Thursday 30 November 2017

Winter has a Heart ~ Memory Making

***a note to my readers ~ my computer is on it's last legs and I have struggled to put this together because periodically my typing does not enter on the screen. Consequently, for those of you who do leave a sweet comment, I should be able to publish, but may not be able to reply immediately, so please be patient. A new computer is on the horizon, and, frankly, is something I dread doing!***


Hello Friends!

Brrrrrrr! Unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere, I think Winter has arrived with all of us. It isn't too bad here, yet, but I'm sure we are going to pay this Winter for several exceptionally mild years recently.

As many of you know, I am a full time care giver, and now, for two afternoons a week, I have help coming in so that I can get out to do things that I could otherwise struggle with, such as getting to the bank, or off for my 'flu injection!  One of the things we can do, weather permitting of course, is to go out for rides in the countryside and make some new, happy memories to cherish as we visit garden centres ~ ones with tea rooms, naturally; go out for lunch or afternoon tea; just go for a ride to see pretty scenery; in fact, pretty much anything. This is why, of late, I've been able to share with you some of the photographs I've taken on some of these precious days out. 

Here's what we did yesterday. We visited a lovely little tea room in nearby Mathry called "Siop Fach Tearooms"  Sadly, they do not have a website but have a very good rating on Trip Advisor.  Here are the photographs I took of some stunning scenery, and delicious food we ate.

I have to say that the tea shop was immaculately clean, light, fresh and airy. A welcoming aroma of cooking food filled the entrance, and a display of deliciously tempting home made cakes was on display by the main counter.  More photos of those next time, but today I'll focus on what we had to eat.

A simple Scampi, Chips and Peas ~~~


I had one of several delicious sounding vegetarian options, Glamorgan Cheese Sausages. These are a traditional Welsh dish of cheese, onion and leeks. Served with yummy Sweet Potato Fries ~~~


Desserts! Puddings! Yay!  Lemon and Lime Cheesecake ~~~


Apple Pie with Custard Sauce ~~~


and I had Warm Chocolate Brownies with Ice Cream ~~~


I confess, the portions of pud were rather generous, but who's complaining? We cleared our plates!

Of course, it has to be Heinz ~ I fell for this cute condiment tray! I would have bought one had they sold one in the little shop next door ~~~


Who can resist an ice cold Fiery Ginger Beer, made in Radnorshire, on a cold Winter's day?


Isn't that a cute name for a company? "Heartsease Farm" It just makes you want to drop in and visit them. On the subject of hearts, I casually tossed my gilet to one side and look what happened? The folds just arranged themselves into a lovely heart shape? How cool is that?


I took a couple of photos from the window, the first has to be the creepiest creeper covered cottage I think I have ever seen ~~~


and this is the Farmer's Arms pub, just across the road. Recently, I was asked if this is 'arms' as in with hands on the end, or 'arms' as in "up in arms and going off to fight" ~ as far as I can tell, it is the 'with hands' version, although I've tried to look into this for you and there is nothing easily found to clarify. Let's go with 'with hands' as it is far more friendly, I'm sure you'll agree. It is a very common pub name in Wales ~~~


On our way home again home again jiggetty jig we pulled over so I could take a few quick photos of the wild and woolly wonderful big sky across the lush, softly rolling hills and gentle valleys of the Shire. In the far distance of this one you can just see the Preseli Hills, where the world famous bluestone which forms part of Stonehenge originated. Bluestone can be found across the world. Preseli bluestone is a fine grained dolerite, a magical stone with particular healing properties used in Shamanic rituals.



The weather was decidedly wintry, with gusty blasts of icy winds coming from the North, and I got caught out in a sharp, prolonged hailstorm! I love looking at the big skies over the Shire, in all their glorious majesty, in wonderment and awe.

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xo

26 comments:

  1. Glad you have a few afternoons to get out and about now. What a lovely relaxing day out you had, the food looks divine. x

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    1. Thank you, yes, making the most of my help! It is good to have a place to go that is clean and spacious, serving traditional not fancy food so close by.

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  2. I'm so glad you are able to enjoy a couple days a week out, Deb. Being a care giver is hard work and can feel quite isolating. Your tearoom goodies are making me wish I had those brownies. That would have been my choice, hands down! I adore the last photo looking over your Shire. The fact that this Welsh blue stone made its way to Stonehenge is quite amazing. To think it was moved there over 4500 years ago makes it astonding! xoxo ♥

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    1. Thank you. It was between the Brownies and the Sticky Toffee Pudding! Maybe next time! I forget the details, but it is now widely believed that the blue stones were moved to a different, earlier site but never used so were then moved to Stonehenge. It may have been Avebury. Whatever, it is a feat that shows the tenacity of those people. D xoxo

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    2. When we visited Stonehenge in October there was no mention of the Welsh blue stones having been moved from anywhere except Wales. We were quite touched at this English Heritage site. It was an unexpected reaction for me! Quite an extraordinary experience. xoxo ♥

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  3. Hi, Debs ... with regard to the Heartsease Farm, I believe Sharon Lovejoy once had a shop or garden in California called Heart's Ease; I imagine it was a place I would have loved to visit <3

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    1. Hello, Sharon, and thank you for stopping by! Yes, I believe heartsease is an alternative name for the sweet pansy. I can only imagine what Sharon Lovejoy's shop was like! xo

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  4. That was so interesting, Deb. I love to see your tearooms and the countryside. The lunch looked just wonderful. My kind of food, too. Especially the brownies and ice cream. So glad you have help with your care giving. So far, I'm doing okay, but it is so necessary to get a break now and then. I treasure my weekly forays to Barnes & Noble cafe for a chat and cuppa with my friend Ann. We both need this, and it does revive the soul! Thank you so much for sharing all of this and the beautiful scenery, too. By the way, been meaning to ask: Is Carrie moving anywhere near you. I suspect you are on different sides of Wales. Well, enjoyed the chat. Do take care. Jane xo

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    1. Hello Jane, and thank you. I'm glad you are managing some much needed respite too, small but thankful! Carrie is moving to the other side! Not that Wales is that big, so, in essence we are quite close together by American standards. Deb xo

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    2. I thought it would be quite close wherever she was. It's always hard to remember that the UK is quite close and compact. Lovely, I think. US is so big. We probably ought to be several countries!!

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  5. A day my Mum would have called a Golden Day. I always though the word Arms referred to a Coat of Arms as in heraldry? Heartsease is a wild flower I think. You live in a beautiful part of the world.

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    1. Hello! Thank you for another interpretation; I hadn't thought of it that way, but have never seen an indication of a coat of arms on any pub signs. I've been trying to do research ever since I was asked, but there is very little so far. I'll be letting everyone know if I find out more.
      Yes, heartsease is another name for the sweet pansy flower, and I'm wondering if wild pansies grow near this farm?

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  6. What a lovely outing and super photo. So pleased you are able to get out a few times a week. The food looks really delicious - we sometimes make Glamorgan Cheese Sausages here - they really are very tasty.

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    1. I don't think there will be as many trips now as the weather is so cold for Mum. Glamorgan cheese sausages are really tasty, I agree!

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  7. ps - hope you are able to sort your computer problems soon.

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  8. You had me at 'brownies', my friend. ;-) It all looks delicious.

    Those photos of the sky and expanse of land are breathtaking. Beautiful. But you know me, I am looking for your woods. lol I will look forward to some 'woody' photos in the future. Cheeky, eh? lol

    Love and hugs,
    Darlene

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    1. Ah, my friend, we do not have a lot of woods here, just patches or copses, as you can see here! Deb xo

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  9. We enjoy visiting garden centre tea rooms too. I’d opt for cheesecake or apple pie. Isn’t it frustrating when technology goes wrong?

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    1. A tea room makes such a difference, especially after walking around the outside looking at plants.

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  10. Oh what a lovely outing, and I'm glad you have some respite time during the weeks, it certainly helps. I'd have had to choose the sticky toffee pudding, we don't seem to have it here. To market, to market to buy a fat pig...home again, home jiggity jig. Gosh I haven't hear that since I was a little girl. Thanks for the sweet reminder. Good luck with the computer switch-over. Jen

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    1. Yes, it was a toss up for me between brownies and sticky toffee pudding. Home again, home again, jiggety jog! Deb

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  11. Lovely photos and those choc brownies look really scrummy.
    We have lots of Arms pubs in Suffolk but usually Coat of Arms as in heraldry, The pub in Knodishall where we lived was the Butchers Arms

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    1. Thank you, and they were scrummy! Heraldry puts another spin, and in my continuing quest, I read it may even have something to do with what we now call a 'Farmer's Tan' as in the arms that are suntanned halfway up to where their tee shirts start!

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  12. Outings that involve tea and dessert are right up my alley! Great photos!

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    1. Thank you ~ of course, there must always be cake!

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