Discombobulated

 Beano isn't keen on moving days, he becomes quite discombobulated.

When we are getting ready he keeps getting off the boat in case we walk away and leave him. Then he gets back on in case we are going to move off without him.

We had help today, three friends came along. Two of us walked the tow path with our dogs, operating the locks and swing bridges, two of each. The others stayed on the boat.

We stopped at a canal side cafe for breakfast, filled our water tank and then moved along and moored up, our friends then said goodbye and we just managed to get the covers on before it started to rain.

Once we were settled and got the stove going Beano curled up on the sofa, he wasn't relaxed though, every time either of us moved Beano leapt to his feet and ran to the door. I think having been abandoned once he is scared it will happen again.

Beano has been fed and had a couple of walks is now asleep with his head on my lap, this way he can sleep but he will know if I move!

This morning

To answer a couple  of other suggestions, I have emailed the audiology dept with regards to the type of aids I have, their answer explained the criteria they work to.

I will ensure I insure my aids.

I haven't involved my MP as we move from place to place. 

This morning I watched a cormorant diving for his breakfast whilst waiting for the kettle to boil. I then went to move the cows along as they were trying to eat our ropes, most of them moved, a couple allowed me to scratch their heads and then moved, one refused to move and licked my jacket a few times before moving off.

Shopping today and a blood test for Steve, which meant two trips out plus dog walks, it's has rained all day so we've got wet a few times. We are out of coal so Steve has had to put the heating on. He hates putting  the heating on because it uses diesel but it was his choice not to buy more coal!

Hearing aids

 Thank you for all your comments.

I will do my best to answer your questions and update what I've tried so far.

My doctor will only offer me a telephone appointment and the audiology department is still closed and only offering telephone appointments so there is no help there.

I'm allowed new aids every five years, I've had mine almost three years but I would be issued similar aids so that is not a solution.

Some audiology departments no longer offer the T Loop facility as it is seen as outdated.

Different areas seem to prioritise different people.  When I was still working I was provided with better hearing aids now I'm past working age I can only have the most basic aids with no volume or directional controls.

If I buy private aids I can choose to have blue tooth which will enable me to use the phone and listen to the radio, I can choose aids that will cut down on background noise because they will be directional.

It's only money

 I feel that I have been badly let down by the local NHS audiology department. Every time I send in my hearing aids in to be repaired they are returned to me unchanged. Various excuses are given, these have included "these are not your hearing aids therefore we cannot repair them"  and "there is nothing wrong with these aids, you may have wax build up in your ears". The aids play a chime when  they are turned on and when the batteries need changing. These chimes are playing almost continuously and I fail to see how wax in my ears could cause this and anyway I do not have a wax build up in my ears. As it costs £14 every time I post of my aids I'm pretty pissed off with the level of service. 

I find it exhausting trying to follow conversations, sometimes I just switch off as it is such hard work.

Despite being deaf himself, Steve is very irritated by my inability to hear and he huffs and tuts when I ask him to repeat what he has said.

I was refused a T Loop facility in my aids as I'm now retired, it is not deemed necessary.

Lockdown has been difficult for everyone, I know this but I feel that it has been made unnecessarily difficult for me. People who couldn't visit family and friends could keep in contact via phone calls and zoom but I couldn't.

So enough is enough, I'm making an appointment to have private hearing aids. I understand that there are financial constraints on the NHS but having paid in all my working life it seems unfair that I am not eligible for treatment for my vestibular shwannoma or a decent level of care. 

As my eyesight continues to deteriorate I will soon be unable to read subtitles so I feel that decent hearing aids are a must, I just hope there are some that are suitable.

Saturday

 Debby I did laugh at your udderly delightful comment.

The wind seems less biting today and it's sunny.

I have washing sloshing about in the machine as there is enough solar to run it.

There are lots of of boats moving on the canal, Will has moved because of the fourteen day rule, Ian has moved for the same reason. Lana has moved on to look at a permanent mooring. The fourteen day rule states that boats can moor anywhere along the tow path for 14 days unless there is signage to say that mooring is restricted to a shorter time.

There have been hire boats returning to  base and some just setting off, one hire boat travelled all the way to Windsor, another only travelled a few miles, as far as the Cunning Man pub and stayed there for their two week holiday.

The tow path is busy with runners, joggers, bikes and dog walkers.

There are so many plants on this boat moored near us, not flowers or vegetables but cacti and bonsai trees.

Assorted waffling

Debbie questioned whether or not I should have given someone a lift to collect their car.

I have no idea whether or not I should have but as  we have both had our 2nd jabs and driving lessons and flying lessons resumed on 12th April, both of which mean two unconnected people sitting in a confined space I decided that giving a lift wasn't much different.

Beano and I are walking five miles daily with a friend and her dog,  we pass some CRT moorings where people had made gardens near their boats. The gardens are all being removed by order of CRT.

I've been watching Sewing Bee I do enjoy the program, I look at the clothing they make and remember how I used to be able to sew so well, but not any more. I made both my wedding dresses, I made a man's suit and a corduroy jacket for friends, loads of dresses, tee shirts shorts and trousers for my children. I made tutus and superhero capes. I made cushion covers, curtains and patchwork quilts. At the moment I can still knit and crochet but I'm not sure for now long. I think I may soon be reduced to plaiting.

We will probably stay here for another week and then move on as we will need water and pump out then.

Not a very good picture but these are out current neighbours.

And breathe

Col, thank you for your comments I hope you enjoyed your time with your grandchild.

Ian I hope you don't have too many problems with hire boaters, we always stay put on changeover day.

We've had a busy few days in the family.

DD2 has moved into what she hopes will be her forever home, three of her four children also moved schools, so she's had to deal with moving house, buying white goods, buying new sets of school uniform and everything else. Her brand new fridge freezer stopped working the day after it was delivered and despite the house being a new build there is a water leak in the kitchen that has ruined the new floor so she still has a lot of stuff to sort out.

DD1 is still wearing wrist braces and awaiting physio, her children have returned to school after the Easter break.

We have moved mooring twice since leaving the marina, some friends have managed to get off the Thames on to the Kennet and Avon and we will be travelling with them for a while.

We had our second jab last Saturday, our appointments were at 9 & 9:10, we arrived just before 9 and went in together. We we walking back to the car by 9:05

A few jobs have been done on the boat, including cleaning the roof, Windows and pram cover. We have four new troughs on the roof, one contains herbs as the previous herb container disintegrated. One contains a white heather, a viola and a lavender. One contains cut and come again lettuce and oriental leaves. The final one is for French beans. 

We collected the car and then moved again so moved the car again, I also gave our friends a lift to collect their car which they had left near their previous mooring.

The cupboards, fridge and freezer are full, I'm cooking lamb steaks, new potatoes with carrots and peas.

I shall attempt to take some pics of our current mooring soon.

I'm currently lacking

Time, energy, wifi and power. 

Normal service should be resumed in a day or two.

Billy has ishews.

Billy is a border collie, he lives on a boat moored just along from us.

He is a rescue like Beano, unfortunately Billy can be a bit unpredictable.

Billy and Beano are fine with each other usually but occasionally Billy barks at me and Beano doesn't allow that!

Billy has trigger words that upset him and make him aggressive, in fact he has a whole bloody dictionary of trigger words.

Including, hello, good boy, sit and stay!

I am enough

 Col thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful comments, I hope to don't mind that I haven't posted them online.

I accept what you say about Beano and my family, I was thinking more about husbands.

Six boats

 Six boats have cruised by today, one heading west the others heading east.

Four of these were hire boats and none of them hit us, all were travelling slowly.

One boater realised his wife wasn't carrying a bridge key so he passed the key to Steve who then passed it to the wife as she walked along the tow path.

The CRT spotter went past so our position has been logged.

Someone we moored near a few times last summer walked by with his dog Bobby, Beano  remembered him and leapt up, rushing to the gate, he was keen to go out and play, they played together for a long time.

Really? It's April!

 What a difference, I had to sweep the gangplank before Beano and I could go for a walk. Then I had to clear the snow from the solar panels!

Moving day

 We left the marina today, it was chilly and breezy during our cruise.

We travelled for a couple of hours and then moored up, we've not moored here before but space is very limited and we want to be moored up before the hire boats all set off tomorrow. We did pass a day boat as we were leaving the marina and were able to point out a submerged log ahead of them so they were able to avoid it.

There was glorious sunshine when we moored but soon afterwards we had hail and shortly after that, heavy rain.

I cooked roast beef for a late lunch and after we'd eaten we took Beano for a walk and now we are relaxing with a cold drink.

We will stay here for a few days  until the hire boats have gone and then we will move on. I need to walk back to the marina to collect my car at some point, as we will need milk and bread in a couple of days. I keep longlife milk and part baked baguettes for emergencies so we can manage. It's about four miles back to the marina and I'm sure Beano will enjoy the walk.

Jibberty Jab number 2

 We have our appointments through for our 2nd jab, 17 April, 9:00 and 9:10!

There is a bit missing

 In some ways Steve has made a very good recovery from his stroke but in some ways there is a bit missing.

He does the funniest things and sometimes I struggle not to laugh though this would be very unkind as he is trying to get things right.

Just a few examples, I struggle to hear and rely on lip reading to a certain extent. People wearing masks make this very difficult. Because of this Steve bought me a clear face mask, this was very kind and thoughtful but I need other people to wear clear masks, me wearing one doesn't help at all.

Last week Steve realised I was reusing an empty lurpak container for the butter, next time he went shopping he bought me a new plastic container. He was so proud that he'd thought of it. Unfortunately he bought me a cereal container so it was no good for butter.

The funniest was probably yesterday, our breakfast bar is very shiny and sometimes looks wet. I put the kitchen roll down and it tipped over. Steve got very stressed trying to dry the breakfast bar with a teatowel, he was convinced that the kitchen roll was leaking!

What is fluffy

And smells of watermelon?

The answer is Beano after he's had his anti itch shower!

 

Prescription collected

Thanks for the notebook info, it's very useful. 

I'm sorry about the varying font size on some of my posts, the posts look ok in preview but once published the font goes haywire.

We collected Steve's prescription today, I don't what it is with the pharmacy but every time I go in to collect a prescription  they dither about looking in first one place, then another. Then they ask how long ago it was ordered, then another hunt through the baskets of prescriptions. Every visit takes an age.

The pharmacy is next door to the bakers, so we buy a bacon roll and coffee for Steve for the journey home and a Belgian bun for me, I eat it once we are back on the boat otherwise the steering wheel would get very sticky!

Steve filled one of the water tanks this morning and  I repotted my herbs, I have thyme, parsley, marjoram and mint.

Not long now

 It's -2 overnight here, I'm sleeping badly as I can't get warm. It's not much warmer during the day, yesterday we had some snow flurries.

The marina has run out of coal, they weren't expecting this sudden cold snap. There is a delivery expected tomorrow. If there in no delivery before we leave we will meet up with the fuel boat once we are out on the cut.

Today we went shopping,  stocked up the cupboards with extra dry goods, rice  pasta, tea and coffee amongst other things. Steve had a phone call from some friends, they are waiting for County Lock to come off Red boards then they will join the Kennet and Avon, we will head towards them and hopefully meet up in a couple of weeks.

Tomorrow we have to collect Steve's prescription.

 Friday we have rain forecast, I shall vacuum round for the last time and do one last hot wash of our bedding in the machine. Hopefully we will have coal by then and I'll be able to get the bedding dry.

Saturday we will fill the water tank.

Not long now until we set off.

Losing trees

 Some of the trees on the marina have been affected by Ash Dieback so they being felled, it's such a shame.

In between the tree felling the marina staff are hedging to encourage wildlife diversity.

There have been loads of visitors to the marina though currently they are not allowed to stay overnight.

Some people got round this by taking their boat out onto the cut overnight.

We have our leaving date sorted, just a few more jobs before we set of on our summer cruise.

Pump out adventures

Yesterday we moved the boat across the marina to get a pump out.

It wasn't the best day to do it but the staff will be mad busy over the Easter weekend and we couldn't wait until after that as the tank would be full.

It was hellish windy and there was a boat on the service jetty which didn't help. We took it slow and steady but twice Steve got the boat lined up only to be forced off course by the wind. We got there eventually and the marina staff grabbed the ropes and tied us up. They also came across to help us get back on our jetty. I moved from one side of the boat to the other ensuring we didn't hit any other boats.

We are forecast another cold snap so we bought more coal, we will have one more pump out and buy more coal before we leave the marina and start our summer cruise.

April Fool

 It's April Fools day, some newspapers are running silly articles and Facebook is awash with them.

One that caught my eye was on a narrow boat group from someone wanting to run a sunbed on a boat.

I hope it's an  April Fools joke though from some of the questions asked on the boaters groups I'm not 100% convinced.

I know every one starts somewhere and everyone needs to learn. I have no problem with people who ask questions because they want to buy a narrow boat but the amount of people who post the most basic questions after they've bought a boat is frightening.

The first thing to consider is whether you are going for marina living or if you are going to cruise. 

Living full time in a marina means you probably are hooked up to electric full time and there will be a water point nearby. Even so I have seen posts from people who have a bath on board who complain about how often they have to fill their water tank up. If you are cruising this can present a real problem. Even those of us with showers often try to use of them whilst at a water point.

Even when we are hooked up to shore power we have to limit ourselves, we ensure that the few appliances we have are under a kilowatt. Once on the cut we are reliant on solar or running the engine.

I've been amazed by the amount of people who can't understand why they can't run a dishwasher on board or eleventy billion computers.

There was also a post on Facebook a couple of weeks ago about furniture available, it had been left at a rubbish point. It seems someone who had purchased a boat turned up with a Man and Van. Said van contained furniture for recently purchase boat unfortunately there was more furniture than boat space and some of it wouldn't go through the doors on the boat!