The laundry froze on the line. The snowdrops are going back down...but its a bright blue sunny day!

Had a lovely invitation to High tea at the Angel Hotel in Abergavenny yesterday. Was a cold old sleety snowy evening but inside everything was dainty, pretty and delicious. Started with a glass of champers, progressed via superb savouries and dainty cakes and ended with warm scone dripping with cream and jam. Can certainly suggest this as an alternative to a celebration dinner for our guests -and I loved it.

At home by the fire , TV sofa and a cosy family tartan rug ,toasting our Scots ancestors with haggis, neeps and tatties, garden raspberries from the freezer and a dram.
Any excuse to ignore a January night......

A very Happy Chinese New Year to all of our friends with Chinese connections. Enjoy the firecrackers tonight and have a peaceful and prosperous Year of the Dragon!

We have dug up an old bottle at Tintern Abbey Cottage , marked CN Ballinger which we believe was a mineral water company in Monmouth in the early 20th century.
. Can anyone help with dates or company information?

Looking forward to watching the Forest of Dean Rally on 11 Feb. Maybe not a quiet day to go down to the woods..... but fun! http://www.wyedeanrally.com/

Enter the Forest of Dean half Marathon for a good cause- and make a weekend of it at Foxes Reach or Tintern Abbey Cottage while you are about it! Entries now being taken.
http://www.forestofdean-halfmarathon.co.uk/

The Foxes Reach guests wiill be looking forward to the TV programme about how to stargaze tonight- and then off the the hot tub to practice under tonights clear icy skies. Perfick.

Been very busy this week refurbishing and repainting Tintern Abbey Cottge and Foxes Reach, doing all the necessary safety inspections and the Visit Wales inspection, upgrading lots of items and generally getting over the holidays and starting fresh for spring. Once again no skin and no nails( oven cleaner HURTS when it gets into little cuts!) but bright shiny houses ready to say Croeso. And yes we have the five stars again at both. Phew.

Snowdrops are out on the corner of the lane, one primrose at Vanilla cottage has been continuously flowring since March 2011. There are roses in bloom. We painted the outside of Foxes Reach this weekend in dry mild weather.Is this really January in Wales?