Winter Challenges and Opportunities

I can't believe it was only a few weeks ago I posted those benign autumn photos! It is suddenly winter here, as it is nationwide and everything has changed. The colours have been bleached out of the landscape and everything is beautifully monochrome - photos to follow.

It is the change in my day to day routine that really marks the change of season for me. At present the canal is frozen and no movement of the boat is possible. So instead of cruising up to the water point, sticking a hose in my water hole and then effortlessly reversing back (well, generally), I now have to barrow a couple of plastic containers across the lock either to our tap, or if it is frozen, all the way to the BW water point. Then back to the boat where, with the aid of a funnel, I carefully transfer every precious drop into my tank. If the freeze lasts for more than a week or so, this will be a daily chore and in the dark as well if it's a working day.

Then there is the business of keeping warm. At present I am using nearly 2 bags of coal a week and of course they need to be lugged down to the mooring as well as regular supplies of logs and kindling. I know some people cope with coal alone, but I find it difficult to keep the fire going all night without a log or two in there with the coal. If the fire goes out in the wee small hours, the tip of my nose usually informs me pretty quickly! Then I have to decide whether to get out of a warm bed to rebuild the fire or to leave it and risk frostbite when I get up in the morning! It has got down to -7 here at night so I have moved my bed through to the saloon, to be close to the stove.

I am still managing to get into work, although it is getting harder as our road doesn't ever get cleared or gritted. But if I don't make it in, I don't get paid and so I have to trek in somehow.

You would think it is a pretty miserable existence at present, but I do not find it so. For a start, I love the stunningly beautiful scenery, together with that special sort of silence we only get when there is thick lying snow. I also find that life focuses down to the basic essentials of survival and that relieves my mind of all the ordinary worries and anxieties that normally niggle at me. There is also a feeling of achievement in coping in the extreme weather, together with a real community feel among all the live aboard boaters! We smugly smile as we pass each other as if to say 'look at us, aren't we tough!'

I guess it is like every other part of life, it all depends on how you look at it. If I focus on my fears (like being snowed in at work - looking out of the window, very possible today) then life is hard and uncomfortable. But if I see it as an adventure and a way to get in touch with my natural, instinctive / animal self, then it is all good!

fradley pics

I thought I'd post a couple more pictures of our mooring in the autumn as it is so beautiful. I love this time of year. Yes, it can be damp, cold and muddy, but with all the hire boats gone and very few other boats moving, it feels like the canal is all ours.

It is also a treat to wander up to the junction of the two canals and pop into our local, which in my opinion is pretty much the perfect pub! This is where I will be having lunch with my whole family (almost) on my 50th birthday next month. They are visiting my mooring for the first time after a couple of nights in a cottage in the Dales, courtesy of my brother James - bless him! I'm so looking forward to the holiday cottage as I will be able to have my second bath this year!!

My friend Shirleyann sent me a whole set of new curtains and seat covers for the boat. She picked a perfect pattern and made them beautifully. Here is Bonny showing her approval of the seat covers!!


And lastly I thought you would like to see Bonny flirting with her boyfriend Bernie. He is very patient with her, but sometimes she is rather exhausting to be with, especially as he is ten years old and she isn't two yet!

rocking and rolling

I had an interesting day yesterday. On my way to work I had to drive through a bit of a puddle and on reaching the dreadfully busy A38 in rush hour, my engine started coughing like a 40 a day smoker. I knew it was going to cut out and so I tried to get off the dual carriageway. I just reached a short slip road and got round the corner when my car died half way over a canal bridge. there I was, in the rain, on a blind bend, that people coming off the A38 usually take at some speed. I left Bonny in the car and I stood in the rain directing cars around mine. The reactions were interesting. several drivers (all men) shook their fists or made other rude gestures as if I had chosen to stop there for fun! Others looked quite terrified as they swerved round me, including a coach driver. By then I was convinced it was only a matter of time before someone hit us and was fairly terrified. One man stopped to see if he could help, but with no tow rope between us, he gave up and left. after the longest 15 minutes of my life, 2 retired men in a 4 wheel drive stopped. They offered to tow me, showed me where my tow point was - no, I had no idea! I was so shaken that one of them drove my car for me and they towed me all the way to Barton Marina and wouldn't accept anything in return. I was so effusive in my thanks that I think I quite embarrassed them! So, thanks again to my Good Samaritans - you may well have saved my life, or at least my car!

During the day my car recovered from its asthma attack but the wind started to get up and by the time Bonny and I returned home, it was blowing a gale. All the boats on the mooring were rocking and rolling and the trees were bending right over. I spent some time anxiously watching the trees and wondering what would happen if one fell on my boat. However, probably due to the rocking sensation, coupled with my emotional exhaustion after the fright in the morning, I slept like a log. I woke to a world scrubbed clean and the sun creeping above the horizon. All the boats were still firmly tethered and upright and I celebrated seeing another dawn!

still happy

It's been a couple of weeks since I bought my fridge and I couldn't be happier with it. So happy that I even emailed Midland Chandlers to tell them how impressed I was with their product and service. Well, I think that if we are prepared to give feedback when we are unhappy with something, we should also let them know when we are particularly happy with their service.

My fridge is quite amazing in its power consumption - or lack of it. I go to work all day, leaving it on and when I come home it has only used .1 of a volt. It is averaging 2 amps per hour which is really, really good. It is so nice to be able to watch TV with a light on and the fridge working without fretting!

Bonny and I had a mini cruise down the Coventry Canal a couple of weeks ago. We found a wonderful mooring in Hopwas Woods. It looked like an ancient woodland with huge native species trees. When the army aren't using it for their war games, it is the most beautiful place to walk, especially in the autumn. There is also a lovely pub in the village called The Tame Otter. The food there is particularly good but they don't allow dogs in which I think is very short sighted considering it is on the canal and in prime walking territory.

My friend, Shirleyann Andrews has made me a complete set of new curtains for my boat, as well as matching seat covers - all for free! How generous is that? She and her husband are hoping to come for a cruise up the Ashby Canal next April and I'll be delighted to take them!

Happy Bunny

I couldn't cope with the old fridge any more so last Tuesday I went to Willington and bought a Shoreline 12 volt fridge. It is a thing of beauty and it even fitted in my car. I used my mooring money, saved for next year to buy it, but I am fortunate to have a generous family as they are going to pay for it as a combined 50th birthday and Christmas present. So, although I'll be sending them cards, I will say a slightly premature thank you to my step mother Eileen, my brothers James, Douglas and Peter and my sisters Romy and Penny. It is also lovely as I feel they are involved in the boat now in a way they haven't been previously. I could almost take it as a sign of approval although I know that most of them think I am as mad as a box of frogs for making the decisions I have!

I had to rest the fridge for 24 hours so I only got it wired in last night and then spent a sleepless night worrying about how much power it was taking. This morning I leapt out of bed to check my volt meter and thought the fridge must not be working as all night I had only dropped .1 of a volt! But my joy was unconfined when my fridge thermometer showed a healthy blue level and even the ice box was icy! I will be even happier if I get home from work today to find the same sort of power use as that will mean my power issues are finally resolved.

As if that wasn't enough, my friend Shirleyann had decided to make me some curtains for the boat to thank me for a visit. She sent me the porthole sets yesterday and they are lovely. I trusted her to choose the material and she couldn't have chosen better! What would we do without friends or family? The Bible got it right - they are more precious than gold or jewels!

Fradley in Autumn

I haven't posted any pictures for a while so I thought I'd show you what our home looks like in Autumn...

The above picture is of Fradley Nature Reserve. Bonny and I walk round this every day - either on our way to a bigger walk in the morning, or when we return from work.

Spiders are absolutely everywhere at present but at least they make a lovely home!

One of the many reasons I love living here is that there are so many fantastic walks on our doorstep. Once we leave the back of the nature reserve, these are the sorts of views that greet us, and because there is little livestock farming, there are few restrictions on where we can walk.

Here is an Autumn picture of our mooring taken from Hunts Lock. What a great place to live!!

half full or half empty?

Having got the borrowed 12v fridge on board the boat and thinking that this will be so much better, I have been disappointed. The thermostat doesn't work so I have to turn it off when I'm away from the boat for any length of time. Yesterday I forgot and was at work all day. I came back to find my batteries at 11.7v which isn't good at all! Fortunately, prior to this they had been really well charged and so they recovered as I ran the engine all evening. So, I could choose to feel really annoyed and frustrated that yet another fridge solution isn't working out, or feel grateful that the batteries coped with my oversight.

Then on Friday I was really looking forward to having a lazy day off as I haven't been able to veg for ages. A fellow boater mentioned he had bought a machine to test the input / output of his batteries and offered to bring it to test mine. When I opened the engine compartment I found my engine bilge full of water and antifreeze. A hose leading from the engine header tank to the skin tank had split and emptied my engine of coolant. I had to go to a chandlers to buy what I needed and then, with Chris the boater's help, I spent the rest of the day with my head in my engine compartment repairing the leak and then removing most of the water from under my engine. I ended my day off exhausted and filthy.

My choice was to feel really upset that I had no rest 0n my day off, I had incurred extra expense and had burnt my ear on the engine (not many people can boast of that!) Or I could be really grateful that Chris was there to help me and even more that I hadn't run the engine with no water in it! Normally I would have turned it on before I took Bonny for a walk and so would not have known the engine was overheating, but because Chris was going to test my batteries, I had delayed running the engine and also I opened up the engine compartment and so spotted the problem.

It's been really quiet week at work. In fact on Wednesday I took 40p and that was only because I bought a packet of crisps! I find it very boring sometimes and could choose to be miserable about that and look back to the times when my work was fulfilling and exciting and when I had status and it mattered whether I was there or not. Or I could be grateful to have a job that is easy and doesn't take much out of me; a job where I have time to pass the time of day with customers and boaters in lovely surroundings. Also a job where the owner leaves me to it and I have no one telling me what to do (or giving me any praise, criticism or feedback - very good for the continuing death of my ego).

I would like to say that in each of these situations I chose to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. I would like to say this, but it would be a lie! I find it very easy to feel sorry for myself or to lose my temper and swear at the offending fridge / engine / situation. But indulging in the negative emotions doesn't, in the long term, make me feel any better and can even make me resent the life I have chosen. But when I focus on the positive (and I find there always is some positive aspect to any situation), then I am more likely to appreciate the gifts in this new life and that makes me feel happy and grateful. I just wish I could remember this as I throw my toys out again (and again) rather than some time later!