Christmas and New Year in The View from the Terrace

The New Year is here and for us it started well with a visit to see Cat and David in Cardiff in their new flat. It’s a very smart place, much better than their last one. No broken washbasins or holes in the window panes. It is a little smaller maybe, but adequate for them. The only disadvantage is it’s not on the ground floor like that last one and there isn’t a garden. This makes it difficult with the dog. They are not supposed to have the dog but the landlady said they could have her temporarily and has said nothing since. Unfortunately, while we were there we went out and the dog started howling, something she never normally does. The person next door rang David to warn him. I don’t know yet if the landlady heard.

They took us down to see Cardiff Bay. I’ve never been there before. It’s beautiful, especially in the early evening with all of the lights reflecting in the water. We had a drink in a pub shaped like a ship. They told us that on the top floor there is a small area shaped like a crows nest with a mock mast. Unfortunately the upper floors were closed and we couldn’t see that.

We had a good Christmas. There was the folk club Christmas do the week before and another at the Open mic in Abergavenny. Chris came over for Christmas Day. He bought us a sat nav because he said we were always going places and getting lost! We took it with us to Cardiff but I couldn’t work out how to use it when we did get lost. I now know so should be OK in the future. Tony gave me a lovely wind chime for the garden. I won’t put it up until the spring as the last two broke in winter storms. Hubby gave me a new guitar strap embroidered with purple flowers, very me. Chris left when I said I wanted to watch Call the Midwife. I guess it’s not a man’s programme but it has become part of Christmas for me, that and Downton Abbey, and the Eastenders Christmas episode where everything always goes wrong for everyone!
I sound like a telly addict but I don’t normally watch a lot. It’s just that all of my favourite programmes were on Christmas Day.

Now it’s back to the usual routine. There’s not much to do in the garden for a few weeks and it’s too cold anyway so I guess I will try to get a few things done in the house and do a bit more writing.