Nearly fell asleep in the chair

I am shattered.  Been a long time since I have done a proper day's boating and it has come as a bit of a shock!  Eight locks and three miles solo takes it out of you dontcha know.

I do now.

Guess where I been

Asparagus

I was doing a 'stocktake' and realised I needed to eat asparagus today for lunch.  One tin best before 2009 and the other 2010.

I love asparagus trouble is ...

sore feet

to go with my cricked neck.

Walking 6.5 miles back to fetch car was not my preferred activity but needs must and I couldn't face cycling it with my neck being so painful.

Had lots of chats on the way and as soon as I got to the car (boy was I glad to see it still there) it started to rain.

Thought the cat was a goner this morning.  I was sorting out the tarpaulin at the front so she had nowhere to hide there when two greyhounds came down the towpath.  She had to run to the back of the boat while I fielded the two hounds to give her a fighting chance.  When it looked like they were going to follow her onto the boat there was much swearing on my part.  They got the gist.

I was not impressed with the owner who was miles away and never attempted to call them back at all. 

No offence to other greyhound owners.

Another glorious day

Days like these make me glad to be alive and appreciate how lucky I am to be able to take advantage of some of the good ones.

Not sure why the Trent splits in two here but it does.

I guess this is the bridge that the posh people from Shugborough Hall moaned about.  Apparently they could take a carriage from the Hall to their end and then god forbid they had to get out and walk yes walk across it to get to the Church on the other side!

Horrors.

I did a circular walk from Little Heywood by road to Great Heywood and than back along the canal sussing out places to leave the car over night.

The cat had plenty to say when I got back!

Still I have a lemon for my pancakes.  Who can ask for anything more.

Plink plonk I was having a ...

This morning was so glorious that I sat outside and plink plonked on the Ukelele.  Luckily no one heard me!  I managed to play and sing for a while until my finger ends told me in no uncertain terms that they had had enough!

I then did wages for everyone and in the afternoon walked back into town (without a coat woo hoo) to post a set to my one client without a computer.  If only he would join the modern world!  I had a cinnamon latte to fortify myself for the walk back.

Once back at the boat it was still too fine to waste this glorious day so  I sat back on the deck and read my Canal Boat magazine that dearly beloved had brought with him yesterday.

Last night I was still so stuffed from lunch that I made toast on the stove and baked a banana in my little oven.  Yum.

Tree climbing sheep - whatever next?

Today was a lovely day - I wasn't a billy no mates!!

Boat was sprung clean and laid out in visitor mode.

Finally we can both sit somewhere comfortable - result.

Dearly beloved hasn't seen the boat since the changes and he said it was a huge improvement.

We had a cooked breakfast for lunch as that was all I had on board that would please his taste buds.

And of course cake and tea (he brought the cake).

Anyone ever read the book 'The tree that sat down'?  If this one isn't sitting down then it must at least be kneeling.

See ship's cat is very brave.

Not scared at all by two crocs...

While waiting for dearly beloved I was sitting on a tree stump watching the world go by.  (Mostly on very fast virgin trains it must be said.)  A hire boat went slowly past and the hirers invited me on board which was very sweet of them but they were going in the wrong direction.  It was a lovely thought all the same.

They were American seems like they are all invading us these days!

Coming here stealing all our narrowboats ...

Only joking.

We are off...

 and the adventure starts here.

Typical that the day I choose to travel is slightly damp.  Still I wasn't going far so not too much of a problem and to be actually moving was such a pleasure that it really didn't matter at all - forget I mentioned it. 

It is lovely to have a change of scenery I was beginning to get stir crazy on the mooring.

Had some good news last night we may have to visit Italy twice this year as the people we are going to visit soon are planning on getting married in Italy in the summer - if the Italians let them.  So it looks like the last couple of months of learning Italian won't be totally wasted.

Sono eccitato così. Potrei essere su una gondola presto.

Guardare questo spazio!!!!

Homely

So today I hung some pictures up.  Makes the place feel homely.  I have also checked (inadvertently) their ability to survive superfast boat passages as nb.Kinver went past at warp speed. 

I have yet to test their ability to cope with lock surges and the like !!!

I'm a heathen

It was about two hours after I had bought my coal from this little lot by letting my bow rope go and drifting across the canal that I realised 

a) it was steam driven

and

b) that it was Monarch (in that order!)

Now of course afficionados would have known this just from the shape of the bows etc etc

I apologise for my lack of observational skills.

Am I forgiven by the cogniscenti I wonder?