Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

I've had my walk and half an hour on traffic watch. Surprising how many people I see that I know and some who know me but I can't place them.
I think Gloria might have been right about the drying weather, a mixture of mizzle and sunshine....

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed as usual getting on with making my crosshead. Nothing in the forecast to militate against a midday walk and sit on traffic duty. I shall see how I feel later.....

[Sue]

Morning.

Well its a bit quieter here today. Yesterday we visited the local mégalithes, involving about a 3 mile walk through the area. The sun was blazing down. https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Site_m% ... Saint-Just

By mid afternoon the temperatures were in the 30 s, so we mostly stayed inside the house. Packing was done and an early tea was had. After Bob departed to the airport Barbara and I tidied round a bit and I managed to get all the bedding and towels washed and mainly dry. They are dry this morning.

Today, Barbara and Bills last day, we are going to Vannes and catching the local ferry to Isle d’Arz in the Gulf of Morbihan. We shall walk round the island and have lunch there, and back about 6.00. Its one of our favourite places. Temperatures are expected to be very high and with the possibility of a thunderstorm this evening.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

There's no doubt that this stay is turning into a proper holiday! It all sounds good Sue and I hape the weather is reasonably kind to you today. You're not missing anything, relatively cool and overcast here with rain expected this evening.



More work on shaping the crosshead. Today I squared the ends and cut it down to length. Then I marked out and set up to cut the groove down each side. At knocking off time I had the crosshead ready for fitting to the slide and marking up for the next operations. A good hour and a quarter and I look forwards to tomorrow.

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed pursuing my crosshead. Later I might have a walk and a sit, we'll see what the weather looks like.
One thing I won't be doing is veggie shopping because due to my new project I am eating less and last week's veggies are going to last over the weekend!

[Sue]

Morning

My goodness it was hot yesterday, reaching about 34. I think it was still25 when we came to bed. We did a day trip to Isle d’Arz, one of our favourite places, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele-d'Arz. In total we must have walked over 5 miles strolling the lanes and coastal path. We were back here at 6.30 where it continued to be warm. Thunderstorms were forecast but up till now they have not happened. We really need one. Every time we visit the island I take a photo of a particular wrecked boat, which I find very photogenic. Over the years it has deteriorated more, and now its mask has tipped over since last year

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Barbara and Bill leave after breakfast. We shall spend the day tidying, washing and cleaning, afterwards I shall probably start to feel homesick. I usually do. We have another10 days or so here .

The garden is needing a little attention and now after all this dry weather I should be able to dig my potatoes and cover the patch. Try as I might I don’t think my cabbages are going to recover but I will leave them till our next visit.

Today is meant to be warm, 28 degrees, but over the next few days things will start to cool to 22 with showers.

Have a good day all

[Sue]

The storm completely missing us

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. We are the blue dot

[Stanley]

I agree with you about wrecks Sue. Mine is the puffer jammed in the cave on Eigg. That sounds like a good day and I suppose missing the storm could be a good thing. I hope you have a comfortable day.



On with the crosshead.... I started by marking the crosshead for drilling to accept the piston rod. Then I took the piston out, packed it, lubricated the cylinder and then cut a slot in the piston so it can be tightened in the crosshead. I drilled and tapped the crosshead and installed it and tightened the piston rod in the crosshead. Then I tried the movement and it is a perfect fit. I am ready now to drill the crosshead and prepare it for the connecting rod. This was a good hour and a quarter. I am a happy bunny so far!

[Stanley]

I have had a rethink about veggie shopping and am going to go to the Town Square this morning as usual. The veggies I am getting, things like carrots, swedes, hard cabbage and Leeks won't mind sitting a day or two longer before being cooked. I already have my chicken in the freezer as I knew that my butcher would be closed this week. It's stopped raining so I shall be brave and sally forth....

[Sue]

Raining now and for the rest of the day

[Sue]

Its stopped, braving putting the washing out.

[Stanley]

I hope you got away with it Sue!
I shall be in the shed at 06:00 but out in time to go for early doors shopping at 07:00. There's rain forecast for when I would usually be walking and sitting..... No veggie cooking today, I haven't finished last week's yet due to cutting down on eating..... (Which by the way is working well.)

[Sue]

Morning

Despite the forecast we had blazing sun by noon and eventually the temperature was again over 30 degrees. I managed to wash and dry and iron all the bedding plus wash and dry the towels of which there were many. I cleaned the bedrooms and covered the beds until they are needed again. We did some essential shopping having run out of some of the basics but also bought two bargain plants from Lidl and some potting compost and pots for my strawberry runners.

Today I will wash the floors and sweep through downstairs. Bob cut the lawn which really needed it and we put the excess garden furniture away. Tea was left over lasagne from the freezer, which we ate whilst watching the TV. Its the first time it had been switched on in two weeks apart from the football final.

Today will be more relaxed, though i shall plant my new plants ( part of the garden redesign) pot up my strawberry runners and hopefully dig up my potatoes if it is not too hot . Not sure of the forecast, I think it is dry, partial cloud and 24 degrees. I need to take stock of what is in the freezer as we hope not to shop much again before we come home.

Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

Sounds like a well organised day that went well Sue. Lots of work done after the visitors and another busy day planned for today. I hope it doesn't get too hot, it's so tiring working in high temperatures. That's not bothering us here Sue, we have single figure forecast for Wednesday night.... We could see an early start to the heating season.



The job this morning was to make the pivot pin for the connecting rod. I have done that and marked the crosshead for drilling tapping and slotting to take the rod. Then I went for shopping. That's all put away now.

[Stanley]

I've had a walk to the pharmacy, collected my medications and walked back through Town Square with a sit on the bench on traffic duty on the way back. Very hot sunshine and small dark clouds, it always felt on the verge of rain. Just as I got back home a few drops fell, it might be the heavy rain we were promised in the forecast.....

[Stanley]

I shall have my hour in the shed this morning.... One thing I won't be doing is any cooking, I am still on last week's batch! (The Project is doing well.) However, I shall take my chicken out of the freezer as I think I might be cooking on Monday!

[Sue]

Morning

That was a good nights sleep. I slept solidly from 11 to 7.00 am . I think the cooler day and cooler night helped considerably. It has been uncomfortably hot at night. I managed to get all my inside jobs done leaving only downstairs requiring a thorough clean before we leave on Sunday afternoon in a weeks time. It was very pleasant gardening i 21 degrees with sun and a light covering of cloud. I dug my potatoes and it was the best crop in years. In contrast I only have three butternut squash and two pumpkins. As there is a complete lack of any more flowers I took the plants up . Whilst planting my new Lidl plants in the old asparagus plant I noticed that our miniature peach trees have peaches. They had abundant flowers in April but in May were suffering from leaf curl and had lost most of their leaves. When we arrived this time they had recovered but I did not expect to see peaches.

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They are still hard but hopefully will ripen before we go home.

Today I shall pickle the last of my gherkins, again a poor crop, and dig over the rest of the unproductive veggie crop. I still have tomatoes coming, so they can stay till our next visit in October. The wild flowers are still flowering and have been in continuous bloom since early June. I hope to collect the seeds and in October spread them on the veggie plot we are returning back to grass.

It is due to rain this afternoon, light showers and thunderstorms. I may make some blackberry jam as we have a glut of those too. I can’t freeze them as the freezer is packed to the brim.

Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

That sounds like yet another satisfying day Sue. I'm glad things are going smoothly and hope it lasts for another week! Those peaches were a nice surprise weren't they.....



I had to start the day by making a spacer to go under the nut when the pin is in use in the crosshead. This is because I made it too long..... It took me over 30 minutes to make the spacer because I kept making mistakes but catching them by checking myself. (It's called old age!). Then I Drilled and tapped the crosshead ready for the pin, but first I have to machine the slot for the end of the rod and drill one side for 3/16" clearance. That will be easier when the slot is cut..... Lots of errors but caught before they were mistakes.... A good hour and a quarter.

[Stanley]

I've had me walk and a sit on traffic duty. Dry but dull and cool. We are not far off the heating season!

[PanBiker]

We have the Silsden grandchildren overnight tonight. Sally and Isla have gone to Colne on the bus to see what's going on around the annual Blues Festival. Finlay is staying with me as he is feeling a bit off colour. I have anther minding job which is watching the weather for the washing hanging in the yard and fetching it in if it rains. I think I can manage the multi-task.

[Stanley]

I shall do my usual hour in the shed and have second sleep afterwards but after that must scrub up as Tim from Bancroft is calling in to pick me up as today is the dedicating of the Pickles Riley Street clock. This is the one that used to be on Gissing's Wellhouse Road offices.....

[Sue]

Morning

Its cool this morning, 11 degrees and from my bed I can see the typical mist hanging over the fields. It is going to be partly cloudy and a high of 21 degrees, all very normal for the time of year. Yesterday we did have our rain for a few hours in the afternoon, sometimes very heavy but before lunch I managed to get most of my veggie patch cleared and covered for the winter , the rest still has things growing in it like sweet potatoes and tomatoes. Whilst it was raining I did some pickling and used a big bag of rhubarb out of the freezer to make rhubarb and ginger jam. It made a bit of space in the freezer but not much. I also sewed the toile for a simple short casual jacket. I made the pattern a month ago and used an old duvet cover to make the toile to see how it fitted. I am very pleased as it is the first pattern I have designed and made by myself. Maxine and I decided that after nearly 8 years tuition it was time to try making one unaided.

This morning I shall start clearing the raspberry patch that we are getting rid of, but this afternoon we are going to La Gacilly to have a stroll around this year’s annual photo exhibition. The theme is nature and there are some fabulous photos , some the size of a house wall, of underwater scenes.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

All sounds good Sue. Clearing the raspberry patch sounds like a prickly job, be careful of your eyes, a friend of mine lost an eye to a thorn..... I hope you get it done easily and have a good afternoon.



I intimated yesterday that as you get older you are less mentally agile. Here's an example. I realised this morning that what I needed was a 3/16" hole through the crosshead for the connecting rod. Simple as that, so I drilled it out and went on to do some careful measuring and then cut the slot in the4 crosshead for the rod. That's done and the crosshead is now ready for fitting. I think I shall make the connecting rod first...... But that's for tomorrow.

[Sue]

No probs with the raspberries they are thornless ones and have hardly grown, hencing getting rid of them .

[Stanley]

Good Sue! They can be very dangerous but because it's in the garden people don't see the hazard...
Today is going to be busy. Due to me cutting down on how much I eat, my weekly cook has lasted longer than usual. So today, before going in the shed for my usual hour I shall be putting my chicken in the oven for its four hour roast and when I rise from second sleep will be cooking my veggies. So no thoughts of a walk today, I shan't have time.