Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

Hope you have a pleasant journey Sue and an enjoyable stay in France. No point suggesting that you have a restful holiday!

Exactly Wendy. Spring cleaning and Spring gardening

[Stanley]

I shall be being less energetic but will be in the shed doing useful things to pieces of metal for my latest engine.
By the way, When Ken visited the other day he asked me why I always make the same type of engine, I told him that they aren't the same. Every one is a different challenge even if you are using the same drawings!
Bookie watch and a walk are on because the forecast is good, better than yesterday!

[Stanley]

Guess where I'll be from 6AM to 8AM this morning..... We are promised a warmer day so bookie watch should be on later.

[Sue]

Morning

I think your weather is somewhat better than ours. We had an uneventful journey here to find I had left the house spic and span. I had obviously done a much better clean than I had remembered. The house was cold and it was several hours before we took our fleeces off. Yves had lit a fire the day before so we soon got it roaring back into action so by about 2.00 pm the salon was nice and warm. I think we will be spending a lot of time in there.

We had done enough shopping for the meals of the day on the way here but will do a better shop this morning. We had lunch unpacked and popped to see Laetitia and Yves to thank them. Yves had cut the lawn and the orchard and had cut the fir tree and laurel hedges. He was doing the hedge behind the veggie patch when he had his accident. I declined the offer to look at the injury . Whilst there Laetitia called the man who said he would look at our roof and he will come round this afternoon.

It was 4.00 pm before we got out in the garden. It was a very grey day and we hadn’t been out long when the forecast heavy rain started. Bob did a few maintenance things in his workshop but I went inside and pottered. Today promises to be finer so a bit of weeding is in order. There is weeding to do in the main garden, but the big problem is wood, lots of it. The local council have cut our trees where they overhang the telephone wires, ready for new cables going in . They had thrown the branches over the fence and all that needs clearing....more wood for the wood burner and the pizza oven. The trees needed doing but at least now we don’t have to pay.

Have a good day all

I forgot, around 6.00 pm, Leanna, Laetitia's daughter brought two slices of leek and ham quiche round. She is at Lycee , our college level, and cookery is one of the subjects she is studying . Thats our lunch sorted for today

[Big Kev]

I do like a bit o' quiche and leek and ham sounds delicious

[Stanley]

No quiche here Sue.... and despite the higher temperature quoted in the forecast we still have a cold wind.
I have had my two hours in the shed and made progress.



We have crosshead guides made and fitted and I think the next job is to make a crosshead, but I'll decide that tomorrow. Quiet careful progress.

[Sue]

Sunny here but bitterly cold wind. Should get some gardening done. Some of my herb plants have died but I managed to but a couple at the supermarket to replace them . Cup of tea then gardening

[Stanley]

I shall be in my corner of sanity as usual this morning for a couple of hours before breakfast and second sleep. A walk and bookie watch could be on as we have very similar weather to yesterday. Not bad as long as you can stay out of the wind!

[Sue]

Morning

We had a dry day yesterday with some sun but very windy. I gardened most of the day, mainly pruning roses and pulling groundsel out of the beds. I planted the replacement herbs I managed to get from the supermarket and some summer bulbs in the pots under the gazebo. The wind was biting and I didn’t take off my fleece whilst working which is most unusual. Today I shall dead head the hydrangeas and the rest of the roses and clear the dead leaves off the rockery. The mesh netting that we covered the wire dividing fence with has come detached in places during the storms so a fairly dull but less energetic task will be to go along the length and re attatch. It is blowing like a sail at the moment. Its a shame we can’t afford some decent fencing but its a long expanse and gardening and building stuff is very expensive here....in fact most things are except coffee, mustard and wine

The roofers came to look at the repair needed and said they can do it at the end of March which is good news,. Luckily the problem survived the winter . Thats one thing less to worry about.

Today is damp this morning and drier this afternoon. Bob has finished the hedge that Yves was cutting when he injured his hand , so we have the wood to dispose of. Some of the cuttings are long and flexible so we are going to stick them in the ground next to the railway and try and get a clematis montana to grow up it for our living arch. So far we have had little success growing willows to make the arch.. the rest of the cuttings we will put in the trailer to take to the local tip . Yves also cut the leylandii hedging . He burnt most of the cuttings but what is left I shall put round the fruit bushes to keep the weeds down. They won’t affect the soil as the bushes are planted through plastic but the weeds manage to colonise that !

So another day in the garden , making the most of it before rain tomorrow. We have bought paint to renovate the kitchen cupboards, a nice indoor job for the forecast wet days coming up.

Its nice to see buds on the trees and blossom and some of the fruit trees. The mimosa is in full flower . Spring is on its way. Have a good day all.

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[Stanley]

Lovely to see something green Sue! Give us more, we need to be reminded what Spring looks like!



Over here in the Northern climes I have started on the crosshead..... It's a form of sculpture.....

[Sue]

It looks like winter at the moment. Cold, thick mist and rain

[Stanley]

I shall do an hour on the engine but then go early doors shopping at 07:00. Looking at the weather it looks as though a walk and bookie watch will be on!

[Sue]

Morning

We had a fair afternoon and got a few garden jobs done. Later we had a beer with Laetitia and Yves. I tried paining a kitchen cupboard door with the paint we bought but am not keen on the colour. Its a very wet day all day today so we are going to buy some more paint. We also need a new head unit for the satellite dish as ours has stopped working. We have no TV at the moment. We shall probably go to Redon, our local big town where there is also a good fabric place . I need some lining material for my new jacket.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Busy as usual Sue.....



Closing time. The piston and rod are connected to the crosshead. That's enough for this morning. Tomorrow I'll look at the connection with the con rod. I have done early doors shopping. One thing that is evident under the new revised diet is that the high carb food I have cut out is the expensive food. My bill is much lower now..... That's win, win in my book.

[Stanley]

The target is two hours in the shed this morning as usual. I need a connecting rod for my engine. The wonderful thing is that I can make one myself. With luck the rain will cease before noon so I could get my walk in and perhaps even a sit....
(I have started the day well, just put a chicken in the oven..... )

[Sue]

Morning

It was a mixed day yesterday. Much of the garden and paths were flooded or soaked through so even when it was sunny there was certainly no outside work. However after our shopping trip Bob was able to retune the TV and I was able to tackle the kitchen renovations again. We have some spare old cupboard doors that I have been trying my samples of paint on. I am now happy and have completed one. I reckon I can manage two a day, laid on top of blocks on a protected kitchen table. I have also washed the kitchen curtains which cover one kitchen cupboard.

We have to shop again today as yesterday evening we invited Laetitia and family round for Sunday lunch. Its a joint affair as we are cooking one of their turkeys in our pizza oven. This is a repeat of what they did successfully at Christmas. Laetitia and I are both providing vegetable courses, and we shall buy a posh french tarte for dessert.

Todays weather is promising but again the ground will be very wet. I have my daily quota of doors to paint, but I may dig over a small patch of veggie garden to plant potatoes and onion sets bought yesterday. We shall see. Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

It's all go with you Sue even when you are on holiday! You're3 not missing any Spring Weather.... we have a day of wind and rain, well, until lunch time anyway.
I've been in the shed chasing my con-rod.



This started life much longer and an inch and a quarter in diameter. I have slimmed it down to the right length and shape and we are ready to move on.

[Sue]

Not a holiday at this time of year especially as it is two years since were here in the Spring, with usual jobs to do. We always decorate, clean and hedge trim etc at this time of year so we can enjoy the outside weather later in the year. We regard it as a change of scenery, slightly better weather and an opportunity to catch up with friends over here.our time and our pace is our own, we have no deadlines to meet, no places we have to be at. There are long leisurely sit downs

[Stanley]

Sounds good Sue, especially the long sit-downs!
I shall be in the shed. I will have to make the bronze bearing for the crank pin before I can finish the con rod and I need to finish that before I finish the crosshead. (I think.... I shall have a good look at it this morning. )
I'll take a view on bookie watch later.
I shall be following the progress of Margaret's flight from Perth from 14:00 onwards....

[Sue]

Morning.

Yesterday, during the wet spells, two more cupboard doors were painted and a couple of drawer front blanks under the hob. I have gone for the distressed look as the existing cupboards have not covered well because of their colour under neath. We like the fact that the grain shows through and too many coats of paint will spoil that. So there is a layer of vanilla yellow which really is a sort of cream colour with distressed blue on top . This matches the existing kitchen which is yellow and blue. The units are probably 25 years old, most likely very expensive when originally bought . They are a sort of dull yellow with blue hi lights, but they are showing their age with the paint peeling off considerably in places, but the units themselves are very sound and the fronts all made of good quality wood. Over the years we have maintained the colour scheme as we rather like it, very french, but something had to be done. During the dry windy spell I managed to get washing dry, and later ironing done . I also transplanted two pots where the existing ones were severely frost damaged.

It has rained all night as expected but the forecast for the day has improved. Bob was up and out lighting the pizza oven at 7.30 am . The turkey will be brought round by Yves at around 10.00a. and we are hoping to eat about 1.30pm. Although it rained during the night, Bob had kept the freshly cut wood in the barn. He is back in now as we have a cup of tea. My role in this joint meal is to make a fruit compote , which I made last night with blackberries from the freezer. I will make a large cauliflower cheese later this morning. I managed to buy some cheddar cheese at the supermarket, so much nicer for cauli cheese than emmental .

I think socialising will pretty much be the plans of the day followed by cleaning up afterwards. Have a good day all .

Here is a photo of the Christmas turkey....and yes I asked if it cooked through. Yves, like Bob has a digital thermometer for testing the internal temperature and the whole was covered in foil.

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[Big Kev]

I bet that'll taste wonderful.

[Stanley]

That is impressive Sue. Makes my oven look very ordinary.



This morning I have been doing a number of small jobs but the main business was getting the castings the right size and shape for the bronze crank pin bearing.

[Sue]

I will take a photo of ours when it is cooking

[Stanley]

I've seen it.... I should say no danger of under cooking!
I shall be in the shed for a couple of hours. Later I shall have to call the pharmacy, no sign of my meds even though the script has been approved for 12 months. The system is not working as it should!
During the morning I shall be monitoring Margaret's flight, she has just entered Iraq airspace.Some aspects of modern technology are mind blowing.....

[Stanley]

More progress on the crank pin bearing but not as easy as it looks. See shed matters for the cock-up!