Letting me loose on any DIY task is always a risk!

And recently was one of those (ahem!) ‘opportunities’ to demonstrate my talents (or lack of them!). Specifically, Ann’s new mini-greenhouse. It looked splendid in the pictures online, but like most things these days, it arrived (from those very nice people at Access Garden Products) as a self-assembly flat-pack.

Oh joy!

So, with the public within half a mile of me warned to stay indoors and to blindfold their pets, I armed myself with a screwdriver and more importantly, my reading glasses – and the challenge commenced!!! I guess it was one of those times when everyone in the Close welcomed social distancing!!

Luckily, the said flat-packs came with a very comprehensive assembly booklet, but unluckily, it started to rain about halfway through the exercise, reducing the booklet to tissue paper.

By the time I invited my trusty assistant, friend and neighbour (and far more competent) David to the task, it was raining hard, but at least I’d assembled about three-quarters of it.

Actually, I was quite proud of my achievements. No personal injuries, and no humans nor pets harmed!

With the back assembly and the shelves in place, I was on a roll…

…or not!

We soon discovered that some materials were missing from the package (the plastic running tape to support the glass) and so we couldn’t finish the job and add the finishing touch – the glass panels. Rain then stopped play for a few days!

Fast-forward a few days to Monday, and the Sun was now out (and the missing parts were in!). On with the task then!

I hate handling glass, it’s a real pane (groan!!!) and there were six of the beasts! Anyway, it all went very smoothly, and within the hour, it was ‘job done’. Pets’ blindfolds were removed, and neighbours breathed a sigh of relief, as normality returned…

…whilst the geraniums prepared themselves for their new home for the Winter!

Maybe I’m better at DIY than I thought! Time will tell! EDIT: September, 2022 – it’s still standing!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post The Greenhouse Effect appeared first on Steve's Blog.

As part of our regular dose of ‘retail therapy’, we headed over to IKEA in Bletchley today. Trish and Sean joined us, with a view to them getting some ideas for Sean’s new place in Burton Latimer – and maybe bag a bargain!

I can’t remember the last time we shopped here, but judging by the crowds flocking in the same direction as us (as well as the already 99%-full car-park) – it was as popular as ever!

Covid-19 ‘arrangements’ meant the crowd aspect was somewhat amplified as we joined an ever-growing snake-of-a-queue as the minutes ticked down to opening time at 11. I guess we only queued for about 15 minutes, but it felt longer due to the regimented enter/don’t enter traffic-light system (literally, but minus the orange one!) above the door and not helped by the hand-sanitising dispenser suffering a goo-slow (see what I did there?) just 1 minute into the doors opening! It was going to be a real test for social-distancing, but at least masks were clearly in use.

Safely sanitised by a helpful member of their cleaning-squad, we began our exploration of Planet-IKEA. In the time between our previous visit (1837???) and today, I’d completely forgotten two things about Sweden’s favourite DIY destination: one specific to Bletchley and one more general. First, this particular IKEA is simply massive – and I do mean massive! (311,077 sq ft – 0.03 km² – since you asked). The shopping area went on and on (and on!). Second, the prices! There are low prices and then there are IKEA prices! It’s a bit of a cliché, I know, but I really don’t know how they do it for the money! Especially, some wooden furniture, where if you built it yourself (you wouldn’t let ME make you anything in wood – just saying!) the cost of the screws alone would exceed the price of the price being charged here! Amazing!!

You name it, they had it – in all the colours in all the sizes. Two hours later, we were on our way out – each of us with our bagged bargain or two (or three… or five!)

An amazing experience! And if the queue was long when we arrived, you should have seen it as we left – at least an hour of traffic-light-watching before these poor souls were going to be able to get in

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post The IKEA Experience appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We travelled down to Banstead today to meet up with good friends Richard and Nicki. What made today different was that we decided to do it all by train (given the poor journey we had back last time by car!).

Whether it’s a sign of getting a bit older, or simply the thought of the generally heavy road congestion and plethora of speed-cameras nearer our destination – just thinking about avoiding taking the car this particular journey, was relaxing in itself! It may be only 100-or-so miles by road, but it’s two-and-a-half hours at least, behind the wheel! So, not to be recommended!!!

Saturday…

OK, our journey may have required TWO changes of Train – Finsbury Park and Victoria Station, but it still felt good to NOT be staring over the top of the steering wheel for the journey! We arrived at 10.25 and Nicki met us at Sutton Station – and just 15 minutes later, we were sharing coffee at theirs and planning our weekend tasks.

Yes, it’s mainly a social get-together, but we’d also offered our services helping them around the house – but especially in the Garden!

Whilst Richard concentrated on emulsioning the kitchen, we three headed for the front garden aka ‘the jungle’.

There was plenty of work needed here but by lunchtime, we’d made a small dent in it – with plans to completely remove the neglected foliage. The weather was not on our side. Not only was it freezing cold, every so often, it chucked it down with rain! Yuk!

2.45pm: Back to work – and another couple of hours graft and we’d made some significant progress.

4.00pm: We might have done more, but the rain showers that had come and gone all day now turned into a downpour…

5.45pm: We soldiered on in between the rain, but in the end, the rain beat us – and so we downed tools and called it a day!

7.25pm: All that hard work was rewarded with some yummy food! Specifically, Nicki’s mouth-watering Lamb and her Mint Marinade!

8.25pm: Movie time! Courtesy of Netflix, we settled down to State of Play (2009) starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck. It turned out to be excellent! But towards the end, I could feel my eye-lids drooping!

11.00pm: zzzzzzzzzz!

Sunday…

Not surprisingly, we slept incredibly well, and after a quick breakfast, we were ready for today’s challenges!

First job was to finish off the front garden – and that required numerous trips to the local Dump!

1.45pm: We ploughed on, and with Lunch on the horizon, by 1.45, it was ‘job done’!

2.05pm: Celebration Lunch!

3.20pm: Suitably fed and watered, we said our farewells and Nicki then dropped us back to Sutton Station for the 15.38 slow train to Victoria. Richard joined us for part of the journey as he was heading for Crystal Palace.

6.24pm: Home! An excellent journey, with all train connections working as they should! We felt a real sense of achievement this weekend and of course, it was great to catchup with our great friends – and help them out too! The stress-free journey there and back, has convinced us that this will be our preferred method of travel for future visits. Three hours door-to-door with an opportunity to doze, is an opportunity too good to ignore! (I must be am getting old!)

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Bank Holiday Weekend in Banstead appeared first on Steve's Blog.

This year, we spent most of Easter with Denis in Heckington.

Good Friday

We left home fairly early (8.15am) and there was hardly another car on the road. As a result, we made record time and arrived just before 9.45.

We’ve got plans to catch-up with Bev too whilst we’re up here, but that’s tomorrow, as we’ve got plenty of jobs to do for Denis in the Garden to keep us busy today!

And it looked like we had perfect weather for it! After a quick coffee, we got to work. Our two major chlenges were…

…paint the newly installed fence panel…

… and (my speciality!) jet-wash the patio.

So, whilst Ann sorted the fence, I got stuck into the delights of a Patio that hadn’t seen a pressure-washer for a good few years!

Three hours later, it was ‘job done’ – the Patio had never looked so clean and in Ann’s case, all the fence panel needed was a third (or maybe a fourth) coat.

Easter Saturday

Another hot day forecast – this is turning into a very atypical Bank Holiday weekend!

We had a lie-in until the impossibly-late hour of 7.15am! Another day, another two challenges presented themselves – the shower attachment and (because it’s Heckington) a wildly unpredictable interweb signal of any kind (unless the wind was in the right direction). In fact, the strongest signal was actually in the bathroom, but juggling a mobile in one hand and the shower head in the other, was clearly not an ideal strategy!

We somehow survived and spent the morning sitting out in the Sun soaking up the glorious sunshine!

11.00am: Time to get Denis ready for our Lunch where we’re catching-up with Bev too! Bev had booked The Swan Holme nearby, and after picking her up, we headed for our 1 o’clock table.

We were super-early (12.15) but we were seated without a fuss. Service was brisk and we were soon tucking-in.

1.45pm: After our feast, it was back to Bev’s for teas and coffees and to catch-up with neighbour, Lynne.

2.30pm: Time for goodbyes and then we headed back to Denis’s to appreciate the remaining sunshine!

3.30pm: Back at Denis’s where Ann re-organised the Kitchen and Utility Room whilst Denis took on the role of Observers!

5.00pm: Time to catch the last of today’s Sun and put another coat on that fence panel – will we EVER darken it down? (it’s now had about five coats!)

7.25pm: The Sun went down and it turned a lot cooler – so we retreated to the Lounge and watched a bit of TV for the rest of the evening.

Easter Sunday

8.35am: With another hot day in store, our plan today was to complete a few more of the smaller tasks in the Garden.

The extra coat we’d put on the fence panel last night, finally (finally!) seems to have done its job – it’s toned-in nicely!

9.15am: First job today is to turn the soil and plant ‘a crop’ of sunflower seeds

10.30am: Statutory tea-break!

10.55am: Final job of the day was to prepare the legendary ‘Gambles Dahlias’ ready for planting on our next visit…

11.30am: A quick vacuum, strip our bed and then prepare Lunch for Denis – and we’re done!

12.45pm: Lunch is served!

1.25pm: We said our goodbyes and had one of the best runs home ever – 1 hour 15 minutes.

2.30pm: With the car unpacked, it was a quick cuppa, washing on…

6.00pm: …and then dinner in the Garden. I can’t recall the last time we had so many hot days in a row over Easter!

Easter Monday

Ann went off to her volunteering morning at Kelmarsh Hall, whilst I caught-up with my reading. Tonight, Conor dropped by to have Dinner with us.

All-in-all, this has been a superb Easter break! Weather-wise, it couldn’t be beaten with wall-to-wall sunshine from Good Friday right through to Easter Monday!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Easter (2019) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

It was a return visit to ‘Lottie the Lotus’ today to give Chris a hand in its rejuvenation.

Specifically, the passenger side-door window was mis-behaving, and needed a very close inspection!

We made excellent progress and by 2pm we’d even managed to strip the Driver’s door too.

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Lottie Time appeared first on Steve's Blog.

In our continuing process of slowly upgrading the House, today, one of last ‘originals’ from moving-in 20+ years ago – the side door to our Garage – got a makeover.

Well, less of a ‘makeover’ and more like a complete replacement.

Next job? An undercoat, then another undercoat, and then the top coat – to match the front door! The top coat should have been done the day after, but the unpredictable British Weather kicked-in – and it rained… and the day after… and the day after that! And then I got busy on other things

Ready for Paint: 1st August	Undercoat 1: 2nd August	Undercoat 2: 5th August	Top-coat: 2nd September

Finally, on the 2nd September, it was all done! Next time, I think I’ll go for a UPVC one – this was just too labour-intensive!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Steve does DIY! (be afraid) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Today, we slipped into ‘gardening mode’ and headed off to our good friends Nicki and Richard who have just bought their first house together, in Banstead. We’re here until lunch-time on Sunday with a list as long as your arm of garden-stuff that need ‘sorting’.

The specific target? Their back garden – a jungle of trees, shrubs, and other assorted foliage, that’s all been neglected for quite a few years by the previous (recently deceased) owner.

Saturday
We left ours just after 6.30 and arrived around 8.45. It was a pretty good journey for a Saturday, but as usual, the M25 was very busy.

We kicked-off just after 10 and hit the garden hard. In the first hour, we’d made quite a bit of progress with Richard on Chain-saw and dump-run duties, whilst we three concentrated on clearing the area. The sweltering weather we’ve all been experiencing in the past week did NOT fully materialise on Saturday and that made things a lot easier with a cool breeze supporting our efforts. By 6.30pm, punctuated by lunch and more than a few beers, it was all over, and we stopped for the day to admire our handy-work.

We enjoyed Dinner in the Garden (courtesy of Nicki) and after all our hard work, the Lasagne and Salad went down a treat! We enjoyed the evening Sun, reflecting on our progress so far – and creating the to-do list for tomorrow!

Then it was feet-up in the Lounge before we all crashed-out around 9.30!

Sunday
We slept well, but looking out the window, suggested that even at 6am, it was already warming-up outside. I assumed ‘Dawn Patrol’ responsibilities and spent 30-minutes-or-so, chopping up the branches from yesterday’s efforts. Ann followed shortly afterwards.

Whilst Nicki sorted out breakfast!…

Richard and I then headed for the local Tip – twice! – freeing up valuable space in the Garden

By 12 noon, we’d done as much as we could. We had a quick lunch before saying our goodbyes.

It had certainly been a busy day-and-a-half! We’d achieved a lot more than we thought, although the photos above tend to imply ‘Work-in-Progress’. I even had my first go’ with a Chainsaw!
    

We all felt a great sense of achievement by the time we ‘downed tools’ – it had been less of a clean-up, more of a transformation!

We left around 12.45 and although we knew the traffic would be bad, it was still a horrible journey home. What took us just two hours to get to theirs, going home was a different story – we eventually arrived home at 4.45pm! Four hours!!!!

Note to self: Sort out a more predictable journey home for next time!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Gardeners’ World appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Warning: This Blog contains a serious amount of techy nerdiness, and (more scarily) me attempting some DIY.

It’s not for the faint-hearted, so if you are easily shocked, please click HERE to exit!
 

OK, so I’ve had my new whizzy Amp, sorry ‘AV Receiver’ for just about 12 months now, and recently re-cabled it all so that it took over the sound processing from the TV and the DVD player. Why?, to take advantage of recent additional sound technologies including Dolby Atmos. Easy-peasy! and so far, so normal!

But one niggling little techy-doubt remained as the we’d noticed that every so often, the BT Router had a major wobble causing the Amp AV Receiver to stutter when playing music via the ‘net or from the Home-server. Additionally, downloads to the TV were becoming a bit unreliable too. Finally, my latest techy purchase of the rather clever ChromeCast Ultra dongle was behaving very erratically and not living up to its promises.

ChromeCast Ultra

They all had one thing in common – they were all wirelessly connected to the ‘net. After a longish chat with the boffins at BT, we concluded that their new, recently delivered shiny new router – the BT Smart Hub – wasn’t quite so smart at handling the numerous incoming net connections – both wired and wireless. BT muttered something about ‘BT Routers aren’t designed to handle more than about 8 wireless connections’ – so, in layman’s terms it was simply ‘overloading’ – perhaps another reason NOT to have kids… with Phones… and Tablets… and X Boxes as well!

After a bit of reluctance on BT’s part, they agreed to send back my previous ‘outdated’ router – the previous generation BT HomeHub 5. Of course, it never arrived (thanks BT!) and after a few follow-up calls, two week later, a shiny new ‘old’ one finally turned-up.

After a major exercise in re-connecting all our wireless devices back to their old friend, things appeared to be much better. But I spoke too soon, and after about a week, wireless connections around the house started to drop-out again. On the plus-side however, at least the wired connections were now behaving.

So I concluded that it was just the wireless devices that couldn’t seem to hang on to their connection.

Then, in a moment of clarity (increasingly rare these days) I realised that a reasonably straightforward – and cheap – solution was possible! One that would reduce the number of wireless connections AND improve the stability of the whole network – Replace the unstable wireless devices’ connections with their wired equivalents.

So, specifically, I needed a wired connection for the:-

• Samsung 4K TV
• Samsung 4K DVD Player
• Sky Q Box
• Google Chromecast Ultra
• Yamaha Amp AV Receiver

…but unfortunately, the HomeHub 5 was located nowhere near these devices (it’s never simple in this house!) and to make it even more challenging there wasn’t enough spare Ethernet sockets on the back of the Hub anyway, to feed all my devices.

Netgear Unmanaged Ethernet Switch GS308-100UKS (less than £20)

After a bit of research online, I realised that all I needed was a multi-port unmanaged Ethernet switch as well as what seemed like a healthy supply of Ethernet cabling to run around the outside of the house and some shortish cables for the devices themselves. I could have used the much simpler Powerline option, but they didn’t solve the problem.

Thanks to Mr Amazon, everything I needed was delivered more-or-less a few hours after I’d clicked on the order. That left just the following to-dos:-

• Colour-code/label the switch ports and cables
• Dress-rehearse all the connections
• Drill three holes in the side of the house – one near the router, one near the TV/Sky Q Box/DVD Player and finally, one near the AV Receiver
• Laying the cable round the perimeter of the house from the Router to the Switch and re-cable/connect the devices
• Test everything!

9th February: Colour-code the Switch ports and Cables
Probably the easiest part of the job, once I sourced some sticky dots with enough colour variation

11th February: Dress Rehearsal
The Lounge looked like a ‘death trap’ with cables strewn all over the place. The area near the TV was especially dangerous with the TV and DVD unit out so I could get around the back to make the connections. Luckily, Ann was away, and the operation went smoothly with every device working as it should. I cleared up the cables ready for the live event.

15th February: Drilling the Holes
I needed a very (very) wide drill bit for this, and a real ‘big-boy’ drill – neither of which I own. Step forward Mick, our local Sparks with son and heir, Ash who completed the job in record time – cheers Guys!

16th February: Laying the Cable
Actually, this turned out to be the most hazardous part of the job – it even drew blood! Where the hole from the Router protruded outside the house, it just happened to coincide with the thickest, thorniest rose bush we own. Trying to get my hands behind it without ‘testing’ the thorns was impossible – as a result, there was literally blood on my hands!

All that was left to do was to buy some extra cable clips to tidy everything up.

17th February: Testing
In spite of my industrial injury, adding the cable clips was a simple task – now it looks a lot tidier. More importantly, perhaps, I’m pleased to say that it’s all been VERY worthwhile. Sky downloads are now much more stable (and faster too!), GoogleCast is rock-solid, and there’s no more drop-outs with our streamed music.

Job done! Total cost was less than £50 (including the plasters!)

…and two-weeks later, flushed with the success, I decided to ‘upgrade’ the Switch!

With the unmanaged switch working like a dream, I decided to ‘raise my game’ and upgrade it to the equivalent managed version. Specifically, my new ‘toy’ is the Netgear GS108Ev3. The difference, if you’re not into Ethernet Switches, means that this one can be managed and monitored remotely via a browser or the supplied software.

This means I can now do all sorts of things I couldn’t do with its predecessor, including:-

• See how much data is being channelled through each port
• Prioritise a port so that if congestion occurs, certain ports take priority (such as the streaming of music or downloading of movies)
• Set the speed of the port (or leave it to handle the speed automagically)
• Check for faults in the cables
• …and much more

So, all I needed to do was swap-out the original Switch, plug in the various cables, connect it to the mains and check for flashing green lights…

…and then see what the ‘traffic’ is like…

…and it was all working just fine. If you’re wondering about the two ports – ‘2’ & ‘3’ with ‘0’ traffic, they’re spare for any additional kit in the future!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Tech Alert (No. 877) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

DIY and I go together like Morecambe and Cream and Peaches & Wise!

So, I deliberately stepped outside my comfort zone today and dropped in on my friend Chris. The plan was to lend a hand with his latest garden project. This required sawing, screwing, drilling, measuring and aligning – all the ingredients of a typical DIY job – involving some lovely ‘big-boy’ toys!

Four hours later, there had been no major problems, no missing limbs – just a couple of very smug blokes admiring their creation!


We even got time for lunch where Chris, conjured up some homemade Stilton and Broccoli soup helped along with a spice-mix that I’d never heard of before – the mysteriously named Zhoug!

The it was off to help out Trish bluetooth her shiny new iPhone to her car. That task was much easier, and it was sorted in a flash! Home by 4 where Ann had prepared a full roast – yummy! Then it was out for a walk, dropping-in on Jo and Janet on the way back before settling down back at ours to catch Sunday’s first episode of BBC’s production of Howard’s End.

Big Boy Toy!
Four hours later, there had been no major problems, no missing limbs – just a couple of very smug blokes admiring their creation!

We even got time for lunch where Chris, conjured up some homemade Stilton and Broccoli soup helped along with a spice-mix that I’d never heard of before – the mysteriously named Zhoug!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post DIY and Me! :) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

And so it begins…

 

The Lounge was the first room we decorated when we moved-in nearly 21 years ago, and although it’s worn well, it’s looking a bit drab, when compared to the other, more recently decorated parts of the house.

Being us, simplicity and speediness didn’t come into it, and every square inch of the room will be changing soon, in some way – walls, lights, carpets, and even the three-piece suite. Stay tuned!

The biggest change for me was the decision to ‘embrace the new’ and go totally diskless for all my music. I’ve now managed to convert 99.9% of my tunes – around 16000 tracks to (250-275 VBR kbit/s) to MP3s – and so it’s goodbye to the CD tower that’s occupied one corner of the room since 1996!

My new whizzy amp – when I get it fully up-and-running – the Yamaha RX-A1060 will ‘talk to’ the PC and make it a lot easier to select and play music. Yes, I know, (apparently, according to audiophiles) “digital music sounds cold and loses some quality in the conversion”, but to be honest, I really can’t tell the difference, and the benefits of having instant access to ALL my collection, at the push of a button (or two) easily outweighs these downsides.

And it’s ‘goodbye’ to my trusty hi-fi stack system (that cost me a King’s Ransom back in ‘95) to be replaced by just ONE box to ‘rule them all’.

In preparation for the change-over, today’s task was to disconnect everything behind the hi-fi. In doing so, I was reminded of how complex this original setup was, with what seemed like ‘miles’ of cabling. I re-discovered twin phono/coax/optical cables, as well as speaker leads, running in all directions under the carpet, as well as up and down the wall cavities (so they stayed hidden) whilst linking-up with the TV/DVD player and various other AV units that I’ve owned over the years.

Well, at least going forward, with HDMI cables these days now being the main connecting technology, it should all be a lot simpler getting it working (famous last words!)

 

…or will it? Already, just reading the first few pages of the Manual, there’s a massive learning-curve ahead!

More chaos news to follow…

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Lounge Makeover (Part 1 of 9637) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Thanks to Ann’s green fingers, our trellis-painting skills and some help from David to erect it into position, this corner of the garden that was looking a bit sorry for itself in recent months is now looking much more attractive!

Ready!


Steady!


Go!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Cordyline Corner appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Out with the ‘Old’

Hot on the heels of the Kitchen makeover, is the Dining Room. The final addition – the furniture – was delivered today, and I can now say, we are free from any more makeovers (for at least a month or so!!)

…and in with the New

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Dining Room appeared first on Steve's Blog.

OK, do I get ‘pun’ of the year’?

At last, the kitchen makeover is almost complete. The floor was completed yesterday and all we’re waiting for now, is the splashback behind the hob, and the swishy red window-sills.

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post A Flaw in our Kitchen Plans appeared first on Steve's Blog.

The Kitchen Makeover – Almost Finished

We always knew today was going to be busy! It was the day we set aside for restocking the kitchen cupboards after emptying them last week in preparation for the kitchen makeover.

In spite of the hard work by Anglia Interiors’s Grant, their kitchen installer, the job wasn’t quite completed by Friday, so that made the re-stocking slightly more time-consuming as there were certain cupboards we couldn’t touch. It would have helped, If I’d labelled the black sacks I’d originally stocked the kitchen goods in, but it did add a certain ‘kids-at-Christmas-opening-pressies’ feel to the exercise!

We started at 7.30 am, trawling through the Dining Room that was temporarily acting as the warehouse for most of the stock -and then  there was the garage for all the stuff that wouldn’t fit in the Dining Room!

We managed to squeeze in a trip to the local dump – sorry, Civic Amenity Site – to get rid of come of the bits and pieces we ermm, ‘re-discovered’, as well as a tour round the local ASDA for something simple for tonight’s meal, but mainly to replace the out-of-code foodstuffs we found during the ‘sack-race’! It was amazing to find so much stuff that was past its prime – whatever did we do before we had ‘best-before’ dates?!?! I think there was a jar of spices that had no date on it at all!!!

By 6.30pm we were shattered. The job was 98% completed and so we called it a day, and sat down to sample ASDA’s Chinese takeaway menu – and Russell Crowe in his latest blockbuster: Noah. The two went together very well – the food was very disappointing, and so was the film (possible RC’s worst film to date… maybe EVER!!!)

At least the Pimm’s went down a treat!

Ironically, just as the film finished, the heavens opened, and it started to rain! Spooky or what!!

Posted via Blogaway Pro

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Kitchens, Arks and Takeaways! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Sooooo last century!

And so, this week sees the start of ‘kitchen chaos’ as it gets a well-deserved makeover.

Stage 1 includes smashing the s*** out of all the tiling, together with the removal of two doors (to the dining room and utility room), to create an altogether more cleaner, more modern look.

On Wednesday, Stage 2 begins with the installation of new white units with chrome finish handles to replace the err, white units with brass finish handles (the brass-look is soooo last century!). Then it’s the turn of the existing gas-hob and leccy-oven to find a new home, as they’re being replaced with a ceramic hob and a much more modern double oven. Continuing the theme of electrics, our existing microwave is being dumped after it recently acquired a new feature of catching food alight – on whatever setting we chose! Finally,the blue worktops are to be replaced with wood and (eventually the floor will switch from white to wood too!

Those that know me will be relieved to hear that I won’t be doing any of this hard work! The sight of me, and any form of DIY, is enough to put the country on high alert! Anyone who has seen a picture of me with a paintbrush/screwdriver/chisel/hammer knows that it must have been photoshopped! – we’re leaving all of this to the professionals! – all I have to do is cope with the dining room looking like a food-bank for a week, whilst it becomes the new larder, and my XKR snuggles up and makes friends with, everything else from the kitchen! Next week, the re-decorating begins – and I won’t be doing that either!!!

I love retirement! – so much more time for err, supervision!

Our current kitchen sporting that ‘Old Mother Hubbard’ look!

By Saturday morning, we should have a sparkly new kitchen and utility room!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Let the Chaos Begin! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

After last week’s disappointing mission to locate and purchase a replacement dining room table and chairs, as well as look for ideas for the kitchen makeover – today could only be described as ‘mission accomplished’.

We drove up to Downtown near Grantham, for a look round their furniture department, and discovered they had mountains of tables to choose from! Within a couple of minutes, we’d found the prefect one… and the chairs… and the chair upholstery… and the curtain fabric… and the fabric for the Blinds in the kitchen too!

We seem to be stuck in smug mode now!!!!

If only ALL shopping was this easy!!!!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Table Mountain appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Phew!

The perfect equation!?

David + Me + 29 x 90 litre bags of Bark Chippings
= Weed-free front garden and a happy Wife!

Cheers for your help David!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post The Perfect Equation!? appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Fabric Display at John Lewis MK – is it me, or do they look slightly creepy?

It was a rather disappointing day today. We set off for MK in search of ideas for a replacement dining-room table and also to pick-up some ideas for colours for the planned refresh of the dining-room.

First stop was the mighty IKEA. So large and so full of people that it could apply to join NATO! It wouldn’t however have got any prizes for its ‘95p bacon sandwich’ though. In my world, the bacon is always supposed to, at least, cover the surface area of the bread – and we had to pay extra for ketchup. C’mon IKEA – sort out your sarnies! And for that matter, sort out your dining-room tables too! We left after a quick look round, after only seeing about four that came close. Bah!
 

Then it was off to the next largest land mass in Milton Keynes – ASDA. Cripes! When did food retailing get this large! Huge doesn’t even begin to describe it! No tables or fabrics, but we did relive them of a serious amount of food-stock!!

Final stop: John Lewis – surely they’d have some good ideas for fabrics – they always do! Our needs were simple, as we just wanted a pattern featuring a bright red that would serve as a base colour for the kitchen blinds and the dining-room curtains. By the time we headed home, we had fewer examples than IKEA had bacon rashers! Back to the drawing-board!!!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Table Where? appeared first on Steve's Blog.

The HSL (Hall, Stairs and Landing) Project is now completed, and here are some before and after photographs.

The Old…

Strip away!

The New…

Sorted!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post HSL Project – Completed appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Fifteen rolls of wallpaper, more white paint than you can shake a brush at, plus 47 tea-bags later, Honor and Karen from Paint-Pals are 99% finished.

Everything looks fab and once the radiators, lights and alarm panel are re-fitted next week, we’ll be totally sorted!

Some ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots next week. Nice one ladies – a great job!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post HSL Project – Friday appeared first on Steve's Blog.