This isn't much fun is it? If it carries on raining like this then I'm going to have to either hibernate or emigrate. Where would I go though? I actually quite like it here despite the miserable weather. If nothing else, it gives us something to moan about and keeps us on our toes. As the weather changes through the seasons, so the world around us changes too and the same run, ride or walk is totally different in the winter compared to the spring or summer. On that note and despite the weather God's doing their best to make life a misery, I've started to notice small signs that better things are on their way. For a starters, it's that little bit lighter of an evening. A few weeks back it was pitch dark by 16:30. On Friday I was still outside finishing off a few bits on Project Patio at 17:00. It may only be 30 minutes, but it makes a big difference and as the days go on the evenings will soon start drawing out. The Daffodils are just starting to poke their heads through the soil in the new beds in the back garden, as are the Aquilegia and Crocuses and there are plenty of Snowdrops adding a bit of winter colour to the hedgerows and gardens. I noticed plenty of Catkins adorning the trees when I was out walking in the rain over the weekend and the Sparrows, Tit's and Finches, along with the ever present Squirrels are all still going about their business if you take the time to look for them. Without a doubt, better days are on their way, and hopefully a reduction in the Coronavirus kerfuffle and a relaxing of the lockdown restrictions with them. Until then though I guess we will just have to keep safe, stay in and find other things to do, whilst planning future adventures. To that end, I suppose I'd better take advantage of a couple of hours sat in front of the fire over the next week or so and sort out my seed order for the allotment. It wont be long before the sun warms the greenhouse up enough to start thinking about sowing some of the early veg and I don't want to be caught napping! Whilst the weathers been doing it's best to help out the lockdown and keep us at all safely at home this week I've been hiding in the workshop, pottering away, trying to occupy my time productively between stints on "Project Patio" and other chores. After my reasonably successful attempts at spoon carving the other week I thought I'd set my sights a bit higher and have a go at carving a bowl/plate. Like with the spoons it was a pretty steep learning curve, but once I'd figured out how to do things with my limited selection of hand tools, I don't think this turned out too badly. I've got to admit that I'm quite pleased with that. There are quite a few things that I would do differently next time and it could be a lot thinner and more delicate. But, I've learned a few things along the way and that's the important thing in my book. In other news, I've mentioned before how I enjoy laying in bed for a few minutes when I first wake up listening to the birds singing. The Robin's normally signing it's heart out in the morning and the Blackbirds and others often join in for a bit of morning chorus too. "The Emma's" got quite a "soup kitchen" going for the birds in the front garden which helps keep them (and thus me) happy and I thought that I'd best do my bit too. So, in a return to my more normal standard of rough carpentry, I took advantage of a rainy morning this week and knocked up a couple of bird houses. Apparently different birds like different size entry holes and the Robin likes an open front, so one size won't fit all. Unfortunately there not all going to fit in the space available at home so a couple are going to have to go up to the allotment. I just need to decide who might need a home where first. It's a hard life when that's the top of your decision making tree isn't it!
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It's been one of those days. Wet, damp, windy and not just one, but 2 own goals to boot! Unusually we've been using the front door at home for the last couple of weeks due to ongoing Project Patio works. The never ending rains turned the area that was the back path into a swamp (we normally go out the back) so it's been the front door or get wet and muddy. Now, normally if "The Emma's" in I go out the back and leave the door unlocked. Granted we might get burgled, but we've got nothing worth stealing and anyone that want's to steal "The Emma's" welcome too, so I don't see it as a problem. However, going out the front it seems a bit risky leaving the door open, so when I went out running at half 7 this morning, leaving "The Emma" in bed, I thought I'd better lock her in. I'm not lugging a bunch of rattily keys round with me though, so I popped my front door key off the ring, locked the door and slipped it into my phone holder. 10 miles later and I'm back home ready for tea and toast and a full days pottering and you know what's coming now don't you? Yep, no front door key! Bugger! Guessing that it had gone down the gap between my phone holder and sleeve and not actually into the pocket, I assumed that it must have fallen out fairly early on, so retraced my steps to the end of the road. Twice! To no avail. Being the middle of January and only wearing shorts and a T shirt I was getting cold now too. Only one option then, knock on the door to wake "The Emma" up and face the wrath! Luckily she was awake anyway and soon came to my rescue. It's a good job she was in though and not at work or I'd still be stood on the door step. A wander down to Screwfix provided a new lock and set of keys and after a short struggle with a rounded off screw, we've now got a new, extra secure, front door lock. Whilst "The Emma's" been mocking me all day for losing my key, I did point out that whilst I lost it at least I've got the ability to put right my mistake, replacing the lock within an hour of loosing the key and without the massive cost of having to get a lock smith out. Every cloud has a silver lining as they say. Still it would have been easier to not loose the key in the first place! Having sorted out my first balls up and waited for it to stop raining I moved onto project patio for a couple of hours of bricklaying. We're nearly there now, with the last path boundary wall going in, ready for paving and an escape route back to the back door in the near future. I'd put the last wall foundations in earlier in the week having spent a good few hours figuring out how to finish off the last bit. Getting the path to arrive at the back gate at the right height, whilst maintaining a steady slope to run the water off but keeping things level in the other directions had taken a bit of figuring out, but I was happy with my plans. A couple of hours with the trowel this afternoon saw what should hopefully be the last bricks for this bit laid and I stood back to admire my handiwork. And then it hit me. Bugger, I've balls'd this up! Previously, there was always a small step just as you got through the back gate, positioned too close to the gate for comfort and too low to not be a trip hazard. I'd looked at that and thought if I move it in a bit, it will A) Give a bit more space as you come through the gate and B) Be a proper step. In doing so though I've caused another problem. Now there's not enough room to get the rubbish bins out around the gate! I've had a think about it and there's only 2 options; 1) Demolish the walls, re-dig the levels further back, new foundations and new wall (again) or 2) Rehang the gate to open the other way, leaving loads of space to get the bins out but a left hand opening gate. I guess I'm going to be switching the gate around as I can't face going 10 steps back, but it's always going to annoy me and it's another own goal! In more positive news, I've finished off a couple of other little bit's and bob's that I've been working on during the rainy days and between other jobs this week.
I'm happy with how all of these have turned out, plus it's kept me busy and used up a few more offcuts. It's always satisfying to see something you've made finished off and looking good! Despite the fact that I'm 48 years old I still get excited about snow. It's like being a small child again, the crunch of fresh snow underfoot, the excitement of the world looking different, fresh and crisp and the possibility of snowmen, snowball fights and sledging. OK, I'll admit that I'm a bit long in the tooth for the snowmen, snowball fights and sledging (only because I haven't got a sledge), but all the rest still apply. The long range forecast in the week showed that my luck might be in then, with the forecast for snow on Sunday. Not much good for progress on project patio but great for a bit of running. Like a small child I've watched the forecast all week and excitedly planned my weekend around the predicted snow. A couple of hours on the allotment followed by 55 local miles on the bike Saturday afternoon, once the ice and frost had cleared, ensured I was available for some snow fun on Sunday. A final check of the weather before bed Saturday night still showed a band of snow moving across the area early Sunday morning and a final check out of the window as "The Emma" tucked me in for the night showed a heavy frost, perfect snow weather. Imagine my disappointment then when I peaked out through the curtains early on Sunday morning to see no snow! Not to worry though, it's still dark so I might as well have a brew, a bit of breakfast and get out for a run. Brew supped, Brekkie scoffed and out the door for just after 07:30. And you know what, just as I walked out the door and broke into a jog the snow started. Boy oh boy did it snow too. Big fat damp flakes of heavy snow closing in and turning the world into a magical wonderland within minutes. By the time I'd got out of town and onto the quieter roads there was a good inch or so and by the 7 mile mark it was up to the top of my shoes. No car's on the roads, no other people out and about out, just the quite crunch of my feet compressing the snow, the odd animal track through the fresh whiteness and the cold fresh air on my face. Cold fingers, cold toes and cold nose, but there's not many days when the running's as much fun or as good as this. What else have I been up too this week then? Well, to be honest, not a great deal. After last weeks impressive progress on Project Patio the weathers not really played ball this week with storm Bob or whatever it was called putting the dampers on things for most of the week. I have made some progress though, getting a set of steps in and the concrete footings for the lower path laid, before I had to cover it all up to keep the frost and snow off. The forecast for next week looks reasonable too, so hopefully I'll get a bit more done. It would be good to get the path between the house and the back gate finished so at least we can get in and out of the house without having to negotiate the minefield of loose bricks and muddy puddles. Oh, and I finished this off too. I'd hoped that the shade would have got here by now but it's not to be. I'll stick up a better picture when the shade eventually arrives, but you get the idea. I think it's come out rather well and will look good on the desk.
This week, I have been mostly creeping around trying to be quiet! "The Emma's" been on nights all week, so between unsuccessfully dodging the rain showers, I've been trying to keep quiet. The problem is, the quieter I try to be the more noise I seem to make. Sometimes I think it would be better if I tried to be noisy, it would probably be quieter! Anyhow, as I'm incapable of being quiet there's only 2 real options; Option 1 has to be to go out. If I'm not in, I can't be making any noise, right? As such, I've managed to rack up a fair few miles of running and walking during the week and got more than a bit damp on more than one occasion. The lockdowns obviously limited my scope for travel, but having consulted the local map, I've spent a bit of time following random local footpaths that I've never been down before. I've not made any major discoveries, but I have been surprised on a couple of occasions to spot things that I've never noticed before when traveling from a different direction. It's surprising how different the world around you looks when seen from different directions and it's amazing how many little things of interest are hidden away behind hedges, trees or the landscape, that you miss when your moving faster than walking pace. Of course the other option for staying out of the way is to take a leaf out of every old man's book and go and hide in your shed, so when I've not been out in the rain that's where I've been. It's a win win situation, not only am I in the good books for being quiet, but I've been being productive too. There's nothing better than standing back at the end of the day with a feeling of satisfaction and saying "I made this". A couple of years ago I stumbled upon someone carving spoons and thought "that looks like fun". Ever the tinkerer, and knowing that whoever has the most tools when they die wins, I acquired a couple of wood carving knives, thinking that at some point in the future I'd give it a go. As with most things, other projects and life have got in the way and they've been sat, unused, waiting patiently, for their day in the spotlight. Whilst hiding in the shed waiting for the glue to dry on another project this week, my eye fell onto the carving knives and I pondered using some of the scraps of wood left over from the Christmas present make-a-thon for a bit of spoon carving. Traditionally, spoons are carved from wet (green) wood, which tends to be easier to cut, but the glutton for punishment that I am, I gave it a go with what I had anyway. Like most things I do, I'm certainly not going to win any prizes for quality workmanship, but considering these are my first attempts, I'm pretty happy with the outcome and more importantly I've still got all my fingers and toes! Nothing special there then and the dry woods pretty hard to carve. But, like everything in life, if you don't try you'll never succeed and most importantly I had a bit of fun making them and learned a lot along the way. I'm intrigued now to see how different woods turn out and if green woods easier to work. There's a few bit's of Hawthorn to come out of the hedge on the allotment so I'll give that a go if I get time and report back and keep my eyes open for something more suitable while I'm out and about. In between other things I knocked up this little desk tidy at the start of the week, mainly as an experiment to see if I could get the long edge joints to work using just hand tools. I could have run the 45 degree edges through the table saw, but A) it's bloody noisy and I'm trying to be quiet. B) It's only cheap and not very good. C) I'd have to drag it out of the garage and set it up just for 10 minutes work and D) It's far more satisfying to do it by hand. Anyhow, it proved my concept and showed that I could get an acceptable joint by hand (and it's given us somewhere to put the pens) so I've made a start on my next brilliant idea. I'll leave you to try and guess what it is, although at the rate I progress you might be waiting a while to find out. And that's as far as I've got for the moment, as you'll see below, other things have taken priority, but, I'll get this finished off next week and you can see if your guess is right! In other news, and more importantly what I'm supposed to be doing, I have managed to make a little bit of progress on project patio. A couple of hours in between showers at the start of the week gave me the opportunity to get a few more bricks laid. And then a couple of hours with the whacker plate Friday afternoon after Emma got up got us a bit further on. After a wet start and a bit of early morning running, Saturday afternoon turned out ok and with the forecast looking good for Sunday it seemed sensible to make hay whilst the sun shone and crack on. I must admit that I'm pretty happy with how that's looking. I've had the idea in my head for long enough that I knew what I was aiming for, but now it's actually starting to take shape it's reassuring to know that it's going to look ok. Just don't turn around! Next step, start working towards the gate. Unfortunately most of that lot's in the way so I'm going to have to do a bit of rearranging and shift another couple of van loads of the old slabs up to the allotment, where I'm going to use them for paths before I can go any further.
All productive, satisfying and rewarding stuff and I'm saving a fortune on Gym fees! Holey Moley it's cold out there. It's unusual for us, in out wet and windy, temperate climate to have such a prolonged cold snap and whilst I'd rather this than wet, I'm not happy. I'm a skinny little runt at the best of times (10% body fat according to the bathroom scales) and I really feel the cold. Even in the summer "The Emma" will be sat in shorts and a T shirt and I'll have a Jumper and hat on! I've been outside laying on the floor working on the van for most of the week and I've had 2 long sleeve thermal tops, a jumper, overalls, thick coat, long johns, 2 pairs of socks, wrist warmers, woolly hat, neck warmer and gloves on and I'm still cold. "The Emma" says I make a lot of washing in the summer, well, good luck getting that lot dry! Work on Project Patio has fully ground to a halt this week, there's no point playing with concrete when it's below freezing. Although I did end up having to wheel barrow 120 paving slabs and a ton of sharp sand from the end of the road to the back garden in the week. Due to some inconsiderate T***t blocking the rear entry road with their rubbish parking, preventing the delivery lorry from getting in. Cheers mate! On the plus side though, that was the only time this week I've been warm. Either way, the stopping of play on project patio has at least given me the chance to finish off the heating installation on the van. After the mid week Rivnut fiasco I made some good progress and can happily say that it's all in and finished. Obviously due to the lockdown situation I've not been able to try it out in anger. But, having run it up on the drive a couple of times everything seems to be working as planned and there's no rattles or problems when driving the van so that looks good. I've added another chapter to The Van Plan pages on my web site - Click here, for the relevant page if your interested in the full details. Despite having to dress up like the Michellin man every time I venture out the front door and the ongoing lockdown situation, I've still managed to get out and about over the weekend. Saturday I managed a chilly 16 mile run around the local roads in the morning, followed by a local 50 miles on the bike on Sunday and I've got to say that cold or not, it is beautiful out there. The low laying mist has been freezing in the trees leaving them heavily frosted, which coupled with the mist looks magical. Unfortunately my rubbish phone camera won't do it justice so you'll just have to take my word for it. It's certainly cold on the old fingers though, especially on the bike. Having had plenty of chance to experiment over the years I can confirm that 2 pairs of cheap gloves seem to offer the best warmth (1 thin wool pair, with a cheap fleece pair over the top seems to work well). I've got gloves that cost a small fortune, gloves that are allegedly water and windproof and gloves that are supposed to be the bees knees, but good old wool seems to be the best! If only I'd known that on day 1 I'd have saved a fortune and it just goes to show that not only is simple often the best option, but you can't believe all the marketing hype either! As an aside, and if your looking for something to do that doesn't involve going out side, I've stuck up a few bits looking back at what I was up too in 2020 on the website. Unfortunately, 2020 wasn't very interesting, mainly due to the Coronovirus kerfuffle limiting the adventures, but there's a few good pictures there and a load of old waffle. So if your really bored, or having trouble sleeping, click on the link below for instant relief!
Click here for 2020's reminiscing. Occasionally it feels like your banging your head against a brick wall and no matter what you try, things just won't work! I pulled the seats and half the floor out of the van Monday afternoon ready to fit the new heater under the drivers side floor on Tuesday. Simply undo the bolts (once you've been a bought the right size Torx bit. Obviously it's going to be one size bigger than the set you've already got), disconnect the seat belts and pre-tensioners and without giving yourself a hernia remove. Simples! And surprisingly it was. I should have taken this as a warning that something's going to go wrong. but no, I'll just blunder headlong into a disaster of my own making! If you've not been hibernating you'll have noticed that it's freezing out. But needs must when the Devil drives, or you've got a van with no seats. So, Tuesday was a case of 3 jumpers, 2 pairs of socks, long johns, overalls, hat, scarf and coat and get on with fitting my masterpiece of shed designed and made engineering. Having already considered that my arms aren't long enough to reach from under the van to bolt the new heater in, I'd planned on using Rivnuts (permanently fitted nuts, specially designed for sheet metal and only needing access to one side), and that's where my problems really started. Holes drilled through the floor, no problem and 5 out of 6 Rivnuts fitted in 20 minutes.
Typically though, the last one stripped the bolt threads, que 2 hours of struggling to get the bolt back out. Once removed, install a new bolt and blow me if the head didn't round off! Arrrghh, another hour or so of struggle getting that one out! By now I'm freezing and losing the will to live. Not to worry though, Rivnuts finally fitted, just need to bolt the heater in and I'll call it a day. Not so fast though Mr P, 3 out of the 6 nuts start spinning before they're tight and the last one wont line up! Even more Arrrgh! By the time I got it all apart again, drilled out the stupid Rivnuts and gave up for the day I'd been laying under the van in the cold and wet for at least 6 hours and I'd had enough! What sort of a stupid idea was this and what the hell am I going to do now? I've got a van with no seats and a load of holes in the floor and I'm in the same place now as I was 6 hours ago! Wednesday morning, it's still freezing but at least it's not raining and "The Emma" came to the rescue. Discarding the stupid Rivnuts and Emma fitting the bolts from above whilst I stuck the nuts on from below, we had the whole thing in and secured in 20 minutes today! It just goes to show that sometimes a bit of teamwork is the answer to all your problems. Without "The Emma's" help I'd still be there now (if I hadn't frozen to death) struggling on my own. As it is, I'm sat in the warm, having had a really productive day, all thanks to a bit of help! |
Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
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