plants and then doing my Duo Lingo before settling down on the terrace with my Kindle. That was while it was still cloudy.

Later on it was too hot to sit in the sun so I moved myself into some handy shade down on the new paving.

As I went through today's photos and began naming the flowers in the bottom corner of the garden (spirea, buddleia, hydrangeas and h.geranium Ann Folkard), I spotted the tiny pink flowers of willow herb which had somehow escaped my regular weeding. 

While the colour didn't clash with the flowers around it it's too invasive to be left. So down to the garden I hobbled but before I could remove it I met the last owner's nephew who had just been visiting next door. Naturally I was only too happy to show him the latest work in the garden and he seemed to be impressed.

Two views of last night's sunset. Above is what the camera saw when I zoomed in and below is closer (a bit too light) to how I saw the sunset.