OneGuyFromBarlick

Only one image and on ly a half an hour in the shed spent cleaning up. I started with a chip chase, then I cleaned and oiled both of the CI surface plates and put a clean tablecloth on. Next was a good vacuum of the floor and of course clean the vacuum and put it away. Now I shall have breakfast!

Morning

Yesterday I did, at last, tidy the big rockery by the gate taking numerous root cuttings as I did so. I dropped them in a bowl of water whilst I worked to keep them hydrated and then later transplanted them into the new rockery which is now complete. After I finished I reviewed the old rockery to see if I could permanently change it to create less work in the future. I am still thinking.

This morning I will tackle the pile of stones in the orchard with intentions of transplanting some hardy perennials into it as Wendy did with her pile of stones. Its work in progress and no rush, the first step being to permanently remove the nettles and brambles. Bob is going to start to paint the flooring in the new room. However being Sunday everything will stop at lunchtime for lunch out and a relaxing afternoon.

Its due to be warmer than yesterday ie 26 degrees, sun and cloud. Have good day all

Not sure about this morning in the shed..... I may give it a miss if nothing occurs to me. I'm expecting the new castings any time now.
Nothing presses for the rest of the day. So it can be an old man's day..... doing very little extremely slowly!

Morning

I had quite forgotten yesterday that after lunch we were going to the first of the local August festivals with Breton dancing and music. After a lovely lunch in the new to us restaurant we did just that. There were the usual craft stalls and car boot stalls and the annual demonstration of the old washing techniques but by 4.00 there was still no sign of the dancing and it was mighty hot in the shadeless Chateau garden so we decided to leave. It was a shame as I love to watch the dancing and the music often gets the crowds up doing the dancing too. I was disappointed but on the way out we did come across a trio of Gendarme musicians who were very good on the trumpet, trombone, euphonium and a collection of percussion instruments all attached together and to a washboard Once home we had a cuppa and fell asleep for an hour. We did nothing else. Later we watched the athletics on the olympiques having missed the swimming finals.

Today is again 26 degrees and mixed cloud and full sun. I have decided on my redesign of the rockery so whilst it is cool I shall move the stones and weed kill what is left of the plants. I shall but the stones next to the fence to try and prevent more weeds creeping in and fill the spaces with lavender plants which grow well , fill out and last years. They will match up with the others in that patch bringing bees and some beautifull butterflies. Bob is going to do the top coat of clear polyurethane varnish on the part of the floor he painted yesterday morning. I have zoom french conversation and yoga at different times during the afternoon.

Have a good day all. Is the weather still good there

Morning Sue. We're getting more seasonal weather, lots of overcast and next week offers a succession of near 20C days and quite dry and sunny. Today is 23C but so far no sun!
I have had my sleep so I'll have a walk......

I may go in the shed for a potter at some point this morning to pass time until the Fed Ex courier gets here early this morning. My castings are imminent!
Nothing else claims my attention. so very likely a walk and a sit on traffic duty later as we have a dry forecast.

Morning

Its a little overcast today wit a forecast of perhaps some rain (25% chance) . It will still reach 24 degrees maximum. Its a better day for the gardening we are doing, Bob has the hedge to cut on next doors side, and I want to finish the preparation of my garden from the pile of stones. I have now cleared the nettles and brambles and Bob weedkilled the remains and secured an outer wall of stones. Today I want to reveal a little more soil so I can add compost and plant up . Yesterday afternoon I bought 5 small lavender plants for the front rockery by the fence. Its all coming together nicely with major tasks both inside and outside the house slowly being completed. We are thinking of having an estate agent round in the autumn to give us an idea of what we legally have to do and give us a valuation

Have a good day all

It all sounds to be going well Sue. I hope all your plans come to fruition!
I am locked in the house waiting for this bloody courier. I hate it!

I hate couriers! 5 hours waiting and he didn't even knock on the door! Still I have my castings.

I shall not be wasting the day and valuable sleeping time hanging about for a courier! Thank god I shall be in the shed at 06:00 getting my ducks in a row and starting on the build of another Stuart No. 9 engine.... I never tire of it. I am never happier than when I am using my tools and machines to do useful things with my hands. They say we are going to have rain later but it may not be serious enough to stop me from having my walk.... We shall see!

Back to normal. I started the day with a bench full of castings that needed fettling. (How fortunate that I found I had a crankshaft about my person that fits the engine!) So that was what I did, the first rough fettling of all the castings. I am ready now for the next stages that will not be quite as dirty and tiring as this morning! Now for breakfast.

Morning

Its a very misty start today , I can hardly see across the road from my bed. It should clear as a sunny dry morning is forecast and cloudy the rest of the day, dry at 25 degrees. Yesterday’s rain was fleeting, a misty shower lasting no more than a couple of minutes then another which just dampened the ground at about 7 o clock. We were in bed early both tired from our physical exertions .

Bob was doing the hedge all day cutting it down by about 1 metre, as it has not been cut for a few summers. We used to have a man come to cut it annually but he retired from his gardening business. Bob managed to weed kill a couple of random blackthorn trees that had grown up in it and a bamboo plant that had spread from our garden. We got rid of it on our side years ago, not having planted it ourselves. Horrible spreading stuff. Even though ours was a non spreading variety it was obviously on a root stock that did and used to spring up all over the lawn .

Sadly all this work will have to be repeated now on our side as Bob can only reach half way across the top. Luckily he did not have to remove the cuttings as Yves got Evan to fill their trailer with them. I weeded the rhubarb patch, gave my veggie plot a little attention and finished moving stones in the pile so that I now have a nice clear centre to fill with soil and plant up. Today I will water the soil that is in there to try and level it a bit. The soil here can’t be budged in the summer unless you dampen it first.

As Bob will be busy sometime on the hedge I will keep myself occupied with a little washing and cleaning, including the ensuite room ready for Jane at the weekend

As I write the mist is lifting and the sun shining through. Have a good day all

Ps the mist has now gone, that was quick

Morning Sue.... No mist here but it was trying to rain as I set off for a short walk. No sun but it's pleasant out and I got a couple of cupboard fillers at the Co-op. I can always find something!
I had a good sleep, over two and a half hours. Back inside and sat down now which is a blessing.

Back to normal. I shall be in the shed at 06:00 doing useful things to my castings! (Not as tiring as yesterday's hand work....)

Morning

No mist this morning, 11 degrees rising to 25 , cloud and sun with no rain forecast. Yesterday was a beautiful day mainly sunny at about 24 degrees. It was quite pleasant to garden in. I levelled the soil in my new bed and it is ready to add the compost, it will need about 4 bags to make it deep enough to plant up.

I did some cleaning upstairs in the morning but sadly my vacuum cleaner packed in. Its not very old having bought it and used it in the UK for a couple of years before my brother died. We then had his Dyson and brought the other here. Apparently the filter was damaged and the machine was throwing out dust everywhere. Bob thinks he can mend it but thats yet another job for him. Luckily I do have another one here but it means carrying it up and down stairs which I prefer not to do.

Bob was busy all day again yesterday and still had not finished. The hedging is too tough for the electric hedge cutters so he is having to chip away at the branches with the big tree pruners. He hopes to finish this morning.

This afternoon is shopping. We are buying for next weeks meals plus the ingredients for a pizza making party on Saturday afternoon with Laetitia and family.

Have a good day all

I keep promising myself an upstairs vacuum Sue.....




First job was to turn down a wooden plug for the cylinder bore and then clean up the mess! Then drive the plug in and mark the centre of the bore on each end. Once that was done I could mount the cylinder in the vise on the VM and machine the face flat and true. While I had it mounted in the vise I changed over to a 1/4" slot drill and cut the exhaust port in the valve face. That was enough honest endeavour for this morning. Now the job is breakfast.

I shall be in the shed at 06:00 doing more work on my cylinder. I'm really enjoying being back on course!
Much of the rest of the morning is going to be spent doing battle with Ebay over the non-delivery of an order and activation of their money back guarantee. They tell me I qualify but their process won't let me in to claim. I may end up claiming protection from PayPal through whom the payment of almost £50 was made. I hate it when this happens with an order.

Morning

A busy day yesterday. Bob finished the hedge in the morning and mended the vacuum cleaner in the evening and I finished one of my last gardening tasks. We shopped in the afternoon, once for food which we took home before going for compost. Two journeys were necessary with a cuppa in between as we couldn’t get it all in the car in one trip. It was nearly 6 when we got back the second time. Time for a beer, tea was easy as there was some left over from the other night. We ate outside and sat out till nearly 8.30 when a cool breeze was developing.

Today is forecast 27 to 29 degrees. We have decided to go for a walk this morning round a lake in the Forest of Broceliande, supposedly the home of Merlin! There is some interesting folklore about Merlin and how the English story was added to and spread by the bards and musicians between France and England. I did research it once but forget the details . We may lunch out

This afternoon I want to make a lemon drizzle cake ( from a packet I hasten to add as I am no baker ) for our pizza party tomorrow afternoon with Laetitia and family. It will be 30+ on Saturday and 35 expected on Sunday. There will be a few warm days dropping back to 23 next Friday. Still no rain and my water butts are nearly empty, so we are back to collecting our waste water from the kitchen in watering cans by the back door.

Have a good day all

What a good man that Bob is! Do you hire him out at weekends?



This morning's task was to face each end of the cylinder square with the valve face and exactly the right length. I measured and marked and then set up in the mill and cut both faces. When I had finished that I checked everything and then measured and marked the centres of the bore. I am ready to bore the cylinder now but will probably do that later. Last job was to clear all my CI chips up. Now for breakfast.

I shall be in the shed at 06:00 and might even bore the cylinder, such a satisfying process!
Not sure about the rest of the day. I think veggie shopping may be pushed into next week.....

Morning

Typical mid August start to the day which should burn off by eleven. 29 degrees forecast by late afternoon.

"less fun but less work."
and less work makes room for more of different fun! I'm all for it!
Morning Sue, you sound to be all set for a busy and fun day. I hope all goes well for you.



It's been a boring morning here....
As you can see I decided to bore the cylinder. Not a lot to report. I bored the plug out and then took the bore to 10 thousandths over 1.5" checked it for parallelism and put the witness mark on the valve face for all the other parts. Then a clean up and put the mill back into normal mode. The bore is as near perfect as makes no matter. Now I can enjoy my breakfast.

I shall be in the shed admiring my cylinder and doing useful things to the other castings.....
I shall take a view about a walk later when I see how warm it gets. Chances are it could be a pleasant day out there.

Morning

We had a fun but busy day. At breakfast I decided to invite our lady neighbour from across the road to our pizza making party. She accepted and spent a very chatty afternoon with us. Despite only living a few doors away I don’t think she knew Laetitia and family. She now does! Everyone left by 5, it took no time to clear up and then Bob and I sat in the garden for a couple of hours enjoying the evening sun.

Today 36 degrees is forecast. I want to change our bedding first thing, finish cleaning the guest room for Jane and prepare a lasagne for tea for after our return from Nantes airport. Jane is due to land about 4.30pm. She has already had one hiccup with her travel plans as her train from Liverpool to Manchester airport has been cancelled. She will have to catch an early morning one instead. She may already be on the way.

Have a good day all, I gather it is warm for you too

Yes Sue, they are promising us at least two very warm days by our standards! Once more I have timed cooking to coincide with them..... Nice that you got the lady opposite into the local community, well done. I hope you get your washing done and that Jane has a better travel day today than yesterday.



After admiring my cylinder I turned my attention to the base and the bed. Base first bolted direct to the table of the mill after it had been dresses with the diamond hone to make sure there were no dings that could give a false level. Then a temporary refit of the vise to hold the bed while I machined its base flat. Not a bad morning's work. Now I deserve breakfast!