Having left the clear blue sky of the South Pacific, travelled for 4 days via new Zealand, L.A. London and Southampton,(where I went straight to the nearest shop to buy some warm jeans!) I arrived back into the hills of Wales amid high cloud and light winds.
When one considers the usual weather conditions found lashing around the mountains and valleys of Wales I took this to be a most appreciated Welcome Home present from the Powers that Be!
Three whole days of dryness followed, the temperatures were in double figures (just), I made a special visit to my favourite charity shop and treated myself to a pair of warm trousers in a delightful shade of shocking pink!! A few long sleeved tops were added to my growing wardrobe and on a trip to Aber at the end of the week a superb pair of fleece lined, ergonomic Ugg boots replaced my Reefs as rain returned to the hills!
A week later I was having serious thoughts about my country of chosen residence! The rain continued to fall from the heavens, the temperature dropped into single figures each evening, central heating and hot hot bathes became my environment as children, now a year older, ran riot through the house and left never ending piles of washing in their wake!!
So I left and went to Fuerteventura for a week!!
Strong winds continued to blow my hair into my eyes but it was a warm wind, children still screamed on the street but they were not mine nor were they my responsibility, piles of washing up still accumulated after every meal but these were now collected by a waitress and were never seen again. Life was back on track as the sun poured its glorious rays back onto my tan faded body.
Sitting in the sun I realised how much I missed the warmth and calmness of Moorea, I still had no regrets about leaving the island, as the endless days of silent solitude had been too much for me. Full scale family life however was also proving to be somewhat overwhelming. Somewhere in the middle there was the balance I was looking for.
The holiday was great, Jec completes his P.A.D.I. Open Water and was offered a 6 week Internship next summer IF he writes them an e-mail requesting it, saves enough money for 6 weeks worth of food and spending money plus keeps the positive attitude that he discovered in the sun.
I went diving again but even though the water was 23 degrees and I had a full length 7mm wetsuit on I absolutely froze! After one 48 minute dive I still had 110 bar but had to surface as I was shivering too much to stay down any longer!! I have since discovered on the internet that there exists a thermal HEATED rash vest!! These may be retailing at well over £100 but THIS, I have decided is what I need!!
Deep Blue Diving Fuerteventura is where Lisa and Kris completed their Open Water Certificated over 9 years ago. The staff had changed but Rolly was still the owner and Linda, Lisa and Kris's instructor was remembered with fondness while perfectly chilled beer flowed from the pump on the deck. When given the choice between toilets on site (instead of the 200m walk to the hotel) or an on site beer dispenser, these divers knew their priorities and the 200m dash is still being made by staff and guests alike!!
Peter had 'grown' a wee bit since I left, 2 stone worth of growth to be exact but having realised that wetsuits just don't get any bigger plus having his dive time reduced to 30 minutes has at last made him realise he has to DO something about it. That plus the fact that I have informed him that unless he is down to at least 18 stone by September I am possibly not coming back from my next World Trip until he was, seems to have tipped the balance and he is now a fully fledged member of Weight Watchers!! He has lost nearly 1 stone in the past 5 weeks, another 2 (minimum) to go!!
Our return to Wales after this sunny break was heralded by another week of sunshine.(In Wales this is called Global Warming???) During my initial return to the house in TreGarth, I had been dismayed to discover that the render had fallen off the front of the house during the severe winter, the garden had been abandoned, bikes and bike parts littered the grass and the garage could only be entered by climbing bodily over piles and mountain of accumulated debris!
With the sun still shining and feeling rejuvenated after the week of sunshine I set about putting the house and garage in order! Despite initial huffs puffs and one down right 'No Way!' I soon had the entire family emptying the garage and restoring some sort of order to the chaos. A trailer load of 'spare' bike parts, and 'possibly one day useful' pieces of carpet, dregs of paint and old tires(?) soon followed. As the last box that had been emptied onto the floor was slowly dissected into its 'new' boxed and labelled location, I decided the garden was not only going to be cleaned but it was to be redesigned!!!
Pallets are a girls best Friend! My house in Cemaes had been totally built from Pallets, a pallet electric box hide my meter, a pallet dresser held my plates, a pallet larder held the food and the bedale rail around the bathroom and kitchen was also made from pallet wood. Jec was set the task of breaking the collected pallets into usable wood . Peter was given the task of turning my designs into creations and bit by bit the garden was transformed.
Fallen render was gathered up to form a base for raised boxes, courgette plants were acquired from friends to brighten the top.
Lettuce was planted around the edges, parsley was purchased from co-op and replanted into yet another box.
A chair (for suitable supervision purposes) was constructed
and two large boxes were made for the front of the house.
A huge pallet was turned into a table,
two smaller chairs were made for the children and an electric mower was purchased allowing me to cut the grass whenever I wanted. Until now grass was cut once it became nearly unmanageable with a huge petrol mower that now stood broken in the back yard.
A bike rack was built and the back yard was stripped of broken things and brambles.
Patio slabs were discovered at Grandads and relocated to the cleared area. Bikes were washed , repaired and placed in their new home. Organisation was winning its way into TreGarth!
Little India was brought out of hibernation. She was polished and admired, fitted with a bed (?) and a week in the Royal Welsh Show, working 13 hours a day and sleeping soundly in the car (who needs a tent when you have a comfortable single bed, heating at the flick of a switch, a great stereo and a guaranteed waterproof roof) brought the bank balance back into a healthy state.
My return to TreGarth from this event held a double reward. My hackney Cab License had arrived and my new profession as a Taxi Driver was about to begin.
A weekend of driving was completed with a huge publicity campaign.
Facebook had a new page added called Peter's Taxi,
new signs were made for the tops of both cabs,
flyers were designed, laminated and issued to all the shops in Machynlleth and every home in Penegoes, Llanwrin and Machynlleth received a small laminated card through their letterbox to keep ready for the day they needed a taxi!
A summer Peter's Taxi Picnic in the Plas was put into the local paper, a small advert was put into the free 'What's On' paper. Peter's Taxi was seen on the street, on the internet, on the door mat and on every notice board in a 12 mile circumference!
For now life is quiet in Machynlleth, the plants are growing and the house is calm but this weekend it is the Rugby Sevens, plus there is a big wedding just out of town, so sleep will cease to exist after 9pm tonight. What comes next? We will just have to wait and see!
