Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

Morning

Its 7.30 am and the sun is already shining. Its going to be another hot one. Yesterday was fairly relaxed. We bought the shelf brackets at the Bricolage and luckily found a whole raft of very healthy strawberry plants so bought 6 to top up my pots, which now are also looking healthy. Whilst out we went to look at small fridges at a place called DARTY, a bit like CURRYS. As they close for lunch we went back just after 2.00 pm to fetch it. We decided our present fridge will not hold all the food for all our visitors, or indeed just for us after a large shop of fresh stuff from the market. It wasn’t an issue in previous years as we were picking our own veg from the garden as needed, but as i have said we have next to nothing to pick, hence the frequent shopping. The rest of the time the fridge will make a nice beer and wine store Later in the afternoon we put up the awning for the outside table which will seat 8, all very french! Having cleaned up the garden chairs all we need to do now is get the large plastic table out and clean that using kitchen spray as we are not allowed to wash it.

Today we are expecting visitors . Our friends Sue and John from Charnock Richard are holidaying with their family at Dinard, so they are coming down to see us for the day. Not the rest of the family however as they are off to the beach. We eepect them for lunch and may eat out or at home. We are waiting to hear what they would prefer to do. If it is the latter we will have to dash out for some salad stuff as we finished the lettuce and cucumbers yesterday. Tomatoes are the one veggie product we have managed to grow so we have plenty.

Thats our day, hope yours is not too wet

[Stanley]

Glad you have plenty of tomatoes Sue!







More work on steam chest and lids. The lids still have to be reduced to dimensions but I'm leaving that until the steam chests are finished because that's what they have to fit. I have started the machining of the chests. Lots of dimensions and cuts. No Rush.....

[Stanley]

I'm slowly catching up after a big oversleep this morning, no sweat and I am not rushing. I shall have some time in the shed and after a sleep might have a walk but the main event of the day will be Margaret and Mick visiting at lunch time. There are some advantages to living in this energy rich world! Kids flying 10,000 miles to visit....

[Sue]

Morning

Its a different morning today, murky and misty but I am sure it will lift a bit to leave another hot day. It reached about 36 yesterday, far too warm to water the garden before about 9.30 pm. In fact next door were all in their paddling/ swimming pool at 10.00 pm when it was still 26 degrees. Luckily it cooled down overnight.

Yesterday we decided to eat here so Bob and I dashed to the shop straight after breakfast. John and Sue arrived about noon . We had a drink then a walk round the house and garden followed by lunch inside that was an extended affair, getting on to 3.30 pm before we finished. After another cool drink and a long chat we took them to see our local town , La Gacilly. As temperatures were now well in the 30s, it was short walk. John and Sue headed back to their holiday gite from there and we headed back to our cool house.

This morning I will try and retrieve the big garden table from the back of the laundry room, then that will take some assembly. This afternoon I shall tidy out the freezer and take stock of what is in there, I have quite lost track. If its not too hot I will pick some more blackberries. At 6.00 pm, Laetitia and family are coming round for apéritives and a chat, inside or outside depends on how hot it gets. Rain is forecast for tomorrow. We shall see, but I doubt it will be more than a few showers. We need a good down pour.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

I hope you get your rain Sue. We are having just enough here to keep us green.



Only a short spell in the shed as I was late up but we now have both steam chests at the same stage, ready for further adjustments in the vertical mill tomorrow. Now for the rest of the day....

[Sue]

I have had to stake my begonia, a leaf fell off.

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[Big Kev]

That's a big leaf, can you put it in a salad?

[Stanley]

These low carb people will eat anything!

[Sue]

That's a big leaf, can you put it in a salad?

I put it in the compost bin so I suppose we will eat it eventually

[Big Kev]

That's a big leaf, can you put it in a salad?

I put it in the compost bin so I suppose we will eat it eventually

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed for more progress on the steaM CHESTS AND LIDS. cAREFUL WORK, i HAVE TO GET THISE CASTINGS RIGHT FIRST TIME! tHEN LATER A WALK AND A SIT (Bugger caps lock!) as the forecast is dry but cool. Quietly on with the day. I have a load of washing in already, standards are being maintained!

[Sue]

Morning

It was a VERY hot day yesterday, reaching 36 degrees mid afternoon and staying there for hours. Luckily it cooled off during the night and promises to reach a maximum of only 26 today. A 40% chance of rain forecast yesterday has disappeared to about 14% so I I doubt we will even see that. Bob says the forecast indicates a shower this evening.

At least it was fairly cool in the morning. I dug out the outside table from the back of the laundry room and took the opportunity to sweep that end of the room. Bob and i assembled the table in the garden later and it needed just a wipe down with the disinfectant spray. I spent the rest of the morning cleaning the remainder of the windows I did not do last week. It had to be done as they were splattered with fly debris. The hardest were the three roof lights, two of which are in the bedrooms to be used next week. The nice thing about french windows is that they flip or fold inwards making it possible to clean both inside and outside whilst standing on the inside.

After an extended lunch , inside the house, we decided to go for a walk along the tow path of a local river where the path is mainly shaded by trees. We walked down the river to the next lock and into the village where we had a beer before walking back up the other side. Walk is not really a good description as we merely sauntered along. Laetitia and family came for a couple of hours in the evening, and invited us to a BBQ on Friday evening.

Today being cooler I hope to get a bit of tidying done in the veggie garden and the orchard. A few of the fruit trees are developing suckers off the root stock which need removing. It will be another saunter as I do that. I have no other plans for the day. Have a good one.

[Big Kev]

The nice thing about french windows is that they flip or fold inwards making it possible to clean both inside and outside whilst standing on the inside.

I had windows like that fitted here, makes life so much easier

[Stanley]

We're having a cooler day here as well Sue. Very close to single figures tonight as we are expecting a clear sky.





Just come out of the shed, More work on the steam chests. Not there yet but a lot closer and as you can see I haven't forgotten my witness marks.

[Sue]

The nice thing about french windows is that they flip or fold inwards making it possible to clean both inside and outside whilst standing on the inside.

I had windows like that fitted here, makes life so much easier

Absolutely

[Stanley]

Today will be a full day, an hour in the shed, then Early Doors shop and then, instead of second sleep I have to scrub up and then I will be whisked off to Keighley for a ride on the steam railway to Haworth, lunch there with both daughters and their spouses and a gentle trip back home. (They asked me to suggest a trip out and when I mentioned the KWVR they jumped at the chance.)

[Wendyf]

A proper day out Stanley! I hope lunch isn't too far up the hill from the station...

[Sue]

Morning

Enjoy stanley. Its a few years since we have done that trip. I know we visited when the kids were small, not sure we have been on it.

Yesterday was still hot , 18 in the morning but rising to 29 ish late afternoon. We ate outside in the evening because it had cooled right down. A wind got up and we could hear thunder elsewhere. The radar map on the weather app showed it to be over the Loire valley. Thats not unusual, we have camped through a number there. We did not get our promised rain here.

We gardened most of the day. Bob is still clearing the access for the tree man who comes next week , I tidied and covered the unproductive veggie patch. I dug up the few potatoes and shallots I have and dug it over before Covering and I just weeded the patch that has things growing in it eg tomatoes. I actually blanched and froze the potatoes as there were too few to share with our guests next week and I wanted to enjoy my hard labour at some other time which may be a few months yet . I started to cut off the suckers and do some pruning on various fruit trees , a job I shall continue with this morning

After lunch we drove to our nearest Carrefour supermarket and bought some cheap plastic chairs for our outside table so we can seat 8. We also bought some bags of general purpose compost as we are filling in the path that crosses the lawn to the pizza oven. Its a pain keeping it weed free. Back to the shopping we bought some bananas and peaches also but accidentally left them in the trolley as were so busy trying to get the other things in the car!

Later, I raked the stones off the path mentioned and spread them elsewhere, then spread the two bags of compost. Feeling very dusty, tired out, hot, and very satisfied with my days tasks I went and had a long soak in the bath . This morning I shall continue with the pruning of fruit trees, but it will be too hot this afternoon . This evening we are round at Laetitia's for a barbecue.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

The kids were worrying about that Wendy, in fact Susan was talking about just going to Oakworth but I said we would work something out at Haworth like a taxi to the top of the hill and I'll slide down on a tea tray coming back! We'll sort something out.
I ditched the shed this morning, I'll look after my knees and save them for Haworth! The shopping is done and now I shall just sit quiet until 09:30 when M&M are picking me up.

[PanBiker]

Your bus pass will work in Haworth as well Stanley and most of your party will have one no doubt.

Sods Law at work here I reckon.

Today I will be mainly picking up my car from the garage. I had advisories about the rear tyres on my MOT a couple of weeks ago, not urgent so I booked it into KB at their earliest free slot which was just after we come back from holiday. I noticed yesterday when I ran the car round on the back street to put the roof box on that I had what looked like a slow puncture in the driver side rear! By the time I had the box on the roof it was almost flat. I rang KB to see if they could sort me out yesterday but they said they hadn't ordered the tyres yet and were also fully booked for the day. They gave me 2.30pm slot today and said they could get the tyres in this morning.

I ran the car down slowly and left it with them for today.

Had a missed call from KB on my mobile when I got up. They found my size of tyres upstairs in the store so didn't have to order any and it's ready for collection. I will leave my booking for after the holiday as there was another minor job on the list to sort.

[Stanley]

You were right Ian, bus pass worked seamlessly and Margaret's Mick's Australian disabled card (He's registered blind) worked to get him a concession fare on the K&WVR.
That sounds like a perfect example of Sod's Law and what a good job it happened at home....
Today I shall be in the shed for a while, depends on how long my shoulder lasts out. Then after my second sleep it will be a cooking day. The chicken is already in the oven and I have veggies to cook later....
Taxing day yesterday but worth it. I am healing up OK!
(Actually I think the extra exertion might have done me good. There may be a clue there to push myself a bit harder.)

[Sue]

Morning

Thats my remedy for most things Stanley, to push myself a bit harder only yesterday I pushed a bit too hard and have a bad bout of back ache this morning its not my normal lower back pain but feels more like a pulled muscle on my left side near my waist. I did potter in the garden most of the day except when we went to the shop to get some more fruit, having left the last lot in the trolley in Carrefour. We also bought some chocolates from tbe chocolatière in La Gacilly for Laetitia who did a wonderful spread last night to go with the BBQ that Yves cooked. It was a very pleasant evening.

Today I have no plans, the bulk of the garden tidying is done, the trees are tidied up and where possible the veggie patch cleared and covered. I picked another three tomatoes last night when I watered and there seem to be plenty more coming. The forecast is the same as yesterday ie up to 24 degrees with a very string wind. The sky is clear as it was during the night which meant it was cooler giving us a better nights sleep. I think I may do some sewing today, I have a few repairs to do and some cushion covers to make.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

"That's my remedy for most things Stanley, to push myself a bit harder "
Now why does that not surprise me.... Just out of the shed. I did better than I expected, I think I'm healing up quite well. I shall take it easy for the rest of the day......



This morning has been all about steam chest lids. I have to make them square and the right size. Not as easy as it sounds and I spent an hour and a half doing it. They are somewhere near the right size!

[Sue]

This morning we both ache!

Its cold out there today 16 degrees and a cold wind, but its sunny and cloudless. Its too cold to sit out with our after breakfast coffees. I think I am getting use to these warm days. Last night at the barbecue we even moved inside for our dessert. Laetitia sat outside with a shawl round her shoulders because she was cold...we found it pleasant until about 9.00 pm then we agreed with her. 🌬🌬🌬

[Stanley]

We are enjoying the second night with temperatures down in single figures Sue, it feels almost autumnal but they assure us a heat wave is coming even in Barlick!
I shall be in the shed chasing my engine then after a sleep getting scrubbed up because we have a rare visit from Grand daughter Yiota and her man. We are all having lunch at the Tempest Arms. (Or as I always think of it, Pickhill Pub.)