Life Afloat On Narrowboat Tickety Boo

Mans Best Friend…

2012-02-01T10:42:00.001-08:00

I saw this on my face book page and had to share. Quite sad really but there is a very close bond there that only dog lovers understand. One of the comments on this picture was, “ The more people I get to know, the more I love my Dog”. I know exactly why that was written!!

Thought It Was A good Idea At The Time!

2012-01-30T11:36:00.001-08:00

Day off today, decided to book a days holiday to give the boat a good clean. It is well over due, you know, a really good clean when you actually move things to hoover under and behind, not just skirt around! So I started off with great gusto, moving furniture and all my bits and pieces. Only to end up with the boat looking like this…….

and this…..

An absolute bomb site! After a lot of shifting about, scrubbing, cleaning and polishing I finally restored order, and now have a nice clean boat…

All done and dusted!

The other day on my way to work I came across this on the mooring and couldn’t resist taking a photo, for Fungi, I think this is really pretty!

If Only......

2012-01-23T23:59:00.001-08:00

Not only would this be a great help, it may get the message across to lazy owners to pick up their Dog's mess. I am sure if the Dog's could do it they would!!

First Post of 2012!

2012-01-15T11:17:00.000-08:00

Firstly, here's wishing all Friends,Family and Fellow Boaters all the best for the New Year! My posts are very few and far between at the minute, I jokingly told someone the other day I have, "Writers block", not too far from the truth, I haven't done anything very exciting recently, don't want to bore you all with mundane every day life!

Christmas came and went as it always does, I was determined this year not to get dragged along with the commercialism of it all, it's just a money making racket, and though I am not in any way religious, the true meaning of the Christmas Holiday has well and truly flown out the window!! People spend so much money on things that probably end up in the bin! I didn't write any cards out this year, and my excuse to people was' that I wanted to save a tree! I am sticking with that one!

I did see my three gorgeous kids and my little Munchkin on Christmas day, all together under the same roof, a rare occurrence indeed. That made my day.

I was having a conversation with a customer in work about Christmas. We reminisced about the good old days. Christmas for me was a red net stocking stuffed to the top with an apple and orange sweets and a threepenny bit, and a few presents. I believe that my generation enjoyed Christmas far more than the kids of today. I remember one year receiving a little dolls house, made by my Grandad Jack. I was blown away when I saw it, and I will never forget that little house, can you imagine a kid getting a little square box dolls house today, they would be horrified! Kids of today get totally stressed out these days, that they won't get the same or a better present than their mates, all a great shame I think.

I am not a Bah Humbug merchant, I make the most of the holiday, but I quite happily wave it off when it's over!

The weather the past couple of days has been lovely, fresh, bright, and with a bite of frost in the air, lovely! The sky has been clear and vivid blue, and then jet black at night with a thousand stars twinkling merrily away!

Just as a parting shot before I go. There you go Homer, you shamed me into this one, good luck to you and Marj on your exciting new venture!

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-24T06:04:00.000-08:00

Nice Break.

2011-11-14T13:54:00.001-08:00

Just had a lovely few days away with the Mr, in Wales. We stayed at friends of his who live in the gorgeous Clocaenog forest. I love it there, so peaceful and green. We were there to see one of the stages of the Welsh GB rally. It was great to watch, and after watching the first half from a safe vantage point, we decided to be a bit braver and stand nearer the track. I quickly decided maybe it wasn’t a good idea, when the first car hurtled out of the darkness of the forest, headlights blazing, straight for us! Luckily for me we were stood by a huge tree, that tree got my arms flung round it and I held on for grim death till the car roared past us! I did get braver with each car though, so the tree wasn’t hugged too many times. Just as I stepped away from the tree, a car flew past and splattered us both from head to toe in a mixture of grey mud and stones, we were covered! Mr even managed to catch one of the stones in his wellie boot! We were in wet gear so it didn’t matter, just added to the fun of it all!

The Forest was magical, and I managed a few nice photos…

Click on images to enlarge.

The middle photo of the forest, looks like a film set, the colours were stunning, I only wish I had taken a lot more photos…I will next time!

Liverpool.

2011-11-13T07:20:00.001-08:00

We had a trip out to Liverpool in September, I am ashamed to say I have only now decided to blog about it! We moored our boats in the Salt House Dock for ten days and it was lovely! The River Festival was on and there was something to see every day. Wake boarding on the Dock, a demonstration by the emergency services, power boat racing on the Mersey, plus the Tall Ships which I have to say were my favourite. The Jet Ski’s on the Dock before going out onto the Mersey to race.

The Power Boats also waiting to go out on the Mersey.

One of the magnificent Tall Ships. Mark and I were lucky enough to see this one go out on to the Mersey at midnight. It was a great sight to see her plunging through the Lock gate on to the choppy waters of the Mersey, the only thing missing was the music from the Poseidon adventure. There was only Mark and I and the Waterways guys who watched her leave the Dock, I don’t understand why there were not more people there to watch her, it was amazing to watch, we got a wave off the crew too!

The winners of the Power Boat Race.Night Scene at the Salt House Dock.

We had a great time there, but only one thing spoilt it for us, well actually two things. The first being the rubbish in the Canal, I lost count of the amount of times we had to stop to clear the prop, it was disgusting. There were bed quilts, pillows, clothes, rope, and numerous sacks and bags that we had to remove from the prop, to say it became tedious would be a total under statement. The low lives that dump all this crap don’t stop to think do they? When their kids grow up, they won’t have the pleasure of a nice clean canal, they will just be left with a ditch full of rubbish, created by their careless behaviour. It wouldn’t put me off going through to Liverpool again, but it is a real pain! The second thing that spoilt things for me was this… This big black hideous blot on the landscape, who ever passed this needs their head testing! It does nothing at all to enhance any part of the Dock whatsoever, and as you can see from the angle of this photo, it totally blocks out the lovely Liver Building. I would quite happily enjoy watching this building being knocked down, it’s awful, but that will never happen will it? Sad really….

Lovely Day!

2011-11-07T04:17:00.000-08:00

You know when you have one of those days when you are happy with your lot, well I am having one of those. I have a list of jobs to do, as always, but I am once again sitting all cosy by the fire, drinking coffee and wallowing in this, "feel good" mood. I have done washing, so I do't feel too guilty as I have at least done something to warrant this reward for sitting tapping away on my laptop!

Today is the first day of a week off work, ( probably the reason for my good mood ). The weather was glorious first thing, bright and crisp, and I swear I could smell snow in the air? or was that wishful thinking? It now has dulled, and could possibly rain, but my day isn't dampened by this sudden change in the weather.

So here we are into winter again. I don't mind the winter to be honest, it's only once a year after all! It can be tough on a boat, but not as tough as some people think. If I am warm have coal for the fire and food in the fridge I am happy, ok water can become a problem if the standpipe freezes but it isn't really a hardship. When I tell people I like the winter, they look at me as if I am crazy, ( they are not far from the truth ) It isn't my favourite season, but some people hate winter with a vengeance, I embrace whatever each particular season chooses to throw at me, to a certain extent anyway. I think becoming a boater does make you appreciate more in life, it has in my case anyway, it opened up a whole new world to me. Seasons used to come and go in my life and I didn't take an awful lot of notice, now I do, and it's lovely!

So.....I wonder what will pop my bubble,and the answer to that is hopefully nothing, as I choose not to allow my bubble to be popped. Minor irritations will arise, as they do, but nothing will ever change my mind about my decision to become a boater, and that it has been one of my better decisions in life!

For all you guys out there who are contemplating doing what I have done, DON'T, it's a terrible life really, there is obviously something in the coffee I am drinking that's making me ramble on about this idyllic way of life, it is hell on earth really, go buy a flat or a caravan, and leave us boaters in peace to wallow in our misery...

Mum's Birthday!!

2011-10-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

It was my Mum's Birthday yesterday. I was in work so couldn't do much with her on her day. My Mum is a fan of my blog, ( someone has to be)! I think I may have given up writing one only for her encouraging me to carry on. My Mum is one in a million, drives me nut's at times, as I do her, but I would be well and truly lost without her. Always there when I need a hand, whether it be to give me a lift, or help out with finances. I would never have got through the troubled times in my life with out her. So the object of this post is to just let her know I love her lots and to say a HUGE thank you for all you do. Just in case you were wondering Mum,I am sober!! I will just add, this surely warrants one of your famous Minced Beef Pies?

Thought Provoking Blogs!

2011-10-08T05:27:00.000-07:00

I have just read Takey Tezey's most recent post, ( Hi Heather).
This post got me to thinking, all these new fangled phones, laptops etc seem to do nowt else but stress us out, I gave up long ago trying to figure out how my phone works,I can ring, text or email people, send picture messages, that's enough!! Trying to figure out the hundreds of other things it can do makes my hair stand on end! I don't even use my washing machine to it's full potential for goodness sake! As long as it washes my clothes I am happy, now why would I want to set the damn thing to come on the next morning, then only to get stressed out in work that day, because I forgot to set my wash to wash???? Simple life for me thank you. Mind you there is no way I would go back to hand washing and a mangle, or to go back to a brick sized mobile phone or a computer that looks like a department in PC World...... I do admire you and others who do use the latest technology to it's fullest potential,me? no thank you very much. Now does that make me, thick, lazy or what, you decide, remember though I can go off people.

Now I am off to set my bread maker to wake me up with a nice freshly baked loaf in the morning.......now does that make me a hypocrite......

Rewind And Catch Up!

2011-09-20T08:47:00.001-07:00

I haven’t blogged for a while, what can I say, busy, busy! I actually didn’t realise how long it has been, I admire the bloggers on here who find the time to post each day!

Well, first rewind is to August Bank Holiday, Mr, kindly offered to take me to Oulton Park for the day, now initially I did wonder whether it would be my thing, watching cars whizzing around a track all day, but to my surprise I loved every minute! It was made all the more interesting because the cars were all vintage, and to make me feel really old I recognised most of them! The old Mini’s, Cortina’s, Anglia’s, old Jaguars, Hillman Imps and the old style Formula 1 cars.

They were all fantastic in their own right, lovingly polished by their owners.

My favourites though, were these guys, the Lotus Cortina Mk1 All looking really smart in their white livery with green flash!

Fabulous aren’t they? It was a great day!

Fond Farewell....

2011-08-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

This post is just to say we wish Leanne and Dale all the best for their forthcoming venture to Canada. We had a good get together last night, a kind of send off party, (thank you Kay and Tat). You will both be missed, thank god for Skype! At least you can keep us updated! Just remember. Live a lot, Laugh a lot, Love a lot and last of all have a BLAST and enjoy. Safe Journey.

Lots of Love Dad and Debbie xxxxxx

Wet, Wet, Wet!!

2011-08-27T03:32:00.001-07:00

Not a good start to the Bank Holiday weekend. The Autumn is starting to creep in, as it does every year, making subtle changes that go unnoticed, until you suddenly realise it is no longer light till ten pm, and the bats start to come out a lot earlier than they did a few weeks ago!

It was my Grand Daughters First Birthday last Sunday, it really brought home to me just how quick time is flying by.

This little sleeping Beauty asleep on my Mum’s shoulder…..

Has turned into this gorgeous little Munchkin!

We all had a lovely day in Birmingham at Phoebe’s other Nan and Grandad’s, who laid on a lovely party for her, they did her proud, so a huge big Thank you to them!

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On a much sadder note, after writing a post about our impromptu air display courtesy of the Red Arrows, it really saddened me to hear of the death of one of the Pilots. Such a loss to his fellow team mates and his wife and family. I was impressed with the very dignified way his wife spoke of him on the news, when she must be going through the most difficult time of her life.

R.I.P. Flt Lt Jon Egging….

Made Easy For Thieves......

2011-08-07T05:01:00.000-07:00

On reading Maffi's blog about the theft of his "Poo Pump", I felt the need to once again have a rant. It sickens me that certain individuals on this planet will use any opportunity, to just help themselves to other peoples property. Do they have that important part of their brain missing that gives them a conscience? or are they just pure evil?

As my title says, it's nice honest people, and I would like to include myself in that category, who do indeed make it easy for thieves. We believe that if we leave anything on our boats, without an armed guard, that when we return it will still be there, because we find it hard to comprehend that anyone would stoop so low as to take it. We naively think that because we wouldn't dream of helping ourselves, that nobody else would, but they do, because they are selfish, and really don't give a damn the repercussions that their sticky fingers create. So what do we do? I am a hundred percent behind what Maffi says in his post, be vigilant, keep a look out, report incidents to the police, but how sad is it that we have to? Will it make any difference, sadly I don't think so, only because, we will all do our bit, only to be let down by the judicial system yet again. Here is a case in point....

As most of you will know I work in a shop, a discount store. We are constantly fighting a battle against thieves. It never ceases to amaze me the calm way in which the pilferers will walk into the store and just help themselves. Now to my case in point, a man walked through my checkout the other day, claiming he had left his wallet on his push bike as you can imagine I was immediately suspicious, even more so as he had a back pack on that was obviously full. I asked my manager to go check the ctv camera's, sure enough this guy had filled his back pack with goods from our store.

This guy was a regular customer, so goodness knows how long he has been " free shopping" in the store. He came in two days later, this time the manager was ready for him.....he watched him on camera, and sure enough within minutes he was helping himself. The manager pulled him up and asked him to empty his bag, which he did with a, " sorry about that mate", he then left the shop with the managers voice ringing in his ears that he was now barred from the shop. Hello?? I was off that day and was gobsmacked to hear that the police were not called, and why? because I was told it was a waste of time, and sadly I can't help but agree. Our nearest police station is just over the road from the shop, most of the time it is locked up and unmanned?? You ring the police, who say they will be out as soon as they can, three hours later no sign, in the mean time what do you do with the thief you have apprehended? Lock him in a cupboard? Maybe show him the in store catalogue so he can plan what to pinch on his next visit to the store. Even if they are caught and sent to court, it's usually the same story, a slap on the wrist and don't do it again. Laughable isn't it?

We have a huge poster in our Canteen of well known robbers who frequent our store's, it does help because we do recognise them as soon as they come in, so they can be quickly asked to leave, it would please me more if they were asked to leave with a good hefty kick up the backside, but heaven forbid, the police would be there quick smart then, and we would be, "done"! Most of the mugshots on our poster are of repeat offenders, who are actually posing for the photo's with smiles on their faces, as if proud of themselves. One woman's mugshot looks as if she is posing for a bloody fashion shoot, another guy is nonchalantly reading a newspaper??

If I had my way , and I am sure Maffi would agree, these scumbags should be tattooed across the forehead, THIEF in bright letters that light up in the dark, also be tagged so that every time they walk into a shop or try and steal peoples property, the tag would deliver a nice painful electric shock, that could maybe have an after shock that would have them sitting on the toilet for a good few hours. Cruel? maybe, but not half as cruel as taking peoples belongings that they have honestly worked and paid for. The situation is never going to really change, until the punishment fits the crime....As far as I can see, at the minute, there isn't sufficient punishment for these," petty thieves", and who came up with the title "petty"? Far from petty if you ask me...

Why?

2011-07-26T02:16:00.001-07:00

This is, as has been said, an act of pure spite.

Why on earth would anybody stoop this low just to prove a point?

This handy work was as a result of a dispute between genuine customers, Tom and Jan, and Ben Harp Narrow boats. You can read more about this sad state of affairs on Nb Waiouru blog site. I feel truly sorry for Tom and Jan, and I admire the fact that they have brought our attention to this despicable behaviour. I don’t need to prattle on, as the photograph speaks volumes about the individual that did this, a good advert indeed....enough said.

Free Show!

2011-07-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

Mark and I didn't go to the Southport airshow, but we were lucky enough to see the Red Arrows display, from Tesco's car park!! I kid you not we had a great view of their stunts. We then drove around to Dobbies just in time to see the Arrows draw a huge heart with an arrow through it right over our heads, I didn't even know Mark had paid them to do that... It made my day, our impromptu air display! Typically though we didn't have a camera with us, but then again you don't expect to see the Red Arrows when you go to Tesco's for your weekly shop!

" Harper Seven" !!

2011-07-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

No I am not telling you the time, or telling you the name of a new toilet cleaner, this is the name Victoria and David Beckham have chosen for their long awaited for Daughter. After a lot of thought I have decided to keep up with the trend and change my name by deed poll to, Debbie Eight, ( all the pies )!! Has a ring to it don't you think?

Joking aside, I actually quite like, "Harper" but it sounds more like a boys name to me. When all said and done though, it is entirely up to them what they call their new Daughter, all power to them for being unique! It makes me wonder what they would call a Narrow boat?

That got me to thinking, I heard someone passing a comment the other day that the name was odd, my Mum has told me I am odd at times, and to be fair she could be right!, but what is "odd"? To me "odd" is someone talking to a bacon sandwich, but then would that person think we were odd because we don't converse with our lunch? Is it being odd, or just being unique? not doing the same as everyone else, being different, which I think can be a breath of fresh air.On looking up "odd" in one of the many dictionary's on line, one of the definitions was," Beyond or deviating from the usual or expected", so yes Mum you are right I am odd! I am now off to discuss the weather with my cheese on toast!!

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As this is a boaty blog, I will just add that I have had confirmation of my Passage through to Liverpool in September for the Tall ships and Royal Naval visit, I am really looking forward to it. A two week stay in the Salt house Dock will make a nice change! I don't very often visit Liverpool so it will be nice to see what's happening there, oh and of course to party too! So if your in the vicinity at the time call and say hello, you may even get a cuppa!! I won't make you talk to your biscuit honest!

Odd and proud!

News Of The World...

2011-07-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

I for one will not miss this paper, I refuse to call it a news paper as it wasn't news as such, just leeches feeding of peoples despair and suffering, to add insult to injury they stooped so low by invading peoples private lives by hacking into their phones, decpicable behavior. It won't change much though will it, closing the paper down, another one will take its place. The only thing in my eyes that will change things, is us the public refusing to buy such crap, such a waste of good paper and trees to be honest. To the person who masterminded the hacking, go crawl back under your stone, you disgust me.

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On a much lighter note, don't people say the funniest things? In work today on the till, a little old lady asked would I pack her shopping for her as she only had one leg?! I have yet to see anybody pack their shopping away with their legs!! For the record she clearly had two legs, and I would have packed her bags anyway!

Once shopping has gone through my till a lot of customers ask how much would I like? Well a couple of thousand would be great, but the £2:56p for their shopping will suffice.

Lastly, I have lost count of the amount of customers who have moaned about the rain, you know that fine stuff that gets you wet?? Compared to the heavy stuff that makes you dry I wonder!! It makes my otherwise boring day a lot more fun

Sunshine and Rain!

2011-07-07T13:55:00.001-07:00

The weather as always, has gone mad. Gorgeous sunshine, then this…..

It started to dance down! The photo above was taken from the side hatch, the rain got too heavy, so I had to take pictures of the rain through the window…..

The bank in this picture through the window, has changed its shape, due to the rain running down the window. The next picture gets even stranger, Mr Rain himself has made an appearance, bottom right of the photo, you can just make out a rain figure waving……

If you click on the photo you will see Mr Rain better, then maybe not, it could just be my very vivid imagination!

The view from my stern door.

The rain can be a right pain in the backside at times, but personally I love to watch it hammering down making bubbles on the canal and leaving grass, trees and plants lush and green. Doesn’t do much for the hairstyle though!!

Something In The Air....( no not volcano dust)!

2011-05-25T01:05:00.000-07:00

After going through a couple of sad years on the relationship front, I am now pleased to announce I have a new man in my life who has put the smile firmly back on my face!
He has made me realise I can be the old me again and enjoy life to the full and be truly happy. So a big thank you to him. The bonus being, he too is a boater, as well as being funny, kind, caring and an absolute nutter!! Just like me! Thank you Goofy x

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A big hello to another loved up couple, Les and Jaqueline! who are enjoying their time together on Nb Valerie, what a lovely, lovely story they have both shared with us all, there must be something in the air...I have never met Les and Jaqueline, but through their blogs feel like I do know them, and really wish them all the best for their future together.

The weather as you all know has been rubbish recently, good excuse for my failure to start Tickety Boo's paint job. I am too busy enjoying myself, can't blame a girl can you? I have gone from being a bit lonely and stuck in a bit of a rut, to going out and having fun again, thanks to the new Mr! He motivates me to do things, just what I need, a good kick up the back side! So this weekend we are having a boat free break, then hopefully, miraculously, the weather will change into perfect sanding and painting conditions so I can make a start! Hoping to sail through to Liverpool again later in the year, I am really looking forward to that. It will be nice to stay longer this time. We are hoping to visit my friends in Spain too, a long over due visit, so busy busy 2011! Life is good!

Little Ray Of Sunshine!

2011-05-16T14:22:00.001-07:00

The weather is wet windy and miserable at the moment, so I thought I would share my little ray of sunshine with you all…

Phoebe, my Grand Daughter.

It's nice to know.....

2011-05-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

I received this lovely email the other,day rather than explain I will show you, after asking the writer's permission.

Dear Debbie,

my name is Christine, I`m 45 years old and live in Germany and four days ago my life changed because I watched a documentary on german tv about people living on narrowboats. I never heard about them before, but strangely enough it immediately felt so familiar, that I thought, that`s the way I want to spend at least some years of my life. I spent hours on the internet, trying to find out more about that way of life and then found your wonderful blog. Another new thing for me, I made my way around blogs up to now, yours is the first one I am reading and it`s like doors opening up.

I`m so touched by the open and warmhearted way you share your life with other people. I printed out the first months and read them in my bed yesterday late at night. Thank you so much! What a enrichment this is for me! So today I got to June 2, 2009, where you wrote, that people could ask you questions about your life afloat, so here I am writing to you, wishing I could just come by for a cup of tea and learn to know you. Somehow I feel like I could belong to this community, isn`t that strange?

At the moment I take care of my dad and practically spend most of my time at home and can`t go for holidays. So I am dreaming of my future life. I am very drawn to England and Ireland, I had an english boyfriend for some years, and I don`t feel like staying in Germany later.
Can you tell me, if a woman alone can handle living (and travelling) on a small narrowboat? I`m not a very courageous person and thinking of the locks and all that I already feel a bit insecure. I wish someone would just take me along for some weeks, so I could learn everything. Is it just a dream, or could this really be possible?

So this afternoon I will go on reading, thanks again so very much.
If you have a bit of time, I`d be very happy to receive an answer from you.

Lovely greetings from Germany
Christine

I replied to Christine,thanking her for her email, and telling her I would help her with any questions she may want to ask. I also encouraged her to read all the other blogs too. Seems to me here's another person bitten by the boating bug! Welcome aboard Christine!

In the Pink!

2011-04-25T07:41:00.001-07:00

After my last post, I had a few comments about Winnie the pink wheel barrow. One was off Chris, thank you, saying I will have to get pink wellies to match! Well as you will see from the photo below, I have them already and wore them in the snow last winter. May I just add at this point the left one now lets in water! Thank you very much Lidl for your crap wellies! I had to wade into the cut when I was blacking the boat on the slipway, and that was when I very quickly discovered the leak in the left wellie, lovely!!

My life at the minute seems to be infused with Pink. The piccy at the head of my blog, this one below

is the gorgeous blossom tree I sit under while I wait for the bus to work, ( when I have no pedal energy you understand)! You don’t see many bus stops as pretty as this one do you?

A Busy Week!

2011-04-19T11:11:00.001-07:00

Quite a hectic week. Tickety Boo now has a nice new shiny black bottom! I took the boat out on to the local slipway, she was out for four days and I managed to get four coats on, one of red oxide and three of the black stuff! I couldn’t have done it without the help of Andy, who kindly jet washed the boat for me, and Mark who used the grinder with a wire brush to rid her of any rust before the painting started. Mark then helped with a couple of the coats, invaluable help indeed, and much appreciated!

Tickety, ready for her first coat.

I actually stayed on the boat while on the slipway, quite odd walking up a hill to get to the Saloon! Even more odd, getting out of bed and promptly running towards the stern door, not my intention! I did however compensate for the slant, I wore a flat shoe on one foot and a platform on the other and walked sideways for the duration of my stay! The only mishap, was when a four pint, yes I did say FOUR pint carton of milk fell off the work top, only to explode when it hit the floor and sent a river of milk cascading down the boat. You have no idea how four pints looked like two gallons, and the speed it ran down the boat. I was horrified, and prepared myself for the Farmers cheese market smell that would surely follow this catastrophe! I raided the under sink cupboard, and every bottle of cleaner and disinfectant I could find was thrown on the carpet after the milk was soaked up with bath towels!! I can thankfully say the “Farmers Cheese Market” smell I was dreading, didn’t last long just a slight whiff of babybel now and again!! I have since scrubbed the carpet twice with carpet cleaner, and it has actually come up quite well!

All done and dusted! Thank you Mark for all your help x

Oh and talking of Mark………After working away for a couple of days, he said in a phone call he would bring me back a present, a bar of rock maybe, bottle of red? No, this is Mark we are talking about! He was fed up with the rusty old bucket of a wheel barrow I had been using for coal, shopping etc, sooooo here is my present……..

How gorgeous is that? So I now have a new addition to the Tickety Boo family, a lilac bike called Lilly, and now a pink wheel barrow, any idea’s on a name please?? I was thinking Winnie, but I am open to suggestions! Mark, as always, you are a star!

Mrs Puddle Duck and her brood!

2011-04-03T13:04:00.001-07:00

This is the first family of Ducklings I have seen this Spring. I counted eighteen all together!!

Surprised there are no yellow Ducklings as mum is so white!

I think she just counted them! Quite apt for Mothers Day!

Breaking News!!

2011-03-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

This is just to let you all know that I have ridden "Lilly" the little lilac bike all the way to work and back today. I can honestly say, hand on heart, it nearly killed me!
I have also resigned myself to the fact I will now be walking like John Wayne for the next week or so, and boy is my backside tender....ooo ouch!! On the plus side though, I have saved Bus fair, plus it will get me fit, if it doesn't see me off first!

Ready for Spring!

2011-03-05T05:32:00.001-08:00

Just when you feel you have had enough of dismal days, cold, going to work in the dark and coming home the same way, you get a glimmer of hope. You start to notice the changes slowly, it’s not so black when your alarm goes off in the morning, Daffodil shoots poking defiantly through the soil. Ducks pairing up and mating, a spectacle I don’t much enjoy watching as Drakes are not exactly gentle are they? Poor Mrs Duck ends up with a baldy patch where the Drakes grab her in a vice like grip, ( every year when I see this I think how glad I am I wasn’t born a female Duck!!)

The trees start to change from a murky brown to a hint of green as the new shoots start to grow, I think this every year…when the trees are bare it’s hard to imagine them green, and when they are green it’s hard to imagine them bare? It’s a nice time of year because you know it will just get nicer and nicer each day, greener, warmer and more sun hopefully!

Looking through my photographs taken at different times of the year, the transformations created by the seasons never cease to amaze me…

From this….

To this…

From this….

To this…

From this…

To this…

Nice to look back on, it’s nice that photo’s can bring back cherished memories, and remind you what you have to look forward to, or not as the case may be!

A Sad Goodbye...

2011-02-15T09:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was very sad to hear that one of my friends from the boating community had passed away. A man I admired for his ability to speak his mind without causing offence, and always with a twinkle in his eye. Strong in his beliefs that to say it as it was, was his right, and I admired him for that. He will be very, very sadly missed, both by his many Boating friends and his Family. Rest in Peace Norman. My thoughts go out to his lovely wife Grace and his family at this sad time...

Surrounded by Virtual Farmers!

2011-02-07T01:35:00.001-08:00

Apologies straight away if I offend anybody, but this is a rant, well maybe not a full rant just a “ Rantette” (new word for small outburst)

I am a Face Booker, there I’ve said it, me and thousands of others who like nothing more than logging in to see what our friends have had for their tea?? I couldn’t wait to enrol on this site, everybody but everybody are on Fb! Well maybe not everyone. If nothing else this site has enabled me to keep tabs on what my, grown up kids are up to! If I can’t get hold of them on their mobiles, Fb comes to the rescue to let me know what they are doing with their lives on that particular day! Sorted! Not much of a “Rantette” I hear you say, but I haven’t started yet…

FARMVILLE!! What is it with Farmville?? I have friends who I thought were quite sane, totally swallowed up by this phenomenon. Rushing home from work to check their crops, even worse, keeping tabs on how their artichokes are doing, on their mobile phones during the day! They can even take snapshots of the homestead to show off to fellow farmers! Hello??

Ok, ok everyone to their own, but come on, I turn Face book on to browse only to be met with row upon row of Farmville requests, NO I don’t want a brick for my new stable block, NO I don’t want a smoker for my Bee Hive, No I don’t want to adopt a calf that’s wandered on to your farm, you should have kept your gate shut!! and NO I don’t want some unwither spray for my crops, not unless it works on my face ok?

“Rantette” over! I have recently acquired new face book mates, people I have known and admired for a while who are now on my Fb friends list, or should I say Farmers list! You know who you are, Farmer Sha, Les, Jodi, and Jordan! I love you all dearly send me one more request and I cannot be held responsible for my actions….

What do I get for all this trouble not so much as a bag of spuds!!

Right I am off, apparently my hen house is full of eggs that need collecting….

This WAS my farm, ( say nothing Jordan) I have now moved on to a Ranch in Arizona with three thousand head of cattle!! Four hundred horses and a calf that wandered on to the Ranch, yes I left the gate open!!

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I am off work this week, going to stay with my Daughter and gorgeous Grand Daughter for a couple of days, then spend the rest of my time off doing “boaty” chores.

It’s blowing an absolute hoolie here, the boat is getting buffeted all over the place, I love it! A lot of people don’t like the wind, obviously it does cause problems when you need to sail somewhere, but I quite like the way it really makes you feel your on a boat. It also rocks you to sleep at night, providing it is blowing in the right direction. I am just thankful I don’t suffer motion sickness!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just before I go, BIG thank you to L and J for looking after Bobby for me, he loves his holiday in, “Doggy Pontins"!

Bobby…

2011-01-30T12:20:00.001-08:00

Who couldn’t love this little face, my soul mate x

An Ooops moment!

2011-01-22T02:42:00.000-08:00

Sitting in work on the checkout, I happened to look up and glance out the window, and spotted a dreaded Traffic Warden! As I was looking at him I shouted to my fellow cashier behind me, " hope you haven't got your car on the yellow's at the back of the shop"? Only to turn back and look straight into the eyes of the biggest female Warden I had ever seen! Well you know when your watching a cartoon and the character lets out a loud gulp!

To my total and utter surprise, she smiled at me. Was this the smile of a laughing assassin or was she actually human after all? As it turned out she was actually nice, unheard of I know, but the law of averages dictates that there must be nice ones amongst the mini Hitler's who stomp around our back streets ruining our quick dash to the shops or Bank!

We did actually end up having a good old giggle, she told me that she had a slip on the ice that morning and went flat on her back, ( yay there is a God), only for a little old lady to help her up, now obviously this little old lady didn't know about traffic wardens, they weren't about in her day were they? How many other people would help a traffic warden in distress, I can bet my bottom dollar most would have stepped over her with a wry smirk on their faces, even she agreed about that one.

Anyway the moral to this story.....don't judge a person by their uniform, oh and before you spout your warning that there is a traffic warden in the vicinity look around to make sure their partner in crime isn't standing over you!!

If by chance you are reading this Miss Traffic Warden, I think you do a wonderful job, mmmm...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well it's Saturday morning, my first day off in ages. I have a list as long as my arm of jobs to do, and what am I doing? Sitting in front of a lovely fire with a hot cuppa, catching up on my fellow bloggers post's....bliss. I will make a start soon, honest!

Mum’s little visitor!

2011-01-09T12:40:00.001-08:00

My Mum has a lovely garden and is lucky enough to have lots of wildlife that visit on a daily basis, from Pheasants, Squirrels, numerous wild birds and occasionally a fox!

This little guy has to be the favourite!

After lot’s of day’s encouraging the little Robin with tasty titbits, Mum’s patience finally paid off!

He will now, quite happily feed from your hand!

He is getting quite cheeky now, coming right into the conservatory to have a nosey about!

Trying the armchair for comfort…

Even posing in front of my Daughter’s photographs,

looking for all the world like a little ornament, placed carefully for effect!

Missing the Snow!

2011-01-02T16:16:00.001-08:00

I miss how the snow made everything clean and bright, and how it made everyone’s garden look just as good as their neighbours! I miss the way it lit up the dark nights, and how it twinkled in the moonlight, I miss how it crunches under your feet when you walk in your wellies. I miss watching Bobby running through the snow like an excited child, I miss the boats looking like they were covered in white fur!

I found it a real let down when the thaw set in and stripped the countryside of her luxurious white coat.

What I don’t miss is the grey brown sludge, cold toes in said wellies, my bus to work going off because the roads were not gritted, no water as the standpipe froze, the boats floor feeling hard under foot because the boat lost all animation in the solid ice it was encased in. I like a soft floor that moves with you as you walk. The ducks all forlornly stuck in a little puddle, even though they could fly away they stayed all huddled sadly together. Not being able to walk Bobby as his legs are that little he was just ears above snow level!

Last but not least I don’t miss falling flat on my arse!!

For me though, it could all come back tomorrow, I love it!

Bobby little legs!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T03:36:00.001-08:00

Wishing you all the love, luck and happiness you can squeeze into 2011! Oh and to all you Boaters out there, here’s to…….NO LEAKS!!

Canal Rink!

2010-12-28T16:49:00.001-08:00

After a night of rain the canal has been transformed into an ice rink!

Click on image to enlarge.

I have never seen it like this before, it is the colour of skimmed milk! The sky is reflected perfectly on the white water.

I asked these walkers if I could take their photo as their reflections looked ghost like.

This picture looks upside down! Today looking out over the canal we had two skies!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-21T12:06:00.001-08:00

To all fellow bloggers and readers, here is wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year, from the crew of Nb Tickety Boo x

White Magic!

2010-12-18T13:39:00.001-08:00

At last the North West finally gets its share of the white stuff…Snow! and boy did we get it! It started at teatime last night, by ten pm it was thick, and by this morning it was amazing!This looks like a black and white photo, but the mans shopping bag is a giveaway!!

as is the lamp in this shot, and the road signs in the shot below.

Click on image to enlarge.

Hello Mr Frost!

2010-12-06T14:37:00.001-08:00

I woke this morning to my very own Narnia!

I didn’t even have to go through the wardrobe either. ( you will have to have read, The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe to know what I am banging on about)! When I climbed the stern steps onto the back deck this morning I was met with a wonderful site. Everything had been sprayed with frost paint! It glistened in the morning sun light and looked magical. The trees all had frost overcoats on, and the evergreen shrubs had been dusted with a light white frost.

You can just see the faint pinky cast of the sun on the white branches.

Spiders webs where transformed into white lace with a coating of frost!

Later on in the day, I was in work when a couple of us noticed tiny ice particles falling like snow, the sun was glinting off them as they fell, they were so tiny it looked like we were being sprinkled with silver glitter. We were in our own snow globe! It was gorgeous. Yes ok it has been damn cold, but worth it for all the lovely sight's I saw today!

Its here again…

2010-11-28T03:00:00.001-08:00

Winters here with a vengeance! Woken this morning by the familiar sound of ice cracking under the boat. Made sure the fire was banked up last night so nice and cosy on waking this morning! The sun is shining on the frozen canal, the Ducks are doing their “Bambi” impressions, egged on by me throwing bread out on the ice to watch their funny antics!

I am not fazed by the Winter, I am not a fair weather boater. I love the quietness of the Winter Canal, and when its not frozen its a great time to cruise on a crisp Winter morning.

Ask me in a week how I feel about the winter, when the stand pipe freezes and I have no water, when I have to do what I did last year, scrape the snow off the roof of the boat to melt on the stove to do the dishes!

No bother….Bring it on!!

A reminder from last year what I have to look forward to! (Hopefully)!

A poem I feel the need to pass on.....

2010-11-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew whereof he spoke

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For old Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.

He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Someone who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension - small.

It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier--
His home, his country, and his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end?

He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

Serendipity!

2010-09-21T08:32:00.001-07:00

After going through a bit of a topsy turvy year where my emotions have been all over the shop, I have just had a weekend that has lifted my spirit no end. I already have had the lovely gift of my Grand Daughter, Phoebe, but have since had another great surprise.

To cut a long story short, (or maybe not so short, bear with me)!I have been on a dating site for a while, may I just add this is not for the faint hearted or for anyone of gullible nature! This is something I thought I would never do, but then I didn’t think that at the age of 51 I would be on my own! After my relationship broke down 12 months ago, the last thing on my mind was meeting somebody else, I was too busy licking my wounds and feeling sorry for myself!

That was until one day I decided I was the only person who could change my life around. I soon discovered being alone and having to pay all the bills myself didn’t leave enough in the kitty to go galavanting to meet people.

A friend recommended a dating site, my first reaction to this suggestion was to shake my head and say that wasn’t for me, oh how quickly I changed my mind!

I was cautious to begin with, but once your on there you soon get chatting to people. Peoples first reaction when you say you are meeting someone off a dating site is take in a sharp intake of breath and say how dangerous it is and to be careful. Granted you do have to be careful and sensible before committing to a date, but to be honest meeting someone off a dating site is safer than meeting a stranger in a pub on a night out, you don’t know their number, their email where they live, and you certainly wouldn’t have a photo of them!

Anyway, to fast forward a bit, over the last few months I have been on a few dates, all of which I must admit have been enjoyable, you tend to know you will get on after chatting on msn for a while, so your groundwork on getting to know them through chat first helps break the ice!

Like I said the dates I have been on have been good, but nothing I wanted to pursue, but two dates in particular were absolutely brilliant. The first was with a guy in Inverness! Me being me thought if I chatted to someone who lived so far away it would be safer, silly I know but hey I was really green on this dating site malarky! Well after chatting for a long while over the weeks I was invited to Inverness to meet, what was really exciting for me was that the guy I was meeting lived in a cottage over looking the Caledonian Canal!

Peters gorgeous cottage, overlooking the Caledonian Canal.

We had a great weekend, where he lived was beautiful, he was kind enough to show me around Inverness and the canal, it was really nice that we had interests in common, with boats the canal etc. I was amazed how gorgeous the Caledonian Canal was, and how huge, made our canal look like a stream! ( oh dear I can hear it now, “how dare she say that about our canals”, but you know what I mean)! I have always loved Scotland anyway so to be invited was brilliant, and the Canal connection was a bonus! There were more yachts on the section of the Canal where I was staying, but I believe they do have Narrow boats there too!

My trip to Inverness was back in June, I have had a few dates since, all of which were good fun!

Just recently though I got talking to a guy on the site, it turned out to be a real “ serendipity” moment! Neither of us had put in our profiles anything about boats, but on chatting we were both amazed to discover we both lived on one! What was even more mind blowing for me was that his boat is a 90ft Dutch Barge, that he lives on in France! Well that was it we spoke for hours on Skype, we had lots to talk about, as we had so much in common, we hit it off straight away, so much so that to my utter amazement he invited me to Dinner in Paris! Well to say I was gobsmacked would be an under statement, things like that don’t happen to me! Once over the shock and after sleeping on his fabulous invite, I decided I would be mad not to accept. once I told him I would love to meet him in Paris, he had booked and confirmed the flight within the hour!

So last weekend I was whisked off to Paris, and I have to say it was fantastic, Bob is a lovely guy and made my visit really special, I was well and truly spoilt, from drinking champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower, to cruising along the river Seine taking in all the sites, not to mention the fantastic Lunches and Dinners I was treated to, and the great company, we hit it off really well and had a fun filled weekend! This was the figure head on one of the Barges on the Siene, I thought he was great!

I am sure I will be meeting up with Bob again, as we got on so well and have lots in common it would be mad not to! Not to mention the fact I would love to see his boat, she sounds huge, 90ft long and 16ft wide, wow! Tickety Boo is a Dinghy in comparison, a very much loved Dinghy I hasten to add! Bob has also said he would love to see her too.

Bob’s Barge! Moored in Dijon.

So for anybody out there contemplating going on a dating site to meet people, go ahead you never know when your Serendipity moment will be! Nothing ventured nothing gained, and who knows where all this will lead for me, do I believe in fate? Hell yes!

Introducing...Phoebe.

2010-08-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the 21st of August, at 10:30am, my beautiful Grandaughter, Phoebe Alice was born, weighing in at 81b 3 and a half oz. I was honoured to be there at her birth and it was an experience I will treasure always. Only all you Nan's and Grandad's out there will know just where I am at the minute, total and all consuming love for this little bundle of loveliness, a love that was instant the moment I saw her arrive! Since then, nothing else really matters I am on Planet Phoebe and loving it!

A big big thank you to Kirsty and Ian for giving me the great privilege of sharing this special time with them, and for producing the most gorgeous baby girl ever!

My life will never be the same again, its been totally enhanced now Phoebe is in it, I feel so lucky! I am just wondering....just how small can you get sailor suits made?

No apologies for being gushy and sentimental, its allowed, I'm a Nan!

A Lesson for Mr Andrew Denny…

2010-08-20T06:58:00.001-07:00

On reading Granny Buttons blog, “The Hair Of the Dog”, I was horrified, yes horrified to see that Andrew, has mistaken a lovely little West Highland Terrier, (Westie), for a Scottish Terrier, (Scotty), so just for you Mr Buttons here is the difference…

On the left, is my dog, Bobby, a Scotty, on the right his little friend, a Westie! Just to make it a little easier for you to tell them apart, the Scotty's are usually black, and Westie’s white, but to be fair to you Andrew you can get cream Scottys, which I imagine would be confusing! Scotty's are usually more heavy set than the finer Westies, and their faces are quite different too, as you can just see in the photo, Bobby’s face is quite a bit longer than his friend the Westie’s, as your face must be now you have been told off! I did notice on your blog comments, that a lady, Ann, also pointed out your mistake, never mind it can happen to the best of us he he.

WESTIE

SCOTTY

Here endeth the lesson. Oh just one more thing I agree with you hole heartedly, it must be annoying looking through a veil of fur, so as you can see I keep Bobbys fringe cut so he can see! Just as annoying as having your tail lopped off when a puppy, but there by lies another tail…

Oh, and Bobby’s reaction to your faux pas…….

Have Bike, will travel!

2010-08-20T02:27:00.000-07:00

Bikes seem to be the flavour of the week here in blog world! Towpath Townie and Cesca have both mentioned them in their blogs recently.

Not to be left out, I want to tell you about my bike! Yes I have just been given a lilac mountain bike! How chuffed am I? Not too sure about the colour , but hey I'm not knocking it, I couldn't afford to buy one right now, so was more than grateful to be offered one for nothing.

A girl in work said she knew somebody wanting to get rid of the bike, and would I be interested. I have been toying with the idea for a while, biking it to work instead of walking or going on the bus. I must just add at this stage, I haven't ridden a bike in years, so was about to find out if its true what they say......

I left work and jumped the bus to where the bike was being kept, had a quick chat with the guy who was glad to see the back of it, thanked him very much and then went on my merry way. Now, I was about two miles from home,so decided very bravely to cycle home, after furtively glancing around to make sure nobody was watching, I got on the bike and was off! Not brave enough to go on the main road, I chose the tow path route. To my amazement I managed to ride the bike without falling off, not even any wobbling, oh ok maybe when I first hit the brakes and I feared for a split second they were going to fail me, to be followed by a sploosh as I took a nose dive into the cut! Thank fully that didn't happen! I got home in one piece, really proud of myself that I hadn't fallen off, quite surprising really as the bike has a pedal pad missing, so just had one foot on a metal bar!

You know how they say you never forget how to ride a bike? Well I now truly believe that, however you DO forget just how uncomfortable the saddles are! Blimey, when I got off I felt like I had been riding on a razor blade, god my bum hurt! I also for the first couple of minutes after dismounting, I couldn't straighten my legs and walked with them bowed for a while! All in all though I am pleased with my little lilac bike, first thing to do is buy new pedals, oh and more importantly a new saddle, I fancy one of these gel ones for a more comfortable ride. I will post photos soon, maybe not of me on the bike, as I don't really want to be reminded of how daft I look, but the little lilac bike will be making its debut soon!

Thunderstorm Sunset.

2010-07-25T05:56:00.001-07:00

After having yet another thunderstorm and heavy downpour, the compensation for this miserable weather was a glorious sunset. The sunset managed to sneak under the storm clouds!

Storm clouds looming.

It really was this orange!

Trick of the eye, or Spirits?

2010-07-18T01:33:00.001-07:00

On reading one of Cesca’s posts titled “Ghost Boat”, it reminded me of the odd experience I have had occasionally.

I always have the side hatch open on the boat, weather permitting and as I potter about I will look up when passing the hatch and wave to passers by, either on the towpath or fellow boaters.

As I pass the hatch sometimes I will look up to wave to somebody I have seen in the corner of my eye, only to find there is nobody there…..

I thought it was just me being slightly bonkers, but my ex John said it would happen to him too!

Is it just eyes playing tricks or are these indeed spirits from the past going about their daily business?

As I have mentioned there is a ruin of a chapel close by, (as photographed in previous post),when this happens on a Sunday I often wonder are these apparitions of people making their way to chapel for the Sunday service?

Ok, I will come quietly, just don’t tie the Straight Jacket too tight…

There once was an ugly Duckling?

2010-07-14T15:16:00.001-07:00

Well actually these are Cygnets, but as the song goes……the ugly Duckling turns into a Swan, oh go on!

This was Mum and Dad in the Winter. The Cygnets above were just a twinkle in their eyes then!

After the heavy thunder storms earlier that provided much needed rain, the sky was magical…

Every cloud has a silver lining…

Show Off!

2010-06-30T10:20:00.001-07:00

I had a lovely day out with my Mum and Daughter, we had a nice Roast Dinner lunch at the recently reopened, Scarisbrick Arms, we were lucky to get a table as it was Fathers Day so it was really busy. The Pub has been refurbished to a high standard and is well worth a visit. The staff are lovely, pleasant and nothing is too much trouble. The Scarisbrick Arms is canal side and is situated at Downholland Bridge on the Leeds Liverpool (Bridge 20A). If you are travelling through to the Liverpool link its a nice place to moor for the night and have a nice meal.

After the meal we stopped off at the local farm shop, this too is a nice place to visit, its a lovely fruit and veg shop, with a cafe and gift shop. There is a Duck pond and many species of birds wandering about the place. I quite often buy my fruit and veg here, but have never been lucky enough to see these show offs at their best……

They are gorgeous arn’t they?

click on images to enlarge.

After shaking their booties for all they were worth, they gave up as the hens didn’t look in the least bit interested!

We moved on to have a look at the old Lydiate Hall ruins, I have visited the ruin on many occasions but still find it facinating, I got a lovely photo of Mum and Kirsty too….

We then moved on to another ruin near by, of St Catherines Chapel, I can always imagine seeing all the people sitting at their pews on Sunday morning in years gone by, here too I got some nice photos

It was a lovely day, to think next time we visit we will have a baby with us!

Who eats all the bird food?

2010-06-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, I work in Discount store. One of the most popular lines we sell is Bird food. In fact we sell that much of the stuff I am wondering how the birds around here manage to leave the ground! Would it be worth my while starting up a weight watchers for birds?

I can't help but smile to my self when I hear people in the checkout que talking about how quickly the bird food they put out disappears, if only they knew......

Many of the customers are heard to say, " I put food out every day, I don't know what they do with it all?". Well granted the birdies do indeed get through quite a bit of it, but I think all the customers who buy Bird seed, nuts, fat balls, sunflower seeds, don't realise its not just our cute little feathered friends who are feasting on the goodies!

Squirrels, rats and mice are the culprits!! I have a bird table on my mooring that I used to fill with bird food, its one of those ones you can hang from railings. When I first put it up, it was quite close to my shed, I actually saw a rat climb on to the shed and then on to the bird table and devour copious amounts of the birds dinner! To out smart them I moved the bird table right away from the shed to deter them using it as a ladder, only to watch in amazement as a rat climbed up the railing, without the use of a rope too!

Now I know all creatures have to eat but this was taking the biscuit, or should I say Bird food!

Once when the canal was frozen, I had thrown bread out for the ducks, only to look out later that night and see the rats dining alfresco on the ice eating the ducks bread.

The best ever site I saw, was a rat swimming across the canal dragging with it a whole fat ball, no mean feat as they are quite heavy!

I love all creatures great and small, but when washing the dishes on the boat one night, I looked up to see a rat peering at me through the window! waiting for dinner no doubt, needless to say I don't put food out now, they can go scale someone else's railings!

So to all you people out there who think all the birds have mammoth appetites, its not them who eat all the bird food you buy, because when our little feathered friends are all tucked up in a tree for the night some where, that's when the other creatures dine and polish off the lot, and here was all you lot thinking it is the birds dawn chorus in the morning, they arn't singing, they are screaming and shouting that some bugger has eaten all their Breakfast!

Long time no blog!

2010-05-21T13:30:00.001-07:00

Thought it was about time I wrote a post. Been busy working, as I am the sole breadwinner now there isn’t much time to sit and blog these days!

Had a great May Bank Holiday weekend at Parbold, a load of us boaters got together for a good old drink and catch up, we all moored at the disused lock at Appley Bridge, and a fine time was had by all!

Arriving at Parbold. All moored up and ready to party!

We all had a great weekend, including Eight very well behaved Dogs that came with us, here are four of the little cuties!

Out of the blue!

2010-04-24T01:20:00.001-07:00

After a real hectic week in work, is was bliss to get home last night, ( Friday ) and look forward to the weekend. The weather forecast looks good which makes the weekend all the more enjoyable.

All you retired people out there, ( jealousy rearing its ugly head me thinks)! who are living just one long weekend, will have forgotten the buzz you get on a Friday, when you come to the end of the day and wallow in the fact, that for two whole days you don’t have to go to work! Now wouldn’t you all love to go back to work to have that feeling again? Yea right!

Anyway on arriving home I take Bobby for his walk,put all the shopping away, light fire, ( as its still quite chilly in the evening), light candles, feet up and nice glass of red!

I made myself a nice sweet chilli chicken noodle dish for tea, and then sat to read and reply to emails I had let build up over the week.

Just as I was starting on my second glass, I heard an engine running outside the boat, resisting the urge to jump up and see who it was, I sat trying to recognise the noise. Was it a Dinghy? Was it a Helicopter? I knew it wasn’t a a narrowboat or cruiser. My curiosity got the better of me, so I went out on the back deck to see what was creating this noise, to be met by the site of this……

It was my Brother, John, flying passed the boat on his Paramotor! He flew low enough to give me a wave and then flew up in to the blue again. I wasn’t expecting to see him, so it was a lovely surprise! Personally I think he is mad flying around with a hairdryer strapped to his back, but it must be fantastic to be flying around up there like a bird, all be it a quite noisy bird. Would you ever get me up there? Not on your nellie! I prefer to have my motor firmly under my feet, chugging me along the Cut!

Problems?

2010-04-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

As you can see I am having problems with the layout on my blog pages, there is a HUGE gap before you can see any of my blogs!.
Can anybody help?

Make molehills out of mountains!

2010-04-04T03:46:00.000-07:00

I need to make all the mountainous tasks I have ahead of me into molehills! I keep going into absolute panic mode when I think of all the things that need to be done!

So instead of worrying how on earth I will climb those mountains I need to tackle them like they are little hills. Does that make sense?? If it does please let me know!

So as soon as I stop being the proverbial Ostrich, and make a start, the sooner I will have something to blog about. Its too easy just to sit and make excuses why I can't do something, too cold, too windy, too tired, too can't be bothered!!

Right pep talk over. I have wasted a couple of weekends now not doing anything, which just won't do, now I need to give myself a hefty kick up the back side and get myself motivated.

Now where do I start? Have you seen the size of that Mountain..........(sorry, molehill)!

Bobby has a new friend!

2010-03-10T10:16:00.001-08:00

Bobby was two years old when we got him, so we didn’t know much about how he was as a pup. He was quiet and a bit confused about what was happening to him. He soon settled in though, and now he is a fantastic little dog!

I was walking down the tow path with him today, when a cat decided to come and say hello, my initial reaction was to brace my self for the scrap that would surely take place, blood and fur flying everywhere!

I needn’t have worried……They were lovely with each other, I was lucky enough to get a picture of them, how cute!

Spring Clean!

2010-03-07T14:54:00.001-08:00

Lovely sunny day today, so many things to do, where to start? After having breakfast, toast and marmalade, shared with Bobby, I decided to get stuck in.

I am one of those people who starts doing one job then move on to another without realising it! I end up doing six different jobs in one go, bouncing from one to the other, I think it’s what you call organised chaos. Eventually it all comes together and the boat is all nice and clean.

Where did spring cleaning originate, is it to start the new season off all clean and tidy, or is it just that the sun comes out and shows up all the dust and dirt!

One pitfall of having a coal fire, is the dust it creates, but it is worth putting up with the dust to have a nice fire burning away in the corner.

Bobby spent all day outside today in the sun, just now and again reminding me he was still there by plopping his tennis ball into the canal then barking at it, to let me know he needs it scooping out, yet again! I swear he has a grin on his face when he accidently on purpose drops the ball in the water!

Well its the end of another weekend, how quick do they go? Back to the grind tomorrow, to get the pennies together for Tickety Boo’s paint job in the summer She is looking really tatty at the minute, and unloved. The harsh winter has given the blacking a bashing and she is desperate to have her bottom redone! I am happy with the inside of the boat for now, so my main aim this summer is to get the outside looking better!

One of the nicer jobs I did today was putting new bedding on for the summer, gone is the cosy cream and gold…..

To be changed to a nice cream and duck egg blue for the summer

I love this colour, the cushion was from a great shop called, Dun elm, an Aladdin's cave of curtains, bedding and accessories, bliss!

Best Laid Plans....

2010-02-21T00:50:00.000-08:00

I did have plans to maybe jump the bus in to Liverpool today, its Chinese New Year, so quite a bit going on. It would have been even nicer to have the boat down there, at Salthouse Dock, so you could just fall back on board after the celebrations.

On waking this morning, those plans were quickly rearranged, as we have snow again!
You may ask where my sense of adventure has gone, in answer to that question, it is sitting right next to me, keeping warm by the fire!

Irony again!

2010-02-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

Just a quick one to add to my last post. Why is it that, just as you sit down and start to eat your tea, they put the advert on tv for the bloomin, 'Pedegg' you know that thing you use to get rid of all the dry skin on your feet. Not satisfied with just telling you what this little mirical can do, they show you the damn thing being emptied into a bin! doesn't go down well when you are just about to put a forkful of food in your mouth, yukkety yuk yuk!

Ironies!

2010-02-10T09:11:00.000-08:00

A music track I really love is, Alanis Morrissette, Ironic. For those of you who haven't heard it, here are the first couple of lines.
An old man turns 98, he won the lottery and died the next day,
Its a black fly in your chardonnay,
its a death row pardon two minutes too late.
Anyway, you get the drift, if you haven't heard it, You Tube it, the lyrics are really clever. It got me to thinking....
Why is it that when you are two minutes late, your bus is two minutes early?
Why is it that the very day you leave your brolly behind it rains?
Why is it you always bump into an old friend, who looks fabulous, and you look
like you have been dragged through a hedge backwards, twice!
Why is it that when you are out on your boat alone, you steer, turn, moor up
and manouver perfectly, only to make a right prat of yourself when you have
freinds on board?
Why is it that the cruise you have planned in advance starts on the very day
it decides to blow a Hoolie and you merrily go on your way down the cut side
ways?
Finally, why is it that when you have just climbed into bed and got warm,
your automatic bilge pump decides it doesn't want to be automatic
any more and jams on, so if you ignore it it will either burn out or flatten
your batteries!

I could go on, as I have many more, 'Why is it thats' but my tum is telling me its tea time, just when I am on a role writing my blog, now, why is that?.....

Introducing..My Little Grand Bump!

2010-02-04T07:25:00.001-08:00

Ok so they all look like little beans all cosy in there, but this little exceptional Bean, is my first Grandchild! Mum to be, my Daughter Kirsty, is having a great pregnancy with no morning sickness, which is a blessing.

The only problem I have had is nearly falling off my chair when she told me how much the Pram is! After gaining my composure, I asked did it make tea, and babysit?

I am so out of touch with all that now, mind you, my baby, Heather, is twenty in April, so a long time since I looked at pram prices!

The pram is aptly named, Bugaboo, ( sounds like your swearing, and then giving someone a fright)!

So when I am babysitting on, Tickety Boo, I can take baby out in the Buga Boo! Sorted!

The lovely Mummy to be and the equally lovely Daddy to be!

( Kirsty and Ian )

Just a quick apology to the Men who read my blog. Not very boaty I know, but I promise to make my little Grandchld a narrowboat fan. I have an orange box on order as we speak. As soon as the little mite is big enough, He/She will be taught to steer the boat, and shown the Ropes,pun intended! (Just don't tell Mummy and Daddy to be)!

A Photo to Share

2010-01-26T10:51:00.001-08:00

After reading Heth’s blog,(Takey Tezey Tales) and seeing her swan photo’s, I couldn’t resist posting this gorgeous photo that was sent to me in an email.

Straight Jacket required!

2010-01-26T10:20:00.001-08:00

I have a great Mum, who on many occasions has helped me through difficult times. It wouldn’t do to tell you all how old she is, she would kill me. So to give you some idea of her age, I am fifty and Mum is twenty two years older, oops!

When we had the real bad weather, snow and ice, you would think a lady of her years would be wrapped up warm indoors, with a nice hot drink and swooning while listening to her Daniel O'Donnell Cd, but oh no not my Mum!

Here is the photographic evidence of what she got up to, if any of you were in any doubt as to where I got my streak of madness from, here is your answer! My Mum just got this overwhelming urge to go out in the garden and build this lovely Snowman!

Not content with letting the neighbours know how mad she is, Mum decided to throw herself on the floor to make a snow angel, this would leave onlookers in no doubt that action would have to be taken………….

Straight Jacket on order!!

Joking aside, Mum is one in a million, and I won’t hold it against her that she has passed her, loopy genes on to me!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you

2010-01-24T05:06:00.001-08:00

After reading one of the Blogs I follow, ( Lesley, Nb Caxton) about us all pulling our weight to clear litter from our waterways and towpaths, I left a comment on her Post agreeing with everything Lesley had said.

How much nicer would our towpaths be without litter, left by rude people who dump it and then go home to their litter free gardens! Well the towpath is our garden and we don’t want your litter, thank you very much!

About ten minutes after leaving my comment, I looked out of the window to see this……………..

I have seen this man before on numerous occasions. He gives up his time to litter pick on the tow path opposite Tickety Boo. I don’t know who he is, but I am very grateful to him for the thorough job he does!

As you can see from the two big bin bags of rubbish, there are still people who think it is acceptable to just dump litter anywhere they like.

A very BIG thank you to you, our mystery litter picker, just to let you know your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed, and is really appreciated.

Dancing on Ice!

2010-01-16T10:08:00.001-08:00

Triple Axel, Double Toe Loop, and Spiral, and that was just me trying to walk down the towpath! I did admit I love the snow, that doesn’t include the ice.

I was really happy when the big thaw kicked in, it was becoming a bit tedious, walking like a constipated duck!

The ice was a nightmare to walk on, I lost count of the amount of times I nearly went, just about saving myself by throwing my hands up in the air and letting slip from my mouth the, s--t word! Then to look around sheepishly to make sure no body saw my slip, or heard my expletives!

Anyway thankfully its all melted away now, but who knows it could be back.

I loved the snow when it first fell, we all got great photos to remind us of winter 2010. I think we have had quite enough of that weather now thank you!

The Canal is thawing out nicely and I am looking forward to seeing the water moving again. Its fascinating to see the canal frozen, but it then, becomes a bit eerie. Its good to see the ripples back, oh and the Ducks!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best Christmas Present Ever!

I have been keeping a secret since Christmas day, its been hard but I was sworn to secrecy, but now I can share my news! My Daughter Kirsty and her lovely partner Ian, gave us the fantastic news that they are having a baby! I am to become a Nan in August and I am ecstatic, can’t wait!

When needs must!

2010-01-09T10:29:00.001-08:00

I have no problem with the weather being cold, nice warm and snug on the boat. The only thing spoiling my “ smugness”, ( there’s that word again Pickles no 2)! is the fact I have no water! I do have some in the tank and I am being very frugal with that, but once that goes I don’t quite know what I will do.

You can’t really take water for granted on a boat as you do in a house, you only have water at your disposal when you keep your tank topped up, in this weather that is nigh impossible! All the water taps on this mooring have been turned off as we have had a few bursts, sooo , there is no water to replenish the tank.

Strip washes at the moment and a trip to Mums for a shower. I have been scraping snow off the roof of the boat and heating it to wash the dishes, very, “ Little House on the Prairie-ish”! it does save using the tank water though which I would sooner use for cups of tea and cooking. Heth, ( Takey Tezey) was worried I might scrape up snow that Bobby may have earlier used as a toilet!, but I assured her that was why I was taking it from the roof, as he doesn’t, do “it” up there. Mind you I can’t say the same for birds that fly over! Anyway all the snow I scraped up was as pure as the driven…… you know how it goes!

I am heating the snow on top of the wood burner in a pan, very boaty I must say, but its all good fun. I don’t want to be a fair weather boater, so I will take any challenges that are thrown my way, ( within reason )! This cold spell is set to last according to the weather forecast, so we will see how I feel about these," challenges” after being without water for a few weeks!

I am sure I will be able to organise some containers of water from somewhere if the situation gets really bad.

Earlier on today I was filled with horror to see two lads playing with a ball walking down the middle of the frozen canal!. My heart was in my mouth watching them, they were totally oblivious to the danger they were in, if they were to fall through the ice into the water….. it just doesn’t bear thinking about.

Well must go, my snow is boiling!

Let it snow let it snow let it snow!

2010-01-05T14:24:00.001-08:00

Yes I am one of the mad people who loves the snow! Yes it causes havoc, disrupts the traffic, closes schools, makes people land on their backsides in a very undignified manner, but hey, lets enjoy it, it doesn't happen that often. It looks gorgeous on the mooring.

I couldn't wait to get home from work to take these pictures before it got too dark.

Bobby loves the snow!

Click on images to enlarge. There are still Roses on the mooring, trying their best to bloom in the cold weather. Ok let me in I’m freezing!

Brass Monkeys!

2010-01-04T12:07:00.001-08:00

Its freezing, the canal is hard the grass is crispy and I have a bruise on my backside, (don’t laugh)!

I slipped on the ice, flat on my back, legs up in the air, very lady like! Well to be honest I had called in to the farm shop with my Mum, and managed to fall over, I didn’t hurt myself, thankfully, I just felt like a right plonker!

Bobby my dog goes out on the back deck every morning and takes up his position, looking for dogs coming down the opposite towpath. He was a bit confused when he looked at the frozen canal, but after looking at the solid mass for a while it was soon forgotten when he spied a dog coming! He loves being on the boat watching the world go by, he sits for hours. I have let his coat grow for the winter to keep him warm! He looks a bit like a hippy, but I love him like that.

Well, according to the weather forecast we are in for more of the same, more snow and ice. Its funny the amount of people who ask me am I warm enough on the boat. I can understand them thinking that. The boats do look quite cold and uncosy from the outside, but if only they could see the inside, its toasty warm, in fact I would go as far as to say its warmer than any house I have lived in. So as long as I have plenty of wood and coal for the fire, the cold weather isn’t a problem!

I will hopefully be even warmer next year as I want to get an Ecofan, and thanks to Halfie saying how good they are, it will be top of next winters shopping list!

After such a cold day this was the gorgeous view from the side hatch, of the sun going down. click on image to enlarge

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T05:06:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all, Love, Luck and Happiness in 2010! I could have added "wealth" to that list, but to be honest peace of mind is more important, and to be happy with your lot! Have fun in the following year, as I intend to!

Back at last!

2009-12-28T01:10:00.000-08:00

I was going to wait till the New Year before I started blogging again, but why wait?

Hope you all had a great Christmas, I certainly did. We had a nice xmas dinner and then a very enjoyable evening at my Daughter, Kirsty's. We played on the Wii, and I have to say I haven't laughed so much! My Mum being the one who made me laugh the hardest! We insisted she joined in, and to be honest she did really well. The funniest moment was when Mum played the football game, where you have to head the balls that come flying at you, the first ball she headed was done with such force, I thought she was going through the flat screen!

Anyway, just quickly I have to tell you all my news! After trawling through loads of boats for sale, it suddenly dawned on me I would never get a boat as nice as Tickety Boo, not for the money I could afford anyway, so with a lot of help from my Brother, ( Thank you John ) I decided to buy out John and keep Tickety! I am so happy I didn't have to let her go to somebody else, not after all the hard work we put in to her.

So now the crew of Tickety Boo is down to two, me and Bobby the Scotty! It took a while to get used to being on my own, but I very soon realised there is a lot of advantages! The main advantage being more storage space, and pleasing myself what time I eat, sleep etc.

I am relieved I don't have to change the name of my blog too, any other name just wouldn't have been the same. I am working more hours now, for obvious reasons, but I hope to blog on a regular basis, so for all of you who thought you had got rid of me waffleing on, apologies but I am back! I can honestly say it feels good to be back in blogging world! Bring on 2010.

I should have been back at work today, but without too much information,I will just say that anything I eat or drink at the minute is doing its utmost to leave my body as soon as possible! Nuff said!

2009-12-23T11:51:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.Back to blogging in 2010, take care till then Debbie x

Update.

2009-10-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

I have taken up residence in Limbo here for a while. Just thought I would let you all know I am ok. Should have some good news to tell you all soon. Watch this space!

Keep up all the good blogging.

They don't sell postcards in Limbo!

2009-09-03T08:59:00.000-07:00

They don't sell them honestly! If they did I would send you all one. You will have to settle for a post instead.

Being in Limbo isn't all bad, just a bit scary, a kind of inbetweeny land. In a funny way I can put up with being here for a short while, I am looking forward to my "new chapter" its just taking a while to turn the page! None of my doing either, like everything else, the more impatient you are to get things sorted, the more things stand in your way!

I am so looking forward to getting my life back on track, getting my teeth stuck in to my life afloat again, making whatever boat I end up on, my own. I have lots of new things I want to try in my new abode.

I am looking at the hundreds of boats for sale on the many sites, and finding it quite mind boggling! There are so many out there! Many gorgeous ones that are way out of my price range, but also quite a few that I could possibly manage to buy. I have a good imagination, I can visualise how nice the interior of a boat could look with a bit of hard work, just as well really as some of the boats are awful! Even Bobby my dog would turn his nose up at them!

My main priority is making sure I get one that has a sound hull, the inside I can work on over time to make it a cosy home. Quite looking forward to that!

What I can't get over is the state some of the boats are in. You would think that if people wanted to sell their boat they would at least tidy up before they took the photo for the advert! One such boat which will remain nameless, made me gasp when I saw the photo, you couldn't see any space on any of the surfaces, probably under all the mess there was a nice boat lurking, I am sure many people would just bypass the boat and go on to the next advert!

Anyway, I would be grateful if anybody knows of any reasonably priced boats out there I would be very interested to hear from you.

In the meantime I will try and enjoy my stay in Limbo, Wish you were here and I wasn't!

I am confident it wont be forever, but I have to say it doesn't surprise me that Limbo isn't listed on any maps, you wouldn't visit here through choice!!

Even here my glass is very much half full!

Nice Surprise!

2009-08-26T08:15:00.001-07:00

I had a really nice surprise yesterday, a visit from Nb Cosy Toes, ( love that name ) and her crew. They were on their way back from a trip through to Liverpool.

They had a great time, and really enjoyed the experience. Sue Kindly showed me around Cosy Toes, she is a lovely little boat, immaculate and a credit to them all. It was great to meet them all, and I look forward to seeing them all again.

Sue made me a cup of coffee, and then we came on board the boat I am staying on at the moment. We had a good old natter, then they headed off to catch up to Sue’s parents. They had gone on ahead on their boat, Cheshire Lad.

Cosy Toes had just pulled away when I noticed Sue had left her coffee mug on my boat! It will be a good excuse to go and see them to return the mug. In the meantime Sue, just so you know how your mug is doing……………..

Not a happy Mug!

In fact he has threatened to report you to,

The Cruelty to Crockery Association!

An after thought!

2009-08-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

Well I think I have mastered "Live Writer" its easier to upload photos and put them where you want them, ( kinda...)! I put a picture of Tickety Boo's Galley as it is now. I have now decided its not a nice photo. Soooo here is one I like better!

2009-08-20T08:11:00.001-07:00

Finally managed to get on Live Writer!

Well hopefully Heth on WB Takey Tezey, will be proud of me as I think I have finally worked out how to use Windows Live writer! It has only taken me a couple of months to work it out!

To be fair, I did try some months back only to give up, exasparated with myself, but now, here we are!

This post is just an experiment really to see how it all works. Apparently writing your blog with Live writer makes things a lot easier. When then does it get easier I ask myself.

Now that Tickety Boo is up for sale I think it would be a shame to let her go without letting you all see what I have been blogging about!

So now I will attempt to get some photos on here to show you. Tickety being moved to the boatyard we rented, after our original builders went Bankrupt.

Me adding last minute touches, before the boat was transported to her mooring.

My Brother, John, driving the lorry taking the boat to the cut!

At last Tickety on the cut where she belonged!

This is what we were left with, after paying for a fully fitted boat. At least we now had the windows and doors fitted.

My Brother John, without him we would have been well and truly lost. He did all the plumbing and electrics, fitted the windows, the fire, central heating and numerous other things!

The two John’s working in the Bedroom While the bedroom was being fitted, we slept on a blow up bed in the Saloon.

The Bedroom as it is now, after sleeping on a blow up bed for months, it was bliss to get into a proper bed!

Things were beginning to take shape slowly. Tickety was starting to look like the boat I had dreamed of.

From this empty shell, sitting on deckchairs…..

To this,our cosy home!

From this half finished kitchen, with the two ring camping stove …

To my “ Galley Slave” Kitchen!

New Beginnings.

2009-08-04T04:19:00.000-07:00

Well I did say I would be back! God I have missed blogging.

The break up of a relationship is never easy, I feel like I have been dragged through a hedge backwards! You tend to go through many phases, anger, sadness, loneliness and at a total loss as to where it all went wrong.

There is one thing I am certain of, there will be no going back. Too many things have been said and done to hurt me, things I will never be able to forgive, and that makes me so sad. I thought I had found my soul mate, but obviously I was so wrong.

Well that's enough of that. As I have done before, I have decided self pity and recriminations never helped any body. Even though this episode of my life has left me sad and confused, wallowing in self pity is pointless.

My way of life won't change, living on a narrow boat is my passion. I have been staying at my Mums in her bungalow, where I was made welcome and more than comfortable, but being back on land and ensconced in bricks and mortar fills me with horror!

For me to stay on Tickety Boo was out of the question. We did come to an agreement that we would each have alternate weeks on the boat, until she is sold, but devastatingly for me John went back on his word.

I think that's enough of washing my dirty linen in public!

I had heard rumour that somebody on our mooring was maybe selling a boat, when I enquired about it the owner very kindly said I could stay on their boat for a couple of months, how thoughtful was that? I will always be truly grateful for this opportunity, as its got me back on the cut where I belong!

The boat is slightly smaller than Tickety, and yes I am missing her, but this little boat is really nice, and I may even consider buying her myself.

I have moved on T.F.T.T.M., I wont divulge the name just yet, maybe later. I bet those initials will have you guessing! Answers in the post please!

I moved on the boat on the first of August, new month, new start! I spent all of the first day cleaning, not that the boat was in a bad way, it just hadn't been used for months. Most of my time was spent evicting the many spiders that had taken up undisturbed residence! Once all moved in, tidy and organised I sat with a well earned cuppa, and reflected on how lucky I was in the circumstances, to be once again afloat! Thank you so very much to P and C for the very very kind gesture of letting me stay on their boat.

Bobby is settling in well and has just accepted we are on a different boat. I am so grateful to have him with me and hope and pray that it stays that way. He is my little soul mate now, and I would be heartbroken to lose him.

Tickety Boo is sadly now up for sale. After all we went through to get her to this stage. I would like to think I could buy John out, but don't know if that will be possible just yet, either way I will still be living afloat, whether on Tickety Boo, T.F.T.T.M or some other boat!

When I started this blog a couple of months ago I wrote that I wanted to share my happy, sometimes sad stories with you, this chapter is rather sad but happier times hopefully are on the horizon. Goodness knows what my blog will be called, if I some how manage to keep Tickety Boo the name will stay the same, if I can't your guess is as good as mine!

This is the first post of my new life, I hope you will continue on the journey with me, knowing me it will be a bumpy ride! Hold on tight!

Another one of lifes challenges.

2009-07-15T00:09:00.000-07:00

Without going into too much detail, my life has been turned on its head, and had the living daylights shook out of it! Not for the first time either. Some people have a sedate, "Merry Go Round" life, where I have a bloody,"Roller Coaster" life. Even after the ups and downs and the heartache, I couldn't ever have imagined choosing the Merry Go Round, so now I have to accept I chose the rougher ride.

Us Boaters are made of stern stuff I have faith that I will get through this bad patch, and once I get my head from out of my backside I will be fine, its quite dark up here but its getting lighter by the day!

I may not blog as much over the coming weeks, but believe me I will be following all your blogs and as Arnie said, "I will be back "...

Please keep up the good work. I hope to be back soon to share a brand new chapter of my life with you, Happy Boating!

Much needed Tonic!

2009-07-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

I have been having problems of late that have really been getting me down. I have reached a turning point in my life, but not quite sure which path to follow. Any way needless to say I haven't really had much reason to smile, until that is I got my Tonic!

We have a great couple next to us on our mooring, they shall remain nameless but they read this blog, and they know who they are. Feeling really down yesterday and not feeling much like company, I was just pottering about when said neighbours turned up. Within minutes of them arriving I cheered up, they had me laughing at their antics, if they could bottle whatever it is they have, they would be millionaires!

The first thing that literally had me splitting my sides with laughter, was when Mrs Neighbour, passed me a cuppa out the side hatch and said she would come out and have a natter with me. I was already sitting outside, so watched her stepping off the back of their boat. I still don't know how she did it but she fell out the boat backwards, she then seemed to roll in slow motion on to the bank!. Well by this time I was laughing myself silly. Bless her, I was laughing so much I couldn't even ask if she was ok! Luckily she was fine, but the incident had me giggling all afternoon!

The second thing that had me laughing was when Mr Neighbour decided to take their two little Dogs for a walk, two gorgeous little Shitzu's. Mr Neighbour wears a straw hat on account of the sun, I commented that he looked like a french man with his hat on, he then started to talk with a french accent which really made him look french!

So without even realising it my neighbours had cheered me up no end!

Later that evening Mrs Neighbour had told me about Skype, you can download it and make free calls to other people who have Skype, I have heard of it but didn't realise just how good it was, not only can you call people you can see them too with web cam, brilliant! So after a quick run through of how to use Skype I downloaded it and made my first call to Mrs Neighbour. It was great I could see her, and hear her really well, only one problem, she couldn't see or hear me! So for the umpteenth time that day I was left screaming with laughter. I could see Mr and Mrs quite clearly looking into the web cam and saying over and over, " can you here me, are you there", and then having a conversation between themselves about me not being there! In actual fact I was still there but they couldn't see me! I then watched Mrs getting fed up and making a cup of tea!

We have vowed to try again later, so no doubt more laughter in store!

So just one more thing to say, A HUGE BIG THANKYOU to my fab neighbours for pulling me out of the doldrums, you two were just the tonic I needed!

Darling Fishermen!

2009-07-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

Why when your happily sailing along on your boat do some fishermen glare at you? They have a look on their faces that makes me want to tell them to straighten their faces before they scare the fish away! To be fair most of them are great they give you a wave and a smile and appreciate the fact that you have slowed down for them, and I always say thank you when they move rods and poles so we can sail past.

You always get one miserable old git that moans, " Bloody Boats", as if we have a cheek being there! How very dare we make waves on their patch! When this happens and they moan, I politely ask them to remind me just how much they pay for their fishing license, I then politely remind them just how much I pay for mine!

To all you nice fisherman out there who are friendly and accept we all have a right to be there, Thank you, to all you miserable old gits out there, GO GET A LIFE,find another pass time, because fishing doesn't suit you, it makes you too damn narky!

That sure felt good. Rant over!

Thunder and frightening!

2009-07-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

In the early hours of Wednesday we had a really bad thunder storm. Now normally storms don't bother me, but this one really scared me! It seemed to be directly above the boat, and when the thunder claps came the noise seemed to boom through the boat.

Because the weather has been so humid and sticky, we have been leaving the porthole stoppers out to let cool air in at night time. Big mistake when a storm comes along. The lightening lit up the whole boat, the port holes lit up like spotlights!

Since being on the boat that must be the closest storm we have had, which got me to thinking. What would actually happen to the occupants inside the boat if it were struck by lightening? Does anybody out there know? Do I want to know or is ignorance bliss?!

To lighten the mood somewhat, I was delighted to see John and Fiona passing by on Nb Epiphany on their way through to Liverpool. Its great when you actually see people who's blog you have followed. Here's hoping they enjoy the trip!

Great weekend!

2009-06-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

We have just had a really nice weekend, we couldn't go too far, but that didn't matter, once you have pulled the pins and set off, your free!

We were supposed to be joined by friends but they had to back out last minute. So it was just Tickety Boo's crew of three. The plan was to set off Friday night but we thought we would wait and go Saturday morning instead. Best laid plans eh.

There have been quite a few guest boats staying on the moorings, waiting for their slot to go through to Liverpool. One such boat was a bright red wide beam with a creamy yellow roof. The boat is owned by Chris, we got chatting to him, and asked what the boat was called, he told us he was toying with the idea of calling it Rhubarb and Custard! Apparently that was the boats nickname on its mooring.

On Saturday morning Chris was moored opposite us on the public tow path facing toward Liverpool. He decided on the last minute he wanted to do a pump out before he left. The problem being the pump out was about quarter of a mile back the other way. Chris informed us he was rubbish at steering the boat backwards so would we give him a hand.

Well John looked at me and shook his head, but me being me will give anything a go once! On boarding the wide beam Chris just let go of the tiller and said to me, "Its all yours". Now wasn't quite the right time to tell Chris, I had never steered a wide beam before, let alone steer it backwards! So off we went, and I can proudly say I steered it all the way back to the pump out, and backwards through a bridge too, I was so pleased with myself. Chris commented the manoeuvre was expertly done, how chuffed was I?

It wasn't until the boat was safely tied out side the pump out that I told Chris I had never steered a wide beam before! He looked at me with a fleeting look of, are you mad woman! Non the less he thanked me very much. I then asked if I could look inside the boat. She was gorgeous, a really nice fit out and very tastefully done.

Now I will come clean, the boat was fitted with a bow thruster, which makes the job of going backwards so much easier. Its not something I have ever wanted on our boat, but I think on a wide beam they are really needed.

We eventually set off on our weekend away, early Saturday afternoon, after seeing Chris off. Well the inevitable happened, no sooner had we set off the heavens opened! Sods Law! We moored up and waited for the rain to stop which lucky for us, wasn't long, so off we went.

As I said we couldn't go far, so once we reached a nice quiet place we stopped. We were just beyond Heatons bridge, moored next to a field with a couple of horses in it. After having something to eat we just wound down and relaxed, bliss!.

I decided to call to the horses in the field, a lovely brown and white one came over to the fence, Bobby had never seen a horse close up before and his reaction was comical! His little eyes nearly popped out of his head, the horses head was probably the same size as the whole of Bobby! He promptly put his defences up and growled and barked at the horse. He really didn't like it at all, but I did manage to take some photos.

While we were out John said he would take me for a nice meal. When we got up Sunday, I cooked a full english We then just relaxed on the back deck and laughed at Bobby keeping a wary lookout for the big monster, ( The Horse )! After eating such a big breakfast we decided that on the way home we would call into the new Scarisbrick Marina for a meal. My Mum had said the meals were really nice there so we thought we would give it a try. It was quite nice to be able to sail the boat and moor up outside the coffee shop in the marina.

After studying the menu board, John and I both decided on the quiche with salad, then hopefully, ( in my case anyway ) followed by one of the delicious cakes on offer. Well, I would now like to describe how wonderful the meal was, no such luck! On waiting to be served I noticed it didn't look as if you could pay with your card! I was so disappointed. We just had enough for a coffee and a coke! So on to plan B, which was to sail out of the Marina, and on to The Saracens Head Pub for a well deserved Sunday Roast! Very nice it was too!

Changing the subject of stuffing our faces,to something completely different, Coots! While sitting on the back deck relaxing, I couldn't help but notice the plight of the mother Coots. While the baby Coots are all very cute and fluffy, with their silver grey feathers, the little buggers never shut up! They constantly screech, screech and then screech some more. The poor mother Coots must be driven nuts, its not as if they can shove a dummy in their mouths to shut them up like we can! I actually watched the Mum with one of her screeching off spring, she took so much and then she turned on it as if to say, " for goodness sake stop your whinging "! She then flounced off in a Cooty huff, and hid her self away for a bit of peace!

In the meantime John had thrown some Broccoli in the cut, this kept the baby Coots entertained for ages, diving to get it from under the water. I swear the mother Coot winked at me as she swam passed, as if she was so grateful that we were entertaining the kids while she had a rest!

Ok I give up!

2009-06-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

Well in my previous post I intended to give you a photographic run down of my life with Tickety Boo so far, good intentions hey. Well after starting out well I quickly discovered, you can't rearrange photos and position them where you want them in your post. That I am afraid is no good to me. After a quick phone call to my mentor, Heather, Takey Tezey, ( Thankyou Heather ), my problem should hopefully be solved soon. So once again I have to ask you all to put up with my inadequacy once again!

Blimey days, this blogging lark is a hoot, what! No doubt it is easy when you know how, but when you don't know how, it isn't!! Here was me thinking once I got my Lap top I would be a top notch publisher in five minutes, you know getting a phone call off Waterways World asking me to be their new editor!!!!. Maybe not!. Like I have said before, this blogging is all good fun.

Oh and by the way, Waterways World, I will have to decline your offer, I couldn't possibly desert my blogging public!...

Whats in a name?

2009-06-21T04:09:00.000-07:00

Andy,( Nb Khayamanzi) has just given me the idea for this post. He replied to a comment I had left on his blog, telling me a boat had just moved on to his Marina called, Tickety Boo, excellent choice for a name!

This got me to thinking, of all the names our boat was nearly called!

Its starts off being quite exciting, choosing a name for your boat, then it gets a bit stressfull, (well it did for me) wondering if you have made the right choice!

Anyway,to begin with I quite liked, River Pheonix, but decided just because I thought he was a gorgeous actor, it didn't mean I had to call the boat afer him!
Next, I came up with Tiger Lily, Aurora Bourialis, (bit of a mouthfull)!Serendipity, (I think thats how you spell it),Tranquility, the list just went on and on, but nothing we came up with did it for us.

Then we went on to the names John liked. He chose Fugazi, an album by Fish of Marillion fame, now I quite liked that at the time, but then changed my mind. another name he liked was a song title, Slow Poke, by Neil Young. Now I don't know about you but I thought that was a tad risque! Eventually, after giving up all hope of ever finding a name we liked, I heard somebody on TV saying that every thing was Tickety Boo, that was it! So Tickety Boo was born. Its only just recently we have heard of other people choosing the same name, which I take as a compliment. It was obvious that somewhere on the system there was bound to be more Tickety Boo's!

A couple of years ago John said he had just seen a boat called, " My Ankle"! What a weird name for a boat. We eventually became friends of the crew, Frank and Pauline, who explained it was a play on the letters of their sons names. Personally John and I thought, " My Arse " would have been funnier!

As I have said in my Post or Comments before, we have seen some weird and wonderfull boat names on our travels, some of my favourites being, Weary Tired, Woof Bark Donkey, (If any body knows where this name originates from please let me know)Kids Inheritence,Canalgeisic,Idanoe,Idanoe is owned by friends of ours who came up with the name when somebody asked what the boat was called and they replied, " I dunno " ( I don't know, for you non scousers out there)!

Two other names we came up with after we had chosen Tickety Boo, were Ripples and Steel Magnolia, both of which are nice but we prefer, Tickety Boo!

One name that really made us laugh, and was brought to our attention by Nev, Nb Waterlily, is W.Anchor. This boat actually passed our mooring the other day coming back from Liverpool, so Nev, we too have seen the W.Anchor..........

Sorted!

2009-06-20T04:20:00.000-07:00

At last, got my template back in order, don't know about colour or font, but for the moment I will leave well alone!

I have noticed over the past couple of weeks the volume of boats has risen, passing us on the way to the new Liverpool Link. We enjoyed it when we went, but would like to go again and stay a bit longer next time. It would be quite nice to go into town for a meal, and then back to the boat in the Salthouse Dock.

So if you pass Tickety Boo on your way through to the Link, give us a toot and a wave,your more than welcome to stop and have a cuppa with us if you have time.

If you have already travelled through to the Link I would love to know how you got on and what you think of it.

Over the years since we have had the boat, we have heard horror stories about boats being bricked and abuse from undesireables. I can honestly say hand on heart that we had no problem going through to Liverpool. Maybe the odd bit of rubbish around the prop, but you have to expect that in boating.A lot of people have suggested it was quiet because all the kids were in school, but to be honest the little so and so's that cause the trouble would probably bunk off anyway!

Just before I go, I must just tell you what John and I spotted floating down the canal the other day, a floral tribute, obviously from a keen fishermans funeral. It was in the shape of a fish surrounded with white and yellow flowers, it was beautifully made, John and I both thought it was a really nice touch to think that these flowers would float passed all the places where the fisherman enjoyed to fish.

I wonder if they fish in Heaven........

Oops!

2009-06-20T01:56:00.000-07:00

Well I have had good old play on my laptop, a bit too much of a play me thinks!

I played around on my blog with new templates, new layouts, font, colour and all that. You may ask why? Well just because I could! Now I can't get it back the way it was! Did you lot out there fiddle about like this, when you started blogging, or am I just too much of a fiddler?

My followers are now at the top of my blog, as much as I love you all I don't want you there! Goodness knows where my archives have gone??? Oh come back old template all is forgiven!

Well I will try again later, see what I can do, so in the meantime, to all you readers out there, can you just put up with my higgledy piggledy lay out. I promise Mr Blog Boss, I won't fiddle again.

Thinking about it, my original template was ok, why couldn't I leave well alone.

Well Nev, on NB Waterlily, THIS is what you call a whingy blog!!!!!!

Whinge over!

Dongled up and ready to fly!

2009-06-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

Today was my 50th Birthday! Not quite sure how I feel about that!

My lovely Daughter Kirsty had arranged for an early Birthday celebration on Sunday, as this was the only day possible to round up every body to be there. When I arrived I was greeted by, Kirsty, Heather, my other daughter, Dean, my son, my Mum, brother John and my John. It was a lovely surprise when I got there, Kirsty had put baloons up, and her and Mum had laid on a spread, which was later added to with a couple of bargain buckets from KFC.

Even though I never normally open cards or presents before my actual birthday,I bent the rules on this occasion.Dean, Kirsty and Heather presented me with a big box, on opening it I was blown away to discover they had all clubbed together to buy me a Laptop!!

As readers of my blog will know I have been wanting to get a Laptop, but knew it would be a while before I could afford one.

Well as you can imagine I was like an excited child on Christmas morning! All I had to do now was get a Dongle, ( daft name if you ask me). I should have gone with my instinct and gone for T Mobile, as I have a been blogging on my G1 phone with this network for a while,even if a bit slow at times, it was good enough for me.

After asking advice, from instore and freinds, I decided to go with 3, as this seemed to be the best deal for the £15 a month. I remember reading a blog not so long ago, that said 3 was crap, their words not mine!

Well.... I am beginning to wonder if they were right! After Dingle Dongleing for hours, I couldn't get connected, and you all know how frustrating that is. All last night for hours I tried, no luck,again this morning, for hours... Fingers crossed I have been connected for an hour! Is it just teething problems? does it take hours to settle in, or is 3 indeed crap!(my words this time)

I am beginnig to chomp at the bit, wanting to race back to, Car Phone Warehouse, with tail between legs and go back to T Mobile. Luckily I am not tied to 3, I can change if I want to, I have a month to make up my mind.I don't know about being 50, after all this faffing about I feel about 92 and counting!!

Joking aside, I am really, really chuffed to bits with my new laptop,thanks to Kirstys bright idea and Heather and Dean chipping in. It will make blogging so much easier and even more enjoyable. What great kids I have, (I always knew that anyway though)!

Well, ( I am whispering saying this ) I'm still connected, so maybe it was just teething problems,if so I will be the first to apologise to 3, cap in handish!

Now I have to learn how to put photos on my blog all over again, as ts slightly different on here than the G1. I am sure given time I will work it out, and anyway it will keep this old fart out of trouble for a while!

Frog Fright!

2009-06-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

After reading Nb Bones post about the frog, it reminded me of something froggy that happend to me some years ago.

When we lived in a house we had a neighbour called, Carol. We got on really well and spent many a sunny afternoon chatting over the fence.

I was busy doing housework one warm afternoon, I had the french doors open to let in a breeze. I heard a commotion out in Carols back garden. On going out to investigate, I found Carol near hysteria! She had spotted a frog near her back door and was terrified it was going to hop in to her house!

Carol had, had a fear of frogs since childhood which I thought quite funny, as I quite like frogs. Me being the brave one offerd to move the little frog, who had hopped in to a corner so couldn't escape anywhere. As I stooped down and went to pick up the frog to my horror it sqealed, a real high pitched noise, well Carol screamed and I just ran with fright and ended up at the bottom of the garden!

I had never heard a frog make a noise other than a croak, but apparently its a warning to predetors or when the frog is in danger. So now you know, Frogs scream! Oh and for the record , so does Carol!

" Blue Peter " moments!

2009-06-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

If you read my last post, you will have realised I was having a Blue Peter urge, with my DIY curtains. Well today I will show you how to make a Bilge Pump out of an old squeezy bottle, some sticky back plastic and an old egg carton! Oh ok only joking, if only it was that simple.

Changing the subject completely, I would like to tell you about my episode with a con merchant. As I have mentioned before, I work part time in a Discount store. I was on the till yesterday, it wasn't mad busy just a steady stream of customers through the check out. A young girl came through my till, I would say she was in her early twenties.

On purchasing a 99p dog collar, the girl paid with a ten pound note, as I gave her the change of a five pound note, four pound coins and a penny, she asked if I could give her change of ten pounds ?? After serving the next customer I opend the till and told the girl I had no fivers in my till ( are you keeping up?) On telling her this she said it was ok she would give me change for a tenner

On giving her the tenner for her fiver and five pound coins, she really quickly offered me the tenner back and asked for her twenty back !!! Now if this sounds confusing to you I can assure you at this point my head was spinning. I realised she was conning me and told her to get lost, and leave the shop. For a split second though I nearly did give her the twenty pound note! This all happend in seconds, I can understand how people fall for it.

Apparantly, two cashiers have been duped into giving these con merchants twenty pound notes. They are so clever how they do it, very quick, not giving you a chance to think, they often target the young cashiers ( I will take that as a compliment)! when the store is busy, which our store often is. This girl must have been desperate, the store was quite empty and she picked on an older cashier.

She well and truly got her eye wiped, and soon found out I am not as daft as I look!!

As you can imagine, getting back to the peace and quiet of the mooring, away from the mad hustle and bustle of the shop, is absolute bliss!

DIY Porthole Curtains ( Night Time )

2009-06-06T09:56:00.001-07:00

When we first got the boat my Mum made us lovely porthole stoppers. They were made of foam discs covered in material. As time went on I discovered the foam was'nt quite rigid enough to hold the stoppers in place. Eventually after wondering what I could use as a rigid frame I spotted Hoola Hoops in the shop where I work. You know, the ones you put around your waste, and Hoola!.

I stripped the bright pink plastic off to reveal white tubing. Perfect. I then cut to the size I wanted, and used original material to cover hoop, gather into the middle and add matching button. I also put blackout material inside the hoop so it would block out early morning sunlight. I sewed a little loop on to the stopper to make it easy to remove from the porthole. Because the stopper is now rigid, you can have window open behind it to cut down on condensation. Job done!

DIY Porthole Curtains. ( Daytime )

2009-06-06T09:10:00.001-07:00

I have seen a lot of Boats with Lace Doilys in the portholes. I can't crochet, and couldn't find 15 inch Doilys anywhere. I managed to find a 15 inch Quilt frame, similar to the hoops you use for embroidery. I bought two and because its a double hoop on each, they would do four portholes. I cut four circles out of some net and then stapled to the hoops. They look neat and tidy, don't block any light out and didn't cost the earth! Plus they give us a bit more privacy in daylight hours.

Scary Photo!

2009-06-05T15:15:00.001-07:00

I have just had to renew my driving license photograph. The ten year life span of my old photo was up. Off I trotted to my nearest Photo shop, where I had to sit in the middle of the shop to have a passport style photo taken.

How do the people who work in these shops keep a straight face? The very nice lady who took my photo had to redo it, because on the first one she took I was showing my teeth! How very naughty of me. The second one she said was fine.

I stuck the photo in the envelope with the form, posted it, and forgot all about it, until today. My new license arrived complete with new photo. I wasn't showing my teeth but was doing an excellent impression of a Bulldog chewing a wasp.

So now I am stuck with this terrible photo for ten years, heaven forbid I ever have to show it to anybody.

Why can't you smile on these photos, is it just to give the workers in the License/ Passport office a laugh, looking at all the glum faces. Personally I would find it quite depressing having to look at long faces all day!

Well I am stuck with my new license because I am not forking out another £26.00. That's how much it was with the photos.

When John saw the photo he gave me a new nick name, " old scare the kids". He says the nicest things.......

Our Boy.

2009-06-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

Bobby peeping through the long grass. Does he think we can't see him!

Too hot to handle!

2009-06-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

I love sunny days, but don't much like very hot sunny days, I don't do heat. I could never live in a very hot country, I would melt!

However, the last couple of days have been a refreshing change from wind and rain. Its great weather for cruising as when your on the move there is always a breeze to keep you cool.

I find that hot days just make me drowsy. I am not moaning honest! Its great to see the way sunshine cheers everybody up, and brings people out in the open.

Autumn is my favourite season, sunny but cool. The colours of Autumn are stunning too. Not that I am wishing it to come too soon.

I will never understand why people spit roast themselves smotherd in oil, I can't think of a more uncomfortable passtime. Well every body to their own I suppose. The weather is due to change, according to the forcasts. Cool air can move in whenever it likes as far as I am concerned!

We have just been passed by two very impressive Hotel Boats, Taurus and Snipe, on their way through to Liverpool. I don't think I have ever seen two boats so well cared for, they are a credit to their owners. Seeing these two lovely boats has made me more determined to get Ticketys paint job underway!

Can I just say Hi to my followers and please feel free to leave comments, good or bad! Also to any new readers of this blog who may be thinking of delving into Narrow boat world, please don't hesitate to be nosey and ask questions, and if I can advise in anyway I will do. Not that I am an expert by any means, but its sometimes nice to talk to people who have had experience of living aboard, if that's what you are thinking of doing. Be warned though I will encourage you all the way!

Swans coming to visit, at top lock Parbold.

2009-05-30T10:07:00.001-07:00

Heather and Dave on board Takey Tezey

2009-05-29T15:30:00.001-07:00

Takey Tezey coming up Lathom Locks.

2009-05-29T14:25:00.001-07:00

John and Bobby relaxing at Appley Bridge Top Lock. Takey Tezey in the background

2009-05-29T14:15:00.001-07:00

Dave getting towed on Kestrel, surfing the waves!

2009-05-29T14:05:00.001-07:00

Tickety Boo and Takey Tezey at Parbold

2009-05-29T14:02:00.001-07:00

Unplanned Holiday!

2009-05-27T02:28:00.001-07:00

Well, what started off as a short weekend away to meet a fellow Blogger, turned into a weeks holiday!

We set off teatime Friday. I had been in work all day so John got the boat all ready so we could set off as soon as I arrived home. Dave and Alison started out with us on their cruiser, Kestrel. ( Dave and Alison are friends of ours from the moorings ). They were only going to Haskayne,and we were carrying on to Burscough for the night,

Things very rarely go to plan for boaters, as you know.... Ten minutes into our journey, Kestrel coughed and splutterd to a halt. After much humming and ahhing, and still non the wiser as to what the problem was we decided to tow Kestrel to Haskayne, where Alison and Dave would be joined by friends the next day.

We decided to spend the night with Alison and Dave, then travel on to Parbold the next day, where we would meet up with WB Takey Tezey. Alison had brought homemade Beef Strogonoff, that she kindly shared with us for tea, it was delicious and much appreciated. We spent the rest of the night on the back deck having a drink and a good old natter.

The following day we travelled on to the Rufford Branch on the Leeds Liverpool, where Takey Tezey would be coming up Lathom Locks to meet us. I have been reading Takey Tezey Tales and was really looking forward to meeting her crew, Heather and Dave

After waiting a while at the Locks we saw Takey Tezey making her way up the last two locks. It felt weird seeing her the flesh, a lovely boat she is too! Introductions over we had a drink from, the Ship Pub, known locally as, The Blood Tub, ( Don't ask! Its not as sinister as it sounds though ) As we stood around having our drink Takey Tezey rose in the lock all by herself!

The plan was that we would spend the rest of Saturday and Sunday morning with Heth and Dave, then make are way back, as I was in work Bank Holiday Monday. We were getting on so well I decided to phone my boss and ask for the Monday off, to my surprise he agreed. We went on to spend a really enjoyable couple of days.

Saturday night we spent at Parbold, by the old Windmill. We had a drink on TT and we all had a good chat, and had a meal from the chippy, a rare treat indeed, as john and I had'nt had a nice chippy meal for a while, ( healthy eating and all that )

Sunday we travelled through to Appley Bridge through the Lock and on to Deans Lock. We were going to stay at Deans Lock but decided to travel on further. We eventually moored out side The Navigation Pub, newly named The Baby Elephant, an Indian Restaurant. We all had a nice meal there, my dish was called, " Naga Naga" which John thought was quite apt for me!

Monday, we travelled back through Deans Lock to Appley Bridge, but instead of going down the Lock we moored at the top, which gave us a great view. We had a BBQ and may I say Dave is a great BBQ chef! We liked where we were, so stayed another night.

Wednesday, was to be our last night. We had really enjoyed Heather and Daves company, they are a great couple and really good fun. We decided to head back to Burscough, to a pub called, The Farmers Arms . We moored out side the pub and went in for a meal. We had a great night, a good few scoops plenty of banter and laughter. I think the Landlord thought he had gone deaf when we left the pub, the volume rose steadily with each glass of wine!

Thursday came all too soon, it was time to make our way back. We enjoyed our unplanned Holiday and will keep in touch with Takey Tezey and her crew!

Hoorar, the rain has stopped!

2009-05-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

So this is what blue sky looks like!