Ta-dah moment

 

The tiny teddy chair was such a mess- dull grey flaking paint - that I decided to rub it down and paint it today.  It was almost the last of the Johnson's French Chiffon paint so I will have to buy another can, as it is quick drying and has no aroma.

This is how it looked before - grubby and unappealing.  

I also sewed more of my first bathroom curtain, and that is looking good.  You can see the colours more clearly in this photo than the one I took the other day.

I got out for a walk earlier on.  As you can see it was quite misty.  I went up the steep hill, to try and improve my peak flow, which has dropped because of not being able to walk much this summer.

The eye drops are helping my eye but I want to see the pit which held the stye disappear completely.  It's not as sore looking as it was anyway.

I was out of bread today, so made a tasty loaf 1/2 and 1/2 with the Cotswold Crunch granary type flour.

So, not a great deal happening.  I picked some of the apples from the orchard - the birds are having a good time out there and lots pecked at.  I picked the cucumbers too and will empty the pots tomorrow as everything has died back in the polytunnel.

Off to watch another episode of Apocalypse now (Channel 4).  I am enjoying that.

Today's podcasts on Henry V, and the Hundred Years War - a different version to the 4 Hundred Years War podcasts I listened to a couple of weeks ago.  

Treat Day . . .

 

This was my special Brunch today.  There must be a Blue Moon tonight because that is the only time I have one of these pattiserie fruit pies.  Scrummy!

I phoned the Doctors' surgery first thing and got an appointment to have my eye checked.  She gave me a prescription for antibiotic drops, 4 times a day for 5 days.  My eye feels a little easier already and the discomfort in my tear duct and top of ??sinuses, has gone. She said it didn't present as an SCC so I think my appt. at the local Minor Injuries next week may be a waste of their time, but I will know for sure.

I remembered to roast my chicken today and really enjoyed my meal, especially the roasties which I haven't had more than once since Christmas!

A cheat's chicken gravy made at the last minute, with some Chicken gravy thickener and boiling water.  This was a big meal for me!

This is a little cushion for the tiny teddy chair I bought recently.  I have decided the ancient grey paint shabby chic look is not doing it any favours, so I will paint it white tomorrow to cheer it up a bit.  These were all (apart from the central square) little bits of Liberty fabrics I bought a bag of at Malvern last year.  They were lovely to work with.

I have been cutting fabrics for the curtains too, and unpicking the deep blue from the blocks for Rosie's quilt, and have replaced it on two with the mid blue I got at Calico Kate's.  Off to unpick the others now.

Today's podcast was about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot, and on Saturday I had epic listenings about King Arthur and Tintagel; Stonehenge, ancient ritual an the origins of paganism; and a.n.other.

St Thomas' Church, St Dogmaels and the Sagranus Stone

 

I have to say the attitude of this ancient stone has not improved since I last visited, and it has a distinctly unpleasant vibe.  We were last there in 2018. 

A 9th - 10th C cross stem.

A lightly engraved Maltese Cross design on this early Christian monument, which dates back to 9th - 10th C.

Nearly all the memorials to local men (mariners) in the church, attested death by drowning . . .  They sailed very dangerous seas.  Cardigan was once an incredibly busy port. 

Pensacola is in Florida.

 

One of the many headstones outside testifying more mariner deaths at sea.  

Someone was a dab hand with this patchwork wallhanging of the Three Wise Men.

A general view of the church interior.

A beautiful painted Reredos above the alter.

A more modern take on Biblical stories in this stained glass window.

Finally, the font.

Outside are the remains of St Dogmael's Abbey, which must have been stunning before the Dissolution of the Monasteries.  Henry VIII had a lot to answer for.

Our kids used to love wobbling along the top of these walls.

Here you go, Sue in Suffolk.  The lovely old Mill.  Rose has had a good pruning though.

This was taken in 2014.

That teeny tiny window on the cottage beside the Mill.

And again, in 2014 . . .

I hope you have had a pleasant weekend.

A really lovely day out and a trip to Calico Kate's

 

This was last night's sunset.  I walked along our track to take photos as it was just too good to miss.  It foretold a sunny day today so I decided I would have my Day Out and make the most of the late September sunshine.

I wasn't sure where to go.  Ludlow I thought, and as I had suggested to Pam she might come along, that would satisfy her wanting to see arounda castle that wasn't a total ruin.  I also considered going further than that to Much Wenlock which is a truly beautiful Medieval town with a 12th C Cluniac Priory.  Or else perhaps in a similar area but a little lower down, I could revisit Wightwick Manor, which Keith and I absolutely adored when we went there 8 years or so ago.  It was my special birthday outing.  Then I started doing sums, and knowing that I had to go and pay the rent at the Unit and hand my notice in, it made sense to have my day out on the back of that and go on to St Dogmael's Abbey and revisit the Early Christian Monuments there.  In the event Pam was working and then going out in her garden.  So I was free to do what I wanted.

I stopped in Carmarthen for a picnic lunch, remembered to buy Curry powder but forgot washing up liquid!  Then on to St Dogmael's, which is by Cardigan.

There will be more photos from the church and Abbey ruins tomorrow.  I came home via Calico Kate's in Lampeter . Hoping to vaguely match the blue print in the Round the World quilt, but no chance.  I brought a pretty blue print anyway which is nearly the same colour and will incorporate this in closer to the original quilt square.

The pink prints I just couldn't resist, and the dark ones will tie in nicely in the bathroom curtains I'm making.

As you can see, many many fabrics (this is just a fraction of the display in a dozen or more rooms). 

Quilting ideas as well.  The one above in Christmas fabrics would make a super Christmas table runner.