20.07.23 And don't call me a fossil!

 ~o~

 Thursday 20th 60F. Bright but cloudy. Showers possible. Brightening later. I am aching all over. 

 8.00 Down to 21C/70F upstairs. I'd better have a walk before I get frostbite! 

 The new drive earthworks from about half way.

 9.00 Only a short walk. Cool, cloud, breezy and sunshine. The back pain has gone. As has the big excavator. Though lots more work left to do. The big, road roller remains. Birds of prey circling in the distance. It is relatively clear today. Detail visible at eight miles in my binoculars.

 Not sure what to do with today. I need grocery shopping. Machine washed laundry to rinse and spin again. More to do upstairs. Towels left suds in the rinsing water in the bath. More suds from the spin drier. Gone out on the rotary drier. To take its chances against the promised showers. A load of cycling clothing is taking a tour in the washing machine. The last of the laundry catch-up.

 While that was happening I went through the jars of my wife's fossil and stone collection. I have separated the shells. The stones, and many more, all came from Her garden. 

 Possible stone tools and arrow heads on the right. Fossils in the middle. Then stones with holes. With pretty or interestingly shaped or coloured stones on the left. I have no idea where all the shells came from. Presumably from camping holidays in our youth.

 Trivial? Not if you consider how little display space my wife had in our overcrowded home. She thought them important enough to have them in the window sill behind the kitchen sink. Where she could admire them. Probably for the warm memory of their individual discovery.

12.00 66F Mostly sunshine and breezy. All the laundry is dry but for the cycling clothes. Which, again, I put into a soak, rinse and spin cycle using the bath. The results have gone out on the airer. Where they will dry in no time. Cycling clothing is designed to be like that. The racing jerseys actually feel dry to the touch. Straight out of the washing machine and the spin drier. 

 I love their bright colours. All of them came from charity shops up to 12 years ago. Which speaks well for their longevity. The padded racing shorts and bibs were bought new over the years. Mostly from the budget end of the market. 

12.30 67F. Shopping! Or there's no lunch!

13.45 20C/68F Lunch over. It rained just as I left the supermarket heavily laden. I was only wearing  T-shirt and shorts. Having emptied the pannier bags before leaving. I had no wet weather backup. 

 So I hovered for a minute while the shower passed. Before loading the bike with the shopping and putting it into Turbo mode. Then pedaling hard to get home before the next threatening shower. No matter how hard I tried I could not go over 34km/hr into the headwind. It stayed dry and mostly sunny after that. The last of my laundry is dry too. 

 8.00 14C/58F Dinner was fish in batter with boiled potatoes and peas. I cooked the fish longer this time. Though it didn't improve dramatically. It wasn't awful or even slightly distasteful. It just lacked flavour.

 

 ~o~