General Chat

Thanks AnnG. Yes things seem to moving much faster now all the building work has been done, it took us ages to have the two coal fires out plus one of the chimney's and the wall knocked down to the bathroom so we could extend it, then of course the new wall built, not to mention all the plastering we've had done and the re-wire and central heating put in, plus the wall insulation and underfloor insulation and a new back door and that's just what I can remember that's been done so far, I'm sure there's other jobs I've forgotten, so lots of building, dusty, jobs. We can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel now, well inside anyway, there's still lots more to do in the gardens which we're hoping to get back to in the spring.

We're very lucky the neighbours around here are brilliant and say they understand the jobs need doing and I'm always careful about the time of day and do the quiet jobs away from the adjoining wall if it's late. All the neighbours here are great and the day we moved in there was a bottle of wine and a card for us on the door step from next door......how nice was that.

The neighbour we're attached to got lots of quote to replace the broken fence at the back we were suppose to go halves but we had to buy a car and couldn't afford it, plus the quotes were very high so we did the job for free and she bought the fence panels. She was thrilled with the job and bought us both a present as a thank you saying it would of cost her much more if we hadn't of done it. Like I said the neighbours are lovely so we're very lucky. We're like a family.

How lovely to receive the bouquet of flowers, what a wonderful thoughtful thing to do.

After the meeting here this morning with 7 of us, to discuss a trip next Friday to Tetbury (organised by me) 5 of us went to the Hare and Hounds pub up the road for lunch. I had Scampi and chips and cheese cake and it came to just over £13. It is a lot cheaper than that mid week for seniors )£5.99 for 2 courses. We were impressed. the rest all had fish and chips which they said was nice. I also had a medium glass of red wine which was quite drinkable and cost £2.99.

When I got back, on the doorstep (Cynth is away) there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers. It just says 'thinking of you this weekend Mum' Tomorrow is the second anniversary of Tony's death. <3

Morning Anng and all,

Just done the asda order so thats out of the way.

Murky old morning here and pc says 3 degrees and cloudy but I can see that for myself.

Just the hsop to do and Em's eggs then the rest of the day is mine.

Good morning all very dark this morning so probably another horrible low cloud day 0 degrees so no frost as far as I can tell.

Seems like you are moving on well now Gill, good to get that room clear. I had not realised that your bungalow was a semi so you have an adjoining wall.
. I hope your neighbours are ok with all the work you have had to do. I am sure, no matter how careful you are all the DIY can sometimes cause a bit of noise. But that was thoughtful to not start sanding at that time of the evening. It looks like you are beginning to see the end anyway. Well done. It will be worth it.

I was about to start the sanding then realised the time. Because it's a joint wall with next door I can't do the sanding tonight as it will be to noisy so I will have to get up early and do it tomorrow before the cement boards arrive.

Well the living room is finally emptied, apart from the sofa as we ran out of space in the other room with it being a bit smaller than the living room, so I've covered the sofa for now as I need to do a bit of sanding on the chimney breast and a bit of coving ready for OH to do the miss coat on the fresh plaster.

We've ordered the cement boards for the living room and they are arriving in the morning, so with a bit of luck we'll make a start on putting them down tomorrow. The living room hasn't been emptied since the day we moved in so I'd forgotten how big the room is.

I noticed the floorboards on the traps in the living room and hall hadn't been put back properly when the electrician came to bond the gas meter so I asked OH to screw them down properly. It's a good job I asked as when he took them up the electrician had taken the underfloor insulation out and dropped it down under the property. i wondered why this place felt a bit cooler lately. Anyway OH has put the insulation back and sorted the floorboards and it's less drafty now. Once the cement boards go down in the living room it'll act as an insulation above the floorboards as well so will be nice and cosy like the other room we've done then.

Once the living room is finished well move all our bedroom furniture into the living room so we can do the cement boards in our bedroom, then they'll only be the kitchen and hall left to do. So still lots to do but we're getting there, slowly. ;-) ;-)

Going to grab and drink now then start sanding the living room while OH is watching his football. I'm hoping he'll do the miss coat on the fresh plaster tonight but if he's to tired he'll do it tomorrow, there's not much to do so it won't take long.

Sorry I haven't read all your posts, I'll catch up with them when OH is back in work and I have more time. I hope everyone is keeping well.

I’m glad you got your TV licence sorted out Mel. We pay ours annually by direct debit and I think we just get an email confirmation which OH prints out. I got your photos of the thrush. Lovely to see it enjoying the worm.

We’ve had sun on and off today and it hasn’t been too cold. I’ve got a few jobs done and we went to town to pick up my meds. OH wanted to go to B&Q and get some fuel at Tesco’s. He also wanted to put the car through their car wash which we have done loads of times before. Today we were told we wouldn’t be allowed to go through because our car has a fixed roof rack! We’ve had the car nearly 14 years and have never been told of this rule before so we weren’t best pleased and have brought a very dirty car back home.

Last night was strange. I kept waking up from one weird dream and then drifting straight off into another one. Goodness knows what was going through my head all night.

My back is a lot better and I would like to do some tidying up in the garden which looks a real mess but the back’s not right yet and I don’t want to set it off again.

Time to sort out our dinner I think, and a small glass of wine might go down well ;-)

I don't get a paper licience they just send a conformation email whihc I put in the file but this time they did'nt do that which is why I got suspicous.

BIL turned up unexpectly and together we sorted out the TV licience and I have got one so I don't have to worry about that now.

He did'nt stay long but we did get things sorted that have happened over the last couple of weeks.

Hope anng has a nice time out today.

Also hope Vera is ok and has managed to get some sleep and that her back is a little easier.

You should have something but wait a bit longer then use the contact for to query it.

edit I have just checked and you should get a paper TV licence in the post.

It has come out of my bank and it was a month late. I do it online and I had nothing to say I now have a tv licience like I nomally do.

Glad you liked my thrush. I have been trying to get her for ages. BIL will be cross he has missed her.

Mel, Beware. There are TV Licence scams about, so you are wise not to click on any links.

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ288

Yes I got them ok thanks Mel, good photos and lovely thrush.

How did you pay your TV licence? It might just be taking a while longer because of all the post strikes in December. If you are worried there is an on line contact form for the licensing authority.

A lovely bright morning with plenty of sunshine :-D
Marginally milder too, I think.

Thank you for the photos Mel...How lovely.
I can't remember when I last saw a thrush in our garden... or anywhere locally come to that.
You feed the birds well and they all seem to know that your garden is a good place to come.
Our most frequent visitors seem to be wood pigeons or collared doves..... Oh and seagulls by the dozen, of course.
I do hear other birds singing sometimes in the late afternoon, but don't see many at all most days.

Sent pics can you let me know if you got them please as strange things are happening here like it all disappeared when I press send.

Morning all,

The sun is coming up here and there was no frost and pc says 6 degrees. Nothing planned here today.

I am a bit worried as I paid my TV licience in Dec a month late but never had an email back from them to say my licience was for another year ending blah blah blah. About a week ago I had an email saying to buy my TV licience now! and to download a pdf file which I did'nt do. Is there any way of checking if you have a tv licience?

Good morning all. Very overcast and grey here but 2 degrees and no frost. Just off to have a shower and wash my hair, out at 2pm for photography but may be on here again before that. Hope everyone is pain free and slept well. I had a weird night, just kept waking up for no reason. Just got up at 0750.

Thanks Gill, never too old to learn about new things. Interesting though. Was not aware that you could get such things.

It's okay AnnG I didn't know what they were until the bathroom people told me. It's boards, quite thin made of cement and covered in a waterproof coating used mainly for wet rooms. The reason I want them is so when I wash the carpet it doesn't wet and rot the floorboards as they are made of wood, plus it stops the dust coming up from between the floorboards which is a pain at the moment and also it acts as an insulation so we don't need the heating on as much. We've noticed such a difference in the room we've already done so once the whole place is done it should be much warmer and dust free. It's also a good way of being able to put lino down in the kitchen which we prefer as it's a bit warmer under foot than tiles and less slippy. If we were to put lino straight onto the floorboards you would see all the lines from them showing through the lino, this way the cement boards stop all that, plus again it would stop any water going onto the floorboards if for example the washing machine was to leak. It costs quite a bit but only needs doing once.

Well, we've made a start on emptying the living room and will carry on with it tomorrow, hopefully it'll be empty ready for the cement boards by the weekend, then OH and I can put them down this time next week when he's off work again.

Going to grab something to eat now then try and watch a bit of TV on our dodgy freeview box ;-) If the picture keeps freezing again then I'll see if I can find them on my laptop later.

I've not had much sleep over the past three days so I might have an early night so I'm not so tired tomorrow when we carry on with emptying the living room.

gill I may be being a bit dumb here but can you explain what cement boards are, what is their purpose as you seem to need a lot.