UIW

So a tow truck came and collected UIW on Friday and took it to the Honda Hospital, ready for its appointment on Monday.  It was to have a new alternator and a new underskirt around the front nose. You may remember that the underskirt had weathered and the nose of the car would become dislodged if you got too close to  a kerb, or even to the agapanthus in our driveway. It was time for it to be replaced

I went into town on the bus on Monday afternoon to go to the library and then to collect the car.  I rang from the library to find to what time I could collect it, only to be told that they were having trouble starting it. They rang back ten minutes later to tell me that when the alternator had died it had taken with it the starter motor and the brand new battery, which now needed replacing as well.

UIW was left in the Honda Hospital and I went back to Mount Helen on the bus.  It should be ready to pick up by now - I haven't heard of any further problems.  But it will have to wait until Thursday.

We had a good day on Saturday.  It was a glorious morning, so Lindsey, Jim and I went out to the lakeside market, which was busy and bustling. We went out to the farm shop in Elaine. Jim and I went out to Delacombe in the afternoon.  I have put some little seedlings in the small pots on our patio. It is almost time to start planting the small, summer seeds like tomatoes. The bean seeds I planted earlier are starting to shoot.  Not the zucchini, cucumber or pumpkin seeds.  i wonder if they got too wet and rotted.  I'll give them another few days and then re-sow.

Our early spring harvest. The sprouting broccoli has just started.  We have almost finished the cauliflowers. The Brussels sprouts didn't really come to anything but we have been eating the tops and the leaves.  We also have carrots in a box at our place.  Must sow some more carrot seeds soon.

I remembered, during a conversation with Lindsey over the weekend, that once, long ago, we had considered the possibility of a rail trip across France and Spain to Morocco.  It never eventuated because Lindsey and Ian didn't come back to the UK after we had thought about it.  But Jim and I will be in the UK in March and have a free week for a "holiday".  No reason why we shouldn't do it on our own.  I spent most of Sunday afternoon putting a rail trip together.  I can't actually book the trains yet - it's too early.  But I can see what the timetables are like and I can book accommodation.  So I did. Accommodation booked in Paris, Barcelona, Algeciras and Marrakech.  Flight booked back to London. I'll book the trains when the tickets open.

It was slightly chilly when I left to go to work yesterday morning.

It's long time since I went out to find the windscreen quite so iced up. The advantage to being at Hill House was that I could turn the car on and put the heater on full bore onto the windscreen. By the time I had gone inside to tell Jim about it and come back out again, the windscreen had started to clear.  Had I done that in Tupton I suspect I wouldn't have had a car to go back to :-D  And it's just as well that the bean seeds are on the window sills in our lounge room. I don't think they would have enjoyed quite such a cold night. outside

We are at Hill House this week and next.  Must remember to pop down to our place from time to time and (lightly) water the seeds and new seedlings.