Not a cold day, not warm. Not a cloudy day, not sunny. Not a wet day, not dry. Not really a day.
Woke up reassuringly late, but realised I had to get to the shops before the dreaded Monday curfew of 12.30. So I made my way down to town and bought some essentials from Casino. I wanted to buy some vegetables, but being a sort of village corner shop the vegetables there aren’t particularly good – certainly not organic – and most seem well past their sell-by date.
I wanted to buy some internet as well – in particular to send/receive email goodies – but the internet shop man goes to sleep on Sunday and Monday as well so it will have to wait ‘til tomorrow. I wonder if he’ll have any organic internet tomorrow?
At home the job of the day was fixing the barn door. The door is supported by a 2×2 inch frame that has rotted at the base and will fall off it’s hinge at any minute. So it was a job that needed doing, although it’s one of those jobs that won’t make a huge impact on the house generally.
So I spent most of the day cutting off the old support and splicing-in a new one. It might sound simple but I decided to do a proper job of it rather than bodging it (gasp!), and as usual I ended-up using every tool in my toolbox. Of course that’s an exaggeration, but the thought did intrigue me as to just how many tools I did use to do such a job. Being anal about these things I counted the tools as I packed-up and I counted 27 separate ones. But I was very proud of doing a good job. I had to learn a few new skills on the way (e.g I’ve never spliced wood before, or used the angle-grinder to cut metal), and I now feel satisfied at a job well done. At least now the door swings freely back and forth without risk of collapsing.
I celebrated my fine work by grouting the tiles around the sink. Well I was out of champagne.
Today’s animal news: Now the bats have moved to the lower barn, it appears that a couple of swifts (or swallows, or housemartins – I can’t tell the difference) have moved in to the main barn. They built a nest in there because the door’s been left open for so long. It’s a bit silly of them because I do close the door from time to time and they won’t be able to get in and out all the time. I suppose I could leave the door open for them for a few weeks – just long enough for them to raise a family – but it could be a bit inconvenient.
Wildlife eh!
