Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

I live in hope Stanley, its been pretty dire here since last Thursday and two more to come before any improvement , when of course we won’t be here….

[Stanley]

I've had my second sleep and have done a few small but awkward jobs that have been nagging at me for a while plus one unexpected task.....
Last night as I went to switch the light off in the kitchen I realised that one of the picture frames on the wall had auto destructed. Two glued joints had failed and somehow it was hanging there without falling and breaking the glass. I have stripped it down to its individual parts and as soon as I have recovered from the current bout of honest endeavour I will clean the mitre joints and re-glue it.

[Stanley]

My repair was successful and we now have an intact frame again.
This morning I shall be in the shed first thing fitting my finished connecting rod to the engine and making sure the piston clears the lids at each end of the stroke.... Not even thinking about a walk today as we are promised a wet one. I shall take my exercise by doing housework!

[Stanley]

This morning I made my measurements and cut the tail of the connecting rod to length and then rounded it off. Next U punched witness marks into the foot of the rod and the crank brass to ensure correct orientation and decided on the location of the hole in the con rod for the crosshead pivot pin. This was a balance between each end of the stroke. I marked the position I decided on and then drilled it. A bit more refining of the finish and I re-assembled the rod on the crank brass. Then the most important part of the process. I fitted the crosshead pivot pin and tried a rotation of the flywheel. I am happy to say it's perfect. I tightened the nuts up and went to find breakfast.

[Sue]

Morning

We are just going round the Isle of Wight after a smooth crossing but as forecast its a bit rolling this morning. We land at 7.45 am, and at the moment it is thick mist. We shall drive to Coventry and have lunch with Briony, who is not back at school till tomorrow. Eve will not be there as she starts sixth form today, no school uniform required but smart casual. No jeans I believe. She has been working all summer at the Civil Engineers office where she did school work experience last year. She bought new clothes for that, which will also be suitable for sixth form. After lunch we shall drive home, a good 3 hours journey normally. Have a good day all

[Cathy]

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I put this bench together today . I don’t have a workshop, so had to improvise
It worked.
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[Sue]

Very nice

[Stanley]

I'm impressed Cathy, well done!
Sue, I'm so glad to hear you are having a relatively smooth crossing.... Bob will be able to eat a hearty breakfast! It will be cool and wet on the way north so your tyres will not get hot and stressed! Have a safe journey.

[Sue]

Just left the port bad weather meant we docked nearly an hour late. You could feel the rollingwhen walking. It's a fine drizzle nothing to what we have been having in France. . On to Coventry

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed early doors getting started on fitting the valve train to my engine now that the piston and con-rod are connected and functioning well. (Bit of a miracle really, if you remember I confessed that old age had taken toll of the alignment of the bore!)
We are promised rain but I shall brave the weather to pop to the Co-op later this morning. I need to get the necessary peppers and cherry tomatoes to accompany my chicken which will have to be roasted soon. Amazing how quickly that comes round again!

[Stanley]

The task this morning was to prepare the engine for building the valve train but I got a surprise as I surveyed the piste.... I thought I'd finished with the con rod and piston but realised I had forgotten to install the piston rod gland! So I started the morning by stripping the piston and rod out of the engine and installing the studs and fitting the piston rod gland. That done I cleaned up the face that the valve sits on, fitted the studs for the valve chest and then fitted the chest and its gaskets and the steam chest lid. I am ready now to go forwards and the first job will be to make the steam and exhaust pipes.... But first, I want my breakfast.

[Sue]

Morning

My body is on french time. I was awake 4.30am, read till 5.30am dozed again till 6.15am. It was a fairly easy journey in the two halves. The ferry was nearly an hour late due to the choppy conditions, then we sat for ages waiting to disembark but we were only the second or third car through passport control and thus on the road by 9.15 am.

We had lunch with Briony at noon, left at 1.15 pm and back home for 4.30pm. To avoid the long haul through Manchester from about 3.30pm which can take two hours at that time, we headed for the M1 and then M62 which seemed a very efficient journey. There were very heavy thunderstorms but the worst was when we stopped for a loo break and a cuppa. We were unpacked by 7.00 and browsing the month old mail. I have won a £100 on the Premium Bonds. This seems to happen a lot that we come back home to a small windfall like that

This morning we have a Tesco delivery and perhaps a little washing to do. Rain will stop any attempt at tidying the overgrown garden . Bob has a routine MRI scan but otherwise I think it will be a recovery day, and I gather a wet one but nothing new in that. Have a good day all

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[Stanley]

Morning Sue! That's a very positive report and I'm glad you had a fairly pain-free journey back home. I think you may be right about the sort of day we're looking at but take heart, its quite a good forecast for the weekend!

[Julie in Norfolk]

What a lovely garden Sue. We've inherited one that was literally all weeds and had 3 chickens running on it. I thought I had it under control before I went to Emma's but a month without any input and some amount of rain has given the weeds some legs and I've resorted to heavy weed killing, so long as I can get a little bit of fair weather before application.

[Stanley]

I took advantage of the fact it isn't raining and went to the Co-op for a few essentials.

[Sue]

What a lovely garden Sue. We've inherited one that was literally all weeds and had 3 chickens running on it. I thought I had it under control before I went to Emma's but a month without any input and some amount of rain has given the weeds some legs and I've resorted to heavy weed killing, so long as I can get a little bit of fair weather before application.

Thank you Julie. We got rid of our lawn years ago so we have 5 main beds full of flowering perennials fuchias hostas and roses and lots of pots many with veg in. It gets a bit wild when we are away in France in the summer but normally I just dead head and titivate through out the summer. In late autumn I chop right back and perhaps change the location of a few plants. I moved the big yellow flowers to the top border last autumn but they are too big there so will be on the move again . If there is a space I fill it with a perennial flower and try to balance what is in flower through out April to October . I love colour and informality. Cottage gardens are my idea of heaven. My mum was like that but my Dad liked formal. He had a habit of cutting things at the wrong time to 'tidy things ' up .

[Sue]

Julie boiling water straight from the kettle is a good environmentally friendly weed killer

[Stanley]

What I can never understand is why people like me with brown fingers can grow weeds so well!
I have decided to get my chicken in the oven before I go in the shed for OT this morning. A couple of days early but it will warm the kitchen up and we are at that point in the year where you have to fight the urge to turn the CH up for a quick blast of heat.....
Later at 05:40. The chicken is in the oven and I am off into the shed.

[Stanley]

This morning I moved on to the valve train. The first thing I did was start to make the eccentric which drives the valve. I have got the stock to size, cut the groove for the eccentric strap and now I'm ready to mark the centre of the hole which has to be offset. The work this morning was complicated by the fact I had to fit a new tip in my parting tool, last time out I broke the old one. Now for breakfast.

[Sue]

What I can never understand is why people like me with brown fingers can grow weeds so well!

Morning

Stanley if there is space to grow, the weeds will grow. I fill the space with flowering plants, there may be weeds but I don’t see them

This morning we are both at the hairdressers for a much needed trim, then we are off to the Mini dealers to see what they have in offers and what they will offer for my Countryman. The new mini countryman is too big for our garage and bigger than I like to drive. We shall see. Then its lunch at the Italian with Wendy and Keith ( who by coincidence are also at the hairdressers this morning) and possibly Barbara and Bill. We hope to be home by 4.00 as a pilates friend is calling round for a bag full of Bramleys that we bought back from France for her. Its due to be an ok day, perhaps a little damp at times. Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

Morning Sue! I think you're right about it looking like a decent day. We have an almost clear sky but no sun yet.....
I hear what you say about making space and putting flowers in. My problem is that I am not even capable of bending down for more than a few seconds.
I shall protect my wildlife by doing nothing.....

[Julie in Norfolk]

Morning Sue, I had forgotten about boiling water killing weeds! We have quite a garden here and it will take a few kettles worth. I will pursue the hot water method near plants to prevent overspray and concentrate with week killer on the rest.

Stanley, I have the same brown fingers that you have but seem to be able to grow weeds brilliantly.

So today I shall be mainly concentrating on the garden and trying to force some semblance of order there.

[Stanley]

Good luck with that Julie and I hope you make a difference!
Did you get thunderstorms yesterday? We never saw any but when I looked on Blitzortung live there were plenty across Norfolk.
I have just dealt with my chicken and the gravy. Both are harvested, under cover and in the fridge. I am looking at having an hour on Youtube and then sallying forth into town square to spend money like a drunken sailor on veggies at Gulam's!

[Stanley]

I am back in the hutch and sat down. £23 worth of veggies safely stowed away for cooking, happen tomorrow. We still have good sun and a very light wind, it's quite pleasant out there...

[Sue]

Morning Sue, I had forgotten about boiling water killing weeds! We have quite a garden here and it will take a few kettles worth. I will pursue the hot water method near plants to prevent overspray and concentrate with week killer on the rest.

Yes that is the problem in France, but it helps me get my daily steps in…. It can take a very long time but does work