Good Friday Day Out

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After noticing the weather forecast for the Bank Holiday weekend which gave rain everyday besides Friday, it was decided for us what day we would take a trip. 

We opted to go to Ruthin again to see the peacocks at the castle but also visited the craft centre for the first time.

The exhibitions at the moment are by artists Mandy Coates

and David Jones. 

This one was my favourite. Some of the pieces reminded me of the blue meanies from The Yellow Submarine animated film. I think it was because of the teeth on some of them or maybe the shape. 

Little L found it all a bit boring. She would rather be doing something than just looking.That's why she liked the ark because you could actually go inside it. The artist, Mae Thomas happened to be there that day.

 She showed us photo's of the ark being build from cutting down of the trees to completion,  the first ark that she had made 30 years before from an old cupboard and her artwork featuring the ark. Little L wrote what she would take on to the ark in an old altas that Mae had altered.

We then went for a walk in the town ...it must be lovely to be able to looks at these views every day.

For a nosey around the antique centre ( I love the old cinema doors )

before going to see the peacocks at the castle. 

Colwyn Bay

On the Easter Bank Holiday weekend we took our first seaside day out of the year to Colwyn Bay. I've only been once before to take some photos of the old pier and I was hoping that is was still there.

Its still standing but I don't know what the plans are for it. It would be nice if it could be brought back to its former glory.

There were plenty of people about enjoying the beach. Little L had a good time collecting rocks, shells and dry sea weed. She got her trainers full of sand (I can't imagine how that happened)

We then went a little way along the coast to Rhos On Sea. It was while we were here that we noticed a mist coming in from the sea. When we drove back towards the pier some time later it couldn't be seen until we were right on top of it.

On the way home we stopped off at Rhyl for Little L to have a go on the 2p machines. The machines must have been well stocked with it being the Easter Holidays because Little L seemed to come home with quite a collection this time. Any keyring that she manages to get from these machines she keeps in a bunch so when she gets them out it reminds her of her seaside trips.

Conwy Pirate Weekend

Last Saturday we braved the bad weather and went to the Conwy Pirate Weekend. One of my friends told me about the event and had invited us to grab a tent and camp (they have a caravan and stay the weekend) but a babysitter for the weekend can be a bit difficult so she suggested coming with the children. Little L is Pirates of the Caribbean mad so as soon as I mentioned it (in March I think) she has not stopped asking about it. My friend told us that lots of children go and love it. Both her and her husband dress up for the event. She makes the costumes herself which are brilliant and has won best dressed pirate woman for the past two years.

When we arrived Little L was becoming really excited seeing lots of other children also dressed as pirates heading towards the quayside. There were plenty of things to keep children busy, craft activities, pirate lessons, bouncy castles,etc. as well as stalls selling food and crafts, a stage with live music, pirate circus and magic act.

Little L spotted someone dressed as her favourite pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow. She couldn't keep her eyes off him. He did stop and high five her a couple of times and was kind enough to stop for a photo. It made her day.

We watched as the ship Vilma sailed into the quay with some nasty pirates on board. Cannons were fired from the quayside to ward them off. Having never been around cannons being set off before I wasn't prepared for what it feels like when standing near by. I wasn't even that close and I felt the boom of it going off through my body. My husband has said its because of this, that and the other, trying to give me a quick science lesson. All I know is that I didn't like it.

A mermaid made an appearance which the children seemed to love but I did hear two little boys say 'ew, gross' when they took a look.

Just before we left Conwy I spied some owls which were brought along to the event by Cymru Falconry Friends. We were allowed to pet them and most didn't seem bothered in the slightest by all the attention.

This one made a grab for Little L twice which she found funny. She did think that it was a baby and said it was a little cutie.

This one was my favourite. I don't know what kind it is but I loved the colour.
Llandudno is only about 5 miles away from Conwy so we decided to nip there before going home. 

When we arrived there was a Punch and Judy show on and Little L wanted to watch. She thought it was hilarious but we only stayed until the rain got too heavy to stand in the open then took shelter in an arcade.

The rain had been on and off all day and it was definitely a lot cooler on the pier. There were warnings of patchy fog posted at intervals along the road driving in to Wales in the morning.

Views of Little Orme and Great Orme taken from the pier.

Walking off the pier we grabbed a bag of warm doughnuts. I never bother with them at any other time, its my seaside food. When we reached the end of the pier I felt something hit me on the head. It was a seagull after my doughnut. I couldn't believe it. I have seen it happen to another person a few years ago in Llandudno (the gulls are terrible there) but it was a first for me. They don't do it lightly either. My husband and children were cracked up laughing. I heard 'did you see that women get hit on the head' so it must have been pretty amusing to people nearby as well. Well at least it didn't get my doughnut.

Birthday Girl

Little L celebrated her 6th birthday at the weekend. Before hand we asked what she wanted to do and this year she asked to go to a beach with 2p machines (arcades). The closest beach to us with plenty of arcades is Rhyl which takes a little over an hour by car to reach.

First we visited the Sea Life Aquarium ( I used my Tesco coupons to exchange for vouchers so it didn't really cost to enter ).To be honest Little L didn't seem to particularly like the aquarium. She just took a quick glimpse in to a tank then swiftly moved on to the next. Maybe everything was a bit too slow moving for her. They had set up a room called phobias containing tanks holding rats, giant millipedes, spiders, etc. She appeared to be fine at first until she saw the spider after that she told us that it was scaring her and wanted to leave.

We walked around the arcades for a while where Little L managed to win a couple of cars and keyrings from the 2p machines then on to the beach for a bit of shell collecting and building.The busy day must have worn her out because she slept all the way home.
Craftwise I've managed to make couple of things this week for Little L's doll. I made two simple nighties ( every time I try to put the photo on here it  turns on its side for some reason ) and finished off this outfit.

The pattern I used is a Daisy May pattern which I purchased off Ebay.

A Night In Betws-y-coed

To celebrate our wedding anniversary ( our 9th last Wednesday )this year we booked a night away. When we do this we are never too far from home so if an emergency ever arises we can be back home within a couple of hours. This may strike others as being a bit odd to stay overnight in a place we can visit in a day but we like to explore and generally do things that teenagers and little kids have no interest in.
On the way we stopped off at Fairy Glen. A popular place for artists and photographers to visit and the image is featured on lots of postcards and art work. This Fairy Glen print that hangs in our house we bought about 11 years ago on our travels. 

To reach the Glen you need to descend some rather steep stone steps. The sun was out so I again was wearing flip flops, not great for the steps and certainly not when my husband suggested clambering around on some moss covered rocks to take some photos. I did but I probably would have been better off doing it in bare feet. It was a beautiful place, the water was lovely and clear though icy cold (I had to dip a toe in to check).Climbing back up the steps seemed worse than coming down, they appeared to be made for a giant. My husband was fine though, he has legs like a stork.

We arrived in Betws-y-coed too early to check in to the B&B so we went for a wander around the town. Considering it was a normal Friday with no school or bank holidays, it appeared very busy. We had a quick look around the shops then off to the B&B. This was the view from the front. Two other couples who were staying were also celebrating their wedding anniversaries.

After checking in we were off out again. We walked over to St Michaels which is the oldest building in Betws-y-coed

then over Sappers suspension bridge which is right next to the church.

 Anders took a quick look at his maps to find any other places near by to visit and found this chapel. I can't remember the name of this one though.

Then we grabbed a bag of chips and sat on some flats rocks on the bank of River Llugwy. The chippy is only across the river so there were quite a few people doing the same thing.

This photo was taken from the bridge. When I was down there I managed to bruise my knee by trying to climb over a rock and kneeing it when I cocked my leg over it.

The next morning my legs were refusing to cooperate, they felt like they had seized up. On the way home we stopped off at Swallow Falls. It was around 9:30 so we were the only people there. I saw the steps and just groaned. There is a barrier to prevent anyone from going in to the water but you can still get close enough to feel the spray from it.

After our night away I think the only thing not hurting on my legs were my shins. Anders watched me bend over to pick something up the other day, said I looked stiff and offered to get his oil out of the shed. They are almost back to normal now but I can't remember the last time I ached so much, must be my age.

Visiting Sis

Last month we paid my sister and her family a visit in their new home. They moved due to my brother in law starting a new job and in his line of work the house comes with it. When I was visiting their old house last summer and asked if she would miss the views as this is what you could see looking out from one side of her back garden.

She told me that the views were more spectacular where they were going to move to. I was dreading the visit as the house is on the top of a mountain and the only way up is on a narrow lane that only has room for one car so if another car meets you on the way, one of them has to reverse. Plus there is no wall or fence next to the road, its just open. I don't know how they can drive up and down it everyday, my nerves couldn't take it.

It is beautiful there and the house is a lot nicer and bigger than her last one. Even though the garden is a bit overgrown you can see that someone did care for it at some point. My sis has already cleaned out the pond and dug over the veggie patch. Little L loved the tree house that they found and was straight up there with her older cousin.

These are some of the views from their back door.

Plenty of lambs to been seen.

After we had been there a while and after they had made me a coffee, my sis started talking about the water filter and how she doesn't think it works right. The water comes from a natural spring and she said you can get odd bits coming through in it like tadpoles, little shrimps, etc. I think they make people a brew first then tell them about the water supply.

It is a lovely place to live but if I lived there I'd probably venture off the mountain about once every six months to avoid the trip up and down.