Would you like to have a little look inside?

I think it's about time I took you inside Plas y Nant, though be warned - it's not a pretty sight currently. Make sure you're wrapped up warmly because it's freezing in there and mind your head as the ceilings are a bit dodgy.

How to relax the Cattrall way

Hopefully, one day, Plas y Nant will be up and running as a hotel with the result that weekends will be very busy. Therefore, at the moment we try and make sure that weekends now are spent relaxing quietly here or popping out and about enjoying Snowdonia. When I say "relaxing" you might conjure up images of being curled up in front of the fire with a good book after a long walk or maybe watching a DVD or simply just sitting and chatting about nothing in particular. That's not how we do relaxing here!

Scorpions in the log pile

Never a dull moment here at Plas y Nant.  There we were last night sat round the woodburner all cosy watching Dragons' Den - one of those Dragons looks more and more like a Pantomime Dame each time I see her - when Smidge shot up and started careering round the room like a lunatic. The other two dogs looked up nonchalantly, decided they were too comfy by the fire to join in so went back to sleep.  We tired to ignore her for a few minutes thinking she'd get bored and settle down but after she'd crashed into the coffee table and nearly sent our drinks flying I thought I'd better investigate what was up with her. 

Trees do have ears

We've got some wild, wet and windy weather forecast for the next couple of days which usually results in quite a few fallen branches and sometimes trees here at Plas y Nant. Indeed last week we nearly lost half the cottage to a tree - an incident which was quite nerve wracking at the time.

Three years of madness

Doesn't time fly - it's been a while since we've chatted on here. I'm sorry to say that I seem to have neglected the blog but as some of you will know I've been posting bits and pieces on Plas y Nant's Facebook page.

Garden update

Just let me grab the remote control and switch Alan Titchmarsh off. It's that time of year again when I sit and watch the Chelsea flower show coverage and wish that my garden was half as good as the show gardens - maybe one day. It was my mother-in-law who introduced me to the delights of Chelsea flower show many years ago. She'd just recently taken up gardening and asked me had I seen the coverage of Chelsea on the television. Now I, at that time, thought Chelsea was all about judging who grew the biggest dahlia or the longest carrot but that evening I watched one of the programmes and was amazed to see the wonderful show gardens and from then on I was hooked. Anyway, enough of that - you haven't popped in to hear me reminiscing about the past, you want to find out what's happening right now.

Blooming marvellous

You've picked a good time to pop in as the garden is positively blooming at the moment with rhododendrons and azaleas. Now I have to admit that these aren't my favourite plants, I find them a bit brash and too much "in your face" but beggars can't be choosers and currently there's not much else in the garden - yet.  We'll have a wander down and have a look at them.

A wander round the garden

The garden's come on a treat since your last visit, unfortunately I've no photos but I'll take you for a wander round.

From small seedlings

Grab a pew but just mind the decorators - don't want you getting covered in wet paint.

The bridge is safe

Strictly speaking this post has nothing whatsoever to do with Plas y Nant but I thought I'd share it with you. Did you watch the BBC One Wales programme about Bangor? It was full of fascinating facts, most of which I knew, but there was one fact they didn't mention so I thought I would.

Something's changed

No - you're not imagining it, the blog's had a bit of a makeover. I sat down to do the accounts and thought that there must be something more interesting to do on the computer instead.

The Snowdonia Suez Crisis

It is good to see you again after my enforced silence -  thanks to the incompetencies of BT, but enough said about that the better. We're settling in very comfortably into the cottage, even though the builders still haven't finished. It feels like they've moved in with us but hopefully one day they'll go and I can concentrate again on finishing the renovations to Plas y Nant. Since moving over here last June I certainly haven't led a very glamorous life, standards slipped dramatically living in the caravan and a couple of incidents have really tested my endurance and devotion to the restoration. Fortunately there are no photos to accompany this post!