Random Ramblings: January 15th 2021 (Featuring #Snow And #Dog Photos)

 

The photos at the top of this post were taken a couple of days after we moved here.  They're from December 9th 2020.  I'd hoped to make that new computer room window view part of a post about the new house by now, but I haven't had a chance to sort photos of indoors.  Admittedly that's partially - in fact, if I'm honest, mostly - because I'm reluctant to show you the chaos things are still in at this point.  I mean, it's not too bad.  But there's definitely still chaos.  We had some pieces of furniture given to us by my Dad and his next door neighbours, and between those things and what we already had the new house is coming together nicely, even if we still need a few things.  I just don't want to show you that there's still a bunch of stuff to sort out, and boxes in most rooms that need to be dealt with though.  Somehow telling you doesn't feel as bad.  Anyway, we're getting there; we did a lot in this past week.  When things are a bit more organized, I'll get you some indoor photos.  For now you'll have to wait, and can just have those photos of the view from the upstairs window.  But I'll catch you up on some day to day happenings today too.

 

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There were some fireworks here at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, but we didn't get photos or videos, since we couldn't see them from indoors, and Kelly was reluctant to go out in the ice and snow only to find they were over by the time he got out there.  We enjoyed listening to them though.  I do love fireworks, but do also have to admit I was glad it was just a few for midnight and not days of them going off all evening like we had where we used to live.  More fireworks might increase the chances of videos or photos, but less is better for the petkids and local wildlife.

 

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2021 started with us spotting a robin hopping about in what remained of the snow in our yard.  We spotted it through the kitchen window.  We didn't get a photo though, because the camera was too far away.  But Kelly enjoyed watching it,, especially since it was, as I later learned, his first time seeing one that close up in real life (other close sightings he's had were via photos or videos).  I sure wish we'd gotten a photo, but at least I have the memory of Kelly's utter delight at the sight.

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I know from growing up not too far from where we now live that it's not Unusual for wildlife to be spotted around here.  Well, there's loads of sheep too - I mean, it is Wales - but I mean things like birds, and common British wildlife like foxes, hedgehogs, etc.

For example, there's an owl nearby.  I've heard it most times when I've been awake nights since we got here, though we've seen no physical signs of it.  I'm not entirely sure if it lives close by or I just hear it as it passes between its hunting ground and wherever it roosts.  I've definitely heard it several times though.  At least, I think it's the same owl each time.

There's at least one fox too.  In fact, possibly more than one.  I've heard at least one fox, and Logan and I startled a fox when we went for a potty run one night.  Although, I'm not sure if the fox or Logan was more startled by the close encounter.  Judging by how quick it ran off, I'd say the fox recovered quicker than Logan though, and the fox did at least know what a dog was before, so Logan was probably the more startled.  Either way, Logan was more vocal about how he felt about things once he did recover, though he thankfully didn't feel the need to make his feelings known for more than a few moments, and soon stopped barking.  Luckily chasing after the darting fox wasn't an option for him.  I assume the fox thought we'd gone indoors with Kelly and Lilie, so assumed the coast was clear, since they generally don't risk coming too close to houses with dogs when they think there's even a slight chance the dogs will be coming outside any time soon.

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Anyway, we had snow flurries on and off for the first week of the new year, but nothing that came to much.  In fact, most of them were so brief it wasn't even worth grabbing the camera.  Rather exciting to a snow lover like me though, as I'm sure you can imagine.

There was another snowfall - on the evening of January 7th - that was worth grabbing the camera for though, so here are some photos Kelly took when the dogs and I were out checking it out:

As you probably figured by the tire tracks in one shot, the photos were taken when we were in the street out the front.  We had taken some when we were out the back (in the yard) too, but the lighting and snow falling on the camera lense combined meant they just ended up being blurry patches of white in the darkness, so I'm not bothering to share those ones with you.  Oh, and, in case you were wondering: Logan is there... You might be able to see that I have his lead in my hands as well as Lilie's lead.  But he kept going behind me, so you can't really see him.

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In other news:there's a scheme set up nearby where you can get a box of food stuff the supermarkets will soon be unable to sell because of how close their sell-by dates are for just £1 (that's about $1.36 by today's conversion rates).  It's a good sized box, and the stuff is still good, though some of it you'll want to use or preserve/freeze pretty quickly if you don't want it to go to waste.  So we've been going with my Dad to get a box.  It's one per household, so he gets one and so do Kelly and I.

Though obviously it's various food items, the exact contents of the boxes are random, so sometimes Dad will have stuff he can't/won't use, and sometimes we will too, in which case we offer them to each other.  If there's something in them none of us can make use of, we'll pass them on to other people, like my Mam, my brother, Wayne, or a couple of particular friends of my Dad who are in a financial position where food donations are very much appreciated and needed.  Dad's next door neighbours (the same ones who gave us some furniture items) get a box too, and pass anything extra from their box on to Dad, who then considers it extra stuff to either add to his, offer to us, or donate to those friends of his, depending on what the items are.

 

Getting these food boxes has helped us keep our food shopping costs lower, which was very much appreciated with the move and the holidays happening right on top of each other.  Mind you, for us - and Dad too - reduced costs for essential expenses is always a good thing.  Plus, we're helping to reduce the amount of food supermarkets have to throw away, and most weeks have a little something to offer someone who really needs it.  So, everyone wins.

 

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Mam and I made a bunch of pickles and chutneys with some of the stuff from the boxes.  We also made some vegan friendly orange marmalade when we got loads and loads and loads of oranges, which I was thrilled about, since it's difficult to get a good marmalade you can guarantee is vegan, and incredibly expensive when you do find one.  Considering it was our first attempt at making marmalade using arrowroot as the thickener, I think we did a fantastic job.  It's perhaps a little runnier than it should be, but it's thick enough to be spreadable, and it tastes great, so that's the main thing.

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Yes, we're still in lockdown over here.  No, we're not seeing loads of people all the time.  Both my parents - and Dad's neighbours - only come to drop off or pick upthings, and nine times out of ten don't even come inside to do it (they only come in if they absolutely have to, and then only for as long as they need to in order to do what they came for).  And I haven't seen my brother since early December, when we were between lockdowns.  All contact Kelly and I are having with anyone besides each other is for essential tasks to be done, like Dad's neighbours providing us with something to sit on besides the floor in our new home, Dad taking Kelly to fetch those food boxes and staying long enough for us to go through our box and his own, Mam picking up the bits we're giving her from the boxes (Dad takes Wayne's to him, since he's his carer so has to see him anyhow) and that kind of thing.  Just thought I'd put that out there, before anyone accuses me of breaching Wales' current lockdown rules.

 

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Since you can never have too many cute puppy photos, I'm going to end today's post with a couple of photos of Lilie and Logan, which were taken early hours of the morning on January 8th.  We grabbed the camera to get the shot of Logan, who considered me getting out of bed an invitation for him to climb in my warm spot and snuggle in, but grabbed a shot of Lilie (also on the bed) at the same time.