22.10.2022 That "Somebody!"

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 Saturday 22nd 54F/12C. Very misty! Another cloudy day. Possibly with rain. Up at 6.30. 

 I lit the stove last night. So it is 65F/18C upstairs this morning. All thanks to the unusually mild conditions so far this autumn. I left both front hall doors open between the lounge and the kitchen. To spread the warmth. It worked too. With the most gain on the lounge and upstairs.

 I have discovered that the beech firewood. For which I paid extra for being "oven ready." Is now absorbing atmospheric moisture. This is despite being stacked under an overhanging roof. Moisture content has increased from 12% to 20%! Presumably from the very humid air. Which is regularly causing mist. 

 Perhaps I ought to bring the firewood indoors? I could store it in the greenhouse. There is plenty of wood stored out there to test for its moisture content. Before I start moving the big stack. I could easily have a few days worth indoors. Stacked to dry near the stove before use. Fetching wood from the greenhouse would be far more sensible. Than repeatedly going outside. Having the outside door open to the wind and cold of winter. 

 I have just checked with my Morsø moisture meter. The wood in the greenhouse is between 4% and 6%. Regardless of how long it has been out there. That is a really low figure. I'll bring in a good load of firewood. Preferably before it gets too cold to have the doors open. I can wheelbarrow it around the house and straight into the greenhouse through the double doors. I just need to tidy the greenhouse first. 🙄

 8.15. Time for a walk in the mist. I've done this walk before. Thousands of times. So I shouldn't have any problem finding my way back home. 🙄

 The mist was so thick that vehicle's rear running lights were totally invisible beyond 50 meters/yards. I started counting rear fog lights and was soon depressed at the low count. As I reached only one lit out of the first six cars to pass me. Only when they braked for the sharp, blind corners did they become visible again. 

 However, later drivers were much more sensible. Despite the mist having lifted to 100 meter/yards. I ended on 6 out of 13 vehicles [with fog lights lit] in half an hour of my brisk walking. Nobody was driving more slowly because of the mist. Some crash test dummies were speeding at well over the limit.

 Plans for today? I have a very long shopping list. Best to get the wall under the stairs primed first. Then I can paint it white when I get back. Or go shopping later and remain busy at home. That "Somebody" has to move all that firewood! At least an hour's work. Not to mention tidying all those boxes on the lounge floor! A lifetime's work.

 "Somebody" was my wife's nickname for me when I failed to perform some task. "The Head Gardener" was my nickname for Her. 

 10.00 Under-stairs cleared, brushed, vacuumed and the brickwork primed. The roller easily reaches the pointing with the primer. It produces a light foam when rolled. So is easily checked for coverage. I went over the bricks half a dozen times anyway. The paint is much thicker and needs a brush to reach into the pointing. 

Flash image of the steep, cottage stairs. Untouched since we bought the place a quarter of a century ago. Worn, oak treads suggest some age. Probably secondhand.

 There are large sheets of "decorative" plywood hiding a multitude of sins in this area. The walls behind are obviously much earlier than the exposed, brickwork walls. With low, thickly painted beams and rough mortar. I may chicken out of any further reveal and just paint the plywood white. There may be structural nightmares hidden behind it! I used a torch and had a sneaky look behind one board in the right hand corner. There is a large gap behind it. Where insulation would have been more useful than the mass of cobwebs I could see!

 I had the idea to open up the wall between the kitchen and lounge. So that the fridge-freezer would be half hidden under the stairs. That would provide much more room in the kitchen. Though sealing between the two rooms might require that I build a box. To close off behind the fridge. Who knows what is hidden behind that plywood on the left?

 Aerial photography shows the house was thatched and half timbered as late as the 1950s. Before being expanded and "renovated" by a new owner. The earlier, double-hipped roof was converted into squared ends to considerably enlarge the attic. 

 Though leaving an open balcony at the western end under the roof overhang. Which I subsequently enclosed with a selection of second hand, double glazed units. Found by sheer luck at an architectural recycling yard. They fitted the balcony opening perfectly. Even the uprights matched for alignment.

 12.30 56F/13C. Just returned from a shopping trip. The builder's merchants had no 2-way switches! Hopeless selection on display. I'll have to go into Assens. Lunch time soon. I'll paint under the stairs before I go out again. 

 14.00 Left brick wall under the stairs painted. No flash required despite the heavily overcast sky. Bringing the natural light indoors. Lens distortion and all.

16.00 57F. First sunshine today but not for long. The big shed discount warehouse in town stocked the 2-way switches. I bought two, some square, plastic conduit and a junction box. The modern switches have a large, flat, rocking plate. Which is easy to find in the dark. The old ones have only a small toggle. I'll finish painting the brick walls before changing over the switch units. That end of the room is already, remarkably brighter. 

 I took the lower picture with my Lumix G9 and 12-60mm with the bathroom door open. The TZ7 had too much distortion.

 The board/joist at top right needs to be painted white. The plain wood draws the eye upwards. As well as soaking up the light. I think the pine door is acceptable as it is. I'll only paint it white if I change my mind.

 18.00 55F. Right side brick wall 2nd coat. The pretend beam [above it] and the plywood in the corner have been painted a 1st coat. I used the spare LED light from the hall as a work light. "Warm white" is more like pale orange. 

 I hope you will agree. That the white paint is a huge improvement over red brick and brown, wood grain plywood. [Top image.]  

Dinner will be fried mushrooms and diced chicken. With something familiar to go with it. Except that it wasn't. I had the chicken and mushrooms cooked. But no rice for the curry I was about to tip into the frying pan. So I quickly boiled up some tinned tomatoes and poured that over instead. Sadly it was not the first time I had forgotten the rice while making curry. With typical cooking times of 30-35 minutes the rice has to be started long before the meat. I seem to have a mental block about this. 

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