Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

Well done Ian once again......
Not as often as you'd think David. I don't trust wifi to give me a free call!
I remember many years ago when Big Harry told me all international calls should be free as the comms companies make their money from transferring huge amounts of data. I didn't believe him then but I guess it's true.
I shall be in the shed as usual but after putting my chicken in to roast. Like Veggie cooking this is now a moveable occasion. Not sure about the weather at midday, I shall decide on a short walk then.

[Sue]

..The nice thing was that when I went to my mum and dads plot, someone has straightened up their headstone and shored it up at the front it had started to lean forwards as the plot is on a slight incline. Don't know if that is the churchyard friends …..

Morning

This comment caught my attention. Whenever we go to Burnley cemetery and tidy up the family grave ( found through my genealogy) now containing my brothers and my parents ashes, we regularly clear and tidy the graves around, removing moss and we have even been known to take a bit of weedkiller to tackle the worst of the weeds covering a headstone. I hate derelict headstones, so sad. Bob and I , during lockdown spent several days clearing the growing wilderness encroaching on the graves in our local churchyard. Sadly we got no thanks ( even though church people knew we were doing it) except by the people whose gardens over look it.

Yesterday was a horrid wet day. I braved the elements and managed ro clear most of the flower border. As the rain was leaking through my waterproof and two layers of clothes I gave up at 11.30, had a cuppa and then went out to lunch. Bob had been putting the second coat of paint on the radiator and started emulsioning one wall with the paint we bought the other day. He finished in the afternoon whilst I tidied out and lined two cupboards and stripped wall paper at the other end of the kitchen. Bob finished wall paper stripping whilst I tidied up and did zoom pilates.

The paint we bought is a horrid colour and not the colour implied on the tin. We are wanting the same colour scheme as we had as we don’t want to change tiles and repaint the kitchen cupboards which I did two years ago. We shall use the paint as an undercoat but at 49 euros its an expensive mistake. We thought about mixing it with magnolia to tone it down, but if we run out later we won’t be able to duplicate it. The local DIY will mix paints for us but as we are going home in a couple of days we will try and get some paint at home.

Today is more rain, but with clothes now dry I will get out there and finish the plant clearing. This afternoon I think I will be painting white gloss . There are 3 doorways at this freshly cleared end of the kitchen.

Have a good day all

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[Stanley]

"As the rain was leaking through my waterproof and two layers of clothes I gave up at 11.30, had a cuppa and then went out to lunch. "
I like that quote Sue, shows the right attitude in my book!


I started this morning by facing the seat for the exhaust pipe on the cylinder then marking it and drilling and tapping for the 1/4" X 32tpi Pipe.Now I need two pipes to fit this size, one for the steam pipe on the valve chest and one for the exhaust on the cylinder. I reached the point where I had the pipe to size and bored 5/32" and was ready for the thread on the first one but it was knocking off time. No overtime working in this shop.....

[PanBiker]

All complete for this year. Here's the track of the cemetery.



and the lads not found this year.



Churchyard perambulation



and the ones hidden in the leaves so undiscovered this year. Herbert and Wilfred together at the top but temporarily lost again



All together under the tree.



Two more lads are commemorated above the lower churchyard.

[Wendyf]

Well done Ian, and Sally too!

[Stanley]

Seconded......
I shall be in the shed for an hour as usual, no early doors shopping, I did it yesterday while it was dry! This morning I shall shop for veggies in the Town Square and cook them tomorrow. The week is coming together.

[Sue]

Morning

Its getting cool in the mornings and overnight so yesterday I swapped our bedroom to the much warmer winter bedroom. I changed the bedding as well giving one less job to do tomorrow. As I am having to dry all washing inside due to the endless rain and stormy weather, the longer it has to dry before I put it away , the better.

Yesterday true to form we had heavy rain all morning but luckily we got about 3 hours dry weather in the afternoon and great progress was made with the tree. In the morning I did go out in the garden and got very wet and muddy indeed but managed to finish stripping out the old perennial plants from the flower border at the side of the house. I moved a few other plants around so next year I just need some summer bulbs, fuchsia and dahlias to finish it off. In the afternoon, I barrowed wood cuttings for Bob. We now have a very large wood store. Bob also managed to get a big slice off the base of the trunk which I hope my son in law, Ed will be able to make into a small coffee table.

Today is another day of heavy showers, the local river is pouring its water on to the fields around and in La Gacilly , the nearest big town, the river is roaring but at least has not broken its banks. Having washed down the paintwork today I will be painting three doorways in white gloss and doing an undercoat of a special white emulsion that covers severe blemishes in the plaster board and water proofs it ( bought at screw fix at home) . Bob has found a 12 litre unused tub of magnolia emulsion paint , which when mixed with the horrendous paint we have recently bought, produces the beautiful antique gold colour that we want.

So another wet, dry, painting and tree cutting day, but I also hope to vacuum upstairs as part of our post departure clean through, which will not be as thorough this visit as we do not have time. We also need to fit in a bit of shopping for chocolates for Laetitia and flowers for her Mum as we have been invited to her mums 80 th birthday lunch on Sunday. We shall leave for St Malo straight afterwards. I would normally finish the cleaning that day !

Have a good day all

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[Stanley]

Time flies Sue! You only just seem to have got there! Busy as usual and I'll bet that tree has some nice grain in that slice off the butt. What a stroke of luck with the emulsion paint. It will be there ready for you on your next visit.....



First thing I did was finish making the exhaust and steam pipes and fit them. Then I went back to basic work on the base and bed castings, filing out the flash and using more refined methods to improve the finish of the castings. Once I had done that I drilled clearance holes in the lugs on the base and set up ready to do the same on the bed, drill the lugs 3/16" clearance for the 2BA bolts that will hold the bed down on the base. That's where I finished, that will be the first task tomorrow.

[Sue]

Yes Stanley, time flies. That tree really mucked up plans. No hedge or shrubs trimming, they will have to be done in the Spring, but we prioritised . I really had to get those plants out while the ground is damp otherwise the soil is unworkable. I wanted them out before next years Spring growth. I also wanted the fruit patch cleared and seeded so that it can grow over the winter and spring. It would have bern nice to get more of the kitchen done but we have done better than expected under the circumstances.

[Sue]

Jackpot, only the stump to go. Thank goodness for an unexpected dry day

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[Big Kev]

Top job

[Stanley]

Bob must have a super strong back. That was what killed chain saw work for me in the end. I'm glad you got a straight edge. What are you going to do with the stump? Make it a feature?
I shall be in the shed as usual working on my castings and after second sleep I will be cooking veggies, the chicken is of course already done and is sitting in the fridge.
I have one pot of last week's chicken and veggies left over and so this morning's breakfast is safe!

[Sue]

Morning

Further progress was made after the last photo, ao all I have to do this morning is fill the hole behind the remaining bit of stump with soil, to prevent water getting in, as we would like the little shoot surviving to thrive. It was dusk when Bob finished, hencevthe dark photo. It was about the same time I finished my painting and cooking . We certainly earned a reward….

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I had been busy cooking tea but also making vegetable soup with left over veggies, this is now in the freezer.

Today its a bit of cleaning, washing towels and anything in the wash that is not going home with us. I want to apply another coat of the sealer emulsion paint, and fill that hole with soil. Sadly I have no more grass seed so if we go shopping I will buy some. We are going to move my pots of begonias etc into the barn for the winter and they should survive. Normally I cover the pots but they are so wet I think the plants will rot so I shall leave them open this year.

I am not sure what Bob is up to. Having a bit of a rest I should think. The forecast is rain most of the day, but we didn’t get any of the rain forecast yesterday, so we shall see.

Have a good day all

[Sue]

Just remembered we are going to see Roland late this afternoon

[Stanley]

Bob certainly deserves a bit of a rest but so do you Sue. Another day filled with honest endeavour and what a difference between the cleared tree site and what greeted you on arrival. I hope you find the grass seed so that when you return the site can have healed up a bit.



More work on the base and bed castings. The job this morning was to finish drilling the clearance holes for the 2BA set screws in the bed. Then transfer those hole locations to the base casting. Drill and tap them for 2BA and finally test the authenticity of those holes by bolting the bed down onto the base. I finished up by putting all the tackle away, cleaning my chips up off the drill and making sure I had a straight edge.....

[PanBiker]

Be at the town War Memorial for the lowering of the flag and the maroons for two minutes silence at 11am.

A bit of lunch then off to the hustings in Clitheroe to select our Parliamentary Candidate. Result will be announced after the count later today.

[Stanley]

I've got up again after second sleep Ito a brilliant morning where the white frost is being burnt off by the sun. I shall have a hot drink, a bit of a ponder about Grandad Challenger and his mates who never came home from Flanders and then Improve the shining hour by cooking a weeks worth of veggies.

[Stanley]

£22.50 worth of veggies cooked and stowed away in the fridge. I know, how can one bloke eat that many veggies in a week? Hob is cleaned and all the pans and tools put away. The trash and peelings are all out of the door in the bin and now I can say that the day's tasks have been accomplished.... Always a nice feeling.

[Tripps]

how can one bloke eat that many veggies in a week?

Beats me -

PS - just went through my till receipts for the last couple of weeks (I know)
Roughly spent (Aldi and Tesco) on veg, including salad stuff, but not fruit, is about £17 rounded up. . I'm a keen shopper, but all prices were freely offered (some specials - but nothing reduced). This will last well over a week - probably two. I don't eat them for breakfast though (except tomatoes) -in fact I find two meals a day is plenty.

Carrots 2kg 1.10
Potatoes 2kg 1.40
Cauliflower (medium) 0.95
Onions 1 kg, 1,00

Red peppers x 4 2.20
Mushrooms 1.60
Garlic 0.60
Spring Onions 0.50
Tomatoes (say) 3.00
Cucumber 0.75
Lettuce 0.75

Broccoli 1.00
Sprouts 1.00
Pointy cabbage 1.00

[Big Kev]

Similar veg list to mine but I don't use as many spuds

[Stanley]

My list at Chaudrey's yesterday was:-
Cauliflower, Broccoli, Tomatoes, Swede, White cabbage, Leeks, Onions, Carrots, Parsnips, Potatoes, Garlic, Sweet potatoes and Apples. All cooked and in the fridge except for the sweet potatoes which will get fried in a couple of days and I shall top up the pans with frozen peas when there is room.That lot plus the roast chicken on the top shelf will do me nicely for just over a week.....
This morning I shall be in the shed for an hour. Not sure where my efforts will be directed yet, I have choices!
If the weather forecast is accurate I should get a cold but dry walk in today. I shall see later. I don't have to go out for anything....

[Sue]

Similar veg list to mine but I don't use as many spuds

Morning

Similar to ours too but don’t buy potatoes, as we have plenty that we have grown and eat very few indeed. Not too much salad stuff at this time of year as I make soup with home grown butternut squash, pumpkins, any veg on offer, plus leeks to go with our potatoes.

This morning is a finishing off and packing the car morning. Ie two bathrooms to clean, fridge to wash out, washing to put away. We are due at Laetitia's at noon for her Mums birthday lunch. We did buy grass seed yesterday on our way to see Roland , and I seeded the little patch where I added soil and levelled it out as much as I could. The rest of the seed I will put on the old fruit patch which only got a scanty covering..

Roland was showing his age, he struggles to walk now, has little conversation and eats less and less, but his face lit up when we arrived.. i am not sure he will still be there on our return trip in March. I think Nicole worries about him. Talking of Nicole her Mimosa tree was also badly damaged in the storm. It lost two big side branches and she is afraid the rest of it will fall….on to her house, so she is going to have it taken down. I am amazed how small the gardens are where she lives. Too small for big trees like that.

Todays forecast is rain, how unusual. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Sorry to hear about Roland but I do understand..... Glad you got the grass seed, it should have grown into good cover by the time you go over again. Do you leave the fridge door open Sue?



I started the day by fixing the base onto a temporary plinth, it makes it much better for fitting. Then I wasn't sure where to go, at first I favoured the crankshaft bearings and the crosshead but then decided instead to address the holes in the front lid. I spent a lot of time checking and re-checking which two holes were the smaller and countersunk 5BA ones.... and got it 90 degrees out! That's what old age does for you..... Not the end of the world, it just means that the piston rod gland will not be oriented horizontally but vertically. I can work with that.I'm a bit pissed off with getting that wrong but I can live with it, it's still progress!

[Sue]

Stanley we have two fridges, one is a fridge freezer so is always switched on with door shut. The other is a summer overflow fridge, which we wash out, defrost and leave the door propped open from September through to July. When we cleared out my brothers flat the fridge freezer plug had been pulled, door closed, food in it…WHAT A MESS.

Talking of my brother Bob cleared the estate paperwork and outstanding bills/debts the week before we came away. Its taken two years to sort

[Stanley]

Thanks for that Sue. Fridge left with food in.... I can imagine the mess.
As for estates, Yes, clearing them can be long drawn out affairs. Janet's was a nightmare, not the Australian part of it but getting the two administrations to talk to each other to synchronise Australian and UK taxes.....
As for mine, I have spent a lot of time with my daughters making arrangements so that when I shuffle off, most of the work has been done.
Second sleep went well and when I woke I found that the Design Committee have come up with a tidy solution to the piston rod gland problem.