Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

There were plenty of thunder storms here yesterday Sue but here in Barlick we seemed to miss them all. We just had intermittent showers. You seem to be managing getting the essentials done in the garden. Well done!



I cleaned up the swarf, reversed the stock and made more muck getting my blank down to 1/2" diameter which is the major size at this end and parted it off. Then I cleaned up the swarf again. I now have my stock reduced to a reasonable size and can refine it to the shape of the con-rod using my HSS cutter. That's for tomorrow!

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed as usual progressing towards a con rod. My walk into Town Square for veggies looks to be on as the forecast doesn't have any rain in it. After that we shall see. I fear housekeeping might rear its ugly head!

[Sue]

Morning

Another busy morning in the garden yesterday, tidying a few bits before we go back. I pulled the last of the forget me knots, trimmed the wisteria, transplanted some rockery plants from one rockery to another and tidied the horse radish patch. In the afternoon it rained, so I tidied the rest of my wardrobe producing quite a large bag of clothes now too big for me ( that was a nice feeling). They will go to Emaāus on Saturday morning. I did zoom pilates at 6.30 ad it was good to do lots of stretching after so many days bent over gardening, clearing out and decorating. I am pleased to say my post- fall aches are much better, apart from one exercise they did not bother me at all.

This morning is due to be sunny, a rare event, though the temperatures are only hovering around 15-16 all day. I shall pick rhubarb and prepare it for the freezer, then perhaps tomorrow I can weed that patch and tackle the brambles that are invading it. Its quite a rhubarb forest now. There was nothing when we came two and a half weeks ago.

IMG_0453.jpeg

As the rain forecast for today is not till late afternoon we are going out for lunch then going to visit The Gardens of Broceliande, up near Rennes. This evening Laetitia and Yves are coming round for a beer. Laetitia's mother is still staying with them and every time they plan for her to go home she decides to stay another week. She moved in with them in November after a bout of ill health, now better she is resisting going home. Its hard work for them, they are already a large household plus many small farm animals to keep. They are both very tired and depressed, hence the invite for a beer this evening.

Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

Morning Sue. I like the bit about finding clothes that are too big for you, I wish that would happen to me!



I have started on the delicate job of refining the connecting rod. I started this morning by grinding a new everyday HSS cutter. Then cleaning the blank up, cutting it to exact length and putting some shape in the end. I am now ready for actual cutting! (You can't just carry on forever with a cutter. It's funny how they change shape over the months as you use and re-sharpen them....)

[Big Kev]

Feeling sorry for myself, I don't like feeling ill and am a terrible patient. I will hide under the duvet

[Stanley]

Best place Kev and exactly what I would do.....

[Sue]

Feeling sorry for myself, I don't like feeling ill and am a terrible patient. I will hide under the duvet

Oh dear, hope you feel better soon and that its nothing too unpleasant

[Big Kev]

Probably just something I've picked up from a germ infested grandchild.

[plaques]

Probably just something I've picked up from a germ infested grandchild.

Have a bit of sympathy for the grandchild they may have picked it up from a germ infested grandfather.

[PanBiker]

Hard luck Kev, I hope you feel better soon.

[Stanley]

As usual 06;00 will see me in the shed and 07:00 going to the Co-op for my weekly early doors shopping. Nothing in the forecast to stop me having a walk later but I have an idea I might be veggie cooking instead. We shall see.....

[Sue]

Morning

Just our luck yesterday. I was a lovely day here but when we arrived at the gardens in Broceliande and the heavens opened. Laetitia said we took the rain with us leaving them with a fine day. Actually it was a good day. In the morning I cut and washed the rhubarb. Later when it was chopped and bagged I had 3.5/kilo. I had given half that amount away to two immediate neighbours who like rhubarb. We had a lovely lunch in La Gacilly, bought a birthday present at Yves Rocher for my friend Wendy and then made our trip.

It may have been very ‘clarty ‘ ( such a wonderful geordie word) underfoot but the gardens were worth the trip. A circuit round took us 2 hours to walk and we still didn’t do it all. There were over 100 different lilac trees in flower, and probably more apple trees, all grown in the most unusual shapes and there was the biggest display of irises I have ever seen, probably about 200+ arranged in radiating curves like the seating in an amphitheatre. There were streams running through the gardens, Asian gardens, Wild pastures with beehives and periodically children's play areas and activity zones, such as the muddy walkways where children were encouraged to take off their shoes and socks and enjoy the feel ( plus thank goodness a washing station to clean up afterwards. Of course being a week day it was quiet and thus no muddy children rushing around.

In the evening Yves and Laetitia stayed for an hour or so. I think it was a chance for Laetitia to let off a bit of pent up stress about their whole situation. She has been off work with stress and high BP for 4 months and is now in danger of losing her job as well. What a mess.

Today I need to do some washing, hopefully it will dry as at the moment no more rain is forecast for a week. The temperatures are also more seasonal, back to 20 degrees. I want to plant some nasturtium and other seeds in my pots outside . Bob set the watering system up yesterday so we should have a nice floral display when we come in July. I have to bank up my potatoes again and that's it. Bob hopes to weed kill the paths and mow the lawn at last. I shall clean upstairs and we are visiting Roland at tea time.

Have a good day all

[Sue]

I don’t believe this, I have just checked the weather forecast and it has changed again. Rain on Monday and intermittent next week and back to 16 degrees, I though things were improving. Its a really odd weather pattern that is set in here and it seems to change almost hourly ! Is it the same at home?

[Stanley]

More stable but basically not the usual pattern of weather for this time of the year Sue. Having said that we might get a good day tomorrow but then back to the same old. Basically cold winds and low temperatures.



Straight into carefully refining the blank for my con rod. This is the stage where it is a disaster if anything goes wrong because you lose such a lot of work. No such problems. I am ready now for the final touches.....
Oh, and by the way. Early doors shopping has been done and put away.

[Sue]

Its the endless rain rather than the cool temperatures that are getting me down. We could do with some wind to shift the clouds just sitting here. I thought it damp/ wet in Rochdale but its never for long spells like this. Anyway its sunny now I am getting out in the garden to plant my seeds and bank up my potatoes

[Stanley]

Good, I am ignoring the fact it's dry and am cooking veggies.....
Later at 13:30. All veggie cooking done and pans put away. The chicken will be roasted tomorrow.

[Stanley]

I shall put my chicken in for its four hour roast and then go in the shed and work quietly and carefully on the connecting rod for my engine. When I have dealt with that after my second sleep I shall think about a walk because today looks like a good day!

[Sue]

Morning

Yesterday was a very nice day, blue skies, not even an inkling of rain until about 4 when the clouds arrived, the wind whipped up and rain for several hours was forecast. It did not happen .Today is 21 degrees, sun and cloud, and next weeks rain is back to just Monday (not that it matters because we won’t be here)

We had a good day finishing what we had to do. I cleaned up stairs thoroughly, today is downstairs. I don’t do much cleaning whilst here, only essentials like bathrooms and kitchen and sweeping through but give it a really good do when we leave. As we have the door open most to the time it gets a lot of leaves and dust in, this visit it has been a lot of mud and wet grass. Bob got his weed killing done, well nearly . It took 37 litres and 4 hours to do it was that bad. Luckily he found some old chemical weedkiller in the garage and used that, its a bit more effective than vinegar, though now effectively banned and kept under lock and key at the garden centres. We went to see Roland, good for his age but showing his age. I last saw him in October, he has gone very thin indeed and conversation was very limited as he struggled to hear, and mis interpreted what was said. Nicole is obviously struggling with him. However we made his day and promised to visit next time we are over. He had a joke with us about having an aperitif , a little wine he asked, and the old twinkle came back.

Today is the market at La Gacilly. We only need a watermelon plant to replace one that has died. Its better to have two than one, though I did buy a lonely single pumpkin plant at the supermarket yesterday for a bargain. For the first time in years my veggie patch is full it all survives. Then its downstairs cleaning, bed changing and Bob is going to cut the lawn. This evening Yves and Laetitia are coming for another beer and a chat.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

You had a big list Sue but you seem to be getting through it all very well. Nice to see such a positive report. We are expecting a good day here, 17C, and it is already sunny. We have a bit of overcast at the moment but that will soon burn off.



This morning was all about joining the crank pin brass to the connecting rod. First I had to counterbore the bolt holes in the front half of the bearing to give me enough thread on the bolts to attach the rod. My eyes let me down and I bored one deeper than the other. Not terminal! Then I marked and drilled the holes in the foot of the rod and had to adjust them as once more my eyes let me down and I got them slightly wrong. Again, not terminal. I finished with the bearing attached to the rod and now I have to decide how to cut the rod back to match the bearing. It's very hard to hold it for milling in fact I can't think how to do it so I may to it by hand....

[Sue]

Not sunny hereStanley but thick cloud and cold. It is often like this in the summer, changing about 11. There is a breeze, good for the washing.

[Stanley]

Still puzzling over the problem of machining my con rod. No doubt something will come to me.
Sufficient until the day is the evil thereof.... I am not worrying about it. Could be a dry day and a walk at midday. I shall see how I feel.

[Sue]

Morning

Well our warm sunny day did not appear till nearly 6.00 pm. It was basically cloudy, cool and breezy. I had loads of washing,bedding, towels, gardening gear and it took hours to dry. In fact it didn’t . I had to use my Lakeland drying tent to dry the things we needed to pack, the bedding and towels have hung over the bannisters overnight and the gardening gear on the ceiling mounted airer. They can stay there if they are not dry this morning. I see next weeks forecast has changed again, to sun and more seasonable temperatures up to 23 degrees. Today is supposed to be wall to wall sun, at the moment it is a misty start.

We are more or less packed. I have the kitchen to clean after breakfast and the ‘ unused ‘ garden furniture to put away. We shall lunch and then drive up to St Malo and spend the afternoon there. We have a hotel booked for the night so that we can easily get to the ferry before 8.30 pm. The plan is to stay overnight in Portsmouth tomorrow night and drive home on Tuesday, possibly via Coventry . Its been a productive three weeks but as you can see weather wise, very disappointing. No BBQs, no evening drinks in the garden and hardly any trips out. Hopefully the weather will be better in Cornwall in three weeks time.

Have good day all

[Stanley]

I can hardly believe it's three weeks Sue! But you have certainly filled every hour. I hope you have a nice uneventful trip home.



The design committee worked on the problem of cutting the con rod foot and presented me with the solution this morning. Cut the two small faces by hand then use the VM to cut the other sides. This included sharpening a new cutter. I say new, it's another old one but better than the original which has been sharpened down to the bitter end. I finished up with a con rod married to its bearing. Now I have to deal with the little end that goes in the crosshead bearing. But that's for tomorrow. A good hour well spent.

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed for an hour with my connecting rod and later hopefully off for a short walk and a sit on traffic duty. That's the limit of my plans at the moment.

[Sue]

Morning

We are sat at the quayside in the pouring rain and are very early, the boat is just unloading ( offloading?). It was glorious at the house yesterday, nicest day in 3 weeks. We left about 2 and arrived at St Malo to a thick, cold, windy, sea mist. We had a walk, a sit and a beer but it was too cold to sit for long. I think this bad weather is attatched to us.
The ferry trip is 9 hours, I don't think it will be rough but its not sitting out on deck weather. We have our books, I have my crocheting and we will have a long lunch in the restaurant and an afternoon sleep. It soon passes. We are staying in a different Premier Inn tonight !

Have a good day.