13.11.2022 Handling stolen goods?

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 Sunday 13th 46F/8C. Up at 5am. 

 Where a dictator sells oil or coal. Stolen from his downtrodden people, to export to another country. He is an international criminal. The buyer [A.k.a "fence"] is handling goods stolen from the dictator's downtrodden people. Hands up all those leaders [A.k.a. "fences"] who handle stolen energy supplies from a dictator. To sell on at a profit plus taxes to their own people.

 9.00 I have just returned from my morning walk to the lanes. It was rather misty. As well as solid grey overhead. With the thickest mist depending on altitude.  The forest was invisible at 1000m/yards and the mist was becoming thicker with time. There were lots of small birds moving about in the hedges. Not much else to report. It was slightly chilly on my hands. The difference in my walking speed was enough to be cooler against the breeze. Pausing was enough to avoid the chill.

 10.30 I have just cleaned up all the cement droppings on the concrete floor beneath the lounge wall. I had laid out poly tarpaulins but they became too clogged to continue without requiring great care. Mixing clumps of dry cement to fallen wet render only adds to my problems. Hard lumps will not compact like the wet stuff. Which means the clumps roll. So that the trowel is lifted from the straight and narrow path of overall flatness.

 I have several 2m [6'6"] aluminium builder's straight edges. They are lightweight and stiff enough to maintain their integrity under load. So I will use one to scrape and push the mortar around on the wall. It is, after all, what they are designed for. Not just for beams to build some abstruse/obscure project in quite another universe. [Like astronomical telescopes.]

 Fortunately I found that the lounge wall is basically flat but is hollow/sunken at knee height and head height. The straight edge contacts at floor level, middle and top. My task is to fill the hollows in between. To bring the overall surface to flat. 

 Hopefully with a decent enough finish for painting. The latter is most easily achieved with a moulded, foam plastic float. I haven't tried the sponge floats yet. They are claimed to aid flattening and removal of trowel marks. 

 13.30  10C/50F. Overcast. Lunch over.

 I had to change the punctured tire and tube on the trike. It had gone down again since my last ride and roadside repair. I had needed the trike to shop in the village but couldn't. Schwalbe Durano Plus tires rarely puncture. Unless, like me, you foolishly let them wear down too far. This is a flint stone area and the roads are littered with microscopic shards. 

 Examination of the worn tread showed lots of small holes. Each with a tiny flint sitting in there. Waiting for its chance to be next in causing a puncture. I need another rear tire. Otherwise I would have replaced both at the same time. I run 700x25C rear and 23C front. I should have asked for mudguard clearances when I ordered the Trykit but didn't. Not that I have fitted mudguards for ages. I can just squeeze one of the stay-less plastic guards around the 23mm tire but not a 25mm.

 This afternoon I drove into town to buy more tires and tubes. While I was there I bought some roller blinds for the bedroom windows. The [new] main bedroom window faces east. So catches the light very early at certain times of year. With this in mind I bought a white, blackout blind for this window.  I will also fit the dormer windows with the same kind of roller blinds. 

 A plain, white blind will go in the lounge window which faces the drive. Anybody approaching the house has to pass this window. So I need improved privacy at night but not to block the light in the daytime. The three southern windows will have Venetian blinds. This will let me block the direct sunshine. While still allowing lots of light to enter. They will give that wall a cosmetic lift and hide the untidiness in the greenhouse just beyond.

A repeat of yesterday's dinner but without the eggs.

 18.00 Dinner will be very similar to yesterday's. I have mushrooms, chicken, bacon and eggs to use up. The chips are still under consideration but not absolutely vital to the proceedings. Do I really need eggs to go with the bacon and mushrooms? There was no room in the frying pan. Nor on the plate.

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