Thanksgiving thoughts

Today we were supposed to be welcoming Michel for the weekend, and we had all been so excited about seeing him since it has been a long time! But since I have now also contracted Covid, we have had to postpone those plans and just sit tight with no visitors or fun. Boohoo. And on top of that, I have lost my sense of taste and smell as of this morning! Hopefully it won't be gone for too long.

Yesterday was also Thanksgiving in the USA, and while we didn't do too much to celebrate this year, I did bake a pumpkin pie with gluten free crust. In case I haven't mentioned it here, we are cooking gluten free for Rhodri's health regime but that often involves the rest of us too. I think it is fun having this additional cooking challenge, although it has taken some time to get used to reading labels and keeping an eye out for gluten in ingredients listings!

Anyway, we were able to speak on the phone with some of our relatives, and that is always nice. But these days we all seem to be having plans canceled or messed up, and that is difficult. We still have plenty to be thankful for.

Late November blues (and golds)

So we are all locked down now in our house, with Tryfan and Rhodri having tested positive for Covid, and then Rhiannon testing positive yesterday. For now I'm in the clear, but we are keeping to ourselves nonetheless and only going out for solo dog walks, groceries delivered, etc.

Annie and I have seen some gorgeous mornings and late afternoons though, and we merely need to cross the road from our house to get to these beautiful scenes.

I love the burgundy bracken that carpets the forest floor in some spots.

Such a teenager

Tryfan is really good at acting the part of a teenage boy: he lives in his jammies and tie robe on the weekends, mooching around between video games while eating peanuts and sweets. And now that we are all locked down with Covid, there is really no reason for one to change out of jammies...

But he does have a fairly good "response rate", meaning that he does actually keep an ear out for something else that might be going on and requiring his involvement. This photo totally captures the Tryfan of now, as he is 14 years and 1 month old.

A Covid Birthday

Today didn't go according to plan, but it was a really lovely day nonetheless. In fact, it has been a long week. After arriving back home from Cardiff, the next day Tryfan didn't feel well, then Rhodri didn't feel well, then they both tested positive for Covid. So by Thursday we were needing to all isolate here at home and cancel my birthday plans and all that. Here is the view from my seated position in the living room with the rest of the family sitting in relative isolation while I opened my birthday presents!

My two little hunnies kept me well fed with lovely meals and treats through the day

Here is me with my new dry robe at the beach on Saturday morning, for its first outing.

Cousins

 Rhiannon, Gabs, Val and Tryfan made this video using the old photo from a few years ago. Hilarious to see them together.

Rugby weekend in Cardiff

On Friday we left town a bit early in order to drive to Cardiff for a dinner time arrival. We are spending the weekend with our family who live there - Nia, Cris, Gabs and Val in one household, and Sions & JJ in another one. On Sunday night we went to watch a live rugby game at the Principality Stadium in downtown Cardiff!! Saturday morning dawned gorgeous and crisp, and we went for a great family walk up the Penallt behind Nia's house.

The cousins had a great time together, speaking in Welsh and laughing hysterically at what were most likely some dirty jokes. It was hilarious to listen to them. Later on we went to visit Sioned & JJ's new house and went for a walk with them and Winnie in the late afternoon. 

It was our first time meeting JJ and that was really great. He is super fun and easy to be with, and we all had a great time together.  Saturday night Auntie Nia made a delicious dinner for us all, and we indulged in being together as a family.

Sunday was all about the rugby game! Although kickoff wasn't til 3:15 pm, we needed to get into the city center and get into the stadium around 2, which meant catching a train at 12 from Ystrad Mynych station. Things were looking pretty dicey with trains only once an hour anyway, and the previous one cancelled, this one delayed. But we managed to get on and everything worked out fine!

Nia and I bought the Welsh Daffodil headpieces and TRIED to get everyone to wear them but sadly they refused.

So it was Wales vs Fiji as part of the Autumn Series, and it was a really exciting game to watch! Wales won in the end, which was cool. Tryfan, Gabs and Val went down to meet some of the Fijian players afterwards and managed to get the autograph of one guy. It was a great atmosphere and a really fun experience!

Afterwards we all went for dinner at this awesome place called Pieminister.

Guy Fawkes weekend

Friday night was Guy Fawkes night, and it was also my friend Hellie's birthday so we had a girls night out. It was super fun to go "out-out", and we had a great meal followed by distant appreciation of the Lindfield fireworks display

Saturday was a mellow day, where I got to go swimming and grocery shopping with Cat, and that was wonderful too!  Sunday I went for a run and met these little fellows with their impressive horns! They approached me but not too enthusiastically.

And then as a grand finale to the weekend, we went for a walk with Cat and Gary because Gary volunteered to look after Annie while we are in Wales next weekend for the rugby! Win-win-win situation!

Stunning

Some days it is such a treat to look out the window