A Little Bit Of R&R At The Hermitage.

We have been working hard, these last few days, to make nb TGM presentable. We didn't quite realise what a state the poor boat had come to, but TGM has a new mooring and will soon have a new colour scheme too... well, the roof at least.

So, after days of sanding, cleaning, priming and painting (pictures to follow) I took a little stroll to Rima's Hermitage to rest my weary limbs.

And, one day quite soon two beautiful prints from Rima's etsy shop will be finding their way to the Thames to adorn the saloon of our little boat:






Above: Magic (Quote by Roald Dahl)
Right: Lodka

Disturbing The Peace! Cats on narrowboats.

I had just sat down with a nice cup of tea and a lovely book about the Kings and Queens throughout British history when along came these hooligans. Excuse my poor camera work. I am now covered in my tea and am left wondering why I thought cats on boats was such a good idea!

Hot Water? That Would Be Grand.

My mum came to visit me and take me home for lunch on Saturday. She commented on what a lovely sun tan I had acquired considering the weather this year has not been very sunny. I jokingly told her it would wash off in the bath.

One of the nicest things about having friends and family living near by is the pity they take on you when you turn up, generally unannounced, looking dishevelled and in need of a good wash. I hate to fuel the stereotypical understanding that there is no toilet/shower/bath/hot water readily available to those of us who choose to live outside the norms of society and forgo brick built dwellings for steel boxed corridors as this is generally not the case... except for us. We have a toilet and a shower (thankyouverymuch) just no hot water (unless boiled by kettle on the stove/hob). We did once have this luxurious facility and I'm sure we will do again, one day. Our pesky little diesel water heater decided to work for the duration of the Cropredy Festival in 2006 and then died a slow and painful death. All attempts made to resussitate it have so far failed. So, when in need of a good scrub our kindly boating neighbours allow us the use of their showers (Thank you very much http://polgara98.blogspot.com/ aka Whitewater). And my parents, who live in Oxford, put the water on to heat when they see us pull up in their drive. So Saturday was a "wash day" and how glorious it was to lie and soak and splash about in a bath. I do love baths. It is amazing how much more dirt detaches itself from you in a bath than when having a general wash with a bowl of hot water boiled from the kettle...

I STILL have my tan so it turns out it was NOT dirt afterall. Though I am slighly fairer in colour post bath and hopefully smell a lot better too.

The Edible Boat.

From Designer Cakes Of Essex. Makes me feel a little hungry. And whilst I'm on a boat and food theme...

This very ugly useful piece of cardboard is only 60p from here.

And, finally, every boating alcoholic's dream:

The boat BAR from e bay a long, long time ago.



Yes, I'm bored and hungry...

Storm...

Brewing over Abingdon this afternoon.

Everyone Can Have A Narrowboat...

All you need are a few cardboard boxes and some paint.






"On the narrowboat... there's such a lot to see..."

Ah, the memories.

Spotted. Too Close For Comfort?

As cute as mink may look, and as kind as animal rights activists thought they were by releasing mink into the wild, these little critters are rather deadly. They have not just been spotted at Abingdon Lock, as The Herald indicates, but have also been seen at our moorings... and in my garden.

But what should I do?

The Saxon Maze.

My mother and I spent a lazy Sunday lunchtime lost in a maze at The Herb Farm in Sonning Common. Not just any maze though, no. An Anglo-Saxon style maze created in 1991 by Adrian Fisher. I would like to say that we cleverly negotiated our way through the tall beech hedges until we found ourselves at the centre in minutes flat. But no. I think we may have walked for miles and retraced our steps (accidentally) more than enough times to make our brains ache.

Just when my stamina was fading, my head spinning, and I was fighting the desire to scramble over the hedges we found ourselves at the middle and could rest easy. And we didn't have to retrace our steps to get out again. Hurrah!

We were forced to recover with a Devonshire cream tea. It is a hard life.

Another New Face.

Cats, it would seem, are increasingly popular at our moorings. In the photograph above Lewsey ( left) meets the newest boating resident, Misha. Lolly is not too keen on this new feline and has taken to hissing, mewing, growling and generally showing her displeaure. I let Misha onto our boat to play with Lewsey and Lolly has not forgiven me. That was three days ago and she still will not let me near her.