Warmer Still.

It's definitely warming up. The sun shone all day making it a perfect day to get the pressure washer out to clean up the front garden. A good thing I hadn't planned to sit/work in the back garden as the air was filled with the sound of a radio playing music at full volume. The music wasn't that bad but to have it going on all day gets rather annoying. BTW the house belonging to the really antisocial neighbour has finally sold and somebody was in there today painting walls.

 Before.

Thinking back to the tedious weeks  spent pressure washing the paving at Dingles today's task was a doddle. The random paving slabs still can't be described as looking good but at least they are a lot better than before. The path however is a different matter. I think it almost looks like new and when I got to the end I even cleaned the top of the concrete BT cover in the pavement.

 After.

Peter has finally been able to organise somebody to do the garage roof, next week I think/hope. Then I can start emptying out all the damp boxes of DIY/building materials. I expect that a lot of stuff will have to be thrown away, a small amount may yet be useful for us and hopefully I'll be able to offer the rest on the free FB page. Today I offered the old, very long hose on a rusty wheel holder and I had people wanting it within minutes and somebody collected it earlier in the evening. When we move we'll be taking the new hose & holder with us. 

Warming Up.

The day began and ended with a chilly haze with sun during the main part of the day. It felt like there was a hint of the warm weather to come. The forecast is for the UK to be warmer than the Mediterranean this weekend which makes a nice change. 

I drove over to the dump to get rid of some garden waste and then on to various shops. It seems the warmer weather and the imminent Easter weekend has got everybody out gardening. The dump was full of cars and BJ's garden area was positively teeming. I've got sufficient seeds coming up at home not to need any new plants. Today I was after a very large, saucer shaped planter that I've had my eyes on for a while. I was thinking it would be a nice addition to the future courtyard garden. However when I looked at it today it didn't quite match the plastic pots the acers are in and at £30 was more expensive than I remembered so I didn't buy one.

When the grass had dried out Peter cut the grass as I hurt my back the last time I mowed and had to miss a Pilates class. Meanwhile I washed some of the painted areas in the back garden that had dirt splashed up or algae growing on them. We will only paint the walls/steps that need doing to tidy them up before we put this house on the market.

It was so nice that we sat outside for an hour. More chatting about our plans than actual reading. I spotted a lacewing sitting on the rosebush.

Cows have replaced the sheep on the nearby hill.

Foggy.

This morning the world was obscured by fog which lifted to reveal greyness. It warmed up later in the day with a breeze which would have been handy if I had any washing. Speedy had a return trip to the vet, only £39 as this was a follow up, to assess his feet. Their only advice was to keep the collar on and continue the steroids. I also need to get on top of the fleas with regular flea drops, which I've been doing anyway and more spraying with the room spray. I'm sure the little b****ers are hiding in the cracks between the oak flooring. I've almost come to the end of my can of Indorex spray so I checked out the price at the vets', a snip at over £18 a can. Back home I checked my on-line animal supply site and found the same can at £10.45 so no prizes for guessing where the next can is coming from. It's supposed to last for up to 12 months, note the sneaky phrase up to. I'll be generous with the spray and as usual the throws and cushions will also be blasted.

I thought I'd show some more photos from yesterday's walk. One of the grand houses occupying a prime position on the hill. 

Typical cottages lining the road down to the bridge. 

Now that we are moving soon (we hope) I will buy myself a new chair for the PC desk to replace the tattered chair I currently have. I know exactly what I want, a draughtsman's chair which is higher than a standard office chair with a ring to rest my feet on. I also want to have or be able to fit wheels. You'd think that it would be easy to check on Amazon but so far I haven't found one with all the features that I want. 

Mostly Grey.

It's been a windy, mainly grey day with occasional patches of blue. It began raining in the evening as I took out our almost empty wheelie bin for tomorrow's collection.

I went out in the middle of the day to post a card. Instead of returning directly home I went around the block via Bradiford to stretch my legs and take a few photos.

Although my route took me under these trees with a strong wind and the evidence of many branches on the pavement I thought it safer to walk on the other side of the road. That was before I was tempted back again by the sight of some ewes and lambs in the meadow by the stream. 

In the afternoon I  went back up into the loft and sorted out more clothes, mainly fleeces this time and some sheets for the charity shop. I've kept a number of flat sheets as they may come in useful as dust sheets when we first move to the bungalow.

I was pleased when the lass, pregnant with her first child turned up after work for the pouffe. It wasn't heavy, just awkward so I helped her carry it out to her car. Good that it will be used for a little longer and the sitting room looks a lot roomier now. 

The wind was blowing the cherry blossom around like confetti. When I hung some washing out on the line there were white petals all over the back garden.

It was sad to turn on the news and hear that Notre Dame has been destroyed by fire. So much history lost. When I was about 4 years old I lived in Paris with my parents and one of my few memories of that time is of going to mass in the catherdral.

Chilly.

It has been cold and grey for most of the day with just a glimpse of blue skies before the sun went down. 

This morning I went through a couple of  the boxes stored under our bed and ended up with 25 more slim fitting vests to give away. I'm sure I might have come up with a fantastic craft project using all the different colours if I put my mind to it but then again maybe not. Much better that they raise some funds for our local hospice which does an amazing job. I found some other tops as well to give away. I think one reason for collecting so many clothes, apart from my fluctuating size, was that when I was going out to work I felt the need to wear something smart (to my standards) and different each day. Now not only do I not wish to be reminded of the stress my job put me under but I'm happy to wear a just couple of different tops at home.

In the afternoon I used up the decking stain on the planters and a bit on some of the old boards as well as tidying up the narrow gap between the conservatory and our neighbour. 

For the last few days Peter has been complaining that the pouffe that he rests his feet on when we watch television in the evening, is too big and too high. Yesterday I went through a page of on-line pictures with him to see what kind he might like. That way I could keep an eye out when I go in the charity shops that sell furniture and check some of the FB selling groups I belong to. This morning I saw an armchair and foot stool being offered for free. The chair was in poor condition but the lass was happy for me to have just the foot stool. I went and collected it, posted the old cat clawed pouffe on the free group and somebody is coming for it tomorrow evening. Peter is very happy with the foot stool and I even have a big panel of the green leather that I saved when I chopped up the 2-seater sofa which I might cover the brown fake leather with.

Cool.

It's been quite hazy today with only a few spells of warmer sun. It's been windy too, great for drying both the decking which had a second coat of stain and the washing which I put out on the line.

I'm quite pleased with the way the decking looks now. It's not perfect but on the other hand I doubt if any potential buyers will think that it needs changing straight away. I've already painted some of the plant boxes with the remaining stain and once I put the pots back I'll go round again to smarten things up.
Before getting on with some sewing I climbed up into the loft and went through a box of trousers and found five pairs to give away. That's a bit of progress.

Speedy is still managing to lick his feet despite his bucket, which is a bit disheartening. His feet were doing so well and now when we go back to the vet next week she won't see a lot of progress.

Dry.

It was hazy and much cooler this morning making a fleece necessary as I walked into town. I was meeting up with friends, one of whom didn't make it on Tuesday. This time we met in the Fortescue Hotel which is classed as a luxury hotel and has very comfortable facilities. Once again it was pleasant to be with friends. I indulged in some millionaires shortbread made with white chocolate, very naughty. Afterwards I called in at the Pannier Market and bought a large cauliflower from one of the stalls run by a local farmer. As is often the case the table held about half a dozen cauliflowers, the same number of savoy cabbages and I think some eggs and was manned by an elderly lady. Farmers get a special rate for their tables but I think the days of an offering of small amount of produce from one farm are coming to an end. I always look on their stalls first before going to the more commercial sellers. Walking down the High St I saw that Millets had a sale on and as Peter has suggested that we should sleep in the house when we go to Borth I thought I'd check out the airbeds. I found some that were on sale which made them even cheaper than at the supermarket and bought two singles and a foot pump.

Walking home I spotted our car parked near the pub/brewery. I knew Peter was there to collect a barrel of beer so I went in to ask him to take the air beds and cauliflower in the car. As he was waiting to talk to somebody, building type stuff I expect, I drove the car and his beer home leaving Peter to walk back up Pilton St.

The sun was shining when I got home and I painted the new decking with its first coat of stain. Then I baked a batch of peanut butter and chocolate cookies for Peter and finished off my busy day with some alterations. One top is finished and two more are tacked and ready for sewing.