The Conservatory in all it’s glory…

Now I know I’ve moaned about this in the past (once or twice perhaps…) But this is what I’m talking about when I’ve mentioned our “luxurious” back cabin letting us down, or even perhaps letting itself down piece by piece, hmm… It’s now in an even worse state than it was here…

Tut, Tut, only the popper at the bottom left still works…

The top is ripped both sides…

Doesn’t even fit together anymore…

This morning we sat & had a discussion of sorts about this prob, & we both agreed that something has to be done before it literally falls down around us… So we dug out the number of a company who’d been recommended to us ages ago, Dave rang up but there was no answer – could that be cos it’s a Sunday perhaps…? So it’ll have to wait till tomorrow (darn).

I realise this next bit must sound a bit strange, I mean “poppers” are usually associated with curtains or something but later on I found out that Dave had been trying to scrounge some spare ones off Steve (he’s got a secret stash somewhere) & we’ve run out… [Oh dear I (deliberately) forgot to remind Dave to get some more ages ago, he he…] So I calmly requested (in other words begged) that Steve pretended to have lost them, dropped them in the canal, given them away to a charity shop, anything but donate them to us…

Horrors abound,,, did this mean Dave had changed his mind & was waiting for the right time to tell me we were going to have to “make do” even longer…? (After all he’s paying). Then it came to light that he’s only going to use the poppers to “pull things together” temporarily, till something gets organised… (Phew that’s ok then). I don’t care anymore, as long as he makes that phone call again tomorrow…

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Later on this aft we booked flights (online) to Germany for sometime in August so we can spend 5 days with John & his girlfriend… He’s got a month on leave from the Army & we’ve both wanted to go for a while now, so at least we had some success today…! Right that’s it for today I can’t think straight anymore & we’re going out tonight so I best get a move on… 

Look what we discovered…

Dave pulled the fridge / freezer out today to clean the back of it with the hoover, which was just an added extra to its future well-being really... And hopefully this means the last of any more faffing about with the darn thing, or blogging about it for that matter… Amazingly it was quite clean & tidy behind there -- on the floor I was expecting to see fluff balls the size of mountains, the odd pea or two, maybe half a mushroom & perhaps a few dubious stains, but no, none of the above except for a light layer of dust. (Best outcome I guess). We did find something else tho, which came as quite a surprise…

Remember Woodstuck the Happy Hippy who lives in the kitchen wall...?

Well knock me down with a feather, (Heather), he’s got 4 little friends that are normally hidden away, bizarre indeed…

No wonder he's got a smile on his face...

A little visitor on the roof…

Dave took these pictures last night using a telephoto lens, this little birdie sat on the roof preening itself for a good 10 mins…

(Click to enlarge, if ya like) Or was it posing…?

Spot the birdie (below) without the assistance of a telephoto lens...

What a world of difference it makes eh? No expert photography skills required, good job too cos we haven't got any - except for the ability to swap lenses of course...

We were thinking it might be a baby swift, or a bullfinch of some kind, but can’t be sure cos it’s so young... Does anybody know what kind of bird this is? Even a guess will do...!

No need for a second opinion & a co-incidence with a difference…

Got up this morning & we’re actually down to 5 degrees now, (well not US but the thermometer) so there ya go, no need for a second opinion, it wasn’t a total dud after all – just a partial one, unless the latest trend is to buy one with a “delayed reaction” feature built into it… You know, a bit like when you think your fridge is knackered & it’s not… Well I guess these things are sent to try us… (And indeed they do).

So whilst we’re still on the subject of “appliances” (yawn) here’s the new microwave we bought last week…

Er, pretend you can’t see the kettle getting in on centre stage here, altho I guess it shows how "compact" this new purchase is…?

There was no need to introduce this new crew member at the time cos it was a trivial matter of the old one being past it’s “sell by” date (& a complete eyesore to boot) being replaced, after all it's just a thing that fills a corner, end of… But when I spoke to Diane & Steve a few days ago & mentioned it was a “Tesco Special” offer, they laughed & said it’s probably the same one they got a few weeks ago for TT2. To be honest I had noticed they’d got one, but I’ve never felt the need to go round there with a magnifying glass to do a thorough inspection of make / model serial no. or anything – I mean it’s just not the done thing is it…? BUT with the possibility of it being the same, now was the time for comparison, not because either of us cared about similarities - it’s not like we’re talking about choosing the same ball gown for the Queen's garden party or anything...

It turned out to be all about what we’d each paid, I clocked the cheesy grins straightaway & realised there was more to this than met the eye… A bet was on about us having paid more for ours… Turned out they’d got theirs for half price & fell about laughing when I said we’d spent double that,,, I could easily have lied just to save face, but A) I’m too honest, & B) By that time I was laughing my ass off anyway, so there…

Thought of the day: Can’t win? Then see the funny side...!

PS: I've just tested out that bottle of wine again - only to make sure it's holding a steady temp of course (titter) & it is...

Dave found a button…

“Ooo I’ve found a button in the fridge – never noticed it before” says Dave,,, [Strange that, as a rule I don’t store clothing in there, but I have lost a T-shirt recently…]

The Button…

(It's sat there between the light & the dial) the latter of which was still on it’s coldest setting here & doing nothing much at all…

“What’s it for?” says I,,, “I dunno, I’ll get the manual out” says Dave… [He gets the manual out…]

Turns out it’s a “Fast Freeze” switch & it was “ON” but it should only be used when the freezer’s been open after “one” has been out shopping & bunged a load more stuff in, or “re-stocked” to put it more professionally… Makes sense I suppose but it looks like ours has been “ON” for some time… It could’ve just got knocked or something recently? (Probably), & it could be taking power away from the fridge? (Possible).

So we switched this “Fast Freeze” thing off & waited… After about 90 mins everything seemed colder – like it should be, meanwhile I decided an official test would be to put a bottle of white wine in to cool for later on,,, well why not…? Mmm, it was loverly, just a glass mind, I mean it’s only mid-week, (tut, tut). I’m pleased to report we’ve turned the dial down to “6” since then & it’s still just right, so Hoo Rahh…

We left the thermometer inside (just out of interest) & would you believe it’s still reading 10 degrees…? Hmm, a thermometer that tells porky pies? Well if there was only one DUD in the shop, it would end up being the one we bought – so it makes sense really… However, this will be verified cos we’re going to put it in someone else’s fridge for a while – see what it makes of that…

Tune in next week folks for a free tutorial on electrical appliance diagnosis & repair…

Come to think of it – lets not go there, could be painful…