Get a grip woman!

beanielou

So wish I was nearby as I adore courgettes.

Suffolk_lass

Naughty Suffolk - a week since I posted here - my excuses? gardening, planning long weekend away in a field with no power, being away, clearing up and getting on top of the garden - oh and catching up with all the threads I follow on here. Just so little time (how did I ever find time to work?! - sorry, that old cliche!)

Oh yes, and I spend over £800 on a three year support package for my desktop machine! :eek: - it is probably 7 years old and has never been serviced and the memory was struggling. It really needed some housekeeping. More importantly I have been aware of the weknow malware (it is an imitation google search engine that originated in Israel and inserts itself as your default search page in both Safari and Chrome) - I had it and although MacKeeper can detect it, it was embedded in such a way that it took three hours and three tiers of support to get rid of it. I really wanted to make sure I had all the protection I can given its' introduction. I had never actually used it to search but I wasn't sure what it had been monitoring.

I also got my car serviced (a big one) with the brakes serviced and the air con re-gassed, ready for our forthcoming trip to hot places.

And then I signed up and paid in full for the next 3 services so that I do not have to worry about labour costs increasing. I will still pay for consumables, like fluids and filters.

And, I still have to pay for the van service. I must actually ring them to find out when they expect to get it done - they have had it 9 days because their ramp broke and I really don't mind but I would like to get the body stuff underway before the summer is through too.

Anyway, enough wittering already - I am here and back.

Karmacat

Wow! I didn't know about the malware ... thats a hefty package, I'm lucky that I use Firefox rather than the others ... I'd better research and check I'm okay.


So how was the van? Do you need to make any alterations based on the weekend? It does sound lovely!

beanielou

Good to see you :wave:

Suffolk_lass

Karmacat wrote: »

Wow! I didn't know about the malware ... thats a hefty package, I'm lucky that I use Firefox rather than the others ... I'd better research and check I'm okay.


So how was the van? Do you need to make any alterations based on the weekend? It does sound lovely!

Re Malware - Ours is a Mac - not sure if this is particular to Mac machines or includes Windows too. You would know if you have it because it pops up as your home page.

We didn't take the van - we were booked with a tent so took our tent, plus a large canopy and an (ahem!) experimental composting toilet.

The van remains in the garage and they have done a basic service but we have asked them to do the exhaust and replace the timing belt so I'm not expecting it back until mid week next week. That's fine. They have more room to store it than us!

Karmacat

Nice to get it in tip top condition.


Your own, portable, experimental composting toilet ... you and your OH are very brave!

Busy_Mee1

experimental composting toilet :eek:

I know I shouldn't ask but .......

Suffolk_lass

Ah well... the van has a bathroom but I really don't like the idea of all those chemicals, especially in such a relatively small space. So I decided to look at alternatives ahead of using it (it is still at the garage, having stuff done).

So for the weekend away, I bought a plastic camping toilet and lined it with a black-sack. I also bought some lemon-scented wood shavings and we used it in a discreet separate tent for the weekend - a handful of wood-shavings in the bag to start and another covered any ahem, deposits and odours, and absorbed any moisture and all was tied up and double bagged and disposed of - less plastic than a disposable nappy bin and closer in proximity than the toilet block, which made getting there a whole adventure in its own right. Our friend with the VW camper van was explaining his arrangements when he is not on a camp-site and I slightly upgraded to see how it was. I may well use this arrangement when we take the van away. It was discreet, and far less unpleasant than it probably sounds

Debsnewbudget

We stayed in an off grid cottage on an island off Vancouver Island last year and I was dreading using the compost toilet, but in reality it was fine

Karmacat

I wonder if there's even some way of actually letting it all compost down? Do you have enough of a garden to dump it all at the end, far away from the house? (if thats an intrusive question, just don't answer!).