OneGuyFromBarlick

It's Friday so it's early doors shopping at the cathedral of choice come 07:00. I shall have an hour in the shed before then working on my engine.After that it will be veggie cooking for next week.
One thing that is on my mind is to clean out the cupboard under the sink before Tuesday when Jonathan comes to fit the new boiler and also put me a new mixer tap on the kitchen sink. Not sure if that will be later today.....

Morning

We arrived back at the house just before 8.00 pm.it was a long but pleasant journey. We stopped for lunch at a village called Rouillac where we found it was a special market day. For over 200 years on the 27 th of the month, whatever the day, the village shops close and the whole town is taken over by a market with the main car park being converted to a large central out door eating area. We did eventually find a restaurant and had the menu de jour for 19 euros, a very hearty three course meal. Before we left the village we went to Super U and bought a small pizza for tea later. We enjoyed the atmosphere and did not leave till after 3.00 pm, which gave Bob a nice break from the driving. As we got nearer here the rain set in and it is still damp outside.

It was 30 and sunny in Bergerac, 18 and raining here. My first job was to change into warmer clothes, i then did a few loads of washing hoping they would dry overnight, some have the rest will go in my Lakeland drying tent if it continues to be a poor outside drying day . The rest of today is not planned but we need to do a big shop before the weekend. This evening we are at Joanne and Paul's for meal. Showers and 22 degrees forecast. Have a good day all

Morning Sue, the good thing about rain when you are on a journey is that you can always console yourself with the fact the tyres are being kept cool....



I started by stripping the cylinder off the bed and the bed off the base ready for fitting the crosshead guides when they are ready. In the process I fixed a couple of matters that needed attention. Then I marked the guides for the next operation and cut one by closing time. I shall do the other tomorrow and carry on with fitting. I have done the early doors shopping and put it all away. Another good morning, slow but good progress!

Sadly it is still raining here, even though the forecast implies occasional light showers. I am up to my eyes in a weeks worth of wet washing including heavy towels. I have spent the last hour picking cooking apples, plums and tomatoes. The plums and apples are falling madly from the tree so I decided I would just have to pick them . I feel jam making and chutney making coming on as well as freezing some. Many of the figs ripened in our absence and have been attacked, probably by wasps.

It's an earlier ripening season than ours isn't it Sue....
I shall get my chicken in the oven and then go in the shed for more work on my crosshead guides. Then my sleep and after that I shall deal with the chicken and then there are the delights of cleaning the cupboard under the sink before Jonathan comes on Tuesday.
05:55. I've put the chicken in the oven and am having a minute with a cup of tea before going into the shed.

I cut the rebate in the other guide and cleaned both of them up for a last measure and mark before doing the final cut for overall width. Before I started on that I sharpened the cutter again. As you get down to the end of a cutter they don't hold their edge for as long..... Then I got set up again and started the final cut but it was knocking off time so I shall leave that until tomorrow.......

Morning

We had a good evening at Joanne and Pauls and it was midnight when we got back. Normally we see no traffic on the country lanes between them and us, but for some reason last night it was really busy.

I did eventually get my washing dry yesterday but not outside as we had intermittent light showers all day. Today is drier but cloudy. I shall change our bedding. I made some fig jam yesterday afternoon , today will be plum jam, and make a few things out of apples for the freezer, which is now looking pretty full. We did a big shop, mainly at Super U but went to Lidl for the meat. The prices really make my eyes water . Another 100 euro gone in the click of a finger and we didn’t buy that much.

Today i shall finish the ironing and do some dead heading. This weekend I hope to start tidying and cutting back the flower borders. Normally by now they have stopped growing but in this warm showery weather the vegetation is rampant, but sadly few flowers.

Have a good day

Sue,I get that feeling every time I shop at the Co-op!

Later.... Busy since I got up. I've dealt with the chicken and put everything away. Done a load of washing and sorted that and now I'm having a bit of lunch.....It's all go. I also solved a problem I had with a table lamp that had fallen to bits. I thought I might have to spend money and buy a new one but then I remembered I had a small wooden one I made at school in woodworking class with Eddie Bromley. I sought it out and fitted an LED bulb and that's back in use 75 years after I made it.....

Stanley wrote: ↑29 Jul 2023, 06:53 Sue,I get that feeling every time I shop at the Co-op!

I have to say the UK is cheap compared to France. We really have to modify what we eat.its not just food either, but basic cleaning stuff, toilet rolls , toothpaste etc.

Stanley wrote: ↑29 Jul 2023, 11:44 Later.... Busy since I got up. I've dealt with the chicken and put everything away. Done a load of washing and sorted that and now I'm having a bit of lunch.....It's all go. I also solved a problem I had with a table lamp that had fallen to bits. I thought I might have to spend money and buy a new one but then I remembered I had a small wooden one I made at school in woodworking class with Eddie Bromley. I sought it out and fitted an LED bulb and that's back in use 75 years after I made it.....

But have you cleaned out the cupboard under the sink?

Tomorrow (Sunday) actually. I will be going to Specsavers in Colne for an eye test and new glasses. I have used James Bontoft, in Barlick, for several years but after looking at some of the Specsaver prices, when I was there getting my ears sorted, I thought I'd give them a go.

Wendy, that was mischievous and no, I haven't done it yet! But that was the plan, all my other tasks and nagging matters came first. Today I shall be head down and arse up. I'm really pleased with my little table lamp in the front room. 75 years since I made it at school and it's as good as new.
Before that though I shall be in the shed getting closer to a pair of cross head guides.....

Morning

We had a pretty good day yesterday, sun and dry at last. Bob mowed the lawn and I tackled the two remaining flower beds, the flowers now over. I have never seen the soil so wet for the time of year. I only managed one and a half as the growth is so dense. The other half I will do today, just leaving the main rockery . I usually cut the lavender back about now but the plants are still alive with bees.

So today will be a warm ( 25 degrees) dry day. It could be a good day to put the duvets from the guest rooms, on the line to give them a good airing. We have no major plans, perhaps a walk this afternoon. Have a good day all

That's a bit of a change Sue, dry enough for airing duvets! Sounds like a better day.



More refinement of the crosshead guides..... First I reduced both to the required width and then spent a while rubbing them down on emery taped to the surface plate. (How long do you spend polishing?) I stopped myself and went on to mark the bed and the guides with witness marks to identify the hand. Then measured and marked for the holes for the six 5BA bolts that will hold the guides on to the bed. I finished up with the guides finished and ready for attaching to the bed. That will happen tomorrow.

Wendy will be pleased to hear I have had an hour of second sleep. I shall now have a drink of tea, gird my loins and attack the cupboard under the kitchen sink so that Jonathan has a good experience when he fits my new mixer tap. This is how it looks before I start.

It doesn't look too bad!

That's what struck me but then if you look carefully it could be cleaner so I shall bring it up to the higher standards I try to achieve elsewhere....

After 30 minutes on my knees..... (Note the donkey stones..... )

Here's what it looked like after it was cleaned with the mop, detergent and bleach.



And what the end result was with everything sorted and stowed away.



I am pleased and surprised because the interior is in far better condition than I thought it would be. I expected it to be wet and some of the wood rotted but no such thing, it's in remarkable condition. It's also clean and there are no smells. I am pleased and very glad I did it.

I posted this note on the Tuesday after we arrived...

...Less happy news is that on Sunday Barry has been rushed in to hospital again. Apparently he has a blood infection and on Sunday they thought he may not survive the night. The antibiotics are working now , but he is still very ill indeed. ..
.

Sadly Barry has died today. He was 87, and a lovely lovely man. He will be missed by many.

Sorry to hear that your friend has died Sue.

He was born the same year as me..... Why is that the first thing that strikes me about Barry's death? RIP

Stanley wrote: ↑30 Jul 2023, 14:12 He was born the same year as me..... Why is that the first thing that strikes me about Barry's death? RIP

I didn't realise you were 87 Stanley

Don't worry about it Sue, I don't! I just keep buggering on but I do admit that people's age when they die does strike me.....
Today I have only one task, fry my sweet potato chips. I shall do that later this morning. I shall go in the shed for an hour before second sleep, I have to fit the guides to the crosshead. Six 5BA holes to drill and tap....