I have scattered interests....... in the scant number of hours left after work, and after putting the three small children down every night and playing with them all of most weekends, I really should get time to fix the Fergy. That should not take too long, after all it only took 3 months to fix the VW Beetle engine, then only another 15 months to re-install it..... but then I really should get round to replacing the 2 or three bits that it failed the MOT on.. in July. Then I could tax it and take it out for a drive.

That would give me more room in the garage. As would getting round to advertising the hundred and one odd things that seem to inhabit the garage, too good to chuck out, but it takes so long to place an advert. It would be good to have the Beetle going, 'cos then I could fix a couple of things on my own car which need doing, and if my own "regular" car was in order then I could get my wife to use that so I could take the air conditioning condenser out of her car and replace it. At least her car is going, which is handy 'cos it's got a towbar.

And that reminds me I must get over to the sailing lake and take the two small boats home, neither of which I have been able to get out on for 15 months: one needs the tiller bracket replacing, the other needs a general tidy and should have the trampoline taken off for the winter. Fortunately I can get the boats in the drive at the moment as the large garden rubbish heap is finally burnt.

A lot of the rubbish was trimmings from a large tree where I have now removed enough small growth to finish building the kid's tree-house, at least half the floor is in place, and I have got enough wood to finish, although a lot of it has loads of nails in it, and it takes ages to get all the nails out. I must get some more posts installed as well 'cos it's a little unstable at the moment.. It's getting easier to see what I am doing there now as all the leaves are coming off the trees, which is good; I've got most of the leaf fall out of the pool now but that will still need another weekend tidying up and putting away for the winter... as will all the garden furniture, takes a long time to dismantle it so it will go in the shed.

At least the shed is OK. I wonder if it is OK enough to try to attach eldest child's new basketball hoop to? While down there I note the couple of lawnmowers that need a bit of fixing, but they can wait and wait and wait. Wandering back toward the house I am reminded that I meant to scarify, overfill, flatten and overseed the lawn, it's had a pretty torrid summer and will look atrocious next year if I don't do something.

But back towards the house. Pass the delapidated conservatory, I really wish I could find more time to draw those plans on the computer to rebuild and extend it, been working on and off with them for three years now, better hurry up. and of course once plans are approved I will need to actually build it, big project that.

Back inside the house, and into my study (past numerous other things, especially of the kids, that need fixing). Shall get out one of the two large telescopes, it looks like a clear night. It would be good to try that new large-format camera out for a moon shot, but no moon and no film until I can get to see that guy who is going to sell me some film-loading accessories. So let's leave the telescopes and cameras alone. Well, the still cameras at least. perhaps I should copy more of the videocam stuff onto the pc, getting a bit of a backlog of tapes of the kids there.

Ah, but the pc needs fixing, that networking stuff is still not working and it's so much harder backing things up without it. The drawing/cad program for the extension plans needs re-installing, but I shouldn't really be doing things on my pc before fixing the kids' one, their games don't seem to want to start at the moment. Thinking about this computer is just too hard, I know I can do it I built it myself but it is just so time-consuming. I could always catch up with a bit of piano ( or guitar or sax or clarinet) practice, or just sit on the rowing machine and do some excercise, lord knows I could use it!

No, too many challenges in my study, out of there, off to the kitchen to make a cuppa, oh dear I still haven't waterproofed that new worktop, it's been 15 months now, still it doesn't seem to be suffering. The project to clean and rewax the floor seems to have come to a halt, but too much guilty conscience to stay in that room; pop upstairs to the loo, past the chandelier waiting to be installed, it must have sat on that spot on the landing for 5 years now, it will soon be an antique! Going into the bathroom I'm reminded that the windowsill is rotted and I only got 1/2-way through scraping it out and putting a protective coat on before winter sets in. Coming back downstairs I note the draft running down, must look into getting that in-floor radiator and installing it.

Back to the kitchen, but again the guilty conscience returns; only one thing for it, over the road to the pub for a beer, and see if it all sorts itself out!

So, as you see, a rather too diverse range of interests and jobs to actually ever get anything done! And I know that I've left an awfully large number out.....

And back to where I started; when I've finished/ fixed the Beetle/ boats/ treehouse/ lawn/ garden/ camera/ telescope/ PC's/ plans/ extension/ excercise/ music/ pool/ children........ I'll start to take the bonnet of the Fergy and find that damn governor!

© Kieran F. 2003