Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

Waiting for the aerial rigger to turn up to our satellite dish, should be (9 -11am). I hav an intermittent on the signals, I lose both lines completely. I have checked the connections at the bottom end and they are OK with no apparent water ingress to the twin down leads. I had a foray out onto the kitchen roof yesterday to see if I could get to the LNB. I have done this before a couple of times in the past but I was a lot more nimble on my feet then! I couldn't get the connector cover off the LNB so I gave up and called the cavalry. Its probably the connections to the LNB or the LNB itself that is faulty. Sods law says that it is behaving itself this morning although the Humax box does show some variation in the signal levels. We'llse what the rigger says when he has a look.

Typical... sadly our dishwasher did not rectify itself and we have been washing up by hand for a week now

[PanBiker]

Ha, I wash up by hand everyday for the stuff that is not dishwasher safe. It's a pretty harsh environment in there.

[Stanley]

I wash every day by hand because I haven't got a dishwasher.....
Windy day for aerial riggers.....

[Sue]

I wash small things by hand , but its the big meals stuff that goes in. Luckily we haven’t had many this week. We bought a dishwasher after a family Christmas dinner of over 20 people and a baby after my exclamation of never again....when I worked and Bob was away all week, I loaded it during the week and put it on once. It uses less water than washing up every day. It is also an excellent steriliser.

[PanBiker]

Windy day for aerial riggers.....

Fortunately our dish is only a single ladder length up, just above the kitchen roof.

[Sue]

Dish washer is dead. We get a new one for nothing under the insurance. It was 11 years old

[Big Kev]

Dish washer is dead. We get a new one for nothing under the insurance. It was 11 years old

Result, ours is 11 in April.

[PanBiker]

New LNB for the dish as the old one was corroded and Jamie the rigger couldn't get the cables out to check them. Close inspection of the twin downlead shows the screening is corroded so the down lead needs replacing.

I am still using the Sky dish and original LNB that was installed on the back of the house 30 years ago now. There is tree in the gap in the terrace that wasn't there or certainly wasn't as big as it is now 30 years ago. Sky never reclaim any of the hardware when you dump the contract so the current install stands us at nothing.

Doubtful that the tree will ever be trimmed back so if we leave the dish where it is it could block the signal anyway. I have decided to have it moved to the front. This will have the benefit of shortening the down lead considerably, probably by about 75%. It currently runs the whole length from back to front over the ridge and the troughing at the front. This has probably contributed to it's damage and water ingress into the cable. It will be a straight drop at the front and a much better bet. Too windy today to do the job so Jamie will be back tomorrow to finish off.

[Big Kev]

New LNB for the dish as the old one was corroded and Jamie the rigger couldn't get the cables out to check them. Close inspection of the twin downlead shows the screening is corroded so the down lead needs replacing.

I am still using the Sky dish and original LNB that was installed on the back of the house 30 years ago now. There is tree in the gap in the terrace that wasn't there or certainly wasn't as big as it is now 30 years ago. Sky never reclaim any of the hardware when you dump the contract so the current install stands us at nothing.

Doubtful that the tree will ever be trimmed back so if we leave the dish where it is it could block the signal anyway. I have decided to have it moved to the front. This will have the benefit of shortening the down lead considerably, probably by about 75%. It currently runs the whole length from back to front over the ridge and the troughing at the front. This has probably contributed to it's damage and water ingress into the cable. It will be a straight drop at the front and a much better bet. Too windy today to do the job so Jamie will be back tomorrow to finish off.

Good stuff, I had a new dish fitted when I moved here in 2019. The cost is very reasonable now compared to what it was 30 years ago.

[Stanley]

I had a problem with corrosion a couple of years ago and got a completely new dish and down leads fitted. I forget what it cost but I know I thought it was cheap for twenty years service!
Steve's mate, the roofer from Foulridge turned up yesterday and took the cowl off and replaced it with a simple grill to stop the jackdaws nesting.



I shall be in the shed dealing with the castings for the next engine....

[Stanley]

This morning was unpacking my castings and getting my ducks in a row. We are ready to start engine building again....

[Sue]

Dish washer is dead. We get a new one for nothing under the insurance. It was 11 years old

Result, ours is 11 in April.

Morning
It certainly is a result Kev, delivery and fitting free plus recycling the old one. It comes on Thursday which also is very quick. Choice was limited as some of them are now 20 cms taller and would not fit inder the worktop. Anyway we don’t need anything posh or big, just a very hot wash and an ecowash is all that is needed.

The wind seems to have died down today . It was wild out there yesterday, at one point our nearly empty compost bin was blowing up the garden in one direction and the lid in another. The leaves so carefully collected in the autumn were redistributing themselves back to where they came from. I left the leaves to do their own thing, put the lid in the greenhouse and weighted the bin with bricks whilst it was lying down on its side.

My days plans were some what altered yesterday when Bob noted I had my monthly lunch out with my old sewing group marked on the calendar. I though I had better go as I forgot last month. We meet at the local garden centre and noted that seeds were back in stock so I shall be paying a visit soon. I also dropped Ed a message to see how he was and discovered Eve now has covid. Julia is still negative keeping out of the house by going to work . She joked that staying in the local Premier Inn would be better than the garage and the breakfasts are good . She is still negative this morning. Briony is desperate to get back to school but is till testing positive on day 6 .

Today I shall continue trying to get the sleeve pattern right for my jacket. I had inspiration last night just before I went to pilates/yoga and whats apped Maxine when I got home. She agrees with me about the problem so its a new, more logical approach today. Other than that no plans and shall take the day as it comes. Have a good day all

[Sue]

I had to wait for your posting again this morning Stanley, we must have hit the button at the same time

[Stanley]

The main thing is that we are both posted Sue.
I think you're right about the weather, it's a bit quieter today. I was nearly blown over a couple of times yesterday, my roofer was lucky, he struck in a lull but even so, he was getting blown about a bit.

[PanBiker]

Jamie came back this morning from Handleys. He has moved the dish from the back and it is now up at the roof line at the front. Very reasonable charge for two visits and a new LNB, brackets, cranked mast, fixings and new downlead. My original SKY dish is the only original part, nothing wrong with it so no need to replace it.

[Big Kev]

Nice one

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed cleaning castings up and later might have a walk into Town Square for some veggies.

[Sue]

Morning

This morning is art at Haslingden, back at noon which is when the dishwasher man is coming to replace the dishwasher.

I had a fairly successful afternoon yesterday solving the problem of the sleeves of my jacket and with a few more suggestions on whats app from Maxine last night, I hope to finish it today. Meanwhile I bought an art deco toy German sewing machine on ebay the other night. I bought it for a song as they say and if it cleans up OK I should be able to make quite a profit...unless I become attached to it. My German machine is just waiting for a lock for the lid. I have found a vintage machine restorer who thinks he has one and will be in touch soon, then its all ready to sell on. Last night I wrote a bit of info for my advert but we still need to find packaging and work out delivery costs . The machines that say buyer collect do not sell .

Have a good day all, not sure what the weather has in store

[Stanley]

You're getting to be quite a wheeler dealer Sue!



I started on cleaning castings and then put the flywheel in the lathe. It's fitted to the shaft and just needs finishing later.

[Sue]

Well I haven’t sold anything yet Stanley

[plaques]

Well I haven’t sold anything yet Stanley

Does it really matter? The real pleasure is keeping yourself busy and enjoying what you do.

[Wendyf]

Well I haven’t sold anything yet Stanley

Does it really matter? The real pleasure is keeping yourself busy and enjoying what you do.

It matters if Sue's house fills up with old sewing machines!

[Big Kev]

[Stanley]

Or steam engines..... I find I have to give them away!
Today I shall have an hour in the shed on my castings but knock off at 7AM to go to the Co-op for early doors shopping. From the look of the weather I think I'll stay indoors, that -5C wind chill bites us oldsters!

[Sue]

Well I haven’t sold anything yet Stanley

Does it really matter? The real pleasure is keeping yourself busy and enjoying what you do.

It matters if Sue's house fills up with old sewing machines!

Morning

That is true Wendy. I think I will now wait till I have sold one before I do another. Its got me through the worst of the winter. Though February can be pretty nasty. I am also now getting into my jacket sewing which will take some time

Its u3a art this morning, followed by a gathering of the u3a wine appreciation group for our first group lunch at the Shepherds Rest, in Todmorden. They have kindly said we can use their function room. The idea is that we will take our own wine and food match off the menu, which we have all either previously looked at or in our case previously sampled. I shall be having the beef cooked in Guinness with horseradish mash and veg that I had last week . The wine we are taking will be Carmenere as Bob has chosen something similar. It will be late afternoon when we get back so I shall be having a quiet TV and crocheting evening, Bob is giving a talk at the Model Engineers meeting.

Have a good day all.