When not attending to garden tasks what other things have filled your day?

Last night, around 11.00 pm. we lost the internet connection, the land-line phone and one of the TVs wasn't working as it should.
As has happened before, a message came up on my laptop, to say "check this, check that etc." There was no way I was going to get down on my hands and knees to crawl behind the TV in the lounge to check connections and re-start the hub.
I'm wise to it, we left it for half an hour and everything came back on.

It's always the same, it's always suggested that it's a problem "at your end," when it rarely is.

 

Maintenance on all the out going drains in the house. By using liguid dish soap and buckets of hot water is a low-cost DIY method to maintain pipes and clear minor blockages in sinks showers & toilets. This method works best as a "tune-up" for slow-moving drains rather than a fix for total blockages. The degreasing agents in the soap breaks down fatty residues, while hot water melts solidified fats. Especially during the cold months of winter things tend to become a bit slower not as smooth running as during warmer seasons. All the drains are running smoothly .

 

Today, we had our fourth visit from British gas, to attend to our boiler.
The first was Christmas week.

After the first, to check on a fault, which was fixed, we found it was impossible to get the temperature up to an acceptable level without having the boiler on continuously.

On both the next two visits, different engineers said the boiler was reaching its operating temperature and they couldn't improve it.
But I wasn't having it.

After the last visit, I was of the opinion that if the boiler was turning itself off when it reached its operating temperature, maybe it wasn't pumping the water round as well as it should.

When the engineer called today, I explained the problem and suggested that the filter might need cleaning. He took it apart, an easy enough job, but a bit messy and there was a lot of gunk in it, reducing the flow of the water around the system.
He suggested it might need power flushing.

Anyway, it's back up running and the house is a bit warmer than it was.
He was keen to book us in for this "power flush" but I said that I'd wait until the weather got a bit warmer.
I reckon they're on commission for extra services. They'd want £800 for it. If it needs doing, I'll get it done, but I know could get it done for less than half that, by no end of local companies. He let slip that they don't do it themselves they contract it out, so that's why it'd be so expensive. Two profits in the price.
What's annoyed me that the different engineers on previous visits, couldn't be assed to check the filter, as it's a bit of a messy job.

For each visit under my nineteen pounds a month service contract, I'm charged a £60 excess. I've already paid two. I'm not interested in paying any more, it's not the money, it's the principal of the thing. So a letter to their complaints department is, "already winging its way."

 

I have to change the filter in my heating system every year as most systems collect a lot of dust which can also build up in all the heating ducts . Every few years I have all the vents and duck work thruout the system vacuumed out to eliminate all the dust collected over time. I can’t believe all the dust left behind just in all the ductwork. It’s a huge 5”x5”x22” filter designed for dust, mold spores, pet dander, viruses, smoke and indoor odors improving indoor air quality and the environment and helps to keep the entire systems running efficienctly.

 

When we had the gas central heating radiators replaced and a new boiler, not with British gas. The people who did that they serviced the boiler every year, but they never did a full service so we changed the company and now it gets a proper service every year.

 

I did venture out this morning and did a few gardening jobs....honest.

But I must admit it was damp and soggy and I didn't need much persuading to accompany hubs out for lunch instead.

 

I’ve been on and off the internet all morning trying to ordering stuff. the internet kept going off line.. UGH.. I did find some clever Valentines gifts for family . Found these unusual lights. I’m hoping they will share the “ love and light “ for my family longer than I will glow. Found some small gestures of my love for my fam. Thought these were clever…there was a whole assortment… on..you guessed it … Amazon.

 

It was a golf day today, it rained for the first couple of holes, but then cleared up, but the course was extremely wet. No run on the ball and chip shots on to some greens just stopped where they landed. There were fewer players than there are usually, only 25 in my division.
It was a Stableford competition and I didn't play that well, but I birded the 18th and came in one under my handicap. I came second with the same score as the member who came third, but I must have had a better back nine score, which in the event of a tie decides the position.
The winner was three shots better than me, but his handicap is 9 shots higher than mine.
That's the way it goes.
My account in the pro shop will increase by £25. The money stays there for most of the year, as there's rarely anything I need. Though towards the end of last year I treated myself to a new driver out of what I'd won for a few first or second places in the mid-week competitions.

It really started raining heavily when we left to go home.
All my golf gear is still in the car. Hopefully, there'll be a point tomorrow dry enough for me to get it out.

 

Well done @Doghouse Riley , brilliant achievement in such adverse conditions.

 

Head gasket of my vintage 4x4 blew, (after some rigorous driving at the coast). So I've now opened up the engine. And am going to try fixing it on my own. Engine head tappid cover is at the end of it's service life. But I think I can do something about it, which will make it better than new - It's going to be a delightful test of my skills as a classic car restorer. I'm very excited!




And here's my problem!

 

Well done!

The last time I did a big job on a car was in the eighties, when we had a 2lt Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

Like this.



Mechanically perfect.
All aluminium twin-cam engine, canted at thirty degrees to reduce height. Two twin choke Webber carburettors, the gearbox was strapped to the deDion back axle.

It rusted to death.
I changed an exhaust valve, which was a pain, as I had to put it all back together and check the tappet settings, after changing it, then partially disassemble it to put in shims of the correct thickness.

 

Having considered what to do about our central heating power flush, after getting a few quotes, I've decided to let British Gas do it.
Prices quoted on-line are for fewer radiators than we have.#, so there wouldn't be much of a saving if I went elsewhere.
Plus, British Gas have offered me a 10% discount, so I'll be paying just over £700. I don't mind that.
The added benefit is that as I've a service contract costing £19 a month, if there's any problems, after the flush, they'll have to sort it out. They won't be able to blame someone else.

I'm not having it done until the end of March when hopefully the weather will be a bit warmer as the heating will have to be off all day. They'll have to flush out every radiator, but they say they won't make any mess on our pale beige carpets!
They've not tried to charge me any £60 excesses for the two waste of time engineer visits.

 

Still working on my car...

 

Back in the day, cars were so much simpler.

When I was seventeen in the late fifties, I had a 1937 Austin Seven Ruby convertible exactly the same as this.




It had an 800cc side valve engine with a crash gearbox.
There was no oil pump. It was "splash lubricated."
Neither was there a water pump, just a fan behind the radiator and it had large diameter top and bottom hoses. It did have an electric starter, but it would also start on half a turn of the starting handle. It had Bendix cable brakes. The stopping power was down to how hard you could press the pedal.
The single windscreen wiper was worked by a rubber tube connected to the inlet manifold. Put your foot down hard going uphill in the rain, and the wiper would stop!
No wind-up windows, just removable side screens.
This is the only photo I have of it, taken by my sister when she was ten.
All my photos got lost in a house move.
It's of my dad. leaning on it. He didn't learn to drive until about ten years later.



It never let me down, best fun I ever had in a car.

 

Lovely trip down memory lane @Doghouse Riley . I learned everything about cars when I was 6 or 7 years old. When my father did a complete engine overhaul of our 1976 Toyota Corolla at home. I assisted him, and in doing so picked up a lot of knowledge - Tried to share what I learned with other kids at school, but nobody understood, teachers too told me to shut up, for distracting everyone...



In my opinion, what I learned at home during that period ofy life was far more valuable than whatever school tried to teach me.



Ours was metallic dark brown - I'm fixing my vintage 4x4 now with whatever I learned on this car, which stayed with us into my mid teens - My brother and I sometimes called it our stupid Millennium Falcon. Which even our Dog learned to fix.



The very reason why I drive and restore vintage cars is that they are fun to work on, easily modified to my particular custom upgrades, (making just as good if not outperform anything new) - There's also a lot of open space inside the engine compartment, (with newer cars I can't even put a finger anymore, let alone an arm)...

Finally, I prefer vintage vehicles, as they have excellent visibility from the driver's point of view - Nowadays I can't see through the thick A-Pillars of the windshield of newer cars.