Storm Noah.

Storm Noah raged again last night with the gusting wind making the house and roof shake. I'm so glad we had the chimney removed and that the builder checked the rest of the tiles after the storms took off the ridge tiles last year. During the evening I had to don wet weather gear to go out and rescue our recycling bin which had blown up the road. The wind was so strong that at times I was stuck in place fearing any movement would see me blown over. Although I tucked the bin right behind the garden wall it kept clattering so later I went and brought all the recycling bins into the house.

In the morning the wind was still whipping up the waves while the sun shone brightly. 

When I looked at this photo I wondered if I was imagining snow on Cader Idris in the distance but the weather report for Snowdonia confirms that there was snow on the highest peaks and there may well be more tonight. 

The poor old tulips didn't do too well in the wind. They didn't even get a chance to open before being blown apart.

Work on the bookshelves was a rollercoaster of emotions. I'm getting excited at the prospect of completing the project but I never seem to be quite there. Today I filled all the gaps with an adhesive filler from a tube using the gun thingy which is hard work on the hands. And it's messy though latex gloves kept my hands free of the sticky filler. Then it was time to paint the metal brackets. When I opened the tin I found that the white metal paint had partially dried and was very difficult to use. I perservered thinking that two coats should at least bring the brackets to a brighter white. It was only as I went to put the brush back in a jar of white spirits that I noticed that I had a newer tin of white Hammerite on the shelf. Duh! I'll use that one tomorrow.

My final job in the hall was to put a privacy film over the narrow window. Much as I love to be able to see out I'm not comfortable with the thought of people looking in from the pavement which is less than 3ft away. I found this design which has sections that act as prisms. I guessed rightly that it wouldn't be as bright as shown on the website which I don't mind too much. As a bonus it sent rainbow colours across the floor and later on over the white wall and shelves. It's one of those films I can just peel off if I find something else that I prefer.

I was having a break and watching these kite surfers when one of them literally made me gasp out loud when I saw him jump at least 20ft in the air and stay there for several seconds. I sat there with my camera and got some shots of him going up about 6ft which was still pretty impressive.

My last job of the day was to tie in more of the clematis in the back garden. They are growing so quickly now but I fear the passion flowers may not have survived the winter.