We got up quite late (9am) after a lovely lie in. The boat was warm because our central heating switch is by the bed, so I switched it on at about 7am and there was enough hot water for the two of us to have a shower.
Phil decided that he would go out and do some shopping and get some petrol and the only place to get cheap petrol and do a big shop is through the town and out the other side. Quite a long trip, so I knew I would have some peace to do my own thing!
I did some work on my website as the weather was a bit dull, but as it brightened up I just had to get out! I decided to sort out our wood store which was a mess, and also we had lots of wood which needed chopping up and putting away to season. I spent a very happy afternoon sawing wood and stacking it in the store and this is the result:
Jack then arrived back from a trip with his owner and danced around me trying to say the one word 'walk' that he was thinking of. I took the hint and walked him along the towpath in pursuit (unsuccessfully) of the otter.
The late afternoon sky looked quite magnificant:
Having chopped all that wood and sorted out our supplies for at least the next year, I still couldn't resist picking up a MEGA bit of wood I found on the tow path. It was about 20ft long, but thin so I was able to drag it home! I passed a couple of boaters on the tow path who as it happened were chopping wood, so a bit of banter ensued about my bit of wood compared to what they had managed to collect. It was a fun and friendly conversation and is what boating is all about - we all are there for each other and it is a great community.
I got back to a cracking fire which had settled nicely. Recently we compared our fuel costs on the boat with what we had paid in the house. We were paying £145 per month for our gas and electricity in our house and that was every month, even in the summer when we were hardly using any power. Phil has been keeping a record of what we have spent since October when the weather started to get a bit colder and to date we have spent £412 over 5 months which includes coal and diesel and we pay virtually nothing in the summer .... Quite a saving eh?!
I then made mince pies using some mince meat that T had bought us. She often buys us stuff to say 'Thank you' for having Jack. I also made some pizza for tea and Jack turned up just as we were finishing, so had the scraps!
There was quite a bit of snow as we neared the top and the weather closed in. Since there were some big drops we decided to call it a day just before we reached the summit, but still had a nasty ridge to negotiate on the way down:
It had seemed quite manageable on the way up although the wind was strong and we struggled to stay upright at times:
When we eventually got down after a 5 hour walk we were really very tired and cold. The wind chill at the top had been quite horrendous and even our hot chocolate had gone cold when we had stopped for a hot drink, despite being in a normally really efficient flask. We had a quick drink and a warm by the fire in the pub and headed for home.
It was so lovely to come back to our cosy boat after such an active and sometimes anxious day. I cooked a roast dinner (we'd shopped yesterday in anticipation of being out all day), Jack called by and had some left over chicken and is now next to me snoozing as I write this. Jack's owner dropped by with some mince pies she had made, which put mine to shame.
I know all of this is not everyone's idea of bliss, but it is mine and I just love every minute of my life now living on the boat. This has been my dream in the past and now it is my reality. I feel as though I am truly 'living the dream'
In 1854 Henry David Thoreau wrote about his experiment of living alone in the woods for a couple of years. In his conclusion he says:
' I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of ones dreams and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours'
Absolutely right!
Al :)
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