Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

Being happy in the shed once all my jobs are polished off.

[Stanley]

In the shed of course but working on Jack Management. I want to alter his routine slightly as I shall be leaving him alone in the house for probably 4 hours on Friday. He will be OK if I manage a sleep period for him while I am out.Always look after your mates!

[Stanley]

Guess what I'll be doing.... In case you're wondering, I never get bored in there. I love the challenges that shed work throws up. There's always a solution if you work hard enough at it. And I hate crosswords and other puzzles. I think using my hands is the key....

[plaques]

And I hate crosswords and other puzzles.

I think it was Harold Macmillan that said he never did puzzles that someone else had set; there were enough puzzles in the real world that needed addressing. Who would have thought that you would have something in common?

[Stanley]

P. I suspect that if you read his book 'The Middle Way' you would find that you too had things in common with him. I once met him by chance at a London Railway station and told him I had read the book. He smiled and said he wished others would do the same. My God, his teeth were terrible......
As I've said elsewhere today, I feel the same about 'white knuckle' experiences. Plenty of them in real life for me......

[Sue]

Gosh, number two daughter and family went back home today, what a quick week. We are exhausted!

[Stanley]

I know the feeling....
Up early after a good sleep for a normal day except that instead of going for my afternoon sleep I shall be in the Eye Clinic.... Fingers crossed!

[chinatyke]

In the bar tonight celebrating being back home in Nanning after a month away in America.

[Stanley]

I thought you'd been quiet! Nice to see you back.....
I shall be reading ruler scales in thousandths of an inch.....

[chinatyke]

Thanks, Stanley. I didn't get to the bar last night - I fell asleep on the bed at 6pm and was out for the count until 10 pm. The good news is that after 1 month abstinence I will be partaking of the amber nectar tonight instead.
Ain't Life great? Congratulations on getting your sight restored.

[Stanley]

Go easy on the sauce China, it can affect your eyes!
Life is very bright and cheerful...... I shall be encroaching on Mick's territory today and fastening by bits of wood together.

[Marilyn]

Smoking affects your eyes too, Stanley!

[Stanley]

Yes Maz, they tell me it will kill me in the end.... Question is will it get me before the cancer, asbestos, metal vapour or old age. Life is, in itself, a terminal disease. Thing to do is take heed of all the warnings but don't let them affect the quality of what you have left.....
I might be writing today instead of the shed, my varnish isn't totally dry yet......

[Stanley]

In the shed and pursuing my dongle.....

[Sue]

So glad all went well Stanley. It's a cool damp day in Brittany and a welcome opportunity to do a bit of gardening without frying in the heat. We are going away tomorrow for a couple of days to Angers in the Loire. We have never been there before.

Last night our 84 year old neighbour came for a traditional English meal, as his wife is in hospital for several weeks with a broken ankle. We did chicken pieces on the BBQ, roasted to perfection by Bob as the meat fell off the bone,sage and onion stuffing, roast potatoes and fresh veg followed by summer pudding which he had never had before. His comments were very complimentary. Plus how similar English food is to French. Roland brought an excellent bottle of red and we had Rose as an aperitif. Chantal doesn't drink so I think Roland likes to share his liking for wines and spirits with us !

[Stanley]

That sounds handy Sue!!
Thanks for remembering my eyes, only two days of the lousy steroid eye drops to go and then I can get the full benefit!
Today I shall be making a cut-down version of my cat shelter to go under the bench. My re-arrangements in the back yard meant there wasn't enough room for the big drawer lined with folded cloth which my lodger cat uses. I shall cut the drawer down so it fits the new space and see whether she approves! I noticed yesterday she was sat out in the rain looking miserable.....

[Stanley]

Not sure yet. I have nothing pressing in the shed and could do with writing some articles for the BET.... I'll see later.
Later at 11:20. As I suspected the shed went by the board except for one little job, industrial scale cleaning of the grill pan and grill out of the cooker. Normally I tolerate some charring on the wires of the grill but this morning I decided to attack it outside with a wire brush. Not perfectly clean but a hell of an improvement. I wrote two articles, cooked sausages and bacon, boiled and mashed spuds and sweet potato. In short a useful morning.....

[Stanley]

Usual Friday shopping and dealing with the BET. Heather's mum stopped me in the street yesterday and told me how much she enjoyed a recent piece about Barlick. I'm glad I am still writing for them even though the sales must be down.
I have a small project in mind for the shed. One that I keep considering and then rejecting.....

[PanBiker]

Driving to Stratford, first leg on our holiday week with the granddaughters. Just waiting for Isla to be delivered up from Silsden by her mum. Down to Stratford for an overnighter at the the large hotel that Ruby's mum works at as wedding planner. B&B there then scoop our Ruby up and on to Suffolk tomorrow. Both legs of the journey are the same, 179 miles each. We have a large holiday home booked 10 yards from the beach, verandah overlooks, girls should love it. Weather looks to be picking up just in time, they must have known we were coming with our buckets and spades

[Stanley]

You could be right about the weather..... Have a good time and don't let Sally do all the work!
Having crossed internet connectivity off the to-do list I shall be in the shed doing useful things.....

[Sue]

I have spent the afternoon gardening in our orchard. The previous owners made a series of hillocks which they used as a motorcycle course. We have slowly flattened or changed these. My present task is to remove the biggest which is full of nettles, brambles, builders rubbish, boulders, household rubbish, beer bottles old shoes etc. you name it it is there. We have weed killed twice. In skimming off the dead weeds I have found nice soil amongst all the other rubbish. There is a lovely elderberry tree growing out of the middle. I think we will spread the soil on to the grass, dig out the rubbish and then use the boulders as a foundation to make a feature stone wall round the elderberry. There is no way we will get the boulders out. This is my project for the rest of our stay here this summer.

[Stanley]

Putting a wall round important trees is a very old tradition Sue. John Clayton and I think this one is a very ancient boundary marker.

[Sue]

Spot on Stanley. We like that and think it may work

[Stanley]

That one is at the top of Hayn Slack near Blacko behind Malkin Farm and we think it is on a site that has had a tree for many years marking what was a point on the old shire boundary.

[Sue]

image.jpg

Half dug out and all the vegetation cleared. I have struck the pile of rubble !