Today I shall be Mainly...

[PanBiker]

Yesterdays session of cupboard fixing was truncated by a mutually agreed executive decision to stop flogging a dead horse and get the wall sorted. The guy that fitted the kitchen said that he was glad we hadn't asked him to fit any cupboards due to the nature of the studded wall! The former tap room bar where the small kitchen is now fitted was a bit of a funny shape and the joiner that started the studding was taken seriously ill so it was finished by someone else who's idea of a straight edge it would seem was far from perfect. You only see the error when you put a straight edge on it. There are only two hangars per cupboard as fixing points and on a 1000mm wide cupboard which is a lump to start with and an even bigger lump when full they need to be secure. There is no existing horizontal studding to screw into where we need it and the lateral skim has two high points which forces a hiding to nowt. We have resolved to get a reliable bloke to regularise this which will probably involve chopping out the existing plasterboard to get to the studding, adding new structure where we need it, re-boarding and re-skimming.

That jobs on hold for a bit but we will get there.

I took Sally to the train this morning for her run down to Stratford to see our Ruby at half term. She'll be back on Thursday, meanwhile I have ironed all my shirts ready for invigilating on mock exams starting on Tuesday. Sally joins the team as a reader on Friday, we can go up to school together.

[Stanley]

When I put the cupboards up in my house I had the same problem with the plastered brick wall. I solved it by putting a slater's lath up on the wall first and fixing to that. It worked.
All cooking done so back in the shed today.....

[Tizer]

My cousin is having big problems with a floor covered in Kardean vinyl wood-appearance tiles. They had them laid in an extension on plywood on the concrete floor. Damp patches soon appeared and it all had to be taken up. CH pipes were in the concrete but not sheathed. They were replaced properly and the floor re-laid. Now she's got damp patches showing up again and when they lifted it up the ply was damp and the concrete under it was damp. The supplier and fitter have been and everyone's puzzled. I'm waiting to find out what happens this week. She's very depressed by it all.

[Big Kev]

How long had the floor been down before the plywood and flooring was put on it?

An easy rule of thumb for concrete floor drying 1mm = 1 day of drying time...

[Marilyn]

We had a Karndean (tiled) flooring and we're happy with the flooring itself but the border was a disgrace because the layers were inept at maths. I had to check everything before I would allow final placement. A couple of times they had to rip stuff back up because they were complete idiots. Lovely product but expensive...
One needs to buy the recommended floor care products too. Very important.
Would I bother again? No.

[plaques]

Don't use one of these steam cleaners on this type of tiles. In my opinion the steam penetrates the joints and makes the tiles expand.

[Stanley]

I'd plug slater's laths bedded on glue down first then anything that goes on top has an air gap. Ventilate round the borders. Why have imitation wood when you can get reclaimed timber tongue and groove that sands and seals well?



Reclaimed Jarra floor I laid for Janet.

More fiddly work in the shed.

[PanBiker]

Invigilating mock exams, Mathematics (Non Calculator) followed by English Literature. Just finished actually.

[Stanley]

Fighting the good fight with my tiny parts!

[Sue]

Finishing my culottes. I hope to see the GP too as I have a hard lump under the skin on one of my fingers, i think it needs checking out. If I can’t get an appointment I shall go walking.

[Stanley]

I have them in my left hand Sue. I think they are knots in my tendons! Don't go into a decline!
I shall be watchmaking in the shed and expecting news of my new glasses, I reckon they are about due.....

[Sue]

No appointment with the Dr, but saw the nurse practioner, for once he did not seem confident. He suggested inflammation, then cysts, then ganglion. He also said if it doesn’t hurt its not a problem...sorry I don’t go with that. Anyway I have hydrocortisone cream to rub in for a week. I rejected anti inflammatories as I already take them periodically and have done since I noticed the lump on New Years Eve. They made no difference. Anyway he said to go back after a week if there is no change.

So we did go walking, a very short but pleasant walk, then I finished my culottes except for the hem. Today is art, then writing with lunch out in between. Freestyle yoga this evening, an energetic way to finish the day and my 5 weekly exercise regimes!

[Stanley]

Mine bothered me and I developed a habit of rubbing them quite hard with my thumb when I was sat watching telly. Over a few months they have all improved except one intractable little spot on the middle of my palm that has persisted but causes me no problem. I am doing the same for the knots left by the scars on my finger.... Rubbing perhaps does more good than anything else and is completely non-invasive!
Quietly sculpting a small bit of steel in the shed....

[Sue]

Thanks for the tip Stanley, I shall try rubbing them, plus of corse the hydrocortisone cream which I shall now rub in vigorously.

Today is art then lunch out with friends. A gentle ache permeates my body after a rather energetic exercise week. I received praise indeed yesterday from my yoga teacher that I was trully amazing in my flexibility , this after a casual comment about my age to one of the other yogis They all thought I was much younger than my 6ixty something years. What was my secret I was asked. Keeping busy was my reply.

[Stanley]

You're welcome Sue. Remember that the drawback with the cream is that it tends to make the skin thinner. I remember when I tore the tendon in the inside of my elbow on my left arm the doc told me to rub it and when I asked him if this was the limit of modern science he said no, but it's the most effective and non-invasive way of helping to repair the damage. he was right......
Yesterday I never got in the shed I was too busy shopping and then testing the limits of my new glasses. I'm happy to report that they have settled in well and my right eye is improved by the fact I am not straining it in front of the computer screen. The distortion is lessening in the retina. Yippee!

[Sue]

Hairdressers this morning, then an afternoon shopping with Erin and Claire for bedding and curtains for Erins room. She is 4 on the 8 th, and wants her bedroom decorated for her birthday, baby curtains and bedding are on the way out and I suspect will be replaced with princesses or ballerinas! The walls are to be PURPLE!

[Big Kev]

Nowt wrong with purple

[Marilyn]

Nothing wrong with purple at all...especially when you are 4.

[Tripps]

Let's hear it for Purple

Yet again. . .

[PanBiker]

Our bathroom is purple and the bedroom used to be.

[Tizer]

I've got a purple shirt!

[Sue]

Yes but purple walls, bedding, and scarlet red carpet. I love her to bits. We had a great afternoon shopping.

[Marilyn]

...well...the carpet might have to go!

[Stanley]

I shall be sticking to the Magnolia..... Janet once painted her bedroom purple.....
Free leccy so cooking, washing and housework today...

[Sue]

I love purple too, we used to have a purple bedroom and I wear a lot of purple in all different shades, Erin is definitely a purple sort of girl. I think it was the first colour she learnt. Purple features subtly in my lounge decor now, but I agree with Maz about the carpet. Erin is having a new bed too, she didn’t want the captains bed that Claire and Adam had chosen for her...she has chosen a small double 4 poster bed. Do you think my grand daughter has regal tendencies