28.02.2025 Gardening? Surely not?

 ~o~

  Friday 28th 34F/1C [6.40] A cool, grey day with a northerly wind.

 6.40 Up at 4.15. I woke up at 4am and started worrying about downsizing. 

 I have just measured my blood pressure. The lowest, of three, taken at 5 minute rest intervals, was 114/70 with a pulse of 44 bpm. Which seems reasonable. I got the stove going again from the embers with some kindling.

 9.20 Woke from an hour's catch-up nap. 

10.30 I was desperate to find a reason for a ride. Even though it isn't very warm. [36F/2C] Then I spotted the brambles from the bathroom window! I am going to get a metal blade for my DeWalt strimmer/trimmer. Google tells me they are stocked at the nearest builder's merchants. So off I go. 

 12.15 Back from a 29km ride to the builder's merchant. It was cold going both ways. My hands were very cold again. My eyes and nose streaming. Returning with a three pronged blade for the strimmer, new hearing defenders and safety glasses. The strimmer, even with its heavy duty, reinforced nylon line was unable to make any impact on the tough bramble stems. So I'll try the blade instead. It looked good on YouTube.

 Oh dear! Wrong model. The blade fits the next two, more expensive models. 571 & 581. Not my 561.  The 571 would cost me another £250 equivalent without batteries or charger. For very little real gain. I dragged out a long pole, mains hedge clipper. It could manage the thinner bramble stems but weighed a ton. We bought it years ago. For when the hedges were well beyond human reach.

 I turned my attention to my late wife's flower bed. Rather surprisingly there were four Buddleias in leaf amidst the impenetrable thatch. I had planted these myself. I spent an hour clearing the dead material. Much of it rosebay willowherb. Those which would not pull straight out were given a haircut. With the gutless, DeWalt strimmer. It is only good enough for medium length grass on borders. Hopeless on anything thicker than a matchstick.

 It took half an hour to catch up on the washing up before dinner. 

 Which was mashed potato, peas and fried chicken bits.

 

 

 

 

 

  ~o~

27.02.2025 Cooking class.

 ~o~

 Thursday 27th 32F/0C. Overcast. A cool, grey day with an easterly wind.The Morris is covered in white frost and the windows iced over.

 Up at 6.45 after a very quiet night. Cooking class this morning. I hope the Morris behaves itself. I built and maintained a mini based, kit car for years in the UK. Replacing almost literally everything myself. Engine, gearbox, differential, brakes, distributor, suspension, cooling system, hand built front facing radiator, carburetors, K&N filters, belt drive to sports camshaft, fuel system, stainless steel, braided hoses throughout, inlet and exhaust manifolds, 2" rally exhaust, oil cooler, rally seats, racing rear sub-frame, with Spax coil-over, gas struts, full harnesses, roll cage. All done on a very tight budget.

 I completely rewired the car twice. When a new, plastic covered loom later became available. To replace the cloth wrapped, 1960s original. Back then the Mini was popular and there were plenty of spares and upgraded components on the market. That was over 40 years ago.

 It was basically the same engine but with a different, transverse gearbox to front wheel drive. So I should be able to get the Morris running better than it has. The problem seems to be the quality and design of common electrical and ignition components. Originals may be over 50 years old. Replacements are probably made in Asia.  Possibly to suit the different requirements of electronic ignition, fuel injection and cost cutting. Now we have the Internet and YouTube. As well as the Haynes Manual. With its often pathetic, picture quality.

 I have just started the Morris [easily] and sprayed the windows with de-icer.

 14.00 Returned from cooking class. Where I made a complex soup of multiple vegetables and coconut milk. Lots of preparation, dicing everything small. So it could be blended in the huge saucepan. It seemed popular. Everybody had seconds.

I felt very tired for some reason when I got back. So I had a nap. The car behaved itself. Except for a couple of worrying moments. When it suddenly died but restarted itself in a fraction of a second.

No dinner required because I had eaten so well at lunch time.

 

 ~o~

26.02.2025 Nuts!

  ~o~

 Wednesday 26th 39F/4C. Overcast and misty again. Mostly dry but very high humidity.

 Up at 7.20 after drifting for hours. Physio after lunch. The new freezer is at -22C again. The lower than expected temperatures are freezing the oven chips together. Luckily the ten minutes warm up time for the new oven. Gives me time to let them defrost slightly before they go in. So I can separate the clumps of chips and spread them out. I solved the weird twisting of the baking tray. I twisted the cold tray in my bare hands to relieve the tension.

 9,20 Back from a walk to the lanes. The traffic was unusually quiet on the way. More normal on my return. Still misty.

 I spent some time cleaning and checking the Morris. I cleaned the wheels with rainwater. They were filthy. Out of three, tubular, wheel nut spanners. Which I found in the toolkit in the boot. None fitted! So I fetched a long 1/2" drive socket wrench and an 18mm socket. I'll buy a long handled, telescopic driver. To make life easier if I ever have to remove a wheel on the side of the road. 18mm seems not to be a standard wheel nut size. Most are listed as 17/19mm.  

 16.00 Returned from physio class. That went well but was hard work. 

 I visited a couple of Morris Minor contacts on the way home. The first gave me lots of advice. Based on decades of specializing in Morris Minor repair and restoration. The second kindly gave me a free starter crank with a wheel nut socket on the end. So that I could turn the engine over slowly enough to set the points.

 The points seem to have been set very close. Or had closed over time. I opened them to the recommended gap. The engine started normally afterwards but will need a run to confirm any change or improvement. Cooking class tomorrow. So it will get a good outing.

 Dinner was another weird omelette. Sausage, mushrooms and three eggs. Aided and abetted by baked beans. I poured the whisked eggs over the fried, sausage and mushrooms. Then turned the whole lot onto a plate after a few minutes. To give the second side a chance to cook. It was fine but there was nowhere for the beans except a side plate.

 

 ~o~

25.02.2025 Morris has a bath.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 25th 41F/5C. Overcast with thick mist. I can't see the neighbours at the back. 165m away. An almost dry, but cloudy day, is promised.

 7.45 Mist clearing slowly. Up at 6.50. 65F/18C in the room. I had a weird dream about exploring a WW2 torpedo boat in a harbour. No idea why. 

 8.30 I had better go for a walk. 

 9.00 I looped around the neighbourhood drives to get away from the roaring traffic and tire spray. Bad timing with several vast container lorries passing. Everything is saturated but the mist is thinning.

 11.00 I have been tidying inside and outdoors. Washed the Morris in clean rainwater. The fridge freezer is oscillating between -13C and -22C. The fridge compartment between 3C and 6C.

 16.00 A burst of sunshine fooled inspired me to have a ride into town to catch up on the shopping. I managed to fill both pannier bags. The sunshine didn't last long. It was 47F/8C when I left. Only 44F/6.7C on the return journey. The wind was supposed to be southerly but I had a cold headwind all the way home. Only 11km today.

 Dinner was organic sausage, mushrooms and chips.

 

 ~o~

24.02.2025 Oh, the irony!

 ~o~

  Monday 24th 41F/5C. Overcast with a long wet day forecast. We could get 12mm or half an inch of rain today.

 8.15 Up at 7am after a quiet night. If I am to have a walk then it ought to be now. The rain is expected to start around 10am.

 9.30 Still overcast but no rain yet. It was nearly 8.45 by the time I left. My usual walk to the lanes. A cold S-SE wind made my eyes water, my nose run and my fingers cold. 

 Oh, the wonderful irony! The refuse/recycling staff left me a note. To say that the potholes in the shared drive risk damage to their vehicle. This, after decades of dragging my bin to the junction with the main run. None of the drive legally belongs to me. I have no boundaries to it. Except the entrance to my own garden.  The problem was that none of the neighbours cared about maintenance. None would contribute to its upkeep over the years. Despite enjoying its freedom to come and go. I even had to dig my way out through the snow every winter!

  I have been fetching gravel and filling the potholes. Despite my having no legal requirement to do so. I even paid for lorry loads of gravel to be delivered and strewn along the drive. So I [alone] could even it out with a rake. 

 My heart problems put and end to my hard labour over maintaining the drive. I also sold my old car and large trailer. So cannot fetch useful quantities of gravel any more. The Morris Minor cannot tow heavy weights and the small trailer is matched to that situation. Only a thin layer of gravel in the bottom would seriously overload it.

 My neighbours, who own the entire drive legally, also had a printed note. Which like mine, was presumably trapped in the bin lid. Theirs had blown away. So I rescued it and popped it into their postbox.

 The drive exits on a blind and dangerous corner with speeding traffic. Including buses and seven axle international transport, container lorries. So there is literally nowhere for the large bin lorry to park on the road. Nor anywhere to place the bins near the road for the few houses in our tiny hamlet. Ideally the ruin left by a developer years ago could be demolished. It lies just prior to the sharp and blind bend. Leaving a modest area for the lorry to pull in, park and room for the bins to be arranged for emptying. The lorry could leave on his own side of the road with a clear view behind.

 Though this idea would add yet another 100 meters to my existing 100m drag. Of the heavy, wheely bins along to the collection timetable. Much of the main drive is now heavily potholed. Except for the 100m stretch to my home. Which was given a lorry load of gravel a couple of years ago. At my own expense. Which I personally spread out. The surface is standing up to the normally modest traffic levels reasonably well. Though the recent movements of the tradesmen's vans has ruined my self-made parking space.  

 I will have a chat with my neighbour. To suggest how this might be way to remove the hideous eyesore on the road. Which blights the view from all the houses in the area. Not to mention seriously depleting their value.

 I had a shower using my new shower rail and shower head as intended. Rather than hand held. It was not easy. There is no thermostatic control of water temperature. Which fluctuated more than was desirable. Despite there being no other water being used at the time. As I was sitting within the spray pattern. I struggled to reach the taps to adjust the temperature. 

 The upside was that remaining seated, within the generous width of the sits bath, kept the spray off the floor. The towel, which is always placed beside the bath. To avoid stepping out onto a cold and slippery, tiled floor, was dry. Perhaps I should consider a thermostatically controlled, mixer tap?

 Dinner was a salmon pasty, peas, tinned tomatoes and pasta. I washed up while it was cooking.

 ~o~

23.02.2025 No rear fog lights? Dugh!

 ~o~

  Sunday 23rd 39F/4C [8.15] Overcast and misty.

 Up at 7am after a quiet night. Feeling hot again. 65F/18C in the room.

 8.30 Time for a walk.        

 9.15 Back from a walk to the lanes. The mist was probably a little over 150m silhouette level. The trees were raining on me as I passed underneath. Great tits and greenfinches were beeping in the trees and hedges.

 There is a new level of insane laziness on the Danish roads today. Recent cars have no rear lights showing. Though 24 hour headlights remain a legal requirement in Denmark. Guess what? Those who can afford a modern car need not engage their brains in thick mist. Instead of switching on rear fog lights and quarter lights for safety. They now drive around with no rear lights showing at all! 

 So they lose at least 100m of live saving visibility. To cars catching them up in thick mist. Because no matter how fast these idiots drive in thick mist. There will always be some lunatic driving even faster. Witness all the tire tracks on the grass verges this morning. As they overshot the blind corners in their insane blindness. The icing on the cake was the empty bottle of Jack Daniels thrown into a field. 

 Another lazy morning on YT. I don't feel like doing anything. Though I did a bit of tidying. Took a recycling bin along the drive. Used up another spray bottle of bathroom cleaner from yesteryear. On the bathroom. I'll leave it to do its worst before following up. I moved the fridge next to the recycling cupboard. Having a gap between them was pointless. The fridge had been quite noisy until then but fell silent. Watered the plants. I ought to go for a ride after lunch.         

 15.30 Going for a ride to another shopping village.   

 16.30 41F/5C. Heavily overcast. Back from a 20km ride with shopping. On the way there I met a severely ill, mental out-patient driving a car. The raving lunatic was at the far end of a light controlled roadworks of some 200 meters. I passed the green light and pedaled furiously to get through the filter quickly. So as not to impede the oncoming traffic. I was averaging 35kph. Over 20mph. So the lights were not being generous with their timing. 

 It seems the deranged moron was prevented from pulling into the single lane by 0.003 seconds. As the lights changed in their favour just as I passed at speed. So they promptly had a nervous breakdown. They blasted the horn and leaned on it for several seconds. Despite my having already cleared their path. 

 How would they have coped had I been an ordinary, perhaps elderly cyclist averaging only around 8-10kph? Would they have climbed out of their car and beaten this poor cyclist to a pulp? Serious anger management issues I assume. I just hope they don't take it out on anybody innocent at home. Assuming they have managed to breed. Despite their severe, mental handicap. 

 It was unpleasantly cold and breezy going both ways. My fingers were aching in my gloves again. Though the rest of me was fine. 

 Dinner was grilled sardines on toast with halved cherry tomatoes. Not burnt.

  ~o~

22.02.2025 27km.

 ~o~

 Saturday 22nd 40F/4.4C [8.40] It started bright but has become overcast. The trees are moving to the southerly breeze.

 Up at 7am after drifting since 4am. 63F/17C in the room. The kitchen was at 17C, the freezer at -14C and the fridge a 1C when I got up.  Now settled on -18C and 4C respectively. It is set to Eco mode. Perhaps it is saving energy? By allowing itself the freezer to reach slightly higher temperatures overnight. When the doors are not being opened.

 I plan a ride to a shopping village some 10km away. It has two supermarket outlets which I don't have locally. It will be a cold headwind going. Tailwind coming home.  

 12.30 46F/8C. Back from a 27km ride. There was headwind going but not as cold as recently. I visited two flea markets as well as shopped.

 This afternoon I have stacked the loose pile of logs against the house wall. I wanted to avoid double handling but it was becoming increasingly difficult. To move around in the greenhouse. I also did two lots of laundry. Re-lit the stove when it went out. Twice. It was 69-72F/21-22C in the room. So it didn't really matter.

 I think I'll have a chicken and mushroom curry for dinner. 

 A disaster! Ben's had forgotten to add something important to the Medium Curry sauce. The jar was full of water and little else. It is usually borderline too thick to shake the contents of the jar easily. I ran it through a sieve. To avoid drowning the rice in orange water. Then tipped the sieve contents onto the chicken and mushroom. I also changed the rice to white Basmati this time. Brown rice has been the staple for years. Not that keen on the white. No flavour and no texture! 

 ~o~

21.02.2025 Lazy git day!

 ~o~

  Friday 21st 38F/3C [8.10] Grey overcast and thick mist.

 Finally up at 7.20 after occasional clock watching from 4am onwards. 

 7.45. 61.8F/16.5C In the room. Stove lit. 61F/16C in the kitchen. Fridge at -14C and +5C after being unopened all night. After briefly opening the fridge door. To remove the milk carton for breakfast. It quickly dropped to -22C and +2C.   

 8.30 Time for a walk. Despite the mist. 

 8.50 Back from a loop of the drives. It was too unpleasant being brushed by speeding vehicles in the 50 meter mist. So I left the road ASAP. 

 16.00 46F/8C! Overcast. Mist only slowly thinning. I am having a lazy day browsing on the computer. 74F/23C in the room! Though I did empty the ash can. 

 Dinner was a shrimp pasty, peas and chips. I nearly forgot to take a picture. No picture? It didn't happen. I washed up while it cooked. The new timer is working well. As it should at that price! The new oven is working well. Now I have learned to pre-heat and time it properly at the correct temperature.

 

  ~o~

 

20.02.2025 New fridge-freezer.

 ~o~

  Thursday 20th 29F/-1.7C [8.30] Bright but breezy. With a thin overcast of high and diffuse clouds in the east. Last sunny day for a while. Rain this evening and overnight.

  Up at 7.30 after previous failures to lift off. Another quiet night.

 8.40 59F/15C in the room. The stove is lit. I put a another log on last night but it went out. 

 It looks bigger in the image due to the viewpoint.

 I am expecting the new fridge-freezer delivery this morning. The poor old fridge is completely unstable as to temperature. from -30C to -8C. Who know? It may have been unstable for ages. How would I know? I haven't put a digital thermometer sensor in the freezer compartment before. 

 9.40 32F/0C. Bright sunshine. A cold SE wind. I have emptied and taken the old fridge outside. The frozen and cold stuff is in cool bags outside in the cold. I have cleaned and tidied inside and out of doors. Brought the recycling bin back along the drive.  My way was blocked by the neighbour builder the other day. The ground is frozen solid. So there will be no vans stuck in the mud.  

 10.30 The new fridge freezer is indoors. The young man was obviously experienced and it went very smoothly. 

 10.45 It took 15 minutes to reach freezing point in the freezer compartment. It is set to Eco. I am using my digital thermometers to monitor progress. The cool cabinet seems not to be cooling so far. 

 11.10 It has reached -16C in the freezer compartment. Still stuck at 18C in the fridge. 

 11.20 The freezer has already reached -18.7C. So I have put the frozen and cold foods away. The cool compartment is sinking slowly past 14C. I have added a second [third] digital thermometer sensor in case the first is malfunctioning. I am searching online for the instruction in English to avoid confusion. The tiny text in the printed instructions manual is beyond the capabilities of my magnifying glass and patience. Found, saved and understood. 

 11.45 The freezer is now at -21C. According to the instructions: It takes a while for the entire structure of the fridge and its contents to cool and stabilize. Currently at 7C and still falling. Which is fine. No plastic spacers were provided to distance the appliance grid from the rear wall. The grid is actually touching. It suggests a gap of no more than 75mm total. Presumably for a chimney effect for efficient cooling. I'll space the grid appropriately. 

 First I must decide on its exact positioning. I usually like to have the waste bin beside the fridge. Which means moving the fridge towards the pine, recycling cupboard. Ideally the waste bin would fit between the cupboard and fridge. There just isn't enough room. The waste bin is now considerably oversized. Particularly following the introduction of increased recycling sorting. It was a luxury item. In which I invested when first setting up the kitchen for myself. After my wife died. Now it is mostly used for making paper. [UK:Grease proof paper.]

 12.00 35F/1.7C and slightly weak sunshine from a rather white sky. Breezy. The digital thermometers are now reading 4C & 22C. There seems to be masses of room in the fridge. Rather less, but more than enough, in the freezer. I'll leave it to stabilize. With minimum disturbance from door opening.

 13.30 38F/3C. Still sunny. I have fitted a fresh battery in the e-bike and intended to ride somewhere. The SE breeze is not enticing me to go very far. Where have I not been recently? Where will I obtain maximum reward for my suffering out there in the cold wind?  I think I shall ride into town. That will put the wind to one side on both journeys. It will still feel like a headwind but that would happen anyway.

 16.30 Returned from town. A 32km ride. Just as I feared the wind was icy cold. The "skiing" gloves were not warm enough again. I had my glasses fixed. The left lens kept falling out. I failed to find another warm jacket like that I was wearing. I hoped for one without lap pockets. Which hinder pedaling. 

 I found another breakfast bowl in one of three charity shops I visited. To replace the one I broke the other day. Though not the same. Where I also bought an ultra-compact glasses case. [Also recycled] I bought a digital kitchen timer. Now stuck to the new fridge door with its internal magnets.

 There was more of a headwind on the way back. I caught up with and passed a gaggle of ancient cyclists of my own age. They hadn't a clue. Wandering all over the country lane three abreast. Clearly experienced cyclists judging by their bikes, e-bikes and specialized clothing. I put my foot down and had half a kilometer on them before they were lost to sight. 

 The new fridge is still wandering up and down in temperature. Then settles on -18C and +4C.

 Dinner was cheese on toast with cherry tomatoes.

 

  ~o~

19.02.2025 Shower rail.

 ~o~

  Wednesday 19th 19F/-7C. Another sunny day. Starting with a white frost. A weather change tomorrow.

 Up at 6.45 after a false start or two. The fridge is showing -30C! My milk was frozen to slushy on my porridge oats! 58F/4C in the room. Stove lit. Twice! I let it go out through lack of observation. I have reached the end of the last load of logs and must start on the new.

 Physio after lunch. I was considering riding there. The sunshine is so bright and the route so beautiful. The problem is arriving heavily dressed for the cold conditions. Which I have to remove in the open gymnasium. 

 The changing rooms are so far away as to be irrelevant. So the class member's clothes are piled in heaps on the benches. To be replaced by the clothes of the following class at the overlap. So, after getting all sweaty, exercising heavily in the warm building, I have to dress for the cold again. I had better leave the riding to class until it gets a bit warmer.

 11.30 Our hero has been tidying and cleaning the kitchen. In readiness for the arrival of the new fridge-freezer tomorrow. I didn't want to be faced with a filthy floor beneath the old fridge. Fortunately I had already cleaned that area [and the rest] when I moved the fridge over from the alcove. I have repeatedly swept and squeegeed the entire floor. I washed up and cleaned and tidied the sink area. This corner is still a work in progress. I don't like the open shelving. Far too untidy under my care. Though the various tubs do help to contain the chaos. 

 12.45 Just time for a quick lunch.

 18.30 31F/-0.6C. Time to make some dinner. Physio went well. Though I was rather breathless at times. I shopped afterwards and on the way home. I now have a shower head rail. We were never allowed to have one. In case I broke the tiles while drilling for the fixing screws. So the shower head was handheld for over two decades. 

 It was always a sits bath. There was no room for a full bath. The toilet was in exactly the wrong but only space available. Besides, sitting above the waterline is far more comfortable and hygienic than sitting in one's own filth. It also uses far less water. 

 There is a low seat at the tail end. Formed during the bath pressing. Before that it was standing room only in a shower. We searched widely for a short bath when we arrived. Eventually we found one at a tile store in the city harbour. Cheap, too! That one was replaced after years of loyal service. Both were of enameled steel.

 Today I bought a complete kit with the vertical rail, wall fittings, new hose and shower head. Inexpensive and mostly of plastic, but it solved several problems. The old head and hose were years old and getting coated with water hardness. The new head provides a sharp spray for very little water flow. A great improvement over the old one.

 Dinner was a fry-up. Of chicken, mushrooms, eggs and baked beans. Helped down with a bread roll and an organic beer.

 ~o~

18.02.2025 The absence of balance.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 18th 20F/-6.7C [7.45] Another cold, sunny day.

 Up at 6am after a quiet night.  Feeling warm for some reason. It is only 61F in the room.

 The freezer compartment is at -21C this morning. After I wound up the control knob last night. I have backed it off again but expect a slow warming to the recommended -18C. At least it is working and the frozen food is safe. It was silent after I switched it back on following the de-icing. Fortunately it started working again after my deliberate nudge. Perhaps it was just coincidence?

 I had plans for a new fridge-freezer but with the freezer compartment at the bottom. The present one is getting quite old but has kept working for years in a cold room. The freezer compartment is only just large enough for my very modest range of frozen foods. There is no room for any reserve stock. It is already stretched when asked to hold a whole, new loaf. 

 My kitchen "remodeling" called for a new, probably taller model. With the hinges reversed. Which, strange at it may seem, would require my learning completely new tricks. Old habits for removing items, on auto pilot, will have to reprogrammed. 

 9.00 The fridge is not working. No sound and it is warming up again. -9C.

  8.30 22F/-5.6C. I have started the car to defrost it. The fan heater is running in the bathroom. 55F was a bit chilly for a shower! 

 9.15 Ready to go. Fridge now showing -14C. It is obviously unhappy.

 12.45 35F/2C. Sunshine. Returning from visiting my English friend. Shopped on the way home. The fridge was showing -25C! So it is obviously working but not behaving itself. I have backed off the control setting to 4 out of 6. 

 13.30  I am going for a drive to the city. I just hope the car behaves.

 17.30 It did, but under protest. I visited all the large white goods stockists. Then, on a whim, I visited the local stockist. Where I had already bought the oven and washing machine. They made me an offer on a compact fridge-freezer. With everything I needed except being too large. It will fit in place of the present fridge but be a bit taller. Freezer below, no frost, automatic de-icing and hinges on the left. 

 The extra height gives me the capacity I wanted but in much the same footprint. I didn't know such a thing existed until now. The width didn't matter within reason. It was the projection from the back wall. Most were 65cm deep. Those that I measured in the showrooms. The one I bought is just a smidgen under 60cm x 54cm wide x 180cm high. 

 Perfect for one person. Ideal for the spot behind the door when it is open in summer. No unwanted projection beyond the recycling cupboard. Which I intended to extend with a new top anyway. Or just add a strip across the back to provide a little more room for the baskets.

 Dinner was mackerel in tomato sauce on toast. There were no tomatoes today. 

 ~o~

17.02.2025 13F/-10.5C!

 ~o~

  Monday 17th 13F/-10C. Another cold one but sunny again. It is three degrees [C] colder than forecast. 

 8.00 Up at 6.15. 57F/14C in the room. The stove is lit. The bathroom, oil-filled radiator is really struggling. Only 55F/13C in there. Despite running almost continuously according to the orange pilot light. I bought a radiator of twice the size for the kitchen and moved the small one to the bathroom. 

 A week ago it was 68F/20C in there. So I turned it right down. The bathroom is losing heat on three sides. The low, overnight temperatures are unusual. The recent winters have been relatively mild. I have often wondered if sitting at the bottom of a low hill caused it to be a cold spot. The lowest I have ever measured here was -25C/-13F. I used several digital thermometers to confirm it. The extension cable to my telescope mounting froze into a giant coil spring. I didn't dare move it until it thawed. 

 8.20 14.7F/-9.5C outside. 24F/-4C in the lean-to greenhouse. The sun will help to raise this later. Now 60F/16C in the room. Time for a walk.

 Just a walk to the lanes in bright sunshine. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my cheek when walking parallel to the sun. The opposite cheek on the return leg. Passing traffic was enough to provide a serious wind chill factor. Walking into the almost imperceptible breeze too. I stopped walking briefly. Just to prove to myself that my own forward motion was enough to make it feel much colder. My fingers were soon cold in my warmest gloves. So it's not the gloves. I must be suffering from poor circulation. I was too warm in my down sweater on the return leg and opened the zip.

 10.10 23F/-5C. The sun has reached the greenhouse: 51F/11C. Rising rapidly! Now 64F/18C in the room. I am so used to colder indoor temperatures that it often feels tropical in office buildings and shops. I dress appropriately at home. Long, thermal underwear under normal indoor clothing. Which includes a warm, wool jumper and wool socks. When we used the old stove we wore down jackets indoors. It could not compete with the modern stove. 

 14.00 Bright sunshine. 31F/-0.6C outside. 68F/20C in the room. 87F/31C in the greenhouse. 66F/19C upstairs. Still only 55F/12.8C in the bathroom. I have only been pottering about and tidying stuff. 

 It is surprisingly difficult to get an accurate temperature reading in the greenhouse. I am using the "Outside" sensors of two digital thermometers. These are mounted on the end of long leads. One sensor is behind the logs near the floor. So receive very little sunlight. Currently reading 69F/20.6C.

 I tried a white card in front of the second sensor. The card must have been absorbing some warmth as it showed a steady 87F/30.6C. Then I hung a large piece of card from the greenhouse roof to shade the white card from direct sunlight. The reading dropped to 85F. 

 Then I found a piece of polystyrene foam packaging about 10mm thick and fixed the sensor to the back of that. Again shaded by the cardboard mounted above. The temperature reading has dropped very slowly to only 80F/26.7C and remained steady. This is the same reading from a remote "pistol" laser guided thermometer. On both the card and the polystyrene.

 The sensor is at about chest height against the white painted brick, house wall. It feels warm standing in the sunshine out there but not tropical. Opening the door to the house would not provide much extra warmth. No doubt the air temperature could be raised with black surfaces on the house wall. To absorb more of the sun's heat free of charge. However the three, living room windows leave little wall space for adding anything useful in area. 

 The greenhouse is no longer well sealed to the house. The sponge draught strip having deteriorated over the years due to UV exposure. Draughts can easily be felt out there in windy weather. The curved, plastic sheeting at the "shoulder" of the greenhouse has sagged away from the aluminium frame. Causing air gaps which are difficult to seal cosmetically. 

 That said, the greenhouse provides a valuable, year round buffer for much of the southern facade. Greatly reducing heat loss. Particularly in sunny weather. I find that spring and autumn are best for borrowing free heat from the greenhouse. 

 The major advantage of a lean-to greenhouse, over wall insulation, is that you can grow tomatoes out there. Or even sit out there when conditions are favourable. Which means warmth and shade. Being under bare glass in sunshine is most unpleasant for most of the year. So don't believe the greenhouse manufacturers ads. Showing models enjoying the sunshine inside their wares! 

 I use two layers of professional growers, external shade net in summer. With open double doors at either end for a cooling draught. These doors are covered in fine metal mesh to keep the insects and wildlife out.

 The cold weather gave me a chance to defrost the freezer compartment. The ice had been getting thick without my noticing. It is -6C/22F outside. So I put the content of the freezer in a cool bag and put it out in the cold. I used a Pyrex bowl of boiling water to loosen the ice. It took a couple of refills. 

 Hopefully the fridge and freezer are now returning to normal. I have a digital thermometer reading the freezer temperature. It is supposed to be -18C [according to Google] but it is still sinking very slowly past -10C.

Dinner was a pork chop with chips and peas. I tried to cook the chop in the oven but had left it too late. So I took it out and fried it. It was fine but the chips were a bit crispy. 

 11.25. The fridge didn't want to start after switch off. It slowly rose from -10 to-6C. So I gave it a nudge and it started working again. -6C is much too warm for the naked boxes and bags of frozen goods. So I have put the cool bag in a storage tub on the table outside. So no animals can get at it. Overnight temperatures are likely to hover around -5C. The cool bag and tub will hopefully use the contents to maintain a lower temperature. Than the freezer compartment and bare frozen foods in their packaging. 

11.35 I just checked again and the freezer temperature has already dropped to -13C. Hopefully I shan't have to stay up all night to see it reach a safe temperature. It is dropping fast now. Down to -16C. I'll bring the bag in from outdoors and put the stuff away.

 ~o~

16.02.2025 42km starting at -5C/23F Brrr! 😖

 ~o~

 Sunday 16th 20F/-6.7C [7.45] The coldest hour is just before dawn. There was a dusting of snow last night. Today will be cold and sunny. Never getting above -1C/30F.  

7.45 Up at 7.15 after a quiet night. Another nose bleed. The fish have been fed. Display cabinets lit. Only 61F/16C in the room. Time to fire up the stove.

 8.10 Walkies! 

 8.50 And back again. The lanes beckoned as the sun rose over the local hill. It took quite a distance to walk off my lower back pain this morning. A few Redwings were foraging on the prairie. Otherwise it was a quiet day for the birds. 

 I was too warm on the outward journey. Then shocked by the chill of the slightest breeze after the turn. Simply pausing made the chill go away. My walking pace was causing the wind chill. I removed my double fleece hat and was more comfortable after that. The sky was almost bereft of cloud. One tiny strip in the distant northwest was all I could find. Which meant I was being blinded by the sun on the way back.

 9.45 23F/-5C. It is much too nice out there to be sitting here. A ride? To what end? The roads have been salted and seem fine. Damp but not slippery. The flea markets are all too depressing. 

 Hoarders, only pretending to offer items for sale. When all they really do is take used junk off the streets and keep it. Much of which looks worse for wear than most charity shop offerings. At least the latter sort the best from the worst and usually present it far more appealingly. If I stay at home I'll only get depressed. Or waste the day away on YT. Right. The e-bike it is! 

 10.30 Ready.

 12.40 29F/-1.7C. Sunny with a NE breeze. Back from a 42km ride. It was very cold on my face and hands but the rest of me was fine. I rode down to the south coast. To look at an old farm we might have bought cheaply, but didn't. Then I rode on to a summer house area. Which we visited a couple of times. There were lots of Whooper swans on the sea. 

 I meandered on the way back. Taking a route on a whim. Despite my hands aching constantly with the cold. I bought some fresh rolls in another supermarket. To leave the dry, over-baked ones to go in the bin. Or perhaps to be toasted. 

 My nose must have bled all morning. My right glove was covered in blood where I had wiped my streaming nose so often. There were a few bloody streaks on my jacket but who cares? Nobody will notice an old fart. Not even in a dayglo jacket with blood on the shoulders.

  Dinner was sausage, mashed potatoes and peas. I washed up while the potatoes simmered. 

 10.30 16F/-9C. It is already colder than predicted for the low point between 6 and 8am tomorrow morning: 8C/18F. It is only supposed to be -7C at the moment. I am trying to get the stove to burn a little longer than usual tonight. With a couple of large logs well alight before reducing the air supply slightly.

 ~o~

15.02.2025 LED light strips/tape/bands.

 ~o~

  Saturday 15th 24F/-4.4C [7.15] Much colder than the forecasts. Already getting light. With some sunshine promised for this morning. NW winds starting light and turning westwards. 

 Up at 6.40 after dozing on and off. 64F/18C in the room. I had better light the stove. Still some glowing embers. The bottom plate is still warm under the ashes. Which I clear every day. There is a generously sized ash box. With a lid to avoid clouds of dust when carrying it outside. To be deposited on the compost heap. Well away from anything else.

 7.40 Nose bleed. Right nostril for a change. Quite unusual. Easily light enough for a walk now. The greenhouse is exactly at freezing point. 0C/32F. There is a bank of dark cloud to the north.

 7.55 Off we go. 

 9.00 29F/-2C. I was gone for a little over an hour. Cutting across the prairie via the spray tracks. Until I reached the main [only] track up to the forest. Where I worked my way uphill to the summit. The early golden sunshine washing the landscape into the far distance. I could even see the sea and Jylland. Though it wasn't crystal clear this morning. I then descended the hill by the edge of the field. 

 Sturdier boots would have been useful on the frozen earth. A solitary horse came out of its stable to see me. I was warm throughout. Too warm most of the time. Thanks to my deliberately brisk pace. There was no perceptible breeze. Only the local wind turbines were turning. All others were still.  

 9.20 It is increasingly cloudy. Now overcast. I feel the need for another ride. While the wind is so light. Which raises the inevitable problem of a suitable goal. Perhaps I ought to be concentrating on finding some warm white LEDs on a self adhesive strip. For the twin display cases in the kitchen. I don't like the blue-white of the cheap, multi-colour strips when set to white. Warm white is closer to a traditional, incandescent, light bulb.

 Aha! A Nordlux band is available in a 5m length in warm white. [2700 Kelvin] It can be shortened to the  desired length but not rejoined. One length could be gently folded [or looped] in the middle and run twice for more light. The width of the front vertical bars on the cabinets will allow the plastic strip room for side by side mounting. 

 The LED lights are sold at the big shed DIY stores in town. Plenty of stock too. I feel a trip into town on the e-bike will be well rewarded. Then I can switch my recent obsession with cupboards into something else. Even though it involves a lot of washing up of the ornaments to go on display. 

 12.30 34F/1C. Back from a 29km ride to town. [Almost 20 miles in Olde Monie] It was more pleasant coming home than going. The temperature had risen a couple of degrees. It felt like a headwind on the way. My cheeks were really stinging with the cold. Though my hands were okay this time. Certainly not warm but not aching either. 

 I found the Warm-White, LED [self-adhesive tape] lights I was looking for in two different big-shed stores. For the modest cost I invested in two of each kind. Just in case one proves better than the other. One pair was 3m long by Sartano. With torpedo switches and black leads. The other pair 5m by Nordlux are without switches but with white leads. 

 This gives me more options for doubling the tapes back on themselves for more light. The cabinets are 1.6m high from their raised floors. So 3m would provide two full drops side by side. 5m would make three full drops possible. Though very unlikely to be necessary.   

 I was planning to have the power supplies on top of the cabinets. Where they will be out of sight. In practice, the generous length of lead between the PS/plug will allow them to reach a multi-socket. The 3m lights are rather pretty. Bright, but not that cold blue light I am trying to avoid.   

 I will have to drill the tops of the cabinets to bring the power into the LED tape. The mini-jacks set a lower limit for drill size. [12mm] The hole can be hidden behind the front wooden bar and plugged. 

 I also bought assorted electrical items. Including an extension lead with a torpedo switch. The sockets above the display cabinets are out of reach without a stool. I'll use a multi-socket and switch the power to both cabinets together. 

 A Schuko socket and plug will make a short extension lead for the bathroom radiator. The heater lead is black, too short and ugly against the pink tiles. So I'll make a short, earthed extension lead. To drop down just behind the newly found cupboard from the Schuko socket on the wall.  

 There were two more tubs of Finnish glass I had completely forgotten about. So there was room for all of it to fill the twin cabinets. Lit so evenly by the LEDs the effect is quite magical. Even with my limited skills at tasteful, ornamental arrangement. A second go at balancing colours is even worse. I have darkened the image to bring out the details. 

 Third time lucky? I found more glass! So much beauty but my wife never got to enjoy it. It was always hidden away in boxes. 

 Dinner was organic sausage, with mushrooms and organic tweggs. One of the eggs was broken in the shell. I finished off with a bread roll. Discounted at the supermarket because it was overcooked and dry inside. I am tempted to take them back but that always leads to years of being treated like shit by the checkout staff. Ask me how I know? Foreigners aren't allowed to complain. It's below their station. Even when they are being robbed.

 

  ~o~

14.02.2025 Success at last!

 ~o~

  Friday 14th 30F/-1C [6.50] The run of winter cold continues. Risk of some sunshine today.

 Up at 6.15 after a much more disturbed night. That small beer may not have been a good idea. Though I didn't have a coffee.

 6.50 Only 61F/16C in the room but it feels much colder. Stove lit. Only 38F/3C in the greenhouse. It feels like a walk-in fridge. Time to sort out another week of tablets.    

 8.15 Dark overcast. A lighter NE breeze today. Time for a walk.

 8.45 Back again. 66F/19C in the room. I looped out on the spray tracks on the prairie. The ground was rock hard from frost. I returned via the new drive embankment. The field pond was iced over. Lots of bird activity this morning. Which was unexpected. Due to the wind having dropped?

  9.45 I'd like to go for a ride but it is even colder than it has been. I want to try more charity shops for a bathroom cupboard. Which means I have to go further away from home. A long ride, with hands aching from the cold, isn't much fun. Even if the rest of me is warm. Which means going in the Morris.

 14.20 Returned from a long search for a bathroom cupboard. I visited umpteen charity shops in series. As far away as Fredericia in SE Jylland. Where I spotted the perfect item. It was just wide enough but not as deep as I had been looking for. Which actually worked in my favour. 

 Another centimeter and it would have been impossible to get it into the car without removing the passenger seat. No suitable tools! I'll have to put together a general purpose toolkit to go in the boot for emergencies.

 My luck was doubled because they were having a 50% discount sale on furniture. While getting the cupboard into the Morris was not easy. Getting it out again was much less trouble. Grippy, rubber faced work gloves are always useful in such moments. 

 Ignoring the petrol, the cupboard cost me the grand total of 200kr, £22 or €27. I still have to rotate the underfloor heating, thermostat head out of the way. That will move the cupboard a couple of centimeters tighter into the corner. Though there is plenty of room. In the end it was easier to lift the thermostat head off by loosening its clamp. 

 Dinner will be an organic pork chop. With mushrooms and chips. I still don't like the 2½ minutes each side recommendation. So I am giving the chop 5 minutes each side. It was perfect.

 

~o~

   

13.02.2025 Tiny steps.

 ~o~

  Thursday 13th 29F/-2C{7.50] Snowing lightly. About 2cm but highly variable. The forecast snow was further east.

 Up at 6am. It is supposed to be cooking class. Will the roads be clear? I was already in doubt about the Morris misbehaving. Questioning whether I ought to cycle there. I am not risking the e-bike on snow and ice. My usual route is via small, hilly lanes on the e-bike. Main roads in the car. 

 7.45 62F/17C in the room. Stove lit. I found the manufacturers instructions yesterday and was browsing through them. There I discovered a tiny door stop which I had completely overlooked. It was to allow the door to remain safely ajar while lighting the stove. When more air is often need for a forced draught before the chimney has warmed. The powerful magnets, which hold the door closed, are difficult to overcome. Requiring a much larger gap than necessary. Which often leads to smoke escaping above the door. The tiny lever works wonders. Maintaining a small but efficient gap.

 I had the stove installed by the master sweep. This was while my wife was being diagnosed in hospital. The stove had been blocking the hallway, still on its delivery pallet, for months after purchase. She wouldn't let me install it. So I called in the expert sweep when she wasn't here to argue about it. 

 My wife was furious when she was brought home in the ambulance. Supported on either side by the two big men. As she made her last, slow journey on foot. It was amazing how they managed to get the ambulance so close the house. What with the hedges being so overgrown back then.

 Soon after that I nearly blew us both up! By closing the stove's air control too soon after lighting. The gases built up inside and were ignited. The stove door flew open and the access plate was blown off the base of the chimney! Not an impressive start to my taking over stove duties. I was supposed to be the expert.

 The stove was the least of her worries after that. She died only a few days later of cancer. After months of flatly refusing to see the doctor. That was very nearly three years ago now. A lot has changed since then. All of it utterly trivial to others. All of the tiny steps important milestones. On my recovery from her loss. 

 13.45 65F/18C in the room. 34F/1C outside. Back from cooking class. After walking to the road I decided the car was the likely source of any problems. Not the roads. There were a couple hiccups but the car more or less behaved acceptably. Sunshine on the way home but it is overcast now. 

 I was surprised to discover that my short haircut was typical of the rest of them. Except for one exception. I helped to make a vanilla cream and fruit tart. With strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants. Others made a goulash. With rice, salad and potatoes. It was all fine. I couldn't take any pictures. Because I had changed my jacket just before I left and forgot to take my phone.

17.00 30F/-1C. Returning, heavily laden, from a shopping trip. Not that I need any dinner tonight. After eating, too well, at the cooking class. The forecast is possible snow. The sky is dark and it feels colder than it did earlier. A toasty 68F/20C in the room.

 I made do with a beer for dinner.

 

  ~o~

12.02.2025 Still fiddling.

 ~o~

 Wednesday 12th 30F/-1C [7.00] The forecast is feeling colder than ever. Due to the wind chill factor. Unlikely to get much above 1C/34F today. Gusting to around 12m/s x2.2 = 25mph. There is white frost on the car roof.

 Up at 6.15. 61F/16C in the room. Stove lit at 7am. Using flakes of beech. For a rapid warmup to a red bed for igniting logs. 

 7.45 Getting ready for a walk. The sky is white and any clouds indistinct. A hint of a tobacco filter low in the east. Perhaps suggesting sunshine. 65F/18C in the room. I can feel the warmth of the stove on the back of my neck. No physio class today due to winter holidays. 

 8.50 67F/19C in the room. I was gone for 50 minutes. The wind felt stronger than yesterday. So I was grateful for my hood and any shelter from the roadside hedges. Patchy white frost on the grass verges. The sun rose over the familiar cloud bank in the east at 8.30. Though only briefly. The cloud seems to be winning. I walked up the low hill, branching off the lanes. Which I haven't done for ages. Coming back down was straight into an eye-watering gale. The traffic was sparse and quiet. Presumably due to the national winter holiday.

 12.30 Back from town. The Morris misbehaved on and off but kept going. I found the lower baskets for the top of the kitchen recycling cupboard but little else on my shopping list. 

 1.30 33.6F/1C. The sun is trying to come out but it is very cloudy. I captured an image of the new layout in weak, horizon-grazing sunshine. Porridge oats and raisins [Breakfast] on the left. Two kinds of wholemeal bread rolls and the last containing fresh fruit. Organic apples, bananas and Sugar Drop, cherry tomatoes. I was lucky enough to find some wonderful door knobs in matching wood grain in a charity shop. 

 I removed the wooden moulding which overlapped the doors. To allow free opening of both doors without hindrance. It just makes life so much easier when the doors are opened so frequently. For dropping the paper and plastic into the correct plastic baskets. I use an old washing up bowl for the tins and jars. 

 The food waste container, at front left, is always lined with disposable plastic bags. Which are biodegradable and supplied in generous quantities by the recycling company. Which contracts waste bin emptying and recycling for the local council. I intend to hang the food waste container from the inside of the left hand door. Having removed the shelves from the cupboard. To have the entire, interior space clear. Vintage pine may be a matter of taste but I love the warmth of the beautiful wood grain.

 Who would have thought I'd end up obsessing over the efficiency of my own kitchen. I am rather pleased with the way it is all falling into place. The walls obviously need urgent attention. The interior walls can be filled and painted. While the end wall needs major surgery. It is still two layers from the past. When the lower half of the kitchen was lined with boards. Taken down again after my wife died. Because they were full of woodworm. I have mentioned all of this before.

 I could just add more plasterboard in the lower half of the end wall. That would bring it up to level all over. More filler and paint would lift the room dramatically. The window wall can stay as tiles. It just needs the wallpaper removed from the upper half and the bare walls painted. All of which ignores the question of added insulation. To bring it up to modern standards.

 Dinner was a salmon pasty. With organic Fettuccine pasta and organic peas. A whole tin of chopped, organic tomatoes partially drained and thrown on top. The oven was set to 180C and preheated with the fan running. It did a perfect job within the 20 minutes suggested by the packaging.

  ~o~

 

11.02.2025 Them logs, them dry logs..

 ~o~

 Tuesday 11th 33F/0.6C [7.30]  Overcast and increasingly windy from the east. Some sunshine possible.

  Up at 6.30 after waking earlier. Several times. Otherwise a quiet night but with weird dreams. Short term nosebleed. Too cold and windy for a ride today. While the car is untrustworthy.

 2/3 of a trailer full stacked against the wall. Any sunshine helps to dry out the logs further. The split logs are housed in huge heaps in a large and draughty open sided barn at the supplier. Ideal for natural drying.

 9.25 Back from a walk. The wind was roaring in the trees as they swayed. I wore my Ventile winter jacket. It is completely windproof and comfortably warm in harsh conditions. The down sweater stayed at home. While the Karrimor neck sleeve stopped the draughts. The GripGrab winter gloves were too cold yet again. 

 A large tractor was slashing the hedges. Managing a walking pace. I crossed the road to avoid holding him up. There was very little traffic this morning. I stopped to watch and we exchanged a wave.

 It doesn't look like much but there are five large wheelbarrows full on the floor. Scrap plywood protects the greenhouse glass. I save the small pieces of wood as kindling. It is handy to revive a fire that has all but burnt down to ashes. 

 Brief glimpses of the sun between the clouds. Much more visible now I have reached home. The room rose from 60 to 66F [15-19C] while I was out. Thanks to a large log on the stove. 

 I used to split these oversized logs. My new source provides shorter logs. Which allows them to go easily through the stove door. To be placed exactly where I want them. Rather than jamming at an angle between the fire bricks. Large logs last much longer and useful to keep the stove going while I am out.

 12.00 36F/2C. Continuous sunshine but a strong and cold wind. I had a look under the bonnet of the Morris. One hose clamp was not tightened at all. Between the air cleaner and the engine block breather/oil separator. Is this likely to have had any affect on the mixture? Unknown until I have a test drive. I also refilled the oil in the carburettor cap. There was some oil on the piston but none visible in the well. I checked all the electrical connections and waggled all the ignition leads with the engine running. No change.

 13.15 Returned from a tootle around the rural block. The engine backfired as I pulled away but soon settled down. I need more logs. Only about a week left at current consumption. The weather might change to snow and make the roads more difficult. Worth the risk to drive up there with the trailer?

 15.30 I have collected a trailer full of logs and drove them home. After parking the trailer outside the greenhouse I brought them all in using a wheelbarrow.  Stacking as many against the house as I could. Without blocking the windows. The rest were piled loosely on the greenhouse floor. 

 After using the last of the previous load I shall take the new logs from the floor first. They go straight into the strong plastic baskets. Which I use for moving them indoors. This avoids double handling. One of the baskets can be seen on top of the wheelbarrow.

 I am aiming for scrambled eggs on toast for dinner. Well, it's a plan.

 

  ~o~

10.02.2025 It never ends!

 ~o~

  Monday 10th 34F/1C [8.20] Very heavy overcast as the stable winter conditions continue. Increasingly breezy from the NE. Gusting between 12 and 14m/s. x2.2 = 26-30mph. Forcing temperatures well down on the wind chill index. They quote -5C but they obviously haven't been out on a bike! My forward speed has to be added. Say 20mph? That is a 50mph headwind! Equivalent to -8C on the human bod in still conditions.

 Up at 7.30 after a busy night at the fire bucket. I woke early [4am] and then dozed repeatedly. 61F/16C in the room. Stove lit.

 Should I ride to the village with the newly opened flea market? It's not that far [10km/7miles] but not the most pleasant ride. The first half the journey is on a twisting and humped main road. With speeding traffic around blind corners. Including buses and 7 axle container lorries. No cycle lanes marked. Big drops off the edge of the road due to continuous drainage problems. Repeated addition of loose gravel on the ragged edge of the asphalt last until the next shower. This has been going on for decades.

 The second half is on a wide open, main road with little shelter from the wind. The 70kph/43mph speed limit is routinely ignored by all. Including the buses. Some drivers find it fun to brush closely past cyclists. Despite the considerable width of the road and mostly generous cycle lane. Protected only by a painted white line on the road. I need to visit the chemists [apotek] to top up my heart medication. So have to go out anyway. The car was misbehaving again yesterday. The engine missing jerkily and backfiring repeatedly. 

 11.30 Back from a 27km ride to two, new, flea markets. The three cupboards I saw proved to be unsuitable. Too small or much too long. I could see another cupboard through the window of another flea market. This one is only open to calls on their mobile phone. It would also be difficult to reach to measure it as the shop was so packed with stuff. Which isn't very helpful. 

The brand new oven tray twisting when warmed.

 Another charity shop is only open in the afternoons and doesn't do much in the way of furniture. The wind was viciously cold. It felt like knives cutting into my face at times. My fingers were cold. With and without thinner gloves inside the bulky skiing gloves. I remembered to collect my tablets.

 After lunch I worked in the kitchen. Fixing the washing machine drain hose and standpipe to the wall. I also found some longer screws and fixed the knobs to the doors of the wall cabinets. Though small, the knobs match the colour and wood grain of the cabinets. They are nicely ergonomic now. Without shouting about their presence. A nice height to avoid stretching.

 The white plastic baskets are rather too tall for easy checking of their contents. I missed the presence of bananas one day. Still better than loose rolls and fruit on the top of the recycling cabinet. I'll look for some lower baskets. 

 The waste food tub is more useful on there. Safely avoiding the sun. Which it formerly enjoyed on the windowsill. Regularly causing excessive odours as the temperature soared in summer. Particularly from the discarded skin of my daily banana with lunch. 

 I am now dropping my teabags into an old glass cup on the work surface to dry out. This saves too much moisture collecting inside the recycling tub lid. Obsessive? Moi?

 Dinner was.. burnt. I underestimated the speed of conflagration of the grill again. Not least due to the ridiculous twisting of the oven tray. I cut off the blackened crusts and it was fine. It was meant to be mackerel in tomato sauce with real tomatoes. Luckily, that was exactly what it tasted like. I had an apple for pudding.

  ~o~