It’s truly amazing how much work I can get done when there are no phones ringing with support calls, no salesmen punching speakerphone (for reasons I cannot fathom), no people asking me to look at this or that or the other. Went in to work on Saturday, sat down and in 6 hours, cranked out the foundation of one of the bespoke projects we have on the go right now – server OS, application software, configuration and custom web interface. Had I tried to do the same work during this week coming, it’d have taken all week.

Dad dropped by today on his way up to Leeds – I had repaired part of his lamp with some epoxy during the week. He remarked that I seem happy in the kitchen, and I’m not surprised. I love the new kitchen, and I love cooking. As with most people I dislike the washing up, but there’s got to be some downside to cooking I suppose. Lunch was a nice slab of roast beef, perfectly pink in the center, fresh picked peas from my garden, sliced carrots, yorkshire puddings and gravy – traditional English roast lunch. Next on the list of things to cook will be a stir fry tomorrow night – noodles, bean sprouts, carrot, fresh peas, pork, satay sauce. Then perhaps a treacle tart…

Went to B&Q to find a plate for mounting and sealing the bathroom vent, but had no luck, so Mum will check around for me. Ended up buying a set of 10 solar powered lights though, so they’re now installed in the garden. Should see in about 15 or 20 minutes how well they light up. Also spent yesterday afternoon dozing in my garden – pleasantly warm afternoon, warm breeze, birds and bees bouncing around. Nice and pleasant way to relax. Then shot about 80 photos of birds in the garden that evening – I need to offload that card and see if there are any good ones.