Hope she didnât have to split it as well 
But itâs always a good feeling when the wood supply is sorted for another winter.
2 Likes
That is very much NOT in the job description - Iâm not even sure she could swing the axe with enough force to split logs TBH. My wife is a woman of many talents, but splitting logs is not one of them - I just asked if she could and there was a shake of the head.
Maybe you need to buy her an Aldi kettlebell
1 Like
I think itâs inclination and ability, rather than strength.
Especially when she has un Vieux Marin to do it for her. 
3 Likes
cheerful news if youâve got one of these cards⊠go grab the money now⊠
I often forget and⊠drat and double drat 
2 Likes
Todayâs cheerful news is that Iâve managed to send a video via whatsapp⊠hurrah⊠my daughter is delighted and I am amazed and exhausted with the stress 
Iâve now zapped off some recent photos to her (ping, ping, ping) and she might well regret giving me this modern phone thingy 
4 Likes
My son has made yet another failed attempt to buy me a smart phone, he says nothing about the Apple Watch he was forcing on me though, so maybe passing on info I got on here that it needs a smartphone has dissuaded him.
I really do appreciate his concern, and would have worn the watch when alone in the countryside, but blowed if Iâm going to hump a damn great computer around with me everwhere.
2 Likes
Very shortly I will be going over to the pension to collect my furry mate, Jules, I had thought that she might be in awkward mode again as it took her 24 hours to reply to my request, not about collecting him, but the best time to do so.
Also, I have received an email from AXA telling me that they are going to pay around âŹ750 of a âŹ950 dental bill and, I assume, CPAM will pick up part of the rest. If so that is a better percentage that I got 20 years ago with a previous dental treatment.
9 Likes
Great news David, youâll both be happy to see each other.
Heavens! Easy-peasy. Itâs a part of the whole process I enjoy. (Also a woman of many talents including log splitting)
4 Likes
Rebuilding Mum and Dad 2026 update. Such an inspiration.
3 Likes
Yesterday was a quite a good day. 3 weeks ago my elderly Mum, unfortunately mostly bedridden etc, suddenly remembered she needed to do a UK tax return. Her usual tax accountant had, most inconveniently, dropped dead recently and all her papers were locked in his office. She is incredibly vague about what her sources of income are. My siblings and I have spent hours and hours trying to understand what on earth she received.
It is very like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle without a nice picture on the box to show what the end result should look like. Yesterday the final missing pieces fell into place and we were able to send a complete, oven-ready schedule of all income and tax to a newly appointed tax accountant (also no easy task to find one at the last minute!). I wanted somebody independent to actually prepare her return, as I am now too close to it to be objective etc. Next task, preparing Mum for a real possible shock when she learns quite how much she unfortunately owesâŠ
6 Likes
That sounds like a marathon, what a nightmare for the family. Hopefully the bill wonât be too much of a shock and the process will be easier next time. Good work. 
1 Like
Saw them yesterday. Right next to the Kettle chips. Have to be carefulâŠ
1 Like
Iâm feeling really cheerful today⊠yesterday was filled with dread as Iâd planned to visit 2 friends, 1 in Hospital and the other in the Recovery/Oldfolk section.
Phew⊠my lovely friend who was rushed in with bronchitis/chest horrors and subsequently operated on for newly discovered nasties⊠was dressed and looking marvellous⊠happily anticipating Rehabilitation before returning to her home just up the hill from us.
My other friend had lost his marbles (so Iâd been told) and was suffering from some ghastly unknown illness⊠and had changed beyond recognition ??⊠so you might well imagine the dread I felt as I stepped into his room.
I called a gentle hello and introduced myself from behind my mask⊠and was so pleased to see his face (almost) light up. He definitely smiled!
We chatted (well I did mostly and he murmured now and then). It was clear that he was as delighted to see me as I was to see him and I mentally vowed to visit again when Iâm in that area.
Phew, by the time I got back to my transport, I felt exhausted and a little ashamed that Iâd not made arrangements to visit him sooner. But⊠better late than never
5 Likes
My husbandâs maternal grandfather had a life of misery with his wife so when he had a major stroke in his mid 70âs the family were told he had not only lost his voice but his marbles. Well the crafty old devil hadnât, he just wanted some peace away from the old nag and so when I, OH and my FIL were alone with him, he would revert to his old jolly intelligent self and it became our top secret and the wife and my MIL never found out either!
10 Likes
thatâs lovely!
Sadly, our pal is very, very ill. He is a wonderful man, beloved by all who know him, but, short of a miracle, he wonât ever be coming home.
But, the cheerful news is that he is still alive
I totally sympathise⊠I am in a similar situation with my Mum, although she is still reasonably mobile and has most of her marbles, this year we found getting her tax info together a bit more of a challenge than it used to be as she had misplaced some of the paperwork from the various financial institutions.
She does incredibly well for 100 years old though!
Anyway we got the info needed from Aviva etc, and I switched her to the bookkeeper who I use to submit my tax return, who is not only very responsive but charges half as much as the firm she was using, who used to make her fill out a long form with all the figures i.e. essentially doing all the work for themâŠ
One last minute snag was getting my bloke appointed as her representative - her Government Gateway ID had expired, and without a passport or driving licence you canât easily reinstate it! So we had to send a paper form to HMRC, which thankfully they processed promptly and now all is well.
3 Likes
My local garagiste confirmed that my carâs alternator is charging correctly, so thatâs several hundred Euros I donât have to spend.
I replaced the 7 year old OEM battery last month as it didnât care the cold snap. I tested the alternator myself with a couple of battery testers and a multimeter before I fitted the new one I purchased from Norauto and confirmed that the issue was the battery and the alternator was okay.
All good until I took up Norautoâs offer of a free charging system test and was told âthe alternator is weakâ. It should be noted that the technician never asked me to rev the engine to the point that charging should start during this âtestâ.
Iâm a big fan of not attributing anything to malice that can be explained by stupidity, but I will certainly think twice before using Norauto again.
5 Likes