Smoke on the Water.

Hello friends.

I just love it when I sleep like a baby and wake up completely refreshed. Just such a thing happened last night and I woke this morning feeling wonderful. Keith was up before me and made us both a cup of tea, which we drank in bed. From the temperature in the cabin, it was clear either the stove had gone out, or we had had a very cold night. It was the latter, because overnight we had a very heavy frost. I opened up the back cabin doors to a misty morning and the birds singing a merry tune. As I lay in bed, I could smell a delightful smell coming from the Saloon. Last night I had put the Chicken carcase from Sunday dinner on the stove over night to stew in water and from the smell permiatting throughout the cabin, the Chicken was well and truly stewed. I wanted the broth from the Chicken for soup.

I got out of a very warm bed, someone had to make the first move. I thought the order of the day should be Porridge for breakfast, because we would need something to warm the bodies core whilst on the move. Paddy got his walk up the towpath and decided he was going to behave like a puppy. He was sprinting up and down the towpath like a total loony. We walked passed a narrowboat, which has been damaged by fire. Unfortunately the mooring pins had been pulled out and one mooring pin had completely disappeared. The boat was only moored on a centre rope, so I tied the boat to the piling and hoped that the owner would return to sort their boat out. Back onboard the boat, I stripped down the Chicken carcase and poured the broth into a large pan. To the pan I then added Garlic, Carrots, Onion, Potatoes and Mushrooms. After adding some Pepper, I put the lid on and stood it on top of the back cabin stove, so it could simmer slowly whilst we were on the move. We started the boat up, sending a plume of smoke into the cold air. I love it when she blows smoke rings.

As we left the mooring, there was mist rolling along the surface of the water, just like smoke on the water. Yep that is a song title. Deep Purple bought out a song called "Smoke on the Water". It was first released on their 1972 album Machine Head. Not that I was a huge Deep Purple fan ;0). We had an uneventful cruise back to the Welford Arm, but it was nice and fresh and the views were stunning across the valley. I kept the Coffee coming, but of course when you drink so much, you have to keep visiting the smallest room on our boat. This gave me the opportunity to steer the boat for a bit. I do love getting my hands on the tiller when I can. After all it is the only way to learn and I am still learning I am happy to say.

As we moored up at Welford, we were met by a hedge cutter, slashing its way along the hedgerow. I pitty anything that gets in the way of the blades, because it was making mincemeat of fair sized branches. As the cutter did its work, a man walked behind the tractor cleaning up the mess, which was very kind of him. I am sure the people driving their cars along the track will be most grateful. Having secured the boat, I blitzed the soup simmering on the back stove with a whisk, added some chilli for a kick. We enjoyed the warming soup with some Bread and Butter before washing it down with a Coffee. Our TV signal is really poor here, but we have the afternoon film on Channel 4, "The password is courage" which is in Black and White, this is just as well, because it is like watching something through a snow storm ;0(. I feel a DVD moment coming on later on if all else fails. We have been here now for a couple of hours and no customers yet. So it looks like it will be a quiet afternoon.

Right I am off to think about tonights dinner. So will chat soon. xx