Windy.

The day began with a couple of showers but then came sunshine and a warm wind.

Today has been a day of ups and downs. - 

First an up. The rain had just stopped when it was time for me to go to the surgery for my blood test so I was able to walk there. Much better than driving the very short distance. I don't have any problems with needles and my veins are nice easy ones. It was a bit painful during the second vial being taken but I didn't say anything. Instead I waved my bruised toe at the nurse hoping for some sympathy, which I got and confirmation that there wasn't anything else to be done. Walking home the sun was shining outlining the waves in the brightest white. Some of the waves hitting the cliffs were exploding dramatically almost to the height of the cliffs. That was too good a photo oportunity to miss so as soon as I got home, after chatting to the neighbours on the way, I changed into wellies and grabbed my camera. Back to the beach I went and took lots and lots of photos.

Now for one of today's downs - having looked through my photos and zoomed in on the best splashes I went to upload the photos onto my pc. Only to find the dodgy usb port had finally given up the ghost and I can no longer get the usb lead into it. I could take the photos straight off the memory card but this pc doesn't have a slot for memory cards and I'll need to buy a plug-in card reader. Annoyingly one of my jobs for this weekend was to get my smaller Nikon up and running so that I would have a lighter alternative to my main camera that was a bit better than my camera phone. The quality of the phone camera is fine but I have difficulty in composing the shots and if I zoom in fully the quality deteriorates. 

Now for the next down. Peter had back to back meetings from lunchtime (he's still out) but at last had found time for me to cut his hair. Out came the clippers but could I get them to work? No. The screws often need adjusting but it wasn't the case today. I've worked out that it needs some oil but there wasn't time to check out what kind to use. I do remember that a small tube of special oil came with the clippers when I bought them 30 years ago but as you may guess I haven't been doing anything to maintain the clippers in recent years. Then suddenly I find that Peter has begun cutting his hair with his beard trimmer and needed me to finish off what was looking like a very strange haircut. 

With bits of hair on the floor once Peter had gone I thought I might as well get out the hoover and carry on to hoover up those awkward places not reached by the daily going over with the swiffer. I pushed the sofa away from the wall and apart from discovering many dead woodlice (Peter sweeps up a fair number every day.) I could see that we definitely have damp creeping up the walls by the French doors. Not only are the walls marked and beginning to grow mildew but so also was the lining of one of the big curtains. That turned a little hoovering into a major cleaning job with mildew cleaner and a bucket of soapy water. Followed by bringing in the dehumdifier to do its job. I carried on with my cleaning and wiped down the frames of the French doors, washed the kitchen floor and then went outside to brush and wash the outside sills.

I was about to carry on hoovering when the day took an upturn. A ring on the doorbell and it was our builder to say he should be installing the bathroom window in a week or so. It all depends on the weather as the recent heavy rains after a hot and dry summer have caused a lot of problems which he's being called out to urgently. While he was here I showed him the damp, which he has been keeping an eye on and he agreed that we probably need a damp course injected into the solid walls. He'll pass on the phone number of a reliable firm and we'll have to get it done. There's no point in thinking because we can't see the damp behind the internally insulated house walls that it isn't there.

Before he left I took him outside to show him the blocks I'd stuck to the outside of the raised bed that he and Rob built. He said lots of nice things about it, he's a kind person, and seemed impressed that I'd been able to do it. That counts as an up.

Another up, sort of was realising the reason my feet and lower legs feel icy cold when we're watching tv in the evening (even with a throw over them) is that without skirting boards at the bottom of the walls on either side of the big window there are large gaps leading to the void under the floor which no doubt has the cold wind whistling through it. I'd convinced myself that I had a nerve condition linked to type 2 diabetes which causes the lower legs to feel cold even when they're not. I'm terrified of getting type 2 diabetes as I like to know that every now and again I can indulge in my love of sweet things. That is another reason that I do my best to keep to a healthy weight.

I ended up hoovering the corners of every room and all of the motley collection of rugs in our bedroom before hanging out the washing I'd thrown in the machine. (Best go and get that in now.) My last small job outside was to move around a couple of the big pots containing the acers. The redundant back door to thegarage keeps blowing open but now I've jammed one of the acers up against it. 

As I said a day of ups and downs.