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Friday 6th 31F/-0.5C [7.45] Overcast with new snow lying. 60F/15.6C in the room. 41F/5C in the greenhouse. New snow is sliding down the greenhouse roof. I haven't been outside yet. As it is still half light. The hedges are covered in sticky snow. The drive smoothed out by new snowfall. It was all but clear yesterday morning.
7.45 Up at 7am after a very busy night servicing the fire bucket. Weird dreams and repeated disturbance is no fun at all. Yesterday's dizziness has reduced but not completely gone. My vision at the computer is back to slightly fuzzy again. I am feeling more positive. Even cheerful. It wont last.
The right nosepiece, of the only pair of prescription, reading glasses
I've bought in 40 years, has gone. Lovely! £200 wasted on complete tat!
The screws in the earpieces are constantly loosening too. I wonder if I
can find a screw and nosepiece. From one of the many supermarket pairs
of glasses in the drawer? They lasted forever but slowly became
scratched over time.
Most cost between £5 and £8 equivalent. They did not correct my astigmatism but I never noticed. The prescription glasses constantly lose the left lens as well. It usually falls out in my jacket pocket while I am driving. Or even on the ground when I am walking. Lovely!
I am determined to hydrate properly from now on. I started the day with small glass of water. Drunk in gulps rather than straight own. It was icy from the tap. Which is typical for winter here. With kilometres of plastic pipe subject to deep ground frost. I measured my milk addition to the dry, porridge oats. It was only about 3/4 of the small glass, if that. A bit disappointing. Now I need to measure the volume of the glass for reference. [150ml]
The small glass is easy to drink from. Without my feeling overwhelmed by ice cold water. To which end I shall seek out a glass coffee jug. To have on the coffee table beside the computer desk. So I can sip a known quantity of water throughout the day. I would prefer a covered, bulk container. In case a fly gets in. A rare occurrence but not unknown.
Some good new on statins. Which I take for my heart plumbing. After having four stents fitted in a hurry. Statins are supposed to reduce fatty build up in the arteries. A study has found that side effects are often purely psychological. There were just as many complaints from those on on a placebo. Often strongly so. The Nocebo effect.
The opposite of placebo, but worse. Where the expectation of side effects forces the patient to stop taking the tablets. They really do feel the side effects. Sometimes as if they were intolerable! While taking a pill with no medicinal content whatsoever. Bad publicity and even the required warning notes in the manufacturer's packaging, put people off.
There are a number YouTube channels hosted by [claimed] US cardiac surgeons. Warning strongly against statin use. The latest study of 120,000 shows the risks are actually very low indeed. Suggesting increased statin prescriptions all around. They say that many lives could be saved by statins. Heart attacks being the major cause of death. Particularly for the elderly. As a fully rubber stamped, old fart I certainly qualify for that group. [Currently 79¾, not out.]
My own, vocal negativity against statins. Resulted in my doctor halving my daily tablet to 20mg from 40mg. Now I wonder if I should follow his advice and take the 40mpg. Further discussion will follow. Next time I see him. Meanwhile I will continue with the 20mg.
8.15 I had better light the stove. The ash pan badly needs emptying. I was excused boots yesterday. So there was a considerable build up. Now I shall don my ankle wellies and check snow depths. On my way to the compost heap. I am going outside. I may be some time.
8.30 It took me only a couple of minutes. To wade through the new snow to the northern boundary of
Chez Hovel's rolling acres. It was averaging 3-4" of lying snow on the parking area. Let's call it 75-100mm. I didn't even notice the wind today. I may even have a walk.
The stove's ash bed was still hot with many red blobs. Which made life more difficult in clearing the ash in the firebox itself. I needed my special oven "stove" glove to handle the grate and wood burning plate. Both far too hot to touch with the Mk1 [non-AI, non-robotic] hand.
I usually use two sticks of kindling as manipulators but lost control of the plates in the depths of the ash. Finally, a few bits of dry kindling. A sprinkle of paraffin based, non-smelly, firelighter block and off it went. Now I just need to build up to a serious log. Which means bringing in more logs from the greenhouse. Work is never done for the hard pressed pensioner! "Nobody knows the troubles I've had, tra-la."
9.20 Logs in. Breathless again. Time for a walk!
9.55 64F/18C in the room. Back from a walk. The wind was intermittent. The undisturbed snow was about 4-6" deep on the drives. Which was quite hard work. I became quite breathless until I reached the road. Which proved to have been scraped and probably salted. There remained a bed of hard pressed frozen slush in the traffic lanes. Which was quite slippery. The traffic was moving more slowly than usual. I crossed the road to avoid oncoming traffic. Then back to the usual side after they had passed. I didn't go far. Because I knew I had to manage the drives again. I stopped to chat briefly with my nice neighbour. Who was attending to his chickens, ponies and goats.
Once I was safely home again I used the squeegee on the long pole. To clear most of the snow off the greenhouse roof. To let more light in. The snow on the parking space proved too heavy. To be pushed aside with the gravel leveling rake. Pulling it wasn't much easier. I have assorted snow shovels but that would be hard work too. The forecast is for slightly above freezing temperatures and even some rain or sleet. That might help.
9.10 Time for morning coffee. Got to keep up the fluids. Another 200ml + 150ml glass of water. I found a glass coffee jug in the cupboard. My wife and I weren't really coffee drinkers. Usually just organic Arabic instant. The jug/pot will need to be washed and de-scaled before I can use it as my bulk water carrier.
13.00 Cup of tea with lunch. 200mls. Small amount of milk with a sliced banana.
17.00 64F/17.8C. Afternoon tea. 200mls. Glass of water 150mls.
Dinner was an organic fry up of sausages, brown mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and tweggs.
Followed by a small mug of coffee 150mls. Not good enough!
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