THE TORTOISES AND THE HORSE, Wales

17- 18 May 2012: Housekeeping tasks after a great holiday in Spain. Went to the market, finished laundry (quite the job as you have seen), wrote postcards, cooked and baked, Thom went for a bike ride with Stuart, and sketched. Janet has four tortoises that she has had from infants - they are now 13 years old and are presently chasing each other around the garden, so Janet will be on the look out for eggs. They laid eggs last year for the first time, and took her by surprise but now she is ready. I sketched Eos.

Sheila in the Williams's garden

13-year-old tortoises Eos, Hypnos, Helios, and Selina

Sheila's sketch of Eos, though none of them were standing still long!

19 May 2012: We enjoyed take out Chinese and catching up with our friends the Murray Family. Wilf and Ruth have four daughters and are lucky enough to have three of them close by with their families.

Ruth and Wilf Murray, Chloe and Tom Williams with their mother Sarah (Wilf & Ruth's daughter), Sheila and Thom (missing from picture is Sarah's son Sam, age 19, who is leaving shortly to serve a two year mission in New Zealand for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

20 May 2012: THE WEATHER CHANGED FOR THE GOOD TODAY! GLORIOUS!

Sheila's brother Steve King and his wife, Cola, came to visit - a wonderful time to have home made scones with butter, home-made jam and Devonshire clotted cream, and catch up with each other.  

Sheila has had a hankering to ride a horse for some time, and since Stuart's nephew Stephen works at a nearby stables, she jumped at the chance! Thom was out on another bike ride with Daniel; they rode to Holywell and back, about 40 miles.

Sheila on Candy, with Stephen Williams to look after them.
Thank you Stephen!

A sketch of Candy.

21 May 2012: Thom and Stuart rode their bikes to Colwyn Bay today, a distance of 31 miles. Our friends Jay and Gran Masters came from Amlwych to join Thom, Sheila, Jan, Stuart and Daniel for dinner at The Carvery. This is a company that takes over existing restaurants and serves gammon (ham), turkey and beef (served by a carver) and then you help yourself to all-you-can eat Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, carrots, corn, cauliflower, peas or other seasonal vegetables, filling, gravies (including cranberry gravy), mint sauce, cranberry sauce, etc. In other words, Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving dinner, for the wonderful price of $5.00 each.

Home cooking without the cooking; at The Carvery

22 May 2012: We worked at the Gronant Institute today. This is a 1900 building in the next village, Gronant, that was built for the residents as a community center by a villager who "made good" as a merchant in Liverpool. Stuart has been instrumental in reviving interest in its use, and has acquired grants to make repairs and improvements. It still needs work, and Thom was happy to help today.

Gronant Institute

Stuart and Thom at work at the Gronant Institute

 At lunchtime, we met friends and family for a meal at Table Table in Rhuddlan.

Sheila's niece Justine and her son Oscar

Nancy Williams, Sarah Williams, Thom, Stuart, Justine and Oscar

 In the afternoon, Thom and Sheila went for a bike ride along the sea front.

Thom and Sheila at Central Beach, Prestatyn, Wales.
There are scores of wind turbines off the coast.

The layers of clothes come off as Thom soaks up the sunshine.

The minister's house in Gronant is soaking up the rays also, at last!
We did not expect to see solar panels here, but they're around. In the distance, in silted up areas off the coast, you may be able to see there are wind turbine farms in the Irish Sea.