2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2014年11月の記事
全30件 (30件中 1-30件目)
1
-
The Endless River (Pink Floyd 2014)
On our morning walk the other day we saw the river mist rising into a lovely clear sky. You can see that the river is slightly in spate due to the recent rain.A useful feature of the monitor I have just bought is the USB hub feature. It saves scrabbling round the back of the computer or having dangling bits everywhere - there are enough dangles already without adding more! I am thinking of getting a second hand sound bar for it. A good idea?
2014年11月30日
コメント(0)
-
Captain of your ship (Renatta and the Delrons 1968)
We went to Bidford today to visit Atsuko and Andy on their boat. A very nice cup of tea was had by all, and plenty of laughs. A nice morning.Coming home rather late for lunch Junko and I had steak and kidney pie and bean mush (which consisted of runner beans, celery, carrots and something else). Very warming. Spiced up with genuine Worcestershire sauce.
2014年11月29日
コメント(0)
-
The Doors
So here is the inside of the door. Quite smart but I wish I had lined the screws up better. I wasn’t thinking at the time. Also on display is the jumble that has already backfilled the available space. It was another miserable November day. However I did get out, to go to tasting. Very festive that was, too. A number of rather sweet Christmas items which I am not at liberty to disclose, but I am sure you can guess. Not my favourites at all, but quite a change. I suppose these are the ones they are trying for next year.
2014年11月28日
コメント(0)
-
In through the out door
So, here it is. The door to the shed extension. As you can see, it’s less than half a door really. Unfortunately I can’t make this door a full length one as this would mean that I couldn’t get the wheelie bins out from behind the shed. The gap is too small to have a door post in there. I could hang the door from the shed but that would make getting the bins out very difficult, you’d have to drag the bin past the door and it wouldn’t fold flat against the shed because of the rainwater downpipe (I could move the pipe but there is nowhere else to put it). Anyway, this is the most satisfactory solution. I am a poor carpenter but I am reasonably happy with my work. “You should have made it a few inches longer,” I hear you say, well, that was the length of the wood I had. I hope it will keep the rain out - the problem is that because of the prevailing wind direction, the rain usually comes straight onto the side of the shed, and hence if it’s windy it blows through where this door is. It doesn’t matter if the bin gets wet, and it will stop the rain from getting into the area in the bottom half. Another satisfactory thing about this door is that I didn’t spend a penny on the making of it. As I mentioned, the wood had been shelves in an old cupboard, I salvaged the hinges and I used some screws that Stephan gave me. Thank you Stephan.We had another frost last night, and some fog this morning. So it’s kind of damp weather. Rather unpleasant.
2014年11月27日
コメント(0)
-
Smashing Pumpkins
I was passing the local DIY store yesterday and a thought just sprung into my mind: “I wonder how much those hinges I used yesterday would be new?” So I went in and was astonished to see that an inferior pair of the same size (admittedly including the screws (which probably would have been useless, they usually are made of cheap metal and the heads strip easily)), an inferior pair was £7.05!! Amazing. I salvaged a bigger one of the same kind of hinge and that was priced at £8.00. It definitely pays to keep your eyes open. A pumpkin fell down from its storage place the other day, and split. Now that it’s damaged it won’t keep for long so Junko decided to make it into soup. Here is half of it chopped up.
2014年11月26日
コメント(0)
-
5:15
That’s the time when I am writing this diary entry. I won’t publish it exactly now, but that’s the time of writing. We went to see one of mother’s old friends today, for a cup of tea and a chat. Very nice. Last night was the coldest of the year so far, quite a hard frost. Tonight looks as if it will be the same as the air is cold already and the sky is clear.I made a small door this afternoon, for the shed roof extension area. In terms of carpentry it isn’t my finest hour, but it’s not too bad. Photo tomorrow, if I remember. By the time I had finished it was a bit dark and to be honest I also forgot.This is how bubbly we can get our morning coffee.
2014年11月25日
コメント(0)
-
On the Beach
That’s where I’d like to be! I’ve had enough of these cold and grey November days.But at least we managed to get down to the bookstall yesterday morning. We had planned to go to one this morning but the weather was foul. Rain, rain, rain. Junko bought this piece of kitchen equipment for opening bottles. It 's rather unusual in that it is made in Italy. I think the other opener that we have got, which is for opening jars, and which I showed you a photo of a month or so ago, was made in Germany. That's not particularly unusual, but the only kitchen utensils that you usually see that are made in Italy are things to do with pasta making.
2014年11月24日
コメント(0)
-
I Feel Fine
Actually that should read, I Feel Full, because that is how I felt after yesterday’s birthday lunch. Indian. Really great naan bread, lovely dosa and samba, plus three or four other Indian dishes, lentils, chicken, cauliflower and potato. Plus a beer and an ice cream. Is that enough?This Mac Mini has caused me more trouble than it is worth.Junko bought this cappuccino whisk this morning, for twenty pence. We’ve got another similar one, which is quite satisfactory (though not brilliant). This one is rather more vigorous and may produce more bubbles. We shall see.
2014年11月23日
コメント(0)
-
Birthday
So it’s my birthday today. No breakfast because we are going out for a large lunch. I hope you have noticed that the diary titles for the past ten days or so have been names of songs.I am not at all happy with my Mac Mini. It’s been raining for a while. The reconstructed read of the shed roof, despite my not being 100% satisfied with it, is holding up well.What is going on here? These are new road signs. How many poles are there? Wouldn’t you have thought that they could have done with a few less?
2014年11月22日
コメント(0)
-
Dr Robert
Junko has bought some herb tea. I thought it was called Dr Robert’s tea, but it is actually Dr Stuart’s Herbal Essence. I don’t know what it tastes like, but it smells interesting.I was pleased with myself today, I bought a second hand 19 inch digital monitor for my Mac Mini. Dell. It’s a really nice one with a USB hub enclosed. Super condition. £15. It makes my old 17 inch one look small. I have never used such a big monitor before! What luxury.I bought these plates the other day, I’m going to make them into a cake stand. Danielle’s Christmas present, maybe.
2014年11月21日
コメント(0)
-
Rose Garden
Well it’s not Lynn Anderson’s ‘Rose Garden’ but it is our garden as of this morning. From the back door. It’s quite surprising how many leaves and how much greenery there still is, considering we are into the last third of November. The light green feathery foliage is Junko’s asparagus. (it needs cutting down really but we have left it because it’s rather attractive, don’t you agree?)My niece has got an old iPod mini. The screen has been cracked for years and the battery is now not holding its charge. Otherwise it’s fine, and in quite nice condition. One of these days I will repair it. I have the same thing. Mine is fine but also needs a new battery, or will do shortly. I’ll do them at the same time, perhaps.
2014年11月20日
コメント(0)
-
The first cut is the deepest
These are my tin snips. A wonderful tool. I can’t exactly remember where they came from but you can be assured that I didn’t buy them new and they would have cost me either fifty pence or a pound. My Mac Mini makes an odd noise from time to time, kind of like a spring landing on a glass table. It sounds like something has arrived but I can’t see what. No mail, no message, no Skype. I wonder what it is?
2014年11月19日
コメント(0)
-
The River Runs High
Well after all this rain we have had it is not surprising that the river has risen almost to the top of its banks in Stratford. It’s flowing fast and is a rather brown and muddy colour. However we are not in for a major flood of any sort I am sure. Still on the river theme, here is the chain ferry being lifted out of the water ready for storage and maintenance over the winter.
2014年11月18日
コメント(0)
-
Lazy Bones
I think it must be the weather but for the last couple of days I have felt really lethargic. Dull, grey and lifeless, both me and the weather.
2014年11月17日
コメント(0)
-
Rock around the clock
Haha. On our morning walk we passed the clock on one of the churches in Stratford. The time showing was twenty past seven and the clock struck four. The actual time was ten to ten!This sign is on one of the farm track bridges over the canal near Stratford. I’m not sure how old it is, but isn’t it great? I guess the reference to ‘motor’ is in fact something like a steam engine. The sign looks too old to be referring to motor cars or tractors in the 1930’s, don’t you think? The canal was opened in 1816 and was not much used after 1900. It fell into great disrepair but was rescued and reopened in 1963. These days it’s busier than it ever was, I guess, not with commercial traffic but with tourist and pleasure boats. It’s a wonderful asset for the area.I got stuck in a queue yesterday evening in the car, down by the theatre. Masses of bollards and policemen on motorbikes, along with a convoy of large black cars. Perhaps Prince Charles, or indeed the Queen, went to the theatre?
2014年11月16日
コメント(0)
-
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
I took this photo of a stinkhorn mushroom on our walk yesterday. Amazingly it’s right in the middle of the town, near the main bridge. Junko cooked a Japanese pumpkin yesterday. These pumpkins are different from the normal ones we eat, they both taste and have a texture rather like sweet potato. Very nice.
2014年11月15日
コメント(0)
-
I am the walnut
Junko has been keen on eating nuts for some time now. We have a small bowl every evening with dinner. My favourites are almonds, followed closely by cashews, but Junko prefers walnuts.It ha been rather rainy recently. I am sad to report that the new roof isn’t a complete success, I have got a guttering problem. I hope I can solve this with some glue, but I have to wait until its well dry before trying. (I hear you say, take the guttering apart and dry it out - it’s not that easy)These are some canal and river boats in the little marina near the centre of Stratford. This is the river, not the canal.
2014年11月14日
コメント(0)
-
Steamy Windows (zero visibility)
Junko has been busy all day today. She is preparing a meal for Sharon and Stephan who are coming round for dinner this evening. As it’s quite cold outside the kitchen windows are steamed up, even with the fan going.Seiko has eaten one of the leeks we planted for her in the allotment. I wonder what it tasted like? The last time I saw these leeks, about a week ago, they looked good. It’s hard opening jars of gherkins without one of these things.
2014年11月13日
コメント(0)
-
Grey
Today was a typical November day, grey and miserable. In fact it was so gloomy that it was pretty much dark at four o’clock. Still, at least it hasn’t been too cold.We had minced beef and onion pies for lunch, with lettuce salad. We’ve harvested some nice pumpkins, as I think I said before. These are two of the five large ones. Not bad, eh? And, you know, these pumpkins came from two plants which came up of their own accord in the middle of Junko’s beetroot patch. They were very late little plants and I really didn’t want them but I thought I’d give them a chance, so I took them to the allotment and put them in. And what a surprise to have such a good crop.
2014年11月12日
コメント(0)
-
Oven
I bumped into a neighbour, Bob, this morning, he was walking to his car with some ‘rubbish’ while I was going in the same direction, in a bid to get some sense out of the bank. I stopped to chat and ask how is elderly mother was. While talking and walking towards his car I noticed that he had a large piece of stainless steel sheet in the boot, which he said he was taking to the dump. I begged it off him. The he said that he was getting rid of his oven and would I give him a hand to move it. I was happy to help. Here it is. Quite heavy. My much maligned sack truck came in very handy for this job. That sack truck is a very versatile and useful piece of equipment.It was a chilly day today. Junko enjoyed sitting by the radiator!The river is pretty much back to normal today.
2014年11月11日
コメント(0)
-
The river runs high
Well, after all that rain that disrupted my shed roof exploits it is not surprising that the River Avon has risen about half a metre. It’s not over the banks yet, but it’s getting close.But today was a lovely sunny Sunday. And thoughts once again turned to the completion of the roof. I have to report that it is pretty much finished now, boarded and felted. And guttered. I’m not a hundred per cent happy with the job but it will do for the winter I think. I may have a bit of a rethink next spring but at least everywhere is dry and hopefully most of the rain that falls won’t now be going into the shed. Certainly some areas should be drier than they have ever been. And that is progress, but it has been a bit of a struggle. Mostly I am disappointed with the felt. It tears very easily and is much harder to put down than I remember, and I am sure that this is due to it being poor quality. My fault I suppose, I didn’t realise I should have bought a higher grade. The label said ‘Shed roofing felt’, so I believed it. Oh well.Junko made a lovely salad with those runner beans.
2014年11月10日
コメント(0)
-
Rain again
Well the rain scuppered the completion of the roof felting, once again. I did manage to do a bit of guttering, though, but not much. So we have to choose a different topic.I found this vintage cheese knife in a drawer the other day. It’s rather unusual, don’t you think? With the scalloped edge. I am not sure how old it would be, 1920’s I guess. Hardened steel with a bone handle. Made in Sheffield. Patented. The instructions on it read “re-sharpen on a steel” (a steel is a tool you used to get with a cutlery set, a matching handle and I long piece of hardened ridged steel. You see butchers using them still to sharpen their knives. I remember my father sharpening the carving knife on one before we had Sunday lunch).And some more runner beans. These ones are ready to be frozen, I think. Problem is there isn’t much room in the freezer, too much bread.
2014年11月09日
コメント(0)
-
Rain on a wooden roof (beats like a drum)
Oh my goodness we had some rain last night. That wasn’t what I wanted. And it was very windy. Just what you don’t want when you are half way through doing a roof.But it was dry this morning and the wind seemed to have dried out the roof boards quite a lot, so I decided to make a start on putting the felt down. Working under the tree and lots of cuts made it a hard job, and the wind didn’t help, either. I had to put four pieces of felt down. I had done one when the rain started again. I ploughed on in light rain and did a second, and as the rain got harder I managed to get the one under the tree pretty much in place. I nailed all of these down and weighed them down with bricks to stop the wind getting under the felt and then had to call it a day. By the end of it all I was wet, tired and frustrated. Actually, what drove me on was the fact that, with the roof unfelted and no protection at the back of it, the shed was once more full of water this morning, even though the roof on it is quite secure. As I said before, the concrete slab the shed sits on is lower than its surrounds. This is what the visible part looked like after the rain. This bit is still unfelted.
2014年11月08日
コメント(0)
-
More progress
On my way home yesterday evening I bought the felt and the screws which should allow me to finish the roofing job on the shed. Again I made an early start and, unlike yesterday, made good progress immediately. Yesterday I had had a few unexpected obstacles, but today things were pretty straight forward, just a few small snags. Actually, this is the way I tend to work with everything, I get the difficult bits done first and then have an easier time of it. However, this is not a good working system really, not unless you are working for somebody who knows what is going on. This system tends to look as if you are very slow at doing things (I am but that is another matter). Most people make great initial progress by doing the easy things first, and then they give up. Their work looks good to the untrained eye but in truth there is not much substance to it. Looks good is the key, though. Looks are more important than substance, as we all know. Looks are important but without substance they are nothing.Anyway, back to the roof. So a few small snags in the construction, not too bad, but the major problem was the weather. The roof was wet first thing this morning and then it rained at lunchtime. I had two more boards to screw down when it got too heavy to work in. That was that. But I did spend some time after the rain had stopped (but the boards were too wet for felting) on trimming the ivy on the back wall, stabbing my thumb in the process. However the result is that access onto the roof for future work is now much easier. The result is very satisfying and I seem to have lots of wood still left over, which is good. Enough for a trellis. Hopefully I will be able to do the felting tomorrow but the weather forecast doesn’t look great. But I can do no more.Below are the screws I bought to fix the wood down.
2014年11月07日
コメント(0)
-
Making a start
The weather was forecast to be nice today so I was up betimes and ready to start work on the shed roof. Before breakfast I had pulled down some more rotten wood. After breakfast we went for our customary hour’s walk and then I set to work. I have to say that I struggled a bit initially, fixing another large piece of wood. It was impossible to fix it straight so I gave up and did the best I could. I then organised all the lengths of wood getting all the same length together and making sure I didn’t cut any short pieces when I had some already in stock. That took a while. Then I started laying them on the rafters. It wasn’t long before I realised that the screws I had were too short for the job. Then I discovered that the area wasn’t square the other way. I’ve screwed three boards down but I will have to take them up again and start from the other end. It’s no big deal. I couldn’t do any more because of the lack of screws so I have put everything in place ready to be drilled and screwed. I could only work until twelve because I was going out in the afternoon. Anyway, all is ready for tomorrow. I’ve bought the screws now, and the felt, so, barring bad weather or some other catastrophe, I should get everything done tomorrow.This is the old roof, in a bag. I took this to the dump yesterday, in the rain. You can see how brittle it was, the effect of sunlight I suppose. It's horrible stuff this corrugated plastic roofing sheet. It splits, cracks, leaks, goes cloudy, is very weak and it always looks awful. It's horribly difficult to put up because you can't easily drill it. I can't say a good word about it. Even when you throw it away it's nasty as you can see. It isn't even cheap!
2014年11月06日
コメント(0)
-
Roof - part two
As promised Stephan arrived at nine thirty this morning, to help me with the shed. It was a cold morning, the coldest of the year so far, but at least it wasn’t raining. We set to work, gathered a heap of tools from Stephan’s van and in not much over an hour we had the job done. Actually I say ‘we’ but really it was almost all Stephan’s activity. I held things and made a few decisions but with his knowledge of his own tools it was in fact him who did most of the work. As I mentioned yesterday, the most difficult aspect of the job was to get the levels correct and to attach the piece of wood to the wall, as pictured below. We had just finished fixing the wood, both to the shed and the wall, when the rain came down. Lucky. So we had a cup of tea and a long chat about the problems that life brings us and then Stephan went home. The rest of job I can do myself, finishing the roof on the other side of the shed (which you can’t see in this photo), putting the boards on the roof, and then laying the felt to keep the whole thing waterproof. I would have cracked on and made at least a start on this this afternoon but the drizzle persisted and I decided to take all the rubbish up to the dump (even more necessary today as now there is nowhere dry to store it and I don’t want all those wet bags in the car). Anyway, thank you very much Stephan.
2014年11月05日
コメント(0)
-
Roof
Stephan is coming tomorrow morning to help me with the extension and renovation of the shed roof. Primarily he is coming to help me put a large piece of wood along the back wall. And to get the levels right.So we have to get one length of timber attached to the wall on the right, the whole length, it’s almost four metres. Junko and I spent the afternoon getting the old perspex roof down from the far end of this picture. Horribly dirty and dusty. And muddy, if something can be both dusty and muddy at the same time. But it’s done now, taking rather longer than I had anticipated so I am glad that we cracked on with it today rather than wait for Stephan to come.
2014年11月04日
コメント(0)
-
Mac Mini
Oh I am having a frustrating time with my Mac Mini. It’s working OK but I seem to have to spend rather a long time queuing for support. I’m having trouble resolving a minor issue, but I am getting there and all the advisors are good. It’s just the waiting.It was an odd day today, warm, wet and windy. They say it’s soon to turn colder.Stephan has offered to help me with the shed roof. That will be wonderful, if it comes off. The bit I can’t do on my own is screwing the large piece of wood to the back wall. It will be tricky getting the levels right. Once that is done the rest should be relatively easy. We shall see. Weather permitting, of course.This garden is just around the corner from our house. Isn't it attractive viewed through the gate?
2014年11月03日
コメント(0)
-
Another lovely day
We went to the bootsale early this morning, the weather was amazingly warm for the time of year, and sunny. We bought nothing of note at all and didn’t meet Stephan as expected. After that we continued to the allotment where we did a bit of tidying and digging. We cut the pumpkins and had a good crop, photos will follow.Then it was on to Seiko’s house to return the crowbar.We then went to Atsuko and Andy’s boat for a lunch of genuine French cheese (they have just got back from a short holiday in France). Then it was off for a bit of driving practice for Junko and Atsuko. This is what the trees look like in the churchyard.
2014年11月02日
コメント(0)
-
More bank strife
I really don’t know what it is with banks. In January I did something at the local branch, filled in a form with an advisor - having booked an appointment because I had no idea what to do. This person was the ‘expert’. Anyway, the form was sent away and then returned with a curt note saying that it was incomplete. My fault? I think not. So I phoned and the form was filled in correctly over the phone, at least it didn’t return. Yesterday, almost ten months later, it was returned saying a signature was missing. Unbelievable. How did it take them so long to find that something as basic as that was missing? When the form was filled in I only did as instructed.It was a lovely warm day today, springlike in fact. A gentle warm breeze. Junko and I had lunch outside on the patio. It’s not a great picture but it does show the fallen leaves. It is most unusual to have such a warm day at this time of the year.
2014年11月01日
コメント(0)
全30件 (30件中 1-30件目)
1
