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Monday 19th 0C/32F. Overcast. Up at 5.30. Cold indoors again. Upstairs 14C/57F, lounge 12C/53F, kitchen 8C/47F, bathroom 5C/41F. The freezer had risen to -6C again.
7.00 I ate my breakfast while watching the stove. Just to be sure it was well alight. I have run out of kindling. Which raises the spectre of buying more fireproof kindling from my usual source. The last lot wouldn't burn unless tossed onto a roaring fire. The sticks are split from old pallets. Presumably from fire-proofed pallets judging from the last couple of sacks.
I have been buying kindling from the sheltered workshop for years. It was even more ironic and depressing that their prices had risen. Perhaps to match their inability to provide the very quality one needs in kindling. The ease with which it SHOULD catch fire readily.
I also need more logs. Preferably from a non-racist source. I have been advised of another supplier. Getting there, in icy conditions, with the trailer, is another matter. I can leave it for a couple of days for the promised weather improvement. Hopefully they will not be closed early for Christmas. I have just found an unopened bag of wood briquettes in the shed from last year.
The national icy roads warning suggests I avoid an early shopping trip. Temperatures are rising steadily. The promised cold rain will be falling on hard frozen ground and roads.
8.00 It is hardly light enough to see the trees against the northern sky yet. The lounge and upstairs have risen only 1º F in an hour of the stove going well.
8.30 After yesterday's burst mode, phone camera fiasco I discovered an option to delete burst images. It throws up a multi-frame symbol when in the Gallery mode. Tap on Delete and it offers to delete the burst images. Very useful!
9.00 Rain on the southerly widows. The wind is picking up as it gets lighter. The greenhouse roof is covered in thick ice.
11.30 +1C/34F. The ice has melted on the greenhouse roof. The hard packed snow and ice on the "patio" has turned to slush. The warning is not to go out in the car if it is not vital. I shall heed that warning despite needing supplies. 15C/60F upstairs. Lounge 14C/57F. I have moved the oil-filled radiator over to beside the new fridge position. Every little helps.
13.20 35F outside with rain. Very dark indoors. Lunch over. Wrong rolls and no banana and yogurt. The larder of daily items is now bare!
Meanwhile, the lounge has reached 15C/60F. 17C/62F upstairs. I have been tidying the little things and books in the front dormer window. It made me miserable putting the things my wife handled into a clear tub. Until I decide what I'll keep. The books on the shelves I had long forgotten I had.
I'll start on the chest of drawers below next. It has been hidden under a maroon curtain for years. Whoops! I'd forgotten that I had cleared the drawers and taken her clothing to the charity shops. Not even any woodworm in the backboard. The chest of drawers can stay until I decide on its fate. Unfortunately the oak tallboy is far too tall to go in the dormer. It would have looked fine just there.
15.20 Went shopping in drizzle. Still no organic bananas. Had to buy some different organic Arabic coffee.
17.00 +2C/36FJust had milky coffee and a roll. The new coffee is fine. Amongst the piles of books I have just found a big fat one called Kelly's Directory from 1987. I shan't need newspapers to light the stove ever again. The lounge is now at 15C/60F after having the stove on all day. Upstairs a tropical 16C/61F. I might get daring and take my fleece hat off in a moment. 😅
The poor old fridge is very confused. After its move and gaining a radiator for a near neighbour. The freezer section is down to -26C now! I had better use up what is left in there. So it's salmon pasty, peas and chips tonight. 😋 That just leaves 5 fish fingers and one more cup of peas to worry about.
I wonder if I could cope with having the fridge under the stairs? It would only be while temperatures are too low in the kitchen. It can go back out again. Once the kitchen remains safely above 10C. In fact anywhere in the lounge would do. As long as it was reasonably accessible.
20.00 4C/38.5F! The kitchen has reached 10C/50F and the freezer is now at -20C. 17C/63F upstairs after feeding short fat logs to the stove all day. We are promised +6C tomorrow! Perhaps even +7C/45F. 😎
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