Just About Dry.

The only evidence of rain today was the brief appearance of dark spots on the terrace. There was sufficient breeze to get the sheet I put on the line dry enough to iron. The towels will need more time on the rack in the utility room but every bit helps. 

 

My main spring cleaning job was to go through the folders in my filing cabinet and winnow out any papers no longer needed. That yielded a satisfying pile of paper to go for recycling. 

Having been out in the back garden to hang up the washing I couldn't resist making a start on the next major garden job which is to re-lay a dozen paving slabs. Originally I had simply levelled the ground as best I could and put random slabs down to access the main path. Today I lifted the slabs and at some point will dig out any weeds, level everything and then add the left over builder's sand which is sitting in dumpy bags on the drive before re-laying the slabs. Quite a manual job which I shall do bit by bit.

Then back to my study where I cleaned and sorted all my knitting needles and crochet hooks. I ended up with crochet hooks in every size from the largest down to a couple so small I would need a magnifying glass to use them. A handful of spare hooks will go to the charity shop but the bent or odd knitting needles are staying as they might come in useful for things like plant supports.

On Saturday there was a demonstration in Aber where people made a human chain right around the hospital. On top of other cuts it has been proposed that the stroke unit will be closed. After initial treatment anybody suffering a stroke would then be transferred over 100 miles (across the mountains) to a different hospital. That's just ridiculous. Imagine suffering a stroke and not having anybody coming to visit. Not good for mental well being which is an important part of recovery. There's already been a petition to the Senedd with over 10,000 signatures and now more frequent demonstrations and publicity. Let's hope somebody sees sense.

There was a pretty sunset this evening which was much more vivid than the photo shows.

Still Raining.

The day began dry with some sun in the middle of the day followed by light showers and now really heavy rain. According to the Met Office it has rained every single day in Wales this year. Of course we've had some dry days here at the coast but on the whole it seems like the rain never stops. 

Yesterday evening the coastguard were called out to rescue a car that was stuck in the sand at Ynyslas. The parking area is on sand but the rain has softened it a lot so you have to be very careful where you drive even above the tide line.

I still don't seem able to shake off this cold and subsequent cough. Although it was reasonable walking weather I decided, much to Peter's relief, to have a rest day at home.

After my regular morning routine plus giving the air plants their weekly bath and fed the orchids (who knew plants needed so much care?) I settled down to finishing off Peter's beanie. It's only for wearing around the place hence I didn't bother with a pattern which accounts for the less than perfect shape at the top. I'd picked out the soft chunky blue wool to start with and when that ran out only had the grey in thick wool to complete the hat. It's very warm and Peter is happy with it which is all that matters

Mid-afternoon.

Village windows catching the light of the setting sun.

More Spring Cleaning.

After a grey and very wet morning there were a few dry spells in the afternoon and some evening sun to light up the village. Once again I had to watch the dawn from the shelter of the open doorway. 

It was the perfect weather for spring cleaning with no temptation to venture outside. The radio was my companion as I emptied the corner shelves. Everything was cleaned and with some re-arranging put back on the shelves. There's even enough space for my old dolls' house which I plan to restore one day. It was originally an architect's model of a row of cottages which I guess were being converted to a modern home. My mother bought it in an auction when I was very small. I played with it for many happy years but now it is grubby and dilapidated. So much so that despite a cursory clean today it will stay on the floor until more presentable. Miniature houses or rooms seem to be all the rage at the moment but for me it will be a project for the future. 

I had a headache in the afternoon, maybe caused by a change in the air pressure, so started knitting a basic beanie for Pete as the one he wears is looking sad and I do have plenty of wool. Plus I like to keep my hands occupied.

I found some spare ribs in the reduced section yesterday and they've been in the slow cooker cooking in a barbecue sauce. For Peter's sake I followed a recipe for the barbecue sauce as he's not a fan of my 'chuck in the ingredients and see what happens' method of cooking. He much prefers a tried and tested recipe. The ribs should make a nice supper with Savoy cabbage and potatoes.

Wet.

It's been a grey, wet day today. Lightly falling rain forced me to sit inside the open terrace door this morning for my dawn watch. Even so it was good to feel the fresh air and hear the birds swirling above the waves.

Driving to the stables along the main road I looked in the mirror and there was a police car right behind me. Luckily I do keep to the speed limit though it's only been a few months since that section of road changed from 60mph to 40mph. Of course they weren't interested in me though they stayed behind me most of the way until I turned off the main road. (Because of the mountains it is the only road that goes west out of the area.)

I had my lovely Tex again. I'd remembered that I had the correct brush for manes (a plastic curry comb) at home so I brought it along and at least gave his mane a good brush. His tail will have to wait for another day though possibly not until the mud has been washed out. (Don't ask me why I'd forgotten to run that stirrup up but I did it later.)

We had a good lesson with plenty of cantering. This time I got Tex to canter straight off (almost) each time though sometimes he didn't maintain the canter. We got there in the end. Before all the fun stuff we worked on sitting trot to improve our seats. To the question When is it important to have a secure seat? my answer of When you're about to fall off, was technically correct but not quite what Iola was looking for.

Afterwards I did the usual shopping and got another freebee at Morrisons. I'd gone to the checkouts which were chaotic with lines of trolleys queuing for the only three open checkouts. As I didn't have too much in my trolley I went to the self-service where there was still a queue but not as long. I scanned my shopping but a box of reduced onion bhajis wouldn't scan. I called the supervisor who put in a very long number which still didn't register so she said no charge. Fine by me. 

A few days ago I decided that my scarecrow for the village competition would be Paddington Bear. Something children would recognise. Today I was browsing the charity shops looking for something blue to make his iconic duffle coat. Imagine my surprise when I came across this coat for £1. If I roll the sleeves up the coat may even survive enough to be handed back to a charity shop after the competition. The bag, label and some marmalade sandwiches should be easy enough.  All I have to do is to think about is how to make his hat.

Driving home along the back road I stopped to take some photos of the snowdrops planted in the verge.

It is so much nicer to drive along the narrow country lane than go down the main road with houses on either side and a 20mph limit.

Windy.

It was cheerfully sunny this morning though the sight of a rainbow in the distance was a tad worrying. Out at sea the strong easterly wind had flattened out the waves leaving a rippled effect across the surface.

It felt like a good drying day so I threw some towels in the washing machine and soon had them drying on the line in the garden. I brought them in after our Welsh class had finished and shortly afterwards down came the first spots of rain.

Every time I looked out of the window this morning there was a rainbow. Not surprising as dark grey clouds had formed over the River Dyfi and were being blown out to sea at Ynyslas. When our class started we compared the weather. Those of us at the coast had wind and sun while anyone living inland had a lot of rain.

Today's class went well. Monday's meetup helped as I felt thoroughly prepared for each exercise. I managed to fit in a bit of spring cleaning as well having now moved on to my study. A couple of shelves of 'treasures' have been cleaned and a handful of items put aside to go to the charity shop.

And I'm back to disco aerobics tonight.

Improved.

The weather was much better today with plenty of sun. There was a cold easterly wind but at least that helped get the washing out on the line semi-dry.

I too was feeling much better this morning. I won't be going to choir tonight as I'm still snuffly and I don't want to pass my germs on. (I strongly suspect that choir is where I picked this cold up in the first place.) 

There's still not much sun in the front garden but it has been streaming in through the windows facing the street. My study was warm and cosy with so much sun. A good thing as that's where I have spent a lot of time today.

I started with sorting out my wool collection. I planned to put it all in one large storage tub but by the time I had gathered up all the oddments stashed here and there it filled the tub and an overflow box.

At least I have all the smaller balls sorted by colour in Ziploc freezer bags. Plenty of scope if I ever wanted to do any wool embroidery or darning. I even came across my large darning mushroom so now I won't have to use a jam jar when darning. 

Then I did some admin and I bought our train tickets. I don't understand the pricing system. Is there one? The price varied (up to double) greatly depending on the dates. However I can't change the date. When I did decide to bite the bullet the price per person was £100 but then for two of us it was £103. I'm sure we didn't get that much reduction using our senior railcards last year. Of course I went ahead and bought the tickets at that price. That's another holiday task ticked off.

I finished off the afternoon with some ironing with one eye on the waves as I listened to/watched Dreigiau Cadi (Cadi's Dragons.) a children's programme in Welsh, as prep for tomorrow's lesson when we need to talk about something we've watched on S4C.

Yuck.

Wet.

I'm fed up with this flipping cold. After a reasonably good day yesterday I woke this morning feeling rough. I guess as you get older it's harder to shake off a cold. 

I haven't done much at all today spending a lot of time with my feet up watching Call the Midwife. Some of that time was spent brushing a fluffy top I'd washed to get the pile fluffed up again. Later I went through a box of Romas' papers before putting them out for recycling tomorrow since Romas doesn't want them. I did keep some of his old certificates just in case.

The last thing I did was to go through a box of vintage jewellery (and stuff) that my mother had collected over the years. I kept a few items but most of it will go to Oxfam with a note saying they need to get an expert to check though them. The more money they make for helping people in need the better.