Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

Morning Sue! That looks like a very civilised way to spend the day! I'm glad to hear your temperatures are falling to something more enjoyable. I hope your forecasting is good and you get your walks in.....



More quiet building this morning. First I marked the crosshead for drilling using the piston rod. Then I drilled and tapped the crosshead 2BA and fitted the piston rod in the crosshead. There is a misalignment in the bore of the piston. I knew about this but now I have to deal with it. I started by taking the piston rings out and replacing them with Soft packing. This is better but I need to do more tomorrow to get the piston running free. I fitted the packing and the back lid and retreated from the shed in search of breakfast. The bottom line is that I am showing my age in that there is the misalignment. I shall deal with that tomorrow....

[Stanley]

I have fried my sweet potato chips.... All is well!

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed early doors working on my engine..... Rain forecast later, might be going back to bed for a dadnap....

[Sue]

Morning

We managed both our walks yesterday before it rained later in the afternoon. It then rained most of the evening, heavily at times. This morning is forecast more of the same but at the moment it is the usual thick morning mist. Barbara and Bill leave after breakfast for an afternoon ferry, we shall miss them its been a good week. After they leave we will go to Malestroit to take a couple of bags of books to the book shop. This time it is mainly french travel books and we hope they will accept them. We may have lunch in Malestroit depending on the weather.

Over the next few days i need to dig the rest of my potatoes and onions and put the house back to a state fit to be viewed by prospective buyers. We noticed the estate agent featured our house on their facebook page yesterday. Fingers crossed it has an effect. On Sunday we are meeting Laetitia and family for a meal at the local Chinese buffet restaurant and one day I want to visit our new neighbours and invite them to come and pick some of our apple glut. It seems a shame to let them go to waste, we can only manage to bring a few back home with us and they may not survive the journey. Barbara and Bill have a big bag full of apples pears and cooking apples

21 degrees is forecast with a small chance of rain, yesterday had a very cooling breeze, not sure about today. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

As usual you give us a positive early morning report Sue. I hope your neighbours turn out to be nice people! Like you, we could have some more rain today. The UK is under a low pressure system and we are forecast to have broken weather all week.
No need for an image this morning because it would be exactly the same as yesterday's.... The difference is that I have stripped the piston and rod out of the cylinder, removed the soft packing and adjusted the fit until I had free movement. Then I replaced the packing and screwed the rod back into the crosshead. I also rethreaded the hole in the crosshead so that I could get full depth engagement. I am ready to make the connecting tod now.... The immediate task is breakfast!

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed early doors starting to make a connecting rod for my current engine.... Later I have two things in mind, go to the Co-op and get some milk before the rain arrives. I could leave it for another day but if the forecast is correct it is going to be a wet windy day tomorrow.... and get my Pork Belly cut up and in the slow cooker with oranges and onions.

[Stanley]

Off into the shed..... My pork belly is in the slow cooker and starting it's journey.

[Stanley]

This morning I started by touching up my milling cutter and reinstalling it in the VM. Then I set to to make a connecting rod. I set the piece of rectangular stock provided by Stuarts in the lathe and started cutting. It was tempting to press on when I reached an hour in the shed but I managed to resist. I know exactly where I am starting from tomorrow. Breakfast is more important and there is no rush.

[Sue]

Morning

Yesterday was like April showers and heavy ones too. The day was about 21 degrees but felt much cooler because of the wind and rain. I felt cold and had to wear a cardi, we have got used to the high 20 temperatures. Having put Barbara and Bills bedding and towels out they got soaked and eventually I dried them inside on the bannisters and the clothes airer. We at least had a dry trip to the bookshop leaving two bags full of French tourist books and information. Because of the threatening clouds we didn't stay to lunch. Back home I hoovered the guest bedroom and polished the furniture, it just helps give a nice homely look should we ever get viewers. Barbara had left the ensuite immaculate and it needed little cleaning bar the hoovering. Before the really heavy rain we moved the garden furniture to the barn ready to put away later today

It rained heavily all night but this morning it is sunny. More rain forecast this afternoon, so this morning I shall take the opportunity to try and get the potatoes, onions and rest of the tomatoes in, after which any plants can be pulled out. I have pulled all but one courgette plant and the final five beetroot. All came out easily now the soil has been dampened. Bob has been replacing a couple of electric wall sockets and has a few other jobs to do, kept for a rainy day as they say, and we are going to have plenty of those over our last few days. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

That sounds very much like our weather Sue.... How did the overtures to the new neighbours go?
Over here we've had a spatter of rain but it seems to be dry again now with a touch of sun as I write so I shall go to the Co-op for milk and get a short walk in....

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed early doors working on my con rod. From the look of the weather forecast the only sensible thing to do later is watch the rain through the kitchen window! We shall see.....

[Sue]

Morning

We had another day of spasmodic heavy showers yesterday, but I managed to get my potatoes and onions dug. The soil turned over beautifully having been thoroughly wetted. After lunch we went to the local DIY store for a couple of repair bits and pieces for the window shutters, otherwise a quiet uneventful day. Today I think I will hoover and polish in unused bedrooms and then pick fruit, some will go home with us wrapped in paper, the rest we will give to the neighbours. We seem to have someone living next door to us, a lady with a small child so think it must be rented. If so we have a full hamlet again. We will also go to the market in La Gacilly this morning to buy fresh mussels for tea, a local treat

Todays forecast is 20 degrees cloudy with rain late this afternoon and evening. Its very dark this morning. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue..... It's noticeably darker here morning and night now. We can't escape the fact that we are sliding into Autumn. As usual you have a positive day ahead, I hope the weather is kind to you.



Slow but accurate! The con rod is well on the way to completion. I was tempted to crash on and part it off but restrained myself. There is no rush and breakfast is more important.

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed early doors doing useful things to my con rod.
I shall try to get an early walk in later before the showers reach us by late morning.....

[Sue]

Morning

What a horrid day yesterday, it was more like November continuous heavy rain showers and a strong wind that lowered the temperature from 20 to feel like 17. Today ( and the next 5 days) are more of the same. This morning is dry but won’t last. I shall change our bedding to give it time to dry over the bannisters and air before we leave on Tuesday. Tomorrow I will do the towels.

It was too wet to pick fruit yesterday so may try again today. Bob spent the day treating the wood on the beams and floor boards in the study so he had to move all the furniture, this gives me a good opportunity today to clean into the corners and wash the floor behind furniture not often moved

As usual I am balancing food in the fridge and meals. The fridge is nearly bare as they say. This evening we are meeting Laetitia and family for a meal but otherwise we are finishing off salad stuff, peaches, yoghurts and fromage blanc a d good old versatile eggs. Yesterday I made another apple cake and have frozen that in slices. Its good to thaw out if we get any visitors. It made little impact on the number of apples sitting in bowls and boxes in our laundry room

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue..... I can't believe you are heading back on Tuesday, it doesn't seem more than a couple of days since you arrived! Your weather sounds like ours. Yesterday afternoon was gloomy, windy and wet and I thought about you when it went dark early......



This morning I finished turning the connecting rod and marked it for drilling to accept the bolts that hold the crank bearing together. That's done now and I am ready to mill the sides off level with the brass and then fit it back on the crankshaft and measure where I need to drill for the crosshead pivot. That's tomorrow's work, right now the aim is breakfast!

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed working on my connecting rod first thing. Not sure about later, it depends on how the weather turns out. Of late the Met Office has been getting quite confused about our weather, something to do with us being on the cusp of east and west and on the Pennines.....

[Stanley]

Domestic matters got in the way and I had to ditch the shed this morning. Nothing serious but stuff that had to be addressed.... I have had my breakfast and will be back in bed early....

[Sue]

Morning

Its a cool clear start to the day but a 30% chance of rain is forecast all day. Yesterday turned out to be sunny and breezy with a very occasional light shower. Having put my washing line away the night before I ended up drying our bedding inside. Today it is the towels and a continuation of the cleaning rota. I am doing a thorough de spidering exercise as the spiders webs have appeared continuously this summer. Today is the dining area and main lounge leaving the two bathrooms and kitchen tomorrow morning. Bob wants to a little bramble cutting back near our olive tree. This was a £10 1 metre high oddment from Lidl some 6 years back and is now several metres high and by garden centre standards worth a fortune!

We had a lovely chatty meal at the Chinese buffet last night, it is very popular with the locals, then Laetitia and family came back here for a coffee. We were all tired by 9.30, they left as the boys were back at college and in Evans case training school in St Malo and we had been busy all day. The afternoon was taken up with picking apples ( all varieties) pears and grapes. The former were wrapped in newspaper for bringing home, 5 boxes in total. We gave a bag full to our new next door neighbours and one to Laetitia. The new neighbours at the end of the row were out. I did find out that our immediate neighbours , a young family with two small girls have not bought the house even though it is for sale but are on a short term lease only. The lady speaks good English. The first time we have had anyone living near us with any English apart from Leanna, Laetitia’s daughter, who got a Merit in it in her Bac.

So our last full day here till late October, no house enquiries, no viewings but no different from Joanne and Paul some 15 km away from us. We live in hope of a sale soon, continue to clear out un- needed things but enjoy being here while we can . Have a good day all

IMG_4031.jpeg

IMG_4030.jpeg

IMG_4029.jpeg

IMG_4027.jpeg

IMG_4029.jpeg

Oops one repeated. We even managed to finish our 1000 piece jigsaw started just two weeks ago

IMG_4026.jpeg

[Stanley]

A busy day Sue as usual and I like your attitude to the sale. It will happen when you least expect it.
I am off back to bed, I know what's good for me. It's windy and wet out there now... I think we are looking at Autumn!

[Sue]

2 minutes later and its torrential rain

[Stanley]

I don't think I shall be missing the shed this morning. I shall be in there early doors refining my connecting rod..... I shall take a view later but would like to have a walk. We shall see what the weather is like. Now I am dog-less I don't walk in the rain!

[Stanley]

A combination of hand work and some very precise milling resulted in my con rod being refined to the point where it is ready for fitting to the engine. That will happen tomorrow. My goal at the moment is breakfast!

[Sue]

Morning

Its a very wet morning ,and a drier afternoon with much the same at St Malo. We were expecting this so Bob loaded the card yesterday afternoon between the heavy thundery showers. We only have our overnight bag to put in, a few small bits and my laptop which I was using for zoom yoga whilst Bob was finishing the car packing. I got far more done than I intended yesterday leaving just the kitchen , fridge and floors to clean this morning. Its omelette for lunch then we are driving up to St Malo for the evening ferry. It could be a bit choppy, more so in the morning as another Atlantic storm makes its way up the channel. That is according to a long detailed weather forecast I watched on youtube yesterday, called Mr Weather man. Worth a watch . Laetitia is calling round this morning for half an hour just to say cheerio. She often did and is working in the area this morning.

My goodness it is dark and that rain is heavy I can hear it pounding on the windows and roof lites.Lets hope these 7 days of rain are helping with the water shortages. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue... Your account of the expected weather is dire and particularly the chance of a choppy crossing. Give Bob my best and tell him I commiserate with him. Like you I seem to be immune to seasickness but I have seen how miserable it can be for those who are susceptible. I wish the best possible in the present weather pattern....
Here in the Pennines we seem to be having a charmed life, nothing more that a stiff breeze and the occasional shower. Expect it to be quite pleasant when you eventually get back to Rochdale.....