Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 31: Calmly through the day

[MissConductUS]

I've started a new one. Please join us and share the boring and mundane things happening in your world. It will be calming for all.

Here is a link to the prior thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5077459-come-and-tell-me-your-dull-and-unexciting-news-30-calmly-through-the-day

Welcome to all regulars, lurkers, and new contributors! Everyone is welcome to join.

Houses in North America are usually made of wood because timber is abundant and cheap. I think Britain lost most of its hardwood forests during the shipbuilding era.

Hilda, I also get those symptoms with my allergies and can predict them with the pollen count. My GP put me on SIngulair this spring and it's help a lot. I'm also still taking the OTC meds. I have an appointment with an allergist in a few weeks to see if there's anything more to be done.

Wooden houses are quite rare here and you have trouble getting mortgages for them due to the shorter life expectancy compared to brick.

Our cottage is wattle and daub I think and thatched and over 500 years old. Our previous house was brick and around 150 years old.

Had roast dinner and then did a few hours gardening with DH and filled up 1.5 green bins. Still need to plant the plants we got yesterday and the bulbs and fill up rest of green bin but was getting dark.

Havoc It was Elton Hall we went to https://eltonhall.com/

I am absolutely fascinated by the ages of homes and buildings there and in europe. 😄👍
Have now read about Elton house and grounds. 🤓
Thanks, Penguinsa. Stunning! Who are the Proby's???
Lots of deeply rooted families there!!! I would love to tour around all those historic mansions amd grounds.

I got out to Costco and put a lunch together of chicken on a salad of bell pepper, tomatoes, cukes, feta and arugula dressed with evoo and lemon juice. Had a fruit platter of pineapple, plums, strawberries and grapes along side. Have now just finished a bit of vanilla froyo with salted caramel sauce and a sprinkle of mini m&m's.
Am about to start on my cold latte and watch a doc about memory while Havoc naps. The doc is very interesting so far. Researchers say memory in not written in stone, but on water. The premise is we remember how we want and need...
Loving your pics and info P. 🩷
Baby ate first plum today, plus cucumber and chicken. Will be 8 mos this week. 🫣

Latte for you - and anyone else wanting one! 🥰

It has been raining since this afternoon and has been absolutely pouring all evening. Havoc had a three hour nap...I should've woken dc, but I took advantage of the quiet with a sleeping baby on me and watched a 2nd doc about indigenous influences/musicians in rock music. It was really interesting! Decided to take dc out for a drive after dinner and we watched the planes out in Richmond for a bit then picked up bagels and a few rugelach at a 24-hr place in Kits that I recommend if ever out this way. That's my giant bite out of an onion bagel before I remembered I had cream cheese in the fridge 😂😋

Havoc we're lucky over here in that there’s usually a historic house to visit not too far away! We have several in the near vicinity, like Penguinsa, and they make for a relaxing day out, not least because, as well as the house and gardens, there’s invariably a tearoom with several different types of cake on offer. I took these pics at a place we visited relatively recently.

Also like Penguinsa, we live in an old house - a youngster compared to hers 😅, but it’s probably over 350 years old. It’s timber-framed, though not thatched, with brick to infill the spaces between the timbers, but originally it might well have been wattle & daub - brick is generally a later building material and would have been much more expensive because the 'daub' was basically just mud/animal dung that could be scooped up free from the ground, and these were humble dwellings. Most old houses still standing have been extensively altered over the years as owners extended and 'improved'. Ours has had bits built on and we’ve found all sorts of evidence of (usually bodged) historic DIY which we'd love to know more about….such as, why did they extend out the entire side of the house, getting rid of an external doorway in the process, but only by about a measly six feet?! They could have made a whole extra room but they didn’t!

Hilda, does the method of building have any bearing on modern hearting? I'm asking because, with fall coming, invariably there will be several threads about the cost of heating, not using it/using sparingly etc. are the home and buildings not well insulated/insulated well? Is there a lack of heaters/radiators in homes?
Growing up we had oil, but every place I've lived since has been electric. One place also had a gorgeous gas fireplace that could heat the whole home, but natural has has become expensive compared to what it once was. I find only heating rooms in use and keeping all doors closed to rooms not in use, heat off at night and electric blankets on the beds works well and we are comfortable, for example. We also have triple glazed windows and that has made a difference, too. Just curious. 🤓
I really like that so many historic residences are open to tour there! I will keep an eye out for some heritage homes here to show for comparison. Ours will likely be 1900-1920's and have s plaque outside stating heritage designation. I'll try to remember to google this! 🤓🤓🤓

Havoc I think the first Proby to own their was the Lord Mayor of London but they are basically just a very rich family though a fairly private one.

I found this about timber framed houses - ours is timber framed as well as thatch. https://southerntimberframe.com/news/a-brief-history-of-timber-frame-construction-in-britain/ This is a company selling timber frames so take the current revival with a big pinch of salt but the rest is accurate.

Heating I know ours is less than average as thatched - I think most here have gas central heating. Electric costs a lot more or it used to at least.

Floof had me up at 6am and I am sleep writing this!

Found this as a start. If you click on a map you can enlarge and see a few pictured. I recognize several styles, but didn't consider they might be true heritage homes. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org/discover-heritage/map-guides/

I’m working today. I don’t normally work on Tuesdays.

Havoc thankfully our house has full (gas) central heating, but we did add secondary glazing to the windows as it gets very cold. The house heats up well but if we’re away for a few days it gets icy without any heat on (though it is lovely and cool in summer). We’ve been told that when a former owner bought it in the 1940s it had no electricity and only gas lighting! Originally there would just have been open fires and candle-light or rush-lights.

I’ve traced the house in the censuses back as far as I can get and found a woman and her mother living here in the 19th century. The mother was in her 80s then so would have been born in the 18thc. That really brings the past to life.

What I’d really love to do is get some dendronchronology done on the roof-beams - they drill a tiny sample out and can date the wood. It’s very expensive, though. Most houses were built with reused timbers from older houses (it’s a bit of a myth that they used ship’s timbers) so it’s slightly approximate but a rough guide. Lots of our beams have carpenter’s marks where they matched up the right bits of wood with corresponding marks carved into the wood. Exactly like barn-raising in American films.

Penguinsa, we were posting about the same time...I was about to drift off to sleep though. The history of home building is very interesting. I googled the Proby name. Also interesting.
Hilda, I'm fascinated you have been able to date your house that far back and know who lived there.
I was able to read some of my great uncle's military records and locate an original address in the UK. That was pretty cool. 🤓

It's pretty gusty out and the clouds are getting blown out showing blue sky. Weather is supposed to be sunny through to next week now, I think. I can't believe it's the last weekend of summer !!!! (I know not technically, but Labour Day really does signal the end of summer...)😢

I thought I could nurse baby and slip back into bed. Havoc has woken up and wants a bagel.

www.houseofnames.com/proby-family-crest

Talking of using wood/timber for buildings....

In my research in Venice ...it said not to bother trying out the pizzas as that do not have any fire ovens on the island as all there are so many structures that use wood.

I think it was mainly saying ...the pizzas aren't going to be great if you want a gourmet pizza meal !

I am sure we will still pick up a quick slice from somewhere for a snack if we are hungry!

I imagine it will be like the Greggs slices you can buy ....I love them 🤣.

I have a feeling I may end up boring you all with my mindless , boring information about Venice in the next few months 🤣.

I have a tendency to over think and over plan ...but I am not a stickler for the itinerary. .....I am always happy if even just 1/2 of it goes to plan !

@Penguinsa ....how did your dd's little trip go ?

Would love some tips on the must do/ok/don't bother /do it this way instead sort of things !

Still trying to decide between 4 or 5 nights !

Whatever we decide.....I think we are going to need a bigger bank balance that I have sorted of budget for 🤣.

Bizzey, I'm super excited for you! I'd love to go!

Big question though Penguinsa ...
How hot was it ? 🥵🥵.... that is concerning me a bit !

But we don't really have a choice with dates.

I suppose we just manage our itinerary around it ? 🤔....

Unfortunately.....none of us re natural early birds 🤣🤣

@Mumtobabyhavoc Ive just found this thread in passing and saw your pic of the food truck at Granville island. Just wanted to say that GI is one of my favourite places on earth. I love all of it from the market to the water taxis. Also of course False creek and Yaletown with its large yachts .
Also Steveston for a wander along the boardwalk watching the fishing boats sell their catches.

In my last visit this year they were the only must see places to visit .

Anyway my own dull and unexciting news is that Im painting a brick wall white. This is for uniformity as it was painted half way and there is no way I can get the paint off . Much better to live with a wholly painted wall than a half painted wall.

Haha that sounds amaaaaaazing. You crazy cat

Hi all, hope you don’t mind me joining in, after lurking for a while!

My news is we move house next month. I’ve got the dreaded task of sorting out 3 children’s toys, books etc to make it easier for packing (and to declutter a little as none of them like to part with anything).

Dull task of trying to find a sofa set or corner set that I can afford. I’m being priced out at the moment and Facebook etc seems to be scams galore.

@Mumtobabyhavoc i have a maths degree but maths facts might be too dull even for this thread 🤣 I’ve never heard of triple glazing, we swapped single for double when we moved here. We have solar panels but still have an oil boiler, though we don’t use it much. The tank is a pain as it takes up lots of room and is an ugly addition to the garden. I am currently trying to grow the garden up around it to lessen it’s impact.

@Penguinsa wow, I don’t know if I would be brave enough to take on a thatched roof. I imagine you have to budget for full replacement and it must be difficult to get the right person for the job.

@aibutohavethisusername did a coworker call in sick?

Our house is not that old but we know exactly when the roof was completed as the chap who did it wrote the date on a timber in the loft.

I have been picking our plums, damsons, eating and cooking apples. I need suggestions for easy recipes to use up the cooking apples, we seem to have a bumper crop.

Welcome, @aibutohavethisusername, @Vanfan and @IsThisIt2021, and thanks for sharing your work schedule, interior decorating and house moving news. It's always exciting when a new thread brings people in from greater MN universe.

Penguinsa, that's a very interesting article on timber frame construction in the UK. I wasn't aware of the impact of the great fire of London in 1666, but that makes sense. I mentioned this to DH and he told me that when he lived in London he visited the Museum of London which had a lot of information about the fire.

We had a nice FaceTime call with DD and our new SIL last night. They have bought a bed and a couch for their new apartment, so it's shaping up nicely.

Dandy Yes the thatch we have lasts a long time but there was an 18 month wait on the thatcher - loved seeing it done. We also had to get it and the chimney done in lockdown - the thatch wasn't too bad, only adjustment was they brought their own toilet but that worked for us. The chimney was more of an issue as we had to get specialist tudor bricks and mortar during lockdown plus permissions. I love the thatch and we get a lot of birds on it and the occasional squirrel. Always wanted one since a child, my great aunt had one. Its rethatched in stages and there are different types of thatches - it gets re-ridged as well every 10 years (linking bit on top), last thatch lasted from 1980 ish to 2021. Does make home insurance a bit of a challenge though. Ours isn't too bad as we have no open fires but only a few places will insure us.

Lovely to have all that fruit - with apples we do apple crumble, apple pie, apple charlotte, Tarte Tatin, apple strudel.

Welcome IsthisIt Hope all goes well with the house move. Welcome Van ohdear and Aibu

Havoc Hope you get some nice weather soon.

Bizzey DD hasn't been to Venice with her friend yet, she goes in about a week's time. I would go for the longest you can do budget permitting. Lots of lovely ice cream there. I've been quite a few times as I love it so much and years ago Ryanair did £1 flights which balanced out the hotel prices. We used to stay in Villa Edera on the lido via Booking.com and that was nice. I like getting the boat (vaporetto) round there - going round the islands to Murano, Burano and round Venice itself. Its lovely just to wander around like by Rialto etc. We also did a classic concert by candlelight which was lovely but don't know if boys might be bored. This has got the main things in but a lovely place just to potter around. https://www.timeout.com/venice/things-to-do/best-things-to-do-in-venice

MissC Lovely to have the Facetime call. Yes I had also forgotten about Great Fire but does make sense.

Bizzey If you happen to be in Venice on 1 September its the regatta.

https://www.regatastoricavenezia.it/en/

I found these old films of the Venice regatta.

https://museo.regatastoricavenezia.it/filmati/

Just marking place 😀

Hi all, just trying to catch up. Had a bad few weeks with DS (27) mental health. Even though he's been really ill it's a 4 week wait for a GP appointment. He goes tomorrow. 🙏🤟