The old ones...

Saturday.. Horse riding in the afternoon so we decide to go see the in-laws for a brief visit in the morning to make sure that they are OK, it having been very cold. I phoned Friday night to see if they had got out shopping and they hadn't, not because of the weather but because the nurse had phoned from the surgery and she was coming round for blood samples. I told Granddad that we were going to seen them and if there was anything they needed then to give us a call before we set out. "What time are you coming?" "Elevenish" "OK, we'll call before then". Saturday morning and the phone goes. It's Grandma. "Are you coming over?". Well Granddad is NOT senile in anyway at all so what was this about? "What are you coming over for?". I explained and was there anything they needed. "No".

I relayed this rather weird phone call to Wifey... "They want us to take them shopping, I'll bet"

We arrive and Wifey asks them "Do you want us to take you shopping?". Coats and boots appear as if by magic and leaving Dylan and Second Only Child minding the house we go. They are cunning and knew exactly what we had suggested but didn't like to ask.

Grandma, whose mobility is very limited, grabs a shopping trolley and is off like a rabbit from the traps. Both are over 90 now and although their mobility is limited they refuse to use wheelchairs or motorised scooters of any sort, in fact at the hospital recently the surgeon asked Granddad if he wanted a wheelchair and he said "Not for a good few years yet!".

Their weekly shopping trip is the only time they actually leave the house and garden and so they hadn't seen the snow outside - and in fact they didn't realise that they were about the only ones with any left! Second Only Child had insisted we keep Dylan in the car while she first footed the lawns. I'm not sure which is the bigger kid because Dylan immediately set about 'getting' everywhere she had missed! (It's not just people then?)

I was surprised how quickly they shopped but there was still tension about being 'late' for lunch before riding.

Technology Rant!

I have been married for nearly 34 years and really feel like my mother and father in-law are true family. Problem is though that they are 91 and 92 years old. OK, a good age and family and I don't really resent going and fixing a broken door lock, a sticking tap, repairing a broken bird table, cleaning a washing machine filter, fixing the outdoor security lights and updating my list of jobs to do next time I go over for them all in one day. They are nice people and have been good to us and our children over the years.

Granddad, as we call him, is very much playing with a full deck of cards and does Sudoku puzzles every week, while Grandma can retreat into her own world for a while but, if bullied, also can play with a full deck.  Problem is that while their mental capacity is still there their bodies are starting to let them  down. Hearing starts to fail, strength goes down hill, eyesight deteriorates and co-ordination fails too.

So what has this to do with technology? Well tonight I drove 15 miles, pressed 1 button twice and then returned home! And why?

They have recently upgraded their TV to a 38inch digital set because (a) digital is now a must and (b) because at 38inches Granddad can once again see and enjoy his television. These new TV's are all singing all dancing and designed by the younger adults in society taking into consideration what they see as 'workable' and 'convenient'. Problem is we have an ageing population and while 90+ is the top end of that population there will be more of them over the years.

"It says 'no signal' " I was told. I couldn't believe that the transmitter was out so went expecting it to be a usage problem. I wasn't wrong - he had caught a button that had switched the TV to AVC1 and off the aerial. So why couldn't he fix it himself? Well... you call up the menu and it stays for a relatively short time - not enough to move your focus to the handset, search for a button, move your focus back to the screen find where you are supposed to be and start doing it. Not when you are 90+!

This happened before and I tried to talk him through it on the phone and then went to do it for him. I got there and he was reduced to tears that he couldn't do it himself!

It would be so easy to:-

After power off ALWAYS bring the set back to the aerial

Or

Leave the menus on the screen permanently until turned off again

Or

Put more buttons on the handset so the switch to the aerial source is one button to press

Or

All of the above

Instead our elder generation is reduced to losing their dignity because no-one considers them at the design stage.

Thanks LG I love you a lot! But don't expect a Christmas card.

Porch's Progress

In bits and pieces the porch has advanced. It starts to look complete but is anything but!

In spring the outside will need rendering - no thoughts yet on the actual finish it will get though. I have never done rendering before so the actual finish may not be what I had planned on doing anyway!

Painting of the woodwork is needed - both inside and out, but because I am using recycled windows there is putty to replace, paint to scrape and primer to apply, so it won't be a quick and easy job.

But window catches and latches would be nice! at the moment they are all fixed shut. The next job I need to do though is to plasterboard the inside to start to add a nicer finish inside. Then, of course, window sills need to be made. Both of these I have been given the materials for already so Thank You Freegle!

At last - A Window Sill!

Progress this week has been a couple of smallish steps but ones that feel like giant leaps.

The first was the addition of the roof. It was very cold when I came to do it and I had to keep re-attaching my fingers as they fell off. Not really good to be applying bitumen products at that temperature but got out the trusty heat gun and in just a couple of seconds the flashing tape was soft and sticky. I has rained a few times since it went on and so far not signs of any leaks so I am hopeful I have done a reasonable job.

The other step completed this week was the addition of window sills. Again cut from reclaimed timber and cut and shaped on the saw table I was pleased that at the end the job was better than I expected, although not as good as I dreamed it would be. They stand proud from the wall to make space for rendering but they really make the woodwork start to feel like window frames instead of a wooden roof support.

Next step is to start to add the windows, but not today as it was just a mite too wet.

The porch keeps on moving along...

After a couple of pretty intense days of activity the porch now 'feels like a room'. There still a long way to go but my cold and the rain has driven me inside today.

Next step is the roof... but what with Granddad needing an operation on this week as well as other social issues it now looks like roof time will be next week - weather permitting.

Bringing the porch up to date...

It is that time of year when frosts come.... we all know that but while the mortar in brick and block laying hardens it must not fall below 4 degrees centigrade - up to a couple of days or more - so naturally the walls have waited until the forecast gave us a few good (and reliable)  overnight temperatures. And rather than build all 4 layers of blocks in one go (a practice that would put a lot of pressure on the first layer) I set about building the walls in 2 visits. Those 28 blocks I was given turned out to be 31 and by buying just 4 more I managed to finish both the footings and the walls.

So far so good - now for the expensive bit - the woodwork. We always new this would be pricey abut when freecycle struck again I couldn't believe my luck! Somebody was offering old roofing joists - up to 200 of them. Sadly they were very oversubscribed but I managed to end up with 6 - each between 10 and 14 feet in length. There were six but this photo shows most of them cut into pieces and only the current offcuts left.

But after that has hit this

and you have taken away this

You end up with stuff ready to be cut into usable lengths.

Now I feel like real progress is being made!

A porch for all seasons...

Since Dylan came to stay we have been wanting a porch over the back door... somewhere to kick off muddy boots, hang up wet coats and towel down a muddy dog.  We got quotes from builders and what we found most disappointing was not the the cost but that they wanted to put up something they wanted, not something we wanted. Undaunted we moved with  the idea that we would "do it ourselves".

Hang on, that should be "The Mole" would do it himself. This would certainly work out cheaper but it would put the choice of materials, size and time scale into our own control... no waiting for builders to not turn up to do what they wanted.

Problem is that I have never even helped on a project like this, let alone done one! It was time for the internet.

I set out looking for helpful sites to show the process, methods and pitfalls and found some very excellent ones out there.

So we told Granddad and he suggested he had some windows and a door we could use. That would certainly save money, but starting in the middle of the walls didn't seem like anything I'd read about on the internet!

We looked anyway and started to agree on the actual floor size because of the windows and I suppose that was a logical start after all.

As keen 'freecyclers' we keep an eye out for anything that could really be helpful and were delighted when someone, less than a quarter of a mile away, had 28 concrete blocks going a begging. Not for long though because they were soon stacked neatly on the garden and "the game was afoot"!

Hiring a concrete mixer - for 1 day only - and having purchased the sand and ballast in several car journeys ahead of the day I set about constructing 'the slab' while my helper watched in frustration that I wouldn't allow him to help. However he does seem to approve now.