12 Things to Remember.

Hello Friends and Followers.

As always thank you for taking the time to pop in and have a peek at my ramblings.

Today has been a rather mixed day for me and the reason for this is that 32 years ago, I gave birth to my daughter and 8 hours later she left this world for what I hope is a better place. Victoria Helen died from Congenital Pulmonary Lymphangectasia, yes I know a real mouthful. Victoria was the 26th case in 100 years, so rather rare. Her case actually made it into the Lancet back in 1985. She was such a blessing for the short time she was with me and she has forever changed my life.

This poem was written by me for my daughter Victoria Helen. She was born and died on the 31st May 1985. Aged 8 hours old.

For Victoria
-·=»‡«=·-<< ~~*~~ -·=»‡«=·- ~~*~~ >>-·=»‡«=·-

Alone I hung my head to cry,
No one around to dry my eyes,
No one around to ease the pain of
Missing you for all these years.
Alone I cried for my little girl,
No one to tell me everything is okay,
No one to take the bad memories away, of
Losing you that day.
Alone I sit to think of the life, you will never have
I'm not there to show you the love you should have had,
Your not here to see the tenderness you deserved for being born.
Alone I laid down your head to sleep, in the arms of Jesus
I'm not there to hold you when you awake, in his arms
But he cares for you now.
He shows you the love; I had for you whilst you were within me.
I cannot hold you, but in my heart and soul.
I wish I could have comforted you on your journey.
Know that I love you and you are not alone,
You are safe in the arms of Jesus.

Back to normal.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Tuesday means laundry morning. I like to get my laundry done early and out on the line. As you will probably know, because I say it a lot, I love to see a line of washing blowing in the wind. We have rotary lines here, which does not give quite the same affect as a long line, but hey ho we go with what we have and as long as the washing is dry, what does it really matter?

Having done the laundry, it was Paddy’s weigh-in day and I wanted to see if they would cut his claws. We have done his claws for all the years we have had him, but of late he has gotten very grumpy when we have cut them. Yes even an old dog becomes a grumpy old man. So I decided to walk to the vets, to get him weighed. I thought I would be so clever and take a short cut down a steep bank. Bad decision in my case because I did not walk down the bank, I slide down on my bottom. Paddy stood at the bottom of the slope and looked at me with that look that said “Mother, what are you like?”. Thankfully the only thing damaged was my pride and I had dirty trousers, which were clean on. To cover the muddy bottom, I took my waistcoat off and pulled it down over my bottom, so no one could actually see what a plonker I had been. At the vets Paddy stood on the scales and today he came in at 15.7 kg, so has only put on point one of a kg, not exactly mind blowing. The nurse said she could do his claws for me if I was happy to wait, so wait we did and then it was Paddy’s turn. He as always when at the vets went into the room with his tail wagging. But that soon changed when a muzzle came his way. Paddy has never been muzzled before, but because of his grumpy nature at the moment, I thought it advisable. This proved to be a good move when the nurse cut one of his claws a little short and made him wince and then bleed. Paddy on the whole was very good really and the ordeal was soon over and cost me £13.60, but at least he did not hate me for cutting his claws too short. Oddly it was £13.60 for the nurse to cut his claws, if the vet did it, then it was £22, go figure? With his paws all sorted out we strolled back to the boat, where I made us our first coffee of the day.

As the day wore on, laundry dry and put away, it was time to think about lunch, which would be a salad, because things needed eating up. This was followed by Strawberries, Banana, Grapes and Yogurt, topped off with flaked Almonds. My afternoon was filled with crochet and catching up with e-mails and Facebook. I do sometimes wonder how we ever managed with out being online. There is part of me that wishes we had never started this modern technology, but they call it progress. I liked it when you walked to the corner of the road and made a phone call from a telephone box. Now you have every Tom, Dick and Harry on their phones as they walk through you having personal conversations that everyone can hear. I still like to hand write a letter, but these days it is all about the e-mail. I guess if the postage stamp was cheaper, maybe just maybe more people would still write hand written letter like we used to do. I know I am sounding like an old fuddy duddy, but that is just me .

Bank Holiday Weekend.

Hello Friends and Followers.

How quickly Bank Holiday Weekends come around and with it the rain. Saturday and Sunday were fabulous, but today we have been told to expect rain, hence the photograph at the top.

Saturday was a day for walking into the town to the market, where I got Strawberries, which were scrummy. I did do some gardening, tidying and of course cooking food, well when I say cooking, we ate salads. Cooking on a boat in the heat is not totally recommended, because the heat does not dissipate easily. I then sat and watch the F1 qualify and films during the afternoon. I also watched on Twitter the live feed from Twickenham the match between Wasps and Exeter Chiefs, which sadly ended with Wasps losing 20-23 in the final, but we fought well. Next season bodes well.

Sunday I was a little more productive. Because it was so beautiful with a bit of a breeze, I spent most of the day sitting outside, making use of our new table.

I finished another baby blanket in burgundy and grey and have begun another one in blue and white, which is already coming along nicely. Lunch was another salad and was eaten out on the pontoon. It is so nice to have a table which does not rock all over the place. To celebrate the fact, I opened the two small bottles of Prosecco which we won at Christmas in the pub quiz. As you can see neither of us are big drinkers, because those two small bottle have been in the fridge since winning them, well not anymore, because we enjoyed then contents with our lunch.

There were lots of people around walking through the site, I think this was due to the Food Festival in town, which we decided not to go to this year, mainly because it gets so crowded and thus we do not enjoy ourselves. I am not great in large crowds, mainly because I am short and I feel shut in with people towering over me, so we thought we would give it a miss this year. I did dip in and out of the F1 race, which was won by Vettel, poor Hamilton coming 7th, but the fight is not over as he said to his team. It was pretty late by the time we packed everything away and retired into the boat. Even Paddy and Marmite stayed out late. Marmite could not make up her mind where she wanted to sleep. It was either on the bench or under it.

So here we are Bank Holiday Monday and the rain has already fallen, which means the garden will get a watering, this is a bonus because it means I do not have to do it. Today was to be a day of watching films on Film4 and listening to the rain beating down on the roof.

Scorchio or what?

Hello Friends and Followers.

What another glorious day we have had. I was awake at 5 am and my alarm was set for 6 am, because today was the day when the new pontoon table was due to arrive. Because of the debacle of the past week on getting the table delivered, I decided I would be up extra early. Getting up early had the benefit that I got my laundry all done and sorted by 7 am and hung out to dry. I also got the joy of watching baby Gold Crests flitting in and out of the branches of the trees opposite the laundry room. Such a joy to see the tiny little birds and know that we have them in the Arm. Our local Squirrel was munching something beneath a tree as well. It looked like a young Squirrel, so maybe we have a new family to enjoy.

7.45 am I received a phone call from the van driver to say he was looking for me and wanted to check our postcode. I gave him further direction and within 15 minutes there he was coming through the carpark gate. Having unloaded the Three foot table from the van, he screwed the legs on and carried the table down to the pontoon, where it sits happily in the sunshine with our parasol in the middle of it.

Going back to last night, I almost had a disaster on my hands. I was helping a fellow boater by letting them into the laundry with my keys. Having spent a lengthy period nattering to them whilst their washing did its thing and then helping them with the line etc, we all went back to our boats in mind that they would be needing get back in the laundry later to put line and pegs away, so I left my keys on the work top in the boat. Marmite was in and out of the window on her lead as she does of an evening, when I heard the sound of my keys on the work top, but when I went to look for them they were no where to be seen. Somehow Marmite had carried them out of the window with her lead and yes you guessed it they were in the water arghhhh. Out came the Sea Magnet and I went ferreting around for my keys, just praying they had not gone under the boat. After a few moments of running the magnet backwards and forwards, I was so chuffed to see my keys dangling off the base of the magnet. Thankfully it is pretty shallow by the side of our boat, so if push had come to shove, I could of gotten into the water and searched for them with my hands. Anyway disaster averted thankfully.

Back to today. After sorting out the new table, I went and did some weeding in the Arm’s gardens, but it got way to hot for me and I was sweating so much it was uncomfortable, so I gave that up as a bad job. Shorts and top were the order of the day and a nice cold drink. I have decided that I am doing nothing else all day, so it will be a lazy sunny afternoon after a salad lunch. Gone are the days when I would lay out in the sun for hours.

There and back.

Hello Friends and Followers.

So the trip out has come to an end. I know it was terribly short, but it was so lovely to be out and about even if it was just a short jaunt. At least our itchy feet have stopped itching for now.

Radford Semele moorings do get very busy and by early evening they were pretty much full up. The afternoon, drifted into the evening and it was absolutely stunning in the evening sunshine.

There was no better way to enjoy the evening than having a pint of Hobgoblin on the slide and my crochet to hand, as I watched the sun setting.

The sky across the meadow was sublime, all it needed was a Barn Owl quartering on its hunt for food. Sadly I did not get the Barn Owl.

As the sun slowly set, the sky looked more and more beautiful and we were able to watch this little bit of brilliance.

As the temperature dropped the river mist rose across the meadow, giving off a ghostly appearance and it was as thought world stopped for a few moments as there was no sound at all. The perfect end to a perfect day.

This morning we woke to the sound of the birds singing and people jogging along the towpath. It amazes me how personal their conversations are when they are out jogging and walking. I suspect they do not realise how thin a boats walls really are. Anyway we were awake early and so began the day with a cup of tea, with the sun shining through the pigeon box portholes. We got up at a leisurely rate and I took Paddy out for his morning stroll, which he found interesting, with lots of new smells, all of which had to be marked.

We left our overnight mooring at 8.45 am to head back into Royal Leamington-Spa for a food shop at Aldi. I got to try out my shopping trolley with new wheels on it and oh boy it was so much easier than a back-pack. Food stowed away, we then walked back into the town to sort out a problem with our 4GEE Mini, which shuts off if we do not use it for 5 minutes, which we felt was wrong and apparently it should not do this, so is being sent off to be tested. With it now being lunchtime, we felt it would be rude not to have another Chinese Buffet, which again was incredibly good.

We left Royal Leamington-Spa at 1.50 pm and pottled back to Warwick.

 

Spring has definitely been busy producing such wonderful babies.

The Swans and their Cygnets never fail to make me smile, because they are so beautiful.

Mrs Mallard and her ducklings were around as well. She is so pretty with her colouring and markings.

There were quite a few other boats on the move and thankfully we did not meet them in difficult places.

We arrived back at our mooring at 3.25 pm having had a wonderful time out. So life will get back to normal tomorrow.

Just a little jaunt.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Yes above, that is our mooring empty. We have left the mooring for a couple of days.

Only boaters will understand the itch feet syndrome and no I do not mean Athletes foot. When a boater has been stuck for a length of time, we refer to the feeling of itchy feet, which is the feeling you need to be on the move. Both Keith and I have had such feet, having been home for over 2 months. So decision was with the weather set fair to scorchio, it was a good idea for us to get away from the Arm for a couple of days. At 8.55 am we left our home mooring, turned right out of the Arm and set off for Royal Leamington-Spa. It was absolutely glorious and we both like we had been liberated.

We met up with Mrs duck and her ducklings, she has the most amazing colouring.

Then came the Swan family.

We arrived In Royal Leamington-Spa and moored near the Railway Station. I did a quick change out of my dungerees before we set off into town for a bit of retail therapy.

The retail therapy included these sandals which were priced at £69.99 down to £22.99 and I got them for £19.00, so I feel this was a bargain, especially as I needed a new pair as my previous ones had spilt some time ago. We also went into Wilko’s to buy all we would need for blacking Hadar in July. I like to get ahead of the game and it will save us having to do it all last minute, which I hate. Shopping done, we went to the Oriental Star Chinese Buffet for lunch and it was fantastic as always. We have never had a bad meal there and for £7.45 you can eat as much as you like. They do ask that you do not waste food, which none of us should do in my opinion. Scrummy lunch eaten and back at the boat, we untied and headed out to Radford Semele, where we winded the boat and found one of the couple of places left to moor.

Coffee was made and as I switched on my laptop I could hear a lovely sounding engine coming down towards us.

It was the FMC boat Crane. She sounded absolutely lovely. So here we are for the night and a nice view towards Radford Church.

The World We Live In.

Dear Friends and Followers.

I am not normally one for posting about such things, but when we woke up this morning to the tragic news coming from Manchester, it made me weep. I like you can only imagine what those poor people have and are going through. What is wrong with our world today, we are all doing our utmost to destroy the world we live in and the people. I cannot for the life of me get over the fact that amongst the carnage are children who will never see another Birthday, Christmas or the smiles from their parents as they grow up in to law abiding adults, who go onto have children of their own.

This afternoon I was on my Facebook page and as you can imagine Manchester is all over the news and online. A friend of my posted this and I had never even considered any of this.

Just saw this dates of recent attacks look at the dates
Do you have a major public event booked on 22-07-17???
may be worth reconsidering!!
Lee Rigby - 22-05-2013
Brussels attack - 22-03-16
Munich attack - 22-07-16
London attack- 22-03-17
Manchester attack- 22-05-17

I am sure like me you were stunned into silence and I have felt miserable all day, as I think of all those who have died and are still fighting for their lives. I have no sympathy for the person who did this despicable act, but they have a family out there somewhere, what must they be going through?

I am of the opinion no matter what people throw in our way, she should never give into these acts, because that is giving in. But I can see how it will scare many.

Stay strong, stay united and do not give in.

Welcome Willow.

Hello Friends and Followers.

What a stunner of a day?

It has been a gloriously sunny and hot day and so very little was done by either of us. Over the weekend we did a few jobs around the boat, which included the dismantling of the generator. Keith wanted to get it done before the heat of today. The search for a new generator is gathering pace with our new engineer. At the moment it is looking likely that we will be going with a Fischer Panda Generator. Now I know very little about them, but I do know other boaters have them and seem to like them. The plus side also with one of these generators is there are engineers around the country, including near to us who repair them should it go wrong, which is a bonus, because no one was that interested in looking at our Kohler Generator.

Yesterday we and the Arm welcomed Willow and her crew newly married James and Amy. Willow has an amazing history which can be read about on their blog. Willow was built in 1935 for Severn and Canal Carrying Company. James and Amy once moored up came and paid us a visit. We sat and nattered over tea and coffee, a lot of catching-up was done and news shared. It was wonderful to see them both again as they carry on with their Honeymoon cruise. Eventually they will be heading up to Bollington on the scenic Macclesfield Canal, where they are helping to run and manage the Wharf at Bollington. We wish them all the very best with their new adventures and hope to see them again soon.

Last night we went to the pub quiz and surprise, surprise we beat five other teams to win, which completely shocked us all.

Back to today (Monday). As I said very little done, even Marmite and Paddy have spent the day lounging. I used to be a lover of hot weather, but as age has crept upon me, I can no longer sit out in the sun. The weather forecast for the week is hot, hot, hot, so I think I maybe spending my time under cover of a parasol or inside the boat.

I was hoping to get a phone call today to say my table was being delivered this week, but I was out of luck. I may just have to ring them tomorrow to see what is happening. Keith’s new glasses are ready so he will be picking them up tomorrow and hopefully he will not lose this pair. I really need to get some more painting done, but I need to summon up the energy for that. Watch this space I may surprise you with my painting delights.

Progress made.

Hi Friends and Followers.

As the picture above suggests, it is raining again today. The pond is full, as is the canal and the plants have had their fill. The lawn and plants are green and lush now, which is a joy to behold.

Progress report on our table. I had a phone call from the company this morning, to say they will ring me next week to give me a date and time for the delivery. I have e-mailed them strict instructions on what to do when delivering our table, so there can be no confusion. As for the fact that the driver lied about phoning me, that is being dealt with internally and I do not mean that sort of internally, I mean within their company .

It has been another damp day, but not particularly cold, although we do have the fire going, because it keeps the dampness away. Marmite is loving it, because she is nice and warm. I got some washing done this morning, which is hanging up in the engine room to dry. Lunch was leftover from the past couple of days, including the Rhubarb Crumble, which I could eat over and over again. The only thing that would top that would be an endless Cheese Cake. Part of my afternoon was spent in the office, working out the up and coming events we have in the Arm. Jack always arranges the Heritage Weekend, which we have in September. Since living here in the Arm, I have taken to helping her out with things and this year I am going to buy all the teddy bears for the tombola, which is always hugely popular. We already have people saying they are coming, so we have Historic Working Boats Nutfield and Raymond coming again this year. They joined us last year for the first time and were extremely popular, so we are so pleased they can come again. Our usual favourites will be with us so watch this space for updates.

On Sunday 4th June.

The Idle Women of the Wartime Waterways production is coming to the Saltisford Arm on 4th June 2017 and is being performed by Alarum Theatre.

A double bill of theatre, poetry and music to whisk you back to the days of World War II when a shortage of crews to keep the working boats going brought a new breed of boater to the canal.

Young women, later nicknamed ‘Idle Women’, took on the challenge of managing a pair of 72ft narrow boats and 50 tons of cargo.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the start of the women’s training scheme, Kate Saffin and Heather Wastie will bring Isobel’s War and Idle Women and Judies to waterside (and nearby) venues, recreating the journey the women took (London-Birmingham-Coventry-London).

Travelling with the show will be historic narrow boat Tench steered and crewed by women.

Come and enjoy Isobel’s War (Kate Saffin) and Idle Women and Judies (Heather Wastie) in this beautiful setting!
There will be refreshments available and the show starts at 2pm.
BRING A CHAIR.

And more about Alarum and the tour on the website:
www.alarumtheatre.co.uk
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Free entry with a requested donation

DATE AND TIME

Sun 4 June 2017
13:45 – 16:30 BST
Add to Calendar

LOCATION

Saltisford Canal Trust
Birmingham Road
Warwick
CV34 5RJ

We are all looking forward to the day and hope that the weather is kind to us. Jack and I will be busy doing the tea’s and Coffee and we sincerely hope we get a good crowd.

Calmed down.

Hello friends and followers.

You can see from the title of this post, I have calmed down somewhat, but I am still annoyed. I am hoping now that perhaps tomorrow I will get a phone call with an apology, but I will not hold my breath.

Anyway enough of my ranting. Due to the waiting around, I got very little done today. I did some crochet, weeding the usual boat jobs and of course cooking, cleaning and catching-up online.

This morning we were treated to mist on the water. It was a culmination of the humid temperatures and all the rain we had yesterday. The sun was so warming when Paddy and I went for our walk it was lovely and the air smelt so fresh.

Marmite found ways to amuse herself, whilst I did some pruning and wedding. She loves to watch the bird table, I guess it is a TV for cats. The only birds putting in an appearance were the Wood Pigeons, who show no fear when it comes to Marmite.

With the rain, comes the fullness of the blooms. My egg flowers are in full bloom and bring an extra bit of sunshine to the garden.

I am so in love with the colour of the Clematis, which is climbing up the bird table pole. It really is stunning this year.

After I had finished weeding and pruning, Marmite thought it would be a nice place to sit and watch the world go by.

Keith had been and done the weekly food shop at Aldi in the morning and then after lunch I sent him off to Tesco to get Marmite’s food, because Aldi do not have what she likes, although they do her cat litter. I dipped in and out of my crochet, I am making another baby blanket, to get my stock up which has dwindled without me really noticing. I have a few more to make with the wool I bought yesterday, so that will keep me busy for a while.

As the afternoon stepped closer to the evening and the daylight is drifting away, a nice hot shower was required to soothe away my aching joints, before watching the evening films. Tonight’s delight is Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol on Film4 which we have not seen yet. So on that note I will bid you a good night and I may see you tomorrow.

So Livid.

Hello Friends and Followers.

You may remember from Sunday’s posting I said we were having a new table for our pontoon. Well the tale of the missing table is now a foot. Sunday I received a phone call from the gentleman we bought the table from, he would be unable to deliver the table because he had an accident and had been in A&E. I was of course sympathetic and said not to worry. He said I would be contacted on Monday to arrange another date for the delivery, which duly happened, a nice lady rang me and we arranged for it to be delivered today. I asked her “What sort of time can I expect my table”. Her reply was “You are first on the delivery list, so it could be as early as 7am”. I told her this would be fine, I will be up and waiting, as I would need to let the driver in as we are a gated community.

Last night I set my phone to wake me at 6 am and I set our little battery alarm clock for 6 am, so that I could have a cuppa before waiting for the table. 6 am I was woken and a cuppa was drunk whilst watching the BBC 1 breakfast news. I was up and out of the boat at 6.50 am waiting for the driver to arrive, so I could unlock the gate. The driver was told to ring if we were not around before 8 am. I was thankful it was not yesterday morning, when it was throwing it down with rain, this morning was beautiful. I waited and waited until 8 am when our site manager came in. Because the gate was now unlocked for the public, I could go back to the boat for breakfast etc. Again I waited and waited until 10 am and then I decided I would ring the company, just to check that our table was on for delivery, to be told by a nice lady. “Your table was delivered at 6.30 am according to the tracker”. I told her this was news to me, because I had been up since 6 am and no one had rung to say they were delivering the table. The lady said she would ring me back after she had spoken to the driver. It seems the driver did deliver at 6.30 am and he told her he rang me at 6.30 am, which was so untrue. Now this causes a problem, because it is his word against mine. But this man did not ring me. She assured me it would be investigated when he got back to the depot, but I would not be getting the table today and a new delivery date would be arranged for next week. So we have no table and I now have to wait in for a new delivery date. Arghhhhh in this the age of the mobile phone, why do people not contact others. It is one of my pet hates, when people do not contact you to say they are not full filling their appointment. There is no excuse these days with mobile phones.

Puddles.

Hi Friends and Followers.

We have been enjoying the sunny, warm weather for the past couple of weeks and now it has come to an end and everyone is moaning, well when I say everyone I am not moaning, because rain has been needed. The gardens and farmers are saying thank you, as are the canals and reservoirs. This morning I woke to the sound of rain stomping on the back cabin roof and the sound of it dripping in through the Pigeon box. We have not put the foam back on the ridge to stop the rain dripping in, but hey ho never mind that is a job for a dry day. With a cup of tea in hand and the warm of the duvet, I watched the weather forecast and it was saying wall to wall rain for the day, so this got me thinking about plans for the day. It was definitely not a gardening day, but Paddy still needed walking and boat jobs still had to be done, the rain never stops jobs being done on our boat. Once up and about, Paddy was the first to get wet, which of course did not amuse him in the slightest. Paddy hates getting wet, he does not even walk through puddles, so you can imagine his face when he jumped up the back cabin steps and was hit by the rain. Now he thought he would get away with a quick walk, do his business and back to the warmth of the boat, but I had other ideas, because otherwise he would do no exercise at all. I took him on his normal morning stroll and then he was allowed back to the boat for his breakfast with Marmite, who was sitting in the back cabin screaming for food as always.

Yesterday we had the fantastic news that Keith had become a Great-Uncle again. One of his Nephews and wife had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, so I wrapped up two baby blankets I had crocheted and decided rain or no rain I was going to the Post Office to post them off. There is something so refreshing about walking in the rain when it is warm and even though I got wet, I really did not mind. Blankets posted and new wool bought for more blankets, which I need to make to restock my box, I was soon back at the boat and coffee was made. With lunchtime fast approaching, I put on the veggies, potatoes and the last of the meat pie was warmed in the oven. Rhubarb crumble was also heated through for pudding.

Of late some of our dear friends have made the decision to sell their boats and head off to pastures and adventures new. Two of those friends are Jan and Tom on narrowboat Waiouru. Jan and Tom are heading back to Australia to begin a new adventure.

There boat is up for sale at ABNB. We have so loved meeting up with them both and you can always be assured that we can talk the leg off a donkey over tea and cake. It is so sad to see them returning home, but we look forward to seeing their new adventures on their blog and keeping in touch with them. It is always sad to see friends leave the cut, but for many life afloat was only ever going to be a short-term thing. We have had friends who have cruised the whole system and then sold their boats. We have had friends who have tried life afloat and found it was not for them and then there are those friends who will never leave the canal, because it is in their blood or they just cannot imagine living within brick walls again like us. I have always said nothing would get me off of our boat, it is our home. But you should never say never, because no one knows what is around the corner. The only reason we could ever see ourselves coming off the cut would be due to ill health, where it meant it was impossible to stay afloat. Of course these days the cut is for all walks of life and all physical ability, so the cut will be home for the rest of our days hopefully.

It is now 3 pm and it is still pouring down with rain. The pond is now full and the plants look like they are definitely having a good old drink. It has been so quiet in the Arm today. The only movers were a hire boat, who had no choice but to set off in the rain. None of them looked equipped for the drenching they were going to encounter. Oh the joys of being a hirer on a wet day. That brings back special memories of my first time on a narrowboat. We hired from Middlewich narrowboats and on the first day of cruising it rained stair rods all day. I worked 27 locks in that poring rain. At the end of the day Keith said to me “That must have put you off boating”. I think my reply surprised him, I said “No way, I have loved every moment of it”. That still applies to today and I will never stop loving my life.

Yes it is Monday.

Hello Friends and Followers.

It was a damp start to my Monday. I know many will be moaning because it has been raining, but I am pleased to see the rain. The weather plays a huge roll in our day to day living and we have to accept that we do need rain at times. On a personal note, our garden needed water and the canals and reservoirs require constant top ups. This week we can expect rain on and off, so that should help with us going into the Summer.

Rain aside, for many it is back to work and me being mown down by cyclists. I should say Paddy gets mown down as well. This morning we were walking along the pavement and a cyclist came flying past me at high speed, brushing past my shoulder with no ringing bell or apology that he had hit my shoulder. Pavements are for walkers and roads are for cyclists, unless it is a designated cycle path. The thing that went through my head was, what is Paddy had crossed the path in front of me. He would of been hit by this cyclist and goodness only knows what damage would have been done to him. I am not a confrontational person, but I did say “Thank you for ringing your bell”. The cyclist did not stop, but I will definitely know him again. This has been the second time this has happened. The last time the cyclist had his child on the back of his bike in a child seat. Thankfully both Paddy and I are fine, but it could have been a different story.

Back to the safety of the boat, it was breakfast for mog and dog and my first glass of water of the day. I am trying to drink more water, as I do not feel I drink enough, especially after the last few days of a waterworks issue. So I am going to try and drink more water. I tend to have a cup of tea first thing and then coffee through the day, which really is not enough fluid. Of course with drinking more water, I will be visiting the smallest room on the boat more and this means I will be also visiting the Elsan more. I guess that will count as more exercise, which I am also trying to do more of, as I have been not keeping up with my 10,000 steps a day.

Yesterday was my baking day and today due to the rain was cooking day.

The Minced Beef, Onions and Carrot was used for a meat pie.

The top got a coat of egg wash before I put it into the oven.

This would be eaten with Potatoes and Vegetables and gravy.

Yesterday I was given some Rhubarb from our neighbour and so I made a Rhubarb Crumble, which is one of my all time favourite Puddings.

There is so warming about warm Rhubarb Crumble on a wet day. Comfort food for all weathers.

Of late we have seen friends come into the Arm for a few days. Last week it was Sheila and Bruce off of Narrowboat Sanity Again. It had been sometime since we saw them both and so it was lovely to catch-up with them. Today we said “Cheerio” to Lisa and Fred off of Narrowboat Chyandour. The last time we saw Lisa and Fred was in 2014 after Keith got home from the hospital, having been very poorly. So there was a lot of catching-up to be done over coffee. With us still stuck at base, it is always nice to see a friendly face.

Sunday is Baking Day.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Sunday is my baking day and it has been for as long as I can remember. I am not a posh baker, I like to do plain and simple baking, so I would never go on ‘The Great British Bake off’ or cookery programs like ‘Master Chef’, but I do enjoy baking and I am up for trying new things.

Today’s offerings were plain and simple. I made some Raisin Scones. Now these usually have differing degrees of rising when I make them. Today they were fair to middling, but as we are probably the only people to eat them, it does not matter. I love my Scones with Butter and Marmite on them or toasted.

My second bake was Lemon Drizzle Muffins. Yesterday whilst up in the town, I fancied a couple of Lemons off the market as I had these cakes in my head for baking. Two large Lemons set me back £1 and are they large and very juicy, so a wonderful purchase. I think Lemon Drizzle is one of my favourites. You may remember I had the same for my Birthday tea at Wylie’s Tea Room in Warwick. Anyway I digress. Scones and Muffins baked, I turned to cooking Minced Beef, Onion and Carrots, for a pie which we will be having tomorrow. I also made a Sweet and Sour Chicken dish, which would be devoured for lunch. When I am in the mood I can cook up a storm.

Going back to yesterday. We walked into town to sort out some reading glasses for Keith, because yet again he lost his. He was helping a friend on Friday with a job and somehow his glasses disappeared never to be seen again, so we went to the opticians Vision Express to order him some new glasses. Thankfully because we do not buy expensive ones, his new ones will not break the bank. Whilst in town as I sad before I bought a couple of Lemons. I also bought some Birthday cards from a very good stall, which is at the market every week. Keith bought me a bag of Jelly Beans from the sweet stall and we had a natter with our local Conservative MP Chris White, who was out campaigning for the general election. (That is as political as I am getting). The funny thing was, they had been there since around 9 am and at about 10.30 am the Labour Party MP turned up and set up his table on the pavement right opposite the Conservatives. It just made me giggle. Yes I know I have an odd sense of humour. Shopping and chatting done, we had a late breakfast in Wetherspoons, which meant no cooking lunch for me, which of course is always a bonus. On the way home as we were leaving the town, there was a gentleman selling garden furniture. He had a 3ft wooden table as part of his display which was incredibly sturdy. Both Keith and I had the same thought, that we needed to replace the one we made which is not fit for purpose these days, so we decided to purchase a brand new table and this should arrived today. The gentleman is doing a show in Stratford-upon-Avon and so he will drop it off on his way home. I am very excited about having a new table for our pontoon, at least this one will not rock when you lean on it. Saturday was a good day in may respects.

Back to Sunday, the sun which had been out after the rain, left us with lots of cloud, although it was nice and warm. Lunch time is fast approaching and so I will sign off for now. Hopefully I will have photographs of our new table later.