Under pressure

I've had a flare up of my "back" issue, and none of the things I've learned at the Pain Management Clinic is enough.   My blood pressure decided to join in the party,  along with my stomach,   and I've been struggling to do anything.

 

I started on some bp medication last Friday, so I hope that brings the numbers down soon. 

 

Instead of being able to spend a significant amount of time decluttering (yet again),  I've had to focus on some other stuff.     I have been trying to do short bouts of decluttering as part of my distraction method or pain management,  and I guess I've cleared at least one large wheelie bin full of stuff,  and a wheelie bin 's worh of cardboard and packaging.     Not all has been binned, most of it has been offered as free and has been collected.

 

The one advantage of doing this while in pain is that I don't have the patience for nostalgia.   I find that instead of keeping some items because of their nostalgia value, or becuase they might be useful, or might be valuable eventually, or because they would be difficult to replace....  I find myself thinking "who cares?!!".  

 

Manwhile...

 

DH has been busy putting the replacement drawer fronts on the drawers,  and has replaced a door with two drawer fronts connected together.  He is limited on what else he can do, as there's some shifting and shunting required, and I'm not up to it at the mo. 

Plans

A few steps forward, ish, this week.

The two new kitchen wall units arrived. The hanging rail for them (not from the kitchen company), did not.   We had loads of drawer fronts arrive, and DH has been busy fitting them. It's not been without its challenges. If it could go wrong, it has!

One of the fronts wasn't in the order, not even on the delivery note.  The company sorted it out easily enough, but it will be another week or so before it is delivered.    We'll probably be ready by the time it arrives.

I also realised I'd missed a pair of drawer fronts off, and I'd also missed off a replacement for a chipped drawer.   I also realised, too late,  that I'd assumed we could cut down an existing door for one part, but I'd completely ignored the fact that the unit concerned  is a gloss finish whereas everything else is matt.  So that's a couple more bits that I need to get.  I'm sure there will be other bits, so I thought I'd wait and see before placing another order.

Separately,  the bits for the under sink plinth drawer arrived and DH fitted it.  It works really well, and I'd thoroughly recommend drawerboxes.co.uk.   

We've also been working on plans for an extension.  We actually engaged an architect some months ago, but things didn't go to plan (pun intended) as the poor chap was ill for a while. We only got the outline plans a week or so ago, we are nowhere near submitting for approval.  The builder is coming this week to give us his views on what we are trying to do.

We've agreed (between ourselves) on the overall size of the extension, and the changes that will be necessary to accommodate it.     We're also in agreement that there are 3 places to put the lift, and we're sort of in agreement about the most likely place.  We've agreed on some internal wall removals both upstairs and in the downstairs utility room area.

We haven't yet worked out how we will do the downstairs bathroom layout (which is a practical thing rather than a fundamental disagreement),  we haven't agreed on the items that are going in the downstairs bathroom,  and we haven't talked at all about the utility layout.  We haven't agreed about windows, or door placement.    I'm anticipating a lot of agreements,  some mild differences of opinion,  and quite a few arguments.   

We've been together 40 years, and we still argue about most things. 

 

 

 

 

 

Visits

Mum came to stay for a week.   DB and I had bought her an ultralight carbon fibre rollator for her birthday present, and it was fantastic.  Bright red,  superbly styled, turns on a sixpence, and really is the lightest rollator in the world.  It's by ByAcre, a Danish company,  and it is... amazing.  She loves it!

The week passed quickly, in a good way.   We try and make these visits feel like "normal", so we spend a lot of time just doing normal stuff, as if Mum has popped in from across town.   We drink a lot of team chat a lot,   do a bit of shopping,  watch a bit of TV, and go out occasionally.

This time we caught up with a couple of uncles and an aunt-in-law while Mum was here, and that was very enjoyable. We're very grateful that Uncle C and Auntie P came over, it's a bit of a trek for them.   Separately, our lovely cousin and his equally lovely wfire popped in to say hello.

 Mum is struggling with the stairs, so we are looking at accelerating our plans for installing a lift.  There will be a time when she won't be able to come and stay any more, so we want to make the intervening time as visitable as possible.

We  played lots of Scrabble.  The RNIB version, with large tiles which sit securely on the board, is fantastic.  We all have sets now.     Mum plays most days with one of the other residents at her Home, and it's really made a difference to her.     I'm so happy that I suggested a game when she was last here.

DB and I are off to see Mum again this week, and we're staying at a local place (like an Air B&B, but direct).   We have two places that we favour, one near where Mum lives now and one near where she used to live (when Dad was still alive).     This particular place,  we have stayed at many times over the last few years, the hosts are wonderful.    There is a downstairs bedroom and bathroom, so Mum can come to stay overnight as well, and we're hoping she'll do that this time.  It extends the time we get to see her, and again we can do "normal" things together.

 

 

Failures and Successes continue

The decorations went back in the loft today.  We completely failed to do anything about  clearing that part of the loft while they were out, which is a bit pathetic.     We had some reasons:  we were ill, which pushed everythign behind, then it was Christmas, and then there was stuff and then... well, here we are.

 

My Mum is coming to stay and I've had to excavate the guest room.   Stuff was binned, stuff was charity shopped (well, it's in the boot of my car waiting for me to go to the charity shop) , stuff was stored neatly... and some stuff was put in a pile of other stuff in the box room, waiting to go in the loft.  Except there isn't any room.

 

We did go up there together, took a look at that end of the loft, and agreed on how we could improve the storage.  But doing it will have to wait until Mum has been and gone,  and then my grandson has been and gone.    I may engage help in getting stuff out, which will, hopefully, leave me enough energy to review and organise.  We'll see.

 

On the Success! front, we've done yet more stuff to the kitchen.  DH has trouble with the concealed drawers, mainly because I fill the drawer below too full.  We were discussing the tip-on (push to open)  runners which are part of the two under plinth drawer units we bought.   We have a couple of concealed drawers which have already have tip on runners, and we discussed making all the concealed drawers have tip on runners.  We bought some bits to see if DH could do a conversion:  I bought some preloved tip on runners from Ebay, and DH bought some bits to convert the actual drawers from the Blum Warehouse.  We did 3 to start with, and it turns out that  they work really well. 

 

We then decided to go ahead and do all the concealed drawers,  so I bought more preloved runners and DH ordered more bits.    I then bought an additional mahoosive concealed drawer (as part of my continuing efforts  to try and move everything to its final home), which was a Marketplace bargain. This was so big (900 wide and 500 deep) that I had to buy a longer preloved runner, and DH had to order yet more bits.

 

DH also fitted one of the plinth drawers (the other is going under a tower unit, and we have to raise the tower unit to the correct height first).    It works really well,  and will look great when we put a front on it.

We weer so pleased with it that we've now ordered a made to measure plinth drawer for under the sink unit as well.   It'll be another week or more before that arrives.

  

We're still waiting for the Blum Warehouse bits to arrive, they were on shutdown until Monday and then didn't have everything in stock at that point.    In the meantime, DH has installed the runners, all of which arrived really promptly.   My mahoosive drawer enabled me to move many many lots of contents around, trying to stick to my mantra of everything being in a sensible place.    I'm tempted to write it all down here for my own nostalgic reference, but it's not exactly scintillating stuff.

 

The base units now have the right things in them,  and most of the units are in the right place.  One run needs a reshuffle, and I guess we will do that when we get the replacement fronts, which I ordered at the same time as ordering the two wall units.

 

I don't imagine we will make a huge amount of progress over the next week as I'll have other priorities. 

 

 

 

 

Another month

And just like that, it was all over.

 

We had a lovely, home cooked, Christmas lunch.  DH had had to connect the oven up, which had been disconnected for months, and hadn't been used for months before that.

 

We had cold goose the next day,  and then we had Chinese Style pancakes with goose, crispy goose skin, and hoi sin sauce.  It was really good, and I've added it to my notes for next time to make sure I have pancakes in the freezer.  I have made them before, but it's so easy to buy them as we have a Chinese supermarket in the next village.

 

The kitchen worked really well.  The two dishwashers worked superbly.   We had plenty of worktop space (I swept all the unsorted c*ap into crates and hid them under the stairs, where they are still waiting to be sorted).

DH and I agreed that the 400 wide pull out pantry wasn't working as a drinks store.  We had a discussion about options, and agreed a plan. We were keen to try and get it done before Christmas, as this would enable me to take final measurements to order some wall units.

 

I did a trip with my DB to buy a couple of new/unused tall but shallow larder units so we could make a second, smaller, pantry.    While we were farting about,  some new-still-packaged corner units came up at a really good price, so DH  and I went and got those as well. .  They worked really well, and DH has now built the inside of the new "drinks larder".  I kitted it out with some heavy duty Lazy Susan turntables for the centre corners,which helped keep everything accessible.  I   transferred the bottles in to it on Christmas Eve and organised it so I'm happy with it.  DH added some temporary lighting, and  it looks lovely!  Even with no doors, and with a temporary side panel in completely the wrong colour.

We agreed on the style of door (we want to match the other larder if possible, a style which is discontinud so I have to wait for someone to be disposing of a kitchen).   A trip to Southampton secured me the two bottom doors which are the perfect match;  a trip to Milton Keynes secured me a temporary top half of one side (I knew it wasn't right, but I'd said I'd buy it and I didn't want to let the seller down).

 

Now that we know what units are going on that wall,  I ordered a couple of made to measure toe-tap plinth drawers/  We weren't sure whether to make them look like plinths or to make them look like floor level drawers.  We decided on plinth-a-like,  and there's no point in second guessing myself now.  Hopefully they will be here this week.   One of them is to hold the gardening stuff which lived in the kitchen (like glove and pruners and bits).  The other will hold other junk.    If they work, I'll order one for under the sink, I think.    I'm not sure abut the rest of the kitchen, I'm still keen on no plinths everywhere else.  

We had to do a lot of rearranging in the summerhouse to accommodate the two shallow larder units I'd bought and then not used.  We discussed selling them on, but we might end up using them in our utility room later. 

 

My DB took the 400 wide pull out larder for my niece,  and then he later collected the additional  matching door to fix to the other pull out larder he'd taken a while back.   It looks fab in her house, she's really happy with it all.  She was already over the moon with the first larder, and now she not only has two, but they match!  And the fronts are paintable, so she can paint to coordinate with the resto of her kitchen. 

 

I've just realised that I haven't mentioned the bread drawer.      Much earlier in the month I'd also been and bought another 60cm unit, and we fitted the Hailo Pantry to it.  We're trying it out for bread storage.  It's not in the right place, but there's no point in disrupting all the units if the concept doesn't work.  It seems OK.  The drawer fronts are yet another style, but it's only temporary.   

 

At last,  I placed an order for a couple of (brand new!) wall units plus a load of fronts to replace all the mismatched ones.    They won't be here until nearly the end of January. 

 

....

 

In the glowing aftermath of an acceptable Christmas,  I had some fab ideas for some new decorations for next year, based on things that give us good memories.    I know that , despite good intentions, I won't be feeling like making these  in the run up to next Christmas, so  I bought some things now to make decorations now for next year.   

The first batch arrived today, and I've been busy with the glue gun this afternoon.    I've hung them on the tree already.    I got slightly bored after making 7 new decorations, so I've put the stuff away now.

 

I've got unrelated good-memory  things still to arrive, and I'm slightly regretting the purchases.   I  imagine any Christmassy goodwill I've got left will have be goodwont by the time they finally arrive.    I'm relieved that I stopped buying when I did.  One particular  set of things I need to hide so DH doesn't see it until  they are put up next year.  Hopefully it'll make him laugh.      And hopefully I remember that I bought them and what they are for.  It would be helpful if they arrived before I put the decorations away,

 

 

I'm wanting to take down the tree etc, but I'll wait until 1st Jan.  We still haven't sorted out the loft,; neither of us have had much energy, and what we have had has been used on the kitchen and on Christmas.

 

I also need to sort out the spare bedroom.   It was in a bit of a state before Christmas,  and today it got a lot worse as I emptied out cupboards looking for the empty baubles, the sleigh bells, and other stuff.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coughing Up

I found this half written and unpublished post from December...

DH brought all the Christmas decorations down from the loft.  The idea was to (a) find the Christmas cards, get them written, and sent by 2nd class post,  and (b) to use the temporary space created to clear that end of the loft.

 

The Plan was sound, but we were knocked sideways by a really horrible.... something or other.  DH had it for at least a week before I succumbed.     I did a Covid test, even though it didn't seem like Covid,  and that was negative.   

We were both too ill for Pilates. 

 

The cards did, eventually get written.  I bought all the postage on line, which took a while.  One advantage was that I could see who I'd actually sent a card to.  They all went in the postbox when DH went out to the chemist to get stuff.

 

My cough cleared up first, assisted  I expect by the copious amounts of Sambucol (Elderberry) and other stuff I was consuming to try and help. 

  

 

 

 

Little kindness

I struggle with scented cleaning products.   I like the idea of scent, but the reality is often not good.  Sometimes they sort of smell OK, but my breathing system has other ideas;  sometimes  they don't set me wheezing, but I don't like the smell;  occasionally, my breathing is OK and the smell is tolerable;  rarely, I find something where I actuallyy like the smell.  Mainly, I use an unscented cleaner, but the manufacturer has stopped doing it.

A while ago I picked up a bottle of Method diluteable cleaner, a scent called Bing Cherry.   This was in the rarity category.  It is quite a strong smell, so I don't use it exclusively.   I was running low, so I looked to find it.   I couldn't.

I realised that it was a scent that Method had brought out for a while and then stopped doing.     I searched high and low for it, and was shocked at the price it was selling at on Ebay and Amazon.   I found it apparently in stock for collection only at a nearby B&Q.

 I was a little surprised.  Most of the B&Qs didn't have stock, so I suspected it was an error.  I ordered a few bottles anyway.     I received a call from a lovely lady, D,  who apologised but there was a stock error, and they didn't have any,  was it OK if she refunded me.    I was fine about,  thanked her for letting me know.   The phone call was an unexpected kindness. 

I decided to buy some of the price gouging ones from Amazon.  I had it them in my basket, and I was looking for something else.  I got distracted, and didn't check out.

This morning,  I was looking to see if there was anything else I wanted, when I got a phone call from a fairly local number.   It was the lady from B&Q, D.

She was phoning to let me know that she had found some!

I said I'd log in and buy them immediately, while she was on the phone.  The B&Q website wasn't having it though, it now thought they were out of stock.    D asked me if I'd be collecting today. If so, she'd put them to one side and I could collect them and then just pay at the till.   I said I'd be straight there!

That was so much more than just good customer service,  that was real kindness.  Good customer service was phoning me to let me know they were out of stock.      Kindness was thinking to phone me back the next day  when she found them to see if I still wanted them.

 

 

Bin busy

At last, after several months of nothing,  a 60cm unit came up for sale. Brand new, still in packaging.  I bought it and we agreed that it would be used for our new bin unit (another FB marketplace bargain, it's been sitting in the summerhouse for months!).

For the last few months we have had a 500 wide pullout, which had two tall bins in.  We'd put a small bin nestling in the top of one of them, for food waste.  The bin system and its cabinet came with our slightly preloved kitchen purchase.  They've worked well,  much better than we expected.  We weren't sure about having them and probably wouldn't have gone out of our way to do so. if they hadn't already bin there. Although they were expensive, they were a bit temperamental.  In the end, I decided to look for something even better, that would also manage the food waste more neatly   

The purchased unit had several drawers in. all on Blum runners.   We've removed those and stored them , they will be useful in a later phase.  DH installed the new bin pullout, and we were quite surprised at how much better they are than the previous one. 

We don't have a front for the unit.  My plan was that DH, who can do anything,  would combine two drawer fronts together so as not to spoil the line of the units.  I naively thought it would just be a case of putting a couple of plates on the drawer fronts to make them into one solid front.    It turns out that isn't the case, the fixing for the bin pullout was not in a great place for this.  Wwe considered just leaving the front off for now. and actually I didn't mind that at all.

DH pondered over the challenge, and decided he wanted to do a trial run of making a false front.  I think me reminding him that I was looking at false fronts wherever I had a cupboard door was a factor,    We had some white drawer fronts  from a bargain purchase of several drawers.   At the time, they were the right width (slightly too tall) for one of our cabinets, soo DH took the best drawer fronts and reduced the height.  The remaining drawers were binned,   but we decided to keep the fronts in case we needed something termporary in future,

Two of those drawer fronts were reduced in width (which cut off the damage) and DH used them to create a new slid front.  He also fashioned some metal brackets to attach them to the bin unit pullout,  and it worked really well!   

We'll replace them  as and when I manage to get the correct fronts, but that may be some time.

 

 

 

 

Learning

We did the next bit of the kitchen this week, and it was an interesting learning exercise.  Once again I am glad that we decided to do a trial!

Some months ago, I bought a preloved length of granite with a cut out which was almost perfect for the undermount sink I had chosen.   We had agreed that we'd put this worktop in as a temporary exercise so we could test out granite, and the sink, and everything, before committing to new worktops.

I bought the sink and the new water softener a few weeks ago, and we've been waiting for my plumber cousin to have time to come and fit it all for us.   

That all happened at short notice last week.

All the existing sink plumbing, which had mushroomed over the years, was replaced.  New water softener installed in a cupboard away from the sink (a FB Marketplace bargain cupboard,  brand new, gorgeous, has a sliding shelf).    The existing dishwasher and water filter was plumbed in, and the new sink unit was installed an the sink plumbed in.    It's a drawer unit, so it provided a bit of a challenge.

The sink is enormous, the opening is about 73cm or so, and is divided 1/3 -2/3rds.  We had a brief discussion abut which way round it should go, and we went with DH's preferred option which was small sink to the left. His logic was sound , the draining board is on the right .  I didn't mind,  if it turns out to be "wrong" then we can fix it when we do the worktops properly.   We also had to make snap decisions on where to put the tap and the spray, and again I wasn't too fussed.    We re-used our existing taps, which are 25? years old now.

By Thursday night DH confirmed that he was happy that a second dishwasher would fit  and  I ordered a mid range Miele (having had a less than great experience with not one but two top of the range Mieles before).  DH isn't really keen on the idea of a second dishwasher, but he could see that I was determined. I got a Miele as he said he preferred the baskets in our old Mieles (vs the Bosch we have now).  I thought it might make him a bit happier about it all. 

 It arrived today, fab service from Costco, and is now installed. 

The refit of the other bits took a couple of days, and we had to wait 24 hours for the sealant to dry before using it. sealant on the sink was put on yesterday, so we've not been able to use the sink until today, and it's interesting.   

Update: We've had it in and useable for a few days now, and my initial thoughts are:
    (a)  Having an undermount sink is lovely
    (b) I might end up putting the sink in the utility room or the downstairs bathroom (when we build it) (the sink is big enough to bath a dog); 
    (c) the tap position isn't ideal, it's too far back (it could only come forward a small amount (or the sink should go back a bit, I guess), but   there isn't much leeway.  I don't really want to go for a different tap;  
    (d) I should have thought more about where the spray hole was going; 
    (e) I might have been hasty in getting rid of the pop up plugs, despite the problems they cause ~
    (f) Any idea I had of being able to have one of those clever basket-round-sink things for the top drawer has gone right out of the window, and I need to see if my desire for that outweighs my desire for a big sink
    (g) DH. lovely man that he is, is looking at various Heath Robinson ideas to see if he can come up with something rather than just giving in and fixing the top drawer fascia on so it is immovable. 
    (h) my dislike of draining grooves in a worktop is NOT going to go away;     
    (i) DH was right when he said the bottom of the sink was a long way down
    (j) the second dishwasher was a good idea 
    (k) we need a system so we know which dishwasher we should be loading
    (l) I need to work out what to do with the handtowel.  I've got some ideas, but I need a bit of time on my own to try it out
    (m) I had no idea until today how much easier it is to have the dishwasher controls on the inside top of the dishwasher door.  This had seemed like a stoopid idea when we first got the Bosch dishwasher;  I found myself wishing for it when I was grovelling on the floor trying to see the darkened touch screen  on the new one.  I may have sworn a bit
    (n) thank goodness we did this as a test-install before committing to getting worktops done.  We have that opportunity to fix anything.

We're still discussing what to do about fitting the top drawer panel.  When we realised there wasn't going to be room for one of those basket arrangements,  I agreed that we would have it as a dummy panel.  However, there is a very small space to the right, and I can see that being useful for things like bottle brushes.
 

We're still considering options (something else came up which required attentiom).  We'll see what happens.,

 

 

 

Poppylicious

Poppy and Gloria, after the fox

My gorgeous, gorgeous Poppy died yesterday.  She was 13 years and 4 months old.

 She arrived as a fertilised egg from Castle Farm, and was a Welsh Black which is an Indian Game x Australorp cross.  She had the best characteristics from both breeds, including a stunning sheen on her soft inky blank feathers,  high intelligence, and a calm nature. 

 

In 1992 we had a hugely successful hatch of a number of breeds.   Poppy She was one of 8 females hatched from 12 Welsh Black eggs, the others were boys.    The lines from Castle Farm were super strong and resilient, and many of the girls lived to an excellent age (several of them over 10)

Poppy reached the oldest age we've ever had, and we've been so very lucky.

Poppy & the pre-fox girls

Poppy was such a bright and clever hen.  As a youngster, I took her and my beautiful exchequer leghorn Lotti Borlotti, to Miss Teen's school. She was very well handled at that age, and put up with it (although  she didn't seek it out).   

She was the sole survivor of a fox attack when she was 3? years old.   We brought one of her sisters, Gloria (who also lived to a great age),  back from the allotment to keep her company. 

 

She was a G'zunder.  Her preferred method of escaping from the netted area was to go under the netting (compared to, say, Fay's flying over the top).  If she was out, we had to walk along the fencing, looking for the tiniest of unpegged gaps.

She started slowing down a couple of years ago.  I'd been making sure to seek her out to give her treats for a couple of years now, I think, and I've been surprised for the last 2 winters that she's survived the moult and the spring.

It's been the last 6 months that/'s she slowed even further, and  I'd been fully expecting her to go for all that time.  She had lost a lot of weight, but was still alert and interested, eating well.    During this time I'd got into the habit of sectioning her off in the evening, so she could have her own private supply of food a and treats before bed, without having the others come and steal it. 

For the last month or so, I've also been giving her some additional protein each morning, hand feeding her live mealworms, or a boiled egg boiled specifically for her, or some rinsed tuna, or whatever.   She always eats well, and seeks out the food if I put it on the ground.

For the last couple of weeks, she's taken a bit longer to eat, stopping for a break part way through.  At treat time, whenever that was, she learned not to run after food that I'd thrown for the others, as I always kept some in my had to offer her while the others were otherwise engaged.

I've known that her death was imminent. and each day that she was there was a lovely surprise,.  

Yesterday when I went in to the run first thing, I found her lying on her side  the floor.  I thought she'd had a stroke, or maybe fallen off the ladder and broken her leg.  I gave her some mealworms (they provide hydration as well as protein), which she ate with gusto.  That gave me hope, and I then picked her up carefully and foundn that she hadn't damaged anything. I imagine she fell - or was knocked - over, and was just unable to get up.  

I stood her upright, put a bowl of live mealworms down and a lettuce next to it, and shut the gate into that section of the run so she could get herself sorted in peace.  

 A bit later on, she had had walked to the closed gate  so I went and opened it and let her outside.    I thought about bringing her inside, but I realised that this might be the end, and I didn't want her last day to be any more stressful than it needed to be. She walked down the garden path to the pampas, and sat with the others.  They spent all day in that area, and there was always someone at her side. 

In the evening, they all went into the run, and the others went to bed.  She couldn't climb the ladder, so I picked her up and popped her gently in the coop.  

This morning, worried about her getting knocked over in the door dash,   I got up before the auto opener activated.  I opened up the back of the coop to avoid a mad crush, and I saw immediately that she'd died.

I'd known it was coming, of course, but it was still a horrible shock. I'd begun to think she was going to live forever. 

I'm relieved that she went quickly, without us having to intervene.  I'm happy that she was eating her favourite foods yesterday and she that she spent her last day in her favourite place with her friends and frenemies around her.   

I am full of sadness and loss.  Mostly, it's the loss of my lovely, lovely girl.  But it's also the end of a chapter, and it's brought many memories flooding back:  

 Those 8 Welsh Black Girls were part of the largest hatch we'd ever done, and we were lucky to be blessed with many many girls that year.  Poppy was the one that I chose to live here in the garden, the other 7 went to the Allotment and we had many subsequent hatches from them all. 

... the memory of the horror of the fox attack,  which was even more vivid today as I was looking for photos of Poppy in her youth.   

....I've been thinking about Poppy's sisters,  the Allotmenteers,  and what a huge part of our life that all was, and the other Welsh Black ladies and their offspring.    They were amazing birds, and I am immensely grateful to David from Castle Farm and the skill and dedication he had in producing such hardy and sturdy birds, and such fantastic fertilised eggs.

I'm so very lucky to have had Poppy.

A 

 

 

 

 

 

A year in a month

Where does the time go?

 

 It's been a busy-not-busy few weeks.  We've been trying to go out a bit more, which requires a lot of effort as we are both home bodies.  We haven't been out together as a couple for months (February I think. and even that wasn't really a couples going out thing) and we've ended up doing a year's worth of going out in the space of a month or so.

 We went to see the Gerry Anderson memorabilia exhibition at the Brands museum in London.   It was exactly as advertised, but not what DH and I expected.  Our fault entirely, not theirs.

 We took  the opportunity to look round the museum, of course.  I very much liked the display of products that related to my childhood, and it reminded me of the jigsaw puzzles I've done which do the same thing.

 When I got home, I finally managed to clear the dining room table again, and I sat down and did a confectionery version of the puzzle.  It took a few hours, I didn't look at the picture,  and I loved doing  it.

 I've since taken it to my Mum's, and we did some of it together.  We didn't get time to finish it, so it's on a jigsaw board under one of the sofas, so she can finish it when she fancies (or we can finish it next time).

 We took a new version of the RNIB scrabble to my Mum's a few weeks ago.  It's fantastic.  The pieces are large,  the board has little things in which keep the tiles in place,  and the board rotates.  The tile holders are also excellent, much better than the original versions.

We've played a game with Mum each time we've visited since, and she's played it with one of her friends as well.

I liked it so much, I bought a version for us as well, and I bought it from the RNIB shop so that they'd benefit too. 

In other news: 

The kitchen has ground to a halt.  I've got the new sink and the new water softener waiting to go, along with the new unit they are going in to.   I've not ordered the 2nd dishwasher as DH wants to see how it all fits together before I buy one.  I was hoping it would all have been bedded in a couple of weeks ago, so I could order the dishwasher now, but I'm, having trouble getting a fitting date from the lovely chap who is going to do the plumbing.

I finally got DH to the kitchen showroom to look at the wall units I had been considering.   Not sure what we are going to do now, as he had some valid concerns about them.    Fortunately, we've got a lot to do before we need to make a decision on those,  so I'll mull over what to do. 

We've made a small step forward on the downstairs bathroom/lift plans,  and that too has taken longer than we'd anticipated.  Illness was the cause of the delay, so can't be helped.

On my medical "kitchen sink" journey,  I've had a bit of a hiccup.   I got out of the habit of taking the amino acid supplements. I'd started to substitute a protein powder / collagen drink in place of the tablets every so often.  And then, I'd sort of not been doing either.   I wasn't convinced that the amino acids were doing much, they hadn't seemed to make a difference to my thyroid numbers. 

But then I had a bit of a health "crash". That's an exaggeration.  A bump in the road, perhaps.   I had a few weeks where I was feeling somewhat crap.  Eventually, it occurred to me that effectively stopping the amino acid tablets might have contributed to the backsliding, and so I restarted taking them.  Well,  I restarted taking 2 out of the 3 I'm meant to take.  Symptoms have decreased,  so maybe they are doing something after all.

I'm having a blood draw next week so I can see what things look like now that I have been taking a folate supplement for a few months.  I can then make a decision on what to do next.

And on the chicken front:

All is carrying on.   The Girls are still moulting, still looking very uncomfortable and still squabbling.

Poppy is still here, which is a minor miracle.   I'm now hand feeding her something full of protein (like mealworms) twice a day.  The others also get some of what Poppy has, but Poppy gets to have hers on her own.   She's started escaping from the walk in run and coming down to the kitchen.   I don't mind,  she's not going to be here much longer so she can do whatever makes her happy.

She's still eating,  still getting up in the morning,  still enjoying the sunshine. I'm hoping that she'll go quickly and quietly.  If she stops being interested in food, or starts showing signs of being in pain (it has to be very bad for them to let the weakness show), then DH will step in. 

We've replaced the rear tarp on the run. We've started to make preparations for Flockdown, and already have a foot bath tray with Defra (or Apha, or whatever they are now called) approved disinfectant in.   

 In the Garden:
The medlars have been sitting on trays in the guest bedroom, and we've been freeing them as soon as they have bletted.  We have many kilos in the freezer, and I'm looking forward to making yet more Medlar pies.    I asked DH to freeze some unbletted ones as well, as I need some unbletted ones in with the bletted ones when making jam.    DH did as I asked, although he  bagged the unbletted ones in the same bags as the bletted ones, so that may be a bit of a challenge to sort out.

We hadn't quite finished harvesting when the parakeets arrived and destroyed the remaining fruits.  They peck each fruit, seemingly only once, ruining it.  The squirrels stole some of the damaged fruits, but the rest were just lost.

The chillis did well, and DH brought the dehydrator into the kitchen to dry them before slicing and freezing.   We've got plenty to last now.

The tomatoes have been cleared from the greenhouse, and we've stored most of the winter logs in there now.

And back to going out: 

Oh, we went to an immersive Pink Floyd experience the other day.  It was at Cultvr in Cardiff.  The audience sits in vaguely reclining, fairly comfortable, seats under a domed screen.  They then play the album  Dark Side of the Moon while immersing the audience in colourful and interesting graphics.    It was really good,  most enjoyable, and I'd go again - both to Cultvr, and even to do the Pink Floyd thing again.  I don't think I've ever listened to the album non-stop before, it's a bit before my time.

I've  been to see Friends - the Musical Parody, which was a good show. DH opted out of that one, which wasn't a surprise.      We saw the Buddy Holly Story together, which seemed like an odd choice as neither of us are particularly fans.  It was toe tapping though,  as obviously we recognised the songs etc.     And we went together to see the Simon and Garfunkel story, which was very enjoyable as I didn't really know their tale (although I recognised many of the songs.

Sorry to have dumped it all in one post.  I need to do it when I can! 

Spurt

The folate seems to be helping.

I'm still getting brief tinnitus-free periods.  The "circulation stopping" at night seems to be getting more frequent, although the accompanying pain is more muted.

I had a very productive day yesterday.   I made a quince, raisin and ginger suet pudding (Catherine Phipps,  Modern Pressure Cooking) in the pressure cooker.   I don't think I've eaten sweet suet puddings before, although I do vaguely remember making my husband a Spotted Dick about 30 years ago.  (He had been mentioning it for ages  but, when I made it, he complained about the raisins.  Turned out he was thinking of Jam Roly Poly). 

I wasn't expecting great things, it's not exactly a good looking pudding.... but it was surprisingly pleasant.  I'm interested in trying other pressure cooker sweet suet puddings now,  and I'm wondering if I can use some of the Medlar Jelly in one.

I also did the prep for Christmas Puddings, which involved making a loaf of white bread and then putting slices in the dehydrator to make breadcrumbs.   (In fact, it involved making 2 loaves as the first one was a disaster,  goodness knows how I managed to have a fail of something so simple!).

And I made Meatballs using my Mrs Balbir Singh's Cocktail Kebabs spices.  I was going to make two styles of meatballs, but I was running out of energy by the time I started, and ended up just making a large quantity of the same.

I used my Falafel press thing, so they weren't really meatballs,  more meatdiscs. I fried them all in a bit pf ghee,  froze most of them,  and put some in some of DH's home made passata to have with rice for dinner.

I appreciate that doesn't sound like a lot, especially compared to "old me",  but it was a surprising amount. 

Today I potted the puddings and have been steaming them (8 hours). There's still 3 or so hours to go.  I spent the first few hours cleaning and clearing the kitchen and doing other Domestics.

I've also made a small amount of Quince Jelly.   I used the Ball Jam and Jelly maker this time, as the last lot I made on the hob set too well and was more sugar than flavour.   I only had a tiny amount of juice left,  too little really even for the Jam Maker.    I adjusted the quantity of sugar and, for good measure, I added pectin. 

I ended up with half a jar of jam, and a load of stuff stuck to the bottom of the maker.  I think I was at fault, rather than the machine.   I'll see what it tastes like when it's cold.

 My back is now starting to complain, quite loudly.

On the plus side, it's only started to ocmplain in the last hour or so,  and I'm taking that as a win.

 

Still Medlaring

I had another go at Medlar Jelly. This time I included a load of unripe Medlars, fresh from the tree, when I made the juice.

It set perfectly.

I forgot to remove the foam (or scum as it's described in jammy books), which is a bit unfortunate.   Still, I'l be the only one eating it, and I know it's foam not mould.

 

 I also made a second medlar tart. lime juice instead of lemon this time.  It was absolutely delicious.

Sadly the remainder of the medlar puree met its demise in a vacuum sealing incident.  Such a waste!

The tart success has made me keen to harvest the medlars this year.  DH said he read somewhere that Medlars are biennial,  so  I'll probably freeze them and use them next year if we don't get any medlars.

I'm now onto dealing with the Quince harvest. even as I type,  I'm extracting the juice from a few to make quince jelly.  The smell is divine.

 

 

Medlarsome

We've currently got a lot of medlars on the tree, so it's likely we'll be freezing loads of them this year (squirrels permitting).

In preparation, I excavated the outside chest freezer to find retrieve the kilos and kilos that we had frozen in 2023. (Last year was a terrible year and there were none).

I put them in the fridge to defrost, and then dutifully made a load of juice (pressure cooker) ready for jellying.  My last attempt failed,. so I'm trying to get motivated to have a go today.

 I still had kilos left, so my next foray was to try making a Medlar Tart . I followed the instructions in Jane Stewart's Medlars book to make the filling,  and I used frozen ready rolled pastry for the case.   We don't have a working oven at the moment, so I had to adapt it on the hoof for cooking in an air fryer,  and it came out surprisingly well.

 I couldn't taste the medlars at all, but I enjoyed the tart immensely.   It was very Christmassy flavoured,  I guess it was a kind of Yuletide version of pumpkin pie.  Even DH had a second bit, which was rather amazing.

 We've eaten nearly all of it over the last couple of days, and I've only just thought to take a photo of the remains. 

I'm trying to get up enthusiasm for making the jelly now. Wish me luck 

 

Folate

I did another (private) blood test a few months ago, to see whether my "kitchen sink" routine was having any effect.

 

The vitamin D was now optimal,  and my Folate (previously very very low) was slightly less low - still deficient.  The B12 had improved a little, but that doesn't mean much as it measures whats in the blood, not what is getting to the cells.   The protein supplements don't appear to have made any difference to the thyroid, but it's possible that the still-low folate  and likely absorption issues are preventing them from working.

 

The slippery elm and marshmallow supplements are helping with the digestive issues and I haven't taken a PPI for months (although I have been close to giving in a few times).  
 

Following on from this, I started on a Folate supplement about 7 weeks ago.  I found it quite difficult to find ones that didn't have fillers in.    I found some in the US, a brand I've also used for Vitamin D3.  While I was waiting for those to arrive I found a british company doing a spinach based Folate supplement which diodn't have any additives, so I've bneen using that.     It's made a noticeable difference.  

 

Initially, like the Vitamin D protocol and the CPAP/Nightshift treatments before it,  the change was gradual.  The first definable difference I noticed was one afternoon -I had no tinnitus!    It was only temporary, lasting a few hours,  but it was bliss.

 

It hasn't cured the tinnitus, but I now have the joy of  occasional  tinnitus-free time.  When my tinnitus is present, it's  often (but by no means always) much less than previously. 

 

Up until thios morning, I would have said that was the only real symptom I'd had of the folate making any difference.    However, when I look back over the last couple of months (and writing the last few blog entries have helped me do that) I realise that I've definitely had a bit more energy,  my mood is a little better, and I feel a bit more resiliant.    Physically, I'm not sure I can do much more than I could before,  ad I don't think it has noticeably fixed the muscle or pain issues that I have.

 

But it's a promising start.  I'll carry on like this for a while, and then I'll get another test done and see where I'm at and what else I could/should try.

 

 

 

Mixed up.

After a major move around of worktop appliances, I had space on the breakfast bar.  I retrieved the food processor from the appliances cupboard, and put it there.

I had a go at making Hummus (houmous?) in it.   I usually use my CookExpert for this, as I can just use sesame seeds instead of needing tahini (sesame seed paste).    I thought the processor would work. 

It didn't. 

I was a little surprised . 

Some days later, I decided to have a go at making steamed sponge puddings, using the Medlar failed-jelly that I made a couple of weeks ago. and cooking them in the pressure cooker.

On a whim, I decided to swap the food processor with the stand mixer which was also in the appliance cupboard (having been rescued from the utility room when I sorted that out a few weeks back).   I don't remember when I last used the mixer.  I had thought about using it a couple of times, but it was too much hassle to drag it out of the utility room.  I normally end up using an electric hand whisk.

So, the mixer was on the breakfast bar, the food processor back in the cupboard and I  made the sponge batter in the mixer.  t was a bit of a faff weighing stuff to put in (and having to use a receptacle to weigh into,  or to wrestle the bowl off the machine). However, it did a really good job, and I remembered why I preferred it to the beautiful (but not particularly good) KitchenAid I'd had before that.  I decided to keep it on the counter for now, and to see how often I used it.

In the meantime, I've been making protein shakes, and using a poncey stick blender (PSB) and a jug to combine the powder with the milk. The PSB has been used more in the last couple of months than it has been used in the 10 or so years I've owned it.     I've thought sbout selling it, many times, but I'd end up buying a cheap stick blender for the odd in-pan blitzing, and so I might as well keep the one I have. For now. 

I remembered that the stand mixer had originally come with accessories, including a liquidiser, and I wondered what had happened to it.    I knew I'd sold a load of accessories a few years ago, and I couldn't remember if it was those ones,  or ones for an even earlier machine. 

One evening, I went up in the loft, right to the back where all the appliance boxes are.  I excavated everything, looking for the box.

It was a useful exercise actually as I found some bits I'd been looking for for my brother,  and I found the kitchen floor tiles we thought we must have thrown away.   I also found several boxes we no longer needed to keep,  and some items I could donate.All in all, an excellent use of an evening.

I didn't fund the box for the mixer, so I concluded it must have been those bits that I previously had sold. 

I looked at the price of a new liquidiser on the manufacturers website.  I looked for a preloved one.   And then I saw that there was a newer version of the stand mixer with an integrated scale.

I managed to find one being sold preloved, with the liquidiser (and some other bits), so that is now on the worktop.    The original one is off to its new home soon.

The liquidiser has been in daily use, and the PSB is in the drawer. I found its box and stand  when I was excavating the loft, so its future is uncertain.

The stand mixer - apart from the liquidiser bit - has yet to be used.    If it doesn't get used it will vacate the space (and may even be sold!)

 

Kitchen

The kitchen continues, and it's hard to remember what we've done since I last posted about it.  I do  know that Miss Teen comes most weeks, and every time she comes we have done more to the kitchen. I've been rubbish  at taking photos since we put the walk in larder in, so I'm trying to remember what we've changed.

We bought some bifold wall units which have now gone up.  We tried them in a couple of places, and finally chose the most useful spot.    If any more  in the right size came up preloved, I'd  buy them for at least one of the other two places we tried them in. 

We also had a matching "top box" which I'd bought previously. That went up, in one of the other 2 potential bifold spaces,  replacing an old unit.

 

I found a well used 29cm Miele warming drawer for sale fairly locally. It's the same model as the one I already have, it's just 29cm instead of 14.  I decided to buy it to see how well it worked for very low temperature cooking and proving (the 14cm one isn't tall enough to get a joint of beef in).    I wasn't sure which one I was going to keep, so we installed it on top of the other one so I could try it out.

It's worked really really well.  I've been able to prove dough for foccaccia, in my Remoska, in it (several times now), and we've low cooked two joints of beef.  Its more noisy than the 14cm one,  it's definitely very preloved.

At the moment, we've got both of them installed, and it'll stay that way until we get taller drawers for the whole housing.

I've managed to buy a few more useful units, some of which I'll wait until later to talk about (they aren't very exciting).   I also picked up a bargain 900mm drawer unit, which was exactly what I needed to finish another section. Except when I got it home, it was only 800, the seller had just made a mistake.   We debated about keeping it for when we do the utility room next year, but we just don't have the space.

We eventually got another 900 unit, which has now done the job. I've reluctantly sold the 800.

I've bought a better pull out bin set, but it needs  a 600 unit and our current one is only 500.  I'm just trying to get a unit to put it in.  

Some time ago I also bought a pre-loved-but-not-used Hailo Pantry Box for a 60cm unit, as I wanted to have a drawer for bread.   The seller was lovely,  and agreed to post.   They had a lot going on, so I knew it would take a little while.   In the meantime, we'd put in a temporary solution (an 800 unit) which was working well.  Apart from the bread bin.   We'd tried a couple (OK, three) of bread bins and still haven't found the right answer. I no longer had room for the pantry box, and I assumed I had been scammed.

I was wrong.  I had  message from the seller to say that it was on its way.   When it arrived,  I told DH that we probably weren't going to use it now as things had moved on. However, we needed to unwrap it to make sure it was all OK, then we'd just put it in the summerhouse with all the other yet-to-be-fitted bits, and we might fit it in the utility room      DH couldn't picture how it was meant to work so after  unwrapping it all  (it was beautifully protected), we  tried it in an under-oven drawer,    DH really liked it, which surprised me as he had not been on board with the whole bread drawer concept

So now we are looking for two 60 cm units. The bread unit will go where the bin unit is currently, and we'll move the bin unit next to the sink when we do that run.   

Speaking of which, we've got the 2 drawer unit for the sink run  (DH took the best bits from two of the units we bought originally - months ago now- and created a very robust unit).   The new sink has arrived. All we need now is the replacement water softener,  which we've still to make a decision on. amd then we can replace that run.

It's all a bit higgledy piggledy and mismatched and it'll continue to be so until I manage to get replacement drawer fronts (or we have all the fronts repainted.   We've still got stuff everywhere, as I don't want to dump stuff in the drawers.  Most of it is waiting for new wall units, and that will be months away I think.  

I've been ruthlessly decluttering, selling and donating stuff I never thought I'd let go. 

 

 

 

 

 

Milestones

My Mum came to stay for a week.  She lives in a retirement home now and isn't very mobile. She has most of her marbles though, and she enjoys coming to stay.

 

We went to visit a museum called "Milestones", which is near Basingstoke.  It's a bit like Beamish, without the character actors, and it is inside a huge aircraft hangar rather than outside.

 

Mum loved it, and it was interesting to find that she recognised many items as being the same as in her grandmother's house.  

 

I tookl a few photos on my phone, but them I switched to my Mum's phone so that she would have the photos available easily.  I forgot to get her to send me copies. 

 

 

Legging it

My leg has decided to have a flare up.   

 

I've had the startings of a flare up a number of times over the last few years, and it is usually dealt with my a low dose of a relatively mild steroid cream.   Once in a while I have to up the ante with a slightly stronger steriod cream.

 

This time I got to the Napalm level steroid cream.  I've had to go back to the practices when I was first diagnosed,  and it's a little....wearing.   I tried phoning the Skin Clinic, but they've been disbanded and I was told to call my GP and ask for a dermatology referral.

 

I'll see what happens over the next couple of days.  I've been trying to work up the enthusiasm to see the GP about something else, and I really dislike trying to get two things sorted at once.

 

In kitchen news,  we've made some decisions (we think) about one of the runs. If a suitable unit comes available, we'll move forward with that.

 

And I bought a used piece of granite  worktop, which has a cut out for an undermount sink which is a useable size  (a bit small, but still useable) for the sink I've got my eye on.  It is also almost exactly the width we need (it is 222cm, and the perfect size would be something like 223).

DH and I discussed whether we could use it as a temporary install, so we could get the sink unit, the sink, and the new water softener installed, and the dishwasher moved.   The water softener and the water filter are, hopefully, going to be located in a different cupboard,  so this temporary install will let ys see whether everything works as expected.    We decided it was worth a punt!

DB and I collected it on our way back from our most recent fortnightly visit to our Mum.  It was a bit of a detour, but better than making a separate journey. The sellers were lovely, and their house was beautiful and in a stunning location.

 

DB's planning was excellent,  and the worktop fitted, diagonally on it's edge, with about 1cm to spare.  He'd also brought  along stuff to support it so it didn't fall over.

It weighs a ton (over 90kg), and it's now sitting in the hallway waiting for me to get everything else ordered. We're just trying to work out the best way to support the sink, as there is lots of conflicting advice around.   Darling Cousin is going to come and have a look and advise.

 

 

 

 

Grumbling on

The cut price kitchen refurb continues.

 We had decided, some years ago -  when we were doing a lot of self sufficiency stuff - that a proper walk in larder with a marble cold stone would be a good idea.    It's been more than 12 years since that thought, and I still like the idea of one, but the need is less.

A sort of ready made version came up for sale, and we decided to buy it.  It was cheap (compared to buying the same thing new, I mean) and it was worth a punt.

The knock on consequences were significant, and it's taken weeks to get back under control.

The larder required more than just a cupboard or two being removed.  It required several cupboards (base and wall) to be removed, and more to be shifted along.   Thi emeant all floor and wall cupboards on two walls had to be emptied.

The chaos was everywhere. 

DH then had to build the thing, and get it in place, and then try and put some of the units back in place. I went through everything that came out,  sorting it into "keep", "sell", "donate", and "f*ck knows".  

The larder was filled up, with cupboards from other walls donating their foodstuff.  I even managed to get all the food items out of the utility room, and that was a noteworthy achievement.     

Stuff was then loaded into the emptied cupboards, but we just didn't have enough cupboard space (we'd lost quite a lot of cupboards, and we won't regain them for months).    I also ended up clearing and doing part of the utility room,   as I was both  moving stuff out of it and into it.

DH put up a temporary wall unit (one of three that we probably won't be using long term) to try and give me a bigger bit of space.  Every little helps. 

Eventually, I managed to get my living room back.   Later still, I managed to mostly clear the worktops.  And then most of the floor.    I'd got the floor stuff down to 2 crates of books and a crate of "stuff" which was in the "f.k" pile. 

And then a 400 wide larder unit came up!   I wasn't sure that I still wanted one, but it was reasonably local, and not a huge price, so we got it.   It turned out that DH hadn't quite left a 40mm gap when he fitted the larder,  which meant that everything along that wall had to be emptied, again, so everything could be shuffled along.

The larder unit was fitted,  everything was shuffled back and omnce again screwed in place.  I did a day's worth of tidying on Saturday to get to that point, assisted by lots of loud music from my younger days.   I paid for it on Sunday and Monday.

And then, another useful unit came up for sale, about half an hour away.  This was interesting because it would enable us to remove the last of the old corner units,   and to put a much larger unit in my "prep area".    When I contacted the seller, it turned out it wasn't where the ad said (which was where the seller was temporarily living) , it was in London (where their house is)  and about an hour away from me.  I couldn't face doing it.

I messaged her back and said that I appreciated it probably wasn't worth the hassle for her,  but if she could get it to her temporary abode, I'd love to buy it.    To my amazement, she agreed!

I got the unit home yesterday, and it is fabulous. It's a gorgeous Schmidt unit, with bifold doors and a pull out shelf.  It's going to be a secret cupboard, and it's going to house the water softener etc so our new undersink (whenever we get it) will be free and useable!   It is really lovely, and actually made me regret not getting a Schmidt kitchen.

Anyway, the corner cupboard had been partially emptied as I had known that at some point I'd have to rehome the contents.   It still contained an impressive amount of....stuff.   

We also had to empty the two drawer units that were being swapped, and then we had to move everything.   It took all evening to get everything in the right place and to swap the drawer contents over.  I was surprised at just how much difference in capacity going from a 1000 drawer to an 800 drawer was.  I'm a little sad that the drawer which had looked full but not stuffed now looked really cramped!

A lot of the stuff from the corner unit has been dealt with,  but I've still got stuff all over the dining room table, and on some of the kitchen units.   We've taken a few steps backwards, and the dining room and kitchen once again have piles of bits all over the place. Most of it will have a home, when we get new wall units.    

Just not quite at the moment.  

The next minor (famous last words) step will probably be to move the dishwasher along.   I'm going to have 2 dishwashers.  I can fit in two full size ones, one either side of the sink... but it means that both of them will be right up against units.  I'm not sure how that's going to work in practice, as we're used to being able to open the drawers for direct unloading  while the dishwasher door is open, and that won't quite be true anymore. The alternative is for the second dishwasher to be a slimline one, which might work, but this means I have fewer options of appliance.

If we can get that test out of the way, then we can consider replacing the sink and rearranging the plumbing.   The only thing stopping me doing it anyway is that we won't have a suitable worktop, and I don't want to rush into to worktopping.   

I need to make sure that I'm really 100% happy with the layout before we commit to that. 

The kitchen looks a bit of an eclectic mess,  as we have some units which have temporary fronts on,  and some units which themselves are temporary.      I keep looking at alternative options for the not-yer-done runs..... and re-considering some that have been done.  I'm not quite sure about the tall units, and I'm not quite sure why that is.   

 I love the drawers, I love the larder, I love the appliances.   I'm happy with the idea of  buying the brand new wall units that I've had my eye on (and DH has yet to see).    I'm happy with now buying any missing units and bits brand new (we've done so well on the other units!).

There's no point in my ordering anything new until I'm sure.

Sure ish.