What have you been doing today?

[Mottie]

Still waiting for the postie to drop off the final certificates for the students - I wouldn't mind betting they don't come until the new year - should have been here on Monday!

F'cking temporary Christmas postmen! Just locking up and I heard my letterbox going with a bit of effing and Jeffing, looked on the CCTV and there's this postman (not my regular one) with his hand in my letterbox. Time I'd opened up the cupboard and the internal postbox, I pulled out this:

Obviously can’t f’cking read. Gave him a right mouthful and called him all the thick ****s. He didn’t give a feck. Only trouble is, that’s the certificate I applied for, for a test taken on the 6th. The certificate for the one taken on the 1st has got lost somewhere in the post so C&G are sending replacements but they probably won’t get here before the school shuts for Xmas. F'cking Royal Mail!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I/we made a good start, on making the door to the under-stairs space, full size. I had to fight with Avril, to use my multi-tool - she's quite DIY orientated, but had never seen one before. She has fallen in love with it

All cut out, we just need some timber to make up the door framing, then adapt a flush door.

 

[Mottie]

I had to fight with Avril, to use my multi-tool - she's quite DIY orientated, but had never seen one before. She has fallen in love with it

What attachments does she like best?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

What attachments does she like best?

She was obsessed with the flat ended, spade shaped one, she found that easier to get into the awkward corners

 

[fillyboy]

I/we made a good start, on making the door to the under-stairs space, full size. I had to fight with Avril, to use my multi-tool - she's quite DIY orientated, but had never seen one before. She has fallen in love with it

All cut out, we just need some timber to make up the door framing, then adapt a flush door.

I held off buying a multi tool for a long time, thought they were a bit 'gimicky' but eventually I bought a cheap mains operated one and found I used it more and more, far more than I expected. Earlier this year I used the electricians 18v battery one (Makita) and was so impressed I ordered one the next day.
Price of blades is a nuisance, I normally bulk buy from Saxon Blades.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I held off buying a multi tool for a long time, thought they were a bit 'gimicky' but eventually I bought a cheap mains operated one and found I used it more and more, far more than I expected. Earlier this year I used the electricians 18v battery one (Makita) and was so impressed I ordered one the next day.
Price of blades is a nuisance, I normally bulk buy from Saxon Blades.

I bought mine a few years ago, for just one job - getting floor covering under the achitrives, when I got around to doing the kitchen floor. It sat unused for a long time, me not convinced at how effective they were. They are brilliant, they do things only they can do. Today, 3/8" ply needed trimming back level, to the timber frame. The foot of a jigsaw would not physically get near it. The multi made it so easy.

 

[Mottie]

I bought mine a few years ago, for just one job - getting floor covering under the achitrives, when I got around to doing the kitchen floor.

I bought my DeWalt cordless one without even knowing what I was going to use it for - I just wanted one to play with - it was during lockdown and I was looking for something to do! First time I used it, it was to sand down a bench before painting it. Second time…….getting floor covering under the architraves. Third and latest time was a few months ago when I needed to cut a waste pipe under my sink close to the wall. Not much use in 3 years I admit, but it’s nice to have.

 

[Brigadier]

Just done another hour's worth of cycling on the smart trainer.

 

[Mottie]

Just done another hour's worth of cycling on the smart trainer.

I ran for a bus the other day - about 400 yards in my work boots with a thick coat on. Bloody knackered me. Worse thing was, I could feel my tits bouncing up and down. Definitely going to lose some weight in the new year. Either that or get a better fitting bra……

 

[conny]

Not me doing it but, we are having our loft converted and the builders were waiting on the staircase to be delivered, supposedly today after being delayed a number of times. It was due to come this afternoon so they asked if they could miss coming today as there wasn't much to do before it arrived and they had a small roofing job to do for an old customer, (old as in number of times they had done work for them, not 'age' old). So we said yes, no problem and we could have a break from the noise and dust. They turned up just after 8.30 this morning because on closer inspection the roof was rotted and needed a lot of timbers replacing.
So after a coffee, (we insist they always have a coffee/tea before starting), they got up and finished laying the rest of the floor, stopping just short of where the stairs will land. Spark turned up about 11.00am and ran some cables in place for lighting circuit and new sockets. Also disconnected ground floor shower room fan as it was absolutely useless, (12v extra low voltage and couldn't pull a draft of ciggy smoke when blown at it), and had a run-on time of about 4 minutes with no adjustment. He will remove it and replace it with one that goes out through the wall and have a timer fitted. They were just packing tools up around 4.00pm when the staircase arrived. So got that indoors and we all sat around having coffee and homemade fruit scones to celebrate. Stairs will be going in first thing tomorrow and my wife will be able to go up and see how things are looking and get a proper feel of how spacious it will be. Can't really get a true perspective from photographs.
The other advantage is it keeps our minds off the dementor lurking over our shoulder.

 

[Brigadier]

Better tonight, but I'm going to have to book a saddle fitting.

Adjusted the saddle angle nose-down a touch, and lowered it by 10mm.
Monday night was an hour, with the last 15 minutes being purgatory.

Despite me having a fat ass, my "sit bones" kill after forty or so minutes of cycling, even with the proper keks on.

I want to be forced off the bike through fatigue, not through discomfort.


In other news, I haven't done any openwater swimming for a month (not been well), and it's too cold to start it up again.
Give me a nudge in April

 

[ReganAndCarter]

She was obsessed with the flat ended, spade shaped one, she found that easier to get into the awkward corners

[Mouth falls open and monacle falls from eye]

 

[Odds]

[Mouth falls open and monacle falls from eye]

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Ringing around, trying to find a source for 2m of 3 x1 1/4" finished size of framing, for my under stairs cupboard. Nearest I could find, was 5 x 2, which they would plane down to my size, for £45 eek!

I had everything else in stock for the job, apart from this piece of door frame. I had already scanned my workshop, and timber store, and found no likely specimens. Avril had another looks and came up trumps - two lengths of 3 x 5/8 which could be doubled up, and a shorter bit of 3 x 1 1/4 - enough to enable the job to be got in with, tomorrow. Today a trip was taken care of, with a trip to Morrisons, to get 3x chickens for the freezer.

 

[Mottie]

I'll leave the bike here and come up by train next week when I come down to fit a battery on my mates Kuga and reset the BMS.

Well that went well. Mate was panicking because he got some weird message through an app saying his battery was duff. He's going on a cruise next week and doesn’t want to get back to the port after two weeks away to find he has a flat battery so he bought a new one and asked me if he could fit it. No problem, I popped up today, he came round and first thing I had to do was remove a lot of plastic and a wiring loom just to get at it. The rearmost terminal looked like it had a plant growing on it, it was covered in green crud. I removed the battery, cleaned the terminal with some boiling water and as I was fitting the terminal, it just wouldn’t tighten up. I took the battery back out, looked at the terminal to find it had cracked where it had been attacked by the acid gasses. We had to start the thing up with jump leads to get it into the workshop - can't move an automatic car with an electric handbrake with no battery on the car! Had to order one in from Ford dealer and can’t get it until next week. Hes pooping himself now. Get this, a bloody earth lead is going to cost him £121 and I’ve got to go back in again next week.