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Friday 11th 54F/12C! Another grey, but dry day is forecast. 66F/19C upstairs and down!
The new handle to the lounge/entrance hall door already feels very natural. This door has a roller catch. To make carrying trays of food effortless while travelling in either direction. Not quite the swing door of a restaurant but almost as useful.
I really must get started on smoothing out the lounge, front wall. Unless I make some progress the lounge floor will remain a chaotic collection of tubs and boxes.
Yesterday I held a 2m [6'6"] straight edge up against the wall. The lower section is only slightly hollow. While the top rolls away by a couple of inches in places.
I really should fix a new batten, or board, to the top of the wall. Against the ceiling. To act as a reference for both flatness and straightness. Otherwise it will all be pure guesswork. Whatever skills I might have developed at rendering. Are strictly the stuff of memory and quite possibly wishful thinking. Much of it dating from probably two decades ago.
Effortless success at all such endeavours is usually the result of endless practice. Which in my case is sorely lacking. Flattening a rough wall. Four meters long and containing three windows. Is not for the faint hearted. Only fools rush in. So I really ought to make a longer wooden trowel from a board. To help me to smooth out my work. It helps to flatten high spots by avoiding the low spots. Much like like a long [jack] plane when working on long lengths of wood.
I have been uploading more videos of Shirley's butterfly garden to my YouTube channel from Google Photos. Here is an example:
7.50 Light enough for a walk now. Despite the leaden skies and intermittent gusts.
8.50 My walk to the village is over. It was only windy at times and very mild. The trees are taking ages to dump their colourful leaves. Lots of traffic.
There is to be a national campaign in Denmark against mobile phone use behind the wheel. There have been 19,000 cases already this year. A fine of £150 + victim compensation of £50 amounts to roughly £200 equivalent. Suggesting to me that the Danes balance this very modest sum. Against the very low chance of being caught.
12.30 I primed the wall. Then added enough fine sand/cement to 2 litres of water to produce a good half bucket full. So I could proceed to fill all the hollows.
Plenty more to do. Particularly at top right. The cement will have to go off before I can add more. I have cleaned the bucket and all the tools. Getting on for lunch time. So perfect timing.
16.00 I found my 85cm long, home made, wooden straight edge from years ago. Only a bit of straight, roofing batten. With a hand sawn handle attached. To keep my hands free of cement in use.
It is surprising how deep the hollows really are. The new render wasn't even touched by the wooden straight edge. As I rubbed it vertically over the wall. It is going to be very handy for straightening the wall. I might make a much longer one from scrap timber. To allow me to bridge the window openings. I used shuttering boards around the the windows when I last rendered. They should be even all around. So I can use them as a reference. Years after the job should have been completed. History does not recall the reason for abandonment.
Dinner was mackerel on toast followed by tomato soup and a bread roll. The stove was lit at 5pm. Three logs lifted indoor temperatures to nearly 67F/19C.
Denmark enjoyed record temperatures yesterday and overnight. 150-year-old records have been broken yet again. Meaning, that yesterday's temperatures were higher than have ever been previously recorded. In November in Denmark.
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