OneGuyFromBarlick

Blue sky, sun, washer on, got to get out there

Sue wrote: ↑06 Aug 2021, 07:08
We were on Astra 2A and 2B but it has changed to D and E but we can’t find it. Bob has scanned but can’t identify it. Most just have scrambled channels . We bought this dish because it was supposed to receive British and French TV, we have only ever managed British. Last night we had lots of Asian channels. Bob says thanks for the link, he had a look, we are on Hotbird at the moment . Means nothing to me

Hopefully it'll be useful

"Last night we had lots of Asian channels. "
There are some very good Vietnamese videos of the Mekong Delta and life on the river.



Half an hour's careful cutting and I have got to the point where I am cutting a complete circle. Now I have to take it down to almost the finished size and then clean the cheeks out so that I have 3/8" all the way down. Conservative cutting means that the slot naturally slopes in. It will soon be cleaned out tomorrow using a less flexible cutter. A nice session in the shed and I got my early doors shopping done as well!
Now for the rest of the day.....

Stanley wrote: ↑06 Aug 2021, 07:29 "Last night we had lots of Asian channels. "
There are some very good Vietnamese videos of the Mekong Delta and life on the river.

If you can understand it

Stanley my Ladslove plant was 4 feet high and just as wide. I have filled a wheelbarrow with the cuttings

Beautiful Sue!

Here are a few more, the strawberry patch, the fruit bushes, rhubarb patch and veggie gardens..... somewhere.

I think we can say that you have better growing conditions there than we have in Barlick! Fecund is the word that comes to mind.
I shall be carefully working on finishing my crankshaft. Yesterday I got a window for a short walk, we have a similar forecast today so it may be the same outcome. All shopping done, I don't have to go anywhere.

Morning

It was a beautiful day yesterday. There were a few sharp heavy showers which literally lasted seconds. This morning is due to be wet and thundery but no sign of it yet, followed by a drier afternoon. We have a bit of shopping to do but will plan when we go, we don’t want to be in huge queues at the supermarket

We had a lovely evening out at our friends, Joanne and Paul , and it was half past midnight when we arrived back here. After a busy day in the garden we were pretty tired and slept solid till just before 8.00 am. I made some progress on the flower borders but with new growth lying on top of last years dead stems it was hard going. Its a good job it has rained so much as the ground is soft and easy to work, its normally like concrete at this time of year. So far I have just cut back, I will have to go back to it to dig out grass and weeds, but that will be for another day. As you commented Stanley, yes its good growing weather here, although not normally quite like this in the summer. We usually never have to cut the grass for about 6 weeks, but Joanne says she has been doing it every few days. Luckily the forecast changes after Tuesday being very warm with occasional showers. Perfect for plants.

So today shopping, more of the same and a couple of beers under the trees later as a reward for our efforts

Have a good day

The beers under the tree sound just about right!



Here we are at knocking off time after two hours in the shed. We have a crank pin and now I'm looking for the actual shaft. I'm cutting with the HSS tool rather than the indexed carbide because this puts less load on the drive which now is a 5/16" crank pin. So light cuts and patience!

I'm really enjoying making this crankshaft and will be in there for two hours this morning. As for exercise, bugger walking in the rain! It's not stopped raining since late morning yesterday and we have more forecast today.
(The shed counts as light exercise.... )

Morning

We had a nice morning yesterday but the afternoon was punctuated by sudden strong winds and heavy showers. Igot wet more than once. We shopped immediately after lunch when it was quiet having learned last visit that 1-2.00 pm is the time to shop. Shelves have been restocked after the morning rush but the french are generally at home eating lunch. We stocked up the freezer with meat Laetitia having eaten what was there, as I suggested to her. We shouldn’t need to do much more shopping except I forgot the potatoes again!

We were expecting the rain in the morning so Bob had planned on doing a bit of maintenance on hedge cutters ,chainsaws and the like for use in the afternoon. Of course it ended up tge other way round but we continued regardless, it wasn’t cold. It sounds like hard work which it is but we like it. Its our daily walk with a difference . Its about 150- 200 yards to the bottom of the orchard a walk we do regularly tipping wheelbarrows etc .Bob chopped up a number of dead branches lying around in the orchard, these tend to randomly fall off in the winter as the trees surrounding our property are very old. We cannot afford to have them properly maintained or cut down so we do our best with random pruning etc and pray a bad storm does not bring one down completely.

I spent the morning clearing a flower border, the worse, and the afternoon removing clumps of grass from a circular garden round the cherry tree in the lawn which we were creating when we were last here. Its an oval shape and incorporates the roots of the tree that had surfaced in the lawn. Today we will make it into a small rockery using stones around the place of which there are many. This will hinder further grass and weed growth. I bought some seeds at the supermarket to plant in the gaps so it should look quite nice next summer. Later I did a bit of pruning of suckers on the fruit trees which are looking good after our pollarding last visit

It sounds like the rain we had on Tuesday and Wednesday has arrived up Norf! Today we are expecting a dry sunny morning but a cloudy windy afternoon. Activities will continue as we enjoy our surroundings and all the fresh air we are getting. Luckily its not too hot or the gardening would have to be curtailed

Have a good day

Morning Sue, you're like clockwork! I think I remember you saying that you weren't allowed to burn dead and fallen wood. Pity because it's an easy way to get rid of it and although I know we should all do what we can. a bit of garden waste isn't going to kill the planet! (I'll bet I'll get attacked for that.... )
You're right about the rain having reached us, it has bated at the moment but we have another day of loose showers and thunder warnings to look forward to. Mind you, I'll bet Mother Nature is OK with it!
I've had two hours in the shed, I shall be back shortly with a pic for uncle Bob!




Here's where I was at closing time, one side of the shaft is finished and I have started the muck shifting that will give me the other side. I am slow because I am being ultra careful. I know my limitations and I don't want any silly mistakes destroying three days work! I've changed tools because the other indexed tip I was using was running very hot.
A good 2 hours in the shed.

Yes we can’t burn it Stanley. There are different rules for farmers. Yves and family rent a farm house, he isn’t a farmer but it looks as if he is. He burnt a lot of our waste wood this last year. We can use a garden incinerator, but one big fire is only the same as many small ones in an incinerator. We use it in the pizza oven, the BBQ and the wood burning stove . We can take it to the local green waste tip where they recycle it as garden compost

Never mind, if you pile it up in a corner you can call it a bee hotel.
I shall be in the shed enjoying the final stages of crankshaft making. Having said that, the nearer I get to finishing it the more careful I am. All that work buried in one little part!
It looks like a dryer day if cool so I might even get to sit opposite the bookies today!

Stanley wrote: ↑09 Aug 2021, 03:13 Never mind, if you pile it up in a corner you can call it a bee hotel.
I shall be in the shed enjoying the final stages of crankshaft making. Having said that, the nearer I get to finishing it the more careful I am. All that work buried in one little part!
It looks like a dryer day if cool so I might even get to sit opposite the bookies today!

Morning

We have it piled in several corners Stanley, it is unbelievable the amount of waste wood we get. Similarly the compost heap becomes an enormous mound at the end of the season, hence taking hours if not days to clear it when it rots down. Waste is a never ending problem here from the months of October to the end of May. We usually put the grass cuttings under the main hedge as it is a good mulch and helps to keep down nettles and ferns which grow profusely in the orchard. Our present trip is obviously the big clear up we usually do in the Spring.

Yesterday was a nice sunny day but cool, certainly not typical of the time of year. Perfect for rockery building. It took 5 hours to do. I started the layout last year using soil from a compost heap we cleared but I had not started the laying of the stones. I still have to plant rockery plants, transferred from other rockeries but it looks good and solves the problem of large tree roots spreading above the surface of the lawn. These are now incorporated into the rockery. The bulbs I had previously planted and the seeds have been planted on the flat part at the top where the roots prevent further stones being laid. I left the dahlias where they were for tge time being as they were in flower. It was a good task for using random large flat stones that we have everywhere, left by the original building renovations. Bob busied himself with his much overgrown railway track, repairing rails and weed killing. Despite everything growing furiously one thing which refuses to grow is the willow tunnel we planted several years ago, we mainly have dried twigs and a few random shoots. This morning is due to be wet and this afternoon sunny. I have some towel washing to do and the windows are in dire need of a clean. Luckily the way they are designed the outside can be cleaned from inside. Why aren’t British windows generally designed like this. We may go to see Roland after lunch as we have not been yet. He is the last person on our list of close friends that we have not seen. Otherwise its clearing the strawberry patch for me and some more land and hedge/ wood clearing for Bob.we are getting there and this is certainly a much reduced task after Yves efforts. Needless to say, whilst we have been here the grass has already grown several inches and is ready for cutting again. This is so strange in the summer months

Have a good day all. I see your long range weather is not looking too bright either

You're right Sue, I look at the calendar and wonder if we are going to get any more summer. The days are drawing in as well! I think that garden of yours is too fertile, if you shoved a walking stick in the ground it would root!
I did a bit of garden in g yesterday, I cut back the Lilac where it was impeding foot traffic on the public footpath. It has grown enormously (the Lilac) and when my financial situation eases I am going to get someone in to take it out and plant something that doesn't take over.
I was in the shed early and have finished the shaft, I'll post a pic later. It's still dry.....

Here we are. We have a near perfect finished crankshaft and a clean lathe. That'll do for this morning!

Went for a walk and took the sensible route this time, up Noyna Road first and then onto Cob Lane to Kelbrook. Cob Lane is a bit steep from the Kelbrook end

Over 4 miles and 1000ft! I wish I could do that Kev.
Instead I shall be in the shed for a couple of hours. I think while I am in crankshaft mode I'll make the connecting rod.
The forecast looks OK. I can have my walk to the bookies at noon!

Morning

Thats rather like our walk up to Lobden golf course in Whitworth. No walking here yet and we probably won’t. If we do its relatively flat, well undulating but certainly no steep climbs.

Yesterday was a house work day, three loads of washing which eventually dried despite frequent heavy showers in the morning. The weather was better in the afternoon and I do believe today may be something like normal for the time of year only not as hot. It took me all morning and some of the afternoon to clean all the windows. I cleaned inside and out as well as the frames and window cills. I still have two doors to do , one into the storeroom down stairs and one into my art room upstairs. Bob usually does the roof lights in that area too. I am not too worried about those as we are in negotiation for someone to come and finish the renovations in there and line the roof and one wall. Yves popped round to chat to Bob and it was a welcome break to sit and have a cup of coffee for half an hour.

We went to see Roland in the afternoon. His friend Nicole was there as was another long time friend Michel who does his shopping for him. It was an interesting hour with very robust conversation in French. All had been double vaccinated and could not believe the anti vax attitude of so many of the french. Roland himself, now 92 or 93, looked the same but needs a zimmer to walk as is waiting for a knee operation. Apparently things are the same as in the UK, huge waiting lists for fairly routine operations and treatments. He is no longer allowed to drive as he has a tendency to lose his balance and even to pass out. His days of randomly turning up here for an aperitif are over. In fact he would not even be able to get in the house because of the gravel paths .Sad but a fact of life marching on. He was such a fit independant person. Still his faculties are all there. We gave them such a shock turning up and Nicole fair hugged the life out of me.

This morning we are shopping as tomorrow Laetitia and family are all coming for an evening meal. Just a bit of a thank-you for all their efforts. This afternoon I will tackle the strawberry patch

Oh Bob has just said it IS going to rain today. Hopefully short lived. Have a good day all

Lovely hearing that things are going so well Sue. You must be a breath of fresh air for them as they are for you.
I've just come out of the shed, I'll be back in a few minutes when I have posted on shed matters.

This morning's pic will make Bob smile , I'm sure he will have fond memories of these little beggars!



High risk but I got away with it. A good morning with no mistakes!

Stanley wrote: ↑10 Aug 2021, 02:49 Over 4 miles and 1000ft! I wish I could do that Kev.

It was only an altitude change of just over 400ft, the start point (my house) is over 600ft. 4 miles isn't so bad but our legs are around 25 years younger than yours

Sounds like you're enjoying France Sue. We've been out and booked a cruise to the Canaries for February 2022, P&O still had the deposit from the cancelled Med cruise from last year. It was actually cheaper, per night, than we paid for the UK hotel breaks we've had recently.
It's a big ship, 5200 passengers and 1800 crew, which is twice the size of any we've been on previously. I'm quite looking forward to the Bay of Biscay in February, should make things interesting.