This morning, and indeed most of the early hours of this morning, were rather cold with the temperature down to 8° C. Right now the sky is mostly blue, and we have bright sunshine. The forecast says it should continue almost until sunset. Sadly, it may only warm the afternoon up to just 14° C. Autumn seems to have started early ! At sunset the sky will start to cloud over, and that will keep the temperature up, but from midnight we can expect more rain. The rain may have stopped by 6am tomorrow morning, when it will be 14° C, but it will resume at midday tomorrow. The afternoon will be not only wet, but it will be warmer than today with 18° C predicted.

  There were things I thought I might do yesterday, and didn't, and one thing I didn't expect to do, but did. I did not expect to close the bathroom window early in the evening, but while I was using the toilet I found the wind coming through the window felt positively icy. Of course it was not really that cold, but enough to get me shivering with each gust of wind. I expect I'll keep that window shut until late spring next year. There is nothing worse than having a shower with an icy gale across the more delicate parts of the body !

  The one thing I thought I might do, and I even topped up the batteries in my two little Fuji waterproof cameras, was to go for a walk in the rain. I later reduced that to going shopping in the rain, and then the horrible grey light outside, and the teeming rain, made me realise I was probably just being stupid, and that it was better if I stayed in the warm and dry. That was a bit of a shame because an occasional photo taken in rain can have it's own charm.

  I ended up doing very little yesterday. One brief amusing thing was to check my bank balance. It was looking healthy, and so healthy that I realised I had enough money in my account to buy my house with cash - assuming I had a time machine to take me back to 1983. These days I barely have enough to buy just one of the rooms in my house - probably just the toilet !

  I faced one dilemma yesterday: The last time I went to Tesco I bought a large pork pie that I found on the reduced price shelf. It had to be eaten before it started going off, but having bought it, I found I didn't really fancy it. I think some of the problem was that over the last week I have seen a small drop in my weight, and I would like to continue that. I was sure that pork pie would ruin that trend - particularly because once started I would have to finish it.

  I had that pork pie for my lunch. I warmed it, maybe a bit too much, in the microwave. The flaw in the whole idea was that I realised I don't actually like pork pie now. I ate all the filling, and about half the pastry, but I had to force it down, and didn't enjoy it. Note to self: Don't buy any more pork pies even if they look so very tempting.

  I feel sure I must have done something constructive yesterday, but I can't remember what it could have been. I can remember laying on my bed either reading or sleeping for much of the afternoon, but nothing more (except when I checked my bank statement).  So, skipping forward to dinner.......

  My dinner was a Chicken Jalfrezi curry ready meal. This curry, unlike some I have had recently, came with rice, and so felt a bit closer to a balanced meal. I balanced it a bit more with a couple of juicy plums, and an almost nice big orange. I was going to have some ice cream as well, but I don't think I did.

  I may as well skip over the evening - it was TV as usual. I went to bed at around 11pm, and I read a few pages from my current book, but I felt like I wanted to sleep, although that is not quite the same as feeling very sleepy. I could easily have forced myself to read for longer, but I thought sleep was the best option. I will admit it took me a while before I fell asleep. Like the night before, I didn't have my diuretic tablet because I had run out until I get my next repeat prescription. In short, I didn't pee as much in the night that I do when I have taken a tablet.

  I can't think of anything to say about the night. I can't recall any dreams, and I can't recall any period of insomnia lasting more than 5 or 10 minutes. It must be why I woke up when it was still pitch dark outside, although with sunrise at 7:12am this morning, that was not hard to do. I felt no urge to get up when I woke up, apart from going for a pee. I tried, and partly succeeded in getting a bit more sleep. I think it was just getting light when I got up - which sounds like a good time to get up.

  I had my usual pee, but while I thought I should have a poo, I found no urge to have one, and as I write this nothing has yet moved. I don't even seem to have any physical need for one, but sooner or later I know I will - the fruit I ate yesterday will take care of that. A poo would have helped a bit, but not much, to reduce my weight. I seem to have gained 500gm since yesterday morning. It is a bit annoying. I think I shall put all the blame on the pork pie !

  My blood glucose is also up this morning, but an average of 7.87mmol/l is still good, and not a great deal different to yesterday's 7.77mmol/l.  I decided to check my blood pressure twice just now. I usually accept the first reading, but today it felt like I was not relaxed enough. on the second reading the systolic pressure went down from 132 to 129. That is only a tiny drop, but somehow feels better. The diastolic pressure was the same at 70, and my heart rate only changed a smidgin to 80bpm - which I now know is about expected from a 71 year old.

  Today there are two things I expect to happen. One is to to go shopping, and I think it will be to Aldi. The other is the usual Thursday afternoon beer tasting session with Jodie and probably Michael, plus Cous Cous, the fluffy cat. Maybe we will be joined by Mark or Alan, but probably not.