Don't tell him Pike

 Yesterday morning a large half eaten pike was found on the edge of the marina.

The pike was easily the size of a man's arm.

The marina staff set up a camera and were able to film an otter as it came back the following night to reclaim its supper.

What a disappointment

 I went to  dd1's today to collect my repaired hearing aid.

To my great disappointment although it has been re-tubed it hasn't been repaired, there was a note included staying that I was wearing the wrong hearing aid. 

For some reason the repair service have assumed it's Steve's hearing aid!

So it means sending it off again, which means another two or three weeks without being able to hear.

Steve's very annoyed, seems to think it's all my fault.

Despite being deaf himself he talks to me with his face turned away or covers his mouth with his hands which means I am unable to lipread.

Roast dinner

 I worked out that I have cooked in excess of 2300 roast dinners, I cook a roast every Sunday and have since I was in my 20's.

Today was no exception, pork for Steve and chicken breast for me. Beano also enjoys a roast dinner, though not much of his is roasted, he had boiled potato, broccoli and chicken.

Unfortunately something in the meal makes him fart and as he is a silent farter there is no advance warning, suddenly my eyes start to water and I am gasping for breath. Beano sleeps on, oblivious.

Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

 Well I think it depends on the dog.

Beano is a pain in the arse to train.

I'm sure I could train him if I was prepared to use cruelty.

But today, training is all about praise and treats.

The first thing is to make sure your dog's attention is all on you. To do this you offer a treat!

Beano isn't much interested in treats, unless it's roast beef or fillet steak. He's not really food oriented, even when he was in the rescue centre and still hungry he refused all dry food. The staff had to soak it in water and even then he would only pick at little bits.

It's difficult to engage his attention, outside he is far too busy sniffing and piddling, inside he lays down and goes to sleep.

Beano won't come when he's called but he will wait for me to catch up with him if I call him. I've therefore started to say "Beano wait" that way it looks like he's being obedient.

Beano will also refrain from chasing the ducks if I say "Leave" but he will chase rabbits no matter what I say.

No idea

 I've no idea what day it is but it's grey and raining. 

Beano was cold/tired/unwell this morning, I've no idea which. He wouldn't leave the marina for his usual walk, he turned for home as soon as he could. Once home he crawled under his blanket, curled into a ball and went to sleep. He didn't want any breakfast.

But at 10:30 he perked up and decided he wanted a walk after all, we set off down the tow path where he met Peggy another boat dog and they chased around together, on our way back he met another friend Dylan and had another play. 

He still hasn't eaten his breakfast but he sometimes doesnt, mind you if I don't put breakfast down for him I get treated to the death stare until I do. He likes his breakfast to be there for him to ignore. He now seems perfectly fine, he's asleep on the sofa with Steve.

I've spent the morning checking up on various things, the hearing aids definitely arrived at audiology so I'll wait a few days more before I chase them. I've ordered some coffee from a narrow boat trader, their coffee is named after different canals so I've ordered Kennet and Avon and Oxford. I've also emailed the company I ordered a windlass harness from as it's not been despatched yet.

We were given half a bag of coal last week by someone who has put their boat up for sale, they spent a day preparing the boat for sale and decided the coal looked untidy on the back of the boat. So they asked if we wanted it, yes please, coal is always useful. I bought two more bags of coal this morning as it's still chilly and we need the stove on every day, a member of the marina staff delivered the coal not long after I paid for it. We still have plenty of logs. 

Steve wants ham, egg and chips this evening, I'll probably have a jacket potato as I'm not keen on chips or ham.

Bugger

 Still no sign of my hearing aid being repaired and returned. I don't want to send off the second one until the first one arrives safely.

The grandchildren are all preparing to return to school, some with more enthusiasm than others!

One local school has decided to have an inset day on the day they were supposed to be reopening, parents are decidedly unhappy.

It's raining here and not warm, ne'mind, spring is on its way.

Today

 Was the day of Steve's long awaited Drs appointment.

I've said all along that I think he either has gout or arthritis and I've suggested he keep his foot raised.

According to the Dr,  Steve has either gout or arthritis and needs to keep his foot raised!

We can collect a prescription for painkillers tomorrow, he has to go back  in two weeks to have a blood test and then return two weeks after that to get the results.