Happy Birthday To Me

Feeling old at Mamma Linas in Rogerstone

Yesterday we started the day with a visit to the  dentist to get a small filling for me, it took a while for the feeling to come back but by lunch time I was fine. I wanted to see the sea which is several hours away from our boaty home in Whixall but not so far from Newport.  We went for a walk on the seafront at Porthcawl. where the waves are usually crashing and  Storm Doris was making them bigger, but the camera phone didn't  really capture that. It was difficult to hold the camera still in the wind so we hid  in a seaside shelter and watched the waves.

Crashing waves at Porthcawl

Gwen at  Porthcawl. ..... it's  cold! 

Ben the dog was certainly having the wind through his fur and we had the wind through our hair. a seaside visit however short wasn't complete without sausage and chips from the chip shop by the park. We waited for them to open and got Ben the dog a sausage too. You could feel the wind on the M4 as Eric drove us back to Newport not that it slowed down the usual speedy drivers.

Lisa and daughter Gwen

Our granddaughters Scarlett and Gwenllian

In the evening we went out for a meal at Mamma Linas in Rogerstone , an Italian restaurant housed in the old Jolly Roger building. Eric remembers standing outside waiting for the school bus as a youngster  while Lisa remembers some time spent in the pub many years ago. The food was delicious and  thanks for a lovely birthday treat. Thanks to Lisa for the photos.

A Walk By The River Severn

The crocuses around the monument 

Today we went to the Quarry a recreation area alongside the River Severn. It's  a great place to walk the dog as it's  mud free. There's  a lovely place there called The Dingle where there are lovely flower beds and a small lake with fountains. There's a monument in the gardens to Perry Thrower  who was head gardener. Today  it was beautiful  with  all the crocuses.  There are beds with daffodils, hyacinths and tulip leaves peeping through amongst the flowering yellow polyanthus, so in a few weeks it will be even lovelier.

The children's  play area was busy with shrieks delight. You could hear them before you could see them. During the winter the coffee cabin was missing  but now it's back so Eric  had a  coffee  and a had a very  nice hot chocolate.

Back on the boat the water tank is filling as the wind blows. After all  we're  in windy Whixall.  

It's Wednesday

Dearnford Lake, Shropshire 

We'll another week's gone by, it's been  a cold one but it feels a bit warmer today. Monday was surprisingly sunny and we went to see Dearnford Lake. We'd seen the  sign on the Tilstock road but had no idea if we could walk the dog there. Yes we could and the coffee shop even has a dogs allowed section which was full when we went.  From April onwards it's  a wild swimming lake too not that I fancy swimming in cold water. Looking on the Internet  the lake came into  being when a huge hole caused by materials needed for the construction  of the  Whitchurch bypass were extracted. The owners decided to use the whole in the ground. 

Yesterday we did the food  shopping  in Ellesmere where I walked the dog alongside the canal. It was very muddy in places. Eric fancied fish and chips for tea from the chippy in Wem, so we went  to get some at the shop by the Coop. The fish was cooked while we waited and we ate it in the car rather than let it go cold driving back to Whixall.  Ben the dog  had his sausage which was gone in seconds.

Today I need to do some washing and take Ben the dog for a walk. I think I'll go and see what's going on up on the Prees Branch. The canal is now closed for several weeks as the contractors need to use some heavy machinery to knock in the pilings. They haven't  started yet as you can't hear the banging.

The gas cylinder has been smelling all week which tells us it's  going to run out.......usually when it's dark and raining. We have a small spare until we pop to the marina office to get a new big one. It's just moving the satellite dish pole to get into the  the gas locker.

Time for breakfast.  Have a nice day!

UPDATE

Today on the Prees Branch

The big plant has arrived and is now banging the pilings  in.

Snowdrops At Attingham Park in Shropshire

Today we decided to go and walk in Attingham Park hoping the snowdrops  were out in the grounds. They were flowering   and looked beautiful growing naturally  in the woods. Ben enjoyed his walk too. We were glad of our scarves and gloves but Ben was warm enough in his fur coat.

A Quiet Life At Whixall Marina

We're  enjoying a quiet life here  at Whixall  other than the nights when the  wind  blew  and rocked us in the water. We've  had a few  foggy mornings too. The swans wait at the  slipway for their morning feed.

Our daughters and Ben the dog have all celebrated their birthdays for another year as the clever collages from Google photos show. Putting photos on the blog has been made easier by my new phone a Samsung J3 with a working camera. I can't upload photos on my tablet anymore....blogger won't work.

We've been walking the dog in as  many mud free places as we can. It was great walking around Colemere one frosty morning when the ground was hard with frost.  It was actually warmer in the woods out of the bitterly cold wind. The park in Whitchurch  has mud free paths too and a short walk from the Tesco  car park.

We made the best of the weather on Wednesday and walked along the River Severn at Quarry Park in Shrewsbury. Ben the dog watered quite a few of the Lime trees  which line the pathways. It was originally a red sandstone quarry. Alongside the river many years  ago the clothes were washed and the cattle watered. There's interesting information  boards too as well as the dingle with it's  lake, fountains and flowerbeds. Apparently  Perry Thrower  was head gardener.

Eric had to turn one of the boating mushrooms down a bit more because he was getting dropped on as he sat in his chair. We've  done  the usual boating jobs filling up with water and emptying things. We've  no problem with getting rid of rubbish with skips on site and the Whitchurch  recycling site to get rid of any bigger items.  Coal, logs, and gas is available too. Eric has been topping up the diesel tank with 20 litres cans to replace that used by the Webasco diesel  heating.

So nothing much is happening  here, we're  feeling well and happy enjoying life here in Shropshire. Eric one task in life seems to be keeping the car clean....a mammoth task with all the muddy lanes around here!

Happy Birthday....Ben The Dog Is Ten !

Happy Birthday Clare