Saturday 18th March 2023

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Saturday 18th March 2023

08:36 GMT

Yesterday morning featured very dull skies, and rain, although it didn't start to about 9am, a couple of hours later than forecast. As per the forecast it did finish around 1pm. Another hour or so later we had the first sunny spell. The were several sunny spells in the afternoon, but sometimes with an hour between them, and even then they didn't last all that long. Like the last few days, the temperature seemed to rise a couple of degrees higher than forecast. Yesterday may have just touched 15° C for a short while. There may, or may not have been some rain in the evening. It was forecast, but the first rain I saw was when I peeped through the curtains at 1am this morning.

Today's forecast could almost have been the true forecast for yesterday, and that is a good thing in so much as it is statistically proved that tomorrow's weather is going to be the same as today's. At the moment it is wet outside, and it seems the rain re-started (after rain in the very early hours) as early as 6am. Oddly enough it is brightening up a bit now. I think there is zero chance of seeing any sunshine until much later in the afternoon, but it does seem less gloomy right now. The latest revision to the forecast has the rain finally stopping at 2pm, and the first sunny spell at 5pm. It may not only be the first, but it might also be the last for the day. Light rain is a possibility for 6pm (just a 30% chance), and the rest of the day will be lightly cloudy. Today's high will be around 12°C, and that will be the same tomorrow, although tomorrow will start a little cooler at around 8° C. Tomorrow may see just light clouds, and the sun may break through to give some sunny spells in the morning, and late afternoon.

As expected, I didn't go out yesterday, and I did very little, but very little is not the same as nothing. It took me a bit of time, doing it in three shifts, and no finishing until late afternoon, but I did hand wash 2 towels yesterday. One was a large hand towel, and one was a medium/small bath towel. Both needed a fair bit of energy to wring out, and as is always the case with towels, they needed something like 8 rinses before the water was running almost clear.

I think that accounts for most of my day yesterday. I can't seem to think any more to add to it except I spent a fair time just quietly reading. I wanted a snooze or two, but I can't seem to recall actually going to sleep. I remember laying on my bed, book with bookmark in it at my side, and with my eyes closed. but it doesn't seem like I slept. Maybe I slid into and out of sleep so gently that I didn't realise I had done it.

One thing I did do was to eat fairly carefully, although it could be equally described as one thing I didn't do was to eat badly......Although it might be a debatable thing. My lunch was cheese on ham on toast. I had three slices of it, but they were small slices from near the end of the bread. They could or should have been very nice, but I think some "long covid" thing is still affecting my taste buds.

The worst effect was very definite about two years ago, and it made cucumber, and apparently nothing else, taste absolutely disgusting. The first time I noticed it I described it as if the cucumber had been dressed in Fairy Liquid. That effect has slowly faded away, and I am not sure if it has faded to nothing yet. My latest "it tastes odd" is ham. I have tasted three different packs of ham from two different supermarkets, and it all tastes, and even smells like it is just starting to go off.

It was around 6pm, and I was watching an episode of Star Trek from one of the assorted series, and I started a beer. Not just any old beer, but one very similar, if not identical, to what was the ultimate reason for getting so drunk on Thursday. Thursday's beer may have been the bottled version of the beer illustrated above. Both tasted identical, and had the same sort of syrupy feel, and intense chocolately taste. I think both were 16.7%. I learned my lesson on Thursday, and last night I had just the one can.

One lesson I learned yesterday was that a small amount in a beef stew may make it extra delicious. My dinner last night was a beef stew, and my first mouthful was a bit hot. I grabbed my glass and took almost my last gulp of the beer to stop my mouth burning. As the two mingled in my mouth I could taste a delicious yeasty sort of taste. With perhaps only half a mouthful left in the glass I decided not to pour it in the stew, but maybe I might add some similar beer to a stew today.

These extra strong beers don't find favour with Michael, and Jodie is a bit wary of them. I have unilaterally declared that I will save them the dilemma of having to taste the final three cans of Buxton extra strong beer. There are two that are in the region of 12% and one more 16% (or more). I think I'll stick to one a night, and as I said above, I shall try adding some of one or more cans to a stew.

Last night was another night when I got bored watching QI because it was all so familiar. I did start watching it, and so it was after 9pm, maybe 9.20pm when I went to bed. Initially I read in bed. For some reason, maybe it was advance warning of today being cold and damp, I did not feel comfortable. Odd bits of me, most arm and shoulder joints, ached, and 15 minutes after turning off the light I turned it back on again to take some paracetamol.

I think I fell asleep before the paracetamol could have take effect - probably near 10pm. It is arguable if needed the Paracetamol, but I think the answer is yes because I reckon it helped me sleep better. Incidentally, last night was the first time in what seems like a long time, when I slept with the heater off until I turned it on at 4am. In the last hours of sleep I had a dream that is hard to describe because while the theme was simple, the action or settings, jumped around so much there is no adequate way to describe in any way that makes sense.

It didn't seem to make much sense as I dreamed it ! The basic them was that I was going to a gig with Jodie, but I did not have a ticket. I had a plan to sneak in by getting to the venue, and finding a way in before it officially opened. I also hoped that I would be able to see the band first and get a back stage pass from them. One moment I was trying to do that, and the next I was looking for a bar, buy a pint, but walking out seconds later with only a newspaper. At time Jodie was there, and at others she wasn't. I still hoped my plan might work even when stopped by a bouncer - who happened to be someone I know from reality. It was a really messed up dream, but it somehow seemed enjoyable at the time.

This morning my blood glucose had risen, but not too far. It was 8.6mmol/l, and that is acceptable. It may have gone up because of the lunchtime cheese on toast, or the small potatoes I put in my beef stew. Past experience suggests I would have got away with either, but maybe not on the same day. That is something to think about in the future - or even today !

I think the weather is too awful to go out for pleasure today. It is my intention to go to Tesco today because I have eaten the larder/fridge dry (although I could probably make meals of assorted stuff from the freezer, cans, and dry stuff, but it would probably not be as healthy as hoped for). Of course Tesco can be a great source of temptation, and if my blood glucose goes up over 9.00mmol/l tomorrow I probably have only myself to blame.

Some part of the many spare hours left today may be spent doing a bit of laundry. I think there are two t-shirts in the laundry basket and some underwear. There is no urgency about it, but I may as well get it out the way. Other than that I will probably just be bored today and waste most of another day.