I’m in the studio this morning and Callum phones. Peter, you are artist, could you use some picture frame moulding? Aye! Better bring your trailer.

Callum is a Harley riding, Verdi loving blacksmith that has bigpipes as his mobile ring tone. He wouldn’t take a penny for it but said this was a quarter if it. I’ve already filled one stable stall. I may need to revise a better storage solution.

Picture Framer gone bust?

Picture Framer gone bust?

Old guy retired.

A lot of it I can’t use. Some I can. My brother has a gallery with a framing sideline. He should be able to use the majority of it.

Just waiting for Mrs Binners to ring. Once she gets out of a meeting to find out if she’s being made redundant or not. Again.

I’ve had better starts to the week 🙁

Helping Mrs M empty her work locker after quitting teaching. 🙁

Waiting to see if a buyer ups his offer on our house.

Did a spinning session.

On a 2 day of the 5-2 diet… 🙁

writers block in writing code. still.

on the plus side, seeds are germinating in the greenhouse (garden therapy).

Waiting for new jobs to come through from my line manager…waiting.

Stoner Towers is now completely encased in scaffolding. It’s dark in here now 🙁

New roof though!

On the subject of trade parts going free, a mate in the pub came in and knowing that I’d just finished a plumbing course gave me two carrier bags straining at the handles under the weight of hundreds of copper and brass pipe fittings. He buys and sells vehicles at auction and a van had the bags left in them. He refused to take any money for them – weighed in they must be worth £30 but as fittings they’re worth £hundreds to me 🙂

Apart from an SQL password issue that’s been bugging me for a few hours then its the usual Monday for me I’m afraid.

At home today. Puppy sitting

First night went good

Day off,

Long run in the rain. I know my hip has flared up again but currently the pain is numbed because the brain is on overdrive dealing with severe runners nipple (both nips, some blood).

Exam #1 done. Exam #2 tomorrow…

Already have ‘the claw’ from writing for 2 hours – tomorrow’s is 3 hours!

Feedback from a internal job interview I didn’t get.

Wasn’t massively constructive or helpful 🙄

one week after hip surgery, contemplating anohter 5 weeks on crutches while cartlidge regrenerates hopefully.

On gardening leave. Almost finished reading The Secret Race. Wondering how I’m going to kick off the training plan for this week.

Great. Listening to radio 6, cooking lots of stuff, watching it rain on the birds in the garden. Happy days/

Middle of vintage down here, 1 day off in 3 weeks so far. No time to ride. 🙁

Stiffening nicely at the desk right now – due to 3 days riding in the Shropshire Hills, before you snigger. 5 times over Long Mynd on Saturday 😯

Keep up the good work John, got some good news on a contract over here more air miles and some road riding in different cities I hope.

No school run traffic this morning made my drive a little more bearable. Other than that it has been very much the same as any other morning really.

Dishwasher fecked! A pain in the arse!

Back from a three day walking / eating / drinking lad’s holiday in Glen Clova. Back to looking after the child again today whilst worrying about money. Bit flat, sore legs.

Great three days though!

**** knees killing me. Compounded by the fact I’m fitting skirting in the top floor of a 3 storey house! The joy of stairs!

Stoner Towers is now completely encased in scaffolding. It’s dark in here now

New roof though!

I thought you were in a new barn conversion?

My week started with a big pot of scrambled eggs, with various assorted veg and herbs added. Lunch was a large portion of leftover lamb curry, with loads of chickpeas (2nd portion in 24 hours).

I NOW HAVE THE FLATULENCE OF THE GODS.

Wishing people would

a) talk to each other
b) make a decision

So, same old corporate same old.

Just back from a pub lunch with the wife and faithful Schnauzer, necked down chips, gammon and two eggs + three pints of Sarah Hughes Surprise.
Livin the dream, just wish i had something to have a good whinge about on STW.

Excellent annual review. But it’s only focussed my mind that there’s no long term future for me in the role I’m doing.

CV’s out there for similar (better) jobs, but about to be brave and apply for something I’m not qualified to do….

Back at my desk after a weekend doing nice stuff, specifically buying lots of nice cheese on the Saturday and taking part in my first sportive on the Sunday.

Today, I ache. Not so much my legs (although my right glute is a bit tight), but my back and shoulders are sore. Nothing some more press-ups won’t cure I guess.

Oh, and the fence at home is now being repaired from the recent high winds.

Spent the weekend on a building with lime/masonry course, spent most of today not getting work done and browsing the internet for posh sand and chisels.

Got to work today to discover that I’d basically finished off my current project last week with a fortnight to go until it’s due but hadn’t really realised (I was very tired…). I’m now hoping no one finds out so I can string it out for a few days yet and then submit it “early”…

Absolutely knackered today. Yerning for bed since about 10am.

Had one of the least relaxing trips in Thames boating history. Taking a mate’s boat from a yard in Caverhsam to Kingston. Got as far as Cookham in 2 days. 16 tonne wooden crate with a turning circle twice the width of the Thames and no reverse gear.

Highlights inculde getting stuck on a sand bank within 1 minute of leaving. Rescued a capsised kayaker struggling to breathe in the cold, 4 decent crashes, one of them into the most expensive boat we saw all weekend. Rescued by 4 separate boats, ran out fuel, left a rope behind due to a chance of plan/knot mistake, nearly took the top of the boat off on a bridge trying to pass close enough for someone to chuck us the rope.

And that’s without the common or garden stress and calamity at every single lock. I think the longest period of stress free cruising was about 7 minutes.

Great fun in retrospect. Not sure if I might be busy next time he asks for help…

Pat Adams phoned for a nice chat.

footflaps – the conversion is new but we didnt do the roof as it was adequate at the time – we built the house underneath it. It was “re-roofed” by the farmer in 1995 so was weathertight but handmade tiles dont like being moved much as they take up a shape over the 100+yrs theyve been up there and dont go back down very well in untrained hands. So over the last 20 yrs around 10+ tiles a year slip or come off in the winds. We replaced a load but it’s only a stop gap. Originally tiles would be held on the lath by “torching” the nibs with lime mortar, having been removed and replaced over felt they werent re-torched so the combination of wind and broken tile nibs makes them susceptible to lift.

So treating the place to a completely new lid this time. New membrane, lath and tiles. Good for another 150yrs.

Bit of slow start to the week, so far the sum total of my day’s work is two graphs:

Mega Traffic problems around here due to a Truck coming off the Motorway overnight, going down the embankment and exploding into flames in a Farmers field.

Just reopened now but it’s going to take a while to get back to normal traffic.

Fixed a steel security fence, demolished a gang hut,then cut up a shed load of wood from one of the diseased chestnut trees that was felled at work.
Normal Monday mix.

M61 Simmy?

I work just off Junction 6. Took me 90 mins to get in this morning after dropping my kids off in Bury.

Holiday started.
That means we spent the day lecking about in boats on Loch Lubnaig. 8)