Your day apart from gardening

[Sean Regan]

I gave four pairs of secateurs a clean, sharpen and oil.
Threw one pair away as it was unrepairable.
Some secateurs can't be dismantled.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

I attended church.

 

[Sean Regan]

Australian Open Tennis 2023

This started today. I'm recording it on Eurosport overnight. I'll pick and choose what I'll watch. It's on two channels.

First up on Eurosport was 20 year-old Emma Raducanu v 27 year-old Tamara Korpatsch, who Emma had beaten in three sets last year in Germany.

After a nervy start, having broken her opponent in the first game, then lost her's to love, it got to 3-3, but then she went on to win in straight sets. 6-3, 6-2.

Big disparity there, Korpatch has earned $777,000 in her career, Raducanu in a couple of years,$18,000,000.
Raducanu now ranked 76, Korpatsch 77.
There was no sign of the ankle injury which caused her to retire from another competition two weeks ago. She looked very fit and the spectators loved her.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Just inside stuff. always something to do or clean. also packing for airplane trip to Gulfport, Mississippi. pulling out some lighter clothes to take with. probably need a pedicure as I probably will wear sandals . Visiting Nephew and his family. There is a promise to go fishing, I hope. And going to visit the town called Laura , Mississippi---where that HGTV Home Town is filmed.

 

[Sean Regan]

Started on a major job. The renovation of our small bathroom.
It was re-tiled twenty years ago and I fitted a new bath and the unit.

But ten years ago we had the bath removed, a new basin and furniture installed and a walk in shower fitted, as it was more convenient due to my wife's disability.

Fortunately, I had some spare tiles and managed to get a few more from Topps.

I re-did the silicone around the tray four years ago. But now it no longer looks like this and the tiles need re-grouting in places.

So today I made a start. I washed down the ceiling and all the tiles. That's really the biggest job.

I need to get a tool from Screwfix to remove the sealant and help apply new silicone. Plus new grout and clear and white silicone. I can get that on the way home from golf tomorrow. I'll have to score out some of the old discoloured grout, so I can apply new.


I've also bought this stuff. You apply it over the grout to stop it discolouring.

With a bit of luck, it will all be done by the week-end.

 

[Sean Regan]

I've been sorting out a problem with our Joseph Joseph waste bin. A few e-mails going back and forth today.

We bought one of their bins a few years ago from QVC. My wife got sold on it as it compacted the rubbish. There's a handle you push down that compresses whatever you have in the bin. What they don't tell you, is as you pull the handle back up some of the rubbish just follows it up again.
It was on special offer, around, £100.

It had a soft-close lid. Unfortunately, the mechanism packed up a few weeks ago which meant as soon as you took your foot off the pedal, the lid slammed shut. There's a filter under the lid and the "trauma" of the lid shutting with a bang meant it ended up in the trash, so I had to use tape to keep it in place.

Anyway, I dismantled the base and took out the soft-close mechanism, photographed it and sent it to Joseph Joseph, asking if it were possible to get a replacement.

I sent two follow-up e-mails as I got no reply.

I gave it up as a waste of time a couple of weeks ago, but then last week I got a response and despite me not being able to find the proof of purchase they wanted, (I may have registered the guarantee), they said in this instance, they'd help me out, but they needed to know the model number, I couldn't find one, all I could do was send a photo of the actual bin.

This was enough. Today I received an e-mail to tell me they were replacing it, not the mechanism, the whole bin! They're £199 now!

www.josephjoseph.com/products/titan-30l-trash-compactor-stainless-steel

 

[Sean Regan]

I started on the shower today, scoring out all the old discoloured grout and making a key for new grout in other areas.
It took about two hours. It was a bit of a pain as I had to keep spraying the walls with the shower head to soften the grout.
For the lower areas, to get at them, I had to sit on the floor of the shower
Fortunately, when I finished, I was in the shower wet through but I was still able to have a shower!
That's it for the day. I'll let the walls dry out overnight.
Tomorrow I'll tackle the re-grouting and on Sunday replace the silicone.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Persistence pay, Sean. Now, what could you use the old bin for?

 

[Sean Regan]

Persistence pay, Sean. Now, what could you use the old bin for?

Well, I've always a plan..

The bin arrived this afternoon.

The old one has been re-used.

It's the one nearest the door. It will be used for plastics and glass.

We were using a smaller bin for that, but I was for ever having to empty it, (milk cartons, not wine bottles!)

We've not used that door very often since we've had to separate our trash. It's the only spare space in our small kitchen.

I've realised why the supplier had seemed quite generous. According to what was on the carton, they come with a ten year guarantee.
The original couldn't have been much more than four or five years old.

 

[Sean Regan]

I finished the bathroom this afternoon.
Fortunately, after I cleaned it, the ceiling didn't need re-painting
The re-grouting has been done and the silicone replaced.
I also took off the seals around the doors as they were a bit grubby at the very bottom and it is impossible to get at them when they're in place. They've discoloured with age, but you can't do anything about that, other than replace them. I cleaned all the edges of the glass while they were off.

As I tend to say about a lot of things these days, as did my father even when he was younger than I. "This should see me out!"

 

[Esther Knapicius]

@Sean Regan awesome job on the bathroom. love the wood tones.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Got back from trip late Saturday, tired. So glad to be home. LAZY on Sunday. Going a little food shopping today. Husband stayed down in Gulfport till Feb. 8, so still me, on another vacation---here at home. Will be a nice dry week, so more leaf relocation is on the list for a few days. Massage scheduled on Thursday. Have a Robert Burns party to go to on Feb. 4th. Several movies on list to see on TV. puttering about house, cleaning etc. that is it.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Guess those high paid weather people got it wrong---again---raining/snowing this morning. In house for me to do stuff.

 

[Sean Regan]

I've been busy today, doing a bit of. "multi-taskin'

Watching cricket on the telly over my laptop showing live tennis.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Did nothing in the garden today as brother and sister-in-law came over. He fitted us a new mantle he had made, rehung the sticking bathroom door and put his damp meter on the liftin parquet floor in the living room, it's fine, needs some new bitumen under it and then bedding back in. A very useful person to have around for the day.
At one point he wanted a Stanley knife. I found three, all with rusty old blades, so I changed them all; they all had different designs to hold them together.

 

[momo]

I'd like to know what went on with your day apart from gardening.

Yesterday I made the Christmas cake
View attachment 61090
Today I made my jam tarts
View attachment 61091

ahh yes, i only love two things in this world: baking and gardening

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Raining today, so nothing.