Money

We had a pump out, we bought a gas bottle, we topped up with diesel and we ordered 3 bags of coal there are none in stock but they will deliver them as soon as their order turns up. 

Just short of £100 but we are warm and can flush the toilet again Steve filled the water tank up too.

I had baked camembert for tea I made dirty rice and chicken for Steve as he doesn't like camembert.

I may watch more films as we get nearer to Christmas, Steve doesn't mind what I watch or when. 

Boat life

I watch one film a week as it then seems like a real treat.

Last night the gas ran out whilst I was cooking tea, this meant donning hats, coats and gloves and clambering out on to the prow to the gas locker.

I held the torch whilst Steve swapped the tanks over. 

This morning I woke up needing the toilet, only to find the black water tank was full. We were expecting the gas tank to run out but we thought the black water tank to last until Friday, Hey ho, all part of the joys of boat life. 

I was planning a bus trip today but that won't happen as we will have to get the black water tank pumped out. By the time it's done Steve will be wiped out and need to rest.

Birds

Obviously we have a lot of ducks in the marina and a family of swans.

Yesterday the coots were squabbling, they were lovely to watch I'm pretty sure they were arguing over their conjugal rights though it's the wrong time of year. Maybe the mild weather confused them.

There are two herons on the marina, one sits on the same abandoned boat in the back pound all the the other the other chooses a different spot every day.

There are two flocks of sparrows and each flock has it's own preferred area, one flock is in the trees along drive,  the the other is in the trees on the grass that divides the pounds.

On windy days I love watching the crows, they fly above the trees getting blown and buffeted, they seem full of joy and enthusiasm, screaming and cawing at the battering wind.

There are always blackbirds in the undergrowth, sometimes a thrush. There are tits in the hedging. I can't see the small birds clearly now as they are gone too fast all apart from the robins they dig out worms and don't fly off.

Apologies

I have very little to write about as my life is very boring.

I read a lot, currently a Faith Martin book.

I walk Beano but seldom see anyone on my walks.

I eat a lot of salads at lunch time.

I cook a meal every evening, today was roast beef.

We have a Tesco delivery once a week and DD2 takes me shopping when she goes, that way I can buy anything missed from our delivery.

We now have strong Wi-Fi signal and tv reception, I watch the Repair Shop, Who do you think you are and a Christmas film once a week. This is why I didn't want to spend £3000 on a new satellite system.

Today Steve watched the Grand Prix, Beano found all the screaming and shouting a bit confusing but he soon got used to it and went back to sleep.

It's a comfortable life but not very exciting.

Breakfast.

 Yesterday we planned to have breakfast at the cafe on the wharf, it's a bit far for Steve to walk but he manages it because the sitting down for breakfast gives him a rest. Unfortunately when we got there they were not open so we had to return home. What a disappointment. Steve was knackered by the time we got home. I cooked him breakfast though by now it was lunchtime. Beano was equally disappointed as I usually share my sausage with him when we eat at the cafe.

It took a while to convince Steve to accept that he could have breakfast when we got home, he gets very fixed ideas. He would have eaten breakfast in the cafe at 11 but having to wait until we got home meant he'd be eating breakfast at 12:30. He got in a bit of a panic because he normally eats lunch at 1:30 and couldn't work out how he could eat at 12:30 &1:30. I explained that we'd call it brunch and then he could eat again at 5:30/6. Eventually I convinced him this would be ok. He gets confused and worried about the strangest things.

we both got confused when doing our last online shop, we needed kitchen roll, Steve was scrolling through the shelf of kitchen roll and selected one. I looked at it and said "Don't get Plenty," to which Steve replied, "I'm not, I'm just getting two". A few minutes confusion ensued until I explained to him that Plenty was the make of kitchen roll that I didn't want him to buy as it's too expensive, not a quantity.

On the bus

 I was allowed out unsupervised today, I'd hoped to set off about 10 but the safety lecture given by Steve meant i caught the 11:35 bus.

At one point I was convinced he was going to insist on coming with me. He is fine when I go out with someone else, he's just convinced I'm not safe alone.

You'd think I was 7 instead of 70, I was given detailed instructions on which bus to catch (there is only one). How to buy a ticket. Which stop to get off at (the one directly outside the shop seemed a good choice). Where to cross the road and many other random suggestions including stopping at MacDonald for lunch, I'm not a fast food fan.

I need to make this a regular occurrence and then he may calm down a bit.

I managed to get most of what I wanted plus the items Steve couldn't get when he went out.

Like a baby.

The weather that is, it's been wet and windy.

Steve stayed in bed until about 11, he was still tired from yesterday's shopping trip. It's partly the walking from shop to shop and partly the wandering around once in the shop as he never knows where anything is.

I shall go shopping tomorrow for the items he couldn't get, I'm not going into town but to where there only a few shops one of which is Dunelm there is also a supermarket and a Boots so I'm hoping to get everything I need there.

I had company on my dog walk this morning, someone who used to walk the towpath with her dog. She had him PTS a few months ago as he was unwell and she told me she missed walking him. I suggested she walk with me and she did. We probably could have chosen a better day as the weather really deteriorated during the walk. Hopefully she will join me again soon.

I took Beano out again about 2  by which time the wind was really strong, I had a bag of rubbish with me to take to the rubbish point. Beano only walked about 20 feet, then he turned, slipped out of his collar and retired to the boat. Steve let him back in and I disposed of the rubbish almost getting blown along at some points.