Minus 3

 It's cold, here

Definitely Motown weather, as in I shall wear four tops today.

Chris, Beano's bus ticket cost £1 for an all day busabout ticket.

Yesterday it was so windy there were waves on the canal.

I need to clean the fridge out today, ready for a supermarket delivery this morning.

Siebre, the previous owners had used that , we are still trying to clean the black sticky residue off the window frames. When we replaced the curtains we purchased ones with thermal blackout linings, they are a definite improvement.

Neither of us have had any reaction to our booster jabs so I'm glad we've had them. I greatly appreciate living in a country and time where vaccines are readily available. I'm old enough to remember the terror of polio before the vaccine was available. 

Who knew.

When you take your dog on a bus you get a bus ticket!

Shopping

We should have had a supermarket delivery on Wednesday but for some reason the delivery address had reverted to our banking address. This was probably a PICNIC problem though Steve denies it. PICNIC as in Problem In Chair Not In Computer. Fortunately we were able to cancel the order before it was delivered to DD1. We then had to re-book, Sunday was the next available date and by now Steve was bordering on panic as he couldn't remember what had been on the list and had thrown the paper list on the fire! 

The online shopping is proving to be a bit of an adventure, the first week Steve ordered loads of chocolate bars and a kilo of sesame seeds, last week he did better and we got some useable food. Gawd knows what will arrive this week, nemmind I'll manage.

DD2 phoned yesterday evening to say she was on her way to the supermarket and did I want to go too. I did, I bought bread because we've run out. I bought spring greens and some fruit as I know Steve won't have ordered either. 

I also bought some new pillows as mine are very flat, a pair of jogging bottoms and a sweatshirt. The older I get the more difficult I find it to keep warm. Steve insists he doesn't feel the cold a sits around in a tee shirt, he's cold to the touch and sneezes so much he gets nose bleeds.

We rely on the multi fuel stove to keep warm, we have central heating but rarely use it as Steve worries about the exhaust from the diesel. I get really irritable when I'm cold so I'm hoping the new clothes will help.

A five day hangover

I've felt extremely under the weather for the last few days.

Totally self inflicted and I should know better at my age.

Whilst celebrating my birthday I overindulged in alcohol.

Prosecco to be precise, a glass and a half, small glasses at that!

Today is the first day I've felt better.

Today we went for our covid boosters. It took all morning, we had to catch two buses each way, they run hourly so there was a long wait between then. We travelled eight miles and it took almost five hours. It's a bloody nuisance not driving.

Well i made it.

 Three score years and ten. 

I celebrated with Steve, my children and grandchildren.

Eighteen of us in total. My son in law cooked up a storm and provided food suitable for a vegan, a vegetarian, two lactose intolerant, one diabetic, two with autistic food issues and a partridge in a pear tree. He's such a hero.

Dd1

DD1 brought the wrath of god down on to the school, or at least it must have seemed like it. The child that is diabetic is one of DD1's  fostered children so she has a lot of back up when fighting his corner. Social services contacted the school as did the diabetes team.

Finally

 After borrowing eleventy billion bits of kit from other boaters Steve has tracked down the problem with the TV/satellite it's not repairable. Our only option to watch tv is via the internet which we can't do because we are in a dead area, still, at least we know now.

DD1 is battling with her local school, they have altered the rules on the snacks for morning breaks with no notice. Dgs who is diabetic became unwell because of the unannounced changes. When DD1 went in to complain and to explain that she needed to be aware of changes in advance she was told it wasn't possible as he was the only diabetic the school.

DD2 is battling with the land registry, she can't finalise her mortgage despite already living in the house. She's being threatened with eviction. The land registry are blaming the solicitor, the solicitor is blaming the building company, the building company spent weeks saying Computer Says No.

Lame Wolf, I stopped colouring my hair when we moved on to the boat as our waste water goes directly into the canal.

Hair cut.

 Yesterday I had my hair cut, an early birthday present from DD2.

Such an exciting event induced me to have a shower.

DD2 was picking me up at 9 am so I got up at 4 am to turn the immersion heater on. I boiled the kettle to make a cuppa and to wash a couple of dishes left from the previous evening. 

By 6:30 the water was hot so I had a quick shower quick, but not quick enough as the water was stone  cold by the time I was rinsing my hair.

I walked Beano as he's not keen on walking with Steve and I wasn't sure how long I'd be out for.

DD2 messaged me to say she was on her way so I made Steve a cuppa, gave Beano his medication and set off to walk to the marina entrance.

My hair is now all one length and down to my shoulders instead of almost to my waist.

Steve thinks it was a waste of money, £12, he was expecting me to have it cut to a chin length bob. He doesn't understand the restrictions not having a hair dryer or straighteners place on me. 

My hair is extremely abundant and has a mind of its own, it is neither straight or curly, it's just bumpy.I'd quite like it cut very short but it grows so quickly it would lose its shape within a couple of weeks.

Steve, like a lot of men, likes long hair, he doesn't like my long hair, he like Jessica Rabbit style of long hair.  He thinks hair grows naturally in to a neat style with no help from lotions, potions or electrical appliances.

Buying new bosoms

 I've always been fairly well endowed in the chesticle area, despite only being 4'11 I always needed a 38dd bra.

As I got older I still wore the same size but needed to roll my boobs up to fit into the same size bra.

During the summer when I wear dresses with elasticated tops  I don't wear a bra, but when I'm wearing a tee shirt I do need one but I'm now looking for comfort rather than cleavage.

I looked on lots of websites at all different types and styles, I eventually settled on a sports bra style, a pull on, no fastenings as my fingers struggle with fiddly things.

I purchased a three pack, one each of shocking pink, purple and kingfisher blue. 

I didn't realise until I washed the first one that the filling was made up of two spongy triangles and not attached to the bra. They are separate entities fitted within pockets, or should I say a pocket. This means that when the bra is washed these triangles have great fun swapping sides, rolling themselves in to sausages, sometime clinging together fondly!

This means once the damn thing is on (quite a struggle at time) I look down to see what particular shape I'm in.

Sometimes I have a boob one side and nothing the other sometimes I have two huge boobs where both triangles have folded themselves in half, one is under one boob and the other is on top of the other boob.

There seems to be endless permutations!

Comments

Steve doesn't want to go back to stroke club at the moment I'm hoping he'll change his mind but it's not likely.  There isn't a volunteer with space to give me a lift.

Col I've spoken to the marina manger who explained that all the benches belong to the marina. He doesn't get involved in disputes between boaters. I'm not prepared to start a punch up over a bench. but now I know it's not his personal bench I will continue to use the bench and I will give him an assortment of hand signals when he complains.

We use our phones as a hotspot and tether to them. Steve's works fine mine doesn't. I assume it's because my phone signal is weak here.

Steve seems to consider it character flaw that I need human contact. He says he's fine and he never talks to anybody. In fact he wanders around the marina chatting to other boaters. I don't have this option as the other boaters are all men.

Mind you Steve also coming understand why I was bothered by the lack of Wi-Fi until he couldn't access the internet for best part of a day. 

DD2 is taking me to the hairdressers on Friday and I will ask her to take me shopping sometimes just so I get to see her. I will still get shopping delivered so we won't be stuck when she can't.

A day of getting nowhere.

Steve spent time yesterday and today trying to resolve the problem with the tv but to no avail, still nothing works.

We have a very old fire stick but it won't connect even using Steve's phone which has a much better signal than mine.

The Wi-Fi improved for a couple of days but back to very poor signal now.

We had one day when neither of us had a signal, Steve was climbing the walls with boredom. That's why he tried to get the tv sorted. He realised that this is my third winter with no tv and no reliable wifi. At least I can download books now though I need to be a bit sneaky as I need to sit at a specific picnic bench on the marina and the man on the boat nearest to it considers it to be his bench and chases me off!

Steve's decided to start online shopping as it's too much to expect DD2 to take me every week. It's true, but I will miss her. I haven't spoken to anybody since Saturday.

I'm still no nearer getting audio books as they need Wi-Fi for them. 

Stroke club has started up again, if Steve wants to attend they will arrange transport for him.  I can't go and cook for them as they don't provide transport for volunteers. 

It's almost 4am the wifi witching hour. If I hit post now it should send.

Struggling

 Our neighbours arrived on Friday about mid afternoon, they were planning on staying until Wednesday but in the end they left on Saturday. They were really struggling and couldn't cope with the lack of electric they kept tripping their supply by trying to run more than one appliance at a time. They may do better to buy a generator or find a marina that is residential.

I walked a few miles today to collect a parcel of bits for steve, only for him to announce, when presented with the items, that he'd ordered the wrong parts!

Today i spoke to people.

Our friends that we travelled with over the summer visited today.

We walked to the local cafe for breakfast and coffee and we walked back and we talked non-stop. They showed us lots of pics of their new granddaughter. They bought us some eggs from a farm shop near where they are moored. They also bought a loaf of bread as I'd run out.

Beano was so pleased to meet up with their dog Daisy, they set off for home at about 2:30.

All in all it was a lovely day.

I know a lot of bloggers post about their day, I rarely do as my days are very samey, all I do is housework and dog walks but today I had something to write about.

Beano's reaction to fireworks!

He sleeps through them, they are nearby and very loud. He only looked up because I called his name.

Beano

 This is Beano after a  long walk.

My husband would screw anything!

 Me? I'm more selective, my personal favourites are the 3M Command strips.

I'll admit it's not always easy, the walls of the boat lean inwards towards the ceiling and in the heat of summer the command strips lose their adhesion.

Steve's answer to this problem is his trusty screwdriver,  this would  be fine apart from Steve's tendency to change his mind about where he wants thing to hang.

My dressing gown is a fine example of this. The 3M Command hook had lost its sticky and my dressing gown had been hanging on the door handle. You'd think after 20 years together Steve would know how tall I am, but no.  He called me into the bedroom (no, not for that, don't get excited) to show me the hook he'd screwed to the side of the wardrobe.

I stood beside the hook, looked at Steve and then up at the hook. Steve looked a little sheepish. "I'll lower it shall I" ?

End of an era.

 I walked across to the marina car park yesterday to find my car had gone, collected by a mechanic friend of DD2's and delivered to its new home. It makes life more difficult, not driving.

We have our covid boosters on the 25th November, the pharmacy is next door to a bakers so we will treat our selves to a bacon roll and a sticky bun once we've finished.

I'm working my way through all your suggestions for free books, including YouTube, somewhat hampered by poor Wi-Fi signal.

Beano is sniffing cautiously at his collection of throws and blankets, they all smell different now they've been washed but he soon settles down on them. He doesn't like the vacuum and usually sits on Steve's knee when I get Henry out of the cupboard.

Beano.

 I foraged some apples yesterday and made a crumble and a cake but I thought you'd rather see a pic of Beano.