So, another scorching day. It has also been very humid which I must admit I dislike intensely. I much prefer a dry heat, which is one of the reasons I love the Canaries - there, the climate is sunny, dry and breezy and absolute bliss. We spent the day up in Powys, doing the final cleaning of the rental property before returning the keys to the estate agent. Andrew mowed the lawn and re-arranged some fencing that we had put in place to safely accommodate the dogs. I indulged in an orgy of mopping, dusting, wiping and polishing - so ensuring the bungalow was left as I would wish to find it. Incredibly hot work - both of us were literally dripping when we finished. The temp was 28 when we were returning to Cardiff - thank goodness for aircon in the car - at least that way the dogs could be travelling safely and in comfort.

Further to some phone calls when we got back, it looks likely that Murgatroyd will be rehomed on Wednesday. Once again, I feel this dreadful tug of emotions; happiness that she could have a loving permanent home and sadness at seeing her go - she is such a character. I will miss her little wonky nose as it gets into all sorts of mischief. Ironically, and this is true of so many physical characteristics, it is her nose that I now love the most about her - it is her special characteristic. I can think of a number of people who have distinctive features (particularly facial) who don't like them - but again,they are often what makes them so wonderfully unique. Heaven forbid we all get into a Botoxed and lifted ubiquity.

Andrew did one of my all time favourite dishes tonight - tomato salad with mozzarella - incredibly simple, but so delicious. We didn't have any fresh basil, so he made a pesto dressing - yummy. Then we watched the first of the Bourne trilogy - nice to see Matt Damon, especially when he had his kit off and had clearly been working out quite a bit. Now it is time for bed. Hoping to be up early in the morning so we can walk the dogs before it gets too hot.

We are back in Cardiff and the Met Office predictions have finally kicked in - the weather is blazing. We had the official move yesterday - I felt sorry for the moving guys as they must have been cooking. Today has been the usual slow and steady moving and emptying of boxes, and gradually plugging in things - the Ipod dock, the dishwasher and the washing machine. This afternoon the computer was turned on and we had Sky and phones yesterday. So normal service is pretty near resumed.

As it has been so hot today, we took the dogs out early over to Tredegar House. It was Murgatroyd's first visit and she thoroughly enjoyed it, especially as the grounds were swarming with rabbits. The dogs couldn't believe their eyes - even better than squirrels!

In preparation for the move, we had run down our food stocks to the minimum and of course emptied fridge and freezer. So this afternoon we went over to Tesco for a stock-up. I bought a couple of pretty tops while I was there - a nice stripy green T shirt and a floaty, wafty top to wear over trousers, perfect for an evening out.

I also want to say that I am not going to take having access to supermarkets for granted in future. They get so much stick and I have to now say that after seven months of living in an area without a superstore I am heartily grateful for Terry Leahy and his empire. While in Powys, we had a small high street with excellent butchers ( a real bright spot, and one I will miss) but for other stuff, forget it. The fishmonger visited once a week, on a Friday morning. If you were ill, busy or just wanted fish on another day, forget it. Even with his excellent produce, the choice was necessarily limited. Other grocery shopping was provided by a Spar and a Co-operative in the town, both very small, expensive and with limited stock. In Llandrindod Wells there is a Somerfield (even more expensive) and an Aldi. Now, Aldi are fabulous at what they do - no question about it. But part of their model is that they carry a very basic range of groceries - for example, they don't carry packet yeast or strong flour of any sort for breadmaking.

What I found is that instead of being able to do one weekly shop, and be done with it, I had constantly be having to break it down into its constituent parts and wonder what (if any) shop would carry it. We sorted out pet food by using the excellent home delivery service from Pets at Home, but much of the other stuff was spread across several different outlets and with variable guarantees as to availability. Things like fresh herbs (especially things like coriander or lemongrass)simply have not been available. Menu planning was essential - forget spontaneity - and I always had the nagging feeling of never having quite completed the weekly shop. I could go to Aldi and get some basics, but would then have to remember to go to the Co-op for free range chicken, call in the butcher for some meat and brave somewhere else for things like mirin or good coffee or poppadoms. The worst was the variable quality of fresh fruit and veg. There was a small and tired selection in the Co-op, and a fruit/veg stall visited Builth on Mondays and Fridays. This sold basics - great if you wanted parsnips in industrial quantities, but we had several warnings about the quality and these were justified. Too often, we would get stuff home and find that fruit was bruised and rotten. There was a similar stall at Llandrindod on Fridays with a better selection - but again, you had to make sure you caught it on that day, and as for things like big bunches of herbs, ranges of mushrooms, even chillies and garlic were hard to come by.

Anyway, off to Tesco we went this afternoon, and it was a cornuocopia of inviting fruit and veg. Plenty of organic choices, masses of berries, lots of pineapples, melons, masses of different tomatoes, fantastic. Most excitingly, big bunches of herbs. Andrew and I practically leapt in excitement at seeing an enormous bunch of parsley - what a sight. Got home and had pasta with chillies, parsley and scallops - groovy. Our wine stocks are rebuilding, and a bottle of Pimms is chilling in the fridge.

There is a great deal of food snobbery about supermarkets - I am constantly reading about how we should all be shopping at farmers markets and little local shops. Well, the reality is that is this is a completely impossible dream. Even the most chichi of houses still needs to clean their loo, wash their clothes, their dishes, their hair and their windows. And if you are a foodie you want good quality things like tea, coffee, marmalade, mirin, flour, and so on. Little local shops in general simply cannot compete with supermarkets on price or range - so how about quality and service? Well, the butchers in Builth are a fantastic example of how this works positively in practice - both shops have expert staff, who are friendly, polite, remember preferences and carry superb local meat, game and produce - they literally had people queuing out the door and long may they continue to do so. But man does not live by steak alone (unfortunately). My favourite example of how not to do service is the Post Office - on Monday we were packing, and Andrew sent me to get some more parcel tape for the boxes. Now, I think it is reasonable that my first port of call was the PO for this - after all, where else do you go with a parcel? Yes, you've guessed it, no parcel tape. They sent me up the road to the excellent local newsagents, Conti's, where they had copious quantitities, served with a smile. Aaargh. Anyway, rant over. I do really hope that Tesco take over parts of the PO - it would be great if you could post or pick up parcels at supermarkets. At least they would be open reasonable hours, for a start. So, I'll finish here, before I start ranting on anything else.

After the excitement of the weekend, this week has been a bit quieter. On Tuesday we travelled with little Murgatroyd to a potential home for her. The couple had already been homechecked and given an enthusiastic rating but as they had a cat, we needed to see how she would behave. We drove off when Andrew came home from work, leaving Andy and Booty in the house. We travelled over the mountain road, through the Elan Valley. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and hedges were full of foxgloves, roses and first honeysuckle. It was stunningly beautiful and also very quiet - not much traffic about which made the journey even more enjoyable. The couple lived not far from Strata Florida, where we were quite recently but their cottage was miles off the road, down a variety of little lanes past forestry and fields of sheep. Eventually arrived to a warm welcome but it became apparent very quickly indeed that a happy co-existence between Murgatroyd and the cat was extremely unlikely. Such a shame as it was an idyllic spot with people who would have given her a loving home. Still, I remain certain she will find the right home for her. Even though that was potential home No. 3, it is still difficult - I remain cheerfully besotted and was struggling on Tuesday not to even think about her imminent departure. Now she is back with us, and continuing to be a star, albeit with a moth eaten appearance at the moment, as her kennel coat is gradually coming out and a sleeker, darker coat is coming through. There are little tufts and sprouts of her old coat sticking up and out at strange angles and when you stroke her, drifts of the old coat come out. Soon though she will be looking fabulous.

We are continuing with preparations for the move next week. Andrew has said goodbye to the running club - his last session tonight. That is a wrench as they have been very friendly and welcoming to both of us. I have been trying to cook this week out of the freezer and cupboard to run down stocks of food before things are turned off. We have a big American style fridge-freezer which will be fun to move and will probably need to settle for around 24 hours after it has been transported.

Tomorrow is Andrew's last day in his job - he will be coming home with his aspidistra from his desk. The next few days are likely to be a bit chaotic so I may not be blogging for a little while but will return as soon as I can. I have emailed most people with our new (old!) address and new phone number - if you are reading this and haven't yet got it and want it, then do please email.

Lastly, on an unrelated search, I came across the Cardiff Council Unison (trade union) website and noticed that they now have a blog. Well, many congratulations to them for taking the step. i would just say that it does need a few more posts and possibly a bit more visual attractiveness. you can access it here - http://cardiffcountyunison.blogspot.com/

When I used to work for the Council, it seemed Unison was one of my most regular readers so I am happy to return the favour and point the way to their dip into the blogosphere. The most recent posts appear to be in support of Cuban communism and in favour of expelling members of political parties who do not share Unison's aims - hmmm, bit of a sticky one that. I wonder how many ordinary Unison members are actively in favour of Communism as practiced in Cuba? Still, generally speaking, union members get the union they deserve, in that pro-communists are often the only ones who can be arsed to get organised and active - the vast majority of union members are completely apathetic until they need the help of the union, scream loudly for action then return to a state of political torpor. So, hats off to hard working socialists - who can enjoy the splendid intricacies of composite motions.

Well, the big day was yesterday. Andrew slept well the night before, and on Saturday morning went over to Llanwrtyd Wells (the start of the race)early to register for his team of three. Relay teams wore green numbers and you can see that Andrew is wearing a sweatband with a number on it. This had to be handed over at the interchange points. For runners and riders who were doing the whole race, they were given a set of tags which they had to hand in at each interchange point, partly to prove they had done that bit and partly for safety.

We both went back to the start area in time for the official start and I took some vids which I am hoping to upload later. A local brass band was playing, the Mayor made a speech which nobody could hear, and there was a small and very good natured crowd. Runners had come from all over the UK - I could see club vests from Sheffield, Yorkshire, Surrey, London and the Midlands as well as a number of Welsh clubs. The race is notoriously tough - regarded by many as being harder than many marathons due to the severe changes in gradient and rough ground. I was particularly struck by the elite runners in the front of the field - one or two were only wearing their shorts and numbers, with just a hat (Foreign legion style with neck flap). Most runners have fabulous legs but quite slim upper bodies but some of these guys had incredibly well muscled upper bodies as well - I did wonder if they were either triathletes or service guys (as we are smack in the centre of a huge Army training area) and they have to carry weight as well as have strong legs. Anyway it was a most pleasant sight to behold. Eventually, the field went off in a surge at 11 a.m and the horses followed later at 11.15 - there were 47 equine competitors. Some were Arabs, which are often used for endurance riding, and I also saw a couple of TB crosses and some Welsh Cobs.

Once the competitors were safely on their way, I made my way back to the car and drove slowly over to Abergwesyn, the changeover point where Andrew would finish his leg, and hand over to his team mate. Abergwesyn is a tiny and beautiful hamlet off the Beulah road, and to get to it I had to drive along the most wonderful valley, thick with forests on its steep sides and with a scattering of remote farms and abandoned chapels on the valley floor. Stunning views and an awesome run. Getting to the hamlet, I parked in the hedge (quite literally!) and waited by the changeover spot. Runners and riders could also have water, and there were crews present for the horses in case they needed anything. By the first changeover, several horses had to pull out due to cast shoes and apparently one rider did fall off. The runners came streaming down a steep hill at the side of the valley (you can see it above) and it was also possible to see the horses also picking their way along the narrow paths of the hill. Then they dropped down into the valley floor, across the stream and back past us onwards to climb back up and over to the next part of the run. It was exciting to see the beautiful horses coming through and the hot runners, all looking muddy and sweaty. Andrew came in and handed over his sweatband to Jenny, his running mate and off she went, fast and determined. He had worn his Garmin and later when we got back to the house, he downloaded the route and linked it to Google Earth so I could see exactly where he had run via an aeriel view. We cheered on the club runners who came through and when the bulk of competitors had gone past, we fished out the car from the hedge and came back for Andrew to have a shower. He then returned to Llanwrtyd for the finish - apparently a horse won, but there was allegedly some kerfuffle in that the man who was first thought he had beaten the first horse and was not pleased to find he had not, so much so he threw his beer everywhere! Anyway, Andrew, Jenny and Emma collected their medals and were all very happy to have finished safely. Pics attached of the start, the muddy legs at the end of the stage, the monster hill and the tired competitor. The good news is that the resident athlete really enjoyed it and felt that his training and preparation had been sufficient and thorough.

Not surprisingly the rest of the day was quiet. Today, we went for a walk this morning with the dogs along the Wye valley - one of our favourites. Most of the wild flowers have finished now as the tree canopy was in full leaf, creating a beautiful dappled effect as we walked, hearing only the river and birdsong around us. However, the hedges were full of sprays of wild roses and spiky foxgloves, and there was still a bit of stitchwort, campion and buttercup at the edge of tree line. After walking along the bank in the shade, we then came onto an open meadow, used as an access point for the river Wye by canoeists, and full of wild flowers. We felt like we were wading through a coloured sea of blossom - it was lovely. Things only improved when we saw dragonflies, bright jewelled turquoise with wings marked with black discs, fluttering over the bank. We took the dogs down to the river for a drink and a paddle then slowly meandered back - a fabulous morning. Have had a quiet rest of the day but we do potentially have a home for Murgy - third time lucky? I will report on this later in the week.

Andrew had running club tonight but instead of their usual Thursday suffer-fest, they did a fairly moderate run - this is because many including Andrew are running in the Man vs horse race on Saturday. I should stress this is man in the generic sense - Andrew is running in a team with two women, and in fact the majority of runners in the club are female, many of whom tackle mountain marathons, cross country and similar with great aplomb. He recently received all the info with pages of safety warnings and disclaimers - quite impressive to see. What made us both smile is that equine competitors are very well served with vets and water stations at all sorts of points along the way, but considerably less fuss made of the humans. Andrew is taking this one quite seriously and has even given up alcohol this week; I realise this makes him sound like an alcoholic putting it like that, but he does occasionally enjoy a glass of gin, or a bottle of cider in the week and of course we both enjoy wine drinking at the weekend. Our main concern now is the weather. It'll be tough if it's blazing hot, but hard going if it's pouring with rain. The ideal would be a cool, cloudy day - fingers and toes crossed! Link to the official website for the race here:- http://www.green-events.co.uk/index.php

Today I travelled down to Margam Park for a meeting to look at an event to be held next year that GRW might be getting involved in. This initial meeting was with the park authorities to discuss the broad outlines, such as dates, availability, parking etc.. My role was pretty minor, basically to listen and learn, but I always find these interesting. The journey down and back was lovely - via the Heads of the Valleys Road which was looking spectacularly beautiful. Because we've had so much rain, everything is so green. Shaggy hedges, lovely pastures and rolling moors covered in whin berries - should be a good crop this year. At the park, we were inside part of the Gothic Victorian buildings where the park staff have their offices - what a lovely place to come to work. The estate was lived in by the Fox-Talbot family - one of their members was one of the earliest pioneers of photography. Nearby is Margam Abbey, interestingly a daughter abbey of Strata Florida where we were last week. Regular readers will also recall the park as a venue for one of Andrew's 10K races. This was the longest time I have left the dogs alone for some time and they were squeaking with excitement when I came back home. Dear little Murgy kept coming up to me and putting her head on my chest as if to say "Is it really you? I'm so glad you're back" - yes, I know I am probably anthropomorphosing hopelessly but sometimes you just need to feel the love.

After we had eaten our couscous earlier, Murgy hopped up on the sofa and snuggled up with me under my quilt - all very cosy. Unfortunately, the second home offer is looking less likely but they may be coming back to the charity if their work circumstances change. So, for the moment, she remains with us, very happily for all concerned. She often now likes to come on the bed during the night and this morning I woke up with a familiar cosy shape nestling against my legs. She and Booty seem to have established some sort of rota for this - if I wake up in the night and want to check which hound is lying on my feet or has stolen my duvet, the quickest way is to feel their collars, as Booty's is textured fabric, while Murgy still wears leather. This morning, we had the excitement at 5.30 of Andy (most unusually) suddenly launching into a tirade of barking - you'd swear a boatload of marauding Vikings were swimming up the Irfon. Andrew launched into an equally exciting tirade of swear words, when after a thorough inspection, no Vikings could be found and the guilty party was lying on the rug, rolling his eyes and looking sheepish. Don't believe anyone who tells you greyhounds are quiet dogs.

Quite a bit to write about since my last post. After a beautiful start to the week, the weather got progressively worse and by the weekend we were having torrential monsoon style downpours. On Saturday, we travelled down to Cardiff for a night at the opera. The appalling weather which was also quite chilly put paid to my idea of wearing my new summer frock and open toed sandals, in spite of a lovely pedicure with coral coloured varnish. I ended up wearing a tiered skirt with some green shoes and a little shrug, which managed to look quite summery but also kept me warm!

We saw La Boheme and it was gorgeous -actually the very last night of this particular production. Beautiful seats in the stalls and everything came together. The principal singers were all lovely, although Musetta was a bit stiff to begin with and the production was fabulous. No messing about, just a nice straightforward take without any attempt to be modern. As usual, I loved the building too - I adore it with a passion, as it is so gorgeously fit for purpose. Even with a full house, there are never queues for loos ( the only theatre I have ever been in where that is the case for ladies) and so many wonderful nooks and crannies where you can relax and enjoy an interval drink - not just bars either, plenty of cafes and lots of space for promenading, or just people watching. Wonderful.

Spent the night in the Cardiff house afterwards with all three greyhounds in the room with us. Murgatroyd is now getting the hang of the stairs, and is confident going up but still a bit nervous going down. With a bit more practice she'll be flying up and down them. It was great to see the garden - masses of roses and all looking very green. Very pleased to see a fantastic crop of berries on my blueberry plants.

We've decided that we'll be coming back to the Cardiff house to live permanently in about two weeks. Andrew is returning to his previous role as a consultant, and as we've had no credible offers on the house, it is obviously not the right time to sell. I will be very sorry to leave Powys as I love living in the country, but on the other hand I like our Cardiff house, and it makes much more sense for Andrew's work, given Cardiff's quick rail links to London, access to motorway network and airport. Unfortunately, Powys would be completely impractical given the amount of travelling involved. We are now in the process of booking moving men, and sorting out Sky and phone connections. Watch this space for further updates. It will be great to be back out the garden and we've decided to paint the C and C - the bedroom which doubles as study and craft room. We'll be doing this just before we move back in as it will be so much easier to do this while the room is empty. We will also be having my cousin from Canada to stay almost immediately as she is over in the country for a three week trip and it will be fab to see her.

While we were at the Millennium Centre we checked out the forthcoming programme and have managed to get tickets for WNO doing La Traviata in September (the first opera I ever saw, aged about 12) and excitingly an opera gala night of Bryn Terfel singing Wagner - bliss!! I would love to have seen him sing the Ring that he did in London but tickets were like gold dust. Apparently he will be doing a lot of Die Valkure which will practically guarantee me in raptures.

Finally, more news on Murgatroyd's adoption. It looks possible that a home has been found for her where she will be living with another dog, a whippet. I am expecting a call on this later tonight or tomorrow but it is fingers crossed.

Today was due to be the day that Murgatroyd went off to her new forever home. I've had incredibly ambivalent feelings about it - on the one hand I am so delighted for her, but I cannot deny it will be a wrench saying goodbye to this adorable creature. After the couple made contact last night, we arranged for them to visit us today at 5, for a quick look-see and then hopefully to take her home with them. The day has been awful - as I was doing the housework, a little face would come up by mine, nudging me for a tickle, or I'd walk into the room and find her roaching on the sofa, wagging her tail at me with a big grin on her face. In short, she was being particularly herself - loving, playful and mischievous. I prepared all her paperwork and had already made up a mini scrapbook of photos and notes for her new owners. There was even a little coat that some kind friends had given her.

Anyway, at 5, the very nice couple turned up, came in and had a chat and were introduced. I went out to the kitchen to make everyone a cup of tea and found that on my return she was enjoying being tickled and all seemed to be going well. Just as I was about to pull out the paperwork for signing, the husband announced that she had the wrong sort of fur and that he could feel he was allergic to her (chest tightening, typical allergic reaction, similar to that Andrew has with cats). I couldn't believe it. They were extremely apologetic - no need - I am only glad we found out before she had been settled with them. It would have been extremely disruptive for her and upsetting for them to have started the bonding process only to abandon it later. Now we go back to putting her on the website and I expect we will have a lot of interest in her. But I really don't want to go through a day like that again in a hurry. Am now feeling quite drained. Ho hum.