Yesterday was lunch with my friends. Although it was a dry day it was one of the coldest of this winter here because of a sharp easterly wind. We were all frozen by the time we reached our friend's apartment as we had to walk by the river with the east wind full in our faces. It was a good lunch of salmon and new potatoes, our friend had done us well and I would say gone way over the top in fact. Knowing the cost of salmon steaks it was far more than she needed to have done for us. I don't wish to sound ungrateful but it was more than I was expecting and I didn't need that much food, plus two bottles of Prosecco shared between 6. I felt exhausted from it all by the time I got home. Chatting, cold weather and food and drink in the middle of the day made me extremely tired. I went to bed at 8.30 and slept through until 6. I was too tired to even read.
My oil delivery has just arrived and I am very relieved. I had started using the oil that was left again on the basis that it just HAD to arrive any day and so be it. I tipped him generously. He said they were way behind with deliveries and I just said how grateful I was to see him and I understood. I did not want to get into aggressive arguments or be unpleasant because of delays but I have never waited more than 3 days before. However, my oil has arrived and I am away again. Life without the heating seemed to put quite a few things on hold, at least mentally. I also feel unable to pay anything out until I have paid for the oil. Mad really, all psychological. I can now do some washing which has been piling up for the past fortnight. I would not put the washing on without the back-up of radiators if the outside drying didn't do its job properly and in the rain that we have had I would never have got anything anywhere near dry anyway. My electricity bill for January/February was £230. Let's get poor together under Labour.
Even Labour's own back-benchers are saying what a liar Starmer is. Great McDonnell tweets, who would have thought I would ever agree with McDonnell. Mind you, McDonnell has ulterior motives in doing this, he wants to get Starmer out so that the far left can move in. I had better be careful in agreeing with McDonnell. He, the bus driver's son from Great Yarmouth. He, who has Rupert Lowe in his home town. I wonder what he thinks about that. Spitting nails I would think.
I am going to take it easy today, get a bit of shopping in and relax. The east wind is still biting - I stood with the tanker driver for a few minutes in hat and coat, frozen.
Later
As I had the oil delivery this morning and I stayed in for the afternoon I have treated myself to having the central heating on for the entire afternoon. I popped out for some essential supplies and ended up forgetting most of them but did get into the butchers for some pork sausages, the bakers for rolls and the newsagent for papers and the supermarket for cat food, most of which they are turning their noses up to which is annoying. I am still recovering from yesterday, no idea why I was so worn out after my meet up with friends but there you are, old age is an unpredictable thing. One day you're fine and full of energy, the next you feel old and had it. I hope I am back to normal tomorrow. Tonight I have the ladies figure skating finals to look forward to. Next week the schools will be back and I can go to the cinema again. My routine will be back. I hate half term weeks.
Oh, I can imagine how cold you must have been in the recent temperatures with no heating. Although we never had heating at home as a child, I have become accustomed to it now in my advancing years and am not sure how I would cope without it.
ReplyDeleteI had the woodburner so sat close to that in the evenings and didn't suffer although the rest of the house was cold to pass through. I put an oil-filled electric heater on in the bedroom before bed but turned it off overnight. It was like waking up in the mornings as a child at home! I decided it did me good!
DeleteThank goodness you got the oil and can keep warm. It makes such a difference too when all the rooms have warmed a little. Feeling cold is miserable.
ReplyDeleteThat tired feeling is odd the way it comes and goes. I have been walking faster and further the last few days without tiring. I keep on thinking why this should be. Change in diet, weather? Just one of those things.
Life has returned to normal now the oil delivery has come; everything was sort of on hold. I seem to never be two days alike with energy, it comes and goes. Sleep is an important factor of course.
DeleteAh. Good. You are back. Because of my absence I'd not seen the new incarnation.
ReplyDeleteHi Graham. Yes, and you have visited once before but I expect with so much going on in your life you have forgotten. Perhaps you would like to follow me again.
DeleteI can completely relate to you being exhausted after the meeting with your friends. The older I get, the more I experience such tiredness after a social gathering. Much as I love my friends and family, listening to everybody talking at once (my Mum and sister have a tendency for that) while trying to get a word in myself, making sure everything runs smoothly and help when and where necessary, eating different and possibly more than usual as well as drinking alcohol during the day - it's enough to knock me out! Different when I'm the host (a role I love); I'm in charge then and can leave the main "event" at intervals to take care of things in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteGood to know you have it warm again now! Do you still keep the curtain hanging?
Cats turning their nose up at the food... that so reminds me of some of ours! We had cats that would eat anything and everything while others were very particular about their food. And their tastes seemed to change, too, so that a one-time favourite food all of a sudden was ignored. Or maybe the producers changed the recipe; who knows.
I am reassured to know that I am not the only one to feel so exhausted after meeting friends. I think the fairly large meal (for me at least) in the middle of the day also had something to do with it as it was completely out of step with my normal eating habits.
DeleteThe curtain will remain as the cold draft still comes down the staircase.
Cats change their likes and dislikes on a daily basis. What is favourite food one day is turned away from the next. I often have conversations like this in the cat food aisle in the supermarket. It seems that all cats do this to the annoyance of their owners.