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The overcast weather has caused the house to cool. It is 60F downstairs and 63F upstairs. I have had several windows "on the catch" for ventilation. Just a very slight gap around the frame. Not visible. With a combination of wind and grey skies this probably made matters worse. I have seen a lot of spraying equipment out on the fields. So there is always that risk. I can't see the machines from the house because of the trees. Not that they need to be very close in such windy conditions.
No plans for today yet. I have less than a week to do some more tidying before the visit from the council bereavement department. The surfaces of the lounge furniture needs serious attention and looks awful. Just removing and boxing the ornaments would make a useful dent. The rest is mixed stuff without classification. I want to get rid of at least one "sideboard". I can't keep three in a row! The table hasn't been touched in months. Dozens of shopping receipts need binning. It sounds weird but this was strictly a "no man's land" for me. It was far too close to my wife and her activities.
The fuel, paper and kindling for the stove is taking up square meters of floor space! It has just [sort of] accumulated. Loads of advertising papers I never read. Though my wife did. Looking for more bargains to add the the collection. I have registered a stop for the advertising papers.
I discovered a heavy box full of kindling in the greenhouse yesterday. Tightly packed as only my wife knew how. Each layer crossed against the next lower. A perfection of solid wood! I couldn't lift it! The irony was that I ran out of kindling while my wife was on her death bed. So I had to ask for a home delivery. Because I couldn't leave her to drive to the supplier.
There was a shortage of a proper mop bucket too. When I badly needed one for the kitchen floor. I searched the shops without real success. Yesterday, I discovered three mop buckets in the greenhouse! Thank you Darling. I shall never want for a mop bucket, ever again.
8.15 51F. Still no sign of any sunshine. My back was hurting more than usual. So I went for my walk. Bent double and taking foolishly short steps at first. Just like the old man I pretend not to be. Within 200m I was walking upright. By the time I reached the lanes I could no longer feel any pain in my back. It is fortunate that the lanes are quiet. Because the tears flowed again. So many memories. So many triggers. So many regrets.
10.00. The dining table is finally clear. I have three more, large boxes for charity donation. No, not from the table!
Going back to the subject of storage of firewood. The need for two years storage represents new felled timber. Buying dry wood [tested] should result in usable firewood much sooner. If I buy a trailer load it will keep me going for ages. Though I still need to clear an area against the house wall in the greenhouse. Where I can stack it vertically for maximum exposure to the sunshine and air.
11.20 The sun came out as I raked the large, bare area under the former chestnut's shadow. Several trundlings of a large wheelbarrow resulted in a trailer full of leaf mould and small twigs. I want the area to grass over naturally. So it can be trimmed with the mower. Having debris crashing constantly into the machine body is not very wise. Nor would the grass enjoy competition from a thick layer of mulch.
There are still a lot of logs and 3" + diameter branches to be processed and stacked somewhere.
No point in taking the trailer to the more distant yard. I need to go shopping. So I'll drop off the garden waste in the local yard. Then I can go out with just the car and a boot full of charity shop fodder. Though I could deliver it to another charity shop tomorrow. They are not open today.
12.15 Returned from the recycling yard. Paid the bill [online] for the electricians and plumbers. Now I'll make an early lunch.
15.00 Just finished stacking a trailer load of logs. I asked for their driest beech wood. They loaded the trailer and I went ahead and measured the moisture content with my new meter. It averaged 20% with very little variation. So I went back to the office and asked what I should expect for my premium purchase. Around 15% they said. So I returned to the shed with my trailer and we unloaded the first lot.
The second load averaged around 10%. With only a couple above 15%. Now satisfied, I could finally drive away. Once I arrived home I stacked them under an overhanging shed roof facing east. No point in putting it in the greenhouse.
Even with the trailer parked close by it took me about an hour in warm [65F] sunshine. This was a well rounded load in a trailer with almost exactly 1cu.m capacity. I paid 700kr = £80GBP = $100USD. I was paying 100kr for 4 x 10kg bags of briquettes before the price rise. Then it went up to 150kr for four and well beyond. One pays for the convenience of "oven ready" pre-packed firewood. Though it also costs the user in excessive ashes.
My wife was brilliant at stacking logs, or anything else. A natural at dry stone walling. Even with rounded field stones. She built several, dry stone walls in the garden in Wales. She knew exactly where each stone would go and which way round. If she asked me to lift a particularly heavy rock. She would usually get cross because I would rotate it.
17.00 Just back from a shopping trip to a slightly more distant village. They were closing the high street to celebrate Pinse. [Whitsun] Amongst my purchases was a pack of A6 lined notebooks. One will go beside the computer. One beside the kettle and one on the dining table in the lounge.
The car door lock is misbehaving again. Luckily I had the car windows open to keep cool. So I could reach the inner door latch. I am still losing weight. So my arms are thinner than in the past. I had to fit a belt on my trousers today. I am down to 31" trousers instead of my usual 34".
My weight has dropped to 10st 8lbs. I am usually around mid 12s stone. Makes no sense given my very low tricycling mileage. I am about the same weight now as when I was riding 10k miles, 16k km per year! I looked like a skeleton back then! I am eating well enough. Can it be all the exercise I have been getting? There is no fat on my hips.
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