Painting, crochet and gardening.

Good evening friends and followers.

Here we are the last day of August and the last day of the meteorological Summer. So look out here comes the Autumn. Although it has been a little nippy around the edges in the mornings, the weather forecast is looking nice and warm for the next few days at least. I am hoping it stays with us until at least after the 8th and 9th September, because we have our Heritage Weekend in the arm.

My life has been ruled by painting and crochet this past couple of weeks. But the outside paintwork at least seems to be coming to an end. I put the 4th coat of paint on the galley doors.
4th coat you shout.
Yes I am painting red and it takes some covering, because it will shadow, so I have done 4 coats and that is my lot now. I still have the varnishing to do tomorrow hopefully. I have also finished painting the bathroom radiator, which is going back on the wall tomorrow. With the painting all done, the afternoons have been spent crocheting blankets for The Border Collie Trust.

I sent my first blanket to the trust and this is the beautiful girl who got to use it. Her name is Cisco and she is looking for her forever home. I am so chuffed that she looks so happy with her new blanket. I will make blankets for all her friends now.I am on blanket two.
Today (Friday), I was busy helping with the arms Sensory Garden.

Three of us spent the morning cutting back and weeding in the raised beds.

It all looks so much better now.
After lunch, guess what I was doing?
Yes correct, I was crocheting again. It is coming on and I will post a pick when it is done.
The weekend is almost here and I have no idea what I will be doing, apart from varnishing and putting the radiator back on the bathroom wall.
Oh we have news on our flue. Our engineer has been busy. He text us a photograph of a bucket two thirds full of the tar and soot he got out of the flue. The only way he could clear it was to cut it in half and set fire to it. So now it is clean, he is going to weld it back together and we should get it back next week. Result.

Pop back soon xxx

Rusty radiator.

Hello Friends and Followers.

So come on, tell me all about it. How was your bank holiday weekend?

Tuesday morning and the sun was doing it’s best to pop out, so it was paintbrush day again and this time I turned my attention to the bathroom radiator. We had noticed that the paint was beginning to peel. The last time this happened, we ended up buying a new radiator, so we decided to air on the side of caution and take the radiator off to make sure it was sound. To get the radiator off we had to remove the toilet first, which means unscrewing it from the floor and lifting it off the wall bracket. Once the toilet was out, Keith set too taking the radiator off. Once off it because apparent that it required work.

The only thing for it was to wire brush the worst of the flaking paint off, then out came my trusty mouse sander to get the worst of the rust off. It actually looked worse than it was. The problem we have, is that the radiator gets wet when we have a shower because our bathroom is a wet room and only 2ft by 4ft, so no room to do an handstand. With the radiator all sorted, I applied Hammerite Kurust, which if it works turns blue black, which is exactly what it did, so at least I knew it was doing its job.

According to the instructions you have to leave it three hours and then apply a coat of paint, so that is exactly what I did. I am using Hammerite radiator paint and I reckon it will take at least two coats of paint to cover. I left the back of the radiator to dry and set about putting a coat of red gloss paint on the galley doors.

I will second coat them tomorrow, if the weather is good enough.

After all the painting was done, I packed up the finished crochet blanket and posted it off to The Border Collie Trust. I hope one of their Border Collies, snuggles up in the blanket and loves it. I am now working on blanket number 2.

My day has ended with me doing a laundry wash. I a getting ahead of the game, so I can get on with painting early tomorrow morning. I would normally do my laundry early, but painting is much more important, so I have done the laundry tonight, so all I have to do is hang it out in the morning.

See you on the other side.

Pop back soon xxx

Bank Holiday delights.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Bank holiday Saturday and it did not bode well for painting, with a dull sky and a wet boat from the overnight rain. There was a distinct drop in temperature overnight, which was still felt as I stepped off of the boat. But this is a woman who will not be deterred from her task and my task was to rub down the galley doors, undercoat the green and turn it red and then to put a coat of varnish on the wood. Out came the trusty mouse and so the job began, with fingers tightly crossed that it did not rain again for the day, because once the job was started, there was no going back. Doors rubbed down, Red undercoat and varnish put on, it was coffee time, before putting the second gloss coat of Moonlight White on the galley ceiling. Although I say it myself, it looks darn good and so much brighter.

With the painting done for the day, I set about making a Cornbeef and potato hash pie for lunch. With the temperatures dropping, comfort food is required and the salads can go back to the fridge draw for now. Of course it is likely there will be some more nice weather before we snuggle up for the Autumn and Winter.

Have you ever felt discombobulated? Has life thrown you a curve ball and you do not know what to think or do? This is happening to me at the moment. I will probably fill you in on the details, when I get them straight in my head and life.

Saturday ended with us watching the film ‘About Time’ starring Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams and Bill Nighy. If you have never seen it, I can recommend it. About Time is a 2013 British romantic comedy-drama film about a young man with the special ability to time travel who tries to change his past in order to improve his future.

Sunday morning dawned and it was dry but cloud until 9am. I got Paddy walked before the rain began to fall and I had to shut the galley windows up. No painting was being done, but I did cook an Indian Butter Chicken dish for lunch, which would be eaten with rice. I was also going to bake some cookies and had worked the butter and sugar together. I then began to add the eggs. I have always broken the eggs into the butter and sugar, but after what happened that will have to change. I broke two eggs into the mixture and then the third egg plopped into the mix and I immediately new something was amiss. The egg did not look right and I am pretty sure it was going off, so I had to ditch the whole mixture. So note to self: Break all eggs in a cup first to check them. You never stop learning so I am told.

With raining falling all day, there was little to do but to watch tv and crochet, well that was until a friend came a calling for a couple of hours. We drank coffee and nattered, before it was time for her to be on her merry way and I returned to crocheting and watching the tv. The one joy of a bank holiday is you get plenty of films to watch.

Monday morning and it was dry hooray. The sun did eventually try to poke its head out through the heavy cloud, but it never stayed out for long. With the air still damp from all the rain on Sunday, I did not do any further painting, but more crocheting did get done.

The new blanket is coming on a treat. With all this crochet going on, I think I may have crochet thumb, because my right thumb joint is very sore, so I will have to keep an eye on that. Now I thought there was no post on a bank holiday, so I was a little surprised to find a cd I had purchased on Ebay had arrived. I bought Paloma Faith’s Fall to Grace cd for £1.40 with the postage being free. When I checked the packaging the postage had come to £2.35, because it was 1st class, signed for. So the person selling the cd was well out of pocket. Why would you do that, I ask myself and I ask you? Anyway I love the cd. I have really gotten into Paloma Faith’s music of late, so much so that I have sent for another cd of hers.

Bank Holiday Monday drew to a close with us going out for a meal with boating friends. We went to The Cape of Good Hope and I can totally recommend their pies, they are amazing as was the rest of the meal. The company was so good we spent 4 hours nattering, laughing, eating a drinking without even realising how quickly the time had flown by. Whilst to get to the pub we walked along the towpath in the daylight, by the time we left the pub it was dark and neither of us fancied the towpath route so went via the roads back to the arm and our home. Paddy was fast asleep in his bed and did not even know we were back. Bless him he is an old man and needs his beauty sleep.

So that has been my Bank Holiday Weekend. How was yours?

Pop back soon xx

End of another week.

Hi Friends and Followers.

Here we are at the end of another weekend and almost at the end of another month. Blimey where has this year gone?

Yesterday you will recall me saying that our fires flue went off to be sorted out and we have been left with a empty space, well it got me thinking this morning whilst drinking my morning brew. The thought was to make the most of the fact that the flue pipe was not in place and to therefore do some decorating.

I never do anything by halves and so once the morning chores had been done, I began by wire brushing the chimney collar. I then painted it. I then removed the pictures and bits and bobs which were hung around the fire. I rubbed down the wall, ceiling and woodwork with my trusty mouse sander. The hoover then had to come out get rid of all the dust. Paintbrushes, paint and varnish at the ready. I began with varnishing the woodwork with a clear matt varnish from Wilkinson’s. The cream paint for the wall, we have had for years, but the tin although rusty was fine and so was the cream paint inside. With that done, a much needed coffee was called for, so with Keith doing his railway, I stopped painting and made the coffee.

When living on a boat with a solid fuel stove, everything gets stained by the smoke, but oh my word, I did not realise it was this bad. It looked like we had been smoking sixty cigarettes a day for years. Neither of us smoke, so this was purely from the solid fuel stove. Mind you it has been some years since I have painted the ceiling. Again I used my mouse sander to rub the ceiling down, before putting the first coat of paint on the ceiling. Tomorrow I will second coat the ceiling in the galley and I can already see such a difference. It of course now means I will have to paint the ceiling in the saloon and bathroom next.

Painting all done for the day, I cooked lunch and then settled down to finishing my first crochet blanket for the Border Collie Trust.

I will be sending it off next week and I hope that which ever dog has it they will love it.

Our day has been a day of sunshine and showers, so it was just as well all my work today was inside.

It is the Bank Holiday Weekend, so have a good one.

Pop back soon. xx

Almost the weekend.

Hello friends and followers.

Well here we are almost at the end of another week and a bank holiday weekend to look forward to.

Most of this past couple of weeks, I have been waking up at silly o’clock and therefore making a brew and then listening to the radio. This morning when we needed to be awake earlier, as Keith had a nurse appointment, we woke up late and therefore had to forgo the brew and get up and dressed in somewhat of a rush. No sooner we were up, Keith was out of the door and off to his 8.20am appointment. As for me I had a much more leisurely breakfast and a cuppa.

Last night we had 15mm of rain, I know this because we have a rain gauge. It left the garden happy and me wondering if I would get any paintwork done. I need not have worried, because the sun came out and it was soon warm enough to get my paintbrush out. I applied the last remaining coats of paint and varnish to the galley doors and then put their furniture back on, as in handles and bolts.

Remember me showing you this photograph of our chewed Clematis and I said I would post a photograph of it flowering.

Here is the first bloom, since the chewing and my loving tender care which has got the plant growing again. I love the colour of this Clematis and there are more flowers ready to come out.

I mentioned yesterday that I paint rocks. I thought I would show you my latest batch which are ready to hide and then find new homes.

This morning after seeing the nurse, Keith went food shopping, so I got on with finishing the paintwork and cleaning inside the boat. It is so much easier to do the cleaning when there is only me on the boat. When I say just me, I also mean Paddy, but he usually stays in his bed when the hoover comes out, because he is none to keen on the sound of it and never has been. By the time Keith came back it was gone 11am, so I made coffee and stowed the food items away. Time to get on with lunch and then decide what the afternoon would bring.

The afternoon was a good one. We turned the boat around and so now we will have our back cabin TV back for the news in the morning. It gave me the chance to see what paintwork I need to tackle over the coming days. During the afternoon our engineer came to look at the flue and he has taken it away with him. If he cannot clear it completely, he is going to make us a new one. So for now we are flue less in the saloon and if it turns chilly as they are forecasting I will have to light the back cabin stove, which is fabulous, because I can do my cooking on and in it as well. We will have to see what the weather does, after all it is a bank holiday and we all know what the weather usually does on these occasions.

Paddy is seems to have rallied and is much better in himself and seems happier eating his soaked food. Long may it last.

Pop back soon xxx

More painting going on.

Hello Friends and Followers.

It has been another lovely day out, although there was quite a dew on the boat this morning. But the sun soon came out and burnt the dew off and although there were clouds in the sky, it as nice and warm.

Todays paint job was to the galley doors. I rubbed down the doors, ready to re-varnish them and to paint the red in the centre of the doors. I like to have my galley doors open even on wet days, so the woodwork needs to be well looked after and the only way to do that is to keep the varnish in tip top condition. I like to varnish them at least once every couple of years, but always check them over every year. We have galley doors both sides of the boat, so I have the others to do once the boat is turned around again.
Once I had done the rubbing down and first coats, I headed off to the laundry to get the washing done and hung out on the line. When the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, I like to hang the washing out. There is nothing nice than fresh air dried washing.
After coffee, I headed off to the Gp's to pick up prescriptions and then into the town to the chemist to get our medication. Whilst in town, I got my photograph taken for my provisional driving licence. No do not get all excited about me learning to drive, because that is not happening. I am getting a new licence to use as proof of who I am. These days unless you have a passport of driving licence you do not seem to exist. I do not have a passport, because I have never been abroad, whereas I did have a driving licence before I gave it up. So once I get my licence, I should be able to open an e-savings account with my bank, who want proof of who I am. You cannot make it up really. Funny thing was, to get my licence renewed I had to send them something to prove who I was and one of the things was a passport hahaha. Luckily they would also accept my birth certificate and a letter from HMRC. I realise that in this day and age with fraud etc going on, they have to be careful, but they do not take into consideration that some people do not have a passport or a driving licence. It is not because I want to be off the radar, it is because I have no need for either things. Sadly that has had to change. Photograph done and licence renewal sent off.
Back home in time to cook lunch and have a coffee, before more painting.

This time the painting was on rocks. Yes I am a closet rock painter. I find it incredibly relaxing. Once painted, I hide the rocks for people to find. I have joined a couple of rock painting groups and we share our photographs. Some of the ones I have seen have been truly amazing and I will never match up to some of them, but if my painted rocks bring a smile then I am a happy lady.

Pop back soon xx

Painting and claws.

Hello Readers.

Here we are on a bright and very mild Tuesday and that was at stupid o’clock, because that was the time I woke up. I cannot even blame Marmite for waking me up these days, because she is sadly no longer with us, so I have absolutely no idea why I was awake. But as always when awake make a cuppa. There was no BBC1 news, because were are around the other way on the mooring for the paintwork, we have no TV. Instead we are listening to the local radio station and everything local.

As I was sitting drinking my cuppa and listening to the radio, I got to thinking about a question I was asked about what to do with your dog whilst on the move? I then suddenly thought of the old saying children should be seen and not heard. In my opinion dogs on boats can be heard but not seen when on the move. By this I mean, when on the move dogs should be inside the boat, tucked up in their beds. Why you ask? Because dogs are a distraction on the back counters, roofs or fore-end well decks. They are an even more distraction around locks and yet we have travelled with and have met many a boater with their dogs wandering around the lock and the owner constantly shouting at said dog to “come here” or “sit” because the dog wander off. Sorry but you cannot be keeping an eye on your boat, whilst keeping an eye on your dog, who is probably getting in the way of other people, bikes or even other dogs. The most important thing is to keep an eye on what your boat is doing in the lock, because the steerer cannot see the bow. I know some dog owners do put their dogs on a lead and then tie it up to a bollard. Even doing this means you have to keep an eye on it and I have known owners forget their dog and walk off to the next lock. Now if your dog was on the boat, you would have none of that worry. When I say on the boat, I mean inside the boat with doors shut. I say this because many years ago, I was told of a Springer Spaniel who went missing, whilst the boat was on the move, because it was in the fore-end well deck and leapt overboard. An hour after the boaters had moored up they realised they had no dog and that dog was never found. It was thought that it had leapt overboard and had gone under the boat. Our aged Collie loves the boating life and has done since we got him at 11 months. When we first got him he used to be out on the back counter of our old boat with us, but because he was constantly on the move and once tried to jump off in a lock, we took the decision for his and our safety he would stay inside the boat and he always goes to his bed until we stop and moor up. On another occasion, I was helping a couple up through a lock and they had their little dog on the lead on the cruiser stern. As they came into the lock, the dog fell over the side of the boat and almost got crushed between the lock wall and the boat. This is of course just my opinion and I know many of my friends who have dogs would not agree with me.

On that note, lets move on. This morning Paddy the aged Collie, was walked to the vets to have his claws cut. They were not overgrown, but needed a trim. Paddy tends to drag his feet these days and his claws need to be kept tidy. He was less than impressed with having a muzzle put on, but because he is now a grumpy old man, we need to take the precaution in case he should snap at the nurse. It is the only time in his whole life that he has to be muzzled. Until last year, we had always done his claws ourselves with no muzzle and he was fine, but now he is grumpy and so he has to wear a muzzle for claw trimming. Back home and out of protest for taking him to the vets and making him wear a muzzle, he is refused his lunch.

I have done yet more painting. The red has had its fourth coat and the blue its second coat and whilst it is not perfect it will do.

Last night friends arrived in the arm on Governor and Bogwoppit and this morning we said “Cheerio” to them, as they make their way to Alvecote for the boat rally. I got on with lunch and a little more crocheting. With the sun shining the paintwork is drying a treat, so I can start on the galley doors tomorrow.

During the afternoon, I got my paints out again and did some rock painting. Yes I am a rock painter. I am not a good one, but I do find it relaxing and some of my rocks have gone off to new homes and areas. I am a member of a couple of rock painting groups and some of the paintings are amazing.

So that is Tuesday for me. it is now time to put my feet up and watch the tv for the evening.

Pop back soon xx

A brand new week.

Hello Friends and Followers.

How was your weekend?

Saturday you know about because I posted Saturday, but Sunday being Sunday it was my day off from posting. Sorry if you came in expecting something of the written word, but I had a good old fashioned lazy day. There was a time, when Sundays were all about doing very little and I think I have been through this all before, so I will not bore you with it all over again. Sunday for me was a relaxing day, crocheting and watching films. I rang a dear friend as it was her birthday. These days I seldom write a proper letter because we all seem to use e-mail or text. But I do love to ring people for a natter. I usually do it at weekends, because we get free calls. Yes I know I am cheapskate, but hey ho get over it. It was lovely to chat to my friend, who has been my friend for over 38 years. She has been my friend, through the good times and the bad and never fails to be there if I need a listening ear and I am always here for her as well, even though we do not live close to each other any longer. That is what a true friend is.

Going back to watching films. I love watching films and so find film4 wonderful for me. But going back a few days, I watched a film with Robert De Niro in it and thought it maybe an ok film, because I love him as an actor. Oh how wrong was I that it was an ok film. It was dreadful and one I will not be watching again. The film was Dirty Grandpa and was the F word, pretty much every other word. Why oh why would anyone pay to go to the cinema to see a film like that, which was full of bad language and scenes of bad taste. It was not Robert De Niro’s finest hour. He should stick to serious acting. I am not an F or C word lover. I hate them both with a passion and you will never hear me using either of them and I do not seen the need for them in modern day language. There my rant for a Monday.

Sunday evening was all calm and quiet here and looked beautiful.

So here we are another Monday and it began with sunshine, so I was out with my paintbrush again. The rust spots have gone and I am now building up the paint layers, to hopefully hold the rust at bay for a while.

Paddy has been booked into the vets for tomorrow to have his claws cut. We used to do them ourselves, but the last couple of years we have taken him to the vets because he has become a grumpy old man and gets cross when we do it. So now we have to pay either £13 for the nurse to do it or £22 for the vet to do it. Guess which one I am choosing?

Oh joy of joy, we have had showers on and off this afternoon. Just as well my paintwork was almost dry, otherwise I would have been spitting feather and stomping my feet. Tomorrow I am doing the blue paintwork and it had better not rain, because there is plenty to do on the doors.

Paintwork did not take me long, so I then got on with a bit of tidying of my cloths cupboard and drawer. yes I know how to live. The postie then arrived with three parcels. One was for Keith. More bits for his railway. There was one from C&RT (Canal and River Trust). My first thought was “Why would they be sending us a parcel”. On opening it, there was a lovely book written by Timothy West and Prunella Scales, telling of their lives, boating and the places they have been, which looks a good read. There was a C&RT bag and stress ball. It had been sent to us by the lovely ladies we took out last week on the boat buddies scheme. It was such a wonderful surprise and very much appreciated from three wonderful ladies, who enjoyed their day out with us. The third parcel was from my good friend Geraldine on the cheese boat, she had sent me her left over wool for the dog blankets I am making. There are some lovely colours, which will help to make a blanket. I am on the look out for wool and any donations will be gratefully received, because I want to make as many blankets as I can. It is always lovely to receive surprise parcels and it brought a huge smile to my face.

After lunch, I spent some of the afternoon helping to organise the Heritage Weekend. There is always such a lot to go through, but we are on top of the event and fingers crossed everyone we have asked can make it. There will be more on this event as we get closer and after the event is over with photographs.

This evening we welcomed friends into the arm on their boats. It is their first time visiting and it was wonderful to have a good old catch-up. We will see them again in the morning before they leave.

All in all a good day I think.

Pop back soon xxx

Happy Saturday.

Hello Friends and Followers.

I am right in thinking it is August?

Film4 thinks it is Christmas apparently because it has Miracle on 34th Street on today. I think I may have started something with me talking about Christmas cards in the shops already. Next I will be seeing Christmas trees in the shop windows and Santa walking down the high street. It is very worrying, that the true spirit of Christmas has been hijacked and has become a money making exercise. I know, this has been going on for years, but it has been getting worse year on year. Sadly the children of today and the future, will forget the true meaning of the festive season. Of course it could be said with so many dreadful things going on in the world, I am just being a misery and need to get a life and I suppose that is true. But this happens all over the world.

Small rant over with for Saturday. It was painting day again. With it being a mild, dry, dull morning, I wanted to get the paint on nice and early, to give it a good chance of drying, before the forecast showers arrive. This of course now means we will see no rain at all, which is also fine. I have got a coat of gloss on all the relevant areas and now it is drying nicely.

With the paintwork drying, I turned my attention to inside the back cabin and the back step. Under the back step is a thick piece of steel, which has the wood attached. For ages now I have been wanting to rub the steel down and paint it and so today was the day. I used my handy mouse sander, gave the steel a good rub down and then painted it with Hammerite  paint. I then decided that the wood could do with a touch of tlc, so rubbed that down as well. I am a demon when I have a sander in my hands.

Having rubbed the dirty layer off of the wood, I gave it a good soaking with teak oil to protect it from the weather. I am really quite chuffed with how it has come up and love the patination left behind. I will give it some more teak oil tomorrow.

Painting done for the day. I turned my attention to more weeding and cutting back of the brambles. The prickly little devils must have grown over night and were creeping across the garden.

On Wednesday, I took our recycling up to the bins at Sainsbury, which is about a 5 minute walk for us and whilst there, I spotted this planter, left for anyone who wanted it and so it came home with me. It is bloomin heavy and I can imagine when new it was not cheap, but it will serve me well on our mooring.

It’s only fault is the loss of glaze, but that is fine, I am not to bothered by this, but clearly it’s previous owner did not like the look much. There loss my gain.

It has been a lovely day again, but the temperature is definitely beginning to drop and the nights are drawing in little by little. We will soon be lighting the fire. We are waiting for our flue to be looked at, as we want to make some changes before we light the fire. If it should turn cold before the engineer comes, I will light the back cabin stove instead. I love having that stove lit and dinner cooking in its oven.

Well that is another Saturday done and another day closer to Christmas ha ha ha.

Pop back soon xxx

WHAT CHRISTMAS.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Well here we are at the bank end of another week and another week closer to Christmas. Yes I know I have mentioned the C word early. I only mention it because yesterday I saw Christmas cards in the British Heart Foundation charity shop and went WHAT. Oh come on really it is bloomin August. At this rate Christmas cards will be on sale all year round.
I personally think that nothing to do with Christmas should be available until December 1st. It is getting ridiculous. It is all about money, which means Christmas is way to commercialised in again my opinion. STOP IT and STOP IT NOW.

Ok rant over.
So how has your day been?
I would really love to hear. Mine has been a day of doing the laundry, painting and crochet.
I will not bore you with a photograph of my laundry, that will most definitely get you turning off, but you maybe interested in how the rust spot painting is coming along.

The portholes have had a coat of undercoat this morning and all being well, I may get a coat of gloss on tomorrow.

I made a start on the woodwork on the engine room doors, because I want them to be waterproof for the Winter. They get used and abused a lot, so the paint has been chipped off, but that will soon be reversed with a nice coat of gloss paint.

The fore-end, always gets abused one way or another, so keeping the paintwork up is a never ending job, but I like to keep the boat rust free and tidy. Neither of us is paint proud, because at the end of the day Hadar is a boat and it gets bashed and rubbed, but keeping up the paintwork means it helps to keep the rust at bay and keeps the 11 year old paintwork looking tidy. At some point we will have her professionally repainted, but that is a way off yet.
Whilst I got on with the painting, Keith went and did the food shopping using his bus pass to get him to Aldi. On his return, it was time to put the food away and then knock up some lunch. We are still having salads and so I try to make them different everyday. Today we had our salad with cooked rice and peppers. I also did homemade coleslaw. I used to buy coleslaw because it was easier, we actually like my homemade coleslaw better and I can add what I like. I sometimes add Raisins and Walnuts, these both go really well with the cabbage, carrot and onion all mixed together with mayonnaise.
After a busy morning, it was time to sit down and do some crochet. I cannot get on with my blanket of many colours, because I need more coloured wool to complete it, so I decided to make a Lemon and White baby blanket. This will keep my hand in whilst I wait to get some coloured wool. I have also decided with any donated wool I am given, I am going to make blankets for the dog charity.
Paddy came to us when he was 11 months old, he is going to be 15 years old in January. He came from the Border Collie Trust in Rugeley and has given us years of absolute joy and laughter and so I am going to give something back to the trust by making them some crochet dogs blankets, which maybe the dogs can take with them to their forever home. All I need now is the wool :-)

Our garden gives me joy and I like to look after it. Whilst we are away, we have no control over the weeds, so have to sort it out when we come home. Whilst away a friend was moored on our pontoon and his dog decided it liked our Clematis and so chew it down to the sticks you can see in the above photograph.

Having arrived home to no greenery in the pot, I have given it lots of TLC and water and look it has survived its severe pruning by canine teeth. We even have some buds on it. If it flowers I will share the blooms with you.

Our garden is looking tidy at the moment.

I have gotten the weeds under control, although the bramble seems to grow a couple of feet overnight, so I am having to give it tough love. We have kept the brambles because we like the Blackberries and Keith loves them in his cereal in the mornings. It is amazing what a couple of days rain has done to the garden and the grass. Everything is looking a lot greener.
What a sad day it was yesterday with the sad death of Aretha Franklin. A true legend with the voice of an angel. RIP Aretha.

Well folks that is my contribution for today.

Pop back soon xx

Rust spots and crochet.

Hello Friends and Followers.

I seem to be back on track with this blogging lark and once again enjoying it. Maybe I just love telling people about my life and its ups and downs, which happen on a regular basis. Since we lost our darling Marmite. I have been waking up later.

Marmite would always manage to wake me up, just by her moving on my feet or a small meow if I disturbed her sleep. Because she is no longer sleeping at the bottom of the bed, I seem to be sleeping longer, but I still look for her. I am not sure how long it takes to get over losing such a beloved pet, even though I have had animals in my life for as long as I can remember. Paddy never really disturbs us, because he does not get out of his bed until we get up.
Today, my plan was to get up and do some painting. I am of course talking about boat painting. We have a few rust spots appearing around the portholes and where stone chips have knocked the paintwork. Having walked his Lordship (Paddy), I set about rubbing down the spots with my hand mouse sander. Whilst doing this Keith wanted to add the brass strips to the top of the doors on the galley and engine room doors, so before I began the painting, I helped him with that job, which should have been half an hour at the most, but turned into a lot longer, when he discovered having added the strips to the galley doors they would not shut arghhhh. We had to take it all apart and grind the doors and the wood down until it all fitted. I then re-applied the sealant and Keith then screwed the brass strips in place. Hooray the job was finally done and I could get on with the painting. The first two coats were red oxide. If all goes well tomorrow, I should be able to get some undercoat on, but looking at the weather forecast, I may have to wait until Friday or the weekend. Anyway I have started the job, which I am really chuffed about.
After lunch, I had to go up to the bank, because I tried last night to open an e-savings account, which you do online only. But the stupid thing decided not to let me do it, instead it asked me to visit my branch and supply them with proof of who I am. Oh joy I do not have a passport or a driving licence. Does this mean I do not exist?
Apparently it does these days. So I am actually going to get a provisional driving licence with photo ID, so I and everyone else knows I exist. I have never needed a passport, because I have never been abroad and do not feel the need to go. However I may learn to drive again or maybe I won't. I of course realise that the bank needs to make sure I am who I say I am, because there is so much fraud going on, but you would think that after all these years they would know me, as I go into the branch regularly. Oh well I will sort it out, and in the meantime my savings account will have to wait.
Back from the town, I felt the need to do more to my crochet blanket. It is coming on a treat.

I have done a good few more rows since the last photograph. My only problem now is I am getting low on wool in different colours, so I may have to wait until I get some wool given to me, so I can carry it on. If this is the case then I will crochet a baby blanket to keep my hand in.
Update on Paddy and his eating. He seems to be liking the wet James Wellbeloved food, which I am now mixing with his biscuit which I now soak. I have also changed his feeding times, to see if we can get him to like his food again and so far so good it is working and he is eating everything we put in front of him and as of yet it has not upset his stomach.

Pop back soon xx

Boating Buddies Day.

Hello Friends and Followers.

What a fabulous day I have had.
Today we welcomed three young ladies from the C&RT on to our boat and we took them out as part of the Boating Buddies Scheme.
Jess, Jen and Gina arrived at 10.30am, I made them a cuppa, because they had come all the way from Milton Keynes. After a natter about safety on the boat as they had never been boating before and a chat about the history of the canals and our boat, we set off just after 11am and headed towards Cape Locks. We were following two other boats who had come down Hatton Locks. One of them moored up and the other took on water, so we had the lock to ourselves, with two boats coming up through lock 2. The ladies were keen to have a go at working the locks and soon realised how hard it can be to wind the paddles up and just how heavy the gates can be. They did wonder how we did this all the time, but also realised how fit it kept up and that meant there was no need to go to the gym.
We stopped at the Tesco mooring for a picnic lunch and another cuppa, which of course followed nattering about the trip so far and more about what happens on the canals and towpaths. We discussed moorings, cyclists, restoration, rubbish, maintenance and of course the rebranding of the C&RT. After lunch we carried on up to the Lidl winding hole, winded and made our way back to the Arm, with the ladies taking it in turns to steer the boat, with Keith giving them tuition.
On returning into the Arm, we did not bother winding, we just moored up, because I have paintwork to tackle this coming week, weather permitting. Before the ladies left, I made them another cuppa, whilst we talked about the day and how much on both sides we had really enjoyed ourselves. The boating buddy scheme is wonderful, because it gets the C&RT staff out of their offices and they get to learn about the canals and the things we as boaters go through. This was the second time we have done this and we hope to do it again very soon.

Weather permitting tomorrow will be boating painting day. We have rust spots appearing around the portholes and so I need to get on top of those and other paint jobs.

Pop back soon xx

Medical run around.

Good evening Friends and Followers.

It has been a day of doing all things medical.
The morning began as every morning, with the wake-up cuppa and the news. It was rather drab, but mild out and my hope was we would have no rain, because we were going on a walk early.
After getting ourselves up and Paddy had his walk, we then took Paddy for his appointment at the vets. He was going for a dental check-up, because of late his breath has begun to smell, which meant he was having a teeth problem.

Paddy is fourteen and half years old and has never had any dental work done, because we have always looked after his teeth. He used to have hide bones once a month, but because they began to upset his stomach we had to stop them last years. His appointment was at 9am and Paddy seems to know if we both walk him together, he must be going to the vets, so he set off through the car park with a spring in his step. Once at the vets, he did not have long to wait to see the vet Sara. She did confirm that Paddy has a lot of scale on his teeth and gingivitis, but this would not stop him being off his food. Oh I should have mentioned we have been having issues with his feeding and have had to result to hand feeding him his James Wellbeloved Kibble. So that did not explain his food eating problem. I asked about him having his teeth cleaned, but Sara was a bit concerned about his age and having a general anesthetic, he also had a kidney problem, which was seen in his last blood test. Sara wants to hang fire on doing his teeth until we find out why he is not happy about eating. We are going to try soaking his food and adding the wet version of James Wellbeloved to his soaked biscuit to see if this will get him excited about food again. Whilst with Sara we mentioned his fully turns, which she reckons are not fits, but some sort of neurological thing going on and this could all be down to his age. What with his dodgy back legs as well, poor old Paddy does not have much going for him at the moment and yet he is happy enough in himself.
I can report he has had his first soaked meal and he ate it. Long pay this continue, because otherwise I am not sure where we will go with it and I do not fancy hand feeding him the soaked food.
With Paddy's medical day complete, it was time for the other half to go on his journey. A couple of weeks ago he had a hip x-ray, because he has been suffering hip pain. This afternoon we went to see the Gp to see what was causing his pain. The x-ray showing both his hips have arthritis in them, but it is mild and what is expected for a man of his age. Having examined him, the Gp reckons it is a ligament problem in his sacrum area and has recommended physio therapy and anti-inflammatories. So we will see how things go with both of the men in my life. It is just as well I am doing alright at the moment. Mind I do not have the time to be poorly. Anyway having seen the Gp, it was back on the bus and into town to get him some tablets and me some wool for my blanket and then a gentle stroll back home, where Paddy was waiting to greet us both.

Tomorrow will be a good day, we are off out on the boat.

Pop back soon xxx

What do you do?

Hello Friends and Followers.

What do you do on a wet Sunday?

I am not complaining about the weather, because the rain is very much needed in many ways for many people. It is so easy to moan, but why bother we have had the most amazing summer weather wise.

Having hand another odd nights sleep. I got up and made us a cuppa, which we drank in bed, whilst watching the BBC1 news and weather. The weather report for the day was rain and they got that right. My plan for the day was to do as little as possible with it being a Sunday. There was a day in the dim and distant past, when Sunday’s were spent with family. You would go to church in the morning, if you were that way inclined, then Sunday roast was had with the family, sat at the table and then perhaps a pint in the local pub, before spending the rest of the day watching Sunday afternoon movies or spending time with family. Of course these days hardly any of that happens anymore, due to the shops being open, people working, modern technology and everything else that gets in the way of relaxing.

My Sunday morning began with walking Paddy in light drizzle. I was then engaged in a bit of wallpapering.

This was no ordinary wallpapering. We were wallpapering the scenery for the railway.

Keith cut the paper and pasted it, whilst I pasted the wall and cleaned up behind him. It worked like a well oiled machine.

Of course the main hope is that it does not all peel off overnight. I am joking of course, it will be absolutely fine. I hope.

Pop back soon xx