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~