Today both the BBC and Met Office weather forecasts agree that it will be a very wet morning, a dry, but dull afternoon, and then rain again this evening. The BBC throws in some drizzle at 3pm as an added extra ! For all it's worth, at least today will be a little less chilly at 12° C (possibly 13° C by late evening). Tomorrow there could be sunshine or sunny spells from about 9am to 1pm, and then light rain starting at 2 or 3pm. The temperature tomorrow reach just 10° C.

  It was only with the benefit of hindsight that I realised I could have gone out for a bit of a walk yesterday, although while I would have stayed dry, and the sunshine would have been uplifting, it was still rather cool out there in the big wild world. I stayed in all day, but I did manage to do some useful stuff.

  One such useful thing was a bit of hand laundry. It was useful to wash a hand towel, a tea towel, and 4 bar towels, but it had another unexpected use. Yesterday I was unsure if my problems with my hot water supply were because the diaphragm, that control the gas in my water heat, was starting to leak, or were purely down to low water pressure. Once it came to filling my big builders buckets that I use to do my laundry, it was obvious that the problem was just low water pressure. It seemed to take ages to fill those buckets.

  I had done the wash with detergent part of the process in warm water, but I noticed that the water in the first rinse was rather cool. The water for the next rinse started off cold. At that point I stopped, and took a breather for maybe an hour. When I tried again the water was running hot again, and I did the next 4 or 5 rinses in hot water. I didn't bother with any fabric conditioner, and hung the items on the small clothes horse to dry.

  Apart from some washing up, and preparing my dinner, I did one other little, but not insignificant job. On Sunday I managed to get Jodie to say she didn't really need two of the big boxes that were beer advent calendars. I had the pleasure of cutting both boxes, plus all the cardboard dividers up into very roughly A4 sized bits ready to put in the recycling bin. It was good because it went a small way to getting the front room looking a bit less like a tip, and it was good because it was a pleasant sort of mindless vandalism that can be enjoyed because it is actually necessary !

  As I mentioned at the start of the last paragraph, I did some washing up before preparing my dinner. I also did a little bit of cleaning up in the kitchen at the same time. It included emptying my waste food container into the garden waste bin. My dinner was chicken "stew" with bell peppers, red finger chillies, and sugar snap peas. I started by just braising (is that the right word ?) 4 boneless chicken thighs in chicken stock.

   After the chicken was just about done I took two of the thighs out, and put them aside in a vacuum sealed container for tonight's dinner. Later in the day, nearer dinner time I added the vegetables, and gave it a blast in the microwave until the vegetables were cooked. That gave time for the last bit of cooking of the chicken too. I can't really say it was an enjoyable dinner, and it wasn't long after it that I felt the need for something more. I gave in and had some corned beef on a crust (literally - it was the end piece of the loaf).

  I don't think I can claim to have anything else for the rest of the day. In the afternoon I did some reading - both from the internet, and from the current book I am reading - "Uncertain Midnight" by Edmund Cooper. (I think I was incorrectly calling him Edmond instead of Edmund in past references to him). During the evening I watched some TV, and read a bit more. The last thing I saw on TV was an old edition of Have I Got New For You. That finished at 11pm, and I went straight to bed then.

  I didn't attempt to go to sleep straight away, but read until about 11.30pm. My whole night seemed very vague. I think I managed to get to sleep fairly quickly, and I think I mostly slept OK during the night, but not so good that I seemed to get up for a pee more often than usual. The latter suggested my blood glucose was still rather high. I remember the fact that I dreamed a lot last night, and while I am positive that androids/robots were the subject of some dreams (inspired by the book I am reading) I can't seem to remember any details from those dreams - even the one I can remember thinking that it was worth remembering !

  There is good and bad news this morning. The bad is that, not unexpectedly after fasting for the most of yesterday, I am sort of constipated. The worst thing about that is that I can't weigh myself, but maybe I'd rather not know anyway. The good news is that my efforts yesterday have dropped my blood glucose from 10.1mmol/l yesterday morning down to a very pleasing 7.7mmol/l this morning. It would be very nice if I felt better for it, but I don't feel all that good this morning - it's the weather, and that multiplies the amount and strength of the common aches and pains.

  This morning I have no idea what I shall do today. At least I can look forward to a nice, but careful lunch today, although I can't go too mad because I awarded myself a double instant noodles portion this morning for my breakfast. I can't imagine going out today. If the human body came equipped with headlights, to see where I was going, and windscreen wipers to keep my vision clear, I could at least go out if needed, but I still wouldn't enjoy it. Today I shall stay dry and warm - but possibly bored.