Sunny Sunday in Llanrwst

 

It seems only fair after showing your our Sunny Saturday in Conwy that I show you what we got up to on our sunny Sunday in Llanrwst, the town that we used to live so close to.

For once ... much to Alan's dismay ... we couldn't drive past our old home as the road was shut at the Tal y Cafn junction, but being former occupants of the area we knew the back roads and set off to enjoy the even more picturesque route to Llanrwst.

On a gloriously sunny day with the windows wound down, it was magical.  I've done it many times before in dreadful weather and the windy country lanes are not quite so magical then!

We wandered around the park seeing if the Horse Chestnut trees were starting to release their conkers yet, the main purpose of us going there ... but nope not ready yet!!  At least the dogs got a good wander around and sniff, staying mostly in the shade wherever we could.

Then we sat on a bench watching out over the river and the traffic on the Pont Fawr Bridge. 

As usual there was a lot of activity on the bridge, partly due to the road closure in one direction but also as there must have been an accident in the other direction.  Emergency vehicle after emergency vehicle sped along the road towards it and then over it and across the river.  With police at both sides directing the traffic, for once there wasn't the usual free-for-all of being the one to get to the top and therefore have right of way.

Then we crossed the road and sat in the sunshine outside the tearooms to have a much needed cup of coffee and a sandwich.  The dogs alternating between watching us eat and sitting in the shade under the picnic bench.

Then the heat of the day got too much, and we went back through the park to the car and headed back to the flat, taking the same scenic route in reverse until we were home in the cool of the flat.

There might have been a short afternoon nap before we gathered together our bags and set off late afternoon back home to England.  😃

Sue xx

Sunny Saturday in Conwy

 

We set off early on Saturday morning before the heat of the day got too much, hoping, expecting it to be quiet in Conwy, but already the tourists were flocking to the castle walkways, no doubt enjoying the shade offered by the old stone walls. 

 Already the sun was out and the heat was building up.  

We got a coffee each and sat on the quayside watching the tour boat go out with it's load after load of holidaymakers wanting to be on the water on this hot day and see the beauty of the River Conwy from the centre of the river rather than it's edges.  It must have been nice out there, we will do it one day, but this day we chose not too.

Instead we drank in the blueness of the sky, the calm of the water and the beautiful boats and watched children making sandcastles with coffee cups and ice-cream tubs.  Buckets and spade were available in the gift shop, but don't you just love a bit of ingenuity.  😀

The queue for the Smallest House had been much longer when we sat down, but when I turned to go I realised I could get a photo as there were fewer people now.  

At £1.50 to go in and look at it's two tiny rooms I couldn't justify yet another peep.  It used to be 50p, and then £1 and I visited at both those price points, but I've seen it now and I have the ability to 'save' very detailed images in my head of how interiors of buildings look, so I stood and pulled up the image ... and saved my money.

We shade hopped back to the car park with both dogs glad of the shortish distance, and then took them back to the cool of the flat.  Then we went into Llandudno for a couple of hours, still on our hunt for the final two pieces we wanted to furnish the flat with.  A side table for a lamp and a unit of some description for the television to sit on.

First stop the British Heart Foundation furniture shop, where we really struck it lucky.  Second stop fish and chips at one of our favourite chippy's followed by a little mooch around a charity shop and a book purchase.  Then it was back in the car to the BHF shop to pick up our purchase and head for home.

And this is what we got, a lovely little 'Hi Fi' cupboard.  

Brand new and donated by a furniture shop to the BHF when it recently closed down.  It had previously been priced at £360, reduced to £320, and then donated.  We got it for just £45, a bargain, I guess because of it's name not many people want a Hi Fi cupboard these days, but hey you have to think out side of the box if you want a bargain.  It's not specifically the 'lamp table' we were looking for, but it's even better it's a surface for a lamp but with storage, and it's solid oak wood matches the theme of the flat perfectly.

A quick wipe out and then it was put into place and into service.  

What a successful day.

Sue xx

What Are You Up To?

 

This weekend I will be reading my book while we wait for the delivery of the furniture that we chose from the British Heart Foundation shop in Llandudno last week.

It will be nice to have the television sat on a piece of furniture instead of our plastic box.  

And it will be even better to sit on a sofa instead of the garden chairs we have been using.  Amazingly for just over £500 we managed to get ourselves a two seater sofa, a coffee table, two sets of bedside drawers and a brand new self assembly dining table and two chairs from the BHF shop ... and an oak television unit for just £30 from Facebook Marketplace which we will be picking up ourselves.

And it's also nice to help out a very deserving charity while furnishing our Welsh flat.

Alan will no doubt spend some of our waiting time cutting the grass again.  After just two cuts it's already looking a bit more like a lawn than a piece of waste ground.  The dogs love having grass of their own again.

And this photo of my plant has just reminded me that I need to go and water all the indoor plants before we go.  Why have I got a photo of this plant, I don't know, sometimes I just go around snapping away at things and it must have caught my eye for some reason as I stepped in the door. 😀

Hope you all have a great weekend ... what are you up too?

Sue xx

Our Short Trip to Wales ... and Rationing Begins

 

Those of you who have followed me for an length of time will recognise this photo.  It used to signal that we were back home, the road sign that Alan mowed around once a month to keep the roadside verge neat and tidy that was just outside our front gate ... and actually knocked down once with his tractor and had to fix ... shhh.)   As you can see our old 'Egg and Vegetable Sales' box is still in position at the bottom of the driveway.

We had dropped our things off at the flat near Llandudno and decided on some lunch at one of our old favourite places, the Tu Hwnt I'r Bont tearooms with a dog walk around the park first and a check to see in the conkers were ready for gathering in.

While our lunch was being prepared I checked out some of the photos on the wall above Alan's head.  As you can see from the photos, the tearooms flood on a regular basis and we were quite sad to see that a lot of the memorabilia that used to be on the walls is no longer there, no doubt victim to the rising waters of the River Conwy which started bursting it's banks regularly again before we moved away from Maenan.

A couple of ladies placing their order in the same place we were sat but many, many years before us.

I managed to get a couple of photos as we drove back past Isfryn to get to the flat.  We were both a bit disappointed to see that the place was looking so overgrown, and Alan was upset to see his lovely hedges and verges were neglected.  But hey, perhaps the new owners like the shaggy look, it's not for us to judge.

As you can see the house still looks exactly the same.

We headed back towards the coast pointing out differences to each other all along the route, it's nice to look back ... but I would never go back long term.  For me having the flat for a year or so will be a nice way to say goodbye to Wales properly and for us to continue looking forwards.

It was a good weekend, but we decided to come back a day early and get a head start on the week.  Alan needed to catch up on bits and bobs of work and I had decided overnight that my rationing will start tomorrow.  Just like that, not much notice for myself, sort of like how it was for the people of 1940 when rationing started with regular news reports and instructions ... and the issuing of ration books ready for 8th January.

Time for some reading, but before I do I am going to make a coffee and settle down to watch Housewife, 49.  Not a bad way to spend a cool and wet Sunday evening and get me in a rationing mindset ... it will definintely be porridge for breakfast.  😀

The new blog is now visible for everyone and the first post ... a round up of a weeks rations ... should be appearing in the morning.  It was nice to go away for a night, but it's nice to be home.

Sue xx

A Successful Weekend at Our Welsh Flat

An original photo taken by me of the seafront at Llandudno.  

August 2015

 We had a very successful weekend at the Welsh flat, sorting out the things that we really needed to sort out, cleaning, hoovering and mowing for all we were worth and generally getting it on it's way to being able to be used.

How about a few before and afters:

The kitchen before ... note the first things to be unpacked were tea, coffee and the new kettle, I have my priorities right!!  😄

And here it is again just before we left for home.  

The fridge freezer and washing machine are now both in place and working perfectly, there is some food in the cupboards as well as the cutlery and crockery to be able to eat at the flat.

The living room.

Alan had just assembled our chairs and unwrapped the television ... supervised very well by Suky.

Sunday morning just before we left and the curtains are up and looking lovely, everywhere is clean and tidy and our temporary 'toaster box coffee table' is still in use.

And it would appear that Suky is still supervising goings on!

The main bedroom when we arrived, with it's freshly painted walls and new carpet being shown off beautifully in this photo.

And two days later with an actual bed, the curtains hung and a new lampshade.

The second bedroom.

We used this as a 'holding' room  for everything that we had brought with us while we worked on the other rooms, so it stayed messy right up until we were ready to leave.  First it held all the new purchases and things brought from home waiting to go into cupboards etc., and then it held all the wrappings and rubbish waiting for us to load the car and take away with us.

At the moment it just contains the lawnmower, some cushions ready for when we find a sofa, and a new cat litter tray for Ginger, who will be travelling with us whenever we go for more than one night.

And talking of lawnmowers ... once the batteries on our new lawnmower had charged Alan cut the grass, watched over intently by Mavis.  The dogs had obviously decided between them that Suky was to supervise the inside jobs and Mavis the outside ones.

And for those of you who like to see actual footage I did a Before and After in video format too, just two very short little clips of live action.

https://youtu.be/7TI45zSK1BE

https://youtu.be/yCIyJlQCqWw

So it was a very successful weekend, the drive home was a bit of an experience with all the heavy rain and standing water on the motorway, but we managed it safely and now we will be seeing if we can source some more of the things we need for the flat from Facebook Marketplace and perhaps charity shops.  We aren't buying much just the basics to make it comfortable and easy to use for us and my sons.

If you have any questions I will answer them in the comments of this post.

Sue xx

Four Stars, to the Woods, Return to the Country, Posh Nosh, Wartime and Trams to the Top

 

A brief look at our whistle-stop trip back to Wales.

It was pretty relaxing actually.  We stayed at the rather dated but luxurious St Georges Hotel with a wonderfully refreshing sea view.  Sleeping with the window open was good for the soul as well as the senses.

The first night we just had chips on the prom, a play in the arcade at the start of the pier, and then relaxed in our room falling asleep within minutes of our heads hitting the pillows.

The next morning it was dull but dry, so after a lovely cooked Welsh breakfast at the hotel we headed back past our old place and on to Betws y Coed, somewhere we used to take the dogs regularly for walks in the woods and for a coffee for us.  We had coffee this time, along with flapjacks and then headed for home ...

... our old home!!

The house hasn't changed at all, (this is an old photo), but the land has.  

The young couple that are now the proud owners of Isfryn are definintely in the process of making their mark on the land.  There is much more growing going on, with plans to preserve what they grow, more building work happening at the back of the house, with a root cellar being built alongside a new retaining wall.  A hot tub at the front of the workshop and new buildings here there and everywhere.  They have lots of plans, in fact they sounded just like us when we were in the full flush of developing our first place together and it was really nice to hear.  They have some chickens and plans to get more, they have a couple of pigs in Nut Wood, almost ready to become bacon and sausages ... and Will's sheep still reside in the paddock.

We were so pleased, we really couldn't have sold it to nicer people!

We went back into Llandudno, had a snack in the new M&S café, a drink in the hotel lounge and then went for a meal at our regular old haunt The Osborne House Hotel.  The staff were virtually all the same although the menu wasn't.  I think if we still lived locally we wouldn't be there half as often.  Set three course menus just don't cut the mustard with me, although I can see how it makes a business more profitable.

Next morning it was time for us to go to somewhere I had been wanting to go to for years ... The Homefront Museum in Llandudno.

I had been wanting to go ever since we ate wartime rations for a couple of months back in February 2018.  For one reason and another we just never got there, and then lockdown scuppered my final chance to visit before I moved away.

It was worth waiting for, and I took far too many photos.  I feel a Challenge coming on!!

After the museum visit and before the rain clouds got any closer, we caught the tram to the top of the Great Orme.  

The Great Orme Tramway has been in operation for years and was something we had always wanted to do when we lived locally ... well we finally got around to it.

The views going up and coming down were well worth the ride up, but as the fine drizzle started we hopped on a tram back down, picked up a bit of fresh food shopping from M&S and then hit the road for home.

The dogs and Ginger were pleased to see us but had had an equally refreshing holiday in the safe and very capable hands of Jason and Tash, who had a little holiday in our house themselves.  

While we went to the seaside for our holiday they were having a holiday away from the seaside for theirs, as they live in the busy bustling seaside town of Blackpool.  I think they enjoyed small town life for a few days with not as many visitors and holidaymakers, and Jason really enjoyed the Thursday market with the large and varied book stall.  I really have no idea where his obsession with books comes from  😉

So a nice little break for everyone, but it's nice to be back and even better to realise that we have made the right move.  There are no pangs at leaving our old life in the country, here I think for now we have the best of both worlds ... and there's not many that can say that.

Sue xx

VeganKind Life Style Box and Another Mid-Week Break ... We're Going Back to the Country

 

This months VeganKind Lifestyle Box is proving to be very tasty ... well perhaps not the bubble-bath, I'd rather soak in that than eat it ... but everything else is.  I signed up for this monthly treat again briefly as I had an offer for one free box and decided to treat myself to an additional couple of months as well.  I'll just cancel it when I start to get fed up with the contents.

I don't need to put another order in with them just yet as I still have quite a bit of my last order left and enough packets of my crisps to keep me happy for a while, but I do check out the online supermarket regularly as they are always getting new lines in.  I also still have a code that gets you £10 off an order of £40 or over if you're interested. 

https://thevegankind.mention-me.com/m/ol/as2br-sue-hall

Llandudno Promenade in August 2015

In other less tasty but much more exciting news, we are off on a mid-week break to Llandudno tomorrow.  It will be lovely to visit our old stomping ground for a couple of days but this time enjoying it as tourists, and no doubt playing a bit of 'spot the differences' as we have already noticed online that a few things have changed.  We will also be calling back to our old home Isfryn to see the new owners, and stopping by our flat in Llandudno Junction to see the tenant and make sure that everything is okay there for him.

At home Suky, Mavis and Ginger are looking forward to Very Special House-sitters while we are away this time, as Uncle Jason and Aunty Tash are going to spoil them rotten for three days in our absence.

I'll back to show you some photos of what we get up to while we are there.

Sue xx

Tales from Wales - The Grand Finale

There, that's it ... the final view of Isfryn, our home in wales for the last seven and a half years.

We left for the final time at three o'clock yesterday afternoon, me driving my Fiat 500 with a full boot and passenger side and two very excited little doggies in their bed on the back seat and Alan driving our truck filled to the ginnels with it's final load, which included a cat that escaped from his carrier just ten minutes into the journey and who spent the next two hours perched on top of the things in the back seat, watching a very unfamiliar world rush by through the windscreen.  He took it all in his stride though and left Alan mostly in peace to drive, apart from a few plaintive yowls, and he arrived at his new temporary home looking quite bewildered.

Before we left I took some final photos with my phone, so I'll take this chance to share them with you.

Looking back at the house from Chicken World.

A henhouse that's been empty for a few weeks now.  Our last elderly hen died in late January, so we gifted our one remaining hen, a good layer, to the new neighbours across the road who have a lot of older hens but not many still laying. 

Behind Chicken World, beyond the fence is where we have our regular bonfires and we had a pretty spectacular one burning a lot of stuff we didn't want to take or leave behind on Monday afternoon.

The Chicken Shed.

Still with everything you need if you keep chickens, the new people have or will be getting some of their own.

Walking across the front of our garage, looking towards the view I will miss.

The hedging and trees that we put in before the polytunnel was erected, that have grown so much in the years we've been here.

The Tunnels and the Veggie Patch

Leaving lots behind, including some of last years Spinach and Kale.

Bits and bobs for the new growers to make use of.

A final shot of what was my domain until two years ago.

Lets go back to the house now for a final goodbye.

Two shots of the conservatory.

Anything you see on these photos was left behind for the new owners.

Including brewing up supplies, a New Home card ... and a cheeky bottle of wine.

Ooops ... one thing we did forget to bring with us was the dog's and Gingers water bowl!!

Luckily they have far too many bowls for us to really miss this old one.

Shhh ... lets sneak past a resting Alan, although the dogs have spotted us.

Alan developed a DVT three days after his Covid-19 vaccination and has really struggled with all the physical stuff this week.  So it's been a question of do a bit, rest a bit, do a bit, rest a bit ... on doctors orders.  Best to try and live your life as best you can, take the tablets and the painkillers but do keep moving was the instruction.

Upstairs and the bedrooms are empty and echo-ey.

With the office furniture left in situ as the new owners will also be running a business from home.

And that's it, time to go back down, wake a snoozing Alan, bag up a cat and hit the road.

Town Life here we come.

Sue xx