Sunday 30 August 2009
Home again.
But I don't dare go to sleep just yet. I'm gonna try and stay up 'til ~21:00 tonight and get back onto UK time quickly.
Wednesday 19 August 2009
Letters from America
Well, I made it to the US OK, and survived the jet-lag. For a day with that nmuch travel in, it went well. I got to the airport at 06:15 for a 06:55 departure, changed at Heathrow without problem (Terminal 5 is good!), and the trans-atlantic flight was, well, if not fine, as good as 8 hours on a plane gets to be.
Today we did laundry, lunch and doctors before heading off to Germantown Splash Park to meet Matt, Erin and Henry. Unfortunately, there was a little thunder and they closed the splash park, so we went to the playground acorss the road for a while. I'll try & post some pictures on the family blog soon.
Today we did laundry, lunch and doctors before heading off to Germantown Splash Park to meet Matt, Erin and Henry. Unfortunately, there was a little thunder and they closed the splash park, so we went to the playground acorss the road for a while. I'll try & post some pictures on the family blog soon.
Sunday 16 August 2009
Last day
Ok, today is going well so far. I was up on time, got the last wash into the dryer, then set off for Seascale for dinner at Mum & Dad's. The Potters and the Watsons were there as well, so it was a nice big dinner - roast pork, stuffing, roast potatoes and lots of veg, including a few of our courgettes and Dad's runner beans.
Dad loaned me his angle-grinder and we cut out the seized bolt on the spare tyre cage. I needed to get this done before I fly because while I can manage with the spare tyre in the boot when I'm on my own, once we have the whole family and all a bags in the car, there'll be no space for it.
Since Dobies hasn't managed to get us a replacement part yet, even though it's been over two weeks, I ended up pushing the tyre cage into place with Dad's little hydraulic jack, then wiring it into place with a coat hanger. It sounds very Heath-Robinson, but it is secure, and I can still get the tyre out if I need it.
After dinner, I picked Ben up and we did a couple of little odd jobs around the house for travelling, then went o to the big one in Ruth's room. I had wanted to put Ruth's curtains back up while she was away. The old rail had fallen down a while back. The bad news was that the old rail was to damaged to go back up - the good news was that we had a spare rail, only a little shorter, in the flat.
It took a while, but Ben and I got it up in the end. Proably the worst bit was when we thought we had everything sorted, but one of the hanging loops fell off and bounced out of the open window onto the kitchen roof. Fortunately we were able to recover it by taping Ruth's fishing net onto the end of a 7-foot pole and scooping it up. Here's a picture of the finished job, with fishing net...
Dad loaned me his angle-grinder and we cut out the seized bolt on the spare tyre cage. I needed to get this done before I fly because while I can manage with the spare tyre in the boot when I'm on my own, once we have the whole family and all a bags in the car, there'll be no space for it.
Since Dobies hasn't managed to get us a replacement part yet, even though it's been over two weeks, I ended up pushing the tyre cage into place with Dad's little hydraulic jack, then wiring it into place with a coat hanger. It sounds very Heath-Robinson, but it is secure, and I can still get the tyre out if I need it.
After dinner, I picked Ben up and we did a couple of little odd jobs around the house for travelling, then went o to the big one in Ruth's room. I had wanted to put Ruth's curtains back up while she was away. The old rail had fallen down a while back. The bad news was that the old rail was to damaged to go back up - the good news was that we had a spare rail, only a little shorter, in the flat.
It took a while, but Ben and I got it up in the end. Proably the worst bit was when we thought we had everything sorted, but one of the hanging loops fell off and bounced out of the open window onto the kitchen roof. Fortunately we were able to recover it by taping Ruth's fishing net onto the end of a 7-foot pole and scooping it up. Here's a picture of the finished job, with fishing net...
And the packing is... (Saturday)
Almost done. I'm waiting for one last wash to run for a couple of shirts that needed stain-treating.
Apart from that, Ben's been over most of the day, and he's been a great help.
We've harvested loads of courgettes and a couple of dozen cherry tomatoes, planted out the sweet potatoes and salad-thingies, watered everyhting in the greenhouse, and done a bit of tidying.
After that, we emptied out the car, washed the rear seat-cover, vacuumed everything, and put the car seats etc back in again.
Then, we folded loads of laundry and put a lot of it away, and made chicken tikka masala for tea.
For a rest in the evening, I did the next couple of stages of putting WindowsXP on Mel's new laptop for her. It came with Vista, but Vista won't support her scanner or any of her printers.
Apart from that, Ben's been over most of the day, and he's been a great help.
We've harvested loads of courgettes and a couple of dozen cherry tomatoes, planted out the sweet potatoes and salad-thingies, watered everyhting in the greenhouse, and done a bit of tidying.
After that, we emptied out the car, washed the rear seat-cover, vacuumed everything, and put the car seats etc back in again.
Then, we folded loads of laundry and put a lot of it away, and made chicken tikka masala for tea.
For a rest in the evening, I did the next couple of stages of putting WindowsXP on Mel's new laptop for her. It came with Vista, but Vista won't support her scanner or any of her printers.
Friday the 14th part 2...
Well, I got the light switch done, then made cheese omlette & garden veg for tea.
Unfortunatey, it's Sunday now, and I can't remember what else I did!
Unfortunatey, it's Sunday now, and I can't remember what else I did!
Friday 14 August 2009
Friday the 14th part 1...
OK, got a severe lack of motivation going here, so to remove myself from distraction. I'm going to turn the electricity off. This way, I can't be tempted to compute, game, read* or watch movies.
I'm justifying such a drastci step by reming myself that I need to replace the failing bathroom light switch before it gets too dark.
After that, I'm going to see how many other jobs I can do before I have to put the power back on.
I'm justifying such a drastci step by reming myself that I need to replace the failing bathroom light switch before it gets too dark.
After that, I'm going to see how many other jobs I can do before I have to put the power back on.
Thursday 13 August 2009
Lads' Night In
Wednesday was Lads' Night In.
Bowch picked up Chinese take-out, and he, Gary & I sat down for an eveing of cheesy movies. First up was a true straight-to-video classic, Megashark vs Giant Octopus. It was as bad as the title sounds, a horribly low-budget monster movie. The only member of the cast I'd ever heard of was 80's pop singer Debbie Gibson, who had the female lead role. She should really stick to singing. We enjoyed it immensely though, this was definately a case of "So bad it's good."
After that, Gary had to head out, and Bowch and I put in Homeworld, a sci-fi we knew nothing about. It turned out to be very good. A tale of a small group of space marines on a last-ditch mission to save mankind from shape-changing, mind-controlling aliens. Not much in the way of effects, but it didn't need them, as the plot focused more on the suspense and psychological drama.
Bowch picked up Chinese take-out, and he, Gary & I sat down for an eveing of cheesy movies. First up was a true straight-to-video classic, Megashark vs Giant Octopus. It was as bad as the title sounds, a horribly low-budget monster movie. The only member of the cast I'd ever heard of was 80's pop singer Debbie Gibson, who had the female lead role. She should really stick to singing. We enjoyed it immensely though, this was definately a case of "So bad it's good."
After that, Gary had to head out, and Bowch and I put in Homeworld, a sci-fi we knew nothing about. It turned out to be very good. A tale of a small group of space marines on a last-ditch mission to save mankind from shape-changing, mind-controlling aliens. Not much in the way of effects, but it didn't need them, as the plot focused more on the suspense and psychological drama.
Tuesday
Lets see if I can keep a log of useful things done of the the next few days - I'm trying to avoid the tendancy to be lazy and do nothing but play computer games & read.
So, how has today gone?
- Bought new bulb for car brake lamp - normally I'd need a special trip to get this, but Halfords is within walking distance of NNL Workington, so I just nipped out in my lunch break.
- Got the last bits & pieces from the weekend out of the car.
- Gave the fridge a once-over for perishables, and started planning food for the week. I've got loads of eggs to eat up, so I had fried eggs on toast for dinner. Need to buy some milk though.
- Fitted the new brake lamp bulb. It took about 15 mins of Googling to find clear intructions, and another 15 mins to fit. I'm quite impressed by the fact I needed no tools, and could reach the required parts of the car fairly easily.
- Went to Parton & dropped in on Mel. We owe her for the help she gave us with packing, and I know she's got a lot of house organising and DIY to do, so I went over to help. Mel was having trouble getting started, so we hit the freezer together. It needed done before the bin men came on Wednesday. Mel's power had failed while she was away, and it was pretty rank No, it was absolutely foul. Scented candles & odour-neutralising sprays helped prevent gagging (barely!) but we got everything inventoried then double-bagged and put out for collection, then sprayed it down inside and out with bleach, and shut the door.
After that it was time for a long, long, shower.
So, how has today gone?
- Bought new bulb for car brake lamp - normally I'd need a special trip to get this, but Halfords is within walking distance of NNL Workington, so I just nipped out in my lunch break.
- Got the last bits & pieces from the weekend out of the car.
- Gave the fridge a once-over for perishables, and started planning food for the week. I've got loads of eggs to eat up, so I had fried eggs on toast for dinner. Need to buy some milk though.
- Fitted the new brake lamp bulb. It took about 15 mins of Googling to find clear intructions, and another 15 mins to fit. I'm quite impressed by the fact I needed no tools, and could reach the required parts of the car fairly easily.
- Went to Parton & dropped in on Mel. We owe her for the help she gave us with packing, and I know she's got a lot of house organising and DIY to do, so I went over to help. Mel was having trouble getting started, so we hit the freezer together. It needed done before the bin men came on Wednesday. Mel's power had failed while she was away, and it was pretty rank No, it was absolutely foul. Scented candles & odour-neutralising sprays helped prevent gagging (barely!) but we got everything inventoried then double-bagged and put out for collection, then sprayed it down inside and out with bleach, and shut the door.
After that it was time for a long, long, shower.
Monday 10th of August
Well, Chrissy and the kids are off to the US, and I have a week to myself, (apart from going to work.) The only thing planned so far is take-out and cheesy movies for a lads' night in on Wednesday, but there's no shortage of things for me to be doing...
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