Welcome to the lair of the new computer geek :)

I am indeed a self confessed hyped up sort of chap. I cannot bear to be idle as it drives me mad so I am constantly on the lookout for new challenges. Of course I have the allotment which takes up a fair slice of my time but is at the time of year where we have a lul between sowing and harvesting and then the next sowing for the winter season so apart from chasing weeds not alot happening there.
The mini project is coming along in leaps and bounds, I have had a hppy few days on it welding up holes. This of course involved welding new metal to old which is never an easy task and you end up chasing out a small 1" hole to about 5" ! The ignition is sorted as are the new headlights, wipers and brakes. The interior is now in and the heating system works again.

BUT this doesnot fill my evenings whilst wifey is at work and there is only so much deadhead TV you can watch so.......................

I have learnt how to build computers! I spend enough time buggering around on the things so I figured lets have a go at what makes them tick :)

A friend used to own his own PC shop so off I went around to see him where there was a table just full of PC components to which he looked at me and grinned saying " There you go lets see if you can figure it out". Now after playing with classic mini electrical systems I just followed a logical course and had the PC built in 20 mins!!! I cannott believe how straight forward they are to build! This evening I have put in an extra hard drive on my PC for storage incase I get any viruses all my data will be quite safe :)

The kids have broken up for the summer from school...Yey wohoo isnt that just fine. All will be fine this week as the euphoria of the summer lying ahead is fresh in thier minds. Next week will be fine as well as we are off on holiday for the week so the time will be filled with lots to do! The week after we will be entering the dreaded third week in which the "Im Bored" syndrome will creep in. I will be followed around constantly being asked what I am doing 20 times a day and nothing but pure will may stop me thinking of shallow graves :) LOL

Work is still ludicrusly slow but I have had a happy day today trying to get a turfing job finished in the rain! Now theres wet, then theres soaking and then theres "why didnt I just shower in my clothes this morning" wet. We were soaked but got the job done in record time and then of course the sun came out and the rain stopped. But hey ho a bit of pocket money for our holidays.

Thats it for now will keep this up a bit more regulary from now on...honest :)

Bloody Customers!!!!!!!!!!

Now its not that busy. Ive had a couple of good weeks but a rubbish year overall and I took on a decorating job under the agreement that the customer was to supply the materials and the price quoted was for labour only. I called today ready for the start in the morning to be told that I had to supply the materials etc for the price quoted on labour!!! Unbeleivable!!!!!!!!!!

Of course I politely remided her that was not the case only to recieve a torrent f abuse from her so I said you best find someone else to do the job. 2 mins later the phone rings again and I get another earfull from her daughter I really am thinking of packing it in and getting a proper job.

Less time on the plot and with the kids but I really am getting to the end of my tether with idiots like this, people wanting something for nothing and competing against cowboys who charge pennies.Sorry for the rant but I am really peed off at the moment!

I have wholeheartedly enjoyed my kids for the last 24 hours. My daughter from my first marriage has graced us with her presence and my eldest daughter had a friend over for the night...this combination of being outnumbered 5 to 1 by the female of the species would normally spell disaster and have me running for the nearest doorway out of the house and then driving for the furthest point of the country for a couple of days until the visit was over but not today.

THE KIDS GOT ALONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No squabbling, butching, fighting or falling out. At no time have I had to step in with a gruff voice dishing out punishments! In fact everyone pitched in to get the household chores done and I then spent a happy couple of hours fixing the clutch on the mini which now drives!!

Then we all went to the allotment and everyone pitched in netting up the raised beds and mowing the pathways!! Again no fighting!!!

My eldest has now gone to her friends for the night and the other two girls are spending the night together in the den!

I am doing a carboot sale in the morning and they are coming to help...they offered!!! No winging about getting up early...I am sure I have pased into some strange parrelell universe or I may still be in bed dreaming.

I have had offer after offer of tea, in fact I have not put the kettle on myself at all today! Its not my birthday (I checked), its not our wedding anniversary (I double checked) and it sure is not Christmas!!

I hope this is a turning point of the kids growing up a bit. It may just have been a good day and if that is so I have enjoyed it immensley!!

The heat breaks!

I awoke this morning all tucked up in the comfort of my bed to the sound of rain falling heavily onto the windows and leaves outside. It is a wonderfull noise and feeling to awake to after over a week of very high temperatures. This reminded me of those fantastic storms that happen in Spain after the long hot summer and all you want to do is run outside and stand in it soaking up the freshness it creates clearing away all that heat and dust!

The surge of plantlife coming into growth again and the general kick start of life from insects to mammals that have lain in a semi dormant stage for the long hot months. This was the feeling I had this morning :) A new start of a new day in which you can move around for more than 5 minutes without wanting to sit down for a siesta!

Its now pleasently warm and im off to my allotment to pull some weeds out! These of course love the rain and warmth more than any other life form :)

Slowly Melting.

Well its been the busiest couple of weeks of the year so far and we have enjoyed temps in the high twenties and early thirties!! I now know what a baked potato must feel like :)

The best news by far over the past couple of weeks is that our friends that have had IVF tyreatment are now pregnant!!! Ok ok we all know its very early days and the test was taken as soon as humanly possible but this is a fantastic step forward in the right direction for them after months and months of preperation with major weight loss and gallons of hormone injections with many highs and lows.
So we are praying and hoping beyound all hope that the next nine months will go smoothly for them as I cannot possibly think of anyone who would be better parents than these two.

Now to us....we had a break away again which was pleasant but the big holiday is now only 3 weeks away and we are really looking forward to it! A week of relaxing with no dog or work :) I have ordered a mobile internet thingy that we can use whilst away as I am not paying the £3 pounds an hour the campsite would like for me to hire a laptop!!! I mean how bloody stupid not to set up there wifi with a voucher system so people can use their own laptops!! I am sure they may make alot of money that way. Still who am I to tell them how to run their business.

The allotment is now in full swing and we are happily harvesting new potatos, onions, iceburg lettuce, strawberrys, peas and boy oh boy do I love it!! The other veg is coming along in leaps and bounds but there is alot of watering to do in this hot weather. The tomatoes are all growing nicely along with the cucmbers so more salad to come :)
With work I havnt spent as mich time there as I should have done but with a day off tomorrow a full day there is ahead along with lots of weeding to do as well as netting up to keep the bloody pigeons at bay!

My little mini is slowly on the mend but with every repair two more problems seem to appear! Still it will get there in time but that is running closer to the mini 50th in August that I really want to drive it too. Tonight I will fit the new clutch slave cylinder and thats one step closer eh!!

The kids seem to be testing the boundries again of how far they can be pushed along with my patience. Im not the first parent to be going through this im sure but it drives me around the twist!! First my son plays up so much at school he nearly gets kicked out and then my girls are thinking they are 21 instead of 12. Sometimes I dont think im much good at this parent thing until I speak to others with tribes the same age and they feel like it to.

So all in all lots of work and not alot of play but hey such is the way of things but it makes a dull write :) I have thought of a few observations I wanted to jot down but am far too hot and sticky to recall what they were at the moment so I will leave that for another day :)