Hot.

Summer is with us once more with the heat being tempered by a light breeze. Tempting as it was to spend all day relaxing outside had I done so I would probably have burnt myself to a frazzle and there were still things to be done.

We were up early as Peter had hours of driving ahead to go and collect the exercise bike. Meanwhile at home I had the washing machine working hard getting wash after wash done. Not only the bedding but some vintage linen for the charity shop (didn't want to give them musty goods) and the under blanket/fleece we have on our bed. It was so hot that as soon as one wash was done the washing out on the line was dry and ready to bring in. I even put our duvet out to air in the sun.

Although there is plenty of room in the first half of the sitting room I didn't want the exercise bike to dominate the room especially when people come to view. Luckily it fitted neatly by the sofa with a good view of the television.

Out in the garden I used the shears and the scissors to trim the long grass on the bank under and around the azaleas. That was hot work and I was glad to have a rest and a read sitting in the sun lounger looking over the neatly cut lawns. I was back out in the sun a bit later on with the excuse of drying my hair in the sun after a shower. By that time we had lost the sun down by the house so I took an old wicker chair up to the sunny washing lines where the upturned laundry basket made a handy table for my cup of tea. I just fancied a change from sitting by the scree garden which was, and still is as sunny.

Windy.

While other parts of the country basked in the summer heat it took until late afternoon for the sun to make an appearance. My first job of the morning was to pack up a few things which I had sold on eBay so that Peter could take them to the Post Office in town. I decided that I would try and turn my online earnings into specific things and I've already placed an order for a .....hula-hoop! A proper weighted one but not one of those with the bumps on the inside as I bruise very easily. I'd liked the idea of a hula-hoop after we had a circus skills day at school but they are quite pricey. As all my physiotherapy has been about improving my core strength and flexibility hula-hooping seems a fun addition to my exercise regime.

On the same fitness theme I finally bought an exercise bike on eBay as it would benefit both of us. It was only after I bought it and Peter made arrangements to collect it there was a sudden flurry of measuring the insides of our cars to see which one could hold the bike. Surprisingly my car turned out to have a larger capacity that the bigger looking 4x4 Rav so Peter will be driving it tomorrow.

I hung out some things on the line to air in the wind and saw one of the goose families grazing next door. It wasn't until I looked at the photo that I saw the heron on the right.

While Peter was out  some people turned up unexpectedly to view the house. They had been sent by our ex-estate agent even though when the estate agent rang Peter had told them that any further viewing would have to be through the new estate agents. Very unprofessional of them as technically if somebody originally was sent by them and decided to buy we would have to pay the fee to the original estate agent. As we are now on a lower percentage fee with the new estate agent we would lose out financially. Fortunately the house was in a reasonable state as I showed then round. I really couldn't tell what they were thinking.

I did fit in some outside reading time before the clouds reappeared. I've started with Book 1 of Game of Thrones while we are watching the dvds from the start before the next series comes out.

Cold.

We had rain in the night and today a cold wind has been blowing. That made it a good day for going back up into the loft. I had to do a lot of moving pictures around to get to the boxes behind them under the eaves but apart from one box behind a lot of large pictures that is it.  

There were a couple of small suitcases filled with old embroidered items and pieces of fabric. I may keep some of the fabric until we move into the house after next as I've always made curtains and cushion/chair covers or for craft projects but most of the stuff will go to the charity shop. I'm also keeping the lion's feet and definitely want to incorporate the art nouveau fireplace tiles in our final home.

The only thing I did outside today was to make a cover for the down pipe that I cleared yesterday. My first idea was to use a piece of lino but then I got ambitious and used some sheet metal cut from 2 drinks cans. The metal was thin enough to cut with scissors and pliable enough to bend around the open top. That should stop the small seeds, leaves etc. falling into the drain pipe.

Sunny.

Woke up this morning to hear of yet another tragedy, a tower block on fire. in London.This time not due to terrorist action but quite likely due to mistakes/poor planning/money saving when refurbishing the block along with the outside space. From what the people involved said this morning it began when a fridge exploded in a 4th floor flat, rapidly spread upwards on one side of the building and down from the top on the other side. How sad for all those families.

Down here in Devon we've had another day of lovely sunshine. I had an appointment at the surgery to have my ear syringed but when the nurse looked in my ear she said it looked too dry. I've been dropping in olive oil for a few weeks but apparently not enough. I need to do it at least 2 times a day and fill up the external canal, lie sideways for 10 minutes and then only mop up the oil that drips down my neck. I've now got an appointment with the nurse next Thursday.

It wasn't a totally wasted trip to town as I needed fresh fruit and veg from Lidl's and I had 4 boxes of glass and ceramics to drop off at the charity shop. I chose the cancer research shop this time as there was a loading bay close by to park in. The slight problem was that a vehicle was already parked there and a large box van was parked behind it right over the no parking sign at the top of the High Street. I waited for a while hoping that one or other would move which they didn't so I parked just in front of the loading bay across the top of a small alley that hardly gets used. Needless to say I unloaded the car very quickly keeping my fingers crossed that a traffic warden wouldn't come along as they are notoriously unsympathetic.

Back home I got out the long handled shears and cut all the grass steps and edges around the lawns before Peter started his mowing.

Then it was round to the side of the house to sort out a blocked drain. I had noticed some water overflowing the top bit which was a bit strange as it only takes water from the hand basins in 2 of the spare bedrooms. First I got the drain rods and checked that the drain under the lawn, which just empties into the bog garden, and found it wasn't blocked. Before attempting to stick rods down the vertical drain I took out the wire mesh that is supposed to stop leaves from going in and scooped out as much of the incredibly stinky stagnant water as I could. Then because the smell was so bad I poured in some bleach. Imagine my surprise when I realised there was smoke coming out of the top of the drain. It was at that point I remembered that you have to be careful mixing bleach with cleaning chemicals as the combination can give off toxic chlorine gas. The last time the drain had been blocked I had poured in one of those bottles of drain-clear type stuff and some must have remained in the drain. I stayed well away before running the taps in one of the bedrooms. I poured in washing soap into the sink and left the hot water running hopefully to clear everything out. The water seems to be flowing away properly now.

I started one last job, first wiping and then oiling the outside table. As I began to paint on the oil I remembered from last time that doing so in sunny weather ends up with lots of tiny flies stuck to the oil. I'll finish the job off later on this evening when there shouldn't be so many flies about. After all that we still found time to sit and relax out in the sun.

Sunny.

After a fairly nice start the afternoon has been wonderfully warm and sunny. You might almost think it was summertime. My first job of the day was to sweep up the dry rose petals and leaves from the front patio and tidy up the raised gravel bed.  

While the cats slept companionably outside enjoying the warmth I filled my car with boxes to go to the charity shop tomorrow.

Hard as it was to drag myself away from the sun the loft still needs emptying. By shifting pictures around I was able to get 2 more boxes of 'treasures' down.  I saved a couple of small bowls and some shells but this lot will go soon. It was like a sauna up in the loft but if I do a little bit at a time it will all get done.

I washed my hair and let it dry as I sat out in the sun for the end of the afternoon. We lose the sun by the house later in the afternoon but it is so tempting to go and sit up by the scree garden or by the washing lines where the sun still shines. However exercises and supper call so I'll content myself with looking out at the sun on the trees. 

Windy.

Listening to the weather forecast on the radio was a bit frustrating. First they gave the forecast for the north-west of the country, then the south-east and that was it. Down here in the south-west it was a matter of look out of the window and take a guess. In the end we had a dry day with occasional sunny spells and a lot of wind.

So finally I got round to weeding the path around the pond and snipping at the grass edge with my scissors. It all looks a lot tidier now.

The new estate agent sent through the house details and photos they will be using and I have to say they look pretty good. I also like the way they have used a standard lens rather than the slightly distorting fish-eye lens used by the previous agents' photographer. 

Later in the afternoon I decided to stretch my legs with a walk up the hill. I was sheltered  from the strong wind by the hedge as I walked up but was grateful for my bodywarmer once I got out on to the road. 

I only went to the first gateway along the road before heading back. When we move into town I am so going to miss being able to go for such a lovely walk straight from the house but I'm sure that will spur me on in the search for our eventual home.

Windy.

We had quite a few sunny spells today and with the sun came our new estate agent. He had been waiting for the sun before coming out to take photos. He also took the inside photos which had me running around tidying the bedroom and the kitchen. It looks so much better and would be nice to live without all the clutter but I can't see that would actually be practical. Some things just need to be at hand for everyday living.

As I did my morning exercises I realised that another of my exercises in which I raise my arms above my head as I lie on the floor also uses the underarm muscles so might also be contributing to the wonderfully disappearing bingo arms.  I can make this exercise more effective by keeping my hands above the floor rather than resting them while I do the core strengthening exercise and/or holding hand weights which we do have. As all my summer tops are sleeveless it would be confidence boosting not to have old lady flappy arms.

I made it outside again today for some weeding but once again I was diverted from my original plan to weed round the pond. This time I set to work tidying up the long grasses in the ornamental grass bed. I have come to the conclusion that putting that corner (below) to rights would be a major project which I don't really have the time for. Instead I just got rid of the worst of the weeds especially the brambles and tree seedlings.