Saturday dawned clear and frosty and I did wonder about hanging the laundry from the rigging, but decided I’d wait until later. I dressed up, walked the Ship’s Dog, then decided to head out to the local shops. The lifeboat showed we had -2C here. Chilly! A couple of miles from the Ship, the temperature dropped to -3C. This ‘village’ is lower than ours, but is always a degree or two colder than ours. I don’t get it…

Once I was in town the sun shone, the sky was blue, and I was feeling happy. The sunshine, especially at this time of year, always makes me happy. I filled up the lifeboat and noted with horror that petrol has risen in price, again! I performed a leisurely raid on the food store, swiped my cutlass at a few people loitering in my way, and piled my ill-gotten gains into the lifeboat. I stopped briefly at a cheap German-owned store – Lidl, topped up on fruit, veg, nuts, and dried fruit. I espied a nice-looking joint of British beef, and that also fell into my trolley. They had freshly baked croissants, and they also joined my clutch of groceries. At the till, I managed to fight my way through the hordes – my only complaint about this store, and drove back to the Ship. The sunshine was glorious, and the lifeboat showed a balmy +2C. By the time I drove through the ‘cold’ village, the temperature had again dropped to -2C, and the lifeboat was beset by fog. Darn it!

I put all the groceries away – a good haul, and put the kettle on. Like children everywhere (even grown up ones!), the Deckhand descended on the fridge to see what ‘goodies’ I’d bought. He devoured a couple of croissants, checked where I’d hidden the ‘goodies’ and then disappeared back upstairs to continue his slaughtering and maiming – online roll playing game. They call them MMORPG – Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games.

By this time, the sun had mercifully beaten the fog, and I gingerly climbed the rigging to hang out laundry. I managed to get both sets of bedding dry, and some other laundry too. The frost barely cleared all day, especially from the roofs, but in our sun trap, it wasn’t too bad. I did the ironing later, watched some TV, made a mushroom quiche with new potatoes and salad for dinner, washed up, tidied up a little, more TV with a glass of wine, then fell into bed at 9.30 totally exhausted. A good day!

This morning (Sunday) the frost is still on the lifeboat, and roofs, and now we have a little rain. Man, I’m glad I don’t have to go out today. If the temperature drops just a little, we’ll have ice patches. The Ship’s Dog is shedding lots despite the cold, so later Henry (vacuum cleaner) will do the rounds. Just a shame I have to lead him and push him lol. Now, I get sick of Tech, but a robotic Henry would definitely be on my wish list! Mind you, so would a robotic machine that dusts; my least favourite household chore. Maybe I just need a maid… Do they come in male form? LOL

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.