Home Alone.

We were promised showers today and that's what we got. It was dry to start, I had my umbrella in my bag but the first drops of rain fell as I was letting myself back in after walking back from town. I had washing ready to be hung out which I did in a dry spell when the wind blew the washing to an ironable state. The rain got heavier in the afternoon and included the loud bangs of a thunderstorm followed by some hail in the downpour. I'm pleased to report that not a drop of rain has appeared in the conservatory so my latest efforts on the roof have been successful.

Peter is now in Borth while I'm still back in Pilton. Apparently Red Roofs is very much a building site so we made the right choice for Peter to stay in a guest house. I grabbed a lift into town with Peter which saved me time and a walk. They had my prescription and although I hadn't planned on getting much I ended up with a full bag of everything from weed killer to a spare set of keys for the letting agent. I'd had a quick look in the armed forces charity shop and came out with a selection of curtain rings and some pole ends. Because I plan to hang heavy curtains behind the room curtains (for insulation) I think that old fashioned poles are the best option. I know I've got different sizes but there are over 10 windows needing curtain poles so they'll all come in useful and they are quite expensive to buy new.

With Peter away it struck me that it would be an ideal opportunity to wash the carpet in his room. I also washed the carpet in my study but didn't bother with the one in our bedroom as it's a black and grey mix and won't look any different. Setting up the Vax for washing is simple and the only nuisance is drying the inside of the hose afterwards as wet dust does not smell good. I've been keeping an eye out for a spare hose without any luck. As we're not having carpets in Red Roofs it's not worth ordering a spare. Seeing how much dirt comes out of carpets even those that have been regularly hoovered is another reason I don't want to have carpets. I took my time washing the carpet with plenty of breaks as I've noticed that the motor of the Vax gets hot quickly and I didn't want to burn it right out. In between I watched TV. We've got the 'Boxed Sets' option on a month's trial so I eagerly went through the boxed sets available. Disappointedly I found little to tempt me just series 4 of Alaskan Bush People and series 1 of The Handmaid's Tale. I recently listened to the Radio 4 reading of The Testament but hadn't seen the TV series. And that was it.