LB looking happy!

We've just had new iphones and are busy learning how to use them. This
is a practice post from mine. Must ensure I can keep the blog going
when travelling!

Brecon Beacons

It's taken me a while to get my mind off parents and on to me and the future. I think I'm finally getting myself sorted and normal life resumes. All the snowy weather has convinced us that a long haul, winter sun holiday is not a good idea however. Elderly parents don't cope well with snow so long trips are postponed for a bit. We're doing more in the local vicinity instead. We've joined the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and visited their reserves in both Slimbridge and Llanelli in the last few weeks. Photos are on my flickr website, there's a link down on the right hand side of this page. My other project is to take a photo eachday and post it on Flickr. There's no particular theme. It's a mixture of photos of daily life and some staged indoor still life shots when the weathers bad. I'm trying to practice various techniques and using it as a way of improving my photography. Already I am planning to redo quite a few of the shots which could be better. Photos can be seen here

The most exciting development is buying a new car, a Mazda MX5. It has a folding roof and drives like a dream! We're now going to have as much fun on four wheels as we do on two. It's also got as little luggage carrying capacity! Our first drive was into the Brecon Beacons yesterday. It was a bit chilly with the roof down but we had to try it, hence the woolly hat.

Today it was time for some exercise so we did a 4 mile walk around Craig Cerrig Gleision. It wasn't far but was steep and we both had wobbly legs by the time we finished! A great day!

Tomorrow it's off to hospital to visit Mum but we're planning some nice trips in the UK in the next couple of months to keep us happy.

Elvie

Snow!

Well, the snow has finally arrived! It's afflicted the rest of the country for a week but South Wales has been relatively clear until today. I know other people are struggling but for LB & I it's great. In previous years, because of the nature of our jobs we've felt obliged to struggle to work. What a relief to be able to enjoy the snow with no pressure to travel anywhere unless we choose to and then on foot. The larder is well stocked so today, after preparing a nice filling home made soup in readiness for our return, we ventured out for a mini expedition.



This was only a walk up the lane that runs up the side of our house but it was fun. We were out for about an hour and a half in ankle deep snow and more snow fell while we were walking. It was good exercise and very pretty.



The soup was was a brilliant idea. Just what we needed when we arrived home, really tasty and warming! I suspect the next few days won't be so pleasant with sub zero temperatures turning everything to ice but hey, who cares. We can be nice and snug indoors!

Elvie

New Years Greetings

What a difference a random convention such as a change of date makes! The blog was abandoned at the end of last year but now I'm ready to start afresh. On our return from Egypt my mother was admitted to hospital. The initial problem was a water infection but once that had cleared her dementia became more of an issue. She's still an inpatient, waiting for a place in a care home. Christmas without her was difficult for me and I've been too preoccupied to really concentrate on anything else.


Times Change! I'm now getting used to the current situation and starting to look forward. We've planned one holiday, a trip to Jerez in Spain, at the beginning of May for the MotoGP and horse fair followed by a week exploring. We'd like to go away in September but haven't decided between the USA where we have family we've long wanted to vist or a bike trip to Romania for some more adventure.

In the mean time I'm still enjoying my photography, birding and country walks while LB is improving his fly fishing. I took a few bird photos on Sunday when we visited the nearby Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Hope you like them

Elvie.