First Viewings.

Overcast and fairly cool today with a smattering of rain in the morning.

The house has only been on-line since yesterday and already two viewings for today. I know that the location and room sizes are the important factors but that didn't stop me from sprucing the place up. After all the clutter had been stowed away and the hoovering done I cleaned the glass on the hall doors and the kitchen windows and some of the conservatory windows. Now everything is sparkling and the view through to the garden crystal clear. Then I had a general wipe down of all the woodwork on the stairs and anywhere else that looked a bit dusty. 

I was taking a few photos in the garden when there was a loud clacking from the trees. It was hard to spot and at first I thought it might be some sort of parrot but when I enlarged the photos it turned out to be a green woodpecker. A very noisy chap. 

Walking the Cat.

Hazy and a lot cooler today. The house details are now on line so hopefully buyers will come streaming through the door (I hope).

Peter mowed the grass this morning cutting down all those lovely daisies which I'm sure will soon reappear. I drove the cuttings over to the dump and then went on to do some shopping. I'd thought about postponing the shopping until tomorrow but Fridays the roads, shops and car parks are choc-a-block. In contrast today I had a clear run and got my shopping done in no time at all. I stayed clear of the chocolate aisles and instead came home with some posh cod and chorizo fishcakes which had been reduced to half price. 

Speedy has been desperate to get outside so today I put his jacket and lead on. This was the first time he'd worn it and yes he did roll around for a bit trying to get it off. I daren't leave him alone while I ran upstairs to get the camera so no photos. Once in the garden he spent a long time sniffing at all the marking spots before going down to the communal grass. There he had a long roll in the dry grass that had been cut the other day getting covered in grass after I'd given him a good going over with the Vax's nozzle attachment. This was to remove dust and any flea eggs that had escaped the regular combings he gets with a metal nit comb. Surprisingly he seems to enjoy both the comb and the Vax and rolls over purring to let me do his tummy. After playing on the grass I took him back in. Not a lot of walking and the neighbours must think I'm truly nuts. His feet are nearly healed but the buckets stays on for now.

Sunny.

It's been a lovely sunny day. After a good night's sleep I felt a lot better. I didn't go to Pilates last night because I was so exhausted. Today Peter's friend painted the garage roof with bitumen after sealing all the joins yesterday. Two days and the job we've been waiting for so long to be done is finished. I sorted more stuff from the garage to give away, posted pictures on FB and have a couple of people wanting most of it. The page rule is that things should not be sold on with the slogan 'For the needy not the greedy.' I'm just happy to pass on things which can continue to be used. Even my trusty bow saw is going as there aren't any trees to cut down in the new garden.

Peter says that the daisies in the lawn are too pretty to mow down but I suspect that might be a bit of an excuse. He didn't come to choir tonight because his knees which now have new lumps kept waking him up last night.

I went on my own to choir but didn't stay on for a cuppa and a chat. We went through the songs for the Nightwalk and then spent the rest of the time working on Po kare kare. I'd been practising at home and had ended up writing the music for some of the lines where the altos sing a harmony and not the tune to keep myself on track.

A bit more about Borth.-

We met most of the neighbours and they are just so nice. Everybody was friendly and helpful and the one thing the Welsh like to do be it a casual meeting or 'business' is to chat. To try and get to the point quickly would be to seem rude. The good manners of everyone were noticeable too. Walking around the house with the builders they made sure I walked through the doors first which I'm sure doesn't happen much here. Back to the neighbours, one thing that struck me was the kindness and high regard they had shown towards Chick, the man who had lived in the bungalow. One chap who is a semi-retired builder/carpenter would do any repairs and another would come and trim the hedges and offered to do the same for us. The first chap came over to turn on the water which was too hard for us to do and is actually going to keep an eye on the builders for us, not as a project manager but to make sure things are going smoothly. The second chap was happy to recommend tradespeople and he's got our phone number in case he sees anything untoward. A third set of neighbours gave us a couple of buckets of water so I could get on with the cleaning until the water was on. We met our next door but one neighbour also very friendly who until recently was the local MP and leader of the Welsh section of his party. It then turned out that he had trained to be a teacher in Devon and had taught at one of the local schools at the same time as I had done supply work there so he knew Barnstaple well.

I didn't do a lot in the bungalow apart from 'Shake and Vac' hoovering of the sitting room and kitchen carpets but I did take a deep breath and clean the fridge freezer which had a certain amount of mould on the shelves. At that point I wasn't planning on keeping the fridge but I couldn't bear the thought of seeing the mould. The next day Peter and the handyman, who is going to get rid of all the carpets and take down the sheds and lean-tos, persuaded me that it might be useful to have a second fridge freezer in the utility room. The local dump charges a lot for taking most stuff and will ban you if you turn up too many times even in a car. Now that it is clean I could offer the fridge on the local free FB page if I don't want it. I'll certainly do that with the two greenhouses in the back garden.

Before we set off on our return journey we went to our front, front garden ie the cliff top which has been mown and sat on a bench to enjoy the view. We'd left the front door wide open and I had a mug of coffee and a croissant in my hands. While we were there a red kite flew slowly past about 10 ft. above the cliff as it searched for food. Stunning.

On our circuitous drive back we drove through Aberaeron past colourfully painted Georgian houses with their stonework picked out in white. which reminded me of iced biscuits.

Hot.

Had a lovely night's sleep but still feeling extremely tired. (I can't type a single line without muddling up at least one word.) Work started on the garage roof today. Not the local handyman who never got round to it but a friend of Peter's. We also had the estate agent come around at 9.00 this morning to take photos of the house. The place was less tidy than usual as I've been bring things down from the loft or up from the garage. I did what I could and I'm sure he knows how to take flattering photos.

Having first gone up into the loft to find wool of the correct colours I've been sitting out in the sun fixing the holes in the crocheted throws.

I got Peter to drive me to the surgery for my blood test and ECG as I know I'm not concentrating properly today. Next step is a referral to the hospital to find out why I'm getting breathless.  

Borth - the journeys.

On a good day the drive to Borth should take 5 hours. Both of our trips took nearly 7 hours which was very tiring though we did get to see a fair amount of Wales. On the way up our first delay was on the motorway, 25 minutes at a near standstill due to a broken down car in a section coned off for road works. Having made it over the Severn Bridge we had that nice feeling of 'half-way there'. That was until we found the dual carriageway which is the only major road cutting across Wales, closed. The reason - an air crash. Fortunately due to the presence of a military bomb disposal chap who pulled them out of the aircraft the passengers and pilot escaped with minor injuries. The road was closed, and also the railway as the planes had caught the electric cables. The traffic policeman advised us to head back to Monmouth and cut across from there. So back we went following the road signs and then let the Satnav take over. Fine until we saw a familiar ruined castle on the right and realised the Satnav had taken us right back to the closed road. Naturally the road atlas was in the camper. The traffic policeman then gave us a route which took us much further south before we could head back northwards. Big sighs of relief from both of us when we found ourselves back on the familiar route. Followed by exasperation when we came across more road closed signs at the point where we needed to turn. The poor old Satnav kept saying 'turn right' as we followed the diversion signs for many miles. Overall the detours added another 60 miles to our journey and though Peter likes to keep on driving we did have a short stop at a small service station to buy some milk and stretch our legs.  

Yesterday the main road was still closed for the aircraft accident investigation so we were advised to follow the coast road right down to the southern corner of Wales and then take the motorway. Easy to follow but so many miles. I've checked up on the motorway crash and I'm very happy to report that despite our first impressions ie. a squashed car and six cars involved only two people were injured with non-life threatening injuries. It was on the northbound side of the motorway so our delay was due to people slowing fractionally to see what was happening. A natural impulse which caused our side to clog up. On the northbound side the traffic was stopped for over 6 miles causing delays of about an hour and a half on a very hot afternoon. 

Borth.

As some of you may have guessed yesterday we drove up to Borth. Both days have been warm and sunny but both journeys were long and arduous, mainly due to a crashed aircraft and long traffic hold-ups including sadly what looked to be a non-survivable crash today. So sad for somebody's family.

We foolishly decided that we would be thrifty and sleep at the bungalow with sleeping bags and airbeds but for me that resulted in no sleep at all. Too many plans  whizzing through my head combined with the smell of damp from the back of the place and the very long journey. Will blog properly tomorrow but just had to show the SUNSET !!! from the sitting room window.

Goodnight.

Windy.

It's been a good drying day with plenty of wind and sun. I'm gradually sorting through the things stored in the garage and while the washing machine was doing its thing I hung some crocheted throws on the line to air. Once I've fixed a couple of holes nibbled by the wood mice at Dingles I'll pass them on as I don't think we'll need them. The large squares are made from mohair scarves brought at jumble sales many years ago. I've always enjoyed trying to make lovely things from recycled items. Later I went up in the loft to see if there's anything more to give away, a brand new adult 'wolf' onesie and a reindeer hoodie bought as fun presents are now in the give away pile.

I also drove into town for some shopping and got stuck in a Saturday traffic jam for a while. Yet again my magpie mind saw something fluffy, these flip-flop style slippers which were highly reduced so I bought them. 

Peter had an interesting chat with somebody from the Borth Rowing Club. They row Celtic long boats which are fatter than gigs but I presume the rowing is much the same. Apparently the club is moving from its premises in Ynyslas 2 miles down the beach to ...... the lifeboat station in Borth which is about 500 yards from the bungalow. It's a smaller club than the gig club but they are in need of coxes. Peter did the cox training for gigs so it shouldn't be to hard to adapt and being the cox is a great alternative for the times when his arthritis makes rowing too painful.

Showers.

It's been a day of sudden heavy showers. I took a chance as I walked into town without a jacket but had my pack-a-mac  in my backpack. A good thing too because as I was about to leave the Green Lanes (shopping centre) the heavens opened. I got a bit wet as I rushed to the butchers' to buy Peter some Cumberland sausages. This butcher makes all his sausages on the premises without all the additives you get in supermarket sausages. I rushed back to Green Lanes to wait out the rain and had a mooch around TK Max instead. Somehow a reduced chocolate brownie fudge Easter Egg made its way into my basket. I might save it for when we begin watching the new series of GOT. Just a few more episodes of series 7 to get through first.

Having offloaded a bag of stuff to the hospice charity shop I can't break myself of the habit of having a quick look around the other charity shops in town. I found this glass trinket box in the air ambulance shop. It was too pretty not to buy it and support a good cause at the same time. I popped into the pound shop but the queue was so long I put my 2 items on a shelf before walking out and going to Wilko instead. There I bought a bucket which I carried home like a handbag with a pound of sausages and some cleaning brushes in. 

The rain held off for my walk home though I did step in a puddle in flip-flops, as I crossed into Pilton Street. My back is still not good after Monday's gardening so I've been backing up photos and finding out about a campsite close to St Ives as we'd like to go down there for a few days soon. I'm realising that remodelling the garden in Borth is not a luxury but a necessity. Having raised flower beds will make it possible for me to garden without bending.