Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

grain de sel (colloq) to put out or stick one's oar in (colloq);

[Sue]

Ha ha Plaques, I think this is an implication...healthy gut healthy body. I did not translate this as balanced diet because I knew this as régime équilibré. I suppose healthy foodstuffs could be used. This is the problem of literal translation. The french often use very flowery language with implications rather than precise facts. I must admit to struggling to put it into English.


Still driving back from Portsmouth. Left Gloucester at noon, stopped for lunch and later a cuppa. Traffic bad now.

[Sue]

BIG BIG apology, alimentaire is what we call a false friend and is not intestines , that is believe it or not intestin, but hey we all understood the gist of it. Thank you for making me think about it! perhaps my french teacher would only give me 5 out of 10.

Just got back, over 5 hours from Gloucester, loads of diversions and route changes. Accidents, queues, roadworks and finally rush hour in Manchester which starts about 3.30 pm

[Stanley]

Senior moment Wendy, it was Sue of course!
I have no direct experience of France but in Germany I was struck by their obsession with their bowels. The lavatory pans had a platform in them that caught your excrement so you could examine it....
Having complained to Stuarts I shall be attempting to convert their lousy castings (one is completely wrong) into usable parts!

[Wendyf]

I had a busy day with the ponies yesterday, a grooming session in the morning before the farrier arrived to give them both a foot trim then a visit from a vet in the afternoon. Stanley House Vets do a " dental area day" where they come and check teeth for just the treatment fee, without a charge for the visit, so it's worth doing each year. Poor Sparky doesn't have many teeth left now but he needed a few pointed teeth filing down. Dennis has good teeth for his age but needed some sedation for his points to be filed as he was getting a bit stressy! Sparky also got his tetanus jab (every 2 years) and because he legally belongs to HAPPA he had a microchip implanted! Seems a bit unnecessary when he is 32 years old and going nowhere but it becomes a legal requirement from February 2020.
I also had a visit from a girl who is going to come on a regular basis to help with the boys, I need to know there is someone who I can rely on to look after them if I can't....or if we decide to go away for a night or two!!

[Marilyn]

They probably feel like a million bucks, Wendy.

I bowed to in-house pressure today and put my (fantastic plastic) Christmas Tree up. So he can stop moaning and groaning now. ( he offered to help me put the lights on the tree, but I explained that one of us wouldn't survive if we shared that job!)

[Sue]

Home sweet home and a good nights sleep in my own bed. We didn’t get home in time for pilates but managed yoga an hour later and really appreciated the stretching and relaxation after hours in the car. All day art workshop today with artist Jeremy Ford

[Stanley]

It always warms the cockles of my heart Wendy when you give us news of the lads. When I think of all the work (and expense) you put into Dennis and Sparky the phrase that always springs to mind is treasures in heaven. I am certain that it's good for you as well. looking after animals is the antithesis of cruelty so every now and then as you look at them allow yourself the luxury of a warm glow!



I am aiming for the shed.....

[Cathy]

Love the pic Wendy, were you calling them or were they coming to say hello?

[Stanley]

Wendy had called them but Jack had already said hello.

[Wendyf]

Cathy it was Stanley who took the photo when he came up to investigate the bore hole operation. The boys usually come over as soon as they see me, Dennis sometimes arrives at a gallop which is a bit unnerving, especially when it's muddy and slippy! Lovely to see them in their summer coats!

[Sue]

Lovely photo Wendy. Today is art, followed by a short end of session lunch. Next week is the last of this art class before Christmas but several of us are unable to go so we are lunching out today. It will be a light lunch, in my case omelette and salad, but a nice informal get together. Writing this afternoon, yoga this evening.

[Stanley]

I hope you enjoyed the lunch Sue.
I shall be in the shed pursuing my engine if I have time, it's shopping day. I have all the castings now, Stuarts came good in the end.
I ordered two Damart vests, the heaviest ones! They were out of stock in my size 'L', the nearest they had was 'XXL' so I have ordered them, a loose fitting vest never hurt anyone!
Shopping is continuing to get in the way of the shed...... Off to the Cathedral of Choice for a couple of items!

[Sue]

The lunch was good Stanley. More food out today as it is art and our usual Friday lunch out afterwards. This all started because the session is 11.00 till 1.30. Thus it would be 2.00 by the time I was home. Its easier to eat in Todmorden and a nice way to finish the week. Tomorrow we are eating again, this time at the Anchor Inn in Salterforth meeting my sister and cousin.

[Stanley]

Good, we crossed, I had just added to my first post....
I have decided it's a fish week to lower levels in the freezer and so I want to be ready to make chips! I know, but I do enjoy them and they don't appear to be doing me any harm!

[Stanley]

Speaking of making chips, I am definitely going to be in the shed today!!



Here's the target!

[Sue]

Ha ha, like the connection.

I shall be doing a bit of washing and ironing then we are out to Salterforth. Beautiful if cold day

[Stanley]

It's a nice morning for it Sue. I hope you enjoy yourselves.
I have been in the shed and marched a bit further forwards! No rush and I know my limitations.
It struck me this morning that I have improved slightly in some physical respects and I put that down to gradually getting acclimatised to the shed again. It's entirely different exercise to walking but exercise nonetheless.
55F in the shed, there are many advantages to having a heated shed! (Just checked and activity and the lathe motor have raised it to 58F. Very comfortable for working in.)

[Stanley]

Cooking and shed.... I am attacking the contents of the freezer, this means some unlikely and imaginative food combinations! The shed is the only place I know where sanity rules supreme and I can forget about the world and its woes. We all need a safe place!

[Sue]

Usual Sunday family visit, followed by a sewing day for me ( nothing adventurous, mainly repairs and alterations) . Bob will be at his model engineers.

[Stanley]

I've been having a cooking storm (as usual) and it's chewing into shed time!
Have a nice quiet day Sue and keep warm!

[Stanley]

Cooking 1, Shed 0 yesterday but I have at least four meals in the fridge so there is a chance today. I grilled Jack's sausages as well and some for myself. The cheapest sausages at the Co-op are the ones I cook for Jack. One of the great price anomalies of our time, they are cheaper than canned dog food. (The other one is water that is more expensive than milk. The world has gone mad!)
Apart from that, exercise with Jack and keeping warm. I love this crisp clear weather.

[Sue]

Lovely day yesterday. A glittery craft hour with my grand daughter, I think I will be seeing that glitter for weeks. Then a couple of hours of catching up on alterations of some clothes. Later, and for the following few hours I was writing a chapter (The Widdups of Rochdale) of my Widdup book.... I really didn’t realise I had accumulated so much information.
The next chapter is The Widdups of Barnoldswick. Can someone tell me the name of the lady who has done a lot of research in the area? Dorothy? Many years ag I found ger Widdup tree in Colne library and did a lot more work based on that, but I can’t remember her name. I think her surname began with an S but knowing me it doesn’t

This morning we are off for a swim, this afternoon I have an opticians appointment and this evening it is art.

[Wendyf]

Doreen Crowther?

[Sue]

That sounds possible. I am busy searching for my original piece of paper with her name on. I found the tree on the Widdups at Colne library. Could you possibly check for me if you have time some time