Whose fed up?

Hi Folks.

Who is fed up with this weather now?

I am certainly not, I absolutely adore this weather and everything it brings with it, including the hardships. I know I am totally mad.
I really love boating at this time of year, but there is not much of that going on at the moment, due to the ice, but there is nothing nicer than cruising when it's crisp and clear, and the low Winter sunshine is streaming through the leafless trees. There is something quite romantic about having the back stove stoked up, so there is smoke drifting from the chimney warming the Winter air and the smell of something cooking in the stove, as you meander all wrapped up in layers of clothing, to keep out the Winter chill.
Of course to cruise in this weather you do need to wear the right clothing. I am not the sort of woman who buys expensive clothing, because it would get trashed when we are working the boat. But we do make sure we spend a little more on good footwear and coats. My favourite jacket for Winter cruising is my Donkey jacket, which keeps out the Winter chill and the rain. When we bought them a couple of years ago, they were certainly worth their money. You should never skimp on good outdoor clothing and footwear when living on a boat.

My day began at around 4.30am when I woke up to find Marmite snoozing at the bottom of the bed on my hotwater bottle and across my feet. She certainly new the warmest place to sleep. I reckon she had been there most of the night. As she was hoggy the bottle, I had to move my feet to get the circulation back to my toes. Marmite may not look heavy, but she still managed to stop the blood flowing to my toes. With the blood restored to my feet, I got up and made us the usual cuppa, I also stoked the back stove to warm us up a little. We then settled down beneath the duvet for another 40 winks.
Last night had not been so cold, so when Paddy and I stepped off of the boat it did feel warmer. The towpath is still frozen solid, as is the canal but it was feeling much more tropical compared to yesterday. The plan for the day was to walk into town to get a few items, which included fruit and veg from Frutas, who do wonderful fresh fruit and veg. At the moment they have in Chestnuts, which I will be buying nearer to Christmas, because we love to put them in the back stove to warm though. Another thing they had today, which we do not see to often and that was Russet Apples. Normally you see Granny Smiths, Cox's, Golden Delicious etc, etc, but for a nice change they had British grown Russets. Whilst I did not need anymore eating apples, I did buy some cooking apples for a pie. With fruit and veg stowed away in my rucksack and all the other shopping done we trudged up the hill and back to the boat. Having stood on the towpath for half an hour chatting to Jackie and Ray on NB Roehaise, it was time to head back to our boat to make some lunch and a coffee. All in all a quiet day for me, no customers yet and no boat chores to do. I am a very lucky girl indeed.