Do you Quibble???

The Bank Holiday is nearly here. Some say it begins today. Having heard on our local radio that a quarter of us quibble over the bill when in a Restaurant, I wondered do you ever quibble???
Isn't it a lovely word Quibble, and yet it does not get used much these days.
So will you be quibbling this holiday weekend????

Ok with that off my mind, lets get back to blogging. Last night I took P out for his last pee of the evening and stood and watched as the bats flew around me. They are such amazing little creatures. I tried to see where they were coming from, but the little blighters were to quick for me. I never tire of seeing such things.
This morning another Mallard was out on the water with her new brood of six ducklings, quacking with all her might at any other duck that even got close to her family. It seems we have a killer Mallard in our midst, as there is one who has no young, but is determined to make sure the other females have no young either. Yesterday I witnessed her picking on a duckling. A Drake stepped in and managed to fight her off. It is a cruel world out there.
Already today, I have been down the town to buy our fruit and veggies for the weekend. I managed to go to the market as well and buy two pairs of combat trousers for £20. The gentleman who runs the stall has become a friend, and we always enjoy a good old conversation, which usually ends up with us trying to put the world to right. I love his combat trousers. Not only are they cheap, they wash really well. On a boat you never really want to wear anything which is to expensive, because it will always get covered in something nasty. You can always guarantee that whatever you get on your nice new trousers will never come out. So we either go to charity shops, or use markets. The gentleman with the clothes stall in the indoor market has lots of cheap clothing, which is ideal for boating in. Whilst in the town I was looking to buy a pair of tights for someone who needed them for this evening. Everywhere I went only sold tights in packets of either 3, 5 or 7 pairs. What has happened to just buying one pair. In the end I managed to buy one pair from Peacocks, so thank you Peacocks my friend can now go out this evening with her legs covered in your tights.
Back onboard and lunch was called for, so I made some sandwiches, as we are again having Curry tonight. My Curries always do us for two days and always tastes better on the second day, because the flavours have had time to come out properly.
In times of worry, K and I always turn to Chocolate and with all this uncertainty, today was such a day for Chocolate. We have a newsagents at the bottom of the road, so getting Chocolate is not difficult. I did not go for small bars, we both have a 230g bar each mmmmm, which will probably keep us going for a couple of days. I am not actually suppose to eat to much Chocolate, as I have a Nickel allergy and Chocolate is one of the biggest offenders for Nickel. Tea is the other big offender. But in times of worry a bar of Chocolate is my friend. So I have been watching the Friday film with a cup of coffee and my bar of Milk Chocolate. Now that is a great way to spend the afternoon.
This evenings dinner is going to be the Curry again with Cous Cous. Cous Cous you shout..... Yep we like it instead of rice sometimes. Afterwards I thought we may have Strawberries and Ice Cream. Have a lovely evening everyone.

A complete pain.

Another Bank Holiday is almost upon us and the hire company here is very busy this morning preparing the eight boats that came in last night, ready for a turn around today. It is all go here with boats moving about, yellow hosepipes scattered about and the pumpout working over time. The cleaners are manic as they try and clean all the boats before the new tenants come to take their boats out. It is amazing how well it all works, when they have so much work to do, in such a short period of time. It works like a well oiled machine.
Over the past couple of months I have had a problem with my right shoulder. I think it is a combination of lifting coal, rubbing down and painting the boat. The muscle in my shoulder and upper arm, has been screaming at me everytime I use it. Despite taking pain killers, it has given me jip when I try to sleep. So yesterday, I bought some Musseltone Gel from my local chemist. It is suppose to repair the muscle and joint and should be rubbed in several times a day. On the first application I noticed a difference, with its cooling effect due to the mentol and by this morning, having used it a few times, my shoulder is already feeling much easier. I am continuing my pain killers as well and hope that my shoulder and arm will get better quickly. If this is not the case, I will have to give in and go and see the GP. I have been putting it off, because of looking after K. I cannot afford to be poorly in anyway at the moment.
Today has been an online day. With the weather closing in, it was a chance for me to do my Income Tax. So I posted my online Self-Assessment and it was accepted. Hooray that is done for another year. I then did a Tesco shop online, which will arrive next week. I really should go off-line now and get some real life jobs done. But it is raining and I really cannot be bothered. I still have some painting to do, but it cannot be done when it is raining. I also want to empty the engine room, so that I can paint the floor and possibly the ceiling if I have the time and weather on my side.
Ok I am going now, I have a Minced Beef Curry to make for dinner tonight and then I will decide what to do next. Have a lovely afternoon and evening.

Coming to a close.

Ok who is stealing 2010?
April is almost done and dusted and before we know it another year will have passed us by. April has been a busy month, what with my 48th Birthday and sorting out K's health issues. It has also been a busy month for seeing visitors. Visitors are always welcome. it gives me a good excuse for baking cakes. So with April drawing to a close, I thought I would see what is happening in May.

National Events:



1-23: Brighton Festival
1: May Day
1-30: The Big Tea Party
1-31: The Big Sports Day
8: VE Day
8: FA Trophy Final
15: FA Cup Final
31-6: Summer School Term - Half Term


Also This Month:


The General Election, The Big Spring Walk, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Brighton Fringe Festival


Daily Themes:


1: National Mild Day
2: Random Huggers Day
14: Fruity Friday
14: Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Day
19: World Hepatitis Day
20: Learning at Work Day
24: National Escargot Day
30: Get Walking Day


Also This Month...


Silver Surfer's Day, National Work From Home Day


Weekly Themes:


1-9: National Windsurfing Week
3-9: Lavender Week
3-9: Deaf Awareness Week
3-9: Sun Awareness Week
4-8: National Thrombosis Week
8-15: National Doughnut Week
8-16: Children's Heart Week
9-16: Christian Aid Week
9-15: Dystonia Awareness Week
10-15: International Ideas Week
10-16: Cancer Prevention Week
15-21: Adult Learners Week
15-16: Cultural Diversity Weekend
15-22: National Children's Hospice Week
17-21: National Walk to School Week
17-23: British Tomato Week
17-23: Xtraordinary Week
18-24: British Sandwich Week
31-6: National Family Week


Also This Month...


Action for Brain Injury Week, National Midwifery Week, National Be Nice to Nettles Week, National Honey Week, Warburton's National Bread Week, Cystic Fibrosis Fundraising Week, Work Wise Week, Hospice Lottery Flutter Week, National Allergy Week, Red Cross Appeal Week, Mind Week


Monthly Themes:

ME Awareness Month
Save a Baby Month
National Share A Story Month
Local and Community History Month
Hughes Syndrome Awareness Month
National Smile Month
Hair Loss Awareness Month

If any of these apply to you, let me know?
The 2 May Random Huggers Day, looks very appealing to me as does National Smile Month ha ha ha.
I am trying to ignore the 6th May. Because whoever gets in, they will be just as bad as before.

Happy, Happy, Happy.

Good morning everyone.

Having had a difficult weekend, with K in so much pain. K and I are very happy this morning, because at 9.00 am this morning, I recieved a phone call from the hospital to offer Keith not one but two dates on which he could have his exploritory operation. We have gone for the earlier date of the 13th May. So we will now keep our fingers crossed that this appointment does not get cancelled. We are expecting confirmation in the post within the next couple of days. It's surprising how lots of emails to different people and organisations, over the weekend can work wonders. On Friday Thursday I e-mailed PALS (Patients Advisory Liason Service), and it would seem that they had the desired affect. We would like to thank everyone for their support and advice. It is tragic though that in this day and age, you have to fight to get things done, especially when it comes to health issues.

Happy St. Georges Day.

Happy St. George's Day to all the Brits out there. I am British and Proud and yet this country never makes a big fuss about its National Day. We are not the only ones to celebrate St. George's Day Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Macedonia also celebrate it as well. I bet they enjoy the day more than us Brits. It has only been in this past few years that the shops have started selling flags etc. If this had been St. Patricks Dayt, we would have been parading in the streets. What is wrong with everyone??
 If you are celebrating today, what are you doing????


Since celebrating my 48th Birthday, things have been a little quiet. I did nothing much all day on my birthday. K took me out for a meal for my birthday. We never both with presents and cards. We enjoyed a very yummy meal at the Waterfront Restaurant. We both started with:
Smoked salmon, prawn & horseradish fishcake

With mache leaves & caper berry mayonnaise.

And forour main meal we had:
Chinese Pork Belly.

On a bed of pak-choi, bean sprouts & water chestnuts with hoi-sin sauce & fragrant rice.

Having devoured two courses we had no room left for Pud. That will be enjoyed next time. The chef Lee has created an excellent menu, at resonable prices. The food is out of this world. So if your in this neck of the woods go in and sample the delights they have on offer, whilst enjoying views over the canal.

So I am now 48 years old and still raring to go. With that in mind. It was back to the painting of the boat. it is always advisable to keep on top of chipped paintwork, that way it does not get the chance to rush and cause further work. Owning a boat is hard work and yet people never believe me when I tell them. I love hard work and getting my hands dirty, so hard work means nothing to me. On saying that, I have a very creaky shoulder at the moment, which has been giving me some jip, but hey I am 48 what else can I expect ha ha ha. So it is St. George's Day and the sun is shining. Si yep you guessed it, I have been painting again. This time I have been varnishing the side doors in the galley. Because I like my side doors open, even if it is raining, the wood needs protecting. I should add that when the doors are open, we have perspex inserts which stops the rain coming into the boat, but gives us plenty of light into the galley. So one set of doors are now done and I have painted the bow of the boat. That is all the painting I am doing today.

Have you ever fancied something, and cannot figure what it is?
That is me right now. I want something to eat but really don't know what to have. For lunch I made us Bacon rolls with Egg and Mushrooms in them, which were nice, but I am now craving for something sweet. I do have some chocolate in the fridge, so that may have to be it. Other than that It will be the Rubarb Crumble and Ice Cream, which is meant for pudding tonight. I could really sit down and pig out right now................. See you later I am off to find something sweet. Have a great day.

48 and proud.

Good afternoon.

It has come around yet again. Another Birthday for myself and the Queen. Congratulations on her birthday as well. The funny thing is I share mine with the Queen and my brother shares his with Prince Phillip. How strange is that?

So yes I am 48 today and feel very proud of shouting it from the boats roof. I am not one of those people who worries about my age. After all we cannot stop getting old.

The day began just like any other day. Got up a little later than usual at 8.30pm after a restless night. That was caused by yesterday's upheavals. I then walked his lordship Mr P in the morning sunshine, which was nice in the sunny bits, but bloomin chilly in the shade, after an overnight frost. After some breakfast, I decided I was doing no paintwork, or anything strenous today. I am having a day off. K and I walked down the town to get me a new mouse, as mine is beginning to pack up. I cannot copy and paste with my old one anymore, so it was time to spend £7.99 on a new one. The last of the big spenders. It was actually nice strolling down the town hand in hand. As K has not been getting out much, due to his pain. Having got back onboard, I made us Sausage and Egg rolls for lunch, which was extremely yummy. Because K and I no longer buy presents for each other. He is taking me out for a meal tonight at the Waterfront Restaurant, which will be lovely. No cooking or washing up for me, that will make a change. The Waterfront is really close to the boat, so not to far to go if K is not feeling to well later on. As Birthdays go this is a quiet one, which is fine right now.

Feeling the pressure.

Hi Folks.


The day began oh so well. That should have told me that things would go down hill from then on.The sun was shining and the birds were singing. I even watched a Squirrel and Blackbird chasing each other around the base of a tree, as I took P for his morning jaunt. The plan for the day was to get some more painting done, with the sun shining. So I rubbed down the undercoated bits and brushed on some blue gloss. This is now drying nicely. K informed me that he had been asked about us moving from our berth and out on to the towpath, as the basin was going to be full, so they may need our mooring. He said that he was nervous about doing so, in case of a further attack, where we would need to get an ambulance. If this was the case the ambulance men have said they would not come up the towpath, so K declined the move, which was accepted without a problem. This for some stupid reason really put me over the edge on the emotional stakes. So much so that I was close to crying, which is not at all like me. I must be hormonal at the moment.
Having made Hot Dogs for lunch, I decided to ring the hospital, to see if there was any movement on K's appointment, to be told he was still unscheduled. Which is not the news we wanted to hear. I feel so frustrated for him and in a way for myself, because this is not why we live on a boat. We live on a boat, so we can move and we have not moved now since just before Christmas. Trying to make none boaters understand how things work on the canal is extremely difficult. They have no concept as to our way of life or how things are run on the canal. I did my best to explain to the Consultants secretary that we cannot stay here forever. I would like to think that we will get an appointment off of the back of that phone call, but I know it will not happen. She did say she would try and find out what the situation is and I have said I am ringing her back. So we still have stalmate. I feel under pressure to keep a stiff upper lip for the sake of K. I then went and explained the situation to the lady who looks after the basin and she was very supportive as I fell apart. Which was a little embarrasing. But hey my emotions are running high at the moment.
The NHS does a fabulous job, but not in K's case I am afraid. No one should have to be in this much pain for nearly 7 months.
On a good note, my paintwork is dry now which is good, because the sky is looking a little threatening at the moment. I also got to have a chat to a lovely gentleman who owns NB Brass Buckle, he moors ar Sileby Mill on the River Soar and is moored in the basin for a few days.
Tonights dinner is going to be.

Chicken Kiev with new Potatoes, plus Peas and Cauliflour.
Pudding is homemade Rubarb Crumble and Ice cream.

Never a dull moment.

Good morning world.

It has been a busy old time this past few days. Lots of coal selling due to the cold evenings we are having at the moment. This time last year coal sales had dropped to nothing pretty much, so this is an added bonus for us. As I say to people "There is no point in being cold".
I had a delivery of Toilet Blue and Kindling, because I had run down to nothing, which does not happen to often. Thanfully I now have a stock again for anyone wishing to purchase either.
I have continued to be up to my elbows in paint, as I continue to get the boats paintwork up to scratch. I always say to anyone who asks about painting a boat. It is a bit like the fourth rail bridge. Once you get to the end, you have to begin all over again. You really do have to keep on top of the paintwork on a boat. After all when you have spent several thousand pounds on the original paintwork, you do not want to let it go. I also have the benefit of enjoying the fact that I can wheeled a paint brush and seem all powerful. Whilst waiting for the paint to dry, I have done all the usual chores of washing and cleaning, those are the boring tasks which we all have to do, but never speak about.

Does anyone else have this problem?
I have been trying to find someone to trim my hair. When I say someone, I mean someone who does not want to charge me an arm and leg, to take about an inch off. I always have a dry trim, because I have to be careful what shampoo I use. So I have been scouring the hair dressers here asking them what they charge for a dry trim and it seems that the prices vary hugely. One I went into would charge me £15 before 1.45pm, but after that it was £25. Another wanted to charge me £21. I finally found one who will do it for £11, so I will be heading there in the next few days. I think £25 for 10 minutes work is an absolute cheek. If I could do it myself I would. But I am not that skilled yet.
Yesterday was Baking Sunday. I baked a Coffee and Walnut Cake and a Chocolate and Walnut Cake. I love baking and usually do at least one cake a week in the Winter. With the weather warming up, this will dwindle off, because it gets to hot in the galley with the stove going. For this reason I tend to buy cake in the summer months if we want any. The Chocolate and Walnut cake went to the hire company this morning, for the employees to enjoy with their morning cuppa and we have had a slice of the Coffee one, which although I say it mayself was not half bad. Yeah I know, self-praise is no recommendation, but hey if I don't praise it no one else will.
With the evenings being very chilly still, the saloon stove is lit then let out, lit then let out during the day, as it gets a little warm in the saloon and with my hot flushes, my system has been in overdrive. But it has meant that I can still get my stews cooked without using the gas stove, which is always a bonus.
The time is now past 1.30pm and we have said goodbye to Lois and Chris on NB Hilhouse, who have left the basin once more for pastures new. Happy cruising to them both and of course Boller their love dog. We have been down the town, to buy some paint brushes and trundle around the Charity Shops, which we always love doing. It is true to say that the Charity Shops are not as cheap as they used to be. So it is harder to find a bargain these days. I am so glad I did not do any glossing today, as it is now rather dull outside and showers are threatened. This afternoon will be a case of watching the afternoon movie. "The Guns of Fort Petticoat". made in 1957 starring Audie Murphy, Kathryn Grant, Hope Emerson.
So whatever you are doing, have a lovely day.

Would women ignore the rules?

My question is would women ignore the rules?
The reason for this question is on two consecutive days, I have asked men to stop doing something, because  notices under their noses say please do not.
The first occasion was on Monday afternoon whilst walking P. It began Sunday night when I let P put out for his las wee of the day. I could hear a generator running and it was 10pm. I knew it was coming from the towpath, and had a pretty good idea whose boat it was. So whilst out walking P on Monday afternoon, I was stopped by the said boater and asked if I knew anything about getting the crap out of a fuel filter, because he had run his engine to low and had blocked the fuel filter with the rubbish in the bottom on his fuel tank. I parted with my knowledge, which included saying he needed to replace his fuel filter. He happened to have his generator running and so I made a casual remark about a generator running Sunday night and he told me it had been his. He had put it on and fallen asleep. He woke up to the generator still running at 10.30pm. Goodness only knows how he can sleep through his generator running, because it is very loud. I advised him that he needed to read the pole near his boat. It states that NO engines or generators should be run between 8pm and 8am. This notice is in place because there are houses both sides of the canal and we do not want them moaning about the noise. He said he had not seen the notice. I almost offered him my glasses, but instead gave him some friendly advise, that the last person to keep running their generator out of hours, found one generator in the canal and the other one was taken. He thought I was joking, but it is absolutely true, because the gentleman in question told me, this had happened to him. On that note he said he would be more careful in future and so I left him to it.
The second incident happened yesterday. A boat arrived and moored up and no sooner the gentleman had settled down with his cup of tea, a fishing rod came out. Once again there is a notice saying NO fishing. I drew his attention to the notice and with a look of distaste on his face, he put his rod back on the boats roof. Now whilst I am not always in agreement with notices going up willy nilly, saying you cannot do this that and the other. There is obviously a good reason for the no running of generators and engine after 8pm or before 8am, after all we all have to get a long with our neighbours. I am not sure why the no fishing sign is there and all around where we are, but there must be a good reason.
My question is. Would women ignore these notices, which were under the noses of these two gentlemen??
I do my utmost to stick to any notice I see, because at the end of the day they are put up for a reason. This does not  just apply to the canals of the UK. It happens in all walks of life. I am not saying us ladies are perfect, I know I am certainly not.

Sunshine and boat painting.

It is so nice to have some warmer weather at last. The sun has really been warm this past couple of days, which has meant that the Spring flowers are bursting forth. The first Violets are now out along the towpath. There is something wonderful about seeing Violets in the Spring, with their delicate petals and perfume. No doubt they will get trampled by dogs and walkers, who fail to see their beauty.

Talking of beauty, P and I passed by Mrs Swan on her nest again. She is sitting very tightly on her nest of leaves, so here's hoping she has some eggs under her. I wished her a good morning, before heading on my way. Whilst walking back to the boat, this pair of Willows caught my eye. Their leaves are just forming, in this vibrant green, which shows up well on the calm water.

The water was so calm that it was not moving at all. There was not a breath of wind to be had.

So far over this weekend, I have been very busy with painting the boat. So far I have painted the Cratch Board, cabin roof and handrails and touched up the paintwork on the body of the boat. She is beginning to look really nice again. Even though she is a working boat, I like to keep her nice and tidy. There has been a lot of rubbing down, but it is worth it. If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well, so my Nan always used to tell me. It has not been all work and no play. I have spent a fair amount of time chatting to passers-by and watching the boats coming in and out of the basin.

I am hoping this warm weather is set to continue for a few more days, so that I can get all of the outside paintwork done, at least on one side of the boat. I will then turn the boat around and start of the other side.

Here comes Summer.

Hi Folks.


Ok I know it is only Spring, but it certainly felt like Summer outside today. It was 17 degrees C this afternoon, so the only thing for it was to sit outside and take in a few rays, but this only happened after a busy old morning.
First thing this morning I walked P as usual. He loved having the sun on his back as we strolled along the towpath. Mrs Swan was sat on her growing nest. Everyday she is working hard to keep her nest tidy, as the cob brings her more nesting material. I am hoping if she lays any eggs this year, they will hatch. Because last years eggs never came to anything. This was mainly due to the weather being cold after she had laid her clutch of eggs, so I have my fingers crossed our friendly swans will have a brood this year. Because this pair of swans are so friendly. They enjoy nothing more than taking bread from your hand.
With the dog walking done and breakfast done, my first major task of the day was to do some rubbing down on the boat. I wanted to change the handrail colour from Blue to Red. So I set about rubbing down the handrails and the engine room hatches, as they needed some TLC. With the rubbing down done, the paint was brushed on an allowed to dry in the morning sunshine. Tomorrow I will add another coat to the handrails and hatches. Whilst I did all of that K walked into town looking for split pins, which we need when we strip the engine down again. Unfortunately he did not find any, but he did come back with two bunny biscuits from Greggs, which we enjoyed with a coffee. Having gone online K discovered that Halfords does split pins, so after some lunch I volunteered to walk down to Halfords and get some. It is at least a mile walk, which K is not up to at the moment. Having picked up the split pins, I then walked to the market to buy some meat, and bought some huge Breakfast Mushrooms, which we will have over the weekend no doubt. I collected more of K's pills, which they did not have yesterday. By the time I got back to the boat, I was completely shattered. I know I am not 100% fit, but being this tired after such a pitiful walk is not good. I must try harder.
I received my Waterscape Newsletter and was interested to read about the New Family-Friendly Orienteering Course at Foxton Locks. It sounds like great fun for all the family. You can do a 2km orienteering course, a number of red and white plaques, known as 'control points' have been set up, forming the courses around the area. So why not give it a go. Packs can be purchased on-site at the Top Lock Café for £2.00.
Also in the Newsletter. BW offers discount on Crick Boat Show. You can purchase a half price family ticket if you are a Boater's Update reader. I do not think even that offer would make us go to Crick. The last time we asked about taking our boat there. We were told it would cost £92 to moor up on the towpath. The £92 did not include entrance on to the site for the weekend, that was going to cost us another £16 each. K politely told them where they could put their show. I personally think it was daylight robbery. We can go to other wonderful shows for as little as £10 a boat. I think Crick is missing out on so much, but charging this much. Over the years all the working boats have stopped going, because of issues.
It has been another wonderful day, even though I feel like I have run a Marathon. The day has ended with us chatting to Polly and Myles from Paws4Walking, they look after pets in their homes, or in their home. They really have a wonderful business. They were enjoying a nice bottle of wine at The Waterfront Restaurant, which has been very busy since they opened 2 weeks ago.
Having just eaten dinner, it is time to know close down the computer and settle in for an evening in front of the TV. Harry Potter is on ITV, so I am going to say good evening and wish you a great weekend.

Election Fever.................. Bah Humbug

Good evening.

I bet I am not the only one, who is already sick, tired and fed up with the Election. The BBC news decribed it as Election fever. I don't think so some who. This is just day One and I am already fed up with it. 20 minutes of the 6pm news was taken up with the flippin election. Surely there was more important news to cover. We have a whole month of this arghhhhhhhhh. And now it is on the local news. grrrrrrrrrrrrr. I think I may hibernate for the coming month. So this is going to be an Election free blog from now on, because it really is very boring.

My day today started with me as usual walking the mutt. He loves his early morning walk. In fact I could have probably have walked him at 4am, because I was wide awake. Sleeping is a problem at the moment. I blame the Menopause, which disrupts my sleep for at least once week in every month. The night sweats tend to keep me awake, so I end up trying to sleep with no bedding on me. Anyway P was glad of a nice stroll. I then had breakfast, which consisted of toast and a cuppa. The fire was tended to, as it is still a little chilly to let the second fire out, especially with K not feeling 100%. I cleaned the back cabin brass whilst drinking my early morning cuppa and then some welcome guests arrived on the Cheese Boat. Geraldine and Micheal had been at Foxton for the weekend gathering and it appeared they had sold a lot of cheese. Thankfully I had contacted Graham on NB Tia (Ecover Boat) and he asked Geraldine to put some cheese by for me. They duly moored alongside, whilst the sanitary station was occupied. I unloaded some coal for them, whilst they gave K our Cheese order. With the Sanitary station now free, we all moved over there and carried on our conversation about anything and everything. Not only did we come away with Cheese, we also bought some Chutney as well and it is all very yummy. Geraldine and Micheal are staying a couple of days out on the towpath, so we may see them again before they head off to Milton Keynes. I have been selling Toilet Blue quite a bit of late, so I made a phone call to my supplier, because I really don't want to run out. He hopes to deliver next week all being well. Whilst I was in the shopping mood, I did a food shop online at Tesco, which should be with us tomorrow. This shopping online with Tesco has made my life so much easier, since K has been poorly. It means I do not have to trudge backwards and forwards with heavy shopping on my own. But I still like to shop for my bread, meat, fruit and veg. I just like to handle and choose it myself.
My good deeds of the day was to supply a couple with a pump out card. They were desperate to pump out, as there were five of them onboard and the tank was full. Unfortunately the office for the cards was closed and they needed a card. We decided to buy some cards and keep them on the boat, in case this situation should occur. I was only to happy to help them out and they were extremely grateful. My second good deed came a few minutes later, when a couple of teenagers, were looking to use the Sanitary Station toilets and they could not hang on, but did not have a BW key to get in, so I opened the toilets up for them. I am not sure they would have made it down the town to use the publice loo's. Would a third good deed come a long?
Well it is now 7pm and nothing so far. Usually everything comes in three's.
It has been a good day in many ways. I even spoke to the gentleman who had been running his engine till late at night. It seems he was unaware of the byelaw, as it was not his boat, it belongs to someone in the family and he was not told about not running his engine after 8pm. Considering it was running till 11pm last night, I am amazed I managed to keep my temper. So I explained to him that you should not run the engine between 8pm and 8am and he was grateful for the knowledge. As to whether he knew or not, I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe that was my third good deed. I always like to see the good in people, as I am not a confrontational person generally. But considering I am Menopausal at the moment, he may count himself lucky ha ha ha.
So it is now evening and I am going to chillout until bed time.

I would like to wish my daughter B a Happy 21st Birthday for tomorrow. Happy birthday darling xxxxx

Is it just me???

Good morning fellow bloggers.

It is Bank Holiday Monday and it has already been a mixed day. It started with me feeling everso slightly annoyed at 6.30am. This is where the title comes in. Is it just me, who gets frustrated by people who do not follow the rules. Where we are moored, it asks that you do not run your engines or generators between the hours of 8pm and 8am, this is so as not to disturb people living in the houses close by. Which I think is fair enough, after all we all have to get a long. So whilst many boaters abide by this Byelaw it seems that some people think they are above this rule. I would imagine it was the same boater who had his engine running till 9pm last night. So there I was having a lovely snooze, when I was woken up by this flippin engine kicking into life. My first thought was, maybe they are setting out early. But no 7am, 7.30am and 8am came and the engine was still running. I really felt like getting up and going and asking this person to turn the bloody thing off. But these days you just do not know what sort of reception you are going to get. There have been cases where people have been verbally and physically abused for asking such a small thing. So 8am I got up and took P out for his walk and wouldn't you just know it, as I stepped off of the boat the engine was turned off. Perhaps he thought I was going over to complain ha ha ha. Having been for our walk, breakfast was made along with my first cuppa of the day. It was not long before there was a knock on the boat and a customer requesting coal, kindling and toilet blue. I then offered my help to one of the boaters, who had lost his chimney in the canal. Armed with a magnet we set off a long the towpath in search of the chimney, sadly after many attempts to locate it, nothing was found and the gentleman will have to buy a new one. It is something we do not stock on the boat unfortunately. Having helped him to moor his boat back up, I trudged back to the boat and a coffee. So going back to abiding by the rules. If there are notices put up asking you to not do something, do you abide by the rule or do you ignore it and do as you please?
I always try to abide by a request, after all the notice is there for a reason. But more and more people just seem to be ignoring such notices and it is really annoying me. If you could not see these notices then I could understand, but they are in plain view of everyone, and yet time and time again people are ignoring the requests to dismount from you bike and walk, pick up after your dog and NO Fishing. Time and time again I watch people completely ignoring the signs. If I was on patrol and dishing out on the spot fines, I would make a flippin fortune. Ok Bank Holiday Monday rant over. I feel so much better now for having got that off of my chest. I really am becoming a Grumpy Old Woman and yet I am proud of it ha ha ha.
So today what will my delights be I wonder. I have made a chicken casserole, which is now cooking on top of the stove. That is for dinner tonight with some New Potatoes and Veg, with Rubarb Crumble and Ice Cream for afters. I have hoovered up and must now think about turning this computer off and getting some other jobs done. Right I am off now, as there are things to do and TV films to watch.
Have a lovely day.

Happy Easter.

Happy Easter Sunday to everyone.

I am amazed it is Easter Day and so many people are wanting coal. It has been a manic Sunday morning with people asking for coal and Blue Loo. I thought it would be a quiet Sunday. How wrong was I.
I got up at 8am with birds singing away in the sunshine. Having got dressed in my usual jeans and short. I took the mutt out for his morning stroll, which lasted all of 10 minutes. For some reason he was not up to walking to far this morning. No sonner had he done his business, he did an about turn and started back to the boat, whilst I cleaned up after him, like a good dog owner. Toast and a cuppa were the order of the day, whilst watching the F1 GP. Congratulations to Vettel and Webber on their 1st and 2nd places. I thought Lewis Hamiliton's drive was fantastic as well from 20th on the grid to finish 6th, that was some drive.
You know what it like, you see a job and keep thinking you really should do it, but keep putting it off. Well my brass has been that job. I have kept putting it off, mainly because of the weather. I last cleaned it back in February and afterwards I rubbed Vaseline over it, to stop it tarnishing so quickly. This past week, I have been meaning to clean it again, but of course the weather has not been up to much, so it gave me a good excuse not to clean it, but this morning the sun was out and my excuse was none existant. I started with cleaning the brass on the back cabin and then continued to do the rest. It does look nice now it is done. I have rubbed Vaseline over some of it to protect it against the weather. I just know that in a few days time, I will have to do it again. There is however something very rewarding about looking at clean brass. My reward has been to open my £1 Easter Egg mmmmmmmm, I feel I deserve it.
Whilst selling coal and cleaning brass, I have done a lot of chatting to people on their boats and passers by. One lady I got chatting to from one of the hire boats, was telling me that they have hired for 3 years and this was her concession to her husband. it got me wondering how big a concession should you make towards your husband, wife or partner?
She really did not enjoy boating and yet for one week for the past three years she has gone boating with her husband. She has gotten soaked, done the locks and moaned under her breath, just to keep him happy. Is this a good or a bad thing?
What do you think??
I decided this morning that we would be having a Thai Curry for dinner, so I made it early and stuck it on to of the coal stove to slow cook. The only problem with that is the smell. The smell follows me wherever I go and is making me hungry. Roll on dinner time.
It has just turned 2.35pm and I think it is time to sit down. Enough of the brass cleaning etc, it is a Sunday after all. We were supposed to be heading up to Foxton for their Easter celebrations, but as hubby is not 100% we decided that it was best to stay home. I am hoping that they are having a wonderful time. The weather has so far been kind.

April Fool's Day.

No one can have failed to notice that it is the 1st of April. So like every year, jokes of all discriptions are played out. Some on the news or in the papers and others from person to person. I have never been had by April Fool Jokes. But I came very close this morning, when a friend left me a message on my facebook page.
HI had an emergency some bloke needs some coal, can you give him a ring on 01953887771 and ask for Mr C Lyons love to both x x.
I replied that he could ring me and he would need to collect his coal, because we are not on the move at the moment.
I then got a message back from her saying "It was an April fool, it is the number to the zoo and you are supposed to ask for Mr. C. Lyons. der yer get it !! ? maybe next year x x "
I guess i was not had really this year either, because I did not ring the number. I think it is my turn to get someone next year.
Were you had by anyone???