Hetty's Big Day Out.

Hello family, friends and followers.

By the time some of you drop in to read my ramblings it will already be 2020 and you will probably nursing a hangover, so I will not shout too loud. HAPPY NEW YEAR. Oppps sorry I could not resist.

It is 14.29pm on the 31st December and I am on our boat, waiting for the new decade and year to arrive. But before that, here is an update and the reason for the post title.
A friend of ours Kate, sent out a message on her Facebook page asking if anyone was heading up the Hatton 21 on the 30th December. I feeling at the time like we needed to get some fresh air and work off some of the festive excess, answered her call and said that we would be available to help her with the locks. Keith then suggested we use our bikes, which had not had an outing as such since getting them. We had committed ourselves to climbing the stairway to heaven and I had committed Hetty (my bike) to a cycle up the hill with my festive weight on her saddle. Now baring in mind I have not really ridden a bike for probably 12 years, this was going to be a baptism of fire for the both of us. On the 29th December Kate popped over on her bike to come and see us once she was all moored up outside of the arm. It was lovely to see her and to show her around Hadarford (the railway). We caught up over coffee and biscuits and discussed what time we should start the climb up the locks on the 30th.

Monday morning arrived and we were up early to get the bikes set up. Because we stow them away off the boat, we have to put their wheels on and pump Hetty's tyres up. At 9.30am we headed off to find Kate's boat, which was moored just outside of the Arm. Keith then went ahead to set the first lock.

Keith would set the locks and I would close up behind Kate, once she had exited the locks and was on her way to the next one.

Hetty and I were doing amazingly well, I think she realised I had not ridden a bike for sometime and so she was being gentle on me, although the saddle was not as soft as my behind would have liked and I was pretty sure that the next day I would be walking like John Wayne on a bad day. I had gotten used to the gearing and was actually managing to cycle up the side of the locks without getting off and walking. This old girl was fitter than she had thought.

We made it to the top two and half hours after setting off, with the promise of lunch and a cuppa in the Hatton Locks Cafe. Once Kate was moored up, we headed back to the cafe and enjoyed a lovely Baked Potato lunch, washed down by a cup of tea. The cafe was very busy, with walkers, cyclists and gongoozlers all out to try and work off some of the festive food no doubt. We had a fabulous day with Kate. The cycle home was somewhat quicker being all down hill, although we did have to stop half way down, when my saddle decided to move. Thankfully I had carried the bicycle tools with us, so Keith soon had us underway again. Back home Hetty and Keith's bike got a well earned wash down.

It was fabulous to be out on a bike again and I know that Hetty and I will be going out and about a lot more over this Winter.

New Years Eve, saw my replacement laptop arrive and the broken one sent back to the company, who have been brilliant. My new laptop is not new at all it is a refurbished one but it is a business laptop from Dell, so is a bit more high spec. The company he bought it from have been really good. I am looking forward to seeing how this laptop works out. One good thing is this SD card reader works.
As New Years Eve draws to a close. It is time to reflect on what 2019 has taught me and to wonder at what 2020 and the new decade will offer me. I hope that it brings you good health, happiness, love and laughter.
I will definitely see you in 2020. Have a wonderful day everyone.

Pop back soon xxxx

How was it for you?

Hello family, friends and followers.

Here we are heading towards a new year and a new decade. I wonder what it has in store for us all?
I know, I know I said I would see you in the New Year, but then I thought, heck I will be writing a novel to you all by then. So here I am earlier than thought.

How was it for you?
For us it was quiet for a nice change. On the run up to the big day, we had finished all our shopping on the Thursday before Christmas, which meant we had no rushing around at the last minute. It was all peace and harmony on board. Christmas Eve our neighbour bought a gift over, to say "Thank you" for looking after his lovely Spaniel. It was a nice bottle of Highland Park single malt whiskey, it just so happens to be one of our favourites. I am not one for accepting gifts for doing something which was an absolute pleasure, but it was such a lovely thing to do and we will celebrate the New Year with a tot or two. We did not do much Christmas Eve, we stayed in and watched TV and I prepared the veggies for Christmas lunch. I made a broccoli and cauliflower cheese, peeled the potatoes, carrots, parsnips and brussel sprouts. I even cooked the chicken, stripped the meat of the bones and then stewed the bones, so I could use the liquid for the gravy and for a chicken and leek soup.

Christmas Day dawned and we got up very leisurely, but with the thought that I had a list of things written down that needed to be done, in order that we would have a fabulous lunch at midday. We did not bother with breakfast, because we knew we would have a good size lunch and a pudding. Presents were opened and then I got on with boat chores, which always included doing the fire. I am the fire goddess it seems, because it is one of my many jobs. The fire get riddled, so that she (yes she) fires into life. The ash pan get emptied and then I refill the grate with fuel to make the little stove happy for a few more hours, after all she (yes she) gives us warmth, hot water and a top to cook on. Ten o'clock and I began to sort the food out to go in the oven, because we wanted to eat at noon (I know many eat later on Christmas Day). By the time we got to noon, everything was cooked to perfection, even if I do say so myself. Chicken cooked in gravy, roast spuds, roast parsnips and carrots, broccoli and cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire puds and stuffing balls. I was so chuffed with how it had all turned out. I opened a nice bottle of rose wine and we enjoyed our lunch in front of the TV, because we do not have a proper table to eat from on the saloon. Dessert was Lemon tart (no I did not make it) with Vanilla ice cream, sprinkled with chocolate.
As always once lunch was eaten, I then got on with the washing-up (I am the dishwasher). I then got a video call from my girls, who wanted me to share in something very special. Something I have not been able to do for many years and which really made my day. I got to see flowers put on my daughters grave. Having my darling girls back in my life along with their partners and our grandsons is so very special and was the best Christmas present anyone could have ever given us.The rest of Christmas day was spent vegging out in front of the TV with sweets and wine. After such a large lunch, we had Chinese nibbles for tea, I warmed up some mulled wine to finish of our wonderful day.

Boxing Day dawned, with me having had a dreadful nights sleep. I actually thought I was going to have to wake Keith up and get him to call an ambulance, because I was in so much pain. No it was not for my cooking or from eating to much, but from Liver Cysts, I am waiting for this to be confirmed by my GP in the New Year.  Not wanting to wake him, I got up had a wander around and went back to bed, where I sort of slept and tossed and turned. I will be glad when I get my scan results, so I know what is going on properly. Anyway once properly awake with a coffee in my hand, I watched the morning news before crawling out of bed to decide what to do with the day. It was a damp start, with more dampness forecast, so going for a walk was now not top of my to do list. The leftover chicken was put into a Chicken korma curry with nibbles on the side for lunch. Whilst that was cooking, we had a video call with the girls, their partners and the grandchildren. They had all spent Christmas day together, which was so wonderful. As they were off home on Boxing Day it was nice to chat to them all together and to hear all about their day. Our grandsons will be grown up all to soon and we will all treasure the little moments of when they were small and enjoyed Christmas as we had once done as children. I know for me now being a grown up Christmas does not have that sprinkle of magic. I always think these days it is for the children, who show the excitement in their eyes on Christmas morning.

December 27th and we are in that space between Christmas and New Year. So what do you do when you meet someone. Do you wish them a Merry Christmas or a Happy New Year?
Thankfully I had a better nights sleep. I think the Mulled Wine may have helped. Well it had to be finished and we were happy to oblige. It did say on the bottle that it had to be consumed within two days of being opened. Anyway after a much better nights kip, we did not wake until 8 am. I made us a morning cuppa and we sat in bed watching Match of the Day, which is a little odd, because we are not huge football fans. Cuppa enjoyed and football watched, I finally got up just before 9 am and got on with doing a laundry wash. Yes even though its the festive period, the laundry still has to be done. There is no laundry fairy who does it when we are sleeping.  We had thought of going out on the bikes, but my laptop decided that it had other plans, because the flash drive would not work, so Keith was onto the company's helpline, who were excellent at trying to help us online, but after a few hours of trying different things, including a complete reset we all admitted defeat and so the new/secondhand laptop has to go back and they will deliver a new one. Nothing ever quite goes to plan especially for us. Hey ho at least I have my old one, which yes I am writing this rambling on. Oh for Windows 7, when life was so much easier. Anyway I am supposed to get another laptop come Tuesday, so we will wait and see if that one works. To be fair the guys really did try and help us.

So followers from across the world, this is me up to date. You have probably fallen asleep over your coffee, but if you have enjoyed my rambling, please pop back again soon xx

Merry Christmas.

Hello family, friends and followers.

Not long to go now. I hope that you are all ready for the big day?

I would like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

We are all done. The final food shop has been done and we will not be seeing a supermarket until after the New Year. I am not one for barging my way through crowds or dealing with rude people, I did all that when I worked for M&S, so we have chosen to make sure we have enough food in for the whole festive period. We are spending Christmas on our own this year on our mooring, which is fine, having been out cruising for Christmas the past few years. There will be plenty of eating, drinking and TV watching. If the weather is kind we may even get our bikes out and go for a cycle. There does not seem to be any prospect of snow, which means no winter walking, but we may still go out for a nice long walk over the hollibobs, but of course that does depend on the weather. This year has been such a special year for us. It has given us something so precious and we will be forever thankful to have another chance. Cherish those you love and hold them tight, because they are the light in your day and the happiness which surrounds you.

At this time of year, I tend to think about all those who have to work over the festive season and we all know that hospitals are once such place that is open twenty four hours a day, 365 days a year. Some many people work to look after those in need of medical attention over the festive period. Please do not go to A&E unless it is an absolute emergency. Sadly A&E tends to these days be used by people who could just as easily gone to their pharmacy or GP for advice. It would be nice to think that A&E will be quiet over the festive period, but I am doubting it very much. My heart goes out to everyone who works over Christmas and the New Year. I thank you for all your hard work :-)

I will hopefully see you all in the New Year all being well.

Pop back in 2020 xxxxxx

Counting down.

Hello family, friends and followers.

Ten days to go, and some of us will all be stuffing ourselves with food and drinking to much. Then the opening of the presents. Or do you open your presents first?

Now for anyone who reads my ramblings, you will know I do not get political on my blog, because that is not what my blog is about. This past few weeks has seen so much vitriol in the papers (we do not buy), on the radio and TV, why on earth would I want to add to all the garbage that has been spoken about. Thursday I along with the other half went and put our cross on the voting paper and made our choice. Now my choice may well not have been yours, and that is fine. What drives me mad is that people are now arguing about who voted for who. It does not flippen matter, we are all entitled to vote for who we like and if at the end the party that wins is not your party, get over it and move on. There are some who did not bother to vote and again that is their decision, but do not moan when he party that gets in was not what you expected. You could of voted and changed the result. If you did not vote you have no right to moan, you will just have to go with the flow for the next five years and perhaps then you will do like the other 67% of the population at the election you will go and cast your vote and make it count.
Ok enough politics.

Christmas as we all know is almost here. For many it is a time of sadness and loneliness. Not everyone enjoys the festive season for many different reason. If you know someone who will be alone this Christmas, please go and check on them and give them a few kind words, which will probably make their day. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be alone at Christmas. Of course I know some people prefer to be alone and if it works for them then fine. But it is still nice to just check on them and say "Hello".

Yesterday we had our residential Christmas lunch at Ask Italian. It was wonderful and the food was excellent. There was a lot of laughter and fun. We spent over three hours enjoying each others company. As we slid ever closer to Christmas Day, I am already working out how I am going to be cooking Christmas lunch and what the rest of the day will bring. For both of us, we are looking forward to a quiet and chilled out Christmas.

Pop back soon xxx

Fifteen Sleeps.

Hello family, friends and followers.

The countdown is on and who has finished their Christmas shopping (not including the food)?

I can actually say I have finished shopping for Christmas. The only thing left to do is to is the final food shop, which will be the week before Christmas, because I really do not think Keith will want to be standing in queue's on Christmas Eve. Yes I know we are a nation of people who enjoy a good queue, but not at Christmas, because it will be a nightmare. Not only do people get incredibly rude, they also enjoy nothing more than passing on all their germs to everyone else and I for one have had enough germs over the past few weeks. So we will do our final food shop the week before the big day and then manage until the New Year all being well. I have never been one for leaving everything till the last minute. I know some people revel in doing everything last minute, but to me that just causes issues. Cards and presents have been posted as well, because again I do not like leaving it to the last minute and then finding the gift has not arrived. Royal Mail has enough to do over the festive time, so I choose to send my bits off early. Now I can sit back and enjoy the run up to the big day.

I am still coughing a bit, but I do not sound like a dog anymore, which a definite bonus. I think this cough may hang around for a bit. There seems to be a lot of nasty bugs around.

We have discovered that what we thought were Wood Mice are in fact Bank Voles. They are still very much enjoying our wood pile. They seem to use it as an assault course in the mornings. I put them out a few bits of peanut and then watch them from the galley doors. They always bring a smile to my fact. Nature is a wonderful thing.

Pop back soon xx

Who let the dogs out Woof Woof.

Hello family, friends and followers.

The title say's it all right now. I sound like a dog when I cough. I have the ability to scare anyone away who knocks on the boat. That has its pluses at times of course. On the good side, I am actually coughing less. On the down side I still have hives. Friday I went to the nurse and had an arm full of blood taken for loads of different tests, so we will see what happens with that. As the saying goes "The only way is up".

Whilst I have been suffering with all the darn bugs, life still has to carry on and jobs still need to be done and I am the only capable person at the moment to do lifting and carrying. Why? you ask, well Keith's back is playing up and has been for the past couple of weeks, so he is on his medication, which means he is not completely himself most of the time. Why is it that some medications leave you feeling so sleepy or spaced out? Anyway his back is clearly having an episode and therefore I am it when it comes to lifting and carrying. So I am in charge of everything from empty the toilet cassette to getting the coal in........ Oh hang on, I do that most of the time anyway, so no change there then :-). I would not have his back for all the tea in China though. Hoping now that he will be fine for the run up to Christmas.

Yes I am mentioning Christmas now, because once the 1st December arrives, Christmas preparations take place on board our boat. It all began yesterday with the me baking a large mince pie.

After lunch, it was time to get out the decorations and begin the dressing of the Christmas tree. I love dressing the tree.

Keith helped me put up the ceiling fairy lights. I then did the rest of the decorations. I always think it is so cozy when the decorations are up. So here we go folks, head long into the festive period.
This morning all cards and parcels were posted out. I like to get it done early and to beat the rush. In fact the post office was almost empty this morning. I can imagine on the run in to the big day it will be very busy. The only cards I have left now are the ones I had out in person. I still have some bits to purchase, but nothing big and then I am done.

Now you may remember from a previous posting, we moved our log pile from our old mooring to our new mooring. Well we have wood mice already living in the wood pile. Every morning I watch them from our galley doors and they make me smile and giggle. Now I know there will be those of you who do not like mice, but these are so cute........... really they are.


Pop back soon xxx

Dreaded lurgy.

Hello family, friends and followers.

I like to think of myself as a nice person on the whole and I never intentionally upset anyone, but I must have done something to someone, because they are clearly sticking pins in an effigy of me at the moment :-). This past month, I have had the dreaded lurgy big time. It all began with a cold, which thankfully did not hang around for too long, but that then lead to me having the stomach bug which was doing the rounds. I therefore felt it was only fair to pass it on to poor Keith. That bug really wiped me out for a few days, so imagine my horror when I woke up on the Sunday morning to find I was covered in Hives and no I do not mean the bee kind. I have allergies anyway, so sat and racked my brains to try and figure out what had I touched or eaten to cause this reaction and to be honest I am so careful I could not think of a thing. I ended up seeing a GP, who put me on antihistamines and said she thought my body was reacting to the bugs I had had. This was something I was ready to accept and so began taking the tablets for a week. During that week, I got another flippen cold and this one has left me sounding like a fog horn when I cough and joy of joys yesterday the hives were back. After taking the tablets for a week, I was told to stop to see if the hives came back and oh yes they have come back, so I am back on the tablets again. I have a feeling I will end up having more tests to see if I am reacting to something I am normally alright with. In the meantime, I will cut things out of my diet, to see if that works. I have a high intolerance to Nickel and this is not just due to cheap jewellery, which affects me also and the buttons on jeans, mine is also internal, so it affects the things I can and cannot eat. Over the years I have been able to work out my levels of how much I can tolerate on a daily basis, but maybe things have changed and I will need to change again. As we all get older our bodies and systems change, and perhaps this is what has happened to me. Anyway if it is just a case that someone has been stick pins in effigy of me, could you please STOP it now.

All over the world the weather we have all been experiencing has been crazy. I have friends in Australia who have been on fire watch due to the devastating fires, which has torn through large parts of the country killing wildlife and destroying peoples homes and livelihoods and yet in the UK we have been getting copious amounts of rain causing flooding over large areas of the country. Yes we live on a boat, but it does not mean we are safe. We have had friends caught on rivers. Thankfully they have been safely moored up and have been waiting the floods out, but some boats have been lost. Farmers have had to rescue their animals from flooded fields and many people have been flooded out of their homes. It seems Mother Nature has been kicking off and telling us we need to do more to protect her. Where ever you are in the world reading this, please stay safe and look after your neighbours.

Winter is galloping before us and Christmas is now top priority. I am well ahead of the game at the moment, because I have presents and cards to post and drink to buy, then that will be it for us. We do not go over the top for Christmas, because one we do not have the room for it and two it is just one day. I think the commercialisation of the festive season has taken away its true meaning, although for children it is still so important. I am not overly religious, but there is something so wonderful about going to church at Christmas and singing carols and seeing the Christmas message delivered. Christmas for us will be a quiet affair this year, but we will still have a lovely time and will be in touch with family.

Ok I have rambled on enough.

Pop back soon xxx

It is coming.

Hello family, friends and followers.

Yes, whether you like it or not Christmas is coming. You cannot have failed to notice that the shops and TV are ramming it down our throats. I for one never go with all the hype. I do what I want to do and spend what I want too spend and that is that. The same goes for the stupid Black Friday, which in this country lasts for weeks and is not on a Friday. Unfortunately the gullible, will queue up for hours on end to get what they think is a bargain, when really they did not need or want the item at all. In a way the same goes for Christmas, we over indulge with food, drink and the buying of presents, when really Christmas is all about being with the ones you love and that is not always family. This year for us it is so very much more special, because we have two Grandson's to buy for and that is indeed bringing us a great deal of joy. I hate with a passion the amount of advertising that is done, to try and encourage you to spend money that we do not have. Well it will not and never has worked on us. We buy what we can afford and no more. I will never get into debt so that I can enjoy Christmas. I am of the opinion, it is better to spend a nice card than to get into debt over buying presents, which will end up at the back of a cupboard or draw. So many presents end up as presents for someone else the following year, or got to charity shops. In some respects it is nicer to receive and gift voucher of money, because then at least you can get something you really need. I personally think that all the advertising begins way to early and the shops put out their Christmas things to early as well. Christmas Carols in October is so wrong.

Christmas for us will be at home. I am already buying bits and bobs of food and stashing it away for the festive period, but we will not go overboard. We are not having a Turkey, we have a Chicken instead, which will be enjoyed with all the trimmings. We like to nibble over the festive time and this is usually done in front of the TV.

We should all remember not everyone enjoys the festive season, due to loss, illness or family rows. They reckon that more family rows break out at Christmas, than at any other time of the year, this I can understand. After all many do not see their family from one end of the year to the next and then suddenly they are all plunged together under one roof with pent up annoyances. That is why sometimes it is better to spend it alone under your own roof. In a day and age when you can use the internet to contact and see family, no one is truly alone.

I am pretty much sorted as far as cards and presents are concerned. I have posting to do in December. As for the food and nibbles, that is also under control. I need to find the tree and decorations to check they are fit for purpose again this year. I do enjoy decorating the inside of the boat and seeing it lit up with all the fairy lights.

Pop back soon xxx

Raining and bugs

Hello family, friends and followers.

Now as much as we always need rain to keep the canals and reservoirs topped up, I think I can say we have had more than enough now. Here it has been raining all night and it is absolutely pouring down still at almost 9am. I sincerely feel sorry for the areas which are flooded out and all the mess that the people are going to have to cope with once the water subsides. I can only imagine what it must be like and it does make me realise how lucky I am. On the other side of the coin are fires in Australia, which have been devastating to those living in the fire ravaged areas. I have friends living in those areas. Thankfully at the moment they are safe, but constantly on fire watch just in case they have to leave their homes. Mother nature is hitting back big time at the moment and we should listen.

I do not get poorly very often thankfully. The last time I had a stomach bug was a few years ago when I lost 5kg over 20 days. So to get another stomach bug was not welcome on Monday. This one was with sickness as well. It is very unlike me to stay in my pj's and cover myself with a duvet and have a hot water bottle, but that was me for three days. It did mean that I was waited on for a couple of days, but now Keith is experiencing the upset tummy. I am not one for being sick, I have never liked the feeling, so I am now grateful it is now at an end and I feel more human. Today I am actually making myself some Potato and Leek soup for lunch woo hoo. I know how to live.

So before the stomach bug hit, I did some Christmas shopping. We have a wonderful market on Saturday's which has a brilliant card stall. I always buy my cards, paper and calendars from him. So with cards bought, there was only one thing to do and that was to get them written out. I like to be ahead of the game. Whilst out we enjoyed a Wetherspoons breakfast, which set us both up for the day. The rest of Saturday was spent watching TV and of course doing the cards. Sunday well, I did very little, because it was Sunday. We did watch the second part of His Dark Materials on BBC1. We have seen the movie The Gold Compass, which was adapted from the same book, so we are seeing some similarities, but we are both enjoying the new series and look forward to seeing how it progresses. After that at 9pm on ITV was Ant and Dec's DNA Journey, which continued on Monday. What a brilliant and very interesting programs. So incredible to think how close their lives are and it is clear too see how close they still are, which is wonderful to see. Of course this coming weekend I's a Celebrity Get me Out of Here is back on ITV yayyy. I cannot wait, because I love watching it. Yes I know some will think why do you want to watch people eating bugs etc, but I do. It is interesting to see people coping out of their comfort zones.

Here we are it is Thursday and as I have already said it is pouring down. On board it is snug and toasty. I feel a film day coming on again, because it is definitely not a day to be going out. There will be no food shopping down today.

Where ever you are in the world, stay safe out there.

Pop back soon xx

Garden visitors.

Hello family, friends and followers.

Autumn has certainly been throwing lots of rain at us. Sadly in some parts of the country, they have flooding, which is so incredibly sad. It must be devastating to watch your home fill up with water and you know there is absolutely no way of stopping it?
Here the water level has been up, because our boat has been listing towards the pontoon, which has meant we have let the ropes off a little to allow us to be on the level again. The garden has been getting a good watering, which I am thankful for, because all of the plants will bed in before the Winter begins. So far the plants are still looking healthy, so I am guessing they are rooting in well.

Wildlife always amazes me at how quickly it gets to grips with a new environment. We already have birds enjoying what we have to offer.

Over the Winter I will be putting food out for the birds, because they need all the help they can get. Our bird feeder hangs over the water, so we are not encouraging the rats, because we do have a rat issue here.

We also have the enjoyment of Wood Mice. This little darling has found our log pile and seems to have set up home. We also have at least one under the walkway at the top of our garden. They are so very cute and love their antics. I am not the slightest bit bothered by mice or rats, because I grew up with them on the farm. Of course I would not like it if they came onto the boat, so they will encouraged to stay outside where they belong.

I am still struggling with pain, even though I am back on my medication, so I am going to see my GP next week, to see what she reckons. I have a thought as to what I think it maybe, but will wait for it to be confirmed. I know I have the Costochondritis, which I manage very well when it flares up. I also know that another condition can go hand in hand with Costochondritis and it is that which I think I maybe suffering with, but we will wait and see what happens.

The weekend is almost here. Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

Pop back soon xx

Making plans.

Hello family, friends and followers.

With Halloween and as of tonight Bonfire Night over with, we will all be focusing on Christmas. Yes I know it is only November, but even I have begun to make plans for Christmas. I have bought some of my presents and will definitely be sorting out my cards, food and of course drink for the festive period. We have decided we are staying home this Christmas, so I will be cooking Christmas lunch. We will probably not have a Turkey, because for just two of us, they are too expensive. I am thinking Chicken with all the trimmings and then we can have a Chicken Curry for Boxing Day yayyyyy.

Due to the weather being a bit wet, we have not done anything else in the garden. The plan is to see how everything we have planted does over the Winter. If we then need to replace anything we an do in the Spring, before we head off cruising. At the moment we are really happy how it has all turned out.

Keith has fully recovered from Shingles. I think because we caught it early, he has had a good recovery and of course the Anti-viral tablets and eye gel helped hugely. Fingers are crossed he gets nothing else, anytime soon. As for me well I had a week of doing very little, because I have felt so tired and my joints have been very painful. I have been back on my medication and that has settled everything down, but I have an appointment to see the GP, to try and find out what is going on. I know I have Costochondritis, but this time the whole of my body was affected and I just felt worn out all the time. Anyway we will see what happens when I see the GP.

On Sunday evening, I got to dog sit our neighbour's handsome Spaniel. I looked after him on his own boat until Monday afternoon. It was lovely walking a dog again and he was so well behaved and absolutely no trouble at all. Towards the end of this month it will be a year since we let our darling boy Paddy walk over the Rainbow bridge. I cannot believe it has been a year already.

Yesterday (Monday) my Windows 10 laptop decided to die. The hard drive has packed up, so I using my old Windows 7 laptop, until we decide whether to replace it with a newer version and whether we have the funds to do so. It is an expense we could do without at the moment, but hey ho.

Today was ladies who do coffee day. One the Winter moorers come into the Arm for the Winter, I organize for all the ladies to get together for a coffee once a month. When you are used to be out cruising all year, being on a mooring for the Winter can cause cabin fever, so I set up the coffee club, so us ladies can get together for a good old natter I  town for a couple of hours. It is fun to be able to have a laugh and a natter over coffee away from our boats. With Christmas coming we will no doubt organize something fun to do.

I hope that those of you who pop in to read my ramblings are keeping well?

Pop back soon xxx

Rockery planting.

Hello family, friends and followers.

It is almost the end to another week, as we walk slowly towards Christmas. Yes I have finally mentioned the festive period. Quitely I have been getting on with Christmas preparations. I have fired up our small freezer, so that I can begin to stock it ready for Christmas. This morning we went out and did a bit of pressie shopping for two very special bundles of joy. Christmas is all about children and whilst I hate the fact that businesses and the media begin the Christmas hype way to early, there is something wonderful about buying small gifts. We do not buy presents for each other, and I always used to say we do not buy for the adults, I would only buy for the children, because as you no doubt know, it is a hugely expensive time of the year. We do not expect gifts from anyone, I would much rather have a nice card or company at Christmas.

As you will know we have moved to another mooring and have been tackling the garden. The last bit to be tackled is the rockery, which we have built on the steepest part of our plot.

This morning having arrived back from doing some shopping, we were greeted by a parcel, containing five Heather plants, which we had ordered through Amazon.

The plants were very well packaged and came in their own little bag. I took them out of the bags and discovered five very healthy plants.

I did not waste anytime in putting the Heathers into our rockery. Thank you to Garden Dreams for our lovely Heathers. For now the rockery is finished, because I want to see how everything grows and survives over the winter. I am so loking forward to seeing how everything blooms. If certain things fail then I will of course have to replace them, but things are looking good so far.

Pop back soon xx

Rockery building day.

Hello family, friends and followers.

After an overnight frost, which is th second frost of the Autumn for us, we have had a beautiful day. The sun shone and all was well in our world. Well almost. I am feeling a little bit pants at the moment. My Costochondritis has flared up again and I am suffering with my other joints. It is back onto the medication for me for a few days. I am not one to dwell on being poorly and I most definitely cannot sit around unless I am dying, so with the sun out, we got on with the garden and in particular our rockery.

We cleared the plot for the rockery when sorting the garden out, so it was already for working on.

The first three rocks went into place and set us on the path for the rest of the rockery. Luckily all the rocks used were already in our garden, left by the previous moorer.

The first row being completed. We shared the digging, but Keith did most of the lifting of the rocks.

It did not take us long to finish putting the rocks in place, I then got on with putting in some plants. Despite all the rain we had on Saturday, the soil was remarkably good. We are really pleased with how it has gone and look forward to seeing the plants thrive. 

After lunch, I felt so worn out, that nothing else was going to get done on the garden today. So it is feet up and TV on.

Pop back soon xx

Relieved comes to mind.

Hello family, friends and followers.

I sit here on a very soggy, dank and miserable Saturday afternoon, thanking my lucky stars for all the wonderful people and things I have in my life right now and having been told some dreadful news this morning, it has made me realise that life is short and it is for living right now. Live each day as if it maybe your last and love the ones who love you back, because tomorrow is not certain.

The weather has not been the best, and so there has been no gardening for a day or two, but that has given me the chance to get on with baking, sewing and tidying. As you will be aware if you read my ramblings, we came home early to our new mooring because our generator died on us whilst at The Black Country Living Museum. Well yesterday (Friday) we had a visit from an engineer from Fischer Panda. he had come to do a report on the generator, because he like us thought it had seized. On arrival, he suggested he try a few things, one of those things was to change the fuel pump, because he suspected it may actually be the problem. Fuel pump changed it did not cure the problem, but then the engineer decided to try another fuel pump, because he was not convinced. Hey presto the generator started, this meant not only had our original fuel pump fail, so did a brand new one the engineer tried. To say that we are relieved the generator is fixed and it was a small thing, well small compaired to the whole thing seizing is an understatement. The generator was out of warranty, so we could of ended up with a huge bill, but instead we wait to hear what we may or may not have to pay. Because we were outside of the warranty by three months, we may not have to pay anything, so fingers crossed on that, because we still have five new leisure batteries to buy. A huge thank you goes out to the Fischer Panda engineer.

With the weather being so dreadful today, it was a good day to sit and watch the first semi-final of the Rugby World Cup. England v New Zealand. Wow what an incredible match. England played their socks off and definitely deserved the win. Tomorrow we look forward to Wales v South Africa. Who knows we may get an all Great Britain final.
With it being so wet, I am staying inside and battening down the hatches for the whole day. The TV is on and the fire is lit, so all is well in my world. We are also one step closer to getting our landline phone connected. It has only taken two weeks :-(. Hopefully all will be sorted out next week.

Pop back soon xx

Patio time.

Hello family, friends and followers.

It has been a beautiful Autumnal day today, so we spent all day outside getting more jobs done on our mooring.

My first job of the day after the boaty stuff, was to go for my morning walk. When I got back I wanted to get a laundry wash done. I was in the laundry before 8.30am, so first to the machines. Once the laundry was done and hung up, Keith and I got on with cutting our fence panels to size. We bought a 6ft panel and cut it in half. We then had to trim both panels down to fit, because one is only 5ft width. Thankfully it all went really well and did not take us too long.

The previous moorer left us with a tin of Green Cuprinol fence paint. So I did a first coat before lunch.

After lunch, we got on with clearing the overgrown shrubs alongside the Bin and Elsan room. Tomorrow we will tidy it up a bit more and will then look after it, keeping the bishes under control.

I then did a second coat of Cuprinol on the panels. Once they were dry we began to dress our patio. We have put Honeysuckles at the ends and hopefully they will trail along the fencing. We also put up a piece of trellis for a Clematis we transferred to the bigger planter. We still have some other bits to add, but it is going to be a nice little sun trap for us to enjoy.

Our fairy door has a new home, and hopefully the garden fairies will enjoy their new home.
Al in all it has been a fabulous day. We look forward to doing more tomorrow. I for one am feeling ever so slightly shattered this evening.

Pop back soon xx

Plant moving.

Hello family, friends and followers.

We woke this morning to a beautiful sunny start. With showers due during the afternoon, I was determined to get on with some gardening today and to at least move the fruit bushes. Keith went off to do the weekly shop. Because he has his bus pass, he enjoys going into Leamington-Spa on the bus to the Aldi store and it means we do not have to pay for a Tesco delivery. Whilst he went shopping, I got on with preparing our garden. I dug in a path, where I used some stabs on the mooring to make a path. 

This was where our fruit bushes would be going.

Keith got back from shopping, I stowed away the food and then made us some lunch. After lunch and watching Bargain Hunt, we set about moving our fruit bushes from our old garden.

With the Raspberry and Gooseberry bushes moved. We then put in some Strawberry plants at the front. we also have some wild Strawberry plants to go in.

With us both feel on a roll, we decided to get on with moving some of the shrubs.

Along with the shrubs, we have put in lots of Lavender and Cat Mint for the Bees.

There is still plenty to do, including a rockery, but we have made an good start. I am now feeling extremely sore. My hips and knees are very painful, so I think tomorrow I may have a day off. I hope that I can walk tomorrow :-), because at the moment I am walking like an old woman hahaha. 

Pop back soon xx

Bugs on the move.

Hiya family, friends and followers.

After a damp start to our Wednesday, the sun came out and we have had another busy day in the garden.

This afternoon we moved the log pile, which we had on our old garden for the beasties and bugs. Whilst removing the logs, it certainly looked like we had someone nesting in between the logs at some point, because there was a little nest and some marigold seeds in a pile. I think we may have had a wood mouse in there at some point, but there was no sign of it being in there recently. We rebuilt the log pile in our new garden and put back the solitary bee homes, which have laeve in them. The log pile has been built over an old tree stump, because there was absolutely no way we could dig it out, so we have covered it up.

Having moved the log pile, we got on with moving the bug hotel as well. I need to redo the layers and add some new things, but it is in place and we also bought some of the spiders and bugs with their home 🐌🐜🕷 , so they also have a new home now. Finally we relocated nest boxes and bee hotels. The bird boxes will be put up after they have been cleaned and the boxes painted, keeping them waterproof. I want to put some felt on the roofs as well, because they are leaking.
Update on our generator, which you may recall from a previous post has died. Rob from Kate Boats came and inspected the generator, he confirmed it has seized and will be contacting Fischer Panda to see how to proceed, so fingers crossed. Now that we have moved all the large items from our old garden, I can now begin to dig the garden over and start moving plants. I also have a rockery to build somewhere on the garden, but I am undecided as to where that will go yet. I think it will just evolve. The garden is really taking shape now and we are both really pleased with it so far.
My day ended with me cooking dinner. I am now putting my feet up, because my legs ache and I am shattered.

Pop back soon xx