Saturday 28 October 2023

Saturday

 Odd weather this week. Cold sometimes then mild  then wet  sometimes, then everything all at once. Floods have gone off the roads but I called in at Brother-in-Laws to see how he is drying out and it's going to take a while for the concrete floor of his kitchen, bathroom and utility room to dry, and he'll need new flooring and new kick boards for all the base cupboards.

We got back to the Keep Moving Group after the two weeks off due to the village hall having work done and the W.I that I go to has started a Reading Group that any members could attend, they had one before but met in peoples houses which was limited to six people which didn't seem fair. Now it's going to meet in the church community room with plenty of room for anyone who wants to go and they are doing  the same with a scrabble/games group ( I really do need to move back to that village!). So I went. We're not always going to all read the same book, which I'm glad about as I have enough library books without too many extras.

There's still some colour in the garden with  a few late roses - slightly rain damaged.


And this vine thing which I am forever cutting back


I've got lots of baby water snails in the mini sink pond - really teeny things, too small to see


And the tiger grass has 'flowered'.


After my post about washing all the big greenhouse pots there was a good comment from an anon about getting jobs done in the garden........... to paraphrase -  "my spring self will be pleased at what my autumn self got done" which is so very, very true.

But at the moment my Autumn self is just fed up with the boiler which decided to stop working for heating again one evening and then the next day the heating came on again but not when it should have done and weirdly I still had hot water all the time. It did this a few weeks ago too, that was before the issue with the low pressure which I could fix. Nothing looks wrong on the boiler so I'll have to call the heating man.

Have a good weekend. I'm waiting to see what the weather is like before I decide. Although car boot sales are now all finished due to the rain last weekend so that's something I won't be doing.

And it's clock change weekend - UGH..... Embrace it - don't hate it! - I'll try.

Back Monday
Sue

32 comments:

  1. Hope all is sorted soonest for your Brother in Law. Same for your boiler, this is not the time for heating failures. As for the time change, always happy for an extra hour in Autumn, not so much fun in Spring though.

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    1. The boiler thing is a mystery as if there is hot water there should be heating - I was glad of the wood-burner

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  2. How frustrating about the heating. It's probably easily sorted, just not by you.
    I hope your BiL doesn't have too many issues sorting out the flood damage. There's never a good time, of course, but it's worse as it's getting colder and less easily dried out.
    xx

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    1. Luckily BiL is like Colin and can fix everything himself although he was searching for his house insurance details when I called in - I said probably an 'act of God' and not covered

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    2. Having worked in insurance for 15 years (claims) here in the States, it was generally noted that if water hits the ground first before it comes into the house and causes damage, the damage is not covered unless one has pecific flood insurance - a different policy and very expensive.[. (Of course, if it backed up from the drains, there is special coverage one could buy in advance for that.) If the water (rain) comes in through a leak in the roof, or through a broken window caused by the same storm, then there would be coverage for damage inside the house. And then there is damage caused by a broken or leaking pipe inside the house which would be covered under a a different part of the policy. Not sure how that relates to insurance rules in the UK but could probably be something similar.

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  3. Do please give us a clue as to the name of the village. We’re looking to move back to the UK after many years in France and a dynamic village in Suffolk sounds right up my street.

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    1. I don't know of any dynamic villages in Suffolk! we are too laid back for dynamics

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  4. Also I am happy for my extra hour. I am sure your BIL wont lose any sleep over his bit of water damage. Keep your village away from an Anonymous. Dynamic doesn't exactly go with it.

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    1. See what I said above!
      I like springing forward better than falling backwards!

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    2. Apologies. Didn’t mean to come across as a weirdo. We’re genuinely looking for a friendly, active community to move to. It’s not easy starting from scratch after all these years abroad.

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  5. So lovely for my quote to get a mention. It’s Carol from life of pottering by the way. Google keeps leaving me as anonymous and I forget to sign off 😀

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    1. I thought it was a brilliant thing to remember every Autumn!

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  6. The vine thingy is a Virginia Creeper, mad neighbour has one next door, she has let it go wild, we trim our side as we don't want it invading our garden. Hope BIL's house is sorted soon, must be a nightmare.

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    1. The vine tries to creep into the shed via the door or under the roof. Colours are good though so I'll just keep it under control

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  7. Flood damage is a misery, with always the fear that it could happen again. Autumn colour is late appearing this year. Some trees are almost bare without having shown colour change.

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    1. Not a lot of leaf fall here yet. It's a big clear up when they do as the neighbours have a huge sycamore

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  8. I hadn't read about your BiL getting flooded, I missed a couple of days reading of blogs. Bit of a nightmare for him, hope his insurance gets it sorted soon. I love the colour of Virginia Creeper in the autumn, but it is quite invasive I think. I hate the clocks going back, mainly because I hate it getting dark so early.

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    1. Luckily for BiL it was just a half inch over the back rooms of the house and he's able to sort it all out for himself.
      I always think I really don't need an extra hour on a cold morning and lights on earlier. Roll on Spring!

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  9. I’m often tempted to plant a Virginian creeper to clothe my front boundary wall and then I remember how intent they are on world domination. You look to have another different stripey grass close to the Miscanthus. Keep an eye on both as Miscanthus grows rapidly and is a beast to remove. I keep my M. Morning Light in a bluey-green glazed pot for this reason. The water meadows below us are now a lake, one of the markers of the season. I went to bed at 9.30pm last night to read in bed (was tired as I swam for an hour yesterday - my second swim this week and I may be getting addicted to the flood of endorphins swimming produces!) while husband watched the Spurs match and we awoke at 8.30am this morning so my body clock has naturally moved back to winter hours - I think! On washing pots I was feeling guiltily grubby so I lined mine up outside on the driveway stones with a stone in each pot to anchor them and the heavy downpours have washed them clean. It is Petworth Literary Festival fortnight and farmers market day so we will be going town soon. I avoid the events featuring celebrity authors but I enjoy discovering local authors and always go to the poetry readings. Sun is out now so time to get going. I am not missing my Saturday shifts in the bookshop one iota! Sarah in Sussex

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    1. Both the grasses were planted by the previous owners to make the garden look nice for selling, so they are still small at the moment and under the flowering cherry and ceanothus. If they get too big I shall just incorporate them into the 'lawn' and mow them!

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  10. The boiler thermostat may have gone on the blink - maybe why it isn't coming on at the right time yet you've got hot water.
    I hope it isn't an expensive mend.

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    1. I think you are right, as in theory there shouldn't be hot water and no heating.

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  11. We have one of those vine thingys too - pretty but invasive.
    I'm with you on the clock change, something to be endured!
    Alison in Wales x

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    1. I used to hate the clocks going back but now I cope - more time for reading perhaps!

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  12. There was talk about not changing the clocks anymore here in the US so I am not sure if we are changing the clocks next week or not. I'm sure the news will tell me soon.
    My poor garden is overrun with weeds and grass coming up through the ground cover. I've tried to get out there but medical issues and weather have kept me out of it so I have not gotten far. What's an easy way to remove grass that grows up through the ground cover without having to pull each little blade of grass!!??

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    1. Grass growing through ground cover is an annoying problem for sure.

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  13. Hopefully the heating problem is an easy fix. Hot water but no heat is odd. Considering a move to another village that meets your particular needs is a good idea. When I had a pipe crack in the middle of Winter, the complications of water damage were drying things out and preventing mold. The construction part was expensive but all pretty easy work. Your garden and pond looks very lovely.

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    1. The hassle of moving once again doesn't really appeal while I can still drive the 4 miles to the other village. Hope I get frogs in the pond in spring

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  14. I am sorry to read that your brother-in-law still has lots of drying out to do and will need replacements for things that are waterlogged.

    It sounds as if there are loads of WI extracurricular things for you to get involved in.

    God bless.

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  15. Glad you were able to go back to Keep moving. It's nice that the book club will be open to all. It sounds like another opportunity to get together with people. Really like the rose. Mum always had roses.

    Sister said the weather had been all up and down. She had managed to get out for a couple of walks without getting rained on!

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  16. I get baby frogs every Spring from my neighbour's pond, but I then dread mowing the lawn - the thought of murdering all those little green babies makes me nauseous. I spend more time out there hunting them down and capturing as many as possible in a tall bin than I do mowing!

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  17. I do love that little pond. Did the snails come there naturally or did you introduce them?

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