Winter Anticyclones

At last, some cold, crisp weather instead of endless dreary damp. We took the opportunity of the bright sunshine to have a walk in the Lake District yesterday. Visibility was great and we had a good leg stretch.

We arrived home to find Jack lying in wait for us, so despite tired legs I had a short tow path walk with him - no sign of the elusive kingfisher though!

This morning we did our usual morning chores as well as some less frequent ones, such as changing the toilet cassettes over and giving the one we have been using, a thorough chemical clean and 24 hour soak which needs to be done about every 6 months. Of course chemical fluid needs to be put in every time it is changed, but it does need a deep clean every so often, hence the need for two of them.

The water tank needed filling, but once again I had neglected to get the hose in last night and when I checked it this morning little bullets of ice shot out, but luckily it wasn't frozen solid.

The other thing that needed doing was checking for damp in the wardrobes. They seem to have held up very well this year. Last year we were shocked when one day I pulled out a jumper from deep in the wardrobe and it was wet. That was quite a learning curve, we didn't realise that air needed to circulate, that you couldn't cram the wardrobes full and that you have to leave the doors open occasionally and put stuff that soaks up damp in there. Today I checked the containers full of salt (which is a cheap way of collecting excess moisture) and also looked at the silicon crystals, (which is a more expensive way and requires more maintenance). The salt was quite wet so I chucked it out on the decking (which worked really well as it is quite icy out there) and replaced it. The silicon goes in the microwave and the crystals change from green to orange as they dry out:

It was a productive day overall. Jack blagged a walk out of me again and then had some leftover ham having given me the whippet melting eyes look. I did some more work on my websites and then it was the Sunday weigh in......

We had great neighbours at our old house, they were fun people and we got on really well. We all wanted to be slightly lighter than we were, so we invented the Sunday weigh in. They would pop round every Sunday at about 5pm and we would all weigh ourselves. Phil would religiously record it and every six months a certificate would be awarded to the person who had lost the most weight. In reality no one lost very much and we never took it very seriously, but it was great fun and a good excuse for a bit of banter and socialising on a Sunday evening.

I am sad to say that I am now back to the weight I was before I went to India. I lost a stone while I was there and had the pleasure of eating what I wanted after I came back - oh bliss! All of a sudden I have to watch what I eat again.

We miss our old neighbours very much. Our back doors were always open and we would pop in and out of each other's houses with no problem, but we had that psychological barrier of brick walls to prevent us from getting too close and we respected each others space. On the marina you have to be careful because everyone lives in very close proximity and it is easy to get just a little bit too close. There needs to be just a bit more distance in order to preserve privacy and respect. Most people understand that, but occasionally you get a boat which upsets the whole balance. You may find boaters a little reticent when you first appear on a marina, it is just because people are cautious.

Al

Ducks and Kingfishers

This morning Phil went down to our other little boat (spare room for guests and a weekending boat for our boys). We bought it as a bit of a wreck and have nearly finished doing it up. Phil asked if I would like to go down with him and keep him company while he finished painting the ceiling, but I thought I had better get our fire lit and do some other chores. I went down about an hour later to see a Kingfisher winging its way down the tow path. Phil said it had been sitting on our mooring rope, needless to say I had no camera with me. As Phil was coming back he saw it again going north. Soooo frustrating, but I will get a picture of it eventually!

Here is a pic of the inside of the little boat which is nearly finished:

As I walked back to our boat I saw some lovely snowdrops, a sign of spring on its way:



Today the duck hatch was opened for the first time since last summer, a definite sign of warmer weather to come. I had cooked a fry up for brunch and needed to clear the smoke and thought it was probably warm enough outside to let some fresh air in through the duck hatch. For those who don't know what one of these is, it is a double door in the side of the boat which is at the level of the water from which you can feed the ducks. Here it is today .....

And here it is in action last year ....

The weather is promising to be fine tomorrow and we hope to go walking in the Lake District, so an early night for us.

Nite nite

Al 



Snug as a Bug

I had been out all morning, meeting up with my business partner to discuss our websites, which are very much 'work in progress' at the moment.

It is a cold, wet, drab day and despite my spirits never usually being dampened by the weather (or anything else for that matter!), I felt quite miserable by the time I got back to the boat. I felt really cold and hadn't been able to get warm all morning.

P was bored having been on his own all morning and from being stuck on the boat unable to do anything due to the weather. So we decided to go and find a nice warm cafe for lunch. We drove out into the countryside and before we arrived at said cafe, we passed a very inviting looking pub and decided that, with petrol prices going up in the near future it would be prudent to curtail our journey and swop the cafe lunch for the pub. I know it's a hardship but sometimes these things have to be done!

Although it was a nice lunch, I still hadn't warmed up when we left the pub and I was starting to think I was getting a chill. After a quick shop to get some food in for tea, we shot back to the boat. We arrived back during a vicious hail storm and made a dash for it. The wave of comforting warm air which hit me as I opened the hatch was the best feeling in the world! We had banked up the fire before going out for lunch and the temparature was georgous, accompanied by that lovely smell of wood, coal and the remains of some aromatherapy oils I had burnt last night.

I decided that as I had only had a soft drink at the pub, a warming little glass of sloe gin would just finish off my feeling of total well being and it certainly has! I now feel warm, cosy and very happy in our lovely floating home.

Long may it continue

P.S. Our case study is now on a website which gives excellent information for anyone thinking of moving to a boat - www.livingonanarrowboat.co.uk
Al :)

Avoidance Strategies

Okay I admit it, I am a master at avoidance strategies. In the past P used to have to spell it out to me that that was what I was doing, but I recognise it myself now. Despite that I still can't do anything about it.

The fact is that whatever the weather, I would rather be outside doing something manual than indoors doing work. So after two days in work, all I wanted to do today was boaty chores.

I swept out, cleaned the shower, chopped some wood and made the bed. All this was done by 11am so I was just contemplating having to do some paper work, when along came Jack hoping for a walk. What could I do? Here is a dog in serious need of exercise so we duly headed off down the tow path.

I took the new camera so that I could experiment with its many features. I'm not sure if my pics are any better ....

The walk was extended considerably because as I approached the marina three boats were moored at varying points along the towpath. They all belonged to people I know and who I haven't seen for a while and who were out and about. Consequently about 2 hours later, having 'caught up' with them all I finally got back to the boat.

When I came back I had no excuse, so I did my books and set up for more recording. I hit a problem today and spent hours sorting it out and consequently was in a very bad temper when P arrived back from his trip to get diesel and other things for the boat. He tried to help but by then I was past bothering and preferred to get on with cooking dinner than faff around with computers. They're great when they work but so frustrating when they don't.

Jack's owner went out tonight so he stayed with us and has kipped all night either in the chair or on our bed. That walk really tired him out! Here he is in a 'purple haze' on the chair by the fire!

I have lots to do over the next few days so will try and get down to it rather than finding other things to do! We will see .....

Al ;)

Space

It has been a busy and varied weekend, but very satisfying.

Yesterday I got lots of jobs done - the usual stuff, chopping wood, sweeping out, washing out the bow deck and filling up with water:

As I was working in the bow, our pair of resident swans came around looking for food:









 

We always keep food on the boat for the ducks and swans and not just bread as it doesn't contain any proper nutrition. We believe that we should feed these birds in winter as they are part of our community and we have a responsibility towards them.

Yesterday afternoon I went up to our local university to play my piano. We moved out of a large four bedroomed victorian terraced house and so had many possessions to get rid of before we moved onto the boat. I didn't have a problem with this, in fact I found it quite liberating. Over the space of a year we managed to sell most of our furniture, ornaments, books etc either on ebay, or through the local newspapers or by car booting. Finally we gave a lot of stuff to charity. However I just couldn't bear to sell my beautiful piano. It is a 5'8" Steinway design grand, so I arranged for the university music department to have it on permanent loan for use as a teaching instrument, provided that I could go and play it whenever I want. The arrangement works really well.

There is some other stuff that we can't get rid of. I just couldn't part with the boys old exercise books from school, paintings, toys, first clothes etc. and also some work books and a lot of music. We can't keep all of that on the boat and had asked friends to keep them in their garages. We soon realised that this wasn't practical, so now we pay £20 a month for a small storage unit nearby. This has been a life saver and has allowed us to only keep absolute essentials on the boat. Some people do manage without extra storage but they are generally people who don't work and who don't need several changes of clothes and work equipment etc.

Having said that people shouldn't think that a boat is so small that it is impossible to function. I have written previously about the kitchen which, although compact is highly functional. Today I decided that it was time to address another area of my website for which I need to arrange and record music. This morning I managed to set up a full recording studio in the bedroom and successfully put down a number of tracks.

We spent the afternoon with our two sons as youngest son is 21 tomorrow. We had a lovely meal at a local canal side pub and then went to watch the football and have a game of pool at another pub. The landlord of the canal pub was telling us that he had recently seen a family of Otters on the canal and also the Kingfisher. I am going to have to get up there with my camera and see if I can spot them.

Another great sunset finished the weekend off beautifully:

 

Al :)







Bird Song

I woke up this morning to hear a song thrush singing in the tree opposite. It is a magical sound and just makes me feel so happy to be alive whenever I hear it.

If you have never heard one, here is a link to listen to one: www.sussexwt.org.uk/blog/2011/06/bird-song-of-the-week-song-thrush/

This makes me feel that spring is really on its way and in addition there are so many flowers out, daffodils, snowdrops and our hycinths that I can't believe that we will revert to cold and icy weather again, although there is still time for that.

One day last year in the spring, I got up at dawn, sat on the stern and listened to the dawn chorus. it was an amazing experience and so peaceful to be sitting on the back of the boat which stretches out into the canal. I don't think I have ever felt so at one with nature and that feeling of awe and joy stayed with me for many days.

It has rained all day today which was good in a way because I had no desire to go out and I got lots of work done. I took some time out to take youngest son out for a 'big shop' at the supermarket and drop him off at university afterwards. I am looking forward to the whole family being together to celebrate his birthday on Sunday.

This evening we are going to the theatre to see our neighbour in her play, so now I am off to get changed into my glad rags!

Al

Life Balance

Today has been a day of two halves ;) This morning I worked very hard on my two websites and forced myself to stay indoors even though the weather was fine. I got a lot done so felt justified in having the afternoon off.

We picked up our youngest son from University and drove to the cinema where he works. He got us free tickets to see 'The Iron Lady' as he works there part time. After the film we went out for a meal with him and his girl friend and arrived back at the boat in time to dog sit while Jack's owner went out.

It was a lovely afternoon and since he can get us free tickets every week, we decided that we should try and see a film much more regularly.

How is it that I feel guilty when I am out enjoying myself on a weekday afternoon? It was not helped by the fact that the cinema was virtually empty. I thought it was because everyone was in work, but of course it may also be because fewer people can afford to go out in these austere times. Whatever the reason, it didn't help my sense of guilt. For years I have put work before anything else and it is so hard to get into the habit of taking time out to relax.

A couple of years ago a friend of mine was doing a life coaching course and she asked me if I would be a guinea pig for her training. We did a life chart together and she was shocked at how out of balance my life was.We tried to work at getting it more balanced, but at that time I didn't think that there was anything wrong with what I was doing. After all, I was providing for my family and to me that was all that mattered. The fact that I was working silly hours and not spending enough time with them didn't occur to me.

When we moved to the boat, I revisited that life chart and I am pleased to say that I seem to have a reasonable weight in all areas. Here are the nine areas which should all be roughly equal for your life to be in balance:

Contribution to community etc.
Hobby
Leisure
Family
Alone Time
Personal growth
Work
Relationship
Friends

Have a look at the activities and time you devote to each area and see how yours is looking, it is a very useful exercise.

And I will leave you with another little quote from that great Greek philosopher Euripides:

The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man.

Al

Damp

A quiet day today, no formal work, just a bit of paperwork. We have been looking after Jack all day and most of the evening, so a long walk this morning to tire him out was required. He is getting quite cheeky now that he knows us so well. I didn't walk him as far as I normally do, so he decided to carry on walking when we arrived at our tow path gate and wouldn't come when I called him. He is old and a little deaf and I used to be quite indulgent of him because of this, but I know now his deafness can be selective.

I decided that as there were no big chores needing to be done today I should check out the wardrobes and under the bed for damp as it has been quite cold recently and as soon as there is a difference in temperature between the outside and the inside that is when the damp gets in.

The wardrobes have done quite well because I haven't recently crammed them full of clothes and have put a container of damp collecting crystals in them. Also it is really useful to open the doors at every opportunity and leave them open.

The problem lies, if you will excuse the pun, under the bed. There is no opportunity for the air to circulate as we have drawers that go underneath and there are walls all around. I was quite upset when I pulled the mattress off and found the wood where it touches quite black. P says it is not a problem as in the spring he will sand it down and revarnish it. Again I have put damp collecting crystals under the bed and haven't completely filled the storage space, but even this doesn't fully solve the problem. Our marina caretaker said that it may be useful to put a small computer fan under there to circulate the air and to drill a hole somewhere but unfortunately we don't have an outside wall to drill the hole into. All the walls around the bed are enclosed either by wardrobes or the bathroom shower or bathroom cupboards.

We do need to sort this out and when we arrive at a solution I will post it here.

We had a bit of good news today. We thought that our standing order for our mooring fees was over 12 months but it turns out it is over 10 months and we don't have to pay anything for January and February. So we have more money than we thought we had. I had hoped to save it, but P went straight out and bought me a new camera! Quite an upgrade on the 'point and click' we have used up until now. We will see if improves the quality of my images.

I have been saving beer bottles so that we have something to decant the remainder of the cider into. This is now getting out of hand and I have had to put spare bottles in the wood store! The problem is that the cider just isn't ready yet. This is the cider we put in the wooden barrel, but unfortunately nothing happened, it just didn't seem to ferment. So a few weeks ago we decanted it into a tub, put some champagne yeast with it and put it into demijohns. These are now behind my chair on the boat near the wood burner and have been glugging away ever since. It is clearing nicely, but it looks dark and lethal!! We will see!! The cider we bottled a few weeks ago is georgous, but I think this second batch is going to be sensational!

Al

Pot Pourri

It was hard getting up for work at 6.30am this morning, but at least we had kept the fire in all night so the boat was warm.

I was driving to work and the sunrise over the hills was georgous. The trouble was, I wanted to be 'out there', not in a car on the motorway! I sometimes think that I chose the wrong profession. My work requires that I stay indoors for long periods, but really all I want to be is outside! It is particularly bad on a Monday because I am in a windowless room all day, I don't even know what the weather is like outside!

When I arrived back at the boat this evening, I was met by a georgous smell. I didn't know what it was, but it smelt homely and fresh. On Saturday, our walk had passed through the Whinlatter Forest and I had picked up some damp pine cones, knowing that when they are dry they open out and look very pretty. P had found them discarded in my boot bag and had put them on the fire to dry and they had created this lovely smell, just like having a bowl of pot pourri.

Work again tomorrow and then a busy few days. Our youngest son is 21 next week and we are having a couple of celebrations, starting with a visit to the cinema on Thursday and a meal afterwards. The weekend is taken up with seeing him and our other son. On Friday T, Jack's owner is starring in a local play as part of her final exams (drama student), so we are going to see her.

Quite a busy few days, but pleasantly so.

Bye for now

Al

A perfect day

Today has been amazing! We have got so much done and still had time to enjoy ourselves!

The morning was devoted to chores. We managed to keep the fire in overnight by banking it up with coal before we went to bed. This meant that despite the temperature dropping to below freezing overnight, we were still warm and it was easy to get it going again when we got up. The canal had a thin coating of ice this morning but that was nothing to this time last year:

The first job of the day was to sweep out. Ideally this should be done every day, especially at this time of year because so much debris is brought onto the boat. We are luckier than most because we have the canopy at the back so we can kick our shoes off and wipe our feet before we step onto the boat proper, but even then mud and debris gets inside the boat because it is in such proximity to outdoors. In addition everywhere gets very dusty and sooty because the fire is lit for so much of the time. I went round with a wet wipe today and was amazed at how much dust and dirt came off considering I only did it last week. The consolation is that on a boat you only have to deal with a small area.

The next job was emptying the cassette toilet which usually falls to me. That is fine, the weight of it tones my upper body as I carry it up to the elsan disposal point! If there are two of you this probably needs to be done every two days, although I know of people who manage it once a week!

I then went to cut some wood while P filled our coal scuttles up. He then filled up the diesel tank and ran the engine. If you are not using the boat for propulsion then it is a good idea to run the engine about once a week just to check it over and make sure it is still running ok. Because we run our appliances off shore power with an electric hookup we don't really need to run it for any other reason, but people who live on the tow path need to run their engines at least once a day just to provide power.

I filled up with fresh water even though I only did it a couple of days ago. I have a fear of running out of water, having experienced it a couple of times. The hose had been left outside in one of our storage boxes and we were worried it may have been blocked by ice, but it was ok. It is a good idea to keep such items indoors during the cold weather though. I have witnessed boaters running a hairdryer over their hose in desperation! Filling with water varies from boat to boat, but we fill up at least once a week in order to supply the shower and kitchen. Our drinking water comes from the tap on the jetty as I won't drink water from the tank. This is another daily job, filling up a 5 litre bottle with drinking water.

Our chores were done by lunchtime and I warmed up the soup I had made yesterday and we had it with some bread and cheese. This soup will last us all week and it cost next to nothing to produce, just a few vegetables - excellent!

I then went for a quick walk to check out a footpath off the tow path which I pass regularly. I have not been able to explore it before because I have always had Jack with me and he refuses to jump over the stile. The footpath was not very interesting but I found some lovely bits of wood which I carried back to the marina and put in our wood store.

We then decided to go bird watching and as dusk was approaching we thought we may see some owls. We went to the barn and field where they had been reported to be seen and no sooner had we arrived than a barn owl started hunting. I had the camera with me, but it is only basic so I only managed to get very distant pictures:

 

We also were lucky enought to see a short eared owl:

 

 We came back and I had a lovely shower courtesy of the marina and then cooked a full roast dinner which was enjoyed by us and A on the boat next door. Jack paid us a visit and finished off the scraps and then went and slept on our bed for the rest of the evening.

All in all a great day, we managed to fit so much in - it was fantastic!

Work tomorrow though :(

Al

Winter weather at last!

We woke up on Friday morning to a very cold boat! We have been letting the fire go out overnight because the weather has been so mild, but this morning I shivered as I got dressed and laying the fire was the first job of the day!

I love these cold, frosty mornings and bright sunny days. The canal was so pretty this morning:

We were looking after Jack and he gets very restless if he doesn't get a walk, so it was the perfect excuse to get out there and he and I had a really long walk along the tow path. As the morning was warming up the sun on the canal was making it steam! :

The light was so georgous this morning and the reflections in the water sensational:

In the afternoon, P decided that he would go bird watching. Having been out with Jack for a couple of hours I couldn't justify having another jaunt. I am self employed and have to do some work everyday!

So I stayed in and did some paper work. After a couple of hours I couldn't stand being indoors any longer so went out to chop up a couple of pallets of wood: 

It was overall a very productive afternoon. I chopped up two pallets, giving us and T next door enough wood to last us several days. I got an offer of six weeks work in Malaysia from one of the companies I work for and I made a great big pan of soup in the slow cooker which will do us for lunch all next week. Son number two who works part time at the Vue cinema while he is at University got us free tickets for 'The Iron lady' for next week and I heard a new piece of music on the radio which I loved and was able to downlaod from a website for next to nothing. All in all a cracking day!

P came back from his bird watching trip to say that he had seen loads of great birds including two barn owls hunting over the fields, but no camera!! We plan to go back this weekend and see if we can get some pics, but hope the owls don't prove as elusive as the kingfisher!

Having had a hot shower courtesy of the marina,(not on the boat), we had a  Chinese takeaway - after all it was Friday evening and it had been a pretty good day!

Yesterday, we went walking. I did my knee in over the summer and what with one thing and another we have hardly been out on the fells for months and so are trying to catch up now. We had a fantastic walk in bright sunshine, although the ground was frozen solid and we had to wrap up very warm to keep out the cold. The view from the top was sensational!

More on this weekend in my next blog. Too much to do today, but I will catch up later or tomorrow. We have a number of boaty chores to do today and I thought it might be an idea in my next blog to write a list of things which must be done and at what intervals, for aspiring boaters out there, so watch this space!

Al

Life and Death

This weekend I went to a 21st birthday party. The family are lovely and it was great to see a girl I have known for many years grow into a mature and confident young person just about to finish university and go out into the world. My youngest son was born two weeks after her and although I didn't know them at that time the chances are that her mum and I would have been at the same time at the local hospital at antenatal clinics etc. It's funny how our paths cross in life.

Contrast that scenario with this morning when we attended the funeral of the wife of one of our old neighbours. They had both come to see us at the boat this time last year and they were one of the few couples who were totally positive about our decision. We talked about life being short and needing to do things because you don't know what is around the corner. They both seemed fit and healthy, but in reality she was already riddled with cancer and in less than a year she is dead.

It brought home to me how important it is to grab life with both hands and 'go for it'. As Oscar Wilde said:

'To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all'.

Many people were so dubious about us selling our house and moving onto a boat, they were real 'prophets of doom'! It has been very satisfying proving them wrong! I don't mean to sound smug when I say that. I am very aware that our lifestyle would not suit many people and it is hard work, especially physically, but for me it has been a life saver, I was just not prepared to work myself into the ground just to pay the mortgage any more. I wanted some quality of life, I didn't just want to 'exist'

I am glad to say that our neighbour left a lovely legacy as in the words of one of my all time heroes, Ralph Waldo Emerson:

'To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition. To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.'

When we got back, I took Jack for a long walk, filled the boat with fresh water,chopped some wood, lit the fire, put a beef stew in the slow cooker and made some mince pies. The simplicity of it all is the best thing in the world and it engages all the senses, the bird song on the tow path, the sunset over the trees, the smell of our tea and the tiredness in the limbs from hauling coal, chopping wood etc. I personally don't think you can beat it! I certainly feel I have succeeded, I think I can tick a few of Mr Emerson's boxes.

Al :)

Chores

Back to work today and I realise that over the past few weeks I have been spoilt!

We all have chores to do but when they get done does tend to vary. When we lived in a house I was a genius at procrastination. There was always something else to do rather than the washing up or dusting. However on a boat you cannot put anything off or else it seriously interferes with your comfort on board!

Washing up has to be done straight away after a meal otherwise there are no surfaces to work with or put anything on. If the fire isn't cleaned out in the morning you aren't going going to be able to light one later in the day. If you don't sweep your chimney out every few weeks it becomes dangerous. As for the toilet - well you really don't want that overflowing!! In addition, don't take your morning shower for granted unless you have filled the tank up with water! I have run out a couple of times mid shower and it is no joke believe me!

So, although a house by its sheer size means a lot of cleaning, a boat brings with it, its own domestic chores!

Going back to work means that I can no longer come in of an evening and 'slob out'. There are certain things we have to do before we can relax for the night. Tonight I got back from being indoors all day which drives me mad,  so my first job was to take Jack for a walk. When I got back to the boat the sunset was sensational:

When I got into work this morning everyone was agog with the information a colleague had imparted to them - that he had visited me over the holiday and the boat was georgous. They all seemed surprised! I sometimes wonder what people imagine when they think of the boat. I think they visualise it as some cold, dank empty hulk. Mind you - that's not such a bad thing as more often that not when we have visitors they don't want to leave. In addition many of them are just not used to functioning in a confined space - we had two visitors last weekend who brought their dog which leapt all over the boat and was totally out of control, one of them spilt coffee everywhere because he couldn't get his head round the concept that you have to keep your elbows in if there are four of you sitting in the living area and the worst sin of all .... they stayed forever because it was 'cosy' by the fire. 

OK I am in rant mode at the moment, but a lot of people seem to think that if you live on a boat you don't have a normal life with pressures of time and chores to do!! It seems you have all day to sit around entertaining. Also no one rings any more to check if you are in, they just turn up. Now I know I appear to be ungrateful and churlish, but normal rules just don't seem to apply if you live on a boat - be warned!!!

Al :/

New Years resolutions

I said a couple of posts back that I had made new year resolutions, but that was not strictly true. I don't see any point in 'resolving' to do anything at this time of year. In some ways I can see the logic in choosing now to change things, in that New Year = Fresh Start, but it is totally the wrong time of year to be doing it.

Bearing in mind that Christmas is a time of indulgence and relaxation, it is no surprise that many people feel depressed in January which is cold, dark and miserable. We are back to work with no prospect of time off for a while. To me that is the worst time to try and deprive yourself of something which you enjoy, or to try and make changes in your life which require effort.

This is the month to indulge yourself and give yourself a break to try and keep cheerful. If there is something I really want to do to improve my life I will do it at an appropriate time of the year or when I want to, rather than on a day dictated by convention. I think I am are far more likely to be successful!

I have only made one 'resolution' this year and that is to make sure I have more fun in 2012 and don't feel guilty about it!

:0

Gales

We were woken in the night to hear the wind howling and the life belt which we keep on our roof skidding about. The boat was swaying but was still quite secure in its mooring. We lay in bed chatting as it was impossible to sleep. Suddenly without any warning there was a huge hail storm and the sound of the hail stones hitting the roof drowned out our conversation.

Nature is so much nearer when you live on a boat! People who live in houses are much more cushioned from the weather, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I used to love camping in the rain with the sound of the rain hitting the tent. The downside was that if it rained really hard, there was a danger that it would flood the tent. When we lived in a house on the sea front we regularly used to lose tiles from our roof in high winds and that was an expensive business. Now the worst that can happen is that we lose our life belt or canoe paddle. Even those are retrievable as they don't go far once they get in the water.

The amount of rain we have had this year is unbelievable! I have never known it rain so much. It makes me glad I live on a boat! Many houses in the village were flooded in the summer because the river which flows through it burst its banks.

We wrapped up warm this afternoon and chopped up some wood. The marina is having work done and materials are arriving on wooden pallets which are discarded once the stuff is inloaded. In exchange for a tray of beer they have let us have all the pallets which amount to about 20 so far. We have an alligator (a sort of safe chain saw) and it takes us about 30 minutes to break up one pallet and that provides enough wood for us and our neigbour for about 5 days. Added to that we have many friends who have garages full of bits of wood and off cuts they don't want, so we are sorted with free fuel for the winter.

Of course wood on its own is not enough to heat the boat in this weather but it is a great supplement to the coal we use and enables us to reduce our coal usage to about 2 bags a week costing about £13 in all. We have just had our electricity bill for the quarter and it was £30! Recently there have been a number of news articles about 'fuel poor' people in this country who have to make decisions between eating or heating. They should move to a boat!

We have had some new visitors this holiday who all expressed surprise at how warm and cosy the boat is! People seem to have many misconceptions about life on a boat and these are what I hope to dispel with this blog!

So .... from a warm and toasty Al - Goodnight!

Double Glazing

When the weather is cold and the boat is warm inside with the fire on, we have had terrible problems with condensation. Apart from managing inside the wardrobes and under the bed which I will deal with some other time, the windows were a real problem in the mornings. We had to go around wiping them down with a large towel every morning as they were dripping wet.

We decided that we needed double glazing for the winter, so we investigated boat double glazing specialists. The best quote was for £750 to do the whole boat, reduced to £725 if we decided quickly. In fairness the result would have been spectacular and easy to manage. Our boat has windows which slot in a frame and can simply be taken out. This firm would have been able to provide us not only with double glazed windows for the winter which were easy to take out, but they also offer ventilated windows for the summer which again can just be slid in and out and they let the air in while keeping insects out. We were tempted to go for the whole deal, but it seemed like an awful lot of money.

So P measured all the windows, bought some perspex, got it cut to size and fitted it himself with a bit of draft excluder and ...... hey presto - double glazing at a total cost of less than £100! That gives us financial scope to move on to our next project - solar panels.

Today I went in search of the Kingfisher with my camera and needless to say it didn't appear! But I did have a lovely walk with jack the whippet.....

T came over for tea tonight and we talked about boating things, like what made us decide to live on a boat. We also talked about putting our plans into practice, keeping chickens and maybe a goat and trying to get an allotment. I have to work a bit (Ok not full time), but I would like to give up altogether ideally. The trouble is we do like our little luxuries, like spending money on petrol to travel up to the Lake District to indulge our favourite hobby of fell walking and occasionally spending  a couple of nights in a hotel.

I walked past some 'continuous cruisers' on the tow path today and that is a hard way of life. In fact I think that at this time of year, they must spend most of their days just surviving, what with filling up with water, getting rid of waste and keeping warm. Of course all of us boaters have to do that, but we have a tap on the jetty for water, the bins at the top of the car park for waste and coal for purchase on site. Continuous cruisers have to access all facilities from distance. I'm just not ready for that yet.

More tomorrow as I'm not back at work until next Monday ....

Al

Back in the UK

I'm back!! I was actually back a couple of weeks ago but I was ill so haven't been up to blogging.

However my new years resolution is to keep this going for the whole of 2012 and see how it goes. If I don't think it is useful after that I will stop, so feedback is appreciated and requests for any particular themes will be considered (e.g. more info on the ins and outs of boating).

India was awesome! It was hard work but I managed to see a lot of the country with the help of my hosts who were lovely people and made me feel so welcome. However during the 4 weeks I was out there I had three bouts of Dehli belly despite being really careful about what I ate and drank. By the time I came home I was weak and ill and had lost nearly a stone in weight.

I am now back in the full flush of health and over Christmas enjoyed sampling our damson / sloe gin and cider and chutney. It was particularly nice not having to think about the quantity I am eating as at the moment I'm still under my ideal weight, so I can eat what I want without feeling guilty!

Today being New Years Day I have made some resolutions about the coming year, but I will divulge them over the next few blogs. Also we are going to be making some improvements to the boat over the next year which I will share on here in the hope they may be useful. We have lived aboard for just over a year now and feel we have learnt a lot and also have many ideas for making life even more comfortable and cheaper, so watch this space.

I have had a lovely day. I took Jack for a walk along the canal and followed a Kingfisher all the way down - superb! Just wish I'd had my camera with me. I now have some mince pies baking in the oven and some chestnuts roasting at the bottom of the wood burner. Fantastic!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my readers

Al :)