Today I’ve been tired . Mainly due to spending half the night dreaming that I was a soldier and was digging out a cellar to make it into a bomb shelter. I was also trying to organise one of these big tunnel digger machines to dig a tunnel so that food and supplies could be brought into the city which was under siege.

Then I woke up about 3am still wondering how  quickly the tunnel digger could reach the city.

I was glad when it was finally 6am.

Today the temperature  inside was 16C . As usual I cleaned out the stove and made sure it had enough pellets in it and then forgot to light it.  That’s the 3d time I’ve done that. I then think ” It’s awful cold in here?” and realise it’s not lit.

As I wasn’t feeling at all like painting I went out to buy more wood to make my next big canvas.

Now I’m  organised  to start my next commission.

I made an effort to begin the next portrait , but decided after an hour to leave it until tomorrow.

It was easier to work on the new local scene.

Meanwhile my electric bill arrived online and was a bit of a shock. It used to be about €50 for 2 months, went up to €77 and this time it’s €111. I know it’s not much compared to UK prices, but I haven’t used any more than normal.

I checked out if pellet stoves used much electricity and apparently they are the same as a big TV. I’ve decided to only use my Christmas lights at weekends , but apart from that I’m already about as careful as I can be. If I wasn’t afraid of sleeping in the dark I could always turn that light off I suppose.. ..or not.

It could be a lot worse.

Perhaps tonight I could dream of a system whereby I could bottle the excess heat from the summer. I already think of the summer sun as free heating .

I tried out my curling tongs again today and with a bit of practice I think I could have bouncier hair.

I hope the price of wine doesn’t go up too much. That would be sad!!

Cheers 🍷🍷