8.08.2023 Belated birthday presents.

 ~o~

Tuesday 8th 54F. Bright but very cloudy. The gales continue. Scattered showers possible. I slept okay in the downstairs bed. Waking at 2 and 4. Getting up at 6am.  It would have been my wife's birthday. The second since she died. 

 I must try to continue tidying while I am still in the mood. The large, translucent, storage tubs need doubled lids. To reduce the risk of crushing the one below when stacked. I can't take anything to the charity shops unless, or until, I free the boot. It is so long since I looked at the stack of donation boxes. That I can  no longer remember what they contained.

7.20 My lower back feels as I am wearing a diver's lead belt. So I really should go for a walk first. 

8.30 Walk over. Quite a lot of traffic. Very windy where there was no shelter from the hedges. I saw four Teslas in as many minutes. Morning coffee ritual completed. Bring on the day! Not ideal for a ride. It is easy to be blown sideways into the traffic. Though I really must shop.

 The hatch release problem is fixed. The tail end of a ratchet strap had tangled itself in the locking mechanism. A large screwdriver, working from the inside, popped the latch. The straps are duly tidied back into their storage bag. Time to go shopping.

 11.30 15C/60F. The hero returns with three large bags of shopping. Plus six different coloured buddleias. All bushy plants over a meter high and each in a 3L pot. Though some of the flowers have gone over. There were plenty left to check the colours. 

 13.00 Lunch. It started raining about five minutes go. A patch of rain cloud is shown scraping along just south of here on the DMI radar. Bright sky with lots of blue to the north. Grey to the south. Still blowing a gale. Wind speed falling only very slowly over two more days.

 14.00 Still tidying. The storage tubs are sorted and better stacked upstairs. The Scottish longcase clock has found a new niche. [Picture above.]

 Dinner was salad: Tuna, grated, mature, Cheddar cheese, sliced, organic, baby carrots, sliced organic cucumber, halved, organic tomatoes and organic, heart lettuce. Arranged tastefully, just for a change. Next time I shall slice the lettuce and grate the carrots.

~o~