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Spring is here…?
Monday March 8th, 2010 |
Thought it was about time I added an update – there was no point whilst we were only continuing to decorate!We have had the drive re-done – so no more problems with grounding of the cars, and as we’ve sorted out the drainage at the yard, we should not have the same problems with the tracks becoming streams… plus we’ve had the ford concreted over, so it means that it would have to really be a full river to cause wet tyres. (It does have 3 large pipes underneath it for the water to progress!)
The photographer was with us on Friday last week, taking the internal shots – so expect to have them available to upload onto the website from later this week. www.gwaenynog.com for those who are interested. That means the rooms are ready for occupation… we even have our first booking on March 26th! Admittedly a friend, but still… first “official” guest.
We have had a short break away from all this DIY when we went curling in Scotland a couple of weeks ago, so it’s not all been work. However, Norman ended up with “housemaid’s knee” from crawling along painting skirting boards, and I had tennis elbow from so much painting… It didn’t help the curling, that’s for sure. However, I won the prize for the best pearler – fell over on the ice! And Norman’s team came second. Not bad for novices! Anyway, it was beautiful up at Lochgoilhead – crisp clear days and freezing temperatures, but no snow. That arrived there after we left, fortunately!
I don’t think anyone can be prepared for the amount of work, but we’ve enjoyed our time here so far… long may it continue. There are things we would have done differently, with hindsight (I’m sure everyone says that!!!) but when you’re a pair of townies coming to the countryside, even Countryfile cannot help you with the weather, the builders mistakes, the weather, when a shower refuses to stop leaking, the weather… I think you get the picture. Some things we would not change – the people who are our neighbours. They have welcomed us and made us feel very much at home, even the lady we bought from has helped enormously with a list of all the people she had used for differing maintenance tasks over the years – even down to drawing a map of who our neighbours were, along with their phone numbers! We could not have managed without that… Obviously now its down to us and how we interact with everyone, but I would hope we’ve made some good first impressions…
The weather here in mid Wales has been perfect since March rolled in… Crisp clear blue skies, but very low temperatures and heavy frosts in the mornings. We’ve certainly felt as if spring was here today though, especially as we now have lambs in the field – only a few at the moment, but they’re all pretty cute! Even cleaned some of the windows!
So, with the testing of the water now done, and given the all clear, and the EHO visit imminent, we’re ticking off a lot from the things to do list… When we get the photos, we will pay a visit to the local tourist information office and get them helping to fill our rooms. We’re “Awaiting Grading” which means we can be offered as a possible place to stay – it’s up to the visitor as to whether they choose to stay with us. We will get a visit soon from them soon, to go through the grading… I thought it would be anonymous, until they tell us our grade, but apparently they book it in with us at least a week before – its only at renewal that they do it incognito! Our marketing is taking off – gone into WiRE, been added to the Lake Vyrnwy Marketing Association – they extended their area to include other B&Bs, and TIC and hopefully onto the Visit Wales site soon, so we’re off and running. With all the work we’ve had done, one thing has helped us – Martin, with his height (he can reach some of the ceilings and tops of walls without a ladder!) his youth and energy (definitely has much more than us!) and his music, be that from the laptop or his own vocals, he has made it that bit easier. So, thanks Martin, we appreciate all the help you’ve given us. Good luck with the saving for your American trip…
“Lemme out!”
We’ve had quite a few firsts along the way. One weird joy today for example, was rescuing up to about 20 frogs from the drain at the bottom of a downpipe… As Norman said, their Mum obviously put them in the wrong place – I am surprised they survived as long as they did, as it was quite a squeeze there!
This has been a lot of fun – and a learning curve, to write a Blog. Thanks for following us and offering feedback on our journey through the move and development of our B&B. We will be continung to run a Blog, but from our own website now – so keep following there. www.gwaenynog.com
So, this is my final Blog here, many thanks for reading and letting me know about the stories you have enjoyed – we have had fun (mostly) in getting to this point!!! Ciao
