DVT DAY 98
Up and at it this morning after of course the weekend negations over bacon sandwiches for breakfast. I checked that the new hanging basket on the shed was still in place. It was and looking good. By which I mean it was still alive and not dropping flowers yet.
I noted that the garden continues to give me new delights such as the small red roses on the tree my eldest daughter gave me one father’s day, and the white peony’s that have bloomed quickly and buckle under the intermittent down pours we are having at the moment.
The twinned trunk oak tree continues to grow from its acorn base and the purple mallow continues to bloom.
But before I can set to on the water butt arrangement that has been over flowing, I think judging by the moss at its base, I go to the garage with my partner to fill the car with petrol and to check the pressures. We had to queue to get a pump which in itself was a trial as some arsehole young male who thought he could just pull had to be faced off. No sense of a queue the ignorant git. My partner filled the car and went to pay while I moved it to the air pump. There was bugger all social distancing going on in the service station shop and my partner emerged disgruntled. We duly did the tyres, 36 front 33 back, guess where the engine is? Then it was back home and time for me to go to the garden and for my partner to take cash to her mother who had run out of cash and had no access to a machine.
The water butt has planters built into it which looks good but were creating an overflow. I took the think apart and cleaned it and then removed the plug of sealant the fitter had put in the end of the drainpipe to force it to use the diversion hose. The arrangement had never worked very well so I decided to have the drain pipe run straight in to the top of the tower butt. Having sorted this I removed the gutter hedgehog and cleaned the guttering and the hedgehog. By hosing the gutters and the roof I was able to check the whole arrangement worked as it should and that the down pipes were al clear. Deep joy it all worked and that included the butt overflow pipe. All that was left was to clear up the area and wait for rain. It conveniently down poured about twenty minutes later when we were all sat on the patio having fruit and oatcakes for lunch. The butt was dripping water but it was from the built-in flower boxes, so they had to come out. They have become water logged and need new liners and a layer of stones to make them viable again. Apart from that everything is tickety boo.
The Tower 
The new drain 
New drain and hedgehog
Time for a bath and a chance to read a few pages of my latest book, an early birthday present from a friend. It is called Under the Stars by Matt Gaw, and is as far as I have got so far understand it to be a description of how the author rediscovers the night. The pages I read in my bath were lovely and full of delicate adjectives that created a vivid picture of the described experiences. It is a book that I am tempted to devour already but will take my time.
Sunday is Zoom call our youngest daughter time which is what I walked into after my bath. She is furloughed but her boyfriend is going back to work tomorrow. We chatted about how we were and about what is going on in the world. I wonder how many other families are doing the same right now and wondering how it is all going to turn out. So, it comes to dinner time and my partner cooks as I settle down to write the blog. I expect that we shall eat and return to our current Netflix box set binge “The Last Kingdom”. Its basically a Thor versus God slash and burn series based on Alfred the Greats attempt to hold the kingdom of Wessex and build a united England. It passes the time and allows to think about other things like the chick weed that is covering the pond and where I am going to put the exercise bike I intend to buy. The bike is necessary as I can no longer stand myself at this weight and this unfit, I’m better than this and need to get myself sorted. Yoga and ballet are fine but I have been used to going to the gym and burning off at least a 1000 calories three times a week, walking doesn’t do it for me either. I weighed myself today in my ritualistic once a week way, 100.6 kilos. I’ve been around 100 kilos for months now since the chemo and it got to come down for my health’s sake. Best bet for he bike is in the shed with me at eh expense of a couple of old chairs, I think.
