In Town Again

So today we find ourselves on a day out in Sheffield again with friends.

First stop was The Public, a bar in some old public toilets and now we are in the Sheffield Tap, a pub and brew house in the former Edwardian dining rooms in the train station.

Where too next is anybody's guess.

Snow Day

So having a day off didn't really go to plan yesterday. I got bored so decided to clean the kitchen top to bottom and the bathroom and a quick tidy up of the house plants.

Not sure what I will get up to today as it is snowing heavily outside so don't think I will be going out anywhere!

A Day Off

Having got more done than anticipated with the decorating yesterday I have decided to treat myself to a day off. Well almost. I have been to the builders merchants this morning  and have a trip to the supermarket later but other then that a day of chilling out.

We were getting ready for a new frying pan at home and had decided we were going to get one of the copperstone pans we have on the boat. However I have found a Salters version in the sales for £10 so have decided to give it a try.

DIY

With Liam back at work for the next few days I have been tasked with doing more painting in the hallway. When we started this job ages ago now we didn't anticipate just how big a job it would turn into. But we can see an end in sight now. It will all come together at once no doubt.

Top Notch

Well I hope you all had a nice day yesterday. We certainly did. Our dinner at Woodcocks was top nosh and worth every penny. No complaints from us on that score.

Today we are heading back to the marina for breakfast in Woodcocks before heading for home. Unfortunately Liam is working tomorrow.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you all. We hope that you all have a great day.

With love from Liam, Rachael and Naughty-Cal

Together We Unite

It was an honour yesterday to see people of all religions, back grounds and faiths going about they daily lives shoulder to shoulder in Sheffield city centre.

We will not let the threat of terrorism divide us.

Like Tourists

Today we are having a day out in our home town of Sheffield.  It has been so long since we have been into the city centre that we feel like tourists.

The place is full of festive cheer and there is a really nice atmosphere right now.

Finished

Yesterday was my last day at work and the last of the Christmas parties. When Liam has finished work today we are done until after the big day.

The last of the grocery shopping is done so we don't have to go anywhere near a shop for a long while.

After the grocery shop I was a tad hungry but couldn't decide what I wanted so ended up with air fried hash  browns with scrambled eggs, baked mushrooms and baked tomatoes. It filled a hole.

Christmas Dinner No.3

Another Christmas meal down last night with a lovely get together with family at the Walkley Cottage in Sheffield. The pub did us proud with a brilliant four course meal, all of which was cooked to perfection.

Tonight we have another festive get together, this time with Liams work mates and thankfully not another Christmas dinner. This time we are heading out for an Italian. A nice change to the already three traditional Christmas dinners we have consumed. We won't want turkey by the time the actual Christmas dinner comes around at this rate!

It is the last day of work for me, Liam still has one further day to endure but no doubt it will be a short day for him. With tonight in mind and how we will get to the party I have unlocked my car from the drive for the first time in a couple of weeks. It was ready for a drink of petrol anyway and it will make a fine chariot to get us to the restaurant this evening. We can then get a taxi home and in the morning pick the car up when Liam is heading to work.

Trouble On The Hill

It is the last couple of days at work before the break so all we want to do is get there and get on with it. But this morning the world had other ideas.

We set off at the usual time of just after 7am only to find that every exit off of the hill heading into town was blocked off by a police car, so by 7.20am we were driving past our house for the third time in 20 minutes. Eventually we gave in and headed out into the sticks and drove around Sheffield to drop back in on the South side of the city getting Liam to work just in time for his 8am start. Not the best start to the day by any means!

We have another Christmas meal to look forward too tonight after work. This time with family. It will be the third turkey dinner in a short space of time which is starting to wear a little thin now. I'm starting to wish I had ordered something different for Christmas dinner now!

More Parties

This time next week it will all be over for another and we can start to getting back towards a sense of normaility again, whatever that may be. Although we will still have that odd week between Christmas and New Year to get out of the way. That week that is neither festive nor restful, just there in between celebrations.

But first we have this week to get out of the way. A week of work, more Christmas parties and for me at least a short week as I have taken Friday off work. Well I had a random day left so I may as well make the most of it and with it being Liam's works Christmas party on Thursday evening I might just need a bit of a lie in on Friday morning!

The Morning After

Yesterday was definitely a case of the morning after, or in our case the whole day after the night before!

We had quite a lie in by our standards and it wasn't until well after 9am that we both struggled out of bed. We had been comfy in there with the electric blanket keeping us toasty warm, but the sound of the ice banging on the hull indicated that it was to be cold outside.

So we made the decision there are then that we would be going home. There seemed little point in sitting around on a frozen in boat all day. 

So after a quick pit stop at Starbucks for coffee and a little stop at the farm shop to stock up on vegetables we were soon home and enjoying a quick breakfast of wholemeal muffins, scrambled eggs and smoked ham. 

Then with dinner in the slow cooker we could enjoy the rest of the day. We had a nice fresh walk up to Grenoside with the intention of going into the Cow and Calf for a quick beer but neither of us felt like it when we got up there so it was a walk back down the hill again and into the warmth of home ready to enjoy some slow cooked goat in a tomato and vegetable casserole served in a giant Yorkshire pudding with some savoy cabbage. 

A nice end to the day before getting tucked up in bed early ready for work today. 

Party Time

The Christmas party was a roaring success last night. I think there are a few heads being nursed today.

Cold Start

It is a cold start to the day. But we were lovely and warm onboard Naughty-Cal with the heating on and the electric blanket. It was definitely a good move bringing that back this week!

Back to the Boat

It is back to the boat this evening for the first time in a couple of weeks. This weekend it is our E Pontoon Christmas party and this year we are having it at The Pyewipe Inn just a mile or so down river from the marina. But that is tomorrow evening.

This evening we will be chilling out on the marina with a film, some beers and later on a goat curry with some rice and a vegetable bahji. 

There are a few odd jobs we need to do first before hand though, namely filling up the water tank and changing the bedding but most importantly fitting the electric blanket. It's that time of year again when it is nice to jump into a warmed up bed.

Sorted

With the arrival of Liam's passport yesterday, a full day ahead of it's scheduled delivery according to the message received from DX Delivery, we are now all sorted for ID for the next ten years. It has been a bit of a long winded process this time, for Liam anyway, but hopefully the next time will be a quick and easy process as they will all just be simple renewals.

Now with our travel documents in order we can start to look forward to our holidays for next year starting with the mini cruise to Amsterdam in March.This was the main reason for the last months flurry of paperwork and making sure we didn't leave getting our passports until the last minute knowing that Liam was likely to be required to attend an interview. Now with the process over and done with we can relax a little and start some holiday planning instead.

Deliveries and Stew

We have another round of Christmas deliveries to make this morning. It is surprising what you can wedge into the boot of a Mini!

With the presents bagged up this morning and sat in the hallway we didn't think we had much of a chance of fitting them all in but gingerly shutting the boot lid we have managed to get it all in there. It could all just pop out as soon as we open the lid at the other end tonight, but it is all in there for now.

Over night I made a mixed game stew in the slow cooker with some wild rabbit, pheasant, venison and partridge. This will just be warmed through tonight when we get back home and served in a Yorkshire pudding with a few greens. A nice easy meal.

Deliveries and Left Overs

Yesterday we wrapped the very last of the presents with the intention that they will all be delivered by the end of this week.

This morning we have parceled some up to wing their way to Scotland by courier, this evening we are delivering some more in person and the same tomorrow and the day after. It looks set to be a busy week and we might have to break my car out as the boot on the Mini probably won't be big enough for one of the deliveries at least.

We had loads of chicken left from the Sunday roast so rather then wasting it, it is surprising how much you can get off what looks like a carcass, we made a lovely chicken and smoked bacon pie with a sweet potato and parsnip mash topping for dinner last night. It was yummy and very filling. Ideal for a cold winter night.

It Made A Change

After the initial disappointment at having wasted a weekend away from the boat due to a less then perfect weather forecast, we actually decided it had made a pleasant change to spend a bit of time at home.

We got a few odd jobs done around the house, cleaned it top to bottom and yesterday I made the first proper Sunday roast dinner I have made in a while. So all in all not a wasted weekend.

On the plus side we did make it to Liam's passport interview and he should have his new passport at some point this week. They said it will take up to a week to arrive but at this time of year when they are not that busy it can be in just a couple of days. So we shall see.

What? No Snow

We have awoken this morning to the lightest dusting of snow after the forecast was for heavy snow.

Very disappointing!

Really Staying Home

We are in sunny Leeds this morning. It's a bit brisk out but a lovely sunny day.

We have weighed up the options for tomorrow and decided there is no point heading to Lincoln today to come back tomorrow so we are having a rare weekend at home.

Staying Home

There will be no boat for us again this evening, that makes it three Fridays out of four with no boat!

This evening we are attending my works Christmas party. Ordinarily we would have driven to the boat after that, but Liam has his passport interview in Leeds tomorrow morning. So it made much more sense to stay at home tonight instead.

Tomorrow morning we will be up bright and early to head to Leeds and get the interview over and done with. Liam should then hopefully get his passport some time next week.

With that over and done with we can then head to Lincoln to meet up with some friends who have come up from West Stockwith for the Christmas market weekend.

Wrapping

Last night we made a start on the mountain of Christmas presents that needed wrapping. A thankless task that neither of us really enjoys. But at least this year we didn't make the same mistake as last year and buy glittery wrapping paper! That really did make the job unpleasant.

We managed to get most of the presents wrapped and just have a couple to finish off tonight and a couple of birthday presents to buy and wrap and then next week it will be a week of making deliveries after work to make sure they are all distributed to the correct places.

Then we can start to unwind and relax. Christmas will be sorted.

An Occasional Treat

As you all know by now we are trying to watch our weight and keep it down to a healthy level. But that doesn't mean it is all diet food and healthy eating. No we do allow ourselves the occasional treat.

On Sunday that treat was a lovely sirloin steak that we picked up from Walker and Walker, the excellent butchers in Woodhall Spa. We were sort of passing on our way back from the coast on Saturday so we made a slight detour to pick up what we knew would be top notch steaks.

And we were not to be disappointed. They really were very good, super tender and super tasty as we would expect. Served with a reduced fat cheddar stuffed mushroom, oil less fried egg, grilled cherry tomatoes and asparagus they made a hearty meal for a cold Sunday evening.

Well diets don't count at the weekend do they?

A Great Night Out

Just a few pictures today for you from a great night out in Lincoln over the weekend. The whole place really felt very up beat and festive.

Getting Cold

It was a cold start to the day this morning, much colder then had been forecast and large parts of the marina were frozen over for the first time this winter. Where our mooring is located is one of the last parts to freeze and first to thaw so we were not frozen in yet but the boats further down the pontoon towards the gatehouse were stuck fast.

It will no doubt thaw out today as the temperature rises and we have a few milder days in store. The weekend however looks set to be colder again so we may find ourselves having a weekend on our berth. The water temperature was only 2 degrees yesterday so it isn't going to take much to freeze it over again.

Getting Festive

The Christmas lights are on around Lincoln and the whole place had a real festive feel last night. It was great.

A Change of Plan

We were supposed to be in Lincoln last night but a last minute change of plan meant we were in Saxilby last night and Lincoln tonight.

We had a few drinks in the Sun Inn before grabbing a pizza and having an early night.

We are now on our way back to the marina to grab breakfast in Woodcocks before heading into town.

On the Boat

It is Friday again and this evening we will be spending it on the boat for the first Friday in a few. Well I say that we are heading out into Lincoln for the evening with friends so in truth we will only be sleeping on it tonight.

Hopefully it won't be quite so icy cold over the weekend. Last night we had our first snow of the season in Sheffield and this morning the roads were lethal where the snow had started to melt but then frozen over again. It was sheet ice.

Having safely navigated the ice at home and made our way across Sheffield to work we thought we were home and dry. Well that was not to be because I have just decked it in the full public eye outside a busy supermarket. Oh well. At least I didn't know most of the people who witnessed my public humiliation!

Acting the Goat

We have always been interested in trying out some goat meat but have been struggling to find a reliable source in Sheffield. Finally I managed to track down a source online, but we were a little bit wary of buying meat on the internet. But earlier this week we relented and bought an order of goat along with a selection of game and other meats from Alternative Meats.

I have to say that I am very glad that we did and we will certainly be buying through them again. The meat arrived on time and very well packaged. It was all still frozen through with no signs of any defrosting from the delivery process. 

Last night after managing to thaw the diced goat we had a goat curry which I had left in the slow cooker all day while we were at work. It was super tender by the time we got home and it was nice to have a dinner ready for when we got home. It only took ten minutes to cook the vegetable bahji and rice.

We decided to check out how good goat meat actually is for you and surprisingly it is lower in saturated fat then chicken and is also a very good source of iron and B vitamins. So I think it will become a staple on our week night menu.

Getting Organised

We have made a vow to be more organised this year around the Christmas period. We have already started the Christmas shopping, but non of that Black Friday nonsense for us. No we have done it the traditional way, trudging around shops.

This morning we have been and bought the wrapping paper and some tags so that tonight we can start the arduous task of wrapping everything up.

At the present rate of progress we will have everything wrapped and ready to distribute by the end of this week, so that next week we can start the delivery process and by the end of next week it will all be done and dusted so that we can sit back, chill out and relax.

In other news as expected Liam got a letter from the Passport Office yesterday inviting him for an interview. So he will organise that tonight and the hopefully his passport will arrive before Christmas and we can get on with planning our holidays for next year.

A Grand Old Girl

We always like to see old boats out and about and there is one in particular that has always caught my eye on the run into Lincoln. Poem, a keel of some description. But we have never seen her move. Until Saturday that was when we met her coming the other way. A grand old girl and nice to see her getting a new lease of life.

Spoiled For Choice

We are a bit spoiled for choice for places to eat close to our home mooring. Yesterday we decided it was time we had something from The Pyewipe, we have not eaten there for a little while. As usual the food was very good, I had the beef Sunday lunch which was very tender and tasty and Liam opted for the steak and mushroom pie which looked delicious with it's homemade chips on the side. I might try that the next time we go in there. Maybe next weekend as we don't have much planned again.

We ate quite early for us at 3pm, but this gave us chance to head back to the marina in the last of the daylight and settle onto our berth to watch Taxi Driver and a few episodes of Friday Night Dinner before heading to bed for an early start this morning.

Sunny Sundays

After a cracking night in Lincoln last night we are having a quiet day today. We have been out for breakfast followed by a walk around town. We will soon be heading to the Pyewipe for Sunday lunch.

Can't Fault That

Our stay in the new Woodcocks Hotel was really good last night. We can't fault the rooms or the breakfast this morning all served with a smile. Excellent service by all.

Another Friday With No Boat

For the second Friday night in a row we won't be staying on the boat.  What's going on?

This time we will be a little closer to Cal though as we will be in the marina, just around the other side at the Woodcocks Pub. 

Staying in a pub? Well sort of!

The Woodcocks, or more to the point the brewery, Marstons, have just built a brand new hotel in the grounds of the pub. It is now finished but not due to open for another couple of weeks. So to test out the staff and make sure that everything is up and running as it should be, a selection of people have been invited to stay in the hotel, which will be booked to capacity, and have breakfast in the morning for a very small fee.

How could we refuse this opportunity? We had to take them up on the offer. Staying in a brand new hotel, not even open yet and have a cooked breakfast, all for £1. We couldn't say no. 

Of course we will be having a few drinks in the pub and something to eat this evening. It would be rude not too.