Thermals, here we come!

JUST TO SAY THAT I AM FIDDLING ABOUT WITH THE BLOG DESIGN, SO SORRY IF IT LOOKS MESSY AT THE MOMENT

OOooooo, and here I am, sitting at my pc, and for the first time this end of year I feel chilly, which isn't too bad seeing as how it is nearly the end of October, so I can't complain. AND we have decided to get someone in to help get the kitchen moving because work on that has ground to a halt what with Lester having to keep on getting those gates done so the piglets can get out onto the future veg patch paddocks so they can grow happily, forage and dig, and prep the soil for next year's veggie growing. That's the plan. 

However....., winter is a-coming, and I am not going to go into a moan and groan about not having any heating in the house, apart from the heater in the bathroom and the small heater we keep by the computers for when we are frozen to the bone, which is not often because we have just had two mild winters, so most times we just feel jolly chilly. 

However....., and I say this with some pride, we have managed six winters so far without central heating, and would not have central heating if you paid us a million bucks. Nope! Not at all. I no longer suffer from chronic sinus problems nor ongoing chest problems which last for most of the winter, nor is my skin dried up to a frazzle. Dry and unhealthy air, that is the prob with central heating. Fresh air is what we live in now, and are glad of. Well, sort of 'fresh air'. Even down here near the Pyrenees we still get chem trails in the sky above. 

But let's not go into that. Let us rejoice that a nice man is going to come here in a few weeks time and get the tiles laid on the kitchen floor, and also is hopefully going to help Lester get the Rayburn cooker in. Yes, that same Rayburn cooker which has now been standing in the hallway for a year now. Not to worry, we have been doing other things, and if we don't manage to get the Rayburn in for all of this winter we might get it in for a some of it. If not, then definitely for next winter. I can always climb into bed and switch the electric blanket on for quick warm up if things get too frosty.

And another thing. My legs. I am quite a busy person, not as busy as I would like, but I do like to do lots of things. Trouble is, that after a lot of years working sitting down, my blood is starting to find it hard to get back up my legs, so thread veins are starting to appear, and a couple of purple patches are being hinted at. Now I am not being a vain person. I don't mind that I am getting older. I like how I am now I am of this age. (67) I am kinder, more compassionate, more loving, more wise, and much better in myself than when I was younger. 

However....., and this is the thing, I still maintain my spiritedness towards everything to do with life, but my body is starting to not like this spiritedness quite so much. So, good old Amazon, because I have purchased an exercise bike. I reckon that ten minutes a day should sort out my legs, and give my heart a bit of a work out as well. I have, of late, been having palpitations, but only when I am sitting down and not when I am up and about being active, which suggests that the heart is sound but that activity of not the right sort is mucking up my heart rate. 

Now you could say that farm life should keep me physically active, and it does, but for the winter months I shall be spending a lot of time writing, which means sitting at the computer, which means the legs are going to suffer. This will not do. I cannot have those legs of mine getting any worse than what they are. Therefore on the bike they are going. I hope they enjoy the experience, because next spring I hope to send them off on the ladies racing bike that I brought here to France with me, which is currently sitting snugly beneath a pile of DIY hay in the Middle Barn.  

*****

And here is the parcel that Amazon delivered yesterday.....my new Casio keyboard, which is a replacement of my old Casio which has developed a tendency to cut out at most inopportune times, as in the middle of playing a hymn for a local monthly church service. I might have mentioned this before, and sorry if I have, but the next time I play will be at the Remembrance Day service in November. It would not do to have had the keyboard cut out in the middle of playing the Last Post or the Reveille. So, needs must, and a new keyboard it had to be. 

I like the Casio because it is touch sensitive and has a piano length keyboard, but is also a very good synthesizer. It is unlikely that I shall ever return to playing a 'normal' piano because there is too much fun to be had on this type of keyboard. 

Band practice this afternoon. Looking forward to it. Still wobbly with playing the piano accordion, although slowly improving, as are my arm muscles. I can now lift the accordion more easily, and can manage a fuller extension of the bellows more frequently without running out of  arm strength. Lester wants me to play the accordion in the band. Ummmm........ well that's alright for the slower pieces, but not when he gallops of into playing jigs and reels. Not to worry. I shall keep practising. 

*****

But the sun is still shining with some warmth, 

so as I close off this blog,

I leave you with this photo taken yesterday.

Bye for now,

Vx