Get a grip woman!

Suffolk_lass

Back from our training trip away and I seemed to catch what I would call "a chill" - just got cold through waiting outside shops for our friend and rather shivery yesterday and Monday as a result.

The weekend as a whole went well and the van is comfortable, although the air temperature first thing is chilly (unsurprising, camping in October!) and we came back with 10 things on the snagging list. We did think the bathroom might take some remodelling to accommodate a 6'3" DH so went off to the nearest dealer to browse. Very tempting but not for us at this point. We will think on.

Money feels tight this month and next, with both DH's credit cards to clear and mine at more than I hoped. I need to make soap so it is cured in time for Christmas Sale so I need to do a SM run to Sainsbo as their own brand olive oil is the best pure olive oil this week. I also need to look at salt products there to make my foot scrub. I have a 5k pot of pink stuff on standby from Amazing but I like to go local if I can get a close price.

Other Christmas works are to my Crystal decorations. I need to spend a couple of hours tying bows and then find a way to pack them that supports and displays them.

Garden is still struggling on but still feeding us - with another big handful of beans (we had steamed runners with butter and grated cheese for supper - close your eyes and it was just like asparagus!) and more butternut squash growing (I harvested the main crop a few weeks ago but they are off again and I put 4 tennis ball sized tiddlers into soup I was making, to thicken it).

Off to shuffle pennies

Suffolk_lass

I finally made soap - using the simplest oil recipe. I used my new (dedicated) stick blender and it went pop so this morning I have found the receipt and we will be calling into Sainsbo's to get a replacement as we go past there today.

Most of today is going to be taken up by a funeral - one of DH's cousins. We were very fond of him and for the last 2 or 3 years he has been back in contact with his daughter from whom he was estranged for many years while her mother was alive. I think the last time I saw her she was 10 or 12. She is recently married so one thing ends and maybe another begins. We are looking forward to seeing some of his family as it seems weddings and funerals are the only times now.

Karmacat

Hope the day is a fitting farewell and acknowledgement, SL.

Suffolk_lass

Been a bit AWOL on here. Sort of pottering on. Trying to muster the enthusiasm to re-seal all the bits of the van that are screwed on to the outside to minimise any danger of water ingress. I think DH will squirt something in the holes and then use the tape stuff to pad round the base of each attachment.

I looked up a you-tube clip of someone using one of those gun things to apply sealant in USA on a huge vehicle and then applied their technique to the wash hand basin in the van bathroom - DH was impressed and I think I will be encouraged to do some of the long stretches of panels on the van. It is clear the previous owners had done this before and let's be kind and say it is past its best. We need to just get on with it really. I also want to change the bin on the door (how useless is that when the door is open!) and amend the door-step mats to catch and absorb more sand or mud.

I washed all the super absorbent turtle mats that we used for our training weekend and the washing machine went on strike. I spent most of Sunday repairing it. Other people are amazing - I popped over to the Village Club for a glass of wine to relieve the frustration (after the third attempt had not worked) to be advised by two men at the bar that I should just buy a new one :eek: - needless to say I persevered and it is OK now. I did a 95 degree empty hot wash to make sure any residue was out and checked all the filters and drains - all clear at last - and hopefully good for a while longer.

I will also be more diligent about beating the mats before I wash them next time as I'm sure that the bits of mud and sand acted as the catalyst to make it stop working. I do need a regular maintenance schedule for the machine though as it was clear that the filter in the bottom had months-old fluff and gunk. Mercifully the soap/powder drawer is clean as a whistle as I always use the cup thing on the top of the detergent bottle in with the load and only add laundry bleach via the drawer.

beanielou

Blimey. You are amazing.

Suffolk_lass

beanielou wrote: »

Blimey. You are amazing.

Just bonkers beanie, completely bonkers! :rotfl::T:j:beer:

Suffolk_lass

Following up on the DIY theme this week, we went and ordered a replacement greenhouse yesterday. Not cheap but it is half the price I was expecting. We will be doing a dump run today in order to empty the trailer and make room for thirty breeze blocks so we can bed them in and provide a level base for the new thing. Unlike the existing one, there won't be electricity in the first instance, but we do have four jobs that need doing now so will be bringing in the electrician. Actually five/six jobs after yesterday. I was fitting replacement bulbs to our kitchen bug zapper and they did not immediately light. I reached in to test I had one of the bulbs twisted into the lock position and received a big electric shock off the outside shell of the device. So add PAT test to the list.

To remind me the things are

1. check all electrics for safety - as a thatched property we need to do this every few years as a condition of insurance and after having rats in the extension roof last year I want to be sure they have not nibbled the cables - we also have three outbuildings with electricity that could also be vulnerable to hungry rodents
2. repair or replace the ceiling light the rat man pulled out and broke the fixing for (he pulled this out before I could stop him to explain there was roof access from the bedroom above - when he did go upstairs he wrecked a screwed down floorboard by levering it up and then damaged the ceiling below by hammering it back down and cracking the plaster underneath and covering everything in the dining room in dust - a real bull in a china shop experience!)
3. replace the light switch for the downstairs loo with a sensor detector automatic light as the switch is on the outside, behind the door
4. put a new outdoor power point at the other end of the house so we can put the van at either end if needed
5. possibly run electric supply over to the new greenhouse
6. definitely PAT Test the bug zapper

The other job that came up yesterday was the flush lever on the toilet in the bathroom snapped. What should have been a quick swap for under £10 for a new handle was more complicated because the old square post attached to the broken handle had rusted so badly DH had to take a hacksaw to it. Up until that point it was my job as my hands are so much smaller than his, and more suited to squeezing into small spaces. All done now though.

I have to do some shopping today as I am helping deliver the community lunch tomorrow. I also need to make a quick cake as well as shopping for milk, bread and salad to go with the savoury dishes we are doing. I have roped in a couple of chaps to set up the room, put out and lay the tables and so on so not too onerous.

Now the statement date for DH's credit card has passed we also put through a large order online that will let us get on with some of the projects we have planned. This included some big bottles of essential oils for me to make some hand and foot scrubs to sell on our "made here" stall at our fund-raiser in December. That is a "wet-Wednesday" job really.

While at the builders' merchant I checked out whether they rent out a turf cutter (they do) which will make the ground works for the greenhouse more straightforward and we will also use it to help level the parking area on the other side to the drive (already got a drop kerb) to let us put down weed suppressant membrane and gravel mat to stop the gravel "walking" out into the road. I priced up the things I need for that too - will compare with the online things I had found for robustness and quality before buying these.

This retirement lark is all a bit spendy at the moment. Not a bit like my Mum's "go and have coffee with my pals" regular morning entertainment. I suppost that is what happens if you store up 30 years of projects for when you have more time!!! :eek:

Karmacat

The projects and the DIY are all *really* impressive, SL!

Suffolk_lass

Blimey, 5 kilos of pink Himalayan salt has just arrived! I had better get some jars ready and start making my hand and foot scrub. I bought food grade so I may not be buying Maldon Sea Salt for a while (at £8.40 a kilo versus £11.75 for 5k!)

Baileys_Babe

That is a huge difference in price per kilo. We buy many things is bulk, including laundry detergent, cocoa, dried fruit, toiletries as the price saving is fantastic, making many luxury products affordable to use daily.