10.12.2023 Snow, snow, go away.

 ~o~

 Sunday 10th 37F/3C. A wet morning is promised. I was woken at 6am by heavy rain. Without my hearing aids it was a dull roar in the background. Heavy rain was far more audible when I lived upstairs. Beer on top of dinner last  night was a mistake. I was topping up the fire bucket three times in the night. My chest feels wet and I keep clearing my throat and blowing my nose. 

 7.00 62F/17C in the room this morning. The stove is lit. I need to tidy up. Lots of laundry to put away from the clothes airers. I left everything hanging to ensure it was thoroughly dry. At least that is my excuse.

 8.00 Still pitch black outside. I turned off all the inside lights. There is barely any daylight at all. Most of the snow has gone. Just a few patches left where it was piled up.

 9.00 Light enough for a walk. It was damp, cold, dark and slightly windy. With light rain falling. My cycling gloves weren't warm enough. I should re-attach my hood to my winter walking jacket. Quite a lot of Sunday traffic. Almost no snow left. A few, seemingly random swathes of white clinging out on the fields. 

21.30 Another day of laziness. Dinner was cheese on toast with a few tomatoes.

~o~

9.12.2023 BMW autopilot miles ahead of AI FSD in thick mist.

 ~o~

 Saturday 9th 36F/2C [at 8.10] Dark overcast. The cars are clear again after yesterday's, new snow. A damp morning is promised with a SE wind. Hopefully any rain and slightly higher temperatures will clear more snow. Woke at 6am but dozed until 7.15. I have to shop. So I'll go in the old car. It will do me good to get out. Stop me from moping at home. 

 8.30 60F/15C in the room. I have lit the stove and refilled the log rack. Boots at the ready for a walk. It doesn't look as if it is going to get any lighter outside.

 9.15 It rained lightly and the mist thickened steadily as I walked to the lanes. The roads were wet but clear and the traffic unusually light. At times visibility was down to soft silhouettes at 200m.  Strings of small gulls wafted low across the landscape. Many veering away from me as they realised I was walking just below them. I had the choice to walk on slippery tire tracks or soft, wet snow along the drive. It was surprisingly hard work on the snow. The view across the garden is now softened within only a few yards.

 11.30 64F in the room. I have returned from shopping in the village. Snow is sliding off the roof. Visibility was well below 100m at times. Worse still in the built up area. Probably because it was lower altitude. More like 50m invisibility in the high street. 

 Fortunately BMW drivers have super powers. So they don't need to see where they are going. They have AUDI/BMW autopilot. So I pulled into a lay-by to let them pass. They vanished at high speed into the thick mist. Showing no rear lights nor fog lights. That'll be the amazing BMW autopilot at work. Who needs AI full self driving? 

 18.15 I am going to cook some mince. I have the onions now. Boiled potatoes, peas and gravy will probably go well with it. My recent experience with frying the meat balls was not positive. Hopefully the loose mince will provide the confidence I need to get it right.

 The mince tasted odd. I think I cooked it too long. About 25 minutes at 3-4 on the heat setting. It was very dark brown, but not visibly burnt. I fried the chopped onion until it was translucent and then added the mince. I drained the fluid early on as advised online. So the mince was frying almost dry. I kept moving it around to ensure it didn't stick. Only half of the mince is used, so I can try again.

~o~

8.12.2023 More snow and I'm a stoker.

 ~o~

 Friday 8th 32F/0C. Heavily overcast. Slightly misty. The remaining leaves on the trees are rustling in the wind. It should remain dry this morning. I need it to thaw soon. So I can fetch more logs. It was hard enough to get the car out yesterday without a trailer attached. I woke at 6.30 but went back to bed. Got up 7.45. I have a slightly snotty nose and wet cough again. Probably fine ash from the stove. Or another bug going around. Several of the class members were absent due to sickness.

 9.30 Back from a short walk. The sky was dark, the roads were wet and the traffic was noisy. I kept hopping onto the snow covered verges. To let vehicles pass. Turning back was into a light but cold SE wind. A heron went over just as a bird of prey started calling nearby. No sign of the bird of prey. I cleared some snow from in front of the car. So at least I can pull way before rolling over the snow.

 My email service is restored after repeated messages back and forth. I missed being able to download and print all the recipes and instructions for this week's classes. Plus the calendars for future classes. 

 19.30 Another load of snow fell this afternoon. It looks like about 4" on top of the MM but I have no clear reference points from indoors. 

 Dinner was fish finger and chips with a few tomatoes.

~o~