Get a grip woman!

Suffolk_lass

Aha! found it! No power for most of Sunday thanks to the storm which brought down the overhead power lines to the Village. Feeling demotivated and eating the wrong stuff as the aftermath of the cold I have not totally got over (still got a terrible cough and in week 3!).

Debsnewbudget We have not considered claiming on insurance yet because our premiums are already very high - lots of stuff and a thatched cottage on a specialist policy means normally £100 per month and I want to avoid losing the NCD for a small claim like this or it would be the claim that keeps on costing.

Went to B&Q on Saturday to get a replacement light for the downstairs loo (the light switch is behind the hinges on the outside(!) and I wanted to try a motion sensor light) - they only do outside lights so we are going to see how that works (and we can always swap back). While we were there I spoke to the man who does the cutting and we priced up replacement doors. More on that later.

Almost in the dead-space of the month when all the payments have gone but this month we will be getting three lots of regular saver interest and the recirculated capital back.

Suffolk_lass

We must get out in the garden today and prune some fruit trees that already have lots of buds on them. And I need to do a bit of shopping for fruit and yogurt. The veg drawers are looking a bit bare but there is a full batch of soup, ready for lunches, and some stuffed peppers that just need 30 minutes, for supper tonight. I could leave it another day but I need yogurt and I know DH needs prunes. I might ask him to fit that light while I go shopping. I also wanted us to do a dump-run but they are shut today. 

Oh yes, I have two bills to pay too, and a cheque to bank

Karmacat

It all adds up, for sure.  Hope there's some enjoyable stuff in there too

Suffolk_lass

Hooray! Just checked the online bank account and the first 5% Regular saver was showing as matured, so rather than wait for it to be moved to a low interest account they were threatening (offering), I have transferred it away. £81.64 based on £250 a month. Nothing that good available for cash this year unfortunately.

Suffolk_lass

Got the new light fitted yesterday and while not the prettiest, it works really well. You open the door and the sensor turns the light on. Just a bit of painting needed where the old one had been painted round by the previous people (:eek: - we have been here 15 years - embarrassed emoji!).

DH has been really suffering after going for a 6+ mile flat walk along a canal towpath earlier this week. He can't understand why his back is so sore. I suspect it is a combination of lack of fitness and poor condition footwear, not giving enough support on a hard (tarmac) path. Anyway, the significance is that the garden is still covered in tree prunings. That might be my exercise for today.

I also want to go to the dump with garden waste too (I know how to have a good time!) and contact my friendly local farmer about a trailer load of wood. He has lots having grubbed out an old orchard about 3 years ago and I'm sure he will sell us some for a good price.

Oh, and it is early opening in the Village this evening, to which we get a much younger crowd of locals, and it is more fun, being a bit busier. I'm tempted to roast some small pieces of potato so there are some crispy salty snacks on the bar. 
Happy days

Suffolk_lass

Storm Dennis appears to have just blown through. The last half hour was hairy but it is suddenly calm and quiet - either that or we are in the calm bit in the middle.

It has taken a toll by pulling the cast iron register plate, that shields the top of the range from the chimney, from its fixings. It now has an arch in it and it's clear two thirds of it is no longer attached as one corner was waving up and down in the wind and has not returned despite the wind stopping. The mortar and sooty dust keep dropping down through the gap at the edge and the top of the formerly black shiny top is covered in tiny bits of mortar, dust and soot. I cannot see how to sort it while the (electric) range is on so it it is safe, we will have to leave it until May, by when the range will be switched off for the summer. 

The good news is that we hope we have sourced a like-for-like replacement for the cracked glass hob. We have paid a premium on the Bay to secure it but I am relieved and hopefully it will arrive intact. As rare as hen's teeth rings a bell. It has been discontinued for about ten years as far as I can tell.

trix-a-belle

Suffolk_lass said:

Storm Dennis appears to have just blown through. The last half hour was hairy but it is suddenly calm and quiet - either that or we are in the calm bit in the middle.

Didn't it just! I was woken by the deluge on my windows so had to get up as I had visions of a boating lake by our surface drain in the road I've lost the final remainder of what was the rear fence, the first bit went in the Jan winds, then some more in advance of Ciara (she just took the fallen pieces and rearranged them & tried to donate my compost bin lid to the neighbours) 

Great news on the hob glass! maybe someone can assess exactly what needs doing before the range is switched off in readiness? I hope its an easy fix

Karmacat

Glad you're safe, SL!  And the hob replacement sounds great!  But, erm, stuff is dropping down the chimney onto your range?  Do you cook on the top of it?  You don't sound at all concerned about it, though, so I'm going to assume that alls well

themadvix

Great news about the replacement hob!

Suffolk_lass

trix-a-belle said:

Suffolk_lass said:

Storm Dennis appears to have just blown through. The last half hour was hairy but it is suddenly calm and quiet - either that or we are in the calm bit in the middle.

Didn't it just! I was woken by the deluge on my windows so had to get up as I had visions of a boating lake by our surface drain in the road I've lost the final remainder of what was the rear fence, the first bit went in the Jan winds, then some more in advance of Ciara (she just took the fallen pieces and rearranged them & tried to donate my compost bin lid to the neighbours) 

Great news on the hob glass! maybe someone can assess exactly what needs doing before the range is switched off in readiness? I hope its an easy fix

Karmacat said:

Glad you're safe, SL!  And the hob replacement sounds great!  But, erm, stuff is dropping down the chimney onto your range?  Do you cook on the top of it?  You don't sound at all concerned about it, though, so I'm going to assume that alls well

themadvix said:

Great news about the replacement hob!

Thanks all. Trix, sorry to hear about your fence. 

Kc - I'm not really relaxed about cooking on it but we rarely cook on the top without a lid on the pan (we fry things on the floor of the oven, to minimise spatter). That said, the debris is mostly in the corner at the back where there is a granite shelf and while it's all over the shiny black surface, it is not too bad on the hob plates, and of course we have the usable cracked hob in the other room.

By the way, I might have found out (from the now-closed) FAQs for the new forum, how to post colour - trying a paste below - I have saved it in a document with my signature that I can edit and use as needed (what a faff!) - targets are always posted in colour on a number of threads I am involved in

EssexHebridean said:

Something which we rely on over on DFW is the ability to use different coloured text - for example for commenting on SOAs - having that back would be very useful indeed. I see that the different colours are now showing in signatures so presumably the tech is there, Just not enabled for posting currently. 

The only way I've found to do this so far is:

This is red or this is blue or this is green or, using colour codes, this is #DB7900.

The code for the above is as follows:

<span style="color:red">This is red</span> or <span style="color:blue"> this is blue</span> or <span style="color:green">this is green</span> or, using colour codes, <span style="color:#DB7900">this is #DB7900</span>

It is fiddly, and it will take time to get it right; and if you forget to put it back into HTML mode when you edit it, it will lose the code! So keep a working copy in a text editor that you can copy and paste again when necessary. Once you are using it regularly, you can simply copy and paste from previous posts.