Monday, warm, dry, puffy clouds, slider

Despite dragging fatigue, side effects of the allergies and the allergy remedies, I managed to change the bed and do the laundry, now all away.  

I wasn't up to anything much physically, other than falling asleep whenever I sat down, so I wrote the day off for walking and exercising.

The deck was lovely, all kinds of birds and insects and this accidental art which looks like an impressionist setup, the dappled shade and the multiple patterns 

Then while I was reading Trollope and resting my eyes, Michael the artist -contractor came over with the renovated base cabinet and the slider he built.

Tomorrow he'll install it, and I can stop working out of a crate of baking gear. It's beautifully finished, refurbished drawer now sliding in and out smoothly, I'm just very happy with it. What an improvement on the old cabinet. 

That geared me up to making a plum crumble using all the rest of the plums. The crumble is oatmeal, some of which I ground to flour, some I left as is.  Drizzle of molasses over the top. Usual nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, salt in the crumble. In the fruit there's cornstarch to thicken it, lemon zest, cinnamon, no sugar, I like it tart. 

And here's the cook's first taste. With Greek  yogurt and a sprinkle of sugar. 

He also brought a new set of locks, plain brass finish with keys. No codes and videos and Benny Hill music.  He'll install them Tuesday.

Foyle is now working for MI5 and still trying to retire to Hastings to go fishing. Some wartime colleagues show up in new secret jobs, and if they didn't shoot so many scenes in near darkness I'd manage to follow it better. 

Most of the secret men are in raincoats and hats, I have no hope of knowing who's who. But it's still good watching, including the terrible cardigans women were wearing, and austerity shoes. Women in their twenties looked about fifty in those big felt hats, designed to repel boarders.  

This was before the New Look came in, when skirts became long, bodices were fitted, and women looked pretty good if they could save the coupons to get a new outfit, big if at that time, clothes rationed for years.

The puzzle is still in the box. Maybe Tuesday.

Happy day everyone, don't worry if the puzzle's still in the box. To every puzzle there is a season or something.