Boat Chores and Photographs.

Hi Everyone.

Sunday is drawing to a close and it has been a day of doing the boat chores. But first we had to wake up and this happened at 6.30am this morning, which for us was not to bad. I made us a brew and we sat in bed drinking tea and nattering about computers. Keith's laptop has thrown a wobbly. We are not sure whether it is a virus or it has died. We cannot do much about it until we get back to Market Harborough, so he is having to use my laptop for the time being. It is at times like this when you realise you should back everything up on the computer everyday. We are normally pretty good at backing up our files, but Keith had let it slip a little and now with his laptop poorly he has realised that his canal planner is out of date.
Once up and about. I took Paddy for his walk. Brrrrrr it was cold as we stepped off of the boat, with a cold wind blowing down the canal. With the last few leaves remaining blowing off of the trees, the towpath has a gold carpet, which hides nasty secrets in the form of dog poop. With many dog owners not picking up after their mutts, the poop gets covered up by falling leaves and ambushes walkers or responsible dog owners. This I found to my cost, I was so annoyed to find that I had stepped in another dogs mess GRRRRRRRRR.
Back on the boat, I made us some nice warming porridge for breakfast and then laid out my plans for the morning. 1st job of the morning was to wash the boat off. It was covered in soot from another boats engine exhaust, which came past us a couple of nights ago very late. With a bowl of hot soapy water and a sponge, I set about washing the cabin and roof off. I then rinsed it off with canal water. I realise the boat will only stay clean five minutes, but at least it looks clean for the time being. 2nd job of the morning was to make a sausage casserole for tonights dinner, which we will have with potatoes and veg. 3rd task was to sweep the saloon and galley floors and then to get on my hands and knees and wash them. The floor's looked like the army had trudged through with their muddy boots on, when in fact it was only Keith and I, oh and of course there were Paddy's paw prints everywhere. Thank goodness we have laminated flooring, I dread to think what carpets would have looked like. We had carpeting on our other boat and it was a nightmare at this time of the year. By the time all this had been done it was lunchtime. Keith had spent the morning loading his backups into my laptop, so that he can do his canal planner etc. I took a break and went out with my camera. I managed to get this photo of a European Nuthatch. It was knocking seven bells out of the tree trunk hunting for bugs. A very pretty little bird.
Lunch was cheese on toasted muffins and a hot mince pie, all washed down with a coffee.
As the afternoon has worn on, it has been getting colder and colder, so I was not in the least surprised when an ownership boat pulled in for some coal. Both gentlemen onboard look very chilly and were pleased to be able to purchase a bag of coal.
I enjoyed a lovely chat with a friend on the phone. She is not in the best of health at the moment and is under going radiotherapy for lung cancer. Cancer does not discriminate between the good and bad people in this world and I find it hard to understand why someone as lovely as my friend should be going through this battle, but I am sure she will win, as she is a strong lady. She has many friends and of course family behind her and a husband who adores her.
Time to wrap up my posting for the day and put my feet up. There are films on and of course the X-Factor result. I thought Mary was the best overall last night. Everyone else seemed very nervous and then of course their is Wagner, who made a fool of himself once again. After that it will be I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here'. I sincerely hope that Gillian decides to walk, because I am finding it all a little boring now. I think the program makes need to change the voting format. Once you have done a task you are then taken out of the voting until everyone has done a task. This will stop people being voted for multiple times and would actually make for a better program. I find Gillian's situation very chringe worthy, but hey what do I know. It is all getting very much the same old as far as I can tell. Ok enough said I am off, so have a great Sunday evening.