A great day out

This is Keith in the car park of Moel Famau country park this morning. We decided that, as Christmas day this year was going to be a quiet one for us, we would take off into the hills as we always do when we get the chance. So we packed a picnic (to eat inside the car!) and set off. We had planned to go over to Whispering Sands on the southernmost tip of the Lleyn Peninsular, which would be a two hour journey each way, but as snow was forecast, we decided to stay closer to home instead so we headed off to Moel Famau first and then around the area of Bala.
As soon as we got up into the hills, the snow was very evident but the weather was so changeable all day. One minute it would be sunny and I could take photos of views stretching for miles, the next, it would start snowing again, the cloud would lower and there was no view to be seen.
So, all in all, a relaxed, lovely day - no big Christmas lunch but we will have that tomorrow and the next day when our respective children come to visit. I hope you are all enjoying the day and wish you peace and happiness for the rest of the holiday.

Trees in the snow

One of our views today

Christmas in Clwyd

White Christmas here this morning. The snow has just started falling. Merry Christmas to all!

Visitor

This was our first visitor today - spotted in the trees at the bottom of the garden. Only a grey one, I'm afraid.

'Twas the night before Christmas..........

We kept the shop open till three o'clock today and every time we tried to close, someone else wandered in, usually just to wander round, as if they haven't had all year to do that, or to ask us for something we obviously haven't got; or maybe it's not always so obvious. It certainly wasn't obvious to the man who crept up behind me and, standing right in front of the laptops, said, "So how much are these DVD players with screens then?" (I kid you not!) So many people have asked for laminators, shredders etc. that we are planning to have an 'office' section in the new year. At three minutes to three, I had a victim - er, I mean customer in my sights and was getting a long way towards persuading him to buy one of our laptops, but, at the last minute, he decided to leave it till after Christmas. (I'll get him next time!)
Anyway, the Christmas lights are twinkling, the house is warm, tomorrow's turkey is cooking in the oven as I write and Keith and I are deciding which of our Christmas array of wines and spirits we are going to sample first! Feet up, relax and wait for Santa to bring the prezzies! (Actually, he's already brought me an MP3 player.)
Tomorrow, we have something unusual planned.....but you'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out what!

Spoiled kids!

For the last two months, a customer has been saving money with us for a laptop for her teenaged son to have as a Christmas present. The boy comes into the shop with her each time and each time has insisted that he wanted a laptop with silver top - never mind what's inside it, it has to look good! As Christmas had drawn nearer, it has become evident that she was not going to have paid enough for the model he wanted so, very reluctantly and with very bad grace, he agreed to have a cheaper one without a silver top. A couple of days ago, after Keith had pointed out that, for the same money, he could have a desktop with superior performance, he agreed, again, with very bad grace, that maybe that would be a better option.

So, this morning, with eighty pounds still to pay, his mother rang up to inform us that they would collect the desktop late this afternoon and pay the balance.
The computer was duly built and Windows XP installed and registered to them and there it was, all packed up and ready to be collected when they arrived at 5pm to inform us that they didn't want it after all as, "He's having his room done out instead and keeping his old computer."

After I had picked myself up off the floor, I and everyone else assured them that this was NOT a viable option as we had had the phone call only this morning asking when it would be ready and the copy of Windows XP was now registered to them and so could not be used on another computer. After a lot of foot shuffling and arguing between themselves, they produced the outstanding balance and took the computer home. The father complained, when I gave him the tower to carry that he'd been carrying heavy loads all day.
"So have I, as it happens," I said between clenched teeth. "Good exercise, isn't it?"

Food, glorious food!

We have ordered food for the Christmas period online and it has been delivered. We have been to the local supermarket to get all the things we forgot when ordering online and we have managed to find a home for everything - just - although the turkey proved a bit of a problem. I did suggest hanging it in the shed until we need to cook it. The fact that the shed is dirty and full of spiders doesn't bother me as I don't eat meat! However, Keith thought it might be better to put it in the Camaro (the car in the back garden - keep up!). In fact, he thought that if we switched on the heater that he has been using to dry it out (the car not the turkey), it could gradually cook over the next few days (the turkey, not the car).
As luck would have it, we managed to squeeze it into the fridge, but two questions spring to mind:

1. Why is it that when men do the food shopping, they always assume that we are going to be living under seige conditions for the next six months?

2. Who has bought up all the dry ginger? Couldn't find any anywhere!

The Sound of Silence

Our last stop during our meanderings yesterday was outside a little place called Nebo, quite close to Llanrwst. It's part of the Snowdonia National Park and we stopped to take more photos of the snow covered hills and to say hello to the sheep, as we last stopped there in February and we were sure they would remember us. Suffice it to say that their welcome was muted, to say the least. As we stood there looking down into the valley, there was not a single non-nature sound - no distant traffic noises, no-one going past, not even a breath of wind. Everything was so still and calm, we could hear the sheep cropping the grass - and then a crow flew overhead and we could hear the sound of its wings beating. As Keith remarked, the silence was deafening.

Nature's Christmas tree

Christmas tree.
Although it doesn't show up very well in the photo, this fir tree was growing in the hedge on the way back towards Ruthin and someone had decorated it with baubles and tinsel.

And more snow

There's snow on them thar hills!

Out and about around the Llangollen areas today, we were surprised to see snow on the distant hills, over Snowdonia way. Mind you, it was absolutely freezing whenever we vetured out of the car!