The worse thing about a stroke is that it robs one of strength and endurance......and nowhere is this more so in Kyneton in winter. Especially when one has unlimited access to magnificent burnable red gum trees just waiting to be felled.

But with no trailer nor a car with a tow bar, and with no strength or endurance, and having lost the use of one arm, and having no chainsaw anyway, I have to pay through my damn nose to buy wood at $150 per cubic metre.

God. If I had the strength to use a chainsaw, plus had a car and a trailer, my winters would be more blissful than they are at present. And I would sure have more money in my pocket.

I regularly suggest to Jules that chainsaws are cheap. And she always says I am not allowed to buy one.

So we are reliant on other means to get our wood. And the reason why I complain tonight is because we are almost out of wood, and what little remains I have to make do with until Friday at the earliest.

Yes. Winters in Kyneton are miserable, and they don't get better the longer one experiences them. They just get worse.

But enough of my grumbling.

Today was fruitful.

I raked up all the debris that had blown off our giant claret ash tree; went for a 40 minute walk; dropped papers off at the doctor; helped Jules entertain Ian when he dropped by for morning tea; went to the chemist and collected my scripts; drove over to our storage shed and helped a local charity rake a sofa bed off our hands, as well as other odds and ends; helped Jules with some savage pruning, and put the rubbish bins out for collection. Oh...and plus some computer work and telephone calls. Doesn't sound much, I know. But it did me in.

Last night the sleep went ok. Turned off the light at 12.30 am, woke for a leak at 3.50, got back to sleep at 4.20, and didn't wake again til 7.55. Not bad for me. Almost 7 hours sleep on my calculation!