A Windy Weekend

Its been somewhat squally over the weekend but none the less we have enjoyed a brilliant weekend.

On Saturday we were joined by Liam's Auntie and Uncle who made their first visit to Naughty-Cal. It was a little breezy but nothing to unduly worry about and after settling in we set sail to show them the delights of Lincoln City centre before heading back along the Fossdyke to Saxilby where we enjoyed a spot of lunch on board and a few beers and glasses of wine. All too soon it was time to head back to the marina. As we knew it would be very windy on Sunday we called in at the service pontoon on the way back in and filled up with diesel ready for next weekends bank holiday cruise.

Yesterday we never intended to go anywhere. It was far too windy to contemplate taking the boat out safely. We kept waking but dozing back off again so by the time we did eventually drag ourselves out of bed it was just gone ten o clock, almost unheard of for us!

We enjoyed a relaxing morning with a few cups of coffee and some fresh apple juice, before finally getting around to making brunch at midday. We had some nice bread and a selection of continental meats and cheeses left over from yesterdays lunch so I cobbled together some toasted sandwiches using the Diablo toastie maker. They really were very nice and worth the wait. We did eventually manage to get into gear and had an hour or so cleaning the boat, doing the engine checks, checking the raw water strainer and just generally ensuring Naughty-Cal was ready for next weekends run down the Humber.

With everything in place we settled back with a few beers, had a surprise visit from a long lost boating buddy, so enjoyed some more beers and finally settled down to a lovely dinner of haggis with sweet potato and potato, peppered mash. Despite getting up late we were both dog tired by early evening so hit the sack early, we were in bed for 8pm!

Just one last note. I seem to be having problems with the Blogger app on my new phone. Hopefully I can get this sorted by next weekend. It doesnt seem to want to post anything at the minute. Fingers crossed its sorted soon.

Bygone Lincoln

A few photographs that a friend posted on a Facebook Group today for your viewing. All of these scenes show bygone Lincoln City Centre around the Waterside and Stamp End area. A real look back in time and a sense of how busy this waterway once was.

New Phones

So we were both due upgrades on our mobile phone contracts. I was adamant that I was going to wait for the new I Phone 6 to come out to replace my I Phone 4S, whilst Liam was somewhat undecided what to replace his Samsung Galaxy S2 with.

So Monday saw us head to the big Tesco store in Sheffield so that Liam could decide what to get. In the end it boiled down to the Samsung Galaxy S5 or the Sony Experia Z2, both of which are high specification phones and more importantly the S5  is water resistant and the Z2 is waterproof to 1.5m. Liam has killed a few smart phones by getting them wet!

In the end the slightly better specification of the Sony Experia Z2 swayed him and before long he was the proud owner of a shiny black phone. Upon getting it home it became quite apparent that actually this is a very good phone. The screen is very high resolution, the camera is shockingly good for a phone and the processors super quick. 

So impressed was I by it that the next day I ordered myself a white one. Sod the I Phone, the Sony is amazing. So mine arrived yesterday and within an hour or so I was up and running with the phone set up as good as the I Phone 4S ever was yet working the apps much quicker.

So you will have to excuse me if you get some random postings on the blog, Im still getting used to the new phone!

Getting Sorted

It really isnt long now until our next proper trip away on Naughty-Cal. For our extended bank holiday cruise, we have taken an extra day on the Tuesday, we will be heading down the Humber to Hull Marina. 

Until our recent visit to Hull on the way back from Newcastle we had forgotten just how much we enjoy spending time in the city.

But before we can leave we need to make sure Naughty-Cal is ready for action once more. Last weekend we make in roads into filling the fuel tank with 80 litres of the red stuff. This coming weekend we will add another 60 litres which should easily see us to Hull and back before we need to start refuelling again for our week away in October!

Other than refuelling and checking the oil, water and fuel filter it will just be a case of decluttering the cupboards once more and giving her a good scrub from top to bottom. 

This coming weekend we have family coming to visit on the Saturday so last weekend we started the job of cleaning the cabin and cockpit. The rain stopped play on the exterior cleaning but that wont take much more than a half hour on Saturday morning before they arrive. Where we end up taking them will very much depend on the weather, if it is wet or windy it wont be too far!

Beef Cobbler

Remember last weeks vegetable and lentil cobbler?

Well here's a slightly different version I rustled up last night. I used a slightly different mix of vegetables which included garlic, onion, mushroom, celery, bell pepper, mixed lentils and aubergine and added some diced steak. Only a cheap cut of steak as it is slow cooked.

Cooking was much the same long and slow in the oven.

In Again!

Hes been in again!

On purpose this time. He dropped in his favourite baseball cap. He didn't find it either!

It's a bit wet

It's a bit wet on the Fossdyke today. We spent the evening in Saxilby last night and snuck in a quick BBQ. We made an early start this morning though and got back to Burton Waters when the heavy rain started at about 9.30am. Been raining pretty much non stop since with some really very heavy periods of monsoon style rain!

But it's not bothering us. We are safely tucked up on our mooring enjoying a few cans with a pork loin joint cooking to perfection in the slow cooker with some sweet potatoes. Later I will cook up some cabbage and cauliflower to accompany it.

For now we will just relax and watch the soggy world outside with the heating on and a can to hand.