Sunday 4 October 2020

Another night short on sleep

 


A misty start to the morning, and the indistinctness of the trees in this photo reflects how I feel - no sharpness to my my mind this morning.  Blurry.  I slept well until 3.30 and then that was it for the night again.  I laid there for an hour hoping to drop off, but no.  I came downstairs and read for an hour, then came back to bed, but despite having had my electric blanket on whilst I was downstairs, my feet got cold and I couldn't get back to sleep. It will be a long day.

    I have more phonecalls to make - we need a quote for a UV system on the water and we need the Hergom stove serviced.  Our heating engineer was going to get back to us with a day, but hasn't, so I will have to nail him down.  Finally managed to get our plumber to come out this week and put the radiator back on the wall in our bedroom (the picture above it fell off and knocked it off during Lockdown.) Getting ANY tradesmen here at the moment, even for a quote for anything, is very difficult as they are all completely rushed off their feet.  I don't know if it's the same where you are but everyone seems to be playing catch-up.

    I need to get some stewing beef out of the freezer to defrost and then I will put it in the slow cooker and perhaps make a pie out of it for our evening meal.

    I also need to photograph and list some books on eBay, although IF (don't like to tempt fate) we get the house we have offered on (offer accepted), then there IS room in the dry usable attic to store them in boxes and deal with them at my leisure - or even, turn that into a Library, but it would need heating in if we were to do that.


The bridge over the River Wye at Builth Wells.  Builth would be our nearest town if all goes to plan.  Llandrindod (or if we fancied a drive out, Brecon) would be where to go for the Big Shop as both have a Aldi, and there's a Tesco in Llandod (what the locals call it) and a Morrisons in Brecon.  The ubiquitous Co-op can be found in Builth and every small town across Wales . . .  Expensive though but OK for day to day things you might need.

    Right, this won't do.  Onwards and upwards.

    


14 comments:

  1. Re sleep - I don;t always sleep well and I did read that if after a quarter of an hour you have not gone back to sleep you should get up, have a cup of tea, read a bit and then go back rather than just lay there hoping to drop off. But do know about feet getting cold! That is a lovely bridge in your photograph. And re Co-op - our Co op in Leyburn is the best shop for miles around - large, fresh produce every day, brilliant for fruit and veg and very competitive prices so do check.

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    1. We will do. They vary a bit. The one at X-Hands always had rather sad and weary fruit and veg! Hoping I will sleep tonight - but will cheat with a glass or two of wine.

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  2. Love the last photo :) Sorry to hear about the sleeping problems (can empathise there!) as you have so much to do and plan. Hope you sleep better tonight.

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    1. We took a few along the river. I just want to collapse in a heap now, having had a good walk along the beach - the sea air has relaxed me.

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  3. Fingers crossed that you get the house, it is such a wrench to sell books.

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    1. Thanks Pam. It suits us and I think we would be happy there, with just one or two tweaks.

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  4. I normally see landscapes in clouds, but with your photo I saw clouds in a landscape.

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    1. I will take that as a compliment Tom. There were some wonderful clouds at Llansteffan today, so I shall share them later.

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  5. A frustrating list of things to do and too many uncertainties at the moment! One can only keep plugging away. The weather is changing here; mornings and evenings are chilly, yet green leaves are clinging to the trees.

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    1. Came home from our walk to better news, so that is a positive. Leaves on some trees turning, but not the oaks yet.

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  6. I have fond memories of childhood families holidays near Builth. For a few years in a row, we stayed on a farm with the Irfon as its boundary. I got to wander some of the fields, foraging for mushrooms & wild strawberries with my grandparents, helping in the poultry house & in the milking parlour. The time I spent there has stuck with me more than any of my other childhood holidays - much more fun than a funfair or sitting on a beach. I remember one year that it rained so heavily that the Irfon broke its banks and was almost lapping at the farmyard gate. The heron in the top paddock was a hint something was amiss. When we got into Builth, we found the Wye had flooded the town below the High Street. In fact, the water was almost at the top of the arches of the bridge in your photo!

    We usually took our holiday there the weekend school broke up, so missed the Royal Welsh Show by a matter of days, much to my regret. I finally got to the show in 2006 - on the Wednesday, of course, for Welsh Cob day, and I managed to get a good vantage point for the action. Because of the rigmarole of getting there (park up miles out, get the shuttle bus, queue up to get in), I made the most of the day & was there until the very end of the day.

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    1. Ah, you would have been not a million miles from where we are hoping to end up.

      Gosh, the Wye was certainly up very high if it was almost overwhelming the bridge.

      I'm glad you finally got to the Royal Welsh AND on Welsh Cob day. That is SO special! Good for you getting your money's worth too. Haven't been for years as it is so prohibitively expensive to get in.

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  7. Bedsock season. Concentrate on getting a good night's sleep. Wherever your bed may be!

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    1. I will look out a pair right now Charlotte! I could sleep on the head of a pin right now : )

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