What next?

It’s one of those days.

I should have realised it when I tried to weigh myself. I got on the scales. My weight had gone up. Our scales have a habit of putting on 2.2lbs if they are disturbed & I had rattled it when I’d got on. Sure enough it said 2.2lbs not zero.The solution is to press the button on the back going through measurements in pounds, stones & kilos. It usually goes to zero in the process. I went through the various measurements but still I could not get to zero. In the end I gave it a bit of a bash, tried again &, lo and behold, zero appeared. I still remained at the higher weight. I abandoned the effort, accepted with an ill grace that I suppose I had eaten & drunk more than usual yesterday so maybe that’s why the weight was up.

Having finished my ablutions, I then decided to go off to the laundry room accessed only from outside. The freezer’s there & we’re having a meal today that needs thorough defrosting before cooking for a while this evening.

Our back door is a barn door which splits horizontally. There was no problem unlocking the upper door. The lower door was different matter. Could I turn the indoor control? No way. I tried stretching over & putting the key in the lock on the outside. It wouldn’t turn. What is more I couldn’t take the key out of the door.

I ended up going out of the front door & going round to the back. I got what I wanted from the freezer. I tried the key from the outside, both to turn it & to remove it. Impossible.

I had my breakfast. Still no sign of any movement. I tried spraying around where the rod comes up to join the two sections of the door together, which happens when the lower door is unlocked. Still no movement.

My next job was to scrape the potatoes for parboiling. I did that. While the water came to the boil, I had another go. I needed to put the potatoes peelings in the compost in the back garden. Eventually, when I'd got the potatoes in the water & brought back tothe boil,I managed to get some give in the lower lock. It took another little while to get the key out & bring it inside so the back door could be locked when we are elsewhere in the house. I gave all the various bolts & locks a further spray & now I hope things will be easier as the day goes on.

Throughout I had been telling myself, we have the good fortune to have a neighbour who is a semi-retired locksmith. If I hadn’t been able to sort it out before, I thought I would send the Fox along the road to get some assistance. I’m sure it would have been available. Just as we helped them out with water when their pipes froze one Christmas, I’m sure Dave would have helped us out now.

Now I’m waiting to find out what the third mishap is going to be today. I’m distinctly feeling nervous.