Whoops there goes another week !!

Yet again time has flown by, and a whole week has gone without me updating my blog ...whoops !!

It's been a pretty productive week though, I managed to get the large oil painting I was doing finished at last, and up on the front room wall. I decided to add some small glass tiles to it so that it fit in even better with my front room, and I'm pretty pleased with the end result I have to say. I also carried on doing another project I started a while ago before my motivation left me. This time it's a half sized violin which I'm decorating with an assortment of tempered glass, stained glass and tiny seed beads. This is a pretty fiddly mosaic as the violin has such acute curves on the sides, so I have to do a little and then wait while the glue dries, very annoying lol. I've also got an idea for a 2nd oil painting I want to do for another wall in the front room.

I had a lovely day yesterday, a friend of mine Bee and her son H, who live in Liverpool came to visit for the day. As she's very fond of ancient momuments, we went to see the burial chamber Bryn Celli Ddu near Llandaniel. My lack of mobility stopped me from getting right to it sadly. Afterwards we stopped off at Cable Bay for a picnic, and then on to Rhosneigr where we spent a pleasant hour or two. While we were there a couple of horses with rigs made an appearance, so that was a nice photo opportunity for me.

Anyway here's the oil painting in situ



My friend Bee and her son H.



The horses and rigs at Rhosneigr beach.

Treat of the day

I had a rare treat yesterday, a trip out to the car boot at Llandygai in Bangor. Last time we went there it was rubbish, but it seemed much better this time. The reason for the treat was to look for a dvd player for myself, and I managed to find one for £3 and whats more when we got home it worked perfectly ...bargain. I also picked up an ornamental metal bird cage for £2 to hang in my bedroom...if I can find a beam to screw a hook into.

I was very lucky on Freegle (Freecycle) this week too, I was picked to get a large under the bed storage box, a small bbq for the summer and a couple of nighties, so I was very pleased about that. I'm hoping when the warmer weather arrives I'll be able to pick up some bushes and plants for the garden too.

My motivation has returned I'm pleased to report, so I've been cracking on with the big oil painting for my front room. This is an abstract painting in vibrant yellows through to oranges, deep blues, aubergines and purples with a background of brown. It's not everyone's cup of tea but I like it. I spent yesterday cutting some pieces of glass to use on parts of the brown background, to add some sparkle, which I'll probably add on today sometime. Next on the agenda is a small house warming present for a traveller friend of mine, who has just decided that a home base feels like a good idea, after a very close call where he almost lost his eye due to accident with a hawthorn bush while he was laying a hedge. Plus like me he's not getting any younger, and doesn't think he can face another long winter in his van.

All being well I should be getting a tattoo on my ear sometime today too, if my daughter manages to come up with a design I like. I did a rough sketch of one the other night, but she thinks it should be more of a statement than that, so I'll leave it up to her. I've wanted an ear tattoo since we went to the Llandudno tattoo convention last year, and saw quite a few people with them there. Perfect for me as I can't wear earrings as I get an allergic allergy to any metal.

Industrial type photo's

When my daughter and I go off on our drives round the island, I often see rusty old objects, for some reason these odd things always appeal to me. I'm not sure if it's the gorgeous colours rusty metal goes or some other strange thing that makes these abandoned items stand out to me. But I just can't resist taking photo's of them, so today there's 3 photo's of things I've spotted over the last couple of weeks.

On a completely different subject, behind our bungalow there is another council bungalow which has now been empty since before Christmas. I find this amazing when councils all over the UK are constantly saying there's a shortage of council properties, and Anglesey council is no different. If I lived in a run down area, I could possibly understand why this property has stayed empty for almost two months, but I actually live in one of the most popular area's in Anglesey, there's a strong community spirit and everyone is very friendly. Such a waste !!!!

Parys mountains and an award

Last week my daughter and I were passing by Parys Mountain in Amlwch, so stopped to take a couple of photo's. If you ever happen to be visiting Anglesey this is definitely worth a visit. In the late 1700's this copper mine supplied the world with copper, and employed 1500 people. Sadly by 1808 the amount of copper being mine had reduced greatly, and it came to end. There is still a ruin of a 5 vaned mill there and on the opposite side of the road an impressive looking winding gear construction. When my mobility was much better than it is these days, we took a walk around the mountain it's an amazing place the rocks strewn everywhere come in an amazing array of colours, and the mine craters, remind me of how I imagine the moon to look. When the mining was at it's height of production the toxic dust and sulphur gases from the mine fires, destroyed all plant life for miles around. Nowadays the mountain is covered in heather which looks beautiful when in full bloom.

This week I've been given an award by the lovely Vicky from the Anglesey Alsorts blog. In being given this award of " The Circle of Friends " I must also list 5 things I like to do...

I like to create, I don't mind what I create so long as I manage to create something. I usually use glass, but have been known to create other little works of art with paint, driftwood, crystals etc etc.

I also love to take photo's, this has become even more of a passion since Christmas due to some of my kids getting me the camera of my dreams.

Travelling around, whether it be locally on Anglesey or further afield. I just love being out and about exploring, never knowing what little gem might be round the corner, whether it be animal, mineral or vegetable.

Car boots are also something I like, even though I don't get to them very often and can't manage to walk round anywhere as much as I used to, I still get that same surge of pleasure from finding one thing I really wanted.

The last thing in my list, is my home. Having moved to this bungalow a few months ago I have found a peace of mind and security that's been missing in my life for the last 16 yrs. I was getting way too long in the tooth to have to put up with grasping landlady's, who were quick enough to grab the rent but not do any repairs. One particular landlady allowed the property I lived in to decline so much, I was forced to call in the enviomental health who rapidly condemned the building, and reported it was the worst house they'd ever seen on Anglesey and even now are using the photo's when they train up new students !! But having lived there, now makes me appreciate the warmth and security of this place more than I ever would have done before.

Parys Mountain



An impressive winding gear construction.



A close up of the top of the above.

Puffin island

After looking around the buildings at Penmon, we carried on down the lane to the beach, where you get a clear view of Puffin Island. This is an uninhabited island that is protected because of the huge colony of thousands of sea birds that live there, landing is only allowed on this island by special permission of the owner.

The island has approximately 12 species of seabirds living on it. These include guillimots, razorbills, cormorants, kittiwakes and of course puffins. The puffin population was almost killed off when rats were accidentally introduced over there in the late 19th century. There is also chance you might see grey seals or if you're really lucky bottlenose dolphins or harbour dolphins. Boat trips are a popular way to enjoy the colony of birds to the fullest. There are also some ruins of monastic buildings left and it is reported that St Seirion could have been buried there.

There is also a lighthouse just off Penmon Point, this was built soon after 1831 when a steamship The Pioneer ran aground, due to the treacherous waters between Penmon Point and Puffin Island. This was booming away the day we were there as it was quite misty.

St Seiriols Holy Well and Dovecote

As promised a follow up post on our visit to Penmon Priory. After we'd finished looking at the ruins, we headed off to find St Seiriols Holy Well,this well has been there since early in the 18th century and is reported to have healing properties. I was expecting to see my idea of a well, but this was a much more shallow affair, there are a couple of stone benches inside the building, but the spring that supplies the well was in full flow and the whole well was under a couple of inches of water. You have to pass a monastic pond, where the Monks used to keep fish to eat. Although it's overgrown, it was a pretty pond with some colourful moorhens on it.

Next we moved on to have a look at the Dovecote, this is quite an interesting building, especially if you step inside. Dated from the 16th century you step inside to a dome shaped interior to find little pockets everywhere, for a thousand pigeons to nest. I did take a photo looking up in here, but it didn't really capture the shape of it. The birds were used by the Monks to supplement their diet. In the center of the dovecote there was a stone colum with a spiral of stone steps, this was used to access the higher pigeon holes to get the young birds out of the nests. I was surprised to see no sign of birds using the building these days, not sure why this was though.

As we paid £2.50 to look round the priory etc, we decided to get our moneys worth and go down the lane and get some photo's of Puffin Island and the lighthouse, but I'll save those photo's for tomorrow.

This first photo houses St Seiriols Holy Well



A view of the actual well.



This is the Dovecote.



Inside the Dovecote a shot of all the little holes where the pigeons would make their nests.

A trip to Penmon Priory, St Seiriols Holy Well and a Dovecote

I was suffering from serious photo withdrawals, as we haven't been anywhere for me to take any new photographs. So when my daughter asked me if I wanted my bedroom painted or a drive out, a drive out won hands down lol. I decided that a trip to Penmon Priory would do nicely. Although the original monastery was built in 6th century, it was destroyed by Viking when they raided. The church now there was built the middle of the 12th century and is considered to be the finest example in Gwynedd. My interest was mainly in the ruins that were left of the 3 storey building that housed the monks dining hall and dormitory. Tomorrow I will write about St Seiriols Holy Well and the Dovecote. The first photo was taken from what was originally the cellar and is where access is gained.



This 2nd photo was set in the wall.



The third and last photo today is the outside view.

Neglecting my blog

Whoops I seem to be neglecting my blog lately. I seem to have lost my motivation for pretty much everything lately, not sure why ...but if anyone finds it can they direct it back to me please.

It's been a couple of quiet weeks here, nothing particularly interesting going on and no wanders in the car to take photo's either. My sleep pattern which is always all over the place, seems to have got even worse this last few weeks. I usually have no problems getting to sleep, but lately I can't even seem to manage that. I'm not getting to sleep till about 2am and then waking up again around 5am. This means I'm constantly tired of course. Even when I manage to grab another hour so so later in the day, I'm still left with that worn out feeling all the time.

There's reports on the news there's going to be another really cold spell coming up shortly. I'd already been checking this out on a weather forum I use. It's still not 100% dead cert, but then nothing is with the weather until it actually happens. But even if the snow doesn't get here, the cold almost certainly will, so maybe some interesting photo opportunities.