Saturday 23 March 2024

There Was Some Sun

 A much better week weather-wise - at last. The sun shone on more than one day - which is an achievement for this year so far.

I went swimming this week for the first time since October but it was crazy busy. The only other public swimming pool in the North Suffolk/Norfolk border area is in Diss and is closed for a year for complete rebuilding so more people are using Stradbroke and it's not very big!

The internet dropped out for several hours on Tuesday - a problem for several villages around I discovered and  I'm still without a heating boiler. The family business (Ian who does repairs, his wife who does the paperwork and their son who does servicing of boilers) - who usually sort out my boiler have a had a 'few' problems that rather put things into perspective - death of Ian's father, whose empty farmhouse was then ransacked and trashed on the day of the funeral, at the same time as their son needed some help moving house which all happened at the same time as the wife was injured by a horse - when I heard all that my boiler didn't seem a priority! I'm planning on having a new boiler as I'm fed up with all the repairs that have been needed since I moved in, although Ian and son only do new boilers in summer so I might go elsewhere.

It's been easy to keep warm enough in the living room and I bought a cheap oil-filled radiator to have on low in the hallway ready for this weekend when the temps are set to drop. It will keep the rest of the bungalow just a little warmer. I'm thankful that washing machines and dishwashers work from cold water inlet but going back to old fashioned ways of keeping myself clean isn't much fun! So although my electric bill will be bigger, the heating oil will be lasting longer - looking on the positive side - and a new boiler will be more energy efficient and will put off having to have a ground source heat pump for longer.

More garden tidying has been done this week and my seedlings in the propagator (aubergine, 2 types of tomatoes, and peppers)  were big enough to prick out into modules. I sowed 3 cucumber seeds, which I discovered were all I had. If all three come up that will be plenty but one failure and they'll be a shortage, plus I wanted to sow a seed later for late cucumbers so I'll need to buy some more seeds. Also sowed some Climbing French Bean seeds, they are on the windowsill beside the propagator.
 The flowers on one of the young pear trees are about to open so I hope we don't get frosts. The big Magnolia flowers are open but the petals are falling like confetti from the flowering cherry.
Flowers on the table (bookshelf) this week are my own tulips -lovely to have enough to bring in. 



Indoors, much reading has been done including a very poorly written book - 'Murder in Paradise' by Ann Cleeves. 

Thumbnail for Murder in paradise
Published in 1988 -  ten years before starting her Vera and Shetland series - The George and Mollie Palmer-Jones books are a struggle to get through. They are written in an odd way with many short sentences and are quite confusing. All eight have been republished recently.

Much better was this children's book

Thumbnail for Digging for victory


"Set in Devon in 1941, 'Digging for Victory' tells the story of twelve-year-old Bonnie Roberts who is desperate to play a valuable part in the war effort. For her, tending the family vegetable patch just doesn't cut it; she wants to be a hero like her RAF pilot brother, Ralph. But when the mysterious Mr Fisher is billeted at her Devon farmhouse, and Ralph is reported missing in action, she starts to question what heroism actually involves. And as Bonnie attempts to find out who Mr Fisher really is, she embarks on a life-changing and emotional voyage of discovery. 'Digging for Victory' is an adventure-filled story, with beautiful verse and a very satisfying ending."



That's about it for my week
Hope you have a good weekend, I'll be back Monday. 

Sue





34 comments:

  1. Keep yourself warm, that's the main thing.
    Last summer I showed my granddaughter how to have a "strip wash" with one basin of hot water and a couple of facecloths, just as my gran taught me.
    The copious daily hot showers beloved of today's generation weren't dreamt of in my youth!
    Ians family are having a tough time - as you say, that puts things into perspective. I'm sure you will get your new boiler sorted before too long.

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    1. It will be good to have a new reliable boiler - sometime this year

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  2. Golly, Ian's family's run of disasters does put things in perspective, don't they! What scum, to to target a family at a funeral. Makes one want to being back the stocks! Public humiliation would be well deserved. Do keep warn - one trip to the doctor will cost more than an extra heater, and be far less pleasant.

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    1. Hoping to avoid doctors if possible. I have a wood-burner so keep nice and warm

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  3. What a horrible thing to happen - how some people sleep at night, I'll never know.
    Getting a new, more efficient boiler sounds a very good plan. One I need to consider too, going forward. Hopefully, it can all be sorted quickly and I'm glad you have other ways of staying warm in the meanwhile. xx

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    1. I have plenty of ways to stay warm with the woodburner and electric heater. But a new boiler soon will be good

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  4. Targeting properties on funeral days is quite common and thoroughly despicable.

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  5. We were at the same point a couple of years ago with our boiler, and had a new one fitted, it worked much better, we could turn the thermostat down and we have a lovely warm house.

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    1. I've had lots of problems with the boiler since I moved here and thought it wasn't very old but I think a new one is the answer

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  6. How dreadful for that poor family.
    Your tulips are beautiful
    Alison in Wales x

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    1. I think The tulips were ones I moved out of a pot last year when they didn't do well - lovely to have enough to bring some in

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  7. Poor Ian's family, I guess a lot of local scum find out when a funeral is being held and know that homes will be empty for the time of the funeral ... the lowest of the low.

    It will seem like a real luxury when you finally get a new boiler and have hot running water again, and warmth in your home.

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    1. A really horrible thing for the family to deal with on top of everything else

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  8. Love your plate in your spring setting on the shelf.
    We are having a major snow storm here. 12" + so far and it's to last all day.

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    1. Oh my goodness - so much snow in March is not good, hope it soon goes

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  9. A new boiler will put everything right for you. Keeping warm on cold damp days/nights is important and it sounds like you've got a good temporary solution. It is cold today with a rain/snow mix and no sunshine. It is a sloppy day outside. Like you, I look forward to the growing season and spending more time in the garden. I bought a new peach tree for my orchard and will get it planted soon.

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    1. It's good to have my veg seedlings all looking good, just have to keep them alive until they can go in the greenhouse

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  10. Poor Ian and his family! What a horrible time for them. I'm sorry about the boiler. Hopefully it will soon be replaced. I usually like Ann Cleeves, but I won't bother with those one I don't think lol. Hope you have a good weekend!

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    1. These early Ann Cleeves books are so strange - almost like they are written by someone else. I don't think they will be turned into TV series.

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  11. I recall my mother advising that someone should come and house sit whilst the family is out at a funeral, we followed this advice when my father died, the funeral cars outside would be a giveaway.

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    1. Such an unusual thing to happen in quiet rural Suffolk and really awful

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  12. Hmmm, going to try and find those early books of Ann Cleeves. I really enjoy her newer works. Pretty purple tulips on the mantel.

    God bless.

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    1. Love my tulips - nice to have enough to bring in and still looking good after a week indoors

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  13. Reading "Murder in Paradise" at the moment and quite enjoying it. I can see traces of the novelist she has become in the plot and character development.

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    1. I found it an odd book to read but it was a good mystery so it was finished

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  14. Your purple tulips are beautiful!! The leaves of mine are just pushing out of the ground so I have a long wait for actual blooms.

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    1. My miniature tulips are cream and most of the others are red so it's nice to have some different

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  15. Oh what a horrible time for the boiler to konk out on you! I admire your resolve to simply tough it out. The first couple years we did not have central heat in our old house, and it took a while to decide on a boiler or forced air. I have to tell you, it was cold and it was miserable. We made it, but it is not something I care to repeat. (We did have a water heater, and so hot water was not a problem.)

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    1. I'm managing with out the boiler but it will be good to get it sorted out

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  16. Life without a boiler isn't fun, hope you can get a new one soon. I had a problem a few years ago and had several kettles of water in my bath and used a jug to throw the water over me. Fortunately I was sorted with a new boiler within 7 days, it was bliss to have it working again!

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    1. I stand in the shower with some bowls of water - works well!

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  17. Thank you for recommending Digging for Victory, I have ordered a copy from the library. My favourite novel set in WW2 is still, Goodnight Mr Tom, with the film of it starring John Thaw.

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  18. I'm reading this in the early hours, unable to sleep after problems with my hot water! Sorry you're having boiler problems too. I still find it difficult to cope with these sorts of things by myself since being widowed just before you. I will be washing in the bath with bowls of water and thinking that maybe I could wash my hair with cold! I have British Gas Home care, but even then, it's not easy to get things done. At least my heating is working, so I should be grateful! Hope you soon get sorted out, you do seem to cope very well with whatever challenges come your way!
    Linda J x

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