A very long lost friend

Today was long awaited, as we had Marcus and his wife Angela and son Oliver come over.  She is from the USA also, and Marcus used to work with Rhodri long long ago when Rhods was working on the Western Legend seismic ship back in the 1990s!

We had a brilliant afternoon and evening with them.

Ironing lessons

Today Tryfs had yet another ironing lesson ahead of going to a party tonight. It was sweet watching Rhodri show Tryfan the tricks.

Tryfs didn't look too excited about it but he will be glad to look back at some point.

Evvieee

 I went into London today and was able to see Evie in her new student housing over near Farringdon station.  It was sooo nice to see her. I felt closer to Rhiannon after having a little lunch catch up with Evie, and that was such a nice treat for this beautiful September day.

Rhods Birthday part 2

Today was the second part of Rhodri's birthday, but it started early with me going down to Seaford for the annual RNLI charity dip to raise money for the Life Guards of the south coast in the Seaford-Newhaven area.  A big storm was forecast to hit later in the day, and the sky was spectacular although the sea was really calm.  

In the middle of the afternoon, Heather and I each drove a carful of men to Middle Farm to enjoy the Cidery followed by some chocolate birthday cake.

We stayed until they kicked us out at 5:30 pm, and although the storm was threatening all day, we enjoyed sunshine and lovely afternoon temperatures for Rhodri's birthday.

Rhods' Birthday

Happy Birthday Rhods! 

Today we started the day with some presents in bed and then we joined the Perring family for a joint birthday dinner at Pampa in Cuckfield.

It was fun having a birthday to celebrate on a Friday.  And it was really fun to go out to this really delicious Argentine restaurant that is fairly close to us.

What a pair!

Look at this girl and her new car!  She is so stoked.  Apparently the car's name is Bartholomew ("Bart"), and I'm sure she is treating him really well.  May he keep her safe and sound when they are out together on the road, and be the vehicle on many adventures!  Welcome, Bart!

Tide Mills, back in the day

 Tide Mills is the name of the place that my friends and I go sea swimming on Saturdays during the winter months.  Of course, it is a lovely place to swim any time of year but we are hardy so we tend to not prioritise our Saturday ritual during the summer since it can get really crowded here on a hot day and in the summer the sun rises too early to bring the same feeling of starting the day together at the sea!  Our friend Sally somehow found this historical photo of the place back in its hey day and also a written description of the place.  

Today its all chert ruins overgrown with vine plants, which has an ancient beauty about it and why I love this glimpse at the hey day Tide Mills must have been like.

Another beautiful Sunday

 What a gorgeous September morning it was today, and upon opening the curtains I was delighted to see not only a morning cloud inversion over the valleys of the South Downs, but also a red hot air balloon drifting peacefully over the land.  Meanwhile Tryfan and Rhodri had another game somewhere, which I didn't see but was glad to hear about afterwards!

What a week!

September has really kicked off in a big way.  I went up to Aberdeen for a breakfast event on Tuesday this week (flew up on Monday afternoon, back on Tuesday afternoon).  That was pretty exciting in itself because I got to see some familiar faces and stay at the very nice Malmaison hotel which is very near to the Net Zero Technology Center, which is where my event was. All good!

In the meantime, over in Santa Barbara, our girl's new car arrived (new to her, not an actual new car).  This was the result of soooo many hours of discussion, phonecalls, internet research, angst, worry, and finally, delivery!  We bought this car for her so she could stop using Grandma's car, and so that she could drive herself to work at GVAC health club.  It was slightly above the budget we had set, but we feel good that she is driving around in a solid, reliable car.  Sounds like it was a bit of a drama actually having it delivered to her work setting, since they left it on the street rather than in the parking lot, and there was so much muck on the windshield that she couldn't actually see through the windshield to be able to drive it into the parking lot from the road.  However, she made all the right decisions in that moment and was able to get her colleague to bring window cleaner from inside the club before she got behind the wheel to move it.  What a girl.

Then back on the other side of the pond this weekend, Rhodri and I decided on Friday night that we would drive over to Folkstone and catch up with our long, lost friends Cristiano and Rachel.  Wow, has time passed us by there.  We were so, so happy to see them and hear about their lives, catch up with the decade that has just passed since we last saw them.

And now it is Sunday and time to rest and get ready for the next week ahead!

Rugby season kicks off

 Its rugby season again and Rhodri is one of the coaches again with Tryfan's team. Can you find them both in this photo?

My gorgeous girl

Oh Rhiannon, you are so special.  

You know what this girl did before she left in July for California? She gave me a box of letters to pull out as and when I need a little lift from her, and some instructions for use.  Isn't this the most gorgeous and thoughtful gift anyone could receive from their child? I am so blessed. 

Today I allowed myself to open one and I felt so loved.  Even writing this blog post (some weeks later), it brings tears of gratitude to my eyes.  She is such a special person.

Late summer dog paddling

Ahh, it is just beautiful right now. The summer sun is finally here and the forest near the Vachery lakes is just so tranquil.  Annie and I went out for our Sunday walk, though Emma and Una couldn't join us today as they normally do.  In fact, Annie was doing very impressive jumps into the water to go fetch sticks, which is new for her.

Friends round

Today was the last day of August, and we had a bit of spontaneity with the Denslow fam swinging round. We thought it would just be Gordie and Anne Marie, but they all showed up and it was fun to be with them (as always).  We didn't do anything in particular, but it was just a normal and enjoyable evening.  Nice to see off the month with our friends round.

Crawley Town at Brighton Hove

Cat and I took the train from Lewes to the Brighton stadium to see Crawley Town football club plan Brighton Hove Albion.  We had amazing seats and it was an excellent game.  Crawley (who we were rooting for) lost 4-0 but the score did not reflect how well they played.  It was a really exciting game but as you can see from the score, the opposition ran away with it in the end.  Before the game started, Cat and I had the most delicious hot savoury pies from Piglet's Pantry https://www.pigletspantry.co.uk/pies/ We were so impressed!

Anyway, it was fun to be out on the town on a Tuesday night with my friend.

My birthday wind flower

 Anne Marie and Emma gave this gorgeous wind flower sculpture to me for my birthday last year and finally I set it up in the garden.  I love it so much.

Jason's party

Our friends Susie and Jason had a big party last night and we had a really fun time there with lots of dancing and laughter, and incredible food!

Wowo wildflowers

Tryfs is continuing his summer job at Wowo Campsite on an occasional basis.  He seems to really enjoy working here actually, even if the specific duties he is often doing are not-too-fun.  But they have this amazing wildflower meadow near the reception area, and it is in full summer bloom now.

Ann is here

I feel so lucky to have Ann as my boss at work.  She is just so wonderful and inspiring, I am thrilled that she flew all the way over here to help launch our new UK based geothermal team.  She is staying nearby and I thought it was quite funny the way the sign is all wonky here.

New Driver in the family!

 She did it! Got her California Driver's License on her first try!  Now she needs a car...

Beaches, mountains and flowers

It is just so gorgeous up here!  What a luxury to be able to walk to the beach, walk to the top of the Vardre, and walk into the middle of the town all from Nain & Taid's beautiful home.  

There was a gorgeous evening that Tryfan accompanied me on a sunset walk to the golf course, which was really nice too.

Rhodri and Tryfan are out doing a private mountain climbing course in Snowdonia, so I have been working from the house and taking breaks over these days to go for walks.