C.L. Peache's Blog, page 13

Narrowboat life, working and YouTube adventures…. Day 226 – 232 / Mon 4th – Sun 10th March

((BE WARNED. THIS WILL BE A LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG BLOG… in a distance world far… far away….))

Monday 4th March Day 226

Today is the day we leave the marina after just over three months! It’s a strange feeling when you’ve been living in one location and your home is movable. We could have untied the ropes at any time but as you will know if you read this blog, we were away for 20 days in Jersey, visited family and friends at Christmas and then the boat DIY commenced! We are very pleased with everything we managed to get done, of course, there is lots more to do but back to leaving day…

I pop up to the office and agree we will swing the boat around 11ish so we can fill up with diesel before we go and get coal and logs now we are out on the cut we want to make sure we have enough. Then it’s toilet emptying time, hooking the battery back up, unhooking from the electric ((It’s like cutting your umbilical cord!)) it is!

Coffee made and I do a piece to camera for the vlog ((Get you! What do you think you are? A news reader?)) well, how else do I say it? And explain the plan for the day ((Which you don’t stick to anyway!)) then it’s TIME. The cratch covers are taken down, the tiller slotted into place and off we go. I must say Chris executes the perfect manoeuvre from our pontoon and around to the docking area to fill up with diesel and go and pay our bill. It all goes well, and a hug and a handshake later we say goodbye to a very nice marina and lovely people.

We leave the marina with big smiles on our faces. It’s a cold day but the sun is out, and despite being about 5 degrees, we have our sunglasses on. It seems to take a age to reach the 5 minute walk to the first lock and I grab my windlass and the memories of all lose locks come back ((like riding a horse or a bike. You never forget)) We are soon through the first lock and cruising past Shugborough estate; an area we have gotten to know well and it starts us wondering where we will end up this winter.

After cruising for about an hour we moor up for lunch. Our first mooring goes well although I forget what Armco is called ((That’s the metal bar at the side of the canal which boat use their pins to tie to. I will try and remind Peachy to add a pic)) After coffee, we decide to crank it and soon arrive at the next lock where there is someone setting the lock. I go over to help and end up doing the lock for the couple ((That’s generous of you, Peachy)) well, I need to get my lock fitness back and honestly don’t mind. People have done the same for us before it’s how it works on the canals. Anyway, they leave the lock and then another boat is on the way so it makes sense for them to come in as the gates are open and saves wasting water. It’s a solo boater so I offer to do the lock again. It’s easier for them as they can stay on their boat and other than the gates are stiff it’s an easy enough lock. He tells us Rugeley is busy but Wolseley Bridge is quiet after the bridge and this is where we end up mooring as it’s about 3pm and to be quite honest, we can do as we please as we have nowhere to be.

It’s 6pm on this very day ((Wait……………………………. You’re actually writing this on the day…. As in today…….. so it might actually be true because even you can just about remember what happened! I need to lay down.)) Rude. I used to do this when we were cruising as no way I would remember this if I waited a week to write it up. Anyway, it’s been a wonderful day getting back to cruising life. We feel so happy to be starting our cruising adventure again and cannot wait to share it. I’ve just remembered we haven’t put the screens up in the windows – now we are back on the cut these stop people from peering in! A very fabulous day done! Until tomorrow. xx
2.5 hours / 2 locks

Tuesday 5th March Day 227

After a good nights sleep due to all that fresh air and lock work, we wake around 7am to the sounds of the geese making their presence known. I’m not sure if they are kicking off and wanting breakfast, fighting over territory or just a bloody nuisance. Still, it’s a nice way to wake up when it’s a reasonable hour. We weren’t sure how it would be without the little heater in the bedroom on overnight, but in fact it was fine and the weather reported it was at the lowest 3 degrees. Maybe we were just tired enough to sleep through it.

The batteries seem to be on full this morning, normally they decrease overnight so I don’t know if that’s from being conditioned so well being hooked up to electric for 3 months or the fact it’s not freezing but we all know what this means ((You can have coffee using your machine!)) You got that right, so we lounge in bed chatting about how lucky we are to be living this life.

Since we have decided this week we are on holiday ((Wait a minute. On holiday?? From what exactly??)) I’m not sure really, as today I manage to get a decent signal out on the stern so get this weeks vlog created and uploaded to YouTube for Sunday and early access to Patreons tomorrow. ((I feel like we are living in a parallel universe. You can use the coffee machine on the cut and you have a signal!)) We also did a couple of little boat jobs; just putting the towel rail back up etc in the shower room.

We decide to stay here overnight so have a walk to Wolseley nature reserve which is a fabulous place to explore. It was a lovely day today; blue skies and warm when the sun was out. It’s really is so nice to be back on the cut and exploring new places again.

I also make the most of waiting for the vlog to upload to read my latest book which needs to be finished by Friday afternoon for book group ((Oh you poor thing. I didn’t realise you were this busy! And on your holiday as well! Also, hilarious what happens re the book!)) When I opened my kindle it said there was approximately 10.5 hours reading time yesterday so I better crack on. With that in mind and the sun setting on a wonderful first full day on the cut its day done. Until tomorrow. x

Wednesday 6th March Day 228

It’s a lovely start to the day as the mist and fog rises from the canal and the fields and the blue sky tries it’s best to come through.

We have been impressed so far with our solar as we seems to be in gigawatt as we call it; meaning it’s not going much below full! I’m not sure what the change is as last year, especially overnight it was going down to between half and three quarters hence me not using my coffee machine but now the batteries seem fantastic. I don’t know if it’s being hooked up the electric for so long has somehow conditioned the batteries, because it isn’t much colder than it was towards end of last years cruising. The sun is higher in the sky so we are getting a decent amount of solar so maybe that’s all it takes to make the difference.

I work on my freelance job in the morning as I managed to get ahead of myself with the vlogs ((Miracle do happen people)) I’m going to try and aim to get a few weeks ahead now we are cruising again and the DIY is almost at the end! Chris makes some lovely roasted parsnip soup and then after lunch we cruise the few miles to Rugeley. No locks today, so just a nice gentle cruise passing a few other boaters on the move. Very pleasant.

Arriving into Rugeley, we snag a nice little mooring close to the supermarkets. Chris’s knee is still a bit swollen so it’s good to be a bit closer to the shops. We decide to head straight in and have a wander around the charity shops. I but some nice jigsaws before going to the pub ((You’re not on holiday you know!)) There is a very good reason for us going to the pub actually ((What other than cheap booze?)) the wi-fi! I’ve been trying to back up my icloud for days and it’s just not having it with the signal I have, even though it’s better for videos; maybe half as good as home wi-fi at the moment. It won’t back up my icloud. ((Well, I’ve heard it all now!)) 

It only takes 2 glasses of rose to get my icloud up to date. it would have taken probably 3 days on the boat! Day done. Until tomorrow. x
2 miles/ 0 locks
Thursday 7th March Day 229

We stay at Rugeley for the day and I wake up not in the best of moods ((That will be the wine you drank yesterday!)) Hey it wasn’t my fault we had to go to the pub! ((unbelievable!)) I’ve said that it would have taken me about 3 days to sync all my videos and photos and it took only two glasses of rose in the pub! ((Next you will be offsetting that against expenses!)) well, funny you should say that we did wonder that since we were there so I could get a good signal and I had a cracking idea about my plans for my canal book and who I might try and submit it to then I reckon it could be classed as a business meeting ((I’ve heard it all and more than once!))

Chris decides that we need to fit the vinyl flooring in the shower room because it’s just getting in the way all the time having the roll in the lounge. Like I said I am not feeling in the mood and we did agree to have a week off DIY but hey ho. It’s got to be done.

It’s a faff as we need to cut the curve for the shower cubicle but we manage it in the end and it looks great. We get it stuck down and fit the trims. We still need to do the varnishing and snagging jobs but that is absolutely it for a while. Anyway who has done DIY for months will know you get to the point where you’ve just had enough. As I’ve mentioned before it’s even harder on a boat due to the small space but that is another big job ticked off the list. Day done. Until tomorrow. X

Friday 8th March Day 230

Cruising day as we are on route to possibly Fradley Junction to see if we can get a mooring for the weekend. A few reasons for this; it’s a good place for one of my patreons and pals to come over as they have a carpark, pub and café at the junction. The weather looks dodgy and MotoGP motorbike racing is starting and so we want to watch that, and then we will start the week off cruising a new stretch of canal.

We set off and I head inside the boat to get this blog updated and answer some emails. I have some online training at 11am as part of the freelance job and just hoping we get moored up in time and I have a signal!

We end up stopping in handacre as there is a chippy ((fish and chip shop)) and it is Friday, so basically the law in the UK to have chips. We moor up with 5 mins to go and I make my meeting with not a bad signal and then it’s off to the chippy for the biggest bag of chips I’ve ever seen – they defeat us.

We decide to stay here as the weather has turned cold, windy and rainy and will cruise to the junction tomorrow. I faff about getting some uploading and downloading done whilst we watch MotoGP and then have book group at 3.30pm. It’s been a challenge to get the book finished as it’s massive ((Oh this is a good one… wait for this…)) Alright, you only like it when something bad happens to me. We started the book discussion and all was going well. There was a few bits people were saying that I couldn’t remember ((Nothing new there)) but there were quite a few discussion points we agreed on… anyway, my signal went dodgy and couldn’t reconnect which was annoying but I’d promised Chris we would finish fitting the trims on the shower room vinyl it wasn’t until later on that the penny dropped and I’d realised I’d read the wrong book ((Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Brilliant)) I know! It’s just ridiculous. I did think about not saying anything but I knew it would give everyone a good giggle!

That was it for the day. I’m off to read a different book. Day done. Until tomorrow. x

Miles/Distance:  3 /Locks: 0/ Tunnel : 1

Saturday 9th March Day 231

Up early again today as we need to cruise as the toilets are reaching maximum capacity. ((Thanks for sharing that. Put me right off my cornflakes)) It’s been a nice quiet mooring and a lovely spot. The weather is threatening rain and there was some this morning as we enjoyed a coffee in bed – no cappuccino from the machine though as the batteries didn’t charge fully as the travel pack didn’t charge them. ((You mean you had instant coffee???? Instant???)) well, it was a coffee bag so a step up from instant.

It’s a nice cruise with only one lock to do so pretty smooth going and although cold, the weather is kind to us and we find a lovely mooring just above one of the locks overlooking a field and just about right from the Fradley junction facilities without going through the locks. We deploy the CCV – cassette carrying vehicle – the electric bike, tie the cassette to it and off we go. We really need to empty both of the cassettes as we have a spare but that can wait until Monday when we are cruising past the facilities. ((once again, oversharing))

Job done, it’s back to the boat and I try and get some work done but the signal is not so good so do what I can so I give the boat a clean instead. Day done. Until tomorrow. xx

Miles/Distance: 3 / Locks: 1

Sunday 10th March Day 232

It really is a grim old day today and the rain is pretty much relentless which is a shame as my friend is coming over to visit but we make the most of it and after she’s had a tour of the boat we head to the pub and enjoy a delicious Sunday dinner; roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, parsnips, carrots, roast spuds and gravy – so so nice. This was in the swan pub which is known as the Mucky Duck, highly recommend you pop in if you’re around for a meal although they didn’t do cappuccinos! ((WHAT? Call the coffee police!)) I know, never mind.

We were going to go for a walk but the rain really was awful so my friend drove us to Alrewas which was only about a mile away. Living this canal life really does make all sense of ‘where you are’ in the country go out of the window. Well, it does for me. We have travelled for months and months. I think the last time we were in Alrewas on the boat was September and here we are only a mile away by car. Blows my mind ((Doesn’t take much))

I wander back to the boat after having a lovely catch up, great food, great company and after doing a little bit of freelance work as we want to cruise tomorrow it’s day done and another week over and closer to warm cruising days. I hope. Until tomorrow. x

The usual links…

YouTube Channel – Watch our narrowboat adventures here
Patreon account – get early access to vlogs and you find out our plans first!
Saga Fiction App. – read some of my short stories and novels
Powertheauthor – Buy me a coffee here – saving up to upgrade my website so i can have a virtual bookshop! Until then you can buy from Amazon…
Amazonlink – Fantasy, travelogues, thrillers, romance and more…
Power of Nature

I get the narrowboat ‘ship shape’… Day 224

Saturday 2nd March Day 224

I’ve had to put my foot down and ordered Chris to stay in bed for the day to rest his very swollen knee. So, in-between feeding him, making drinks, ordering him to rest and giving him painkillers, I crack on and give the boat a thorough good clean as well as grouting the tiles, painting the wall where the cabinet is going in the shower room as we decide we want it green, fitting the sticky vinyl into the cubby holes in the shower room so they look nicer and a million other jobs. ((Alright, taking all the credit whilst he’s laid up!))

I emptied the toilet ((Oh how the mighty have fallen)) normally Chris’s job but I really don’t mind. First I wandered up to the marina office and brought a trolley back, then I loaded it with the toilet cassette, sorted the stern out and got rid of all the rubbish, all the boxes from the various deliveries to be recycled. It feels really good to be getting everything straight again even if we still have stuff to do.

I’m absolutely knackered by the end of the day but have thoroughly enjoyed having the energy to do it, as you will know if you read this blog I’ve had one cold after another as well as bloody hormones playing up so it’s nice to actually be able to get something done. A very satisfying Day Done! Until tomorrow. x

Change of plans… Day 223

Friday 1st March Day 223

Chris wakes up with a very dodgy and swollen knee so we take the decision to stay an extra few days. The marina are very flexible about it. It gives us a few more days to get the boat straight and hopefully Chris can rest his knee so he’s okay for cruising ((Old age is creeping in Peachy!)) Don’t we know it! Chris does have a condition which affects his ankle and the consequences of this mean it often makes not only his ankle swell but also sometimes his knee although I’ve never seen it this bad. Between resting, we crack on and get the painting and tiling done as well as putting together the bathroom cabinet – I love a bit of flatpack furniture and then fit the sink and new taps. I cleaned the sink up using elbow grease and some wet and dry sandpaper – the sink is made of acrylic I think! So I managed to get off a lot of the old varnish, paint and scratches and has saved us not only money but the faff of fitting a new sink and it looks good with the new taps. This should be on one of the vlogs very soon. Day done. Until tomorrow. x 

You guessed it… Day 222

Thursday 29th February Day 222

Yes, another coat of paint. ((Can you just get it finished now and get back to cruising. I’m bored of the DIY!!)) You’re bored! Think how we feel. We had to buy some new paint but unfortunately didn’t buy the water based one so this one stinks and takes an age to dry. ((I’m saying nothing)) We are due to leave the marina tomorrow and the boat is still in a tip and loads left to do so we might try and stay a few more days.

We try and clear one thing hanging around in the way by cutting up the rug which was in the lounge, which we no longer need now we have fitted the new carpet, and it fits in the bedroom perfectly after much musing, measuring and faffing. What a difference to have a nice comfy carpet under foot. It’s also one less thing to trip over. It only takes one thing out of place or in the way to make living in a boat that much harder due to the lack of space.

Not much else to report today as we get ready for leaving the marina. ((Make the most of these smaller blog posts people as there are some epic ones coming when Peachy gets cruising again – be warned)) day done. until tomorrow. x

Groundhog boat DIY day… Day 221

Wednesday 28th February Day 221

Today we finish fitting the carpet trim in the lounge and it looks wonderful. We are really pleased with it and The Plot is looking very homely after all this work. ((Oh no. Not another tour of the boat coming to YouTube! Please no!)) Not much more of the new flooring left to fit and then horrible wooden flooring I don’t like will be completely covered! We always wanted the boat to look fresh and modern inside. After viewing many different boats when we were looking to buy this, some of them were so dark and boaty ((Erm!)) lol, I know it’s a boat but we wanted ours to be homely. Obviously, it still looks like a boat inside – we have port holes after all, but mostly we forget we are living on a boat when sitting inside and it’s decorated to our taste.

More painting is done in the shower room today. So hopefully only a couple more coats to cover this and then all the wood we want to paint will be finished as well. It really is such a massive transformation and a real big tick for the jobs we wanted to get done. You know when you sit chatting and say ‘imagine when this job is done or that’s all finished. Well we are nearly at that point.

Right, DIY waits for no-one… Day done. Until tomorrow. x

A bit of book love… Day 220

Tuesday 27th February Day 220

I received a lovely review for Power of Nature… “I loved this book, couldn’t put it down read it in 2 sittings. What a great thriller, I liked it was told in 2 different time lines, alternating between past and present, it was very cleverly done. Great book, would highly recommend it.“

It’s always a nice boost to get a lovely review. Everything is a little quiet on the book sales front and I know a lot of that is due to the fact I haven’t the time, or in fact the skills, to market the books as I should. I’ve spoken before about promotion being a different skill set to be able to market effectively, and consistently. I’ve tried different platforms as you know but maybe my focus needs to change a bit on where I place my books. More on that as I think on it and decide what to do! I have a few ideas! ((If it’s to stop writing all together then you better finish the Tom and Hope book or else you will be banished from your family forever!)) Oh no, it’s not that drastic.

In between boat jobs I have a chat with the book group crew as I missed chatting with them and then it’s back to painting, faffing, DIY and trying to keep the boat in some kind of order! Day done. Until tomorrow. x

Link here if you would like to read Power of Nature or click on my website if you want to read any of my books… http://www.clpeache.com

About to hit the big time… Day 219

Monday 26th February Day 219

It’s cruising week! Well, it was… more on that later.

I’m about to hit the big time after I received my PLR statement; this is money authors receive for people borrowing their books from a library. I think it’s something like 13p per loan which is very good if you’re well known enough to have your books loaned out a lot. I only managed 14 loans for my first book in the Fantasy Series; Escape which are the only books of mine in the library at the moment so I won’t be booking a cruise ship holiday for all my friends just yet. Newark Library where they are stocked, is being refurbished at the moment so I suppose that won’t help. But if you use libraries and can request one of my books that would be great.

The car is due to go back today so we head into Stafford and Chris drops me off in town on route as I have an eye test booked at Specsavers. Thought I might as well get it done whilst we are still here. It’s funny because when I sit there waiting to be seen the young lad asks me if he can check my address and I say; I don’t have an address because I live on a boat. The young person is suitably impressed and says that is ‘very cool’ ((He didn’t mean you were cool just that the lifestyle was cool)) Whatever.

Eye test done, I meet up with Chris after he’s dropped of the hire car. It really is a very good service from Enterprise. Then it back to the bus and home where we decide to start fitting the carpet in the lounge.

It’s the anniversary of my dad passing away and some years are harder than others so it pays to keep busy. I cannot believe 23 years have gone by in the blink of an eye! I’m always one for making the most of life because it really does go by too quickly the older you get! Stay safe and look after each other. Day done. Until tomorrow. x

P.S. I’m just going to do a little experiment this week and set the blogs to be live at 6.30pm. If you normally read them in the morning you can always pop and read them on the weekly blog which will have been posted yesterday ((Signal permitting!))

Narrowboat life, working and YouTube adventures. Day 219 – 225 /Mon 26th Feb – Sun 3rd March.

Monday 26th February Day 219

It’s cruising week! Well, it was… more on that later.

I’m about to hit the big time after I received my PLR statement; this is money authors receive for people borrowing their books from a library. I think it’s something like 13p per loan which is very good if you’re well known enough to have your books loaned out a lot. I only managed 14 loans for my first book in the Fantasy Series; Escape which are the only books of mine in the library at the moment so I won’t be booking a cruise ship holiday for all my friends just yet. Newark Library where they are stocked, is being refurbished at the moment so I suppose that won’t help. But if you use libraries and can request one of my books that would be great.

The car is due to go back today so we head into Stafford and Chris drops me off in town on route as I have an eye test booked at Specsavers. Thought I might as well get it done whilst we are still here. It’s funny because when I sit there waiting to be seen the young lad asks me if he can check my address and I say; I don’t have an address because I live on a boat. The young person is suitably impressed and says that is ‘very cool’ ((He didn’t mean you were cool just that the lifestyle was cool)) Whatever.

Eye test done, I meet up with Chris after he’s dropped of the hire car. It really is a very good service from Enterprise. Then it back to the bus and home where we decide to start fitting the carpet in the lounge.

It’s the anniversary of my dad passing away and some years are harder than others so it pays to keep busy. I cannot believe 23 years have gone by in the blink of an eye! I’m always one for making the most of life because it really does go by too quickly the older you get! Stay safe and look after each other. Day done. Until tomorrow. x

P.S. I’m just going to do a little experiment this week and set the daily blogs to be live at 6.30pm.

Tuesday 27th February Day 220

I received a lovely review for Power of Nature… “I loved this book, couldn’t put it down read it in 2 sittings. What a great thriller, I liked it was told in 2 different time lines, alternating between past and present, it was very cleverly done. Great book, would highly recommend it.“

It’s always a nice boost to get a lovely review. Everything is a little quiet on the book sales front and I know a lot of that is due to the fact I haven’t the time, or in fact the skills, to market the books as I should. I’ve spoken before about promotion being a different skill set to be able to market effectively, and consistently. I’ve tried different platforms as you know but maybe my focus needs to change a bit on where I place my books. More on that as I think on it and decide what to do! I have a few ideas! ((If it’s to stop writing all together then you better finish the Tom and Hope book or else you will be banished from your family forever!)) Oh no, it’s not that drastic.

In between boat jobs I have a chat with the book group crew as I missed chatting with them and then it’s back to painting, faffing, DIY and trying to keep the boat in some kind of order! Day done. Until tomorrow. x

Wednesday 28th February Day 221

Today we finish fitting the carpet trim in the lounge and it looks wonderful. We are really pleased with it and The Plot is looking very homely after all this work. ((Oh no. Not another tour of the boat coming to YouTube! Please no!)) Not much more of the new flooring left to fit and then horrible wooden flooring I don’t like will be completely covered! We always wanted the boat to look fresh and modern inside. After viewing many different boats when we were looking to buy this, some of them were so dark and boaty ((Erm!)) lol, I know it’s a boat but we wanted ours to be homely. Obviously, it still looks like a boat inside – we have port holes after all, but mostly we forget we are living on a boat when sitting inside and it’s decorated to our taste.

More painting is done in the shower room today. So hopefully only a couple more coats to cover this and then all the wood we want to paint will be finished as well. It really is such a massive transformation and a real big tick for the jobs we wanted to get done. You know when you sit chatting and say ‘imagine when this job is done or that’s all finished. Well we are nearly at that point. Right, DIY waits for no-one… Day done. Until tomorrow. x

Thursday 29th February Day 222

Yes, another coat of paint. ((Can you just get it finished now and get back to cruising. I’m bored of the DIY!!)) You’re bored! Think how we feel. We had to buy some new paint but unfortunately didn’t buy the water based one so this one stinks and takes an age to dry. ((I’m saying nothing)) We are due to leave the marina tomorrow and the boat is still in a tip and loads left to do so we might try and stay a few more days.

We try and clear one thing hanging around in the way by cutting up the rug which was in the lounge, which we no longer need now we have fitted the new carpet, and it fits in the bedroom perfectly after much musing, measuring and faffing. What a difference to have a nice comfy carpet under foot. It’s also one less thing to trip over. It only takes one thing out of place or in the way to make living in a boat that much harder due to the lack of space.

Not much else to report today as we get ready for leaving the marina. ((Make the most of these smaller blog posts people as there are some epic ones coming when Peachy gets cruising again – be warned)) day done. until tomorrow. x

Friday 1st March Day 223

Chris wakes up with a very dodgy and swollen knee so we take the decision to stay an extra few days. The marina are very flexible about it. It gives us a few more days to get the boat straight and hopefully Chris can rest his knee so he’s okay for cruising ((Old age is creeping in Peachy!)) Don’t we know it! Chris does have a condition which affects his ankle and the consequences of this mean it often makes not only his ankle swell but also sometimes his knee although I’ve never seen it this bad. Between resting, we crack on and get the painting and tiling done as well as putting together the bathroom cabinet – I love a bit of flatpack furniture and then fit the sink and new taps. I cleaned the sink up using elbow grease and some wet and dry sandpaper – the sink is made of acrylic I think! So I managed to get off a lot of the old varnish, paint and scratches and has saved us not only money but the faff of fitting a new sink and it looks good with the new taps. This should be on one of the vlogs very soon. Day done. Until tomorrow. x 

Saturday 2nd March Day 224

I’ve had to put my foot down and ordered Chris to stay in bed for the day to rest his very swollen knee. So, in-between feeding him, making drinks, ordering him to rest and giving him painkillers, I crack on and give the boat a thorough good clean as well as grouting the tiles, painting the wall where the cabinet is going in the shower room as we decide we want it green, fitting the sticky vinyl into the cubby holes in the shower room so they look nicer and a million other jobs. ((Alright, taking all the credit whilst he’s laid up!))

I emptied the toilet ((Oh how the mighty have fallen)) normally Chris’s job but I really don’t mind. First I wandered up to the marina office and brought a trolley back, then I loaded it with the toilet cassette, sorted the stern out and got rid of all the rubbish, all the boxes from the various deliveries to be recycled. It feels really good to be getting everything straight again even if we still have stuff to do.

I’m absolutely knackered by the end of the day but have thoroughly enjoyed having the energy to do it, as you will know if you read this blog I’ve had one cold after another as well as bloody hormones playing up so it’s nice to actually be able to get something done. A very satisfying Day Done! Until tomorrow. x

Sunday 3rd March day 225

Today is our last day in the marina. I’m really glad we stayed an extra few days as at least we managed to get the boat straight and Chris’s knee is feeling a little better even if he is still hobbling around.

We fit the matting into the bow so that we can transfer all the bikes, coal and logs back where they belong as the stern needs to be clear for cruising tomorrow. Hopefully the paint will have had long enough to dry and we won’t have too many bits to touch up. It’s really nice to get everything back in there and it all fits perfectly. I think we might end up just using it a storage area rather than a seated area as we thought, as other than the roof, there is nowhere else for it to go. It’s essentially like a shed to us.

The stern looks really nice now it’s clear although I wish we’d had time to paint it. ((I think it’s well known Peachy that it doesn’t matter how much you do there is always another job!)) isn’t that true! Anyway that will be a job for another day to finish that off.

I wander up to get rid of the rubbish as Chris is still trying to rest his knee and I pop into a couple we met last year as they had come into the marina to fill up on diesel etc. It was really lovely to see them and feels nice to making friends on the canal network who we see every so often. A good old chinwag was had and it was nice to see them before we left the area.

Back at the boat I crack on with some of my freelance work as I want to make sure I keep tomorrow free for cruising as you never know what is going to happen. Day done and we are excited and a little apprehensive about tomorrow but definitely more excited! Day done. Another week done. x((I cannot wait for the cruising blogs again. Be gone fowl DIY! Let the adventures begin!))

Read Power of Nature here
YouTube Channel – Watch our narrowboat adventures here
Patreon account – get early access to vlogs and you find out our plans first!
Saga Fiction App. – read some of my short stories and novels
Powertheauthor – Buy me a coffee here – saving up to upgrade my website so i can have a virtual bookshop! Until then you can buy from Amazon…
Amazonlink – Fantasy, travelogues, thrillers, romance and more…

Cruising plans delayed slightly… Day 218

Sunday 25th February Day 218

We decided we don’t like the tiles we bought for the shower room and the baking trays didn’t fit! You would believe how hard it is to find the baking trays to fit our boat oven. Anyway, we take the tiles back and it’s funny when they ask what my address is for the return and I say I don’t have one and then that leads to explaining I live on a boat. We manage to find some better ones and they are on sale for the bargain price of £3 and seeing into the future and they are now fitted they look great!

Having purchased everything we need and with the car going back tomorrow we decide to have a little tour to Iron Bridge and Bridgnorth. It’s a bit frustrating as the satnav keeps trying to send us on the motorway and we fancied a countryside cruise but we soon realise this is probably due to the floods everywhere and we have to turn about a couple of times. Certainly not attempting to cross a flood in a hire car!

Anyway, we manage to make it and stop to have our pre-prepared egg butties and crisps before heading back home as we have so many jobs to do we really need to crack on so we decide to get stuck into the sanding. ((Also bike racing has started again so they are watching that!)) Alright we might have watched it in between jobs!

Yet another week done and as I’ve said we were intending to leave next Friday but we have decided to stay a few extra days to get the boat finished as much as we can. We are so ready to cruise now but it’s a funny feeling being cast adrift again. I’ve mentioned before about how strange it is for the focus to return to ‘where do we empty the toilet/where can we get water/where can we get rid of the rubbish/where can we get shopping/do we have enough battery power to run the coffee machine. All these routines are back into the conversation of the day but the beauty and privilege of cruising the cut once again make these challenges and satisfied jobs to achieve.
I hope you’ve all had a lovely week. Until next week. x

I let Chris choose my next read! Day 217

Saturday 24th February Day 217

We are up and out for just before 9am and it’s a chilly -1 degrees as we get into the car. We head straight into Stafford and to all the usual shops; The Range, Home bargains, Dunelm, Wickes and mange to get most of the last DIY bits and bobs. Then we head to the carpet shop we visited a few weeks ago as they were so friendly we returned. We found a great roll of carpet for the lounge which was £79 but she did us a deal for £50 as we also bought some vinyl for the shower room at £59 so a real bargain. ((which you’ve not yet fitted!)) Give us a chance.

We take all our purchases back to the boat as the car is bulging, have some dinner and then head back out as we have decided to visit Stone again. This is the place we moored up near for a while last year and we love it. It’s really nice to be back and we do the standard wander of the charity shops and I buy some nice jigsaws. I cannot decide which book to read so task Chris with the decision to choose me one… ((This should be good!)) He chose ‘Woman of a certain rage’ by Georgie Hall ((brilliant)) you don’t need two guesses to why he chose that one! Also, when I read the blurb on the back one of the characters has a canal book – what are the chances!

We go for a sneaky drink in the pub before heading home. Day done. Until tomorrow. x