The Autumn Blues

 Since Keith died, as the evenings draw in I start to feel rather low.  I have two friends who at the moment are in a particularly bad place, and I feel so helpless that I can do nothing to change their lives, but we do chat and "see" one another on video calls.  (First time with my friend K in France yesterday).  I hope that just offloading problems helps.

I am not enjoying my daily walks  - today's was on the flat along the old abandoned railway line.  I did it, and it has helped my health, but I am fed up with repeating the same routes and would love to be up in the wilds, but at my age, probably not a good idea on my own.

I came back and pieced and sewed a bit more of my bigger patchwork curtain, for the bathroom window.  I was gritting my teefs with that too though . . . So in the end I went out and gardened for an hour or so, which felt very positive, and actually freed up my graunchy left shoulder a bit.  I pruned the bits on my Indigo rose which has been raking us as we go up the little steps to the square lawn where I have my patio set.  Tam will be pleased as she's been telling me to do that for ages.

I cut back Aquilegia leaves and even pulled a good few young plants up as they were really taking over the gravel area at the front of the house.  Then THIS area had been driving me mad for ages, so I set to and cleared all the buttercups and transplanted the Cranesbills which had set up home there.  (For transplanted, read hoiked out of the stones and dumped unceremoniously at the back of the bed above them from whence they had escaped as seeds or young plants).

It looks a lot better now, but there are still some bits at the far end I will tackle at the weekend. 

Yesterday's walk along the valley side.  I sat on a log and just relaxed and took in the view looking towards Aberedw.

I have gotten SO fed up with my slip on summer shoes (from Cotton Traders' sale last year) as they are making my socks move round my feet so the heel is at the front.  Grrr!) that I bought a pair of purple slippers on line yesterday and they should be arriving shortly (so you can guess where they were bought from . . .)

In fact, I was feeling pretty low and when I saw an advert by Kim Diehl for her Autumn book which had an absolutely stunning quilt or four on the cover, I treated myself to that as well, so with the slippers, a bit of a spending spree.  That won't be arriving until next week though.

Today's bread - I made two, one for me and one for Ed, but can't see his car there . . .  Will have to try and make room in the freezer.

A day out to look forward to tomorrow, firstly with Pam to a (small) Fleamarket at Lyde Court in Hereford.  The pitches are only £7.50, so I am not expecting it to be too highfalutin, but it will be a nice wander round and I can check it out for me to do next year, having what will probably be a Retirement clearout or 6!

Then I will go on to the Quilt Fair at Malvern and intend to be frugal as I have bought fabric and books recently..  I am also planning to go church bothering on the way home.  Watch this space.

Wind "farms" and Forest bathing . . .

 a modern term.  To me, it's just a walk in the woods!  My friend Pam asked if I wanted to join her when walking her rescue dog Foxy yesterday, so we went down to the beautiful woods along the lane and did a circular loop.

Make the most of this view as if Bute Energy get their way (which of course they will, because the Welsh Senedd is backing them all the way) there will be T-pylons marching across this landscape, from the huge disfiguring wind"farms" (imagine several Blackpool towers on each of the mynydds hereabouts).  Concrete footings the size of four bedroom houses, but twice as deep.  The rape of the countryside - destroying the peat upland that other factions in Wales are desperate to restore.  Affecting wildlife, natural springs which many of us rely on in rural areas.  Cutting back woodland to get the equipment in (blades bigger than a jumbo jet), creating motorway sized roads up to the wind"farm" sites, making travel on our country roads slow to 5 mph when this convoy is travelling through Wales.  Yet we have no say, it would seem.  At the meeting myself and friends went to yesterday, the only concession that they have made is to use wooden poles in the Hundred House section where there is a big holiday caravan site (Billy Blue Eyes will be glad to hear that), and to shorten "our" T-pylons by 5 metres to "just" 22 metres high.  I am sure that will be a great relief for the low flying military Aircraft, especially the Atlas low-drop planes which fly at just 100m to practice approaching drop zones . . .  Makes little difference to my friends who will be able to count 14 pylons from their conservatory, which overlooks the valley above.  I am fortunate, as the trees I moan about spoiling my view will hide all but two.

My neighbour Ed bought me up a little goody bag of produce from his polytunnel yesterday - a yellow courgette, salad and cooking tomatoes and a lovely cucumber.  I am baking rolls today so will take some down to him.  

"Heatwave" is now officially finished.  My x-stitch Puffin for Rosie just needs his legs and feet added and I can cut it out and stuff it.  Then start on one for little "I".  

The three 2nd hand Patchwork books from World of Books that Tam bought me for Christmas arrived yesterday and I have been good - a quick flick through and they have been put aside for her to wrap.  The Bucilla x-stitch kit I bought for a friend's birthday also arrived - it shows North American wild animals - deer, bear, racoon etc.  I hope she enjoys it.  Unfortunately I am still waiting for my order of the Simple Christmas Tidings patchwork book by Kim Diehl is still on its way and I won't get it until 19th soonest.

Time to stretch my legs now before it comes on to rain later.

Two treats

 I was feeling a bit down in the dumps again yesterday, so I decided I would live dangerously and rent MGM for 99p a month for three months, so I could watch the new Series of Blood of my Blood (Outlander followers will know exactly what this is about).  For non-Outlander followers, it is a prequel of the parents of the main characters in Outlander.  Set in Scotland and I was back in my happy zone last night as I set the final stitches in the Heatwave quilt binding.  I'm about to go in and watch some tv and sew in all the ends from the long arm quilting.

This morning was sunny but a bit breezy, and I decided that I would drive up to the Elan Valley and have a walk there.  As always I really enjoyed it.  

You can tell it was windy though, just from the white horses on the reservoir, which is still pretty low.

The Rowan trees had a good crop of berries, but some had been blown off or scoffed by wild birds already.

Amazingly, there were still ripening blackberries.  Perhaps I should go back and pick in a week as lots like this along the side of the pathway.

I rounded the bend, and could see the church on the far side, but boy, the wind hit me and nearly knocked me sideways, snatching the breath from my mouth, and so I turned around at this point, back onto the more sheltered pathway at the side of the reservoir.

I do appreciate it being a FLAT walk, as all the ones locally are hilly.

I have got some mince out thawing, and think I will make a Cottage Pie for my tea tonight and tomorrow.  

I've started on the first of the Library Books I got yesterday, Anthony Horowitz's A Line To Kill, set on Alderney.  In my just-before-Keith days I sailed there on a friend's yacht.  I had a stinking cold, and can remember us mooring in the Braye Harbour, and then being taken ashore on a water taxi, and walking up the road to the nearest pub, for sustenance.  The few cars that there were sounded like they were on their way to the breaker's yard, as no MoT's were required on the island.  

Well, this won't do.  Time to sew those ends in.

Four Chimneys . . .

Rosie with static hair yesterday!  She LOVED the big slide and would have been on it all day . . . She is very brave and intrepid, just like her grand-dad Keith.   She has us in stitches yesterday afternoon as she sped past saying, "I'm being a cheeky monkey!"  That's what Tam calls her.

 I've just been on one of the Dartmoor pages I follow on Facebook, and a photographer had visited Throwleigh and taken some lovely photos.  Oh, how I wanted to BE there . . .  Anyway, one showed a cottage which suddenly reminded me of one we had the details of in Devon, called Four Chimneys.   It ticked all our boxes, but of course was on the market about 5 years before we eventually got a buyer.  I hadn't thought of it since.  We were looking in Devon for years, online, but only viewed a few because it was a long way to go in a day, and if we stayed overnight, could get expensive.  We simply were NOT MEANT to move there . . .  Literally everything that could go against us did, right from the start.  In 1987 we had a buyer for our Dorset house, had offered on Beaworthy Mill (losing it broke my heart) and Keith's gold shares were worth the price of the Mill outright (£60,000).  He decided to wait over the weekend and sell them on the Monday, and then the Tokyo stock exchange shut for the weekend and dumped all its gold, and by Monday his shares were worth just a few pounds . . .

We loved the old building in Hatherleigh which had once been Hatherleigh Antiques.  We were there for an hour, viewing it, and it was very affordable - back then.  But, no sale at Ynyswen.  We loved the thatched cottage near Oakhampton with a red kitchen and a lake . . .  Ditto.  No, we were meant to be in Wales and stay in Wales.  Full stop.

Yesterday I suddenly thought of another house we viewed, but along the Welsh borders this time, just over the Shropshire border I think.  It had a kitchen with a range, but that was in a glass-house extension and apparently bitterly cold in winter, despite the range.  Work needed on windows, roof etc.  Oddly it had about 14 sheds in the garden, some overcome by laurel bushes etc, and that's where the children went off to sleep when they were being a PITA . . . How odd to parent that way.

Maples changing colour at the Groe.

I know, I'm wittering on about nothing.  I've had my walk (around the Groe today, nice and flat), collected my prescription, changed my library books and got cat wormers from the vet's.  TV and quilt binding this afternoon.

 

A family weekend

 I have Tam and Rosie here for the weekend.  Rosie still allergic to sleep and I was in bed before her last night!  We have promised to take her to the swings today, so hopefully it will stay dry.

I went to the butchers yesterday and got some of their sausages - their special lamb/mint/honey ones which were tasty.  Then lamb burgers for today's meal and bread and scrape the rest of the week!  

Some photos from Friday's walk.

I am hoping to finish the quilt off this evening, with a bit of help of course!  I have one and a half sides left to do.

I've just had a visit from part-time neighbour Sam.  He was telling me of his plans - holiday in Egypt with his Chinese girlfriend, then on to Portugal with his mate, then in December, 3 months in China, living with his girlfriend up in the mountains.  It sounds amazing.  Oh to be young, footloose and fancy free and newly in love again :)  I shall miss him - we've had some good chats.

I have a helper already . . .

 I sat down to start blind stitching the binding on the quilt this afternoon.  Of course, it wasn't long before I had a little helper  . . .

She was SO happy - it was so lovely and warm in there . . .

She was not amused when I had to turf her out so I could come and cook tea.  Not sure how I will manage to sew this without her "helping".

After forcing myself to change the bed, as believe me I haven't had an iota of energy all day, I set to and finished off the door curtain.  The colours tie in well with the wall tiles over the bath and shower unit.

I've just had the form for the Builth Fair next year and believe it or not, they have put their prices up yet again and it will be £235 next year.  I will have to see if I can get a smaller stall.  Short of going outside (not ideal because you never know what the weather will be up to), the only slightly cheaper way of doing it is to have a smaller stall in the South Glamorgan Hall, which was 2/3 empty the last time, and people don't even bother to go in any more.  Sigh.

Happy Friday tomorrow . . .

Being crafty . . .

 

I had a really lovely afternoon at my patchwork group yesterday.  Alex had finished the long arm quilting on "Heatwave".  Doesn't it look gorgeous?  I dutifully measured and cut out the binding and amidst chatting and laughing, sewed 3 sides of it in place.  I will get the rest cut and joined today.  Then will follow the slip-stitching on the back and there are a lot of ends to sew in on the quilting, as Alex had to do it in three goes as she had private quilting jobs to do.  We just pay her for the thread used.  I think it's turned out really well.

It was a lovely drive there and back too.  A lovely sunny autumn day, that quickly cooled when the sun went down. 9 deg C in the evening and 6 deg now at 1.30 a.m.  I woke for the loo, but then my brain was busy and I couldn't get back to sleep.

I have almost finished my Christmas shopping now, having taken advantage of Amazon Prime's deals.  I'm glad that is done in good time, as the car has it's MoT just before Christmas, but I have hopefully enough money put on one side to cover that.  

Rosie more comfortable now she has meds to help her, but Tam is still struggling to get her to take them.  The antibiotics are 5 times a day too.  Sadly Rosie's arthritis has flared up again, but the Paedeatric Rheumatology dept has brought her appt. forward and she will see them tomorrow.

This is a Pale Tussock Moth caterpillar.  He has a little red spike on his bottom, to frighten predators off. He was crossing the road, but I helped him across and onto the opposite bank before he got squished by a passing car.

Rain in the offing . . .

Glyn was here to do the autumn tidy up for me in the paddock, along the primrose bank and the bottom triangle.  The lawn has grown terrifically - it was only cut last week! - so that will need doing again soon.

I watched the final of the Great Pottery Throwdown last night.  What talented potters, all with great skill and imagination.  Then another episode of Magpie Murders.

Today's podcasts were 1 of 4 about Joan of Arc.  I will probably miss the other 3 as they were very detailed in background.  Then a couple from Time Team, which I really enjoyed.

I shall read for a bit now and hope my brain will unravel a bit.

Eye hopefully sorted . . .

 I saw the Consultant this morning, and he has put me on steroid eye drops because I have an infection in the oil gland(s?) inside the eyelid.  This is week 9 . . .  I recall that wonderful Spike Milligan epithet for his tombstone - "I told you I was ill"!!!  He wasn't allowed it in English so had it in Irish Gaelic instead!  It didn't improve until I had last week's antibiotics and still isn't fixed, so these drops should do it.

I had a good morning tieing up the grocery shopping in Llandod with my appointment, and have pretty well done a two week shop.  Two chicken breasts, a small tray of 5% fat mince, stir fry veg and sauce, two smoked gammon steaks (several meals from all of those), and a big 120 Earl Grey teabags as it was on special offer (£1.40 off).  More cat sachets too, as the little ratbags have suddenly started turning their noses up at Felix - and guess who bought an 80 pack of those last week!!

Two nice pieces of copper from the shop which is usually shut, and I treated myself to a new Codeword book as down to the last 25 in my current one, as well as an orange Sanpelligrino, as I was thirsty and that's my favourite cold drink. 

I've just had a local walk but my heart rate for some reason was very high, so I cut it short.

I shan't be making Sloe Gin this year, that's for sure!

This was my indulgence for forcing myself to do the Fair on Saturday, when I really didn't want to. Plus finding I had a little bit of extra money in my card payments - except that still hasn't come through yet.  I have to wait for delivery until the 14th Oct, as I think this is sent to Amazon from the States.

Now back to the curtain making . . .

Looks like rain is heading this way.

Today's podcasts was another one from Three Ravens, which was ending half of the Dorset podcast, then one about Unicorns from their Bestiary.

Fun at the Fair

 

I really did not want to get up yesterday for the Fair.  My alarm was set for 5.30 but in the event, Alfie woke me at 4 a.m. for food, then wanted to go out at 4.15.  I didn't sleep after that.  The first part of the journey was in the dark, but it gradually lightened.  I don't enjoy driving at night nowadays.

Despite there being a steady footfall, by late morning I had only sold two things, and vowed never to do this Fair again!  Gradually it improved though, and we had two lovely young men who were having their own Bargain Hunt challenge, to spend I think it was £150 each, and putting what they bought in auction.  I wish them well.  There was some cheerful banter as they perused our stalls.  Our little group are good friends and at the end of the day, the couple at the end (newbies here) helped ferry all my heavy boxes downstairs and then Tom and partner who do all the heavy lifting, carried them out to the car for me.  Socially I love this Fair, even though much of the time incomings only just cover the cost of doing it. Copper seemed to be on trend yesterday . . . I dressed the French fish kettle with 4 little Cyclamens (it looked lovely) and put it front of house, and it sold early on. No interest in my mirror, so I will ask Ed to help me hang it in the guest bedroom.

I didn't realize that when my card payment provider changed this year, I would have to register my bank details all over again, and when I checked on getting home, a small but handy sum had amassed in my account and will be transferred in the next couple of days. A relief to have money coming in instead of it all going the other way. It was nice to be told by a potter that I had chosen some interesting ceramics too.  Not even a second glance at the little teddy chair . . . which was disappointing. 

Everyone tries so hard to put on a show with their stands at this little Fair.  Here is a glimpse at other stands:

I should imagine that the Black Swan taxidermy is very hard to pack around. The porker too!

Lots of French things here.  Some of the dealers were discussing going to Belgian markets for their stock . . .  I was thinking, their profit margins must be slim?!!  You'd have to treat it as a holiday.

Dolls for Lizzie On The Beach.   The two little ones below are Baby Jesus figures from nativity scenes (French).  

I am glad I have a rest for two months now.  I will slowly unpack today.  Tomorrow I have my appointment with the Specialist at LLandod hospital.  The stye has started healing properly since the antibiotics, but the new eye drops the G|P gave me are useless at night.  I need the thicker ones like the Hycosan gel from the Opticians.  I'd rather not have to buy them though.  

I will try and do a little bit of an Autumn tidy in the garden.  It looks better for the lawn having been cut last week, and the gardener is coming back to do the two triangles for me and the hedge as well.  Then upstairs to crack on with the curtains.  I cut and sewed several dozen pairs of squares on Friday and will assemble them into bigger blocks today.

The dilemma of food or fuel (diesel that is)

First off, I forgot to mention I was very glad to see that Blogger has finally pulled it's finger out and sorted the blog postings so we are back to as it should be.

The heading reflects what was truly the choice this week, as with the price of diesel up to £2 a litre, and all my journeys long ones - two to Tam in this past week, at around £20 a time, Llandeilo tomorrow for the fair, that's 38 miles each way; the Unit last week 70 miles each way, which is why I tacked on the extra bit to go on to St Dogmaels rather than have a separate day out in the opposite direction. I haven't been to do a proper grocery shop, just picked up a couple of things I needed at Co-op - and I try not to shop at Co-op if I can.  Yesterday I had to buy a pint of milk (remains of last pint were a week out of date) and I bought bananas to go with my granola.  I had wanted raspberries to make the plain yoghurt I also bought, but at £2.50 for about 4 oz, I wasn't doing that. Today I need a couple of bread rolls for lunch at the Fair tomorrow.  I shall use chicken as the filling, and some salad.  I have two bananas a bit too ripe for me to enjoy so they will go into Chocolate Banana Muffins.

Food prices are getting ridiculous.  I was happy to pay £4 for 6 large cod fish fingers at Tesco's but those have now shot up to £4.75.  I have Kedgeree regularly, but smoked cod has now gone up from around £4.50 to £6.50 - that is a BIG hit.  Simple cans of soup - I can remember paying just 60p for Batchelors condensed chicken soup for pies - probably 8 yrs ago say.  It is now £1.50 a tin.  Ordinary soup, the good Heinz sort, is £1.59 a tin, or 5 for £5, which shows you the profit margin.  I invested in five tins last time I went shopping as I don't always want to make a vat of soup at home and eat it every day for a week!  I can still afford 2 raw chicken breast portions at £2.67 and make them go a long way.  I don't often buy salmon portions, but when did a smallish (212g) tin of salmon become £3.80?  Corned beef used to be something I bought regularly for Keith, who liked corned beef hash (pass, not for me).  It was a cheap meal but now at £3.50 a tin - and I saw a small tin at £4.10 in Tesco recently - it's becoming haute cuisine!  Even the loathed Spam from childhood is £3.50 a tin.

The humble potato, reinvented in crisp form, has to show the best profit margins out there, retailing at £2.50 a bag for what is probably not much more than one large potato.  Very few packets are cheaper unless on an offer.  I buy peanuts at 59p a bag.  More protein.

So, for the past couple of weeks I have been living largely out of the freezer and storecupboard, and the chicken I roasted on Monday has done 3 meals so far, a whole breast left, and carcase for soup, and 3 portions of curry with veg in the fridge.  2 will be frozen.  

This is why I try and buy most of my groceries in Aldi, and only things like Twinings Earl Grey teabags, cat food, etc in Tesco's.  Basically anything I need that Aldi don't stock.  Easy to be led astray though.

I have apples from my trees now, and have been given a goodly supply of cooking apples to store.  In the freezer, I have blackberries and elderberries which were free.  Soft fruit off the menu now unless I buy a bag of frozen, which go a long way. I had several small cucumbers from the polytunnel this week and a bag of the yellow cherry tomatoes which have been frozen (toms not cucumbers :)

Eggs, I use mainly for baking, and they are £1.85 or so for 6 medium free range eggs.  I prefer the ones from the butchers (Clun eggs).  

I am fortunate to have a full freezer and well stocked storecupboard to fall back when leaner times hit.  Once I am out of the Unit, there is only one more Fair this year, and I won't be going much further than Llandod.  Time to blow the dust off my bus pass if I fancy going out somewhere - though the destinations not terrifically exciting.  Will have to see if I can get to Cardiff in reasonable time to meet up with Gabby/go to the Museum and Art Gallery.  They changed the T bus time table which could get you to Cardiff, and then there was a lengthy break at Merthyr which made people travelling for work pretty put out.  I will perhaps have an outing on the Heart of Wales line train as that is free with my bus pass, over the winter months.

Sorry, woffling now.  Got lots done yesterday but my back complaining after I loaded several boxes of china into the car . . . I will have to be careful today.

 Update: All loaded.  I have decided to part with my lovely Arts and Crafts mirror as there is nowhere to hang it here.  I hope someone falls in love with it as we did.  I have really lost the enjoyment for Fairs right now.  The thought of getting up at 5.30 tomorrow doesn't thrill me either.