He's doing that man-thing and whilst he's now remembering that I like greenery and dislike some flowers, he's not remembering that I absolutely adore nice simple flowers, all of one kind that sit happily in my little cream coloured jug. So this is what he paid a lot of money for, when I would have just loved the £2.29 little bunches of simple flowers in Aldi.
He can't help it ... he's a man!!
The Afternoon Tea that he paid for for us both for Valentines Day was nice.
There was so much on the three tiered plate stand that we both needed doggy-bags to bring the leftovers home, and everyone else that left their tables went out of the restaurant clutching doggy bags too. I had my flapjack for breakfast yesterday and the slice of chocolate cake for supper last night, and then this morning I decided to have the last thing which was the lemon tart ... with a dash of my squirty cream of course. 😁
I actually think that this will be the last afternoon tea that I will have. There were just too many sweet things, and we both agreed as we drove home feeling very podged and over-sugared, that we are more savoury people now. There were literally four tiny sandwiches on each stand, of which I couldn't eat two as Alan had forgotten to let them know that I am allergic to avocados, and then everything else was cake, tart, mousse or scones and jam.
A little vegan sausage roll or quiche would have made all the difference.
Anyway now I'm just sounding picky, so I'll shut up!!
Is anybody else in the UK noticing that the sponsors of The Chase seem to have Mavis on the quiz team. 😀
Day twenty one of the Advent calendar openings and I just had to get a photo in that glorious beam of sunshine.
Todays goodies were some sunny Tomato seeds ... phew I thought I was going to have to buy some ... a little jar of sunny marmalade, and from my Christmas decorations from last year recycled calendar my lovely little 'Joy' Emma Bridgewater mug.
Twinkling lights, and all things my style ... oh and another glimpse of Llama Lad.
I sometimes wonder what photo Alan will choose to put on my little funeral menu card (order of service card ... if there is a service). Will it be my most recognisable one to my friends on the internet. Me and my beautiful pet cabbage.
He could always use the close-up version!!
He could use this one and scare everyone. 😄
Or he could just go quite boring and serious, and share this one taken in August this year.
One of the few downsides to being a blogger is that the camera is usually in my hands and therefore I am rarely in the shot. The poor man just doesn't have much choice does he. 😂
I dare ... indeed I double dare ... any of my readers with a blog of their own to share three photographs of themselves on their next post.
And I apologise if I have given you a shock with this very unusual post, calm down have a coffee and I promise normal service will soon be resumed!!
*If I had the choice, it would be the first photo. Just me in my normal attire of jeans and a t-shirt clutching a vegetable, what could be more Sue!
I've been a blogger for so long that I'm used to having either my camera or phone to hand to snap various things that I suddenly have an idea that I might use for a blog post.
But sometimes the photos then live on the computer for quite a while, so when I look through the files for each month I wonder 'What on earth was I going to write about this?'
Oranges and Lemons anyone?
An obvious lunchtime sandwich containing perhaps salad and something!!
My favourite weed, now sporting lovely little delicate flowers.
I know what this is ... it was going to be a decluttering Before and After, but nothing left the house (or even the jug) so I guess it was just aThis is How it Is. Not a very good spot the difference eh 😂
And the grand finale ... a loaf of bread!!
Nope, I have absolutely no idea what I was going to write about this ... answers on a postcard please. 😃
Gosh I write such eloquent and interesting blog posts ... occasionally!
Grab yourself a cup of coffee ... or something cooler ... and settle back for a little round up of our holiday, as requested.
The weather was beautifully kind to us over the days of our luxury narrowboat holiday.
Although the mornings saw us briefly in jackets as we meandered along the canal at 3mph, the outer layers were soon taken off and we basked in blue skies and sunshine, so much so that by the end of our four days of cruising we both had red faces and Alan a nose that got redder and redder as each hour progressed.
The pace of life along the canal is so relaxing, well you do have to snap out of it occasionally then you come to narrow bridges, boats on either side that are moored up or boats heading towards you that sometimes seem to forget until the last moment that you should pass each other on the right-hand side. But mostly you find you relax into it and rely on each other to point out hazards or things of interest.
I discovered that I am absolutely fascinated with bridges.
The stone they are made of, the worn well-trodden flights of stone steps beside some of them, the rickety fences and gates by others, and the cobbled towpaths that go beneath them all had me transfixed.
Luckily Alan was the designated Skipper and me in my position as 'Crew' could occasionally take my attention away from hazards ahead and relish the wildlife, the bridges and the green, green fields and magnificent trees that line the canal in so many places.
Our first nights mooring was simply at the side of the canal.
After having the hour long tuition journey out of the marina, taking in all the information we needed to know about how everything on the boat worked, how to drive it, turn it completely around and the rules of the canal and then returning Eammon the owner back to the starting point, then setting off ourselves and travelling for a couple of hours we were ready to just tie her up, let the dogs have a run around and crack open the wine.
We had to laugh to ourselves when we saw a familiar landmark in the distance and realised that if we were to have driven straight along the A6 we would have taken about twenty minutes by car to reach this point of our holiday journey!!
Posing with his flask of tea just minutes before the wine and beer came out!!
We slept like babies, with the water as still as anything and hardly any noise outside. The dogs were slightly disturbed by this strange new environment but they settled down after a while.
And then it was morning and time to set off again, crossing small viaducts and going through lots of bridges as we made our way up North for a few hours.
Following the paths of the canal means you see so many fields, animals, houses and so much wildlife. It's a beautifully slow pace to the day and you soon settle into the rhythm of the canal.
Everyone that passes, whether they be on another boat or walking or riding on the towpath says a cheery 'hello' or waves and smiles. It makes for a happy atmosphere and a relaxed frame of mind.
We saw many swans on nests ...
... and swans that followed alongside for a while.
And then stopped in their tracks to feast on the oats we threw in for them.
We saw more Herons ... both on the waters edge and in flight ... than either of us have ever seen before. They are such huge, graceful birds that fold away to little skinny-minnys once they are stood still.
Our second night was spent alongside Galgate Marina on the visitor moorings.
After arriving late afternoon and tying up, we walked along the tow path with the dogs and went to the canal-side pub for a late lunch Then it was a quite night relaxing with some television, wine and nibbles.
There was some rain overnight but by the time we woke up it was all passing over and we had a healthy breakfast to combat all that alcohol and then set off on our slow travels once again.
We carried on in the same direction at first under another couple of bridges to the nearest winding hole, to turn the boat around and head back the way we had come.
Alan did it so smoothly and before we knew it we were facing in the opposite direction and heading back. It was time to head briefly for home to check on Ginger and leave him some fresh food.
I managed to get a shot of this amazing tree root system clinging to the stone sides of the canal that I had spotted on our outward journey.
We passed by boats that were up for sale.
Boats the like of which we had never seen before.
And lots of clusters of boats that obviously lived along the canal permanently.
The whole week was absolutely fascinating to both of us, and while Alan had his eyes mostly glued ahead to keep us safe, I could notice the details a little bit more and point out things for him to see when he could look away.
My view varied between the canal ahead, the banks and towpaths and every now and then down into the boat to see what the dogs were up to ... which was mostly snoring in their bed.
They soon got into a rhythm and began to realise that the engine slowing right down, Mum grabbing the centre line and hopping off the boat and then Dad manoeuvring into the bank meant that it was time to clamber out of bed, stretch and shake out those little legs because soon there would be a walk, some food or just time for a play.
The boat was beautifully fitted out and everything that we could possibly need was there, plus more. We hadn't brought any more than the absolute necessary with us so it as quite easy to keep things relatively tidy.
After feeding Ginger, watering the plants outside and making sure everything was okay at home we walked the two minutes back to the boat and resumed the holiday. This time we were heading South to Barton Grange Marina where we had our fingers firmly crossed that we would be able to get one of the two visitor moorings on the canal itself ... we did ... phew!!
After a chippy supper we settled down for another relaxing evening on the boat.
And then before we even knew it the end of the holiday was in sight and it was time to head back taking all day to do it. Drinking in the sounds and sights of the canal and getting a good look at everything we had spotted on the way down.
We weren't the only ones looking!!
This time each bridge brought us closer to home.
And still they had me fascinated.
And then before we knew it we were once again moored close to home and it was the final time for me to grab the centre line and pull the boat in while Alan got out the 'nappy pins' and tied the boat at the front and back to keep her safely at the towpath edge.
One of the guys from the boat company was going to meet up with us at our patch of the canal on his way back from teaching another couple the ways and working of their holiday boat and then take us back to the marina where our car was waiting. It was the first time that Alan wasn't in charge of steering and safety, and he could completely relax and let someone else do the work for twenty minutes.
Here's a short YouTube film of us cruising on the Lancaster Canal.
We are now back home and still totally relaxed. It's a good sort of holiday for chilling out, meeting nice people, for seeing nature and for getting back to basics ... or in our case a very luxurious 'basics'.
Did the little doggy life-jackets come in handy I hear you asking ...
YES they did ... Mavis fell in!!
The only other casualties were Alan's flask and the wooden brush off the top of the boat ... luckily all three overboard items were safely recovered.
One final photo of the Skipper.
We went with The Duck Island Boat Company who are based in Garstang Marina local to us, and who we now highly recommend.
If you have any questions just ask, I could have rambled on for hours, but I won't ... or maybe I did!! 😁
The other day there was a bonus challenge from the good folk that are running the Ration Challenge, it was for us to be able to earn ourselves some sugar or coffee to add to our rations. All we had to do was to get some donations up to or over the value of £41 during a 24 hour window. Now my lovely Mum was going to be donating her money on Thursday went we went to visit her but she sent it earlier instead so that I would qualify for the coffee.
I think she knows how grumpy I can get with NO coffee at all 😄
Did I mention that we would be allowed two teaspoonfuls?
I weighed out my normal 'spoonful of coffee' and seemingly I have 3g of Nescafe in each mugful that I drink.
So I put two spoonfuls into my mug ...
... and then moved it over into my little jar!!
It looked so much bigger in the top photo didn't it. 😁
It would seem that we are all on the same wavelength, I thought we would be, but it was nice to hear from so many of you and some new commenters and gather in all our opinions. I typed onions there at first instead of opinions and made myself literally laugh out loud ... and of course spell check did nothing as onions are a word. So gather in your onions to your hearts content. 😄
I seem to be having two Fridays this week as I was convinced it was Friday all day yesterday, not that I'm complaining ... I have always loved That Friday Feeling.
My only question to you today is - What are you looking forward to over the weekend?
If the weather plays fair I intend to pot on some tomato plants, have a tidy up of the paths and sleeper edges and then set Alan free with our new pressure washer to clean up the patio area which has lots of unsightly green bits. Then we may even go out for a coffee and a slice of cake and take the doggies with us. They love the social side of it as much as we like the cake.
I knew that I loved the large brown jug the minute I saw it on the shelf in the gift shop, of course it was a very necessary purchase as my huge bunch of flowers had nowhere to live. As I was sat watching television last night my eye was drawn to my little painting above the radiator shelf and then I realised why this particular brown jug had caught my eye and my imagination.
The painting of The Milkmaid by Vermeer has the girl pouring from a very similar jug. So it seemed only right as I took my cards down this morning and had a bit of a dust-athon that I put the jug and it's contents into a new position and the flowers that Alan bought me onto the sideboard where they co-ordinated perfectly with the pictures behind.
It was my Uncles funeral in Stockport yesterday and the day went really well. It was nice to meet up with family again even though it was sad to be saying a last farewell to a lovely man who was but two days away from his 95th birthday.
Mum handed over a couple of cards that hadn't been posted and then my Aunty asked if I had received her card to me. I hadn't, but then I really hadn't expected her to send me one with everything that she has been going through over the last few weeks. She had sent it to my old address at the other side of town and the redirection that I did have in place ran out at the end of March.
We promised we would call to the flat on the way home to see if it was there, but when we got there no-one was in, I even checked in the paper recycling bin outside but no luck. Then we got home there it was through my new letterbox!! Bearing the postman's writing saying 'now at no. 4'. There are definite perks to living in a small town where the postman sort the mail and get to know everyone on a more personal level. They had remembered where I had moved to after the flat and forwarded it on themselves.
