Cracked it !! My cold swimming continues but there was one drawback, Brain Freeze, the intense though short lived pain across the forehead caused by the temp of the water (8C today).
I had an all over head and neck rubber hat for a long time but didnāt use it because it was too difficult to get on and off. Resurrected it the other day by cutting the bottom bit off and using it has a headband. Helped a bit but not the answer, so then donned the now shortened remnant and that cut the pain out, so it must be the head that needs protecting. But then I couldnāt get a good seal with the goggles and I do need to see where I am going because of the rocky shapes of the sides and the floating rope ladder by which I abseil in.
Final throw off the dice today, I cut it again, drastically, from the top of the face opening so that it sits tight on top of my ears but leaves a space for the goggles to seal.
I bought a ceramic kiln that fires clay using electric heat (as opposed to gas kilns or wood-burning kilns). It took a lot of doing to lug it in the car, and then lift it carefully out and onto a big concrete plinth we made, in the corner of our stone barn.
Then I had to translate the instruction manual, and anywayā¦ Long story short:
My husband got the ceramic kiln to work!!!
It fired perfectly today.
He had to resolve an obscure problem to do with the wiring and a safety mechanism which was stopping it from turning onā¦
It didnāt blow any fuses or do anything but work perfectly. Phew. Yay!!!
If youāre a fan of Nigella Lawson her recipe book Cook Eat Repeat is available for Ā£0.99p today on Kindle. Kindle books can also be bought directly on Amazon as a gift sent to someone else.
Where we livedā¦ from our garden we could look right over the top of the city of Exeter, and across to the Dartmoor hillsā¦ magical in winter when they were covered in Snowā¦
We would often have picnics on Dartmoor when visiting friends who had a farm thereā¦ wonderful childhood years.
I went to uni in Exeter and have fond, if a bit blurred, memories of Devon. Playing in the local hockey league and visiting pubs. I recall a pub at a train stationā¦
Finally got the diagnostic docs for our house. Nothing seriously wrong apparently, some lead paint on doors, some asbestos drainpipes, some slightly iffy electrics, but no flashing red warning beacons. Just need to go through in detail now.
My border collie pupās breeder now has a team of 3 qualified for Cruftsā¦.his mother one of his brothers and now one of his sisters and also their 11 year old handler got a first for junior handlingā¦.all will be at Crufts next yearā¦.
