30.09.2023 +/- Postive/negative. Yin/Yang.

 ~o~

 Saturday 30th. A cloudy, but dry day is promised, with westerly winds. Up at 6.15. After a late walk at 2am. 

 Why? Because I woke at 2am and suddenly realised that I hadn't collected my old car from the village. It was still sitting where I had left it 15 hours earlier. When I had picked up the Morris. I was so taken up with the Morris that I had simply forgotten to go back. Ain't senility wonderful?  

 I was dreading the possibility that the battery had flattened itself again. Because, just for once, I hadn't disconnected the negative, cable clamp.  There has been a problem with the battery draining overnight since we bought the car. Year after year I had to disconnect the negative battery clamp every night. I had asked at umpteen garages but no mechanic had an answer. Possibly a diode problem in the alternator? Or a short somewhere. It was an old car. Nobody cared.

 So I walked briskly, for twenty minutes, in bright [Super] moonlight, down to the village. Where I didn't want to disturb anyone in the middle of the night. So I climbed silently into the car, pulled the door shut, turned the key and moved away as quietly as possible. This time I was in luck and was soon home again. Where I did not forget to disconnect the battery.

 9.30. Bright sunshine. Now I have to organise the parking arrangements for two cars. At least until I can get rid of the old car. Meanwhile, I'll go in search of a Haynes Workshop Manual for the Morris Minor.  There is nothing listed in the Danish library database. So it will probably be a long search of the charity shops and sheer luck to find one. 

 The UK would be the obvious source. Except that Broxit is a giant economic hurdle for buying eBay items from Europe. One has to allow about £20 in Danish Post Office customs clearance on every purchase. With possible VAT at 25% on to of that! The same, again, on top of international postal charges from the UK. Printed paper rate? The Danish Post Office hasn't heard of it. Not even items like calendars purchased from well known UK charity sources.

 13.00 Lunch. I have returned from a tour of all the charity shops and flea markets within a reasonable radius. There was no Haynes manual for a Morris Minor at any of them. At least I discovered how to turn the heater, hot water, circulation valve off! It was the complete opposite of logical. I'll have to keep that in mind as I progress toward backwards compatibility. With a car born two years after my marriage in 1967. 

  The Morris seat height makes getting in and out much easier than the old car. Which was, in comparison, like sitting on the floor. The ground clearance is greater too. Which adds to the seat height. The gearbox and gear change are awful! The steering heavy unless actually moving. The brakes are obviously not disks. They aren't allowed in Denmark. Because they are not an original factory fitting. They would be failed as an untested modification in the periodic safety checks. Called a Syn in Denmark. MOT [test] in the UK. 

 I have previously levelled and enlarged parking space. Though it could be considerably enlarged towards the north. Where there are countless saplings and trees growing furiously over a strip of around 10m x 10m. The ground falls away towards the boundary by about about a meter/yard in level. So I'd need to bring in a new load of self compacting gravel. To provide a solid parking or building surface. Perhaps for a carport? 

 A possible new project? Not manual this time. It would need a small front loader to bring in a lorry load of gravel from beyond the gate. Or, I could build a carport extending out from on the front of my existing shed. Lots of level room and plenty of reversing space. I don't want nor do I need two cars myself. Though parking for them would make the property much more attractive if/when sold. A double carport?

 I must get the unfinished 4.3m Ø observatory dome moved out of its current position! It could become a dome shaped, pea green carport. Straight out of LOTR! Or not! I simply cannot summon up the interest to complete it as a much larger, raised observatory. My lifelong passion for astronomy crashed when my wife died. It shows absolutely no sign of returning.

 Dinner was diced chicken. With pasta, peas and tinned tomatoes.

~o~

29.09.2023 When I were a lad..

 ~o~

 Friday 29th. Possible rain today. Up at 5am. After another night of half a dozen episodes of peeing in the bucket. This is the only way I can think of to minimise the disruption from getting up so often.

6.30 I have had breakfast. I may go back to bed to catch up on my missing sleep. I have another week before I see the doctor again about my test results.

 7.45. I slept uninterrupted for an hour. I feel drugged! Dark grey overcast. Going for a walk.

 8.30. I'm back. I took a lot more pictures of the completed earthworks. The large machines have been removed. It will look even more beautiful once it is grassed. The soft curves are very natural. While the drainage falls are subtle but all lead down to the existing stream.

 15.00 Late lunch. Occasional light rain. I have just returned from visiting my friend. First outing in my toy car. He had one years ago and helped to sort out some details. There are some similarities to the mini engined, kit car. Which I completely rebuilt with all different parts. 

  Dinner was fish fingers and chips. With some fresh tomatoes.

 ~o~

28.09.2023 Pumpkin Salad.

 ~o~

 Thursday 28th. Overcast and breezy. Another unusually warm day [for September] is promised. Up at 6.30. 

08.15 Cooking class today. The bike is ready, I have showered and dressed for the ride. I should have a tailwind on the way there. 

I often pass a Morris Minor restoration business out in the countryside. Just some of his customer's projects underway.

 17.00 It felt more like a crosswind going to cooking class. Where I made a pumpkin salad. A headwind coming home. Detoured. Time for a nap!

  Dinner was coffee and biscuits. I had eaten well at the cooking class.

~o~

27.09.2023 One just can't find the staff!

 ~o~

 Wednesday 27th. A pleasant day is forecast. With temperatures up to 21C this afternoon. Up at 7am. Aching all over after a restless night. I was using the moonlight shining though the greenhouse and lounge windows. To find my way around in the dark. I went badly off course and fell into a chair! Because my eyes were gummed up/dry as usual. 

 I wonder if it is the bedding? Dust mites? I have washed the sheets and pillowcase. It has made no difference. I have to rinse my eyes for a couple of minutes every morning before I can see clearly.

7.45 The sky is presently milky. With the sun yet to break through. While the trees are moving gently to a breeze. The living room dropped from 68F to 65F overnight. Museum day. No more heavy lifting. I shall ride there of course.

 12.00 An early return home. After a morning fixing brackets to support long and heavy ladders. Now mounted on brackets on the inside of the big shed wall. We needed a powerful drill and screwdriver but the available batteries were flat. 

 I was handed a box of chocolates. For donating my recorder collection to a music school. Luckily there were lots to share with the other volunteers during morning coffee.  

 After that we levelled the gravel floor in the workshop to lay down sheets of plywood. Not as a permanent feature. Just to make it less dusty than the old gravel and reduce the trip hazard.

 18.30 I went for a rare afternoon walk earlier. To photograph the earthworks in a better light. The sun is always ahead in the morning. The afternoon light was much more even. The mottled cloud cover helped. These two images were taken from opposite viewpoints. The landscaping looks all but finished now. The soft slopes are really, rather beautiful. The mature, existing trees play their part.

  I have punished myself for not washing up for several days. No toasted roll and the tea was an hour and half late. I scraped and cleaned the ceramic hob while I was there. Which I hadn't been done recently. Then the back-splash tiles. Sprayed and cleaned the stainless steel sink. I am now ploughing through the laundry backlog. There won't be anything left to wear tomorrow. One just can't find the staff these days! 

 Not sure what to do about dinner. Toast? I have chicken and mushrooms in the fridge. And the makings of a salad. Cooking class tomorrow. So I won't need an evening meal. I'd better use up the chicken and mushrooms before they grow old. Can you have hot food with salad? Kill several birds? Let's give that a try! 😋

 Success! It worked well. I pretended the brown sauce was salad cream. Though that was a bit silly. I still find myself wanting salad cream. Even though I like the individual flavours of all the parts that go to make a salad. I forgot to sprinkle the cheese on top. In fact I completely forgot the cheese.

22.00 Is there a proper pecking order to hanging t-shirts on a clothes airer? There I was juggling the space available. To avoid going outside in the dark. To hang the excess out there. I wanted to space them all across two bars. So the wet surfaces weren't in close contact. Hopefully speeding the drying overnight. 

 Not that I particularly needed a clean T-shirt in the morning. The drawer is still bound to house something acceptable for a humble cooking class for old men. There wasn't much room for the airer until I stopped watching TV.  Now I can't reach the switches to turn off the table lamps and computer!

 The other half of the "lounge" is presently housing the Moustache e-bike too. Don't ask me why. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. People in flats in the US have their bikes in their living spaces. They make a feature of them. Why can't I? 

"Newly converted, luxury bedsit. With secure, en-suite cycle garaging and a bucket on a stool for a nightly piss pot."  

"Lounge" sounds so pretentious. It's a one room, living space. In what is basically a rural hovel. Though it does sport a separate bathroom and a roomy kitchen. Dressing it up with a fancy name still won't change the hideous reality of its substance. "The lounge" was simply "downstairs" when my wife was here. Now  it is more than half empty, without her.

 Now I have to reinvent the etiquette for using the bathroom and toilet. While managing my new career as a solo, lifestyle influencer. For well over half a century there was always somebody else to consider. There was no blind on the bathroom window. Not here, until I put one up last week. 

 So there was the endless juggle to have the hall light on, but not the bathroom light. To avoid becoming "a flasher." Though the distance involved and numerous intervening trees. Made it highly unlikely a neighbour could actually see in. It just felt exposed. During showers the windows would quickly become "steamed up." Which was always a relief in winter. After the leaves had fallen.

  10.45. It must surely be bedtime by now? You wouldn't believe the weird dreams I have been having. I was in a war on a battleship the other night. Not an ordinary battleship. A huge steel bowl. With sides that curved upwards instead of walls.

 ~o~

26.09.2023 Possible new neighbour?

 ~o~

 Tuesday 26th. Banded high cloud. Up at 6am.  I woke twice in the night at 2am and 4am. The first time lying beside my duvet in perfect comfort. Though I pulled it back over on my return to bed. The "new" stove is proving itself a good investment. A single piece of firewood can warm the room. Then keep it warm with the soapstone cladding. 

 7.15 Tuesday cooking class today. The weather is proving record warm for September. Dry with light winds and more sunshine than previous months. Ideal conditions for riding to the distant school kitchen. Through the most beautiful, undulating countryside you could wish for. 

 Mostly by travelling along all but empty, winding lanes. Passing through copses, woods and rural villages and cresting several high points. With views out across the gorgeous countryside to distant hills. The never ending seasons providing a different experience on every ride.

 I allow myself an hour to get there. At a comfortable average of 26km/hr in Sport mode. There are numerous, possible variations of routes but I have settled on the prettiest and most interesting. Imagine having to listen to a screaming scooter engine. Instead of the gentle whine of the Bosch motor and transmission. The sound is usually completely masked by the roar of the wind in my hearing aids. Usually when I forget to turn down the volume before leaving! Under normal circumstances the bike's added sounds are completely innocuous. While providing the vital assistance. To allow me to travel at a race fit, young cyclist's speeds without loss of breath. While completely eclipsing them on climbs. 

 7.30. Time for a walk to see how the earthworks are progressing. I could hear the excavator working all yesterday afternoon. Though I would need to go down to the northern boundary. Then peer out under the overhanging trees to see anything at all. I had a good walk up and down the whole area this morning. Trying to judge the drainage slopes and low points by eye from as many vantage points as possible. 

 I took lots of photos. My conclusion is that the entire sloping field will drain down to the existing natural pond. Which is slightly lower than my boundary. The winter rains will confirm this. One way or another.

9.00 I left to ride to the cooking class. Where my partner and I made vegetable pickles in jars. The image shows the results of other team's labours. The pink, pickled beetroot was delicious!

15.00 I detoured on the way home to shop in another village with different outlets.

 16.00. An estate agent called to enquire about the house for sale next door. There was some doubt about ownership of the outhouses. The boundary maps show they didn't belong to the house which was using them. She wanted to ask if I knew anything about it. Which I did of course. I even printed out the boundary maps for them and took it around to confirm. The young chap being shown the house glared at me and ignored my polite and friendly greeting. Not a good sign!

 It looks as if the earthworks and landscaping are all but finished apart from the details. Planting, lighting  etc. I have to admit it looks great. Beautifully executed! A tractor was pulling rollers up and down this afternoon. Compacting the earthworks and drive while the ground is still dry and manageable. 

  The area behind the "dam" now forms a large bowl. With the hill rising to the east. A wider view, looking south east. From the raised, new drive.

 I presume the drive itself will eventually be surfaced. With something more practical than the present, soft and dusty gravel. Which is presumably temporary and to protect vehicles and the road from the mud in wet conditions. With the rest eventually to be grassed. Possibly even some trees or hedges? If only to screen "scrap man's" hideous assaults on the senses!

 22.00 I haven't lit the stove tonight as it is 20C/68F downstairs. No  need for dinner after eating at the class. I settled for coffee and biscuits as I watched TV.

~o~

25.09.2023 Bags'Я'Us?

 ~o~

 Monday 25th. A pretty,   mottled and barred sky in pink and gold. Rather windy! 7m/s base with gusts to 12m/s. A mild, dry but rather cloudy day is promised. Up at 6am after a quiet night. Got up twice. Doctor's at lunch time for tests related to waterworks problems.

  8.45 Back from a short walk. Cold wind. No new earthworks. What now?

 13.00 Lunch after returning from the doctor. A few drops of blood the lighter. Furnished with assorted containers and a combined questionnaire/diary on my habits. 

 It was hell finding anywhere to store these items on the way home. I went bereft of panniers on the e-bike. So I had to use the rear pouch pocket on my jacket. Which meant I couldn't do up the jacket. So the jacket was flailing in the stiff headwind. 

 I'll have to hang the small Carradice 'Junior' saddlebag on the Contec's loops for such occasions. Being black canvas it should look the part. Though black straps would have been nicer than white. As would a black leather bag instead of canvas. The Carradice makes the whole bike look scruffy!  Now I am turning into a handbag fetishist!

 The earthworks excavator has been busy all afternoon. Fortunately it is well silenced. So hardly disturbs me. Until it finds a rock. Or shakes the bucket free of clinging soil.

18.00 The towels have gone out. I forgot I'd put them into the machine before riding to the doctors.

Dinner was a fish and spinach pastie. With chips and tomatoes. I'd gone off these pasties when they failed to cook in the mini-oven. It nearly happened again. After the recommended 20 minutes at 200C it came out white! I steeled myself to wait for another ten minutes cooking on a higher shelf. With the chips staying warm on the preheated plate already on top of the oven. Disaster averted and I quite enjoyed it. After it gained a tan. 

 It felt cooler at 68F/20C in the lounge. So I lit the stove and burnt a single split log. The temperature rose quickly and the stone cladding on the stove became hot to the touch. Helping to maintain the warmth long after the firewood had burnt away. 

 I woke in the night to find I had been sleeping comfortably with the duvet lying beside me. It was 73F at that point. All internal doors were closed at bedtime. The unheated bathroom and kitchen showed 67F. No doubt helped by the earlier sunshine. I need to remember to close the greenhouse doors early enough to maximise heat gain and retain it. If  I close them during sunshine the greenhouse becomes too warm. Whatever that means in real terms. There shouldn't be anything out there to deteriorate. The chore to clear it has become another major roundtoit!

~o~

24.09.2023 A ride to Helnæs peninsula. [Half island]

 ~o~

 Sunday 24th. The forecast is quite reasonable. Mild with light winds. Up at 5.45. Despite the "naughty" beer and coffee, with dinner last night, I only got up three times in the night. A reasonable trade IMO. I left both grandfather clocks running overnight. Only the 8-day, Scottish clock was striking. Loudly! Probably not a good idea in the same room.

 8.00 Having completely lost interest, I am now finding my camera bits and pieces. Of course the battery was flat. So it took more searching to find the spare sitting in the charger. I now have the Leica 50-200mm fitted to the G9 body. I'll see how I feel about lugging that lot around with me on my walks. Instead of the phone camera. Though I can leave the binoculars at home they have more power for identifying birds.

 The phone camera has been a revelation within certain limits. I was never really inspired to take pictures with it. Despite having accumulated 4000 images from new. I would often take upwards of 200 images with the G9 on a single morning walk. Though there was never the fun of sharing them with my wife after she died.  

It was our morning ritual after my morning walk. As I enjoyed morning coffee at the computer.. She would be sitting behind me on an antique, bodgers, smokers bow armchair in elm. She would be watching YouTube videos on the TV which was right alongside me. I would put up the day's images on the large [28"] computer monitor. 

 She would remark on certain pictures if she liked them. Most were probably rather similar and therefore boring. As I constantly struggled to capture what I saw in different light, weather and seasons. Within a rather limited radius in a beautiful rural  area. 

 The camera always felt as if I was being creative. The phone merely recorded scenes. I like an eye level viewfinder. Focusing screens require reading glasses and semi darkness. I can barely see anything, at all, on a screen in bright sunlight.

 This image shows the Helnæs causeway snaking between the open sea [left] and inland sea. There is almost always a large contrast in the roughness of the water. I actually remembered to raise the saddle to normal height on the dropper post. Though I don't usually like traffic or people in my images. Somebody wanted to pull into the lay-by. So I had to be quick.

 Time for a walk. It is a beautiful morning with solid sunshine. I captured over 250 images on the G9 camera. A chevron of 30, of what I took to be waders, kept circling overhead. With an occasional, plaintive whistle. None of my hasty snaps was particularly sharp. I was going with Dunlins until I did an image search. I'll keep looking. Possibly the grey plover?

 9.45. I really ought to be taking advantage of this fine weather. Where should I go? I know! A rural peninsula about 25km away on the coast. It is where I started my life in Denmark. Albeit briefly, in that huge, old farmhouse.

This gatehouse belongs to a stately home. There is another about a mile or so towards Ebberup. Presumably the big house owned a huge estate in the past and may still do. The hidden archway now leads to a track through the woods. Which cyclists may use as a minor shortcut to the Helnæs road. Across that road is a [one way] lane. Which leads past a water mill and eventually on to the "palace." Cyclists are free to travel both ways. Motor traffic only downhill from the other end of the lane.

13.30 I have just returned from a 58km ride to Helnæs peninsula and back by another way. A cold headwind going. Warmer and effortless on the return. The Bosch Nyon was in planned route mode. Which was unusually interesting because it sent me along some [very] rough tracks! I had chosen the "scenic" option before I left. 

 I knew it had a sense of humour when it sent me though a hole in the hedge exit on the main road. It lead to a village lane and I had ridden that was on my trike any times before. The next bit was a surprise though. A rough track cutting across a field. It would have been a very difficult ride on the trike despite my experience riding for miles off-road.

 Helnæs Beach.[Strand]

 After that it was just a mater of keeping my head down and pedalling furiously into the wind in Sport mode.

 Once across the breezy causeway I rode right across the peninsula. First the long drop past the campsite and down to the beach. Then out to the lighthouse by the crooked lane. [to Helnæs Fyr.] Where there were lots of people parked. It is usually rather quiet there during the week. On the way back I passed the vast solar electric farm at Ebberup. It undulates gently across several fields. With very few neighbours.

 I had lunch, a nap and then a shower before afternoon tea and a marmalade toasted roll. Just another day [alone] in paradise. 

 Dinner was sausages, mashed potatoes, peas, carrots and gravy. Washed down with a beer and coffee to follow. 

 The new carpet has changed my feelings about the lounge. It seems much more welcoming and luxurious. The venetian blinds however have made the spaces darker and more claustrophobic. Or simply enclosed. I need to fix the anchor points. So the blinds can be left raised when not needed. 

 The [home made] entrance door opens outwards. This suddenly seems unwelcoming and almost shed-like. A door which opens inwards makes room for visitors at the expense of losing some indoor hall space. A door which opens outwards obstructs free access. Good grief! Am I suddenly turning into a Feng Shui guru? 😏

 The ISS has been crossing European skies for the last couple of weeks or more. I checked the timetable after noticing the moon rising. Indicating that the sky must be clear. I stepped outside expecting it to be a struggle to see it. I looked up and there is was. Sailing brightly and majestically toward the west.

~o~

23.09.2023 Backlog summary and slow progress.

 ~o~

 Saturday 23rd. Cloudy and almost  no wind. A wet morning is promised. With possible heavy rain and thunder but improving later. 

 Up at 6.15 after at least six toilet breaks in the night. No more coffee after 6pm tonight!

 9.00 It rained lightly as I had a short walk. I ought to prioritise some indoor project while the weather isn't suitable for "running away." 

 The bathroom blind  is fitted. Narrowed, but not shortened yet.

 I have all the venetian blinds to trim to size. The beam across the lounge ceiling is still waiting to be painted white. Which would mean lifting the large carpet. Or rolling it over half its length. The black painted stairs need to be painted white. The rest of the lounge ceiling needs to be boarded.

 Plans for insulation of the exterior walls are at a standstill. Major and costly work even as DIY. Material choices still wide open.

 The space at the foot of the bed needs to be re-arranged for winter firewood storage. To save too many trips to the stack in the greenhouse. Indoor storage also accelerates drying. The grandfather clock, a cupboard and the aspidistra on its wooden stool. Will all need to find a new home. The clock can stand in the north east corner. Where it won't dominate the bed. As it does now.

 The TV needs to be wall mounted. I bought eight, long, heavy duty plugs and screws for this task. Then the ugly cupboard underneath the TV can go. Or be found a new space. It's two, large drawers are quite useful.  Back upstairs in its former dormer resting place? The cracks under and around the eastern, lounge window still need to be filled. No lintel was fitted when an outside door was converted to a window in the dim, distant past.

Outside, I need to clad the eastern gable around the new and smaller, 1st floor window. I can't make my mind up what would be best. Rustic, 1-on-2, vertical battens or planks, smooth T&G planks or [more] grooved plywood?  

 I need a new, main entrance door on the rear, north wall. The present one is thick floor boards screwed to cross battens. The wood shrinks and expands. Is cold, and almost impossible to draught seal. I could cover it with grooved plywood. That would help to stabilise it and provide increased insulation but no extra light. 

 Second longcase clock moved into the NE corner of the lounge. That ugly chest of drawers must go! Once the TV is wall mounted.

 I really want some light through the entrance door. For the north facing entrance hall. I priced a commercial exterior door but it was absolutely ridiculous. Even for a simple, insulated plywood sandwich! Which I could easily make myself. 

 The remaining concrete "patio" still needs to be broken up into manageable pieces. I can lose the concrete rubble easily in the northern area of the garden. Only a short wheelbarrow walk away. Where I am steadily raising the level around the observatory base. Presently overgrown with willows, oaks, etc.

 Paving slabs would seem the best option laid over sand. What about ants? The garden is saturated with them! Not sure how well sharp gravel would work just there. I don't like pea gravel as a walking surface. Too slippery! This area is north facing and in the shade of the house. So would normally be damp. As would slabs for half of the year. Is the northern house wall resting on the remains of the old, concrete slab?

 The present, very ugly, self-stabilising sand and gravel mix is picked up by my shoes when damp. It also grows weeds. The grass outside the gravel makes my footwear wet. Something needs to be done and soon. Gravel would need to be contained. To avoid the mower throwing it everywhere.

 The view of the rearranged lounge looking south.

 The buddleias are still waiting to be planted. I can't decide where to put them!

 The garden hedges along the drive need to be cut right back down again. They have more than doubled in height since last year. General tidying and gardening outside is still badly needed.

 Where to start? Something easy to get me motivated.

 I have moved the 2nd grandfather clock into the far NE corner. The aspidistra is decorating the other northerly window. The log rack is now back indoors and fully loaded. The moisture content of the logs is too low to register after months of sitting in the greenhouse. 

 The view west along the leg of the L-shaped lounge. Looking towards the bathroom and entrance hall. The main entrance door is around the back of the house. The greenhouse blocks easy access to the southern door. Which would otherwise be exposed to the S-SW prevailing winds. The lounge ceiling has dropped in one place and will eventually be boarded with T&G.

There was still plenty of room for the small cupboard and a spare armchair beside the log rack. This will avoid crowding the TV watching chair and frees up the main walkways. Everything is well away from the stove. 

 11.15. Warm sunshine and wind. I had to open up the greenhouse doors to get a through draught.

 12.30 Bathroom venetian blind narrowed and fitted. Privacy at last after 25 years! Not that much can be seen through the intervening trees. The phone camera has distorted the image but I have done my best to correct it. Taken from the lounge looking across the entrance hall.

 All my indoor images are to goad me onto improving the place. I am well aware of the hideous truth! Publishing these images, warts and all, motivates me to do more. I also see things in pictures which go completely unnoticed by eye. After two decades of familiarity.

 6.15. I have been mowing! The grass was damper than usual. So clung to the mower. Still, I got it all done.

 Shopping produced some organic sausages. So I shall be dining in style. Perhaps I'll sit at the dining table. To celebrate that it's not chicken and mushrooms again. 😏 Dare I have a beer? I deserve one. I think I'll go with sausages, chips and a few mushrooms. Throw on a couple of fresh tomatoes. To make it a healthy meal.

 The truth? I sat and watched Netflix with the tray on my lap. A glass of beer on the coffee table. Followed by chocolate biscuits and coffee. Oh, the shame!

 

~o~

22.09.2023 103km more.

 ~o~

  Friday 22nd. Uniform, grey overcast. Up at 7am. I woke at 2 and 5am for a pee. Sweating profusely on the second "trip to the bathroom." I am still using a bucket on a small table at the foot of the bed. To minimise sleep disturbance. 

 I didn't light the stove last night. As the temperature in the lounge was 72F. It didn't feel at all cold like the previous night had. Not drinking anything after 6pm seems to work for me. Though at the cost of the loss of the enjoyment of a small beer and a coffee. Does this reduction in life's pleasures outbalance the benefits? 

8.30. Time for a walk? Plans for today? In no particular order. In your own time. A tabby cat is sitting on the edge of the parking space. It had become a bit of a regular visitor but remains shy. As do all the others. They run like hell at the mere sight of me.

 9.15 I was treated to an aerial display by a red kite this morning. Yesterday I saw lots of birds of prey. From two kestrels up to red kites and European buzzards. All taking advantage of the wind. To soar effortlessly. I reached home just now. To see dozens of light coloured birds moving quickly and nervously between the garden trees. One of them paused just long enough to be identified as a warbler. Perhaps they are gathering for their annual migration to the south.

 The weather is much too nice now to stay indoors. Mild and sunny without yesterday's wind. Another ride? But where shall I go? I get flashes of places I could visit. There were so many I rode to on the trike. Or in the car. I usually put up Google Maps and try to find somewhere interesting. Taking my lunch with me helped to stave off tiredness. I nibbled a micro Corny bar and drank apple juice at intervals. 

 My bottled water idea didn't work. The dispenser in the top was too fine and too slow to slake my thirst. I may have to buy a new water bottle. Those I once used must be 12-15 years old now. The plastic may have deteriorated in unknown ways. They are out in the damp shed somewhere. Probably gathering mould. I haven't seen any for sale recently. There used to be "organic" cycling bottles for sale in different places. 

 I plan to ride to Ringe. It has the ride from Espe to Ringe on the beautiful cycle path. Often without seeing another soul. About 40km each way from home. 

16.30 Safely back from a 103km ride to Espe, Ringe and back via Korinth. I called in on my friend on the way back. Where we enjoyed coffee outside in mild but breezy conditions. The sky seemed threatening at times and I was rained on twice on the way. Dry for the return journey. I changed batteries to allow me to use Turbo mode freely on the return journey. A tiny bird of prey left me standing at my 40km/hr into the wind. 25mph.

The council has been in contact. They have assured me of the low risk of flooding. After the earthworks in the fields are completed. I don't suppose they knew. That the back gardens of the houses on the road are regularly flooded in winter?  I feel more discussion is warranted.

 10.00 Dinner was beans on toast. With bananas and yogurt to follow.  I cannot tell a lie. I had coffee after dinner. Purely as a means to rehydration after a long day in the saddle. No stove required tonight. The sunshine had pushed the lounge up to 72F. It has now dropped to a comfortable 70F. 21C?

~o~

21.09.2023 A mixed ride of 85km.

 ~o~

 Thursday 21st. Windy! A dry day is promised with warmth later. Up at 6.15 after a comfortable night. Woke only once to go to the bathroom at 3am. Probably thanks to no drinks after 6pm.

 7.00 I have an appointment at 9.00, in town. To have my ears scraped free of wax. My lower back hurts so I need a walk. Which means no more waffling for the moment.

 Multi-billionaire, Mr 1%, of Gravely Blighted, has decided he doesn't need to worry about climate change. It is already far too late. So more empty promises won't change a thing. 

 Keep on driving your filthy vehicles until you die of old age. Or climate change gets you first. Rain? Flooding? Snow? Wind? A new weather record is being set somewhere. In the time it takes to read this. Northern Sweden has just had 38cm/15" of snow in one night. Earlier and heavier than ever recorded in September in well over a century since they started recording.

 Meanwhile Greenwashing Denmark still believes in empty, official promises. The government will hand loads of taxpayer's money to its commercial sector. To pretend to capture CO2. The real experts [scientists] say it will be another waste of time and money. Just pretending to invent new or unproven technology. Putting off the inevitable hard choices. Instead of doing something serious about climate change.

 8.00 Just returned from my walk. The imported soil seems to be spreading further southwards. Though there hasn't been much activity over the last couple of days. The image above shows the immediate, rain collection area beyond the new earthworks. The sloping field acts as a huge funnel. A field hedge hides the continuation upwards. To the forest on the summit of the hill hundreds of meters away. While the pooling area, for any run-off, has shrunk to almost nothing. 

 9.00 I had better have a shower and get ready. 

   10.30 Back from town in bright sunshine. I won't need to go back for four months this time. My ear wax build up was minimal. Now I really ought to go for a ride. The southerly wind is dropping steadily after yesterday's gales. Gusting to 13m/s or 30mph until late afternoon. Despite the frantic motion of the trees at times. Warm, dry days will soon be in short supply. 

 11.00 A favourite goal would be Bogense on the north coast. A lovely little, mostly unspoilt, coastal town. Tailwind going, but risks more of a struggle coming back. About an 80km, mostly gorgeous and undulating, round trip with minor detours. I should take my lunch rolls. Plus the usual Corny micro-bars and micro apple juices. I could even take a water bottle in one of the pannier bags. Second battery for a relaxed and effortless assistance on the return. If I stretch out the duration the headwinds should be lighter later. Drop my average speed to avoid a self-induced gale.

 16.15 I have returned from a ride to Bogense. 85km or 53miles. It was windy and the headwind on the return journey was a nuisance. I changed the battery late in my ride. At around 25% remaining charge. Then rode home in Turbo mode. I suffered from saddle soreness as usual. This was while wearing a pair of my three bibs. Padded cycling shorts with braces. I really must investigate chamois cream!

 The route I took was through delightful countryside. Effortless on the way in warm sunshine. I had the quiet lanes almost to myself. I stopped to eat my bread rolls on the way. Only to discover that the honey and cheese were now firmly intermingled. Fortunately they were still edible. The sun was veiled on the way back. With much more cloud. The headwind made it feel completely different. 

 On the main roads there were a few criminally insane drivers. Who, rather than lift off to let a single approaching car go past. Floored the accelerator and overtook me. Just as the opposing car narrowed the road between us. The oncoming car driver almost never has the foresight to drive nearer the verge when the see a cyclist ahead. That would require they were actually reading the road. Which would demand they had well above average intelligence for a car driver.

 The overtaking, mentally retarded drivers always shot past me. With barely a foot of clearance. Not ideal in windy conditions on consistently rough roads. When I was being pushed about at random and trying to avoid sunken drains and pot holes. These morons obviously haven't heard of the MINIMUM 1.5 meter EU clearance rule when overtaking cyclists. Or obviously consider themselves above such "petty nonsense." Because the cars they drive give them exemption from the law and all other such "trivialities." 

 Which is why the police catch such vast numbers of speeding drivers. Had they set up a speed trap today they would have caught many more. There had been road resurfacing for many kilometres. Which was not yet complete. With endless ridges of [very] loose gravel and no road markings. So the speed limits were lowered. As indicated on many, temporary signs placed at short intervals. Reducing the normal 80kph to 50kph. [50mph down to 30mph.] Few if any driver adhered to this legal limit. Did any? I can't be sure.

 Talking of resurfacing. Countless months after leaving excavations on a cycle path covered with dangerous, rough and loose gravel. They finally sent in the asphalt team yesterday to smooth the way. Of course the main road was resurfaced immediately after the excavations were completed. 

 Cars rule the road. Cyclists in "cycling friendly" Denmark are still a very long way down the pecking order. Whatever rumours you might hear to the contrary. The rough gravel stretch was only a couple  of hundred meters from a school. Where the cycle sheds are packed with probably a hundred bikes on a typical school day. 

 "They" [the local authorities] have recently LOWERED a speed bump protecting the school. Sited on the main road which passes the school. Why? Because too many cars were being damaged by taking the hump at ridiculously high speeds. As clearly shown by the damage to the rather gentle hump!  

 The speed limit drops to 50kph hundreds of meters from the hump! The speed limit beyond that is a short stretch of 60kph uphill. God know why it is raised to 40mph on the hill. This hill is following a long stretch of 50kph [30mph] in a village. Where drivers habitually speed. So, in theory, drivers have probably 2km [2,000 meters] to get their speed down to the standard for built up areas. As they approach the hump and then cruise onwards past the school, but usually accelerating!

 I had  a nap from 4.30 to 5.15 with a short [unexpected] wakening in the middle.

 Woke just in time for a cup of tea and marmalade on a toasted roll. No more drinks now until tomorrow. I am experimenting with a 6pm drinks cut-off time. To try and reduce my nightly visits to the bathroom. I do miss my milky coffee after dinner. To wash away the taste of the food I have just eaten. I had to get up only once at about 3am last night. The night before, after my usual coffee, I was up on the hour every hour!

 Dinner was just wrong. I had little in the larder or fridge to choose from. So I went with pasta and peas. With cold tuna as "the meat." The salty, wet and cold fish just did not work with the hot veg. Never again! I didn't like the Fettucini pasta either. Preferring the Pastella Organic Fettucini. Which is much less "rubbery" and tastier.

~o~

20.09.2023 I forgot!

 ~o~

 Wednesday 20th. Wet and windy. Up at 6.15. Museum day. I had better go in the car.

 8.00 I ought to go for a walk.

8.30. I didn't go far. Just far enough to see what progress is being made on the new drive. There are numerous heaps dumped by the huge tipper trucks but not yet spread out,

 9.00 I arrived at the museum in the car. It rained on and off all morning. I helped with various light tasks. 

 The image is of the steps leading down to the small cellar at the farm museum. It is sited at one end of the main house. Close to the road and accessed from outdoors.

14.00 I have just returned home. Having taken a heaped trailer of garden waste to the recycling yard. First I had to gather it all together from the foot of the beech hedge. Where it had been lying, on both sides, since I cut it much lower.

 I forgot which shopping I needed. So missed several chances while I was in the village. I forgot the shopping list too!

 8.30 Dinner was cheese on toast with fresh tomatoes.

I am experimenting in not having anything to drink after 6pm. Just to see if it affects my, all too frequent, nightly visits to the bathroom. It seems simple enough but I like a mug of coffee after dinner. 

 8.45. I lit the stove because I was feeling cold,. The lounge rose quickly from 68F to 73F. Only one, split log so far. I didn't need any more before bedtime. When I finally remembered to close the last of the internal doors.

 

 

~o~ 

20.09.2023 Blinded by the light! [No longer.]

 ~o~

 Tuesday 20th. A wet and windy forecast. 24m/s gusts after lunch equals 54mph.

4.30. I am [rather foolishly] drinking a cup of black coffee. Up at 3am after dreaming about the death of my wife and [some years earlier] her mother. I have been getting up, on the hour, every hour, to pee. I have an appointment, at the doctor's today, on this very matter.

 7.45. Went back to bed at 5.30 and slept until 7am. Time for a walk.

 8.30. Talk about bad timing! It was dry when I left for my walk, though windy. The wind soon increased dramatically! Then came the rain as the sky darkened. I was well sheltered by the towering, roadside hedge. So wasn't at immediate risk of a drenching. I walked on with the trees roaring overhead. Then came relatively local claps of thunder! 

 Time to reconsider my folly! I quickly crossed the road and turned back towards home. Increasing my pace against the speeding, commuter traffic. As I weighed the lack of shelter against the higher risk of a lightning strike. Were I to walk under the trees with my back to the traffic. By the time I reached the drive it had stopped raining and the wind had dropped. 

 10.15 Twilight and a 15 minute [and counting] cloudburst! The car needed a wash. The greenhouse too but not at the expense of leaks! I kept nodding off at the computer. Time for a nap.

12.15 Occasional sunshine. I finally completed trimming one of the venetian blinds to window width. The special trimming scissors were fine and made a great job of shaping all the ends precisely to length and shape. There must be 30 strips so that leaves 60 ends lying on the floor. On future blinds I shall cut the louvres first. The steel profiles afterwards. That will help to protect the nearest blades from damage.

 However, sawing the steel profiles at top and bottom was very hard work! I tried numerous ways of holding the profiles still. They twisted much too easily. The profiles were so thin that even the finest hacksaw blade caught repeatedly. None of my power tools really suited the job. 

 Fortunately I have a lifetime collection of hand tools and experience. I used a jeweller's piercing saw. With a fine toothed, metal cutting blade. Working slowly, in long strokes, it eventually cut through. The ends of the profiles are capped. So ragged edges are hidden. Though smoothing off the burrs from sawing was a natural step. 

 I have fitted the first blind above the head of my bed. So I can have my afternoon nap without resorting to the bed upstairs Where the roller blinds provide some gloom. The sun shines on the bed downstairs. Making sleeping rather difficult. Not any more. The closed blind image at the top of the page is not full darkening. Which would have made a boring picture.

 The new blind open. I could get RSI from playing with the adjustment wand!

12.45 I had better make some lunch. Doctor's at 14.00. Then shopping  in two different villages. It will have to be by car. The weather is suppose to be wet with gales. 12 hours of it starting about 14.00.

Doctors at 14.00. The Ultrasound scan confirmed I am not pregnant. I have new appointments for various tests and a follow up consultation. Shopped in the village on the way home. Then another shopping trip in the car to another village. Lots of rain and wind. It was raining hard as I disconnected the negative earth, battery lead.

 The new blind allowed another nap in my own bed downstairs. Now I don't know whether I am catching up. Or overtaking my shortage of sleep. 

 The wind is even stronger. So I closed all the windows. Which have been on ventilation settings for the last few months. I was tempted to light the stove for the first time this autumn. As it was 67F in the lounge I just put on a jumper instead. I'd only overheat in bed if I lit the stove.

Dinner was fish fingers, chips and tomatoes. Back to watching very silly Asian comedies on Netflix.

~o~

18.09.2023 Bosch eBike Connect and Nyon updates.

 ~o~

 Monday 18th. A wet and windy day is promised. Up at 5.45. Sweating profusely in bed at 71F. I was having strange, ultra-detailed dreams, involving my wife. With twists of complete nonsense. The greenhouse roof is misted up. Down to the curved shoulders but not the vertical walls.

 6.45. It is dry but breezy. I shall have an early walk.

 7.30  Just back from my walk to the lanes. Mild but breezy. Too warm in a jumper and light jacket. Traffic in frantic, commuter mode. Brought the empty dustbins back.

 I didn't do the urgent shopping yesterday. Having detoured to my friend's before I reached the shops. I shall have to take a raincoat with me on the bike. Just in case of a local shower. The major rain is forecast for after lunch. A SE wind will make the return journey harder work than usual.

10.45 Returned from my shopping trip. It was windy but manageable. Slowing down helps. Or choosing a higher assistance mode and relaxing. 

 An idiot cleaner was working on a roadside cottage in a village. His van had two reels. One for water and presumably the other was a power cable. He had parked his van across the road from his project. Then he had gone around the back of the house. Taking his pressure washer lance with him. Leaving the cables stretched tightly, in mid air, right across the road! 

 I stopped and shouted to him across the back garden. He was too retarded to understand the simplest words I could muster. If a car had run into the stretched cable the lance would have been snatched from his grasp and god knows what damage. Or injury, it might have caused. 

 A Wurth van driver was too drunk to stay on the road. Despite it being only mid morning. The van brushed dangerously closely past me. Which was what first caught my attention. There was a total lack of oncoming traffic. Then the van crossed the white line marking the verge. Before swerving away. To cross the centre line of the road. The poor driving skills may explain the appallingly low score for Wurth on Trustpilot.

 I tried recharging the battery on my Moustache e-Bike while in situ. For the first time ever. I usually remove the battery for charging when I get home after a ride. There is a stipulation for temperatures within certain limits when charging. Indoor temperatures have always been optimum. It also removes the battery from an otherwise desirable e-bike. No battery? It can't go anywhere. Except as a very heavy, manual bike. From all the times I forgot to engage a drive mode after Nyon removal. I can vouch for the unwillingness of the e-bike to move far under my own power. It's like pedalling through thick treacle!

 There is a socket for the charger plug behind a rubber flap near the motor. The Nyon head showed the state of charge when I refitted it. Just to see if it did. I presume there is no need for the head to be in place for main battery charging. Its absence makes the bike much less attractive to thieves. The motor won't run without the head in place. Nor can any other head be substituted. The Nyon unit is paired to that particular e-bike and no other.

 It didn't seem to take very long to charge from 80-100% but I didn't time it. It had dropped 20% charge on my 20km ride to the shops in Sport mode. Over many rides I find that Sport mode usually uses 1% charge per kilometre. If I choose to leave 30% charge on a battery during a ride the Moustache is good for around 70ks. 

 I routinely charge to 100% because I use the bike so often. Without a clue how far I might be going next time. Two fully charged batteries will take me about 150km. Which is further than I care to ride in one day. At least so far. My recent, 138km/85 miles distance record. Was based on a lack of nutrition and fluids on a very hot day. A foolish mistake for someone who has been riding bikes for 70 years! I was simply too impatient to leave. When I could have taken rolls and/or bananas and a water bottle.

 There were map updates on offer on the Bosch Nyon today but none for Denmark. At least it made no effort to update. It just sat there with Denmark as the update choice. Famous last words! It just updated in seconds as I typed this. Guilty conscience? 183Mb.

 After the huge mound of curry of yesterday I needed a lighter meal. Two perfect poached eggs on toast.

~o~

17.09.2023 Care in the community?

 ~o~

 Sunday 17th. Rather cloudy. The sun hasn't shown itself yet. [7.40am]  Up at 6.30 after a quiet night. Aching all over. Cycling? Gardening? Carpet fitting. Rescuing "suicidal" stairs? All of the above?

The new [recycled] rug/carpet is still there and looking much smarter. Than any of the variations over the last 27 years. The newly cleared space, under the stairs, would look worse. If I "imported" anything to fill it. The expanse of clear floor continues to astonish. Making the room seem twice its past size.

 My "new" [recycled] bed and its situation in the lounge, are almost entirely positive. There was no reduction in comfort. I find sleeping and living downstairs almost normal now. 

 Though I do need to arrange a nearby switch to a dim, night light. As I am still using a small torch. To avoid being blinded by any of the three, table lamps. When I have to get up in the dark to pee. Which can mean between three to six excursions per night. Every night. My need for sleep means I must minimise disruption to an absolute minium.

 Clothes storage remains rather chaotic and fluid. I find myself searching for clothes after my shower. The large, chest of drawers contains far too many winter jumpers for one person. When it should really house essential clothing in this highly accessible situation. The jumpers can go back upstairs. And now have. It took only five minutes to move the entire contents of the tallboy downstairs. The volume of the chest of drawers is huge! I have twenty T-shirts full of holes. Absolute rags! Why?

 It will be interesting to see how things change. As I begin to light the wood stove every morning. Which will be quite soon now. My recent visitor commented on it being cooler than any of the other houses she visits. It was 70F in the lounge at the time. After a lifetime, of living in energy poverty, I must have adapted to lower temperatures. The new stove completely eclipses the old one for heat output. At the cost of no "free" hot water.

 I have surprisingly little experience of living downstairs in summer or winter. It was somewhere I visited occasionally but went largely ignored. There were no chairs to sit on. It was rather dim and packed with excess furniture. Access to most of the room was largely impossible. The battered, old, three seater settee, a prize from our youth, was anything but comfortable. Just reaching it was a challenge! So we lived upstairs in the attic year round. No doubt the exercise, of climbing the steep stairs so often, was highly beneficial.

 Curtaining off the stairs, in winter, should reduce heat loss to the attic. Without causing it to freeze up there. Which would only cause increased heat loss through the ceiling. The roof is well insulated. A curtain should help to maintain a more comfortable and even temperature in the lounge. While an L-shaped curtain rail will allow easy access to the bottom of the stairs when needed. 

 8.15.  I have to shop again. Having missed some important items yesterday.  I should have gone for a walk half an hour ago!

 8.30 Golden sunshine briefly reached from one end of the house to the other. I have just realised that I now get the full benefit of all the ground floor space available to me. My computer desk is against the east wall. Giving me a clear, unobstructed view. Along the lounge, across the entrance hall, to the bathroom and its far, western wall beyond. All of 10m [33'] away. Now I really must go for a walk!

 9.30 I'm back! I had a chat with a neighbour on the next, shared drive, along the road. She was delighted with the progress on the earthworks. She will soon enjoy a clear view of a level grass field. Probably with beautiful horses grazing. Instead of an undulating and sloping mass of weeds. 

 However, the "problem neighbour," next door, cannot be so easily rid of. His evil and insane behaviour [IMO] is [seemingly] completely untouchable. He will even bring in a large and heavy load transporter lorry. And a large crane. Just to dump huge objects against unhappy and complaining neighbour's boundaries! Those objects remain there 10 years later.

 The law allows this lunatic [IMO] to hoard anything and everything on his land. Including large, dilapidated boats and numerous halves of scrap, building site offices and several shipping containers.

 The law allows him to leave houses, in numerous villages, half demolished or half rebuilt. Their land or gardens full of anything and everything he chooses. Thereby, single handedly, massively reducing the value of many adjoining properties. No doubt lowering the standards of whole villages. Making many of their nearby houses completely unsaleable. 

 The council and his victims' solicitors cannot make him change his insanely, antisocial behaviour. He buys up properties for very little money on forced auctions. Often for no more than the price of a half decent carport or garage. Then he treats his new "neighbours" with total and utter contempt! His "properties" remain a complete eyesore for well over a decade in some cases without change. Merely accumulating more weeds and more junk. No doubt he can borrow against the "value" of all "his" eyesores? He claims to rent out some of his properties.

 It was his refusal to clear, or sell a half demolished/half rebuilt, uninhabitable, local property. Which caused the neighbour to our north to build their massive, 200m long, new drive. Across their field and up to the road. The expense must have been colossal! All this because of one, evil man. IMO. Who no longer lives in the hovel of his own making of 12 years ago! The one he would not sell. His nearest neighbours report a drop of 300,000kr on their home's value. About £30k. As well as it being completely impossible to sell. Being surrounded in oversized junk.

 Their "neighbour from hell" parked a huge, rusting old boat on a slowly collapsing trailer. So near to the drive that it was hard to drive past. Halved building site sheds, all filled with junk, adorn the other side of the drive. Narrowing access even further.  A previous boat, parked in the same spot had fallen over. So he simply set fire to it! That boat was made of fibreglass and the stench and smoke were particularly memorable. He stacked roofing sheets beside the road. Which lifted in a gale and lay across the busy road for several days.

 The law protects this man's right to privacy. So if I were to share images of his hideous eyesores online, it is I who would very probably be prosecuted. Yet it is HE who is protected by the law. His countless victims have no such protection at all!

 9.50. Much more sunshine now. As it increasingly breaks through the cloud cover.

11.00  Going shopping.  

15.00 Returned from visiting my English friend. 52km in 1h57m at 26 km/hr. Late lunch.

16.36 Bosch Connect App has updated.

 19.00 I am going to make chicken and mushroom curry for dinner. Just for a change. 

 22.00. I have just taken two, heavy, wheely bins the 120m along the drive in the pitch dark. It was raining heavily earlier. When I first remembered them. So I parked the waste bin in the middle of the hall. To be sure I did not forget to take the bins along before bedtime. This worked and it was dry, with even a few stars showing, just now.

 ~o~