13.01.2026 The thaw.

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  Tuesday 13th 35F/1.7C [9.00] Overcast and rather misty. 100m invisibility. Snow still here. Risk of light rain. Possibly icy surfaces with a slow thaw.  I am still bunged up. Coughing and snotting but steadily improving.

 Up at 8.20 after a busy night. I managed to keep the stove going until I ran out of logs at 3am. Then dozed and clock watched until after 8am. 62F/17C in the room. 42C/5.6C in the greenhouse. I'll bring in more logs and get the stove going again. There is some glowing in the fire bed. The greenhouse has been dripping on the last few logs. 

 No Tuesday visit to or from my English friend this week. First cooking class on Thursday. Hopefully the snow will be washed away by the rain by then.  

10.30 36F/2.2C. Back from a short walk looping around the neighbours' drives. The roads were wet so I was having to retreat from tire spray.  It would have been too easy to stay in and have morning coffee. So I forced myself to get out. 

 Lethal wet ice in lots of places. So I stayed on the snow for better grip.  I cleared the snow from the parking area nearest the house. Hopefully leading to a more rapid thaw. The snow is wet, sticky and heavy now. Tiring and made me breathless. 65F/18C in the room. 

 18.00 38F/3.3C. Thick mist! It is supposed to start raining and continue for over 12 hours. The area I cleared this morning is already down to the bare gravel.

 Dinner was organic sausage, organic brown mushrooms and organic mashed potatoes. I should have added Bisto gravy. I missed a trick there.

 The thick mist proved to be all four security cameras have steamed up in the thaw. I can clearly see my distant neighbours' lights through the window. It has reached 67F/19C in the room. All thanks to rising temperatures reducing heat loss.

 I trimmed my beard heavily. Going from Father Christmas to international businessman at a stroke. Well, in a few minutes. I have rather let myself go during the holiday season. With the cooking classes starting again I feel the need for rather more decorum. The beard literally makes me look old. The whiter it gets the more obviously it stands out in the security cameras. Beards may be trendy but the "homeless" look is not for everybody.  

  

 

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