Tex the Tank.

I was so thankful to find that we'd had a dry night and although bitterly cold in the morning the roads were free of ice. The sheet I'd put over the car windscreen had frozen to a crisp but I only had to scrape the side windows before setting off for the stables. Further inland the fields were glittering under a layer of frost but the roads were clear for the whole journey.

The camera has made the pink more intense than it really was but it was still a pretty sunrise to start the day.  

I haven't noticed this phenomenon before. Pete tells me it's due to colder water above a deeper seabed.

Still a hint of snow on the far distant hills.

For this morning's lesson I rode Tex for the first time. He's a stocky, shaggy pony and I absolutely loved riding him. (His nick name is Tex the tank.) I was told that he never does anything dangerous but he can be a bit naughty about not doing what he's asked. My instructions were not to worry about getting him on the bit but to focus on very clear aids and to insist he does what he's been asked to do. No cutting corners or trying to follow his friends. I only had one slight problem in that his mane is so thick and long that I couldn't see his shoulders when I wanted to check if I was on the right diagonal.

With all that in mind we had a great ride (after having to get a different pair of stirrups as the leathers on the ones on Tex's saddle were too short for my long legs) most of which was in sitting trot. Next time I ride him I'll check the leathers in the stable while I tack up. At one point in the lesson the girl riding Pacman was having problems with one corner where we were supposed to be turning down the 3/4 line and leg yielding to the wall. She's fairly new to riding and Pacman played up every time ending up with a small buck. The issue was resolved by having Pacman follow close behind Tex around the corner and down the 3/4 line first in walk and then in trot. We finished off in style riding side by side and leg yielding at the same time which gave my friend a boost to her confidence.

Afterwards I took some stuff to the dump and then did the usual shopping. Town and the roads are getting very busy. I guess we're in the run up to Christmas. 

In town I went to the photo shop where the chap re-did my beach photo. It's still not quite as vivid as the smaller print which I did at Morrison's but much better than the first try.

Next stop was the bank to pay for another holiday in Plaka. At the same place and for three weeks again but this time in the spring when it won't be quite as hot as in September. The man in the bank dealing with the transfer had been to Crete and visited Spinalonga so we had a good chat while his colleague put the details into the computer.

I was determined to get at least one job done at home before my Friday afternoon collapse and decided to clean one of the long window sills in my study. There was hardly any mould on the window frame but one corner of the muslin curtain was discoloured by the damp. I washed that corner of the curtain before spraying it with the anti-mould stuff which I guess is mainly (or completely) bleach and leaving it to drip dry. I'll clean the other window sill tomorrow.

Cold.

Few signs of the snow today, just a dusting on the hills deeper into Snowdonia and also on the tops of the hills on the Llyn peninsula.

With the drop in temperature wiping the condensation on the windows becomes part of my morning routine. As I was doing that this morning I noticed not only were the window sills dusty but shock horror! there was black mould on the window frames in our bedroom.

So today's job was to wipe down the bedroom window sills and frames plus the bits and bobs on display (mainly ceramic jugs) and of course the venetian blinds. Those blinds are a pain to wipe down and once they had dried I had a good look from the street to see how effective the muslin (net) curtains are without the blinds. They proved to be sufficiently opaque to allay my concerns about being viewed by people in the street while I'm sitting in bed. The venetian blinds have now been raised up until we change our minds and that way they shouldn't get dusty. I went over the windows with a mould spray as well and hopefully that will keep the mould at bay as long as I continue to wipe off the condensation.

Naturally having started cleaning in the bedroom I carried on and wiped down anything that was a home for dust including the lids of the underbed storage tubs. I don't mind housework once in a while.

 

In the middle of the day we had our Welsh class. More practice on the sentence structure for the passive voice and trying to remember the different mutations, one set for his, another for my and a third for your. 

I finished my day with an hour of vigorous dancing in the hall. It was bitterly cold on the way there and back and with the temperature set to plummet tonight I've made sure to cover the car's windscreen. I don't want to have to spend ages scraping ice off the windscreen in the morning before I drive to the stables.

Snow.

After a cold night the first snow of the year could be seen on the hills of Snowdonia. It has been bitterly cold all day but all signs of the snow had gone by the afternoon. Temperatures are due to drop to freezing again this evening and I'll be taking extra care when I drive home from choir tonight.

 

My back was feeling a bit delicate this morning so I decided not to go to the zoo but to get on with boring stuff like doing my Welsh homework and housework. We worked on hips and abs last night in Pilates which I can do but of course I push myself to the limit and then pay the price the next day. As we were doing 15 minutes of HIT the rain was thundering down on the roof of the hall but amazingly it became dry for my walk home after the class. 

Today I got the phone number of a chap who repairs digital pianos which is progress though I haven't been able to get hold of him yet.

Needing some fresh air I went out in the afternoon and had a short session working in the front garden clearing up the piles of leaves and stems blown into various corners before removing yet more mind-your-own-business that was lurking under some of the taller plants.

Now to sort out some extra warm clothes for choir tonight as the hall in Tal Y Bont can get quite cold.

Oops.

Today has been bright and sunny with showers and always a bitterly cold north-westerly wind.

 

Even before I saw the rain I hadn't planned to go to the zoo today as I had an appointment for my shingles injection. 

Except ..... when I got there it turns out the injection I had last December was the second injection. Perhaps I should have remembered that I'd had the first one earlier in the year but I would have thought the doctor I spoke to about it last week might have noticed that information on my file. But it wasn't a wasted trip as I had a good chat with the nurse. Now that I shouldn't be called for an AF review (though the system might still think I need one) I can still ask for an annual 'well person' review and have all the other checks anyway. Not a bad idea when you're my age.

On the way home as it wasn't raining I went down to the beach for a windy beach walk where I found a small heart-shaped sponge. The tide was out so I was able to walk right along under the cliffs. 

Back home I baked a Bara brith for Pete and finished off the last cushion cover. I did all the sewing by hand as I wasn't sure how well my machine would cope with sewing through two layers of thick velvet and two layers of heavy furnishing fabrics. 

And as it's Tuesday I'll soon be marching down to the Hall for Pilates. 

Done.

It's been a calm, clear, cold day.

At last I had the opportunity to finish painting the house and the porch. Which I did while Pete went off rowing.

Before they could launch the boat they had to clear some of the stones thrown up by the recent stormy weather. But as a reward once they were out on the water they had dolphins swimming around them. This is a short FB video posted by Dave Furby.

 

It was a relief to get the painting done. There's a small section to do on the garage which needs filling first and then I will have to work out the best way to restore the surface on the inner side of the low wall between us and our neighbours. It's in very poor condition and could do with having the render taken off and re-done but that would be an expensive job. Something to think about next spring.

Also finished is the border on the brown throw. Now I shall have to think of something to occupy my fingers though of course there's still the last cushion cover to finish. 

A touch of pink in the sky tonight.

Moss in Hafod.

Turn on the waterfall !

Dry and a lot colder today.

Our walk today was on the Hafod Estate which is considered to be one of the 'finest examples in Europe of a Picturesque landscape.'

Sixteen of us (plus a 5 year old) met up in the car park by the church for a gentle ramble around the estate's rivers and many waterfalls, made even more dramatic by the recent heavy rainfall.

The burnt area in the centre of the photo above is the valley leading to the tunnel in the rocks that we visited earlier in the year.

From the church we made our way down a steep path (on the right) through a bare hillside where all the conifers had been harvested not that long ago. It would be nice if they replanted the slope with native trees but most likely the dreaded cash crop conifers will planted there again. The one remaining tree looked to be leaning most precariously.

It wasn't long before we came to the biggest of the waterfalls, the distinctive double step Rhaeadr Peiran (engine waterfall). Back in the late 1700s when many visitors came to enjoy the romantic landscapes several dams were built higher up across the Nant Peiran (engine stream) so that the water could be released to create spectacular waterfalls for the visitors to view. You could just imagine a runner being sent up to the dam with the message 'The carriages are coming, turn on the waterfall.' 

Further up the valley a bridge took us over the confluence of two streams flowing through deeply cut rock. 

We followed Ladies' Walk alongside the small gorge until we came to a swaying bridge which we crossed being mindful of the sign that warned 'Only two at a time to cross the bridge.' On the other side we settled down on fallen trees and stumps to have our lunch.

Standing on the bridge I had a good view of the stream an of a stone folly that may have had seats or a bench for the ladies to stop and partake of some refreshments as they viewed the wonders of nature.

Then refreshed by our sandwiches and shared biscuits, crackers and chocolate we worked our way back up the slope to the track along which carriages would have driven to the mansion (now no longer standing). We followed that for a while then a bit further along a path and back to the car park.

A Calm Day.

The storm is now over. Locally there were some power cuts and a number of trees down but in other parts of Wales flood waters remain in towns and villages and a major incident has been declared. Not a good start to the winter.

This morning the sun was shining. At this time of year we don't get much sun in the front garden, just a sliver when the sun shines through the gap between our house and next door. But the street facing side of the house has been bathed in the warm sun and my study with windows facing both south and west has been beautifully warm.

The weather didn't seem reliable enough to risk getting a second coat of paint on the back wall of the house however I took a chance and gave the porch wall a second coat.

I know I've shown this photo before but it's the only one I have of the awkward original porch before the builder took it down. And below is the porch today. I will give it one or maybe two more coats to protect it from the weather as it's in such an exposed position.

For the rest of the time I've been doing some admin and a bit of sewing and am about to settle down for some relaxing crocheting in the sitting room with the latest wool from a charity shop. It hasn't been so easy to find brown or beige colours but I think I've got enough now.