Grey.

Today has been grey with some drizzle in the afternoon.

Peter went out shopping this morning and found shelves stripped bare and a noticeable increase in the numbers of older people shopping. Not surprising when the govt. is now recommending that older/vulnerable people self-isolate for 12 weeks.  Peter ended up having to buy milk at the garage. Now that we no longer have a 6ft chest freezer we're limited to the amount of stuff we can freeze. The latest restrictions, some voluntary some compulsory are no theatre performances, galleries and museums closing though I see there are more virtual tours on-line, sporting events cancelled, C of E church services cancelled, mosques advised not to have meetings and no elective surgery for the next three months. 

While Peter was out I prepared the lower decked areas for staining. I moved everything off and then brushed and wiped away most of the algae. Peter went to B&Q to pick up some more deck stain but they had sold out even though the website said they had it. He couldn't find any even in other brands that roughly matched the orangey/red 'cedar' I've been using. Surely they must know that this is the time of year everybody begins to freshen up their decking. They can't blame the shortage on panic buying.

I also made another batch of chocolate and peanut butter cookies which necessitated some tasting just to make sure they were alright.  

Tonight I spoke to the chap from the window company to place the order for the new front door. As the inside wall has already been insulated and boarded it would be a lot more work to extend the door opening to fit a glass panel on either side of the door so I agreed to having a panel on one side. Unfortunately I had to make another compromise with my perfect design regarding the handle. I'd wanted a long bar, it looked much better and could double as a grab handle when we get a bit unsteady. But, first of all it would cost around an extra £500, gulp! but also we can't have that handle with a door lock that doesn't lock shut when you pull the door to and can only be opened with a key. Knowing our way of popping in and out either to get to the garden or to chat with people it wouldn't be long before we locked ourselves out. So we're going to have a standard curved lever handle with a latch that you open without a key.