Still cold...with dandruff

 This morning it had been so cold overnight, that the car windscreen was frozen outside....and inside, like a sheet of little pimples..I should have taken a photo but was too intent on getting it clear so that I could drive  down the hill to the garage!

That left a day to get busy indoors..and today's exercise was going up and down stairs! 

I moved Pirate's papers back upstairs to a sideboard and small chest of drawers. There are still two stacks of boxes in the living room...one is bike bits to be cleaned , priced and sold. The other is three boxes of things from his display in his Celebrations..and a box of things to go to his nephew which need cataloguing and photographing.

The long sideboard is looking a lot better too..still a bit cluttered, but some of that is things to go, like the growing group of things in the kitchen..an iron, two kettles, one usual size one two cup size. A two espresso cup filter machine...or one mug...water in, coffee in, switch on and go...empty and wash the filter afterwards...things I don't need..or don't need multiples of!

I called garage at three...he wasn't happy as the parts had been put on the wrong delivery van at the motor factor...and ended up in the wrong direction at Falkirk!!  They should have arrived just before he finished tonight, so my wee car will have a night in his garage ready for first job tomorrow.

The living room carpet has been vacuumed, the place looks reasonable..and at four in the afternoon we had our snow shower... described as "dandruff" by a friend in the middle of England who has a fair bit more!!

Cold

 We have the coldest start to Winter for a while.. yesterday I stayed indoors all day, it was not just cold, but had a dank feel to the air...so just this and that.. recovering from Sunday's flu and covid jags, letting my body do it's work.

Today has been dry underfoot, so once the landfill bin had been collected I ventured out on nice warm buses!

A pleasant chat on the way into town with a woman who moved here five years ago. And a bus connection straight away. I had hoped to do a little fresh food shopping in town, but the co-op is having a refit and won't be reopened for another ten days.

A small bagful of fresh items... some reduced...and I just missed the return bus. I wasn't going to stand there for 25 minutes, so I walked back into Ayr from the nearer edge of Prestwick. Luckily I was wearing a buff so brought that up over my nose to keep the cold air and traffic fumes out.

Just over half an hour later and the bus passed me just before the bridge over the river Ayr.

Then luckily the bus home was ready to leave the bus station!!

Back home to make soup from the leaves and stalks of last week's and this week's (organic) cauliflower, a couple of leeks from the garden, tatties and coconut milk for a nice creamy soup!

I lifted a yellow beet as well....not sure what to do with that for supper... possibly just in a salad!

Now it is cold and getting colder... possibly too cold for snow, but we might get some during tomorrow. Plenty of places in all directions have had snow already.

I'm snuggled up warm on the sofa with a three ginger tea...supper needs to be something quick to make..it's too comfortable here!!

Kitchen

 Instead of one long blog post I am doing three!!

Today's steady job has been sorting the kitchen....apart from going for a walk before getting the jags (flu and COVID) at the village community room.

So here is the evidence!!

Step one....with encouragement via WhatsApp with my daughter!!

Most of the whisky boxes folded and in the box...now with packing materials upstairs. 

I'm keeping the kettle up there to use on the workshop stove.

The Highdome pressure cookers just need the safety valve, then I can bottle fruit instead of freezing it all. Unfortunately when Prestige changed hands, that valve changed shape and dimensions...I have a new rubber gasket , but no use without the valve. The ones I bought purporting to be the old style, weren't.   I think I will hang fire on that. A new stainless steel one costs £45-£60...and if I can find a second hand one....

The other corner has been done, I'm happy with that...drinks corner!

Plastic storage boxes sorted and all the odd boxes and lids are in the recycling bucket.  Just the baking shelves to do now....how many tins and trays do I keep?!

Yes, Tom....thanks for the nudge! Now I have to keep rolling, room by room. 

It will get easier when I've sold the bikes that I don't need. 

Red sky

 In the morning...7.05 am

7.35

8am

7.30 the birds started... mainly starlings

And at 8 o'clock the gulls turned up!!

We have a weather warning approaching, snow already on Cairngorm and the ski slopes and Shetland, the odd hailstorm in the Western Isles..here by lunchtime it was icy cold steady light rain..we might be on the edge of tomorrow's snow. We shall see...for now the temperature is dropping below freezing point.

Bridge

 Those of you who have driven along the toll motorway by Birmingham will have seen an apparent Bridge to Nowhere.....

It is a canal bridge, constructed at the same time as the motorway, ready to reconnect a length of canal.....

The years have gone by, but at last the land ownership either side has been sorted. 

This is the article in the group magazine....

The Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust is doing fantastic work...Canal have a look and see what they are doing...and they are just one of many groups working hard to revive the canal system.

They are on farcebook too.

Cleaning

 Friday was bike maintenance day..with the help of a friend the "new" saddle went on, height adjusted and pedals off one of Pirate's bikes. I will take those to use on a borrowed bike in NZ along with my shoes..these are things that can cause problems if you don't use your own!

Now all three bikes that I use are sorted, so no regular swapping of components.

Today has been cleaning.

This took far longer than expected. It was always Pirate's job to clean our bikes after a ride while I prepared a meal...but he never wore his specs to do the job...and with cataracts as well he was obviously missing bits....ok, missing most!! 

I haven't ridden this bike for a three years...so the crud was well solidified!!

I haven't done a perfect job, but it is respectable enough to be seen in public!! I will get a proper degreaser when I can...then clean with that, a wipe with an oily rag and you are ready for the next ride.

Next object for cleaning was the little brass box with a wooden liner...now is Indian...tigers...or Japanese...lady in a Kimono and a man in Japanese looking garb.

The designs are the same on opposite sides.

Any suggestions?

Whilst cleaning I have been watching films of potters made by the Goldmark gallery..... getting inspired!

Afternoon

 I have got this far with the kitchen 

Still cluttered...but getting there. Oh for a proper larder!

And a dishwasher!!

Next step is to review the contents again.  Not to hide things....well yes, to hide things that aren't regularly used and it makes sense to have them not crowding out the bench!  Things that are heavy will have to stay though.

Time to get brave and actually learn to use the bread maker ....and if that doesn't suit I can sell it! 

It didn't stay nice and clear....so no gardening. 

I found a print of an old photo of Nantlle in Eryri where we used to live..eldest was born in hospital but the other three were born there...you can just see the roof, farthest away on the right. 1, Tai Baladeulyn.

Tai means houses...it is a row of six.  Bala is where the water leaves a lake...Llyn....Deulyn, two lakes. One lake is a field's distance behind our house...the road leaves the village on its way to the sea and used to go straight on, past Chwarel Dorothea...a 600 foot deep slate quarry, now with over 400 foot deep water in it. Not just rain, the river broke through from where it runs beside the quarry...there are still the remains of a Cornish beam engine used to pump the water back into the river. People practice diving there..and every so often lose their lives.  It is very deep, dark and cold.. dangerous even for skilled divers.

When we had our earthquake in the mid 80s the quarry was between us and the epicentre out to sea...we heard the tremors in the 600' deep loudspeaker before feeling them.

They made a new road with a bridge over the Bala...pont y Bala....and the second lake was drained and the river diverted further from the quarry.

On the left, opposite the Chapel on the right were footbridges over a stream and as far as I know a communal drying garden for washing.

You can see the road going into the trees, and a quarter mile further on was another part of the village and the school.

It took fifteen years fighting to get a path up on one side of the road which was slate walls on both sides...long after we moved...we used to walk the children to school in groups for safety. 

Go up that road and you get to Rhyd Ddu at the foot of Yr Wyddfa, the highest peak...the peak is 8 miles away....and the seaside at Dinas Dinlle is 8 miles the other way.   We didn't often go to either...never been up the mountain even on the railway....that was for tourists.

My daughter wants the print...good...one less thing here!