Two Weeks to Go

With only two weeks left in Wales life is progressing at a rate of knots.



I have completed my wood working course with Meg and John from Sylvan Flair and am now the proud owner of the most divine, curvaceous stool imaginable.




Reclaimed fence posts have been scrubbed and sanded, edges have been planed, dowels have been prepared.






At 11am on Thursday the 20th of October, I entered the work shop







and under the watchful eye of Meg, I begin my work.





Rich red wood was selected for the stool seat,





a piece of oak, the shape of a drunken wine glass, was cut to separate the red grain.





My creation was under-way.





Four leg pieces were chosen from the pile,





chunky and strong, curving, twisting and deeply grained.





Shorted pieces were placed in formation to act as the supports,





bit by bit it all came together.





Six hours later I glued and dowelled the last joint, I sanded my minor discrepancies, ground down the protruding dowels, my stool stood complete but not quite finished.





I rushed to the house, still enthused by the days activities and from a small jam jar mixed and donated by Meg, I began to apply a thin coat of oil and spirit.





Colours jumped out at me, shadows darkened, contours became highlighted and defined. As I worked away the whole stool took on a brighter more intense life.





With the camera on flash, my new stool shone in shimmering brilliance,





with the camera flash off, the richness of the colours and shadows drew you in.





During her creation I caressed every millimetre of my stool. I held and stroked her every contour, I felt the flow of the wood, I learnt her shapes and her angles, an image of her completeness forming before me as I pieced her together.





I massaged and rubbed every joint and limb of my completed stool while she stood silently on the table. Patiently, lovingly, she absorbed her coat of oil.





Each day when I enter the kitchen, I admire her shape, her construction, her very presence as she sits quietly in the corner, awaiting me, awaiting the moments when we come together, her supporting, me accepting.


I love my new stool!!


(This week I spotted some wonderful old fence posts sitting in a yard near Llanwrin as I drove my Taxi to pick up a fare. Next week I feel a visit to the farmer will be required, in anticipation of next spring, for when I return to Wales, a companion to my beautiful stool will surely be needed!)



Little House has new companions! David and Linda are moving plants and belongings into Little House as I type. These two delightful people adore Little House, they remove their shoes before they walk upon her and have called her their Dream House since they first spotted her over two months ago.



Together they plan to restore the garden, plant more fruit trees, prune back the hedge, and fill the rooms with love and belongings plus the freezer with home grown crops.




They are happy to help rebuild the fire place that once housed the Hunter,to finish off the decorating.




They want to love and restore Little House, making her their long term home, filling her with laughter and joy.

It is such a weight off my mind to know she is safe again.



The house in Tregarth has also received her face lift. The builders finished their work last week and a new gleaming façade now graces the front of the house.




The grass took a battering, the plants along the walls were buried, the decorative bark all but disappeared but it is done and recovery is on the way.




A new raised bed now lines one side of the doorway, the old bark, along with the mud and debris, has been dug out and the area is now awaiting a delivery of purple



The boxed beds have been re-positioned and two pumpkins are awaiting their faces!



It is also half term this week and the children need entertaining. Stones have been collected from the beach and are being turned into ghoulish faces ready for the Halloween weekend.



The tins of left over paint from the house, that were not enough to restore the original colours, have found a final use as they are splashed and splotted, smeared and brushed over the grey beach stones.



The garden has been transformed as colour and teeth glare at you as you pass.





This evening Pumpkins were cut and scooped.





Eyes were gouged, teeth were pierced and candles placed inside.





Pumpkin soup bubbles away inside as the two gruesome faces brave the dropping temperatures on the outside step!












(The pumpkins were scarey too!!)



This has been a hectic, busy summer, the Taxi business has taken off in a way we couldn't have imagined. We drive every weekend until the early hours of the morning, we take turns, like passing ships, during the week.

I have developed an arm ache in my right biceps due to the constant strain on the wheel and I am beginning to tire.




I still love the job, the meeting of people, the exchange of information, the passing of tales. Yet I am ready for a change.





The colours are changing in the hills around Machynlleth.





The sky is crisp and clear in the mornings,





bright red berries cover the trees,





ferns turn russet and brown as they fall to the ground.






The sheep are shaggy in their winter fleeces,





the temperatures are in single figures even in the day.





Soon the winter sky will fill with clouds, snow has already fallen in Scotland.





The season, like me, is ready for a change.





In two weeks time I will take my Indian bag and catch the 5.45am train to London.





My 'Big' bag I will leave here to be packed into Peter's even bigger case ready for when we meet in New Zealand. I have confirmed with Pape and Michele my dates of arrival in Moorea and Kris ...... well we will simply wait and see.

Life, like the seasons, changes all the time.


Next Blog from India ??? !!!