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

I know...!! it's a scary feeling as we age. It's like the Xmas cards that are missed.......not so much from close family and friends but from those longstanding acquaintances that you have gathered along your travels through life. .....are they aren't they????

It's like the conversations my sister and I share about who we've seen or heard about while out on our travels.....we often start by saying ' spoke with an elderly lady/ man and they told me......' then we both stop and laugh adding...'well not sure if they were THAT old...probably about our age'........who are we kidding!!

 

S-H Very nice set up for amateur star gazing. There are some fantastic places with less light from cities to share photos .

DHR So true about some of our fav actors and musicians.

 

No gardening today. So this afternoon I decided to clean my golf clubs and trolley ready for Wednesday.
Several weeks ago I turned off the water supply to the hose tap on the side of the shed, the leaky hose system that I can use to feed the borders and the sink tap and supply to the water heater above it in the garage.
When I turned the supply on again. I found I had a burst pipe under the sink! So I turned it all off.
Fortunately, I had some spare 15mm copper pipe and olives, so I was able to replace that bit of pipe.
Turned it all on again and found another burst!
Repaired that so no more leaks.
All the pipes have insulation, but it didn't make any difference. I reckon copper pipe isn't as thick as it once was.

Then found that the over-sink water heater wouldn't turn on!
It wasn't the fuse.
They aren't worth having repaired, so I've ordered a replacement via eBay for ninety quid. Two-day delivery. I'll swop them over next week-end.

The problem I think that there's too much standing water in the pipes feeding the tap over the sink, the water heater and the tap on the side of the shed.
By turning the supply off from the insulated pipe below the kitchen window and leaving all the other taps open, I'm relying on this water expanding before freezing.
So tomorrow, I'll fit a "T piece" in the supply pipe about a foot up from where it comes up from below the decking floor below the sink and put a tap like those you have to turn off water in the supply pipe to a washing machine, so I can open it and drain off the water in the pipes above it. That might prevent the same thing happening again.

Didn't fancy cleaning my clubs once I'd finished.
I'll have to fill a bucket of hot water for them from the kitchen sink tomorrow.

 

I hardly use the blood pressure monitor, but hubby does his for a few days before he has to have his blood test and his blood pressure check.

 

Had to go to B&Q this morning for a "T piece" to finish my plumbing job in the garage. You can't see it, it's inside the insulation, I found the other bits I needed in the garage. I've a lot of plumbing bits left over from when we had the koi pool, but not much in 15mm.



I bought some more pipe insulation and also renewed the stuff that covers the bar with the three taps on the wall outside the kitchen window.



Checked for leaks, but fortunately, there were none. The water is now turned off again. I also removed the old water heater, broke it up and worked it into the refuse bin. The new water heater is expected tomorrow or Thursday.

On the way home from B&Q, my car gave me a message to say, the key fob battery needed changing. The car will be three years old in March, so it wasn't unexpected.
What was unexpected was when I tried it with the spare key. The car didn't like that one either!
I've ordered a couple on eBay. £4 for two, post free.
The car will work OK with the batteries at the level they are now, I'd just get an irritating reminder every time I started the car.
Fortunately, I had a spare. It's a pretty common battery.

When I got home from B&Q I had a message from eBay to tell me the 1980s, Leak 3400 tuner/amp I'd had for sale for three months had been sold.

This one.



It took a while to sell as the stereo radio indicator light doesn't work and neither does the balance control, it just spins, a previous owner must have forced it. But it's set in the middle, where most people have it anyway.
It's best to declare any faults, it prevents any come-backs.
I really wasn't that bothered whether it sold or not, it was doing no harm on a shelf. You get free listings on eBay and if unsold, they automatically get re-listed after a month

I am using exactly the same model in our front room, which is in perfect working order. I also have a little NAD 2020 tuner/amp in the small bedroom upstairs, a spare Leak 2000 and a Rotel RX152, so I'm not short of tuner/amps.

So I had to get that parcelled up and take it to the post office. It was a bit of a beast, but the buyer pays for the postage.

Having got all that done, I had no time to clean my clubs or trolley. Just chuck everything into my car for tomorrow. They'll only get a bit mucky again tomorrow, so I'll do it next week-end.

"So my time's my own now until 6.00 pm." when I'll have dinner to cook. It's just an M&S Chinese, so it's no bother.

 

DHR Never a dull moment. You’re always up for most types of household repairs . Your a handyman of sorts.
All the copper pipes in my house has been replaced years ago.Copper pipes typically spring pinhole leaks
due to internal corrosion, pitting caused by water chemistry. Even high low water PH .

 

Thanks for that.

We're still on copper pipes in the house, except for the bathroom, which has "speed-fit" plastic pipes since we had the bath taken out and a walk in shower replaced it.

I used "speed-fit" plastic pipes when I put in my lawn sprinklers about 13 years ago. I did it for about £50, for the pipe and the heads, the rest of the stuff I needed I had in the garage. They work on mains pressure, just about strong enough for a couple of heads. They've never failed to work any year, even though they aren't used for nine months.

 

What a day!!! Hospital app. for hubs that took forever!! 6 bus journeys, found out that both ends of our lane are now flooded and require wading through.
And we have the same to go through tomorrow as hubs has to attend the hospital again!!
On the plus side we did have a nice lunch out and managed to fit in a late afternoon visit to my sister's.....also it remained dry and quite sunny.
Just got home and feeling. thoroughly worn out.

 

Hubby had his surgery today and he's doing well so far, he was told that it will take a long time for recovery, but he's feeling positive about things.
Went on the M5 motorway to droitwich and there wasn't any roadworks so it went smoothly.

 

Wishing for your Husband's speedy recovery @Logan .

 

Hope all goes well for Ian @Logan .
A friend 's husband had surgery for cubbital tunnel syndrome and yes it takes 12- 18 months to gain full recovery....is this what hubs had too?

 

Thanks @Anniekay and @Oreti , it's the same but in the elbow. I hope that your friends husband does well. He's got lots of exercises to do and see the physio on the 12th of next month.

 

I've been sent a "proof of delivery" photo by Parcel Force, for the water heater I ordered from Plumbing Supplies Direct.



I don't like those tiles nor the grey paint on the wall.
But then it's not even our house!

They're sorting it out.

 

Oh yes @Logan our friend had his done a couple of years ago and has fully recovered.

Cubital tunnel sydrome is the elbow..so it sounds like this was what your hubs had.
Carple tunnel sydrome is wrist based.
Excersise is the key to sucess...I still do the 14 that the physio team selected for me and loaded them onto my hospital app for me. I will do them for life now as they are very much part of my daily rounyine .

 

The supplier traced my parcel, it had been delivered four doors down.

Anyway, it's all done and dusted, I had to go out for some more pipe insulation.

These days, I find nothing's ever easy. As it was a different make of heater, I had to install a different support bracket. I also had to cut two new lengths of pipe to connect it. So it took a bit of "fettling," to make sure it stayed level on the wall.





I can't find anyone who can supply refills for my forty-odd year-old soap dispenser,
so I've ordered one from eBay. £7.25 including postage.