Health Kick!

Since John had his Heart Attack we have decided, not before time, to change our eating habits. No more frying foods, cut chips out, eat more fish, fruit and veg. I always thought eating healthy would be really boring, but surprisingly it isn't too bad.

My Mum has bought us a fatbusting George Foreman grilling machine! Its great. I did peppers, onion and tomatoes on it last night it was delicious! We will still have treats now and again, life would be quite boring without the odd naughty nibble, but we will eat more sensible now. I need to lose weight any way, I stopped smoking nearly twelve months ago and have piled on the weight. If anything didn't move for more than a minute I would eat it! If I get any bigger I will need to shoehorn my self on and off the boat!

John has now stopped smoking too, so hopefully this will be the start of a healthier life style for both of us. John is getting stronger bit by bit each day, I can't think of a better place for him to be to get better. Being here on the boat is idyllic, with the added bonus being, we can pull the pins at any time and tootle off down the cut!


At the moment though, Ticketys engine is making a peculiar banging noise, as we are not sure what it is we will wait until we have her checked out before we take her out again. Its Sods Law, as soon as you can't take the boat out, you want to, but just in case the banging is causing any damage to anything in the engine, we won't take any chances.

Just before I go apologies once again for the lack of photos on my blog. It would be so much more interesting with photos. As I have said I am blogging on the T mobile G1 phone. I have no idea how to work out some of the gobbledy gook on the web on how to send pictures from my phone to my blog. I will keep trying but failing that we are hoping to get a laptop soon. Will that make things easier?? At least then I can take photos with my new Digital camera and then put them on my blog. I wonder how long it will take me to work out how to do that! Any bets?

Our gorgeous boy!

To go back to the very beginning..... Chapter 5

We found out vert quickly that fitting out a boat was not really the same as DIY in a house! Apart from the fact your working in very limited spaces, the plumbing is somewhat different too! This was all so alien to John and I, so thankfully my Brother, John, came to our rescue. He too wasn't sure how to go about fitting the boat out. He would get information from the internet which he would study and then he would put into practice what he had learned. He was amazing! He did all the plumbing, including Gas central heating, all the electrics, 240 and 12v, not only did he do all that he helped with other things too. He put antifreeze in the system to save us having any problems in the winter. To say he was fantastic only scratches the surface, we just couldn't have done it without him. Once all the plumbing and electrics were in place we brought in a Corgi Registered Gas Fitter to check everything before we used it. We also got a professional electrician in to look over the wiring. Everything passed with flying colours. Considering my Brother had no experience of Boatfitting he had done an incredible job! My Mum really helped us out too, buying us a cooker, washing machine, dryer and many otherthings along the way we will always be gratefull for the help we got from both Mum and my Brother John. Once plumbing and electrics were in place we could really get down to business. John had installed the bulk heads so the rooms were defined. The layout from Stern to Bow being, Bedroom, Bathroom, Galley and Saloon. John really wanted to build the Kitchen from scratch, but as he had put in so much work doing everything else we decided to buy a kitchen in and alter it to fit the Galley, ( sounds simple but like everthing else it was a job and a half!) We chose a shaker style in a lovely Buttermilk shade, and topped them off with solid wood Butcher block work tops. The Buttermilk complimented all the other wood on the boat and we were delighted with the finished kitchen. The splashback tiles we chose were like a washed out terecotter and beige, these we used for around the fire too. I wanted quite neutral colours for the permanent fixtures so that in the future I would be able to have a change of colour scheme. When we first got the boat we needed something up on the windows for privicy, as I didn't want the lovely new curtains Mum had made getting ruined with dirt and dust, we opted for plastic venetion blinds. The blinds were only a temporary measure, but we liked them so much that when all the fitting out was finished and we were'nt creating so much dust, we invested in some really nice wooden blinds. They complimented the decor in the saloon and Galley perfectly. I also put up the nice check terracotta curtains Mum kindly made, but with the blinds I don't need to close the curtains, so they stay neatly tied back. Also when most of the dusty, dirty jobs were out of the way we finally, at last, put our Stressless swivel chairs in place on the boat. That day was special, after using foldaway deckchairs for so long, it gave us a real buzz to see our gorgeous new chairs in place! I must have been mad choosing cream leather but that's what I wanted and they do look nice. Just a quick wipe now and again keeps them clean., and again they will go with any colour I might want to change to in the future. The Bathroom we did in plastic paneling. I wanted tiles to begin with, but my brother had recently had his bathroom done in white panels and it looked great, so decision made. John was just going to panel the shower and halfway up the walls, but we liked the look so much we decided to do the whole Bathroom, and very smart it looked to! To break up all the white John put chrome coloured strips inbetween the panels of white, the strips complimented the chrome heated towel rail and taps. I now had a gorgeous Bathroom! The white Bathroom was a nice contrast to all the wood in the boat, it gave a feel of airiness and spaceplus yet again, I could change the look of the Bathroom with different coloured towels, mats etc.I had lots of Lilac towels and bits and peices from the house so chose to use them rather than go to more expense. The white, chrome and Lilac looks fresh and clean and people often comment on how nice it looks. The Bedroom was an absolute pleasure to finish. Being able to fall into bed in the finished room was bliss! There was nothing special about the Bedroom fitout, we didn't go over board with fancy touches, just the bed, wardrobe, overbed locker and a drawer unit with basket drawers that looks like it was made to measure! Once nice bedding, a few knicknacks and pictures were put into place the Bedroom looked really inviting. I also added some of those wavy mirrors to reflect some of the light coming through the port holes, it worked too! Finally I treated my self to a lovely little Tiffany Lamp which gives off a nice cosy glow on those long dark winter nights.. Tiffany Lamps are like Marmite, you either love em or hate em, I personally love them and thinkk they look really great on Narrowboats. I have two Tiffanyish lamps in the Saloon but I have promised myself two real ones one day, I think I will get myself a money box for my Tiffany fund as they are so expensive, but worth it in my opinion. There were many many things we got really excited over once they were first fitted, but one thing that sticks in my mind was the fire. The day that went in I was over the moon, that little black fire sitting in the corner on the plinth that John built, and I proudly tiled, blew us away! My Brother, with John helping fitted the fire for us too! ( was there anything he couldn't do??!0 when we lit the fire for the first time, all three of us ran outside to watch amazed as the smoke spiralled out of the newly appointed chimney! That little fire was the icing on the Tickety Boo Cake! It turned what was just a boat into our hard earned cozy home, that even after all the blood, sweat and tears we both loved with a passion. We very rarely use the central heating as the fire is so hot,but the heating is nice as a back up. There are still lots of tales about Ticketys fit out that I will share now and again but for now that more or less brings us up to present day. Its been five Years this year, its been the biggest learning curve ever for both John and I. We have learned how to cope with disapointment and turn it around, we have learned how to be oh so gratefull for what we do have, most important of all we have learnt, after recent events just how precious life is, and how important to appreciate each day no matter what the content of that day might be. We have personally learnt that we would both prefer to be rich with time not money. After everything that's been thrown at us, and we know only too well people go through far worse, we have come out the other end closer than ever, and so looking forward to whatever life may bring on board Tickety Boo.! Watch this space!........................

Everywhere's Green Again!

It amazes me how thing quickly become lush and green once the spring arrives. One minute the trees are bare, the next they are adorned in their fine greenery. The grass after sleeping all winter springs back to life, I swear it grows inches while we sleep! Have the seasons always changed so quickly, or is it just as you get older they speed up? I really hope we have decent painting weather this summer. We have concentrated more on the inside of the boat, so now that's finished, [ I know boats are never really finished, but you know what I mean! ] we really need to tidy up the outside. Tickety Boo's. Lush green paint is looking faded and dull so she needs a good few coats of paint. As we will be painting her outside we are depending on the weather being kind. As you all know if you paint and the metal is too hot in the sunshine, the paint goes like sticky chewing gum! If you paint too late in the day and the gloss hasn't dried properly, it goes damp of an evening which makes the paint bloom, [ I thing that's what its called ] which takes all the shine off the paint. So pleeeeease be nice weather for Ticketys paint job! I am off another week to keep an eye on John to make sure he doesn't do too much, he is doing really well, just feeling tired. He has had quite a few visitors and lots of Get Well cards, people are so kind. I have had really kind messages off other Bloggers wishing John well. One such message off a lovely lady called, Deb, who left a comment after she had read my Blog, " Wake up call". Thankyou for that Deb it really did lift our spirits and we wish you and your husband well. When you finally get your own Narrowboat I hope we are fortunate to bump into you somewhere on the cut. Well its nearly time for Dozy and Dim, [the nickname my Daughter, Kirsty gave us when we got the boat! ] to go to bed so I will bid you all Goodnight.

Wake up call.

I havn't written or been able to read any blogs for a while because I have just gone through one of the worst times of my life. It was a gorgeous sunny day on saturday, an ideal day for a cruise but John was helping a mate to put in new gas lockers on his boat. Sunday was equally sunny so we went out. We needed to pick up a gas bottle from the Red Lion Caravan Centre, so rather than go in the car we took the preferred mode of transport. We had a great day, we picked up the gas and then had a nose around the new Scarisbrick Marina that's just opened. The Marina was really nice with a nice. Coffee shop on site. I popped into the coffee shop to ask if you could moor your boat outside if you wanted lunch or coffee. The nice man I spoke to asked what type of boat we had and was it a nice boat, because they didn't want scruffy boats in the Marina!! I laughed and assured him our boat was indeed not scruffy. Now I don't know if I want to sail Tickety Boo into the Marina because of this comment. In a way I can understand to a certain extent because the Marina is gorgeous but with that policy in force will it put ordinary boaters like us off because we don't have a top of the range narrowboats, I think that would be such ashame. In my experience of boating it doesn't matter how old or new your boat is or how much money you have in the bank. We all share the love of boating and in my mind boaters should remain classless, we all love our boats whether its a new boat, old boar or whatever. I wonder how well the burger company with the big M would have got on if they didn't allow less than perfect cars through their drive through..................... Anyway we turned back and decided just to take a nice easy cruise back. Halfway home we bumped into mates from the mooring having a BBQ on the bank, we moored up and had a drink with them, John had a burger and we just had a really fun afternoon with so much laughter and micky taking as is the norm with these boaty get togethers. We got back just as the sun was going to bed. We had a bite to eat and settled to watch a bit of TV before showers and bed as we were both in work the next day. John wasn't looking forward to going back after being off for twe weeks. I went to bed first and John followed about half an hour later. No sooner had he got in bed he started to complain of feeling unwell, I just put it down to the day we had and the fact he had eaten a burger and had a few drinks. I was half asleep and just thought John was overreacting, oh how wrong was I . He steadily got worse and when he asked me to phone an Ambulance I knew this wasn't just a reaction to what he had eaten. We had always planned that incase of emergency we would sail the boat to the nearest available point where an Ambulance could get to. While I am in a total panic not knowing what to do first John had managed to pull on his clothes and headed out the door and down the tow path. By this time I was panic stricken, I couldn't chase him I was practically nude, I was trying to ring the Ambulance and dress at the same time, I was hopeless, I am usually great in a crisis cool, calm and collected but here I was losing the plot, badly and at the worst possible time . I finally caught up with John as he reached the mooring gate, He was not good, not good at all. I was still in denial convincing myself he had food poisoning or a bad case of indegestion, I didn't want to believe that anything was going to happen to this man who I loved to bits, who was my soulmate and partner in crime, my captain, my pain in the arse, the very reason I was so happy with my life afloat was because I was sharing it with John., he was part of the Tickety Boo team, without him this team wouldn't function at all. So in my mind he just had an upset tummy and I could wind him up about it the next day. Thankfully the Ambulance was quick. They checked him out and then said they would take him to Fazakerley Hospital. I needed to go back to to the boat as I had ran and left it unlocked. I then drove to the Hospital. When I got there I was lead into a waiting area, I heard John shout my name but they wouldn't let me see him while he was being seen to. I was desperate to see him, and thought he must be ok as he shouted my name. The Doctor came to see me and took me in a side room. He explained that John was having a Heart Attack, I was stunned, I felt as if the bottom had fallen out of my world. The Doctor explaiined they were sending John to Broadgreen Hospital as that would be the best place for him. I was then allowed to see John. How happy was I to ssee him? Amazingly he was joking with the staff, I was struggleing not to cry and John was calming me down! They said I could go in the Ambulance with John, but John wanted me to follow in the car. How a drove from Fazakerly to Broadgreen I will never know. As I was getting in the car I could see Johns Ambulance pulling away, when they sped off with blue lights flashing I once again fell to peices. On arriving at Broadgreen I was completely lost didn't know where to go or where to find somebody to ask, the grounds of the hospital are huge and with it being early hours it was deserted. The only thing missing from the scene was Tumbleweed blowing about! Eventually to my relief I found somebody to ask, and was shown to the Critical Care Unit where John was being treated. He had already gone into surgery so I was shown into a waiting room. Now and again a nurse would pop in to see I was ok, they were so kind bringing me cups of tea and tissues. I seemed to be in that room for an eternity, every time I heard the door go I thought the worst, the door finally opend and John was wheeled past, he gave me the thumbs up and I knew that thankfully he was ok. They had fitted four Stents to help keep his arteries open. The Surgeon explained the procedure and that after rest and taking it easy for a while, he would lead a relativley normal life. I found that hard to believe as John has never been normal! Joking aside we will be eternally gratefull to the Surgeon and all the staff for the excellent care they gave John they were fantastic and very rarely get the praise they deserve. So now Johns home and I am so pleased to have him back, he is so happy to be back on the boat and what better place to be to get better. Writing this blog has been my therepy, for days I have been on Automatic Pilot but now after writing it all down, I am in full control again, I think!. My main concern is getting John well again, he isn't going to like being told not to do things but he has to take things slowly, which will be hard for him as he is always on the go. He has stopped smoking too as he knows he's been given a second chance and you don't throw crap at that do you? So many people have been great offering help and support, all our boaty mates especially Mark, who's been worth his weight in gold, and both our families have been great. One of our freinds asked if I was going to get John a little bell so he could ring it to call me, I told them only if he wanted to wear it where the sun don't shine!! So now into my Flo Nightingale mode to give John Some much needed TLC, and you know what, I don't mind at all because as soon as he's better I am going to kill him for giving me such a fright!1

Rise and Blog!

I normally wake early, even on my days off. I am a morning person were as John likes a lie in. It works well now that I have discovered the world of Blogs! I love to get up now have a nice cuppa and catch up with the Blogs I'm following, one of which had me nearly choking on my toasted teacake this morning! Heather, [ Takey Tezey Tales ] talking about Ballast and Poop had me laughing into my morning tea! Heather your an absolute tonic! Anyway back to this morning, eating said Teacake I heard the distinctive, Peep peep peep of a little lost Duckling looking for his Mum. Is it just me or does that noise make other boaters anxious? They are such tiny gorgeous little creatures that my heart goes out to them when they lose their Mum. They get a really rough deal anyway with all the dangers they face so to lose the safety of their Mum must fill them with fear. Last year around this time I was on the boat just after teatime and for a good fifteen minutes I could here this peep peep peep. I was willing the Mum of this little Duckling to find him. After about an hour of this peeping I went against all my instincts not to interfere and went to investigate. The poor little mite was trapped in the stretch of water between the tyres at the side of the boat. Circleing nearby were four Drakes who I knew could be quite nasty. I scooped up the little ball of fluff and took him inside. He was so tired he curled up in the palm of my hand tucked his head under his tiny little wing and promptly fell asleep. I was mesmerised watching him sleep only to jump out of my skin when a Duck loudly quacked outside the boat, before I knew it the Duckling woke and litrally sprung out of my hand and ran down the boat as fast as his little legs would carry him! I will never know if the Duck was his Mum but after gently plopping him back inthe water he happily followed her and brood of nine. I would have loved to have kept him, but he was better off with his own kind, I hope he survived. My real wish would be to see a yellow Duckling survive because in my five years of being on the cut, I have seen many little yellow balls of fluff but never seen them survive through the fluffy stage. Obviously the reason they don't survive is due to their bright yellow colour like a beacon advertising to all their predators where they are! Nature can be so cruel at times. If all the Ducklings did survive there wouldn't be any room for us lot!

To go back to the very beginning..... Chapter 4

I couldn't believe how much John and I loved our life on the boat. We had taken a huge chance selling everything to start our new life. We had never even been on a narrow boat, and then to be let down so badly by our builders, the odds were stacked against us. Luckily for both John and I, all these set backs didn't put us off. It was as if the powers that be did everything to make us give up and walk away, but we were determined to see it through. I have got to admit we would get so tired and down because we were constantly working on something or other, I would drive John to distraction because I can be really fussy, while the fit out of Tickety is relatively simple, everything had to be just so.I don't know how he put up with me, but he did and he was amazing the way he put all my ideas together. I would get really excited every time another little detail was added to our home, John wouldn't get quite as excited as me but I knew he was really pleased with any progress made.. we did find that for a long time there didn't seem to be much to show for our long hard days of work, a lot of the behind the scenes work had to be done before we could even think about finishing touches, the frustration drove me nuts at times! We had gorgeous Stressless swivel chairs stored at Mums but, because there was so much mess and dust flying around the boat they had to stay at Mums and we made do with fold away deckchairs. When John put the first Bulkhead in I was amazed at the difference it made. I was worried it would make the boat seem pokey, after being used to the boat being open, but it had the opposite effect, it gave the illusion that the seperated rooms were wider, quite an acheivement on a 6ft 10" boat! Once the living spaces were defined I was in my element deciding where I would like things put, and me being me would never choose the simple options. Oh no no no. I would always want poor John to do what seemed like the impossible!. He didnLt have the faith in himself that I had. I knew he was more than capable of bringing my ideas to fruition. There wasn't one thing he didn't have a go at, and after a lot of shouting and turning the air blue he would get it right and I would be over the moon! Don't get me wrong I didn't just stand about shouting orders, I couldn't do a lot of the jobs but the ones I could do I would roll up my sleeves, and get stuck in! Eventually when all the groound work was out of the way like the wireing and plumbing, [ expertly done by my brother John ] I could finally look forward to homemaking with a vengance! The day my running water was put in I thought I had died and gone to Heaven! After months of using plastic containers, to be able to just turn a tap on was total and utter bliss! I don't think I will ever take running water for granted ever again. Can you imagine how thrilled I was to get cold running water and when I got hot water I was ecstatic! For days after the water was installed I couldn't walk past the tap without turning it on and watch in amazement as the water went down the plug hole in my new sink, yes a sink! We now had a sink too. Small things eh. Even though at times it felt like it was taking an eternity to get things done, I noticed one day that slowly, slowly Tickety Boo was becoming our Des Res. There was still lots to do, but now we could see results to show for all our hard work.

Poop!

First of all I hope you all had a great Easter. I will now apologise in advance for the following rant! Well actually the apology is only for the people who may be reading this blog who are willing to scoop poop! No doubt this topic raises its head quite often. Because people, like me, are sick to the back teeth of Dog owners leaving dog poop every where. Its selfish, lazy and totally out of order. There are a lot of people out there who like me, clean up after their dogs but as always the people who dont , let the people who do, down quite badly. I had the side hatch open the other day and I watched a young man walking his Boxer and Staffy down the tow path. I am ashamed to say I fully expected him to be one of the culprits, but I well and truly got my eye wiped because he dutifully cleaned up his dogs mess. I actually thanked him and said it was a pleasant change to see somebody clean up after their Dogs. I see the same people day after day walking their Dogs letting them foul up the tow path and then they just walk away. I swear I will pick it up one day, follow them home and dump it on their door step! If people don't want to clean up after their Dogs well I'm sorry but they shouldn't have Dogs, simple as that. Granted its not a nice job picking up poop but I would sooner do that than people dislike my Dog for leaving a mess every where. Oh just one more thing while I'm on a roll, for those people who do pick up the poop in a little plastic bag and then dump it on the floor, or worse hang it from a tree, DON'T BOTHER, you would be better just leaving it. For goodness sake take it home and put it in the bin. We do need more bins if anybody from the Council is reading this. Finally for those people who don't scoop the poop [ you know who you are] I can only hope that somebody walks across your carpet and leaves a trail of the smelliest Dog poop they can find, and do you know what, its no less than you deserve. This rant has no doubt been a waste of time, but I needed to get it off my chest and I do feel better for it. A big big Thankyou to all you Poop Scoopers out there, your doing a grand job!

Oh Dear!

Its been a great day today, sun shining an ideal day to just potter. John kindly went to the shops for supplies while I tidied, changed the bed and put a wash on. Too good a day to not hang some washing out. Quite a lazy day really, John and I just sat on the back deck watching the world go by. We had a good giggle watching. Three lads in canoes with make shift oars, namely planks of wood. For the first five minutes they just went around in circles until they got the hang of it. John and I were having bets to see which of the three would fall in first! Amazingly they all managed to stay upright. We took Bobby for an afternoon walk along the towpath and then back to the boat for a nice cuppa. Later on, Mark a friend of ours on the mooring, came back from a trip to his Mums, he wasn't happy at all. The car park where we all park our cars is next to a residential property and the silly sausage who lives there decided to spray his fence with wood stain. Nothing wrong with that I hear you say, perfect weather for spraying a wooden fence, not such a perfect day for spraying half the cars in the car park! Hence Mark not being a happy chappy as his white van was covered in dark brown freckles. It took him hours to find something that would remove the woodstain off his paint work. Eventually he found the only thing that would get it off was Acetone. That seemed to do the trick, I can't see the owners of the new silver Mercedes wanting to use Acetone on their car somehow! Most of the cars are owned by boaters who are away for the Easter Holiday. I wouldn't like to be in the silly sausages shoes when they all get back! Oh Dear.............

Early Birthday Present!

Its my Birthday soon [ well June is soon!] Its the BIG one, half century, 50! I can't believe I am that old! I still feel like I did when I was in my twenties but when I look in the mirror there's an old relative looking back at me! Anyway my early Birthday pressie is a Digital Camera! I am really pleased with it I have wanted one for ages. My Mum has bought it for me and let me have it early. So once I get my Daughters or Son to show me how to put photos on my blog there will be pictures to go with my posts! Thanks Mum!

To go back to the very beginning..... Chapter 3

Once John and I got the boat onto the mooring, it was painfully obvious we wouldn't be able to live on her for a while. All our hopes and dreams crushed. The only consolation was the fact that at least we had the boat, a lot of customers didn't have anything to show for all the money they gave the builders. Sadly some customers were reduced to fighting over shells they thought belonged to them. Luckily John and I knew exactly which boat was ours, we had photos from the base plate right through to when the builders went bust. Even though we did feel lucky to at least have the boat it still didn't ease the feeling of devastation. Instead of being debt free and the owners of a brand new fully fitted boat, we were left with an empty shell. Eventually we knew feeling sorry for ourselves and wallowing in selfpity wouldn't solve anything, so we rolled up our sleeves and got stuck in. We rented a house off my brother and every spare minute we had was spent on the boat. The little house we rented was great but after we had spent time traveling backwards and forwards from house to boat I decided enough was enough. I wanted to move on the boat permanently. Sheer madness! Tickety Boo was empty no water no privacy as there were no bulkheads fitted. She was just a cargo hold! Non the less I had made up my mind, I was moving in! John being the star he is agreed and we moved in. We must have been bonkers, but I was finally where I wanted to be afloat on Tickety Boo. Regardless of the fact we had nothing I soon had the boat resembleing a cozy dwelling. We had two blow up beds that we stacked on top of each other during the day to make a couch. We didn't have a tap on the boat but we had one on the mooring. We had huge plastic containers full of water on the boat, I would boil water on our little two burner stove,for tea, or to have a wash. I cooked some really nice meals on that little stove. We would go to Mums for our showers, she didn't live too far away which was handy. Far from being fed up with the situation I was loving every minute of being on the boat. We had a lot of hard work ahead of us, made even harder by the fact we had no idea of how to fit out a fifty foot narrow boat! The fastest way to learn is when you have no choice but to get on with it. As I have mentioned before my brother, John was a Godsend, he did all the plumbing and electrics, amazing considering he had never done it before. The one saving grace we had was the fact that we managed to get the engine fitted, so when things got really bad, and John and I would start tearing strips off each other, we would down tools and go for a cruise. Being able to do this saved our sanity as well as our relationship on many many occasions over the years. These small jaunts we would take on the boat would restore our faith in what we were doing. At times I would just sit and cry with sheer frustration. Anybody who has worked fitting out boat will know how limited you are with space, so also trying to live on the boat at the same time is very trying to say the least! After each day of work on the boat I would once again clean away all the mess before I could cook tea and make up the bed. It was a constant battle against sawdust and tools. I did do my best to make the boat homely, even putting a nice vase of flowers out now and again, a bit like putting a Dicky Bow on a tramp really! Its a woman thing really, I just wanted Tickety Boo to feel like home and surprisingly she did more or less straight away. We just felt we were where we belonged.

There's always tomorrow.......

Well I was going to do a few jobs on the boat today, it being one of my days off. Its time to take down winter curtains and put up lighter ones for the summer. I was going to give the bathroom a good clean and change the bedding and then I saw the sunshine. John is off work for the Easter Holidays, so we decided as the sun was shining we would take the boat out for the day. A nice day was had too! We couldn't go to far because I am back in work in the morning. We just went to the Red Lion Caravan Centre in Scarisbrick. Its a cruise that's just long enough if your limited with time. We stopped off to have a chat with another boater and then moored up in what we locally call the Rock Cut, a stretch of Canal between The Ship Pub at Haskayne [Ship Bridge 22] and The Saracens Head at Halsall [25 Warehouse Bridge] The Rock Cut is a nice place to moor up, it has high banks which give good shelter if its windy as it was today. It was a bit on the cool side but the sun refused to give in to the clouds so it was a really pleasant couple of hours. The bonus being we managed to dodge the rain clouds! Bobby our Scotty, loves being out on the boat. He just trots up and down the roof taking everything in. He often will trot up the roof to the front of the boat put his nose up in the air to sniff and looks like a little figure head. People don't take any notice of John and I at the back of the boat they say Hi and smile at Bobby! We don't mind He's our little star and is as cute as a button! He looks comical when he's on the roof and trots from the front down towards us at the back. With the boat moving forward he looks like he's trotting on the spot! I made us Lunch while we moored in the Rock Cut. A tasty omelette made with whatever I could find in the fridge. Bacon, mushrooms. Onion and topped with cheese. Served with bread and butter and a cuppa. Deeelish! Well the curtains didn't get changed nor the bed but hey there's always tomorrow!!

Dazed and Confused

Please tell me that all expert Bloggers out there also got Dazed and confused in the beginning. Cast your minds back........ Hear I was merrily blogging away, got a comment from a fellow blogger,[Thankyou Eeyore!] Tried to send one back, all hell breaks loose, [well not quite] I couldn't write a new post or respond to my comments and I don't know what I did to cause this disruption? Anyway I think I'm back in the land of the Bloggers! To be honest with you all I'm not using a Laptop or a conventional computer I'm on the G1 from T mobile, which is like a little mini lap top. You may have seen the advert where they all start dancing in the station! It hasn't quite made me do that yet yet, but it sure as hell has made me dance on the spot a few times, especially when I lose the ability to blog! Anyway could you all just bear with me, I'm sure I will get it right eventually!

To go back to the very beginning..... Chapter 2

I have decided I don't want to delve back into the past, a lot of it was horrible but more of it was great. We sold our House, made a profit and was able to have our fully fitted Narrowboat built. Just to skim over passed events our builders went bust after taking £36,000 off us. To say we were devastated doesn't quite describe the total despair we felt. Granted we were fools to part with that much money but we had trust in our builders. Anyway we got the boat out of there before the recievers came in. We had well and truly paid for her, she was our boat even if she looked far from the fully fitted we had been paying for. We moved her to another builders who rented us space for two weeks. We couldn't pay them to do any work on her because we had no more money. She had no windows no doors, no engine, nothing. We managed to scrape enough money together to buy another engine and to have it fitted. For two weeks we worked solid on the boat. Myself, John and my brother whose also called John pulled out all the stops to get Tickety Boo at least water tight so we could get her to her mooring.. I have to say at this point, we could never have got to where we are now without my brother and my Mums help they have both been brilliant. Also my " Bob the Builder" John, who has worked hard to fit out the boat. We both worked together to get the boat we dreamt of and after a lot of blood, sweat and tears and five years down the line we are getting there. She is a work in progress but the interior is finished, now to get the out side as nice as the inside! We never gave up on our Tickety Boo and she is paying us back for all our hard work by taking us out along the waterways. We have been to Skipton, to the Anderton Boat Lift and on to the Weaver, The Preston River Festival not to mention all the little cruises inbetween. We have our whole future on Tickety to look forward to. We are a lot lighter in the pocket due to a loan we had to take out to finish the job, but that will be finished soon, and so to the future. Never give up on your dream!

The Simple Things...

One thing I have learned to do now I liveaboard, is enjoy the simple things in life. To watch the sunset and sunrise. To get excited when I see the new springtime buds appear on the trees. To get totally lost in the magic cloud formations in the sky. To laugh at the Ducks with their Oliver Twist expressions, [please can I have some more]. To be mesmerised watching a Kingfisher fishing for breakfast. To watch the new Ducklings, paddleing their little feet like crazey to keep up with Mum. I could go on and on about all these simple things, because they happen all the time, things I was never aware of living in a house. Ok, people will think I have lost the plot, well to be honest I don't really want to find it! All these little smile makers are mine for the taking, and best of all they are absolutely free!

My Grandma always said..............

Experience is the best school, where only fools will learn. I think that's quite apt for today April Fools Day. This fool has learned plenty over the years, and still willing to learn more.