It was assembled by yours truly with a screwdriver last night. There was swearing.
reminds me of assembling the small (indoor) trampoline we gave our son when he was 3. The air turned blue, and the blood ran red. For a trampoline to work, certain aspects have to be forced into tension, and may suddenly relive that tension themselves ! Who knew ??
Happy birthday and GWS Captain PJ's and you all have my sympathy re ear infections. I got these three or was it four times in the 18 months I lived in North Africa. A great place for a kid, but it was bacteria central, so most youngsters were on something most of the time and not a few were evacuated as unable to cope with the heat etc. Dad took beer and whisky, which was duty-free there..
Would you believe it? The sun is shining. I have put the washing outside! But for how long? - clouds are looming.
Ha! I did that yesterday.
A couple of hours of sunshine and wind, then the sky darkened to the north. As fast as we could Mr RoS and I put our shoes on, grabbed the clothes basket and raced outside, but the rain beat us to it - big soaking drops, plus soft hail.
By the time we got it all indoors the 'shower' had stopped, but the washing was too wet to put back outside as the sun would soon have been off the garden.
There was no more rain for the rest of the day
I hope your Aga does not turn out to be an Aga Khan't!
Back in the dim and distant, acquaintances (sorry, not friends) took a holiday near Peterborough in the October half-term mostly because the house had an Aga. Also, none of the party knew one end of an Aga from the other nor were they much cop as a cook.
This talk of agas and rayburns has dredged up a memory of a holiday nigh on 30 years back, in a holiday cottage in the Lake District. I was very ill with a mysterious cough (I broke some ribs with the coughing) and spent several nights huddled against the warm rayburn. It was sooo comforting.
Indeed - mine is a very Comfortable/Comforting Dragon.
I used to buy spare parts from a now-closed emporium, whose manager had the most plummy BBC-style voice you could imagine. O how he used to rail against those young gels, who bought a Rayburn (or an Aga), and hadn't the slightest idea how to go about using it!
A very happy birthday to Captain Pyjamas, and a very presto end to all snifflitude, says Uncle Wesley!
A trike? I say. Will Captain Pyjamas now be in charge of (Star Trek TNG) Commander T-Riker?
In fact, it seems that I was virtually influenz-ed by the young man's sniffliness and have caught said inconvenience myself. Oh, woe unto me! Begone, snifflitude and coughliness! - Have taken two days off work, as this would involve intense contact with living human creatures. I shall not wish to be a transmitter! Exterminate (the virus)!
So, clearly more 'Foyle's War' and heroic filmish deeds are called for! (There is barely an episode description on Wikipedia, where you're not stuck for hours checking out links about the many real-life events hinted at. This is sooo instructive! Great history lesson, and great dress sense too! )
I've had quite a productive day: I managed to do a laundry load without wrecking my sister's washing machine, (why, oh why doesn't she use/allow me to use her tumble-dryer?*), and make a pot of SOUP without wrecking her kitchen or any of her utensils.
I would complete these tasks without a second thought if it were my own house, but she has a new kitchen about which she's self-confessedly OCD, and I'm always worried that whatever skills and dexterity I might have will desert me. However, all went well today, and she enjoyed the SOUP.
* I understand it does work, but it's buried under the general detritus in the garage, and I don't think she could find it to use it even if she wanted to.
Apparently Dr G’s array of medications are doing their job; Captain Pyjamas is looking better. He also seems quite chuffed with his new Jamamobile. It’s now sitting on the balcony (too big to keep in the flat) and he last night before going to bed he was pointing at it through the window with great insistence. Don’t think he’s quite got the message that it’s for playing outdoors.
A while back my mother told me that her washing machine once broke down when she had two small children in the house. My grandma stepped in to buy her a new one. Consequently, my mother said, the day yours breaks down, let me pay it forward by buying another one for you.
We have an ancient machine that I find hard to close and hate with a passion. I have a promise of a shiny new one the day it dies. Damn thing keeps on working forever just to spite me.
About 15 years ago, I had a washing machine that caught fire...
I was doing the washing one morning and the kitchen fuse went. I switched it back on and put the washing machine back on. It happened again a few minutes later. This time when I switched it on I noticed an orange glow through the bottom of the drum (luckily there was only a handful of nappies in there so there was a clear view) and there was smoke in the drum. I had to call out the fire brigade who removed the machine and it’s smouldering insides into the garden.
I once had a computer monitor caught fire. It was in the ‘90s and the computer was on the landing (computers were more like office machines in those days and our home office was on our large landing).
I was popping to the loo, we have an en-suite but for some reason I was going to the main bathroom. As I passed the monitor it fizzed, flashed and caught fire!
We have a fox who regularly crosses our garden (and sometimes stops to dig up bulbs or possibly worms to snack on. He occasionally brings a brown-shelled hen's egg, purloined from who know where, and eats it in the middle of the lawn leaving the shell for us to clear up.
I have a couple of terracotta garden ornaments, including a life-sized chicken.
Yesterday I discovered an unbroken brown egg on the ground beside the chicken. Jokingly I told Mr RoS that the terracotta hen had laid an egg - he went to look, brought the egg indoors and put it in a jug of water to test its freshness. It sank immediately to the bottom so, discounting my suggestion that it was heavy because it was a terracotta egg, he pronounced it fresh, and is about to eat it for his lunch!
A year or two after we got married, D's parents were staying, and we were all watching TV when his mum suddenly said, "there's smoke coming out of the telly", and that was the end of that. Being very kind souls, they headed out to Radio Rentals the next day and got us another one.
Talking of things going up in smoke, my trusty travel hairdryer has died. When I turned it on this morning, it was making a rather odd noise, and then just gave up the ghost, accompanied by a rather alarming red glow inside. I was planning to go into town today anyway, so now I've got a legitimate reason (and it looks like a rather nice day, assuming the thin layer of sn*w goes away before I head out).
The hairdryer didn't owe me anything - it's been coming on holiday with me for at least 25 years, and probably longer - and I was planning on getting a proper, non-travel one when I came back anyway.
Perhaps she isn't using the tumble-dryer because of the humongous running costs? I hear they need a helluva lot of electricity.
Which is why I was taking a chance with the weather and trying to line-dry my washing the other day. I try to save my laundry for a fine day, but they have been so few recently!
The tumble dryer is is used only when there's no chance of getting things dry outside.
Is it still the case that if you use appliances like dryers and dishwashers overnight, they don't cost quite so much to run?
I got so used to having a tumble-dryer when I was in Canada that I'd really hate to be without one now. In fact, I'd rather turn the thermostat down a few degrees and save money that way.
It varies from area to area, which company supplies your electricity and what tariff you're on but, broadly speaking, yes it is cheaper to run machines in the early hours. All our appliances have timers so they can be set to go when it's cheaper.
I have never had a tumble dryer and do not intend to. I dry laundry indoors in a well ventilated area, or outside if weather is favourable. It uses too much electricity, and there have been too many horror stories about fires.
Just had a call from the builder - can he start work on Monday* I was so gobsmacked I said yes.
Now to look in the freezer to see what we have ready to go before preparing/stocking up on stuff that only needs a microwave or the addition of something that can be cooked on the camping stove.
Visiting Godson is prepared to help so we should be OK with getting the kitchen ready for action because getting the AGA in is first on the list. Marquee thing going up on
Monday to cover extension site so they can work in the wet. Farmer we back onto has already agreed we can bring in materials across his land (he's a lovely guy) so all we have to do is remove two fence panels.
Architect and builder coming tomorrow to work out electrical, plumbing layouts, etc while I go to the bank to get the ducks in a row.
Completion should be 25th May but bit of flexibility to allow for Easter and May bank holidays.
* Job he was due to start delayed by flooding - sad for the other client but brilliant for us. The same builder did our loft conversion last year and came in under budget and early so fingers crossed.
Rather late, but Happy Birthday, Captain Pyjamas, and I really hope the nasty ear gets better soon. I can't believe its two years since he joined the Ship
Sunny here but very windy and the wind is COLD!! I'm staying indoors. Now I've got a smart meter I am amazed at how much electrical appliances cost! I try not to use the tumble dryer, except for towels, and I don't fancy beating my clothes on a stone in a running stream, so washing machine stays. So does the central heating, even though I put on extra sweaters rather than turn it up, but I keep thinking, well they do give me a winter fuel allowance, so I will use it to keep warm! But it never gets really cosy until all the curtains are pulled when it gets dark. Marvellous then!
No tumble dryer here and nowhere to put one. I used to dry on a clothes horse in the winter but a while ago I got an old fashioned airing rack which is now above the stairs and is wonderful.
I have a washer tumbler but only use the tumbler for emergencies. The last one was when my sister and family came over and my nephew spilt juice on his trousers. That was about a decade ago.
Trip into town accomplished, and new hairdryer bought (for only £13.99 - things here really are a good bit cheaper than in Canada, and it's lovely not to have to mentally add on the tax).
Not so lovely was the half-hour-plus wait at the bus stop on the way back - and I don't even think I had just missed one. Admittedly I got there at about quarter past four, so it was the beginning of rush hour, but still.
However, it was a beautiful day, and few things can be finer than Princes Street on a beautiful day.
Edinburgh really is a spectacularly pretty place.
PS - they're getting about a foot of sn*w in Fredericton today - I'm not missing that one tiny little bit!
I haven't been to Pilates for a while as the venue has changed due to my local leisure centre having to close for repairs, and the new venue isn't really big enough. Pilates is one of those things I don't really like, unlike Zumba, but certainly something I think is good for me, I must find another venue and start going again
Went swimming this morning. Why is it that. on some days, it's easy while on others, such as today, I really struggle? Still, I did 400m. (Mind you, I'm not a good swimmer at the best of times!)
I discovered Tai Chi a few months ago, which suits me better than yoga or Pilates, both of which give me a migraine (quite common, apparently). But the instructor is recovering from a knee replacement so I’m vegetating.
I have warm air heating in my place, and the airing cupboard has been designed in over the boxing which carries all the tubing. Its doors are over the vent in the room, and I now have two "over the door" airers from Aldi hanging there - brilliant drying, folded sheets within 24 hours, towels the same. They were life savers when I had all the laundry from the care situation.
There are specific tariffs for cheaper off-peak usage. AFAICT if you’re now wanting to sign up for one you’ll need to have a smart meter.
In the past (before smart meters) we had the Economy Seven tariff which we used for the washing machine and tumble dryer. Then we discovered that the electricity suppliers had set the clock round the wrong way, so we got cheap electricity during the day and the higher rate overnight (11pm to 6pm). We did the decent thing and told them but nothing happened. The meter readers came round at least twice but no one raised any concerns so we left it until a really good fixed rate offer came along. Overall however, I reckon we saved thousands!
It has bitten us now as we have to pay the standard price
A productive morning for me, I’ve made notes on several articles which I will now use to write an assignment on academic attainment of students with mental health challenges in distance education. Just waiting for a work phone call and then I can get the proper writing done.
And I thought I’d cheer my depressed self up with a pair of pretty new earrings which have just arrived. Sparkly fuschia pink Swarovski crystal dangles.
Comments
reminds me of assembling the small (indoor) trampoline we gave our son when he was 3. The air turned blue, and the blood ran red. For a trampoline to work, certain aspects have to be forced into tension, and may suddenly relive that tension themselves ! Who knew ??
A couple of hours of sunshine and wind, then the sky darkened to the north. As fast as we could Mr RoS and I put our shoes on, grabbed the clothes basket and raced outside, but the rain beat us to it - big soaking drops, plus soft hail.
By the time we got it all indoors the 'shower' had stopped, but the washing was too wet to put back outside as the sun would soon have been off the garden.
There was no more rain for the rest of the day
Hoping you have a more successful drying day!
Someone I'm friends with on FB got a new Aga and called it Khan ...
Back in the dim and distant, acquaintances (sorry, not friends) took a holiday near Peterborough in the October half-term mostly because the house had an Aga. Also, none of the party knew one end of an Aga from the other nor were they much cop as a cook.
They used the chip van rather a lot.
MMM
I used to buy spare parts from a now-closed emporium, whose manager had the most plummy BBC-style voice you could imagine. O how he used to rail against those young gels, who bought a Rayburn (or an Aga), and hadn't the slightest idea how to go about using it!
No, no. Servants were not to be had - the Young Gels had to manage things by themselves...
Yes, Happy Birthday to the Gallant Captain! Make sure the trike has good brakes (they're probably the bits left over after assembly).
A trike? I say. Will Captain Pyjamas now be in charge of (Star Trek TNG) Commander T-Riker?
In fact, it seems that I was virtually influenz-ed by the young man's sniffliness and have caught said inconvenience myself. Oh, woe unto me! Begone, snifflitude and coughliness! - Have taken two days off work, as this would involve intense contact with living human creatures. I shall not wish to be a transmitter! Exterminate (the virus)!
So, clearly more 'Foyle's War' and heroic filmish deeds are called for! (There is barely an episode description on Wikipedia, where you're not stuck for hours checking out links about the many real-life events hinted at. This is sooo instructive! Great history lesson, and great dress sense too!
Onwards and upwards, then!
I've had quite a productive day: I managed to do a laundry load without wrecking my sister's washing machine, (why, oh why doesn't she use/allow me to use her tumble-dryer?*), and make a pot of SOUP without wrecking her kitchen or any of her utensils.
I would complete these tasks without a second thought if it were my own house, but she has a new kitchen about which she's self-confessedly OCD, and I'm always worried that whatever skills and dexterity I might have will desert me. However, all went well today, and she enjoyed the SOUP.
* I understand it does work, but it's buried under the general detritus in the garage, and I don't think she could find it to use it even if she wanted to.
Today we have thin, pretty blanket of snow.
I’m having lunch with a friend I haven’t seen for about six months so I’m looking forward to that. Puppy will come too, of course. 🙂🐾
We have an ancient machine that I find hard to close and hate with a passion. I have a promise of a shiny new one the day it dies. Damn thing keeps on working forever just to spite me.
I was doing the washing one morning and the kitchen fuse went. I switched it back on and put the washing machine back on. It happened again a few minutes later. This time when I switched it on I noticed an orange glow through the bottom of the drum (luckily there was only a handful of nappies in there so there was a clear view) and there was smoke in the drum. I had to call out the fire brigade who removed the machine and it’s smouldering insides into the garden.
I was popping to the loo, we have an en-suite but for some reason I was going to the main bathroom. As I passed the monitor it fizzed, flashed and caught fire!
Thank goodness for night time toilet trips!
I have a couple of terracotta garden ornaments, including a life-sized chicken.
Yesterday I discovered an unbroken brown egg on the ground beside the chicken. Jokingly I told Mr RoS that the terracotta hen had laid an egg - he went to look, brought the egg indoors and put it in a jug of water to test its freshness. It sank immediately to the bottom so, discounting my suggestion that it was heavy because it was a terracotta egg, he pronounced it fresh, and is about to eat it for his lunch!
Talking of things going up in smoke, my trusty travel hairdryer has died. When I turned it on this morning, it was making a rather odd noise, and then just gave up the ghost, accompanied by a rather alarming red glow inside. I was planning to go into town today anyway, so now I've got a legitimate reason (and it looks like a rather nice day, assuming the thin layer of sn*w goes away before I head out).
The hairdryer didn't owe me anything - it's been coming on holiday with me for at least 25 years, and probably longer - and I was planning on getting a proper, non-travel one when I came back anyway.
Which is why I was taking a chance with the weather and trying to line-dry my washing the other day. I try to save my laundry for a fine day, but they have been so few recently!
The tumble dryer is is used only when there's no chance of getting things dry outside.
I got so used to having a tumble-dryer when I was in Canada that I'd really hate to be without one now. In fact, I'd rather turn the thermostat down a few degrees and save money that way.
Now to look in the freezer to see what we have ready to go before preparing/stocking up on stuff that only needs a microwave or the addition of something that can be cooked on the camping stove.
Visiting Godson is prepared to help so we should be OK with getting the kitchen ready for action because getting the AGA in is first on the list. Marquee thing going up on
Monday to cover extension site so they can work in the wet. Farmer we back onto has already agreed we can bring in materials across his land (he's a lovely guy) so all we have to do is remove two fence panels.
Architect and builder coming tomorrow to work out electrical, plumbing layouts, etc while I go to the bank to get the ducks in a row.
Completion should be 25th May but bit of flexibility to allow for Easter and May bank holidays.
* Job he was due to start delayed by flooding - sad for the other client but brilliant for us. The same builder did our loft conversion last year and came in under budget and early so fingers crossed.
Sunny here but very windy and the wind is COLD!! I'm staying indoors. Now I've got a smart meter I am amazed at how much electrical appliances cost! I try not to use the tumble dryer, except for towels, and I don't fancy beating my clothes on a stone in a running stream, so washing machine stays. So does the central heating, even though I put on extra sweaters rather than turn it up, but I keep thinking, well they do give me a winter fuel allowance, so I will use it to keep warm! But it never gets really cosy until all the curtains are pulled when it gets dark. Marvellous then!
Not so lovely was the half-hour-plus wait at the bus stop on the way back - and I don't even think I had just missed one. Admittedly I got there at about quarter past four, so it was the beginning of rush hour, but still.
However, it was a beautiful day, and few things can be finer than Princes Street on a beautiful day.
Edinburgh really is a spectacularly pretty place.
PS - they're getting about a foot of sn*w in Fredericton today - I'm not missing that one tiny little bit!
@Heavenlyannie A "sheila maid" - something I'm going to have in mynew utility/laundry room.
I really ought to start a Snow Import business from Fredericton!
I’m sporting purple sparkly nails so that’s cheering me up on a dull, freezing day.
In the past (before smart meters) we had the Economy Seven tariff which we used for the washing machine and tumble dryer. Then we discovered that the electricity suppliers had set the clock round the wrong way, so we got cheap electricity during the day and the higher rate overnight (11pm to 6pm). We did the decent thing and told them but nothing happened. The meter readers came round at least twice but no one raised any concerns so we left it until a really good fixed rate offer came along. Overall however, I reckon we saved thousands!
It has bitten us now as we have to pay the standard price
And I thought I’d cheer my depressed self up with a pair of pretty new earrings which have just arrived. Sparkly fuschia pink Swarovski crystal dangles.