Are we absolutely sure it is not April, with it's famous showers ? More rain is forecast for today. The thunderstorm shown for 1pm has gone from the latest revision to the forecast. It is now shown as heavy rain, and all the other hours shown with rain in the screenshot above have all changed to sunny spells - unless you look at the BBC forecast that still shows showers all the way through to 4pm, and one thunderstorm at midday (but the BBC love to forecast thunderstorms that rarely happen). From 2pm there could be lots of pleasant sunny spells, and even some full sunshine in the late afternoon/early evening. The afternoon temperature should reach 20° C. Tomorrow could be mostly dull with maybe a light shower or two. The temperature should be about the same as today.

  Yesterday I almost rested, but I did do a few important things. I did rest between those things, and I probably had a snooze or two, but I can't seem to recall any particular time when I can say I definitely had a snooze. One thing I am sure about is that I didn't get up - as in washing and dressing. If I wanted to wash I could have gone and stood in the rain !

  I could have had a shower but I decided I would do some laundry. It was not the ideal day to do laundry because I would have to, and indeed, did dry it indoors. I seemed to be building up a backlog of stuff, and it had to be done. The first lot was three t-shirts and three pairs of underpants. I hung those up to dry on the big clothes horse in the front room with a desk fan blowing at them.

  I took a break from laundry then, and did a minor, but still important task. After filling the drinks fridge with the contents of a small box of beers that Jodie had brought over, I cut up that box, plus the previous one she brought over, and one more box from some long ago Amazon order. With the cardboard cut into suitable small pieces I tossed them into the recycling bin. I then had a long break where I think I just read for a bit.

  The next bit of laundry would definitely have been better done on a warm dry day when I could hang it on the line to dry. It was only two items - a small towel, and a pair of mid length "sports" trousers (I can't think of a better way of describing them). Both items needed some serious wringing out so they wouldn't drip when hung on the small clothes horse in the dining room. Once again I used a second desk fan to help blow them dry.

  I think I mentioned yesterday that I was worried about controlling my appetite on such a dull and miserable day (or words to that effect). Somehow I seemed to do it fairly easily. My breakfast was the usual instant noodles. Lunch was rice cakes with salad and cheese on them. I snacked on a small quantities of peanuts, but otherwise I don't think I ate any more until dinner time.

  The controlled eating was helped a lot by being mindful of my high blood glucose reading in the morning. (Somehow) I decided to go all out for a nice and low reading this morning. To that end I just had two cans of Tesco chicken soup (with some added hot spices) for dinner. I have mentioned the stuff before, and said how low it's sugar content is.

  I thought it would be a good idea to show a picture of the nutritional information on the can. The important thing is the 0.6gm of sugars. That is a quarter the figure for many semi-safe soups, and as much as a tenth of some soups. Also of note is the calorie content. My two cans came to just 388 calories, and that is lower than most "calorie controlled" meals. The only negative thing is the salt content. Being a hypertensive person (tending towards high blood pressure without medication) I should keep my salt consumption very low, but it is rare I add extra salt to anything, and I seem to be able to tolerate the salt in this soup.

  I've just checked my blood pressure, and I was happy with the first reading which said 109/46. That is very good, and no need for a second reading to try and get it lower.

  I guess I went to bed feeling mildly hungry, and maybe that affected my sleep a bit. I was in bed fairly early last night when I found there was nothing to amuse me after the three Star Treks I usually watch. I read in bed for some time, but was still asleep soon after 9pm

  Last night was one of those nights when it felt like I was not getting good sleep, and hindsight doesn't seem to confirm or deny that. I did seem to wake up more frequently than usual, and it often seemed to take a long time to get back to sleep, although the word seemed  probably doesn't represent reality. Some mild hunger was an almost ignorable problem compared to the difficulty I was having with the temperature. It was another fairly cool night, and it seemed too cool without the duvet, and too warm with it. The best sleep I got was probably when I was only half covered by the duvet.

  Two things in the night seemed pertinent to my blood glucose reading this morning. One thing was that I did seem to get up to pee a little more than usual. That suggested a high blood glucose reading coming. On the other hand, I didn't seem to drink much during the night, and that might suggest a lower blood glucose level. On the other hand it could have lead to light dehydration, and that can make the reading seem high because it concentrates the sugars in the blood.

  I am happy to say that both my blood glucose meters, the new all Chinese one, and the old meter, probably made in China, but designed elsewhere. Almost agreed with each other. (I just checked, and it seems both meters are Chinese designs.) The new meter gave a slightly higher reading of 7.7mmol/l, and the old meter gave an even better reading of 7.5mmol/l. That latter reading is a personal target I aim for, but very rarely achieve in recent years.

  It is low readings like this when weight loss is possible. This morning I seem to have put on over 500gm ! However I have yet to go to the toilet, and I could lose that 500gm in a single sitting on a good day, and more if, as is frequently the case, a second sitting a bit later. I am rather hoping that first sitting will take place soon so I can more enjoy my day without a potential feeling of discomfort.

  The main thing on the agenda today is an afternoon gig. Whitestar are playing a special gig to celebrate the completion of the new beer garden at The Shortlands Tavern. They are due to play between 4 and 6pm. I think the new garden is partly under cover, and so rain shouldn't be a problem, but even the BBC think it might be dry by 3pm, but then they predict a light shower at 4pm. Of course the weather in Shortlands could be different to here in Catford.

  The only fly in the ointment is that I am expecting an Amazon delivery today. I only ordered the stuff yesterday, and I was not expecting a few bits of the order so soon. The stuff coming today could be in small plastic envelopes, and is soft and unbreakable. They may be able to push them through the letter box if I am not home. The big stuff, which will be three cases of 15 cans of Guinness, and two cases of 12 bottles of hot Caribbean sauce, should come on Monday, and I'll be OK waiting in for that.