Hot.

A very hot day with less breeze than yesterday. I washed and hung out the washing early. Not long after I went to turn the duvet cover over and found it already ready for ironing. 

The temptation to sit outside was somewhat reduced by the loud sounds of our neighbours' radio blaring across the garden. We did spend some time outside and I have nearly finished mending Peter's t-shirt. I thought I was done but then found another group of holes which will need a small patch. After this there'll be no more repairs for this old t-shirt.

I've spent a lot of time using 'Paint' on a very old photo of Red Roof's garden in its heyday to give a rough idea of my current design plans. Frustratingly the 'fill' tool in my Paint programme doesn't work. Instead of a single click to fill an outline with a second colour I've had to carefully use a brush tool to colour in, hence the scruffy edges.

Yesterday afternoon I spotted a bright blue damsel fly on the rhododendron bush above the plastic tray filled with water and a few stones for the birds. (My PC refused to upload a second set of photos yesterday. It needs a good overhaul and maybe a better virus and malware checker as I and others have had problems with the comments on the blog. I got it to work eventually but it's still not perfect.)

Sunny Afternoon.

The day began grey and rather gloomy then brightened up in the afternoon. I got some washing out early to dry in the ever present wind, ironed and still had time to sit out in the sun with Peter reading and chatting.

After refusing to go anywhere near the new bed today Speedy was happily sleeping on the cushion tucked into his pillowcase. I think I'll keep the pillowcase (or a brown one) when the pillow goes into the bed. It doesn't look anything like as nice but so much easier to wash and dry the pillowcase.

I put my latest lot of garden canes to good use and made tripods for the pots of climbers out in the front garden. There are still three climbers that need doing once I buy some more canes next week.

I made yet another attempt to buy the kitchen tap from Screwfix. This time I thought that I'd have it delivered here and post it off to Wales myself. However the same problem happened when I entered my details (red stars indicating I needed to put in information) so I wiped out everything. I'll phone instead on Tuesday and make my purchase speaking to a real person instead of filling in boxes on a faulty web site.

I'm currently making a folder of ideas for the make-over of the front garden in Borth. I think the biggest expense will be the construction of raised beds. Ideally I'd love to have minimalist white painted concrete but that would need doing every year which I think would become increasingly difficult as we get older. Bricks would be a good option for the curving walls, (all my garden designs featured flowing curves) and would match the red roof tiles but ....... not a good colour match for my intended grey/white/purple/blue plants. Also brick walled planters feel quite municipal. These concrete blocks have caught my eye, maybe they won't prove too expensive.

Windy.

The stormy weather continues. Bright and sunny for most of the time with strong winds and even fiercer gusts. Combined with the spring tide the waves are 10-15ft. With no lifeguards anywhere the message is don't go in the sea or you will die. 

I bought Speedy a new bed from somebody on FB and she brought it round this morning. My idea was to give him some extra luxury both for the long journey up to Wales whenever that happens, and to help him settle into our new home. However, contrary to the photo above he doesn't like it and may even be scared of it judging by the weird wailing that came from the conservatory earlier. It had been originally bought for a dog but was too small. It smells like it's been washed so maybe either the different washing soap or the dog smell are upsetting Speedy or it looks too much like a strange animal. I've had it out on the line to blow away any smells. Then I'll pop the central cushion into the pillowcase that goes on one of Speedy's beds (he has a choice of two) and see if he gets used to that. I suppose I could put it in the washing machine and I could get some cat calming spray. I'll see how it goes.

I used three of the latest set of canes to make a basic tripod to support the blowsy pink rose. After a little gardening I sat out reading and enjoying the roaring of the wind through the tall trees. I did some sewing today as well, first repairing a cloth shopping bag handle and strengthening the handles. Then I carried on pinning and tacking the trousers that I want to alter. They're still not quite right but I'd done enough for one day.

Windy.

A big change in the weather. The wind began to pick up yesterday evening and it rained during the night. Today has been warm but with a veritable gale blowing. Sitting in my study the sun streaming through the window is heating up my back while the window into which I've jammed a piece of wood is letting in tiny but fierce gusts and the sound of the roaring wind. Out in the back garden the poor rose bushes are surrounded by a veritable carnage of scattered petals.

We had some excellent news today, with the paperwork completed Vytas and Sally now have the keys to their new house. So glad that they're finally out of rented accommodation. We had a disappointing letter a couple of days ago saying that the windows suppliers would be starting production on the 6th of July and installation should be 12 weeks after !!!!! Peter spoke to the installer today and we can breathe a big sigh of relief. We should expect installation two weeks after the 6th of July. Phew. Apart from Peter having a good relationship with the boss anyway I think all the help he was able to give him regarding the attempted email scam has also helped. 

Last night was the 9th week of the 'Clap for Carers' and as usual I clapped from the sitting room window. It was funny to see the cows, the ones with the white calf who have only just appeared on the hillside, react to the sound of clapping, whistles and pots being banged by heading away to the top of the hill. There is a call for the clap to stop next week and for the politicians to show appreciation by increasing the pay of all these workers who have put their lives at risk to protect the rest of us.  

Today I needed to go out to collect the latest medication and indeed the last option suggested by my doctor and I combined this with our usual household shopping. Not only were the numbers of cars and people around increased again but in Boots things had also changed. More people allowed inside and although the counters still had the Perspex screens and the 6ft spaces were in place none of the members of staff wore gloves, masks or eye shields. I wonder how they feel about that? Fewer members of the public wearing masks and/or gloves too. I called in at Wilko's for some washing up brushes and garden canes of the right length which saved me a trip to BJ's. I checked out the reduced corner and ended up with some white plastic cutlery trays and a dish drainer which I thought would be useful for storing craft/DIY tools. Added to my pile were a couple of rectangular duck-egg blue cushions which with a couple of loops sewn on will make handy back cushions either for our dinning chairs or the outdoor bistro chairs. In Lidl's I treated myself to some extra ice-cream as I find it cheers me up when I'm feeling rough. They don't have a vast range of flavours but it's good continental ice-cream. There's much more choice in Tesco's but unless you buy the very expensive brands it's poor quality in comparison. In Tesco's I found this lone Calla lily at almost a third of the regular price. Before finishing shopping I went to the home goods section hoping to pick up a few more white towels but the half-price offer was over. There was further disappointment when the big re-cycled glass bowls which on reflection I thought would be good for some of my bog plants had all gone. Should have got them last week.

After the traffic chaos at Woolacombe beach it's been announced that the car parks will be closed for now. Peter spoke to our builder in Borth where there were just 7 people on the beach. Wales has not lifted the lockdown restrictions so driving to go somewhere for exercise is still not allowed. With only a couple of roads leading to Borth it has been easy for the police to set up road blocks and turn people away.

Hot.

Most of the day was very hot though by late afternoon it had begun to haze over and feel warm rather than ultra hot. Late last night I was up watching TV (waiting to take more tablets) when I noticed a flash of light outside. I assumed it was the streetlight at the bottom of the garden turning itself off but an hour later when I was upstairs the flashes happened again. Trying not to drag the radio off the bedside table, ear plugs still in situ, I peered through the curtains to see sheet lightening flashing over the hills to the north. It wasn't the best of views otherwise I would have been tempted to stay up watching the storm. There was thunder but no rain here. A bit later one rumble lasted a good 10 seconds. Nice.

There was more excitement here earlier yesterday evening. We were heading off to bed when the doorbell rang. Thinking it was our neighbour I stuck my head out of the study window to see what was going on. Not my neighbour but a chap dressed in black work clothes. Reflecting on it today I could have gone into panic mode  thinking he was a local community policeman bringing bad news. But those thoughts didn't cross my mind at all. It turned out he was also a neighbour, from the beginning of the Close, regarding his cat. It had been missing for two days and he'd just located it locked inside one of the garages. He could hear it and see it so had gone round to the corner house to ask them to let it out. However the house was dark and he couldn't get an answer. The neighbour in-between was out (watching the sunset over the sea) and her daughter couldn't shed any light on where the corner house people were. The chap was following my suggestion to leave a note when the door was answered by the lady of the house. Her husband was at work, in a local care home and wouldn't be back until today. Anxious to free his cat the owner drove to the care home for the key and all ended well. But that wasn't the end of the incident. I'd carried on hanging out of my window and chatting and it turned out that the chap knew Peter from his skittle playing days. That was at least 20 years ago but the story doesn't end there. This chap lived with his brother on his parents' farm not far from us. The parents, I knew the wife in passing as she was also a supply teacher, went off for their first weekend away from the farm leaving their sons in charge. Through no fault of the lads the hay stored in the barn ignited spontaneously. Peter had been involved in ferrying people up the long farm track to help and also in getting things out of the barn. Small world.

Today itself has been uneventful. Nothing more thrilling than the recycling men coming and a fair amount of chatting with the neighbours. I had another attempt to photograph a flying bee. This time there were plenty of frames with a bee in but the ones that had a flying bee had focussed on the flowers not the bee. Better luck next time.

Roasting.

Incredibly hot today, the official temperature here was 26C/79F making it the hottest day of the year for the whole country, no doubt even hotter out in our garden. By mid- morning the police were already posting on FB saying that all roads to the North Devon coast were grid locked and to keep away. Apart from all cafes and restaurants being shut so are all public toilets. Saunton car park had to be closed and parking was a nightmare anywhere near the beaches. We contented ourselves with sitting outside for part of the afternoon. 

Out on the hill a small white calf could be seen out with the cows. 

On and off during the day the buzz of a chainsaw has been filling the air. A close squint at the centre of the photo above (taken through Peter's window) should reveal a tree surgeon dangling from ropes. So far he has limbed three trees but I suspect that those trees will be coming down completely. I know I've cut down trees in my time but I do enjoy the sound of the wind rushing through those trees. 

Between us Peter and I cut the grass out front. Peter mowed, I did the grass box emptying and then mowed our tiny lawn. It's amazing what a pair of poorly old folk can do. I had my phone appointment with the doctor this afternoon. Apart from another change in my pain meds (fast running out of options) it is likely that the cold I'm suffering from has triggered a long standing inflammation of the rib cartilage. I don't recall feeling so bad with a cold before, not surprising when my temperature is down to 33.5C at times. All viral so I just have to wait it out.

This morning I had yet another attempt to buy the sink base unit. Eventually I ended up placing my order with a real live person only to find out that at the moment they are not delivering to that area. The sink itself has already arrived and I'm toying with the idea of buying the tap at a local branch of Screwfix and sending it up by post. Peter's keeps phoning round but there's still no sign of any plaster.

Grey.

Looking out of the window this morning the paving was wet after some early morning rain. It remained grey and cool for the rest of the day. Only now, in the late afternoon are some patches of blue appearing in the sky.

A message popped up for the second time on my PC that I didn't understand so I called for help. It was something to do with an application so I left Peter updating a second security thingy for me.  After running two different security scans I was all set to carry on with buying a sink tap and a base unit for Red Roofs. I'd already sourced the models I wanted but having failed to make a successful order for the base unit yesterday I thought I'd start with the tap. On to the Screwfix site I went. Selected the tap and put it in 'my basket'. There I noticed that to qualify for free delivery I needed to spend £50 while the tap was 1p less. Admittedly the delivery charge is only £5 but I searched the website for the cheapest possible item to add to my order. I could have bought some sort of electrical socket for 68p but decided on 100 cable ties for 88p as they are always useful. So far so good, I proceeded to the checkout, registered for an account, put in our address and the delivery details and filled in my details for payment. That's when it all went wrong. Even though I'd filled it in correctly three boxes were starred as needing filling in and I was stopped from going any further. (Peter tells me the Screwfix site is generally rubbish). I opened up another page to find a phone number for some help but their help dept. is closed. Not knowing what had happened to my bank details I fired off an urgent email and called for my long-suffering home IT support. By that time the payment page had timed out and Peter's advice was to exit everything. That I did but had no energy left to tackle going back to sort out the purchase of the base unit from Wickes. Round three tomorrow I think.

I used some of the canes I bought to support the big pink rose but they aren't really long enough. I'll have to get the longest ones available the next time I go shopping. If this was our permanent garden I'd invest in a fancy wooden tripod support but canes will do.