Lodge Life :: December

Hi there everyone 🎅

We hadn’t planned on a lodge visit during December but, as it was our first winter as owners, the sub zero temperatures mid month had us worried as to how our frost protection measures were holding up.

We were planning a visit early January with mum and, having heard tales of burst pipes from other owners, thought it would be a good idea to just squeeze in a couple of days to check all was ok.

With so much else going on, especially with my poorly neighbour now being in hospital receiving palliative care, it was tricky trying to find a few free days but we ended up opting to drive over on the Sunday, with a view to coming back on the Tuesday … in time for my last food bank shift before Christmas.

It was a very different drive through the mountains this time ... but we can now say we have seen them in all seasons.

It was very grey as we climbed upwards …

… with plenty of clouds swirling around as we got up higher …

It got a bit hairy at the highest point as we really were right up in the clouds and there were still icy patches alongside the road …

It was too cold to get out and close up for photos of the ice on all the grasses and it was not really safe to stop … but it did look eerily beautiful ... 

This is our usual picture as we enter the national park. No blue sky or sunshine today …

There was still a scattering of snow on the top of the hills and it was good to see the reservoir starting to look a bit fuller …

It was late afternoon when we arrived and we really did have everything crossed that all would be ok as really we would be a bit stuck if we had no water or heating.

It was pretty chilly once inside but everything looked ok and the boiler fired up first time with no problem.

It was then time to switch on the water, which again seemed to be working fine so it looked like everything had worked as it should have. We were pretty relieved to say the least.

All that was left to do was crank up the heating ... hang the expense ... unpack and get the olive oil back to its natural state before getting a homemade bourguignon warming up …

No mash as I forgot to bring the taters but there were a few chips in the freezer so we made do …

It was just the ticket and we were just in time to get comfy for the first episode of the last series of his dark materials …

On Monday our plan was to do not very much at all … other than head back to the gallery at Llanbedrog for a lunchtime treat …

It was wet and windy and it was so nice and cosy inside and this time we both opted for the soup and sandwich option, which hit the spot perfectly …

On our way back I got the call that I'd been dreading … but kind of expecting … to let me know that our poorly neighbour had passed away ... so the afternoon was spent making lots of phone calls to let people know and just generally reflecting on her life.

We had a relaxing evening in front of the TV snacking on sourdough toast and pate for supper.

We came home on Tuesday … feeling a lot better about leaving the lodge in the knowledge that all the frost protection seemed to be doing it’s job and, as we’d only been there two nights, packing up to come home was really quick and easy.

We left with a detour along the front at Criccieth to catch the first bit of sunshine we'd seen on this visit ...

... as well as spotting that the post box topper, which had been a Welsh bucket hat in honour of the World cup on our last visit, had been replaced with something new ...

I think that's all for me for now and quite possibly for this year. Have a lovely peaceful Christmas everyone and I will see you all in 2023 💜💜💜

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