Good morning, lethargy

This is a public service announcement.

2007-07-15T06:41:00.001-07:00

Please visit the link on my profile page to The Green Man blog for a continuation of this tale of life on the water. I would have posted a direct link here but i'm writing this from my mobile and can't figure out how to!

Flood Aid!

2006-12-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

After the stress of the flooding and Rob trying to incapacitate himself (of which he did a grand job) it was wonderful to receive a special Red Cross parcel from a fellow blogger. The lovely and wonderful Knowleypowley sent us an amazing box of goodies to keep our strength and morale up:

Alcohol, tobacco products, chocolate... Heaven! Only Rob, with his one good arm, snatched and ran off the booze and Lolly, who discovered there was something for her too, coveted everything else for herself:

Thank you KP for such wonderful gifts.

The Work Party And A Night In A & E

2006-12-04T17:20:00.000-08:00

It is not often that everyone I work with has the chance to socialize together. Most of us work alone and so when the opportunity to get together for the Christmas party comes along, well, the drinking starts early.

So, a nice meal in a restaurant where more food probably ended up on the floor, a rowdy evening in the pub and then too drunk to make any sensible decion about going home meant we ended up doing a spot of dancing in a terrible night club.

2am seemed about the right time to go home because the club was closing and we wanted to be able to get a taxi home.

All went well. We're all still in one piece.

At this point though, it is really not a good idea to partake in some play fighting - as Rob found out.

I thought he was ok because when he is drunk he loses the ability to speak and so couldn't tell me otherwise. Drunk and wobbly on his feet is about right for a night out. So when I got him back to the boat I was disturbed to discover that his shoulder looked a little out of shape.

After calling NHS Direct and telling them I was incapable of moving my husband from the sofa and that there was something very wrong with his shoulder they suggested calling him an ambulance. Considering he was still breathing it wasn't really an emergency that merrited an ambulance I wandered down the pontoon to Smiles where I kicked his boat (sorry Steven, but knocking politely didn't work!) until he woke up and gave us a lift to hospital.

4 hours spent waiting (mainly for Rob to sober up) Rob was told that he has broken his clavical.

The moral of this story is: never go out drinking with an old man who thinks he's young and spritely. His bones are fragile and crumbly.
Rob thinks the moral of the story is never fight with a scouser, especially when you're her boss.

Still Rising.

2006-11-28T04:45:00.000-08:00

I should have been having a nice lazy day off work, but instead, I've been trying to salvage what is left of the garden. I've removed the greenhouse tent and anything else which is mobile to higher ground. I fear that most of the hard work of this year has been in vain. At least the flood water will fertilise the soil. All my winter vegetables are now submerged and my Mediterannean herb garden has sunk like Atlantis.

Those logs used to be the boarders of the raised beds

Bye, bye all nice things that I planted.

If only broccoli could swim.
.

Sunshine, but there is more rain to come

Lolly is being evacuated tonight and will stay with my parents in Oxford. Luckily for us, Steve from Polgara (see Smiles link on the right), works for the EA and has us on flood alert. We've been advised to pack a bag ready in case we have to leave as more water is expected this way. That could leave us stranded on the boat. On the bright side, at least our homes float and we don't have to toil with the sand bags like many others.

Lolly isn't so keen on all this water.

The Boater's Garden. Part Four.

2006-11-28T00:21:00.000-08:00

Drowned!

Anniversary.

2006-10-26T04:30:00.000-07:00

This time last year I was, it would be fair to say, a little bundle of nerves. Why? Well, my wedding day was fast approaching and I had reluctantly agreed to wear a dress (on the basis that Rob and my father donned skirts).

This year, after realising the complexities of what marriage actually means (me: "I OWN YOU, SLAVE!", Rob: "GET ME A BEER, BINT!") we are going to Wales to celebrate our 1st anniversary. It's actually on sunday but we thought we'd make a long weekend of it and explore the countryside around Tintern. Ah, the joys of love...

The Signs Of A Changing Season.

2006-10-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

Clear, cold nights and misty mornings.
Lighting the stove at night and dampening it down for the day.
Visitors from far away:

Fingers numb with cold after bringing in coal and filling up the fresh water supply early in the morning.
A fat Lolly, wrapped in winter fur.
Tea made on the stove and hotpots eaten beside it:

Darkness coming early.
The soft patter of leaves as they fall onto the roof of the boat.
Smoke from boat chimneys:

Putting summer clothes away and unpacking winter woollies.
An extra blanket on the bed at night.
The lane becoming a pond after autumn rain:

Who Let The Boaters Out... To See Otway?

2006-10-23T04:23:00.000-07:00

Ah, yes, picture the scene...

This motley crew, minus their boats, out on town and subjecting Oxford to drunkeness and fangirl behaviour (and that was just the men):

A trip to the Port Mahon to see John Otway perform in the smallest room ever imaginable, which apparantly can squeeze in 100 paying guests (yes, right).

And here is the man we came to see:

There was a very amusing episode involving a coat hanger and a microphone, but the details of this are probably best left unsaid!

I would have taken more photos but my trusty camera ran out of juice. Typical.

Marmite. Absolutely Nothing To Do With Boating.

2006-10-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

After Herhimnbryn spotted my big jar of Marmite in my Kitchen (see garden post) I thought I'd post a picture of what I think the gates of Heaven look like:

For Knowleypowley.

2006-10-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

Chutney.

This is for a basic chutney. I like to add 8 red chillies to make it a little hotter. If you want to cheat with the vinegar use pickling vinegar, if not tie 1tbsp pickling spices in some muslin and add to the pan at stage 1, removing at stage 3.

Makes 6lb/2.7 kg.

Ingredients:

4ib/1.8kg green tomatoes, roughly chopped.
1ib/450g cooking apples, pleeled and chopped.
1ib/450g onions, peeled and chopped.
3 red peppers, deseeded and diced.
2 - 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped.
1tbsp salt.
1lb/450g soft brown sugar.
1pt/600ml cider vinegar (or pickling vinegar *see above*)

Method:

Put the tomatoes, onions, apples, red peppers, garlic, salt (and chillies, if using) in a large pan. Add pickling spices if using cider vinegar.
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar and add to the pan. Simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until the mixture is thick and the vegetables have reduced to a pulp. Stir frequently.
(Remove spices in bag if using) Spoon the chutney into sterilized jam jars.
Seal with vinegar-proof airtight covers.

The Boater's Garden: Part Three.

2006-10-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

There is a shiny new acquisition in the garden. Jeffrey, from 'The Entertainer', has kindly donated a compost bin to the organic vegetable growing cause. I cannot lie about my reaction to discovering the bin. I danced like a toddler in a large sweet shop and cried out for "more".

There is a noticeable change in the season this week. I’ve had to move the aubergines and avocado plant into the mini greenhouse tent in case they decide that the less tropical climes of Oxfordshire be too much for them.

I’ve also been busy in the kitchen:

Turning these:

Into these:

Mmmm, pickles and chutneys.

Sloe Gin

2006-09-18T03:49:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 family outing with the in-laws.
1 freshly imported Uncle Dick from the States.
1 narrowboat.
1 husband.
2 bottles of gin.
4 tbsp sugar.
1 mum and dad.
2 forks.
1 bottle of tonic water.
1 bowl of sloes.
breakfasting items.

Method:

Take in-laws and Uncle Dick on a boat trip and make them earn their fares by sending them into the wilderness to pick sloes.
Let them think they have had a grand day out and crack open 1 bottle of gin and the tonic water. It is important to invite mum and dad along for this stage of the process. It is also important to hide the other bottle of gin.
Allow both sets of parents and imported Uncle Dick time to pickle in the gin before sending everyone off to bed. Allow to stew for 8 hrs. Drain and feed them breakfast.
Empty half of the gin from the hidden bottle into the empty bottle from the evening before.
Once breakfasted, ensure Uncle Dick and husband prick each sloe with a fork before adding them to the half full gin bottles.
Once all the sloes have been placed in the bottles, add 2 tbsps sugar to each gin bottle. Re-seal and shake well. Leave to stand until Yule (shaking bottles occasionally).
At the advent of Yule, strain the gin and sloe mixture, rebottle, drink and be merry.

A Request For Help!

2006-09-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

This month sees our boat into it's 2nd birthday. We built the tin can to be our home and sanctuary from the outside world. Rob and his father did most of the hard work. I limited myself to falling off it and fracturing my face (that is what happens to ~~lazy~~ clumsy people).

Boat as a baby.

Boat as a toddler (with grandad c!).

Anyway, as a birthday present we'd like to have an image of the Green Man painted on the the tin can's side. So, if anyone who reads this has an image of the Green Man, a website address, or anything else, for that matter, I would appreciate all the inspiration I can get. Let me know whether you need my email address, or just comment below.

Thank you :)

Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2006.

2006-08-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

The sights and sounds of Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2006:

We arrived on the tin can on the Tuesday all ready and geared up to fight for a precious spot on the canal as close as possible to the festival site. It turned out that there were lots of moorings still available. Maybe the nightmarish stories that circulate about the diabolical mooring situations put people off the idea of taking their boats, but it is definitely the best way to do Cropredy.

So, sunny weather, mixed with clouds and gales. And a little bit of rain for the benefit of those attempting to construct their tents on Thursday (haha!) and the festival was a go.

Thursday's line-up:
wRants
P J Wright
Feast Of Fiddles
Chris Newman and Maire Ni Chathasaigh
Steeleye Span

Friday's line-up:
Shameless Quo
Bodega (Radio 2 Young Folk Award Winner)

Then Came The Wheel
Ashley Hutchings' Rainbow Chasers
The Deborah Bonham Band

Flook
John Martyn Band
10cc feat. Graham Gouldman and friends

Saturday's line-up:
Richard Digance
Sam Holmes

Swarb's Lazarus

King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys
Dervish
Glen Tilbook

Fairport Convention and friends

On the friday Fairport were presented with a gold disc for Liege & Lief by Frank Skinner (in a rather lovely yellow rain mac).

The atmosphere was amazing and it is always somewhere we like to go to meet up with friends and family (more photos to follow soon). Last year we bought our wooden wedding rings here (mine broke the day after the ceremony and so were properly replaced with something a little more substantial). I also always come away with a little wooden carved figure. Last year was a hare (my spirit guardian) and this year was a little wooden Lolly replica. We broke with tradition by NOT having breakfast in a bun from the local school. I wasn't sure how Rob would cope with this as it is one of the highlights of the festival for him - but, considering we had our own facilities on board for a change (hurrah for narrow boats and not camping!) he promptly forgot all about it and made his own breakfast!

The rain held off until Fairport finished their amazing set. The heavens opened and the rain fell...and fell...and fell. We were tucked up warm in bed listening to the rain hit the roof of the tin can feeling rather smug about not camping... until we realised that if the rain failed to stop we'd be the ones getting soaked on the journey home as opposed to all those snuggling safe in their cars!

A big thank you to Holly and my mum for adding to the photo bank.

Sad News.

2006-08-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Whilst on our way up to Fairport's Cropredy Convention we lost the last of our Rattus shipmates. He passed into the next world whilst sleeping. He's now with Nobby, his brother, getting into all kinds of mischief, no doubt. I hope there are not too many electical cables to chew on, or cats to chase them, or small holes to get stuck in on the other side. Tain reached the grand ratty age of 2 years and 8 months (by my reckoning) and I found him with a smile on his face, so dying in your sleep can't really be that bad.

My nobby and Tain, together again. We miss them both... but at least all my food is my own now!

2006-07-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

I escaped the Thunder, and fell into the Lightning.

- George Herbert.

The Journey Continued...

2006-07-27T04:11:00.000-07:00

After all the excitement of the storm we decided to put my parents to work. No rest for the wicked...
We shouted orders at them, such as "HEAVE!" and "PUT MORE WEIGHT INTO IT YOU WUSSES!". Actually, we didn't because my mum would have probably clobbered me one! So, we offered gentle encouragement like "that's right, let the boat into the lock before you close the gate".

I thought it only fair to help out too. So, when we reached the next lift bridge we all stuck our bottoms in the air whilst Rob steered the boat clear - of the bridge, not our bottoms.

As evening descended mist rose from the fields.

By this time, we had managed to tire out my parents, but made them stay awake until midnight for their supper (it took that long to cook it on the bbq).

And we didn’t make them eat any wildlife, such as this crayfish:

The next morning (Sunday), we set off again. We were very close to the Thames and figured if we made good speed we’d be home before night fall. We didn’t realise the number of tree branches that we’d have to navigate around from after the storm, though.

Soon, Oxford’s skyline was in view. We were back in familiar territory and met familiar faces of those we moor with who were out for the day.

Even mum took to the tiller - look, no handed!

And, aside from having to wind our way around a few sail boats and kamikaze punters, we were safely home before dark. Well done to my folks who helped us do the journey in only two days!

The Storm.

2006-07-24T03:21:00.000-07:00

We collected the tin can on Saturday morning. It now has a lovely shiny black hull. My parents came with us to help crew for our journey back. They are gluttons for punishment.
We had not long left Banbury when the sky began to darken:

We made it as far as Grant's Lock (only 2 miles from Tooley's) before the Gods decided to scare the living daylights out of us all.

First, came the odd rumble of thunder and a flash or so of lightning. We were safe, it was far in the distance. Then the odd spot of rain fell. Before we got into the lock the world looked a little dark around the edges:

As soon as we entered the lock, and before we knew what was happening, the storm was upon us. I had to cover my ears with my hands because the thunder was so loud. Fork lighning grounded in the fields and trees around us and my mum ran around informing us that when it strikes the windlass whoever was holding it would die. A game of Hot Potato anyone?

The more ~~cowardly~~ sensible among us took shelter (already sodden) whilst those braver worked hard to get us out of the lock alive. Rob, who loves a good storm, was up for the challenge.

And scared the bejeebees out of me when he ran off with the windlass just as lightning struck somewhere a little too close by. Whilst mum and dad were discussing how bright and near it must have been, I was running around like a headless chicken shouting "WHERE'S ROB? WHERE'S ROB? OHMYGOD, THE WINDLASS KILLED HIM" just as he calmly walked in and declared that the lock was open and we were ready to go.

There was nothing that we could except find a place to moor and wait for the storm to pass.

Checking in on the boat.

2006-07-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

Rob was in Banbury today so he popped into Tooley's to see how work was going on the tin can. We're having the rubbing strakes seam welded (they were only stitched) and the hull blackened:

Not much more to do now!

Tooley's.

2006-07-19T03:42:00.000-07:00

After a disturbed nights sleep because of strange shenanigans from our neighbours who arrived at 1.30am, left their engine running and decided to move some boats around before disappearing into the night making us believe we had dreamed it all, we got ourselves ready to dock in Tooley's.

Tooleys Historic Boatyard :

We waved good bye to the tin can and bundled Lolly into her cat bag. A friend met us to drive us back home. Lolly discovered the magic of air conditioning and our friend almost crashed the car whilst watching her snuggle up to the air vents.

We eventually arrived home - in one peice - and whilst Rob trundled off to work, I climbed into bed and slept like a new born lamb.

Banbury.

2006-07-19T03:28:00.000-07:00

We finally reached Banbury. It consisted of more fields for a while:

And we discovered that the father-in-law made a good anchor:

Boaters are generally peaceful folk. It takes a lot to get us angry, I mean, we HAVE to be patient as it takes so long to get anywhere. But, every now and then there is a very inconsiderate boater who spends most of his time on the water trying to annoy everyone else. Just our luck to meet him. The tiller man from Rosamund The Fair - Oxfordshire's delightful restaurant boat. Oh, how many boaters shouted at him. Personally, I could have lamped him one. He stopped to wind (turn) in front of us, took 20 minutes before going ahead of us at a speed of 0.002 mph and STOPPED in the middle of the canal to tell his mate on the tow path that he was being an ass to piss us off. I'm a patient person - I work in care with people with behavioural problems, I HAVE to be patient - but the only thing that prevented me from attempting to smack him was the expanse of water between us.

Anyway, back to our journey! We eventually reached the heart of Banbury to the sound of a haunting folk melody from a nearby cafe:

And finally found somewhere to moor for the evening (beside a nest of flying ants):

We ~~made the in-laws walk the plank~~ let mum and dad in-law go home.

And Lolly decided to go exploring - we finally found her after 4 hours stuck up a tree. Silly thing. She's a good climber but I'm beginning to think she is scared of heights. After all that, we settled to watch the sun set and climbed exausted into bed.

Tomorrow we take the boat to Tooley’s Boatyard.

Day Three To Banbury: Nearly There...

2006-07-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

We started cruising early again today (Sunday), though not as early as yesterday as there were only 4 locks to go before Banbury.
The scenery is still the same. Fields of golden corn, small hamlets in the distance, a cat on the bow:

It is difficult to tell the passing of time. Field, field, field, lock, field, field, field, lock, feeling hungry, field, field, still hungry, field... we could have been doing this for years. It is so beautiful and peaceful.

Day Two To Banbury, Part Two: Enslow To Somerton Deep Lock.

2006-07-16T01:58:00.000-07:00

We spent a total of 14 hours on the move today (sat), finally mooring after Somerton Deep Lock, which, as it's name suggests, is deep. 12 foot deep, and lovingly called THE BLACK CHASM OF DEATH by me:

We decided to stop for a bit of shopping en route. Jane's organic strawberry jam is lovely. This is England's only floating farm shop, Mill Lane Organic Farm:

I considered banning the father-in-law from standing anywhere near the tiller as he had a strange habit of grounding us and attacking bushes with the boat:
So we made him work the locks until way past his bed time:

And then settled down to a nice ~~inferno~~ bbq:

My LOTR boat count now includes Rivendell and Mithra.

Day Two To Banbury, Part One: Grandpont to Enslow

2006-07-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

We started at 8am this morning from Grandpont in Oxford on the Thames. It was very overcast and a little cold. By 10am we were back in our summer clothes looking for a little shade… It turned out there wasn’t any.
Our last stop on the Thames was Kings Lock. Lock keepers have a very special kind of wisdom:

Then we said goodbye to our familiar territory and had a Sam Gamgee moment when we realised we were going into lands unknown and had never been so far from home before.
Oh, and whilst on the subject of LOTR, a geek as I may be, it is habit for me to spot as many LOTR themed boat names as possible. Only one so far: (Faramir).
I still haven’t topped sharing a lock with Sam Gamgee at Culham last month.
So, the canal beckoned and we dutifully followed…

And waited in lock queues…
And had to catch a runaway cat because she got bored waiting for some fun…
And everybody had a drink or two (especially the mother-in-law!!):

And when it came to the hard work, such as opening locks and lift bridges, well, that is what the father-in-law is for… isn’t it?

And we found the mum-in-law a new job (aside from looking after the alcohol ;-)) - cat sitting:

Day One To Banbury: Abingdon to Oxford.

2006-07-15T01:26:00.000-07:00

It was a late start from Abingdon and we hoped we'd reach Oxford before nightfall. Normally, by car, the journey takes 10 mins, by narrowboat it takes 4 hours.

Abingdon from the river is very pretty. There is some very dodgy 60's architecture in the town centre, though.

Lolly was our lookout.

Oxford, just in time for nightfall.

Tomorrow our journey will take us away from the Thames and onto the Oxford Canal.

Getting ready.

2006-07-13T05:11:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we are cruising to Banbury to get some work done on the tin can. Hopefully I'll be able to photo-document the journey (it will take 3 days). The inlaws are coming to help crew as I can't jump on and off the boat with my sprained ankle. And when we get to Banbury our lovely little tin can will be hauled out of the water to have the hull cleaned and blackened (and a few other minor repairs). The whole process takes a week, so on Monday we'll drive back here and stay in our new digs: My parent's narrowboat. I'm just about to start packing everything we'll need for when we'll be ~~wrecking~~ staying on it. That includes Tain, the little chappie in the photo. He'll be moved this evening (and cared for by friends) until we get back.

Second Meadow. Our temporary home from monday.

The boater's garden. Part Two.

2006-07-12T05:58:00.000-07:00

More photographs:

Runner beans.

Beetroot.

Lettuce, spinach, peas runner beans and courgette.

And the obligatory long shot looking over the skinny bit of vegetable plot. There is still a lot of work to be done. As you can see from the last photo the gravel path still needs to be completed. The potatoes are almost ready to dig. They've reached the point where they are beginning to topple and are shading the tomatoes. The peas need retying after the heavy winds over the weekend. Most of the onions were blown about too. But they are about ready to harvest. I'm really going to have to find some pickling recipes.

The boater's garden. Part One.

2006-07-12T05:18:00.000-07:00

It all started earlier this year with a bright idea. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to take fresh produce out boating? Well, yes, it would. So, with permission from the chappie who owns the land we are moored on, I started to change some waste land into a vegetable garden. To start with I had to hack my way through weeds that were twice my height - No one was around to take amusing photographs, unfortunately. Then came the digging, the laying of beds, the planting... It was hard work, but fun. And since no one else really helped that much (unless I threatened them with a spade) it also became my own form of meditation.

And now I am harvesting the produce. It seems that EVERYTHING I planted grew. On the otherhand, whatever Rob planted decided not to. So, all he is now allowed to do is dig and water. He knows his place.
Unfortunately, since I sprained my ankle, I've not been able to give the garden as much love and attention as I would like, but I'll soon be back out there pottering around again. I have grand ideas for next season. Crop rotation, an asparagus bed, strawberry beds, gourds and pumkins...
But, back to the present:

There are courgettes, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, onions, strawberries, aubergines, cucumbers, lettuce (cos and curly leaved varieties), marrows, spinach, peas, runner beans, beetroot, radish, sweet peas, sunflowers, brocolli (sprouting ready for later in the season) herbs such as sage, lavender, thyme, sorrel, oregano, parsley, chives, rosemary, rocket, calendula and so much more.

I know it's not normal...

2006-07-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

but is it completely unnatural for a 28 year old to dream of owning this?

I mean, I do live on a boat and he would feel right at home and... I'll just face the face that I ~~need psychological help~~ am sad.

There be blue!

2006-07-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

Just as my work day was ending, 24 hrs of abuse and fun (become a support worker - Every day is a different experience), I look up to the sky and after all the rain of this afternoon there is some blue! Not much, but enough to bring my spirits up. I think I may have even hummed to myself whilst cycling back to the boat.

And now, as if my evening couldn't get any better, I'm boat hopping for a spot of dinner on Polgara. No cooking for me! All I have to do is supply the beans, apparently. And so, whilst my hubby is out waving his hankies (he's a morris dancer) I'll be stuffing my face with bangers and mash... and beans.

What a wonderful day.

The Wiltshire and Berkshire Canal... and Lolly.

2006-07-09T06:14:00.000-07:00

Work is clearly in progress for the new junction of the Wilts and Berks Canal in Abingdon. We passed by and couldn't help turning the boat around for a better look. I was going to sign up to help with the volunteer work but can't do very much at the moment as I have a sprained ankle. I'm supposed to be resting it but work gets in the way. I bumped into Mr. Buckland, the Wilts and Berks Canal charity director, the other day on my way home from work. He has enough enthusiam for the project to make it really fly. It is certainly a labour of love on his part. Talk now seems to be about reopening the Oxford basin which is currently a car park. It has been a long time coming. I hope that we can have our basin back. It would definetly be nicer than looking at a run down car park.

Lolly (the cat) is on a crusade to bring home as many small furry mammels as is feline-y possible. Normally, she just likes to play with them and throw them about much to the displease of my husband and I... and the small furry creature. Yesterday she got herself locked in another boat. We knew there was something wrong when she didn't come home for breakfast and 30 mins of searching later we heard a faint "meow" coming from Yakusu. We managed to free her eventually (after the involvement of a lot of people) and later that night she rushed in through the cat flap dropped a little mole by my feet and started meowing in a "Look, mummy, I've got you a present. I'm not even going to play with it - And best of all, it's still alive and you can eat it right now!" (I know I shouldn't really pretend to even know what she was telling me. That would be mad... people who humanise their pets are strange, right?) Anyway, Lolly looked really pissed off when I scooped the mole up in a dustpan and let it go. She wasn't much impressed with the fact the we locked her in the boat for an hour to give the mole chance to get away, either. She's a hard cat to please.

2006-07-06T02:45:00.000-07:00

A whole day off work. Well, almost. I finished this morning and now have the whole day to potter around on the boat. The great thing about where we are moored is that I have been given a tiny plot of land to turn into a vegetable plot. I harvested my first cucumber today. I have more peas, spinach and lettuce than I know what to do with and its not going to be very long before the potatoes are ready to dig.
Still, there is always weeding to be done. I don't know how the dandelions survived the storms of this morning. I was glad I was at work for it. The storm last month broke overhead and the whole boat shook with the thunder. Things fell off the shelves and the cat wouldn't remove herself from under the table. I just happened to be looking out of the window when lightning struck the pylon in the park opposite. That was bloody close and very scary and the cleverest thing for us all to do was run out of our boats shouting "Ooh, did you see that?". Full of bright ideas, us boaters.

2006-07-05T08:08:00.001-07:00

And thus wisdom was shared with the geese.

It's amazing what you see on a day out on the river. Who knew that there was a mini Gandalf running awol in this world?

Trail of Destruction

2006-07-05T07:24:00.000-07:00

Trail of Destruction

Erm.

2006-07-03T05:32:00.000-07:00

I'm slightly confused, as opposed to my normal state of confusion because I've moved from my normal bloggy spot to this bloggy spot and my normal bloggy spot was somucheasier and now I'm lost. But I did find http://followthetrailofdestruction.blogspot.com/ (the destruction started there - and its all their fault that I'm here. Damnit.).