Morning everyone, Hope everyone is doing ok. We have got quite a lot of snow here so everything looks nice and bright for a change! I will try and get some photos on here - the alliums look lovely with a sprinkling of snow and I love my lone snow drop poking its head through!!!
I managed to get my terrarium done this weekend and now have that in the study so at least I managed to get something green fingered done this weekend!!
Hope your SIL has had a peaceful night, @Yviestevie, and you get better news soon. xx
@Busy-Lizzie - your septic tank should have a percolation area which drains off water from the top of the tank - it may just be perforated pipes under the surrounding soil. If the area is totally saturated this may not be working properly... otherwise, do your gutters drain into a separate soakaway? I have no idea what the regulations might be in France, but here I believe it's a legal requirement, so as not to overload the septic tank with water. The drain from the utility (washing machine, potentially dishwasher though we haven't got one) also leads to a soakaway. I wonder whether you might perhaps need a drain specialist to check the tank and pipes are ok?
Your snow looks lovely, everyone. It's cold here but brightish...
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Our heating works fine it's just a bit slow compared to the old boiler but I was told by more than one heating engineer that the old one was way over spec for the size of the house, so it was expensive to run but it was quick. As the new system is so quiet maybe I should just set it to come on even earlier, the old one used to wake me up as it had got so noisy.
Hello all, cold and wet here today so I think the log burner will be lit. Thinking of you @Yviestevie at this time. @Busy-Lizzie was the fosse inspected before you bought the house? Seems strange that this should happen after you have moved in. Do you have any trees with large roots where the soak away pipes are? If so they could be the problem. OH had to take out a large fig tree last year as the roots had gone so deep they they went into the pipes and broke them.
Our last 2 houses we had back boilers behind gas fires, never went wrong servicing appeared easy. Then John Prescot said you had to go for either a combi, or self-condensing., claiming it would save you £300 a year in fuel bills. We thankfully went for the latter, kept the tank,emersion heater. Last "Beast from the Beast", the condensing pipe froze up, (its now lagged) it was -12c, had hot water, and an electric fire in the lounge (which is open plant to the kitchen and conservatory) I sat n the coffee table by the fire, with doors to the bedrooms and bathroom closed (kept the radiant heater in there too) Last week, boiler, only 8 years old regularly serviced, gave up, for almost the week, while waiting parts. When we moved in here, there was a potterton Flamingo 25 years old. In changing to a new all singing dancing one, it didn't save any money. .
Our last house we didn't have central heating till the later 2000s, the one before that, gas fire in the lounge, 1 radiator in the hall. I had what is now called a "onesie, (it was a kids fluffy sleep suit) we used to get ice on the inside of the bedroom windows, but having said that, when I met my now second Hubby, I used to have the bedroom windows open all night even in frost and snow, just a chink, not wide open. I was the only person in our road who opens windows in winter, now have a new arrival, older chappie, he opens his.
Greetings Forkers. Cold here so I've had a lazy morning snuggled up reading till OH said it was lunchtime. Set to get very cold tonight - -11C with wind chill - and the soil is still very wet so no gardening and we'll shut the PT long before sunset. At least it's dry. The radar shows heavy rain just a couple of kms south of us and down as far as @floralies.
The clock is broken on our CH so it goes on when OH gets up to let the dogs out and chooks out and goes off when we go to bed. Might need the log burner this evening but in the meantime, thermal vest and long ski socks mean I can stay warm without thick, heavy layers.
Hope the news is better today @Yviestevie and for anyone else with worries for sick rellies and friends, Covid or other.
Hope you can get that septic tank sorted @Busy-Lizzie.
I'm off to top up the bird feeders and then paint a table.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Afternoon folks, Had an update from Firstborn. SIL had a terrible night. His canular came out and there was blood everywhere. He tried to get someone to sort it out but no-one answered the bell. He eventually got out of bed himself and stripped it. He spent the rest of the night lying on the plastic mattress with a sheet over him dithering. Someone came round at 6.00 a.m. and did nothing about it. He is threatening to discharge himself it is so bad in there.
His mum who is a retired nurse contacted the hospital and made a formal complaint. Someone came to apologise to him. His sister is also a nurse who trains other nurses. She contacted a few nurses she had helped train and they are in the process of trying to persuade him to stay. He is currently on steroids and oxygen. I desperately want to go and help Firstborn. They have all tested negative now but Hubby doesn't want me to go.
We are off to the lounge for a virtual funeral at 2pm. My wife's uncle who died before Captain Tom. Same hospital same reason, went in for something else got Covid while there.
Posts
I managed to get my terrarium done this weekend and now have that in the study so at least I managed to get something green fingered done this weekend!!
R xx
Hope your SIL has had a peaceful night, @Yviestevie, and you get better news soon. xx
@Busy-Lizzie - your septic tank should have a percolation area which drains off water from the top of the tank - it may just be perforated pipes under the surrounding soil. If the area is totally saturated this may not be working properly... otherwise, do your gutters drain into a separate soakaway? I have no idea what the regulations might be in France, but here I believe it's a legal requirement, so as not to overload the septic tank with water. The drain from the utility (washing machine, potentially dishwasher though we haven't got one) also leads to a soakaway. I wonder whether you might perhaps need a drain specialist to check the tank and pipes are ok?
Your snow looks lovely, everyone.
@Busy-Lizzie was the fosse inspected before you bought the house? Seems strange that this should happen after you have moved in. Do you have any trees with large roots where the soak away pipes are? If so they could be the problem. OH had to take out a large fig tree last year as the roots had gone so deep they they went into the pipes and broke them.
The clock is broken on our CH so it goes on when OH gets up to let the dogs out and chooks out and goes off when we go to bed. Might need the log burner this evening but in the meantime, thermal vest and long ski socks mean I can stay warm without thick, heavy layers.
Hope the news is better today @Yviestevie and for anyone else with worries for sick rellies and friends, Covid or other.
Hope you can get that septic tank sorted @Busy-Lizzie.
I'm off to top up the bird feeders and then paint a table.