Photo Scavenger Hunt :: December #4 … Stocking

Hi there everyone 😃

It’s Christmas Eve and time for the penultimate challenge from Astrid for 2021 … Stocking 😃

It’s been a busy and sometimes stressful last couple of weeks for us, with lots going on … a fabulous holiday, which nearly didn’t happen … a holiday nearly due which may or may not happen … new boilers for us and mum … good friends being hit by Covid … elderly neighbours needing lots of support … along with the usual list of getting ready for the festive season jobs.

It’s gong to be a strange one for us this year … our first without dad, and I am visiting him today to take him some hellebores so he will have some flowers over Christmas …

Then it’s housework, last card delivering and cheesecake making for lunch with Lesley, Tom and Jess tomorrow … and hopefully a nice relaxing afternoon and evening.

We haven’t really done much by way of Christmas decorating this year and haven’t hung up our stockings but here are some pictures of stockings I have made over the last few years … I really hope they are all still going strong and are hung up again this year …

And last but not least … here are some of my hand made gift tags …

So all that is left for me to say is a very Merry Christmas to all my friends, family and readers. Thank you all so much for your support this year … for reading and for commenting and making it all worthwhile.

I may not be around much over the next week but will definitely be back in the New Year to finish off my Takes from Wales, share our trip to Clevedon with you, show you what we got up to in Northumberland and have a look to see if I can tick any more goals off my ‘50 things to do before I hit 60’ list.

Take care everyone 😊

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Tales from Wales #9 :: Llawhaden Castle

Hi there everyone 😀

We'd spotted the ruins of Llawhaden Castle from a distance when we'd been out and about on our travels and just knew that we had to see if we could find it to explore.

We headed there on our way back from Picton Castle and found it, tucked away down narrow and windy country lanes, at the top of Tal-Y-Bont Hill in the tiny village of Llawhaden.

There is limited car parking at the bottom of the hill and it is just a short walk up the hill to the castle ruins.

There were some glorious skies on the day we visited and the entrance of the castle really was a stunning sight as we reached the top of the hill ...

We couldn't wait to get in and explore ...

Once inside we almost had the place to ourselves ... it was just a really lovely spot ...

There were some pretty spectacular views over the open countryside above which the castle sits ...

We didn't stay very long ... but we are so glad that we took the time to find it ... it really was pretty magical 😀

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Photo Scavenger Hunt :: December #3 … Homemade

Hi there everyone😃

We were away last week and I didn’t manage to take part in Astrid’s Photo Scavenger Hunt but we are back home now and ready for this week’s challenge which is … Homemade.

Now normally I would have loads of stuff to share with you on this subject … but this year has been a bit light on the homemade side … there’s not even been much baking going on.

After one of our daily walks and suffering with cold ears I did have a bit of a crochet spurt and made a couple of headband/ear warmer thingys … which turned out ok but aren’t they most flattering on me, which I find really frustrating as they seem to look lovely on everyone else …

Having seen these … mum put in an order for one, which I’ve jazzed up a bit and the fact that I’ve gathered it a bit before putting on the flower means it doesn’t look quite so severe around the forehead …

Other than than and making a start on an embroidery project the only thing I’ve really made is this one Christmas gift … which I can share with you as Bobby is only five and doesn’t read my blog so there will be no surprises spoilt …

He’s not actually lost any teeth as yet but I’ve been promising to make him a tooth fairy pillow for when he does and I reckon I am probably on borrowed time … hopefully it won’t be too long before he gets to use it … and that he still likes dinosaurs when he finally does.

That’s it for me … I’m off to see what everyone else has been up to 😃

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Tales from Wales #8 :: Picton Castle Gardens

Hi there everyone 😀

Though we didn't actually realise it at the time Tuesday ended up being the last of our 'planned' days out whilst we were in Pembrokeshire back in October.

We were off to Picton Castle Gardens and had no real idea of what to expect ... but it was part of the Gardeners' World magazine 2-for-1 entry so we had to give it a go.

We were soon parked up and in Maria's Courtyard Restaurant having lunch, where we had a good look at the map to see what there was to do ...

I can't actually recall if the castle was open during our visit, I don't think it was, but I believe that guided tours are available when it is open. Our visit was definitely more focused on the outdoor areas, though we did start with a look at the castle from the outside ...

... and very pretty it was too.

There is also the Mansion of Mystery on site ... which is a set of escape rooms, though we weren't trying these out on our visit ...

The main reason for our visit was to see the gardens and from what we'd seen so far it looked like we were going to be in for a good bit of autumn colour ...

We didn't really explore the East Garden at all, but headed through the woodland in search of the walled garden ... we do both love a walled garden ...

It was a lovely walk through the woodland, with plenty of hydrangeas still in flower ...

... and plenty of fairy doors to hunt for too ...

Eventually we hit the walled garden ...

Whilst not the best time of year for garden visiting the walled garden was still lovely and there was plenty to see ...

... and a few busy bees still going about their business ...

Through the walled garden and out the other side was the glasshouse ...

... and a fernery ...

We were then heading back through the West Garden towards the main courtyard, passing the Jungle Garden and The Maze, which we didn't take our chances with ...

Back at the main courtyard we had a quick look round the lawnmower exhibition ...

That was nearly it for our visit, though we did have a quick look round the Welsh Owl Garden, which I actually found very sad and didn't really like it much at all. Such beautiful birds, in such small spaces ... it just didn't feel right to me ... we didn't stay long ...

From here we made our way back to the car and set off to try and find Llawhaden Castle ... which we'd spotted from the main road on a previous outing ... but I'll tell you about that in another post 😀

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