Back From Borth.

It's always seems rude to suddenly stop posting but on the other hand I don't want to tell all the world that we're leaving the house empty. Anyway, we went up to Borth to do some clearing as it's been difficult to organise that from Devon. The first fix for the plumbing and electrics have already been done and the rats dealt with.

Driving up the last 30 miles are through mountains which appeals to my love of wildernesses and though it was dry it was overcast. Breaking through the mountains there's a point where you get a panoramic view of the coast and there the sun was shining. As we arrived I jumped out of the car to get some milk from the store at the end of the road and I was hit by the warmth and the holiday feel of the place and it stayed that way for our whole visit.

We were pleasantly surprised to find hat the electrician had taken up about half of the carpets and left them folded up. Sunday afternoon was spent cutting up carpets and leaving them by the drive where the skip would be delivered the next morning. As we were going to be 'camping' in the sitting room I swept the whole room on my hands and knees so as not to raise the dust and also to remove every nail and staple left in the boards as well as the gripper strips around the edges. 

Once we got the outside doors and windows open to air the place and took the carpets out it all looked and smelt a lot better. In the worst room at the back we pulled off a lot of the wallpaper and sprayed all the walls with bleach. The skip arrived Monday morning and by the end of the day Peter had methodically laid all the carpet pieces flat in it. For a 69 year old with his joint problems Peter worked heroically breaking up furniture and loading the skips. The full first skip was replaced by a new one late on Monday. That was filled the next day. 

This time we took up a duvet to use instead of sleeping bags on the air beds. Unfortunately the air beds were also a problem for us especially after 3 days of hard work. I'm just a delicate flower but Peter had serious difficulties getting up from floor level. His knees only have limited flexibility and the extra lumps on them cause a lot of pain when he attempts to kneel. However we came up with a solution for future visits. When we left Dingles we gave away the spare beds and only kept the 40+ years old foam Ikea sofa bed for any visitors. That too has since been given away and my plan when we get to Borth was to buy a trundle bed, a single bed with mattress that stores another slide out single bed underneath. All we have to do is check with the neighbour when he can let the delivery people into the bungalow and order one asap. Real beds, bliss!

We got the door to the small terrace open and took plenty of rest time simply sitting out there and being amazed that we have such an amazing place. We've met more neighbours and without fail they've been friendly and helpful. ……. Will be posting more photos and details over the next few days. 

When we got home today after an easy 4 1/2 hour journey (4 hours on the way up) it was to find the kitchen bin tipped over (I'd forgotten to empty it), Speedy's cone and collar on the floor and no sign of Speedy. The automatic feeder had been working but I still had a momentary thought that he'd died from neglect before I realised he'd been able to push away the board that was keeping the cat flap shut and get out that way. Once everything was unpacked I went out to the road, whistled a couple of times and up he trotted hoarsely uttering baby cat noises. His feet weren't dreadful but still not a good as when we left.

It was the last choir session of the term tonight so I quickly made some Rocky Road and had a practice of the songs before heading out. Peter, who did all the driving was fast asleep when I got home.