H.w.g.a #12

Ah, today Alistair was off early on his bike in VERY icy conditions to see to the tree-surgeons at the old Samaritans property...and came back with a leaf, to be certain we wanted  the wood...

He went back twice in the car later to fill the boot...

I wasn't allowed to be of any use, as my back is not deemed to be in any fit state, so I have walked the beach with Kitty, twice (small boy, new friend: Why is she called Kitty? It's like having a cat called Puppy!).

And made a fruity, spicy sourdough loaf...

And a batch of candles...

I am now more or less out of all the candle-stubs I was given in March, plus every other bit I had. All donations of stubs gratefully received...I will happily make new candles for you!

Will we see the new year in? Will we take the fizz and glasses down to the prom? 

Honestly, I don't know...I'll tell you tomorrow...

H.w.g.a #11

Oh, these lazy, pointless days! 

Kitty and I walked the beach again this morning, easier on my sore back - which is getting better I'm glad to say!

I played with clay, fettling the tiles/coasters I made yesterday -

And read nonsense poems aloud into my phone...

And later we colluded on a butternut squash and chickpea curry -

H.w.g.a #10

I decided not to get up this morning, and lay in bed, with my eyes tight shut while Alistsir got up and dressed, went down and made tea. 

And brought me up a cup. So kind, but no - I was NOT getting up. There was nothing to get up for, nothing I had to do and my back was still hurting.

I drank my tea and got up. Because of course there is everything in the world to get up for really - sun and sea and wind and rain, kind hearts and coronets. And a second cup of tea.

I managed a walk along the prom today, with Alistair, who was biking down to do something useful for someone. And then home along the beach, giving Kitty a good run while I picked up some kindling sticks. And listened to a meditation about compassionate engagement with the people around me.

We cleared up a bit in the garden when we got back to and chatted at the gate with a couple of friendly neighbours and dogs.

A quiet afternoon, with my back slowly easing and, as I said, nothing I HAD to do.

Success of the day! Alistair managed to buy a copy of 2021's tide-tables, sun-rises and sets, and moon-phases.

So that's us set up for the new year!

H.w.g.a #9

Today was a bit of a wash-out, with a rubbish back-ache. I managed the food-shopping though, helped with a bit of cooking and played with clay.

And then, home-alone this evening, I self-medicated with wine, mulled with cloves and spiked with some vicious spirit from the back of the cupboard.

Lit a fire and watched back to back episodes of 'My Brilliant Friend'

H.w.g.a #8

That was a wild night!

We woke up late this morning and surveyed the damage from the bedroom window...we have had a three-chair storm before, but never a three-chair-AND-the-table!

A brisk walk on the beach provided some wood for the store:

...and a rather fine cross,

 which I shall dry, and won't burn for a while - in case there are any of you out there into religious iconography?

This afternoon we returned to working-out in our little home gym.

Oh and I made a lovely sourdough loaf...

H.w.g.a #7

Is it Saturday today?

Who knows anymore?

Kitty and I walked on the beach this morning, and met a lovely little wire-haired fox terrier puppy called Peggy.

I would love a second dog - and will wait for the right one to come along...

Late this afternoon I caught Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake on Sky Arts (don't ask me what Sky Arts is doing on Freeview - I have no idea). It was FABULOUS!

And here is a little book I have been dipping into:

H.w.g.a #6

So... Christmas Day, and the usual quiet, somewhat quirky one for us.

We walked over to Wallog this morning, meeting, on the way, a particularly interesting young woman, who has just recently come to Aber to study - I hope we'll meet her again, but circumstances don't make it easy!

A quick picnic on the beach, because it was chilly and trying to rain

And then the march home to put the kettle on and eat the 'christmas pudding' we had forgotten to take

After lots of tea-drinking and a little opening of presents, he went for a swim, 'because the sun was out'. I know...

And I read 'The Owl and the Pussycat'. Aloud. As you do...

And then later we made curries...it was lovely not to be in charge; I shall make a habit of abdicating responsibility 'on the domestic front'

And now it is nearly tomorrow, he has gone to do the late-night Samaritans shift, and I have been sitting by the fire, sipping blackberry vodka and watching an episode of 'My Brilliant Friend'. Time for bed...

H.w.g.a #5

This has been a week of neighbourhood giving and receiving of tidbits - scones, wild watercress and blackberry vodka are among the things that have left this house

Apple jam has arrived here, and a lovely bag of allotment vegetables.

This wonderful gift included a bag of sprouts! We are not known for our greens, and probably haven't eaten sprouts since the last time I cooked a 'proper' Christmas lunch!

But Alistair is cooking this year, and cooking curries too!

So here he is, in the time-honoured British tradition - preparing the sprouts on Christmas Eve

And here is the curry (and it's yummy!)

And this evening we met ('by chance') a few friends in the street to toast the future (or whatever).

That was very lovely (we are honorary residents of Cliff Terrace, which is VERY lovely).

H.w.g.a #4

STILL wet and muddy today, although mild and sunny for at least part of our walk...Kitty and I went up onto the deserted golf-course and then on up to Kitty's field, where we met Basil, with his three scarey (little) dogs. And then we chased around after the tennis ball in among the rainbows

And I made flatbreads, with added coconut milk and cumin seeds - which were yummy.

And painted a couple of radiators...

H.w.g.a #3

Not being a shepherd or a sailor, I

take delight in the pink-painted sky

this early morning after

the longest night

H.w.g.a #2

Solstice blessings, lovely people!

Sitting by my solstice fire, but inside, because it is raining again...still.

Cider and toast, and looking back at this strangest of all years...

But I am short of words tonight, so here are a few images:

blackberry vodka, strained and bottled ( I had a feeling crumbles were not going to get us through this winter...)

bright berries...

and a pomander...

And here are some solstice words by Emilia Ivancu, translated by Dairmuid Johnson:

H.w.g.a #1

I start today with an ominous gloom, and close to tears, but Kitty and I tog up as usual and, between showers, tramp up the hill on what had recently been the only dry-ish path. It is a running stream, but the sun is out briefly, lifting our spirits.

By the time we reach the path at the top, there are looming black clouds above the Dyfi estuary, a huge double rainbow and bright golden sunshine.

And a hailstorm. Yeah, all at the same time. I love you, Wales...

We descend the hill, choosing the road, which today resembles a river.

That was it really - my days drift by, with a little communication with loved friends and family, a little playing with clay, a little stretchy yoga in the attic, and stuff...

And the finale of His Dark Materials series 2 in a few minutes. Yay...

Here We Go Again...

My day started well...Kitty and I had a soggy walk on the deserted golf-course, garnering wild watercress and rosemary along the way. And a couple of logs.

Then it was time for a trip to the library, open briefly (click and collect), between re-ordering their systems and Christmas and a lurking Lock-Down... to return a couple of books and pick up the Bernadine Evaristo, which it is at last my turn to read, and a couple of books on curries (Alistair is taking up Indian Cookery for Christmas dinner - yay!).

There is a stand behind the books table at the library (in the doorway, as near as one gets these days), and my eye was caught by the new second series of 'My Brilliant Friend'. So I hollered - and borrowed that too, explaining that I had borrowed the first series just as the first Lock-Down descended, binge watched it all, and then bought and read all four books (twice) during the spring and summer.

They rooted around the back-shelves for me, so I came home with series one as well, to rewatch first...

That's my viewing sorted for a while.

I played with clay this afternoon, unaware that those in power were shifting the pawns about the board again.

So now London is shut-down, and we are in Lock-Down again here in the wild west. I don't care for myself, I go nowhere anyway, but for those lives have been disrupted and contracted yet again...

What if...

There is a liminal space between the sea and the shore, where waves crash, flutter or creep between the rocks and the sand where we trudge.

The boundary between sea and shore seems disorganised, spontaneous, random, changing day to day and hour to hour, as the tides advance and recede.

As Kitty-the-dog sniffs about, thrilling in all her senses, I muse on changeable-ness and impermanence.

Wild though it is, sometimes very wild here on the west coast, I am struck by the thought that in actuality, barring the odd REALLY unusual occurrence, the waves and tides are bounded and controlled by forces I don't comprehend, connected to the moon, gravity and the like. And by consulting my tide-tables I can, with some certainty, know what to expect at any given day or time in the year.

What if my life, I muse, my goings-out and comings-in, are in actuality bounded by something somewhere I can't comprehend or grasp?

Raising our eyes to the horizon, where ominous clouds are gathering, we decide to run for home ahead of the incoming storm