14.05.2026 Deary me!

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  Thursday 14th 45F/7.2C [8.10] Bright overcast. Dry morning, rain after lunch, sunshine this evening. It is a cosy 68F/20C in the room. Thanks to the heat pump. Set at 18C overnight. Now turned down to 17C. 48F/9C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7.25 after numerous failed attempts to take off. A rather rough night. With periods of wakefulness and weird dreams.

 My hands, shoulders and back are painful. That will teach me not to lift and carry heavy contractors saws! Silly old whatsit! Use your brains. When your brawn is all used up.

 04.40 A small deer came down the drive and crossed the parking space cautiously. The "night colour" camera's LED lights came on and was reflected in its eyes. It froze for a moment and then walked on. 

 8.30 Sunshine. I feel like a ride this morning. One battery is fully charged. 

8.45 A walk first.

 9.15 A pleasant walk but a cold wind. 

10.50 Going for a ride. 

 

 

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13.05.2026 Move that saw!

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  Wednesday 13th 43F/6C [6.45] Heavily overcast. With rain forecast all day. 68F/20C in the room. Heat pump on all night set to 16C on the remote. Greenhouse 51F/11C. 

 Up at 6am after an unusually quiet night. Aching shoulders from yesterday's heavy lifting. 

 I should have a run with the trailer to the recycling yard. To get rid of all the debris from removing the door and window. Plus the door packaging. Continuing work on the woodwork over the new doors could take place under the carport. There is little to do. I spent/wasted most of my time moving and setting up the heavy saws. I was also overthinking the job. Trying to saw a deep rebate instead of simply thinning larger material to match the spaces.  

 It was raining lightly as I enjoyed my usual walk along the drives on the back field. The robot mower has been moved to another, flatter area. I shall enjoy monitoring its progress in improving the sward. An interesting variation on watching other people work. Not quite as much fun as actually owning one but considerably cheaper!

 13.00 The doors are finished. Though the carpenter still has to return to  complete the caulking. I had to drag the saws out again. Working under the carport as the sky dripped. Backwards and forwards. Again and again. As I trimmed more off. 

 Then I changed the front wheel on the Morris. I had left the spare on since the puncture was mended. Lazy git! 

 Lunch time but I have run out of bread rolls. I'll have toast and go shopping afterwards. 

 15.45 Returned from shopping. Where only my quick thinking saved me from an inadequate driver in the car park. They reversed without looking. The bread rolls were half price. So I bought two bags of each. The sun was piercing a black sky on the way home. Lifting the gorgeous countryside a couple of notches into truly magical. 

 Dinner was poached eggs on toast. Overdone.

  

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12.05.2026 Saws 'Я' Us.

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  Tuesday 12th 46F/8C [7.30] Bright overcast but expected to become cloudier. Possibly with showers. Rather breezy. 69F/21C in the room thanks to the heat pump. I was cold in bed and switched on the heat pump. 48F/9C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 6.30 after a rather busy night. Shoulders aching? Possibly due to yesterday's activities while clearing the area of blockwork and mortar under the new glazed door. Back not aching? Probably having a rest day.

 I had been sold old milk at the supermarket. A freshly opened box came out all blobby in my coffee. I checked the date with a magnifying glass. Printed in pale grey on fawn. To ensure total illegibility and continuing profits. It was already two days beyond the 'Best By' date. I poured the full box down the toilet. 16 kroner wasted. £1.85 for a liter of milk! Avoiding food waste? Yeah, right! 

 No visit to my English friend today. He is on his 4th day of suffering from Man Flu.  

 9.00 We had a nice chat via WApp. A quick walk and then I'll get on with fitting the wood above the new doors. I'll have to drag the table saw out.

 The sun is shining on the new doors. Filling the entrance hall with sunlight. 

 9.25 Back from my walk. No back pain.

 13.00 Lunch. What a struggle! Extracting both saws from the shed was difficult beyond belief. I am not as strong as I once was. The shed is far too dark to work in. I lost the power and lights when I demolished the observatory. Once outside I had a lot of dust to remove. Then to fit the dust extractor unit. Which I'd ordered online from the USA and then never fitted it. If not today, then when?

 Meanwhile the sky was getting progressively darker. As if it was about to rain. The birds were chattering away all around me. Several warblers singing away. Out of sight in every corner of the garden. 

 The saws are ready to be used. I am watching the greenhouse roof for the first sign of rain. 

 Dinner was fish fingers, pasta and peas. Guess who forgot the tinned tomatoes again? I washed up while it cooked. For 20 minutes! 

 21.30 It is getting dark. I have just been outside to put the tools away. Talk about breathless! Those saws don't get any lighter! I fitted an axle and two sack truck wheels on the sliding miter saw stand. That was years ago. Without which it would never have moved.

 

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