Early Risers.

[Ozexpatriate]

3 hours ago, pH said:

We are now cut off by road from the rest of Canada.

In Portland, we had about 80mm of rain with minor flooding in coastal communities and some rockslides on minor roads at the end of last week, but it was mostly in the usual troublespots. Portland itself was largely unaffected and for us the weekend was dry - whereas you seem to have about the same amount of rain over the weekend.

 

It is raining here again today, but we are not expecting as much as last week.

 

I hope the forecast is improving.

 

EDIT: 

Local news is reporting flooding in Washington. Apparently air traffic at Sea-Tac was halted due to high winds.

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Ozexpatriate

[Winslow Boy]

14 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

The trend to maximize interior space and minimize lot size has been going on for a long time in the US.

 

I used to live in Irvine, California. The Irvine family was beneficiary of a Mexican land grant in the Mexican colonial era and expanded their holdings. At one point this was home to cattle and groves, but in the late 20th century it became a massive planned community real estate venture.

 

The planning department of the Irvine Company designed integrated floor and street plans. I remember reading (decades ago) that by careful co-design of street alignment and floorplans they had achieved something like 14 single-family dwelling units (each with a two-car garage) per acre.

 

I may be wrong but I think planning guidance was for something like 25 properties per acre. 

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, pH said:

You say that as if it’s a bad thing. As someone who is not a great fan of yard work, I’m in favour of that trend .

Indeed it's not necessarily a bad thing. The only lawn I have is a grassy strip between the sidewalk and street - which was required by local zoning. Even with minimal lawn the amount of other yard work in the landscaping (weeding, etc) is significant.

[Coombe Barton]

... “high but largely flat” is the phrase of the moment. Flat as in the potholes on Middleway on my way in to work ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/11/15/spoken-to-from-on-high/

[Gwiwer]

18 minutes ago, pH said:

You say that as if it’s a bad thing. As someone who is not a great fan of yard work, I’m in favour of that trend .

I am equally not a fan of the addtional domestic engineering required to keep a house twice as large as is entirely necessary clean and tidy    Ask me how I know!  

 

In fairness when we bought the Aussie house - which has four bedrooms and two bathrooms of which one is en-suite, plus two lounges one of which we used as a music room - there was the distinct possibility of FiL coming to stay or even live with us.  That never happened.  His condition deteriorated and though he stayed with us for a few weekends it became impossible to provide the level of care he required.  He passed away in his care home shortly afterwards having been looked after 24/7 in exemplary manner.  

 

There was also a chance that there might have been our own small people at that stage but Nature knew better on that score too.  

 

Which left us with a rather large house in which we rattled around and lost each other.  It had its benefits.  We each had a workroom using two of the otherwise under-used bedrooms.  There was never a queue for the toilet or shower because we could have one each!  And we could offer guests the en-suite as we normally used one of the other rooms.  

 

But oh boy did it take some cleaning.  Most of a day every week.  Australia is a remarkably dusty place.  

 

It's now rented via our agent to a family who are making much better use of the space so perhaps that was the Universe's long-term plan all along.  Still ours, and with Dr. SWMBO unwilling to consider selling it's going to stay that way for a while yet, but probably being put to a better use than we ever did.  

 

G'night all.  Rug up in the morning.  The forecast here is for just three of your Celsius degrees.  I shiver at the thought

[jamie92208]

Land is quite cheap in France. Round here building plots range from €7 to €11 per sq metre (Approx 10 sq ft.).  Sheds, more often barns are seen as a maintenance headache and almost come free with the house. I won't mention our shed.

 

Jamie

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Thought I'd got rid of Arthur Itis for a while but his friend Si Attica has staged a comeback. A good coating of Voltarol gel has been applied. Managed to get the washing on however and I will probably not empty the machine until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. The reason for that is the spin cycle compresses the washing around the sides of the drum and it takes several hours to 'loosen up'. Thats it for now, be back later.

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Another day of doing not a lot, but like the previous few days, this resting is doing me good and the post op improvements are self evident each day. 

 

I couldn't get a new appointment date this morning, but I was able to cancel it, all I have to do now is wait for the next available one. It will arrive via the post in the next few days. 

 

A little more more recorded TV has been watched this morning, I’m slowly getting through the programmes that I want to watch, but which Sheila doesn’t. 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[Ian Abel]

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I won't mention our shed.

As noted before Jamie, you don't own a "shed" you own a warehouse 

[BR60103]

This house has laundry room on the main floor, the first time we've had that. The development was built for seniors and a lot of thought went into it.  We first had a twin tub machine when we rented a floor in a house. All the rest had facilities in the basement.

SWMBO's back is still a bit sore, but we pulled out all the C*******s boxes today and started setting stuff up. My idea of decorations is an electric train, which may have a tree in the middle.

 

[iL Dottore]

16 hours ago, TheQ said:

….The motorboat electrics are going to get expensive, …...

Isn’t there a joke that goes along the lines of “how do you become a millionaire boat owner? Start as a billionaire boat owner……”

15 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

…..in fact planning on the rock is needed for just about anything, change your front door or a window, lift your little finger......anything.  And if you live in a controlled area, even the colours you paint things, or materials things are made from ie UPVC window frames (even with matching wood colours) - no chance.  This is a knee jerk reaction from virtually uncontrolled building regs in the 60's and 70's  when some real horrors were committed. 

And the sad thing is that with overly stringent, if not sometimes absurd, planning regulations, the net effect is the diametric opposite of what the planning regs intend.

Private Eye has run stories about property owners who were incentivised to let a great old property fall into absolute ruin, bulldozer it “because it’s a dangerous building” and sell on/over develop the land - simply because to have restored the building as the planning department required would not have been - for the property owner - financially feasible.

9 hours ago, polybear said:

…You need three?  Amateur.  

 

Yet another reason NOT to invite A Bear to any sort of cake tasting event…

9 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

Definitely needs a jealous button I have a garage but it would be a struggle to get a Nissan micra in never mind the Volvo SUV we have

Our attached garage is just about big enough for Hettie the Yeti (our Skoda), as the house was built in the 50s it was probably built to accommodate something like a Fiat 1400 or a Renault 4CV

7 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

The trend to maximize interior space and minimize lot size has been going on for a long time in the US…..

Not A Good Trend! At least in my eyes - not the interior space (the more the merrier, say I) but being cheek-by-jowl with the neighbours. I thought one of the joys of suburban US home ownership was that “next door” could be a decent 5-10 minute walk away.

Unfortunately, I live in a semi-detached house which is OK (as such properties go), but I’m still hoping to persuade Mrs iD to move to a detached rural property

7 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

I am equally not a fan of the addtional domestic engineering required to keep a house twice as large as is entirely necessary clean and tidy    

My experience is the complete opposite. Having rented a huge US apartment and a small Swiss apartment, I found that the US apartment was much easier to clean - for one thing you had space enough to wield the “weapons of mass cleanliness” and vacuuming the floor was never a slalom!

Nowadays, we have a lovely cleaning lady (who has been with us now for about 15 years or so) who is really fast and efficient (with the added bonus that Lucy and Schotty absolutely adore her). Definitely a necessary “luxury”

6 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Land is quite cheap in France. Round here building plots range from €7 to €11 per sq metre (Approx 10 sq ft.).  Sheds, more often barns are seen as a maintenance headache and almost come free with the house. I won't mention our shed.

 

Jamie

You lucky so-and-so. Where I live (in the “budget” end of a small town) housing goes for upwards of CHF 1500 per square metre and in places like Zürich and Geneva the sky’s the limit - with some areas definitely being in the “if you have to ask you can’t afford it” category.

 

Enjoy the day!

[chrisf]

Greetings.  Condolences to Grandadbob.

 

I have a Zoladex injection this morning.  It is the centrepiece of my cancer treatment.  I am supposed to have them every 12 weeks and so far the surgery diary has been suitably accommodating.  I wonder how difficult it will be to penetrate the defences of Stalag Surgery?  Whilst I am out and about I might as well trudge the few extra yards into town and buy the stamps fot the seasonal greetings cards, which are now all written.

 

On the subject of mail,  I was wondering yesterday how to persuade a certain friend of mine to catch up with his Messenger messages.  On came the light bulb and I found myself typing them out, hitting Print and toddling off to the post box.  I am rather dreading the reaction and suspect that it will not necessarily be one of gratitude.  The obvious question of why we cannot just talk on the phone has never been addressed.  I should remind him that using Messenger was his idea.  Hmmmm ...

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[polybear]

Bear has a morning of filling holes in a wall with mortar to look forward to.  Those years of making mud pies as a young cub didn't go to waste after all.  The Beary shoulder continues to behave, which I've decided is a Very, Very Good Thing.

 

After that?  Well I might just cut the expamet mesh into smaller, more sensible pieces, ready for fixing on various walls; I currently have 3 sheets of the stuff in the lounge, each 8ft long and always trying to rip a Beary leg or two open as I do my best to navigate around the bomb site.  I've a feeling I may need several plasters on the paws before the day is out.

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Many Condolences @grandadbob. We have visitors and this is the first time I have managed to get time to post on here.

 

I booked and attended an appointment at my Barbers yesterday. I asked for a  "NUMBER 3" all round.. He managed to give me a mix between number 1 and number 2 cuts.. I won't need a hair cut for a while!

 

Our first home was a maisonette, we then moved to a 3 bed semi with a shed and a garage, then we came here. After some rework we now have a 1926 built 5 bed, 3 reception, 2 bathroom house.the garage is big enough to park Beastbin it and still have room to walkaround it. Yje space does have a narrow gauge object in there and a stored other things in there plus the BBQ and assorted garden tools. What we use as a utility was the the "Conservatory" sounds good but really it's an uninsulated room with a solid roof.

 

 

I had the quote for beastie'srepairs.. £2700.. ouch!!!!

 

Enough drivelling..Time todrink my mugatea and prepare breakfast for our visitors.

 

Have a good day and Stay Safe!

 

Baz

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from the Charente.  No rain at the moment but that may change.  

 

Glad to hear that Brian continues to improve.  

 

I managed an afternoon  trackside with my mate yesterday which was good.  Today there are the delights of the supermarket to look forward to.  I may well start scanning a box of slides that I've found.  I can do that whilst tidying the restvof the store room.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

 

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by jamie92208

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, chillier 8c but dry dans le rock, very still.  Rain fore guessed later so my walk will be soon.

 

Norra lot else to report really, but I note building land here is about a million an acre, no idea how that compares. 

 

Off for breakfast. Nothing exciting!

[Dave Hunt]

The house is now total chaos with the lounge and dining room being decorated and a large proportion of the remainder being littered with stuff taken out of the lounge and dining room. Horace the cat doesn't approve of all the upheaval, particularly as some of his favourite daytime snoozing spots are currently unavailable. One good thing to have come out of all this madness is that there has been a management study conducted, the conclusion of which is that some major decluttering is necessary so once things return to what passes for normal hereabouts there should be more horizontal surface visible. Mind you, guess who will be in charge of disposal? Next up will be carpet renewal so the upheaval is set to continue for some time yet. Chances of workshop time in the near future? Slim to non-existent I think.

 

Wishes to GDB for easing of the pain.

 

Dave

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Clear sky here at the moment with some sunshine but it's a cool 4°C out.   Forecast says it will become cloudy and dull with the chance of some drizzle later.

I needed to top up with some stronger painkillers for The Knee and The Hip.  Doctor is only doing telephone appointments in the first instance followed by in person only if necessary.  Went online first thing and found plenty of appointments available and at 11.20 on the dot received the call.  Very pleasant chat with her and drugs prescribed along with something for an ongoing problem but did get told off for not going for an HbA1c test back in August that they'd told me to do.  Ooops,  I forgot.  An appointment will be made in the next few days.

Today there will be a visit to the dental mechanics for a check on the ex tooth site and a clean and polish.

It has been decreed that we "need" to visit the local garden centre.  I believe that this is to survey their Christmas "stuff" and spend some of our tokens on it.  My pensions have landed so I need to rearrange the "landing strips" and pay a couple of bills.  Not sure there will be much left to divert to the "special" fund. 

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by grandadbob

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Glad to report that before I went to bed last night that I was able to get rid of Si Attica. I did this by what could be described as self physio. Laying flat on the bed and manipulating the affected leg, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It resulted in a good nights sleep however. Apart from the usual stiffness first thing the joints seem to be OK. Time to run a bath, be back later.

[AndrewC]

Moaning all from the boring borough. 

Our washer used to be by the back door which was some sort of utility area. When we remodelled, one of the bedrooms became a large bathroom. That gave us space for jetted tub, separate shower, room for SWMBO's yoga mat, and exercise space. It also left enough area for the washer and dryer. (stacked) These are separated from the rest of the room with a partial glass block wall and it has RP66 sockets which are far enough from the sink & tub to have been approved by building control, council's planning, and the inspecting electrician. Having the washing on the first floor is a more modern Canadian thing. Something that was built into the house we built back in the late 90s. It also frees up more cupboard space in the kitchen. 

 

condolences to @grandadbob 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

A dull and wet start to the day here in England’s northwest, the few leaves that are left on the trees are now a golden colour which does brighten up a dull day. Yet another day of relaxing in front of the TV, once I feel fit enough, I’m really looking forward to go back to doing something more constructive than clearing the backlog of recorded programmes. I don’t know how people can sit a watch the TV all day every day, because there’s nothing of any real value on at all! To be fair, I’ve only been watching TV (recorded not live) in the morning, the afternoons have been spent reading or planning or other such tasks.

 

Even if I can’t do much physically at the moment, I’m still trying to keep my brain active. 

 

Since sheila and I married, we’ve only lived in 2 houses, both were mid terrace houses. The first a rented 2 bedroom (it originally had 3, but one had been converted into a bathroom). Our current is a 4 bedroom late Victorian terrace, which was built with a bathroom and an indoor toilet, very cutting edge for the time. It also had a bell system for the servants, I found parts of this when I pulled down the cellar ceilings. The large cellar room was originally a laundry room, with a built in copper next to the fire place and washing stones against a wall close to the outside door. We think the large attic room was the servants quarters and the small attic room was a storage room. All the rooms originally had gas lighting in the ceilings. The dinning room, the living room also had gas wall lights, whereas both the attic rooms and both the cellar rooms only had wall gas lights. The house first had electricity fitted sometime in July 1934, as I found a newspaper stuffed under the floorboards when I was pulling down the ceiling in the small cellar room, along with offcuts of old cable!

 

Back later. 

 

Brian