I'm still officially convalescing but I feel a bit of a fraud, as I am actually healing very well and I feel very well. I'm very limited in what I am allowed to do around the house: I'm not allowed to lift things, or go up ladders, or do anything that really classes as "work". However, I am being obedient and not risking anything, probably until Christmas. The only thing that I don't like to do too much is bending down, as that puts pressure on the wound across my abdomen; this doesn't hurt at all but it just feels like a bad idea!
I went outside the back of the house today for the first time in ages, where it really is cold and damp. I was surprised to see that my new grey limestone slabs all have a green tinge. I presume that this discoloration will last until next Spring, when I would hope that the slabs will dry out as the temperature rises and, like the walls of the house, the green will just disappear. There is no way that I want to take a pressure hose to these slabs every year!
The conditions outside were a forceful reminder about the way to treat an old building; we are dry and quite warm inside, and this was achieved by using no cement, no damp proof course and no modern plaster in the restoration of the house (although of course the extension was built entirely in the modern way). I've only lit the front room fire once, and the woodburner not at all, as I am still waiting for it to turn cold! After all, I don't want to waste firewood. The secondary glazing helps enormously, and keeping draughts down by closing internal doors helps as well although of course the paradox is that good ventilation is essential. The first rule is that if you are not wearing a jumper then you can't complain about the cold inside the house, and the second rule is that if you turn the thermostat up then you can't complain about the size of the gas bill!
