WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) SUNDAY JANUARY 12, 2020

Good morning. Storm was at its worst here mid-afternoon and J phoned for a lift home from work, but all is well, and the actual night was quiet. Breezy now – rain to come later so I shall not go shopping with OH. J has had to go in early this morning to support a child doing prelims.

ANNETTE – front garden solution sounds good – we have a few feature stones (much smaller than yours) and we too kept to local red sandstone.

LINDA – is today the delivery date for the new furniture? I hope all goes well and that you will be pleased with it in situ! I was surprised the remaining paint had “gone off” - it usually lasts several years. I am also tackling Christmas letters post-Christmas, as I hadn’t done any! I have drafted a cover-all version and hope not to need too much personalisation.

We have a man here to service the garage door. I am not very pleased as OH had booked him and was missing (another lift for J) when he arrived! I struggled through to the back door when he knocked and just reached it when he rang the front doorbell. When I got there and explained he said OH should have warned him I would be here alone. I went back to the back door to give him the keys. When OH arrived he tried to tell me he hadn’t known he would be going out, so I reminded him it was in the diary! Anyway, they are now both out there discussing keys, batteries and grease and all the stuff men have in common!

OG - Sorry you had problems with the workmans arrival. Hope he gets on with the job now he's there.

Yes, New furniture arrives today, three pieces in the form of a chest for the tv to stand on, and a large oak dresser which will come in 2 pieces. The shop says it will "put the furniture in the place you indicate, but will not construct anything" so we will have to lift the large top section up in place ourselves! Report coming later on how we get on. We've had a text saying it will be delivered late afternoon/early evening.

LINDA - garage door man found a small broken part. He is hoping to fettle a new piece with solder, back at his workshop, otherwise will have to replace something important (can you tell, I didn't listen properly when I was told?) Do be careful lifting the top of the dresser into place - it will be very heavy. A lot of deliveries seem to be made quite late into the evening nowadays.

We had a brief power outage this morning - not ours - it was apparently a builder breaking a cable right on the edge of town and disrupting the service to several streets. We were the first area to be reconnected - some parts will not be back on supply till end of the afternoon.

Enjoy building the furniture, LINDY! Have you come to a decision regarding all the family photos?
OG - I was wincing as I imagined you walking to first one door and then another. Since you mentioned batteries I imagine that it is a remote control door? It has to be....
LYNETTE - I agree that it could be an inner ear problem but best to get it checked if you are concerned. My youngest daughter and I both have recurring symptoms but different diagnoses.
ANNETTE- I can't say that I envy you, able to garden in winter! I love the few months respite...

No damage here from high winds but middle daughter forgot to remove her garden table umbrella and it has broken. My friend in Wales found her table and chairs scattered all over the garden and thinks that they will have to be dumped. I asked her about an insurance claim but she says no, they are seven years old! I'd expect more than seven years life from a glass topped table and a set of chairs, plus a lounger.

Glad to hear we seem to be surviving Brendan. My umbrella blew inside out this morning, but I think I've managed to bend the struts back into place. But I did get rather wet! There is a strip of copper inserted between tiles on the roof. It was supposed to stop debris sticking to the tiles, but never worked. Most of the other properties have had it removed, but mine was still in situ. However, last night the wind lifted it, and it's now flapping in the wind - which is still very strong. If it happened to fall just as someone was coming to my front door, they would be garrotted! So I reported it and it's supposed to be removed this afternoon. But the gale is still blowing, the rain is still pouring, and I can't imagine anyone would want to come out and do it! Hopefully nobody will come to my front door until it's been safely removed ...

Morning all.

Lindybird: Surely the guys who deliver the furniture could be 'persuaded' to do some heavy lifting?

Heather:  I imagine patio furniture designers don't take heavy gales into consideration.  Wonder what your friend's stuff was made off - I can see glass not surviving...   I should've replanted the dymondia in October (soil still warm for the roots to settle).  Now we're into rose pruning season!

PatO:  Hope the roof stays intact without endangering the neighborhood.  :-)

HEATHER - it is a remote control door and the controller has batteries, but the ones being discussed were part of its safety features. Insurance would probably say garden furniture should have been taken indoors due to weather warnings - and there's always that sneaky thing called an excess with which they seem to win every time!

PAT - I hope you won't have any visitors to be garrotted! And be careful yourself too.

ANNETTE - happy pruning!

Sorry you're getting the worst of the weather, Pat.

The furniture arrived at 5.00, after a phone call to say that they were on their way, at 4.30. We were their last stop, after making 25 deliveries today! Before they came, I had read their leaflet which stated that they would not help us other than put it into the room specified. They were certainly ready to go home after we'd signed the delivery note!

It took an hour to get all 3 pieces out of their elaborate packaging, they were so well protected. Then we looked at the dresser top -- it said on the packing case that it weighed 42kg, with the packing. There was no way I could lift it more than an inch off the floor, at the opposite end to my OH! We rang his cousin, a burly chap, and he is coming to do the lifting in the morning.

I just had to sign in, Glad I checked first.

Lindy, I was about to ask how you were getting on with your mammoth task. I see the furniture has arrived.
I am glad that your OH has a burly cousin living nearby.
Is this dresser smaller than your previous sideboard?