10.02.2026

 ~?~

  Tuesday 10th 32F/0C [7.45] Heavy overcast and risk of local snow showers. 61F/16C in the room. I shall have to fetch the last of the logs from the trailer.

 Up at 7am after another busy night. The fire bucket is heavier each morning following increased water consumption. The weird and illogical dreams are just as realistic.  

 8.50 I have been struggling to bring in the last of the logs from the trailer. The snow is very resistant to wheelbarrow trundling. Particularly when loaded. I brought in all the beech flakes as well. The snow in the drive near the greenhouse must be over 6" deep. 15cm. As much as 8" in places. 20cm. I am completely breathless. My chest is as bunged up now. As it was during my recent bout of cold/flu/Covid. Now I can finally light the stove.

 11.00 64F/18C. Once the stove was going well I checked the chestnut log. After 24 hours indoors the moisture content had vanished. It caught light instantly and is burning well. Probably being consumed much quicker than the usual beech logs. This means I need not panic about my rapidly reducing reserve of logs. I can bring in some of the huge pile of chestnut logs. 

 11.15 I can go for a walk now that I have recovered from fetching and stacking logs. I didn't get tired. Just breathless. 

 11.45 Back from my walk. The drive is still hard work. While the road is clear and just damp. The verges covered in firm snow. Yet again I was breathless. From just plodding along. A few short years ago I read that becoming breathless was desirable while walking. So I tried to walk fast enough to become breathless. I had to trot before that happened. Walking wasn't hard enough. Even on the hills.

 A new forecast claims a snow storm will now affect the whole country. The weather system is moving south. Bringing snow with it. Snow from early morning on Thursday. So it doesn't look like the cooking class is likely.

 13.20 Getting ready to ride into the village. To restock the larder. It will probably take some time to get rid of the next batch of snow. 

 That was odd. The chestnut log long outlived the beech log. Which went in at the same time.  

 14.30 Back from the village supermarket. Two bulging carriers bags full. Riding on the drive was difficult. Resistance and self steering of the broad tires on the stiff snow. The roads were fine. The cycle lanes filled by the snow ploughs clearing the roads. The supermarket cycle parking area and rack had not been cleared. The dropper saddle post is misbehaving. My hands were cold. Even in the skiing gloves. The Thursday snow storm may change. They aren't showing any precipitation on the charts.

 

  ~?~

9.02.2026 A log by any other name.

 ~?~

  Monday 9th 30F/-1C [7.30] It looks like a dusting of new snow. Or hoar frost. The hedges are thickly coated in white. Overcast, with possible light wintry showers. Though mostly dry. Hovering around freezing. Modest east to SE winds. 62F/16.7C in the room. 40F/4C in the greenhouse. Coldest winter in 15 years. 

 Up at 6.50 after an odd night. A normal number of visits to the fire bucket but greater quantities. As expected from drinking numerous glasses of water during the day. This is the whole idea. To flush out the plumbing.

 7.30 It is already becoming lighter in the mornings.  Despite the heavy overcast.

 8.20 Stove lit. Last of the logs brought in from the greenhouse. Plenty for today. There are a few more in the trailer. 

 Even if the roads are clear. I doubt I can get out with the car and trailer for another load of logs. Not with this much snow on the drive. There is the possibility of more snow on Thursday. Though it could turn wet. Thursday is another cooking class. I missed the last one due to a flat tire.

 I have just been across the yard. To empty the ash pan. There is at least four inches. Or 10cm of snow on the ground. I checked and there are just enough logs for a couple of days in the trailer. Perhaps I should bring in some chestnut logs to dry. 

 I just tried this. The one I brought in came from under the shed roof overhang. It measured 20% humidity all over. While subjectively weighing half that of a beech log. I have set the chestnut log aside. To see how quickly it dries indoors. 20% will burn but is on the damp side.

 9.30 Back from my walk. The road was slushy. I went to the back of the verge with each passing vehicle. To give them room to drive safely without a detour and to avoid being sprayed. The wind was cold where there were no hedges. The snow on the drive had stiffened. Which made walking on it even more difficult.

 Another day of encouraging cabin fever on YouTube. 

 Dinner was chicken curry. I had no mushrooms. So I added some oversized raisins. I am fairly sure that Ben's curry sauce used to contain sultanas.  

  ~?~

8.02.2026 Beware of tiny elephants!

 ~?~

  Sunday 8th 30F/-1C [7.30] Heavily overcast. The snow is still there. Light showers of snow, sleet or rain. Easterly wind gusting to 10m/s. 61F/16C in the room.

 Up at 4.50 after a quiet night but then lying awake for hours. I finally lit the stove at 7.30.

 YouTube keeps showing me two minute adverts for Tai Chi. Are they trying to drive me away? They know my inside leg measurement and probably what I think on most subjects. They also know my age and health conditions. Intimately! 

 I know this because they keep sending me spam for anything I merely mention in passing. Some things I merely think about. Without ever putting pen to virtual paper. They should also know, by now, that I will never buy anything which steals my precious time on this Earth. By telling me about some commercial product or service. Not without my previous, written permission. I also value advertising and advertisers at the same level, or below that, of rapists and scammers. So, is this strange advert choice predatory behaviour by the idiot AI? 

 Brought in another basket of logs from the greenhouse. 

 10.00 I can see a woodpecker attacking the huge willow tree in the corner of the garden. I am going for a walk. 

 10.30 64F/17.8C. Back again. There was about a centimeter of new snow. Which had caused slush on the roads. Where they were clear but only wet yesterday. Lots of pheasant tracks and several birds exploding into the shrubbery. As I passed their hiding spots behind the hedges. The squawk like mad as they fly away!

 A strange set of prints going to the post box. I am settling on a small elephant. Nothing else fits. A small camel would be less likely. Only five footprints and they weren't going anywhere. I suppose it could have been a baby mammoth. Given the weather conditions.

 13.00 Lunch over. I am already on my 5th glass of water. Having no difficulty in drinking the water. Once it is no longer freezing cold from the tap. 

 I had chicken. So I made Sunday dinner. With mushrooms, peas, carrots, mashed potato and Bisto gravy. 

 I think I am on at least my 7th glass of water. Just over a liter. In addition to my tea and coffee intake. Now I just need to keep it up. Or rather down.

 

  ~?~

7.02.2026 Light rain and a slight thaw.

 ~?~

  Saturday 7th 32F/0C. Overcast. No new snow. Possible snow showers or sleet during the day. Icy roads. Hovering around freezing point. 60F/15.6C in the room. 42F/5.6C in the greenhouse. 

 Up at 7.45 after a fairly quiet night and some later clock watching. 

 8.30 Stove lit. 

8.55 61F/16C. It's snowing! Big flakes. 

 The snowfall was short lived. 

 12.00 65F/18.3C. Just back from a late, short walk. The snow was dripping from the shed roof. My earlier footprints looked dark as I returned. I scraped some snow away from the stretch between the door and the drive. To make a cleaner path. 

 The snow was no longer light and fluffy but much wetter and heavier. My clothes were wet from light rain on my return. My glasses were wet too. Hopefully this thaw will clear the snow more quickly. 

 20.30 67F/19C. Another afternoon on YouTube, forums and elsewhere. Dinner was sausage rolls, Heinz sugar loaded and tasteless, baked beans and chips. I haven't developed a strategy for economical use of sausage and prepacked plates of pastry. The beans were excessive. There was no room on the plate and no real need. I regret having bought so many tins of the damned things.

 I have been keeping a glass of water nearby. Now on my 4th today. I much prefer it without the icy chill.  

 

 ~?~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.02.2026 Statins are okay!

 ~?~

  Friday 6th 31F/-0.5C [7.45] Overcast with new snow lying. 60F/15.6C in the room. 41F/5C in the greenhouse. New snow is sliding down the greenhouse roof. I haven't been outside yet. As it is still half light. The hedges are covered in sticky snow. The drive smoothed out by new snowfall. It was all but clear yesterday morning.

 7.45 Up at 7am after a very busy night servicing the fire bucket. Weird dreams and repeated disturbance is no fun at all. Yesterday's dizziness has reduced but not completely gone. My vision at the computer is back to slightly fuzzy again. I am feeling more positive. Even cheerful. It wont last.

 The right nosepiece, of the only pair of prescription, reading glasses I've bought in 40 years, has gone. Lovely! £200 wasted on complete tat! The screws in the earpieces are constantly loosening too. I wonder if I can find a screw and nosepiece. From one of the many supermarket pairs of glasses in the drawer? They lasted forever but slowly became scratched over time. 

 Most cost between £5 and £8 equivalent. They did not correct my astigmatism but I never noticed. The prescription glasses constantly lose the left lens as well. It usually falls out in my jacket pocket while I am driving. Or even on the ground when I am walking. Lovely! 

 I am determined to hydrate properly from now on. I started the day with small glass of water. Drunk in gulps rather than straight own. It was icy from the tap. Which is typical for winter here. With kilometres of plastic pipe subject to deep ground frost. I measured my milk addition to the dry, porridge oats. It was only about 3/4 of the small glass, if that. A bit disappointing. Now I need to measure the volume of the glass for reference. [150ml] 

 The small glass is easy to drink from. Without my feeling overwhelmed by ice cold water. To which end I shall seek out a glass coffee jug. To have on the coffee table beside the computer desk. So I can sip a known quantity of water throughout the day. I would prefer a covered, bulk container. In case a fly gets in. A rare occurrence but not unknown.

 Some good new on statins. Which I take for my heart plumbing. After having four stents fitted in a hurry. Statins are supposed to reduce fatty build up in the arteries. A study has found that side effects are often purely psychological. There were just as many complaints from those on on a placebo. Often strongly so. The Nocebo effect. 

 The opposite of placebo, but worse. Where the expectation of side effects forces the patient to stop taking the tablets. They really do feel the side effects. Sometimes as if they were intolerable! While taking a pill with no medicinal content whatsoever. Bad publicity and even the required warning notes in the manufacturer's packaging, put people off. 

 There are a number YouTube channels hosted by [claimed] US cardiac surgeons. Warning strongly against statin use. The latest study of 120,000 shows the risks are actually very low indeed. Suggesting increased statin prescriptions all around. They say that many lives could be saved by statins. Heart attacks being the major cause of death. Particularly for the elderly. As a fully rubber stamped, old fart I certainly qualify for that group. [Currently 79¾, not out.] 

 My own, vocal negativity against statins. Resulted in my doctor halving my daily tablet to 20mg from 40mg. Now I wonder if I should follow his advice and take the 40mpg. Further discussion will follow. Next time I see him. Meanwhile I will continue with the 20mg.

 8.15 I had better light the stove. The ash pan badly needs emptying. I was excused boots yesterday. So there was a considerable build up. Now I shall don my ankle wellies and check snow depths. On my way to the compost heap. I am going outside. I may be some time. 

 8.30 It took me only a couple of minutes. To wade through the new snow to the northern boundary of Chez Hovel's rolling acres. It was averaging 3-4" of lying snow on the parking area. Let's call it 75-100mm. I didn't even notice the wind today. I may even have a walk.

 The stove's ash bed was still hot with many red blobs. Which made life more difficult in clearing the ash in the firebox itself. I needed my special oven "stove" glove to handle the grate and wood burning plate. Both far too hot to touch with the Mk1 [non-AI, non-robotic] hand. 

 I usually use two sticks of kindling as manipulators but lost control of the plates in the depths of the ash. Finally, a few bits of dry kindling. A sprinkle of paraffin based, non-smelly, firelighter block and off it went. Now I just need to build up to a serious log. Which means bringing in more logs from the greenhouse. Work is never done for the hard pressed pensioner! "Nobody knows the troubles I've had, tra-la."

 9.20 Logs in. Breathless again. Time for a walk! 

 9.55 64F/18C in the room. Back from a walk. The wind was intermittent. The undisturbed snow was about 4-6" deep on the drives. Which was quite hard work.  I became quite breathless until I reached the road. Which proved to have been scraped and probably salted. There remained a bed of hard pressed frozen slush in the traffic lanes. Which was quite slippery. The traffic was moving more slowly than usual. I crossed the road to avoid oncoming traffic. Then back to the usual side after they had passed. I didn't go far. Because I knew I had to manage the drives again. I stopped to chat briefly with my nice neighbour. Who was attending to his chickens, ponies and goats. 

 Once I was safely home again I used the squeegee on the long pole. To clear most of the snow off the greenhouse roof. To let more light in. The snow on the parking space proved too heavy. To be pushed aside with the gravel leveling rake. Pulling it wasn't much easier.  I have assorted snow shovels but that would be hard work too. The forecast is for slightly above freezing temperatures and even some rain or sleet. That might help.

 9.10 Time for morning coffee. Got to keep up the fluids. Another 200ml + 150ml glass of water. I found a glass coffee jug in the cupboard. My wife and I weren't really coffee drinkers. Usually just organic Arabic instant. The jug/pot will need to be washed and de-scaled before I can use it as my bulk water carrier. 

 13.00 Cup of tea with lunch. 200mls. Small amount of milk with a sliced banana. 

 17.00 64F/17.8C. Afternoon tea. 200mls. Glass of water 150mls. 

 Dinner was an organic fry up of sausages, brown mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and tweggs. 

 Followed by a small mug of coffee 150mls. Not good enough! 

 

  ~?~

5.02.2026 In the absence of hydration.

 ~?~

  Thursday 5th 28F/-2C [9.15]  Overcast but slightly less windy. 58F/14C in the room. Snow expected after lunch.

 Up at 8.10 after a typically disturbed night. Feeling dizzy and slightly nauseous. Struggling to see the computer screen clearly. My vision is really fuzzy. I am having to be careful while moving about.

 10.00 60F/ 15.6C. Stove lit. Just sitting with my eyes closed and hoping my breakfast stays down. 

 12.00 62F/16.7C. I dozed for an hour in an armchair. Which was uncomfortable. Then for another hour in bed. Until I had a strange dream. About receiving a phone call from an elderly builder in Danish. Who kept repeating hulmur! Which means "cavity walls." I don't have any. In order to reply I had to get up to put my hearing aids in. It was only then that I realised I had been dreaming. 

 I have a slightly upset stomach but haven't been sick. No idea what might have caused it. I am always so careful about hygiene and thoroughly cooking everything. Probably overcooking meat if truth be told.  It was lucky that I managed to light the stove with beech flakes and fire lighters. So I could relax and add logs as needed.

 16.30 62F/16.7C. I have spent the day sitting and watching YT videos. Still dizzy. I've had nothing to eat or drink until now. I am going to have a cup of tea and a digestive biscuit. A lack of fluids is considered poor behavior.

 It has ben snowing for some time. Very fine, like frozen rain. It is blowing off the shed roofs and traveling horizontally. I doubt there is more than a centimeter or two lying on the ground so far. The DMI shows the snow clouds at my location are clearing northwards. While reforming on the rear skirts. A wide, yet stable band of sleet lies over the most southern parts of Denmark. With more snow over Germany to the south. While TV2 shows our area as lying well within the range of a snowstorm. Due to the snowfall and high winds. The latter are expected to reduce overnight.

 Some trains, buses and public transport has been cancelled. In anticipation of heavy snowfall and icy roads. Some schools are closed too. Pictures of the frozen sea are appearing in the media. Including within Copenhagen. The ice on many lakes and ponds is now considered safe for public access. Thanks to increased thickness from continuous sub zero temperatures.  

 The large whale, which stranded and died on the cost of Denmark, at Albæk. Died due to a fishing net stuck in its throat. The poor thing had slowly starved to death! TV2 showed a specialist vet who carried out the autopsy. With his arms literally full of the 12kg of net. The video audio is in Danish.

https://tv2.dk/reel/2026-02-05-kaskelothval-doede-af-sult---fiskenet-blokerede-spiseroer-6388807084112  

The link simplified in English: TV2. The kaskelot [sperm] whale died of hunger. A discarded fishing net had blocked its throat.

 20.00 63F/17C It is still snowing. I had another cup of tea. Still no appetite. I think I'll  have a coffee with added milk. Riveting stuff, eh? 

 22.00 63F/17.2C. Gurgle suggests 15 cups of fluids per day to maintain normal hydration. 15 x ~150 = 2250mls. That's about one cup per hour! Eek!

 Today's unpleasant symptoms exactly match one online description of dehydration on all listed points. Another Eek!

 My daily intake of tea and coffee amounts to 6 x 200 ml mugs spread throughout the day = 1200mls. It really doesn't vary. I am a creature of habit. That's almost half the recommended daily total of fluids!  

 It was suggested by my doctor that I drink at least 1.5 liters of water in addition to my daily beverages. I don't like drinking water. It is freezing cold at this time of year due to frost penetration of the rural ground. 

 I do drink milk on my morning porridge oats. Though I have never measured the volume. Perhaps I should? I have a drop of milk in two cups of coffee per day but that doesn't alter the total liquid volume. I don't have milk in my tea and haven't since childhood. I don't drink juices or sugar bombs. Nor take sugar in any of my drinks. 

 I ought to have a covered jug or container to refill a glass near the computer. This will ensure the chill is taken off and [hopefully] become more palatable. It will also measure the volume of water I consume. Leaving no doubt. Nor room for cheating! That should increase my daily exercise running back and forth to the bathroom.  A win-win situation.

 22.45 I may not sleep but I still feel unwell. So I am going to bed anyway.  

  

  ~?~

4.02.2026 Stocking up for the snowstorm!

 ~?~

  Wednesday 4th 28F/-2C [9.00] Heavily overcast after a clear night with a high moon. A grey, windy day with possible snow showers this afternoon. Blowing to 18m/s from the east. [~40mph] Snow is expected over the next three days. 59F/15C i the room. The stove wouldn't light from the warm bed of ash. The kindling glowed but no flames.

 Up at 7.50 after an odd night. Got up four times until 3am in bright moonlight and then slept for hours. I had better light the stove properly. 

 I need to shop in case I get snowed in.

 10.00 63F/17C in the room. Back from a 20 minute walk along the road. The wind was roaring and cutting my face into icy rashers. The hedge slasher had been along. Perfect timing, to ensure a lot of twigs are blown out onto the asphalt. On both sides of the road! The usual, wind blocking hedge was worthless today. The wind completely ignored it. I was being buffeted as I walked in both directions. No, not simultaneously. There are limits to my legendary abilities. 

 12.00 64F/17.8C in the room. Back from the village supermarket. Three bulging carrier bags full as I stocked up for the coming snowstorm. Up to 30cm could accumulate over several days. We were south of the threatened snowstorm but are now well within it. 

20.00 63F/17C. Still no new snow. Yet another day spent on YouTube and feeding the stove. Dinner was a salmon pasty, with organic peas, Fettuccine pasta and tinned organic tomatoes. I should have used a whole tin of tomatoes. Strained to reduce the water content. I washed up while it cooked. I have more to do.

 

  ~?~

3.02.2026 Democracy for sale! Dirt cheap!

 ~?~

  Tuesday 3rd 26F/-3.3C. Cloudy start becoming sunny later. Even more windy from the east. 10ms base. Gusting to 20m/s. 45mph! That's the equivalent of 6F/-14C with wind chill. 59F/15C in the room. 38F/3.3C in the greenhouse. 

 No thin logs or kindling to light the fire until I raid the trailer. Which is currently at the far end of the carport. Trapped behind the car. Without any lighting other than a hand held torch. I need a [much] better storage system! Or the motivation to empty the trailer before it becomes so critical. It is supposed to snow again tomorrow. So all the remaining firewood needs to be in the [lean-to] greenhouse! 

 Up at 6am after what felt like hours of wakefulness. My back hurts from yesterday's repeated struggles with the heavy mattress! 

 7.30 I sprinkled the still hot ashes in the stove. With the last of the small flakes, rubbish wood and bark in the bottoms of the log baskets. Then laid the smallest, but still oversized log on top. Five minutes later it ignited and the log is burning well! It needs maximum airflow to keep it going. I searched for more logs in the greenhouse and have enough for this morning. All larger than I would normally burn. 

 Now it is light enough outside I can see the trees and hedges are all rocking in the wind. It is roaring around the greenhouse. Which is unfortunate. Because the eastern door is the one I need for emptying the trailer. The wind continues tomorrow as well. Only slightly reduced from today's unpleasantness but with the added burden of snow. I think the best thing to do is to use the wheelbarrow as usual. To dump loads of logs onto the greenhouse floor. Get as much in as possible without leaving the doors open. I can fill a basket with some flakes for kindling.

 08.30 Still only 59F/15C in the room. Job done. Three well filled wheelbarrows full of mixed logs into the greenhouse. One basket stuffed with beech flakes for kindling. Cold and rather breathless. I fetched the recycling bins from the end of the drive while was out there. Both had blown over after being emptied. 

 The temporary roof covering on the stripped, thatch house is coming apart. It is being ripped wide open by the wind. The house was abandoned again months ago. With tons of debris, bathroom fittings and rubble from the house piled untidily, outside the house on the drive. 

 No visit to my friend today. No walk either.

 The day passed peacefully on YouTube. Where I learned that a brutal, child rapist is still treating the world as his own, personal toy. Evil can only exist. When other, evil men do nothing. Or praise the perp. To ensure their own gravy trains do not derail. Democracy is just another currency in many parts of the world. To be bought and sold to the highest bidder. 

 19.30 64F/17.8C in the room. Dinner was my very first, cheese omelette. It was excellent!

  ~?~

2.02.2026 Bedding down!

 ~?~

  Monday 2nd 19F/-7C. Overcast, colder and windier. Gusting to 15m/s. 59F/5C in the room. 33F/0.6C in the greenhouse. 

 Up at 4am as my recycled bed collapsed! The slatted mattress support they supplied was too narrow for the frame. So I had to insert slats either side. To keep it central on the battens at the edges. Unfortunately this failed at intervals. I should have bought bigger battens and glued and screwed them into place. Unfortunately the risk of collapse seemed low at first. The bed has only collapsed under me once. That was while I was sitting on the edge of the mattress and getting dressed.

  Last night the thin slats had slipped through the gap. I could hear creaking and then the mattress dropped.  So our hero was left with a non functioning bed in the dark. In the middle of the night. I attempted repairs by the light of the table lamp. However, the sheer weight of the massive sprung mattress was too much for me. Access to the lifting loops was  all but impossible within the wooden frame. 

 In the end I had to drag the furniture away and drop the mattress onto the floor. Followed by the bedding. I spent the following two hours dreaming about possible fixes. Most of my ideas were too vague to have been conscious.  

 Up at 7.30 after hours of clock watching. Made worse by my newly sunken viewpoint. The mattress is now too close to the stove to risk lighting it. Not good after the coldest night so far. It is not supposed to climb above -4C/25F all day.  I will have to drag the mattress away and get some warmth into the place. 

 A journey to the builder's merchant is on the cards. To find suitable battens to make the bed safe. The original side battens are really rather mean. For such an expensive bed at Danish retail prices. The bed is 91cm wide inside the veneered chipboard sides. The slatted base is only 88.5. That's a 25mm or 1" difference. If the sides should bow under load, or over time. Then the slatted base can drop between the puny battens. And, did! There are no cross ties between the bed sides. My guess is that the slatted bases were mixed up somehow. Between donation and joining the other beds at the charity shop.

 8.40. It has dropped to 58F/14C in the room since I lit the stove. I have dragged the mattress away to a safe position. There are very few logs left indoors. Half a trailer full out in the carport. Another trip to the log merchant is vital. 

 9.00 60F/15.6C indoors. It is 51F/10.6C upstairs. This is following closure of the open stairwell with curtains. The sky is breaking up to blue and weak sunshine. I don't think I need a walk. I have already had enough exercise!

 9.50 The sun is bright now but it feels bitterly cold out in the wind. I brought in a 2m straight edge. To confirm the sides of the bed are bowed outwards. By at least 10mm each side. So there lies the catastrophic clearance. I don't have any battens long enough for the bed sides. [2m] So I shall have to go to the builder's merchant. I'll fit a cross piece too. To keep the sides from bowing. It's a nuisance. I was in the same village shopping yesterday. [Sunday closed] Now I'll have to make the same journey again.

 11.00 64F/17.8C. Back from the builder's merchant. Noisy wind shrieking in the car. Blinding sunshine dead ahead. The roads are weirdly white from all the salt. It is invisible when the asphalt is wet. Over £40 equivalent for a few meters of 15x40mm softwood batten.     

 I have fetched one on my 1m clamps. To pull in the bowed sides of the bed. I have plenty of batten to make two crossbars. I need to decide how best to fix them. Without making dismantling the bed impossible or unnecessarily difficult. The side battens aren't stiff enough to pull the bed sides in.

12.30 66F/19C. Greenhouse at 57F/14C! No crossbars were necessary. The width of the new side battens. Is more than enough to ensure the slatted base could not escape. I used enough screws to hold the new, wider battens onto the originals. The mattress is now 15mm higher. Slightly more than half an inch. Which is meaningless.

 14.45 Constant sunshine. 69F/20.6C in the greenhouse. I let the stove go out.

 15.20 I had a timed nap. To catch up on missing sleep in the night. The bed feels very solid and quiet now. Which it never was in the past.

 Dinner was sausage, brown mushrooms and mashed potato. All organic. Plus Bisto gravy. Plate warmed to 100C. I was feeling inspired. It was excellent.

 

  ~?~

1st Februrary 2026 Don't tell anyone, but..

 ~?~

  Sunday 1st 20F/-7C. Overcast, cold and windy. Not expected to rise above -5C/23F all day. SE winds expected to gust to 13m/s all day. 60F/15.6C in the room. Greenhouse 31F/0C. The pond thermometer has stopped working. Probably a flat battery in the cold. It was showing 36F/2C yesterday.

 Got up at 7.50 after a difficult night. I felt I was awake from 1-3am. Staying in bed seemed like the best thing to do. I had dreampt I was searching for my wife. She was in the shed for some reason but had changed into somebody I didn't recognize. Nor would she talk to me. She just walked off behind the shed. Which upset me. When I finally got back to sleep I was having more, weird dreams. 

8.15 Stove lit. Brought in more logs from the greenhouse. I shall have to unload the trailer into the greenhouse soon. Which will make me breathless. My chest is still bunged up after my recent bout of Man cold/flu/Covid. I am getting breathless even on my walks. It seems like ages since I had a ride.

 9.30 64F/18C in the room. Back from my walk. Cold, but no worse than yesterday. I wore my Ventile jacket over the pile lined fleece. This was much more windproof than the Patagonia, down sweater. Worn over the same, fleece jacket. 

 I was going to make sausage rolls. Just for a change. However, the ready-made pastry, which my wife used to use. Was not always readily available. I was always having to ask the staff if they had the correct make. The variety most often seen in the supermarket freezers was sugar laden and tasted strongly of vanilla. Now I can't remember which was the correct one. It must be five years since I last bought it. I know I will be disappointed. If I buy the inferior crap. Which is obviously aimed at the low hanging fruit market.  

15.30  24F/-4.4C. 66F/19C in the room. Back from the shops in the next shopping village to the north. Catching up on shortages. From my last grocery shopping spree in the village. I can no longer trust some supermarkets to have stock of the most ordinary items. I bought some flaky pastry. Fingers crossed. A horribly cold wind in the car parks. 

 19.00 My first sausage rolls are in the oven. Nearly ready. I washed up while they cooked. And filled and dragged two recycling, wheelie bins along the drive. In the freezing cold and a headwind. My wife reminded me regularly that I couldn't multi-task. 

 I had nothing to go with sausage rolls. Google suggested chips and beans. I've had two days of baked beans already. They are supposed to be monitoring my blog. So they should have known better. 

 20.00 I have a confession. I had taken two slices of pastry out of the box. One half of the sausages made six pieces. Two slices made four wraps. I would have had to add another slice of pastry but I was too mean and impatient. Having already given the pastry half an hour to thaw. So I glued some short lengths of pastry strips together with beaten egg. A cosmetic failure but I shan't tell if you don't. 

 

  ~?~

31.01.2026 Feels like -8C.

 ~?~

  Saturday 31st 30F/-1C. Grey, windy from the SE and cold. 61F/16C in the room. Greenhouse at 40F/4.4C. The trees and hedges are moving. It could reach -7C/19F tonight.

 Up at 7.40 after a busy night and clock watching for hours.

 8.40. I had better light the stove. 

 10.10 30F/-1C. Room at 64F/17.8C. Stove going well. Back from a loop along the drives. The wind was like cold knives cutting my face. It was cold and strong enough to blow through my layers. The DMI say 15 m/s gusts. That's over 30mph. Feels like -8C/18F. 

 Thoughts of my usual Saturday ride to the next village have been abandoned. It would have meant riding straight into the wind. Adding further to the wind chill factor.

 18.30 Another day of watching YouTube. It was far too cold to ride anywhere. I have been keeping the stove well fed. Getting though lots of logs. Now it is time to make some dinner.

 Beans on toast. 

 It was supposed to drop to -7C overnight tonight. Instead of which we are offered a balmy -6C/21F instead. 

   

  ~?~

30.01.2026 Save the pros from amateurs!

 ~?~

  Friday 30th 30F/-1C [8.15] Another cold, windy day with snow showers and drifting. 62F/16.7C in the room. 39F/4C in the greenhouse. The stove was fed with two large logs and burned late into the night.

 8.15 Up at 7.30 after a fairly quiet night. I woke earlier and the clock kept jumping forwards. Stove lit.

 9.35 Back from my walk. Unpleasantly cold wind at times. Blackbirds squabbling over territory. Sparrows chattering. A few listless gulls out on the prairie. Still lots of snow lying.

I spent the day on YouTube. Even watching stand up comedians before dinner.

7.30 66F/19C. Dinner was an organic chop, organic mushrooms and Danish baked beans.  

 Three pieces of road news: The Fyn police have fined 1300 motorists in January alone. Mostly for mobile phone use behind the wheel. 

 There are now more electric cars than diesels on Danish roads. 

 Danish, professional racing cyclists are appealing for amateurs. To leave them well alone while they are out training. Many amateurs jump onto the star's back wheels but lack the professional's skills. Resulting in too many crashes and injuries. Which can seriously impact a training session, racing season or even an entire career. 

 What I find sickening is the amateur is often starting fresh. While the pro may already have covered a high mileage that day. Often riding hard on very long climbs in the southern European mountains. Where many racing teams go for the better weather and the challenges of the terrain. 

 Along with the clingy amateurs. Who think that holding a back wheel, for a mere couple of kilometres. Before exhaustion ends the chase. Is a sign of matching fitness with their heroes. Several top cyclists have crashed recently. When complete amateurs have run into them. When the pro braked for obstructions. Or animals dashing across the road.  

 

  ~?~

29.01.2026 Flat tire!

 ~?~

  Thursday 29th 28F/-2C [7.00] Cloudy and windy with risk of light snow showers. Temperature expected to fall to -4C/25F. Before settling at -1C all day. Gusting to 10m/s [22mph] from the NE. Room at 59F/15C. Greenhouse at 40F/4C. 

 7.00 Stove lit. I woke earlier but managed to stay in bed until 6.20. The lighter duvet was more comfortable. Without overheating.

 Cooking class today. I'll drive there. Still pitch black but the cameras show no new snow.

 9.00 I was just going to leave but I have a flat front tire! Which is a first for me. It has never happened before in well over half a century. The nearest tire outlet is 10 miles away. They have a two week waiting list for changing to winter tires. 

 I have a spare wheel in the boot. Which involves moving the trailer at the back of the carport. The car is in the carport and hemmed in with stuff. All the while surrounded in snow in an ice cold wind. I can drive it slowly forward to get enough room for using the jack. 

 Do I have a suitable jack? Not a silly question. I have assorted jacks but the Morris has a strange welded tube. Precisely where one might expect to jack the front end. An online check suggests the original Morris jack should be avoided. I'll start with the scissors jack I stored in the boot.

 Riding to the class on my e-bike is theoretically possible but would involve lots of hilly, minor roads. More like rural lanes. With the temperature below freezing it would not be a comfortable journey. Plus the risk of icy roads. Just to add to the difficulties. Grr! 

 9.30 65F/18.3C in the room. I'll have to change into my work clothes and get cracking. 

10.15 Everything I needed was in the car. Even a tommy bar and the correct socket for the wheel nuts. It didn't seem to take long but left me completely breathless. Now I have to ring around. To see who can mend the puncture. The spare tire is not the same as the rest. 

 12.45 Both petrol stations air pumps weren't working. The first was frozen apparently. Water in the system. Rather than air. The second had a worn out valve seal rubber. So it lost more air than it could push in. The staff came out and out and looked. Of course I was the only one complaining. Nobody else had any problem. 

 I bought some groceries while I was in the village. I'll have lunch and then try a rural tire service outlet. To have the puncture repaired.

 It was quite entertaining. The elderly tire fitter was delighted to have a Morris Minor there. We chatted away for ages while he worked. The tire had an inner tube and this had a tiny hole. He was a club motorcyclist and so we chatted about those too. He fixed the puncture and then I could drive home. With the wheel in the boot.

 19.30 67F/19C. As I had missed the cooking class I had to make dinner. An organic chop, boiled potatoes, peas and Bisto gravy

  

  ~?~

28.01.2026 Chicken butties?

 ~?~

  Wednesday 28th 30F/-1C [5.30] Continuing cloudy, cold and windy. 62F in the room. 41F in the greenhouse.

 Up at 5.30. I was hot and wide awake. I am going back to the lighter duvet. Or will try the third.

 7.00 Stove lit. 

 9.20 Back from a 20 minute walk around the drive loop. About a centimeter  of new snow. Some of which was wind driven. To fill in footprints and tire tracks. The NE wind was unpleasantly strong in exposed places.

 18.00 Another day browsing or on YT. I wanted to go out on the e-bike but the snow, cold and dark skies put me off. I have been feeding the stove all day and it has crept up to 65F/18C in the room. 

 20.00 29F/-2C. 66F/19C. Dinner was fried chicken on rolls. I had to use up the chicken and the rolls too. I gave the chicken 20 minutes at a modest heat. It worked much better than toast.

 

  ~?~

27.01.2026 Not our cameras?

 ~?~

  Tuesday 27th 30F/-1C. Overcast with light snow showers possible. 58F/14C in the room.  41F/5C  in the greenhouse.

 7.45 I have been tidying and cleaning around the stove before the sweep arrives. Who is here on time. Presently standing on the roof and brushing the chimney. It was interesting how the magnetic door closure. Slowly moves the stove backwards. Each cushioned closure of the heavy door adds its own impact. Perhaps I should place something non flammable behind the stove. To stop it's slow crawl.

 8.10 The sweep has just left. No problems and very little soot or ash. All thanks to the modern stove and clean fuel. I have now lit the stove. To warm the place up before leaving to visit my friend. I now have a new reserve of wood flakes to use as kindling. Which saves buying sacks of the stuff at the sheltered workshop.

 I was going to check the traffic cameras for road conditions. It seems the cameras are still working but public access to their website and the cameras has been blocked! These were presumably installed at taxpayer expense. As is the government controlled website. 

 Do we still fund the cameras and their maintenance from our taxpayers' contributions? Their excuse? They can sell the camera video to private businesses? But deny the Danish taxpayer all of the benefits of actually seeing real road conditions at a glance? Does not compute!  

 I drove over to see my friend. Had a pleasant chat over Danish pastries and coffee by his wood stove. Drove home via another charity shop. Looking for thicker curtains but without luck.

 Dinner was a salmon pasty, chips and peas.

 

  ~?~

26.01.2026 No new snow.

 ~?~

  Monday 26th 30F/-1C [8.30] Overcast with snow promised. They are calling it a snowstorm because of the NE wind. Expected to gust to 15m/s. Over 30mph.Which is very likely to cause drifting or driven snow. Up to 20cm is possible in total. Currently no new snow lying. The trees and hedges are moving.

 Just under 58F/14C in the room. So the curtains around the open stairwell had a more limited effect last night. It was 2C colder outside overnight than the previous night. The stove was going well at bedtime at 11pm. I have enough logs for today. I could get some briquettes from the supermarket to last a couple more days.

 The snow is not supposed to arrive here until lunch time. I can fetch a trailer full of logs before the snow arrives. The small amount of snow on the drives shouldn't hinder me too much.

 Up at 7.50 after a fairly quiet night. The sweep will be coming early tomorrow morning. If he can get through the snow! 

 10.00 Back with a trailer full of logs. The roads were fine. Now I just need to get them into the greenhouse. 

 10.40 28F/-2C. 59F/15C in the room. Half of the logs are dumped in the greenhouse. I can stack them neatly after I recover. The remainder in the trailer is safely covered and in the carport. Along with the car. A huge relief to have enough logs again.

 It is horrible out there! My eyes and nose were streaming constantly in the cold wind. The fitted trailer tarpaulin blew away until I had it fixed down. No new snow yet. Though it seems to be limited to a southern strip of the island. Morning coffee and then I'll drive into the village. To stock up with essentials. In case I am snowed in. Nobody clears the drives and I am no longer fit or strong enough to do it myself.

 Back from the shops. I bought some thick wool socks because it said "Wool" on the cardboard sleeve. After I came home I discovered that "Wool" meant only 30%! The rest is micro-plastic waste.  

 14.10 63F/17C. Still no snow. The snowfall area is sliding westwards just south of my location. It is supposed to head slowly northwards later.

 7.45 30F/-1C. 66F/19C in the room. No new snow yet. Just  a dusting on the car inside the carport. The radar shows the snow clouds sliding to the SW but evaporating before they reach me. Dinner was one of my ugly omelettes. The sausage was cut into small pieces and slowly fried.  The mushrooms added after a while. Then the whipped eggs poured over the cooked contents of the frying pan. It was fine. I washed up while it cooked. I suppose that make me a domestic robot. Just better looking.

 

  ~?~

25.01.2026 More thermal pottering.

 ~?~

  Sunday 25th 31F/-1C [5.15] Overcast. About 1cm of overnight snow. Possible snow showers. A snowstorm warning has been released! Up to 20cm over the next 48 hours with strong NE winds. 

 62.6F/17C in the room.  Has the curtain stair enclosure reduced heat loss to the upstairs? It would seem so. The last two mornings were 3F cooler with the same outside temperature. Perhaps the room will cool further by normal breakfast time.

 I got up at 5am after being awake for two hours. I was too hot under the heavier duvet! 🙄

7.15 The room sank to just under 62F/16.7C before I lit the stove. That is still a 3F reduction in heat loss compared to the rather chilly, 59F of the last two mornings. The curtains I used to close off the open stairwell were really quite thin. Multiple thicknesses might reduce heat loss further. Still at very low cost and effort for this first experiment. 

 Appearance is obviously important in the longer term. Not that I get many visitors but for my own visual benefit. I don't want a huge eyesore in the room!

 This new thermal image [top right] is interesting. This is before the stove has warmed the room at all. In fact it has only just been lit. There is almost no stratification on the stair curtains. While the massive chimney is still holding heat from last night. [Just out of view to the left] Though the heat has spread to the adjoining, brick wall.

 The cold glass of the door to the entrance hall, on the right of the image, could usefully be insulated. The entrance door itself is solid pine board. Poorly insulated and draught sealed. It has had white frost on the inside surface in cold winters! I have long planned to replace it. With a properly insulated door faced with grooved plywood. Probably home made. An air lock porch has also been long planned but never progressed. 

 The second image shows the chimney [65cm square]  before the stove has properly warmed up. It is clear that it stores a lot of heat and releases it steadily to the room. Thermal mass at its best. Since it costs nothing. The stove surroundings are ceramic tiles and these also get warm to thanks to the stove. So a very large area radiates heat into the room. Once it has stored the heat coming from the stove. 

 It is not exactly free heat. Because the stove's output is partially stored. Instead of heating the room directly. The benefit is, of course, a much longer heating period for the same input of wood. The same is true for the very expensive soapstone cladding on the stove itself. Intended to prolong the benefits of the stove long after it has gone out. It can often feel warm in the morning. 

 Much is made of mass stoves or mass ovens efficiency. Where a small burn can provide heat for days. The cost is twofold. A literally massive structure in the room. Somebody knowledgeable has to build it. 

 The third image shows the area around the stove is already warming the surrounding walls. With the stove cladding yet to take up the heat.

 The chimney upstairs radiates heat to the attic. Though I was never really aware of it. Even though our bedheads were right beside it for three decades. I only discovered all of this after I invested in the Topdon thermal camera. A plug in attachment for mobile phones. It cost about £200 equivalent. Competitors are now available.

 The advantage of these infra red sensitive cameras is that one can see at a glance where heat is being lost. They can also be used to check for electrical faults and poor building standards. Images are easily captured as they are stored on the phone. So a permanent record exists.

 9.10 I couldn't stay awake. So I had a half hour nap. Very fine snow is falling. This doesn't help my need for more logs! I have more than enough for today. I have brought in all the remaining logs in the greenhouse.

 16.00 31F/-0.6C. 65F/18.3C in the room. I can't be certain but it felt cooler. When I went upstairs to hang up some laundry. 

I have taken the recycling bin along the drive. The snow made it far easier than usual. To see where I was going in the dark. 

 20.00 32F/0C. 67F/19.4C! This is ridiculous! I am sitting here and sweating in a T-shirt! 

 Dinner was cheese on toast. I was a bit mean with the grated cheese.

 

  ~?~

24.01.2026 Stairwell thermal closure.

 ~?~

  Saturday 24th 29F/-2C. Heavily overcast, cold and windy with a light dusting of overnight snow. More light snow possible. 59F/15C in the room. 41F/5C in the greenhouse. Stove lit. 

 I deliberately stayed in bed until 8am. After a busy night attending the fire bucket.

 I went for a late walk after morning coffee. It was grey, cold and windy. Though I was warm and comfortable. Pile lined, fleece jacket under the down sweater. Double fleece hat pulled down to the safety glasses. The GripGrab, two fingered mitts were fine today. Just as they were yesterday. Something had left miles of blue stains on the road. As they leaked oil, fuel or brake fluid. 

 12.15 Back from the village. Where I bought three long curtains at the charity shop. For closing off the stairwell . There was nothing very heavy. Nor really wide enough. So I went with what there was. Quickly stapling two curtains to the ceiling tiles. To get a feel for appearance, easy access to the stairs and thermal efficiency. There are lots of other charity shops to scour for heavier cloth. 

 We lived and slept upstairs when my wife was still alive. So it was never sensible to close off the stairs. There would have been no warmth up there. Now I have moved my bed downstairs.

 I have a posh, glazed door stored away. With beveled glass panes. Which could be hinged to the wall across the bottom of the stairs. Then a more permanent wall built in place of the pale curtain. The aquarium would be in the way of the door when fully open. So some furnishing adjustments would be necessary. 

 Or, I have some glazed panels from a wooden conservatory stored in the shed. They were supposed to become a porch but that never happened. These could be hinged to fold out of the way at the bottom of the stairs.

 A glazed wall unit could enclose the side of the stairs more smartly.  One might be hovering in a charity shop somewhere. It only needs to be 1.5m wide x 2.15m high. That's well within the range of a room divider, glazed cupboard or wardrobe. And, a little imagination. I don't want a solid wall robbing the stairs of light. An alternative might be roller blinds. Not sue about the large drop though. Venetian blinds? Louvres?

 20.00 32F/0C. I can't be certain the curtains have affected the room temperature. It is still only 64F/18C at the computer. I have taken some infra red [thermal] images of the curtains. See above of the same area as the top [normal] image. 

 There is an obvious stratification effect on the curtains. The hall wall and glazed door are [very] cold spots. My wife kept a curtain over the hall doors. I took them down after she died. To open up the house to the light. It had always been very dark indoors. 

 Dinner was a fry-up. Organic sausage, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, a slice of wholemeal bread toast and two organic eggs. 

 10.15 32F/0C. It is trying to snow. There is a snow storm warning for Thursday 29th. That's a cooking class day. 65F/18.3C in the room. 

 

 

  ~?~

23.01.2026 A better bit of duvet on my bed.

 ~?~

    Friday 30F/-1C [7.45] Heavy overcast. Hovering around freezing all day with easterly gales. Possible early sunshine but clouding over. Possible snow showers too. 59F/15C in the room. 41F/5C in the greenhouse. Stove lit and already going well.

 Up at 7.10 after a warm night under the heavier, down duvet. I got up three times. The heavier duvet stayed in place much better than the lighter one. I often have to find and rotate the twisted duvet in the dark after getting up. Anything which prolongs or increases a sleep disturbance is really best avoided. I didn't need socks. The heavier duvet draped really well around me. The lighter one needs regular adjustment to avoid cold spots at the edges. It also rotates with me as I change sleeping position. Mostly positive then. I'll continue with the heavier duvet until the weather warms up.  

 Should I go and fetch some more firewood? Even if it means manual loading it myself. The stack in the greenhouse is at critical level. Barely a few days left at current consumption. I have found some fairly dry chestnut logs under the shed roof overhang. So I could hold out until the vendor returns from holiday on Sunday. 

 The smaller trailer required by the Morris has completely altered my needs in obtaining logs. Not helped by the crooks at the other timber yard. Where I ordered and paid for half a cubic meter. Which didn't even cover the bottom of the trailer. It has a volume of one cubic meter to the tops of the sides. So should have been half full! Or more, if the other vendor is being typically generous.

 9.30 Back from my walk. Not much snow left now. The wind was horrible. Not too bad with it behind me but nasty after the turn. The trees were roaring. It didn't bother the two Red kites soaring over the hamlet at low altitude as I left. The traffic was steady. Cars passing at short intervals. A couple of lorries. The set aside fields to the south have been ploughed. 

 11.00 It has just reached 63F/17C in the room. I've brought in more logs. Now I am going shopping in the Morris. 

 11.30 The wind was even stronger and colder at the shops. With several lady's hair blowing around wildly. Meat has come down in price. 

 Another day of self-improvement on YT. While constantly feeding the stove with the remaining logs.

Dinner was fish fingers, baked beans and mashed potato. Very enjoyable. I washed up which it cooked. So I am becoming quite domesticated. I am running the washing machine too.

    

 ~?~ 

22.01.2026 Thermal comfort blanket.

 ~?~

 Thursday 22nd 29F/-2C. Cold, heavily overcast and windy from the NE. Local snow flurries later. Not expected to rise above freezing all day. 58F/14C in the room 41F/5C in the greenhouse. The stove was still going well at midnight. Today's lowest start temperature in the room [so far] is probably due to the wind. It must be finding all the gaps in the structure and existing insulation.

 Up at 8.30 after a busy night. I kept seeing the clock, or visiting the fire bucket, then falling asleep again. 

 9.15 The stove has been lit and I can already feel its heat on the back of my neck. I have attached the Topdon, infra red camera to my phone and checked around. The southerly wall is by far the coldest. Solid brick with three [double glazed] windows. The greenhouse provides some shelter but is still cold. There is also a narrow, cold streak around the junction between the ceiling and all the exterior walls. Not easy to access.

 The balcony room is colder still at the top of the stairs. The single glazed, "French widows" showing only 9C/48F on the camera. Over what is quite a large area. Visitors have complained of a waterfall of cold air at the foot of the stairs. Their advice is to fit a heavy curtain to a curved rail attached to the living room ceiling. To close off the open stairwell. While still allowing access. Though it might be preferable to close off the double balcony doors themselves with a heavy curtain. Possibly both options should be tried. 

 If the stairwell is closed then the open plan attic will be colder still. Meaning that heat will flow more freely through the entire living room ceiling. Meanwhile, the bathroom and a third of the kitchen ceiling lie under the cold, balcony room. Which adds to their heat loss. The balcony room will inevitably be cooler still. Access is rarely required in winter. Since it is only used for rather chaotic storage. Temperatures soar to well over 100F in summer. Thanks to the fully glazed gable end. 

 The huge area of glass is quite attractive but should probably be removed and a modern window and/or windows, fitted in a properly insulated gable end. To bring the room up to modern living standards. It has 45º ceilings down to the floor and is only a modest 2m deep. Though it could make a small guest bedroom if done properly. A glazed door out to an escape balcony might be preferable. Though escape windows are now readily available. Where the whole glazed frame is hinged. To allow easy access over a larger area. Without requiring large openers or clear glass area. I installed one of these windows at the eastern end of the attic. With cottage style glazing bars to smaller panes. Triple glazed to modern standards.

 9.45 60F/15.6C in the room. Thinking about a walk but it's horribly grey and windy too. I have brought in more logs from the greenhouse. My stock is going down fast! Do I feel strong enough to fetch some more logs? If I have to load the trailer by hand. Or dare I wait until Sunday to have them loaded for me? 

 I am trying a couple of small, horse chestnut logs. Which I brought in from the huge, unprotected heap to dry out a bit. They have readily caught light. We'll see.. It would take quite a bit of work to sort through the loose and haphazard stack outside. To hopefully find some dry logs. The heap was covered once but later additions have made a typical mess. Under my chaotic charge.    

 10.45 Back from a loop around the neighbours' drives. A cold wind. A heron rose from the marshy, back field.

 Back to scrolling through YouTube's endless video suggestions. Typically, it had been reading my blog. So up came numerous thermal improvement suggestions. The simplest and best in test, was simply hanging a blanket over a window. So I found a blanket and stapled it over the balcony door frame. 

 12.15 30F/-1C. 63F/17C in the room. The bare, single glazed windows of the fully glazed, balcony doors were showing 12C. It was only 9C earlier before I lit the stove. The blanket immediately read 17C with the pistol thermometer. 

 I'll go back up in a while to see if the reading has changed. Coming back down the stairs was like walking outside during a heatwave. After having been in an air conditioned supermarket. 

 The advantage of the blanket is that it allows some light through. So it isn't remotely as dark. As using cardboard or other opaque, insulating materials. It also looks quite reasonable or even quite attractive, with the right choice of blanket. Charity shops would be a good source of cloth, curtains and blankets. 

 Covering the entire frame provides an air gap. While simultaneously enclosing all the potential gaps and air leaks around the doors. Though I made no attempt to staple around the edges or bottom of the blanket. A difference of as little as 5C helps to reduce heat loss through these doors. 

 The Topdon thermal camera shows a more useful image of the covered doors. Compared to the local readings of the remote reading thermometer. There is clear stratification of the temperature with height. I photographed the doors straight on from the landing at about 3 meters away. To take in the entire door frame with the blanket in place. 

 This suggests that there are draughts under the bottom of the doors. And/or that the air temperature upstairs is also stratified. I have already laid a loose roll of cloth. To try to reduce the draughts at the bottom of the doors. All very simple and cost free so far. 

 Dinner was Heinz beans on toast. Distinctly underwhelming. I bought a load of cans on special offer. I have tried adding pepper and salt but the taste remains lifeless.

 21.00 31F/-1C. 63f/17C in the room. The greenhouse is at 40F/4.4C. The blanket over the balcony doors is now at 14C but the glass behind it now reads only 7C. I was quite comfortable until I needed more logs. Which meant going out into the greenhouse. So my fleece jacket is back on again. 

 I am wondering if I can improve the cold wall where my bed is. I could hang a blanket, or blankets, from the top of the wall. This would cover the cold brick and reduce heat loss through the windows. I haven't been cold in bed so far. Though I can feel the colder air on my face in the night. Indoor temperatures do seem to be dropping slowly but steadily. I am not stinting on logs for the stove. The larger logs burn for longer and probably produce more heat.  I also have two more warmer options for duvets if I need them. In fact I might try one tonight. I found it too warm last time.    

 

  ~?~

21.01.2026 A bit of a wobbly!

 ~?~

  Wednesday 21st 29F/-2C. Overcast with  hard white frost. Early sunshine was forecast. Wind picking up to easterly gales. Possibility of some snowfall. 59F/15C in the room. 40F/4.4C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 8.20 after a fairly quiet night. 

 Plans for a ride are on hold. Gales, low temperatures and snow aren't conducive to full enjoyment. I have been watching YT videos by professional northerly Swedes and Norwegians on the successful choice of low temperature clothing. While Denmark doesn't usually suffer such extremes the advice is still relevant. 

 Gloves or mitts are the most difficult choice where warmth with fine dexterity is essential on an e-bike. My higher average speeds, compared to my trikes, adds a serious wind chill factor. While I must certainly pedal all the time I am not usually working nearly so hard on climbs. Though I am not a sack of spuds like a scooterist or motorcyclist. If the pedals don't turn then forward progress simply does not happen! My cadence is falling steadily with old age. I could pedal up to 130rpm only a few short years ago. Now I average high 70s low 80s.

 The tiny keypad controls of the Bosch motor system is a serious impediment to power mode selection. While wearing gloves or mitts. One can only presume that they don't have winter in Bosch's Germany. Or the head of design has never ridden a bike of any form. Perhaps thanks to the crudest form of nepotism. Or bullying of the design team from on high. Who knows. They certainly don't deserve their monopoly for their motor controls and computer screens. Which is why I usually stick to Sport mode. Fortunately the MTB style gear and brake levers are fine. 

 My best winter glove choice so far is a pair of Reusch "Powder Spirit" skiing gloves. With Goretex membrane and wrist tethers for safety. Made in China of course. They have been warm under most conditions. Dexterity is acceptable for so much warmth and still having five digits. The don't feel too clumsy for the insulation provided.

 For years I have been using GripGrab  gloves and mitts but they have often disappointed when it is cold. Their fancy, printed grip patterns on the palms and fingers are basically crap. Far too slippery even for driving safely! Hopeless on the bike. 

 I note that GripGrab no longer fills the display walls of Danish bike shops. I one swore by their two finger mitts and have bought several pairs over the years. Never again. The cold creeps in on every ride below 50F/10C. The Reusch have allowed me to ride comfortably and reliably in frost conditions. With wind chill factors equivalent to 30kph/20mph cruising speeds. I usually take a pair of GripGrab mitts in case it warms up. Though I rarely do a swap after warming up in the shops.  

 The name Hestra keeps cropping up in the YT videos about sledding at -40C. Pricing is eye watering. I'll try to find a Danish stockist within reach. To see if I can try their products on in the shop. Provided they have them in XXXXL of course! The one detail I am not keen on is the elastication at the wrist. Not the cuff. Taking gloves on and off should never be a struggle. Soft lining can be very sticky when ones hands are damp from handling shopping outside the supermarket. I [usually] have no need to keep the snow out.

 9.15 Stove lit. I must go for a walk! 

 10.00 The stove is finally going well and I can stop waffling. 

 10.35 30F/-1C. 61F/16C in the room. Back from my walk around the fields on the spray tracks. Overcast but the wind wasn't too bad. Though a passing lorry left its memory as a cold headwind for almost half a minute. The ground was frozen hard. Making me feel as if my legs were too stiff at first. The horses were curious and came out from their stalls to see me. My hands were too cold in the GripGrab mitts. Five minutes after coming home my fingers are still cold when I make a fist. I brought the recycling, wheelie bin back with me. They came late yesterday.

 Another day improving myself on YouTube. 

 I stated feeling dizzy while washing up and making dinner. I ate the chop but couldn't manage the chips. I can always warm them up later if I am feeling better.

 8.30 31F/-1C. Had a nap in the chair. Feeling much better. It is still only 63F in the room. Despite the stove having been going all day. I am plenty warm enough in a fleece jacket over my usual indoor clothes. Including a thick jumper.

 11.30 64F in the room. Time for bed. I heated up the chips thoroughly in the oven and they went down fine. That was an hour ago. 

 

 

  ~?~

20.01.2026 E-bike fettling.

 ~?~

  Tuesday 20th 26F/-3C [8.15] Clear and sunny when the sun finally rises. Peaking at just over freezing. I missed the aurora last night. No sign of anything this morning. Even though it was still dark when I got up. It dropped to -5C overnight.

 Up at 7.20 after a rather disturbed night. It is a cold 59F/15C in the room. The stove is already lit.

 I shall be visiting my English friend I'll be going in the Morris. I foolishly left it out in the open overnight. Thinking I was going to collect more logs yesterday afternoon. So the car is now white with frost. The carport would have protected it to some degree.

 12.40 Back from visiting my friend. A surprising amount of snow left in places. Mosty shady banks, verges and where the snow ploughs piled it up. The various lakes, ponds and puddles were all still frozen.

 16.10 Back again. After lunch I had to take the e-bike into town for a service. While that was happening I visited assorted shops and supermarkets. Just to kill the time. I took the Moustache [e-bike] on the carrier. So I could motor all over town more quickly than walking. All the shops are scattered over quite a large area. I found a nice jumper in a charity shop. In my favourite dark green. To go with my hunting style clothing. And no, I don't go hunting. Nor would I.

 Eventually I received an SMS to say I could pick up the e-bike. Nothing needed replacing. So it was mostly detail lubrication and checking. So labour charges with a software update to finish off. Returning at the speed limit on the main road wasn't enough for the commuters. Who were happily going past me. As if I was standing still. 

 18.30 Still only 61F/16C in the room. The stove hadn't been re-lit. Time to make some dinner. Mackerel in tomato sauce on toast. With halved cherry tomatoes. Followed by a whole tin of Heinz tomato soup.

  

  ~?~