Winter blues

When we went away a few weeks ago, I had the idea that we could switch off our little black fridge to save money on electricity. We have two fridges, the white one is in the utility, the black fridge is in the kitchen. This black one is kept under the sink and is very small, just big enough to hold milk and vegetable spread tubs. I transferred its contents to the white fridge. But the plan went wrong after we arrived home because I forgot to switch the black fridge back on until now. We were using it as normal but without refrigeration. It is a good job it is winter.

And because it is winter, we have had our ‘woodpecker window’ replaced in the bathroom, at last. This is the one that the woodpecker has been gradually destroying in the hope of finding grubs buried in the wooden frame. There have been many delays to this replacement. At first it was the supply chain, then it was the sub-zero temperatures and then the fitter got COVID. But on the first possible day of work in the new year – here he was with his ladder up to our bathroom window. You cannot relax when there is a workman in your house can you? All the time I was wondering what he was doing and, unable to stop myself, I peeped through the window in the next room to squint at his progress. He did it perfectly, of course, without my help.

I do not know why I have not thought of this before, but I have come to the idea that blinds at the windows will help keep the heat in as well as curtains (and good frames). So, we have a new bathroom window and we now have a new bathroom blind behind the curtains. I have done this in other rooms too and the ‘blind’ man says that he has never been so busy (so I am not the only one to be thinking like this).

Mr T and I are still doing our own photographic competitions which we started in lockdown. We choose a subject and the photos must be taken with our mobiles. This week we are using the title ‘winter colour’ and apart from dull green and left-over orange there is not much variety. But the daffodil leaves are about an inch above the ground, I took a good photo with the rising sunlight on them. The snowdrops are flowering, but does white count as a colour? My best idea so far is the robin’s red breast – they are pairing up for breeding so I could be lucky. 

(Taken from my column in the Shropshire Star)