Today I shall be Mainly...

[Big Kev]

Defrosting the freezer, what an exciting life I lead. Took it out in the garden and give it a whizz round with the steam cleaner, all sorted and back in the kitchen in less than 30 minutes

[PanBiker]

We went totally frost free when we reworked the kitchen. Fridge had a pool of water under the door the other day as the door was left ajar due to something on the top shelf sticking out too far. To catch up after reorganising the shelf I turned the wick up a bit to get it back to temperature. I overdid it slightly when the grandchildren announced that the ketchup was frozen!

Normal service, and temperature has been restored.

[Stanley]

I was in the shed yesterday despite it being 85F in there and will be doing the same this morning. I survived by having the door open ....
I am very well aware of the dangers inherent in hot weather for people as old as me so I make sure to drink plenty of water. I recommend the same to all of you.

[Stanley]

The best intentions..... I realised just as I was going in the shed that I had to cook veggies first before it gets hot. No matter, I am not on piece work!

[Sue]

Morning

We had a lovely lunch and a lovely drive down arriving just before 5.00 pm.thank goodness for the cars air conditioning. We settled in to the cottage then donned shorts and trainers and went for a short investigative stroll . Pretty area. We have not planned today yet.

Stay cool

[Stanley]

I am Sue, staying as cool as possible. I have refused the shed and got the cooking done before it gets too hot. The sun has only just come through.....

[Stanley]

Aiming for the shed but once again looking to keep cool. The two may not be compatible! The older I get the less happy I am with very hot weather.... Roll on a change at weekend!

[Sue]

Morning

Yesterday was a short stroll along the front at Aberystwyth and a reasonable and surprisingly cool walk in the forests around. Today we are heading for Devils bridge, keeping the local forest walk for tomorrow which is expected to be the hottest day of the week here. It is cool under the trees and by the river. The cottage has access to a large garden with plenty of shade where we have spent a lot of time just sitting or sipping tea/coffee/gin and tonic/ glass of wine and lots of water/ ginger beer and lemonade . Its possible to access the shingle riverside by steps and a short path, which is a very pleasant spot indeed

Keep cool

[Stanley]

It's a long time since I was in Aberystwyth Sue, I was delivering a bottle washer to the local dairy which was just North of the town.... I'll bet the woods will be cool in the heat of the day.



I've been in the shed for an hour and I am heading for finished pedestal bearings.

[Sue]

My back is really playing up not having recovered from last Tuesdays gardening, it restricts our activities which is probably a good thing with the heat

[PanBiker]

Taking the car for it's MOT this afternoon.

Later: Car passed with a couple of advisories. I will book it in again before winter to get them sorted.

Car insurance is due next month and I noticed that we have only done 2,000 miles since the last MOT. I must remember to jig this on the policy, I think it is set at 7,000.

[Stanley]

I shall try to repeat yesterday in the shed, I'll open the door and let it cool down a bit. It's 80F in there at the moment.

[Stanley]

I got the shed down to below 75F which today feels cool. Then I had a nice hour and a half and made good progress.



The engine has a finished crankshaft and bearings. We are ready for valve and connecting rods. This was a good morning!

[Big Kev]

Car insurance is due next month and I noticed that we have only done 2,000 miles since the last MOT. I must remember to jig this on the policy, I think it is set at 7,000.

I amended mine back in March, I dropped it from 20000 to 10000. When I checked I'd only done 5000...

[Sue]

I wrote a long piece, it isn’t here. . I will write it all again later.

[Big Kev]

I wrote a long piece, it isn’t here. . I will write it all again later.

Oh no!

[Sue]

Morning/ Afternoon


Just back from a stroll by the river and a walk in the forest. Its a beautiful spot here. I am just waiting for the eggs to boil for our lunchtime salad, and sipping a cold glass of lemonade so thought I would rewrite yesterdays news, but an abridged version.

Walking has been somewhat curtailed, not only by the heat but also by my back. Its not my normal problem, I think I must have pulled a muscle gardening last week. Although this is a lovely cottage the bed is not my bed, which does not help my back. The bedroom is up a sort of ladder staircase and is in the roof eaves with hardly room to stand. None of it helping. Luckily I have the last of my anti inflammatory tablets with me and this morning managed some pilates exercises to relieve it.

Yesterday we walked through the woods at Rheidol falls, visited a butterfly centre( fabulous) had an ice cream and walked to the Devils punch bowl at Devils Bridge. I could not manage the 675 steps to the waterfalls . On the way back we stopped at a lakeside nature reserve, strolled the flat walk round the lake and watched the daily feeding of the red kites with raw fish, tossed on the lakeside bank. Apparently the birds come from 14 miles away for this daily feed. It was an amazing spectacle of hundreds of birds zooming down.

Having at last resolved, or should I say being prepared to endure, our travel issues to France. We have another spanner in the works in that Covid has arrived at the hamlet. Laetitia and family are keeping to themselves but with only 6 houses I think it is bound to spread. We await updates

Stay cool everyone, keep heat savvy.

[PanBiker]

Sounds very nice Sue, I hope your back improves.

For me it has been house sitting our Jack's waiting for a delivery 11.15 - 13.15. Got a portable lunch from Miles pie shop on the way down. Our Jack has Netflix (which he shares with us, good lad) and Amazon Prime channel so I found a nice Sci-Fi film to watch while I waited. Delivery came at 12.35 but I stayed to watch the end of the film.

[Big Kev]

Winding down on the last day of my shift rotation. I'll then have a week off to move some walls around to create a new office space upstairs. 'Hybrid' working is coming (2 days a week at the office and the rest at home) and will be a permanent thing. I need my dining room back as I've been working on the in there since March 2020 as the current upstairs office space has no window. Should be relatively straightforward as it's only plasterboard and timber stud and a reroute of the ring main.

The current dining room situation isn't ideal for dinner guests

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[Sue]

Sounds complex but needed Kev. My daughters have been working from home continuously since March last year . Claire has a desk in the dining kitchen, whilst Adam has the spare bedroom at the other end of the bungalow. They have been told they will be home working till at least December apart from essential meetings and training days.

Julia is not so lucky, no spare room and a small kitchen. She and Ed work in shifts at the dining table. They managed to make Eves bedroom into a study bedroom o she can now do her school work more easily when she is not at school, that gave them a bit more space. Erin and Briony, both still being in the primary sector manage with a laptop on the coffee table in the lounge . This has just got to ease up so that some degree of normal home living can return. I still think we should vaccinate children. This would reduce a lot of the isolation and enforced working from home problems .

[PanBiker]

I still think we should vaccinate children. This would reduce a lot of the isolation and enforced working from home problems .

I agree, what's the difference to MMR, Chickenpox, polio, TB etc that we already immunise them for, apart from it being a lot more virulent due to it's establishment in the populace?

[Big Kev]

Sounds complex but needed Kev.

Fortunately it is just a plasterboard wall, the moving of the ring main is fairly straightforward too as it's just an extension of the existing that I put in a year ago

[Stanley]

Sorry your back has struck just as you need it to explore Sue! If my experience is anything to go by, the older you get the more back pain recedes... .
I am looking at an even hotter day with less wind so I doubt if my having the back door open will do much good this morning. I'm trying it nevertheless! Normal shed this morning, Co-op shop tomorrow I think. I have a connecting rod on my mind......
Some cooler weather coming, it will be welcome!

[Stanley]

Later.... Just realised I am short of milk so I'll do the early doors shop this morning.

[Sue]

Morning

This is not disc Stanley, not my normal back. This is a pulled muscle. I can even put my finger on the exact spot. I have tried massage and manipulation to no joy. The bed here certainly aggravates it. I can find no comfortable position at all. Once pain killers kick in it is jost about ok but after a couple of hours they wear off. I have just found some stronger painkillers in my toilet bag, so will try those .

Yesterday we did a couple of short walks, one in the morning and the other about 4.30 pm, in the shade in the forests around but of course that meant uphill walking because of where we are . We spent the peak of the days heat supping lemonade or tea, sat in the cottage with the door shut, windows open and blinds down. Today is due to be even hotter .

As yet we have no plans for today, our last day. We will have to pack later, I would rather do it this evening than in the morning. Most of my clothes I have never worn, thank goodness for the shorts I threw in the bag at the last minute. I think we will do a scenic drive into the next valley, where there is an estate from a big house to wander round. The house has long since gone.

Have a good day all