Thursday 11th February 2021 Day 324
5.30 I left the heating on low last night and judging by how cold my bedroom feels, it was probably just as well. I am in half a mind to get up now but the other half of my mind wins and I stay put listening to the radio and catching up on emails.
7.30 Looking out of the bathroom window I see a skiff of snow across the top of the pond which must mean it has iced over and because the pond pump isn’t working, I had better go and see if I can knock a few holes through, failing that, it will be a kettle of boiling water.
The kettle is brand new because the old kettle decided to start making weird electrical noises and then gave up the ghost altogether. I wouldn’t have minded other than the fact, as so often happens, the kettle was just one of a spate of things going wrong just lately. The hoover stopped working, the pond pump, as I have said stopped. The tumble dryer works only spasmodically and when it does it doesn’t switch itself off, resulting the other day in my sheets being so dry because I forgot to go and switch off, that they were almost crisp. And the heating is still trying to decide whether to be difficult, I have to keep pressing the ignition switch to get it going. Then bizarrely this morning, the battery on my bedroom clock and the batteries in my radio, went flat within minutes of each other, I’m just glad that I don’t run on electricity or batteries. At least, I don’t think I do!
I have an appointment for my anti Covid jab next week. I made the appointment myself and will be going to the Ticehurst village hall about eleven miles away. Having got all geared up for it on Monday night for an 8.00 am appointment on Tuesday with a spade in the boot in case I had to dig my way out of a snow drift, I then realised while setting my alarm clock that I was a week early, it is next week, that could have been embarrassing.
11.30 I am debating whether to give the walk a miss today as it is so very cold and I keep looking out of the window hoping that I might persuade myself that I really don’t have to go just for one day. I then turn back from the window and meet Audrey’s gaze; old football at her feet, looking at me very plaintively, as if she has heard everything I was thinking. How could I not go now? On go the layers, the extra socks, the scarf and the hat and we stumble off for another freezing walk.
Just to add to the jollity when we get back, the water has frozen in the hose pipe, so I can’t hose the mud off her, so I have to get a large bucket of warm water and sponge her down which takes twice as long but the warm water seems to be appreciated, can’t blame her really.