Visiting St Fagans National Museum of History

St Fagans is an open-air museum containing buildings (mostly homes) either relocated or reconstructed from around Wales and from different time periods in our history.   They also hold some of the artifacts that people from those times would have used when living in those spaces.  These are actually the types of museums that interest me the most as you get to have an idea of how everyone got to live, rather than just the rich few.  

Unfortunately, we didn't have time to look at all the buildings properly as there is so much to see and some were not open to the public this time around.  There were a couple that I really wanted to see, but that just means that we'll need to return sometime soon.  And, now that I know what there is there I can go back with more specific questions in mind and maybe even get some ideas about what to have in our home when we finally get around to getting it.

I did end up taking a lot of photos of buildings and interiors, more specifically of structural things like up close-ups of stone walls and the weaving inside the thatched rooves.  There are also quite a few of the gardens where they were using their greenspaces to grow vegetables and keep livestock rather than just for growing flowers.

It's interesting to see what people used to use in their everyday lives, especially at a time when they would also make their own clothes and textiles or have to make all their food right from scratch, as well as the objects that persisted for centuries, such as the cawl spoon.  For some reason, I'm always interested in fireplaces.  I think because for many years they were used for more than just heating and because you can get an idea about what types of things people were eating based on what hardware was around the fires.  Unlike what I've seen in many other places a lot of the cottages and farmhouses fires only had space to put a kettle on or just one pot in which they probably cooked cawl.  However, I do know there was often a communal bread-baking oven in the villages so they wouldn't need this in their homes at least.

We'll definitely be back to have another look around, especially of the buildings we didn't get to see time around.  The only things that we didn't quite enjoy were the blacksmith and the weaving demonstrations that were happening, which were both underwhelming.  However, we might have just turned up at the wrong times.  It's always interesting to me that the number of skills that I would like to learn were in fact completely commonplace not so long ago.  So, having a look at these homes and seeing how these skills were woven into their everyday lives is always of interest.

New Hobbies and When Am I Going to Do Them

I do quite a lot of crafting at the moment and I really enjoy it, but for a while now there have been other things that I have wanted to add to my hobby time.  This is partly because there are so many things I want to learn or relearn how to do and partly because I know that developing new skills is a good way to keep my brain nice and healthy.  Although I do knit or sew in the evenings, we also have the TV on quite a lot of the time and whilst this is fine, we often find we've just turned it on out of habit and can't really think of anything we actually want to watch.  In the end, we usually just end up watching the same things over again.  At the end of the day, there are other things I could be doing.

Firstly there's the ever-present learning how to skateboard and surf.  These are both just things that Ed and me are learning for fun (or in his case relearning when it comes to skateboarding) we really haven't bothered to make the time to actually do them.  We do have to wait until we both have time off together, but that just means that we need to prioritise them when our days do coincide.  Theoretically, that shouldn't be that hard to do.

I had my flute looked at and fixed last month and I've decided that, instead of giving it away or selling it, I would like to try and learn how to play it again.  Unfortunately, because I've been ill I haven't played it as much as I had hoped, but I have managed to fit in a couple of sections.  It is strange how natural it feels to be holding the instrument again, but also alien in the fact that I'm having to start from scratch again.  It would be good to put aside one hour a week to practice this, which could end up being very unfortunate for my neighbours.

Like most people, I drew a lot when I was little and haven't really drawn at all as an adult.  I do remember enjoying it and, even though I'm not sure how good I would actually be at it, it would be good to try it again.  I'm thinking about trying different styles from what I used to do and, if it feels like it's going well, I might actually try painting again as well.  As with the flute playing it would be good to put aside at least one hour a week to practice this.

Playing board games is something that Ed and me used to love doing in the past, especially when we had no TV and a limited amount of lighting.  Even though we do take them with us when we go on holiday, we don't really play them that much and it's a shame to keep them all if we're not actually going to use them.  It would also be a good excuse for us to spend some quality time together, at least once a week, as our different work rotas mean that we don't actually get to spend that much time together.

Reading is one of those big ones that I always want to do more of but just don't put aside the time to actually do.  And I have books piling up that I want to read, both physically and on my wish list.  There is no real excuse, I'm just not making it a priority and I could realistically spend some time every evening reading quite easily.

Really this is about dedicating specific time to each of these hobbies every week and then keeping to it until they become a habit.  Right now I can do these during the day as it'll be a little while before my new job starts, but when it does start I want to try and fit these into the evenings.  So, this is the plan: I'm going to practice my flute for one hour on Tuesday night (though that does mean that my poor husband has to listen to me attempting to play), practice drawing for one hour on Wednesday night, and then Thursdays will be our board game /date night.  We'll skateboard or surf whenever we have days off together.  As for the reading, my plan is to start getting ready for bed at around 10pm and have reading as the last thing that I do, so that should give me about 30 minutes a day.  I haven't actually been the most organised recently so it should actually be quite easy to fit these in with a bit of planning.  I also have the weekends when Ed is working to fit in these hobbies on weeks when I haven't been able to fit them in for some reason, or to spend extra time on them if I want to.

Project Pan 2023 Update #1

Slightly amusingly, since I'd made this decision to do a little project pan again I haven't actually been wearing a whole lot of makeup.  Definitely not as much as I should have to get an idea of what I want to do about it.  This is going to be a very quick post.

Firstly, the Tarte blush in Vibrant I thought I would be getting rid of as it's quite bright I'm actually probably going to keep it as I had forgotten how well it goes with my skin tone.  I'll keep playing with it, but it looks like all the blushes are staying and I'll be using them for decades. 😂

I haven't tested the Bain and Saron Vegan Cake Mascara as an eyeliner yet so I will need to do that over the next couple of months.  I also want to try it again as mascara just to see, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it still won't.  So there is a possibility I'll still get rid of it as I do have a pencil eyeliner that is just easier to use, but we'll see.  I might prefer the look.

Unfortunately, the Memi Luxe Lipstick in Old Flame is going to have to go.  I love the texture and colour (in fact I would buy this again) but the heat melting it in the past has made it very difficult to use and it is a little bit old now as well.  The other lipsticks I'm just going to work my way through.

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter wasn't something I was going to test or attempt to get rid of, but it does now look like I've managed to somehow use a lot of it.  However, this is only because I forgot that this highlighter does not travel well and I took it with us to Brittany.  It then completely crumbled and fell out.  A sad moment as I was hoping to get a lot more use out of it, but oh well.  I don't think I'll replace this.

While we were in Saint Brieuc I did do something I wasn't supposed to do, which was buy more makeup.  Well, a lip liner to be precise.  I've been looking for a colour that was similar to my lip colour just to make them more defined when I don't want to wear red lipstick, but I wanted a lip pencil as it'll last longer and is easier to keep hygienic.  It wasn't a cheap product, but practically matches my natural lip colour perfectly.

As for the tools I'm using, once I've made a decision on the Cake Mascara then I can decide what brushes I'm going to get rid of so that I have only what I need.  

 

So the amount of makeup I have has basically remained the same as when I started, which I guess is a good thing as it means I did a good job of getting rid of things before.  I do have plans to replace any liquid or cream products with drier products once I've used them, but I will need to do some research on this.  I will definitely replace the lipsticks with just one lip pencil once they've gone and I am doing some research on the concealers, though the main issue there is mica.  This hasn't been the most effective project pan ever, but it also hasn't been that long since I started.  I'll know more about what I want to do once we get to the end of December, but it is looking like I'll just be using products up until I have one left rather than just getting rid of them straight away.  I guess we'll see.

October 2023 Budget

This month was never going to be a good month when it came to spending as we were going on holiday and, even though it was only for one week, I knew we were going to be spending quite a bit specifically on food.  We could have set a budget, but we wanted to just relax and not have to worry about that this time.  There were also a few presents we wanted to get other people and, of course, the spending we knew we were going to do on ourselves whilst away.

The general bills have remained the same as they have for most of the year, though we did manage to not need to add to our gas and electricity meters this month.  This was probably partly due to the fact we were away for a week, but also because we've been a little bit more efficient with how we're using our heating.  I've also been able to carry on keeping my phone bill down by using the We Are 8 app to earn a small amount of additional income.

There actually wasn't as much overspending on groceries as I had expected, but we definitely overspent on eating out by over twice the amount we usually budget for.  There was also a little increase in spending on household items, some of which were items we had brought whilst in Brittany, but there were also some items we needed such as a clothes horse.

Obviously, fuel was a little higher than normal as we drove down to Plymouth to catch the ferry to Brittany.  However, the rest of the weeks were pretty standard on this front.  There was also some extra spending on things like public transport and booking accommodation on our holiday.  Our own personal spending has actually been pretty good again this month, but I did have one additional expense which was getting my flute fixed, costing about £140.  It's been a while since I've played and I need to decide if I'm going to start playing or give it away.  Either way, it needed to have some work done to it and I wasn't sure how much that was going to cost beforehand.  So far, it's been worth it though as I've already played it a couple of times.

Another plus has been that I've managed to carry on putting money into my pension at around 12.5% of my wage and we've managed to put more money into our four-month savings.  It wasn't quite as much money as I had hoped, but it's getting us closer to the halfway mark that I've set as our new savings goal for this year.  We should get it done within the next couple of months as it's only about £250 to go.  For the amount we've actually been spending this year that's actually been a pretty good result.

So there has been quite a lot of big spending this month and we will need to do better over the next couple of months to get ourselves back on track, especially me with my personal spending to cover what I had to spend on the flute.  However, I don't feel too bad about it as I know that we have the main upcoming expenses covered in the form of our sinking funds, as well as our own emergency funds to cover if anything goes wrong.  It does help make the spending a little more guilt-free.  However, now it's time to get back to proper savings and spending.

Travelling: Saint Brieuc

We finally got around to properly booking some time away and, because of the ease of getting there, we decided to go to Brittany.  Ed did some research on the area and, based on what we wanted to get out of this holiday which was mostly taking it easy, decided that Saint Brieuc would be a good place for us to stay.  It was somewhere where there were a few things to see but not too many that we would feel like we would need to rush around and see them all, and all of them were reachable either by walking or public transport as we weren't planning on taking the car with us.

As we went with Brittany Ferries we landed in Roscoff, then it was a pretty quick and easy bus and train trip to Saint Brieuc.  It was a Sunday so not too many places were actually open once we'd gotten there, but we still had a while before we could get into our Airbnb so we pottered around getting to know the centre a little bit.  We had decided not to take our rucksacks this time, but instead put everything in one big bag on wheels.  Whilst it prevented our backs from getting all sticky it was a bit of a pain to pull around and we definitely packed much more than we actually needed, so maybe we'll need to re-think that next time we go anywhere.  We did get a few groceries though and then got settled into the apartment we had rented.  The place had everything we needed, but the shower wasn't as good as I had been hoping.

The plan was to have Monday as a slow day where we didn't really do anything so it was probably just as well that that ended up being the day that I got my usual holiday sickness.  I'm not entirely sure what it is about travelling, but I always end up with a cold of some form for a least one day.  Maybe it's just all the new people and viruses that I come across, but I'm glad it happened that day as it normally happens nearer the end of the holiday.  It also meant that Ed had to go out and do all the sorting and food buying that I would normally have done.  In fact, this holiday he actually got to experience what our holidays look like from my side rather than his.

Tuesday was the one day where the weather was meant to be pretty good throughout, so that was the day that we decided to go visit the La Baie de Saint-Brieuc Nature Reserve.  We got a bus to Hillion and then walked the very short distance to where there was a hide.  We ended up being the only people there and the views of the bay and salt marshes were really good.  Unfortunately, we were a bit off with the tide which meant that the waders were too far away from us, even when using my binoculars.  There was still a good selection of waterfowl though and it was nice realising that I did still recognise most of them.  We also realised that we would be able to walk back to Saint Brieuc on a route that mostly stayed by the coast.  It ended up being three hours long and my legs and feet definitely felt it by the end, probably not helped by me still being a little bit ill, but it was still a really good way to get back home and it helped give my body an airing after being couped up whilst travelling and being ill indoors.

Wednesday was our city day where we had a look at the local market, looked around the museum (small but with quite a lot of information mostly on old local trades and crafts), a quick look in the tourist information centre, and then walked the city tour they have that shows you the significant historical buildings of the city.  The tour was actually my favourite bit, though we hadn't originally planned on doing it, and we got to see some amazing 17th-century and 18th-century buildings.  I'm not sure if they would have been originally painted in the colours they now are but it definitely made the interesting carvings stand out.  I haven't been to too many places in the UK where we have these types of buildings still standing, so it was interesting to see so many of them here.  We also found a very tasty, vegan restaurant (La Vegetalerie) to have lunch in and get in some much-needed vegetables.

We had already decided that Thursday was going to be the more relaxed day with some more walking and headed off to the port through La Vallee de Gouedic Park which runs right through the centre of Saint Brieuc.  It's within quite a steep valley with lots of trees and is actually a very nice and relatively quiet walk despite being right in the centre of the city.  The port wasn't all that exciting to see, though it did look like it had some nice cafes and bars, and we did our usual boat looking.  However, we did head back pretty quickly after arriving and used that time to start packing everything up ready for travelling back to the UK.

The next two days were basically travelling days with some time in Roscoff.  We headed to Roscoff on Friday morning and pottered around for a bit looking for some presents for family and friends, as well as some stuff for us we really didn't need but wanted until we could book into our hotel.  We were actually able to book in pretty early on in the day, which was just as well as I was feeling particularly tired that day and was more than happy to just get into bed as soon as we got into the room.

Before we caught the ferry on Saturday we did manage to visit the little church that we had seen from afar the last time we were there but didn't get to go to.  You can't actually get into the building and it would be much too small to hold services in, but its location meant that fishermen are able to see it when they're heading out to sea.  We had decided to get a cabin on the trip back, even though this one wasn't an overnight trip, and I'm glad we did as it meant we were able to get some extra sleep in especially during the stormiest sections.  The trip had already been delayed a little due to the stormy weather, but there is something quite nice about being rocked around whilst lying in bed.

So, this wasn't a packed trip but we did get what we were hoping for, which was to see more of Brittany without rushing around and to get the downtime we both needed.  Where we were did mean that I ended up eating much more gluten and dairy than I would normally, even with us cooking our own food at night, but it was worth it to have those lovely warm croissants every morning which Ed very kindly went out and got every time.  We also spent a lot more money than we should have done, especially on food and despite cooking for ourselves at night, but I did think that was probably going to happen based on how we are about food.  Brittany is definitely an area we would return to, but I think we'll try a different location with a little more to do next time. 

Crafting 2023 Update #3

It's been a pretty steady quarter when it comes to getting some crafting done.  I haven't exactly stuck to what I had planned to do this year, with a few extra projects creeping in, and I think a few projects will be moving over to next year, but as I'm crafting for fun I'm not too bothered about it.

Completion and Use-Up Projects.

There are still a couple of projects to do on this list, but they are ones that will take a little while to do, especially the top, and I need to find some time that I can just set aside for them.  However, I am still planning on getting these done by the end of 2023.

The Maggie and Coddy Jumpers.

I have now finished the Coddy jumper for my husband.  I'd never knitted with cotton yarn before and it feels very different on the needles and through the fingers.  I will have to see how the loose threads do as they don't bind in the same way that wool does, but I'll just keep an eye on those.  Otherwise, I am very happy with how this has turned out and will now start working on my own jumper, which happily means going back to good old wool.

More Socks.

Not exactly surprising as these don't take too long to make, but I've finished the socks that my friend requested and I think they turned out pretty well.  Apparently, they also fit quite well, which I'm surprised at as I didn't really have their measurements to work from.

Double Knit Shawl and Jumper (2793).

One of Ed's friends is having a baby and when we were in a craft shop I came across some wool and knitting patterns that were on sale.  So, it seemed like a match made in heaven and a good enough reason to go all granny and make them a baby shawl.  There was also the extra wool to make the world's tiniest jumper, which is taking almost no time at all to make.  So I've now decided that this is the only size of jumper I'm going to make in the future.  If anyone requests a jumper I'm just going to make this tiny version of it and send that to them instead.

Field of Fucks Cross-stitch.

By Fandom Cross Stitchery

I now have all the material I need to make this and I'm looking forward to getting back into cross-stitching.  I don't think it's going to take me too long to do either, so I should get this finished by the end of the year ready to start the New Year with the right type of sentiment.

Quilling.

This is a craft I did when I was much younger and I'm thinking I'm going to give it a go for our Christmas cards this year.  I'm hoping they don't take me too long to do as I am starting them quite late, but I'm just going to not put too much pressure on myself and enjoy revisiting this hobby, we can always buy the other cards if we need to.

I actually hadn't planned on doing as much crafting this year as last, but I seem to have done just as much.  I do really enjoy creating things, but it does mean that I'm not doing other things I enjoy, like reading.  It's unlikely that I'll get around to sewing the trousers and dress I had planned to do this year, but I don't exactly need them so they can wait until next year which is probably going to be a year of sewing in the way this year seems to have been the year of knitting.  Anything clothes-wise that I make now is just for me to enjoy rather than filling in my wardrobe.  If I do finish what I have planned for this year I will be very happy.

Goals 2023 Update#3

I had planned on being more focused on my goals this quarter to get a number of them ticked off, but then life happened and I didn't get as far forward as I had hoped.  It is a little frustrating, but I've still managed to plod along quite well and get a number of them done.  It just means that I will need to really concentrate on them for these last three months.

Financial.

•  Four months emergency fund - I'm happy to say we're still putting money into our savings and we've already reached our 2023 goal of saving a third of our long-term goal.  In fact, it's looking like we'll be able to save half of it by the end of this year so I'm very pleased with that.
• Sinking funds - these have all been reached and we are now getting to spend these on their intended purpose.  It does feel a little weird spending them as part of you just wants to hoard what you've saved, but it also takes the worry or guilt out of spending on these things.  
• Pension and personal spending - I am still putting 12.5% of my earnings into my pension and it looks like I'll be able to carry on doing that until the end of the year.  It is a very nice feeling knowing that my pension is finally growing properly.  We've also finally managed to curb our personal spending and keep to the budgets we've put in place.  In fact, we've been underspending recently which means we should be able to put even more into our savings or, at least, not reduce what we're putting in when we need to spend on other things.
• Changing my bank account - I've decided to wait until my current contract is over before swapping over to a new bank as there isn't much longer to go and it seems it would be less complicated.
• Secondary income - I still need to work on this, but right now I'm concentrating on finding another primary income.  The biggest issue I have here is that I'm just not sure what other skills I have to help with a secondary income, I really need to try and work that out.

Learning New Skills.

• Skateboarding - we have managed to fit in some skateboarding practice, but not nearly as much as we wanted to.  We've found a good spot and I do feel that it's starting to click, but we've just been really lazy about it.
• Surfing - we've had another surf lesson and have been told that we don't need to have any further lessons just yet.  It's been suggested that we practice surfing for a bit and then book another lesson when we want to progress to the next stage.  Now all we need to do is find times when we are both off so we can hire some boards and practice.
• Sailing - this is still on the back burner for now and will be something we look into in the future, hopefully not too far away.

So, it's not going too badly really but, obviously, I could have done better if I'd put a little bit more effort into it.  I am still quite happy with what we've done so far though, mainly as it's been helping us become more financially stable.  Just the last quarter of the year to go now and the plan is to change my bank account, get another primary job (and then make a decision on the secondary income), skateboard six more times, and get a few surfing practices in before the end of the year.  Some of this needs to fit around Ed's work schedule though, but hopefully, it'll be doable.