Monday, July 11

The day started at 8:15 when Sunshine demanded to leave the building. It was cloudy but dry, so out he went and up I got. I had breakfast and sat and read while I decided what I should do today. I looked at The Guardian and then finished Westmorland Alone. I am not sure whether or not it constituted a detective novel but it was certainly enjoyable reading. It felt like reading Schott’s Miscellany with added plot.

I had sat outside to finish the book and by the time I had I decided that it was going to be okay to carry on with the painting. Irma sent me a WhatsApp message asking what was up so I phoned her because talking is better than typing. Not a lot was up at either end so it was not a long conversation. However, while we were talking the sun came out.

The painting has got ridiculous. The ladder is very long and the broken stepladder is very short. The ground is very uneven, with big holes in it that are going to be filled with gravel. I spent five hours practising The Advanced Acrobatics of Outdoor Painting while listening to selections from the works of Bruce Cockburn. At 17:30 the sky started raining and I started stopping.

I went inside and heated up the pasta that Irma had left for me while the rain turned from drizzle to a downpour that would last the rest of the evening. Fortunately Sunshine arrived home just before the rain got serious, otherwise he would have sheltered somewhere until it stopped.

Sunshine was asleep. I was in the sauna house trying to make use of my time by working on my ebook. The rain was trying to see how heavy a downpour can get and consequently the internet connection stopped working. I was thinking of giving up, washing and going to bed. I washed and walked to the main house.

Once I am undressed the rain stops as suddenly as it started. I cannot be bothered to get dressed again. Instead I take a picture out of the kitchen window. It is ten o’clock at night but it looks like late afternoon. It will get dark sometime after midnight.