09:53 BST

  I don't know what happened to the sunny spells shown for this morning on today's forecast. When I opened the curtains, at about 7am, maybe a bit layer, the sky looked very grey, and it looked damp out as if it had rained, but that may have just been the grey light from that sombre, depressing grey sky. The only redeeming factor was that I think it was around 17° C instead of the forecast 15° C. It is now 10am as I write this, and there is not a single hint that we could get the briefest sunny spell. By 1pm the temperature should hit it's peak for today, 20° C, and it may stay there for a couple of hours. From 3pm the sunny spells, if they ever start, will be replaced by light rain until 6pm when we might, possibly, get some sunny spells, but I doubt it. The latest revision to the forecast says it might reach 21° C at 2pm, and only at 2pm. Tomorrow should/may be dry, but it will not be warm. A maximum of just 14° C is forecast. There may, or may not be, a scattering of sunny spells tomorrow.

    Yesterday was definitely warm, and it was an excellent day for a walk in the park - except I never went out once. The initial reason was because I could not have a shower because I had a big bucket of laundry in the bath. It was not long before I just wrote the day off.

  I did have plans to have a shower later, and maybe go out in the early afternoon, or maybe even later, but I just remained unwashed and stinky all day long. To make matters worse I had some chillies, and some sugary ice cream that raised my blood glucose very high for a time. The two, plus the unusually high temperature (it was 27° C in my bedroom) left me feeling quite sweaty, and I felt very yucky. I could, and should have had a shower after I finally dealt with the laundry that was blocking the use of the bath for washing me.

  Yesterday was a bit like today in so much as I had a bit of extra time in bed (after going back to bed after I thought I had got up) and then allowing stuff on my PC to distract me. Even first thing this morning there was interesting stuff from yesterday on https://www.theregister.com/ that I had not read, and new stuff had appeared overnight. It is now just gone 10am, and on most mornings I would be getting close to finish this writing instead of only just starting it.

  Oh well, I have had a nice breakfast of instant noodles (as usual), and I am now relaxed enough to fall asleep again, or to miss out occasional words in this writing. I have already noticed one missing word, and added it back in. Yesterday was very much the same, and after I finished writing, which included how it would be good to go out for a walk in the nice warm sunshine, I had another long rest.

  I eventually got myself in order, and went to tackle the mere two items of laundry in my big bucket, where they had been soaking in detergent overnight, and many hours before and after. With just two items it should have been quick and easy, except one item was a small hand towel, and the other a pair of shorts. The towel needed about a dozen rinses before the rinse water started to be a lot less soapy.

  The shorts were the pair of shorts I recently ordered that seem almost plastic like. I think it may be partly some sort of waterproofing treatment, but the material itself seem to have a nylon threads in it to make it less prone to ripping. After the first wash I gave them, they initially felt a bit odd, but strangely seemed comfortable. I found myself slipping them on after getting up, and not bothering with underpants. They soon became smelly !

  They are not easy to wring out after rinsing. It is quite odd the way they resist wringing out, and yet when hung up they very quickly start to drip. It was handy that I hung them over the bath while I continued rinsing the hand towel. Those shorts probably dripped about a quarter of a pint, but had stopped dripping when I hung them, plus the towel on the small clothes horse in the front room.

  At that point I could have had my shower, and possibly gone for a walk, but it was gone midday, and I was looking forward to some lunch. It was two slices of cheese, on pickled sliced green jalapeños on toast.  The bread was sourdough bread, and it was a rather nice lunch. I may, or may not have had some ice cream after. I know I did have some plain vanilla ice cream some time, but it might have been a mid afternoon snack.

  There was one good reason why I should had a shower after I had had my lunch. It was getting quite warm out, and the physical exertion of doing that laundry by hand was getting me hot. The sliced green jalapeños in my cheese on toast were making me feel hotter still, and I began to sweat a lot. With no air movement indoors I began to feel quite damp. If I had gone outside even a gentle breeze would have cooled me off.

  It would not even matter that I had a wash for a walk around the park. It would have been a solitary walk except for the sweaty and often stinky joggers who seem to be a fixture in the park. The big trouble was that after lunch, even though it was not a big lunch, I was beginning to feel very relaxed. The heat did not help. It may not have been as hot as a real high summer day, but as previously mentioned, it was at least 27° C in my bedroom. I would probably have been OK once I got moving, but I just wanted to lay on my bed reading.

  That is exactly what I did. I laid on my bed, and read maybe half a dozen pages before my eyelids started to feel heavy. I could not think of any good excuses why I shouldn't let my eyes close. very soon I was fast asleep, and I must have slept for at least an hour. Looking back that seems to be quite a long time for a snooze, but yesterday was another of those days where time just seemed to slip past with no effort at all.

  Perhaps it was after that snooze that I had the ice cream that I am positive I ate, and yet can't remember when I ate it. At least I can remember I had an excuse for it this time - I was hot, and it was nice to cool off inside with ice cream. I think I was tempted to have a bit too much, but maybe only a little bit too much. I was still feeling very relaxed, and resumed reading and resting on my bed until it was very close to dinner time, and TV time.

  It was just before 6pm when I prepared my dinner - not that there was much preparation to do. I had somehow decided that maybe I had already eaten a fair amount, and should have a light dinner. It was mostly rice crackers with cheese - and more sliced and pickled jalapeños, but this time it was red ones. Once again they made me sweat (or sweat more). As a dessert I had a couple of slices of sponge cake, and once again my blood glucose went up, and that made me sweat too. I felt like I was a complete mess.

  it was too late in the day to worry about being a mess, and there was no one here to be offended by it. My evening was a typical evening - watching TV - some of it good, some of it only slightly good. I think it was around 9pm when I could have gone to bed, but decided to watch QI, and for some reason I decided I wanted to have a large whiskey. It may have been the thought of all the new beers I had, but couldn't open any until Jodie was here to supervise (bloody cheek - they are my beers, and I paid for them, but on the other hand, life is more peaceful and pleasant without Jodie having a hissy fit (or something)).

  The very large Bushmills whiskey went down very nicely, and did as expected (but not the original reason for wanting, at least I don't think it was). I fell asleep nice and easily, and seemed to sleep very solidly. I woke once or twice, maybe even three times, to have a pee, but each time I was asleep soon after my head hit the pillow again. The only slight exception is that I woke up at around 5am and thought it was time to get up. It felt too early, and I was quite surprised to find that after what felt like a long time, but was probably only little more then ten minutes, I had fallen asleep, and it was gone 7pm when I woke up again.

  It took two visits to the toilet, one including a small poo, before I was satisfied to weigh myself. It was very pleased, even if a bit startled, to see I had lost 700gm. Then again, my idea of only a light dinner was with that aim in mind, but I never expected it to work as well as that ! Then it was time to check my blood glucose. The cake I had for dessert probably spoiled the readings, but they were still very typical.

  The Contour meter read 8.3mmol/l. That is not bad, but a bit lower would have been nicer. The GlucoRX meter read 7.8mmol/l, and that is more in the region of what I would hope for. The new GlucoFix meter read 8.2mmol/l. That meter was once quite kind to me, and that reading was almost kind, but it used to do better. I have an ongoing theory that it is more than just glucose in the blood chemistry that affects the readings differently on different manufacturers meters.

  To my amazement it looks like I am going to finis this before midday, but only by the skin of my teeth. There is still a fair possibility that I will have the shower I need, and also wash my hair. Having done so I could go out, but I feel I have missed the best of the weather, although the best of the weather - sunny spells - has not actually happened. The chance of it raining soon looks quite probable. The temperature looks like it is a tenth of a degree away from reaching today's maximum of 21° C. That is just about warm enough that it would not be all that bad if I went out and got caught in a light shower, but only a light shower. Having said that, I don't seem to have any enthusiasm to go out.

  Not going out is a shame because of what will be happening next week. Next Wednesday I will be seeing the diabetes nurse at the group practice with the intention to getting my free slimming injections. I think part of the "contract" to get these injections is to do more exercise, or at least some exercise, and I have been very little walking (the only exercise I do) for what feels like weeks now. I ought to be getting into practice, but I still maintain the excuse that until my faulty heart valve is fixed I can't enjoy even mediocre exercise, but during the Covid lockdown years I really enjoyed going on some insanely long walks, but only once I was in practice. I do hope that by next year I will be able to enjoy the summer with my heart valve fixed, and quite a few kilogram lighter !