Old friends back in the hood

We really miss having Cat and Bruno living nearby. We had them over for dinner tonight and had a really good time together.

Rhodri's birthday

Today was Rhodri's birthday and since Sioned, JJ and baby Gwydion were here on the way back home after a holiday, we all went to breakfast together.  A nice way to start the day.

The Queen has died

Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8th. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61585886

Tryfs told me when I was cooking dinner and I did feel surprisingly affected by the news. So then we had several days/ weeks of ceremony as everyone scurried around getting ready for the memorial service.  Finally today it was here, and the day was marked as a public holiday so in our house we pottered around and watched the events on TV.

Here is the moment that Lord Chamberlain broke the wand.

Tryfan's new school year

He is looking a bit of a ragamuffin these days, but here he is in his second week of school. He is in Year 10 this year at 14 years, soon to be 15.

Weekend photos

It's been a busy weekend working around the house. We have really enjoyed having both Winnie and Annie here together. They are hilarious to be around.  Between looking after the dogs, having my friend Leigh come round, scarifying the lawn, chipping and clipping and piling up garden waste, its been all very good.

Tryfs and his bitches

Character building

We've been thinking of our girl all week, out there off the coast of Maine living on a boat.

Here is a little video that shows what she will be doing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVWhmpwWIH0&t=25s

I heard that it was rainy and chilly to start with, but then as the week wore on they did have some good weather. They had to jump into the water every morning at 6am!

 

This is what it looked like inside where they were all sleeping on top of the oars.

I think that it is safe to say that Rhiannon's character has officially been built.

Exhibition

Rhods was invited to a gallery opening and documentary film premiere by a guy called Harry Skeggs, who Rhodri 'kitted out' to go to the South Pole and thereabouts.  Here he is trying on outfits to decide what to wear, and then a photo he took at the event. He talked to some interesting people there, including the real baddie from GoT, who happens to be Welsh. So they got to have a little conversation in Cymraeg at the event.

Meanwhile, back at Prin...

Our girl is settling in and things are going well! 

Tomorrow the whole school is heading out for their week-long "Character Building" experiential trips. Rhiannon's year group is going sailing off the coast of Maine, but it is not going to be a glamorous yachty type sailing trip, or so I have heard. We will see!
 

Back at HQ

Tito and I drove from Reno over to the Bay Area, where we stayed at a hotel near the GeothermEx HQ for a couple of nights before I flew home.  But first we stopped by 1395 Wesley Drive to visit Rhodri and my first house. It looks pretty good.

Then Tito and I went to In-n-Out for dinner before checking into our hotel.  That was such a great treat.

We worked from the office on Thursday and then several of us went out to dinner at a restaurant down at the Richmond Marina

And finally it is time to fly home. To be honest, I'm exhausted. But look at these gorgeous mountains that we flew over - i think this was British Colombia.