tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50096685148222974112011-08-17T21:40:15.924+01:00"For a mole would play euphonium right next to his left ear..."Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.comBlogger921100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-59929539276867407452011-08-17T21:38:00.001+01:002011-08-17T21:40:15.931+01:00

I've got my own car now! It's a purple VW Polo, 1.9 diesel. Much more economical than the Zafira. And it's got cool purple & red lighting on the dash too!

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-56168494787133683242011-08-06T18:53:00.001+01:002011-08-06T18:53:52.554+01:00

...or in this case, only one.Either way, the topic is Separation.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-45591579071965269842010-08-10T20:58:00.002+01:002010-08-10T20:59:36.308+01:00

Went to the tip today, to get rid of the stuff Ben helped me clear out last night.Swimming again. 21 lengths, with a short break after 10.The pool was rather crowded, so the lengths felt longer with all the weaving in & out of small children!

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-12408009948935859582010-08-10T20:49:00.002+01:002010-08-10T20:58:29.606+01:00

Ben came over Monday night for curry & cleaning. After a very nice chicken biryani, we set to work on the long room upstairs, moving a lot of boxes up to the attic, and hauling down a boot-full of old computer bits for recyling/disposal.Thanks for the help Ben!

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-33376465655343179072010-08-08T02:50:00.002+01:002010-08-08T02:58:03.821+01:00

Discovered Fish was playing Carlisle tonight at about 15:00. Called the venue (The Brickyard), got a ticket, and off I went.Had a great time. It was an acoustic set, just guitar and piano for accompanyment. Fish opened with an acapella version of Chocolate frogs, then they did State of Mind, dedicating it to David Cameron....There were a few tracks I wasn't familiar with, but a lot of

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-18019430796094680162010-08-08T02:49:00.003+01:002010-08-08T02:50:26.846+01:00

Swimming again. Managed 20 lengths with short rests after 8 and 16. No asthma spray needed.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-45541726703814601252010-08-08T02:49:00.001+01:002010-08-08T02:49:28.984+01:00

Went swimming. Managed 6 lengths, then a short rest. After 9 lenghts, needed a longer rest. After 11 lengths, needed my asthma spray....Managed 20 lengths in all.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-75805104680981940592010-05-30T23:57:00.003+01:002010-05-31T00:00:21.193+01:00

Because I got a new (2nd-hand) CPU & mobo for my PC. It's an Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, designed to run at 2.40GHz (266x9).And the reason I'm so thrilled? I've got it running at 3.20Ghz (400x8) and it's perfectly stable, even after a 48-hour stress-test of converting over 50Gb of music videos from MPEG-2 to x264!Under full load it's only reaching ~44'C, as cool as my old system managed at rest!

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-70736694660589967212010-05-19T16:35:00.001+01:002010-05-19T16:40:21.767+01:00

...I'm not as depressed as I was last month...

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-24552759880576398752010-04-28T19:35:00.001+01:002010-04-28T19:35:47.726+01:00

I don't know why I still care.Don't know why I'm writing this either - it seems equally pointless.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-91281925175856276772009-11-16T21:36:00.002Z2009-11-16T21:43:00.613Z

Just got back from Club. Tonight was the used-to-be-annual Awards, the last of which was at least three years ago now. Much to my surprise I won one. I got the "Best GM Flange" award for getting the whole party home alive in Celtic Double-cross!

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-81891656091745602992009-08-30T16:14:00.000+01:002009-08-30T16:16:05.062+01:00

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.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-32351955655866350042009-08-19T03:15:00.003+01:002009-08-19T03:21:08.067+01:00

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

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-84517409936151451232009-08-16T19:26:00.002+01:002009-08-16T19:45:07.102+01:00

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

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-46865099049051013242009-08-16T18:53:00.003+01:002009-08-16T19:13:33.477+01:00

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

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-25126033685322859322009-08-16T18:47:00.001+01:002009-08-16T18:50:29.160+01:00

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!

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-92045774175031804152009-08-14T17:59:00.003+01:002009-08-14T18:03:01.761+01:00

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

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-1784150455109510102009-08-13T21:30:00.002+01:002009-08-13T21:37:14.693+01:00

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

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-86988312937490263002009-08-13T21:18:00.002+01:002009-08-13T21:29:42.719+01:00

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 &

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-85418190241226610092009-08-13T20:52:00.002+01:002009-08-13T20:54:13.256+01:00

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...

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-38077179072600461532009-07-25T16:14:00.000+01:002009-07-25T16:15:24.627+01:00

Just had to get 4 new tyres for the car. That was £200+ I wasn't wanting to spend this month....

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-83154725523308744482009-06-27T00:57:00.001+01:002009-06-27T00:59:15.630+01:00

Headace & energy-wise it's been 5 out of 10, but todays geekthrill raises it to an 8 - Battletech just got the UnSeen back! YAY!http://www.classicbattletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,53514.0/all.html

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-63271978791476322602009-06-25T23:21:00.001+01:002009-06-25T23:23:27.985+01:00

No change on the headace other than a bit of sinus ache to go with it in the morning. Clarityn helps with that, though.Filtered my waste, disposed of some more empty bottles, and generally got on with cleaning out the fumehood. Got home to find Chrissy making chicken & leek pie. It was very good - I couldn't taste the leeks at all

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-77163830851682311942009-06-25T23:20:00.002+01:002009-06-25T23:21:39.397+01:00

Still got a headache, but back at work Paracetamol makes it fade out for a while.Oh look, my waste bottle is precipitating ferric hydroxide again! Now I'll have to recondition and filter it again!

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-39793558705935528832009-06-25T23:18:00.002+01:002009-06-25T23:20:19.678+01:00

Off sick - horrible headache. It's been there a week now and keeps getting worse. Went to see the Doc. After being poked & prodded, was told that it was nothing major, use paracetamol and it should go away eventually. The he says he can confirm it's not an early sign of a stroke or brin tumor! Never occured to me to worry about either of those. I guess I just learned what a 1 out of 10

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-30061529453714609522009-06-22T23:45:00.003+01:002009-06-22T23:48:54.743+01:00

Didn't sleep well. Kids messed around about getting dressed. Headache again. Thank god you can still buy paracetamol by the thousand tablets in the US.Work was OK - much waste to filter, and many spreadsheets to check.Dinner in Seascale was good - sausages, carrots & cheesy mash.Club went OK. I was caught out when the player who normally leaves early said he was staying 'til 11, as I had

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-49692431507585274282009-06-22T23:39:00.003+01:002009-06-22T23:45:12.001+01:00

Father's Day - I got a bit of a lie in, cards from the kids, then everyone gave me a very nice back-rub. Wonderful. The lingering headache slowed me down a bit, but a trip down to Seascale for a cuppa with Mum & Dad helped. They even volunteered to keep the kids until bedtime and feed them, so Chrissy and I had some nice quiet time together. I made fish pie (smoked haddock, salmon and

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-64835358976363156142009-06-22T23:38:00.001+01:002009-06-22T23:39:50.437+01:00

I think 5 out of 10 was right in the end. Nothing bad happened, per se, but I went to bed at 8 with a headache.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-54682236248904744132009-06-20T18:18:00.002+01:002009-06-20T18:19:14.292+01:00

Lousy night - David up a lot. Noisy morning. The kids were up early and making a lot of noise. A nice trip to Bens and a rest in the garden, but very tired and a big headache.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-72176395263488713672009-06-19T21:23:00.003+01:002009-06-19T21:27:25.154+01:00

A decent day today, but very tiring. Work was lots of preparation for waste disposal - filtering out trace solids, correcting pH, doing provisional beta/gamma counts and so on, and prepping samples for formal analysis on Monday. Then it was dinner at Cathie's, and home to get the kids to bed. Now I've got a bit of time for my self, and I'm too tired to start anything. I guess it will be a

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-20815807272832071062009-06-18T22:53:00.003+01:002009-06-22T23:54:32.355+01:00

Assuming "today" started at midnight, rather than when I got up this morning, anyway.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-40236415049408850132009-06-17T21:11:00.002+01:002009-06-17T21:11:51.782+01:00

Well, that's how good today has been so far. I'm too depressed for details right now. Maybe later.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-20099581602567007112009-06-06T13:11:00.001+01:002009-06-06T13:13:22.317+01:00

Wel,, we went to see the new Star Trek movie last night, and it was superb. The astrophysics was lousy, but that's just Hollywood, and Scotty seemed rather lame, but the rest was damn good.I think I'd like to go see it again.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-1450049662139417292009-05-20T20:14:00.000+01:002009-05-20T20:15:51.246+01:00

Well, I'm giving the Windows 7 RC1 a try, using VirtualBox, since I don't have a spare PC of high enough spec...

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-18764369505147723182009-02-28T17:06:00.003Z2009-02-28T17:17:59.843Z

I'd gotten myself into a pickle with an spreadsheet. I was revising the Karma Pool rules for my upcoming Shadowrun 3E game to make them follow a simple non-linear progression. I had decided that the first point would cost the normal 20k, then each additional point would cost 5k more than the last one. This gives a nice simple formula of y=2.4x^2+17.5x, where x is the number of Karma Pool

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-20244617352667293002009-02-08T16:24:00.005Z2009-02-08T16:42:11.583Z

On Thursday this week, I did some cleaning out in the spare room, as the plumber who never showed up on Friday needed access to the radiators to change the valves. I don't have a picture of what it looked like before I started, but that's because there wasn't room to get into the room while holding a camera.....Anyway, after throwing out several bin-bags' worth of rubbish, moving several items

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-61992757670202912052009-02-08T15:18:00.002Z2009-02-08T15:32:54.771Z

Lost_Boy, the downstairs PC, has been getting a bit unreliable lately, so today I took the cover off for a look. It was rather dusty, so I gave it a good clean-out, then had a closer look at the cooling fans. The air-in fan on the front of the case was particularly clogged up, since the holes in the case are small, so I decided to improve the air-flow a bit. A quick bit of work with the

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-24805833090194572152009-02-07T17:23:00.002Z2009-02-07T17:26:34.390Z

The plumber was meant to come round yesterday morning to put the new thermostatic vales on the radiators. This is the last stage of the work payed for by the rennovation grant, and it shoudl have been done last autumn.He hadn't arrived by lunchtime, and Chrissy called the builder who managed the project. He texted back later, saying he couldn't reach the plumber by phone so he would get him

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-86741481737400303922009-01-30T20:12:00.002Z2009-01-30T20:16:59.109Z

Flu strikes again. No, not me this time though. Chrissy came down with it Thursday night, and hit a fever for 104'f last night, but seems to be starting to recover a little tonight.And to go with that, David, while basically healthy, has throw at least one monster tantrum every day since Monday, so I'm completely exhausted. I slept on the sofa last night to avoid getting flu off Chrissy and

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-48763328232428633412009-01-13T01:21:00.002Z2009-01-13T01:26:50.843Z

Back at the Roleplaying Club tonight for the firstgame of the new year. Mechwarrior this time (2nd Ed). We are playing as members of the 4th Pesht regulars assigned to the garrison on Tarnby in March 3050. Five players in all, so the GM started us off with the four members of the medium lance in 2nd company engaged in wargames against a single assault 'mech to settle a bet between our COs.It

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-26674503983874535022009-01-10T21:04:00.000Z2009-01-10T21:10:56.154Z

OK folks, sorry about the repeated re-arrangements. After some discussion, we have decided to move Geoff's blog to it's own new address, and have the family blog at the lincoln-brown.blogspot.com address.So, here are what should be the final locations for our blogs:-Geoff - http://the-moles-revenge.blogspot.comChrissy - http://cmlfuss.blogspot.comFamily - http://lincoln-brown.blogspot.com

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-10704994970605006842009-01-10T15:16:00.001Z2009-01-11T23:30:07.474Z

Happy New Year everyone! We are now back in England, after a good visit to America, and on the Blogging front, it's time for a change. Rather than running two seperate blogs, we have decided to simplify things, by running three . We have created a new blog for Family updates and pictures, which we can run as a team. In the mean time, our personal blogs will continue with more

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-53443888630165519392009-01-06T20:28:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.654Z

Or as I prefer to call it, Travle-Shock!.OK, after 24 hours on the move, and 32hours with no sleep in my case, we're home safely.Goodnight.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-17313285422655752522009-01-05T03:28:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.665Z

Well, we set off for the airport at 2pm tomorrow (US time) and should get home about 2pm (UK time) the day after.We're about halfway packed - everything is together, just needs sorting into suitcases of equal weight.So now it's time for an early night, and a good start tomorrow morning. It's been a good trip.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-34707824922724384622008-12-27T18:17:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.674Z

Happy Christmas everyone! Here's a few photos from our Christmas morning.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-78691139184960044862008-12-25T17:10:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.685Z

On Christmas Eve morning, we babysat for Matt & Erin while they finished their Christmas shopping. Don't think this was any hardship, it meant we got lots of time with cousin Henry, aka Hank. He arriced just before nap time, so we put him down, but he was rather reluctant to sleep. Patrice advised us that M&E normally leave him for ~7 mins to see if he will drop off, and he did. When we

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-67493041161807377552008-12-23T22:31:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.697Z

I founf this photo on the camera this morning - Chrissy took it last night after I fell asleep on the sofa at about 6 p.m. I vaguely remember David asking if he could give me a hug ("Yes, of course."), but not being used as a sofa....

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-69201970284223271012008-12-23T22:10:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.709Z

Our first full day in the US was Godmother Amy Day for Ruth. We had arrived on the 19th, and Amy and Larry were flying out for Christmas with their relatives late on the 20th. Amy picked Ruth up late morning, and took her out for the day. They got haircuts, and went to their favourite Ice-cream Parlour afterwards. When they got back, Amy brought out some Christmas presents. Ruth opened

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-56505069591410097622008-12-22T21:17:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.723Z

In the middle of November we went into Keswick for the market, and to take Chrissy's laptop in for repairs. While browsing the market we noticed a rather unusual car was on display.David and Ruth were most impressed, especially David, although I'm not sure if they really understood who Batman is...

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-38890182707121066692008-12-22T21:08:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.738Z

Since we knew we would be away for Christmas, we only did a little bit of decorating this year - a small tree to help get the Christmas mood started.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-81911862377066569522008-12-22T15:13:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.767Z

It's happened to me often enough that I think Flu should be the official past tense of Fly....It started Saterday night, left me bed-ridden all Sunday, and is now starting to wear off. I wonder how I would have faired if I hadn't had a flu vaccine back in November.Chrissy has done a great job of taking care of me the last 30 hours or so. Thankyou love!

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-37891203137147068952008-12-21T15:18:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.780Z

Christmas in America this year - We're here in one piece, and the children were great with all the travelling. The travel plan looked something like this:Friday 19th December00:00 Get in car for airport03:00 Arrive at airport carpark & catch bus03:30 Arrive at airport04:00 Check in06:10 Take off for Amsterdam08:00 Arrive in Amsterdam12:20 (13:20 Eurotime)Take off for America21:15 (17:00 US time

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-11125230733834108082008-12-05T21:55:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.752Z

At the back end of October we had the insurance contractor come out to fix the cracked drain pipes under the house and at the back where they connect to the main sewer in the alley. I was in bed ill most of the time, but after the new concrete had been poured at the back of the house, Chrissytook the kids out and they all made handprints and signed their names.I was most impressed when I

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-21741477484650676152008-12-05T21:52:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.805Z

Well, as you can see, the house painting is finished. Now we just have to get the insides sorted out

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-76701349305564391682008-12-05T21:07:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.792Z

Ruth was up very early on this particular morning, so we asked her to play quitely in her room or in the hallway until it was a proper time for getting up. Ruth decided that if everyone else was going to stay in bed, she would too, but not in her bedroom....When I came out, I found that she had built herself a new bed in the hallway, complete with line of soft toys, and a tea set ready for

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-10435025754274007642008-10-30T14:13:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.815Z

29/10/2008 ThursdayAnother building job started today - the insurance contractors arrived to start fixing the broken drains. There are two breaks to fix. One is in the flat sewer, and the break is actually under the house, while the other is at the back corner of the house, near where the house sewer joins the main sewer under the back alley. The outside breakage, we know the cause - every

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-5646621261467405592008-10-29T21:31:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.835Z

These pics are about 2 weeks old, and show you how close the painting is to done. All we need now is one more dry day to finish the job.(The blue self-propelled advert is what the insurance gave us while our car was in the shop)

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-54714589211387131632008-10-29T21:06:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.859Z

Well, since I've been too short of breath to move much, I've been doing a bit more websurfing than usual, and I ran into a fascinating little essay on politics I'd like to share. You can find it here.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-85611510022560495582008-10-29T20:57:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.872Z

Well, it's now officially winter here. My first cold of the season arrived on friday, but decongestants and paracetalmol seemed to be keeping it at bay, then on Saterday it struck back. Three boxes of kleenex, loaded to the eyeballs with meds, and no energy. Then on Sunday night it got serious, and dragged my asthma into play. End result, I was up all night wheezing, and haven't been in

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-9417540934180476742008-10-28T15:54:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:31.887Z

Well, we got the car back yesterday, and you'd never know it was damaged in the first place. When I lifted the bonnet (hood, for ms US readers) to have a look at what they'd done, I was a bit confused at first, as I couldn't find the front cross-member, which had been dented. On closer inspection, I found that instead of running straight across the front as I had thought, it was curved

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-79318651921038714892008-10-12T21:48:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:31.901Z

OK, the garage has sent the repair estimate (~£2100+) to the insurance, and we are waiting for the insurance to give the go-ahead. For those who want details, this is the damage as I know it:Front bumper - hole punched through itFront cross-member - dented & buckledRadiator - bent & puncturedA/C radiator - bent, maybe puncturedAssorted supporting brackets etc damaged

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-48318857305974186682008-10-09T08:19:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:31.914Z

Chrissy and Bowch made some gorgeous flapjack yesterday. They used treacle instead of golden syrup, which is a nice change.I think I'll go and have a piece for breakfast.....

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-62576742621400776692008-10-09T08:17:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:31.924Z

Now that everything has dried out, the insurance has sent round a builder to get the kitchen wall sorted out. The old plaster is now off, the kitchen is full of dust, and he's due back today to make a start on putting the new plaster up.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-38736051080735018772008-10-09T08:16:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:31.935Z

Well. the paint shop got their mixing machine fixed, so yesterday Chrissy went up there and picked up the rest of the paint we need to get the outside house finished. If the weather holds, it should eb done in the nest few days.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-49228872982617289112008-10-09T08:10:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:31.947Z

But this time it's in the car.....Chrissy had a "fender-bender" yesterday. She and the kids are fine, as it was a low speed bump. They were heading out to Graeme's on the back road. It's an unclassified road that's very narrow in places, and today there was a lot of muck on the road that had fallen off a tractor. A car coming the other way came over the hill in the middle of the road, and

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-2092300479585477472008-09-28T21:00:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:31.958Z

(two weeks ago)Well, the roofers have now started on the kitchen roof as well. The old roof was as bad as we had feared, but we'll do the details another time. For now, heres a pic of the roofers putting the new roof on,and here's a pic of what happened when the roofers found out the hardway how weak the old roof was.....One of the roofers put his foot on the wrong bit, and fell most of the

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-11454122524941282832008-09-28T20:55:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:31.971Z

Las weekend we went to Keswick for the day with Kay. We had a picnic by the lake and a walk in the woods, as well as a bit of shopping and getting Chrissy's laptop back from being repaired.Here's a quick pick of the children feeding the ducks with the last of their sandwiches.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-74666894287489608842008-09-27T13:30:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:31.986Z

Good Morning everyone. It's been a while since I got around to putting anything up here, but it's not as bad as the old website was yet, I hope.We have been very busy with the house renovations recently. Most of the major work is done, and we are now getting the outside of the house painted. Here's a few pics of how it's been coming along over the last week.An this (below) is how it looks

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-52526007977552298312008-08-28T01:17:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.001Z

Well, the newwindows went in today, about two weeks later than we were expecting. Here's a picture of the one in David's room.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-78569950795040698962008-08-26T17:10:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.018Z

Well, we're home, and mostly over the jet lag.More to come soon, with photos.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-81755776648078505192008-08-16T02:07:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.040Z

Well, for my first day in America, we had an early start, and ruched off down to DC to get Ruth a new passport. If you haven't already heard, when Chrissy got to the airport on the outbound flight, she found that Ruth's passport had expired. We'd simply forgotten than children only get 5-year passports. Chrissy managed to get Ruth onto the flight to America anyway, propably helped by the

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-35117423517607919462008-08-16T02:04:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.054Z

13th August 2008Well, I got here OK. My flight out of Glasfow left about an hour and a half late after a minor mechanical problem on the plane, but I still had just enough time to make my connection in Philadelphia. The flight was OK, but the airlines are still cutting costs - food portions were smaller, no complimentary alcohol, headphones were $5 a pair, etc

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-83018347021205426452008-08-09T10:25:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.077Z

Well, the plumbers arrived this morning to put the new bolier in, and joined me in cursing who ever installed the old heating system. They've been here about an hour now, and are still trying to work out what all the pipes do, and why there are two more than there should be.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-59585494030743140342008-08-05T18:20:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.090Z

(but it's ok really - the roofers are taking the old slates off)That's right, work on the new roof started today. I nipped home at lunch to collect a couple of things I had forgotten, to find that the entire back of the roof was stripped, and the roofers were just getting the last nails out before putting the felt on.I'll put some photos up later if I can find the charger for the old camera.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-86838541452119848452008-08-05T18:19:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.101Z

Home againI drove up from Reading today, and stopped at Birmingham to see Aunty Pat & Uncle Ron. I hadn't warned them I was coming, so it was a big surprise for both of them. We had a nice chat and a cup of tea, then it was time to get back on the road.I had a nice quiet run home. A good finish to a fun weekend.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-54520200658687032042008-08-05T18:17:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.066Z

2nd August 2008Caldicot Castle Rock FestivalI had an early start today as I needed to get some shopping done on the market, and was due at Caldicot, in south Wales by 5pm for the Rock festival. I got out of town about an hour later than I had hoped, but had a very fast run down. Some minor delays on the M6, but the M5 was clear all the way to Bristol, and I got my first experience of crossing

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-36305149425926722472008-08-05T18:15:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.113Z

{placeholder for 28th July post coming soon}

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-28152295654575269462008-05-19T00:05:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.125Z

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-76827250454680229632008-05-14T10:13:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.168Z

We took the children down to Muncaster Castle for the day today. The weather was lovely, and we were almost organised, so we got out of the house just before noon. Once we got there, Chrissy checked out an electric buggy to save her legs, and we started off with a picnic lunch on the lawns, then decided that we would head up to the bluebell woods, come back via the wildflower meadow then finish

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-57652302256154149402008-05-14T10:01:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.155Z

Thanks to the timing of Easter and our weekend in Scotland, we weren't able to organise Ruth's birthday party for the actual day so we had a small family party on the day, and threw the big party a couple of weeks later. We had the party down at Seascale Sports Hall, with the bouncy castle and all the softplay stuff out. It was a fancy dress party so Ruth (and most of the other girls) were in

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-90391336189201761432008-05-04T00:00:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.180Z

Since I last posted, we've had a number of talks, fights, and even one heart-to-heart!Now we need to be moving forward, but tonight's conversations have left me feeling that we are not moving towards the same goals. That's a little uncertain, as Chrissy wouldn't tell me what here goals are, but it leaves me wondering what is actually possible.

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-10512501284521211942008-04-21T08:14:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.191Z

Well, after talking to Chrissy and going to bed around 3 a.m. feeling depressed and hopeless, I woke up this morning at 6:45 sharp, wide awake and feeling better than I have done in a long time.Somehow, I feel that something has changed for the better, and everything is possible again. Now I need to keep this going and share it with Chrissy, who is naturally sceptical of my sudden optimism.Have

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-16192226242080416832008-04-21T00:11:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.202Z

Hmmm.... where to start.......For some reason, I always feel that I shouldn't talk about this sort of stuff, but a couple of phonecalls in the last few days have made me feel that's a mistake. Lets see.Well, just about everyone who knows us should know by now that our marriage is in a mess. To be blunt, it's pretty close to being totally FUBARed, and we're about out of hope. Last weekend,

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-38347340729674407032008-04-20T23:48:00.000+01:002009-01-10T20:52:32.218Z

Fot those of you who haven't found it yet, Chrissy has her own blog at http://cmlfuss.blogspot.com/It's updated more often than mine....

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-12279182606368745142008-03-09T16:13:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:32.233Z

It is always said that the younger you start a musical intrument, the better you will be, so I wonder how this will end up...

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-51808733073485165602008-03-03T10:04:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:32.302Z

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and we went down to Seascale to spend it with my parents. I managed to arrange surprise cakes for both Chrissy on behalf of the kids, and my mum. I agreed with Chrissy's suggestion that we make my mother a cake, then told mum that we would bring dessert as the children were making a cake for their mum. It worked out very well, and should have given everyone their

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-1424800514948556352008-03-03T09:51:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:32.315Z

But since I have a few minutes, it's time for another update.Work on the house has been going very quickly, by our standards, and at the same time, seeming to take for ever, but we are getting there. The lounge is almost finished, just needing touchups on paint/varnish, and one more bookcase to go up on the wall, and the dining room end is coming on as well. One wall and the archway are

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-24987883468176302322008-01-16T22:44:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:32.289Z

Well, I'm an uncle again. Irma Alexandra Potter (9lb 10oz, hope I spelled the names correctly!)) arrived on time today, so Edward & Orson now have a baby sister to play with.Congratulations and best wishes to Amanda & Martin from all of us here.(edited 3/3/08, as I missed a zero on Irma's weight)

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-8009926135272296852008-01-12T12:00:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:32.279Z

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-74740738293815294592008-01-10T17:20:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:32.249Z

Good evening.So, what have we been up to recently?Any guesses?No?Alright then.We've been decorating. Chrissy decided that it was time to do something about the dodgly wallpaper in the kitchen, and the mold growing under it, so she ripped it down on the bad wall, and got us started on fixing it up.A week later, and one wall has been stripped, cleaned, plaster repaired, and painted, another wall

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-38165804573092032992008-01-07T00:29:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:32.264Z

Now, has this fixed the time zone issue?Nope. Lets try this....Ah, that worked. now the server knows I'm not in California....

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5009668514822297411.post-33941528304348164842008-01-06T23:58:00.000Z2009-01-10T20:52:32.334Z

Good evening all and one, and welcome.Since it's taken me almost two years to do an update on www.lincoln-brown.co.uk I have decided to give at up and switch to something a little less time-consuming than teaching myself HTML as I go. My brother-in-law recommends this place quite highly, so we'll see how it works out.TTFN

Euphoniumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02006774340690979690noreply@blogger.com0