Coffee machine is fab. Really good. I'm very happy with it, and I am feeling sheepish about my irritation with it.
This morning, I went to do the chooks as DH and OC (other chap) are, somewhat inconsiderately, away at the same time. All fine, two cockerels were in with the Big Girls and were a bugger to catch. Lots of weeny eggs, which I collected up and decided to try making into mini scotch eggs.
On the way home from the chooks, my automatic car lurched as it changed gear. I looked at the instrument panel, and one of the warning lights was on. Bother. I pulled over and got the handbook out of the glovebox. It's the Multi function warning light, which comes on when a whole range of things are going wrong. "Take to an expert", was all it said.
Well, I didn't have any easy way to get home, so i decided to carry on driving, carefully. The car continued to lurch as it changed gear. I coasted in neutral wherever possible. As I drove home, I reasoned that it might be something easy, like transmission fluid. i pulled over and got the manual out again.
I couldn't find anything about transmission fluid. I looked under transmission, I looked under gearbox. I looked at the engine diagram which helpfully showed me where to check oil, coolant, brake & clutch fluid - but nothing about transmission fluid. I phoned my darling brother (DB2), who very kindly said he'd come and help. I drove home.
While I waited for him, I looked in the manual again. Nothing. I decided to go and cut the grass while I was waiting.I've been waiting for it to be dry enough for days, I have people coming next week and I need to get this out of the way. I put the Girls in their run, hoiked the mower out of the shed, put the grass bag on, primed it, it wouldn't start. I tried again. Same thing.
I went to the shed and eventually found some petrol. I couldn't get the petrol cap of the lawnmower. I gave up and went inside the house.
DB arrived. He read the handbook. Nothing about it. He eventually found some stuff uder automatic transmission. But nothing about fluid. He looked at the engine diagram. I looked at the engine diagram again. Definitely no mention of it.
So, we went and had a look. It's there, right at the front (and is definitely missing from the engine diagram). The level of fluid was fine. Coolant was fine. Oil was fine. Everything that was linked to the sensor light was fine. I said I'd take it to the garage on Tuesday.
Typical that it had to go on the blink while DH was away (or, specifically, while DH had his car). And on a bank holiday, so I won't be able to get it looked at until Tuesday at the earliest. Did I mention that we are having a large family gathering here next week, and that's what I'm doing today and tomorrow?
While I made tea, DB2 got the cap of the mower and filled it with petrol, and he even started to mow for me. It rained. My washing got wet.
We had a chat, a cup of tea, and he left. I looked at options for getting to the Allotment tomorrow and Tuesday. Could I cycle? Not really. Maybe I could get a bus into town, with my bike, and then cycle from there. Buses run hourly on bank holidays. It might be doable, but it would take me about 4 hours in total. Well, I am where I am. Worst case, I could get a taxi there and back but it would be hideously expensive. Then I remembered the tour bus. I could walkto the nearest stop, it would take me part way and I could then walk the last mile or so to the Allotment. I could then walk back into town, do some shopping for the party, and get the tour bus home again. Perfect.
DH, who is away at the mo, phoned me to say that a neighbouring allotment holder had called him to say that the cockerels were on the shed roof. DH was over an hour away and had had too much to drink to drive home. I decided I'd just get a taxi, but I wsn't quite sure what I'd do if the cockerels had flown over the fencing. They are like little roadrunners, hard to catch. I phoned my other brother, DB1, to see if he would come and help. Unfortunately he was tied up, and so I decided against asking him. So I phoned DB2 to see if he would come back and help. Bless him, he did.
Four cockerels were in their pen. We caught each cockerel and I clipped one wing on each. We then had to catch the two that had got in with the Girls. I'd taken my chicken net, not to use to catch them - normally freaks them out so much there isn't a hope in hell of catching them - I was thinking I could use it to shoosh them off the roof, or like an arm extension while walking them into a corner. In fact, I ended up catching the two in the Girls pen by using the net, so that's actually paid for itself now. Hopefully the wing clipping will solve the problem.
When we got back there was an answerphone message from DB1. He'd finished what he was doing so he had phoned back to see what I had wanted. I phoned him back, and we started to do some preparation for a family get together. I'm doing the food, DB2 is buying the alcoholic beverages, and DB1 is buying the soft drinks. I was helping him choose.
A few minutes into our call, and he couldn't hear me. His home phone went kaputt. I tried his mobile (which I know he never uses) and of course it was on voicemail. We exchanged emails: the other hadset isn't charged, it'll take an hour to charge. I emailed back saying "charge your mobile, you can use it while its charging. Or do you have Skype?". Email back "its in my car. I haven't used it for ages.Technophobic". Email from me "can't you go and get it???!"
Not my day today.
Still, I've made some small scotch eggs using some of the tiny eggs from the young girls and some of our home made sausages. I'm testing out oven baking them. Two of them are just rolled in breadcrumbs, two of them are flour/eggbreadcrumbs. They are in the oven now.
This morning, I went to do the chooks as DH and OC (other chap) are, somewhat inconsiderately, away at the same time. All fine, two cockerels were in with the Big Girls and were a bugger to catch. Lots of weeny eggs, which I collected up and decided to try making into mini scotch eggs.
On the way home from the chooks, my automatic car lurched as it changed gear. I looked at the instrument panel, and one of the warning lights was on. Bother. I pulled over and got the handbook out of the glovebox. It's the Multi function warning light, which comes on when a whole range of things are going wrong. "Take to an expert", was all it said.
Well, I didn't have any easy way to get home, so i decided to carry on driving, carefully. The car continued to lurch as it changed gear. I coasted in neutral wherever possible. As I drove home, I reasoned that it might be something easy, like transmission fluid. i pulled over and got the manual out again.
I couldn't find anything about transmission fluid. I looked under transmission, I looked under gearbox. I looked at the engine diagram which helpfully showed me where to check oil, coolant, brake & clutch fluid - but nothing about transmission fluid. I phoned my darling brother (DB2), who very kindly said he'd come and help. I drove home.
While I waited for him, I looked in the manual again. Nothing. I decided to go and cut the grass while I was waiting.I've been waiting for it to be dry enough for days, I have people coming next week and I need to get this out of the way. I put the Girls in their run, hoiked the mower out of the shed, put the grass bag on, primed it, it wouldn't start. I tried again. Same thing.
I went to the shed and eventually found some petrol. I couldn't get the petrol cap of the lawnmower. I gave up and went inside the house.
DB arrived. He read the handbook. Nothing about it. He eventually found some stuff uder automatic transmission. But nothing about fluid. He looked at the engine diagram. I looked at the engine diagram again. Definitely no mention of it.
So, we went and had a look. It's there, right at the front (and is definitely missing from the engine diagram). The level of fluid was fine. Coolant was fine. Oil was fine. Everything that was linked to the sensor light was fine. I said I'd take it to the garage on Tuesday.
Typical that it had to go on the blink while DH was away (or, specifically, while DH had his car). And on a bank holiday, so I won't be able to get it looked at until Tuesday at the earliest. Did I mention that we are having a large family gathering here next week, and that's what I'm doing today and tomorrow?
While I made tea, DB2 got the cap of the mower and filled it with petrol, and he even started to mow for me. It rained. My washing got wet.
We had a chat, a cup of tea, and he left. I looked at options for getting to the Allotment tomorrow and Tuesday. Could I cycle? Not really. Maybe I could get a bus into town, with my bike, and then cycle from there. Buses run hourly on bank holidays. It might be doable, but it would take me about 4 hours in total. Well, I am where I am. Worst case, I could get a taxi there and back but it would be hideously expensive. Then I remembered the tour bus. I could walkto the nearest stop, it would take me part way and I could then walk the last mile or so to the Allotment. I could then walk back into town, do some shopping for the party, and get the tour bus home again. Perfect.
DH, who is away at the mo, phoned me to say that a neighbouring allotment holder had called him to say that the cockerels were on the shed roof. DH was over an hour away and had had too much to drink to drive home. I decided I'd just get a taxi, but I wsn't quite sure what I'd do if the cockerels had flown over the fencing. They are like little roadrunners, hard to catch. I phoned my other brother, DB1, to see if he would come and help. Unfortunately he was tied up, and so I decided against asking him. So I phoned DB2 to see if he would come back and help. Bless him, he did.
Four cockerels were in their pen. We caught each cockerel and I clipped one wing on each. We then had to catch the two that had got in with the Girls. I'd taken my chicken net, not to use to catch them - normally freaks them out so much there isn't a hope in hell of catching them - I was thinking I could use it to shoosh them off the roof, or like an arm extension while walking them into a corner. In fact, I ended up catching the two in the Girls pen by using the net, so that's actually paid for itself now. Hopefully the wing clipping will solve the problem.
When we got back there was an answerphone message from DB1. He'd finished what he was doing so he had phoned back to see what I had wanted. I phoned him back, and we started to do some preparation for a family get together. I'm doing the food, DB2 is buying the alcoholic beverages, and DB1 is buying the soft drinks. I was helping him choose.
A few minutes into our call, and he couldn't hear me. His home phone went kaputt. I tried his mobile (which I know he never uses) and of course it was on voicemail. We exchanged emails: the other hadset isn't charged, it'll take an hour to charge. I emailed back saying "charge your mobile, you can use it while its charging. Or do you have Skype?". Email back "its in my car. I haven't used it for ages.Technophobic". Email from me "can't you go and get it???!"
Not my day today.
Still, I've made some small scotch eggs using some of the tiny eggs from the young girls and some of our home made sausages. I'm testing out oven baking them. Two of them are just rolled in breadcrumbs, two of them are flour/eggbreadcrumbs. They are in the oven now.
