Long Over Due Catch Up!

Ok, where to start! Well first of all Tickety Boo has finally got her lush green coat back…not before time!

As I mentioned in past posts, I was itching to have her looking, “cared for” again.

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…

Before…

After…

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!

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.

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!!

A whole new can of worms have been opened!! Questions being:-

1. What will it look like?

2. Will I be sorry once the wood is covered? As there will be no going back?

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?

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!

So love it or hate it Tickety Boo’s interior will be transformed!!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!!

Oooo it’s nice to blog again, it has been too long…

Fun Filled Weekend!

Had a really busy weekend, starting with a show on Friday night. It was a fund raiser for Women and Cancer. It was only my second performance singing with the guys, and it was great, I loved it! Looking forward to the next show!

Then Saturday we did Dave John B’s Knockout Road show! There was to be a team of ten of us, but we ended up just eight, but we had an absolute ball, it was the best fun I have had in ages! We were sponsored to take part by Home Bargains, the shop where I work. They kindly paid our entrance fee of £25 each to take part,we then had friends to sponsor us individually, I raised £65! It was in aid of the, “Walking With Giants Foundation”, for those of you that don’t know, it is for people and families that have Primordial Dwarfism, a real worth while cause, and one I was very proud to be a part of.

All of us that took part were game for a laugh, and I have to say that’s what we did most of the day! The Knockout Road Show was amazing, I would recommend it for any companies that want a team building or fund raising event.

I have to say though, parts of my body ached afterwards, in places I didn’t know were there! My eyelashes were the only things that didn’t hurt! Every bit of pain was worth it though!

Please take a look at WWGF web site at… www.walkingwithgiants.org to see the wonderful people and the work they do. A big Hi to Alex and his family, and a big thank you for giving me the privilege of taking part in such a fantastic day! Oh and a big thanks too, to all the girls from Home Bargains who gave their all to make the day…What a team!

The weather was glorious, just as well as we got very wet, and had buckets of cold water thrown over us at regular intervals!!

                               BEFORE………

                           

                               AFTER !!

Odds Are Stacked !

The weather is playing havoc with my, and no doubt, your plans.

I have decided not to get stressed over the paint job on the boat, it won’t get me anywhere…

It was a lovely day last Bank holiday, I had booked the day off as I am normally required to work Bank Holidays. I was thrilled to bits the weather was being kind, so I could carry out my plans for the day, or so I thought….

I was up bright and early, put a wash on, had breakfast, walked Bobby Dog, then decided the action was to begin, then it all crashed around my ears. As I gathered all my materials together,ie sand paper, paint, brush I heard voices approaching on the opposite towpath, nooooooooo it was a troupe of Fishermen, there was to be a fishing match! Now I have said this before, I have nothing against sharing the Canal with the men/women who wish to fish, but why oh why when there is miles of beautiful canal, do they fish opposite boats?

Now can you imagine wanting to work in your garden or on your house with twenty odd gnomes with fishing rods watching your every move from 9am till 4pm, unnerving to say the least!

To add insult to injury the old guy who had the peg opposite me, moaned when he saw it was my intention to work, all be it quietly, on my boat! Give me strength!!

All I wanted to do was do a little light hand sanding, then apply red oxide on the hand rails along the roof of the boat.

I told him what my intention was, only to be asked could I do the side nearest him first as my activity would scare the fish!! For a split second, the idea of starting up the engine and giving it a good few revs was appealing, but I didn’t.

I dutifully did the side nearest him, then the other side. I then spent the rest of the day sat inside my boat fuming at the audacity of the Gnome sitting opposite my boat! I had no heart to do anything after that, so a perfectly rare nice painting day was wasted.

I have promised myself that will never, ever happen again, I will carry on regardless and do what ever I need to do on my boat, fishing match or not! After all I have a perfect right to do so, considering I pay a lot of money per year for my license. Can you imagine if I had dictated to him where to aim his precious pole,as it would disturb my working pattern, I actually could have advised him of a very special place where he could stick his bloody pole…..

On a much lighter note, I had a lovely day yesterday. I went to the Annual Lydiate Festival. I have never been before, and it was lovely! The weather was awful to begin with, cold and wet but thankfully the rain went off, but it remained really chilly!

It is held in the grounds of my favourite pub in these here parts, The Scotch Piper and the grounds of St Catherin's Chapel next door, which is now a beautiful old ruin in a pretty setting.

There was plenty to see, Birds of prey, traditional Morris Dancing,re-enactments of Battles of old, good old home made cake stalls and a really good turn out of local people and visitors, all in all it was a lovely day!

Preparing for Battle at the ruin of St Catherin's Chapel, or Lydiate Abbey as it is also known.

The women folk waiting for their men to return from Battle!

Just two of the beautiful rescued Owls on show. The white one above was really friendly and loved to be stroked, my friend said he felt like a marsh mallow, he was so soft!

A lovely day, enjoyed by all.

Hello Out There!

Just thought I best write a quick post to let you all know I haven’t left the planet!

Face Book has a lot to answer for, I tend to keep up with what's going on, on there, oh and the wonderful, Just Canals Forum Page!

For those of you on there hi, those of you not it would be nice to hear from you. I have to add at this point this isn't an advert for the site, it's just me saying how much I like it! For me it's just a daily reminder of all the funny, thoughtful, helpful and passionate boaters who are out there; not to mention the invaluable advice on there too.

Well I am managing to keep warm on Tickety Boo, she is a lovely cosy boat. There is nothing more satisfying than coming in from work, being greeted by Bobby dog, who does a kind of tap dance with excitement, then lighting the fire and wallowing in the heat that slowly seeps through the boat. 

Up till now I haven't had to boil snow, as I did one year, as the standpipe froze. Then again the winter is not through yet! It wasn't a problem and I felt very girl guideish!

I saw my first snow drop poking through the snow today with little buds of white, they are lovely to see, but even more special surrounded by snow!

There is a small paddock not far from my mooring that's carpeted fence to fence with hundreds of Snowdrops, I really must make an effort this year to get photos.

Well hope your all keeping warm in this snowy cold weather, before we know it we will be in to Spring and hopefully a decent Summer...we can live in hope!

Bobs enjoying the white stuff!

Merry Christmas!

Here is wishing all Readers and Boaters a very Merry Christmas and a Fantastic 2013 from the Tickety Boo Crew x

The Question?

What is the one question boaters are asked most often?

Answer :-

“Is it cold on the boat in the winter”?

It is understandable, the boat is sitting in cold, cold water, even colder when the cut is frozen! It is made of steel, even the word steel conjures up a feeling of cool!

Scenes like this :-

A frosty moonlit morning, kind of make me understand why people often ask the same question.

Sooooo here is your answer:-

Cold ? Not on your Nelly, it’s toasty warm! ( Incidentally, just who is Nelly anyway)?…

Autumn…

I always bang on about how much I love Autumn, here’s why…

 

You can’t beat the natural colours of Autumn, just lovely!

Back to Wales!

Just spent a very wet nine days in Wales! It rained every day apart from Thursday! The change of scenery was nice though, and Wales never disappoints on that score, some of the views were lovely, so I will let the photos do the talking!

                Swallow Falls, Betws-y-coed.

Conwy Falls.                                                                                     After all the rain the River Conwy was spectacular!

 

On the only day it didn’t rain, we visited Conwy Falls and then went on to Ffestiniog were we took the steam train to Porthmadog, I would recommend the trip on the train, it was great with stunning views across the Welsh hills.

  One of the lovely views from the steam train.          

Porthmadog Marina. 

One of the beautifully kept stations we stopped at on our train journey. 

The interior of the train…

More views from the train…

Painting Started!

At last, Tickety Boo’s paint job is under way! Last week was spent sanding, filling,sanding again and painting. There are now two coats of pale cream on the roof, and both sides have one coat of a nice rich green colour. I want to get as many coats on as possible before winter sets in, the weather has been good up to now, but it is raining today, so the job has halted. The forecast for the rest of the week looks promising, so fingers crossed

I have been fortunate to have a lot of help from Mark, and would never have got to the stage I am at, without his help and advice!

On the Monday when we started the job, I developed an itch on my neck which was quite sore and irritating, I put it down to being bitten by something or other, and didn’t take a lot of notice. When the pain started to creep up my neck and the back of my head, I realised this wasn’t just a bite. I had an idea what it may have been so made an appointment to see my Doctor.

My suspicions were right I had developed Shingles! Oh happy days, why now of all times? I have been given horse size tablets so hopefully my symptoms won’t get any worse.

I am not suffering too much, so the painting will continue!

I am really pleased with the painting up to now and can’t wait to see the boat finished, still a way to go yet, but seeing the first coats on has given me the incentive to carry on. I have the rest of the week off, so weather permitting more painting will be done.

I have used Dulux Weathershield as I mentioned in an earlier post. I am really pleased with the results up to now, the paint goes on well and dries to a smooth finish. I am not overlaying with a brush, I am quite happy with the finish created by the small sponge rollers I have been using, and with Marks advice on painting technique there are no roller lines when dry, so I am well chuffed!

The colour I have gone for is a slightly different shade of green than T Boo’s previous colour, more of a bluey green this time, but I am pleased with the choice!

Oh and a big bonus, Dulux paints are on offer at the minute, three for two, which is a huge saving, so bonus!

I will post before and after photos when the job is finished!

Back In Time!

I had a lovely afternoon yesterday. I had good weather, good company, and was greeted by this lovely, lovely sight!

             The Horse Boating Society.

Bumble Bee!

While cleaning the boat today, I happened to glance out of the side hatch, I spotted a bumble bee floundering about in the canal, it was desperately trying to escape it’s watery trap to no avail. I decided to put my sweeping brush out in to the water and let the bee clamber on board, it did so immediately, no doubt relieved it was free from the water!

Now, I, as well as a lot of other people are not overly fond of wasps, they spoil are picnics and BBQ’s! They also tend to give you a nasty sting just for the hell of it, as I found to my cost a few summers ago. I was out on the boat and my bag was on the roof, I put my hand in to get something, only to be stung by a wasp that was lurking in the depths!   Boy did it hurt, it stung me on my thumb!

I didn’t fully understand the importance of the humble bumble bee, or other insects that pollinate, until I heard snippets on a programme about them. If it were not for them, pollination would cease and flowers and crops would no longer exist, we therefore would not have grown produce that we all take for granted. Not to mention the glorious honey they produce!

So the next time you see a Bumble bee in trouble please help it out, as without it, and it’s many colleagues we wouldn’t have lovely flowers and fruit and veg!

This lovely picture was painted by the very talented Eva Cassidy, famous for her wonderful rendition of,  “Somewhere over the Rainbow” amongst other songs.

    Apparently this was a picture she drew to adorn honey jars! Lovely isn’t it?

I for one didn’t know she was an artist too, and this picture just proves to me that she did indeed appreciate just what Bee’s do for us. What do we do to thank them, scream, run and swat them with a news paper!

Time Away…

I have been away for five days. As much as I love being on board it is nice to have a change now and again!

I have been fortunate enough to visit the beautiful  Clocaenog Forest, again. I have been there before as you will have seen in earlier posts, but I don’t think you could ever tire of the place, it’s so peaceful and tranquil.

 

No idea what this grass is called, but I have often wondered where cotton wool comes from??

This was just one plant on it’s own amongst many other species.

Sitting looking at this view the only sound was a Cuckoo in the distance, we watched Buzzards gliding silently in the valley and it was lovely to be immersed in the total peace of it all…

I then had the pleasurable job of feeding this little Lamb twice a day…

   Out of all the lovely photos I snapped these two are amongst my favourites, they are real Fairytale-ish!

No apologies for featuring this lovely place on my blog again, Mark and I were there for five days and only saw two other people in the forest, not many places like that over a Bank Holiday are there?…