#homealonedaytwelve

I woke with a jump early this morning, thinking Alistair should have come in in the night, and somehow hadn't...
Then I woke properly and remembered he is coming home tonight :-)

So out early (for me!) with the dogs, and our adopted hometown is looking lovely in the clear autumn morning.
Kitty is unimpressed with a truncated walk (again!) and tears around the golf course for a few minutes. Cos she can't read the notices.

Off to the bus to Machynlleth a bit later and enough coverage most of the journey to get my emails seen to and 'chat' to Alistair, who is setting off from the west coast of Ireland for his long drive home. Ah, technology...how would we, how will we, manage?

In Mach I mosey around a bit and then realise I am in need of a) a coffee and b) a loo before the next thing...Cafi Alys to the rescue!

'The next thing' is a noon talk at Moma by lovely Irish artist and printmaker Deirdre McKenna, who hails from the area I know so well and where Alistair has been. Quite surreal, seeing films of the Dingle streets. I muse whether we should have gone that far to live ...and, if I were there, would Ben still be nine or ten and spending his holiday money on OASIS albums? Silly me...

Deirdre's work is about Celtic Connections, so it is all good, and I drift from there to the excellent Penrallt Bookshop, where I bump into a 'bender' acquaintance. And spend too much money and time...

Running through the rain to catch the bus home I buy random fruit and veg...an effort to prove to Alistair I really am Most Civilised...

#homealonedayeleven

A less eventful day today as I've only managed to wreck one thing (so far...)
The dogs and I had an early walk up the cliff this morning...one of those days when there is no horizon, the sea and sky melting into one another.
Yoga was a peaceful space, with the focus on flexibility...so lovely and stretchy. Then into town for a fitting of my jacket, being altered by the lovely Lydia...
A quiet afternoon, doing cleaningy things...

A programme about the artist Gluck, of whom I knew nothing, on iplayer tonight :-)

#homealonedayten

10.30am and Kitty has yet to put in an appearance, despite loud music downstairs. I open the curtains in the spare room and say Good Morning brightly. She sighs and opens one eye, briefly.
Honestly, it's just like still having a teenager in the house...

Later we have a walk in the 'dreich' and the dogs pose for a photo by a (very) young woman, who belongs to the university caving club. She assures me her mother knows what she does in her spare time. I remain unconvinced, but Ben has been in touch, so I smile, knowing he is alive :-)

Later still we sit reading in the sunshine waiting for the grass to dry enough to be cut. Finally I decide I must cut it before the lengthening shadows render it damp again...
It is still quite wet and afterwards I bang my gardening clogs together to remove mud and grass...out from under one of the insoles drops my silver ankle chain which went missing weeks ago - today just gets better!

#homealonedaynine

Woke very early this morning with the decision already made, somewhere, to have a musicky day...
So on with radio 3, and the kettle, and a look at last night's ceramics. It's obvious that the pinchpot I was idling over has decided overnight that it wants to be a jug - so on with the apron and out with the tools :-)

First we bring in the washing from the line and have another go at getting rid of the musty smell from the fab wool jumper I found in the charity shop in the week...this time I tried rolling it in bicarb for a bit and then soaking in fabric conditioner. Back onto the line...

Kitty and I set off a bit later for the delayed walk over the hill to do a visit at Plas Cwm. It took an hour to get there and was drizzling when we arrived. Kitty was a great success...
It was pouring when we left and a carer I know well was also leaving on her bike. House-sitting with five dogs - and  'at least I get to take my parrot' she remarked as she pedalled off. As you do :-) Surreal day...
I plug my headphones in as we trudge along and am rewarded by Tom Lehrer's 'Poisoning Pigeons in the Park'
Private Passions, radio3's answer to Desert Island Discs, follows - Stephen Poliakoff :-)

We get filthy and wet on the way home - my pink cagoule is at least waterproof and my new trainers almost...
Maybe I'll reward myself with a (Poliakoff) film later...

#homealonedayeight

Well I was woken in the early hours by The Limping Whippet (any Beiderbecke fans out there?), jumping on the bed to assure me she felt "much better, thank you, is it dinner time?"

It certainly wasn't and, in the morning, I panicked briefly on being unable to find her in any of the usual places (had she slid beneath the front door and left to find a rabbit?). Bizarrely, she was asleep in the attic and we all enjoyed an early walk in the silent cliff sunshine.

Off to dance in Llanbadarn and then stopped briefly in town, where the usual suspects were supporting Catalonia's right to independence.Indeed, but way too many flags for my liking...

A day or two ago I was in the Oxfam shop when the Big Issue seller was attempting, with no success, to negotiate the price of some trainers for their teenager. This has been bothering me, so today I stopped to ask them...no, no success and yes, they were still in the shop.
So we went in bought them and the young person on the till explained the returns policy politely...a little language difficulty.
Thank yous and tears and I was able to come home for a quiet afternoon. Hard to see who received most from the transaction...

#homealonedayseven

Well, that was another weird one!

Some useful bits - finding a lovel wool jumper and getting a bit if money off, because it has a little hole,
getting some more free wood...

On the other hand, Kitty messed up my plans for a long walk to visit Plas Cwm, by rolling in badger-poo
and now has a bad foot, or at least thinks she has - which is just as bad :-(

But ...I have just binge-watched the end of Transparent
and then turned on Fb to discover series 4 is up and running, yay!

Life goes on, get it while you can!

#homealonedaysix

A very late night meant we had a slow start to the day and it was a bit wet too.

Spent the morning cooking(!) up a chilli-sin-carne...yum, smoked paprika, why did no-one tell me!?
While that was simmering, I emptied the attic-stairs bookcase into boxes, moved the boxes, moved the bookshelf, stacked the boxes back...the pitfalls of small rooms!

Kitty and I took the rattly bus to Ynyslas this afternoon for an hour on the beach; she was very good, though it is quite noidy and stressful. The rain during the trip over cleared suddenly and it was lovely for our low-tide walk. A magical place, truly.

Lots of tea and toast in the sunshiny attic when we returned and a good stretch, to recover from the jolting of the busride :-)

#homealonedayfive

How was your day?
Mine started way too early with the early-morning rambling-brain, listening to the Shipping Forecast. Solidarity with insomniacs everywhere!
Dealt with by a quick chat with Dru, who was just getting up!! And a hot drink and some toast.

Then slept late of course, though it didn't matter as today was a Quiet Day...

Woodland walk with the dogs and we got in just as the mild day with intermittent sun was turning into Mild Day with Some Rain.
The postman had left a letter from the dentist ssying 'you haven't been to see us for two years' and I thought, as I always do, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it...'
And then bit on something hard. And broke a filling. And the remains of a tooth...

Did a little desultery ceramics this afternoon, then visited the dentist on my way to a meeting. My nhs status still stands as I was 'responding to the letter'
Hahaha, not.

Mulled cider and toast tonight and heading for the attic for a stretch...

#homealonedayfour

THE most beautiful day today...clear and warm after a cold start. I JUST managed to get the second coat of gloss on our windowsill before Ann picked me up for yoga with Maia.
That was lovely...stretchy and good for focus and SO much friendlier than of old - can't believe it's taken four years!
This afternoon was dogwalking and Kitty found herself a nice patch of badger-poo, so she was happy till we got home and she was marched straight up to the shower!
Got the grass cut too...so feel justified in (another) tv evening :-)

#homealonedaythree

A mixed old day today, but I think I'm still on a winning streak...

The buttons and beads I'd left cooling last night were a bit meh colourwise, so I spent lunchtime refiring them in their own chimenea-firing...while sitting in the sun, drinking coffee and waxing the other stuff. Dunked the colander-full into cold water (now THAT was fizzy!)
Still got a few things to wax tonight.

Oh, and I've gloss-painted three windowsills...

And just cooked up some 'gloop' (is that from The Accidental Tourist?), with veg and chickpeas and some Engevita, to keep starvation st bay.

And kept the dogs company.

#homealonedaytwo

Today started in a confused manner...see day one... and continued with a lovely walk with at least one confused dog - Kitty of course treated the whole affair of the beeps with disdain...

We had a dustbin-firing in the garden, complete with  a random reading of John Ashbery's  "How to Continue"...which seemed oddly appropriate, though I hold my hands up to cider in the afternoon over a magic-potion-filled fire after little sleep or food :-)
I am continually amazed at how the universe conspires...

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52163/how-to-continue

#homealonedayone

All this followed a day decorating...painting various walls, and the mulled cider -
Up at 2am with bleep bleeping. Came downstairs. Couldn't find it. Couldn't find Eve. Back up for dressing gown and slippers. Found Eve in our bedroom. Back down with Kitty for drink and toast. Back up. Couldn't find earplugs. Rummaged through suitcases for spares. Back to bed in dressinggown.
Bleep still bleeping in kitchen, though everything, including cooker clock is off. Evie is having a breakdown outside. Could it be the florescent tube? ������

No it was the C.O alarm, which I'd forgotten was on the top of the kitchen cupboard, out of sight...
#homealonedayone!