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