Just a quickie as I'm feeling pleased with myself - I finished the new cover for the ottoman today. I'm gutted that I didn't take a before picture too as it's such an improvement, but imagine if you can a very dull, dusty looking grey velvet seat cover because that was what was there before. I didn't bother removing it as there seemed no need, so I just tacked the new cover over it and tucked it in under the lid. Thank you Pam!!

As promised I didn't leave the house today apart from a quick trot up the hill at lunchtime as the rain briefly cleared. I have been cleaning and sorting. The cupboard under the stairs, although not especially full, was giving me worries as it has an exterior wall and I was concerned about inviting damp in. The camping stuff has all now been re-allocated to the shed, and the cupboard only contains Christmas decs and the hoover. We have decided not to use the attic in this house as it seems like things just get banished up there and forgotten. Ivy has had a bit of a day today and hasn't really slept at all - she is sleeping now, but for how long? - so my jobs have had to be tackled in dribs and drabs been inbetween Mammy-ing,
I'm finally starting on Will's socks that I've been promising since Christmas tonight. I am hoping to get the cuff completed by next week so I can bring it along to knit and knatter and just work on the leg without having to worry about keeping an eye on the pattern and Ivy at the same time.
Tomorrow I'm off to Cardiff with Will as he has training for work and I am keeping him company.
That's all for now!

Cake, cake, and CAKE!

It's been a lovely few days with one thing and another. On Friday Pam from A New Life in Wales came over for tea and cake, bearing gifts - A big bag filled with all sorts of fabric scraps, a jar of homemade jam and a fabulous sugar free, fat free tea loaf! We had a lovely afternoon chatting and munching cake and I feel so happy to have met someone so friendly and interesting in the village already.
I haven't had much time so far but have started patching together a much needed cover for our Lloyd Looms ottoman using a whole load of ready made charm squares.

Nothing stays flat for long with Ivy on the loose.

Saturday was Will's birthday which started with even more cake. I had planned a trip by bus and train to Llandeilo, where Will and I had our honeymoon, but in the event it was a miserable day, so natually instead we spent the morning working out in the front garden in the rain. Our front garden had a bit of an odd arrangement with lots of wood which isn't really our taste, and in t his climate will only rot, so we started the process of removing some of it.

In the afternoon we went to Swansea to watch the rugby with a friend, and then paid a visit to another friend down the road from our old house. It was a lovely and full day.
Sunday my Mum visited briefly on her way back from seeing my Aunt near Newport. It was a pleasure, and Ivy was very pleased to see her. We had to go back to Swansea again to pick up a couple more things from the old house before the end of our tenancy, and then stopped at our local supermarket on the way home for our weekly shop. Their produce all has te wizened look of village store stock, but although none of it organic, was all completely free from plastic. It is hard to know what the right thing to do is. There is a vegan greengrocers in ponty however that sells local, organic veg and I have been in contact asking if they are able to deliver. I need to go in at some point to talk to them as we need to specify we want no plastic, and no nightshades.
It's a grey and grizzly day today, which started with a whole lot of rain. There is now a river running down our lane off the fields, and the window is as close as I plan to get to the outdoors today.
Anyway, Ivy is napping so this is my cue to get on with the day's jobs.

Walk to the village

Just a quick one today while Ivy is snoozing. Will is still away so all's quite quiet here. I had a couple of errands to run in the village, so after Ivy's nap we walked to Gwaun Cae Gurwen, but the back way behind the houses and along the disused railway line. We found this footpath at the weekend and it is a much prettier way to walk. The stones are still all in place from the rail line so it is a little hard on the ankles, especially in the required wellies, but after a while it turns into just a normal track. As a final surprise, right before you pop out in Gwaun Square, the river widens and there is a small waterfall, and an amazing view of the two railway bridges, past and present. It is all very damp. I felt very blessed today that this is where I live now. Anyway, off to put my feet up for 5 minutes, Ivy allowing.

A Busy Day

And a very nice one too.
Today Ivy and I took a trip to Ammanford on the bus. I feel foolish to admit it, but I was a little apprehensive about the trip. We knew when we moved here that there were buses running to other towns - it was quite important as I don't drive - so I knew I would have to catch them at some point but to tell the truth, since Will bought his car in 2013, trips further than walking distance I've tended to save until Will could drive us rather than catch the bus.
That's by the by anyway, it went very well. The bus stop to Ammanford is in the next village. I thought the walk would be longer than it was, so ended up getting there early. In the event it was probably only a 10-15 minute walk, and then another 15 minutes on the bus, so really the same amount of time, or quicker, than it was for me to walk to Swansea. I've been to Ammanford a few times so knew where I was once I got there, and where I needed to go to get my errands done.
While I was in Ammanford I bought myself a granny trolley. It was new and cheap, so not at all ethical, but felt like an urgent essential if I am going to be getting about by myself a bit more. Ideally I would like for us to do most of our food shopping on foot or by public transport to save us taking the car out, as it can't be said to be green, Ivy certainly doesn't like it, and Will isn't a big fan of driving either. I would also like to test how feasible it is to live here without driving long term, or whether I will have to compromise one day and take lessons.
Anyway, I'm rambling a bit now. I got all of my little jobs done including a couple of things for Will's birthday, and registering at the library and taking out a couple of Welsh number books for Ivy, and I had a lovely time. When we got home the clouds had come in and it was very foggy and mizzly in the village. I worried a little that on dreary days it'd be a bit oppressive here, but it's quite the opposite. You can't see the hills and the valley feels bright and open. I have completed all of my errands today, including bringing the soggy washing in off the line and running it through the machine again, so I am enjoying a quick cup of tea before Ivy wakes.
I finished framing up another of my glass pieces and have hung them both on the stairs where there is a lot of light. I feel very pleased and have enjoyed seeing them every day.

I didn't have an artists date again this week. Understandably things have been busy with the move, but I feel confident that once all of the niggles are dealt with I will be able to have a little time to myself to be creative.
I got talking to a girl on the bus who had a baby much little than Ivy, and she told me about a couple of baby groups running at Gwaun community centre, so I will find out more about those this week hopefully.
Anywya, I hear a squeak from upstairs to it must be time to go.
Ta for now.

We're in!! / Artists Way Week 2

I'm too tired to say that much I think, but we're in, we're in Cwmgors, woohoo!
We moved in a few days ago but had family visiting, and we are very busy with unpacking, although it doesn't really seem to be getting anywhere at the moment.
Living here so far ahs been lovely, so quiet and peaceful compared to busy Uplands. I hang the nappies out on the (temporary) line in the morning and all I can hear is the birds singing (and the spitty spotting rain, usually). There is a beautiful view across the valley from our back garden.
We went for a walk up to the windmills that you can see from our house as it was Will's sister's ambition to touch one. Unsurprisingly it was very windy up there! It is so bare it feels like a desert, it's quite eerie really.

My artists date didn't happen again this week, we have just been too busy. Again though I have made little bits of time for myself here and there. I have done a little bit of drawing the views from our windows, and I have muddled around the house doing this and that. I have decided to frame a few of the glass pieces I made in 2013/14, as they have just been sat in a crate the last few years. I was very proud of them at the time, and only became less so because of the feedback I received at the gallery I was working with. I went on to exhibit them in London, but the shine had been taken off them by then, I wish I could have enjoyed it more without feeling so hurt still. I have made a frame for one and I'm pleased, I  will take a picture once my camera has been charged.

Ivy has finally learnt to crawl today which is lovely, I do rather wish she could have waited a week though as the house isn't the most baby-safe place right now!
Will found on the internet that there was a craft night running weekly on Wednesdays at the local community centre, but I went up this evening (not far, it is at the end of our lane) and it was all locked up, so I guess the timetable was out of date. I visited the local second hand shop today though and found 3 lamps for the house as well as two nice wooden toys for Ivy and a record for Will.
Finally, I gave Will his birthday present already, This happens every year, I'm so impatient! It is a collage of our new home.

That's all for the minute, I'm very sleepy.
Nos da.

Artists Way Week 1

An empowering thing I did this week was quit my job. I was working part time from home doing admin and it was a difficult decision to make as it brings us so much more financial freedom, but it's something that has been getting me down for a while. When we started to think of reasons to leave they quickly stacked up against the one reason to stay - money - and it was no contest.

For the last 4 months as I have been working while also taking care of Ivy I have always been torn, and every moment spent working has felt stolen from Ivy, and every moment spent with Ivy has felt stolen from work, and you can forget about any time to myself. I agreed to finish up my current project, but in the event I decided I'd done as much as I could do and threw in the towel, so now I am free to make my own schedule.

When we were living solely off Will's income we were more careful with our money out of necessity, but it was a better feeling. Our weekly food spending was budgeted, and we had to really want something if we were going to buy it. I have always found that having a higher income makes me careless with money and feel compelled to spend it, which is not something I really enjoy.

On the topic of spending, ironically that is what I've been doing this week as I have treated myself to a  couple of books. As well as The Artists Way I also bough Birthing From Within by Pam England, and Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin, two books I so wish I had read when I was pregnant, Spiritual Midwifery especially is packed with beautiful birth stories, a long way off what I experienced but everything I hope for next time.

Last week we bought our fridge and washing machine second hand from a shop that reconditions white goods. We also popped into a second hand furniture shop first and found a Lloyd Looms ottoman for £25 and a similar style wicker chair for £10, two things that we were specifically after for the new house.
The fabric of the seat of the chair was a quite torn from wear, so I ordered a bundle of pieces of 70s fabric from ebay, mostly from duvet covers by the looks of it, and replaced the fabric of the seat. The pink wouldn't have been my first choice, but we bought a chest of drawers for Ivy's room from Gumtree that is also pink, so the chair will match it sweetly.
The bundle was also about 10 pounds, and I will use the other pieces for patchworking or other projects. I will probably replace the fabric on the ottoman as it is a dull grey/green velvet, so some bright patchwork would be perfect for that.

I finally finished making the dinosaurs for my friend's little boy's birthday. I hated making them to be honest. The patterns were quite easy, but I found a few mistakes with the patterns, and there were things that I could see could be done better and easier (once I'd already followed the pattern to the letter) which I would have done differently if I had the time. It's by the by now anyway, they're done - they're not perfect but I'm happy enough with them, I hope he liked them. I also made a card to go with the present as well as one to send with a care parcel for my mother-in-law, and a whole load of postcards to send to our friends with out new address. I love getting post and have tried to send more and more letters recently. I hate texting and never remember to reply to emails.

I didn't have an artists date this week really - I had intended to today, as I did last Sunday, but it's been a busy weekend sorting things for the house, and there was nothing I'd really planned to do. Because I wasn't having to work anymore I had a bit more time to work with. I worked on Will's birthday present (which is a secret) and did the cards and the knitting. I have also read half a novel which has been lovely, I haven't read since having Ivy. I also completed most if not all of the tasks from the Artists Way this week, most of which were about identifying positive and negative influences to your creativity. This wasn't difficult - during and after uni I got in with a pretty uninspiring group of artists and had a 6 month residency at a pretty uninspiring gallery, and left at the end feeling generally pretty uninspired. I put a lot of my lack of confidence in my creativity down to that and I am ashamed to say I am still recovering.
I also have decided on two artistic ambitions, one for the very near future, and another for the not so near future. I will talk about these another day when I have more time.

All is going well getting the new house ready to move into. We have rented a van for next week and will get the rest of the furniture in then, and then that will be it, apart from cleaning up our rental property. After 5 months of waiting it's hard to believe it's finally here.

That's all for now, hwyl.