A Different World

As a new day dawns in Burton Waters it has occurred to me that something is missing.

Where is the snow?

Just 50 miles from snowbound Sheffield and there is not a trace of the white stuff.

Not that I am complaining.  The relatively mild weather here means we can crack on with some outside jobs.

Icy Start

Its a slippery, slidey, start to the day here in sunny Sheffield. Yesterdays snow had started to melt but overnight as temperatures dropped well below freezing the roads have developed a nice glass like finish. 

The main roads have been gritted well but venture off these and you may as well be off piste. I should imagine there will be plenty of accidents today, more so then yesterday.

But none of this is going to stop us heading over to the boat tonight. We have a few jobs to be tackling this weekend that really need to be done as we are quickly running out of weekends to get the work done.

This weekend Liam is going to sand down, prime and paint the transom shield, whilst I set about sanding down the antifoul paint in the areas where the yard staff were a bit shy with the pressure washer. We need to ensure a smooth finish for the fresh coats of paint that will be applied in a couple of weeks time.

Other then that it is a simple task of starting the polishing. We are slowly but surely getting there this year. During the month of February we should start to see Naughty-Cal undergo something of a transformation on the outside, ready for her year of cruising ahead.

Again!

Snow again in Sheffield.  The council have not gritted very well this week though.  The roads are treacherous.

Haggis Pie

We were so predisposed with our lamb delivery over the weekend that we completely forgot it was Burns Night on Sunday.

So to make up for it we had haggis last night instead, but not in the usual format.

Instead I made a haggis pie, very similar to a shepherd's pie but made with haggis instead of minced lamb or steak. The topping for this one was mashed parsnip and swede topped off with a sprinkle of grated mature cheddar.

Simply served with garlic and herb wedges and a crispy side salad this was a simple yet tasty meal.

Feeling Sheepish

Well the freezer is now well and truly stocked up with lamb after our delivery of a butchered half sheep on Saturday. The top two drawers of the freezer are bursting at the seams.

The butcher has done a sterling job of portioning up the meat and jointing it to suit our needs. 

On Saturday evening we enjoyed a lovely med style tomato, garlic and lamb casserole slow cooked in the oven long and slow. Then on Sunday one of the leg joints was cooked again long and slow for a fantastic, succulent lamb dinner with the left overs yesterday making a tasty lamb fried rice for my lunch, followed by a quick and easy stew for dinner yesterday after work.

So that is two portions gone with loads more to go. At this rate we will be eating lamb for well over a month!

Birthday Gifts

I received my birthday gift a day early yesterday. A set of Snap On steak knifes.

Now you might think that this is a bit of an odd present but late last year I took interest in these knifes but try as he might, Liam couldn't get a set in time for Christmas, they are not easy to get hold of by all accounts.

But Liam and Karlton the Snap On agent who visits the garage have come up trumps, they found me a set. Cheers guys.

The trouble is, now I know how difficult they were to get hold of and how expensive they were I'm not so sure I can bring myself to actually use them!

Driven Off

One of the couple of jobs we did yesterday was finish taking off the drive.  It is now sat in the garage where Liam works awaiting a full service. It will then be stripped down and reprimed and painted.  It will be like a new drive when it is ready to reinstall.