What are you all up to
Comments
-
Hurray we have some sun today, after days of grey skies and miserable drizzle rain. The evenings have felt very autumnal.
OH back outside making more fence panels for the front garden, only 2 more to go. Last one will be a bit of hard work as there is a cotoneaster growing in the way. Hardworking digging one of those out.
We were out yesterday for lunch with out friends from the west coast. We meet up at Stirling which is around halfway between us. Great lunch and afternoon chatting, several cups of coffee/tea in the lounge afterwards. Would be nice to get away for a few days with them but can't decide where to go.
I've been busy with my crochet and finished my first cushion cover for the MH, it's very bright and cheerful, just what it needs as the interior is all beige, cream and browns.
Kj, your right it was Hazel head site. Stayed there a few times. Shame it's gone it was a nice place.
WN, that's great you have the van fixed and can get away again.
Sounds like those away are having a good time.
0 -
Good to hear trips are imminent 👍 Hope you get your problem sorted R&R. Photo please of the cushion TG😁
Gardening at Mums today for me. I got back on bike outdoors again at home last night, steady six miles around our park, which has some serious inclines. OH has taken my Mini to have new tyres put onto wheels I was given for my birthday, so I have Jeep. It’s full of garden bags to take to tip, that’s for this afternoon (if it doesn’t rain🙄🙁)
We have a night out in MH planned for next week. Pub stop in Harrogate, close to Harlow Carr. Just got to get up there avoiding roadworks on A1.
0 -
Yesterday's cabaret was flying ants in the conservatory 🪰. Bad enough outside but indoors was a bit of a nightmare. I think I have eliminated them though. I have just read that yesterday was 'flying ants day'😫.
Busy day today. Our hairdresser came first thing and then we decided to go to our recently refurbished local garden centre for coffee and a snack - first real outing for OH - then did our Aldi shopping. The weekly bill is still going up! After we got home neighbour opposite came over for a chat with OH.Glad to hear that your van is sorted WN and that you can now plan your next trip. Where are you off to? And where and when are you setting off nellie? Pleasant day today - no rain and the odd sunny spell. Not as humid as yesterday.
0 -
Don't mention flying ants! MiL has kittens whenever she sees just one. Mind you her and FiL did have a huge invasion when they moved into their own house here in the village and we do have a thriving ant population.
Just count it as your daily workout Millie.
We're hopefully off to East Anglia but taking in a few more stops to get there. We have to be back by end of September but won't be leaving for a while yet. Trying to get all of the little things that were postponed done.
Have to investigate changing the cooker and the garage has accumulated too much junk. Old half used paint tins etc. We will be moving things around when we return and need to de-clutter some cupboards. We will have to find new homes for several Bird Guides for various places in Europe, plus maps and walking books for those same places, some in French or German. Anybody wants them let me know.
Best wishes to yourself and hope Mr.H's health starts to improve.
0 -
Millie
We used to get lots of flying ants and as you say they all seemed to appear on the same day out of the blue. I started to realise that the original paving in the garden was secured by the dab method, so four dabs of mortar per slab. This meant there was plenty of room for ants to nest under the slabs. Eventually all slabs were secured by a complete covering of mortar which left no room for nests and we haven't really had a problem since.
David
1 -
Millie, we set off next week, mainly going to sites along the Welsh border and into N Wales. Three of the sites will be new to us.
Tda, enjoy your trip away, and. Pleased to read that you are out on the bike again.
R&R, sorry to hear of the water ingress, hope that you managed to get it fixed in time for your next planned trip.
Another nice day here so packed up bedding etc into the van. OH has a dental appointment on the morning that we leave, or we might have set off a day sooner, but it is early so we should get to our first overnight stop around lunchtime.
0 -
Had a really satisfying day, yesterday. Worked my socks off, cleaning the van and emptying it prior it going to the dealers tomorrow (yes - their driver is coming on a Sunday!) but was dreading going for my annual blood test / BP check in the afternoon and 'knew' my BP would be through the roof. (I suffer from hypertension and AF). It turned out to be 120/80 - which was brilliant - couldn't believe it. So I left the surgery feeling a very happy bunny.
But the best bit was the pond. I mentioned some time ago that our pond was loosing water - big time - and I was convinced a tree root had penetrated the triple pond liner meaning it would have to be emptied and re-lined. Bearing in mind it's over 2m deep and holds roughly 30,000 litres of water, that was going to be a major undertaking which I doubt I was no longer capable of doing. Son-in-law - who offered to help / do it for me - goes on holiday this week - so the prospect of getting it done was bleak and we would probably have to get rid of the fish - some of which are about 10 years old.
Then I had a flash of inspiration - I noticed that the water loss wasn't occurring at night when the pump was off - so started to investigate and noticed a very wet patch behind the waterfall which was previously hidden by undergrowth and overgrown plants. (Garden has been a bit neglected whilst I've been looking after Ros!) Bit more poking and prodding and I noticed a huge lily plant had established itself in the middle of the waterfall and was acting like a dam and forcing the water over the back of the waterfall. Pulled it out and hey presto - big gush of water as waterfall returns to it's normal flow and the pond hasn't lost a drop since then. What a relief
Lesson learned about not neglecting the garden in the future!!4 -
Ponds take up quite a bit of time R&R, glad you found the source of the problem! Hope your van gets sorted too.
Also regarding BP checks I've been treated since I was 40 and have had an unsettling ongoing blip which has finally settled down again...not helped by over the phone changes to unsuitable meds, all sorted now, hopefully.
Good to hear of all the holiday plans. We are off soon after this last bit of pet care, July has been a stay at home month for us but we've had some nice visits out. We went to Hestercombe Gardens this week but got lost on the way there due to road closures. The Quantocks are looking lush but we saw too much of them! If anyone's travelling on the A30 in our part of the world be warned it's closed till September between Yeovil and Crewkerne, so many roads closed locally just now, a real pain! 😳
I see Deleted User User is saying farewell to CT in the "kind thoughts" bit at the end section of the the forum. I wish him and his OH well in the future.
0 -
I'm the same brue - was diagnosed when I was 35 - after I had got a Superintendent's job in Nottingham - went for a medical and it was found to be 220/160!!!! And I felt absolutely fine. In hospital for a week while they tried various meds and have been on treatment ever since
1 -
We are back in Aberdeen for one night to bring the caravan home. Left home by 08.15 this morning and were here by 11.30, having stopped for fuel at the big Asda on the south side of Aberdeen.
The children were very pleased to see us, Daddy and I took them to the play park and to see the ducks while Mummy got their stuff organised and packed, not that they have taken that much with them. There are still clothes in the lockers and a load of dirty washing under the bed!
They have had a good holiday, and only one day with rain.
We all had lunch and they set off home at 14.15, we then got all the tables and chairs packed away and the awning down, it has been a lovely sunny day here. Unlike at home where apparently there has been a lot of heavy rain.
After that I had a snooze and rested my aching back!
The fridge is pretty bare, but we managed to find enough food for dinner, and breakfast tomorrow.
We will try to make an early start so we are home around lunch time, then they can come and pick up all their stuff.
0 -
Thanks brue for the heads up about AD. I would not have notice it otherwise. I wish him and his OH all the best for the future. Hope you have a good trip away next month.
Good to read that your BP was "normal", especially after all your work and the worry over the caravan, R&R.
Have a safe tow home tomorrow, Kjell. Have you another trip planned for this year yet?
Another mostly fine day here, although we did have a short shower just as we were coming back from our post dinner walk this evening, but it is dry again thankfully.
1 -
Such a sad morning for us. We have been thrilled to see we had a late wren’s nest high up in a Pyracantha bush that grows up our garage wall. This morning I came down to make the morning cuppa and saw four, just fledged, baby wrens sat in the middle of our lawn looking all a bit stunned!
Called OH to come to see but before he got to a window disaster struck in the form of a neighbouring cat!! It certainly got one of the babies and maybe two as I was in the process of trying to get to another window; being in nothing but my comfy nightdress, I didn’t want to scare the neighbours by heading outside. OH got his fleece (over his nightwear) and managed to get two babies into some undergrowth, we still haven’t found the third so maybe it did succumb to the cat.
It’s nature and all that but we have been so careful not to disturb the mother while she was attending the nest, not gardening around there or anything, so it’s a real shame. Hopefully the other two will survive - we are on a ‘cat watch’ for the next few days!!!
0 -
Such a shame Heddlo, the nests are so vulnerable to all sorts of predators, we have (amongst others) squirrels and magpies that raid nests in our garden. Usually the pigeons suffer most as their nests are so open.
Hope you aren't too tired KJ, your family holiday efforts leave me exhausted when I read about them!
We had a good dog walk between showers this morning, we could see the rain clouds rolling towards us from the Blackdown hills and just made it home in time. Had a nice Sunday lunch out at the cafe attached to our small local caravan site near Martock. The food is good so it's busy and popular, The site is reasonably busy too, some round here look quieter this year, just filling up at weekends etc.
Hope everyone's had a good weekend!
0 -
Had a good weekend with friends and two days of lovely meals out at good restaurants for our birthdays and today a much quieter day and less eating.
Had a dip in the pool this afternoon very pleasant with a gentle breeze and not so hot as the last couple of days.
Back to outside chores tomorrow heyho.
0 -
Meanwhile……here in Yorkshire, we have lit our stove tonight😂🥶
Enjoy your pool RK, most envious😁
1 -
I thought you usually get away towards the back end, Kjell. I guess then that half term is the second week in October then, much same as down here. There are generally no shortage of pitches available at that time of year.
it has been another dry but blustery day here until early this evening, but it hasn't stopped raining since then. I suppose it will be a wet walk last thing tonight but it will give me an opportunity to try out my new wellies!! I just hope that it is dry in the morning.
0 -
Pretty good day of weather where we were. Woke up to lovely sunshine, managed to leave the site in Aberdeen at exactly 10.00. Roads not initially busy, but more traffic around when we got to Dundee.
DD reported heavy rain in Glasgow in the morning, but we had only one little shower plus a cloudburst as we approached Auchterarder, which lasted all of 2 minutes.
Had planned to drive straight home, arriving about 13.00, but 15 miles before Stirling an oil warning lamp came up on the dashboard. OH ascertained from the handbook that it indicated low oil level, so we drove on at a reduced speed to the services at Stirling. Not stopped there before, good long caravan spaces, but on a bit of a slope.
We decided we might as well have lunch then check the oil level, so managed to make ham and grated Mozzarella sandwiches from the food we had left, and also found plenty of yogurts in the fridge.
The car informed me that it required a maximum of 1.25 litres of oil to keep it happy, must be all the hot weather recently as it has never requested oil before. Walked round to the petrol station and had to part with £22.50 for a litre of oil 😧. At least that made it happy and the warning light went out.
Arrival home was delayed until 14.30, and by then it was dry and sunny, so van moved into its position on the drive, then DD and the boys arrived to fetch their stuff. I was tasked with entertaining the boys while DD got everything packed, so we had to investigate all my various tools and machines in the garage........somewhere they rarely get to go into.
After dinner I had a good snooze in my chair, some coffee to waken me up, and now it is almost bedtime.
Flying ants........DD had a lot of them arrive in her en suite a few weeks back, and this evening found another invasion, not quite so many this time.
She plans to talk with upstairs neighbour as her bathroom looks onto his area of the garden and it looks like there may be a nest around somewhere. She also found a tiny hole in the sealant round the inside of the window so will deal with that tomorrow, and inspect the outside of the window too.
Flying ants are not something we have ever suffered from, so cannot give her any advice.
0 -
And i thought Yorkshire folk were tough !!!!!
lots of rain and very windy down here in the south. Daughter returns to Spain today so we had a family BBQ yesterday, fortunately the rain stopped at approx 1400 hrs so we managed to get the BBQ out and get sorted, we have a nice little alcove out of the wind ideal for the BBQ, cant remember the last time i did a traditional BBQ on charcoal and nothing fancy good old fashioned sausages and burgers with lots of fresh roles and butter follwed by waffles and icecream and cheese board for them that still had room, have to say recycle bin is full of tins ummmm! wonder why.
Raining and very windy this morning and weather man says we have got this for the week
would hitch a lift back to Spain with daughter but her little puma is a bit full with dogs etc, and although our gkids are teenagers they still call on us for lifts to parties etc, like this week.Caravan not moving now until September when we go to Devon for a month, knocked Spain on the head for this year, maybe give it a go in the Spring next year, OH back driving now after her stroke in Spain November last year, doing remarkably well considering she was totally paralyzed down her left side, long may it continue.
0 -
Cheeky😁 we had been stood out a half hour talking to family, in a bit of a wind tunnel, so I felt cold. We lit stove, but within a half hour I was regretting it. Pooch moved out, OH moved out and I was left gasping. We ended up opening door into garden🤣 Luckily only a few logs wasted.
We have put our trip to Harlow Carr on hold though, expecting Weds to be a shocker with rain. We might do a local Museum, or pop onto tram/train into Sheffield and have a look around Winter Gardens and Cathedral. Nothing booked, nothing spoiling.
Good to hear your OH is continuing to improve Rufs.
0 -
Hope you both enjoy your Devon trip in September Rufs, good to hear your OH can drive again.
Horrible damp dark weather here, feel sorry for holiday makers but it's not too cold so that helps a bit. Put the washing out hoping for light rain but the downpour has continued.🌧
Glad you both enjoyed your birthdays RedKite!
Did someone mention cookers?! Our new one developed a fault last week and I've been limping along until the repair man arrives Thurs. Hoping it can easily be fixed, it's years since a cooker of ours has had a bad fault, not best pleased.
0 -
Cool and grey here again today. Less breeze than of late but spit spotting of rain. AGAIN we really aren't getting anything decent, enough other than to wet the windows for weeks. Doesn't even entice me into the garden 😢. And hasn't for last few weeks! Mind you not had much chance as decorator in and bits to be moved and returned, plus food, cleaning, washing etc demands doing.
Hanging on the phone to energy company 😡. 30 minute wait. I'm waiting on to complaints department and still being told their website might answer my question...... 😡😡😡. May cut this short, so as not to lose if they answer! Now reached 40 minutes. Not as patient
Decorator cracking on a pace, 5 weeks since he started with 6 days off for a holiday. Working on 3 rooms at once, so stuff - like moving again 😱, all over. He'll be finished Friday but we still have hall stairs and landing plus kitchen diner to go. Gap there to accommodate bathroom and cloakroom refit.
Heard this morning guy, we've used for heating and plumbing work - great work, has badly broken his wrist, open fracture and had to have it plated. So all work postponed for now for him and he only one who can refit bathroom. We're 'happy' to wait his recovery. Meanwhile the changing a radiator, seeing to weeping outside tap will go ahead as planned on 21st. I expect his poor wife, the admin lady, is getting earache from all sides including the children. They're supposed to be on holiday very soon 😢. Only good news is we are the next job, so should be first once he's recovered.
Meanwhile need to get decorator cracking on but his admin on holiday and he's booked for other work whilst refit ongoing. Hoping they've not booked him on further....
Good to read folks news and see photos.
Belated birthday greetings to the Red kites glad you had good meals.
Wherenext my email issue appears to have resolved itself. But who knows?
0 -
Yes, hit the reply button when I got a human not canned music!
Despite 2 new smart meters fitted this year, its dumb. According to a neighbour previous owners continually having to try to sort since fitting. Would have been so nice if they'd said......
When we learnt in January our gas hadn't been read since we moved in April. we discovered our meter had died sometime after mid September when new boiler fitted and reading taken. We had ridiculously high gas bills, over the winter, sent electronically and I missed the word estimate on than gas part of the bill 😡😡😡😡. Naturally the safe place, usually the calendar, I'd recorded boiler change reading can't be found. I now have paper bills, so much easier for me. I can study and go back to them. I don't lose them as you can so easily electronically! I had to raise a complaint to get new meter fitted they took so long.
Now have to wait a year round to 1st new meter fitted, February, for them working out refund. First 2 months April and May already 80 units up.
I'll continue to read the meter weekly and recording in my special book, along with electric and water meter readings and notifying energy company at the end of each month. I'll also compile a list so I know excessinits charged for each month and the cost per unit - so I know how much I'd like back as a minimum....
Rant over
Just to add to stress despite logging back in, I'd been logged out, it didn't post this. Luckily I'd copied before hitting reply. Been caught too many times!
Talking of CT querks I kept a tab open for the Deleted User User thread. I wanted to add my good wishes for his future. I found trying to refresh I got the Wrong Way road signs..... so I could thank YoungThomas for the post either.
Hey ho
0 -
Yes I agree bakers2 it has been very grey and damp here today. I had thought I would cut the grass this afternoon (under OH's supervision of course 😁) but the grass has been too damp. Best of luck with your energy company.
Busy day yesterday as OH decided he felt well enough to go to the morning service at the Cathedral - the first time for many weeks - it was so lovely to be back and our friends there were so kind and supportive when we chatted afterwards. We then went across to the newly re-opened Becketts Cafe for a spot of lunch - thoroughly recommend it. Daughter and grand-daughter then popped over later which was lovely.
Hope you get your cooker fixed soon brue.
2 -
Bakers2 - I share your frustrations about Smart Meters - after our second one failed to send readings to Octopus for months, I contacted them again to get it sorted. When the third engineer turned up and fitted yet another new one, he told me that the last one hadn't even been 'commissioned' when it was installed - hence the reason for it not working. Not quite sure what 'commissioned' involved but needless to say, it didn't work.
So - now - we have our third meter installed and now the novelty's worn off - I haven't looked at it for months!
0 -
Arrived yesterday at Garlieston but it would have been no use posting pictures as it was rain and torrential rain. Today is much better. Site is quite full, maybe three empty pitches. But it is so quiet and peaceful.
3 -
What a wonderful view, Corners, haven't been to the D&G area for years and years and have never been to Garlieston. Quite envious - hope you have a wonderful time.
Good news on the caravan leaking roof - turns out to be the seal around the Heki rooflight. Water got in through there, travelled a few inches along the roof insulation (there is a visible gap between that and the fibreglass roof) and exited via the roof light. So no damage done to to any surrounding fittings or woodwork - or the roof lining. Despite this, the damp reading was still only 8% around the light fitting so that confirms there has been no penetration.
It also confirms my original thoughts that the technician wouldn't have been so careless as to not seal the Omnistor properly when he re-fitted it last month. Just got to do the trek up to Tebay and back to collect it - probably on Thursday
.0 -
Don't not look at the meter 😱. I think that was my issue 😡😡. I assumed that it would work. Never in all my years, over 60 😉 have I ever heard of a meter dying failing to record.
In our last house both meters were indoors in cupboards, so an ocassional glance at them. In this this house the electric is positioned in what was once the integral garage - no gas in the village then, which is now the study. The gas is outside on the opposite side of the house.
Meter read when in April we moved in, new boiler fitted in August so gas turned off and back on. Still working. Never gave it another thought. Now I have a reminder on my phone and read both meters weekly. Keeping the date, reading and time in a notebook. Modern tech, whilst good, can't be relied on. Once a quarter someone would have read the meters, even half yearly would have spotted the issue. Maybe the energy suppliers should have an alarm that flags up smart meter not communicating 🤐. Me a mere mortal suggesting?? So much now comes back to the customer......
The first one they fitted in Feb was NOT commissioned, whatever that involves, as the supplier didn't pick up when fitter tried to contact them for over an hour to do this. He was then being chased to go to other jobs! New meter, no idea why as other meter working well, replaced and commissioned. Checking bills it has never communicated with supplier 😡😡😡.
Glad your caravan leak has been traced and sorted with causing added issues. Safe travels for collecting.
OH watching England ladies, looks like a good game. As I type 6-1 to England. Thought the penalty that got China a goal a tad harsh. I prefer watching the women, generally better flow and play less dramatics 🤐
0
