Sort It Out

We finally decided we would head into Lincoln yesterday afternoon. We headed to our usual mooring outside the waterside centre to be confronted with two rough sleepers off their heads on drugs.

Needless to say we didn't stay long.

So instead we moored on Brayford Pool on the dilapidated viewing platform instead and watch Lincoln Pride from there.

Until the local lunatic arrived on his boat so we moved on from there also.

Lincoln lost out on our money yesterday due to these idiots. Time to sort it out Lincoln or people will just stop visiting.

Where Too?

It is a lovely sunny day here on the Fossdyke. We have had a productive morning with the car now valeted and some stone chips touched in.

So with the new of us fed, showered and changed it is now time to head out on the boat. But where too?

No Great Shakes

Part of last night was spent making a list of films that we want to download onto the tablet to watch firstly tonight on the boat but more importantly for when we head to Brittany this time next week.

The weather could well be hit and miss at this time of the year so we want to make sure that if we do get a couple of dismal evenings we will have something to keep us occupied.

This morning we loaded up the Nissan with all the gear we need for a weekend on the boat. The Mini is in the garage today to have its brakes replaced in readiness for it's road trip ahead so we are uncertain if it will be ready in time to pick up tonight. Just in case we have brought my car as well. It will do it no harm to have a good run and at worst case we will have two cars in the marina. No great shakes.

Counting Down

We are now really counting down the days to our final holiday for this year in Brittany. Time to start getting organised for this one.

We are starting to ensure that all of the paperwork is in order. Double checking we have got all of the dates and times right for ferries and boat pick up. Checking we have our travel insurance in place. Double checking we can remember where our passports are! Getting copies of travel documents and car insurance etc printed off to keep in the car. 

The list seems never ending and we have not even started packing yet and deciding what clothes we will need. It is one of those odd times of year where the weather can go one of two ways.We have been lucky so far with the weather this year but will that luck hold out?

The Last Weekend

This weekend will be our last on the boat before we head off to Brittany for a week. So with this in mind we have been starting to think about what we might get up too and what we need to get done prior to us heading away.

One thing we are glad that we did last weekend is leave the heating on on the timer. At least we will be arriving to a toasty warm boat on Friday evening. It has started to turn decidedly chilly of an evening and morning this week. Autumn is certainly here.

We don't think we will head far this weekend. We will have to go and get the car valeted on either Saturday or Sunday morning which will scupper any plans for heading too far by boat. It is almost certain that we will be having an evening in on Friday with a film and a few drinks. These quiet Friday evenings in are starting to become a bit of an autumn/winter routine now that the nights are drawing in. But we quite like the time to sit back, relax and chill out after a long week at work.

From The Coast

A few pictures from our little jaunt to the coast on Sunday.

Despite the weather forecast saying it would be wet we had a lovely few hours by the sea and managed to stay dry with the heavy rain only descending as we were driving back to the boat.

A really pleasant day.

When Sydney Met Woody

A few more pictures for you today of Saturdays meeting between Sydney and his brother Woody.

To The Coast

As it was a grey and uninspiring morning on the Fossdyke we decided to head back to the marina from our overnight mooring in Saxilby and jump in the car to head to the coast.

Despite the forecast for rain at Skegness we managed to stay dry as we had a walk along the beach, had fish and chips in a lovely dog friendly cafe and then headed to Gibraltar Point for yet more walking.

We are now back on the boat with one exhausted dog. Time for a few drinks.

Family Reunion

Today was the day that Sydney was reunited with his brother and litter mate Woody.

To seethe creating they gave each other would bring tears to even a hardened eye. There was certainly no mistaking the family bond.

Sadly Woody has also had a rough start in life but now has found his forever home as well.

Hopefully they will see more of each other in the future.

Miserable

Yesterday was a day of torrential rain and at times gale force winds. Sheffield took quite a hammering and the wind and rain had not abated when we decided to call it a day and tuck ourselves into bed at 10pm.  In fact it is still raining as I type now.

Needless to say with the amounts of water involved there was a fair bit of flooding around the city which made the commute home even more arduous then usual. We were all happy to get home, shut the door on the miserable weather and get tucked up warm with the heating on and a lovely quorn chilli served on some jacket potatoes to warm us through after a thoroughly soggy dog walk.

Today looks to be getting brighter as the day goes by but the wind is still set to be blustery. Tonight we are heading to the boat but another night in with a film beckons as the rain from the last couple of days filters into the Fossdyke the levels are on the rise so it would be unwise for us to venture out and risk getting locked out!

Not Boating Weather

I'm almost glad we have been at work this week. The weather has hardly been conducive to boating what with the pair of Storms Helena and Ali showing their force and today the forecast is for heavy rain pretty much all day, although as I type here in Sheffield we are in the middle of a drier interlude.

Of course it is Thursday when the rain is forecast. The one day a week that I have to go and walk the dog at lunchtime as the receptionist at the garage doesn't work on a Thursday!

So this morning I dug out the big waterproof jacket with a hood on. Our trusty wet weather Pac a Mac's we bought in Scotland which would have been ideal are of course still on the boat. But never mind, it will be what it will be and I will get as wet as I get. 

Undecided

It is time to start thinking about when we are going to pull Naughty-Cal out of the water for the winter and start thinking about what little jobs we would like to get completed during the time she will be ashore.

There will be the usual servicing to the outdrive which will include changing the oil seals, flushing the drive through with oil and then refilling it with fresh oil, changing the bellows and the anodes and generally giving the drive a general tidy up and scrub clean.

But then there are the miriad of other little odd jobs that rear their heads throughout the season on top of the usual hull and super structure polish and application of fresh antifoul paint.

We are still undecided as to when to pull her out this year. Do we do it before Christmas or do we wait until into the new year? How long will we need out of the water? Will it be a quick couple of weeks spruce up? A month? Or do we need to stretch it out to three as we have done previously?

We have still to decide all of this in the coming couple of months.

Coincidence?

Just a couple of weeks ago we were saying we would like to know what became of Sydneys litter mates and wondered if any of them would look the same.

Well this weekend we found out the answer to that thanks to some friends bumping into this little chap and his owner at Washingborough on Saturday morning.

At first glance they thought it was Sydney so they went over to chat to the owner. Of course it isn't Sydney it is Woody, but the similarities are striking to say the very least. 

Woody lives in Washingborough and is rather remarkably also a rescue dog from Saxilby and is about 20 months old. Now I am one for believing in coincidence but these ones are stacking up far too much now. So this coming Saturday we are heading to Washingborough to see Woody and his owner and see how the two dogs react to each other.

Could Woody be Sydney's brother?

Back Home Again

After yet another brilliant if not exhausting weekend we are now back in Sheffield again and into the swing of working and home life once more for the next five days.

Tonight we will take Sydney for a good long walk after work and then it will be home to start on the mountain of washing we seem to have produced over this last weekend and rustling up something nice and healthy for dinner. 

I'm thinking that a nice quorn mince and kidney bean shepherd's pie with a sweet potato mash topping should fit the bill for this evening. Nice and filling for these darker evenings that are trawling in.

All Aboard

We have had a brilliant day on Naughty-cal in the company of Anthony and Samantha.

Now it is time to chill out with a couple of beers and later we think we will be lazy and order in a pizza for dinner.

Letting Off Steam

After a lazy start with a couple of coffees it was time to take Sydney to the playing fieldsfor a charge around and let off some steam.

Now back on the boat we have had breakfast and now it is time to build up some enthusiasm about cleaning the boat before we head into Lincoln.

Flying By

Another weekend is upon us. The weeks are certainly flying by now. It will be the new year before we know it!

We are planning another quiet night in tonight with a home cooked chilli, a few drinks and a film to watch to while away the hours. 

It seems an age since we had a Friday night out but we are quite enjoying our nights in snuggled up on Naughty-Cal with the heating ticking away and warming us through as we watch whatever film takes out fancy.

Tomorrow we need to give Naughty-Cal a proper clean. We have guests coming on Sunday for a cruise and some lunch and we can't be taking them out on a dirty boat now can we?

A Busy Evening

I had a very busy evening yesterday in the kitchen. It seemed like I was none stop cooking for a little while.

First up I had to cook last nights dinner which consisted of a med style lamb casserole filled with veggies in a tomato sauce served in a giant Yorkshire pudding. This was delicious and was certainly a fitting meal for a chilly autumnal evening.

The it was onto Friday night's dinner. If we are staying in on the boat I like to cook something in the week and then freeze it so that it is only a matter of reheating it on Friday after we have had a few beers and watched a movie. This time I made a 5% steak mince chilli once again loaded with veggies and beans. I have made this one extra spicy and will serve it on Friday with some rice and some homemade garlic bread.

Then as if that was not enough while busy with the above two meals I was also roasting a turkey breast portion coated in some jerk seasoning for today's lunchtime sandwiches as well as roasting a pair of sweet potatoes in preparation for this evenings meal of reggae reggae chicken with loaded sweet potatoes and vegetables. 

Let's just say it was hot hot hot in the kitchen even though it was a chilly evening outside.

Looking Ahead

Now that we are happy that Sydney has settled with the dog sitters we can start to look forward to out up coming holiday to Brittany. We have been so otherwise engaged over the last six months that this trip has really sneaken up on us and with only a few weeks to go it is time to start looking ahead to where we might go.

The first place to visit will be the ferry Bretange who will sail us to France.

Then from St Malo it is a short drive to Messac where we will pick up the boat.

The first major town we will arrive at by boat is Redon.

Malestroit also looks worthy of a visit as we pass by.

Josselin will be our intended turn around point as we head back to base.

And hopefully we will have time for a little detour up the River Aff to the quaint little town of La Gacilly.

With a rough idea of where we may end up and the distances involved we should in theory easily make it to Josselin and back to base within the allotted timescales. But with so many interesting looking villages along the route we may cut the cruise short and spend more time ashore then we usually would exploring by foot.

Hopefully the weather is going to stay settled for us for the next month or so.

The Results Are In

You know when intrigue gets the better of you?

Well we had one of those moments a couple of weeks ago when yet again we got asked what breed of dog Sydney is whilst out walking him. The standard answer of we are not 100% sure but we think he is a Schnoodle was starting to wear a little thin. So we started to look into getting hime DNA tested.

It wasn't as expensive as we imagined so two weeks ago we sent off his samples and over the weekend the results came back. Now to say they are not what we expected is a bit of an understatement. There are a few more breeds in there then we had initially thought.

25% Bichon Frise, 25% Chihuahua, 25% Toy Poodle (now this is one that we had guessed but no prizes for that with his coat), 12.5% Pomeranian and 12.5% Minature Schnauzer. A right old mash up of small dogs. Well I guess we know where he gets his size from.

Now individually I don't think there is a single dog on that list that we would have chosen to own. But somehow mashing them altogether has created some sort of desirable dog with a character far bigger then his size would suggest.

But now intrigue has got the better of me again because now I want to know what his little mates look like and what has become of those.

The Good and The Sad

It has been a very busy weekend. I'm almost glad to get back to work for a bit of a rest!

First up the excellent news that Sydney got on really well at the dog sitters. He bonded really well with them and surprisingly their cats as well. He came back yesterday absolutely exhausted as he had been playing and walking all day. We are now so much more comfortable about leaving him for the week next month.

The sad news of course was the potential sale of Nitty Gritty and as she cruised off for what could be the last time yesterday (subject to survey) we were all a little sad. But on the short cruise to Saxilby on Naughty-Cal to drop the crew off for their train, we all looked back on the many years we have cruised together with fond memories. 

End Of An Era

Today marks the end of another era in our boating history. Nitty Gritty with whom we have travelled many miles over the years is to be sold. Her current owners Martyn and Gill are hanging up their boating shoes and moving onto pastures new.

We had a great celebratory evening in Lincoln last night looking back over the years and all of the adventures we have shared.

We wish them all the very best and we will  no doubt catch up with them from time to time.

Hopefully Nitty Gritty and her new owners will have just as much fun as we have over the years.

Soggy Saturday

The rain had started on what is promised to be a rather soggy Saturday.

We managed to get the dogs first walk of the day in dry but dull weather and are now sat on the back of the boat with a coffee listening to the rain on the canopies and deciding our plan of action for the day.

Soon I will need to set off to Lincoln for my hair cutting and to do a spot of shopping. While Liam takes the dog to run off some steam on the playing field in Saxilby before dropping him off at the pet sitters for the evening for his trial night before we go away next month.

Then we are free for the day. We have some friends coming up from Goole so we reckon it will be a night out in Lincoln tonight.

Short, Back and Sides

Sydney has had his hair trimmed right back today. He looks a different dog!

We are now at the boat waiting for Liam to arrive after work and then we will settle in to watch a film and later have the turkey curry which I rustled up in the week.

Another Short Week

It is another short week for me this week with today being my last day of work for the week. Tomorrow I will be having half the day at work whilst the mobile groomer tackles Sydney's curls then when she is done we will be heading across to the marina where Liam will join us later on when he has finished work.

This will give us a chance to give my Nissan a run which has been sat on the drive for a few weeks now. It doesn't like being sat at the best of times so it is high time it was treated to a trip out. The trip to Lincoln should do it some good and give it a good clear out. It does mean we will have two cars at the marina bit sometimes needs must.

Back on the Wagon

Sadly after all of our hard work last year losing weight we have both kind of fallen of the wagon. So it is time to step up again and get back into the routine.

We could blame any number of things but the truth is we have just gotten lazy and bored with it.

So for the next few months, minus our week in Brittany of course, we will be back to the healthy eating again.

Breakfasts will be back to cereals, lunches whilst we are at work will be back to salad boxes and evening meals will be a fair old mix of meals. Last night it was turkey enchilladas with reduced fat cheese, tonight we have a fish pie with a sweet potato and parsnip topping and tomorrow will I think be a quorn thai curry.

Time to think of some ways to make our favourite meals more healthy.