Thursday 29th February

So now I'm supposed to rush out and find someone to ask to marry me.....my last chance for the next five years.  Naaahhh...give it a miss....like I did every other leap year.  Five thirty start, had another attempt at getting back to sleep but didn't manage it and it's been a full-on eversince.  It started off with cornflakes with fruit and chocolate somethings with milk for breakfast.  I bought a couple of bags yesterday and thought it would make a change and it did but not sure how long the novelty will last.  Bacon sandwiches are rather special especially with brown HP sauce.

I'm not sure what was the motivator for today but I've got loads done. Washing went in at ten, bonfire not long after and I even cleared out the rubbish from the wood-store and burnt an old hose pipe so came in hoping that the blame for the smelly hillside didn't land on my doorstep.  I made a pork curry and it went into the slow cooker so supper was on its way.  Once the bonfire had subsided I went out again, it was such a lovely morning that I had to find something to do so I wheeled out the old lawn-mower and decided to check it over.  I'd been looking at new ones yesterday and was tempted and it really did depend on how the old one performed.  I emptied out the old petrol and checked the oil and all was good.  I pressed the impeller a few times to get the fuel through, gave the starter a pull to see if it would fire and it was more like a damp squib.  It suddenly occurred to me that the air filter really should be cleaned so I took the cover off, removed the sponge filter and it was pretty grubby inside.  The filter went into a liquid that they use here for removing grease and oil and low and behold, it was as good as new.  I cleaned up the outlet and the cover removing the grease, put everything back together again and fired it up and it burst into life.  My neighbour in the garden next to me popped his head over the wall and shouted 'bravo', I'd told him what I was doing and proved that I could do it.  Next challenge was the Pajero.  I removed its winter jacket and it's away for next year, got the keys and tried to fire that up and the battery was a flat as the proverbial.  I installed the battery changer, left it for half an hour or so, turned it over and it gave a cough and that was about it.  I switched the contacts to the little battery and left that for a while, tried it again and we had lift off.  left it running and will take it for some exercise when I go down to the spring to fill up some bottles for the little house plant depot.  

It was now time for a few sessions of the Blacklist while I had coffee and a packet of biscuits as a filler until supper time.  I went out again and cleared up some of the dead plants from last year, moved some daffodil bulbs into a hollow log to look pretty on the terrace, tidied up outside, swept the leaves from under where the jeep had overwintered and moved it back into the garage.  Everything locked away and at four thirty I decided that it was time to cook the rice.  I'd found some small packets that you boiled in the bag, thought there wasn't very much in them so put two into the pan on top of the cooker and how wrong can you be.  There was too much from one packet so the second is in the fridge and I'll do something with it tomorrow.  The meat has all gone, only the sauce and the rice remain and the cat will have first pickings tomorrow!!

The washing up can wait, I've had a full on day and really enjoyed it and achieved quite a lot.  It's Baba Marta day tomorrow so will probably be round the village with wrist bands for my ladies, it's the tradition.  I should sleep well tonight, I've had lots of fresh air except for when I decided to pollute it, but hey....it's a big hillside.  LN.....If the weather is good it's going to be a gardening day tomorrow.....tidy and clear the beds for the new plants....LN