Down and Dirty on Saturday.

Hi Folks.

My Saturday morning began with waking up early yet again, so we had a nice cuppa in bed before I got up and dressed, so that Paddy could have his morning walk. Not even Marmite was out of bed, which is not like her. Maybe she was staying put because it was a grey, overcast start to the day, but as the day has worn on, the sun has come out.

I was hoping that when I took Paddy for his walk, I would spot the Muntjac Deer, which live around here. We saw them when we were here once before, but there was no show this morning. I did not even hear them calling last night, so maybe they have moved on. Muntjac were first introduced from China to Woburn Park in Bedfordshire in the early 20th century. Due to escapes and deliberate releases, Muntjac can be seen all over the country. A common name for a Muntjac is a "Barking Deer", because of their call, which sounds like a dog bark.

Back on the boat, cat and dog got fed, Keith did us Mushroom's on Toast for breakfast, which is a great way to start a day. We have a list of jobs to do over the weekend, but before starting them, I walked up to Tesco to get Keith some throat pastilles and Wine Gums to suck on as his bad throat is not giving in. That is one of the joys of getting a Summer cold. The walk took me only 15 minutes, I was actually in a queue for the till longer. But not being in any hurry, I was not to perturbed. On the saunter back, Carrie came out and said "Good Morning". We exchanged chitchat and then Carrie gave me a bottle of her Elderberry Linctus, which she makes herself. Keith has tried it and said it was very nice, so here is hoping it will help.

When I got back to the boat, Keith was hiding in the cupboard under the sink in the galley. He was changing over one of the pumps for the saloon stove as it was not working anymore. We have used two of the four pumps we originally bought, so we are beginning to think we need to come up with another idea on the pump front. Keith has a pump in mind for the future, but iot costs £160, so careful thought needs to be given before we spend that sort of cash. Job one done and on to the next one, which involved pulling up the flooring in the back cabin. Keith greased all the nipples on the drive shafts and topped up the oil in the gearbox, whilst he was doing that, I was laying down the Puppy Pads we bought from Leighton Buzzard. My hope was that they would soak up the grease and small amount of water in the bilge. I had to distort myself into some odd positions to lay the pads down, but within second I could see the pads working. Yayyyy success was made and I managed to clean up the sticky mess or at least make a dent in it. I have laid a couple of clean pads in the bilge just to soak up what is left and will take them out when we have the floor up next. Keith finished his job and I then got a scraper in the bilge and managed to scrap up some of the gunge. I do get all the best jobs ha ha ha. I am joking, I enjoy getting down and dirty, not only that Keith had worked hard. So that was another job done. We put back the flooring and mats. It was now time for lunch and a sit down. I still have chimney's to clean, but I will do those tomorrow. I am going to have an easy afternoon. We have no TV signal so we can watch DVD's or listen to the local radio station. Last night we watch DVD's. Now anyone who knows me, will know what I do not do scary movies, but last night I sat down and watched the first of the Alien movies. I tried to watch it back in 2000, but just could not cope with the alien in it and the blood. I sat through the whole movie without hiding behind my cushion, which is totally amazing. I may try and watch the 2nd film tonight.