15 February 2025 (Saturday)

Not a great night's sleep… not quite sure why I’m sleeping so poorly of late.  I also feel very mildly sick.

It’s Sunday Chat day so after some breakfast and editing yesterday's segment of A Week at the Plot it’s down to recording… 

After filming and before lunch, as Richard's editing the second part of his weekly vlogs, I start defrosting the freezer in the kitchen. It's an undercounter freezer, and I don't think I've defrosted it for about a year. I switch it off at the plug and empty it, putting all of the contents into our butler's sink, covering the load in several clean bath towels. Whilst I'm doing the process of defrosting the freezer, the sink and the bath towels will keep everything frozen, or at least I hope so. 

I use baking trays of well-before-boiling water, which I slide on to cardboard laid down on the shelves of the freezer, protecting the chiller elements that seem tough though I think can be quite fragile.  Shutting the door I allow the steam to begin its work.

It takes several hours and maybe four sets of two baking trays of hottish water to get the freezer fully defrosted.  After a quick wash with bicarb and vinegar, and a thorough dry of the inside, including the door and the seal, I turned the freezer back on and its red light tells me that it's starting to chill down.  About an hour later, everything from the butler sink’s back in the freezer.  From experience, I know the flashing of the red light will continue for a good four hours or so, though by the time we’d be going to bed it should have stopped flashing and we’d have a single solid green light again.

By mid-afternoon I’m feeling quite unwell.  I’m no longer feeling as if I’ll be sick like I did this morning, but I don't want to do much, so I sit on the sofa reading The Sea Detective, which I finish; wrapping myself up in a fleece blanket or two to try and keep warm. 

After Richard's uploaded Sunday Chat, he comes down and asks what we're having for supper.  I say I'm not having anything, though there's obviously baked beans that he could have with a jacket potato. He makes me a cup of hot miso which goes down well, and himself some crackers with peanut butter.

I start doing that thing of falling in and out of sleep on the sofa, and then by 8:30 I make my way to bed.  Hopefully, this is just a 24 hour thing and tomorrow I'll feel much better.

Weather:  After yesterday's welcome respite of sunny weather, we’re back to blank grey sky, and around 5°.

Breakfast:  Crumpets with Flora Pro-Activ and yeast extract
Lunch:  Remainder of yesterday's soup with softened red lentils and a tin of Lidl Lentil Soup, Mini Baguette with Quorn Vegan Ham and Dijon.
Supper:  Nowt… feeling too unwell.