Yesterday was one of those days that was potentially bad, but actually wasn't too bad, and was even good at times. The weather forecast seemed to suggest the day could have been like the day before with a threat of rain for almost any time during the day. I definitely didn't fancy going out walking in a raincoat. That felt too horrible the day before, and besides which, I wasn't sure if my right knee wouldn't start to complain again in the damp air.

  While I didn't want to go out on a long walk, I did feel OK for a couple of short walks. I wanted some more plant pots, and some potting compost. I first went to Poundland on the high street. It was not raining at the time, and I just went in shirt sleeves. I almost knew they didn't have any more potting compost in, but I had to check - they didn't have any. They did have some wooden plant pots - the sort I have on the windowsill outside the front room. I bought three more of them, plus a few other bits and pieces.

  Having got home with that lot of shopping I waited maybe 20 minutes before going out again to Poundstretcher in the mews. I hoped there was a better chance of finding potting compost in there, but they had none either. I did buy some round plant pots, and once again a few odds and sods. When I came out of the shop I noticed the market stall that sells bags and stuff was there. I took the opportunity to buy a new, and bigger rucksack. I think it was even bigger than the one I used for years (bought from the same place) and now is used exclusively for when shopping in Aldi. It is starting to fray in a few places, but can still carry 3 x 2.25 litres of Diet Coke safely, and easily.

   Not getting any potting compost was an annoyance. I could use soil from my own garden, but that seemed to be full of seeds for weeds that grow in preference to any seeds I might plant. After having a bit of rest, and a bite to eat, I tried an experiment. It was slow going, but I tried cooking soil in my microwave oven. I could only do it in small amounts, and that is the reason why it was a slow process. I hope I managed to get it hot enough to kill off any seeds in it. I did enough for two of the wooden boxes, ideally suited to windowsills, although I don't think I will use them as such.

  I planted cornflower seeds in both once the soil had cooled down, and I had watered it thoroughly. I am now crossing my fingers that the only thing that will grow in those boxes are those cornflowers. I only half filled one of the larger, round pots. I could have cooked more soil for that, but by that time it had started to rain, and while I did do some work in the rain, I didn't want to get too chilled. I was actually working with no shirt on, and was feeling mostly comfortable even when it was raining - but not when the rain got a bit heavier.

  My main fear was that my back would be complaining this morning. All the bending over while digging out the cleanest soil I could find, plus doing some weeding, with cold rain on my back, seemed like a recipe for disaster. Strangely enough, it didn't seem to have any effect at all. Once I have managed to fill that pot with cooked soil I shall be planting some chilli seeds in it. Once again the main part of the exercise is not have any competing weeds crowding out the chilli plants, plus it is possible I could move the pot around in the garden for maximum exposure to the sun.

  After my gardening I relaxed by quietly reading a book. While working outside I felt perfectly comfortable, but half an hour, maybe a full hour after laying on my bed just reading I began to feel chilly. As I said further up the page, the temperature was sort of half and half. It was quite annoying. I eventually put the heater on to warm my room up a bit, but 10 minutes later it was starting to feel too warm. I must have a trigger point, with the change from warm to cold being less than a single degree wide.

  My eating was a bit odd yesterday. It must have been quite gloomy outside, and I wanted something to cheer me up. That something was to eat my spare kebab from the night before, and have it for lunch instead of dinner. What I had forgotten was that it was a "special kebab", which I recall was quite expensive. Upon opening the container I was reminded of what it was that I had bought. I had forgotten I had ordered a special until I took the lid off. The foil container, which was only a typical size for takeaways, was full to the brim with samples of all the grilled meat they do. It turned out to be a very protein based meal. I ate it all cold, and it was still delicious.

  When it came time for dinner I checked my blood glucose level. I rarely bother to do anything more than just a check in the morning because that allows me to plan my day - almost. My blood glucose just before dinner time was actually quite low. I knew that meat I had eaten earlier would have little effect on it, but if anything it did seem like it had negative effect - lowering the figure. That gave the perfect excuse to eat some of the bread that came with the takeaway. I used two of the three "slices" (not slices because it was cut from a thin loaf). I microwaved them after covering them with no or reduced sugar baked beans, and a generous amount of cheddar cheese. It was by no means healthy, but it made for a very satisfying dinner.

  My evening had the potential to be quite dull and boring, but I was saved from that by a phone call ( a digital phone call via Whatsapp) from Patricia in Argentina. It was a most pleasant surprise, and we must have chatted for over an hour. She is not optimistic, but hopes travel restrictions may be lifted before London is plunged into winter this year so she can spend some time here while there is still some warmth left.

  I'm not sure when I went to sleep last night, but I was aiming to get to sleep early so I could get up early this morning. What I do remember is waking up at 11.25pm, and being very surprised when I saw the time. It felt like I had been sleeping solidly for hours. I guess it is possible I had slept for 3 hours by then. I woke up a few more times in the night - mostly to go for a pee, but on one occasion I woke up coughing. A quick drink soon stopped that. I could have got up at 5am, but I held out to about 6am.

  This morning I am not sure how I feel. I know I don't have a trace of back ache - one of the things I was expecting. My right knee is mostly comfortable, but I have had two twinges from it. My blood glucose is continuing to drop after some high readings a few days ago. It was 7.3mmol/l. Ideally I would like it to be 6 something, but it is far better than some of the 8s and 9s I've had recently. There is no good news about my weight. It is bad news. I have definitely put on almost a kilogram in the last week or two. It has been oscillating up and down, and I was hoping there was still an overall downward trend, but it seems it was creeping up - and I am not sure why. My dinner last night was an exceptional case, but I don't think my diet has changed that much in the last few weeks. I think it was pretty similar to when my weight was dropping. Maybe it is one of those mysterious things that happens when losing weight, and that it will start going down again soon - or at least that is what I am hoping !

  My grand plan for today is to go to the seaside - if Sheerness-On-Sea can be fairly called the seaside. The trains are running, the mandatory masks ruling doesn't start until Monday, and the sun is out. The only thing missing is some sort of confidence that it will be a pleasant outing. I am so out of practice with these long journeys. One source of doubt is that there are unlikely to be any toilets there once I get off the train (and it can't be guaranteed that there will be one on the train - particularly the small train that shuttles between Sittingbourne and Sheerness). Fortunately I seem to be having no trouble going to the toilet this morning. I have just had my third visit, and now my weight gain is less than I originally thought. One more visit and my weight gain could be shown to be very small !

  For this trip I can take my brand new, very roomy rucksack. I can take water, spare shoes and towel in case I get the urge for a paddle, plus cameras and other stuff. I can even take a lightweight plastic rain coat that I hope I won't need today, or tomorrow. If today's outing goes OK I may well get in one more outing tomorrow when I propose to go to Whitstable. There could be possibilities for outings by train even after the mask rule comes in. I have heard that a valid excuse for not wearing a mask is if you suffer from breathing difficulties. I have been prescribed an asthma inhaler even though I am not an asthma sufferer (except for just one weird morning about 10 years ago). It was prescribed at my request when I said it helped the occasional cigarette withdrawal cough I had years ago. It would open up the airways to make it easier to cough up the crap. I could take that inhaler with me, in it's packet with the prescription details on it as evidence that I could not restrict my breathing with a mask. All I would have to do would be to keep my thumb over the date that shows I was last issued an inhaler a couple of years ago (I think real asthmatics get through 4 or 5 a year instead 4 or 5 years between issues)..... Just thought I would check - my last inhaler, still unopened, was issued in April last year. It was the almost empty one that was issued several years earlier. I haven't really had to use the inhaler for ages now, but I could imagine the stress of being approached by a member of the British Transport Police could trigger the need for a couple of squirts !