Storm Dave.

The morning was calm with sporadic fine rain. By the afternoon Storm Dave had begun to make itself felt. Going back to the car after shopping at Lidl I was hit by quick gusts and the rain started soon after. Now in the early evening the wind is increasing in strength, trees and bushes are swaying and the wind can be heard whooshing around the roofs. To be on the safe I've already brought the garden chairs inside. And in case there are power cuts in the morning I'll fill a flask with boiling water.

It felt odd to be riding in the afternoon instead of first thing in the morning (I'm such a creature of habit) but at least I was able to get things done beforehand. That included signing up to the dental portal with a request for an NHS dentist. There are none taking on patients in Ceredigion so I put that I would be prepared to travel up to 100 miles. Of course I don't expect to get an NHS dentist for ..... maybe years? but at some point I would like to replace my dentures. The bottom one broke years ago and the top one never fitted properly. NHS cost for both £250, my private dentist in Aber - thousands. Definitely worth travelling 100 miles for.

As it's Easter weekend we thought we would have barbecue spare ribs for supper. I made the sauce and prepped all the veg in the morning leaving Peter to put them in the slow cooker. I did extra veg so that I can use the left overs to make a tasty soup. But when I came home Peter was grumbling that all the extra veg had slowed the slow cooker down and despite having been on for hours it hadn't even bubbled. Well it helps having it on 'high' rather than 'keep warm'. The spare ribs will now be for tomorrow and it's humus and raw veg for me tonight.

I rode Tex again and I feel that we've made a lot of progress, in fact it was commented how well he was going on the bit. I worked on using a voice aid (saying 'down, down') as well as using my hands and legs and really concentrated on making sure I 'gave' with the reins as soon as his head dropped. We went from Tex lowering his head at halt but losing it again as soon a he moved off to actually coming on the bit in trot and staying on the bit at least for a while.   

At Morrisons I searched the vast array of plants and found two shrubs that might fill in some empty spaces and just to make up a third chose the abutilon. I couldn't resist it even though it will be hard to find a spot where it won't clash with the general pink/blue/ purple/white colour scheme.

Yesterday's sunset.