Minkyweasel World

If we weren’t here

Shirley Anne — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 07:00:48 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

We have lots of spiders in our house, I’ve mentioned this once or twice previously. Try as we may to be rid of them they still persist so we’ve resigned ourselves to that fact and simply try to keep them down in number. Now you might be thinking to yourselves what kind of house do we live in that has so many spiders? Well our house is no different from any other dwelling but it does have cellars, as many rooms below the ground floor as there are on the ground floor, eight of them and they are all reasonably clean. One even has food stored there in kitchen units that we kept when we refurbished the kitchen years ago. The room even has a carpet on the floor as do the cellar hallway and what we describe as the laundry room. The other rooms do not have carpets but the floors are swept once in a while. Despite this we still have spiders in the cellar rooms. This means that they occasionally migrate to the floor above. The room we have just stripped ready to convert to a wet room soon found it with new residents, even after a day or so but that is because of the holes in the floor! In the room in which we store the food there are other things stored in the centre on the floor. E had decided to vacuum clean a small rocking horse to give to our eldest son for his daughter when she is old enough to sit in it. It had a few cobwebs on it as did all of the other things stored with it! It got me thinking just how long would it take for spiders and other creatures to overrun the planet if we weren’t here? If humankind were suddenly wiped off the face of the earth which animals or creatures would become the dominant species and what kind of world would it be?

Shirley Anne

Are daddy-longlegs really as venomous as I’ve heard? (oup.com)
Along Came…Several Spiders. (sorryidigress.wordpress.com)
Nothing to fear from hobo spiders (smithandlever.wordpress.com)
Spider Chronicles: The White-tail (xnoplacelikehomex.wordpress.com)

Back to the old routines

Shirley Anne — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:00:27 +0000

The year has been slow in starting for me on the whole. Last year as with previous years I have found plenty of things to do, most of it work related either at home or in my capacity as an electrician but not all of it work related. I usually have goals that I wish to complete and set my mind on those things. Once I have an idea in mind that I know I can do or have done for me if it is too much or outside of my capabilities, then I get on with it. The main problem I have is that I tend to procrastinate regarding setting the starting point, that is the day I’ll begin the work. This year is no exception! Two of my projects have been started but after long periods of dragging my heels thinking about them! I do have excuses, especially if I have electrical work scheduled but sometimes I simply don’t want to start. On Tuesday E and I started work on our proposed wet room by disconnecting and removing the existing furniture and fittings and as I didn’t have work scheduled for Wednesday I should have continued with that but instead I decided to chop up the tree branches and twigs that we had felled the week before. We couldn’t put off that job any longer but it will still take a few days to complete. Here is a picture taken when about a third of the branches had already been removed and disposed of.

It doesn’t seem a lot but when we have to chop it up to fit into our wheelie bins it takes a considerable time. Burning them is out of the question as they are not dry so we have no choice but to cut them by hand. We do possess one of those machines which chips up the branches. If you remember (those who have been regular readers last year) it was used quite a lot last year when we had an even larger tree chopping exercise. However it won’t tackle the thinner twigs and branches or the long and sinewy ivy as they simply clog the machinery. Clicking on the picture will enlarge it and perhaps you will then appreciate the task we have. I spend about three and a half hours cutting and chopping it on Wednesday and still only half of what was left is done, for we had already disposed of a third of it last week. My upper arms were left aching for quite some time afterwards. I seem to have more than one job on the go at any one time at home but I find that better than just doing them one at a time. For one, it relieves the boredom and gives me a break from some of the larger projects which can become a burden. To be honest I like the variety. There is plenty for me to be doing this year but there will also be plenty of days for leisure too, same old routines or not!

Shirley Anne

The Rhythm of Routine (monicaricci.net)

Simply another Tuesday?

Shirley Anne — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:00:35 +0000

Image by Vaguely Artistic via Flickr

After working every day since last Thursday I found myself free on Tuesday. I squeezed in a session on my treadmill late on Monday evening making falling asleep much easier. I planned to have an extra lie-in on Tuesday morning and thankfully I wasn’t disturbed by telephone calls as usually happens when I want that extra rest. This meant that I arose just before ten o’clock, too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. I collected some clothes that needed washing and fed the washing machine with them before collecting my tools and setting about dismantling the drain pipe from our downstairs toilet as it entered the sewage pipe outside. I cleaned the sewage pipe collar ready to accept a new soil pipe later and covered it with a plastic bag to contain the wonderful sewage smells that would continue to emanate from the open pipe until the new pipe was connected. Following that I dismantled and disconnected the toilet pan, cistern, wash basin and all water pipes and drains ready for work to continue when I feel the urge. This will be the new wet room I promised E and myself last summer! We have most of all the necessary materials we will need to complete the task. All we need now it the time and the inclination! On Monday whilst purchasing a new distribution board for the job I was doing I finally got round to buying two of the new boards I have been thinking about buying for our own house. These boards each have a ten-way circuit capacity but I know I will need to buy a further two four-way boards later. I am waiting until the weather is warmer before tackling the installation of those boards. We do have a lot of electrical circuits in our house. So it was that at 1.45 I was feeling rather hungry and thirsty too but was loathed to prepare anything and I told E that we would be dining out. She raised no objections either and off we went to enjoy the afternoon in one of our haunts. No wine this time but a couple of glasses of cider and on the way home E dropped me off at my local so that I could put in an appearance after seven weeks absence. I had but one drink and bought one drink for a friend before walking home a half-hour later behaving myself by not making a night of it but I may make another trip for that soon. On Friday, the 27th, I will have known E for exactly 40 years and I have already told her that I want to take her out for a special meal to mark the occasion. She is selecting the venue but she always does that anyway!

Shirley Anne

The weekend

Shirley Anne — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:00:51 +0000

Image by -DjD- via Flickr

Continuing about my work and how long I will carry on doing it I find myself even more in demand and thereby reluctant to stop altogether. Many people close to me tell me that I am too obliging but when I get requests such as complete loss of power I find I want to help. This was the case on Saturday. Now Saturdays are my sabbath days of rest but when an emergency situation arises and I have been asked to help out then that is what I will do. My philosophy and the teaching is that the sabbath was made for mankind and not mankind for the sabbath. I was about to enjoy my Saturday afternoon watching television (I was watching the Masters Snooker semi-finals, something I like to watch) when I received a call from a lady whom I’ve worked for many times and she asked if I could help her as her food freezer wasn’t working. Now I do not repair fridges and freezers when once I did years ago but then my employer supplied the necessary equipment for that sort of work. I talked her through the possible reasons for the problem which was most probably a loss of power but she maintained that she hadn’t a clue how to go about that. I arrived at her house fifteen minutes later. Now this lady is currently having her downstairs floors levelled which means all the floorboards being removed and new floor joists installed, quite a big job and she has to live upstairs whilst the work is carried out. That being the case it was most likely that her builder had accidentally switched off her freezer whilst raising the kitchen floor. It took me ten seconds to find the problem. It had been switched off at source! Whilst she is having this work done the builders are also doing some work on the roof and have erected scaffolding at the front of the house. When I arrived I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that scaffolding leaning over by as much as 40 degrees from the vertical having been blown over in the high winds we had been experiencing the night before. It was only a supporting stay which had become embedded in the soil preventing it falling over completely. We telephoned the builder several times but could not get a reply. I had to leave and return home. No sooner I got home I received another call from another lady whom I’ve worked for in the past. She asked if I could go to her daughter’s house as all her electrical circuits were not working. By this time it was late afternoon and already dark. When I arrived about twenty minutes later I discovered a genuine fault. The RCD unit had tripped but wouldn’t reset, thus disconnecting all of the supply. Switching off all circuit breakers didn’t solve the problem so that meant I also had to disconnect the circuits neutral cables too. Still the RCD would not reset which meant that it was faulty and would need replacing. However it was an old type unit and would be better to replace the whole board with a modern version that is easy to repair should anything go wrong. Of course I do not carry such things in my vehicle, no electrician does and as it was too late to purchase one and too late to do the work I had to effect a temporary repair. I by-passed the RCD unit so they could have power over the weekend until I could return on Monday to fit a new board. So that was my Saturday in tatters! I actually had scheduled work to do on Sunday morning, only small jobs this time and only because my clients could not accommodate me during the week. Normally I wouldn’t work on a Sunday as I don’t do on a Saturday. At least I was back home within two hours and had the rest of the day to myself. I did return to replace the distribution board on Monday morning, an up-to date version of the old one which enables the lighting circuits to be isolated from the RCD controlling the power circuits so if it trips the lights won’t be affected. I also discovered a fault in the washing machine which was probably the reason the old RCD kept tripping and eventually giving up altogether. I was told that several times in the past it had caused the RCD to trip. Some people never learn. Her failure to get the washing machine repaired caused her having to pay for a new power board to be fitted and she still has to do something with the washing machine.

Shirley Anne

What Is True Sabbath Rest? A Brief Bible Study (gospelbondservant.com)
Keep the Sabbath! (ultimateyear.com)

Shelf life

Shirley Anne — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:00:41 +0000

Image by Topsy@Waygood via Flickr

No, I am not about to write something on foodstuffs. When I am out at work and sometimes elsewhere I often joke about my shelf life and how it has expired or about my sell-by date having passed on by. Sometimes I will laughingly blame my age whenever I make a mistake. It’s all my way of acknowledging that I am not getting any younger and more specifically how I am getting older. I am asked how long I intend to carry on working when people discover how old I am. I have been in continuous employment for forty-nine and a half years and mid-July will mark my fiftieth year in the electrical industry. I am slowing down but I can still work at a pace and often surprise not only my clients but myself too! Since the beginning of the new year I have been gainfully employed but I seldom work a complete day now. Last Friday however I did work for most of the day altering existing wiring and installing new circuits and light fittings in a house which had recently been extended to form a third floor apartment. The contracting electricians had omitted to provide outlets for a cooker and other things so I had the task of putting that right. I might be thinking that my shelf life has expired but in reality I seem to be just as active and effective as I always have, albeit maybe a little slower. There’s plenty of get-up-and-go left in me yet I think. I am one of those people who will probably just switch off like a light bulb rather than become slowly dimmer each day. What motivates me? I take an interest in what I do and it gives me a sense of achievement. It is a job that is never the same each day and sometimes it challenges me. I get to meet people and work in different places. I get time off whenever I want it and I get paid too! For the time being my shelf life has been extended.

Shirley Anne

The Green thing

Shirley Anne — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:00:19 +0000

Image by Xpectro via Flickr

A short while ago someone sent me this in an email. I found it quite interesting and it proves that being ‘green’ isn’t a new thing at all. When I received it I posted on my Oddlingtonbodies page but as not many folk visit that page I posted it here too……..

I’m not trying to say all of us are old but if you remember any of these things like I do, well, I’m just saying…….

The Green Thing Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days.” The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations.” She was right — our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day. Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day. We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day. Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn’t have the green thing back in our day. Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right; we didn’t have the green thing back then. We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn’t have the green thing back then. Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint. But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then? Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass young person. Remember: Don’t make old People mad. We don’t like being old in the first place, so it doesn’t take much to p**s us off

And here is the original (I think) http://jcpickard527.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/an-old-prospective-on-the-new-green/

Shirley Anne

Featured link for this week

Shirley Anne — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:04:02 +0000

Why not pay Angela a visit sometime this week? She can be found at http://angiebop.wordpress.com/

Shirley Anne

Cosy fireside seat

Shirley Anne — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 07:00:31 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

On Wednesday, after some morning’s work, E and I decided to dine out at one of our favourite places some 12 miles out-of-town. I had been working outside in that fine drizzle type of rain, not enough to prevent the work being done but enough to make me feel a little irritated. By the time I had returned home the weather hadn’t changed so we were reluctant to chop up any more of the trees we had felled on Monday and Tuesday. There is no urgency to do that as we have two more weeks before the green waste bins are next emptied. When we arrived at our destination we found the car park practically empty and consequently there were plenty of empty tables inside. Of course we usually dine mid-afternoon and therefore expect fewer diners. We were pleasantly surprised to find an empty table next to the fireplace. This fireplace stands in the centre of one of the rooms and is open on two sides. A young couple occupied the table on one side so we took the table on the other side. It was so nice to be able to sit by a log fire for a change although anywhere in the dining rooms is pleasantly warm. I had a bottle of red wine which I didn’t drink completely, in fact I took it home still half full when we left. We both had a cola drink too. I chose sea bass for my main course and E chose a gammon steak. Neither of us had a starter but we chose something from the dessert menu later. When we had finished eating E had a coffee and I finished the glass of wine I had left. I wasn’t feeling well for some reason and I went to the toilet. On my return my brief uneasiness had disappeared. E mentioned that it could have been the heat from the fire which caused me to feel strange but I have my doubts about that because I remained sitting next to it without any further problems. Whilst out I received a couple of calls requesting my services. That work will more than pay for our lunch by the cosy fireside.

Shirley Anne

Preparing the way

Shirley Anne — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 07:00:31 +0000

Last Monday found me at home with no electrical work scheduled. It was a cold and frosty day as was Tuesday but I looked at the garden and decided I would do some work out there. Last year we did a lot of work in the garden, preparing and laying paths after digging up huge amounts of roots for the path that was to lead to the new greenhouse. I installed electrical supplies for the greenhouse area and later in the year another electrical supply for the new patio at the opposite end of the garden. Alongside that patio was an area of border which was heavily overgrown with trees and shrubs which we wanted to remove to pave the way for a flowerbed. To the right of this flowerbed and positioned in the corner of the garden was a raised area dotted with heavy stones originally set there by the previous owner of the house as a rockery but by now had become heavily overgrown too and filled with ivy from a neighbour’s garden. We wanted to clear the whole area last year but we had too many other projects on the go so we deferred working on it until this year. Well this year has started and on Monday I made a start at clearing all of the trees and undergrowth. It wasn’t an easy task as all the plants were intertwined. E joined me after a short while and we managed to cut down and remove much of the trees but we left some of it until Tuesday when I made an early start and removed the rest. It is Tuesday as I write this and there is still much more to do, not least of all digging out the roots which is going to take quite some time over the next couple of weeks. First of all we have to remove all of the stones to leave the soil clear to dig and hopefully then the tree roots and stumps.

Compare these three photographs taken over the last two years. The first one shows the trees and shrubs before any work had been started on the patio. The second shows the corner of the garden to the right of the first photo in which I am currently working and was taken almost two years ago when we had all that scaffolding erected whilst work was going on replacing windows and such. The third photo shows the same area taken early last year and it shows the previously cleared flowerbed adjacent to the yet to be built patio just out of view to the left as well as the remaining trees and shrubs behind the plum tress in the raised area. With a bit of hard work we hope to complete work in the area within the next few weeks but that will depend on other things not least of all the weather. Work in the garden will keep us occupied for some time but I mustn’t forget the plans I have elsewhere in the house (the wet room) and the garage too.

Shirley Anne

Not going there

Shirley Anne — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:00:09 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

I don’t know if my fellow bloggers on WordPress have the same problem but for those who are on WordPress, have you noticed how long it takes to open the page for a new post? I am often kept waiting before the new post page turns up. During that time I am thinking about the post I am about to write and also getting a little impatient for it to open. Having arrived in such a state for this post I am wondering sometimes if it is all worth the wait. Probably many of my readers might be thinking the same but I hope not. I do try to write about interesting things and for me the most interesting things are to do with my life and I am sure other people’s lives too. We do all live out our lives in a similar way except that we will have differing views, interests and lifestyles but all of them interesting in their own way. So when I write about things it is only from my own standpoint and usually because they apply to me but equally they could apply to anyone’s life and often do. I could write only about specific things, specialising in one subject as many do who write blogs and indeed I do have such a blog myself (http://wwwminkyweaselsmusings.blogspot.com/) but this blog has no such theme and is open to any subject. I think that there is nothing wrong in specialist subject blog themes but they do limit who will read and comment. My other blog has a few readers, not many but I know that they are interested in the subject. This blog however doesn’t specialise and consequently attracts many more readers. I refuse to specialise on any particular subject on this blog but hope visitors will be encouraged to visit my other sites too. I write on my blogs for one reason only and that is to reach out to others. I have nothing to lose but everything to gain from anything I do online and all that I do is merely an extension of what I do in real life. I am grateful for any response both here and in my daily life of course and hope that whatever I write proves interesting to those who make the effort to visit me here or on my other sites.

Shirley Anne

Is WordPress Worth It? (maxiscomments.com)
Back to Daydreams (notesfromtheblogusfear.wordpress.com)

Minkyweasel World

If we weren’t here

Related articles

Back to the old routines

Related articles

Simply another Tuesday?

The weekend

Related articles

Shelf life

The Green thing

Featured link for this week

Cosy fireside seat

Preparing the way

Not going there

Related articles