Tuesday 31 May 2011

Deja Vu



I made an awful lot of these necklaces a few years ago! So much so that I eventually got very tired of them, even though I wear them myself every time I'm at a show or selling event.
I wore my orange ones (I wear two or three together) at the Smallholders and Gardens show last weekend, and so did another stallholder who had bought one from me a while back. Several people commented on them, and one lady asked if she could buy one! Now I'm not that desperate that I have to sell my jewellery from around my neck, so I rooted through my stock and found one left, in muted browns and greens. Result - one happy customer.
Anyway, I decided maybe it was time to make a few more, ready for the summer, so this little crop of Summer Silvers came to life over the weekend.
More about the Smallholders show next time.
Nia xx

Friday 27 May 2011

Name And Shame...

And I would indeed name and shame this particular eatery, if only I could remember the name of it! Unfortunately, today I have eaten (or not, to be accurate) the worst apology for a meal I have ever endured. Well, both of us did.
We took the car for a service, back to the dealership, just outside Abergavenny. The garage kindly lent us a car to get us into town to kill the couple of hours that the service was going to take, and after a wander around in the sunshine, we decided to have something quick to eat before heading back to collect our own car.
We spotted a cafe that didn't seem too busy (I wonder why!)and ordered Cheese & Potato Pie - mine, and Corned Beef Hash - himself, both with salad.
When the plates were put in front of us a few mintes later, I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing. Now I've been on this old earth long enough to know exactly what both these meals are meant to look and taste like, and this was not it!
The Corned Beef Hash was unbelievable. It consisted of a bowl of what looked like wallpaper paste with a few faint pinkish brown streaks. It tasted even worse. It was simply instant potato, and not even seasoned. Just disgusting. The husband will eat most things if hungry enough, but even he turned visibly grey after tasting it.
My apology for a Cheese & Potato Pie was just as miserable. The same slimy instant mash, with flakes of lurid bright yellow cheese, covered with a slab of warm soggy pastry.
It also got left pretty much untouched.
The waitress asked what the problem was. I politely explained. She said, "Oh this is how we always make them, our regulars love them".
We paid and left, glad to leave the sorry disgusting mush behind.
So if you are ever looking for a half decent lunch in Abergavenny, choose somewhere other than the cafe just up the road from the Angel Hotel (where we really should have eaten!).
Have a lovely bank holiday,
Nia xx

Monday 23 May 2011

Black Bacarra

Black Bacarra by gemwaithnia
Black Bacarra, a photo by gemwaithnia on Flickr.

Black Is Back!
I'm afraid I don't do "seasonal" colours when it comes to jewellery, so black and silver in May is just fine with me!
This necklace uses a set of Ray Skene's dramatic signature hollow glass beads, in combination with ornate sterling silver.

Tuesday 17 May 2011

Up On The Roof...

Finally...... the front dormers on the house have been renovated! They have been quietly rotting away for the last 25 years or so, and getting builders in to do the work was prohibitively expensive, so late last summer Wyn decided to do the job himself.
But of course, with it being the tail end of the summer, he only managed to complete one before we went on holiday in late September, and by the time we came home, the weather was bad, and carried on being bad all winter.
So when Wil came home for a visit last Tuesday, he happily agreed to help his Dad and get the other two dormers finished. They re-tiled the roofs, replaced the rotten timber, and clad the new wood in uPVC.
They finished last night, just in time for Wil to go back to Bristol today.
Finally, the scaffolding can come down, and we can sort out the garden!

It's pretty high up there!




I'm going to choose my moment carefully before mentioning that the three dormers at the back of the house also need renewing...
Nia xx

Sunday 8 May 2011

Lost...

Lost - One Mojo, much used and loved over the years, so if found, please return to Nia. Thank you.