Ecological washing takes time!

I have just had to buy a new washing machine. Got a John Lewis A++ one instead of the Siemens  A+++ one, as it was slightly smaller and I have a very narrow hall between the stairs and the wall.

A wash is going to take 240 minutes - 4 hours!!!

I used to get up weekday time on a Saturday to get the sheets and the towels done before going kayaking, then after kayaking put in the clothes while I went shopping.

I think I will have to learn how to set the timer for the delayed wash so I wash my clothes overnight and my sheets and towels while I am kayaking.

This means understanding instructions, and modern-day instructions don't seem as simple as instructions used to be (and I don't think this is my age!!!).

Delivery Thursday, so I have to clean the hall, the conservatory and the kitchen ready.

Pied wagtail in the High Road

This morning I was waiting in Leyton High Road outside the shops for a bus up to Walthamstow so I could get some vegetables at the Farmers Market. There was a female pied wagtail fluttering about and then landing and walking up and down the pavement with a jerky movement of her tail.

She seemed very unfazed by the people walking past!

I shall have to start carrying my camera around with me.

I think I am a fillyjonk!

I have been reading Tove Jansson's "Tales from Moomingvalley" and recognise myself in the fillyjonk. Not the fear of disasters (though I am a worrier) but all the possessions!

Tove likes simplicity and no unnecessary possessions, whereas I am a pack rat collecting, amongst other things, china and ornaments.

And I got more today! Walked 4 miles to the National Trust's Sutton House in Homerton High Street, finally getting to see the house and visit the craft fair. I didn't spend anything there but I did pass through Chatsworth Road market.

I got some black and white plates showing commedia characters, which will be a present for a friend who is a clown, so that's OK. I also got a green denby looking salt and pepper set to go with the other green denby items I am collecting. I got a brown earthenware cereal bowl that will go with some dinner plates and side plates in that style. From a charity shop I got a blue and white bowl with a lip where you can put your bread when you are having soup, but that turns out to have a hairline crack, so that will become a pot plant saucer. And lastly a glass paperweight.

All second hand, but somehow I feel that's not the point when one is trying to live a greener, simpler life. It's easier to avoid buying new stuff. I can go away and think about it!

green gadgets have a grudge against me!

I had a plug to plug in my mobile when recharging - nothing happened.

I had a charger that was supposed to use the sun to charge itself, but that doesn't work (but I will try out in the garden next summer just in case that works!)

I've just tried a gadget for recharging batteries. The red lights are supposed to turn green when the batteries are charged. I put the old batteries in and get a red and green flashing light show.

And it is not even technology that doesn't work!

I had some plastic covered magnets to go in the cistern to stop limescale. The water within a few days was disgusting gungy. No limescale in sight, couldn't see the enamel below the water line! I cleaned the lavatory and tried again (several times) but no luck, just disgusting looking water!

I feel got at!

House warmth

Out collecting logs from the woodpile this morning in a very heavy frost. Pond frozen but not frozen over. Noticed ice on the water in the watering can 6 ft (2 metres) from the house, but the water in the watering can only 2 ft (66cm) had only just begun to freeze.

Shows how much heat coming from the house, even beside the unheated conservatory. I already have the small pots of plants near the house, and this morning I dragged the bay tree a little nearer.

Today the first evening I have had the central heating on, though probably should have put it on on Thursday evening as I had to shut the door into the hall for the stove to keep the dining room and sitting room warm enough.

With the stove on, the central heating on, and lots of fleecy layers, I am lovely and warm. I am thankful for this when I read of the problems people are having keeping warm in Greece.