A Visit to the Dentist.

I've not been lucky with the weather recently. This morning it was dry and warm in Borth but by the time we got to Mach it was pouring with rain. And guess who didn't have a coat? Or whose favourite purple crocs have holes in the soles? However by the time I was in Aber it was warm and even sunny at times.

In Mach we had our usual session in the library trying to get ahead with the homework for the end of the unit we are doing in class which is mostly the future tense and the weather. One of the questions we had to answer was (In Welsh) Will it be fine tomorrow? I wrote down - No it will not be fine, I live in Wales, it rains every day. (It doesn't really.) We were having such fun that the librarian joined in and wrote down the Welsh equivalent of 'raining cats and dogs' which turns out to be 'raining old women and sticks'.

We left the library promptly to get home in time for me to then drive into Aber for my appointment at the dentist. It was not as I had thought an hygienist appointment but just a check up. In and out in less than ten minutes cost me £74. He tried to persuade me to have crowns put on the only two teeth that meet for chewing in order to make them last longer but as each crown would cost nearly £700 and one of those teeth is currently in perfect condition I declined the offer. (The other is almost all filling.) My gums and the other teeth are all good so I'm fine until my hygienist appointment in January

It was still dry when I got home so out I went to take some photos of the flowers in the mini meadow and tidy up the hedge which had a number of straggly shoots sticking out of the top. Not enough to warrant getting out the electric hedge cutter, a going over with the secateurs  was enough.

New colour in the back garden as well.

A couple of stiles from yesterday's walk in less than excellent condition.

 

A Wet Walk.

Todays walk began again from Pont-Rhyd-Y-Groes. (The bridge at the ford of the cross) This time going up over the hill and walking a loop to the east of the village of Ysbyty Ystwyth.

Although the day's weather was a mix of sunshine and showers it rained for most of our walk.

Some of the walk was along roads,

and some was through woodland and fields. Even when it wasn't raining everything was very wet underfoot. So far my boots have proven to be waterproof even when almost completely submerged in muddy puddles.

Our lunch break was taken by a series of ruined buildings. We often come across ruins like those and I wonder what the lives of the inhabitants were like and how long since they were last occupied? When did the small farms become unsustainable? Maybe around the time that the land was taken over for those awful pine plantations. There is still some sheep and cattle farming these days but mostly money comes from tourism. 

The farm would have had amazing views over the Ystwyth valley.

It's not uncommon to come across single standing stones. Nobody knew the history of this one. Maybe it is the remains of a shrine or wayside cross from medieval times or perhaps from even further back in history?

As usual we crossed many streams.

Coming back through Ysbyty Ystwyth the rain was too heavy for us to show any enthusiasm to go down to the pumpkin field. Instead we sheltered in the Halloween attraction in a barn. A very Grundy-esque affair (Archers fans will understand the reference.) I did have to smile at a young couple who returned from the pumpkin field pushing a wheelbarrow containing a selection of pumpkins and a wet but happy toddler.

Walking on through the village we passed the building that replaced the original medieval church that is now used as the church hall. While looking for more information I came across this advertisement for the nearby Victorian church which could be yours for a mere £85,000.

We ended our walk back in the community hub/tea room at Pont-Rhyd-Y-Groes where we made ourselves hot drinks and warmed up by the cast iron stove before heading off home for another week.

The sun came out as I drove back along the ridge top, photos to follow. 

Rainbows.

Today it has been mostly raining (something tells me I'm using terrible grammar here but I'm claiming artistic licence) with the occasional sunny spell.

This morning I was intrigued by the sight of odd shapes on the horizon. Couldn't get a clearer view either with the camera or Peter's binoculars but I guessed it was a ship of some sort.

I posted a photo on the local FB page asking for ideas and then found a really useful website -this which shows the location of all? the ships in the world in (almost) real time. Zooming right in to our tiny bit of sea the most likely candidate seemed to be the cargo carrier Parana but the ship that I saw seemed to have a couple of cranes on deck.

Much joy this afternoon, not just because I saw a couple of rainbows but because the new builder turned up. He seems very professional and does the plumbing and tiling too. Best of all he's got a couple of weeks free right now before starting another job at the end of November so is ready to start work straight away. Mind you I'm not getting overly excited until he actually starts. One funny thing was that he turned up with his assistant A, who had been here as assistant to one of our earlier builders. We had got on very well with him and he had told us at the time that he was looking to move to a different builder.

With the weather being so unsettled it wasn't worth trying to garden so I carried on with crocheting.

 

Wet.

It's been very wet today as we caught the edge of Storm Babet. We're just under a yellow warning for heavy rain while in Scotland where sadly three people have lost their lives they are still under a red warning.

I was up in good time again today as hooray! Friday is riding day. (At least until RDA starts up again.) Just four of us in the lesson and we were taught by the owner. I rode Cadno again and we spent the whole lesson working to get the horses on the bit. No cantering at all but I was exhausted by the end of the lesson. Cadno does come down onto the bit though I ended up with a blister on my finger from the reins. It was worth it to be told how well I was doing. (I'm easily pleased.) It's hard work to keep his energy levels up, I don't think my legs are very strong but I'm working on it.

Usually I change out of my riding boots into my smart wellies after the lesson but it was so wet in the parking area that I just took a photo from inside the car and didn't bother changing my boots.

First stop afterwards was the dump to say goodbye to all the tomato plants. Then I called in at a bathroom showroom place on the industrial estate that I had noticed last time I was there. They had lots of bathrooms set up which were very tempting. I fell in love with an extra large bowl type of sink-  ceramic, matt black and more importantly rang beautifully when I tapped it with my fingernail. A shame that A- black wouldn't fit the bathroom design, B - Peter doesn't like bowl sinks and C- I've already bought a white sink and vanity unit. They also had a big display of all the different showers which was very handy as I could try the controls and feel how suitable they were for Peter's arthritic hands. All the other places to buy showers from don't have them on display, you have to look on-line and the pictures aren't that detailed. I found a nice shower which I think will do for us. Later in the afternoon I went over the bathroom plans as ......... we have another builder coming tomorrow to talk about the bathroom and all the other things still left to do. He's been recommended by the builder who was going to do it all but has found that he is swamped with work and doesn't know when he would be able to start. Fingers crossed. 

 

Warm.

The morning was very warm with a good wind blowing. Perfect weather for drying washing but soon after I hung the washing on the line we had a sudden deluge. I ran out to get the washing off the line and by the time I had done so I was soaking wet. There were more showers later in the day so the washing remains hanging up in the utility room.

Any red tomatoes left in the garden have become squishy. A sign that it's time to clear the tomato plants. This I did today and I've now got four bags of garden waste ready to go to the dump tomorrow. I saved a tub of green tomatoes which I'll try and ripen with the aid of a banana. While clearing the tomatoes I found yet more potatoes, a whole washing up bowl full.

In between the garden work we had our Zoom class. Today it was all about using -I will be ........ , and Will you be ..... ? Not too taxing.

It was pouring with rain when it was time for aerobics so I took the easy option and drove there for an hour of vigorous dancing. We all got extra hot today because the hall caretaker had got his days mixed up and put the heating on for an hour before class. No heating needed for aerobics but it was good to have the hall warmed up for Pilates on Tuesday.

 

Welcome Visitors.

Damp in the morning, light rain in the afternoon and downpours in the evening.

Today we had the long awaited visit from Romas and Laura. It was only a short visit as they were on their way home from the family chalet in Porthmadog but they had time for lunch and a quick walk on the beach. As usual I had made far too much including a chocolate cheesecake but it's better to have too much than not enough.

While we were out on the beach Romas demonstrated his stone skipping skills which I caught using the action mode on my camera.

I find  the way the splash shapes made by the first touch down change over time really interesting.

I don't think that Rhubarb was enjoying the walk.

After they left I had time to have a look at the homework for our Welsh class. This was to listen to a clip of a conversation and answer questions. Before I could get into the on-line resources I had to mess around trying to log in. As part of that process I searched for a missing email in the junk folder. It wasn't there but what I did find was an email from my dentist reminding me that I have a hygienist appointment next Monday. How lucky was that, as I never check the junk emails? Only this afternoon I was saying I thought I had missed an appointment because there wasn't an email. (They make you pay in advance so that would have been £70 down the drain.)

Then it was time for choir. We spent the first hour singing peace songs in acknowledgement of these terrible times after which we had a little party for S's 70th birthday. Everyone brought food including lovely home made cakes and there were balloons and much dancing. A very pleasant evening.

 

Getting Colder.

Cold and grey with an icy easterly wind blowing all day.

My workman's coat is completely windproof so I was nice and warm while I weeded at the zoo this morning. I was only there for a couple of hours but managed to finish weeding the bigger of the two play areas. Quite a bit of grass had come up in the smaller play area but as I didn't have the time to do all of it I thought I'd try something different and went over it with a hoe. Hoeing isn't that good for my back but it didn't take too long. I just want to see if turning the grass over in the colder weather helps but I suspect I'll be back to working on my hands and knees pulling out each individual clump.

Back home I baked a Bara Brith, made a cheesecake and did some extra tidying around the place before going off to Pilates. While I was in the middle of all that kitchen work a lorry from Huw's turned up to deliver .......... a big bag of top soil. Something must have got mixed up in the office so I told the chap I'd already had the soil last week and off he went.