Wet.

It has rained all day with the occasional spell of lighter rain.

Although I've just walked down to the shop for some milk by the sound of the rain drumming on the roof of my study I will need to drive to disco aerobics tonight. 

Choir last night was good. Reluctant as I am to go out in the evening once I'm there I enjoy the singing and the people are really nice too.

I had some fun when we began learning a new song. For once the bass section had a catchy tune and rhythm (though for the life of me I can't recall it now). The sopranos had just one note and the altos and tenors each had two notes for the whole song. When the suggestion was made for an extra person or two to join the bass section of three I jumped at the chance. A whole tune instead of two notes? Two of the guys were singing low bass and one an octave higher so I joined in with the higher version. The very last line of the song was a bit too high for me so I'll try and drop down an octave for that one next time we sing it.    

Today my spring cleaning efforts moved to the bathroom. Peter keeps it clean (I do the second toilet aka the blue loo) so I thought all I had to do was turf out the cupboards and give them a wipe down then do the mirrors. I couldn't detect any mustiness in the spare towels but they are being aired anyway. 

What I wasn't expecting was having to scrub the lino. Not Peter's fault as he can't get down on his knees and just mops the floor. But textured non-slip lino collects dirt in the little dips and really needs scrubbing. Safety is more important than ease of cleaning so I shall be scrubbing the floor every now and again.

I did my cleaning around our three hour Welsh class, a bit before, some in the break and the rest after. In class we're doing a lot of chatting (in Welsh) in break-out rooms so I guess we are making progress.

Back To Town.

This morning the fierce easterly wind howled and whistled around the rooftops as it sent the clouds scudding across the grey sky. The day has been wet with the occasional bright spell and a few rainbows.

This morning they were pouring cement to create new foundations where the falling down house had been demolished. On the left of the photo, behind the sea wall is a pile of grey rocks, mostly granite, that had been the original foundations of the house. No doubt the houses on either side were built in the same manner which is why they are slowing leaning back away from the sea.

Today I had to go into town for a dental check-up. Five minutes and 'That will be £75.' Grrr. No NHS dentists for anyone in Ceredigion unless you happened to be lucky enough to be on a dentist's list before they stopped taking new patients.

Walking back from the dentist I saw that  the Climate Shop has a new and larger premises. They want to encourage buying second-hand to conserve the world's resources and the money they make goes to planting trees. Inside everything is priced in 'trees', 5 trees = £1.

The whole place is laid out really well. Everything is in sections and there were side rooms with clothing, soft furnishings, books, pictures and diy stuff. Somebody has excellent organisational skills and a good design eye. 

They even had a café area where you could get hot drinks, cakes and snacks. It would be a nice place to have a cuppa if you were spending a day in town. 

The main room was filled with tables covered in all sorts of bric a brac if you like that kind of thing.

What caught my eye was somebody's collection of empty coffee jars on made to measure shelves. They contained all sorts of diy 'bits'. Everything from wheels and curtain rings to nails and screws. The sign above read 'Please help yourself and make a donation at the till or bring us all the bits from your kitchen drawer.' Don't we all have a kitchen drawer or equivalent where all the bits and bobs are kept?

Back home I carried on with the spring cleaning by washing everything that had been displayed on top of the bookcase and on the side shelves. Also washed was the collection of random objects I keep on the small windowsill. 

This rainbow seemed to have one end coming down in the sea right in front of the house with the other end coming down in the village. I went out in the road to get a better photo but couldn't quite both ends in frame even though I was half-way up my neighbour's drive.

I'll be out again this evening driving to Tal Y Bont for choir practice. Too much driving this week.

Green (and red)

Squint hard or enlarge the photo and you should see a hint of green and red light coming through the gap under the clouds.

Yesterday evening I was casually browsing FB when I saw that people were reporting seeing the northern lights. One person in North Devon and another in North Wales posted photos of skies coloured bright green and red. That had been posted in the last 15 minutes so of course I rushed out to be met with almost total cloud cover. Out to sea there was a lighter area under the cloudbank and in the hope that it wasn't just a low lying cloud I took some photos. And yes my camera picked up a hint of colour so now I can say I have seen the northern lights. Maybe one day I'll get a better view.

This morning I could tell that bad weather was on the way. Sure enough we soon had light showers which gradually settled into what is now heavy rain.

 

Since this was the only day I would be free to go to the zoo I went anyway. When I got there I found one of the other volunteers wondering how the wolf dogs had dark green shading along their sides. We looked around the enclosure but the fence posts and the structures are all made of plain wood. The green algae that grows in damp conditions was a much lighter shade of green so that couldn't have been the cause. 

Then the reason came to light. There has been some refurbishment going on in the other part of their large enclosure and Dean, the owner had painted one wall dark green. He thought the paint was dry when he let the wolf-dogs back into that section but Cosmo, followed by Zeus gave the painted wall a good sniff followed by the pair of them rubbing their sides along the painted wall. The wolf part of their nature means that they are far too timid to be touched let alone brushed so they will have to stay green until the rain washes then clean again.

In the two hours I was there before rain stopped play I tidied up the gravel patch by the wolf-dogs. It was mostly picking up leaves and cones but there were enough weed seedlings coming through (all gone now) to make it worth having spent time there. It gave me a chance to see which of the plants I put in there are thriving and where I can top up the planting with things I've been growing at home. I'll wait until nearer Spring to do that.

At home I emptied the large bookcase, cleaned the shelves, dusted the books and put them all back. Looking at the piles of books on the floor I though they were a good visual illustration of the way I feel life is if I'm not organised. I would have to pick my way through things, spend ages looking for a particular item and live in chaos. As I get older I much prefer to know what I'm doing and know where everything is. (Don't mention the mess in the garage.)

It was raining heavily in the evening so I drove to the hall for Pilates. It was a tough session with plenty of work for our glutes to help prevent hip pain. 

Frosty.

It was cold and frosty this morning while the day has been bright and sunny even though rain was forecast.

I had great trouble getting to sleep last night. My own fault entirely. Usually after my first coffee of the day I stick to decaff coffee simply for health reasons. Yesterday I saw there was still coffee in the cafetiere so re-heated it for an early evening drink. That was why I didn't get to sleep until after 3.00 in the morning. A lesson learned but at least I know how to keep myself awake should I need. 

Despite sleeping in a bit I still got a lot done today. My spring cleaning has moved on to the hall by the front door aka the library.

First I emptied the big cupboard that holds all our coats, cleaned inside and sorted the coats into three piles. Mine, Pete's and hopefully to be passed on to the charity shop. Pete was out playing pool in the afternoon but bless him when he came home he only 'rescued' one item from the give-away pile. Five coats can now be passed on to those who need them rather than taking up space in our cupboard.

While waiting for the cupboard to air out I went up in the loft and photographed some of my mother's sculptures.

That done I put the coat cupboard back to rights, emptied out the bookshelves in the alcove and cleaned the shelves.

While the shelves were drying I had fun in the garden pressure washing all the paving in the back garden. A very satisfying job. Not only do the slabs look much better but they will also be safer with the slippery algae removed. Of course in this damp climate it will return and then out will come the pressure washer again.

Garden work done I put the books back on the shelves having sorted out a pile to give or throw away. I had kept those of the boys' books which had been enjoyed by children when I was supply teaching. But I no longer teach and there's no prospect of children coming to the house so there's no point in hanging onto children's books. I have kept some much loved books from my childhood. Classics like Wind in the Willows, Winnie the Pooh, The Moomins, E.E. Nesbit and Dr Dolittle. 

Also destined to be recycled is a falling apart scrapbook containing all the cards, letters and telegrams, (remember those?) from our wedding nearly 50 years ago. Of course I looked through everything and have kept a few special items. I didn't even know many of the guests. They seem to have been friends of my mother who had known me as a small child. All in the past now.

Hopefully the hint of pink in tonight's sunset means it will be dry tomorrow.

The Saga Of The Coedlings.

This morning's sky told a story of two halves, sunshine to the west and damp, grey clouds to the east. With no discernible wind it was anyone's guess as to how the day would turn out. Eventually the clouds took over and we had a dampish day.

Today's walk was a gentle riverside stroll that I've been on a few times before so I decided to devote the day to spring cleaning the sitting room instead.

But first let me entertain you with the Saga of the Coedlings.

*  *  *  *  *

The Coedlings are a race of gentle creatures who live in a distant world unknown to humans. They are perfectly adapted to the low light conditions of their hidden dwelling place where they live in colonies where all are equal, tasks are shared and disagreements few. 

They live by the rule of 'Harm no living thing,' eating neither other creatures nor living plants. Instead they consume vegetation that has been discarded by plants and therefore not considered as living. Once the searing heat of the sun no longer turns the outside world into a place of danger inhabited by giant flying predators the adults venture through long tunnels  to gather food for the colony.

The youngsters remain safe behind in their dark world and often gather to listen to the old ones telling tales of distant places. Sometimes those stories are of a higher world which can be reached by climbing up through secret crevasses in the roof of their living space. Once through to that elevated paradise protected in some mysterious way from the burning sun there is food as far as the eye can see. What more could a coedling want?

In search of excitement the more adventurous of the youngsters find those hidden crevasses and disappear upwards. Often never to return though by some strange means a few are transported in a terrifying manner and find themselves in the outside world where if they are fortunate they will be discovered by the foraging parties.

*  *  *  *  *

What you may be asking yourself is daft Ruta going on about? But the coedlings live under our home and are known to humans as woodlice. (coed - wood) Each night some climb up through the gaps in the floorboards and find themselves on the sweeping plain of our wood effect laminate flooring. What looked like a vast expanse of food is just an impenetrable surface and though the sun does not shine on them the air is dry and too warm. Death comes for most apart from the lucky few whom we spot, sweep up and deposit back outdoors.

This sad tale is how Pete and I explain the daily incursion by woodlice as we try and rescue any that are still alive.

While Pete was out coxing a row I hoovered, washed and polished in the sitting room. All the furniture was moved and the sad drifts of dead woodlice hoovered away. Out came the mould spray to deal with the small amount of mould around the French doors, which I don't mind and then there was the damp corner to deal with. (The reflection in the mirror shows where the paint has already been rubbed off.) 

This really annoys me as the builder who said he would try injecting a damp course from the outside still hasn't given us a date. No point in trying to get anyone else either because this is perfectly normal for Borth. Not only do I have to keep wiping the mould off the wall in that corner but the curtain is also damp and stained. As it is a white curtain I gave it a through spray with the mould stuff which is mainly bleach and tucked the soggy end into a mop bucket. There is no point in doing more until the wall is no longer damp. 

My deep emotional attachment to objects from my childhood includes this desk. I treasure this photo of myself aged 4 reading to my mother at the same desk that now gleams in our sitting room. (I'm pretty sure that's a Bryan Pierce painting on the wall.)

The Repair Café.

Lots of sun and the occasional shower today. It would have been a lovely day to go for a walk but I had plans.

Yesterday at Charlie's I made sure to check out the equestrian area as I always do. There I was quite encouraged by seeing a member of staff adding a second reduction on the clothes on sale.

He had already done the upper rail of the smaller sizes, no good to me, and was working his way through a rail of jodhpurs (or riding tights as they are now known). I had a little wander, came back and he was still at the same rail. Picking up a couple of the larger tops that I was interested in I asked him if they were going to be further reduced as well. The man was not helpful and said he wouldn't know until he'd checked with his scanner. When I said I'd come back in a few minutes he grumpily said that it would take him 10-15 minutes to finish the rail he was on (about eight items). Suspecting that he might even go off and do something else before reducing the larger tops I gave it up as a bad job.

Since I had to go into town anyway today I thought I might go back to Charlie's too. The questions were - did he reduce the larger tops? Probably. Would the ones I was looking at still be there? Also probably. And would any of the tops fit? Possibly.

And yes, there they were. Three tops or as the makers like to call them base layers. Two were a trendy and expensive brand and still £25 but the third was warmer, not so tight and reduced from an initial price of £33 down to £15. It's now hanging in my wardrobe.

The main reason I went into town was to take some things to the repair café which was being held at Aberystwyth bandstand. In an attempt to counter the waste caused by our throw away society they repair household electrics, clothes, bikes, toys, woodwork and technology. I saw sewing machines, dolls and vacuum cleaners all being repaired and a table of ladies mending clothes.

I had brought along my hair straighteners which I knew had a faulty connection as I had to jiggle the wire to get the light to turn on. Unfortunately that turned out to be damaged wires too close to the connecting bit so non-repairable and a fire risk. They've gone in the pile to be taken to the recycling centre and I bought some basic straighteners from Tesco's. I only use them to straighten my fringe so no point in going for a fancy model.

The next items were some touch lamps which had stopped working a long time ago. One just needed some cleaning and is fine now. The other had some damage to the bulb fitting and still doesn't work properly so now I can clear that out to the dump too.

I had one more stop to make in town to return some socks I'd bought yesterday in Matalan. They were men's socks that I'd bought for myself but when I tried one on the elastic tops were ridiculously tight. Definitely too tight to wear. In case you are thinking that I have fat calves Pete took one look at them and said they wouldn't fit him either even though they were his size. In Matalan they were a bit hesitant about giving me a refund as I'd tried one sock on. My argument was that I was returning them because they were not fit for purpose. When I said I'd be content with credit on their store card that's what they agreed to. I'm sure I'll find something to buy there during the year. I bought myself some socks with looser tops in Tesco's instead.

After I got home and had tidied up there was time for me to carry on with the spring cleaning but I ran out of energy and took things easy instead. Plenty more days for cleaning.

At Last.

It has been a day of sunshine and showers with the occasional rainbow.

I woke this morning and for the first time in a long time with very little pain. This was good not only because of the lack of pain but in that sometimes I start feeling depressed thinking I'm on a downward slope to decrepitude and wondering how long I'll be able to continue with all my activities. A good morning gives me hope for the future.

I was outside for my 'thinking time' early enough to enjoy seeing the sky gradually lighten as the world began to wake up.

By the time I was back inside eating my breakfast the morning clouds were flushed pink for a brief spell though it wasn't long before there was a shower which brought its own bonus of a spectacular rainbow.

Out on the cliff the birds were paddling for worms. That's what seagulls should be doing rather than ripping open bin bags or stealing chips from unsuspecting holidaymakers.

I have to be quite organised on a Friday so I end up doing more things when I'm busy rather than I have the whole day at home. This morning's contribution to the spring cleaning effort was cleaning everything on the sitting room windowsill. (I had cleaned the blind and the planters just before Christmas.)

There were seven of us riding this morning but there is going to be a lesson at 12.00 as well to reduce the numbers in each class. I had my favourite grumpy, chunky, hairy Tex and had enough time beforehand to give his mane a good brush. I would need at least an hour to do his mane and tail properly but it was a start. A couple of people were asked to ride without stirrups and when I asked the boss who was teaching us, if I should as well she replied that she wasn't sure if I wanted to. I ended up riding for the whole lesson without stirrups which is no great feat on Tex. 

There was some noisy building work going on outside the school with a great deal of banging and thumping but nobody had any problems. Tex is very reliable in that sense. 

Afterwards I went to the dump, called in at Toolstation and dropped some stuff off at Hahav. Then on to Morrison's where I met one of the RDA organisers. We had a nice long chat in the middle of the aisle leaning on our trollies. I'm not sure if it's just in Wales (where people chat a lot) but they have several tables and chairs in the middle of the shop (not the café) with a sign saying 'Have a seat if you want.'.

Next stop was Charlie's where they have removed the temptation of the half-price Christmas decorations. I browsed the shoe sale, tried on a few pairs of boots and found Heavenly Feet boots are still too tight ( I'm an optimistic soul) and carried on with my hunt for a pair of jodhpur boots even though I've looked there numerous times. Where I did strike lucky was at the Red Cross shop in town. A pair that fitted for £12. I still prefer my long boots but I'm hoping to ride in Crete and need some suitable footwear.

Back home all I had to do was throw my clothes in the washing machine and replace everything back on the windowsill. Then came a welcome rest with tea and tablets.

Weird.

It's been a mix of sun and damp mists today. 

A strange thing happened this morning. Yesterday while watching the film my attention had been caught by the jewellery the characters had been wearing as I'm interested in design. Before waking this morning I dreamt I was wearing a pair of large wooden earrings. They weren't comfortable so I decided to take them off and put them on my bedside cupboard. Still dreaming I said to myself "Don't be silly, you wear studs."  which I do. When I woke up I found one stud still in my ear and the other stud and both earring backs on the bedside cupboard. I guess one of them had poked me and I had taken them out in my sleep. I've never done anything like that before. 

As I sat outside this morning watching the waves gently rolling in it was the birds that caught my attention. As soon as I come outside the robin appears waiting for the small handful of seeds I scatter on the paving below. He does not like to share. A dunnock appeared and after having a drink tried to make its way to the seeds hopping behind and around around the planters. But as soon as the robin spotted the intruder up he flew and chased it away. Time after time the dunnock was told to clear off but eventually a second dunnock appeared which confused the robin and then the dunnocks had a chance to eat the seeds too.

Today my spring cleaning turned to the shelves in the sitting room. While trying to keep the display elegant it's still an eclectic mix of items. Ranging from a 16thC Chinese vase and Bristol glasses to local craft items and my little wooden robots.

That was all done before three hours of Welsh class. All the preparation we did on Monday stood us in good stead for the first hour of conversation describing the area we live in. I had to break off at one point to call through the window to the postman who was trying to deliver a parcel to the front door.

After class I went out and filled another bag with dead foliage as I will be calling at the dump tomorrow. Supper is prepared and in an hour I'll be off to dance around in the Hall for an hour.

Avatar.

No rain but getting colder again.

This morning I finished cleaning the dining area. Cleaning the window meant not only dusting off the windowsill and all the treasures (mainly stones) on it but dealing with the minor but numerous patches of mildew around the window and the door. Before I could even start all that there was the small matter of some cracks along the top of the wall. Either caused by seagulls jumping up and down or more likely by the effect of strong winds on the flat roof. Luckily I have the correct stuff to fill in the gaps. A stitch in time and all that.

There was also one more cupboard built into the back of the kitchen units that needed to be emptied and wiped down.

All that had to be done before we headed off to the Arts Centre at the university to see the latest Avatar film. We got there in good time to visit the café where I redeemed the £1 voucher you get when you buy your parking ticket for some chocolate. Adding Minstrels to the pecans and cashew nuts I'd brought with me made a tasty snack to enjoy while watching the film. There was also time to look around the gift shop. Lots of lovely but oh so expensive things including ceramics made by people who exhibit at the craft fair.

The film itself was great escapist fun and I'm such a sucker for 3-d. The three and a half hours went by in a flash. The length of the film meant that by the time we got home I would have had to be out again in 10 minutes to get to choir. I decided postpone going to choir until next week as apart from the nuts I hadn't eaten since breakfast, the contents of the cupboard needed to be put back and I didn't want to be rushing and driving in the dark.  A shame but today was the only day they had an afternoon showing and we are not so keen on going out in the evenings.

 

De-cluttering.

After a rainy start to the day I was all set to go to the zoo until I realised there was still a steady drizzle. Not that bad if you're moving around but not fun if you're in one place working on your knees. We did have sun later in the day.

Instead I carried on with the spring cleaning and as it was relatively mild I was able to keep the outside door open. That helped to get rid of the fumes of the Brywax I used on the large pine cupboard. First everything came out to be and if necessary cleaned. Now that the house is finished and the nicest things on display I feel able to give other items to the the charity shop. No point in keeping them stored like a dragon sitting on its hoard of gold. 

While the cupboard was empty I was able to move it away from the wall and clean the back of the cupboard and the wall behind. 

I had the radio on while I worked and coincidentally the topic of the day was decluttering. That prompted me into going through all the cards I'd saved over the years. I've kept the ones from Pete but only kept the handmade cards from the boys. It's hard to get rid of that kind of sentimental stuff and yes I read through every card first. Luckily it's recycling day tomorrow so I won't be able to change my mind.

 

Off to Pilates in a bit to unwind those muscles.

Big Bang.

Today has been quite warm but with some very heavy showers.

The big bang came in the middle of the afternoon when I was working in the kitchen. It was much louder than the usual thump we get when they are blowing up old ordnance at Ynyslas. More like an elephant-sized seagull crash landing on the roof. I went outside to check if someone's chimney had collapsed but there was nothing to be seen. There's always major building work going on in the village and I was hoping that there hadn't been some sort of accident. As I stood on the terrace my next-door neighbour came out as well to see what had made his windows shake. Within five minutes people from villages all around were posting on FB asking about the bang. Eventually someone found out that it had been a sonic boom from a fighter jet flying out of Valley airbase on Anglesey.

Since today was quite grey I'm cheering up this post with some pretty snaps from Saturday's walk.

In the morning we drove to Mach to meet up in the library with our friends to practice our Welsh. Our homework last week had been to prepare to talk about our local area (village/town/county) so we went through the questions from our course books and then the rest of the unit so that we will be prepared for the next two lessons.

Then we started translating another book. This one seems relatively easy though it is written in South Welsh while we are learning North Welsh. There were a lot of new words which once we sounded them out were almost the same as the English words which produced a lot of hilarity- camperfan/campervan,  blincin/ blinking, lori/ lorries, meicroffon/ microphone, iap/ yap. That lot came from just two pages of the book. I'm looking forward to us reading the rest of the book.

We got to Mach early which was handy as I had a couple of bags to drop off at the charity shop. They were heavy as they included books and a number of board games. 

Gone now are the boxes of Monopoly, Balderdash, Pictionary and some others all of which had been well used in the days when we would have a house full of family and friends. I think the reason I'd hung onto them for so long was that I was hoping to recreate those days here. But we no longer have big family gatherings and they were just taking up much needed space. Better for the charity to make a bit of money and for another family to use them.

As usual on a Monday I dropped Pete off at the pub for his pool afternoon. With the cleaning of the kitchen now complete I have moved onto the next section of the room, (the dining area) and gave all the glassware on the display shelves a wash. The job does need doing more than once a year as the open shelves get dusty. That collection of glasses is definitely something we don't need but is just there along with a few feathers and beach pebbles to look beautiful. And why not?

Iron Age Hillfort.

We've had warmer but fierce south-westerly winds today and although it hasn't rained (yet) it has been quite gloomy.

This morning I sanded down the kitchen worktop and oiled it which completes the spring cleaning of the kitchen. Apart from the worktop the kitchen doesn't look any different but it gives me a real sense of satisfaction to know that every corner is spotlessly clean (and doesn't need doing for another year).

Later I went out and had much more fun gardening. I planted the snowdrop bulbs in the front garden and found space for the alliums in the back garden. They were cheap enough to give them a chance. And since in this moderate climate weeds grow all year round I did some weeding in the back garden.

And now back to Banc Y Darren (Darren mine and camp) which we visited yesterday. I wish I'd had time to do my research before we went as I would have taken many more photos. Even though the summit is at 958ft  this is a walk suitable for Pete so I'm sure we'll be up there before long. 

The fort dates back to the iron age with a bronze age cairn in the middle. I find these early structures really fascinating.

The aerial photo shows the ramparts well and comes from this article which has more information on the way the ramparts were constructed.

Here some of the group are walking up the track to the main gate (clearly visible in the top photo).

The ramparts. (Below) looking east to the coast there is a clear line of sight to Pen Dinas hillfort which is close to the site of the original Aberystwyth castle and town, (not Pen Dinas Mynydd Gorddu that we walked to earlier in the year). 'Light the beacons' comes to mind. Pen Dinas (originally Dinas Maelor) is now topped by a cannon shaped memorial built to commemorate the battle of Waterloo. 

Here one of our group is standing on the inner rampart with possibly the beginning of the bronze age cairn on the left.

I can't wait to return and take more photos. I think this is the best hillfort we've been to yet.