I'm a lumberjack and I'm Okay !

The tree has been sitting in the car park for too long! It needs chopping up, so that is my job for the day. I can only do it in small doses, (it's tiring sawing wood!) so I kept popping out to saw a couple of logs while watching the world cup rugby games. Here is my pride and joy, my wood sawing frame.

This was made at one of HM's prisons and it is a great piece of kit. T and I went to the Westmoreland County Show last month and I had seen a lovely pair of earrings in one of the craft tents, but when I saw this I decided to spend my spare cash on it instead, especially as T and I went halves because we do all our wood foraging together.

All in all it has been a productive day despite the continuous drizzle which has meant outdoor work has been limited. I have made blackberry chutney, soup and some shower gel. Here is the recipe for some lovely soft and organic shower gel:-

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INGREDIENTS

 

1 cup herbal shampoo (look for one that is detergent-free; avoid labels that list any variation of “sodium lauryl sulfate”)
1/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 drops Rose essential oil
12 drops Geranium essential oil
1/2 cup aloe vera gel


1. Blend all the ingredients thoroughly, adjusting the amount of water to get the desired consistency.
2. Pour into a bottle or jar.

At lunchtime P said he was bored so we went to our locl garden centre for a bit of a trip out. We bought some yummy chocolate and some candles and then went to the supermarket to get the ingredients for a roast dinner which P was craving. I hate going to the supermarket! Since we have moved to the boat, we try to buy local produce at farmers markets but that isn't always possible. I am hoping that once we get the chickens and allotment going we will be more self sufficient. I am also quite keen to give goats a go. There is quite a bit of land available for rent over the road and I'm sure we could accommodate both chickens and goats. I have some experience because friends of mine have a small holding and I used to go and help them muck out and milk the goats and bring in the hay, before I had kids of my own to look after!

On arriving back, J was determined to get a walk out of me so we had a little run along the tow path. I made the mistake of stopping and chatting to a boater I know who was moored up and an hour later I was still no further! The boating life is like that - laid back !

I came back and finished off sawing and chopping the wood, by which time I was badly in need of a shower! The facilities on the marina include a massive hot power shower which is fantastic. The downside is that you have to walk 100 yards to it, usually in the rain!!! Normally I shower on the boat, which is fine, but there isn't a lot of room to move around or space to get dried in and of course we are always worried about running out of water. However tonight I decided I didn't want to be worrying about how much water I was using, so I had a lovely long hot shower with plenty of room to move around. Bliss!

The only thing I really miss about living in a house is a long hot soak in a bath. I have lovely friends who have offered up their bathrooms!! Unfortunately I was a serial bather when I lived in a house and it would be difficult to replicate that. I'm sure you can imagine the scenario:- glass of wine, several candles, steaming hot tub, full to almost overflowing, expensive bath foam ...... oooooohhhhh I do miss it. Luckily my work involves some travelling at certain times of the year so I do get to have a bath every so often. If you really find your baths are important it is possible (although unusual) to have a bath on a boat. There are two boats on our marina who have baths, but it does mean sacrificing valuable storage space and it uses a lot of water, (obviously!).

On my return from the shower block I started cooking. I have to pass T's boat to get to ours and J often lies in wait for me. This evening he followed me back to our boat - I'm sure that dog is psychic, he must have known I was just about to cook a roast dinner. Anyway, he decided to stay and see what happened.He made himself comfortable on my chair by the fire:

and waited for dinner!! He did get a lovely plate of chicken before being sent back to his mum!!

Cider making tomorrow so an early night!

:)