Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed starting the rebuild of the engine on it's wooden plinth. Good chance of a walk later this morning and a sit on traffic duty. Beyond that some sweet potato chips need making. Then there is the snooker!

[Sue]

Morning

Yesterday was mixed weather-wise. I managed a bit of gardening in between showers and thunder, planting the rest of the veggies bought on Saturday. Bob finished the PVA on the wall of the new room and we have started the big tidy up there. Next is supporting the floor panels from underneath, laying new floor covering and skirting boards. I dismantled the second chair ready to recover it but discovered the base was in much poorer condition, water-stained etc so decided to paint it before recovering. I have that to finish today. We assembled and positioned a new bird feeding station in the lawn .

Today is our 52nd wedding anniversary. We are going out for lunch at Yves Rocher restaurant in La Gacilly. We have no other plans as yet. Although we have blue skies at the moment. I think rain is forecast. Great growing season.

Have a good day all

[Wendyf]

Happy Anniversary Sue and Bob.

[Stanley]

Same from me Sue. well done for staying the course and I hope you have a very good day.....
This morning was lots of tidying up jobs. First clean up the back cylinder lid in the lathe than clean the lathe and the vertical milling machine. Then clean the surfaces of the steam chest lid, the cylinder and the unpainted surfaces of the base and bed. Then sand the plinth, cut a rubber base for it and stick it on. Put that in the vice to set overnight. Finish by using the orbital sander to polish some scratches out of the small surface plate and then oil it. I shall be ready in the morning to oil the plinth, fix the base to it and mount the bed. Then I can start rebuilding the engine. A productive hour and a quarter.

[Gloria]

Happy Anniversary Sue and Bob, enjoy your day

[PanBiker]

Happy Anniversary Sue and Bob, enjoy your lunch.

[Big Kev]

Happy anniversary Sue and Bob, we're still 10 years behind you

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[Sue]

Don’t we all look young. I said to Bob it was your anniversary too. Happy anniversary

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[Wendyf]

Happy Anniversary to Paulette and Kev too!

[Big Kev]

Don’t we all look young.

Don't we just, we were 20
We get the bonus of a a bank holiday too

We look a bit older now though

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[Big Kev]

Happy Anniversary to Paulette and Kev too!

Thank you.

[Sue]

We were 21 and 22. And here is todays photo, courtesy of our French neighbours

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[Sue]

Yes they introduced the Bank Holiday in time for our first anniversary I think

[PanBiker]

Happy Anniversary to Kev and Paulette, I nearly missed that one, congratulations.

[Stanley]

Happy anniversary Kev and Paulette.
Sue and Bob, that's not a bad pic for the vintage! You look great and was the sun shining in?
Today I shall be in the shed as usual and will try not to let snooker catch up get in the way of rational exercise later!

[Sue]

Morning

Yes Stanley , the sun shone yesterday and 52 years ago in Burnley ( well Brierfield St Lukes). Yesterday was the first chance weather-wise we have had to sit outside in the garden with a cuppa which we did twice. We also had a lovely walk by the river in a neighbouring town after our anniversary lunch. I am sure you can remember our friend Audrey that I write about that used to live here but went back to the UK when her husband died. Well we met in Super U all those years ago. In our initial conversations we discovered she was baptised at St Lukes. All the British in France ( I hate the word Brits which brings to mind soccer hooligans etc, so never use it ) and we meet one that was baptised in the same church we married in.

Talking of supermarkets reminds me of shopping. We need to pop out today for flowers for Laetitia's birthday today we brought an English birthday card with us . Cards here are rubbish in general, or British, and always expensive. Yves and she came round yesterday morning with gifts for the two of us which was a very pleasant surprise. That was when the photo was taken. We also need some more shopping, mainly household cleaners. We try to shop to the minimum and tend to shop as we run out of things as everything is so expensive here, mainly the meat and fresh veg, though fruit is a good quality and at a price comparative with home. For meat we are now sticking to Lidl which is a third of the price of Super U, but we like Super U bread and croissants ( the latter being more of a luxury item these days ) Meat wise, the freezer is fully topped up by the weekly Thursday bargain trays of different meats. We never eat lamb as its way out of our budget. Turkey seems the cheapest and is sold in the same cuts as chicken. I often wonder how Laetitia affords to feed and clothe everyone , let alone by us presents.


So today, due to be a really nice one, is shopping first thing then I will tackle the second veggie plot and Bob is going to give the lawn its second cut before cutting paths through the orchard.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

I shall think about Bob on his ride-on mower. I hope the ground is dry enough for him.



Again, only one pic needed. This morning I oiled the plinth and started building the engine up on it. Here I've reached the stage where the crankshaft has to be run in using the drill as it is a very close fit. This is as it should be, it will loosen off as the engine runs in.

[Stanley]

In the shed again at 06:00 with me engine. A walk looks on the cards again today as the forecast is for dry weather.

[Sue]

Morning

Today promises to be the best day of the three weeks, wall to wall sun and a maximum of 23 degrees. Later in the stay its back to 16 and wall to wall cloud and rain, though the forecast seems to change daily. I see the forecast for Rochdale is following a similar pattern but about 5 degrees cooler at least.

We did a mornings shopping yesterday involving shops some 6 miles apart. A trip to the DIY place in Redon enabled us to buy garden supplies, rose food, fruit tree pest killer, and some rockery plants to fill the spaces where other plants succumbed to last summers drought. Next door was a supermarket where we got the butter and fresh fruit and veg. Then it was a drive over to La Gacilly as we needed to get a french SIM card with 25gb for our old mobile phone. This will allow us to get on the internet on our laptops using the hotspot on the phone. In La Gacilly I went to Yves Rochers shop and treated Laetitia to a nice set of toiletries for her birthday. I tried zoom yoga last night but my ribs still hurt and exercising on a carpet on a tiled floor aggravated my knee, both remnants of my fall two weeks ago. I thought I had a cushioned exercise mat here but I could not find it . I will not try again this week. After lunch I tidied the rockery and planted the plants. Before pilates we joined Laetitia for a beer and a chat to celebrate her birthday

Today we are taking advantage of the weather and going out for the day.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue/ Don't go into a decline because you're not doing Pilates. Rest is probably as good as anything else to heal the after effects of the fall. It certainly worked for my fortnight's worth of aches and pains after the Covid booster. I;m assuming that's what caused them and they are gone now completely thank God!



Quiet careful work fitting again. First the front lid attached to the cylinder complete with piston rod gland and steam packing. Then studs fitted using Loctite and the cylinder installed on the bed casting. Then mark drill and tap the crosshead to receive the piston rod and fit the piston on the rod, cutting the slot with the Dremel that will be used for a screwdriver bite to tighten the rod in the crosshead when finally fitted. All slow and careful work. Very satisfying.

[Sue]

Morning Sue/ Don't go into a decline because you're not doing Pilates. Rest is probably as good as anything else to heal the after effects of the fall.

I see I said pilates, it was actually yoga which I did because i have been having back ache. Pilates is definitely not on the cards yet. Sadly the best yoga session would have been Monday night but being a holiday it did not happen. The bed in the room we are in at the moment doesn’t suit me so I thought a bit of gentle exercise and stretching would help. However there is also a degree of kneeling and moving from standing to lying. These two things I found difficult. However I slept like a log and my back has eased. Knee and ribs are just the same. When I change the bedding at the weekend we shall swap rooms to our summer bedroom. Its a better mattress ( although all were new when we bought here and hardly used ) but its a colder room. Hopefully things have warmed up enough to move through, its certainly warm in the room we are in at the moment.

[Stanley]

I have had my short walk and sit on traffic duty. Nice in the sun but that wind is still cold!!

[Stanley]

In the shed with the engine. Then after a sleep, veggie shopping and voting. After that I shall take a view....

[Sue]

Morning

As expected it was a beautiful day yesterday so we had our day out to the Chateau of Suscinio. This is on the coast near the Gulf of Morbihan and sits on the edge of marshland. The château has been renovated and is furnished in the style of the 15 th century when it was lived in by Francoise the first and Isabella of Scotland. It has been very well done with the history displayed and told by film animation projected onto rooms, models and information posters. Archeology is ongoing on the site. https://www.suscinio.fr/

We had lunch at the local crêperie then did the 2 km nature trail walk. We got lost, took one wrong turning making the walk nearer 5 km but it took us on a board walk through the marshes and then down to the beach. We were home at 5.00, had a cuppa then I fed the roses before sitting outside crocheting for an hour or so. Bob cut the lawn on the ride on mower so at last all looks tidy, well nearly. I have one flower border to edge and turn the soil. This is a bed I hate doing as no matter how I treat the soil it is like stone to dig over.

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Today we shall reassemble the second chair now the paint has dried and then unscrew the table to paint the legs to match. I want to plant my beans and mangetout peas and uncover my patch of wild flower seeds. They have been covered for a week now and should have started to germinate. The next three days have intermittent rain showers which should help them to sprout. After lunch it a quick visit to Lidll to buy a few bits as Joanne and Paul are coming for a meal tomorrow night. Its always quiet in the Supermarkets between about 12.30- 2.30, still regarded as lunchtime here

Today is mainly dry with a few showers of rain, sun and wind 19 degrees. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Sounds like a nice day Sue. The walk sounded very good!

Only one image needed. I started the day by refining the fit of the piston and rod in the crosshead and making sure all was correct. Then I measured and did a fag packet drawing of the crankpin brass as that's the next thing I have to make. Half an hour of measuring and milling produced one small piece of bronze. You can see it balanced on the crosshead slide. Slow yes, but accurate.... yes.