tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61091834937633200242024-03-13T21:36:09.939-07:00Life Afloat On Narrowboat Tickety BooMy dream to buy a boat was a simple enough task, granted a bit scary delving into the very unknown but what could possibly go wrong? What indeed! Everything that could have been thrown at me to put me off, was flung! My sheer determination to see this dream fulfilled drove me on regardless,and now I have been rewarded with the simple life I craved!life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-2458224127120022662023-07-08T10:27:00.000-07:002023-07-08T10:27:15.779-07:00Happiness Tinged With Sadness..<p> In my last post, I told you all about the new phase in our lives.</p><p>Al and I are settling in nicely on Tickety Boo and the marina where she is moored is lovely. Unfortunately, I have recently lost another close friend who played a huge part at the Marina.</p><p>Mark was one of a kind and the mold was definitely broken once he was made! He was a once-in-a-lifetime character. Slightly bonkers, unique, funny, stubborn, wacky sense of humor with a heart of absolute gold.</p><p>He was taken suddenly totally out of the blue and if I am being honest I am still reeling from the shock, and finding it hard to accept he has gone. We go way back and at one time we were an item but we both very soon realized we would never make it as a couple and we were far better as close friends and we were. We could go weeks or even months not seeing or hearing from each other but always picked up where we left off.</p><p>Mark was really happy for Al and me and he was pleased to see me settled with someone at long last! He had lots of girlfriends but never managed to settle down, his first loves were his family, boat, and his dog. Sadly he had recently had his dream boat built and he had so many plans for the future I find it incredibly sad that he never got to see those plans through.</p><p>The Marina holds so many memories of Mark, everywhere you look his handiwork is evident, he loved working at the Marina and was always about with a cheery wave and that mischievous grin! I know he is missed by us all.</p><p>Mark always gave everybody a nickname, mine was Dooey short for Debbie Dolittle, he thought that was hilarious, me not so much but it grew on me! I got my own back by giving him the nickname Scooby, he just reminded me of the gangly cartoon character all legs and goofiness. Alan didn't get away with it either Mark called him Haircut as he always has his hair neatly cut.</p><p>Mark's woodworking skills were excellent he took pride in his work and it shows. He made a lovely cratch frame for Tickety Boo and made it exactly as I asked. I am really happy we have that to remember him by.</p><p>The Marina will never be the same again but when we chat about Mark with other boaters it always makes us smile remembering him. I will miss him a lot as we all will. More than anything I will miss his voice bellowing Doooooooeeeeey over the Marina!</p><p>The only thing that gives me some comfort in losing my friend at such a young age is that he packed so much into his short life, more than most people do living to a ripe old age. Mark will always be remembered forever young and full of beans taking the micky out of people but not in a nasty way.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8N7y609iGriFpPcVpFd60Fv3D8TU3k7UL9SoE8_h3wFP3ZCWxjUWWGlGWYd-ImCj44sd5-A47vscePkB3KPCG_dkyummQivEb8VKS0BU_UzYR_jAU47h6HcocTRbD2HGAutg-Fy83Thrp5b7_Fj1f6xs1UDVqqP1QMChpEKWPY9TS96ZHCNtA-IBo9Vy/s651/IMG_5568.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></p><p>I am in touch with Marks's Mum and Dad on a regular basis and as you can imagine they are devastated but we often laugh at memories of him we recall. My heart goes out to them.</p><p>I have lots of fond memories of my wacky friend and I know for certain he wouldn't want any of us to be sad he would tell us we were being silly buggers! As time passes the sadness will lift but he will never ever be forgotten...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8N7y609iGriFpPcVpFd60Fv3D8TU3k7UL9SoE8_h3wFP3ZCWxjUWWGlGWYd-ImCj44sd5-A47vscePkB3KPCG_dkyummQivEb8VKS0BU_UzYR_jAU47h6HcocTRbD2HGAutg-Fy83Thrp5b7_Fj1f6xs1UDVqqP1QMChpEKWPY9TS96ZHCNtA-IBo9Vy/s651/IMG_5568.PNG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5COjLSu9_MSfYwtXrd4Sa7p_oukjLNoK8z3NebNpA-pP7whwHEQom5C1B_BD-7QFS9Osom_ACjHlO8O4Sfydm2uOFunBCTkkl1jiRu_b79xJvtKVOsWMIF9tgyc9Iks-_bT_ul1FEGNhJhvavsSAY-WaKlduNpCeleMM2FTvYO7nzbXxNhocUQch8n26/s651/IMG_5568.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="640" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5COjLSu9_MSfYwtXrd4Sa7p_oukjLNoK8z3NebNpA-pP7whwHEQom5C1B_BD-7QFS9Osom_ACjHlO8O4Sfydm2uOFunBCTkkl1jiRu_b79xJvtKVOsWMIF9tgyc9Iks-_bT_ul1FEGNhJhvavsSAY-WaKlduNpCeleMM2FTvYO7nzbXxNhocUQch8n26/w374-h366/IMG_5568.PNG" width="374" /></a></div>RIP Scooby xxx<p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-10438688181589454672023-07-03T11:29:00.000-07:002023-07-03T11:29:24.651-07:00Back On Water!<p> Well, where do I begin? Before I start this post I want to thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Quite a few people have asked when will I write another so here we go!</p><p>It's been a hectic year really but in a nice kind of way. Al put his house on the market as he wants to downsize. A four-bedroom family house was a tad too big for both of us. It was hard for him and I will never underestimate how tough it was for him to sell his lovely home but as I pointed out to him all the lovely memories that were made in that home would travel with him in his head and heart, and there were truly lots over the thirty odd years he lived there. He had toyed with the idea for some years to downsize so the fact that he took that leap of faith makes me really proud of him.</p><p>The bungalow we were hoping to move into has not been vacated as of yet as the sellers haven't found a suitable new home. Luckily we have Tickety Boo to live on while we wait. I can think of a lot worse places to stay! I love being on board again because as you all know I love my boat, I just hope Al will cope with living on her for a while! I am sure he will be fine and seems to be settling in well. It's not completely new to him as he has stayed on the boat lots of times.</p><p>As you all know if you have moved house, it's really stressful and hard work! Made even more stressful by the fact the property we were hoping to move into won't be available for a while. In the meantime, Al is leaving his options open. Everything is safely in storage so it will still be there for us when we move into our new abode.</p><p>We went on a two-week cruise at the end of July it was a much-needed holiday before the onslaught of packing and moving which was imminent. The break was nice but the new P+O ship we went on was not our cup of tea at all, it was huge, and had far too many people on board. Lots of queues for everything which we really didn't like, so in future we will stick to the smaller more personal ships. The break did however recharge our batteries. Unfortunately, our calorie intake went through the roof, we all but bounced off the ship at the end of the cruise!! We have however been really good since being home and the pounds gained are coming off slowly. Running up and down stairs dozens of times while moving helped too!</p><p>It took a while to decide just what to bring to the boat as she is already equipped for living on so we just had to choose carefully which of our many clothes and shoes to bring as storage on the boat is minuscule compared to a four-bedroom house with lots of wardrobe space! My Mum has kindly let us put a huge clothes rail in her spare bedroom so we can get to our clothes if need be. My little "Noddy Car" (Fiat 500) has now become a mobile shoe caddy as I have all my shoes in a suitcase in the boot, a kind of Fiat Emelda Marcos! We need to have our dancing shoes at hand too as we still love to dance.</p><p>I took a whole day to unpack the numerous bags we brought to the boat as everything had to have an allotted space tidy and out of the way. I spent most of the time juggling and swapping about to make space, I am proud to say I did it..eventually. I like to keep the boat tidy so I won, just!</p><p>So now we will just enjoy living on the boat and wonder where we will end up living as there is a possibility that the owners of the bungalow may not find a suitable new home and even though Al put in an offer that was accepted they may have no choice than to back out on the deal but we will see.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbTtX4J2DI7XJaWI4VD5bIHE8aoJ1_DZKM-L0olZ6Me59i0cn-TmStwWp7IxDs25FN_cPju6Jp9Rf0pZED20syiGI5PB9C5nbk2YDsXZlr6aqlRxWfE0SqyPNxny_2Ez5Mila9yp4UUKm49OvvzONFdP0bVyQIslQrjLpN_cVXLMWzEX7q9Yh5N-E9KdX/s649/IMG_6299.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="639" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbTtX4J2DI7XJaWI4VD5bIHE8aoJ1_DZKM-L0olZ6Me59i0cn-TmStwWp7IxDs25FN_cPju6Jp9Rf0pZED20syiGI5PB9C5nbk2YDsXZlr6aqlRxWfE0SqyPNxny_2Ez5Mila9yp4UUKm49OvvzONFdP0bVyQIslQrjLpN_cVXLMWzEX7q9Yh5N-E9KdX/s320/IMG_6299.PNG" width="315" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWNsGSaibDAwf6xtFUGIvyikvcTOHb1IfatarQ_a6i1ToDXuNls8Br3I9oGhGBQatsHo2_jy2pM5M7UPIipg7U1Ht8SYQrxofOYdpT37omnu8Vq1WP-xMnWURipB8TZAy8zVUCdF-pSIdp4G5Dosq_AGdZknUC5jEtct0cJCdZWSfrgSB8JhtCaQRPZo9/s4032/IMG_6178.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWNsGSaibDAwf6xtFUGIvyikvcTOHb1IfatarQ_a6i1ToDXuNls8Br3I9oGhGBQatsHo2_jy2pM5M7UPIipg7U1Ht8SYQrxofOYdpT37omnu8Vq1WP-xMnWURipB8TZAy8zVUCdF-pSIdp4G5Dosq_AGdZknUC5jEtct0cJCdZWSfrgSB8JhtCaQRPZo9/s4032/IMG_6178.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWNsGSaibDAwf6xtFUGIvyikvcTOHb1IfatarQ_a6i1ToDXuNls8Br3I9oGhGBQatsHo2_jy2pM5M7UPIipg7U1Ht8SYQrxofOYdpT37omnu8Vq1WP-xMnWURipB8TZAy8zVUCdF-pSIdp4G5Dosq_AGdZknUC5jEtct0cJCdZWSfrgSB8JhtCaQRPZo9/s320/IMG_6178.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div>Al enjoying a pint on the cruise in Barcelona.<div>I loved it there beautiful place.<br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>One of the highlights of the cruise</p><p>was this fabulous Horse show that Al surprised me with, The horses were stunning I loved every minute. We then went on to a Sherry tasting which was lovely too. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Big Sherry glass needed!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnF9i7l13wGjjHj9PekUfutIW13MAjNsDdyOI3ZGA_Obz-KOD3dmSIdOgepoTh0mrrgdAbLn4VC_2sGhC9nZG868H_BrQJNl9ZbAf-TFM8-STkv0WqPWXQHSoEsDrtMIbO2CJgkXGXQ31Xvxf2ok54mZGp2338K-XuV7ZNSLtk8XiIydsHICfO39MhD16C/s4032/IMG_6203.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnF9i7l13wGjjHj9PekUfutIW13MAjNsDdyOI3ZGA_Obz-KOD3dmSIdOgepoTh0mrrgdAbLn4VC_2sGhC9nZG868H_BrQJNl9ZbAf-TFM8-STkv0WqPWXQHSoEsDrtMIbO2CJgkXGXQ31Xvxf2ok54mZGp2338K-XuV7ZNSLtk8XiIydsHICfO39MhD16C/s320/IMG_6203.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OhXqxdeGl41gwbvZYu0olezr_qRG_pmp-6zuLD4Xjx4MAXf5vl6x6CqWrVSCZoeQfa0rpyNf8tuCDNfvUekCJCQdKE6GDNYjbud65D65VuiPWjxl_eSj6cCC-aQM678HWl6KTXqnlrEcVgSePv-iKPcMhgQUN1VK7e5zHrCu8q1vS8vmDws2IjOzkQ7k/s4032/IMG_6163.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OhXqxdeGl41gwbvZYu0olezr_qRG_pmp-6zuLD4Xjx4MAXf5vl6x6CqWrVSCZoeQfa0rpyNf8tuCDNfvUekCJCQdKE6GDNYjbud65D65VuiPWjxl_eSj6cCC-aQM678HWl6KTXqnlrEcVgSePv-iKPcMhgQUN1VK7e5zHrCu8q1vS8vmDws2IjOzkQ7k/s320/IMG_6163.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>Another lovely highlight was my 64th Birthday gorgeous flowers from Al and a lovely meal plus money to treat myself, I am so bloody spoilt! It was also lovely to be treated to another lovely meal with Mum, my two Daughters Kirsty and Heather, Charlotte, my Son Dean, and my fabulous Granddaughters Phoebe and Darcy. So lovely having them all together! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcSyZBluuXpdBtqEGfZljjp5qBR4DJFothUh3eKC60YRP0O1oAKOeMi20RcmOdcGpLqB0o6NFPrSBA3kWBFSuamVtM4KxBIxvbTx3GYxiv-YjoDLAEO4yjvuqFx1D18C_tBfjS71FaLW3_VyjnIQtXlzO52c9PXv4MRsOWAY0zBu0WrIMGamgHTzbEWyok/s4032/IMG_6344.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcSyZBluuXpdBtqEGfZljjp5qBR4DJFothUh3eKC60YRP0O1oAKOeMi20RcmOdcGpLqB0o6NFPrSBA3kWBFSuamVtM4KxBIxvbTx3GYxiv-YjoDLAEO4yjvuqFx1D18C_tBfjS71FaLW3_VyjnIQtXlzO52c9PXv4MRsOWAY0zBu0WrIMGamgHTzbEWyok/s320/IMG_6344.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Gang!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7EIEP9HMyGGKedZA0kCGA06mhoscza39CvjqzZYjkjiK-03PpcYKPZH4PXxZvdfrdxSVYab4NbJVn5lIGlK75FHE6aLEjh-EuEPZr5mpW9vWllKCCKde5eM-EZwyu90inJo54EQbxUsMzDxDcqSAca18b0iWdf_jRl9VktX_6ti0MsEHSpTnl8s5oN73/s3278/IMG_6290.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3278" data-original-width="2987" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7EIEP9HMyGGKedZA0kCGA06mhoscza39CvjqzZYjkjiK-03PpcYKPZH4PXxZvdfrdxSVYab4NbJVn5lIGlK75FHE6aLEjh-EuEPZr5mpW9vWllKCCKde5eM-EZwyu90inJo54EQbxUsMzDxDcqSAca18b0iWdf_jRl9VktX_6ti0MsEHSpTnl8s5oN73/w503-h502/IMG_6290.JPG" width="503" /></a></div>My lovely flowers.<br /><p>We have lots of little jobs to do on the boat that will keep us busy at the weekends. I only have two more weeks in work before we break up for our 6-week school summer holiday, I can't wait!</p><p>Hopefully, I won't leave it too long before I write another blog but I can't promise! Life is wonderfully busy at the minute so as much as I like waffling to you all I just can't believe where the time goes!</p><p>We have lots to look forward to finding a new place to live but I will let you into a secret, my home is wherever Al is so I will adapt to any choice he makes for our new home. Happiness is being with the one who means everything.</p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-18785610970966629512022-05-11T04:32:00.006-07:002022-05-11T04:39:06.463-07:00Well, What A Year That Was!<p> Finally got around to another post!</p><p>Well, 2021 flew by, I can't keep up with how fast time is going! It was a fabulous year all be it a bit restricted but lots of nice things happened for me regardless!</p><p>We now have two new rooms on Tickety boo, We have had two new recreational spaces added to the boat. To say I am thrilled would be a total understatement! I have longed for bow and stern covers for years but it was just a distant dream until now, thanks to a certain somebody!</p><p>We decided to go with Amtrim boat covers and what an excellent choice that was. Their attention to detail is superb and the advice and suggestions to make the covers look their best was outstanding, to say the least. We had to wait for a while as they were very busy but in my book that's the best advert a company can have, it means they are in demand for an excellent service!</p><p> After waiting a couple of months the two lovely guys came out and measured, they then got back to us with a price and in no time the covers were ready to be fitted. I was blown away at just how lovely the boat looked. We decided to go for black with green trim to match the boat. I must add at this stage I much prefer to see boats without covers, aesthetically I think they just look better without but I was pleasantly surprised at how Tickety boo suited them, especially with the matching green trim! The company come highly recommended and couldn't have been more helpful.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJZACf67pfYv6UKaw1FwrQv-CyDyElSsxYPJ1mQGfpbE8EN8T2W_vi3aFDtZk8WVcwAM-8u8ypOllQwVPDW5Q9rXThxYcasUekpiSohaDf18hNBMZrVAgVu6Eq1TerRIChe8s4-faz-hpV6RTj6j-v4yi1d7hOvuBmsjBNv--Z8jifCo1T8GwrOuYTRg=s1600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJZACf67pfYv6UKaw1FwrQv-CyDyElSsxYPJ1mQGfpbE8EN8T2W_vi3aFDtZk8WVcwAM-8u8ypOllQwVPDW5Q9rXThxYcasUekpiSohaDf18hNBMZrVAgVu6Eq1TerRIChe8s4-faz-hpV6RTj6j-v4yi1d7hOvuBmsjBNv--Z8jifCo1T8GwrOuYTRg=w302-h404" width="302" /></a></div><br /> T Boo in her new cratch cover.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhm-IXamP1vuAopDIEg5gZtu97uibJW54CuzwGdtKuYqfOqXNo_1-hIgXA_GngSfUiCaCTQfCaBv4H5Si5zc31kXxYmaPD0xybgqF2ZBcaPN5GMXO4CF-7n8Ii4y7tifDPmdIFf7PzFPEYJR1Ic9JoKh04v3Ka7t0vX6pwgbQSL1i5WcJZPC4t1OlKRRA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhm-IXamP1vuAopDIEg5gZtu97uibJW54CuzwGdtKuYqfOqXNo_1-hIgXA_GngSfUiCaCTQfCaBv4H5Si5zc31kXxYmaPD0xybgqF2ZBcaPN5GMXO4CF-7n8Ii4y7tifDPmdIFf7PzFPEYJR1Ic9JoKh04v3Ka7t0vX6pwgbQSL1i5WcJZPC4t1OlKRRA=s320" width="320" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgMm7TW1pMFt7RcowpWMfo8yjm35cyEDmHm8bByBUY1beI0_neABhFbRgyQ4wCM_hTVD532ldngdY0aLn_590GKOqvdvROw4xJHvc75AP1jxEpJhzBtRNk9YZrPKTXC97ojYMm5o1qk3sO5XpNHKSkRqW0yQziA1IIRZvT-LFDTp7yUPC-WCWAb__bMQ=s1600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgMm7TW1pMFt7RcowpWMfo8yjm35cyEDmHm8bByBUY1beI0_neABhFbRgyQ4wCM_hTVD532ldngdY0aLn_590GKOqvdvROw4xJHvc75AP1jxEpJhzBtRNk9YZrPKTXC97ojYMm5o1qk3sO5XpNHKSkRqW0yQziA1IIRZvT-LFDTp7yUPC-WCWAb__bMQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div> Our new conservatory/garden room.<div> ( Oh ok it's the back deck but I quite like the new names)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjI1PywmckDtWE6wsQ3OOtEGtIdoAXLRag4QWjcEKhTRl2fMigjBG7i_LLvEL1gLwU3zgcz1sSSvD1l4SVol8zkPAqcgTA_or95Wmmgbz0OJ4nUmV3gRsm8COKh1Q4poK1pUuB3K6cSQptj6sIeO4g2hWUuVs6_e5YKyD5iz_l97j82s0lW-y4cHnb1Xw=s1600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjI1PywmckDtWE6wsQ3OOtEGtIdoAXLRag4QWjcEKhTRl2fMigjBG7i_LLvEL1gLwU3zgcz1sSSvD1l4SVol8zkPAqcgTA_or95Wmmgbz0OJ4nUmV3gRsm8COKh1Q4poK1pUuB3K6cSQptj6sIeO4g2hWUuVs6_e5YKyD5iz_l97j82s0lW-y4cHnb1Xw=s320" width="320" /></a></div> We were really surprised at how roomy the cruiser stern is undercover.<div> There has always been a bistro table and two chairs on the back deck</div><div> but now we can eat out there even when it's raining instead of just on a</div><div> sunny day!</div><div><br /></div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzTRBWD-k7uCbOpH-bOHBFttbWRhRkoCNeG2XBFIOFVH1c_3QF2Fw-u6aOcKTA0QJstQ4cbsILenIswtf0YwWPmj959elm-nXkVLfic8RN0Sx04K4w641rsj42lkfhz8bm85XkPqLHa-KxkHOZMxyzugna7sMyEuNhUoT-bbctNR1psK8TAWdFuZbd9Q=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzTRBWD-k7uCbOpH-bOHBFttbWRhRkoCNeG2XBFIOFVH1c_3QF2Fw-u6aOcKTA0QJstQ4cbsILenIswtf0YwWPmj959elm-nXkVLfic8RN0Sx04K4w641rsj42lkfhz8bm85XkPqLHa-KxkHOZMxyzugna7sMyEuNhUoT-bbctNR1psK8TAWdFuZbd9Q=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div> The bow is cute too. Al has laid astroturf bow and stern. I wasn't </div><div> sure about the turf but I like it now it's down.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDTnfhjjyzDNv27ojDFP627m_6WYItysvwWAtgogbuKT-q8O1b1aWVXADCXiRbAEv_-upwHcMoj69NS-pJ8aC-WCnD5pHYyBRJTtn04wLJzPyUE-cx5bkh-PR64i8S1AuO_4WViHcpGGcDi5QodM4hPRfR3_JCafM9WW6Q-63STq4N-bxK1_1iNcRhuA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDTnfhjjyzDNv27ojDFP627m_6WYItysvwWAtgogbuKT-q8O1b1aWVXADCXiRbAEv_-upwHcMoj69NS-pJ8aC-WCnD5pHYyBRJTtn04wLJzPyUE-cx5bkh-PR64i8S1AuO_4WViHcpGGcDi5QodM4hPRfR3_JCafM9WW6Q-63STq4N-bxK1_1iNcRhuA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div> So two more little rooms to use. I am just in the middle </div><div> of cosying up both bow and stern to make them a bit more </div><div> comfortable but all in all we are really pleased!</div><div> A big bonus is the engine bay will stay dry!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjoyLCzIl4-G9ZSOwo3Io7Nrbiheh9eLbu-kL5WLtUMxLzT0Unicl5at3iHGB5x45T5F4lct1lzYqvsYJTrGRcVueZ4v3Esldwh9ZXRbVcts7StnXKb9hszTTVAWVbG_AuMuCIzZDGKEAswgB2IVFpOwwtsirtdqsmSlnGgbXApwUDCTALIKC_Rqe4FQ=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjoyLCzIl4-G9ZSOwo3Io7Nrbiheh9eLbu-kL5WLtUMxLzT0Unicl5at3iHGB5x45T5F4lct1lzYqvsYJTrGRcVueZ4v3Esldwh9ZXRbVcts7StnXKb9hszTTVAWVbG_AuMuCIzZDGKEAswgB2IVFpOwwtsirtdqsmSlnGgbXApwUDCTALIKC_Rqe4FQ=w240-h320" width="240" /></a></div> <div> My little gateleg table in the bow</div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOlLkjwiqF3Osau71YL9hKwj8wxK6qWC3rUfKcDijUctKnZEOLgcRR-TiWJnez8WDIr9z555PONqO4IsOpi0-rWWTOJMZREvPZF9HWdL98XrV6OFwaSFtf9c0ghFtOTrRvhiw-bN184VH1VqaOTiS_vEgUzXcSx711bfX9ZCu8lkhSxmULFnjOQuPKw/s1440/1939DCE6-A783-40B9-BF1E-F060DD24F8F4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1251" data-original-width="1440" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOlLkjwiqF3Osau71YL9hKwj8wxK6qWC3rUfKcDijUctKnZEOLgcRR-TiWJnez8WDIr9z555PONqO4IsOpi0-rWWTOJMZREvPZF9HWdL98XrV6OFwaSFtf9c0ghFtOTrRvhiw-bN184VH1VqaOTiS_vEgUzXcSx711bfX9ZCu8lkhSxmULFnjOQuPKw/s320/1939DCE6-A783-40B9-BF1E-F060DD24F8F4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div> Astroturf and cushions! </div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div>That was the first exciting thing of the year. Al and I are still dancing our little legs off! It's good fun.</div><div>We also had a fabulous holiday to look forward to...</div><div><br /></div><div>Al surprised me with a two-week Christmas and New Years' cruise on the beautiful Queen Elizabeth!</div><div>There was a lot of protocol to go through to sail but it was so worth it. The Christmas decorations onboard were stunning! What a truly beautiful ship. We had a ball lots of dancing, eating, drinking and theatre. We had some lovely excursions my favourite being Madeira.</div><div><br /></div><div>We docked in Madeira on new years eve so spent the day touring the breathtaking private gardens we then took the cable car and when we got to the top we took a toboggan ride back down again, it was hysterical! It's a wooden sledge type thing that is steered by two men down the sloping streets of Madeira. I have never seen anything like it but it was a great experience.</div><div><br /></div><div>The highlight of the holiday for me was New years eve. The ship moved away from the port so we had a full view of the island ready for the firework display at midnight. It was one of the most breathtaking things I have ever seen, it was spectacular watching the whole island light up with a fantastic display.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzes5e_qW9KPDz0WBdKQZsVURwH-7qFwrnpFqF7C6-TIdN6lRHF_JbLhRQiENS5xOBW27zKXslaVc-R3Ru4cJn6p03FnrJa7A7Rd0HferZnZ07m9bDhGmLbPW9Kld2M_d-809B532hsxWSPsFB90I8JGbb_DCRSwNxaP4_3wrhXBKwcKKxq-086Prb8g=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzes5e_qW9KPDz0WBdKQZsVURwH-7qFwrnpFqF7C6-TIdN6lRHF_JbLhRQiENS5xOBW27zKXslaVc-R3Ru4cJn6p03FnrJa7A7Rd0HferZnZ07m9bDhGmLbPW9Kld2M_d-809B532hsxWSPsFB90I8JGbb_DCRSwNxaP4_3wrhXBKwcKKxq-086Prb8g=w509-h409" width="509" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguQ4CvrZ5P2lKE8u_A7FNx6hyCRXen9xZ4Ly4317O0jZqL1sM5Wp53d3VuJZ-uYaPp9uisob_kyA1sy88yUenvxo89_eUw7UsP-eTN2fx_7sY_eMGUAQVK349y_9g2JfyFizzJqTmfZYpBsOmZdvX3_10E8L9lFEL-oO2TQqZ55rRzZAiGk4TFiexUHw=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguQ4CvrZ5P2lKE8u_A7FNx6hyCRXen9xZ4Ly4317O0jZqL1sM5Wp53d3VuJZ-uYaPp9uisob_kyA1sy88yUenvxo89_eUw7UsP-eTN2fx_7sY_eMGUAQVK349y_9g2JfyFizzJqTmfZYpBsOmZdvX3_10E8L9lFEL-oO2TQqZ55rRzZAiGk4TFiexUHw=w413-h323" width="413" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4Ilz7W9-5r_oChEAEkQvMh8TSZqwVMud9oEfPiojqyAD_W8G0fBOka0Uwtj96T9i9wlvlRrQ2egHz5Hmi0RiNIxv8e6EwTN43_Lm89rCaQthJX3-ikAFix2WYA91rciK5Isysxzd0gcumIQ0CA39i9liBfOJ5Jb0ZZKPcO_n7dtFqq5IupeXnz4nOw/s4032/IMG_2097.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4Ilz7W9-5r_oChEAEkQvMh8TSZqwVMud9oEfPiojqyAD_W8G0fBOka0Uwtj96T9i9wlvlRrQ2egHz5Hmi0RiNIxv8e6EwTN43_Lm89rCaQthJX3-ikAFix2WYA91rciK5Isysxzd0gcumIQ0CA39i9liBfOJ5Jb0ZZKPcO_n7dtFqq5IupeXnz4nOw/s320/IMG_2097.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div> The fabulous Toboggan ride down the streets of Madeira, great fun!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2Lq472KzPt70qhP5UeA5Cayww_zw0VnA_JK4i0ZhUW-u187wDuZyFgZdmUjp4X86hoa6S2_wBgSXpoH7B0LEKv18HM99rkxiQMU0J-Q_Ehh3lOmBZm3J9CDqPCqAukREFS5EBtcKA40xuFFiANopEBTPP__0tFzcj7gRRI3i_0vPXVCg2U3-CJ_khQ/s4032/IMG_2079.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2Lq472KzPt70qhP5UeA5Cayww_zw0VnA_JK4i0ZhUW-u187wDuZyFgZdmUjp4X86hoa6S2_wBgSXpoH7B0LEKv18HM99rkxiQMU0J-Q_Ehh3lOmBZm3J9CDqPCqAukREFS5EBtcKA40xuFFiANopEBTPP__0tFzcj7gRRI3i_0vPXVCg2U3-CJ_khQ/s320/IMG_2079.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div> The stunning gardens in Madeira </div><div><br /></div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WjpoNiMXQZL5eoA40oQQmQZRmkJB9ffkCAEi6VIFrC0c8cWpHKMvEDHcTKIzm1qKLEzXxGQClDxhsRteqnOpTxez74ySsxxK4JlgHo0iI8FvRdRyA8L4WxWRLeAZD1VJNXKBjV3J7HEiF52-gOfkTdKCu7OrDBm855Qu2l4Zp9hs7Ypclee6StDfdw/s4032/IMG_2083.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WjpoNiMXQZL5eoA40oQQmQZRmkJB9ffkCAEi6VIFrC0c8cWpHKMvEDHcTKIzm1qKLEzXxGQClDxhsRteqnOpTxez74ySsxxK4JlgHo0iI8FvRdRyA8L4WxWRLeAZD1VJNXKBjV3J7HEiF52-gOfkTdKCu7OrDBm855Qu2l4Zp9hs7Ypclee6StDfdw/s320/IMG_2083.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgf2uRuys35OqI0q1XPDalRH3nn2ccQwGN47PB5V08w2Qf0g5ePKUlVkDugRbGMyr59vGpgcO561cn7Ej2HLtGZf-ykQcUp8wkQR3CRCoJ7T9zSwX_PvX7eZ4Jb-93D_AeM__SlHScnTDwf8ASWx7p1saGe57QCSTqJEzsGqfab556ulpTnyXJrHBEA/s4032/IMG_2127.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgf2uRuys35OqI0q1XPDalRH3nn2ccQwGN47PB5V08w2Qf0g5ePKUlVkDugRbGMyr59vGpgcO561cn7Ej2HLtGZf-ykQcUp8wkQR3CRCoJ7T9zSwX_PvX7eZ4Jb-93D_AeM__SlHScnTDwf8ASWx7p1saGe57QCSTqJEzsGqfab556ulpTnyXJrHBEA/s320/IMG_2127.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div> New Years' firework display, the photo doesn’t do it justice it was stunning!</div><div><br /></div><div>The whole cruise was fantastic until a couple of days before it was due to end. All the passengers on board had to have a Covid test before we sailed back home and guess who tested positive, ME!</div><div>I couldn't believe it I had worked in retail all through the pandemic and managed not to catch it!</div><div>We were shocked to be told that anybody with Covid would have to leave the ship so we were escorted off by men in white suits and masks. We had to be wheeled off in wheelchairs so we didn't touch anything and there was a person following us with a spray to kill any germs. All we were short of was a little bell to ring and to shout out that we were unclean! Luckily they closed the floor off to other passengers so we had at least a little dignity while being turfed off!</div><div><br /></div><div>The hotel we were put up in was ok but the food left a lot to be desired especially after the gorgeous food on the ship. We had to stay in the hotel room for 6 days! Poor Al had tested negative but still had to isolate with me bless him. Now Al and I get on really well we have a pretty carefree happy relationship so we got on fine over the six days locked up together we did a lot of laughing and just looked forward to being set free from our prison in Spain! There were other couples in the hotel who had left the ship too I just hope they all coped with being locked in together as well as Al and I otherwise they would have been ripping strips off each other!! The only food I kind of enjoyed was eggs benedict that we had for breakfast but after six days of it I would be quite happy to never see another one as long as I live!!</div><div><br /></div><div>We were so happy to leave that hotel and get our two flights home. We arrived at Manchester tired but happy to be home only to find they had lost our luggage!!! Could things get any worse?? Thankfully they found our luggage eventually, it was still in Spain! It was delivered to us a couple of days later.</div><div><br /></div><div>To be fair to Cunard they treated us well, they paid for the hotel and the two flights home, reimbursed us for the days we lost on the cruise and sent us a beautiful hamper! Thankfully it was at the end of the cruise so we didn't miss much!</div><div><br /></div><div>So, this year is well on it's way too! It's flying by with amazing speed! We had a lovely visit with an old school friend of mine and his wife who were visiting from Australia. We had a day out on the boat and we all really enjoyed a nice meal in a Canalside pub with lots of chatting and laughs, Brian and Lorraine were great company. We have some nice dance weekends away coming up and a wedding abroad. In the meantime, we are still loving our dancing especially when we had a day at the Blackpool ballroom a lovely place we love dancing there.</div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj--q6RWqfz2BaXf6puFd1PpR15qTYASaV28wlSovlBYAEI0QAP9tbq4yFIJ11uQTclESmOj6ve7SN-7ER6iqq6UwfP71_Y7IjJvcfDADXQ83PlB1mr0lbJLQT3HuAcs09UPGCVCMnkOa-5dAppAKAQMx2ujGKf3MWlQxJ1NSODYHebGuObBOQtN3Sc9g/s4032/IMG_3148.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj--q6RWqfz2BaXf6puFd1PpR15qTYASaV28wlSovlBYAEI0QAP9tbq4yFIJ11uQTclESmOj6ve7SN-7ER6iqq6UwfP71_Y7IjJvcfDADXQ83PlB1mr0lbJLQT3HuAcs09UPGCVCMnkOa-5dAppAKAQMx2ujGKf3MWlQxJ1NSODYHebGuObBOQtN3Sc9g/s320/IMG_3148.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0OrGY8d64ltOID7rl2IlfhnI9jKfJbB_CJ2t5CfO1zHnAoHMYPAYaYPdL8SvykWzrkLImHgs8ygfLNfWIL83mA0Sjm_lA7juYaLJrKE5GVoIb9zAh8VMN-8Y05q_oAji-HLdguWSqtxDC_H8FnrpRZKyydf353lqplb-hbajHbsSfqnON1rfShAyDg/s4032/IMG_3151.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0OrGY8d64ltOID7rl2IlfhnI9jKfJbB_CJ2t5CfO1zHnAoHMYPAYaYPdL8SvykWzrkLImHgs8ygfLNfWIL83mA0Sjm_lA7juYaLJrKE5GVoIb9zAh8VMN-8Y05q_oAji-HLdguWSqtxDC_H8FnrpRZKyydf353lqplb-hbajHbsSfqnON1rfShAyDg/s320/IMG_3151.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div> The lovely Blackpool Ballroom.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I went to the boat yesterday it was lovely weather cool but sunny the space we have to sit in on the back deck is so lovely and really warm, like I have said the addition of the covers on the boat has made a vast difference to how we utilise the space we cane dine out there in all weathers now too!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdfc3yg7Wa__gC7Oi21yFDCR_vsH4N8ZCOmIjZohLxwtOIz9--6SLGTSGfSC5emKmFTC2iBI7QPpBh0WTXVyVRpUgUefgaS-eYNwolOwUuxXL3CwuVBCIuWHKZ8RLSU7xqDm3N_ez4K_uzga-H0qodB4yoPOUz88oVH-IKJgnZkUhDREm35Z0Ira4mg/s4032/IMG_3379.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdfc3yg7Wa__gC7Oi21yFDCR_vsH4N8ZCOmIjZohLxwtOIz9--6SLGTSGfSC5emKmFTC2iBI7QPpBh0WTXVyVRpUgUefgaS-eYNwolOwUuxXL3CwuVBCIuWHKZ8RLSU7xqDm3N_ez4K_uzga-H0qodB4yoPOUz88oVH-IKJgnZkUhDREm35Z0Ira4mg/s320/IMG_3379.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div> I would like to say a big hello to Judy Grange who has been kind enough to read my blogs and often gives me a gentle reminder to write another! I can't think why she enjoys my waffleings but apparently, she does so thank you to her and anybody else who takes the time to read them. I hopefully won't leave it too long this time before I write another! I am living my best life at the minute I have a lovely partner and a beautiful place to live plus we have the boat whenever we wish to just escape for a while. All this I am truly grateful for and just makes me a really happy bunny! Catch you all soon! <br /><div><br /><p><br /></p></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-36174380162656013832021-08-29T06:01:00.002-07:002021-08-29T06:01:39.771-07:00Up Up And Away!<p> Last December I wanted to buy Al a really unusual Birthday present so after wondering for a while I decided on a hot air balloon ride!</p><p>Unfortunately due to the lockdown, we couldn't go until now, so on the 23rd of August we took to the skies and it was brilliant! I had to ring after 2pm to make sure the flight was going ahead because obviously if the weather was bad we wouldn't be able to fly. The weather was excellent so the flight was going ahead at 5:30 that evening</p><p>We had to meet at the Boar's Head pub in Nantwich, the balloon would be taking off in the field next to the pub. I have to admit I was feeling a bit nervous as well as excited. I needn't have worried it was great! The pilot and ground crew turned up at 5pm unloaded the basket and balloon and started filling the balloon with air from big fans, once it was semi-inflated they lit the gas and the balloon rose up, it was huge a lot bigger than I expected! We had all been told which compartment we were to climb into so as soon as the pilot gave us the go-ahead we all had to climb in. There were 4 compartments for the passengers and one for the pilot, 4 people in each and the pilot in the one in the middle with the controls I was amazed that there were so many in the basket, 17 in all! No wonder the Balloon was huge it would have to be to carry us lot! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3PzKZikcLZld7YVsIQU4KcBibCmBE_TfLf2h1-nmh_68LUwm5aQyy6y1xsqINeP0VsaypqaWFwDE1CXPd44-cKlGWwKyQPF_bnv66seN8vVLc7WPGtY8sEpodQSt62iS0r6w6shYIXsU/s4032/IMG_1088.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3PzKZikcLZld7YVsIQU4KcBibCmBE_TfLf2h1-nmh_68LUwm5aQyy6y1xsqINeP0VsaypqaWFwDE1CXPd44-cKlGWwKyQPF_bnv66seN8vVLc7WPGtY8sEpodQSt62iS0r6w6shYIXsU/w420-h325/IMG_1088.JPG" width="420" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Balloon starting to inflate!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-zPK3WOqg-5zzF0jFo2ZGcxjUCGQrNcR2gmBeqrKc9GxjVYMhMzlijhV89RJFA6Y7LKYkf-gI8GcLR7qMlGbpSI9zOgf0xUXwAGLIFMpj2lb3uQo88SMzxUehvqF0OJOMXeo682KInYU/s1136/IMG_1161.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="640" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-zPK3WOqg-5zzF0jFo2ZGcxjUCGQrNcR2gmBeqrKc9GxjVYMhMzlijhV89RJFA6Y7LKYkf-gI8GcLR7qMlGbpSI9zOgf0xUXwAGLIFMpj2lb3uQo88SMzxUehvqF0OJOMXeo682KInYU/w292-h383/IMG_1161.PNG" width="292" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05qGbv9YyUO1WbLAMjIurhsPQs2RMIhSvoyn4opu4PGO-xxbl1FtaHcKPKREWtvEp7lqgFXM4IRiqvY68Xs4bf5IeE8cLg3ajoAs7F8I2Z4emZL7oqwkGlCaHnnCAqkbXyxL8pNrnA6Ak/s4032/IMG_1092.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05qGbv9YyUO1WbLAMjIurhsPQs2RMIhSvoyn4opu4PGO-xxbl1FtaHcKPKREWtvEp7lqgFXM4IRiqvY68Xs4bf5IeE8cLg3ajoAs7F8I2Z4emZL7oqwkGlCaHnnCAqkbXyxL8pNrnA6Ak/w269-h296/IMG_1092.JPG" width="269" /></a></div><br />Looking up into the huge cavity of the balloon! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Once the balloon was fully inflated the gas jet shot a huge flame into the balloon to enable us to fly and fly we did! It took off gently and floated up and up It was the most surreal feeling the views were stunning, we were so lucky with the weather too. Once the balloon reached a good height the gas was turned off and on intermittently, when it was off it was so peaceful and tranquil. I said to Al it must be the nearest you could ever get to feeling like a bird.</span></div><p></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lTmuTm6G6FEsRq2l5xlP78F6ONoE__ymuO-Rq8k5jZ1f_JjKFVp38r7pW_5xpl_Tq5DBGC4QfZ0Ay_wSlc532IGEha-084xhwfL6usvsB22bt8ICzFGa3jV8QGyqKJIkQ1alY5z0Xrr1/s4032/IMG_1141.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lTmuTm6G6FEsRq2l5xlP78F6ONoE__ymuO-Rq8k5jZ1f_JjKFVp38r7pW_5xpl_Tq5DBGC4QfZ0Ay_wSlc532IGEha-084xhwfL6usvsB22bt8ICzFGa3jV8QGyqKJIkQ1alY5z0Xrr1/w419-h268/IMG_1141.JPG" width="419" /></a></div> <p></p><p> We were off!</p><p>We could see for miles, even the Liverpool skyline could be seen in the distance. The patchwork farmers' fields stretched for miles and miles it was breathtaking. The farmhouses and animals all in miniature it was like looking down on model villages. All the vehicles were tiny, tractors, cars, and the ground crew in their jeeps all looked like dinky cars on a child's playmat!</p><p>We flew across the Cheshire countryside for just over an hour. when we were low we could see people waving which was lovely and of course, we all waved back and shouted hello.</p><p>The whole of the flight was fantastic but one of the highlights for me was flying over a marina filled with boats, it was a lovely sight. I wasn't sure which marina it was until I found out later it was Overwater Marina at Audlem. I posted pictures on a boaters Facebook page in the hope that people would be able to spot their boats from the unusual aerial view. I was thrilled when not only did people spot their boats one lovely boater snapped a picture of our balloon and was kind enough to post it. That was lovely for us to see what we looked like from the ground.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iYkM53rfLa45k0FC45C-NHKUfHGg1P3qiVnPYSUh9SfqRPts7ICoMbisMIp9D-lAFuA9CBIQy2X9Gcx7bC5tdA7mRzJLIp6QbHVJp_vNIBAn0YpDj8nYHhDoy3c5788BpIadz9PB1lHI/s1136/IMG_1113.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="640" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iYkM53rfLa45k0FC45C-NHKUfHGg1P3qiVnPYSUh9SfqRPts7ICoMbisMIp9D-lAFuA9CBIQy2X9Gcx7bC5tdA7mRzJLIp6QbHVJp_vNIBAn0YpDj8nYHhDoy3c5788BpIadz9PB1lHI/w388-h464/IMG_1113.PNG" width="388" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> Us in the air!</p><p>Another lady messaged me from the marina asking if they could use my photos on the marina Facebook page, of course, I was honored that they wanted to and said yes of course they could.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_15HlHXvb81t4Rz1gmqT3ROvA3YISADlJxb-DGz9_MhMj4kcfb-yltsfvJjjUay7wmiPl5qkka8XMojyi8TakVmRkOUvso3z49pPA34_ZtnP8EgsTnd8Gp0gJjhZfZnJmidodzyCYq0NB/s4032/IMG_1104.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_15HlHXvb81t4Rz1gmqT3ROvA3YISADlJxb-DGz9_MhMj4kcfb-yltsfvJjjUay7wmiPl5qkka8XMojyi8TakVmRkOUvso3z49pPA34_ZtnP8EgsTnd8Gp0gJjhZfZnJmidodzyCYq0NB/w466-h298/IMG_1104.JPG" width="466" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> The lovely aerial view of Overwater Marina at Audlem. </p><p>Once we were coming to the end of our flight the pilot had to look for a suitable landing site. The thought hadn't really occurred to me that he wouldn't have a clue where we would land as it depended on which direction the balloon would take us. Once a suitable landing spot was decided he opened a huge vent at the top of the balloon to let the air out so the balloon would fall gently towards the ground. We then had to all hold tight to the looped hand ropes bend our knees and prepare for landing! We were told on the odd occasion the basket would tip on landing so we would all be on our backs but it only tilted precariously then popped upright again, we were down safe. The pilot was great and looked after us all so well.</p><p>I was fascinated to learn that wherever the balloon landed we would have to stay put until the ground crew contacted the farmer that owned the field to get permission to be there, once permission was granted then, and only then could we disembark. In the rare and unlikely case that the farmer wouldn't grant permission, we would have to take off again and find a kinder farmer! We were told most farmers were amenable and would be thanked and gifted a bottle of whiskey. Once landed we all mucked in rolling the balloon up so it could be loaded onto the trailer we were then all driven back to the pub in the landrover's to pick up our cars. We hadn't realized just how far we had travelled in the balloon until we saw how long it took to drive us back to the pub!</p><p>All in all, it was an amazing experience and I urge anybody to try it. Al and I loved every minute it was magic!</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5HQJPkW9DFOjkJiQ_TG6VWLgv0IeyuHAIOqN1CN2wvMhMktTzvAqu86DTYxZJsCwpwbW4KpLrvq9S8NqswECNM3OPhYuZ2-SPTbhCO6MuoytJ0oWrBZq09kvFlzPmPu-fc1PJgcjxGOui/s857/IMG_1119.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="620" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5HQJPkW9DFOjkJiQ_TG6VWLgv0IeyuHAIOqN1CN2wvMhMktTzvAqu86DTYxZJsCwpwbW4KpLrvq9S8NqswECNM3OPhYuZ2-SPTbhCO6MuoytJ0oWrBZq09kvFlzPmPu-fc1PJgcjxGOui/w401-h494/IMG_1119.PNG" width="401" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The lovely Balloon we went in.</div><br /><p></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorf37LQ0MljLWJiEE37aJpXl_T9CzsNOEv1IoGgmGIMXszXxpMuUjzRhnvOY1F8z8zOO1jfXvFRxLQNAz_XvxGjwYA2BDmD3ADdE5sDMA3ysmBfW2XG5dl3M-8oWI3m76hmwYDYAfi2Hl/s4032/IMG_1091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorf37LQ0MljLWJiEE37aJpXl_T9CzsNOEv1IoGgmGIMXszXxpMuUjzRhnvOY1F8z8zOO1jfXvFRxLQNAz_XvxGjwYA2BDmD3ADdE5sDMA3ysmBfW2XG5dl3M-8oWI3m76hmwYDYAfi2Hl/w560-h383/IMG_1091.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /> The little yellow balloon in the photo above was our pilot's son who was training to be a pilot himself. We flew with Wickers World and the pilot and crew were lovely!<p></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-58338147757423717812021-06-26T11:25:00.016-07:002021-06-26T11:36:08.190-07:00<p> <span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;">Liverpool And Sink!</span></p><p>No, we didn't sink in Liverpool!</p><p>We had a fab few days in the Salthouse Dock, weather was amazingly kind, long sunny days! The fifth trip through on the link for me. First time for Al and he really enjoyed it even after having to do all the bridges and a few locks too! It's just lovely to relax in different surroundings for a few days made even better by the lovely weather.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRi2FAp6rPv1lBa9Z8RB8hf-HhwpOVPi7hbT6RK40sxG04tYtdfVFXnD_ERSIFSOeBUmESVOBEKVEf1CdXvaovdG49KGvGC0AT9LQwV_CqtjFi-bDmvGIsmGtDNtbeX1CzXY4FjNekxbsA/s568/IMG_0253.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="426" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRi2FAp6rPv1lBa9Z8RB8hf-HhwpOVPi7hbT6RK40sxG04tYtdfVFXnD_ERSIFSOeBUmESVOBEKVEf1CdXvaovdG49KGvGC0AT9LQwV_CqtjFi-bDmvGIsmGtDNtbeX1CzXY4FjNekxbsA/w400-h399/IMG_0253.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> <b> </b><div><b> Tickety Boo nestled into the bank for the night before heading to</b></div><div><b> the Melling bridge the next morning. </b></div><div><b> <br /></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvArP0SDsyXDgsbaLi_iwKRQ-vKhyw15z9z_uwdhFs5XjrtnzOpwDIYzpPISDzeqn2uHaAt5fZu_pV8nZ6At0I2KUNS9gwpJjm-9GRgxB_QQsorq0PNNSaDEZNLz0m_OY4GdXYv_OcPe0t/s758/IMG_0267.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="758" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvArP0SDsyXDgsbaLi_iwKRQ-vKhyw15z9z_uwdhFs5XjrtnzOpwDIYzpPISDzeqn2uHaAt5fZu_pV8nZ6At0I2KUNS9gwpJjm-9GRgxB_QQsorq0PNNSaDEZNLz0m_OY4GdXYv_OcPe0t/w640-h480/IMG_0267.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATr695bDx38h-tqhBwTOdLX-qqp90xXEjnCX5UKb0AG5CaDwspRinMxfCaArhtED3sEttvhdR5sjz2aCii4lbkKucY_T2jbxEtiU2ZV_yEEhTMjSUAICQBeca_MzKIjVmheq_ryQEYp2a/s568/IMG_0269.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="425" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATr695bDx38h-tqhBwTOdLX-qqp90xXEjnCX5UKb0AG5CaDwspRinMxfCaArhtED3sEttvhdR5sjz2aCii4lbkKucY_T2jbxEtiU2ZV_yEEhTMjSUAICQBeca_MzKIjVmheq_ryQEYp2a/w478-h640/IMG_0269.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><b>Mr and Mrs Canadian goose and brood and Al waiting to go down the locks at the Eldonian village.</b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5zLVbHqnu7kvk4QWcQcPc0MfJw9VSsYqhFI8U3dGtfIzwPfbMq0odP4jkrmPcXTkdaCIavPZEX4A0yFKhpWJhyhtDZ44eVRhq4JDRGInG0FC-KEPDOiSoPijg-SRLpmLRF_bhz0x_YuO/s568/IMG_0270.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="426" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5zLVbHqnu7kvk4QWcQcPc0MfJw9VSsYqhFI8U3dGtfIzwPfbMq0odP4jkrmPcXTkdaCIavPZEX4A0yFKhpWJhyhtDZ44eVRhq4JDRGInG0FC-KEPDOiSoPijg-SRLpmLRF_bhz0x_YuO/w480-h640/IMG_0270.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_mdz8Ih8dBjNOTCZA3-Miz7QEuQRrNQJuaZ8sqHYLwRj0J7W5gc8GKXINa2GFdzDWFZhFTDQ6FEn_UXlgOH_uT0HfCBCBo7gMGqocuR7eeg9eAJhpiprcc-umdQo7zUrXG2XcKHnxnfT/s833/IMG_0340.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="833" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_mdz8Ih8dBjNOTCZA3-Miz7QEuQRrNQJuaZ8sqHYLwRj0J7W5gc8GKXINa2GFdzDWFZhFTDQ6FEn_UXlgOH_uT0HfCBCBo7gMGqocuR7eeg9eAJhpiprcc-umdQo7zUrXG2XcKHnxnfT/w640-h480/IMG_0340.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKl1f3nzaq42mk3r0VsLQ-afmD8nz4mP2eulJF7DjF96WU17fF9bQ7c7Sncn8rEDtgPEOw4zuQ7J3_gg7EsQaQFkGJjwQlGviyD4kTNBHwXWYHOiPq769wAW0ajp9XJY0M-ekghh4JFip/s759/IMG_0367.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="759" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKl1f3nzaq42mk3r0VsLQ-afmD8nz4mP2eulJF7DjF96WU17fF9bQ7c7Sncn8rEDtgPEOw4zuQ7J3_gg7EsQaQFkGJjwQlGviyD4kTNBHwXWYHOiPq769wAW0ajp9XJY0M-ekghh4JFip/s320/IMG_0367.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <b>I love going through to Liverpool, it's</b></div><div><b> such a lovely trip.<br /></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLqpsRw5_4pwHHTC9n4kjmR2IDZZTcMTMjUSThC1GLsGQzjfifRP-OAEEP4aQ2tq54h2b9j718mEgGEaLviU8xl8CF4aMbf6MYUyM8iiR-tgpkWB5p3AQNj4QS1z44eMAgiJK6yVAqbyPi/s758/IMG_0383.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="758" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLqpsRw5_4pwHHTC9n4kjmR2IDZZTcMTMjUSThC1GLsGQzjfifRP-OAEEP4aQ2tq54h2b9j718mEgGEaLviU8xl8CF4aMbf6MYUyM8iiR-tgpkWB5p3AQNj4QS1z44eMAgiJK6yVAqbyPi/s320/IMG_0383.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> </div><div> <b>The dock was like a mill pond and the weather was glorious!</b><br /><p>It has always been lovely going through to Liverpool on the boat but I loved the fact that Tickety Boo is all newly decorated and spic and span I am so pleased with her new look, she is once again my, or should I say our, pride and joy! To top it all Al has now fitted a new sink in the bathroom, to say I am thrilled is an understatement. I have mentioned before that for 16/17 years I have put up with a sink in there that I have never really liked, a stainless steel oval salad bowl! Having a new enamel sink set in a new vanity unit has given the bathroom the overhaul it desperately needed. Plus Al has finished off the trim in there, installed new lights and new flooring that was left over from the galley. The lights are Led now and are so much brighter. We have plastic paneling in the bathroom and would highly recommend it after 17 years it still looks good and is so easy to keep clean.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSI5oo-5qJ3V3Mqk2xwS1b5bM_9LEG0vOmJXKR0KPjvLea_jCLkX4XZ6q-1DWHlV-iL6SyvJhPwyFQANIghcsWltOEuhyj3YKLl9KLgLzm19DqC02kbHkgQZo_tvO3WVh8wOybiV9ZbVY/s332/IMG_0233.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="332" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSI5oo-5qJ3V3Mqk2xwS1b5bM_9LEG0vOmJXKR0KPjvLea_jCLkX4XZ6q-1DWHlV-iL6SyvJhPwyFQANIghcsWltOEuhyj3YKLl9KLgLzm19DqC02kbHkgQZo_tvO3WVh8wOybiV9ZbVY/w640-h480/IMG_0233.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p> <b>No room for hand soap on the new sink so a soap dispenser instead.</b></p><p><b> </b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58xGPMT1e9n0FIHKpLRMqnnAD0idpeonXZe0oUnXP652iA83vKHg7Ff5J5Ogk6MBnPTGgEbokzEV1yOShYreb15rMd7PMrjaDgry3G6It8NUadf6DEhRfh-0t8rY9HkAhbtYyEx0BA9Gq/s867/181625138_521633979029573_2040185587660611363_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="867" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58xGPMT1e9n0FIHKpLRMqnnAD0idpeonXZe0oUnXP652iA83vKHg7Ff5J5Ogk6MBnPTGgEbokzEV1yOShYreb15rMd7PMrjaDgry3G6It8NUadf6DEhRfh-0t8rY9HkAhbtYyEx0BA9Gq/s320/181625138_521633979029573_2040185587660611363_n.jpg" /></a></b></div><b> </b><p></p><p><b> Vast improvement from this! </b></p><p>To say fitting the sink was a bugger of a job is putting it mildly, poor Al had to build a plinth to raise the sink so it would self drain. The new unit was in and out like a fiddler's elbow but Al being Al sorted it and it looks great! If I had half of Al's patience I would be blessed! So now the bathroom matches the rest of the revamp in the boat and just to finish off nicely I bought a new microwave as the old one was well past its best. The microwave being for the Galley, not the bathroom!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCenReH-rZLXzQs3uvun7v9dBoywPr7cbohsHtokpzrErRFopykITmiUQuV0NTgWp1LtgaalNF3CJ2phlIyGzvwumWp-T1QDvV7tGUivzaqhT2LxS5zzLh9i830fIma5UnUFDlYyWiYqb/s758/IMG_0221.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="758" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCenReH-rZLXzQs3uvun7v9dBoywPr7cbohsHtokpzrErRFopykITmiUQuV0NTgWp1LtgaalNF3CJ2phlIyGzvwumWp-T1QDvV7tGUivzaqhT2LxS5zzLh9i830fIma5UnUFDlYyWiYqb/s320/IMG_0221.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <b>I didn't want to spend too much on the microwave. This was just £57 in B+Q. Bargain!</b> </div><div><b> <br /></b><p> </p><p><br /></p><p>We did the old dock tour while we were at the Salthouse, I have done it before so I knew Al would like it too. It's under Liverpool One and is fascinating so I recommend it for anybody going through to Liverpool on their boat, you can book it online and can be booked for a party of six or under. It was the first functioning dock in Liverpool and was what helped Liverpool thrive and become the great city it is today. As you walk from the Albert Dock towards Liverpool One past the fountains you will see a well-like structure which is a window looking down into the old dock, I often wondered what it was so now I know!</p><p>We really look forward to doing the journey again. We had some lovely meals while in Liverpool and of course some retail therapy! Looking forward to our next venture out on the boat!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-16590944291835216012021-05-01T09:01:00.001-07:002021-05-01T09:01:13.133-07:00Back On The Cut!<p>Well, we finally got back out on the cut and it was lovely!</p><p>Our Moorhen lodgers had left but sadly out of the eight chicks only three survived and left the nest. On reading up on it on google it's quite common for only a few of the chicks to survive. Thinking about it all the years I have been on the canal I have never seen a Moorhen with more than three or four chicks so it must be quite common that not all of them survive. It's really sad but that's nature I suppose.</p><p>I spent a week getting the boat cleaned inside and out before our trip out and it felt so nice knowing that we can now take the boat out as and when we want. It seemed like an eternity waiting for restrictions to be lifted but finally, we were off out!</p><p>Parbold is a favourite place of mine to moor overnight, it's not far but feels like we have travelled a long way. It's perfect when we only have a weekend off as we can get there and back in no time and it's so peaceful and picturesque. It was Al's first time there on the boat and I think he is a firm fan of the place now too.</p><p>We stayed in the Marina on Friday night then set out on Saturday and headed for Parbold. The weather was absolutely perfect which made our post lockdown cruise even better. We planned on maybe stopping at a pub for a bite to eat, but we enjoyed the boat so much we were quite happy to eat on the back deck in the sunshine.</p><p>I am ashamed to admit I don't really do locks. In all the years I have had the boat I have always been at the helm so have never needed to learn. Al is becoming quite good at steering the boat and his confidence is building more and more each trip out. Once he is confident enough, he will take the boat into locks so I really need to start doing the locks too!</p><p>There is a deep lock in Parbold and Al had never done one so this would be his first. The plan was to moor at the bottom of the lock then go and gongoozle to watch how it was all done. It turned out that a couple we met at one of the bridges was going through the lock, so I asked if Al could do the lock with them. I knew he would grasp the concept straight away and he didn't disappoint which was just as well as he had to lock me back down! He did it perfectly and I felt very safe considering he was a lock virgin so he is hired!!</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzXhnL10HTpkg1l1IqaW9xcwO1_ZsaVOWvG9sqphORBdjUbdloeOocSDbIy7IKEOJf4oaCYHErtrxuz-by0ykCF8L6GUUrjJS2Bj7cwePRMBSKLo4q7REojVc-QL1ljiEoMp_5tnJVSJLI/s4128/20210424_163831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4128" data-original-width="2322" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzXhnL10HTpkg1l1IqaW9xcwO1_ZsaVOWvG9sqphORBdjUbdloeOocSDbIy7IKEOJf4oaCYHErtrxuz-by0ykCF8L6GUUrjJS2Bj7cwePRMBSKLo4q7REojVc-QL1ljiEoMp_5tnJVSJLI/w338-h393/20210424_163831.jpg" width="338" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsCRBz6GHQe3PUeL1vfVlcK3bKjjXCo68pOspnmCWC5sptfT5GYRhrhyphenhyphen9YxEquosRMEtD2jYHZzAFrWDTt1CW3RgkgTbhGno21KPgYZYy55sNI3w1fSaxK7iWqhGIj_L9wgQ_RB0zsrzH/s4128/20210424_163903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4128" data-original-width="2322" height="449" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsCRBz6GHQe3PUeL1vfVlcK3bKjjXCo68pOspnmCWC5sptfT5GYRhrhyphenhyphen9YxEquosRMEtD2jYHZzAFrWDTt1CW3RgkgTbhGno21KPgYZYy55sNI3w1fSaxK7iWqhGIj_L9wgQ_RB0zsrzH/w274-h449/20210424_163903.jpg" width="274" /></a></div><br /><p> A silhouette of my new " Lockie" :)</p><p>Tickety Boo started the first time after so long sitting idle she didn't let us down apart from a squealing belt. It was slipping and making a bit of a racket but after a short sharp blast of power it soon stopped and the rest of the trip was trouble-free.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv91VD8DcY5Y9EOJu9_DeuTQJh3S0JYIucpiQhA-NrhiVSiI6HFM2t0eWURC63PVBvwlmt96p3A4PBhkUogevBsQMBSEfc5ZfCNeXXJyAyqtOn0M9pvyHG-HfdMvsFHfoSl1Zhp5rhTuAo/s4128/20210424_095822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv91VD8DcY5Y9EOJu9_DeuTQJh3S0JYIucpiQhA-NrhiVSiI6HFM2t0eWURC63PVBvwlmt96p3A4PBhkUogevBsQMBSEfc5ZfCNeXXJyAyqtOn0M9pvyHG-HfdMvsFHfoSl1Zhp5rhTuAo/w453-h285/20210424_095822.jpg" width="453" /></a></div><br /><p> So nice to be out again.</p><p>It was such a lovely weekend and bliss to be out on the cut in the glorious sunshine. Typical of me after a lockdown I wanted to be in the middle of nowhere! Most people after lockdown want to party and go where there is lots going on but I was more than happy it was just Al and me in the beautiful countryside.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVAc0ifK4KG6yLB2X26rRLPS-4nvv8yHd2b9aSkWBbF-Rw5tQk2ZyHcIxFw30YnKAlp9_P8HQ37-GECHifCp55MLKpoT7sY8kWMvYUr-QBuDGk2zVgc5kXlYf42hrYNArO39uV13Wp8gZ4/s4128/20210425_125856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVAc0ifK4KG6yLB2X26rRLPS-4nvv8yHd2b9aSkWBbF-Rw5tQk2ZyHcIxFw30YnKAlp9_P8HQ37-GECHifCp55MLKpoT7sY8kWMvYUr-QBuDGk2zVgc5kXlYf42hrYNArO39uV13Wp8gZ4/s320/20210425_125856.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p> Some lovely gardens on the way through Burscough. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7NK1OiXBgf1qC0Gt-rPBfVAYBPlPZZ0UsKpZY8z9q5_q-NfZA08KbidSeEtjFLr_1DXKb1tGjS53WYEfUZBil_xClpF9dLY2nptj6tlVgkAX-s9VwfE_AF3_fHC2cFxTAMI86WtLHFJm/s4128/20210425_124736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7NK1OiXBgf1qC0Gt-rPBfVAYBPlPZZ0UsKpZY8z9q5_q-NfZA08KbidSeEtjFLr_1DXKb1tGjS53WYEfUZBil_xClpF9dLY2nptj6tlVgkAX-s9VwfE_AF3_fHC2cFxTAMI86WtLHFJm/w438-h254/20210425_124736.jpg" width="438" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllTq6cJdoSuUEnJjxJNTVFiaYsJZxIu27AwEGV0xpEqoLeWVSTOaz-BUrpYYqVjQpclIpgHcm-FnQEpRdOtPJMM9r1bAgm7mUNXCn4uQjtexEz0Hg49zOKvZsvupNGdBhOkk2wn_gZbH-/s4128/20210425_101856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4128" data-original-width="2322" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllTq6cJdoSuUEnJjxJNTVFiaYsJZxIu27AwEGV0xpEqoLeWVSTOaz-BUrpYYqVjQpclIpgHcm-FnQEpRdOtPJMM9r1bAgm7mUNXCn4uQjtexEz0Hg49zOKvZsvupNGdBhOkk2wn_gZbH-/s320/20210425_101856.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWXEF_g7WnEz0lvnWXDGE2nUpRrSHhWB2NscfGHXxHyhKAzA-FId35etjet0luseqJRZx6Jp6P8ILbo9pBpQKJKgkGY8WmSMl4ZxusSD05G40O3cOZFDp7fV1q9STAkJBU1_FWEdWzn71/s4128/20210424_151930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWXEF_g7WnEz0lvnWXDGE2nUpRrSHhWB2NscfGHXxHyhKAzA-FId35etjet0luseqJRZx6Jp6P8ILbo9pBpQKJKgkGY8WmSMl4ZxusSD05G40O3cOZFDp7fV1q9STAkJBU1_FWEdWzn71/s320/20210424_151930.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div> Plenty of liquid refreshment, and why not?<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9gRS1648DkYaJCteonFi1PTIFE70WF5bFcOMEkRUPJLJWKPNpnk-dbO4ojpT9eT_nfDcax7NNSbcbzrXoBEbUg2Bg3XcLuxMyUO7nHYqN7cmIw61WshtRN7wjxMqWIcTBiNEPTMxoFV2E/s4128/20210425_074838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9gRS1648DkYaJCteonFi1PTIFE70WF5bFcOMEkRUPJLJWKPNpnk-dbO4ojpT9eT_nfDcax7NNSbcbzrXoBEbUg2Bg3XcLuxMyUO7nHYqN7cmIw61WshtRN7wjxMqWIcTBiNEPTMxoFV2E/s320/20210425_074838.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p> A lovely view from the Galley window, nice to wake up to.</p><p>My new job is brilliant, it doesn't feel like a job at all. I only do an hour or so in the morning from 8am and the same at three pm doing the school run with a lovely little boy, he is adorable and so well behaved. He goes to a fabulous school called Bluebell Park, he goes in with a smile on his face and comes out the same. I have all those hours in between the morning and afternoon run to do with what I please, it's bliss. I can spend lots of time going to the boat and being in Al's lovely house too. I feel like I have retired early!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTANSqQmqLwBo2K_Ty_cwMM2wGBKo-XIc0h9_E5wUQFkniwDrg8Qqo2VNIax-xaUvqCnzvpkRb0a-sXKCKx3lr5kpvwY6T7L3oaYEQaAn53LIwe5JXXwzunc77LdHYqRhghXrxcDPDoUD/s4128/20210424_152141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTANSqQmqLwBo2K_Ty_cwMM2wGBKo-XIc0h9_E5wUQFkniwDrg8Qqo2VNIax-xaUvqCnzvpkRb0a-sXKCKx3lr5kpvwY6T7L3oaYEQaAn53LIwe5JXXwzunc77LdHYqRhghXrxcDPDoUD/s320/20210424_152141.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p> Masses of Bluebells in Parbold.</p><p>Doing this job has really opened my eyes to just how many children have learning difficulties of varying degrees. Bluebell Park is an amazing school and caters for all the children's different needs. To be honest it makes me feel quite humble. I feel quite honoured to be working in such a caring worthwhile job.</p><p>So our next adventure! I thought I would try and book a passage through to Liverpool for a few days at half term in June. I didn't think for one minute we would get in but surprisingly there was plenty of slots. Another first for Alan and I am sure he will love it. You see such a different world travelling along the Canal to Liverpool and staying in the Salthouse dock is great. Nice to just meander into town shopping having nice meals and being able to have a drink without worrying about getting home as home is in the dock! I am really looking forward to it.</p><p>So now I have a Skipper and a Lockmaster onboard what more can a girl ask for! Oh and being the star he is he painted the engine bay too....don't know what I did to deserve him!</p><p>I have ordered a new vanity sink unit for the bathroom so photos to follow once fitted. The Bathroom on the boat needs sprucing up a bit to match the new decor in the rest of the boat so a few tweaks here and there and it will. Looking forward to tidying it up, new coving trim around the top of the walls, new flooring that will match the floor in the Galley and new fan and shower led lights, oh and a hand wash wall dispenser... get us!! There won't be enough room on the new sink for a hand wash so a wall-mounted one will solve that problem. I can't wait to have a porcelain sink in the bathroom, I have had a stainless steel "salad bowl" for far too long!</p><p>It's May Bank Holiday weekend so a nice three-day break. Household chores have kept me busy today as Al is working so now all chores out of the way a free day tomorrow to go boating!</p><p>It's a huge relief to feel that things are slowly getting back to a near normal. I have always loved and appreciated the boat but now more than ever after lockdown. Having somebody special to share it with too. Life is good!</p><p> ( For those who don't know to Gongoozle or be a Gongoozler is to watch boats and activities on the Canal especially at Locks)</p><p><br /></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-81811072686457391812021-04-01T04:01:00.001-07:002021-04-01T04:11:58.621-07:00Life In Lock DownWho would have ever thought we would have been subject to a pandemic lockdown!
People have coped in different ways, but it has sadly been a struggle for most
in varying degrees. I just count myself extremely lucky that I have been able to
spend lockdown with Al. I have said before, I miss the boat at times but would
have missed Alan more!<div><br /></div><div> Choosing to stay on land during the lockdown was in my
mind the best choice. It made it difficult to visit the boat as I chose not to
be classed as a liveaboard for the duration of the lockdown so wasn't able to
just pop in as and when. Living in such a beautiful home with Al has been really
lovely, and being together 24/7 has just been proof we get on so well. Above all
it has just felt comfortable and right...can't speak for Al on that score but he
has put up with me!!</div><div><br /></div><div> Now restrictions have been lifted it was a relief to be
able to go check the boat which I did at the soonest opportunity! My neighbour
on the mooring had informed me that I had an uninvited guest onboard! A Moorhen
has decided to make her nest in the most awkward place on the boat! We use the
stern door to go in and out, we have bow doors obviously but they are locked
from the inside! This is where they have decided to build their nest!
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I was a bit nervous knowing I was going to have to run the gauntlet of a very
protective Mum or Dad Moorhen, apparently, they both sit on the nest. As much as
I didn't want to disturb Ma and Pa, I needed to pass them just once to get into
the boat after that we will use the bow doors for the duration of the pending
new family!</div><div><br /></div><div> So on Monday, I did just that.
On arriving at the boat Mr or Mrs Moorhen was sitting on the nest. I, as quietly as I could stepped onto the stern,
the Moorhen immediately jumped off the nest so I quickly stepped over the nest opened the door and got in! The Hen was fiercely protective and let
me know in no uncertain terms it wasn't happy to be disturbed! It left the nest
but didn't leave the stern and made a real threatening growling noise with it's
beak wide open ready for the attack! I have never entered the boat so fast!!
Thankfully the Hen got back on the nest and happily settled down again, I did
worry that the nest and eggs would be abandoned once disturbed but all is well!</div><div><br /></div><div> Surprisingly the boat had fared quite well after being left for so long. I had
been really worried it would smell damp, but it was fine, just a bit dusty and
the woodburning stove needs some attention to the seal on the roof. As we have all summer to
sort that it's not a major problem. If needed we can use cental heating if
chilly.
It's been a long haul but there seems to be light at the end of the
tunnel! I think we still have a way to go and I for one don't feel confident
that we won't have a third lockdown, I am hoping upon hope we don't!</div><div><br /></div><div> My situation has changed quite a bit during the lockdown. Apart from the fact it has
just proved we have a strong relationship that can withstand a pandemic or any
other curve ball life throws at us it also made me re-evaluate my life, not my
relationship, I have never been happier . </div><div><br /></div><div> I decided after an episode in work it was time to think about moving on. I hadn't planned to do
this quite so early I intended to stay working in retail a bit longer but an
incident in work, which came as a bit of a kick in the teeth, made me realise I
could either stay in a job I no longer had respect for and be miserable or do
myself a favour and get the hell out. A scary prospect after working there for
16 years but out of respect for myself I bit the bullet and left. It saddens me
that it was brought home to me just how unappreciated you are and how
indispensable you are too! Regardless of how long you have worked for a company, you are just a number. I felt sadly let down by my immediate management which
upset me greatly, I decided for once in my life to make a stand and stick up for
myself! It wasn't a nice situation one I never want to repeat. It did teach me a
valuable lesson...people you thought were friends and not just work colleagues
are not friends at all, I have to add not all my work colleagues let me down the
genuine ones didn't which was nice.</div><div><br /></div><div> So in a nutshell a bad situation turned into
a blessing! I now have a completely different job and I absolutely love it! It
makes me very happy, fewer hours and all school holidays off with pay! Finally, I
feel like I am in a worthwhile job. I go in with a smile on my face and come
home with a smile on my face, something that was sadly lacking in the latter
months in my old job.
So even in a pandemic, I am still living my best life. A
really lovely, lovely partner, great family on both sides, a fantastic new job
and so so much to look forward to and Summer is on the way! The pandemic has
made me just appreciate all the more the things we all just took for granted.</div><div><br /></div><div> When things do get back to the new normal when we can do all the things we love
to do I will never ever take them for granted again! I have always been grateful
for my boat and my life but even more so now than ever!</div><div><br /></div><div> So it's off to the boat again today because I can! I have new Venetian blinds to fit to replace the old
ones. I made the mistake of buying pvc ones which look great but over time the
sunlight makes them so brittle resulting in them snapping when I try to clean
them. I have changed to aluminium that are so much easier to clean. I was
always puzzled as to where all the black spots were coming from on the
blinds only to realise it's Spider poo!! Now it never entered my head that it
could be that until I read about it on a boating forum. It got me to thinking, I
suppose they have to do it somewhere, did I think they had their own bathrooms
somewhere? I just wish they hadn't chosen my blinds the buggers! It does wash
off easily but really, use your eight legs and go poo somewhere else!</div><div><br /></div><div> I can't wait for Al and I to take Tickety Boo out again, it's been too long, even longer
to wait now until baby Moorhens have left the nest but hey ho ain't nature a
wonderful thing!</div><div><br /></div><div> Ironically, the first thing I want to do is chug off to the
middle of nowhere, moor up and enjoy the solitude. as much as we can't wait to
eat out, go shopping, go to the pub theatre and have holidays again etc we are
staying out of the way until the mad rush calms down! Everybody will want to do
all those things it will be chaos!! We are happy to wait till the novelty wears
off and you hopefully won't have to queue for everything!</div><div><br /></div><div>The one thing we both can't wait to get back to is dancing, we miss it so much! Going from dancing a lot to hardly at all is making a huge difference to our waistlines but then most people we know have suffered with this too! The sooner we can get back the better. Soon we hope! </div><div><br /></div><div> Sadly not everybody has got through this pandemic unscathed a fact we all know far too well. We like
a lot of other people have lost somebody dear to the virus as many many families
have. My heart goes out to people who have lost loved ones or suffered any other
consequences caused.</div><div><br /></div><div> So let's see what the next few months have in store for us. I
am off to lose myself in boaty world for a few hours and try and forget the mad
world we are living in at the moment. Being on the water has always had the
ability to take me away from everyday worries, it transforms you away and I will
always love that about it.</div><div><br /></div><div> Stay safe everyone.
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-64756310271267203902020-10-13T13:48:00.002-07:002020-10-13T13:48:53.641-07:00What a Year! <p style="text-align: left;"> Well, what a year it has been up to now! It's been surreal, like living in a bad movie that flopped in a spectacular way at the box office!</p><p style="text-align: left;">As a key worker my shifts have not changed through the Pandemic, I guess on that score I should count myself lucky to have a job but it has been stressful at times. I just wanted to get away from it all on a regular basis, apart from it being a scary time with the threat of catching the virus, dealing with the public was sending anxiety levels through the roof! </p><p style="text-align: left;">I have however been very lucky, the staff and management in the shop are a great team <span style="font-size: medium;">and we have all been muddling through together. I have also been more than lucky to have the love and support of Alan through all of this, he as always has been a star. I really do think I would have cracked only for him keeping my spirits up.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We also kept busy working on the boat. once the inside was finished we decided the blacking of her bottom was well overdue! I contacted the owner of the marina and arranged to be taken out of the water, luckily it coincided with the bank holiday weekend so as I don't work weekends or Tuesdays it was 4 days to get stuck in. The marina jet washed the boat that just left the scraping grinding and the painting on of the black stuff. The anodes were not too bad bow and stern but it was suggested we had new ones midship so we agreed and had them fitted.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Alan never stopped and in no time we had 3 coats of blacking on, her engine bay scraped and primed and finally, adornment on her bow and her tunnel band fancied up! Something I had wanted doing for years. We decided on a none traditional design so we chose a diamond theme.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3GZBWaILPLtzbRMs0nB3utfrVWl0QQK4fdWm8C_kvTvTZYxtQpGEM_voBqZj3LCX5fjNMJ1umEU9Gnhey2X2HjDjj06REnRFXphk4eIApjP1YPx4wScSlCK1l0MG9vhk7NCHCFL2VBrS/s4128/20200827_195340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4128" data-original-width="2322" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3GZBWaILPLtzbRMs0nB3utfrVWl0QQK4fdWm8C_kvTvTZYxtQpGEM_voBqZj3LCX5fjNMJ1umEU9Gnhey2X2HjDjj06REnRFXphk4eIApjP1YPx4wScSlCK1l0MG9vhk7NCHCFL2VBrS/w241-h400/20200827_195340.jpg" width="241" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Tickety Boo waiting for work to begin.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Below, The boat with her 3 coats on looking far smarter! We then decided to do the pattern on the bow and the tunnel band. It,s basic but we love the simplicity of it. Alan repainted under the gunwale as it's easier to do that bit out of the water. The cabin sides we will do next spring and then finally have her name on her again!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The boat is looking loved and cared for again, Alan will never quite understand how special it is for me to find somebody interested in seeing her looking her best and enjoying seeing her take shape.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I had started to lose interest which saddened me greatly but thanks to Alan my faith and enthusiasm have been restored! I am loving seeing her looking so swell!<br /> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzg7bZa50Elqi0kkfMS59MIHIwZUcSxDM8I5HgQlbL6q8qAu8y9oTYgXmmK3lb7qv8XQBSpy4VnODuKHEeyfTehtsrzoXhyX-X2GGYpCmmsCydUD4P3a1j9XXBrypVK6D0C5fFvbZjWStO/s4128/20200829_165139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzg7bZa50Elqi0kkfMS59MIHIwZUcSxDM8I5HgQlbL6q8qAu8y9oTYgXmmK3lb7qv8XQBSpy4VnODuKHEeyfTehtsrzoXhyX-X2GGYpCmmsCydUD4P3a1j9XXBrypVK6D0C5fFvbZjWStO/w640-h360/20200829_165139.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2PuvlOx8zs-YqdyyL8gCUOyllClhTi4J6u5a0UKknC_m96zpCXW3nYH4SfBdbmHFu6FAh0wB8Fi3swOfkyq23ZqrOt8pkTK_2_tj77jJa1LoHIvtVDTLVQe20xdc-4VdaQXTYA8GWO7v/s4128/20200905_161106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2PuvlOx8zs-YqdyyL8gCUOyllClhTi4J6u5a0UKknC_m96zpCXW3nYH4SfBdbmHFu6FAh0wB8Fi3swOfkyq23ZqrOt8pkTK_2_tj77jJa1LoHIvtVDTLVQe20xdc-4VdaQXTYA8GWO7v/w400-h225/20200905_161106.jpg" width="400" /></a> The tunnel band smartened up. Diamonds added to the bow.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0Tp6m4L3_YOk3fb_pnfdygau2qnsavsqHtgCe5SnnWn7hU71hM5R9iIKfe01wGN_a5C5aknQ0Gtz2IEK35ZBXFu9haV7EeTWvHB7EVWwkIa9ed6FpWgfhJdIha8G9cZ9qXlfnZ_TUa0a/s4128/20200905_161156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0Tp6m4L3_YOk3fb_pnfdygau2qnsavsqHtgCe5SnnWn7hU71hM5R9iIKfe01wGN_a5C5aknQ0Gtz2IEK35ZBXFu9haV7EeTWvHB7EVWwkIa9ed6FpWgfhJdIha8G9cZ9qXlfnZ_TUa0a/w400-h225/20200905_161156.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tickety finally back in the water where she belongs!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6q7CLO1LIzWsN46Q4l75LGHdawSXmkqpnJgBmuWpyywHHvWAaU6F4drPt4A3Lzu0MiY6vpVZ9vzV9j_k0xmZRsnFlB9frjnnpUpuRU4ktVeGj9Jiftx4acmMRcpOjFMYebgodC49RwdLa/s4128/20200917_164439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4128" data-original-width="2322" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6q7CLO1LIzWsN46Q4l75LGHdawSXmkqpnJgBmuWpyywHHvWAaU6F4drPt4A3Lzu0MiY6vpVZ9vzV9j_k0xmZRsnFlB9frjnnpUpuRU4ktVeGj9Jiftx4acmMRcpOjFMYebgodC49RwdLa/w360-h640/20200917_164439.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>Working on the boat kept us busy and not thinking too much about what was going on in the world! I moved in with Al while we revamped the inside of the boat which as I have said before made the job so much easier. Staying with him has been easy, lovely and feels very comfortable, kind of right. We laugh a lot and just pootle along nicely. I miss the boat but would miss Alan more so I am really grateful and happy that he puts up with me!! <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">We stay on the boat as and when we can and enjoy the tranquillity of the Marina, it's a lovely place, friendly people a lovely cafe and the grounds are beautifully well kept. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff and we know help is on hand anytime we need it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">As bad as the year has been I can honestly say Al and I are getting through it. We have each other and a great strong relationship so life can throw as many hurdles as it likes, we will get over them together! We both have lovely supportive families, granted we can't see much of them but we know they are there!</p><p style="text-align: left;">We can only live in hope that next year the virus will be more controlled with a vaccine, in the meantime, we will keep on smiling and make the best of the situation, it's all we can do really.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Our dancing classes have started up again which we love. They are much needed as the weight I have put on during lockdown tilts the boat far too much!!!! Alas, the dancing may be put on hold yet again as the government have brought in more lockdown rules which may put paid to our classes. Practising on the patio, weather permitting, will be the order of the day!</p><p style="text-align: left;">As seen in my previous post the interior decor is finished and I am finding it hard to stop adding to the soft furnishings...</p><p style="text-align: left;">I spotted a smaller rug I liked which I think fits the saloon better.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmSY1noqj6J5Juoaz8koZ4ChkoPisnERJxomlbadkXjDNAps_aYl4srVclYOWcHXoI6WdTiqITF2FU66NeZzKsEIKYL4I6as5H6l-VQmeoHAfc6RxgloRKHpTfHVxxHW87NbJ7sTv5tCg/s4128/20200806_175829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4128" data-original-width="2322" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmSY1noqj6J5Juoaz8koZ4ChkoPisnERJxomlbadkXjDNAps_aYl4srVclYOWcHXoI6WdTiqITF2FU66NeZzKsEIKYL4I6as5H6l-VQmeoHAfc6RxgloRKHpTfHVxxHW87NbJ7sTv5tCg/w360-h640/20200806_175829.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">I also spotted a canvas I liked so it would have been so rude not to get that too!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYHCPQGFkhfr3d8KBNly-EeDsmX0DElRzAUNfBhv76eQYME-ku2Jsgxe2eIMHMZQWSdotfYCWLVo9oZHiipu0clfvnk2C-QQf3L7AAawCJGjVZoMUwZavSV5Fdpm83IYEWZZSeBBvhzS3/s4128/20201006_132709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYHCPQGFkhfr3d8KBNly-EeDsmX0DElRzAUNfBhv76eQYME-ku2Jsgxe2eIMHMZQWSdotfYCWLVo9oZHiipu0clfvnk2C-QQf3L7AAawCJGjVZoMUwZavSV5Fdpm83IYEWZZSeBBvhzS3/w400-h225/20201006_132709.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this abstract Elephant, the colours are perfect to match the decor.<br /><br />The only problem was there was a matching picture! Too big to have both in the Saloon but it would fit in the bedroom! So off I trot back to B+M to pick up this one..<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNYZ3ixprpbT44z6x3bTfoWg5rfhz6_r1XVjQbpZm1mo5cyPfYI1BgPLOUdhSyg1wBoVAw4FnFsrQFlREtK5PhFvpNOVs7RpwSdzQ54aizeBh2bSudTaRg8BT18dj11IV1gp3_5BRHGbN/s4128/20201012_193028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNYZ3ixprpbT44z6x3bTfoWg5rfhz6_r1XVjQbpZm1mo5cyPfYI1BgPLOUdhSyg1wBoVAw4FnFsrQFlREtK5PhFvpNOVs7RpwSdzQ54aizeBh2bSudTaRg8BT18dj11IV1gp3_5BRHGbN/w400-h225/20201012_193028.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> </td></tr></tbody></table>As I was in the shop a beautiful fur throw and cushion couldn't bare to be parted from the Zebra so they came too for Tickety Boo's bedroom! That's my story and I am sticking to it...<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_d7M8We8L2CWkRBFrzaDBgb70zCy-0W7zP0eONZGIOmMm2R2tuiK8VPpz4LSsNH3OeZeLrvdHuF7_zTP5yV9I8b2kwXO9-Giapsgy1AAFw_Ov_fa0N4F29H_D7AdOnP5aZDTUvupkRyfU/s4128/20201012_192947.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_d7M8We8L2CWkRBFrzaDBgb70zCy-0W7zP0eONZGIOmMm2R2tuiK8VPpz4LSsNH3OeZeLrvdHuF7_zTP5yV9I8b2kwXO9-Giapsgy1AAFw_Ov_fa0N4F29H_D7AdOnP5aZDTUvupkRyfU/w400-h225/20201012_192947.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsTsj67ztxT8X8mkx3Hivh9aA7ix8-FnRp_sxsNik0aAYRdqMIhtvOoXU3Mukjx0kuQ2KVHnWCfYMHOZTJeor5alSMlimcFUlC6w2JbPplbV4xbvlj40u4jEFA_2K6-tx_J2MVZpq2jzIP/s4128/20201012_193001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsTsj67ztxT8X8mkx3Hivh9aA7ix8-FnRp_sxsNik0aAYRdqMIhtvOoXU3Mukjx0kuQ2KVHnWCfYMHOZTJeor5alSMlimcFUlC6w2JbPplbV4xbvlj40u4jEFA_2K6-tx_J2MVZpq2jzIP/w400-h225/20201012_193001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Positively indulgent I know but they all look lovely and will just make our overnight winter stay overs cosier!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">I just must apologise to regular readers of my blog. Unbeknown to me there had been lots of comments left on my last few posts. I had no idea! I used to get notifications to let me know I had comments so I could authorise them for publication but the notifications didn't come through. I thought you had all got fed up with my waffling! Thank you so much to you all for your lovely comments, they mean such a lot and I now know it's not just my Mum who reads my posts! I now know through the blog settings how to see comments and answer them! Thanks again xx </p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-22929014322256091602020-02-08T16:07:00.001-08:002020-02-09T01:32:00.584-08:00Tickety Boo Transformation!I have, for a long time, wanted to change the interior of the boat. I have gone through phases with her over the years. To then meet somebody who was more than willing to help with that transformation was so exciting to say the least! Alan has transformed the boat and enjoyed doing it. Tickety Boo has never looked so good. The look I was after was modern uncluttered moving away from the cottagey look and Alan achieved exactly what I wanted. I will let the photos do the talking so to speak..<br />
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The original Tickety Boo was a typical narrowboat interior all wood warm and cosy, that was 15 years ago.<br />
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I then decided I wanted to paint the walls to make the boat look airier and lighter. I absolutely loved this new look I wanted it to look like a floating cottage and had it like this for some years.<br />
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Now for the transformation. Everything is new, spotlights and light fittings changed from brass to chrome.<br />
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The walls are painted in a lovely pale grey and all the woodwork white. As you can imagine the boat was a right mess while the work was being done, it's hard to keep such a small space tidy while redecorating so I stayed at Al's while work was in progress it just made things so much easier and I was very grateful for that!<br />
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Most of the time Tickety Boo looked like this but it was small price to pay for seeing the transformation slowly taking shape!<br />
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My fifteen year old stove was looking tired and tatty so I painted the stove black and the plinth so it looked lovely against the fab new tiles Al fitted.<br />
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My gorgeous new tiles but a tatty stove...before<br />
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and the after, freshly painted stove. I wasn't sure about painting the plinth black at Alan's suggestion but I went ahead and it looks so much better.<br />
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Next the carpet tiles.<br />
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I wanted new wall lights but was at a loss to find any I liked so we decided to keep the originals and spray the brass silver to go with the rest of the colour scheme.<br />
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I decided to do away with curtains and just have off the peg Venetian blinds. Luckily they all fit without having to be cut which was one less job to do. The kitchen units went from being duck egg to white and the new grey subway tiles Alan put up look great with the white units. The next problem was the worktops. When the boat was first fitted out we had a piece grafted on to the worktop as I wanted a dogleg shape to incorporate a small breakfast bar with stools. To buy a new worktop that width would cost a fortune so we came up with the idea of painting them. As much as I loved the solid wood in beech it just wouldn't go with the new scheme. It was a bit nerve-wracking painting the tops black as once done no turning back really!<br />
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Alan took the plunge with the black paint.<br />
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After! We were really pleased with the result<br />
and it tied in well with everything.<br />
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I wanted accents of yellow to go with the grey white and black but Alan wasn't too sure. As luck would have it we were gifted a rug and cushions in just the colour I wanted. Alan really liked the colour once he saw it in place, so we were really happy with the colour choice.<br />
Finally, everything started to take shape, all the hard work Alan had put in was paying off. All the little jobs that had never been finished he finished off. Those little details made such a difference!<br />
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The side hatch on the boat had always been a pain, it had never fit properly from when the boat was built it leaked really badly and it was drafty. Alan came up with the idea of a double glazed window. I wasn't at all sure on that score as it's not really the done thing but I put my trust in him and I wasn't disappointed. Not really conventional but I think it's quirky and neat!<br />
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Trying the window for size! This photo makes me smile.<br />
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The window is now sprayed green<br />
outside to match the boat and white<br />
on the inside.<br />
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Next job a nice new floor in the galley! I wasn't sorry to see the old orange coloured wood effect cushion floor go!<br />
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So finally after all the hard work Alan had put in transforming the boat</div>
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I got the lovely job of clearing all the diy stuff out and adding the </div>
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finishing touches a job I was loving every minute of!</div>
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The finished result! Over the moon doesn't quite sum up how pleased we</div>
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The finished result!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvc7E0qnfOjIf_IMuvhxi8BCsKvK8pP8HYDzbjLNdhcPw7bW8Y9C26n1LsTpv2aVfSzdgGDJb-yHuU14ozUxR2c_K3Jm1ux_Bvl212GBf1GeSo8vtmPnfuO66nwfqMGx-PATu8GrTMUbn/s1600/20200205_135312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvc7E0qnfOjIf_IMuvhxi8BCsKvK8pP8HYDzbjLNdhcPw7bW8Y9C26n1LsTpv2aVfSzdgGDJb-yHuU14ozUxR2c_K3Jm1ux_Bvl212GBf1GeSo8vtmPnfuO66nwfqMGx-PATu8GrTMUbn/s320/20200205_135312.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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Storage boxes from good old Home Bargains, great for storing pan lids tea towels etc.</div>
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Finally the bedroom is all finished too!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvT53lwMfpzpzXrE7TBN6-uS6dA82NmOAcTgXEuwzrs40XxdGst699r_TJioQr8dtmDRAjsc-h5GhcRyaXTODUVzSOnuccmmHlUpR9D3xcAw_EFAlzC1CrGu4CS4uJWWW3YouIyvNkiXQT/s1600/20190820_092806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvT53lwMfpzpzXrE7TBN6-uS6dA82NmOAcTgXEuwzrs40XxdGst699r_TJioQr8dtmDRAjsc-h5GhcRyaXTODUVzSOnuccmmHlUpR9D3xcAw_EFAlzC1CrGu4CS4uJWWW3YouIyvNkiXQT/s320/20190820_092806.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
Before.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLFjTXO_D8b91IfMqFnD3-rDGTfLX_DzoawfXgHw0RB4rf280EmuckfxAvHnCeC8DUbBeK09uejWQH5fwltlkQSWw4S2ZUrlVPNsT3FYcmtjV-MnMICAyvNvZQof7tNN3xOqwye3KegKF/s1600/20190820_092834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLFjTXO_D8b91IfMqFnD3-rDGTfLX_DzoawfXgHw0RB4rf280EmuckfxAvHnCeC8DUbBeK09uejWQH5fwltlkQSWw4S2ZUrlVPNsT3FYcmtjV-MnMICAyvNvZQof7tNN3xOqwye3KegKF/s320/20190820_092834.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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After.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2a4Nfw9QHNUFWitDGUP7B4lip5HmgKliZkRn3Hr_lndnrZM3apXwUtSCEiQVHNHNC4JxRVqoWmz5Eu9lMVnR3pQyiA3mQfQvhxtQEsOZS9oTzHwzD1xFrUWt8CVzKRA2lN-6IZuyP6BDW/s1600/IMG-20191221-WA0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2a4Nfw9QHNUFWitDGUP7B4lip5HmgKliZkRn3Hr_lndnrZM3apXwUtSCEiQVHNHNC4JxRVqoWmz5Eu9lMVnR3pQyiA3mQfQvhxtQEsOZS9oTzHwzD1xFrUWt8CVzKRA2lN-6IZuyP6BDW/s320/IMG-20191221-WA0004.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Alan has done a fantastic job he has made Tickety Boo a boat we can be proud of. </div>
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Now to look forward to taking the boat out and enjoying her!</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-83413398768258581222019-12-22T14:49:00.013-08:002020-10-13T14:10:05.423-07:00Fate At It's Best!Well, where do I begin? After struggling through an emotionally exhausting 2018 I swore to myself that 2019 was going to be a better year for me, just me and my cats, I had quite frankly given up on any thoughts of men or a relationship! I truly was so very tired and weary of it all. The latter part of 2018 I began to get my happy back. I finally realised I didn't need someone in my life to complete it, not at that particular time anyway. I needed to find me again, I somehow lost 'me' amongst the ups and downs of a relationship that wasn't working and hadn't been for a while, a relationship we both stayed in for far too long hoping it would work, it wasn't and realistically never would have done...<br />
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After getting my head on straight again and working hard on painting the boat all Summer I decided I needed a pastime. I was free to do whatever I wanted and other than working and keeping the boat in order I needed something else, another interest. On scrolling through facebook I noticed a post from a friend I had known for a long time, he was talking about how much he loved dancing and a competition he was going to enter for charity. I messaged him to ask if he recommended dancing as I was looking for a new hobby to pursue. He was really enthusiastic and encouraged me all the way to give it a go. He said I should give his dance class a go as it was great. He was due to go on holiday for two weeks so said he would contact me with details when he got back. In the meantime I spoke to another friend who also danced, she did modern jive and also encouraged me to give it a go!<br />
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I went to the jive lessons and wasn't too sure but after a couple of weeks, I loved it! As well as loving the social side of dance the exercise made me feel great and the weight started to drop off which made me feel a lot better about myself. When Alan came back from his holiday I messaged him to really thank him for encouraging me to give dance a go, we chatted on and off on messenger and decided that it would be nice to have a coffee and a catch up for old times. I guess I should mention at this stage that Al and I go way back, 45 years to be precise!<br />
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I had a school friend called Sue who later met Alan. They were really good to me and let me stay with them in their flat when I left home until I got my own place. Alan set me up on a blind date with his workmate Mick. Mick and I hit it off and we all often went out as a foursome. Sue and Alan had their first Son who I was godmother to but as often happens in life we all drifted apart and lost touch. Mick and I went on to get married and have a lovely Son and two lovely Daughters and Sue and Alan went on to have two more Sons. Mick and I sadly parted ways and very sadly Alan lost Sue some years ago, in fact, that was the last time I saw Alan at her funeral 12 years ago...until now.<br />
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Alan and I became friends on facebook but didn't really see each other on there much but it was nice that I could message him when I wanted to ask him about dance at the end of 2018. We arranged to have that coffee and it was so lovely to see him after so many years! I managed to get lost finding his place which we both laughed about as I ended up a dirt path which led to a farm and field full of cows! We had a good old chat which was all very comfortable and easy which was just as well as I had asked Alan if he fancied coming to a dance on New year's eve, not for one minute did I think he would as I thought he would have had other plans, he said yes why not I have nothing else on so it was a relief we were ok when we met up for that coffee which was only a short while before the dance I had invited him to! I really didn't expect it to be awkward if I am honest it was fine. In fact, it was more than fine it was an eye-opener!<br />
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If I am being completely honest I felt an attraction to Alan straight away and he has since told me that he kind of felt the same when I asked him when did he first feel that attraction he said as soon as I stepped out of the car, can't even begin to say how lovely that made me feel! Once we had seen each other again after so long and I knew we got on just fine I started to really look forward to the dance on new years eve. It was a great night we danced, talked and laughed all night. It truly was a lovely night. In the coming weeks, we chatted and Alan invited me round for tea and a dance lesson which was so nice of him, nerve-racking for me as I couldn't look him in the eye as it would have been a dead give away that I was attracted to him really embarrassing as I had no clue at that stage whether he felt the same so I would have made a right prat of myself! We went on to have dance lessons together and I love it. We dance Ballroom and Latin. Alan has the patience of a saint, I am not the best at learning stuff but slowly....very slowly I am getting better but I do struggle to remember steps which is so frustrating for us both but when it goes right it feels amazing. As time went on it was increasingly obvious there was a spark between us made me so happy and scared all at the same time!<br />
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So when I said 2019 was going to be my year and a good one, I never, ever in my wildest dreams knew just how amazing it would be! Alan has changed my life. He has made me the best and happiest Debbie I can be, he accepts me for who I am the scatty dizzy nut I can be, the over-anxious thinker that I can be the pain in the ass I can be! He is one of the most genuine, kindest, funniest people I have ever had the good fortune to meet. He has given me one of the best years of my life. he surprised me with a two-week cruise to the Norwegian fjords for my 60th birthday in June. I had the time of my life, my first cruise and it was fantastic, there wasn't one single minute in the whole two weeks I didn't enjoy it was magical. I was like an excited child when we arrived at Southampton and I first saw the cruise ship she was stunning. Alan gave me the best birthday ever he was great company and it was so apparent that we were both very much on the same page. I think the fact that we got on so well for two weeks 24/7 just proved how good we are together. I was spoilt rotten too!<br />
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I believe in fate and feel blessed that fate chose to bring us together. It feels so easy and natural. I have to say that we were both a bit shell shocked when we first became an item because hand on heart neither of us saw that coming in a million years! Our families and friends are so happy for us too which is heartwarming.<br />
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As if the cruise for my 60th wasn't enough Alan surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas and then a week in Spain, my feet haven't touched the ground and I have to say it's great. Holidays aside any time we spend is an absolute pleasure, just normal everyday things are lovely. The absolute icing on the cake is that he loves Tickety Boo, I mean really loves her. He has transformed her and she looks fantastic. She is like a brand new pin and I will never be able to express how happy that makes me to see her looking so good! He is a natural at the helm too. We are both looking forward to having fun times away on her together. Finally, I have found the captain to my ship, my best friend and soul mate and somebody who makes me feel so loved and makes me smile the biggest smile ever. I have for the first time in a long time started to look forward with excited anticipation for the future. He makes me feel safe and content not to mention he has me laughing most of the time, we seem to be on the same page with our sense of humour too. I only hope I make him as happy as he makes me!<br />
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So New years eve we again brought in together, it's special for us as we class it as our anniversary and we will always celebrate it as so! Going into 2020 with Alan and looking forward to this next year makes me a very happy girl. I never imagined I could be this happy. As I have said before we are both very much on the same page, continuing to write our book together. If the first chapter is anything to go by it is going to be a best-seller!!<br />
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I have great confidence that whatever life throws at us as a couple we will support each other and love each other through it. I have never been so sure about anything in my life...<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGt0VCAkzY4l0v_EMOKWKg6Kv2qL0U2Jc33QQMzXO9l1CA317rJCI5V9fRO_dYEXNcAlWtInW0BbCgBOw3o6iOEqa9qRhWwWZXZWmx2ar5J0-IQD_cnpF0ZKYrAqsvfNZUMfrEofmD7dM6/s1202/20190705_204520-1-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="1060" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGt0VCAkzY4l0v_EMOKWKg6Kv2qL0U2Jc33QQMzXO9l1CA317rJCI5V9fRO_dYEXNcAlWtInW0BbCgBOw3o6iOEqa9qRhWwWZXZWmx2ar5J0-IQD_cnpF0ZKYrAqsvfNZUMfrEofmD7dM6/w353-h400/20190705_204520-1-1-1.jpg" width="353" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br />
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<br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-30746687221679669622018-11-10T02:34:00.005-08:002020-10-13T14:19:49.199-07:00To Lose A Precious Friend...2018 hasn't been the best of years for me. It happens, everybody has to go through heartache in life it seems to be a requirement.<br />
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Relationship breakdowns are never easy regardless of the reasons...I am one of the unfortunate people who take a while to get over things, but then that's just me.<br />
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The shock of very nearly losing Jan one of my closest friends scared me witless, happily she is recovering, slowly.<br />
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To now lose another close friend has saddened me beyond words..<br />
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My lovely genuine Kind Wizard has died, I can't quite get my head around just how quickly he has been taken from us due to that dreaded disease, cancer.<br />
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He shielded me from it for such a long time, as was his way. He didn't want his close friends knowing just how bad it really was to save us the heartache I guess. What a kind thing to do, but then that was him all over.<br />
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He was the kindest most genuine person you could ever wish to meet and I am honoured to have known him, my only regret was I hadn't met him earlier in life. Jerry was the kind of friend everybody should have but not everybody is as lucky as me and I never took that fact for granted.<br />
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There are very few people who know me inside out and what makes me tick, in fact, I don't think anybody knew me as well as he did, because he took the time to get to the bottom of this loose cannonball, who very rarely knows her arse from her elbow a lot of the time, he seemed to get how my crazy mind worked. He just knew when I needed his support when going through tough times and he would be there unconditionally as I know he was for his family and other close friends. What made this even more special for me was he didn't make friends easily, a fact he told me himself. I have no idea why but we became firm friends over the years and it was comfortable, it was a safe place for me, I knew he would never judge regardless what situation I got myself into, and believe me we went through a lot of those situations.<br />
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Every time I lost my way for whatever reason he would be there. His emails were a constant source of reassurance a constant reminder that I was nuts but not a bad person just a crazy mixed up one, he got that, he got me. He could send an email that consisted of one sentence which would tell me all I needed to know, another person would have to write a page to get the same message across but he just had that special gift. He told it as it was, straight to the point no frills and I loved him for that.<br />
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We had a special bond and it was lovely. He hated it when I was sad and he would be here like a shot to sort my head out and he did on so many occasions I will truly,truly miss him for that.<br />
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We shared a wicked sense of humour too, we laughed at the daftest things. I would wind him up mercifully for being an Ebay Junkie, he was a sod for ordering the most diverse things off there, so random it would boggle my mind and made me giggle on many occasions, it got that way that nothing he ordered would surprise me in the end! Just like his one sentence emails that would arrive at the oddest of times and would make me laugh out loud and wonder what planet he was on that particular day!! We both had that in common I am quite often on another planet, hard for people to grasp but Jerry did.<br />
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He was the most eccentric person I knew and it was great, he fascinated me the way his mind worked, he would delve into history and try and make sense of it all. We had lots of conversations about that, a lot of which I didn't understand but he would explain in a way to make it easier to get where he was coming from, he was passionate about the things he looked into.<br />
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The closeness he had with his family was a pleasure to behold and I was very honoured to be included for meals with them, always great company and I was always made to feel they really wanted me there. Such a lovely bunch of people so easy to get on with and very genuine which can be a rarity in this world.<br />
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As sad as I am at losing this lovely friend their sadness must be off the scale, Jerry was such a huge part in their lives and I know wholeheartedly how much they will miss him. They will have so many lovely memories of him enough to last many lifetimes but he will be missed every day. I hope in time, the memories will make them smile rather than cry, I hope that for me too. I know for a fact Jerry would only ever want us all to be ok and happy.<br />
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So, to precious memories of Jerry that will always bring a smile to my face.<br />
The very first time we met, a first date so to speak. He invited me to join him and his family for their regular Sunday lunch get together. Who does that?? On a first date!! Jerry did and it was such a lovely day. He told me afterwards that he was impressed I was happy to just jump in feet first and meet them all. It was well worth jumping in feet first, it was an absolute pleasure to meet them all!<br />
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The way his glasses were always perched on the end of his nose, I could never fathom how he did that without them slipping off!<br />
His long white hair that got him the Wizard name!<br />
His long black leather coat that he loved and actually suited too!<br />
His legendary emails, all of which I still have and I will read often to remind me of the daft conversations we had and often in-depth ones too.<br />
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The way he magically saved all my photos off my old laptop that just died, I thought all my precious photos had gone forever but he saved them all!<br />
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He downloaded every episode of Game Of Thrones and sent them to me on usb sticks. I will forever blame him for my obsession with that series. I loved it!<br />
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The time we all went out on the boat Jerry, Carole Tina and I. we had a lovely meal at the Ship Inn but stayed far too long and had to sail back in the pitch dark! Jerry came to the rescue by standing on the front deck with a 99p torch from Home Bargains. He saved the day and saved Tickety Boo's bow getting scraped along the bridge walls we had to go under in the darkness! I can still see him standing there holding this tiny torch!! A hero!<br />
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The day Jerry decided he liked the idea of living on a boat so bought one! It was a yacht. I thought he was mad, and he was for buying it!!I remember going to see it and just turning to him and saying, ''yep you're mad'' he just gave me a smirk and we laughed. He pretty soon came to his senses and decided on a Narrowboat he named it Choo Choo because he said it reminded him of a railway carriage!! He needed help sailing it to his home mooring I was more than happy to help. We set off and all was going swimmingly until we reached the bottom of the Wigan flight only to find we had something mammoth wrapped around the prop. It turned out it was a tyre, the worst thing ever to have wrapped. It took another boater hours to cut it away by which time we just had to leave the boat there. I think Matt, Jerrys Son took it the rest of the way.<br />
Jerry never ever let me live that down, he would remind me of it at every opportunity much to his amusement! He would say I went out of my way to go over that damn tyre!<br />
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Ironically it turned out that Choo Choo was originally Bally Bunion that belonged to another friend of mine. We hadn't realised at the time as somebody else had bought it and then Jerry bought it off them by which time it had changed colour and layout. It was only when Jerry was going through photos of mine that he recognised a photo I had of Bally Bunion, such a huge coincidence!!<br />
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I will always remember the first time we met. It was a date through a dating site. We hit it off immediately and did lots of laughing and chatting, something we carried on doing over the years. There was never anything romantic about us but the love was there through friendship and it was a genuine love a comfortable feeling between two people who knew they could be 100% themselves and talk about anything, more importantly, we both knew we were just there and always would be.<br />
I never ever imagined there would be a day that he wouldn't be..<br />
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I also remember you inviting me to your house!! I was gobsmacked. I vividly remember saying to you it was like stepping into an ebay warehouse which you thought was really funny...you then got your narrowboat which was just a smaller ebay warehouse by all accounts!<br />
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It's funny that Jerry was the first person I turned to when my relationship broke down, probably because I knew his support would be a great help and it was. His reassurance that everything would be ok was a huge comfort and he continued to give that support even while he was ill. I feel saddened that I didn't know until recently just how ill he was. He did eventually tell me which I am so glad about because he wanted me to know when the time was ready. The swiftness of him passing so soon after he told me has been a complete shock. I am so happy his lovely little family were with him, they assured me it was peaceful so you couldn't really wish for more than that.<br />
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The only thing I do wish for with all my heart is that you were still here, but one thing I do know for a fact is that there are not many people who leave this world who have had such a huge impact on peoples lives like you did! When I say you were special that doesn't even begin to cover it. You were on a par with my Grandad Jack which is the best compliment I can give you, he too was very special. You were one in a million. The people who were in your life were truly honoured to have known you I certainly was!<br />
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One of the last times we met you came to visit we spent the whole day together. You knew I was in such a bad place. We sat on the back deck in the sunshine and I talked you listened. We then drove into Southport and had a lovely meal together we chatted laughed and put the world to rights. I remember that day saying something to you that made you really laugh, you know a real belly laugh and it was lovely. When you left you gave me the biggest tightest hug ever. You will never know how much your support meant that day...then again maybe you did, you knew me well. I will cherish the memory of that hug, one of many. Little did I know it would be the last so I am happy it sticks in my mind as much as it does.<br />
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You took a photo of me once it was the funniest photo ever, you teased me that you would make it public, we laughed a lot about that, but kindly you never did! It was the day we went to see your impulse buy yacht, you took a photo just as the wind caught my hair and I pulled a face. You loved it I didn't!!<br />
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My pledge to your memory is to do my best to be the happy person you wanted me to be.<br />
The strength you gave me when I was at my worst is a strength I will carry with me in your memory.<br />
Thank you.<br />
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You crazy, lovely funny Kind wizard. I will miss you always.<br />
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Heaven help them if there is an Ebay up there!! xxx<br />
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<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpzdfjzOHN8pAwGgH87ZObqmcD1dKdMnun5witvZNleK468s8vQuEk3cgPkkdx781RADI9sbJhR0J4jaFTmZB3uPnxRJ91wIF3gEKuLi1jtWMlTDdZ3P_Vr9WJHE-m57sxOXjVIKt69x2/s1060/Screenshot_2018-11-11-14-23-22-1-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpzdfjzOHN8pAwGgH87ZObqmcD1dKdMnun5witvZNleK468s8vQuEk3cgPkkdx781RADI9sbJhR0J4jaFTmZB3uPnxRJ91wIF3gEKuLi1jtWMlTDdZ3P_Vr9WJHE-m57sxOXjVIKt69x2/w273-h400/Screenshot_2018-11-11-14-23-22-1-1.png" width="273" /></a></div>Jerry x<div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-30519055081014085062018-11-04T06:15:00.000-08:002018-11-04T06:15:44.005-08:00All Painted Out....And Pooped!Well, I finally had to put the paint rollers and brushes down till next spring!<br />
I have painted, sanded and painted some more since August.<br />
I have now run out of suitable painting weather and energy! If I am honest I am happy the weather change has forced me to stop, enough is enough! Green hands and nails plus dusty hair and a dirty face isn't really a good look! Tickety Boo is looking so much better but not completely finished. She looks loved and cared for again so even though I am disappointed I didn't finish her to the standard I wanted, I am proud of just how much I did get done in between working. Next Spring will be just a few more top coats and I will be happy. The painting I enjoyed the prep not so much but worth it in the end. I have made a promise to myself never, ever to let her get in such a bad state again. Now that I have put all the blood sweat and tears in I will be damned if I will let the upkeep slide again, if I keep on top of it she will never look neglected again. It made me really sad to see her looking scruffy and abandoned! I haven't fought all these years to keep my boat to see her go to rack and ruin!<br />
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I am now back on my own mooring and to say I am happy to be back is an understatement! While it is great to have a designated area for prep and painting on the Marina, it was a bit lonely and isolated there, so lovely to be back! I love seeing Tickety all freshly painted with her now cream doors to match her roof, it makes all the hard work of the last couple of months worthwhile...I think!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpg21ICpuSe3HgrgWz7jnQbxlt3p5bNzFbBk1xaE3mz29zaycIcfT-Rr99k_hAps8Q4kEVnGkFGZYxP3jAMuaffg0YY0wTA2s56NjN8KxW_75bS452i07xt__rrNeDQ-NRai8vO0O6Y8mq/s1600/20180814_122003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpg21ICpuSe3HgrgWz7jnQbxlt3p5bNzFbBk1xaE3mz29zaycIcfT-Rr99k_hAps8Q4kEVnGkFGZYxP3jAMuaffg0YY0wTA2s56NjN8KxW_75bS452i07xt__rrNeDQ-NRai8vO0O6Y8mq/s640/20180814_122003.jpg" width="360" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: large;">The Start of the job, a bit of freaking out when I realised the amount of work I had ahead of me!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">The first side undercoated and feeling a bit more relaxed about the whole thing, still slightly overwhelmed. You only realise how big your boat is when you start to paint!!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">The roof sanded undercoated and filled ready for another undercoat</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Now, this bit I enjoyed, the first glimpse of the colour going on...gives you the incentive to carry on! I was nervous about the colour as I had it mixed and it wasn't cheap so I was relieved I loved the colour!</span><span style="color: #93c47d; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Tickety Boo's bow looking tatty and weathered.</span><span style="color: #93c47d; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">A bit alarming when the first coat goes on as it's patchy!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">A second coat makes all the difference you can really see the depth of the colour now in the photo below a nice feeling, especially when you are relieved you like the colour!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zBNfG3GR3eLJkPk5hL-6iCb4BRzTnvt5HnhOkf3Qsw1a0kwzpEekfcca-go_k3-qmwR8tcV4LdcblgdBB-HSD9xk3pF1jmJfbTdVIjMSlh8O6F_ZXqLptf0rTqs6b1j_i2STN3-_B07K/s1600/20181008_101922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zBNfG3GR3eLJkPk5hL-6iCb4BRzTnvt5HnhOkf3Qsw1a0kwzpEekfcca-go_k3-qmwR8tcV4LdcblgdBB-HSD9xk3pF1jmJfbTdVIjMSlh8O6F_ZXqLptf0rTqs6b1j_i2STN3-_B07K/s640/20181008_101922.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #93c47d; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Couldn't wait to see the back of the stained doors. </span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> They looked hideous yellow, but all ready for</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> cream top coat, no going back now!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">At this stage wasn't sure if I had done the right thing painting the doors?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQUlhZz-Z8Z8JKyz8WnsTdCE0kRGRIYJzaFYXj6g9U_2j4l8cwgqy4InC7I1zcA0G3jWI41pD3Z8sQYBMIbEMmIKsKeZrZtVDhl34iaKb7gQ-Y3EgVD1mTV5DjSv2ddqYHUdhDqI_nNnCm/s1600/20180917_125719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQUlhZz-Z8Z8JKyz8WnsTdCE0kRGRIYJzaFYXj6g9U_2j4l8cwgqy4InC7I1zcA0G3jWI41pD3Z8sQYBMIbEMmIKsKeZrZtVDhl34iaKb7gQ-Y3EgVD1mTV5DjSv2ddqYHUdhDqI_nNnCm/s640/20180917_125719.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Now to the back deck! I come on and off the boat at the stern so was heartily sick of seeing how tatty it all looked. You can see how damaged the back rail was, all the joints split and the pegs holding it together all rotten.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> Mark being the miracle worker he is, took away the back rail and brought it back looking brand spanking new. I couldn't believe it was the same rail, it has never looked this good all the time I have had the boat! Truly grateful for his hard work.Thanks, Scooby x</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> As Mark had done such a great job on the rail it was only fair that I should revamp the stern patio furniture....</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFC_FQ-SXuSBFZKBOS5tpe-Uzxugsn4fyd_xpUyYYvapMJ0fT9i-RnHdkbK7CHaKapEHYgFl8lTp-gWLWoiyF3pzDe0JYoNe71BZrAosUs-cLk2HoAHa6G-Gcgress1bJgb2OwOr45_9p/s1600/20181022_142549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFC_FQ-SXuSBFZKBOS5tpe-Uzxugsn4fyd_xpUyYYvapMJ0fT9i-RnHdkbK7CHaKapEHYgFl8lTp-gWLWoiyF3pzDe0JYoNe71BZrAosUs-cLk2HoAHa6G-Gcgress1bJgb2OwOr45_9p/s320/20181022_142549.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">and the back deck boards.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> The back deck looking all spic and span! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEX4H02ZRl9NOTbh9xQIvHs3sFNuaosX5RHGouIJ3MSudsHMOkP__9sDMwdkvhkX9OF8hEOx835tqyzvNL2NgmN7FVSRc5doBOz6E-TAHeJsjM4PT5C9LdtqmtxQQNmqEF6lIRTb0GrNb/s1600/20181028_102307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEX4H02ZRl9NOTbh9xQIvHs3sFNuaosX5RHGouIJ3MSudsHMOkP__9sDMwdkvhkX9OF8hEOx835tqyzvNL2NgmN7FVSRc5doBOz6E-TAHeJsjM4PT5C9LdtqmtxQQNmqEF6lIRTb0GrNb/s1600/20181028_102307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> Scruffy old back door.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimfyY1GptzIWML-xdXJx1UaE-pKtqpXehESxe0CXQjoDjtHP3qfh4RSWIXCnc9KObhOTV_oWUYvS1rS-J5uY3kY1H3zkjNJRSjSYsVUmK6DiZ7m87s-8bFovIYSnZ9jvGOV8gzekxoQr_/s1600/20181030_075504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimfyY1GptzIWML-xdXJx1UaE-pKtqpXehESxe0CXQjoDjtHP3qfh4RSWIXCnc9KObhOTV_oWUYvS1rS-J5uY3kY1H3zkjNJRSjSYsVUmK6DiZ7m87s-8bFovIYSnZ9jvGOV8gzekxoQr_/s640/20181030_075504.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">The back door now cream too. I am pleased with the decision to paint the doors it makes a nice change. It brightens up the green and compliments the roof.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWEQVx-GQZ_5XkTRCvUME-irPuRFRhrCt9Zwjb2KWEJWG5E116HIpNLHaWVcuG2Drz2reevH7YSVUjPyr7Q2hvoj36h3pXJTSuhKNWKDQw6Ll5_vySiVCFFSRknERNUxwSeGgk9serRSv/s1600/20181003_180929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWEQVx-GQZ_5XkTRCvUME-irPuRFRhrCt9Zwjb2KWEJWG5E116HIpNLHaWVcuG2Drz2reevH7YSVUjPyr7Q2hvoj36h3pXJTSuhKNWKDQw6Ll5_vySiVCFFSRknERNUxwSeGgk9serRSv/s400/20181003_180929.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Nice clean cream roof with mushrooms painted green.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">So Tickety Boo at the stage I had to stop painting. She looks clean and neat so I am very happy with my progress! A few more top coats next spring and her graphics applied I will have the smart boat I dreamed of, then the fun can begin enjoying taking her out again!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">These two have watched my every move while doing the boat like they were supervising to make sure I was doing a good job of our home! They have been so good.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> Just a few finishing touches...the seahorse is a gift my Son Dean bought me when he was around 12 it has been on the inside of the stern door in my bedroom so I decided it would be nice to paint it green and have it on my new cream door on the outside. A new brass handle to pull the door shut and all done....for now!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> I think he finishes off the back door nicely.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> </span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /> </span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">I can now relax in my cosy boat for Winter. I like the decor indoors but have plans for a complete change next year....I don't think Kit and Pixie mind what colour the decor is they are quite at home on board and they have made the boat even more of a home for me! Apart from the back rail and some grinding on the stern steps that Mark did, I am proud to say I did all the work myself, my aching bones and none existent nails are testimony to that!!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"> Watch this space.....</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-44746601605729043812018-08-25T02:13:00.002-07:002018-08-26T01:10:43.538-07:00Lessons Learned...So, just had two weeks off work to start the revamp on Tickety Boo. Very much overdue I am ashamed to admit, but now I have my head back on straight...ish, it's time to do some serious work on her! I did paint her a few years ago but the preparation I did on her was not good enough and the pleasing result at the time sadly didn't last long!<br />
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Being in a relationship with somebody who really had no interest in the boat, amongst other things, really didn't help the situation!! My dream was to find somebody with my passion, who would have enjoyed working on her, to have a happy future together living afloat. I thought maybe I had, but sadly not, but you learn, you move on and put it all down to life experiences, it's tough, but time, good genuine caring friends and family are a huge help in making you realise you can be happy even when your dream is whipped away! That's exactly what it was...a dream that didn't come true. In hindsight, it wasn't just the boat situation that ended the relationship...it was a realisation that we just didn't work for lots of reasons. We tried, we failed we move on! I am still living MY dream and it's lovely.<br />
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Well, the weather hasn't really helped, lots of rain and my back going two days in, really didn't help either. Walking like I had pooped my pants while trying to grind the rust off the boat was not too attractive, to say the least! Being introduced to a grinder with wire brush attachment has been a godsend! It quickly takes rust spots back to metal that can then be treated, filled and have undercoat applied ready for painting.<br />
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The last time I painted the boat I used Weather Sheild paint. To be fair to the paint, if I had prepped the boat properly the paint would have probably lasted, which it has in most places, but rust crept through in a lot of patches, so after advice, really good advice from a friend, I am using better paint this time. I will report back once the boat is finished!<br />
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I knew to transform Tickety Boo was going to be a big job...but I had no clue just how big!!<br />
As I want to be more thorough this time it will take longer but will be so worth it!<br />
The marina I am in has pontoons designated as working pontoons where you can moor while you work on your boat...I will be here a while!! Things are moving slowly but it is taking shape, not that you would notice to look at her! I have been moored next to Mark whilst working on the boat, he has been an absolute brick, lots of advice that quite frankly I would have been lost without...in fact I would be lost without him full stop! We go back some years and I trust him implicitly. A friend who has is and always will be there for me, and me him. He has been so supportive even more so these past few months. He kicks ass and that's what I need. His enthusiasm for the boats and this lifestyle is also lovely and just what I need just now. He constantly makes me laugh and keeps me cheerful too!<br />
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To date, I have ground, sanded, treated rust, filled dints, undercoated roof and one side and managed to put the first top coat on half of one cabin side before it lashed down with rain! Rain has stopped play a lot this past two weeks, very frustrating but I have just resigned myself that T. Boo will be moored here for a while to get the job finished. There are other boats that have been here longer than expected due to the weather too so I don't feel I am the only frustrated painter!<br />
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And so it begins<br />
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My Poor roof!<br />
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Banana boat!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6wiEMoEICAk7yWBKcSVm8E_vhkKLImqsHVpohGervu-jxRvXnPcYumYVmbXikJAhoTnJLHO5Q1fyjaGPABvadWBk1Q1QhEPi-bQM5ojjdlfKoJOSQkgYGxWit7f1TZON9wLIHCvL8adk/s1600/20180821_120028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6wiEMoEICAk7yWBKcSVm8E_vhkKLImqsHVpohGervu-jxRvXnPcYumYVmbXikJAhoTnJLHO5Q1fyjaGPABvadWBk1Q1QhEPi-bQM5ojjdlfKoJOSQkgYGxWit7f1TZON9wLIHCvL8adk/s320/20180821_120028.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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First glimpse of nice new Teal colour, loving the way my kneel pad matches the undercoat!!<br />
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The whole experience up to now has been at times a bit overwhelming, but I am relaxing more about the whole situation. I am doing the work myself and I feel quite proud of that fact. The one thing that is keeping me going is when Tickety Boo is back to her former glory with her name back on, I can stand back and admire my work with the satisfaction that I got there! I can then enjoy the revamp on the inside, which will be so much more enjoyable. I have ideas for a new colour scheme and revamp! Next year a lot more travelling on her, haven't done much of that for a good while and I miss it. I will be so nice taking a newly painted smart boat out that I can be proud of and hopefully take a pride in once again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5nq8sDWdzaLWSACDGa5ZjDWyAvnbXjjy74XgkkfGgXaLE2x8dOovahU3CLcvJzQhiZh-lG4XNiXiiHlYr82XThkHORvfSOIWIE9Qadz0NS_226cOcB1zb6WNtf-mctXTm9xezbnmHkr6/s1600/20180823_143145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5nq8sDWdzaLWSACDGa5ZjDWyAvnbXjjy74XgkkfGgXaLE2x8dOovahU3CLcvJzQhiZh-lG4XNiXiiHlYr82XThkHORvfSOIWIE9Qadz0NS_226cOcB1zb6WNtf-mctXTm9xezbnmHkr6/s320/20180823_143145.jpg" width="180" /></a>My two fluffballs have been so well behaved while all this work has been going on. I was worried that the noise of the grinder and sander would freak them out! They soon got used to the noise and it doesn't seem to be phasing them at all, such good little Cats!<br />
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This morning I woke to rain lashing down on the roof, a noise I never tire of, I love it! The weatherman has promised it will brighten up, so I am happy I will get some more sanding done later, and maybe more top coat. Every little helps, as a well known super market claims! I am sitting up in bed, tv on in the background nice cup of coffee, laptop on knee and two kitties curled up contently on the bed. I love my mornings like this, with the odd messages off friends doing much the same before their plans for the day start!<br />
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I am back to work Tuesday so it will be evenings and my three day weekends to get the job finished! It's nearly September!! Even writing that last sentence has shocked me as to how fast, yet again, this year has gone! Not really the best of years in a lot of ways, but 2018 hasn't been all bad. The revelation of just who I need in my life and just who I don't has given me the reassurance that I have a happy future to look forward to. I have had the strength to make decisions and stick to them, helped by friends and family who have proved to me their value in my life more than ever recently! To say they have restored my confidence is an understatement! No apologies for repeating that fact again!<br />
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Something else that has really boosted my dented confidence has been my nomination as regional merchandiser award at work!! I am going to a convention and a posh awards ceremony in September and I can't wait. All expenses paid, including an overnight stay in a hotel with designated car parking space...get me!! Even if I don't win, the taking part is something I am really looking forward to! Happy to have got this far if I am honest! I enjoy my job now, it's more interesting than it has been in a while due to the good team we have in store. If you have to work you might as well enjoy it!<br />
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Something totally unexpected that has shaken me to the core this year has been the total and utter fear that I was going to lose one of my dearest friends. Jan who I have known for many years and is a really close friend had two bleeds on the brain. She was admitted to the hospital and operated on all in a matter of days. She spoke to me on the phone days before her op, she sounded so unwell and I was terrified at the prospect of losing her. This devastating news coincided with an email I received which was soul destroying. It was hurtful and uncalled for and just confirmed to me I had made the right decision in ending the relationship. I could have quite easily slung mud because I was hurting too, but I chose not to, that fact allowed me to walk away with my head held high. Things I was accused of in that email were totally untrue and the writer knows that.... never will I address this matter again...<br />
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More importantly, Jan had her op and was in an induced coma for a while, nerve-wracking time for her family, her friends and ME! Once she was awake I went in to visit her...I cried all the way home, my lovely, funny vibrant Jan was like a small bewildered child, it broke my heart. However each time I have visited her since, I can see my old gorgeous friend coming back slowly, it's going to be a long haul but Jan has that fight in her I know she will get there. She has a fabulous family and friends who will kick ass and cheer her on every step of the way? What I have gone through this past few months has been put into perspective through Jans experience. Jan is precious to me, as my friend, confidant, the person I can talk to about anything and everything! The last time I visited, her improvement was great, she is still quite muddled but it did make us giggle, and she astounded me by getting out of bed and walking to the loo! Something we all take for granted but it made my day!<br />
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The rain has stopped, the sun is coming out so I am going to make a start, fingers crossed I get a good few hours in today, tomorrow is forecast rain again...oh hang on, it's just started raining again, but the sun is still out so promise of a rainbow. Gotta love the British weather!<br />
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I can't wait to get back to my own pontoon in the Marina but it's not all bad here, There is a family of King Fishers in the trees overhanging the water nearby, it's lovely watching them dart in and out catching fish!<br />
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I feel my, 'happy' coming back, I have a lot to be grateful for. Being sad is not one of my favourite pass times, being happy and content is far nicer!<br />
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I try to go through life not regretting anything, and I don't. All my life experiences have brought me to where I am now and quite honestly...I like where I am...well maybe happier when all the painting is done!<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-36205509797028413032018-07-08T23:53:00.000-07:002018-07-09T00:02:46.723-07:00Eight Legs, Two Tails and Lots Of Whisker's !After losing my beloved little Scotty dog a few years ago Tickety Boo has not felt the same without a pet on board. I toyed with the idea of another dog but soon realised it wouldn't be fair to leave a dog for nine hours a day for four days.I then thought a cat may be a better as I have to work. I forgot the idea for a while but always felt there was something missing from my life. That is until I heard of kittens on the way! Through face book I had seen a lovely photo of a kitten called Pugwash, he was adorable and belonged to a fellow boater, it made me think again about a cat as a pet. The seed was firmly planted when Pugwash's owner told me that his Mum, Mia was having Kittens again! I contacted Mias owners to tell them I was interested in giving one of the Kittens a home! Once I had made that decision the countdown began! I was literally counting the sleeps! Mia would be pregnant for nine weeks, then I would wait for around eight to nine weeks to get my Kitten!<br />
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Mia's owners were kind enough to keep me updated with progress and they let me know when the kittens were born, photos followed and I just got more excited with each day and update. I think it was Pugwash's owner who said why not have two kittens? I hadn't actually thought of having two but the more I thought about it the more it made sense! if I had two they would keep each other company while I was out at work. I mentioned it to Mia's owners and they were happy to let me have two!<br />
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On the 29th October 2017 Mia had four kittens, sadly one didn't make it but the other three were doing well.<br />
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I was to have Sisters that I have named Kit and Pixie.<br />
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This to date is one of the funniest photos of the partners in crime!! Looks like Pixie is giving Kit a leg up! These two balls of fluff have enhanced my life no end. They are such good company and constantly make me smile. I don't know what I did without them!<br />
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Yes I have to hoover more often, wipe around more often with anti bacterial spray. Yes my curtains have lots of claw holes in them, my shower tray is home to a litter tray. my pristine shower curtain is now full of pulls and my lovely white duvet cover is now fur coated, sticky rollers rule! The boat resembles a cat gym with toys strewn around the floor. A huge cat tree takes up space in the saloon. I can't turn my back for too long if I am preparing food, and I wouldn't change any of it! My boat is their home now I am just a lodger in their gaff! I had forgotten how nice it was to have pets about.<br />
I love the greeting I get when arriving home from work. I don't even mind my really early wake ups in the morning, when the two little darlings tear arse around the boat which is akin to the wall of death when you see motor bikes in a cage!<br />
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These two turbo charged fluff balls leave me in awe at their speed when chasing each other!! After waking me at silly o clock with their antics and me getting up to feed them, they then curl up and go back to sleep, leaving me wide awake at 5am! However they are forgiven as they are so darned cute!<br />
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I wobbled a bit when I wondered if I was doing the right thing getting two Kittens but it has to be one of my better decisions. I absolutely love how they have brightened my life! They are adorable and give so much unconditional love not to mention their duo comedy act, priceless!<br />
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Yes I am a smitten crazy cat lady and it's great! How could you not fall in love with these two?<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-65056685503282165732018-07-01T03:46:00.000-07:002018-07-08T09:37:38.262-07:00Sad Endings...Hopeful New Beginnings..My post title tells it's own story really. Sadly my five year relationship has come to an end.<br />
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It does hurt like hell but we both wanted different things out of life. As this is all very raw at the minute I will leave it there. I really do hope we can both move on and be happy as life is far too short not to be.</div>
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I have always and still do love my life afloat, it isn't for everybody as I have found to my cost, but it is for me. I think 14 years afloat proves that fact! I have always wanted to share my love and enthusiasm for boat life with somebody who truly loves it as I do but I realise now that is not where my happiness lies. I can be happy alone, and I am the majority of the time. If that special person comes along great, if not I refuse to live my life being disappointed because I didn't find him!</div>
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I have done so much thinking and soul searching over the past few weeks, mostly positive thinking as I am a positive person. Negativity in any form drains me completely, so any signs of it I quickly try and diminish and replace it with a happy thought. It is so much nicer being in a good place rather than a bad and the only person who can control that is ourselves. It isn't and never will be anybody else's responsibility to make our own lives a happy experience! Hey my life isn't always positively rosy, I do have dark down days but it's how you deal with them and recover from them. I am sure as hell from now on going to make a concerted effort to distance my self from anything that doesn't make me happy! If that means going it alone I will. Fate will take care of the chances of me meeting my soul mate and if fate decides my only soulmate is me, then so be it!! I have a lovely family and a close circle of invaluable friends who really do prove there worth when you are going through a tough time. If I never meet my special someone these important people in my life will be enough for me!</div>
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I refuse to let the bad times of the relationship cloud the happy times. I want to look back on the many photos and smile at the memory because it was a good memory that made us happy in that particular moment. Happy memories firmly locked in my head and my heart!</div>
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Now to the reason why I have suddenly decided to write my blog again! It is something I love doing but have let it fall by the wayside recently. I love putting my thoughts down on paper as and when they pop into my head, cringe making for some people but going by messages and views of my blog some people really do enjoy my ramblings!</div>
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I had a lovely visit from my Cousin, Sandra, yesterday with her friend Doug. They are both seriously thinking of buying boats to become live aboard's so they wanted to pick my brains, I was happy to oblige! Doug surprised me by saying he had read my blog after Sandra had told him about it, how nice is that? I now know I have two fans, my lovely Mum and now the lovely Doug! I dedicate this post to you Doug as it was you who kicked my sorry ass into gear to dust off my lap top and write again! I am sure if they both go ahead with their dreams of living afloat they won't regret it..hopefully!<br />
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So for any of you who read this look out! I intend to delve into the world of blogging again!</div>
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I have lots to waffle about.</div>
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I have new members to the crew of Tickety Boo! For those of you who don't already know who they are all will be revealed in my next post!</div>
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So now back to today. The weather is again glorious, if a little too meltingly hot for me. Life on my boat is lovely anytime of the year but when the sun shines through all my windows it's truly magical and is full of happy light dancing on the ceiling! If that doesn't put a smile on your face you are truly missing out on the simple things in life which to me are precious!</div>
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Yesterday was spirit lifting for me, lovely visit from Sandra and Doug and then a really fun filled evening with Jules a couple of bottles of wine on the back deck while being entertained with a glorious sunset.<br />
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Jules, my wine swigging sidekick!<br />
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Perfect ending to a positive day! I had forgotten just how blessed I am to have the honour of being able to sit on my back deck on a balmy evening on my beloved Tickety Boo who I very nearly gave up. I am so happy I didn't..<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-22448001686187009442017-09-11T05:08:00.000-07:002019-12-16T13:31:35.622-08:00Water Water Everywhere!Well a hectic couple of weeks! My Daughters hen party, then the following weekend my lovely friends 50th Birthday party! It was a fantastic weekend, Jools was more than welcoming opening up her lovely home to a close bunch of friends and seven Dogs, yes seven! All dogs were so well behaved, I was in doggy heaven being surrounded by wet noses and waggy tails! Having not met her friends I was nervous, I needn't have worried they were all lovely and as nice as I thought they would be! You all know who you are so thank you for accepting me into your circle of friends, you are a great crazy bunch and it was great fun celebrating Jools Birthday with you all!<br />
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With Kirsty and Ians wedding day fast approaching, you can imagine it's all systems go on getting organised! Kirsty is a marvel and has everything in hand, it is going to be a wonderful day and I can't wait! I have surprisingly managed to get a dress and shoes for the big day. Now this is no mean feat for me, I really don't do dresses very often and I am even less likely to be seen in heels! I hate clothes shopping, so a few weeks ago when Mum, Heather and I had a meal at the Panoramic, we decided to have a look in some of the shops for a potential wedding outfit for me. Not looking forward to the task, we entered the dress department in Debenhams. I immediately spotted a lovely teal maxi dress, I tried it on and bought it, just like that, painless and a huge relief! I have finally found suitable shoes too...they will last for as long as they have to but I know for a fact they will be getting kicked off and replaced with a more comfortable pair to party in.<br />
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Sneak preview of my dress.</div>
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Getting back to the meal in the Panoramic in Liverpool. My Mum had been given a voucher to have afternoon tea and very kindly invited Heather and I to join her. It was a lovely afternoon, the views from the 30+ floor were amazing!<br />
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I loved this view from the Panoramic, the first stretch of water you see in the middle of the photo, is the Salt house dock, where any of you who have been through to Liverpool will have moored for your stay.<br />
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Liverpool link, 'Sids Ditch' the thin strip of water top right of photo. I love this trip through to Liverpool. Never tire of it and can't wait to do it again.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My lovely Mum enjoying her tea.</td></tr>
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Yummy Panoramic Afternoon Tea! Oh ok and Cocktails!<br />
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You may be wondering at the title of this post, water water everywhere, well.... You know I have already said how pleased I am with being in the Marina, and I still am, very much so but...<br />
My walk to the bus stop to get the bus to work is a mile walk from the Marina, now I actually enjoy the walk to work, now I am over the shock of how far the bus stop for my 300 bus is! On a fine day it's quite invigorating and enjoyable exercise, however on a wet blustery rainy day, it's another story!<br />
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The road I have to walk down to the bus stop is somewhat busy with cars, motorbikes and huge lorries going about their business. The side walks in places are alarmingly narrow but as I said I have slowly got used to taking my life in my hands and doing the trek the days I am in work, ( apart from the days Dan let's me have the car which I fully and truly appreciate). It took me a little while to realise just how flooded and waterlogged this road gets when we have heavy rain and as you all know that has been quite often recently.<br />
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So one morning last week I woke to torrential rain but knew I had to bite the bullet and go forth into the watery hell of the outside world. On starting my walk I soon, to my horror, realised I wasn't going to get far before I resembled a drowned rat, actually that is an understatement! As well as the rain pelting on my umbrella the lovely car/van/lorry drivers were kind enough to share the puddles they drove through with yours truly, not happy with just sharing the puddles with the bottom half of my body they decided to drench me from head to toe! I was stopped dead in my tracks after my first experience of a wonderful cascade of water flying with a whoosh into my body...it was cold and for a split second took my breath away. I valiantly carried on with the uneasy feeling of the dampness seeping through to every part of my attire, do they even do waterproof bras I wondered! Finally I made it to the sanctuary of the little wooden hut bus shelter, my bus shelter, as it's very rare anybody else would be daft enough?? After diving into the very welcome shelter I composed my soggy self and marvelled at just how much water my Primani trousers could hold in each leg, so much so I felt at least a stone heavier than normal! I knew I would have to pop my head in and out the bus stop to keep an eye out for my bus otherwise he would not see me and drive right past! I was just getting into the swing of popping my head in and out like a proverbial cuckoo in a clock, and thinking how clever I was dodging the water spray from the traffic when I heard the rumble of a huge lorry baring down on my wooden bus stop, ha I thought you won't get me in here, as I pressed myself to the back of the bus shelter with a smug grin on my face lets see you get me now...WHOOSH!! The lorry thundered past and threw the contents of the gutter flood into the hut, filled my only shelter wall to wall with a deluge of water from the top of my head to my soggy feet. The most shocking part of the dousing was the force in which the water hit me in the face, I swear it wiped every bit of mascara from my eyelashes!! So what did I do?? After using language my Mum would ground me for, I just collapsed into a fit of giggles at the humour of it all, is this really happening to me? Just then I spied my bus. Thankfully the lovely bus driver glided slowly through the water to a halt, not wanting to splash me...bit bloody late for that, If I had dived fully clothed into a swimming pool I couldn't be anymore wet. The bus doors opened and the bus driver just looked at the sorry state I was in. You know when you visibly see somebody biting their lip so not to inappropriately laugh, that was the look on the bus drivers face, my look of, ''Don't you dare laugh'' diminished the look pretty quickly, but then we both laughed.<br />
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I spent the rest of the day in work looking like a shaggy dog who had been swimming in the canal. I dried out surprisingly quickly but my socks remained soggy all day and my hair dried out to resemble a burst cushion, then again my hair looks like a burst cushion most days, so no excuse there then! I now have dry socks in my locker in work. Note to oneself, under no circumstances do I leave the boat on a rainy day without wellies and waterproofs head to toe!<br />
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I watched Cold Feet on TV the other night one of the characters , Adam met the same fate as me....<br />
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I sympathised with every drop of water that blasted him in the face...I was thinking, been there done that ha ha ha bet he didn't have to work in soggy socks all day!<br />
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Now because this is essentially a boat blog, I will leave you with these photos...<br />
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Tickety Boo, happy in her new mooring.<br />
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View from stern door at Dusk.<br />
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No place like Home..<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> View from side hatch from my pontoon </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">So that is me up to date! Lots to look forward to and as always happy with my lot! I swore I wouldn't light my first Autumn/Winter fire till at least October but I gave in yesterday! I love lighting the first fire after Summer. Cosy nights on the boat, with hot stews, soups and scouse cooked on the wood burner, with crusty bread to look forward to. Happiness is...the simple things in life... </span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-90908102375883461152017-08-23T05:21:00.000-07:002017-08-23T05:21:06.828-07:00Back In Blog World!Well we are now into August. As always it shocks me at just how fast time goes!<br />
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Having the boat in the Marina is a godsend. The atmosphere is lovely, the people are lovely and I feel so relaxed staying on the boat here. As much as I would rather be out travelling about on the boat, a future I am so looking forward to, if I have to have a mooring while I have to go to work, I can't think of a nicer place to be!<br />
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I feel really lucky that I have the choice of two lovely homes. My fab Tickety Boo and a lovely flat in New Brighton looking out over the Mersey! Still being near the water and watching the wide array of boats and ships leaving and arriving at the port of Liverpool is great, what more could a girl want?<br />
My heart is in the boat and Dan's heart is in the flat but we both feel equally comfortable in either places, so we have finally reached a happy medium that suits us both.We both realise how lucky we are to have two great places to spend time with our favourite pains in the arse!<br />
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This month has been pretty manic, I spend a lot of the year not socialising that much, I am not much of a party animal but suddenly all the invites come together!! We had Dan's Sister Anns 60th. It was a great party and enjoyed by all! Then my lovely Daughter Kirsty had a hen afternoon in a gorgeous setting. Her good friend Clare organised it all and she did Kirsty proud! We had afternoon tea in the beautiful Vintage Tea Room on Mathew street in Liverpool. It was a fabulous place , food and service spot on. The whole place is realistically vintage and the atmosphere was so relaxed. For any of you boaters coming through to Liverpool it comes highly recommended for a visit, I promise you won't be disappointed!<br />
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This coming weekend I have another celebration, a lovely friend I met through our love of boats, is celebrating her 50th birthday, you know when you meet someone and you immediately know you are on the same wavelength, well that is how I am with her. we haven't known each other that long but it doesn't feel like that, feels like I have known her a lot longer! I feel honoured that she has included me in her close circle of friends to celebrate her Birthday. I am so looking forward to a fun filled weekend...details will follow after the event! If allowed by the party girl of course!<br />
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So, Tickety Boo? I have had the boat for nearly 14 years now and I love her so much! Who knew?<br />
Considering all that went on at the beginning of my boaty venture, not to mention all that has gone on during, all of which I frankly wouldn't change, I am more happy than I have ever been! All that has happened to me in the past has moulded me into the person I am now, and lead me into the life I have now, so why wish I could change any of it? I still worry when I look at the list of jobs that need doing to keep her maintained, but I know they will be done, eventually....and so worth the effort!<br />
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Dan and I are on a very even keel, ( pardon this old pun again). We have had our up's and down's, mostly up's I am happy to say! It is hard at times embarking on a relationship in your fifties, especially when you have had a period of being alone where you quite quickly get set in your ways!!<br />
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The main issue was our two completely different lifestyles!! While Dan likes the boat and feels at home when he stays here, it's not for him 24/7. I on the other hand feel the same about the flat! It did cause friction for a while, but as soon as we both realised we could tailor the relationship to cater for both of us and reach a happy medium, we both find ourselves in our own comfort zones and it's nice! Compromise on both sides works wonders for a relationship!<br />
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Looking back over the years I have been with Dan, including the downs, I am so glad we didn't give up and go our separate ways, we are good together but our stubborn streaks often cause havoc! Thankfully we get over the squabbles eventually, and get back to our happy selves.<br />
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More news recently, is that of my youngest Daughter Heather, I am so proud of her, as I am of Kirsty and Dean too, she has recently moved into her own place, she is renting a lovely little house and it is a credit to her. I have been on a couple of sleepovers with her since she has moved in, always great fun, we are both crazy and do a lot of laughing! I am so impressed with how she is coping. I know what she has done is not easy, it can be quite a shock to the system when you are responsible for all the bills but she is doing great, and it's lovely to see.<br />
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My eldest Daughter Kirsty has recently moved to a lovely part of the country, Tamworth. Her, Ian and the girls now live in a lovely little house and I couldn't be happier for them. The girls have settled into their new schools and are both amazing little girls who I am very proud of! I don't see them as much but it makes me happy knowing that they are happy with their Mum and Dad in their new home. Kirsty and Ian get married in September and I can't wait, that will be for another post though! Ian is all you could wish for in a future Son in law, they are a lovely little family.<br />
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My Son Dean is the only one left to fly the nest! His Dad has given him such a lovely home to live in for so long I know it will be a wrench for him. I am trying to encourage him to go over on the Wirral, the flats over there are lovely and quite reasonable rent wise. As he works over there it would make sense. I hope he gets settled soon, then I will be happy that all my children are settled in their own places...none of them have even considered a boat?? I find that unbelievable!! Maybe, and I am being tongue in cheek here, they're not mad enough like their Mum!! <br />
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I am hoping to get back into my blogging again, Heather has recently got a new lap top so has kindly let me bring her old one back to the boat, I am like a Pig in Poo! I can blog again.My last lap top gave up the ghost, my lovely friend Jerry the Wizard tried to fix it for me but to no avail. He did however save all my photos! I will be forever grateful to him for that!. I only enjoy blogging on a laptop, while I can do it on my tablet or phone it's not quite the same as tapping away on a keyboard, something I find very satisfying! As this is a new lap top, I need to get photos sorted and how to get them on here! It's surprising how quickly you get out of practice!<br />
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I am off work for two weeks and have many jobs I want to get sorted while I am off, Tickety has rust spots that need sorting before they get really bad, the weather however is raining on my parade, I am living in hope that I will get at least a few days to get sanding and painting done!Story of my life but my big hunk of steel is so worth it! Dan is spending the two weeks holiday with his daughter Erin at the flat, I will hopefully join them for the odd meal or day out, It's nice that we can both do what makes us happy with our time off and then meet in the middle now and again! It's good to miss and be missed!<br />
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I promise my next blog won't be too far away, and will be accompanied, by photos that will make it more interesting! I have plans for Tickety Boo's decor, lots of plans, mainly the boudoir! I can't wait to get stuck in! I have to put those plans on the back burner for now though! I have the 50th party weekend coming up, then Kirsty's wedding then to top it off my lovely Mum is a fantastic 80 years young in October, so it is all go!! Not forgetting my lovely Dan's Birthday in September! I have to say I couldn't keep this social activity up long term but I am enjoying every minute!!<br />
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Just a thought before I go....by the time all the social activities are over, thoughts will be turning to Christmas!! Where on earth did 2017 go?? As much as I hate to discuss Christmas just now, I am looking forward to decorating the flat for our first Christmas there! Apologies for mentioning the ''C'' word....<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-80668133923443535812017-04-22T06:07:00.000-07:002017-04-22T06:07:36.919-07:00Boat Village Life!Well it's Saturday in the boat village, it's a gorgeous day even if the wind is a little cold.<br />
I have been out and had a nice walk, been to put my rubbish in the bin...loving being able to do that!!<br />
You always have to take into consideration just how long a simple task like taking your rubbish to the bin takes! Being amongst boats where ever you are, brings out the friendliness in people, so taking a stroll around to the bins often results in chatting to people, today was no different! I said good morning to a couple with two children and two dogs we got chatting as you do. They are excitedly waiting for their new wide beam to come to the Marina, they are ecstatic and it was palpable, I was soon smiling from ear to ear for them too.<br />
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They were asking how nice was it being on the boat and in the Marina, my enthusiasm for how nice it is just made them even more excited if that was possible! How lovely for them, I hope all goes well for them, I somehow know they are going to love it!<br />
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Over the years my mood has fluctuated over my life afloat, I have never once regretted my decision to take to the canal lifestyle, I just sometimes get days when it all becomes a little overwhelming, especially when things go wrong. But then doesn't everybody feel like that whatever path they choose in life? I am an over thinker, no in fact I am an over over thinker!! I take things to heart and let them hurt more than should be allowed...I wallow in worry at times then once through the other side wonder why I have been so daft. I dust myself off and carry on!<br />
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Whatever happens in my life be it good or bad I like to think I can walk away with some clarity as to why it happened, not everything is controlled by us though is it? As I have got older though, the wisdom that comes with age does start to make more sense, well some of the time anyway!<br />
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The one thing I find difficult, really difficult is why other people can't feel what I feel? I am hopeless at drifting off into my own little bubble, Danny could tell you all about that one, he just doesn't understand where I go when I get immersed in my thoughts, it's like I have walked through a door into another dimension one that not many others if anybody can understand, whats more I like it there! When something captures my attention, however mundane it may be to others, I'm gone and sometimes for some time!! Is that a bad habit or good depends on what way you look at it! If however there is something else interesting going on that keeps me engrossed I won't disappear to the annoyance of those nearest and dearest to me, I will stay involved with them in this new interest.<br />
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Dan and I find it really hard at times, we have such diverse interests and sadly it is putting a huge strain on our relationship. as much as I have tried to inject interest into Dan about this wonderful boat lifestyle he just doesn't feel it like I do.... there by lies the problem. We will hopefully work through our differences and come up with a solution....but time will tell.<br />
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For all you lovely couples out there who both love boat life, don't ever take that for granted. I have lost count of the amount of couples who struggle because one loves the lifestyle and the other doesn't. It's not wrong on either persons account just makes things a tad difficult!!<br />
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We will either come up with a solution or sadly go our separate ways...<br />
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In the meantime I will do my up most to be happy, and I am here, other areas of my life are not so, 'plain sailing' but hopefully the storm will be weathered and a calm outlook will resume!<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-20943421501068492832017-04-21T08:24:00.000-07:002017-04-21T08:24:02.662-07:00Another New Chapter!Well here we are again, it's been a while since I last blogged.<br />
My life is constantly changing, whose isn't?<br />
I haven't felt settled for a long time. Always feel comfortable on Tickety Boo, she is my sanctuary, my big steel hug that envelopes me in her safe arms!<br />
It's the outside things that have made me feel unsettled...<br />
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I am not going to linger too much on my last mooring. What can I say, it was fabulous while it lasted...until my happiness there was brought to an abrupt halt. Now this, 'Halt' was to me at the time a nightmare but as time has gone on it wasn't such a nightmare as a blessing!<br />
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I have many fond memories of my time at the club where I was moored for 13 years. I met some lovely people, who hopefully I will see out and about on the cut. I also, to my sadness, met people who shocked me to the very core with their actions! I shouldn't think for one minute these people would ever read my blog...personally I wouldn't want them to if I am being honest but the people in question know who they are. If they are proud in how they have conducted themselves it just sums up the type of people they are. Individuals I am so glad I have distanced myself from!<br />
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I refuse to go into anymore detail than that, as individuals they don't really warrant valuable space on my blog! My blog is for nice things, they are categorically not nice!<br />
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So, on to this new chapter. I am now in a Marina! I have always dreaded the thought of being moored in a Marina! Marina's to me always conjured up a picture of a car park for boats, how wrong could I be! I now liken it more to a village, a boat village. The atmosphere here is lovely, very relaxed and well run. All clean and tidy, lots of trees and greenery which I love, friendly people facilities are excellent and the Marina tea rooms are so relaxed and welcoming. You know when you go to a new place and it all feels strange, it takes a while to settle? It never felt strange here from day one.<br />
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I recently put a post on my face book saying that if boats could smile Tickety Boo would have a huge grin on her bow, but in the meantime I will smile for both of us!<br />
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Financially I have had to tighten my purse strings, but the extra expense is worth every penny for the peace of mind I now have, so much so I have decided to bore you all with my blog posts once more!<br />
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I have been off the past week feeling run down with a cold and all the stress of the past few weeks, not the nicest of periods in my life but now firmly put behind me. I once again have lots to look forward to.<br />
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I will over the coming weeks and months hopefully have interesting things to waffle on about on here so apologies in advance!<br />
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I have to add just before I go, aren't friends and family wonderful when you are having a tough time? I have such lovely people surrounding me and know how lucky I am. I have a lovely family who are always there for me. Also a lovely man who has been in my life for the past 4 years. We are having problems and worries just now but I know given time we will get through it and it will be sorted one way or another. I am 60 in two years time and I want to live the rest of my life being happy, whatever that takes to achieve I will strive towards...<div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-15393632946105817742014-10-25T03:56:00.000-07:002014-10-25T03:56:03.252-07:00Time Marches On!Now I know we have all heard it before, but just how fast is the time flying by? <span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I am a huge lover of quotes and such like, they often pop up on face book. Now and again one will really hit home with me, as this one did, so thought I would share it with you.....</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.38;">I like this</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.38;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">It really makes you think doesn't it? The older I am getting, the more precious my time is.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I am the worst culprit I know for, ' wasting time'. I will spend ages just standing at the side hatch staring at the sky and marvelling at how the cloud formations change by the minute. I can spend hours on my lap top chatting to people I have never met, reading their comments and being interested in their lives and what they are up to, especially if they are fellow boaters. I may have dishes in the sink, an unmade bed, countless chores that need seeing to but I like my bouts of wasted time, because to me they are not wasted! I love them! Granted some days I will get to bed time and think that was a waste of a day, I could have been doing this, this or this, but all in all I enjoy my, 'me' days, I go at my pace and just do the things I want to do!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">It fascinates me when I watch people bustling about. I look at them and wonder, have they even noticed the gorgeous colours the trees are right now, can they see the hundreds of Canadian Geese flying over in perfect formation, do they notice the clouds and how lovely the sky is, or is all this wasted on them? People have so much going on in their lives, jobs, families, money struggles all of life's ammunition that gets fired at us constantly, ill health, squabbles the price of fish!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> I am not for one minute making light of these personal problems, every individual deals with them differently,I am not belittling the importance of what is distracting a person but, to all those people the sky is just as beautiful, the rainbow that has just appeared after that nuisance of a downpour is every bit as gorgeous, the cute little dog that just walked past, the cheeky toddler in a pram just waiting for your eye contact so they can try out their brand new, 'Hiya' they have just mastered!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I have watched people walking along the opposite towpath, the sun set has been stunning and they don't even lift their heads to see? I want to shout, "Oi look at that sun set, your missing it"! For fear of being locked up, I don't!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I suppose if I really stop and think, not everybody sees things as I do, and as always it is down to personal choice. Some people, namely me, can lose themselves in a sun set or a rainbow when there are more pressing things I should be dealing with, things that others would find far more important, to them anyway, things they will miss that rainbow for. Maybe I have my priorities so wrong, but I feel safe in the knowledge that these wonderment's of nature are not, and will never be, wasted on me! Is it since I have had the boat or have I always been the same?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I vividly remember playing as a child in the garden and using my imagination to play my little games. The Red Hot Poker flowers growing in the garden that I would pick bits from and put them in water and pretend it was a gold fish in a pond or lake!! All that mattered to me in that instant as a child were these little fish that I had created, my imagination held no bounds! I loved to get lost in it all.....as I do now as an adult, not that I play pretend gold fish anymore, I now have real fish and water to look at!!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I also love to lose myself in my writing, stuff and nonsense as I often call it! I often like to stop the world and get off, just to be in my world and not have to share this world with anybody, just for a short time. I then have to run to catch up with the real world once again, I liken it to seeing a person running after an old fashioned bus, you know the ones with the open ended back deck, I just grab the pole in time and drag myself back to reality, just in time to immerse myself into mundane, ' Have to do's' like work and chores!!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I will never lose sight of the fact I have a charmed life. For all the moaning I do, and believe me I do, at times, a mean female version of Victor Meldrew, I know I am a truly lucky person. Lucky in the fact I haven't had some of the horrendous traumas people have had to endure, traumas that maybe sadly diminish their ability to find wonderment in the simple things. I have lost people, as we all have, close family like my Dad, my Nan Grandad Grandma and friends and my little Dog, who have been taken far too early, all of which leave a deep sadness that you have to learn to live with, otherwise the gift you have of life that was whipped away from those you have lost, is wasted on you....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Now I ask myself, what brought all this on? In all honesty I have no clue, I just wanted to write what was in my head, so I did, because I can!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I love my days off, I love my selfish, 'Debbie Days'. I love writing things down. I wonder if in years to come people will come across this blog, read it and think, what a nutter. I do hope so!! It will have all been worthwhile!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Changing the subject somewhat, my fire door has been re glazed and re roped, so Dan will pick that up for me Tuesday, I can then have my stove lit when on the boat. I just need to reseal the fire, put my new chimney in place then jobs a gooden! My central heating has come in handy while my fire has been out of commission, but you can't beat the wood burner, to be honest it hasn't really been needed up to now the weather has been so mild. I still look forward to lighting my first fire for Winter, even after ten years of doing it! </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Right I really must go get that 'real world' bus there is one due any minute! Needs must, I really do have chores to do, besides there are no Rainbows to look at right now! Then again the sun has just come out, the view from the side hatch is stunning......late for the bus again!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazQGD-uXe-r_WHTCMLaPXdxcjvqtnDiSEkhsBh9rjMkSVKXH_GujWBqqJrtPwaa6j-pwcqGTDpTCrfZozvRwboSGDbcRmEpCiFjdCW5XtN0M040F_-Ct3jFCO5lR4kRxdq2x98GyJccqC/s1600/unnamed+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazQGD-uXe-r_WHTCMLaPXdxcjvqtnDiSEkhsBh9rjMkSVKXH_GujWBqqJrtPwaa6j-pwcqGTDpTCrfZozvRwboSGDbcRmEpCiFjdCW5XtN0M040F_-Ct3jFCO5lR4kRxdq2x98GyJccqC/s1600/unnamed+(1).jpg" height="384" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-87833688525223911462014-09-10T15:35:00.000-07:002014-09-10T15:48:33.787-07:00I'm Back!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Well, I didn't really go anywhere to be honest, but my trusty old laptop gave up the ghost. After being hammered for five years, it had finally had enough and given up!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I am now the proud owner of a new laptop, courtesy of my new 02 contract, I renewed at the beginning of the month. The laptop was a, "gift" mmmm, you don't really get anything for nothing, but it was the only way I was going to get another laptop, I couldn't afford to just go and buy one. So I have a new phone and laptop from 02, and a Wifi thingy majig from 3. My previous dongle was 3, so decided to stay with them, as my internet on the boat was always quite good with them.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Armed with my laptop and little wifi box, I decided to set the whole thing up, how hard could that be? The lovely young man in the 3 shop said it was a doddle to set up.....three hours later the laptop was becoming scarily close to being launched through the open side hatch! I tried to put my personal wifi code into the computer, time and time again but couldn't get on line, I was fast running out of patience. The signal strength was high on the little wifi box but my laptop just would not connect, doddle he said grrrrr!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I had all about given up, decided to take the whole kit and caboodle back to the 3 shop the next day, so the lovely young man could show me his doddle skills! I just happened to take a last look at the wifi code I was supposed to tap in, this time I looked under a bright light, only to discover one of the digits that looked like the number 1, was in fact the letter i ..... I retried and hey presto it worked.....then again it would with the right code wouldn't it?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>We had a lovely ten days on the boat in the Salthouse Dock Liverpool. We decided to go when the french giants where in town, it was brilliant and the gorgeous weather was a bonus!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I haven't managed to upload any photos yet, that's another challenge that lies ahead, this laptop is so different from my old one, so if the code took me three hours to type in, heaven only knows how long it will take me to fathom out how to get photos on here! </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I have lived with my lovely new decor for nearly a year now and I love it, my new galley colour scheme being my favourite. the shelf I mentioned in my previous post is all done and up on the wall, I am so pleased with it!</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkohobwsRjj7H6yCAQSfol1x6KxtsZcX0HbNqawjnhMeHfpzlig8kCRsBuVJmpp49zYhSLqaz-RBaP9aCMhbDoYDe8r7qf-FX__8GeO767Qyl9Tf6opJtFTKD89GVHZ_78st-koQ0o2fF8/s1600/20140615_073015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkohobwsRjj7H6yCAQSfol1x6KxtsZcX0HbNqawjnhMeHfpzlig8kCRsBuVJmpp49zYhSLqaz-RBaP9aCMhbDoYDe8r7qf-FX__8GeO767Qyl9Tf6opJtFTKD89GVHZ_78st-koQ0o2fF8/s1600/20140615_073015.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>So from being all tatty and dirty in Mum's garage, painted and cut down to fit, it finishes off the galley perfectly!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I love revamping things, you just get so much satisfaction out of seeing the transformation.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I have since added little led fairy lights around the shelf, it will look nice and cosy for the winter!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Talking of winter, my fire is in urgent need of a revamp, it needs new glass and rope, new liners and the fire cement around the joints needs replacing, not to mention a new chimney for the roof! I will then give it a good clean and paint with stove paint, pictures of progress in another post! Luckily I have gas central heating as a stand in until the fire is up and running!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Well, it is a pleasure to blog</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>again on my new laptop, hopefully I will post at more regular intervals!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Talking of boat stoves, don't they look sad and dreary in the summer when not lit, sitting in the corner looking all dark and dismal.....I decided to do something about that a few years ago. I put fairy light string balls in there with weather cones and whatever else I fancy, it just gives it a bit of life in the summer months, they can easily be removed and put away when</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>it is time to light the fire!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Looking forward to cosy winter nights, in with Dan on the boat. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>After ten years with Tickety Boo, the novelty still hasn't worn off, I love everything it involves, every season has it's magic! I now have someone to share that magic with...</i></span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-76987656394645974962014-03-22T03:57:00.001-07:002014-03-22T03:57:42.002-07:00Annoying!!<p> I have been deleting items on my lap top. On doing so I deleted my bookmarks, one of which was my Blog. I Googled, Life Afloat On Narrow Boat Tickety Boo, to bookmark it again, only to find a blog that’s blatantly taken snippets from my blog to use on their site, so annoying!!  Why? They are my words chosen to describe my Blog and Posts? Ahh well I will just take it as a compliment that they have stolen them, as they think my writing is better than anything they can come up with.. Buggers!!</p> <p>On  brighter note, Spring has sprung!! Not so as you would notice by the temperature! All the other signs are here though, Ducks mating, daffs and other Spring bulbs making an appearance, crisp blue skies with brilliant white clouds…and if I am up early enough, the Bunnies brave enough to graze the grass on the opposite towpath, lovely!</p> <p>Today is my first day of nine days off work!! I don’t need to tell you workers out there how good that feels!!  Unfortunately we can’t go out on the boat, which is very frustrating…here’s why….</p> <p>Before and After….</p> <p>   <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Kv2lcYLl4ac/Uy1sYtSEMoI/AAAAAAAAB_w/ki2dYcyYOOs/s1600-h/PICT0002%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="PICT0002" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="316" alt="PICT0002" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ZQ0IQupO6Rg/Uy1sbDntqzI/AAAAAAAAB_4/BsgkkMMPTfY/PICT0002_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-m-jLW4A6LKg/Uy1seFjxFDI/AAAAAAAACAA/-3_BhmoUYlc/s1600-h/PICT0018%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img title="PICT0018" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="291" alt="PICT0018" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-5A5xo121Me4/Uy1sfXw9zKI/AAAAAAAACAE/jWEVCypSaW0/PICT0018_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="396" border="0" /></a>  <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ZkdLC1wDF7I/Uy1sgkA08rI/AAAAAAAACAQ/vvL3e22OyLQ/s1600-h/PICT0019%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="PICT0019" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="306" alt="PICT0019" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-HEtK7yFfYjQ/Uy1siFkKAAI/AAAAAAAACAY/aKhGKL8aZYE/PICT0019_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="389" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-QA_Pj52dsw8/Uy1slaP8_jI/AAAAAAAACAg/ipb8KtdGcTo/s1600-h/PICT0020%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="PICT0020" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="311" alt="PICT0020" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-rOkQpzsAZgI/Uy1smlaT_RI/AAAAAAAACAo/wGWLdkSsnUk/PICT0020_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="389" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>The bridge at the end of our mooring is being repaired, a huge job, fascinating to watch, but I hate to see the normally tranquil Canal looking like this. Hopefully it will all be back to the way it was soon!</p> <p>So, back to my nine days off! Tomorrow my youngest gorgeous little Munchkin, Darcy, is having her first Birthday party! I am looking forward to it sooo much, as all the family will be there, so it will be a lovely day! Danny is coming with me to make it even nicer!</p> <p>For those of you who don’t know, Danny and I have been seeing each other for just on a Year, I would just like to know where he has been all my life? He says I am a breath of fresh air, ( he so must have been living in smog a while)!! He too is my breath of fresh air and we are very happy….ask us at the end of the week after we have spent 24/7 together, if that is still the case!!</p> <p>Joking aside, I am looking forward to some well earned quality time with my Man !</p> <p>Without getting too mushy, this quote I found on good old Face book sums it all up really….</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pcHGtCN9IPQ/Uy1snrxdYzI/AAAAAAAACAw/Hio_7QmihoM/s1600-h/%252524%252528KGrHqRHJDgFCIVr9P%25252CTBQrmQ4zM%252529w%25257E%25257E60_12%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="$(KGrHqRHJDgFCIVr9P,TBQrmQ4zM)w~~60_12" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="342" alt="$(KGrHqRHJDgFCIVr9P,TBQrmQ4zM)w~~60_12" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-2OMcH6UJsRI/Uy1soZ3DtHI/AAAAAAAACA4/3CTu03uli30/%252524%252528KGrHqRHJDgFCIVr9P%25252CTBQrmQ4zM%252529w%25257E%25257E60_12_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" border="0" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Danny is my someone…..thank you Ding….just for the record, it’s your turn to make the coffee!!</p> <p>Ooohhh just realised, I hold my hand up for being a bit of a hypocrite using this quote on my blog, my thanks to the original Author whoever you are, I give you full credit for these words. Pity my thief didn’t thank me for mine….</p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-44369714444705912112013-12-22T02:19:00.001-08:002013-12-22T02:19:26.766-08:00Another Year nearly Over…<p>It never ceases to amaze me how quick the years fly over, and yes, I will say it again, the older you get the quicker they go!</p> <p>It was a bitter sweet year for me. The sweet being the birth of my second Granddaughter, Darcy, who like her Sister Phoebe is an absolute joy!</p> <p>Another sweet, was me meeting the lovely Danny at Easter, we are getting on famously and things are going really well. I was beginning to give up on the relationship front, but Danny restored my faith, we do a lot of laughing and feel really comfortable in each others company so happy days!</p> <p>The bitter was of course losing my lovely little dog Bobby. I still miss him dreadfully, but I find as time has passed, I smile when I think of him,rather than cry. One day I would like another, but for now I am so busy it really wouldn’t be fair.</p> <p>I am looking forward to Christmas this year, more than I have done for a good few years. Danny and I are having dinner with my Mum. I will see my two lovely Daughters and Son all under the same roof together, I can’t wait, it will be a chance for Danny to meet everyone, including the Munchkins, Phoebe and Darcy!</p> <p>Well, 2013 has been an eventful year for me. I feel like I have my life back on track. Being happy in my personal life has had a knock on effect, my enthusiasm for things has returned. I managed to get Tickety Boo painted inside and out! There is still lots to do, but I am so pleased with how she is looking now.</p> <p>My worries about how the boat would look painted inside, disappeared once I saw the difference it made. It is so much lighter and more spacious looking, well as spacious as such a small space can look!</p> <p>I wanted a complete change, and that’s how it looks totally different! As it still isn’t finished, I will keep you in suspense just a bit longer. In the New Year I will post photos as promised to keep you up with progress. I still have my kitchen units to paint, as I want to change the butter milk to a lovely shade of green, a green that I have picked out from my new curtains…</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-OlLcChGRRm8/Ura8qAMvTEI/AAAAAAAABrw/Mt6qTGuAA7o/s1600-h/PICT0009%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="PICT0009" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" height="271" alt="PICT0009" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-GPZvcIKY_ig/Ura8rLiw2CI/AAAAAAAABr4/tJAtmruAPZA/PICT0009_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="455" border="0" /></a>This is my side Hatch, I find a curtain in the winter keeps out the drafts. I knew as soon as I saw this material I wanted it, little birds, and have you noticed all out of their cages just as they should be! I just have poles threaded through top and bottom, I left the poles slightly bigger than the hatch so they wedge in and stay in place, easy just to pop out when I need to open hatch, simple but effective!</p> <p>So here is looking forward to a great New Year, I have so much to look forward to! We will hopefully get out on the boat a lot more in 2014, been so busy painting this year I haven’t done much sailing, and I miss it…a lot! </p> <p>Just before I go, I would just like to wish you all….</p> <p><font color="#0000ff" size="5">~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~</font></p> <p> <strong><font face="Engravers MT" color="#ff0000" size="3">A Very Merry Christmas</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Engravers MT" color="#ff0000" size="3">and a wonderful 2014 xxx.</font></strong></p> <p></p> <p><font color="#0000ff" size="5">~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~</font></p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-87036691772619455412013-10-05T05:33:00.001-07:002013-10-05T05:33:54.399-07:00Bye Little Bobs…<p> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-zPQqbXTTOTA/UlAHJ4K_6lI/AAAAAAAABpM/1mNxasQsu9A/s1600-h/30979_3750753215863_1513738203_n6.jpg"><img title="30979_3750753215863_1513738203_n" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="355" alt="30979_3750753215863_1513738203_n" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-HxHqGUQ7Fwg/UlAHKZOY2WI/AAAAAAAABpU/HH2dgsa4uyM/30979_3750753215863_1513738203_n_thu.jpg?imgmax=800" width="269" border="0" /></a> </p> <p> </p> <p></p> <p>This lovely little black bundle has been my closest companion, through thick and thin.</p> <p>To say I loved him to bits doesn’t quite cover it, he was my very own canine sailor, and I was lucky to have him.</p> <p>He sadly had a tumour and only showed signs of it when it was too far gone to do anything for him…</p> <p>Letting him go was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I knew in my heart though that he had lost his sparkle and was not the happy little chap he always was, I was not prepared to see him go through the pain that was inevitable.</p> <p>I spent the last two days with him on the boat and spoiled him rotten! All the things he wasn’t supposed to have were his for the taking, chocolate, cheese treats and anything else he wanted. It was nice that he was still well enough to enjoy all these usually forbidden treats. He had belly scratches and neck rubs galore, even directing my hand with his paw so I knew just which bit I’d missed!</p> <p>We cuddled, played and acted daft, I cried and cuddled some more, and knew my decision was the right one.</p> <p>I took him for his last walk, and instead of rushing him, let him sniff everything he wanted, and believe me he sniffed every blade of grass, lamp post and tree!</p> <p>As rotten as he must have been feeling, he still mustered up the energy to play with his favourite ball, his tail rigid and upright in hunt mode when I hid the ball up my jumper!</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XjeIWuqGSgg/UlAHK26zThI/AAAAAAAABpc/98uIXP-QnGs/s1600-h/PICT00115.jpg"><img title="PICT0011" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="247" alt="PICT0011" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ZrdQVCHrt9U/UlAHLNR0gMI/AAAAAAAABpk/PYIn4MATzPg/PICT0011_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="328" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>I loved that we had that time together. It was hard as he didn’t look as ill as he really was, he was just tired and not his usual self.</p> <p>He spent his last afternoon lazing on the back deck of the boat, his favourite place. It was a mild day, and it was nice for him to just do what he loved best and watch the dogs walk by on the opposite tow path.</p> <p>The Vet and Veterinary Nurse were so lovely, they made the whole process dignified for both Bobby and I, and made it as easy as it could be to say goodbye to him, I will always be grateful for that, as I know how often they must do it, but they made me know they really cared.</p> <p>I will thank them with a card and well deserved chocolates and Wine.</p> <p>I would also like to thank with all my heart :-</p> <p>Lesley, who got me through the whole process from start to finish, without her I would have been totally lost. Bobby would stay with her if I went away, her, and her Son Jordan were affectionately known as, “ Doggy Pontins”, and Bobs liked his stay with them.</p> <p>Danny, who was also an absolute brick and like Lesley was there for me at the hardest times. He had only known Bobs for a short while but was really taken with him, as Bobs was with Danny,in his aloof manner! ( Bob being the aloof one, not Danny)!! I was so pleased he had the chance to get to know the lovable cute character Bobby was, if only for a short while.</p> <p>My Mum, Dean, Kirsty and Heather who like me, were really upset to hear I had to let Bobby go, as much for me as him because they knew how special he was to me.</p> <p>Mark who came to say farewell, and was there as a neighbour and friend if I needed him in an emergency in the middle of the night.</p> <p>My work mates who were all really supportive too, and all the lovely friends who left messages on my fb page, it all really helps.</p> <p>It also helps to write it all here too, no apologies, as I need you all to know just how special he was, oh and gorgeous!</p> <p>I have many many gorgeous photos of Bobby, but the one at the top of the page is one of my favourites. I will frame it and hang it up in the boat, adorned with the third place rosette he won, in the one and only Dog Show he entered. The Category was Scruffiest Dog and he came third, how proud was I?!!</p> <p>The photo will be a reminder to me of all the lovely and happy years I had with one very, very special little Dog, who will be very sadly missed, but who will always conjure up memories of his comic ways ,which will never ever fail to make me smile…</p> <p>          RIP Gorgeous Boy xxx</p> <h3>The Rainbow Bridge</h3> <blockquote> <blockquote> <h4>inspired by a Norse legend</h4> </blockquote> </blockquote> <p>By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,</p> <p>Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.</p> <p>Where the friends of man and woman do run,</p> <p>When their time on earth is over and done.</p> <p>For here, between this world and the next,</p> <p>Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.</p> <p>On this golden land, they wait and they play,</p> <p>Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.</p> <p>No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,</p> <p>For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.</p> <p>Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,</p> <p>Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.</p> <p>They romp through the grass, without even a care,</p> <p>Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.</p> <p>All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,</p> <p>Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.</p> <p>For just at that instant, their eyes have met;</p> <p>Together again, both person and pet.</p> <p>So they run to each other, these friends from long past,</p> <p>The time of their parting is over at last.</p> <p>The sadness they felt while they were apart,</p> <p>Has turned into joy once more in each heart.</p> <p>They embrace with a love that will last forever,</p> <p>And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-UBbjYavuWkI/UlAHLlEQXpI/AAAAAAAABps/arSsrA3cTEg/s1600-h/536993_4180031587554_590642448_n%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img title="536993_4180031587554_590642448_n" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" height="275" alt="536993_4180031587554_590642448_n" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LuK345mPEQg/UlAHMD3fieI/AAAAAAAABp0/QXM9f8YUH6A/536993_4180031587554_590642448_n_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="398" border="0" /></a></p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109183493763320024.post-29948551853567867202013-08-13T04:35:00.001-07:002013-08-14T01:06:33.893-07:00Long Over Due Catch Up!<p>Ok, where to start! Well first of all Tickety Boo has finally got her lush green coat back…not before time!</p> <p>As I mentioned in past posts, I was itching to have her looking, “cared for” again.</p> <p>I used Dulux Weathershield, as I said I would, and couldn’t be anymore pleased with the result. It was lovely paint to use, even in the really warm weather, and I am really pleased with the finish…</p> <p>Before…</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-w7JsBY_t4MY/UgoZ5DhFp7I/AAAAAAAABmU/xMb35D_F3cU/s1600-h/190044_10151667785020709_475747977_n%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="190044_10151667785020709_475747977_n" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="306" alt="190044_10151667785020709_475747977_n" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-VYKvdlyFUJY/UgoZ6ecag-I/AAAAAAAABmc/cYu5Dy0m4DU/190044_10151667785020709_475747977_n_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>After…<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Viln3VipTN4/UgoZ7fUdO4I/AAAAAAAABmk/ndHmtEIDOLs/s1600-h/20130723_144537%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="20130723_144537" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="248" alt="20130723_144537" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-_zgDg59yBVo/UgoZ8DB8uRI/AAAAAAAABms/IejRsm0bO6w/20130723_144537_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="348" border="0" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p>I actually had a lot of before pictures, but annoyingly I deleted them from my camera by mistake, but these two give a rough idea of the improvement the paint job made!</p> <p>I am chuffed with it! I want to put on a couple more coats, but as you all know the weather has taken a wet turn, so I will have to wait for a few dry days.</p> <p>Now that the outside is getting there, my thoughts are on revamping the inside. I have had the boat eight years, with the same colour scheme, I want a RADICAL change. I know some of you out there, especially boaters, will throw their hands up in despair at this next comment…the wood has to go!! I love it but I want a change…I will take the bit between the teeth and paint…I want light, bright and airy, there I have said it!!  I have had the idea in mind for a while, but shied away from covering the wood grain, but recently I am beginning to find it rather dark and oppressive. My Daughter, Kirsty’s comment of, “ You have lived in a Sauna long enough”, has given me the final push I needed!!</p> <p>A whole new can of worms have been opened!! Questions being:-</p> <p>1. What will it look like?</p> <p>2. Will I be sorry once the wood is covered? As there will be no going back?</p> <p>3. Am I making a rod for my own back, having to paint every year, or at the very least wipe down everywhere after my Winter Fires?</p> <p>I have mulled over these questions on many occasion, but I have the idea in my head now, and when Debbie gets an idea, it has to be done!</p> <p>So love it or hate it Tickety Boo’s interior will be transformed!! </p> <p>The transformation is not imminent, as I have the lovely job of scraping and wire brushing the Engine bay and giving that a couple of coats of paint, not a job I am looking forward to. Hopefully the new man in my life, Danny, will give me a hand, even if it is dragging me out of the bay when I get stuck! I know for a fact I will, as it is so fiddly!</p> <p>Being a woman who loves soft furnishings and all the trimmings you add to a freshly decorated home, I am so looking forward to my new look abode! I have an idea of the colour scheme I want but you will have to wait and see!</p> <p>I will be doing it on a very tight budget, but it should be interesting watching it unfold. I will be posting my progress on here. Oh and I will make sure the before photos won’t be inadvertently deleted this time!</p> <p>Well, the weekend just gone was great fun! I went to the fair! Blackpool to be precise. Now I apologise now for my next sentence, it is not meant to offend but, I don’t really like Blackpool, never have… but to be fair I was really impressed with the revamped fair ground. The last time I went it was tatty and tired, this time it was lovely. All clean and modern.</p> <p>I am proud to say I went on all the scary rides, Danny’s ringing eardrums is testament to that, I screamed like a gooden! it was great fun, I loved it! What made it even nicer, it was a treat off Danny, and the company of him and the lovely Kieran and Erin made the day even more enjoyable, so big thank you to them!</p> <p>My bones are protesting slightly at the bashing about they endured during some of the rides, but well worth it I would say. The Big One, or Pepsi Max as it is now known, was unfortunately closed due to high winds, I was soooooo disappointed….oh ok, ok I wouldn’t have gone on it anyway, I only had to look at the height of it, that was enough to come to the decision of….NO CHANCE!</p> <p>There  were a lot of queue's but sometimes that added to the fun watching the look of terror on some of the faces waiting for the rides to start!</p> <p>So recently my life has been quite busy, going to work, painting the boat, spending quality time with the lovely Danny, seeing my adorable Granddaughters, oh and continuing practicing my singing as we have another show coming up soon!</p> <p>It is the first time in a while I have felt really good about things, I am happy with my lot, and feel I have things to look forward to after a few years of ups and downs, I am smiling a lot more these days, so all good!</p> <p>It has taken me a while to realise you are the only one responsible for your own happiness, you can’t off load that responsibility on to someone else. As soon as you realise that, your life changes for the better, mine has…could that be something to do with a certain person who has enhanced my new found happiness…mmm time will tell.</p> <p>I have a lovely family and friends, so it was unfair to them to be a miserable sod, so I won’t subject them to that any longer, it isn’t really in my genetic make up to be miserable, so I will from this day on do my damndest to be happy…until the electric goes off when it is hammering down with rain and I am in my pyjamas…I can’t promise I won’t be moody, I am a woman, but I will make a concerted effort to still squeeze out a smile through the mood! Sorted!!</p> <p>Oooo it’s nice to blog again, it has been too long…</p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">Hi thank you for reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment with your name, it would be lovely to hear from you! Debbie.</div>life afloat on nb tickety boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15548167874813057123noreply@blogger.com6