Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

I shall have my hour in the shed and then do the Early Doors Shopping at 07:00. I would normally be talking about a walk at midday but today it will be raining and I shall be cooking veggies anyway....

[Sue]

Morning

Well despite the forecast it managed to rain on and off all day. Half my washing I dried in the dryer in the end but eventually the bedding dried outside. We decided to do our Tesco shop today.

We are not doing our usual Friday lunch as the others are all elsewhere, so we are going tomorrow instead. This leaves us with a clear day today to shop, sort packing, clean the bird feeders and put them away and generally sort things out. Think it is due to rain most of the day, but if not we may manage a short walk.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

You got there in the end Sue.




I set out to fit the studs and nuts to the two glands for the valve and piston rod and completed the task. I've also been to the Co-op and done the early hours shopping and put it away. This makes it a good morning!

[Stanley]

Veggie cooking is in full swing. 4 pans on the hob and bugger the leccy bill!
Later at 14:00.
Well that was a good day full of honest endeavour. Good progress in the shed. Shopping done and veggies for next week cooked. All my pans put away and the hob cleaned. Now I can relax with a clear conscience!

[Stanley]

This morning I shall put my chicken in the oven for its 4 hour roast and then do my hour in the shed with my castings.
I paid the credit card bill yesterday for the castings, Ouch! It's an expensive hobby!

[Stanley]

This morning I invested more time in the lids. They both needed the holes drilling in them for the studs and, in the case of the front lid, the countersunk screws that attach them to the cylinder. I used the packing gasket to mark the hole positions. Quick and easy and accurate enough. Tomorrow I shell transfer these drillings to the cylinder....

[Sue]

Morning

What a horrid cold wet day yesterday, it struggled to make 13 degrees. At least we got our shopping done and packing sorted with plenty of time for a bit of hobbying. I went through my old sewing magazines extracting and filing useful articles and disposing of the rest, mainly American adverts, being an American magazine. Bob took over the kitchen table making a wooden orrery that I bought him for Christmas. Today will be more of the same but with towels to wash and fridge to clear out and clean. We are meeting Wendy and Keith for lunch at 1.00 pm, and this evening it is u3a zoom wine appreciation with a talk by my sister. The wine is Zinfandel, not our favourite or Primitivo the Italian version with the same grape, and much better we think. We are drinking the latter.

Thats our day, have a good one

[Stanley]

I fear we are in for a rerun of yesterday today Sue. Still, look on the bright side, we are better off with this below average weather than the 40C they are 'enjoying' in Southern Europe.
I shall have my hour in the shed and then probably a day of reading and Youtube, I don't see much incentive for being a good lad and getting some exercise in!

[Sue]

Morning

Last night the forecast said rain first thing then a dry day, but it seems to change all the time. However today we set off for France, back in September. We are spending the day in Coventry which is forecast 20 degrees with occasional showers. I washed overnight, the things we have been wearing the last couple of days. They are in the dryer now and can be put away before we leave after breakfast. I like to leave everything clean and tidy as best we can . The ferry is tomorrow night so we are visiting Jane Austens house in the morning, a little bit of culture

So have a good day all

[Stanley]

I hope you have a good trip Sue. You've certainly done all the preparation.



More work on the lids and their fitting. I've made enough mistakes in my time in fitting cylinders to beds to know how easy it is to get the orientation wrong so ai spent the best5 part of half an hour checking and marking the orientation of the lids. Then I drilled the holes in the target ends and made sure these holes had room for the nuts on the back side. That took me to just over an hour. Tomorrow I shall carry on by marking and drilling the tapping holes in the cylinder. Slow but extremely careful work. (And I hope accurate!)

[Stanley]

I'm sitting having a rest after taking my kitchen curtains down and putting them in the washer. I shall change the old hooks for new plastic ones. It took me almost half an hour to find them, I had put them away safely. At the same time I have cleaned the windows on the inside and cleaned and polished the curtain pole. I am now going to take the dry clothes from the last wash upstairs and and having dinner while this load washes. It's all go!

[Big Kev]

Gave the big oven a thorough clean today (what an exciting life I lead). It doesn't get used much (I use the air fryer) so it shouldn't need a deep clean for quite a while now. Putting together a photo album of daughter-in-law's 40th birthday shenanigans after tea this evening, I took the studio lighting and 'dressing up' stuff along to the party. Eldest offspring, daughter-in-law and youngest granddaughter came round last night for the moules mariniere and to choose the pictures, it was a pleasant evening.

[Wendyf]

I had to choose between watching the Wimbledon final and going out for a walk once the weather improved this afternoon. So pleased I decided on the walk, it was really refreshing and home in time to watch Djokovic suffering in the 3rd set.

[Big Kev]

I had to choose between watching the Wimbledon final and going out for a walk once the weather improved this afternoon. So pleased I decided on the walk, it was really refreshing and home in time to watch Djokovic suffering in the 3rd set.

Ooh! Is someone else going to win?

[Wendyf]

I had to choose between watching the Wimbledon final and going out for a walk once the weather improved this afternoon. So pleased I decided on the walk, it was really refreshing and home in time to watch Djokovic suffering in the 3rd set.

Ooh! Is someone else going to win?

[Big Kev]

About time someone did

[Stanley]

I noted the improvement in the weather and had considered a walk but was knackered after climbing about on top of the kitchen sink to work on my curtains. Mind you, they look a lot better now.
Kev, I know how you feel, I cleaned the microwave yesterday. These small milestones mark the course of my life!
Today I shall be in the shed drilling holes in my cylinder and tapping them. The forecast says that we shall have rain in the middle of the day but we'll see. I think I fancy a walk and a sit on traffic duty......

[Sue]

Morning

It was lovely and warm with sun in Coventry yesterday though there were a few brief sharp showers. Today promises to be similar with a calm crossing this evening. Today will be a bit of site seeing, and may be a visit to the M&S outlet in Portsmouth before the ferry tonight. From the forecast it looks like the wind is dying down and the rain less intense.

No tennis watching for me, I detest it. It reminds me of endlessly chasing the ball when playing at school. Mind you the tennis courts were built on when I arrived and it was few years before they were restored. It was also a few years later before I discovered I was short sighted which is probably why I couldn’t hit the ball. How does anyone ever remember ther names, they are always so difficult to pronounce, let alone spell .

Cup of tea time, breakfast, then off to Jane Austens house. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

No need to apologise for not being a tennis fan, Join the club Sue! None of them look as though they are enjoying it. Far to serious and pressurised for me.....



I continued with working towards fitting the cylinder. This morning I have drilled and tapped for the studs and screws on both back and front faces of the cylinder. I shall install the studs tomorrow and find out if I have got them right!

[Big Kev]

Car in for MOT this morning, passed with a couple of advisories. One of the number plate bulbs needs replacing and a couple of tyres will need replacing in the next few months. I can live with that

[Stanley]

That sounds like a let-off Kev.
I watched one of the old Top Gear videos and in it Clarkson was talking about the MOT bill for his Mercedes Benz Grosser 600. It was £15,000.....
I shall be in the shed as usual at 06:00 going carefully forward with the fitting of my cylinder lids. All is well so far but I am always aware of the possibility of a massive cock-up!
We are promised heavy rain around midday so forget any ideas of a walk!

[Stanley]

Onwards with the fitting of the lids. As expected, all the studs had to be rethreaded and the tapped holes cleaned out and in some cases extended. I enlarged the clearance holes in the lid slightly and ended up with the lid an easy fit and all the nuts down tight on the rim. That took an hour of careful work but we got there. Tomorrow I'll do the same for the front lid and the fit to the target end on the bed.

[Sue]

Arrived. Calm crossing. Sunny morning

[Stanley]

That's a good report Sue. I was wondering how you were doing. I wish you a calm and uneventful drive now....

[Stanley]

I have improved the shining hour by deep cleaning the vinyl floor in the kitchen. I Pre-treated it with neat flash and left it to stand for an hour and then mopped it with hot water, bleach and detergent. It was worth it, I now have as clean a floor as anyone in Barlick!