Archive for the ‘General Chat’ Category
Posted by Shirley Anne on May 22, 2011
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I was sitting quietly at home yesterday afternoon with nothing much to do except watch some television. I do watch television most days but not all of the time I hasten to add. I’d had a good night’s sleep the previous night and enjoyed an extra lie in bed as I hadn’t planned on doing anything at all. It was whilst I was thinking of what I might be doing tomorrow, that is today now, that I began to think of all the things I have been involved with over the years. I think the thoughts came about after a conversation I’d had with one of my sons. We had chatted about work both at home and elsewhere. I began to make a list in my mind of all the things I have learned about and done, some quite often, which went along these lines:-
Cooking
Housework
Gardening/tree felling
Decorating
Carpentry/Joinery
Metalworking
Plastering
Bricklaying
Concrete laying
Plumbing
Tiling floors and walls
Carpet laying
Glazing
General maintenance
Domestic Electrical Installation
Commercial and Industrial Electrical Installation
Electronics and Controls
Metering and monitoring
Smoke/Fire Alarms
Burglar Alarms
Underground mains supply
Overhead mains supply
Substations to 11Kv
Domestic Appliance Repairs
Portable Appliance Testing
Intercom and cctv
Uninterrupted Power Supplies
Machinery and Motors
Vending machine repairs
Elevator Maintenance
Heating and Ventilation
Air Conditioning
Refrigeration
Interests Past and present:
Write Poetry and songs
Playing guitar
Teaching Children
Leading worship at Church
Astronomy
Mathematics
Reading
Music
The list goes on and on. I have always been an inquisitive and observant person. I’ve always had an interest in how things work or how they are done and over the years I have mastered quite a few of them. Some people I speak with openly admit to being ignorant when it comes to practicalities. They admit they are incapable of doing many basic things. Having an aptitude for most things we might encounter in life can save us financially. Being able to do it one’s self has got to be an advantage. However, being interested and being willing doesn’t necessarily mean one is capable! Some people are fanatical ‘DIY‘ers and presumably are quite good at it but others are simply, well, incapable. I have spent fifty years in a practical occupation which has given me an edge when it comes down to knowing how to do things and the capability after many years of practice. No wonder I need to rest now and then!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat | Tagged: Air conditioning, Construction and Maintenance, Do it yourself, Mains electricity, Mechanical, Metalworking | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on May 5, 2011
Image by JillHannah via Flickr
Well yesterday was a bit different from what’s been happening lately. We didn’t expect the builders to turn up but mid-morning they did. They wished to measure and assess the requirements to finish the work in the patio area and hopefully to rebuild and extend the top of the garden wall. I will post the before and after photos when the job is done to show what I mean. They were to telephone sometime in the afternoon to quote me a price for that work. As it happened I telephoned them in order to supply them with information. We are having a brick-built archway erected over one of the set of steps to the patio simply for ornamental reasons and we wanted a keystone fitted at the top of the arch rather than just having the bricks. The builder openly admitted that he was having difficulty in both finding a suitable brick to match those at the front of the house when he builds the wall we have asked him to do and a supplier for the keystone. When he spoke with us earlier he said the work on the patio would be done this coming Friday. Now as E and I haven’t dined out for a few weeks we decided that yesterday would be a suitable day to do so. We couldn’t go Monday or Tuesday because we had other commitments, Thursday E likes to do her shopping and on Friday the builders will be here. So off we went and had a really good lunch together in one of our favourite haunts. On our way back home I suggested we go and look at an archway that had been constructed in a local garden centre and we saw that it had a keystone as part of its arch. We asked if they would give us the name of the supplier which they did. It appears that this supplier actually makes them to order! I telephoned my builder and gave him the information so perhaps he will be able to obtain one for us. At the same time he gave me the quote and as it was totally acceptable they can proceed as planned. E replanted some cucumber and tomato plants into the containers they will stay in for the remainder of their life. The large greenhouse now has a little less space in which to move! Fortunately there is still plenty of space in there! We spent the rest of the day just chilling out although ‘chilling’ is far from being accurate, the weather has been gloriously sunny and warm yet again. Today, Thursday, we have local political elections being held across the country. I have to decide on which political party to vote for and whether I want a change in the current voting system.
Shirley Anne
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Posted by Shirley Anne on March 28, 2011
Many times when I am at my occupational work I get told that ‘It is unusual for a woman to be an electrician‘ as if to say, ‘How did you manage to become an electrician? You are a woman!’ There are many so-called traditional male occupations into which women of today are entering and it is no longer considered unusual. Of course many women in the past would not consider taking on work that was normally done by men, partly because they had to stay at home to look after the children and the household chores and partly because of the very nature of some work prevented, or so they thought, women from doing it. Married women would never have been allowed by their husbands to even go out to work, let alone look for a job traditionally done by men. Attitudes have changed much since those days but it will be a long time before all forms of employment do not carry a gender tag. The attitude of many men in the past was chauvinistic and women were expected to ‘Know their place’ and not interfere in the affairs of men. Men controlled almost everything and women had no say at all. There are many reasons for women not taking on ‘male’ occupations, strength, aptitude, desire, lack of opportunity etc. but there should be none at all. I can see no reason why women should not take on work traditionally carried out by men if they so wish, can you?
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat, Women | Tagged: Chauvinism, Feminism, History, People, Women | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on March 26, 2011
Yesterday E and I went to help our eldest son do some repairs on the front of his house. That is I helped with the repairs whilst E sat indoors keeping our daughter-in-law company! They live in one of those ‘mock Tudor‘ type houses which are nothing like the real thing, the only similarities are the timbers they stick on the front of the house to give it the ‘look’. It was three of those timbers that needed replacing. We found that they were only nailed on to the rendered surface but those nails had held them fast! It was the wood that was the problem, parts of it had rotted away because of water ingress. What was it I said about there not being any heavy work to do? Well to be honest it wasn’t that bad. A trip to the local supplier provided us with replacement timber, paint and other things we needed to do the job. The hardest part was in removing the old timber. It had been a warm and sunny day and as the house front points approximately toward the south we enjoyed the warmth. The new timbers were fitted and coated with the first layer of paint ready for when we can get to re-paint the whole frontage perhaps next week but at least the main part is done. Now today being as it is a Saturday I will be taking the time to rest but perhaps I will do one small job which is simply to apply sealant to the concrete floor of the new greenhouse, a ten minute job at most! Have a nice weekend!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Family, General Chat, Work | Tagged: Construction and Maintenance, Family, Materials and Supplies, Paint, Work | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on March 3, 2011
Gosh we have just had yet another brilliantly sunny day. My mom always maintained that it rained more on Wednesday than any other day of the week. Obviously that remark was taken with a pinch of salt. She also followed the idea that ‘Wednesdays child’ was full of woe, probably because I was born on a Wednesday! Well this Wednesday was a lovely day in which to be outdoors. It hardly seems like Winter at all. The guys doing the path in the rear garden and the flagstones beneath one of the front-room windows (amongst the other work we have employed them to do) have been able to make good progress. The path in the rear garden has reached as far as they can go with it. When the patio-area concrete retaining wall has been built they will be able to complete the path. That will be in the region of another ten flagstones to be laid. This coming week should see that wall built and they will be able to start spreading out the hardcore ready for the concrete as well as finishing off the flagstones. I have had very little work myself but am optomistic that will change. I need a sharp intake of cash! I have been trying to avoid digging into my savings to pay for all the work around the house and so far have succeeded so it is important that I get some more work soon. I do have some spare cash from my pensions at the end of each month and that has been a help. Most of the major works have been accounted for. In a couple of weeks time, on the thirteenth of the month, E and I are having the first house party of the year whereby we invite family and friends for a social afternoon/evening so we went out and bought in some wine and beers to replenish our stock. We caught up with one of our friends at the supermarket so that saved us having to contact them later. It will be nice to have a social gathering to mark the beginning of warmer times!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Celebration, Garden, General Chat, Life, Lifestyle | Tagged: Concrete, Family, Flagstone, Friendship, Garden, Leisure, Patio, Retaining wall | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on February 12, 2011
Today is forecast to be a fine and sunny day where I live, a precursor to Spring perhaps. I don’t plan on doing much, I need a rest. I sometimes think I do too much but not doing anything is not an option for me. Nevertheless I must take time out or burn myself out! We like to think we will be fit and healthy all our lives but age takes its toll and we begin to slow down. However to keep on being active one must continue to be active for as long as one can. I don’t really dread retirement as I wrote jokingly in my last post. When once I wasn’t interested in the garden, that is working in it, I can see the benefits of doing so now. The beauty of it is that I can start and stop as I please. I, that is E and I, are fortunate in that we have quite a large garden at the rear of the house and a fair amount of flower beds in the front too so that we will have plenty there to keep us occupied most of the year. At the moment things are different, E hasn’t got an occupational job so has the time to work in the garden but I do have an occupational job so sometimes I find it hard to make time for garden works. It is even more difficult just now as we are carrying out quite extensive alterations in the rear garden. I have had to employ others to do some of the work that I might once have tackled myself. Now I am a 65 year-old I don’t have the energy to do everything by myself. Saturdays therefore are a blessing to me because I rest on those days although I will do small jobs around the house and garden if I feel inclined. I think it is important to have a rest day, a sabbath day of rest from the normal toil of the week.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat | Tagged: General Chat | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on February 9, 2011
Tuesday was such a nice day in the midst of the recent bad weather we’ve had lately and according to the forecast will be continuing again today. I had plans ( don’t we all? ) to do some work at home, replace an old p.i.r Floodlight, fit the other outside power socket, carry out minor repairs to the old greenhouse where a couple of the panels had been loosened by the wind and a couple of other ‘I will get round to doing’ jobs that never seem to actually get done unless I make a deliberate effort to do them! As it happened (and it usually does around me) I had a job to do in a house nearby which took me about two hours. I thought to myself ‘I have the rest of the day free now and can do some of those promised jobs at home’. Yes? No! Another call came in and as it was still local to home, actually even closer, I decided to go and do it. It was only a small job and it was for a regular client so I knew I still had plenty of time for one or two of the jobs at home. When I got home I decided on changing the floodlight first of all and removed the old one. However, when I opened the box to remove the new one I found it broken at the hinge; I’d only bought it the day before! So off I went to the supplier and had it replaced. I got back home and fitted it with no problems. By now it was past lunchtime and I was feeling hungry. I suggested to E that we might dine out for a change as we’d not been out for three weeks; most unusual for us but with work and having workmen in to do jobs at home we just hadn’t the time. So it looks like the other jobs will have to wait till another day. Problem is the weather will delay that hope! They will get done soon, honest!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat | Tagged: Life | 4 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 14, 2011
Yesterday I had to go to a job first thing in the morning. It wasn’t far, about two miles or so and I have been there a couple of times recently. Evidently they had lost all power in their kitchen and needed it investigating. I received the call the night before after I had returned from the pub and I talked them through what it might be and asking if they had reset the RCD (trip switch for those who don’t know what an RCD is). Essentially this device cuts off the supply when there is an imbalance caused by current flowing through an abnormal path, which could be somebody touching a live wire. I was told they had checked the supply and all was correct. When I arrived the first thing I checked was the supply to see what, if anything, had tripped. Sure enough the RCD had tripped so I reset it. Checking out the kitchen power I was convinced there was no dangerous fault. I suspected it might have been caused by the electric iron and I advised having it checked (something I do not undertake myself nowadays). So after explaining what the causes might be and how to check if the supply trips again I was satisfied that all was in order. They could have saved me the journey by resetting the switch themselves and no doubt they will do that in future and only call me out if there is something more seriously wrong. I returned home and as there was no other work I thought I might carry on with the work in the garden but I just didn’t feel like doing anything. I just wasn’t in the mood. I get these feelings occasionally so I don’t fight it, I feel it is better not to. What is the point in doing something if your heart isn’t in it? There are things in life that we simply cannot refuse to do because they are essential but some things, not being important, can wait. I have been trying to contact the bricklayers we had employed to do our walls last year as I want them to do a small job in my rear garden before I can commence building the new greenhouse. I am finding it difficult to contact them, they seem to have placed their phones on standby. Maybe they are just not in the mood either! Not so! It appears only one of them isn’t in the mood as he is on vacation in Australia for two months! The other guy is coming to look at the job today. Maybe I will be in the mood to continue once his job is out of the way.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat | Tagged: Behaviour | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 4, 2011
I got up around 9.30 this morning but by the time I came downstairs an hour had passed. I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry so I skipped breakfast. Much of the rest of the morning was spend pottering about, bringing in the waste bin, tidying up and reading an old book I have called ‘Billy Bray‘. My copy was printed in 1910 so is just over a hundred years old but it is in very good condition. I think it was originally printed in 1877, the same year in which my house was built. It tells a story using mostly the subjects’ own words of a man called Billy Bray who was born in Cornwall in 1794 but moved to Devon in 1911. It tells of his lifestyle of drinking and getting into all sorts of trouble. He built himself a reputation that spread far and wide. One day however he repented and became a Christian and his lifestyle moved from one end of the spectrum to the other. He experienced a few hiccups along the way but eventually he became an entirely different person on fire for the Lord. It is a remarkable story and one very much worth reading. I read it some years ago but have decided to read it again in my spare time. By one o’clock I began to feel hungry so I suggested E and I go out to lunch which is what we did. We had a pleasant afternoon and returned home around 4.30. Earlier, before we went out, E’s nephew turned up with his friend to collect some of the logs we had moved recently to the garage. He explained that they would return soon to finish off the work in the front garden! We have only been waiting about seven months for them to do that! That’s family for you but we can’t complain as we get it done cheaply. I went online and checked my email boxes and my blog. Whenever I look at the statistics and see which posts have been browsed I look at the posts myself if they are older ones. One of those I looked at was written on 27th December last year and in it I was describing the problems we have been experiencing with a roof leak. Well the main cause was rectified a couple of weeks ago but when the roof became covered in thick snow we had what we thought was the same leak returning. Whilst I was reading the post the solution to fixing the problem without the need for scaffolding suddenly occurred to me. It may be possible to cure the problem once and for all from the loft, inside the roof space. It is easily accessible and is worth investigating. So that was the surprise, the realisation that something can be done with very little disruption or expense. It sometimes pays to re-read old posts.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat, House and Home, Religion | Tagged: Billy Bray, Cornwall, Devon, Lord, Reading | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on December 22, 2010
Late this afternoon E decided she wanted to go shopping, which was fine but she couldn’t see her car! A slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. Our house has two driveways which are not connected. We cleared the one our youngest son uses when he is at home with us but we left the other one which is larger. E was making an attempt at clearing this driveway. I happened to notice and got dressed to help her. It took some time to clear but she was finally able to drive away down our very icy road down to the main carriageway. Evidently it isn’t much better there because our wonderful council haven’t gritted the roads! Their excuse was that they had no grit! I remember them saying that last year. There are going to be some reprisals I am sure. Anyway getting back to the snow. I continued to clear most of what was possible from the driveway when E came back. She found it a bit difficult turning off the slippery road but she managed it. I helped her in with the groceries which we took through the garage directly into the cellar of the house where most of the food is stored anyhow. It saved trudging through the front door in our snow-covered shoes, in my case Wellington boots! I was very cold when I’d finished and quite exhausted too! I hate snow!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat, Life | Tagged: Driveway, Road, Roads and Highways, Snow | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on December 18, 2010
Friday morning 6.30 and I arose to go to the toilet. I took a brief look outside to see if it had been snowing. No snow, it was dry and cold though. I went back to bed and went back to sleep. I eventually arose at 11.00 and felt so refreshed I was ready for work but I had none. The phone rang and a gentleman asked if I could do a small job for him. I asked what it was and he said he wanted to fit lights outside on a tree for Christmas. I will never understand why people want to do that. It has nothing to do with Christ…………I digress. He asked if it was possible to connect to an existing wall light and I explained that it wasn’t acceptable to wire that way. I explained that first of all any outside supply must be via an RCD (trip switch) and unless the existing light was fed in such a manner it was out of the question aside from the fact that you wouldn’t connect in such a way. I explained that he needed an outside power point fitted which would be fed via an RCD unit or have one as part of the outlet itself. A much more involved prospect that I sensed he wouldn’t be prepared to pay for and I was right in that assumption. I asked him why he had left it so late to decide having outside lights and he had no explanation. I began to wonder why people do not consider the dangers involved in having electrical circuits installed outside without the proper protection and of course the cost involved to do it right. It seems many are prepared to short-cut safety because of the costs involved in doing a proper job. It just isn’t worth it and any respectable electrician wouldn’t even consider taking such short-cuts. I got dressed and went downstairs. It was by this time 11.45 and I was feeling hungry. Too late for breakfast of course and I asked E if we could dine out. She agreed (she seldom refuses…LOL) and so we went out around 1.30. Our first port of call was packed so we took a drive of some twenty miles and went to another of our regular ‘haunts’ and found plenty of space there. Well it was approaching 3 o’clock by now! We had a great time there as is usual and came back home just before 6 o’clock after I had stopped off to get my prescription from the doctors’ surgery and go to the chemist to collect it. It began to snow as we drove the twenty miles home but it had stopped by the time we got there, even so it was only a mere dusting and it will probably have turned to ice by today (Saturday). I thought about going to the pub later but whether I did or not you will have to wait and see………………..As it happened the snow returned and it snowed all night so I stayed indoors and I am staying indoors until further notice. It is unusual for large amounts of snow where I live and I have often wondered why it is that when the rest of the country is struggling through heavy downpours of snow we get none at all. This year however it appears we are not being overlooked! I remember one year, I think it was 1978, we had a few feet of snow. I don’t mind the snow as long as it is on postcards but it is a pain to live with. I must be grateful that we don’t get much of it often!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat | Tagged: Christmas, Christmas lights, Decorations and Props, Electric current, Holiday, Light, Residual-current device, Snow | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on December 5, 2010
It is now 1.30 in the morning and here I am watching tv and writing this! I am just not tired. I guess when you get up late and don’t need much sleep anyway this is bound to be the result! I will go to bed soon though and at least try to get an hour or two shut-eye. My youngest son is at home for a day or so; actually he is out on the town right now but he will be home later. He phoned yesterday morning explaining that his car wouldn’t start and that he would be late coming home, that is here, he normally lives in an apartment twenty miles away! evidently the starter motor is the problem. It looks as though I will have to help him financially so he can have it mended; he is short on cash at the moment, which sounds about normal! He has left the car at a local garage and hopefully something will be sorted on Monday. It’s going to be another rest day today I suppose, the weather is too bad for doing anything worthwhile outside and we have no immediate plans for decorating indoors, although that is planned to happen later; at the moment we are trying to decide on ordering another greenhouse. A deposit is required and delivery would be in the new year. The funds are available for that and we will make the arrangements soon. The movie has almost finished and I will be off to bed soon afterward. I am looking forward to missing my breakfast again!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat | Tagged: Automobile, Starter motor, Youngest son | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on December 1, 2010
Well I went to see the doctor this morning, a different doctor, and she prescribed another ointment. I am to stop using the first one (it has improved the condition) and begin using the new one instead. I am sure she is right but wouldn’t you think it better to see the same doctor so the condition can be monitored for progress? It appears they rely on what has been noted on their computers. Great if it works! E and I are out to lunch again today (I think we are keeping the industry going! LOL) so by this evening I will most probably be feeling a little ‘tipsy’. It is 12.30 and I am waiting for E. She has just washed her hair and is now drying it. We tend to have late lunches so the waiting is no problem. As I look out of the window there is a mild shower of snow falling. I do hope it fizzles out. By this evening I probably won’t care!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat | Tagged: General Chat | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 20, 2010
Today has been somewhat boring so far. I managed to get to stay in bed until around ten which has been a bit unusual lately on a Saturday. I sometimes get phone calls about work but today it was quiet for a change. I took my time getting dressed and sorting out a few things. Whilst I was applying my make-up I watched some television, yes, I am a ‘tv in the bedroom girl’! Saturday morning television isn’t up to much but it is more for company than anything else. I didn’t leave the bedroom until one o’clock! E has gone out for the afternoon on her once-monthly gathering with her ‘Comp’ friends. They are a small group of like-minded people who simply like doing competitions. Okay, we are all different but I will say one thing for her, she wins quite a few things, holidays, furniture, tickets for special occasions and much more. So I was left at home to do my own thing. After a quick-lunch I decided to peel some of the apples I was given on a recent job and I made two large apple crumble pies. The house smells so sweet now! After those were cooked I spent some time on my guitar before going into the rear garden to prepare access for the guys delivering the scaffolding on Monday morning. I didn’t want to do that tomorrow as it is my birthday and I intend to do nothing! Not exactly true but you know what I mean. In any case I shall be dressed up rather than dressed down and I won’t want to get myself all dirty now will I? Anyhow I went into the garden and lo and behold they had already delivered the scaffolding I am assuming yesterday. You’d think someone would have told me now wouldn’t you? Lack of communication there or maybe a loss of memory! Anyhow it was one chore I didn’t need to do. I am not sure what I will be doing later this evening but I do plan a workout on my treadmill before bedtime. It helps me to sleep….LOL
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Posted in Activity, Cooking, General Chat | Tagged: Activity, Crumble, Food | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on October 17, 2010
So now I am back home after a morning’s work. The job was in a house 15 miles away. Mom, Dad and a darling little girl almost three years old welcomed me. Dad had to go out for an hour or so and in the meantime I got on with the job. It didn’t take me too long, about two hours and then Mom and I sat down and chatted over a cup of coffee. Somewhere in the conversation I mentioned that I play guitar, write poems and the occasional song and she brought her husband’s new guitar in to show me. I asked if I could play something and she allowed me to at the same time explaining that her husband had only just started to learn but that he hadn’t made much progress yet after only a couple of weeks. ‘We all have to start somewhere’, I said ‘But he’ll get there if he keeps practising, it just takes time and dedication’. I played a few songs. I sometimes have difficulty in remembering, not how to play the songs that I know but remembering which ones they are! Dad came back and said, ‘Is Shirley showing off again’? He was admiring my capability and confessed his lack of ability. I disagreed with him but like all beginners they don’t think they’ll ever be good at playing. Nothing could be further from the truth. It just takes time, dedication and persistence. I even suggested he buy a guitar for his daughter who was keen to pluck the strings whilst I was playing. If he can do that it will encourage her to learn with him and that’s got to be good for them both. I wished I’d had the opportunity when I was very young. I dragged myself away eventually and drove back home. We are having a roast dinner of chicken, potatoes and a couple of other vegetables with perhaps a dessert to follow. Well it is Sunday afternoon and a sunny one at that!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat, Music, Work | Tagged: Guitar, Lessons and Instruction, Music, Sunday roast, Work | Leave a Comment »
