lunababymoonchild Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 (edited) 8 hours ago, megustaleer said: Take these life-size 'dolls' as your inspiration, luna, and keep persevering. Wow! Thank you Meg, these are amazing! Edited February 21, 2018 by lunababymoonchild Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lunababymoonchild Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 (edited) 14 hours ago, megustaleer said: Take these life-size 'dolls' as your inspiration, luna, and keep persevering. Further to this, I showed these to my father and he now wants a life size one of himself. Not within my skill set unfortunately, lol Edited February 21, 2018 by lunababymoonchild Quote Link to post Share on other sites
megustaleer Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 At 8 o'clock yesterday evening we had a visit from the police. Apparently, at sometime during the day, one of the bungalows opposite us had been burgled (note: not burglarized!). Had we seen/heard anything unusual? As it had been icy cold all day we had not been out of the house, other than in and out of the back door to the garage, and our living room and kitchen windows face the back garden - so no, we hadn't Then, at 4 o'clock this morning the phone rang - a neighbour to tell us she had seen someone messing about near our car. Mr meg bravely went out in his dressing gown and had a few words with a young woman sheltering (hiding?) behind our garden wall. No sign of any interference to the car, and she (and her male companion who had walked off sharply before Mr meg saw him) were probably never on our drive, but doing something on the other side of the wall. What? At that time. and in those temperatures? I did go out first thing this morning to look for 'evidence' for a reason they were there (eg a pool of vomit) - but all I found was a five pound note! Hoping for a quiet evening and an undisturbed night tonight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momac Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 (edited) Meg, that is really disturbing, will the police maybe do a nightly patrol around your neighbourhood to keep an eye on things? Your husband was very brave to venture out there - if it had been our house in years gone by Dave would have sent me out. If we heard something and we were in bed he would nudge me and say maybe you should go and have a look to see what that is. I guess maybe I'm more confrontational than he is or dumber. Edited February 24, 2018 by momac Quote Link to post Share on other sites
megustaleer Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 4 hours ago, momac said: will the police maybe do a nightly patrol around your neighbourhood No chance! Neighbourhood policing is a thing of the past. The local police station was demolished last year, and a block of retirement flats are going up. (That's where they had the bomb scare of last summer - just an old boiler they dug up). We didn't report last night's 'incident'. No damage to the car, so no crime. Even if there had been they would have just given us a crime number for any claim off the insurance and we would never have heard any more about it. 4 hours ago, momac said: Your husband was very brave to venture out there Foolhardy more than brave - the car is worth next to nothing, but at 4am he wasn't actually thinking of the possible consequences. I did get him to to switch the spare room light on (the nearest bedroom to where the car is parked) in order to scare them off, and the chap did walk off down the road, leaving the girl behind. I have a theory of what was going on in the shelter from the wind afforded by our car and the garden wall , but when I told Mr meg he said I was being crude. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momac Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 It's fun to be crude now and then. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
megustaleer Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Heating engineer due on Wednesday to give our boiler its annual service. Just hoping he gets here before the snow. Down here in the SE we are being threatened with at least a week's worth of below-freezing temperatures, exacerbated by icy Siberian winds, plus a low pressure system coming up from the Bay of Biscay bringing snow - and that will stick around because the ground is frozen. Not what we soft southerners are used to! I am already regretting my complaints, of only a fortnight ago, that we don't get any 'decent' snow down here. I should have remembered the saying "Be careful what you wish for..." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Viccie Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 5 hours ago, megustaleer said: Heating engineer due on Wednesday Lucky you! It's now four weeks since we had heating. The sevicing company, which has recently been taken over and now gives a new mean to "inefficient", actually had on our customer page that our next appointment was booked for July... My husband took a screen shot and sent it to them saying what a hilarious joke and did they have a Facebook page so he could share it. We got a call back within hours saying they're hoping to come "in March", amended to "beginning of". I'm not holding my breath. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momac Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Meg, you're having a bit of a different week so far, hope your snow doesn't last long if you aren't used to having a good fall of it. You may quite like the prettiness of it but not appreciate the cold. Viccie, how can you manage four weeks without heating, what are the temps like in Bordeaux? Do you usually have a cold winter? Was interested in the book you reviewed but was unable to get it in Kindle form at Amazon.ca and I don't buy hardbacks so unless Amazon gets on the ball and gets a Kindle version I won't get to read it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
megustaleer Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 23 hours ago, Viccie said: It's now four weeks since we had heating. Oh poor you! What a truly inefficient company you are dealing with! I hope you get rid of this lot, once they have done the job, and then find a new service engineer for next year. Our boiler was only put in two years ago, and the servicing is done by the people who fitted it (and did all the rest of our renovation work). They start emailing reminders straight after New Year, offering a discount if we phone before the end of January to make the appointment. I can't say I like having the service done in midwinter, i would prefer to get it out of the way before the winter starts, but that's the anniversary of it being fitted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Viccie Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 Ir's cold here Momac, not cold like in Canada but still about -5°C at night rising to 2 or 3 during the day at the moment. The wind chill factor is something else though. Fortunately the house is well insulated so though it doesn't get above about 16° unless the sun is shining through the big windows in the kitchen it doesn't drop below 13° at night. Both my husband and I grew up in freezing cold houses so it's harking backto our childhoods. Unfortunately the company is theonly one thatdeals with our sort of heat pump in the region. It's the typical story of "managers" from a big company thinking they know how to make all sorts of cost savings, ie staff cuts, and then discovering they can't operate properly. They decided not to replace engineers who left so while last year there were 4 engineers to cover Nouvelle Aquitaine, this year one hasleft and one is on long term sickleave so there are only 2 to cover the whole region. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
megustaleer Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 Eek! I just opened the curtains to check that the french doors were locked for the nightand was startled to see lying snow. Not supposed to be here until tomorrow night! We are forecast to get the worst on Thursday/Friday when a weather front moving up from Biscay meets the cold of “The Beast From The East” and as a result drops a load of snow on us. Hopefully it will turn a little warmer then. I think it’s a case of “expect it when you see it”, as it’s impossible to tell how swiftly moving, or how far-reaching these weather events will be. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momac Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 Some late Christmas time excitement for you Meg. It will be nice to stay cozy indoors and watch the snow. Stay warm. Viccie, that must be difficult for you with a lack of choice of boiler technician - I hope you get some heat soon, do you use electric radiators in the meantime? When I look back to when I was a youngster in Scotland during WWII all we had in the tenement flat which was quite large was a tiny fire grate in the kitchen where we all huddled around, occasionally there was a fire lit in the larger fireplace in the big front room but coal was really scarce. Six of us lived there and there wasn't a lot of room around the fire if we were all home at once. I don't remember the cold but I'm sure we wore lots of woollies and we certainly bundled up if we had to go to the nearby school when there was an air raid. The war must be on my mind as I'm reading a Douglas Reeman book about the fall of Singapore to the Japanese. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iff Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 My part of Ireland has one of the weather warnings for it. With it being storm Emma, why not "Emma's dilemma" instead of "beast from the east" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momac Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, iff said: My part of Ireland has one of the weather warnings for it. With it being storm Emma, why not "Emma's dilemma" instead of "beast from the east" Very poetic iff, snow in the Emerald Isle is quite different isn't it? I was surprised when we were there in 2002 driving down the west coast and seeing palm trees. Must be the Gulf Stream keeps that coast a bit warmer but maybe not too much effect in other areas. Edited February 27, 2018 by momac Quote Link to post Share on other sites
megustaleer Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 9 hours ago, iff said: With it being storm Emma, why not "Emma's dilemma" instead of "beast from the east" Because they are two separate weather systems. As far as I understand it, when "The Beast From The East", currently blowing freezing wind and snow across the east of England and Scotland (and atm here in the south-east) bumps into the low pressure "Storm Emma", on her way up from the Bay of Biscay, that the really heavy snow is due to be dumped on the south - probably on Thursday, and working its way up country for Friday. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lunababymoonchild Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 It's been snowing here, on and off, but although it is lying it's not serious Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iff Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 16 hours ago, momac said: Very poetic iff, snow in the Emerald Isle is quite different isn't it? I was surprised when we were there in 2002 driving down the west coast and seeing palm trees. Must be the Gulf Stream keeps that coast a bit warmer but maybe not too much effect in other areas. I like to think that we're a goldilocks country with our position. 8 hours ago, megustaleer said: Because they are two separate weather systems. As far as I understand it, when "The Beast From The East", currently blowing freezing wind and snow across the east of England and Scotland (and atm here in the south-east) bumps into the low pressure "Storm Emma", on her way up from the Bay of Biscay, that the really heavy snow is due to be dumped on the south - probably on Thursday, and working its way up country for Friday. Thanks Meg, that makes sense Quote Link to post Share on other sites
megustaleer Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 We had no more snow overnight, but it started again about 07:30, and continued on and off all morning. Nasty wet snow, though, which melted in the sunny spells and then snowed some more. It is going to be treacherous tonight and in the morning, as it's frezing again. Had a long-overdue haircut this morning. I like it cut very short these days, but, oh, my ears were so cold when I came out of the salon, even with a furry hat pulled right down over them. Had a lovely warming oxtail stew for dinner tonight, and the larder, fridge & freezer are well stocked so I am planning to remain indoors from now until the weekend - or longer if necessary! Heard this afternoon that an elderly lady from our church had her bungalow broken into yesterday, while she was at home. I don't think she was injured, but is very shocked and frightened. I don't know if they took anything - can't think that she had anything worth taking. We moved from a very 'safe' village, and I'd be tempted to think we'd made a bad decision if it wasn't that I still occasionally read the website for there, and see that they have had an increase of break-ins etc there too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momac Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 That must be quite worrisome Meg, we all like to think that our homes are safe and to hear of two break-ins within a week must be a bit of a shock. Hope your snow goes soon if you aren't enjoying it, I always look forward to the first snow but by February I'm wishing it gone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momac Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 Where do you live iff? East or West Ireland? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Minxminnie Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 Meg, there has been an increase in break-ins here too. I wonder what is going on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iff Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 (edited) 19 hours ago, momac said: Where do you live iff? East or West Ireland? The east of Ireland We were hit last night by the snow. Getting to work and home today was treacherous, I was getting a little worried at work with hail & snow blizzards during the day.. I've taken some work home with me for tomorrow. Edited February 28, 2018 by iff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
megustaleer Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 No snow today. Blue skies and sun, on and off, which thawed most of the lying snow. Not nearly as cold or as windy as I expected, but the wind did pick up quite a bit towards dusk. It was very cold first thing, I had to turn the heating on to the kitchen - first time since we've been here, as I prefer to keep fresh food cold. I also turned my bedroom radiator up for a while, but it is back down low again now as I like a cold , or at least coolish, bedroom too. The rest of the bungalow is pretty warm, as Mr meg has poor circulation and is never warm enough. We were supposed to get our boiler serviced this morning, but had an email postponing it because of the weather. It has been rescheduled to first thing on Friday. They either haven't been watching the same weather forecasts as me, or know something I don't. It's not quitel clear when, or even if, we will get the bad weather tomorrow. It all depends on where Emma meets The Beast, but it is supposed to be country-wide on Friday. Keep safe and warm, all of you - especially those in the Red Warning area in Scotland. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momac Posted March 1, 2018 Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 You can do your work from the comfort of your home iff, that should make for a nice warm day. Glad you seem to have missed the most of if Meg, unless of course if it hits Thursday. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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