test please delete

[zeitghost]

Today's kedgeree wasn't improved much by the assorted freezer burned fish I extracted from said freezer. But it was just about edible. Ish.

However I found some nice() raspberries (BBE 2012) as saved by ZeitMater back in the day.

And under those I found the smoked haddock fillets (BBE something similar).

The arctic pollock took a lot of cooking.

And it's going to take an axe to separate the rest of those fillets.

And I've cut the grass moss for the first time this year.

[zeitghost]

I made one of my occasional trips to the hardware store opposite for some sugar soap, with which I shall resume my attack on the problem after a short break, or maybe tomorrow if I can't be bothered

Good stuff that.

Seems quite effective at shifting filth.

[NickFitz]

Good stuff that.

Seems quite effective at shifting filth.

The regular use of a deep fat fryer means there's a fair amount of filth accumulated, so I have high hopes for it once I haul the stepladder out and get to work on the wall proper

In the meantime, I've been doing the lower edges - primarily the top of the tiles along the back of the worktop and the sink, and round the electrical sockets and what have you, using the sugar soap wipes I picked up at B&Q yesterday (but now realise will not be sufficient for the walls). There is ample evidence that previous inhabitants who painted the place, specifically the one with the russet red colour and that with the canary yellow, were unfamiliar with either the purpose of masking tape, or the technique of cutting in

That's quite enough for today. Tomorrow, I may get some actual painting done, though if I break my neck trying to clean the wall where it joins the ceiling, about ten feet up, that may have to be postponed

[zeitghost]

The addition of my cooker hood improved the kitchen no end, since most of the grease either goes out through the vent or is caught by the filters rather than coating the kitchen walls & ceiling.

The gas fitters used to complain about the amount of grease on the gas boiler, which was located above the cooker.

When I "installed"* the cooker hood, I moved the cooker about 3 feet further away from the boiler & the combination seems to have worked quite well.

*"installed" meaning I drilled two 120mm feck off holes in brick walls while simply performing the electrical "installation" by putting a plug on the mains lead to the fan & plugging the fecker into the socket on the cooker switch. I suspect its not Part P approved, but then again, neither is the rest of the electrics.

[SueEllen]

I just spent an hour wiping down walls with sugar soap then 2 hours steaming old stuck lino of a concrete floor. The floor now has a nice layer of paste on it.

I'm now going out for a stiff drink.

[NickFitz]

It occurred to me that the Vileda mop I bought ages ago claimed to have a telescopic capability, which I'd never used because it's a mop and I use it on the floor just in front of me. Checking, I confirmed that it does indeed extend enough to reach the top of the wall, so I'll be able to wash it without having to clamber up the stepladder

Next comes the painting. I bought a roller also on a telescopic handle, so the main part of the wall will be done with that. But what about the edges high up?

Turns out that removing the roller and gaffer-taping a paintbrush to the handle makes the perfect tool for the job! I'll need to be careful until I get the hang of it, but there's a bit where the bathroom fan outlet is boxed in on its way to the outside; that's all yellow, including the bit that's really ceiling in nature and configuration, so I can practice on that.

So I now hope to be able to paint the roughly ten foot high walls without ever having to leave the floor

[NickFitz]

Chinese for dinner, just for a change

A friend sent me a message asking if I fancy going for a drink. He must have sent it while I was walking back from the Chinese and I didn't notice it. Anyway, after dicking around cleaning crappy bits of the flat all day and just finishing dinner, I'm not really into the idea of getting cleaned up and heading into town for last orders. He'll have to make arrangements a bit earlier next time

So, muck and all, I'm going to sit back, have a beer, and watch a film

And maybe even get an early night later, as all this "doing stuff" catches up with one

[ladymuck]

Does anyone know of a reasonably priced cabinet maker who could knock up a freestanding cupboard for a tricksy space I have in the kitchen? It's not of a size that a standard unit will fit into, being a little too small for 600mm width units and of a height that is in between larder and base unit dimensions. Feel free to PM me...

Found a website that lets you plug in the dimensions you want, specify things like drawers, shelves and doors, what finish you want etc. Price came out at £770 or there abouts. Including shipping from Germany. Something tells me that's expensive. I really only need an Ikea flat pack effort (no, they don't have anything that fits) but will pay for a custom job if it's going to be reasonable.

[eek]

On the basis that timing is everything - I've just sent a status report on the data upload I'm doing this weekend.

The fact I could have done it at 5pm is utterly irrelevant - firstly because I want the 5 hour leeway, secondly because why wouldn't you send it as late as possible on a Saturday night

Oh and its only got 246,000 unchecked records to load overnight at approx. 5 records a second

[SueEllen]

Trains are fecked up! God damit.