Pump am y Penwythnos / Friday Five 18/11/16

Thought I’d fire this up again and what better time to do it than when I’m putting off taking the dogs out on this very cold afternoon!

  1. What’s your biggest winter season challenge/difficulty?
  2. What’s your greatest winter joy?
  3. Do you like to connect with wildlife? How and when do you do this?
  4. What’s the most recent thing you did in Welsh?
  5. What does the weekend have in store for you?

Enjoy! :grinning:

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I’ll contribute this time, I have half an hour to kill anyway :smiley:

1. What’s your biggest winter season challenge/difficulty? The darkness. It’s dark in the morning when I go to school, and it’s dark when I get out of school. We have so little sunlight in the winter, even though I live in the south of Finland…

2. What’s your greatest winter joy? I love the snow and the cold. I don’t like the summer because it’s too hot, so winter is perfect for me, temperature-wise. We still had lots of snow a bit less than a week ago but it’s gone now because of some rain. Can’t wait for it to snow again!

3. Do you like to connect with wildlife? How and when do you do this? I like to go look at squirrels and birds in Seurasaari, an island here in Helsinki.

4. What’s the most recent thing you did in Welsh Writing a diary entry, unless you count listening to Welsh music which I’m doing right now :smiley:

5. What does the weekend have in store for you Studying and school… I have four exams next week, and two more the week after that. On Saturday we have a schoolday for some reason. But I’m also planning on trying to make some more t-shirt designs with bleach, since my first try was so successful. Here is my ddraig goch I did last weekend :smiley:

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I love your draig goch!

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Thank you! I’ve been wearing it every day since I made it, maybe I should consider changing soon… :smile:

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Your t-shirt is fantastic! So cool that you made that yourself!

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Ardderchog!

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How very cold? :slight_smile:

Difficulty:

Challenge: not to fall under the bus when going off it.


Sitting by the window of warm room watching how it snows knowing you don’t need to go anywhere in this weather.

If tiny creatures on our garden counts then here we go. Going out and observe nature around you is perfectly enough or going on a walk through the forest …

Read Welsh prose post beginner. [quote=“catrinlliarjones, post:1, topic:6490”]
What does the weekend have in store for you?
[/quote]

Rugby, some work around in the house and leisure …


And, @Novem, T-Shirt-holic says YESSSSSSSSSSSSS! THIS! I love it to the bits. :slight_smile:

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What’s your biggest winter season challenge/difficulty?

Trying to avoid colds that go to my ears.

What’s your greatest winter joy?

Coming inside out of the cold. :slight_smile:

Do you like to connect with wildlife? How and when do you do this?

I enjoy birdsong (though I can’t hear it as well as I used to be able to). I also enjoy looking at birds, although don’t have a great knowledge about them.

What’s the most recent thing you did in Welsh?

Lots of Radio Cymru and S4C today, thanks to iPlayer and Clic. Catching up with Rownd a Rownd, Y Gwyll, Taro’r Post and O’r Bae, and found “Y Sesiwn”.

What does the weekend have in store for you?

Meeting 2 old school friends on Sunday.

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I’ll play! :slight_smile:

1. What’s your biggest winter season challenge/difficulty?
Ice - I fall at least once EVERY SINGLE YEAR!!!
2. What’s your greatest winter joy?
Seeing horfrost on the trees on warmer mornings. It looks magical - like fairies have put it there.
3. Do you like to connect with wildlife? How and when do you do this?
I love to connect with wildlife, but there’s not much around in the winter here. I guess it’s really there (everything that doesn’t fly south or die), but mostly hibernating and hiding. In the summer, there is an eagle’s nest not far from our house that I check out when I go running. I’ve seen the eagles fly along the river a couple of times - breathtaking!
4. What’s the most recent thing you did in Welsh?
I just reviewed Level 1, Challenge 25 on SSiW. Before that, the most recent thing I did in Welsh was to Skype with my friend in Powys entirely in Welsh for half an hour yesterday.
5. What does the weekend have in store for you?
More winterizing of the house. i.e. Putting plastic over the basement windows and swapping our 2" sump pump hose for a 6" one so that it doesn’t freeze when it starts getting properly cold. Also, Skyping with my cousin in Liverpool on Sunday (SO looking forward to that! She always makes me laugh so much. :sweat_smile: )

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Do you sell your t-shirts? This is SO beautiful!!!

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Haha, thank you! I wasn’t planning on selling them as this is the only one I’ve made (so far), but maybe if I get around to making more dragons :smile: I’m now planning on making at least 5 shirts (with different designs) to give as Christmas presents to some friends. The dragons are so nerve-wracking I need a break before I start attempting to make a new one :smile:

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What’s your biggest winter season challenge/difficulty?

Getting uo when it’s dark! hatehatehate it!

What’s your greatest winter joy?

Clear, cold crisp days when the visisbility is forever and the little flying machine leaps of the ground and climbs like a mad thing because fo the cold dense winter air - the wings and engine love it, the performance is better the handling sharper, It makes me just want to hoon around the sky - even in two layers of thermals and blowing steam into the pod with my every breathM

Do you like to connect with wildlife? How and when do you do this?

Always interesting to see them, I walk a lot in the woods on the hill overlooking Briton Ferry.

What’s the most recent thing you did in Welsh?

Boardgames and Beer at Tŷ Tawew last night.

What does the weekend have in store for you?

Very Welsh/Wales weekend this one - Saturday is Siop Siarad, YES Cymru rally for independence at noon in Swanses! Pub afterward, find somewhere to watch the rugby then home. Sunday likely lazy the weather is only 50 50 maybe flyable maybe not. Duvet day if not

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  1. What’s your biggest winter season challenge/difficulty?
    Going anywhere with terrible balance! Even when I was healthy I would slither and slip and slide and fall!
  2. What’s your greatest winter joy?
    Putting up the Christmas Tree, although now it’s just a ready made one that comes out of a box and plugs in! At least it looks cheerful to anyone outside!
  3. Do you like to connect with wildlife? How and when do you do this?
    We feed any birds who can get here, but at this time of year that’s about it, The pine martens may not hibernate, but we haven’t seen any for years! Sometimes get deer in ein ardd wyllt. (No pictures - always at night).
  4. What’s the most recent thing you did in Welsh
    Watched Rownd a Rownd ddoe.
  5. What does the weekend have in store for you?
    Watching zillions of rugby - us, Scotland, Ireland/All Blacks on BT Sport - @Deborah-SSi please note! I may even watch a bit of the English game. Cooking main meal tomorrow, staying cwtched up and cosy with remains of snow outside!

p.s. I cannot get the formatting/numbering to go right! Sorry!

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What’s your biggest winter season challenge/difficulty?

I dunno, trying to figure out presents for people is super stressful? :wink: I don’t much mind the cold, and I love seasonal variation and welcome the shortening of the days, so I don’t really suffer from the usual winter complaints. “When the lights come on at four at the end of another year…”

What’s your greatest winter joy?

Going out all wrapped up warm in a big winter coat and getting to walk at my full breakneck speed without even once overheating - which is a thing I never get to do in summer!

Do you like to connect with wildlife? How and when do you do this?

Well I love going walking in the hills, and in both Wales and my native Lake District this tends to mean lots of sheep… so I suppose that counts :slight_smile:

What’s the most recent thing you did in Welsh?

Assuming that reading Facebook posts doesn’t count, then it was probably an email I sent to Iestyn yesterday about some PDFs on the SSi website…

What does the weekend have in store for you?

I just got back from a bike ride along a lovely coastal cycle path. Not sure about tomorrow yet, but for now (as it’s already evening here) I reckon some Netflix is probably in order.

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What’s your biggest winter season challenge/difficulty?
We have a new one this year - heating! Old, old cottage, thick walls, multi fuel stove with back boiler which runs the central heating, except at the moment it doesn’t, so needs fixing. Keeping the balance between moisture, air circulation and heating is a challenge - got to keep the walls and windows dry and the damp at bay!

Otherwise, muddy, wet, wintry dogs meet flooring and furniture is an annual joy! :joy: :joy: :joy:

What’s your greatest winter joy?
Long bracing walks then back to curtains closed, kids in PJs, roaring fire, candles, music, wine… :slight_smile:

Do you like to connect with wildlife? How and when do you do this?
I’m obsessed with birds. I love filling my garden with feathered friends. We have multiple feeders filled with a range of species appropriate food, nesting boxes, water bowls and perches.

What’s the most recent thing you did in Welsh?
Told the children off for quarrelling… :wink:

What does the weekend have in store for you?
Had my brother’s girl over for a movie night and sleepover last night. Angharad has ballet today and we must do some grocery shopping. Looking forward to seeing Gary (sumsmeister) at some point. Then Meinir Gwilym’s launch of her new album on the Queen of the Sea boat tomorrow afternoon in Caernarfon - should be a lovely family outing.

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What’s your biggest winter season challenge/difficulty?

An horrendous cross country drive to Oswestry every morning to get to work and th same in the evening. Windy lanes, mud, drivers who don’t dip their headlights… ugghhhh

What’s your greatest winter joy?

Lighting the log burner and watching an old film with a glass of red.

Do you like to connect with wildlife? How and when do you do this?

Not especially, we do love long walks and we keep our eyes out but with an extremely verbal young boy in tow most stuff scarpers before we get close…

What’s the most recent thing you did in Welsh?

Wrote a Facebook comment and spoke to a work colleague.

What does the weekend have in store for you?

Star Wars 1, 2 and three with said boy child! Sunday, a walk at Attingham Park followed by bacon butties :slight_smile:

Enjoy! :grinning:
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Being stuck indoors when the weather’s too bad to be out and about.

Being out and about on the hills when the weather’s just right.

Five minutes a day with my eye’s closed counting how many birds I can hear (and trying to remember to buy a book / CD on bird song).

Read something by Simon Brooks about Seimon Glyn / texted a friend to ask what was going on with the rugby (I mean, seriously!)

Playing board games in the pub this afternoon with the rugby in the background, volunteering with my local environmental group tomorrow morning, short walk in Brecon in the afternoon.

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What’s your biggest winter season challenge/difficulty?
What’s your greatest winter joy?
Do you like to connect with wildlife? How and when do you do this?
What’s the most recent thing you did in Welsh?
What does the weekend have in store for you?

Winter itself. I think I might have a bit of SAD, and working nights doesn’t help.

Husband lighting the wood burner for an evening.

There are peacocks living over the road and they come to visit our garden fairly regularly, The big blue chickens.

Listen to a programme about Mattie Pritchard.

Finishing off a felt/silk creation for the Christmas competition in the spinning group I attend. Starting to plan a Taize service for advent. Church tomorrow, 3rd Sunday Welsh service, with either a swim or a walk thereafter. Working tomorrow night.

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@margaretnock How do you put up with peacocks’ screech? I know they look lovely, but the noise is not something I’d like to live with!

There are only two of them and they only screech in the spring, when looking for a lady love, which they fail to do. To be honest, I don’t find it a problem. This spring there was only one (they’ve been there for several years) but one was obviously bought in to keep him company.