Hot.

Hot again with a warm breeze.

I woke this morning at 6.30 (above) and decided that insted of putting my head back down after feeding the cat etc I might as well stay up and do all the breafast preparations. Clutching my reviving mug of tea I stumbled my way through my Duo Lingo exercises including an extra one. Then I was free to go and sit outside with a coffee listening to the world, in holiday mode, wake up. People were out walking their dogs early before it got too hot and there were swimmers in the water by 8.00. We didn't sit outside to eat our breakfast as we like to listen to The Archers on a Sunday morning.

It has been hazy for a lot of the day and very hot in the sun with a good drying wind. I did one load in the washing machine and then because I'd forgotten to put in the towels I'd had soaking overnight found enough things to run a second load.

Above is the temperature prediction for the next few days and below is the temperature on the terrace at mid-day.

After breakfast I was outside again this time sitting in the shade, for once I'm glad the terrace faces north, and mending an L-shaped tear in the 'hat' at the top of the parasol. It took a while to sew on a patch as neatly as I could manage but it was lovely to be in the fresh air watching the people in the water and all the different boats. Wasn't too impressed with the power boat that came in right up the middle of the area marked by flags for swimmers. I have a feeling that one of the lifeguards had a word as it turned away just before landing and moored over to one side. Very dangerous if somebody had been swimming underwater and the propellors had gone over them.

Having repaired the parasol I cut a couple of wedges, one to put under the table foot that has warped upwards and the other to jam in the hole the parasol pole goes into to stop it swinging round. 

Then it was time to complete my painting job by cleaning off the windows. The plastic scraper Peter got me when I replaced the silicone around the top of the kitchen cupboards was perfect, along with a cloth and water, for scraping off all the tiny spots of paint from the glass. I'm not a particularly messy painter but having to stab the paintbrush into the rough render sent paint spattering everywhere. Then I cleaned off all the render, sealant and concrete spatters (from the rendering and laying the slabs) from the window and door frames followed by a desultory wipe of the bottom sills trying not to squash or drown the spiders that had taken up residence there. Finally I went over the windows again with the squeegee and declared the job done.

But I wasn't quite finished. Even though the sheets were dry when I took them off the line I still ironed them. There's just something so nice about freshly ironed sheets. 

By the time the plants were watered I had 10 minutes to sit out and stare before it was time for supper which we ate outside. A busy day.