2010 — 11 June: Friday
Well, it's a tad past midnight, and the front area of the living room is almost back to "normal". Indeed, had it not been for an ill-thought-out move with some wire cutters, I could have spent even longer listening to some nice music... My cunning plan to relocate the (extremely heavy) AudioLab power amplifier came to an inglorious end with the realisation that what I was saving on overlong stretches of speaker cable now meant I'd need correspondingly long stretches of signal cable instead — which in my case, I 'ave not got.
Of course, the process of turning out several boxes of bits in a forlorn search means the "tidy-up" now needed has increased more than a notch or two, too. Ho hum. Carton stuffing will resume, but not until after some sleep. Meanwhile, back in August 2007, I published a photo of our cousins from Birmingham when they popped in on what (sadly) was a "farewell" visit. But, quite a while before that, I'd taken (and recently discovered) this photo of Christa with them:
I haven't had time to pinpoint the date yet.
G'night.
Morpheus has long arms...
... and I was still deep in their embrace when Brian tapped gently on the front door this morning. I hope this doesn't mean he's lost my keys. So, cuppa duty almost before the eyes are unglued. It looks a bit damp outside, but I have plenty to do, both hither and yon, so (unless it gets windy and the newly-lightweight house blows away) I should be unbothered. I shall be doing my best to fill the last few bits of my storage room. Everything I can fit in there will make decorating and arranging the house that much easier. It's 08:50 and counting...
If all goes well, I may even get a chance to watch the new "Sherlock Holmes" this weekend as Brian's just kindly lent me his DVD.
My plumber's choice...
... of local commercial radio station, which he has to provide for himself as I don't now have FM in the house, is an abhorrent pollutant called "Wave 105". From the snatches of banal rubbish I hear as I scuttle downstairs on Dyson-emptying, carton-toting, or tea-making duties, I would say it perfectly illustrates all the reasons why BBC 6Music must be retained. The usual (weak) argument in defence of this would (I guarantee) be along the lines of "We're giving the public what they want."
"De gustibus non est disputandum"
It's 11:20 and the list of stuff remaining to do grows (it seems) ever longer. For example, I need new washing machine valves to help stop a bit of floor going more rotten than it already is. "Add it to the list", say I. "Will do", says Brian. Meanwhile, my next-door neighbour is hosting an estate agent (I deduce from the brand-new Audi, and Brian confirms from his vast personal knowledge of who's who hereabouts in the community) so maybe they're on the move. It could explain the vast amount of decorating that's been going on (though when mine gets going it won't mean that). Perhaps they don't like living next door to a godless infidel but can't bring themselves to slaughter me as their particular choice of fairy tale book demands they should. After all, they're both in the NHS so it would be a tad anti-Hippocratic, wouldn't it?
(Nearly) time for tea...
... over with Roger and Eileen. It will make a very welcome break. Still, at the end of week one the downstairs half of the system is all fitted and plumbed in (all with fresh underfloor pipework, of course) and the washing machine valves (in a radical change) are now the new, improved non-leak variety. Best of all, there's a new drain point below the level of any other pipework, rather than having one that was about two feet above the level of all the downstairs radiators, let alone their connecting pipework.1
It's 14:54, lunch is eaten, carton #174 is in storage, and I even squeezed in some supplies shopping, so I shall be stuffing my next crockpot tomorrow morning. This is all a bit of a nightmare, but in basically a good way for a change. But I need bigger dustbins for the next couple of weeks!
How can you tell when...
... your music is too loud? Erm, that would be when (for the first time ever) the AudioLab power amplifier's protection relays click in and mute output to the speakers. Well, at least I know that part of the A/V system is tickety-boo... Right! Time for a spot of tea with R&E.
Sometimes one travels in circles
Having got the house back to myself for the weekend, I have to say — now that I have a quiet moment to think while my microwave works its magic on my intended evening2 meal — that it's rather an odd sensation to once more be walking around on bare floorboards in the kitchen, just as I did back in mid-1981 while I was beavering away putting up shelves each weekday evening after a day in the IBM Lab before catching a train back to Slough and seeing Christa and Peter waiting for me on the platform each Friday evening. Where are the Christas and Peters of yesteryear? Plus ça change, heh?
Well, at least I'm not putting up any more shelves until I've thought long and hard about what re-arrangements I now wish to make hereabouts :-)