Grrrr cars again...

[Shirley]

I think we must be jinxed....

I'm without a car again as the clutch has failed. I've just spoken to the mechanic who says that it could be between £300-400 to fix it depending on the cost of the clutch kit etc. Obviously it could be less than that if the clutch doesn't need replacing... but grrrr. J was supposed to go back to nursery today but can't now.. and it will be Friday before the man can look at the car as he's so busy. It's a bit too far to walk really - especially as there wouldn't be anything for me to do while he was in nursery. It's 5 miles there and 5 miles back. I need one of those bikes that Stoney was looking at :)

Sorry.. just wanted a rant.

[funkypixie]

Rant away Shirley!

I hate it when the day goes to pot when something goes (expensively) wrong. You have my sympathies.

Anna x

[PurpleDragon]

It's 5 miles there and 5 miles back. I need one of those bikes that Stoney was looking at :)

I wouldn't cycle on your lanes if you paid me, Shirlz! Crikey - driving them is hard enuf

[shiney]

Cars are just so expensive to repair Shirlz. I totally sympathise with you. Fingers crossed it may not be the clutch that needs doing. Clutches are an outrageous price to replace.

It's bad enough that we have to have two cars (well a van and a car) The car takes all of us, where as the van only seats three, but we need the van for the landscaping business.

[Stonehead]

Just had car problems here. Blowing a gale, horizontal rain and the OH's Dsicovery has a flat front left tyre at 8.10am. And she needs to be at school on time if possible - and she leaves at 8.10am!

Run out the door, into the workshop, grab the trolley jack, spare wheelbrace and compressor. Spare off. Wheels nuts loosened on front tyre. Jack under and going up. Wheel off ground, nuts off. Spare on, nuts on with a smear of copper grease, hand tight. Lower jack.

Big Lad's bus arrives. Throw him onto bus. Tighten wheel nuts with brace. Throw spare in the back of Discovery. Collect spare wheel's nuts. Remove tools. Use compressor to get front tyre to correct pressure. Disconnect compressor. Last walkaround of car. Flag off OH to work. (She was dressing Wee 'Un ready for playgroup, normally my job.)

8.19am and 30 seconds. Phew!!!

And they're big tyres. Double phew.

Add that to all the normal morning croft chores, getting everyone ready for school, playgroup, work etc. Triple phew!!!

[Shirley]

Hurray!!!! That must be a record time, especially with everything else going on!!

Must be something in the air... David had to do the tyre thing yesterday morning... but he just pumped it up.... noticed this morning that it's going down slowly... doh... it's the front left one too!!

Weather is horrid this morning isn't it....

[Milims]

I think horrid is too gentle a word for the weather!! We have horizontal rain and the type of wind that deprives the Shetland Islands of trees!! I just came home from visiting my mum and dad and had to rescue a stray trampoline from the middle of the road along the way!! Time for a hot cuppa and a curl up on the sofa I think!!
Helen and Chris

[Shirley]

OK... you are right.. it is too gentle a word.

Definitely a day for keeping warm... there is the threat of snow for higher parts of Scotland apparently... we certainly had a touch of sleety stuff... its SO cold!!

[Stonehead]

OK... you are right.. it is too gentle a word.

Definitely a day for keeping warm... there is the threat of snow for higher parts of Scotland apparently... we certainly had a touch of sleety stuff... its SO cold!!

Wimp!

I've just come in from working and collecting the Wee 'Un, and can say the weather here is a little wild...

In fact, the wind is strong enough to blow one of the wooden gates into the Defender, crumpling the steel ladder on the back flat to the bodywork and smashing the indicator.

But it's warm enough out if you're splitting firewood for an hour or so while the wind does its best to blow the logs away. (Have to do an hour of timber splitting a day without fail or we don't have enough for winter.)

[Milims]

My Dad always said that you get 3 warmings from wood - The first is collecting it, the second cutting it and the third burning it!!
Just wish we had the luxury of an open fire - we don't even have a fire place, the people before me in this house blocked it up - but in time and given my way we'll have a rayburn back in the kitchen and the fire opened up in the living room. Til then I guess we'll just have to put up with a bonfire in the back garden!! lol

[Stonehead]

Well, it's just gone from hail and sleet to snow - while still blowing a gale. Had to stop the wood splitting as it was getting too mad even for me.

As I was coming in, a chap from down the road stopped for a chat. His neighbour is having a wind turbine installed and has a professional anemometer recording wind speed.

Peak gust so far today was 64mph (102km/h); peak gust at the height of last Thursday's gale was 87mph (140km/h).

No wonder the gate did so much damage to the car!

[Shirley]

yup wimp!!

J isn't very well today so can't do much. Just fed him some good homemade soup though so hopefully that will make him feel better.

We are still on sleet here but it's getting sleetier. Those windspeeds are pretty scarey - and wow - they must have been strong to damage the ladder on the Defender!!

Timber splitting - we've got the wood but not the fire as the chimney is currently in a heap on the ground!!

[ina]

Goodness me - compared to you lot it's positively mild here... No sleet as yet. Plenty of wind, and rain, though, and it's cold enough, too. (Yes, I've turned the heating on at last! Had meant to leave it off until after my holidays, but 7 degree C in the kitchen was a bit too low even for me... )

[PurpleDragon]

I just came home from visiting my mum and dad and had to rescue a stray trampoline from the middle of the road along the way!!

Well, someone in my village lost a trampoline last Thursday and they haven't found it yet - I'll point them to you for directions for collection

No2Child is going down with something as well, Shirlz. She's been in bed all day - high temp, swollen tonsils -all veiny, feeling generally ghastly. I only had her at the Dr yesterday as well

We keep having lovely sunny spells (albeit windy) interspersed with sleet and hail, and really heavy winds.

Stoney - I tried to look up our windspeeds here, but when I put the OS # into the DTI website, they say I'm in the middle of the ocean

[Shirley]

Oh no PD... sorry to hear that she is unwell. I hope that she gets better soon.

It's quite pleasant here this afternoon... chilly and breezy but the sun is shining

Which site can you get the windspeeds from PD??