Up and down, there and back.

Hi Folks.

I meant to post this photo from the other day, the other day, but completely forgot it was on my phone, so here it is today. The rainbow was a complete rainbow and it looked stunning shining over the top of the top lock cottage at Foxton Locks.

So here we are on Tuesday evening and I am now feeling shattered, I have been up and down, then up again, plus there and back again, so my sore foot is now complaining a little, although the blister is getting better.

The day began as always, but then I thought I would light the back cabin stove, but before lighting it I checked the chimney which looked a little clogged with soot, so without further a do I swept the chimney and gave the fire a jolly good seeing too.

I got half a bucket of soot out of the chimney so I was so glad I looked before setting a match to the fire. Chimney cleaned the stove was lit and Marmite took up her position on the side bed to get warm.

Keith then left to go into Market Harborough to put our letter box up at the wharf. He had tried to do it yesterday, but the holes he had drilled were to small, so he went off on the bus and left me on the boat to get on with a few jobs. Job one was to take the toilet cassette and rubbish down to the sanitary station, which is quite a hike from the boat, but needs must. Having loaded up the trolley, locked the boat and with my MP3 player going, I set off along the towpath, down to the sanitary station to do the necessary, on the way back I called into the museum to hand over a disc with all the photographs I had taken of the festival for Ann and took the opportunity to have a quick natter with her to find out how she thought it all went. The signs look good that they made some money, which is always a plus. Breath back and chit chat over, I headed back up the hill to the boat, where Paddy was sitting in the back cabin waiting for me. Job two was to give the boat a sweep through, Job three was to wash up, Job four was to put some sausages in the back cabin stove for lunch, as I fancied sausage sandwiches for lunch, Job five was to wash and polish the towpath side of the boat, which needed doing to help protect the paintwork for the winter. Lunchtime came along and so did Keith, who I saw walking back up the towpath. He had put the letter box up, so we can now have post delivered yayyyyyy. I made sausage sandwiches for lunch, which went down nicely.

After lunch I received a text from Tesco to say my shopping would arrive between 3pm and 4pm, so 2.30pm I gathered the trolley, my boxes and bags together and set off once again along the towpath, to meet the Tesco van at the top of Foxton Locks entrance. Luckily I had remembered to take my MP3 player with me, because I had to wait till almost 4pm for the man in a van to turn up. Anyone passing me whilst I wanted must have thought I was a nutter because I was dancing a long to the music on my player and at times singing, which I know sounds like the cats choir, but I do not care. As the Tesco man unloaded my food, I placed it in the boxes and bags, signed my name on his hand held computer and said cheerio. I was then off back along the towpath to the boat where Keith was waiting to help me load it into the boat. All of this was done in the rain, which we so need. Having put the trolley in the hold, I then had to stow all the shopping away in the cupboard, fridge and freezer. The shop included a winter supply of Fray Bentos pies, which cook a dream in the back cabin stove and are part of the staple diet of a boater in the winter.

One things certain we will not be going hungry.

Dinner is cooking in the back cabin stove, Marmite is in the back cabin, Paddy is in Marmite's bed and Keith and I have the TV on, with a rather fuzzy BBC1 picture, we are about  to sit and watch "Pointless", which we both enjoy. After dinner it will be time to sit back and unwind before bedtime. Tomorrow we will be on the move.

Chat soon xx