Mystery Solved.

It's been another day of April showers.

We had less rain as the day went on. I was relieved that I hit a long dry spell when I took the car to the garage. I'd noticed that it was squeaking when I went round corners and/or applied the brakes so Peter booked it in for this morning. No long lie-in today. I dropped the car off and as it was only a small job I walked on into the deserted High Street to while away an hour before picking the car up again. One thing I did notice, as I prowled around in mask and light sunglasses, was an increase in the numbers of cars on the road. Maybe people are getting fed up of staying at home and are venturing out more. When I picked up the car they said the brakes were just a bit dry and needed oiling/greasing? and there was only a nominal amount to pay. We maintained a safe distance as I called out the numbers on my bank card. While I was out I discovered that it is time to get a new phone as mine wouldn't turn on even though I'd charged it up. I'll just get another pay-as-you-go dumb phone, that's all I need for emergency calls.

It is recycling day and as I walked past the waiting boxes and caddies I found my missing brown bag. You could hardly fail to notice the house number written large on both sides. However when I checked the number of the box it was in I saw that it came from the much older chap who lives on his own. Although I took back my bag I waited for the recycling lorry and got a new bag for the chap. When the men were bringing back the boxes and caddies I noticed that they carried them upside down and it was harder for them to see any numbers which most people have written on the sides or tops. So I got some spare paint and have painted our house number inside the box and caddy. Maybe tomorrow I'll paint the number on the underneath of the box too. It might sound a bit petty to be so concerned about items that are given freely by our local council but apart from cleaning because of covid I prefer to keep our boxes clean as do some of the neighbours but not all of them. The mouldy state of some of the caddies in particular is not very nice to say the least.

My afternoon, once I'd showered away any possible contamination from town, was mainly spent playing music. It's the guitar that I tend to not do if I've been busy but then my fingertips soften up and it takes a while of regular playing until they become less sensitive. While I was pottering about I reread my Hobbit Journal for the past two years. The next write up will be at the end of Spring which for me means the end of May. That will be a momentous section with the start and build up of the Covid pandemic and how we have all been affected by it. I was also surprised to realise that Speedy is around 15 years old.

April Showers.

The day began windy, very wet and cold enough for Peter to put the heating on. Later the sun came out and we've been treated to some April showers through the day.

Out in the fields there are more sheep and young cattle and in the hedgerows white May Blossom can be seen. Always a sign of spring and the pretty frothiness belies the lethal spikes of the Hawthorn (its other name).

This afternoon I've mainly been doing admin jobs, sorting out paperwork and that sort of thing. I'm trying to get all the little jobs and finishing off done before I start on another project. I also caught up with some long overdue photo back-ups. Only onto my external harddrive, the second level back up onto discs will have to wait as the discs have already been packed for the move.

Cool.

Today's weather is a reminder of our usual British summer weather, cool, grey and wet. Not the sort of day to tempt anyone to sit out in their gardens. Instead I made some apple pancakes to brighten up this gloomy day. (The weatherman on the radio has just said we've had the hottest April since records began.) Saying that, a bit of sun has appeared between the clouds.

My day began well with a phone call from the cardiologist up at the hospital. Under normal circumstances that would have sent anyone into a panic but not these days. I had a very useful conversation with the nice Lithuanian cardiologist about the results of the last increase of the beta blocker suggested by my doctor. She's given some suggestions regarding some of the other medicines I take which I'll do and then there's not a lot more that can be done until I can have the monitor and then a face to face appointment. When I do I can bring along my notebook which holds daily details of symptoms and medications.

I've spent the day catching up with little jobs and general tidying. One job was to finish putting elastic in all the facemasks I made. Originally in the star mask I used elastic which went round the back of my head but today I changed it to elastic cord that slips over the ears. That should be sufficient for any shopping trip. I still think we'll all be asked to wear some sort of mask when out in public. (On the radio the Scottish First Minister has asked people to wear masks when out.) The reasons against, which I'm hearing right now are that people will forget the rest of the precautions and they might attempt to buy medical masks which should be for health workers only. Those are not valid reasons in my book.

We had an email from our friend's husband and she seems not to be any worse which is all we can hope for. The latest emphasis on the news is about the numbers of people in care homes that are affected and the lack of support and testing in care homes which are mainly in private hands. At least now there are promises that all people in care homes will be tested which hadn't been happening. Can you believe that there is still not testing, not even temperature checks of people arriving at the airports? There's more control going into a supermarket than coming into the country.
One other worrying fact - having thought that children were only mildly affected by the virus it looks as if the virus might be the cause of a severe inflammatory disease affecting children. I know I wouldn't be happy sending my children back to school until a vaccine has been developed.

Overcast.

It's been a very grey day heralding a change in the weather. The temperature hasn't dropped much yet and at times the air felt humid and clamy.

I had a reasonably early start and I was able to do my first set of exercises before we had our morning cup of tea. Later I got on with sorting out the pocket for my trousers. Who knew that pockets were so complicated? Once I unpicked the seams that were not completely flat I realised  by looking at the pocket in my shorts I'd sewn the pocket in backwards. More seams unpicked, more pins carefully placed and then, oh how technical - tacking stitches sewn. I did all the sewing by hand and at last it is done. It certainly wouldn't bear examination by an expert seamstress but it does the job.

 I did a little gardening this morning, planting up the two trailing geraniums I bought from Lidl's. 

It's one thing commenting on the effect the pandemic is having on our lives here, where we have very few cases and it hasn't been too difficult to comply with the social distancing requirements. It's a far different matter when you hear, as we did that a good friend, a health service worker, has been very ill at home with the virus for the last 8 days in another part of the country. All we can do is keep our firends in our thoughts.

Warm Afternoon.

The morning felt much more like our typical summer weather, overcast and cool but by mid-afternoon it was sunny and warm once more. (I'm listening to talk of showers and unsettled weather on the radio.)

Today I tested my sewing machine and I can confidently say that it is back in working order. It was Peter who came up with a suitable project as a response to my bemoaning the lack of pockets in my favourite summer trousers. It was a good idea to make at least one pocket. I used some black material and based the pattern on the pockets of my shorts. I'm not the neatest person when sewing but this time I made proper folded over hems and French seams. I used the machine to sew the pocket into the unpicked side seam of the trousers because let's face it machine stitches are neater than hand sewn ones. However having finished off all the loose threads I found that there is some puckering spoiling the line of the sides so I'm going to unpick those seams and re-do them by hand. That's a job I can do sitting outside should this fine weather continue.

During the afternoon we went outside to the thankfully peaceful back garden. Peter in a lounger and me lying on my yoga mat trying to even up the tan on my legs. (For tan think pale gold.) The blackbirds were back and forth to their nest in the ivy. They seem to be getting used to our presence and have stopped scolding us from the fence. Today instead we could hear the female making clucking type noises as she sat on the nest. No peeping from chicks yet so perhaps she was talking them while they are still in the eggs. I took a quick photo (below), you can just see her tail under the heart shaped ivy leaf in the centre of the photo.

Sunny Spells.

It's been much the same as yesterday, hot sunny spells and cool overcast times. 

The cooker has been the object of my attentions for the last few days. I give it a wipe over as part of my morning kitchen routine but yesterday I put on my glasses for a closer look and realised it was not as pristine as I'd imagined. It took an hour yesterday to remove all the grease from around the control knobs and as far down the sides as I could reach with a knife wrapped in kitchen roll. Today it was the turn of the glass oven door which I'm sure I did fairly recently. That needed my last Brillo pad and then I carried on scrubbing away at one of the oven shelves with the remains of the metal pad which goes rusty if you try and save it for later use.  

It goes to show just how much our lives lack excitement when you stop your exercises to look out of the window to see what DIY tool is creating the noise outside. That is exactly what both of us did this morning. It sounded like a circular saw being used but eagle eyed me spotted one of the newer neighbours sanding the wall of a bedroom with a hand sander. Other exciting events included a neighbour going up a long ladder to clean his gutters and a young family out playing football and riding their bikes.

We still managed to spend time outside enjoying the relative lack of noise in the back gardens (our neighbours' radio is creating a disco vibe in the front garden today). The repair I made recently to my arm weight hadn't been too successful as the appearance of tiny metal balls on my yoga mat proved. Choosing felt for the original repair last year had not been the best idea so today I found some thick black plain fabric. This I used to wrap around the whole weight carefully folded down in an origami style method around the curved ends and the Velcro strap. The result while not exactly stylish is hopefully serviceable. I do my arm exercises with 1 kg wrap weights on each wrist and hold 1 kg dumbbells at the same time. I have to admit that my arm exercises are mostly for vanity, hoping to reduce the flappy 'Bingo Wings' that are a result of age. I think it's working and it is also good for general cardio fitness. That's what I tell myself anyway.

Cooling Down.

A lot more cloud today giving chilly spells alternating with hot and sunny moments.

I spent the afternoon potting up the climbers. I used most of one bag of compost but I'm sure I'll have plenty of uses for the other one. Now that some of the climbers have tall canes I decided to keep them in the front garden rather than attempting to get them back through the house. They look a bit messy sitting in various plastic tubs but I was concerned about slugs. I know that slugs can destroy clematis in particular but I don't want to poison birds or hedgehogs that might eat any slugs poisoned by pellets. My reasoning is that any marauding slugs won't make it back out of the tubs and I'll be able to bin them (yuck) to keep them away from the other garden wildlife. I didn't have enough big tubs but I don't recall either honeysuckle or passion flowers being targeted by the multitudinous slugs at Dingles. I also potted up some Sea Holly which I'd bought, reduced of course, at Tesco's. One pack had four sprouting roots and the other had five. If they survive they will look lovely in Borth.

Hot.

The day began hazy and cool but very quickly turned into another very hot day.

Today I went out for an exciting trip to the shops. The roads remain fairly clear and everywhere people are out walking as their daily exercise. Sometimes in family groups or often with a dog or two. I was fortunate enough not to have to queue at either Lidl's or Tesco's. It really is a matter of luck as by the time I came out of Lidl's there was quite a long queue of people waiting to go in. Lidl's still have plenty of Easter chocolates at half price so naturally I bought more of the marzipan eggs. (They're not that big.) Also at Lidl's I bought two trailing geraniums. I would have bought more but could only find one white and one red which were the colours I wanted. If I look after them I should be able to take cuttings at the end of the summer. Yesterday after waiting in an on-line queue I'd attempted to order some compost from B&Q. The first one I wanted was not available at all and having chosen another sort when I got to my 'shopping cart' that was unavailable anywhere in Devon. Instead today I drove over to the garden centre in Newport. They'd set up a range of plants and compost outside the store, I think it counted as part of the Farm Shop, and I bought two 60L bags of decent compost. On my way home I tried calling in at B&M, a cheap homeware shop that sells some food and has a garden area, but the length of the queue all round the car park sent me back to the car. It would have been nice to check out their plants and have a general mooch around but I was worried about the food in the car being spoiled by the heat.

There are a lot of seedlings coming up in the tubs by the kitchen window. I'm pretty sure these are the cosmos that I grew last year and the other tub has these and nasturtiums coming up nicely. I also stuck a couple of carrot tops in this tub for fun. 

This morning I threw the support pillow in the washing machine. When the wash was done not only had the inner wadding twisted around but there were still plenty of  marks on the fabric. Undaunted I unpicked the fabric cover, left the wadding out to dry and soaked the cover in some oxy-clean powder. I was pleasantly surprised to nearly all the marks gone when I came home. A quick hand wash and the cover dried in no time on the line. I used our sitting outside time to hand stitch the cover closed once it had dried. It's so nice to see it all nice and clean again.

Hot.

It's been another hot day. There were high clouds which may have filtered out some of the sun's rays but there has been little to no wind. Going outside just now to put out the recycling the air was warm and balmy. It felt like being on holiday in the warmth of the Mediterranean or even north Africa.

It's been a good day for hanging out the washing which dried quickly, a good thing because unlike my neighbour I wait to see what the weather is going to be like before loading up the washing machine. With four adults in their household my neighbour's machine is always on the go and washing hung out almost whatever the weather. While we sat outside I changed the buttons on one of the pillowcases. This was for one of those V-shaped support pillows that my mother bought me many years ago. I made a cover for it which originally closed with a nylon zip. When that broke I removed it and replaced it with pretty yellow buttons and narrow ribbon loops. The only problem was that the buttons were hemi-spherical and very lumpy if the pillow ended up the wrong way up. Today I shuffled through my box of spare buttons and found six non-matching but flat white buttons to replace the bumpy buttons. 

Today I had another phone appointment with my doctor this time in the afternoon. Having notes made sure I conveyed the relevant information and asked the questions that had been going through my mind and it was all done in about five minutes. Can't do all that off the top of my head. I did suggest that she might contact the cardio consultant for some ideas where to go next seeing as it's all very quiet at the hospital (no out - patients and very few thankfully, covid patients) and my doctor is going to do that. I listened to a doctor on the news this afternoon talking about oxygen saturation levels. Somebody with only mild symptoms of Covid might not feel too bad but have low oxygen saturation levels which indicate a need for medical intervention before the lungs are seriously damaged. I'll keep that in mind and use the finger pulse oxymeter if either of us begin to feel unwell.

Wildlife news - while lying on my back doing arm weights this afternoon I glanced out of the window and saw a house sparrow peering down through the window from his perch on the gutter, and Speedy staring upwards in a very frustrated manner.

Silly Me.

The morning was overcast, windy and very warm after which the day became very hot with scarcely a cloud in the sky. I can now see streaks of clouds over the sea which may well give yet another pretty pink and grey streaky sunset.

While Peter was outside mowing the grass again I had a phone call to say that the sewing machine was ready for collection. It was only a five minute car trip to collect the machine from  the open garage in a safe non-contact way. All I need to do now is to check that the machine is working consistently. Now for the 'silly me' bit. At the moment I'm sticking to one favourite slightly worn duvet cover and saving two brand new ones for when we move. However we've noticed that it wasn't a good fit for the duvet with quite a bit of spare fabric along the side. So I thought I'd run a seam down that side to improve the fit. It was only when I got out the tape measure and looked at the label of the super king feather duvet that I saw I'd failed to take one important fact into account. Which was that the duvet isn't square. I think that because the bed and the mattress are square I'd just assumed the duvet was too. After the cover was washed and ironed I put it back on the duvet, now turned 90 degrees and hey presto it fits perfectly. I'll have to think up a different sewing project to test the sewing machine. 

We managed to spend some time sitting out in the sun again. Not as much as I would have liked but there was ironing to do. While I was out there the female blackbird came and sat on the wall next to me making a fuss about my presence even though I was nowhere near her nest. That back garden is turning into a real wildlife haven. Yesterday evening I watched a pair of hedge sparrows (dunnocks) hopping around very close to the kitchen window after a visit to the rose bush where hopefully they were picking off the aphids and other wildlife from the new buds. A tiny wren was bobbing around under the rhododendron and earlier in the afternoon a pair of blue-tits were in the hedge behind the garden.

Windy.

Still sunny with a lot of windy sometimes gusting so fiercely I could hear it whistling around. A perfect day for drying the towels I had out on the washing line.

I did a bit of admin in the morning, only small things but it felt good to have them done rather than in my mental need to do list. 

Routine done I took myself and my yoga mat out in the sun. I did those of my exercises that don't involve the weights which were up in my study and then I gave the backs of my legs a chance to catch some sun. After that I retired to the sun lounger when Peter came out for our usual chat mainly about Red Roofs. The builder thinks there's about 14 inches by the side of the external boiler which I suppose is sufficient to squeeze through. While outside I spotted exactly where the blackbird has built her nest. I took a very quick photo (above) but didn't want to disturb her too much. Later she flew off the nest for a while but it's buried too deeply to see if there are any eggs inside.

Sunny.

Sunny and warm again though every now and again passing clouds made the temperature drop.

The sewing machine repair man got in touch with us yesterday and it was arranged that I would drop the machine off in his garage this morning. Technically that's a trip I shouldn't have been making but I planned to call in at the garden centre's farm shop to get a few vegetables and compost for the climbers which made it a food shopping trip, sort of. 

I decided to go the back way to Ashford so that I could enjoy the fresh green new growth along the country lanes. However I arrived at the garden centre to find it closed. I'll have to order the compost from B&Q as a click and collect the next time I head out to the supermarkets. 

This afternoon I returned to my hunt for a kitchen sink. I had a fairly fruitless on-line search yesterday afternoon which I continued in the small hours of the night. I thought I'd found the perfect sink with an extra large basin until I checked the price - nearly £520! You can get a stainless steel sink for as little as £50 but I'd been looking at around the £100 price bracket. The sink didn't look five times better than the ones that had a basin almost as large. This afternoon's search yielded a suitable sink with a basin 520mm x 420mm x 200mm at a much more reasonable price. I just need to confirm a detail of the tap placement before we go ahead. Taps proved a lot easier though once again the vast variety of options took a while to sort through. The photo below (with added splashback of frosted glass,) gives a good idea of the style and colour scheme I'm aiming for.

We found time this afternoon to sit outside and enjoy the sun. We never get much reading done but spend our time chatting and this afternoon our neighbour joined in over the garden wall. The latest news from the hospital is that 15 people have been admitted with Covid and sadly 5 of them died. We know that the lockdown is continuing for at least another 3 weeks but I suspect it will be much longer.

Hot Afternoon.

The morning was overcast and felt distinctly cold. It was a pleasant surprise  when by the afternoon the clouds began to part and the heat returned.

It was already warming up when I went out to the front garden to give the blob bush a trim. The flowers were over so I was able to attack it with some shears. I attempted to sharpen the shears with the whetstone but maybe it needed longer than the few minutes I spent. I can still remember the knife sharpener man coming around the streets when we had our first house in London. I think his grinding stone was on a kind of hand cart he pushed along calling out for custom. I also remember the rag and bone man going round the streets with his horse and cart at around the same time though I think he was after scrap metal and junk rather than the rags and bones he would have collected in Victorian times. That's also brought back memories of the many London street markets where the custom of stall holders calling out their wares still continued. I remember thinking how quiet the Pannier Market was when we first moved down.

We took the loungers out to enjoy a bit more sun but I ended up spending all my time sorting out the climbers I bought in Tesco's the other day. They've grown vigorously and really need potting up into bigger pots. The pots I have but I need to buy some good quality potting compost as I'm sure that it'll take time before the courtyard garden in Borth will be ready for permanent planting. Luckily the local garden centre has kept its 'farm fresh' produce shop open and has made some plants and things like compost available too. 

Rain.

After nearly 2 weeks of hot sun today it rained. It was still very warm with the rain coming and going. Today was recycling day, a day late after the Bank Holiday and later than usual as I think there are fewer men with the lorry. After the mystery 'brown bag thief' left me with no bag for our cardboard recycling I put out our small amount of cardboard tucked into a small cardboard box on the top of our black recycling bin. That was last night as I don't want to go rushing out after a bad night, but when I went to add a couple of items to our box this morning the box of card items had gone. ? Maybe somebody's dog had picked it up as there might just have been some chocolate packaging? Strange. I gave my boxes a good wash with soapy water before putting them back in the bin store.

Today I've mainly being getting on with some admin. One job that has taken up a lot of time was looking for a kitchen sink for Borth. The first step towards our new kitchen. When I'm choosing things for our new home I start by looking at every option beginning with the most expensive designer versions to see if there's something I aspire to. In terms of a kitchen sink I've returned to stainless steel. White china looks nice but we'd be bound to drop and break things in it. Moulded quartz/granite in resin look fancy but from some that I've seen in use white or light colours end up stained especially by tea and I'm not sure about dark. I read a number of reviews and they can be damaged by hot saucepans etc. Also you'd need to have matching taps of which there is not so much choice. So I'm back to stainless steel. The original double drainer sink was very handy but I've decided on a drainer on just one side. What I have been looking for is the largest bowl size similar to the old one. Plenty of room for a washing up bowl with usable space on the side. We've had both a double sink and a one and a half sink but the extra big single suits best. I know everybody is on the internet but I couldn't believe it when I got to the Wickes page. I was put in a queue to get to their website with a waiting time of 40 minutes. What on earth was that about? I spent a very long time on the Screwfix site, writing down bowl sizes, looking at reviews and prices and trying to work my way around quite a cumbersome web site. One sink I was interested in then turned out to be unavailable in store, unavailable for delivery and unavailable for click and collect. That was a big waste of time. Will have to spend more time on that hunt.

Yesterday evening we joined in again with the 'Clap for Carers' clapping at 8.00. A few children were banging saucepans and somewhere down the road there were some enthusiastic whistle blowers. I still have my school whistles but I think I'll stick to loud clapping. I've heard a number of health workers on the radio say how much they've appreciated the weekly clapping so it's the least we can do. There's a lot of talk about the use of face masks by the general public. The government isn't recommending it but other experts say it helps in preventing us spreading our germs. For the moment it'll be mask and goggle type sunglasses for me.

Finally, for anyone who hasn't seen -this is the story of a 99 year old war veteran who has raised millions of pounds for NHS charities by walking 100 laps of his garden, using a walker!

After more updates last night I was finally able to extract Wednesday's photos from my phone. It's only Lidl's car park but I thought the blossoming trees looked lovely.

Still Hot.

After a clear and starry night the day began with many clouds in the sky. However going outside I found there was little if no wind and the air was pleasantly warm. By the afternoon there was more blue sky and the temperature had shot up again. Of course we had to spend some time outside, Peter in a sun-lounger and me sprawled out on my yoga mat attempting to get some colour on the backs of my legs.

Earlier I had a bit of a general tidy up around the house. Knowing that we are not going to have prospective buyers looking around the house it has been easy to let things slide a little. Small piles of clutter have begun appearing around the place due to not constantly tidying up. Also having the kitchen cupboards full of supplies means that I can't just shove things in any old cupboard.  It's now looking quite a bit better which in turn makes me feel better and will also make things easier when we do get the go ahead for our move. 

Sunny.

Once more bright and sunny with a cool wind. I went out shopping this morning. I hadn't planned to go quite so soon but there was a bill to be paid. I drove into town and parked near the bank before heading out to Lidl's and Tesco's. There was a queue of 5 people before me at Lidl's which made my first wait outside not too long. In Lidl's there were plenty of Easter chocolates at half price, a tempting bargain. I compromised by only buying the small marzipan, chocolate and praline or fruit eggs which are sooooo nice. 

The queue was much longer at Tesco's but it moved very quickly. Inside many of the aisles have a one-way system, often ignored by shoppers and the staff collecting for deliveries, but helpful in keeping shoppers apart. I did treat myself to a browse of the clothes and home goods and bought some new white pillowcases which were less than half-price. On the way home I swung by B&Q having noticed that their doors were open but they were only there for click and collect orders. So no browsing around the plant area. On my way home I stopped to deliver some shopping to my friend who is stuck at home. 

When I got home I found that the new sun-loungers had arrived in time for us to sit out in the sun. Originally I was going to get black chairs but I thought these would go well with the blue ceramic spheres and planters which I aim to have on the new terrace.

Some photos of the latest work in the kitchen - while it is lovely to see the wall and ceiling nearly done there is a slight lack of any kitchen. As we don't intend to put in a fancy new kitchen until we sell this place that could be a bit of a problem. Fortunately the old units including the sink are in the garage and a certain number will have to go back in for the time being.

Standing in the kitchen looking out to sea - I can't wait to be sitting at the table by the window.

I've had terrible trouble today uploading photos. I thought it was sorted but I still haven't been able to upload the photos I took while I was in town using Peter's old phone. Then the latest photos from Borth were in zipped files which took a while to extract successfully.

Dry and Sunny.

Windy, bright and sunny today. A bit of a nip in the breeze but still nice enough to spend the afternoon sitting outside and sewing. It had taken me a couple of days to realise that the small 'beads' appearing on my Yoga mat were in fact mini ball bearings escaping from one of my wrist weights (1kg). That has now been repaired and I also made myself a second face mask. For now I used some fabric scraps instead of cutting up another of the cleaning cloths.  I saw the pair of blackbirds at the feeder in the front garden this morning and later the female disappeared into the ivy in the back garden. Definitely nesting.

We had a long phone chat with Vytas last night so I thought that I'd tackle resurrecting my Skype account. As I expected it was not a simple matter. My password from years ago no longer worked but in order to change it Skype kept offering me a link to an email account I no longer use. Then I tried using my current email and it didn't like that. Eventually I got further along the process and now have to wait 24 hours while they verify the information I gave them. I.T. stuff is never simple.

I think that I may have solved the mystery of Speedy leaving some food. I had sprayed some air freshener into the room at one point,not near him, but it may have settled on those last bits of food. He's eating quite normally now.