Today I shall be Mainly...

[Wendyf]

Sue, will you ever find time to sit in your tranquil reading space?

[Stanley]

That was the first thing that struck me Wendy. I think Sue has a wheel up her bum! (That's what my mother used to say about someone who was never still.)



Here we are at knocking off time. A lot of tackle put away and the lathe and bench tidied up. I have the piston and its rod fitted to the crosshead. Now I can finish the shank of the con rod, fit the clevis to the crosshead Bore and finish the big end and then see exactly where the crankshaft wants to run. Once I have that sorted I can bolt the bearings down. That's for tomorrow.... Another nice morning.

[Sue]

Sue, will you ever find time to sit in your tranquil reading space?

Yes when we have got the garden and rest of the house as we want it. the visiturs will like it

[Tripps]

I keep hoping there will be remission of sentence for good behaviour.

It exhausts me just reading about it.

[Sue]

Lots of stamina left in me yet. Just been to the tip to dispose of a trailer of garden waste ready to fill it up again. Did some shopping, having a cuppa and I should get another hour in the garden before its time to make tea. That is unless rain stops play like this morning. It all keeps me fit. I don’t do pilates , yoga or walking whilst here so lots of energy in reserve

[Tripps]

À chacun son goût . . . .

[Stanley]

I reckon she might be an android David......
I shall be in the shed for two hours chasing my engine. I forgot to tell you that Susan liked my wobbler so much she was always playing with it when she visited and said it was like jewellery. So I've given it to her and I'll have to make another now.
We are promised a cold wet day so very little chance of bookie watch!
By the way, the lady who stopped and gave the old lady a lift home on Sunday was a friend of Susan. She said the old lady couldn't stop saying how kind I was. Susan said it warmed her cockles to hear a report like that about me. I am basking in the glow....

[Sue]

Morning

Its a clear sky this morning with mist lying on the land. Its still dark at 7.45am and I have struggled to wake because of it. Its 2 degrees at the moment

I shall ignore all your comments about my energy and activity levels and give Wendy a knowing wink , she knows the hard work in maintaining an old place with land, and to have a comfy place to relax in and enjoy in the summer the preparatory work has to be done in the autumn months. As we only get here a couple of times in the autumn its all hands on deck as they say. I also love the opportunity to be working outside without the extensive heat of the summer sun here. I find gardening on this scale exhilarating. At home I just titivate.

The extensive rain has done us a big favour as the ground is very workable at the moment, and being wet I can happily transplant things, knowing they will survive, we have often commented that they seem to have two growing seasons here and we usually try and take advantage of it. Yesterday was no exception . I was up to my eyes in mud but managed to transplant a shrub or two and clear unwanted plants from the formal garden squares by my kitchen door. It was supposed to be herbs but as they survived in a somewhat random manner most of the squares are now roses and flowering shrubs. The few herbs that have survived I have put into one square plot . The ones I was going to throw on the compost I have put under the hedge in the orchard and along the edge of the strawberry patch that will become grass. They are up against the barn wall and will stop the need for strimming the edge there.

It rained hard for a couple of hours over lunch so we decided to empty the trailer of cuttings at the tip and do our shopping. Before we fill it again we have decided to take our stacking spare beds, in the form of a sofa, to Emmaus , the charity warehouse , this afternoon. We have not used them for years and are now out of place on the newlydecorated mezzanine landing. We shall also take some clothes and a bag of electrical stuff that we no longer use. They check it over before they sell it or recycle the components. Otherwise it is difficult to get rid of here. This morning I WILL cover the newly dug raspberry patch before it gives way to grass again in this alternate sun and rain. I have some washing to do too, some very dirty muddy gardening clothes. I will be on my third set this week, as they are also very damp from working in occasional showers and kneeling on the ground.

Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

"I find gardening on this scale exhilarating. At home I just titivate. "
Why am I not surprised to hear you say that?
Morning Sue. We have had a lot of rain overnight Sue, at the moment it has bated but we are promised a return of heavy rain later this morning. It's cold, around 10C at the moment.
I've just come out of the shed after another nice morning. I'll post later.....



Closing time, we have a con rod that has been fitted to the crosshead and been tidied up. Tomorrow I can install the bolts, split the big end and then bore it to fit the crank pin.

[Sue]

Your engineering metal work never ceases to amaze me Stanley . It all looks such hard work. I know Bob spends hours in the workshop . I love the tactile finish that the work produces.

[Stanley]

It amazes me at times Sue! Did you see that Susan likes the wobbler engine so much I had to give it to her? She says it is like jewellery.... (I'll have to make another one now.)



I shall be in the shed for two hours this morning, I swear it is what keeps me going! There will be bookie watch today as it is to be dry and sunny. I decided yesterday that now I use a stick I shall have to start wearing gloves! (I can't put that hand in my pocket to keep it warm! Funny thing is that Susan said the same thing the other day about pushing Kahara's pram.)

[Sue]

Morning

It was another lovely day yesterday, dry and sunny reaching about 19 degrees. From this mornings sky we could be in for the same again. We did have a short sharp shower about 6.00 pm , about 10 minutes after I had watered my grass seeds on the old strawberry patch.

After covering the ground for the new raspberry patch we loaded up the trailer with stuff for Emmaus. I had never seen it so busy there cars and people everywhere. The car park was packed and tring to get in with the trailer was a nightmare. The only worse thing was trying to get out again.People were oblivious to Bob trying to turn round or reverse. In the end we had to unhook the trailer and push it into the one and only parking space to turn it round. Then Bob had to drive out and reverse back in to reattach the trailer.

The men receiving goods were also very fussy rejecting things right left and centre. After all the trouble getting in they rejected our stacking guest beds, saying they were bad for the back. Yes the mattresses were not brilliant but they were good metal sprung bases. So we had to take it to the tip. I was quite sad as it was too good to throw. Whilst these negotiations were taking place ( in my best french ) I secretly placed our other sacks of pictures, cushions, clothes and electrical goods where they could not easily be seen so they wouldn’t reject them too. We then had to drive 5 mikes back in the opposite direction to go to the tip. I have no doubt at all that the charity shops in the UK would have accepted the metal bases.

On return I did the ironing and started making quince jelly whilst Bob reloaded the trailer with more cuttings. Later I had a message about the funeral. Unfortunately it clashes with Eve and Briony’s stay with us, so the days are going to have to be rearranged. I suggested they come a day early and leave a day early, it it works for Julia and Ed.

Today is a domestic day. We have visitors, our french friends Bertram and Elisabeth, coming round this afternoon so I need to do a bit of cleaning. We have the door open a lot whilst we are here and bits blow in everywhere. The floor is also white tiles, not the best choice or our choice for a pair of DIY people like us, especially after the rain we have had. I also want to finish my quince jelly. I have never made it before, and not sure if I will bother again. We shall see

Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

Listening to you talking about your 'negotiations' with the people at Emmaus makes me wonder if your nationality is a handicap? Otherwise well done for getting the cull finished one way or the other.
I've had a good little spell in the shed, mistake free once again. I'll be back in a while with a pic of some more jewellery.



Later....
We have a con rod that fits the crank pin and it lines up nicely with the trunk slide so I must have got it somewhere near right. I'm ready now to fit the crosshead and mark the exact position the pedestal bearings, this is of course what I was after.

[Sue]

Lots of french were turned away as well. Even good children's bikes. I wonder if they can be choosy becausr they have a warehouse full of unsold goods due to covid restrictions

[Stanley]

That's probably a factor Sue, their trade patterns will have been disrupted like everyone else's.
I shall be in the shed for two hours quietly pursuing my 10H. Later, after a walk and bookie watch I shall go to Well pharmacy for my flu jab this afternoon.

[Sue]

Morning

Its very dark out there and impossible to see what it is doing. Rain and showers were forecast this morning and cloudy this afternoon . We hope to do some moving of raspberry canes so will probably endure the showers if not too heavy. This afternoon is yet another trip to the tip with another trailer full of cuttings. Bob tells me its 8 miles the round trip. Our nearest tip is only about a mile away but it is in a different Department of France so we are not allowed to use it. After that we shall call at the supermarket for some lemons or pectin, see later. We shall then come home, tidy ourselves up and pop and see Roland. We have not seen him this trip

I said yesterday would be a domestic day, well it was . I did a good clean sweep and dust through downstairs and cleaned the toilets and bathroom so it at least it looked presentable. When they came they asked to sit outside so they could take their masks off. Neither have been vaccinated. From what they said it sounds like the anti vaccers have got to them. I got very animated in my discussion, in English, about having the vaccine plus a lot of the biological theory behind it. They were under the impression that the booster was necessary becaue the vaccine had failed . Otherwise they are well and we had a very long chat. They are a lovely french couple who were neighbours of our English friend Audrey who returned to England when her husband died.

As well as visitors I finished my quince jelly. It was actually rather easy so I decided to do the same with the grapes we have. They do not taste very sweet and we are not here long enough for them to ripen completely so I picked them, pruned the vine back and set to with the grape jelly. I made 7 jars but despite the recipe saying there was plenty of natural pectin in grapes the jelly has not set properly. Google advises that I reboil with some more lemon or with some pectin and a little more sugar. That may be a job for tomorrow as I will need to empty the jars, wash them and re sterilise

Its Friday tomorrow, only a few more days to go but I feel we have really got on top of things and have returned to a normal state for the time of year. If hadn’t been for Yves hard work over the months we would have been unable to do this. We haven’t seen much of the family as the children have to be taken backwards and forwards to different schools at different times and then they do a lot of sports activities at various places in the evenings. We understand the commitments . Laetitia works nights from tonight and over the weekend so it will be Monday before we get another chance to chat .

Ah its thinking about getting light and its after 8.00. Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

Not really light here yet Sue. That's interesting about the tip and the different jurisdictions, bit like Lancashire not being able to use the tip in Barlick!
I've just come out of the shed, I'll be back later with a pic....
Later....



The bearings are successfully fitted and I am getting my act together to make the cylinder lids. I do like using scrap to make things of beauty!

[Stanley]

Just back from an abortive visit to the pharmacy for my flu jab. The missed phone call this morning was to tell me not to bother as they had run out of jabs. They will let me know when there is any available.

[Stanley]

There will be no shed today. Firstly because it is the morning for my weekly Co-op early doors shop and second because Susan and I are having a set-off to Colne and I find I do better if I haven't already tired my knees in the shed.

[Sue]

Morning

Bad news about the flu jab Stanley . Hope they get some in soon.

Yesterday morning was damp and thus very muddy as I moved the raspberries. I filled my new patch. The rest I shall dig up today and plant them under the hedge row. If nothing else it will be food for the birds. We did our third trip to to the tip and the trailer is ready to fill again, but only with big stuff. The smaller stuff we will rake under the hedgerow which will give small animals like hedgehogs a home. We did capture one on our wild life camera the other day.

After lunch, drying my hair and putting on dry clothes we did our trailer run and called at the supermarket for some pectin. On coming home we did a lateral flow test to check we were ok to go and see Roland. On arrival at his house the blinds were down which was a bit worrying. Nicole his friend and neighbour had seen us arrive and dashed out to greet us. He is now in a retirement home , which is in the village and just behind where his house is. He had stopped eating and had fallen again. He was rushed into hospital and put on a drip. He remained there for two weeks. The Dr said he was not strong enough to have the needed repair to his displaced replacement knee joint and that he was no longer able to live by himself.

Its a much nicer home than his wife was in, but then it is in a different French Department and perhaps different finances. Chantal was in a miserable dowdy double room with no personal items. Roland has a small self contained bedsit with separate bathroom . Nicole and friends (who were there when we visited) are busy moving in some of his furniture and personal belongings. He looked better than we expected and I think our visit did him some good. I have told Laetitia where he is, she did not know so will now visit also. As for his family who tried to block his house sale two years ago, well he says he has no family ! How sad. The house of course was sold as we have new neighbours. We think Roland went to a tribunal and we think the judge could not understand why the family tried to block the sale. Our translation of the french became a bit muddled as Nicole, visibly upset, did not speak in her usual slow manner for us. She now has Bobs mobile so she can contact us. Who would have thought 16 years ago that we would have become so attached to two elderly french people.

It was nearly 6.00 pm when we got back home. I put our tea in the oven whilst I reheated my grape jelly with the pectin. Its more solid now but not as firm as the quince jelly.

Its a misty start to the day and will no doubt be wet underfoot. Its due to be sunny and warm, as I believe your forecast is too. Have a good day.

[Stanley]

Yes Sue, the flu jab news was a bit of a bummer. I shall ask the surgery for advice later this morning.
Mixed news about Roland but from the sound of it it'd all for the best. I share with you your feelings about Roland falling out with his family. I can't imagine life without mine, in fact I'm going to Colne with Susan this morning. Not for any specific reason beyond lunch in the market cafe and a browse round the market. (Particularly the tool stall!)
Yes, we are promised another mild day. Lovely morning up to now, scattered rosy clouds lit by a rising sun. The forecaster is saying that this morning is almost record-breaking.....

[Big Kev]

the flu jab news was a bit of a bummer. I shall ask the surgery for advice later this morning.

There seems to be a shortage of 'over 65' flu jabs but this does appear to be improving, delivery issues I believe. Barnoldswick Medical Centre are now notifying of appointments. They have posted advice on their Facebook page regarding calling them (there's a copy on the Medical Matters thread), if you had one there last year they'll be in touch for this year.

[PanBiker]

I talked to Sue in reception yesterday when we got our covid contact notification. I cancelled our appointments for this Saturday. She said we would be added to the next clinic but she didn't have a date yet.

My PCR test kit came this morning and I have just registered it.

[PostmanPete]

Whitworths Pharmacy have loads of the over 65 flu jabs - I've just been in for mine.

[Stanley]

I am promised a flu jab at the surgery next Friday 15th October. I shall reach 6 months from second Covid jab during the week so expect to hear about a booster Covid as I qualify.
Today I shall be in the shed doing a bit of quiet turning making lids for my cylinder. That'll be nice!
No rain forecast so walk and bookie watch looks to be on the cards later.