Fortyfourth week of the pandemic

This last week finally winter arrived. The temperatures started really dropping, the sun came out and the birdies were at least partially back on the feeders. Unfortunately, while quite a lot of the country had lots of snow, not a snifter of the white stuff got this far. Having written that, Roy tells me that there was a sprinkling of it this morning, but looking through the window it is hardly visible.

View up the hills to Virágos

As I have decided to take some exercise, even when I don't feel like it, the good weather enabled us to move outside occasionally. Before that I did at least 20 full length of the house, which adds up to about 400 metres. Not much, but more than nothing.

View from the top of the back garden

Then we needed to split some logs again, the downside of the drop in temperature is that we use the logs much faster. I was only doing my exercise and assisting in a small way, this time only Roy did the splitting. I usually help by taking the logs individually from him, over the railing in the corridor and stacking them along it.

Roy and the splitter in action

Lately, I have been doing the odd bit of binge watching on Netflix, and this week it was the turn of a BBC 6-parter from 2018, the Bodyguard. I have always loved Richard Madden and he didn't disappoint. The storyline was pretty involved, but it did make some sense at the end. Keely Hawes played the hawkish, while progressive - so called - Home Secretary excellently. So, all in all, it was a good 6 hours spent indoors, where I am beginning to show signs of stir craziness.

Richard Madden

The reason why I didn't do any log splitting this time, was that I was quite ill after the last effort. Admittedly, it is never known for sure why my blood pressure does its tricks, but it could have been extreme physical exercise. The drop in temperature during the cold front, might have been another culprit, but I promised my good friend Linda to take it easy, hence no log splitting and binge watching instead.

Roy and the wheelbarrow full of logs

I also managed to finally catch up with my cardiologist and he prescribed something, which the village social worker got for me from the pharmacy straight away and I have been taking it for 2 days now. I seem to be better, although I am not entirely sure that that is due to those pills. I have noticed that immediately after talking to the doctor, I started feeling better. I am and have been an expert of instantly improving when the doctor or medicines are coming. I have to ring him on Thursday and then we will know how to proceed.

Proposed route of hike

I would like to get definitely better by Saturday, as I am supposed to be going on a hike with some new friends I met on FB. There is a group there, who celebrate the beauty of the countryside I am living in and proposed a get together sometime in the winter. I suggested a walk from Erdőkürt to the Rose-well, en route to which there is a geocache I haven't yet got. They agreed, but previous dates have been cancelled, first somebody catching a cold, then having a broken down car, so this Saturday is finally the date for the hike. I hope I will feel up to it.

Sorting by size on the table

And then finally, today has been an interesting day so far. I may have mentioned before that I am planning to send all, but a few copies, of my politics and phylosophy books to Alex in Canada. Having managed to get hold of FedEx for info last week, I started taking the books off the shelves and storing them on the floor in one corner. I mentioned the need to think of packing materials to Roy, but he didn't seem interested. I thought I would leave it until he shows some interest and lo and behold, he did this morning.

More and more books are getting sorted

 

I dropped everything I was planning to do, as one doesn't know how long it would be before he feels like it again. First we did a size sort on the table. Roy is really good at this. Then we put the big box that the lawn mower came in on the floor and started to fill it with books. It is more difficult than you think. No such thing as a standard book size. Still, it is looking like it will get done today, and then we will have to think of buying some brown paper and parcel tape.

All books in, now box needs to be cut down

 

Currently I am sitting down as I started getting very giddy. I suspect these pills have now pushed my blood pressure too far down, as weekness and giddiness is definitely sign of low blood pressure.  Still, I am really happy the books, hopefully, should be enroute to Canada soon.

Now comes the padding