Grey.

A grey damp day.

Until I looked carefully at this photo I really thought this starling only had one leg but now I can see the claw hooked around the bars of the feeder. Luckily the flock this bird is part of is small, no more than 6 or 10 birds that tend to hang around the back garden. It's good fun watching the birds from the kitchen window. The blackbird below had spotted me and didn't stay very long while the sparrows who are part of a large local gang (that's the only way to describe them as they whizz about from place to place), don't care at all if I'm at the window pointing my camera at them.

I drove down to the launderette with my damp washing but I didn't need to go inside to check if the driers were working as there was a big CLOSED sign on the door. I stopped at the shop to pick up some potatoes and then because I had my wellies on and was well wrapped up against the cold of the launderette I went for a walk along the beach. I saw a surfer arrive in a car which technically is against the rules here in Wales. Unlike in England exercise has to 'start from your home'. No driving allowed. Snowdonia was closed off the other day due to all the people wanting to drive up there to enjoy the snow.

At home I distributed the soggy washing over the radiators after ironing out as much of the damp as I could. Then as Peter was making a big potato, cabbage, onion and cheese casserole, with sausage, I had a go at making some chocolate bark. I'd not come across the term before seeing it on FB and blogs this year but thought it looked like a good way to use up some of the bits bought for Christmas baking; nuts, marshmallows and sprinkles. I used a couple of Lidl's dark chocolate bars, good quality continental but cheap chocolate that I use for all my baking and truffle making. UK chocolate has a high percentage of cheap alternatives to cocoa butter and you can taste the difference. I overdid the nuts and a lot didn't stick but it looks good and Peter, who hardly ever eats chocolate, expressed a desire to have a piece with his evening biscuit.

Nothing else happened today unless you count the putting out of the recycling and as it was the appointed third week, the general rubbish. There's a separate small truck that comes round to collect the food waste and it comes early so I always make sure the food caddy is out before we sit down to breakfast. It's a sign of these days when the rubbish collection counts as an event in our pared back lives.