Dave Barter wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 10:06 am

Bearlegged wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 9:44 pm Visions of Dave heading down to his allotment for a quiet morning indulging his new pipe smoking routine, only to be confronted by Reg and a merry band of BAMmers nestled in the potting shed.

I’ve filled it full of manure to fend off the BAMers

Like that will stop 'em

Rapideye wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 10:33 am Like that will stop 'em

Aye. Nice and soft, source of heat? Lovely.

Spring vibes with the mild weather. I know it's the first of many false springs, but the slightly longer days and higher sun have been making it feel less like the dead of winter for a couple if weeks now, even though it's been largely grey and wet.

Leisurely packing for a couple of nights out

Loaf of bread in the oven too.

Went on a road trip with daughter yesterday to get her a new pair of ice skates. Thankfully the £480 ones (!!!), that didn't even come with blades (another £150 - 180) were too uncomfortable. Got my skates sharpened, so we're off to the rink a mo' to try them out. Evens that we're both on our arses in the first couple of minutes...

Cheery here, another cheeky day off work and about to pack up and head out to bag some Grid references on Shaff's alternative winter event. Currently sunny and quite mild...

Cheerily pre-JennRide tinkering with bike in the drizzle and having realised that I'd totally missed dotwatching Race Around Rwanda this year, thinking back to the downhill race I had with this kid en route back in 2020. Bikes are bloody brilliant, aren't they?

After 10 months of tests, scans and biopsies looks like everything is more benign than was feared which is pretty damn cheery even if it isn't a Friday. Now I just need to get some fitness back.

After 10 months of tests, scans and biopsies looks like everything is more benign than was feared which is pretty damn cheery even if it isn't a Friday. Now I just need to get some fitness back.

Yay indeed

I'd not realised you had that on your mind, but good to hear you're all clear!

Great news

Brilliant, Paul.

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 6:19 pm After 10 months of tests, scans and biopsies looks like everything is more benign than was feared which is pretty damn cheery even if it isn't a Friday. Now I just need to get some fitness back.

that's excellent news, definitely deserving of an honorary cheery Friday!

Always nice to get a txt off the NHS Blood and Transplant service saying my latest blood donation has been used.

Actually sitting down. Doing absolutely nothing.
Apart from finally visiting this here place, which has been sorely missing from my life recently. That's cheery Friday enough in itself.
Added bonus is that I am sitting doing nothing on a comfy bed in a guest house in sleety slate grey Blaenau Ffestiniog, on my first day of a little long weekend road trip with my daughter and friend.
And I had a nice long day out on the bike yesterday, which made me totally forget about work, which I had been stressing about for the first three days of the week.
Aren't bikes brilliant.

Verena wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2024 6:51 pm sleety slate grey Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Three adjectives which are rather superfluous when trying to add anything to the basic Blaenauness . One of my favourite places for a pleasant weekend away, have a nice time

Aren't bikes brilliant.

Yep!

Oh, and Zoe still enjoying her slate obsession so much that she's trying to get her unsuspecting pal involved too

RIP wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2024 7:09 pm Oh, and Zoe still enjoying her slate obsession so much that she's trying to get her unsuspecting pal involved too

Yep, and in February too... probably one of the best times to visit, along with maybe, ermm, November??

Verena wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2024 6:51 pm [...]
Aren't bikes brilliant.

Indeed!
Was on a nice long ride with loads of new off and on road bits. Crispy cold up top (with fresh snow), warm lover down. Sunny, but not the boring - all blue - kind of sunny. Lovely clouds out and body felt fantastic

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 6:19 pm After 10 months of tests, scans and biopsies looks like everything is more benign than was feared which is pretty damn cheery even if it isn't a Friday. Now I just need to get some fitness back.

Must be a huge relief. Being healthy is even more brilliant than bikes
All the best, hope your fitness comes back easily.
Rebuilding mine and love putting in the efforts, being more outdoors and now feeling the improvements.

After extensive and continuous mentoring and professional guidance (*) from my Fermentation Consultant (**) my first batch of sauerkraut has seen the light of day.

(*) "Bung some some chopped cabbage in a jar of brine for a couple of weeks, what's the worst that could happen?"

(**) Mr Frog of this parish, a World Authority on matters sauerkrauty

Expecting a jar of green slime, I was pleasantly surprised to get... some very tasty sauerkraut! Next batch will be in a bucket.. the one after that in an old tin bath... it's impossible to stop now..

Looks a bit wierd since I inadvisedly used green cabbage not white...

Nice one, sauerkraut has been on my list to try for a while. I've already dabbled with kefir and kombucha and have no real desire to go anywhere near kimchi; although I might then be able to make one I actually find palatable.

In other cheery news, as of last night, I can now ice skate backwards! I canny turn, or stop, but who needs to do those...

RIP wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2024 9:47 am ….. my first batch of sauerkraut has seen the light of day.

Congratulations. Enjoy.

Making sauerkraut is very satisfying. Mine is made in a 10 litre plastic bucket, then bagged up in manageable quantities (for two), then frozen. Kefir is fun to make too. I made lots last summer but Mrs Frog chucked my grains away when I was away for a month last September.

This year, I fermented a sweet-jar full of beetroot. Recipe from YouTube (it’s handy being able to speak polish). OK, so raw fermented beetroot is not to everyone’s taste, but it made a lovely traditional soup (barszcz) for Wigilia (Christmas Eve) and grated with horseradish it’s delicious with cold meats. I used some of the liquid from the sauerkraut as a starter to get things going sooner.

It’s always nice (but not always cheaper) to make your own stuff.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/mone ... iate=true

Car touchscreens totally out of hand now, agreed. Menus with about 20 levels. Not that I know what's going on though, Mrs P's motor that she occasionally lets me borrow still has handles to open the windows.

Anyway, to put it on topic: how long before our bikes have everything controlled by touchscreens on the bars? Adjust lights intensity? - scroll, press, scroll, select. Tyre pressure? - scroll, select. Saddle angle? - ditto blah blah.

Stop it!! It's all bonkers!

Reg 'Old Fart' Perrin

I couldn't agree with you more Reg. I'll also take the easy pun you are dangling, by declaring, as far as cars go - i love knobs!

I only have a basic screen in our car, but on the occasions I use it I get really annoyed by how distracting it is. On top of things being impenetrably hidden behind menus, I find the touchscreen itself a really poor interface when driving. I often mis-hit things, and it's harder to use when the car is jiggling around when moving. It's taking a device that's designed around engrossing it's user in the interface (ipad/smartphone touchscreen), and plonking it mindlessly in a machine that needs that very same attention to operate. It's a serious attention conflict! Buttons in cars are actually a result of slow improvements over a long time, and are often very well thought out and 'nice'. It seems that ergonomics (which seems a quaint word from the 90's) has been sacrificed on the alter of sleek design.

I heard the longing for proper controls in cars like we used to have is...

Knobstalgia

sean_iow wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 10:47 am I heard the longing for proper controls in cars like we used to have is...

Knobstalgia

Sign me up! I want a bumper sticker too!