Getting ready.

Hello friends and followers.

Here we are with the snow all gone and the birds singing their little hearts out. Something tells me Spring has now well and truly sprung.
We put some nest boxes up in the Arm a few weeks ago.

Already it appears rental has already been paid on these new high rise homes, because we have Blue Tit's moving their nesting furniture in already. I will try and get some photographs for you.

Now that Spring is here, not only are the birds Spring cleaning, so am I. It is time to get ready for the the cruising season. This year I decided to begin in the back cabin and work my way forward. The curtains were first to come down for a wash, then the plates got their annual wash. I even washed the walls and ceiling. It amazes me how dirty they get, but I guess with the stove going, it is soot grime. Keith helped me cut the new lino and that is now in the back cabin. I want to wash the rag rug by the coal box before we go, as it is looking very grubby. The coal box has been filled to the top as well, in case of cold weather. I washed the blankets and the cushion covers. The whole of the back cabin is now sparkling, well almost. I still have the brass to clean, but I have been over it with Cilit Bang to take the worst of the grim off. Oh and I still have the gearbox to check.
Friday's task was to tackle the engine room. Keith checked the fan belts, whilst I went Teddy washing. Yes you read right. I have a shelf above the bed 'ole and on it we have our small Teddies. They were looking dust and grubby, so in the washing machine they went with other washing. They went into the drier afterwards and are now safely back on their shelf, none the worse for their wash and blowdry. Washing done, it was back on board to fill the water tank and tidy the pontoon, ready for our friend who will be pontoon sitting whilst we are away. Whilst the water tank filled it was time to start the engine room clean. Having a long haired Collie, is not idea with an open engine room, because his hair sticks to the engine. So out came the hoover and along with a bowl of soapy hot water and a cloth, we soon had the hair under control and the engine looking clean and tidy again. I still have the floor to wash, but that will happen just before we go.

After Sweet and Sour Vegetables and Rice for lunch, I turned my attention to doing some cutting back in the Arm's Sensory Garden. In the Sensory Garden we have a herb bed, which needed trimming back, so I took the opportunity to gather some herbs to dry in the boat. These will get used whilst we are away. So I have Bay Leaves, Sage and Rosemary hanging up in the boat to dry, which is giving off a lovely scent.No sooner I had cut the herbs rain began to fall, so it was back to the boat for a coffee and feet up for a bit. The evenings are still chilly, so I relit the back cabin stove, to take the chill off and to of course make Marmite incredibly happy. She has taken over one of my fleece jumpers, which has become her cosy bed for the moment, but I know it will not last, because she will move to somewhere else in a few days. Friday in many ways was a productive day, which ended with a minor disaster. I decided after dinner to wash our elderly rag rug, dusters and brass cleaning cloths. The rag rug is usually in front of our coal box in the back cabin. It is about 10 years old and has been washed numerous times. I put it in to a wash bag or pillowcase and wash on a quick wash. Sadly it did not survive the wash this time and came out of the machine with a hole in the middle, so it has gone to the bin and a new one will be put in its place. In fact we need two new ones. Thankfully Keith has some he has made in a box, so I will be looking through there to find something suitable. The dusters and cleaning cloths came out nice and clean phew.

Saturday I woke to the sound of sniffing and coughing, which means the other half has a bit of a cold going on. I am seriously hoping I do not get it before we go out. He had said he had a tickly throat, so was sucking on pastilles from Superdrug, but they are not doing the trick, so having done all the boat chores and made a Chicken and Sweet Potato, we walked up into town to buy some Olbas Pastilles which I know always work. The weather for today is supposed to be wet. We did have a lot of rain overnight and it was raining when I was woken up. I can see me having a sports watching day, what with the Paralympics and six nations rugby ongoing, I think it will be feet up day watching the TV and knitting dishcloths. I am making some new ones for the back cabin. The old ones are looking rather tatty and need refreshing.

Have a lovely weekend.

Pop back soon xx

A celebration of Alex Bennett and NB Tench

Saturday Bimblings.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Yesterday we were blessed with yet more snow. It was absolutely beautiful this morning.

You know it has been so nice to have a proper Winter and so now we can look forward to Spring and going cruising.
Of course before any cruising can start we need to get rid of the ice and whilst we wait for that, Keith continues to build his railway and I get on with boat jobs.
Paddy and Marmite in the meantime are making the most of being in the warm. Paddy maybe 14 years old, but he can still run fast in his dreams.

Marmite on the other hand has spent much of the cold weather snoozing in the back cabin on the side bed.

She does sleep in some odd positions.

She just loves it when the stove is going. 

When she did bother to leave the warmth of the cabin, she just had to play trains. I can see once the railway is finished, she will be out there all the time.

My day began as always with a cuppa in bed. The TV was working today, so we watched yet more news on the weather. Once up Paddy got his walk. These days he is not impressed with the snow and the cold. His old bones do not fair so well in the cold now. Once back on the boat, it was breakfast for mog and dog and I went out and started brushing the pontoon. Keith then came out and shoveled the snow off the pathway alongside the moorings. Snow cleared, coffee was called for and a warm by the stove. Keith then got on with laying some more of his track and I went out with my camera to take some photographs.

I cannot resist going out with my camera and with the snow and ice around, it was perfect. After lunch I settled down to do some dishcloth knitting and film watching. It is 'Saturday Night Takeaway' so that will be my evening filled. I love Ant and Dec. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Pop back soon xx

Bring it on....

Hello Friends and Followers.

I am quite sure all of those reading this in the United Kingdom are well and truly aware that the so called Beast from the East and Storm Emma have visited and left behind them small and large deposits of the White stuff. We have been blessed with snow, ice and the windchill fact to kill off the Brass Monkeys.

We like probably 99% of the boating community are frozen in. We are however extremely snug onboard with both our fires going.

The coldest temperature has been -8.9 c, which I think has been the coldest we have had for many a Winter here. To say I am enjoying it all is an understatement, I am absolutely loving it. There is nothing nicer than a cold spell, because I can put a stew and dumplings in the back cabin stove, watch Marmite snoozing on the side bed where she seems to have spent most of her days of late and that is only because it is nice and warm. Marmite hates the smallest amount of cold, but then she is a cat.
The cold does not bother me much as long as I am well dressed and my feet are warm. I have been kept busy with brushing the snow off the pontoon, keeping the birds fed and watered. I have kept the stoves burning, by getting in the coal. Safety of course is important, so my stash of table salt has come in handy for the back counter and the pontoon. It has worked well to keep the ice at bay. One does not want to slide into the icy water.

I have found it most annoying that the news has had no other news but the weather. It has been mostly about people not heeding the warnings about not driving unless it is absolutely necessary. Those going out without a real cause, have actually been putting the emergency services lives at risk, because they are the ones who have to go out and rescue those people who are ill prepared for the weather and being stuck in it. Yesterday evening Channel 5 saw fit to run a two hour program called 'The Big Freeze'. As if we had not been bombarded enough by the news about the weather. I did not watch it I am pleased to say. Yes of course having this cold spell brings on all sorts of problems, but some them are of our own making. Even the news reporters around the country had actually travelled to their destinations to report on the bad weather and the fact that people were stuck. Surely the news organisations did not need to put their reports at risk by asking them to drive to snow covered places. We are all well aware of the conditions. I do not need to see a frozen reporter standing out in the snow. I think the media needs to rethink how it reports on such events and stop causing hysteria, after all it has been Winter.
So here we are into the first two days of Spring and I know it is not very Spring like, but hey it could be worse, we could be flooded out. I guess that comes next when the snow melts :-)

Pop back soon xx

Had quite a time......

Hello dear friends and followers.

Yet again I find myself apologising for not posting for a couple of weeks. It has been a difficult time of late with the death of four people we know, three of which were good friends. It makes you realise just how fragile life is and we must all make the most of it. Old age was no part really in any of their deaths and one was a real tragedy. We lost two of our Winter moorers over the past few weeks, which has deeply saddened us all. Some of you on the cut will have known of Trevor Maggs.

Trevor was one of the nicest gentlemen on the cut. He owned the historic working narrowboat Corona and had done so for some 50 years. Trevor was very much respected by the boating community and many people knew him. He sadly passed away after ill health at the age of 84. We spent many an hour nattering with Trevor. He was a mind of information about the trips he did and what he carried to where. Sadly all that information and history has gone to the waterways in heaven, where we hope Trevor has many happy cruising hours.

Then just last week lovely Alex Bennett died on her boat after a fire engulfed her boat, whilst moored in Stone, Staffordshire.

Alex was vibrant and bubbly. But sadly we will not be seeing Alex or Dexter her dog at any boat festivals again. Alex bought her historic working boat Tench to the Saltisford Arm last year as part of the Idle Women event performed by the Alarum Theatre. We had such a wonderful time and helped them up the Hatton Flight. We last saw Alex in October. So many people knew and loved Alex, so she will be very much missed on the cut.

2018 has had such a sad start in many ways and I for one only hope it improves.

So have you been touched by The Beast from the East?
I am of the opinion that the media love to hype up the weather. After all it is not the first time we have had a cold Winter spell and we have had far worse winter's. As many may know I love and adore snow, so it can do its worst as far as I am concerned.

At 12.30pm we thought ok here it comes and then some 20 minutes later, it was gone and the sun was out. It is more like Wimp from the East so far. Mind you I was glad it waited to come, because this morning I had to go for my regular breast screening. Boob squishing time, which if you are a woman of a certain age, you will know all about it. Still needs must and all that. It is all done for three more years anyway.

So the snow has been and the sun is shining as I draw this posting to an end. If you are however experiencing some dreadful weather, please stay safe.

Pop back soon xxx

It is coming.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Hasn't it been nippy?
We have had the overnight temperatures down as low as -6.5 C and ice on the canal. I do so love this time of the year. There is something wonderful about seeing ice on the canal and yet knowing you are nice and snuggly inside. Although most people I know think I am barking mad, because I am wandering around in my shirt sleeves. I am a hardy soul I guess.

So as my title says "It is coming".
"What" you shout?
Valentine's Day. Yes it is that time of the year again. My better half, surprised me yesterday with the beautiful Red roses in the photograph above. We do not really bother with these sort of celebrations, because it is just another way to get you to spend a huge amount of money and in my opinion it is over commercialised, but hey that is a whole different post. I am not going to say how much he spent on those beauties, but it was not a lot and I bet on Monday of next week you can treble the price all because of Valentine's Day. It is the same with going out for a meal. Places tell you they are doing deals on if you book for Valentine's Day. What utter rubbish. They are not doing a great deal they are just ripping you off. So we never go out for a Valentine's meal. I would rather go way before or way after. After all these years I do not need to be told he loves me, I know he does. We do not even bother with cards anymore. You may think it is a little sad, but that is just how we are and feel.
Ok rant over.

So here we are, almost at the end of another week. We have spent it working in the hold. It is coming along nicely, although already my paintwork is showing signs of needing work done on it. I am glad we have some paint left.
Our shower has decided to spring a leak. We have tried to find a direct replacement, and we thought we had done so, only for the company to tell us that is was no longer available, even though they were showing it on their website. We have found a shower bar which will do the job and it should arrive Monday. It is actually half the price of the other one, so providing it works well, we will be very happy.

With the weekend almost here, I think I will be spending it watching the Six Nations Rugby, or the Winter Olympics. I sat and watched the opening ceremony this morning and thought it was stunning. The flag bearer from Tonga was a brave man, bearing his chest in freezing conditions, as were the team from Bermuda who wore shorts brrrrr. I sincerely hope the GB team have a good games. I love watching the Winter Olympics. My favourite events are the Curling, Biathlon and Speed Skating. I can see I am going to be torn over what to watch. Of course there is also Dancing on Ice to add to the schedule as well. What is a girl supposed to do?
Have a lovely weekend.

Pop back soon xx

It is all done.

Hello Dear Friends and Followers.

Yippee, it is complete. I finished the painting and it does not look to bad, even if I do say so myself.

With the painting all done, it is now time for Keith to take over and start building his layout bed.

This will probably take some time.

Keith is keen to get on with it.

If you wish you can follow the rest of the build on the railways blog. I am going to get my blog back on track and talk about me things from now on, so if you want to switch over to the railway blog, please feel free, I will not be offended.

It was a nippy old start to the day today. -6.5 C outside and ice back on the canal, but we were snug inside at 3.15 am. Why this time, well we were both awake and sat in bed drinking tea. I have no darn idea why we were awake, but we were and it took some time to get back to sleep again. Maybe it is old age setting in, or I just had to much on my mind. 

I have a lot going on in my life at the moment and to many decisions to make in one go. With the recent loss of friends, who have passed away it kind of focuses the mind. Anyway I will enlighten you more possibly in time, or I may just keep it to myself and switch my blog off. I am still mulling that possibility over in my mind, because I have become tired of social media and all it brings. I actually feel sometimes I am being spied on, which I guess I am with people reading my words. At the end of the day whatever I write and post is up to me and I do not have to post at all. So we will see.

Pop back soon xxx

Paintbrush at the ready.

Hello Dear Friends and Followers.

Our big build has been something of a revelation to us, as neither of us thought we would be able to do it ourselves, so last night to celebrate it almost coming to an end we went out for a Thai meal in the town. The last time we went for a meal there was in 2013 with friends Irene and Ian off of Narrowboat FreeSpirit. It was definitely time to revisit the Thai and we were not at all disappointed. The meal was sublime and the service was excellent. We will not leave it so long next time before eating there again.
Yesterday also saw me getting on with the painting of the woodwork with a sealing coat of paint.

I love painting, not in the art way, but give me a paintbrush and I will set about painting, walls, ceilings, boats etc.

To seal the timber, I used one part water to five parts paint, which was recommended on the bucket of paint. My next task will be to seal any joints and then on with the top coats of Magnolia. We want to keep it as light as possible.

Today I had to pop up into town and whilst I was away Keith began to build the door frame.

We have decided on how we will make the door and that will be fun. In the meantime I can get on with all the paintwork. We have already noticed a change in the temperature, now that the insulation and walls are all done.

As a temporary measure e have put a piece on insulation in the doorway to keep the cold out and the heat in.

It has been a bloomin nippy old day, so we have both the stoves going. This has of course pleased Marmite no end, because she is lounging out in the back cabin on the side bed, like she owns the place.

There is no peace for the wicked though, because the water tank needs filling and the toilet cassette needs emptying, so I had better get myself off of the computer and out into the cold.

Pop back soon x