22/02/2013
Hi Y'all,
I thought I'd come in from the cold, it's about zero centigrade out there, which isn't too bad considering the time of year. Then I found I couldn't find the superscript thingie that allows you to write 0 degrees c. I'll have to look into that.
Anyway, I was getting cold because I was thinking of the ever expanding list of things to do, which involves standing still and looking at things, and I was taking photographs, which is kind of similar. Being on a fasting day as well, the chill becomes more noticeable. On the other hand, I was 11 stone 7 pounds this morning.
I've managed a little more body-work on the silver Midge, and the louvres are looking better now that I've corrected the angle. You can just see the failed version behind the wooden door at the back. The new set will look a bit tidier when I polish the metal up. I still don't know what colour to paint it, if at all, but there won't be much point until I stop changing my mind about the construction. I just took out the bonnet hinge, for instance, and replaced it with a pair so that I could fit a central strap between the halves. The petrol tank is now locked down and the pipe is secured, the racing screens are on and I've even fitted some carpet. It should go on the road this Summer.
I also spent a few worthwhile hours blocking the various gaps and crevices in the garage walls. It was quite easy to warm the workshop at the end, but the heat was escaping far too easily from the body of the garage. Now, when I get the pot-bellied stove going, it warms the whole building. The concrete walls are still a bit thin however, and I hope to use a big block of insulating foam to help there. I will need to panel it off to make it fire-proof though, the stuff isn't safe or strong enough without a skin of something to hold it in place.
We found the block floating in a nearby reservoir, and it was getting battered by the weather, so that it would have eventually become billions of little bits of pollution. This way it gets a second use, if I can make a hot wire knife big enough to carve it into 2 inch thick slabs.
Big isn't it? We had to drag it a half mile to get it to the car, and it's quite heavy.
The potbellied stove in the work-shop works quite well now that I've put a better shape of chimney on it. I wanted to stop the leak which allowed the rain to rust the stove. And yes, the tilted top is intentional, it works against the prevailing wind, though it'll get replaced when I make a rather more sophisticated storm cowl like the one on the house.
The hard-drive video recorder on the television packed up a while ago, so we bought a new one from Amazon, a Panasonic. It turned out to be complete rubbish, and I'm glad to say that Amazon took it straight back and refunded us. (The pick up was done by Yodel who, on the evidence so far, would have difficulty finding its bum in the dark, though they got there on the third attempt.)
The replacement, (another Panasonic, though rather more expensive) seems to be doing the job properly, the software is still a bit clunky and it will record vast amounts of program. It's a bit of a pity there are so few programs worth watching. I would go back to four or five channels and a VCR if given the choice, but the world has changed and there are very few products that don't come from China, mostly of fairly inferior constructional quality, and very sophisticated built in obsolescence.
While trying to get the rejected Panasonic to work, I fitted a new and expensive aerial. That improved it a bit, but it does make you wonder, my neighbour has a tiny scrap of a mangled thing which looks as if it has had Bruce Willis hanging from it at some time in the last 30 years, mounted and directed in an approximate manner, and he gets an excellent signal. (Though with the same dire programs.)
We finally got around to replacing the two Vauxhall Zafiras with one newer one, It looks much the same, though it has a few more bells and whistles. They seem to have fixed some of the sillier faults, but the spare tyre, jack and wheel-brace have been replaced with a bottle of stuff that is supposed to repair the puncture and re-inflate the tyre. I hope I don't have to find out if it works. Still, I had a tow-bar and roof rack fitted, so it should be as useful as the last ones. I've decided not to worry about minor wear and tear, the garage taking the old ones in hardly glanced at them, I guess their profits are big enough cover it.
Fiona has been working away in the garden, with plans that I usually find incomprehensible until they turn into reality. The rabbits, or at least one of them, are back this year, so the slow cooker will be in action again soon. They get caught in the rabbit trap sooner or later, though this one seems a little wilier than usual and is ignoring the carrot bait. Since it seems to like Sorrel we've put that in to tempt it.
The vegetable plots are ready for planting, but that will have to wait until the rabbit has made a fatal error.
Till then they will look like fresh graves. I'm told the Hellebores are starting to sprout, and Fiona's favorites, the Snowdrops, are bursting out all over the place. Fortunately the thrice accursed bunny doesn't like them.
Well that's about it for now, I must go and get a bit of firewood from the wood shed. We've been getting through it rather faster this year, though it is difficult to quantify. The Elm boosted our stock quite well, and I've still got about ten years worth of mostly pine. I tend to burn that at first, as it runs fairly hot, and then go over to hardwood as the evening goes by. It did become necessary to put in a bit more path to the back of the wood store, as it was getting a bit boggy. That should get finished when the frost lets up, and I hope to roof it over to put the canoes out of the way and under cover. The cats will appreciate the fire, they have taken to staring at it and me alternately if they think it is getting a bit chilly.
Here are the poor little things, huddled for warmth and waiting for Summer. Time I got the fire going. Jim.
