|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
8 Jan - OK, I
know. but it's not what you think. Red letter day for us as our new
neighbour Sarah moves in only 60 metres from our front door.
We have never seen lights from our front door before. (there are
lights in the middle of the picture) |
14 Jan - Wood
burner chimney swept |
You can see how
much was in the chimney after sweeping it. |
21 Jan - Rain
leaking into car so into the garage for a look see. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Left to right,
our good friend Graham his niece Sarah, our new neighbour, and her
dad Ray starting work on the garden. |
Research
indicated that the rain drain flaps were blocked so I cleaned them
out but I'm not convinced. Time will tell. |
27 Jan - Kitchen
OPS commence. Time to decorate the kitchen and give it a clean
bright look. |
Jen gets to do
the easy bits. What a pain those joints are. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Yep, starting to
look like we hoped it might |
Bright and fresh
|
30 Jan - Well
water only 5 ft from the top of the well. Ground is really
water logged. |
Looking better
now the dark wooden doors have had a coat of paint. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
2 Feb - Now then,
Emma suggested that we should paint the lower wall Grey but after 3
coats it didn't look right Em. |
So I painted it
all again. 3 coats of light green |
4 Feb - and this
is what we were hoping for. |
Clean the grease
off of the extractor hood ready for staining |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
5 Feb - and clean
up the paint from the floor. |
10 Feb - Slight
diversion to prevent boredom - Control box for Standby generator
project. |
12 Feb -
Radiators off of the walls |
for a few coats
of paint in the garage |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Unfortunately, on
the journey from the kitchen to the garage one of the bleed screws
fell out. |
We had both spent
an hour each looking for it when Jen had this brilliant idea of
using the metal detector and guess what! |
5 minutes later
we found it. That saved a great deal of hassle. |
13 Feb -
Radiators back on the wall and harder to get back on than take off. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
So, ceiling,
walls, doors, windows and radiators all complete as well as the
fiddly corners and pipes. |
15 Feb - Sink
unit uplift. Several tiles had fallen off 3 years ago. |
So, a few
battens, some lambris and a few coats of paint and it now matches
the rest of the room. |
17 Feb - Satellite Broadband
installation for Sarah. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
21 Feb - Longest
running task in the house. Trying to get a plug that fits.
Only taken 3 years!!! |
23 Feb - Modified solar tracker
working very well |
25 Feb - Finish off the cooker
extractor hood |
4 March - Been having trouble with
the mower stalling even when driving uphill and not cutting |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Traced to float chamber flooding
engine due to missing float valve seat. Must have just
disintegrated! |
Local garden centre swapped the lower
half of my carb for one they had with a valve seat in it @ no
charge. |
5 March - Finally got round to
fitting the solar panel dump load in the water tank. Free hot
water. |
11 March - Next writers workshop.
Level 2 this time. Car parking signs out |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
and nine delegates who all seemed to
enjoy themselves. |
Just waiting for the new books to
come out now!!!Kitchen looks really good as well. |
12 March - I finally realised that my
mower blades were about 2 inches too short producing a Mohican cut
|
15 March - You can tell I'm catching
up on all the jobs. The front trees were removed three years ago |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
and I've been carefully mowing around
them ever since |
So out with the chainsaw and level
them off as best as I could |
then drill holes to allow the natural
rotting process to occur. The mower runs over them now. |
With new blades and the mower engine
fixed I have finally managed to get on top of the grass. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Grass cutting
time reduced by half as I only have to go over it once. |
23 March - France local elections
voting day |
A first for us, voting in our commune
election |
23 March was also Mother's Day |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
31 March - Mower broken down again.
Thank God for the 4*4 |
1 April - Magneto this time. Clean
the poles and realign. |
6 April - Emma, Dave & Archie visit |
Not quite the week we hoped for |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
but hopefully they had |
a relaxing break |
and I'm sure Archie |
enjoyed himself as usual |
 |
Many apologies to all our
friends especially John and Kathy who were scheduled to visit us
this summer. Due to current circumstances we feel it best to
postpone until things become more predictable. |
 |
 |
|
we loved having them around |
|
16 April - Remember all that
sand/dust that came down with the rain. |
Time to clean the solar heating
panels off. Can't waste all that energy. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
21 April - Here we go again. No drive
to the cutting blades and the brake pedal interlock switch not
working. |
25 April - I installed a compass app
but it was useless. Tried the figure of 8 calibration thing -
no good |
Then I read about removing the
case!!! It's plastic...but with magnets inside to hold the flap
closed |
The pic shows a 300 uT magnetic field
and this one, 35 uT, how it should be. Magnets were removed! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
17 May - The 60ft tree that snapped
half way up a while ago with the top 30ft stuck in the other trees. |
I knew it would come down eventually.
Time for the clear up. |
Chainsaw, ropes, 4*4 and 6 hours to
get the trunks down to the ground |
18 May - Diversion from the trees, a
fly screen for one of our windows. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
A bit fiddly but well worth the
effort |
to keep the flys out and let the
fresh air in. |
19 May - Back to the tree. |
This is where it snapped off from,
30ft up from the ground. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
The three trunks with the longest at
36ft. |
Managed to log one trunk up before
the rain and thunderstorms arrived. So that is now split up |
and stored along with the larger
branches to dry out. |
Probably need to move it outside when
it stops raining to dry out properly |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Install a lamp and brace a door for
our very nice neighbour Sarah. |
20 May - Maintenance time for the
chainsaw after all that hard work. |
Sharpen all the chains |
and commission the 18 inch saw to
help tackle the remaining two trunks. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
22 May - Scanning
in original Waterside Radio Club Newsletters prior to posting them
on this website. |
24 May - Back to
logging up the trees |
Thank goodness
for chainsaws |
Use the Maverick
to move them up to the garage where they will be split and stacked
for drying. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Doesn't look much
does it? |
25 May - Malachy
puncture repair for next door |
28 May - Sam and
Eva visit |
What a little
cuties she is. Loves a cuddle |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
and always into
everything although not as quickly as Archie into the lake! |
Not too keen on
the bigger Monkeys |
but very taken
with Gran's glasses |
Our Grandchildren
seem to have a healthy appetite |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
This one is for
when she's a teenager |
29 June - Our
friends Ian and Julie finally achieved their move to France so
another Tooway installation carried out. |
June/July - Matt
and Ellie turn up for their annual break |
Like mother like
son ??? |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
5 July - But I
still have work to do. More leaks. |
followed by a
nice BBQ with the family. |
6 July - Graham &
Carol delivered some Cherries they had picked from a neighbour so
Jen made 2 gallons of wine. NICE! |
Then Ellie plays
with some of her cheese, also very nice. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
7 July - More
leaks. Cement down ridge tiles. |
Jen's really got
the bug again now. Graham & Carol drop off some pea pods for
some more wine. |
And here it all
is, Cherry and peapod bubbling away. |
Ellie's happy
after she's had some of her cheese. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
10 July - and
another Tooway install for our friends Keith & Val |
14 July - Oh
Joy!!! Bastille Day commune meal along with Ellie's friend
Becky. |
16 July -
Official opening of our neighbour Sarah's pool with BUBBLES of
course |
along with her
sister Claire and Ruben and Malachy |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
17 July - The
girls must get their tan so off to the lakes |
18 July - The
ladies at our friend Sue's 60th birthday |
23 July - John
and Kate had some plums going spare so |
we picked a few |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
for.....Yep, more
wine. |
It was very hot
and the yeast didn't work so Jen added some more. Then it cooled
down and off it went! |
26 July - Party
at Toby & Didi's |
and on the way
home!!! Finally got home at 4am having been recovered from the middle
of nowhere, France. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Smells like a
brewery now - 14 gallons bubbling away. |
31 July - Dog
sitting Rosie while Sarah pops off for a wedding. |
16 Aug-we have some apples this year
so guess what? Yep, more wine. |
You have to be really careful though.
We're not the only ones that like apples |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Slice them up and into the bucket for
a few days |
and then add the yeasty stuff |
21 Aug - Standby
generator switch panel installed (more detail -
Standby Generator ) |
22 Aug-Jen's kindle packed up this
week. I had a go but, what can you do? |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
23 Aug-and still cutting grass!! It's been a cool August with quite
a lot of rain for, so the grass grows. |
24 Aug-Apple wine into the fermentation barrel |
Move the cherry and peapod out of the belfry into the kitchen |
to make room for the 5 gallons of apple |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
More roof repairs. Because of the rain we're still getting
leaks in August |
While I was on the roof I mounted a wire aerial for the French DTV.
A bit of wiring in the workshop |
and we have plumbed in French free to air Digital TV |
25 Aug - Workshop tidy up |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Even started a tool board for the
often used tools |
28 Aug - Jen's tomato plant bearing
fruit |
Long time water leak in the bathroom
fixed after removing the bath. |
And we took the opportunity to clean
the tiles. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Must be my age but, more tidying up
in the study |
1 Sept - This is Samantha's fault, me
ironing a shirt for the wedding day. Over 10 years since I've done
this!! |
2 Sept - Time to leave home and set
off for the UK. Shutters closed and the house all locked up
ready for the off. |
4 hours later @ Gerry and Vicky's for
a little food, wine and good company. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
6 Sept - THE BIG DAY Samantha and
Luke's wedding. more pictures here |
8 Sept - Back home and we unload the
shopping that we managed to fit into our UK trip. |
9 Sept - Picked up some emergency
lighting units in the UK so fitted them around the house in case of
power cuts. |
12 Sept - Ohhh no. It's log
delivery time again. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
3 loads this year, 5 cords and about
an hour for two of us to stack a cord away into the log shed. |
Always makes us feel better when the
log shed starts to fill up. Means we're making progress. |
another 2 cord delivery |
and a final 1 cord delivery |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
and although it's dark it's a lot
cooler than working in the direct sunlight |
5 cords all stacked away ready for
when the temperature drops. |
The plastic sheets keep the drive
tidy and all the left over bits of wood |
go into the garage. This will
be burnt first. |
 -
|
 |
 |
 |
|
15 Sept - MY 60th BIRTHDAY |
Lots of nice cards and presents |
and good company to celebrate with. A
little drinkies to start with |
a nice curry |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
served with Jen's home made
blackberry (from our hedge) red wine |
and a very pleasant warn evening |
followed by home made birthday cake |
decorated for the occasion. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
As no one was driving we managed to
get through a very impressive amount of alcohol |
and Sarah treated us to some
saxophone music afterwards. |
Thank you Graham and Carol. All
ready for the snow now! |
21 Sept - Now I'm a 60 year old
planting out my Dog Roses that Carol has grown for me. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
24 Sept - Jen's geraniums' doing
really well this year |
and another 2 day grass cut completed |
26 Sept - We've certainly make use of
the kitchen this year. |
Tomato and apple chutney all from the
garden. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
And I continue my uncharacteristic
(60 year old) tidying up campaign by lifting all the cables off of
the floor. |
25 Sept - Lovely
day out with Kevin & Sue for a trip to the Charente for a nice plat
de jour lunch and to check out some Pineau. |
27 Sept -
Receiving updates from Ellie currently at the Great Barrier Reef,
Australia. |
2nd October - Thick stone walls make
wifi very difficult so I am playing around with some repeaters. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
7 Oct - Still trying to remove flood
water stains from the lounge rug. Bought some industrial
cleaner so trying again with a vax and scrubbing brush |
8 Oct - New skype phone 4800 fitted
as the old 3800 seemed to be causing a lot of dropped calls.
Much improved. |
9 Oct - managed to get hold of an old
processor chip on ebay for a few £'s so upgraded the old computer to
make it a bit faster. |
11 Oct - Serving staff (serfs) at
Medieval Banquet complete with costumes. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
About 100 guests along with music and
medieval dancing. Good fun. |
I also helped with some of the food.
Here's one of my cheeseboards. |
12 Oct - Some additional shelves in
the workshop mainly to store the sun bed cushions. |
14 Oct - 60 year old still learning
new stuff ? |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Yep, that's me. Fixing iPhones
now. What amazing technology! |
18 Oct - Jen likes to listen to her
favourite music in the car so I needed to copy some music from LP to
mp3 |
then chop it all up into tracks and
burn it to a couple of CD's. Made a nice change. |
22 Oct - we still have trouble with
deliveries sometimes so decided it was time to add another road
sign. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Hopefully this will help. Time
will tell. |
24 Oct - A fault with the pellet
burner prompted me to carry out a few mods so I could see the
digital display without crawling around the floor. |
25 Oct - Still learning new stuff.
Apparently diesel fuel since 2011 contains food for biological
things that, overtime, form a white sludge in the tank and block the
filters and injectors. |
26 Oct - Yeasty mushroom type things
growing around the old tree stumps. They just seem to appear
from nowhere. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
26th October and what a lovely day.
Only 21 degrees but so sunny and look at that blue sky.
Fantastic. |
27 Oct - That blue sky again but look
at the web material between the open wire feeder lines. I must
be getting old to notice these things! |
29 Oct - Another
grass cut, just around the house, to keep it looking nice.
Hope this is the last one this year. |
4 Nov - We decide it's time to remove
the dividing structure in our bedroom |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
as part of our planning for future
redecoration |
Thought it would make a difference |
but did not realise how much |
More roof work to try and stop leaks |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
5 Nov - fit water pressure gauges to
help adjust hot water pressure |
9 Nov - Hobby time. Try and fix a
computer monitor |
and more roof repairs using an
alternative route to the roof |
Cement ridge tiles to try and stop
more leaks |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
10 Nov - swap the computer monitors
around |
11 Nov - Fit our own LED street
lights. Ordered these from Ebay and ended up with Green LED's |
12 Nov - Paint ensuite door |
13 Nov - Paint bedroom windows |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
white to brighten up the bedroom |
15 Nov - got carried away and painted
the mezzanine windows as well |
but it does increase the light during
dull autumn days |
18 Nov - Jen's first Christmas puzzle |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
20 Nov - what a glorious autumn we
are having |
21 Nov - and Jen's geraniums'
are still surviving |
22 Nov - Jen's second Christmas
puzzle completed which hang on the wall during the festive period |
23 Nov - Cranes flying south |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
30 Nov - Paint the ensuite |
1 Dec - LED lit Christmas scene on
the wall |
and Jen completes her murder mystery
puzzle |
2 Dec - Urgent
maintenance on Jen's Christmas clock. I don't think it will last
this Christmas |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Christmas decorations for this year |
same as last year |
except the kitchen has been painted |
3 Dec -
Never seen this before. Hanging basket geraniums and Christmas
lights |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
9 Dec - For all our visitors who have
looked enviously at the Chateau La Leu next door, here is a quick
look inside. |
Ground floor reception |
Kitchen |
and kitchen view from last picture |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
1 of 9 bedrooms in the turrets. A
truly wonderful building in really good state of repair. |
15 Dec - Christmas carols and mulled
wine |
with our dear friends Dave & Marilyn |
Marilyn & Jen do the serving while
Dave and I drink mulled wine and chat. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Sarah & Jen testing the tasty morsels
on offer |
20 Dec - Radio Shack tidy up wiring
and add some fuses |
23 Dec - Frosty spiders webs |
25 Dec - Our 5th Christmas @
Bonnifont with our dear neighbour Sarah. |
 |
And that's it for
2014. Only seems like a short while ago that we were writing
the little progress report for the end of 2013!!
As soon as I get
round to doing something we will move to the 2015 page.
Happy New Year
to all from us @ Bonnifont |
|
|
|
31 Dec - Knife
switch added to Doublett antenna feeder for easy disconnection
during thunderstorms. |
|
|
|
