A Romantic Dingle . . .

 

Sorry about the flash.  I bought this stunning framed print from Sam Cannon Art (www.samcannonart.co.uk) this week.  I look on it as Keith's Christmas present to me, as the money from his old current account was paid into my account recently. The words are "If I had my life to live over again, I would find you sooner so that I could love you longer" and that pretty much sums up how I have been feeling since his death - I've been saying similar words in my head.  He was 11 years older than me and HOW I wish I had not wasted 13 years on my first husband, who was a total waste of rations, and met Keith sooner.  It was not to be, but I am just very grateful for the half a lifetime we did have together.  Sam Cannon is the most exquisite artist.  Please go to her website and have a look - I would love EVERYTHING she has painted as they are all so good and so beautiful.  Her parcel was the most beautifully wrapped one I have ever received in my life, and she included a printed card of my choosing.  I chose one with dragonflies and Foxgloves. . . . and there I am in pieces again.

I took myself off to Llandod quite early yesterday, and posted a parcel off to my friend G in Dorset, then got a couple of bits from Lidl and suddenly realized it was Friday, and that Powys Archives would be open.  It took me a while to find it, but I spent a very happy hour or so in there, looking at old estate maps and the Estate Book for the Big House, to try and find out more about this place and where on earth the old mansion house was.  Well, a failure on the latter, but have now worked out that the debris under the bank here was another older stable block and that it was the coachman who lived here (over the stables/coach house which was this ground floor).  The gardeners lived in the two little semi-detached cottages below us.

The wooded slope to the right is our land down as far as a path which led up to the big house (the new mansion). The ivied area by the telegraph pole was once a stone outbuilding housing the generator for the Big House. This was described in the Estate Book (all in beautiful copperplate handwriting) dated 1900, as part of the Pleasure Grounds, which were apparently quite high maintenance as they comprised an acre of cultivated garden and vegetable plot, orchards, a rustic summerhouse plus tennis courts, and terraced walks and pathways to "a romantic dingle intersected by a winding trout stream," !  That is now just the trackway up to the next farm.

The Estate book was very thorough and mentioned that the farmsteads and buildings which comprised the estate were very dilapidated - in some cases, totally beyond help - and the farmer and his wife in the farmhouse up this trackway had to sleep beneath umbrellas to keep dry!!!  It surmised that about £1,000 would be needed to effect repairs and improvements.  That would be £154,000 in today's value (although of course prices for building work would have gone up by a huge amount in recent years.)

The wooded areas of the estate (quite considerable) had been fenced for a rabbit warren, although Mr Ralli, tenant of the mansion, said that rabbits had not been thriving for the past 3 years as the soil had become "stale".

Our little plot was described thus: "There is stabling for 12 horses, together with two coach houses, saddle room with coachman's rooms over.  There is also a spacious cottage in the occupation of the gardener."

I slept very badly again last night and was awake and down for 3 hrs again.  That meant sleeping two hours on the sofa today and I am sick of it.  I have also been feeling sick all day today too, especially after having a sliced Edam sandwich at lunchtime.  I have just forced a hot meal down (cauliflower and a boughten steak pie) - last night all I could face was a tin of soup.

Here is the tote bag I've been carefully embroidering.  I am now on the flowers to the right, which I am using a deep pink/puce colour with white French knots and stem stitch.  Very pretty.  I'm about to go and do some more, whilst watching Outlander.

Here's one I bought from the same stand at Malvern Quilt Show a couple of years ago. I use it for hanks of wool (from Wonderwool, STILL waiting for me to Do Something With Them).

It's Tam's birthday today.  I've just phoned her but Rosie was wailing in her car seat - they're heading back from Machynlleth.  Gosh, the years have flown by.

Right, the washing up is summoning me.  Have a good weekend all.