Extended absence

Good grief; the whole month of February seems to have passed me by!

It's truly a wonder how time slips away in this life I lead - there are always so many different things needing my attention and the days pass in a flash.

This time around, the weather is much to blame for my lengthy absence from the outside world. There we were in early February, congratulating ourselves on nearing the end of what had been an exceptionally mild winter, when BAM! in came the snow and the ice and the lowest temperatures since the Ice Age. It was quite a shock, I can tell you. The snow was only average, to be fair, but the extreme temperatures plus a daily bit of afternoon sun meant that it melted and re-froze  for days into a very dangerous road surface.

Once we had got past the let's-build-a-snowman stage, it all became a bit tedious. Many of my clients whose houses are empty were naturally concerned about possible plumbing problems, and were ringing to ask my help. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do much: the roads were too dicey to get to many of these houses, and in any case there is not much one can do while the freeze is still on, since leaks won't normally become evident until the thaw.

This all lasted for only a couple of weeks, which as winters go is pretty reasonable really, but still it was quite hard going. A poor friend of mine, who is living in a caravan while he carries out renovations, recorded a temperature of -23°c one night. Chilly!!! Thankfully, though, it passed over soon enough and one day we awoke to a proper Spring morning, with sun and birdsong to cheer us all. A couple of days later, we had 18°c on our patio in the afternoon, and it has been pretty balmy ever since, with some really warm days and Spring galloping on apace.

Then I was struck low with an odd form of laryngitis which seemed resistant to all treatment; I kept thinking it was gone but then finding it back again with a vengeance. During this, I was barely functioning at the most essential level, let alone having the energy for blogging.

So, all in all, I have been very lax, for which I apologise. But I am back now and ensuring things are brought up to date.