The miracle of Wonder Foam

I'm actually quite ashamed of showing these pictures. Its true what people say, you never see whats under your nose. Well yesterday Ian had a bit of a mishap. He had just poured himself a glass of white wine and placed it on our table beside our chairs. On the back of his chair was one of those lumberjack type shirts and as he swung the chair to get up and get his dinner, the sleeves of the shirt caught his glass and showered the table, chairs and the rug with wine. The glass shattered leaving loads of tiny pieces all over the floor. Big panic to clear up the shrouds of glass before the dog walked on them so the cleaning up of wine was left until we had made absolutely sure that no glass was left. This meant that the rug was last to be wiped and although we couldn't see the wine stains on it I thought that giving the rug a good wash in the morning was probably a good idea. So here are the pictures that had made me cringe:-



I hadn't realised the rug was as dirty as this!!



 Many years ago I had seen on TV a product called No Wet Wonder Foam. ( Can be bought from Amazon or ebay considerably cheaper then the advert! ) Thankfully I had some on the boat so I decided to give it a go. 'Wow' was all I could say. It is the most amazing carpet cleaner I think I have ever seen. There is no need to wet the carpet or rug just pour in a capful to 16 fl oz water and agitate till it produces a foam and that's all there is to it.
 

I just used the foam on a sponge and rubbed that over the rug.





Almost like new!

 After leaving it for an hour, I vacuumed the rug and then it was back on the floor as good as new.

Marvellous. I can now hold my head up high again.



Spray, Spiders and alarm testing.

What a relief. I'm no longer a penguin!!! I can actually walk okay again although taking Jade out this morning was a feat in itself. I seemed to take one step forward and two steps back! The wind blowing across the river was horrendous. It was enough to take ones breath away. One boat did make it onto the Erewash this morning but I don't suppose it had an easy time. The river is up again so trying to cut across the fast flow, as well as battling with the wind so they could make the sharp left turn into the lock approach, would have been a bit hairy.


Choppy waters!!

  Its relatively sheltered here by the dock although we still get buffeted every now and then.Our biggest problem is the fumes from our chimney. The wind seems to swirl around us forcing the smoke back down the flue so every time we open the fire door to put on more wood or coal it comes right back at us. We tested our Carbon Monoxide alarm yesterday because you never know what might happen during the night. Thankfully its working well so no fear of us dying in our sleep!!! Its probably a good time for all boaters to give their alarms a quick test as most of us have coal or wood fires. You read of some awful stories about family's dying needlessly. A quick press of the button is all that is needed.

Ian has finished putting the eyelets into the fabric of our top box. He decided to utilise one of the docks work benches as a table to bang the eyelets in. So he took my fishing stool from my locker to  give him a comfy chair to sit on while doing it. As he opened the stool there right in the middle was the biggest spider I have seen for a long time. Thank goodness it wasn't me taking the chair out. I'm a real wuss when it comes to spiders. It all stems back to when I was about 8 and admiring  a huge spider on the hall ceiling. The spider then went and dropped right on top of me. I ended up having hysterics and since then that is my biggest phobia.

Anyway I digress. I wish now I had bought more material to do the back box as I think this fabric looks better then the old stuff. Hopefully the stall holder at Long Eaton market will still be trading next Saturday so I can purchase another couple of mtrs. All I need to do then is to strip the bed, get Ian to lift the mattress out of the way, move the bed base to one side  and then get to where I have stored  my sewing machine and cottons. Simples!

Trip to the Lake District


We had a great journey up to Cumbria without any sort of drama  No hold ups , no burst tyres and no engine faults and the journey from Trent Lock to Keswick took us just over 3 hours. Weather was a bit iffy in places with spray being the main problem but once we got to Thirlwell viaduct the sun came out, mist lifted and we were greeted by some of the most spectacular views to be seen from the M6.

 

Scales Farm Guest House.

Ian's brother, Alan and sister-in law Angela, owns a guest house that is situated just off the A66 between Keswick and Threkald. There were no guest so, as no rooms had been let for that week we were able to have room 3 on the ground floor ( they have 6 in total ) which is ideal for owners with dogs as well as great for the disabled, as the front door leads straight to the outside car park. Very handy for taking Jade for her walk first thing. After getting settled in, out came my banana cake which went down very well with a cup of tea and then after a bit of a natter we all decided to take the dogs  Josh, Alan's Flat coat, and Jade for a walk. As the guest house has easy access to the fells, we all set off for what I thought would be a nice amble across the valley. Now unless you are one of those hardy people that walk for miles up and down dale you will realise that us boaters do most of their walking on the level.  We started off on the straight but soon the ground steeped sharply downward and then upward, and then downward again and then upward ( you get the picture )and by now my calf muscles were crying out for mercy. After several miles I was never more thankful to see Scales Farm come back into sight. Then Alan told us that 'tomorrow would be a good day to walk round Buttermere Lake'. Groan!!!! Maybe the weather would turn bad, I thought, and we wouldn't be able to go walking after all. Sightseeing by car would be good. Ian told me not to be such a wimp and the exercise is just what the Doctor ordered.  Its okay for him to say that. He hasn't had my leg problems to contend with!!!!

View from the back of the guest house. The Llamas belong to their neighbour and are useful in keeping the grass short.

So next morning dawned bright and sunny ( dam!! ) and there was absolutely no excuse not to do the walk around the lake. Alan assured me that it was very easy going and it was only 4.5 miles round the perimeter. Eek!!!


Buttermere Lake



Jade and Josh



Josh

 Well I needn't have worried after all. I thoroughly enjoyed the walk  It wasn't all on the flat. There were loads of stone obstacles and tree roots to manoeuvre round but my muscles seemed to behave themselves with only the occasional twinge to remind me of my over exertion the day before. Jade loved it. Thought she was in dogie heaven and having Alan's dog Josh to play with made her happier then we have seen since Judy died.

Angela, Alan and Ian

One of the many trees that came down in the December storms




The two brothers striding out.

 



View from Honiton Pass.

It took us about 2 hours to complete the circuit and, as there was a lovely cafe by the car park, we all felt we deserved to have a sit down and a welcoming serving of hot Leek and Potato soup with a roll, It was only when I went to get up that I suddenly realised my legs wouldn't work properly. In fact if you can imagine a penguin's waddle that was all I could do. Both calves had cramped up and I had to be helped back into the car. How embarrassing!!! That night we went out for a meal at the WHITE HORSE PUB. The added bonus was that it is right next door to the guest house so no driving involved. Thankfully it wasn't far to walk so my aching muscles only had to support me for a short while. The meal was excellent and very good value for money.  Yesterday morning we awoke to find that snow had fallen on top of the far hills. Thankfully it was only raining by us even though we appeared to be on the same level as the snow line. So our journey home was a very wet and dismal affair. No views to admire this time as all the hills and mountains were shrouded in mist. It took us a lot longer to return to the boat but thankfully it was only due to heavy rain and spray and not to any major holdups. The boat was freezing but what with the diesel heater and the log fire we soon had a pleasant glow about us.
 As I'm writing this back at the boat I can still only waddle about. I really need to do more exercise and am seriously considering using our internal steps and doing as many ' step ups' as possible!!!!
I have posted more  pictures on my other blog. Jameison Afloat2



View from our bedroom window Friday morning. Stunning!



Banana Cake

I said yesterday that I was at a loss as to what to do today. As we are heading up to the Lake District tomorrow to see Ian's brother I decided that I would bake a cake to take up with me. Ian was a bit miffed that I wasn't going to make one for us, so to keep him happy I made a double batch. This is a very yummy cake and a must if you have any bananas that have 'gone soft' so here is my receipt:-

1.  2 large or 3 small bananas
2. 8oz Self Raising Flour ( Plain will do but add 3 tsp of Baking Pdr to the flour )
3. 6oz sugar ( I use granulated )
4. 4oz soft marg or butter
5. 2 med to large eggs
6. a good handful of mixed fruit
7. 2Lb loaf tin greased and lined

Light oven gas 4
Mash Bananas until it resembles a yellow mush
Cream marg and sugar
Add eggs a small amount at a time. I add a tablespoon of the flour each time to stop mix from curdling.
Add the mashed bananas and mixed fruit.
Fold in the flour
Pour into the greased and lined 2Lb loaf tin
Place in oven for about 20 mins then turn down gas to mark 2 for a further 30 - 40 mins. Pierce cake with a skewer at the end of the cooking time. When it comes out clean its done. As the oven temperature can vary  from boat to boat, keep checking until cake is cooked.
While the cakes were cooking I took Jade out for her walk. We headed off to Sawley and found a load of BW's Pans tied up ready, no doubt, to be utilised where needed. Not a sign of any boat movement even though the ice was very thin above the lock. It's just to cold to travel.

On our way back a buzzard landed on the post nearby. Just as I took the photo, by sheer fluke, a gull put in an appearance so I got a 2- 4- 1 picture. Bonus!!



A small teaser. Can you see what's in the picture?

I arrived back at the boat just in time to remove the cakes from the oven. Good job too as I'm sure giving burnt offerings to Alan and Angela would not have gone down well! The rest of the afternoon I cleaned and packed for our 3 day visit away. Took Jade out again just after 4.15pm and luckily my camera was in my pocket because I don't think I have ever seen the sun as red as this.

Spectacular!

 

So no more blogging for a few days. I hope to have some good photos to show when we return on Saturday.

Ice breaking.............by Canoe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I bet he didn't reckon on this when he came up from the river.



New Topbox cover

Another really lovely cold day. -4 and more ice forming on top of yesterdays freeze. If it continues like this we might be iced in for weeks as we were last January. Walking Jade along the towpath I noticed that some interesting patterns had formed on the frozen canal. I think its some sort of muddy liquid on top of the ice causing the strange shapes. Hopefully its not some sort of pollutant!

  On getting back to the boat I was horrified to see this staining all over the roof.

It quickly occurred to me that this must be tar from the chimney. At the moment we are burning loads of wood. Some is the rotten edging from around the garden at the bungalow. I'm pretty sure that this is the culprit although we do have some staining on a daily basis but never quite like this. I wonder if anyone reading this will have any ideas of how we can stop this from spreading along the roof. The chimney is double lined so I honestly thought it would stop the problem. Obviously not!! As Ian had already left for Kegworth to top up our diesel cans ( still at 85p a Ltr ) I decided to get rid of the stuff rather then leave it for Ian to see on his return. Luckily the roof had a thick layer of ice over it and this in turn protected the paintwork so it was relatively easy to wipe it off.

 As I hadn't much planned for today I thought it would be a good opportunity to replace one of the top boxes cover with 2 mtrs of waterproof material purchased from Long Eaton market last Saturday.

It must be nearly 4 years ago when I made this cover and it has served us well all this time but as it was looking decidedly sorry for itself, it had to go.So while we were sitting here on our mooring plugged into the shore line,I thought now was as good a time as any to get out the sewng machine.


Concentrating hard!!!



Just needs the eyelets to finish.

Another job out of the way! Not sure what I will do tomorrow. Ian always finds things to do but as I cant fish because of the frozen canal I'm struggling to find something to keep me occupied. 

Devastating News

I was devastated to here of the news that Sue and Richards ( Indigo Dreaming ) lovely greyhound Lynx passed away yesterday. I have followed their dog blog ever since I came across it ages ago. Lynx's humorous musings of the exploits of  Lou, Ty and of course himself had me in stitches.  Lynx you will be missed by us all.

No longer being used as a pin cushion!!

 Yesterday, I  finally had the last of my 3 spinal injections. This time it bl.......dy hurt!!! They struggled to find the right spot by my coccis and then after inserting the needle discovered that they couldn't inject the steroid. I was given a local anaesthetic, but for some reason I still felt everything that was going on.  They then decided that the needle was blocked and had to insert another one and start the whole process yet again.  By now I was writhing around in agony, and I was never more thankful when they finished.  They then slapped a plaster on the injection site and made me lay on my side for 30 minutes while the steroid did its work. Getting back to the car was a bit of a nightmare as my legs didn't feel as if they belonged to me, and once the local anaesthetic wore off sitting was very painful. Ian made me do nothing for the rest of the day except watch films from our DVD collection. He even made me dinner. How good was that!!! So now I wait until end of March until my appointment comes through. In the meantime I'm continuing to improve, so fingers crossed that I'm well on the way to complete recovery.

 I was rudely awakened early, this morning, by a certain boat's unmistakable loud engine as it made its way past us. Sure enough, it was the camo boat again. Why does it have to travel at night and with no lights on to boot!! Anyway, Jade started making sounds that she wanted to go out, so I got dressed, grabbed dogie bag's, (Jade can poo for Britain) camera and then stepped out into what was a magical sight. There was frost covering everything, and the mist coming from the Erewash junction onto the Trent was a sight to see. Then, looking the other way, I noticed the moon reflecting onto the almost calm river. Definitely worth getting up for. If it hadn't been for 'that boat' I would have missed this early morning delight, so there is something to thank the camo boat for after all.

Just a tiny mistake by BW.

I have finally got my view again now that Paul has moved his boat. He has pulled back to a mooring behind us. I can understand why he didn't want to leave his boat there because some boaters try using the dock entrance as a winding hole even though its NOT a designated turning point and, as he's only just painted it, I don't think he wants it scratched.



This is where the boats try winding. If this was a winding hole then why hasn't BW put up a sign stating that fact and why allow boats to moor opposite on bollards with 48 hour mooring signage??

  Anyway the first thing I noticed was the gate opposite by the facility block had been repaired ( the one where the wood was being removed for firewood as in a previous post)

That afternoon  Bw arrived closely followed by 2 men from a waste disposal company. The septic tank is kept behind the new locked gate and I assumed they were going to see if the tank needed emptying. Mister BW brought out his set of keys and proceeded  to undo the padlock Well he fiddled for a couple of minutes trying several keys all of no avail. The other two guys got fed up with waiting and managed to get through a gap further along the fence line.



Another gate destroyed! This must be where the 2 guys got through.

  Meanwhile away went the guy from BW back to his van to see if he had anymore keys to try. He came back empty handed. Now its great that the fence and gate has been made good but you would have thought BW would get the correct padlock so all their keys fit!! Quite whats going to happen when the tank does need emptying is anyone guess.

Busy doing nothing

At the moment nothing much is happening. As the river was in full flood yesterday we saw no boat movement but its surprising how quick the Trent goes down. This morning the depth gauge by the lock shows to be very close to the green and already two boats have made it onto the Erewash. I took Jade for one of her favourite walks across the fields. She must have some sixth sense because whereas on previous walks she just hops of the boat and trots off down the towpath, this time she hunted high and low for her ball and sat waiting to see which direction I would take.


Nearly caught it mum.

 We spent a pleasant 15 minutes playing catch and Jade continued to drop the ball at my feet expecting me to throw it. She never seems to want to stop, but I called a halt when I thought she might collapse through exhaustion. Then as I proceeded along the track into the next field, there laying in the grass with no one in sight, was a trolley complete with water bottles. It looked to be almost new, but where the owner was is anyone's guess. I'll go back later to see if its gone. If It's still there I might give our local bobby a ring to see if he can solve the mystery.


As I made my way back to our boat I took this picture. It made me chuckle. Looks as if the pigeon is lording it over the sparrows.

Now my men' Let's have a bit of COOOoperation!

Steve Cropper pays a visit

We had not long returned to our boat this morning when there was a knock on the window and who should be standing there large as life, Steve Cropper. He came to thank me personally for the information on the Camo boat. Anything that can help with getting this boat from the canals was very welcome to BW and as the Police as been very aware of the situation for a long time now, Steve feels sure its only a matter of time before the men on board can be dealt with.

I mentioned that on Wednesday night we would be staying with our son in Milton Keynes and I sort of wondered where we would be sleeping. If anything it was worse then we imagined, as on entering his house we were greeted by steel poles and scaffolding planks holding up the ceiling in his hall. The heating was on but all the heat was being lost through the gap in the living room window so it was freezing. All the furniture had been covered so there was nowhere for us to sit other then the chairs in the kitchen. Going upstairs to check on the sleeping arrangements I found to my horror that the only room that had any space and actually contained a bed was in Colin's bedroom. The spare room was a building site and the children's rooms were piled high with furniture. While I was upstairs I thought I would use the loo in his bathroom. Imagine the shock when I opened the door to find that full of furniture as well!!  Thank goodness he has a downstairs toilet!!! In the end it turned out okay as Colin managed to find Oscars mattress from somewhere amongst the pile of furniture in Oliver's room and laid it on the landing upstairs for him to sleep on and letting us have his bed.  That night the wind strengthened and a hooley of a storm blew up. Colin just happened to be lying under the loft trap and because part of the roof is open through to the extension, all he kept hearing was the trap door lifting and dropping as the wind got under it. I don't think he got much in the way of sleep as he feared for his life at one point when he felt sure the door was going to come crashing down on top of him. We all made it safely through the night and the journey to Eastbourne that morning went without a hitch. The funeral service was lovely and the chapel packed with all Norma's friends. After the wake we went back to the crematorium to choose the plaque and rose bush and decide where both Dad and Norma's ashes were to be scattered. That will occur at a later date. We set of back to Milton Keynes at around 4.30pm. That was a bad move because the M25 reputation as a giant car park came true. What should have taken us 2 1/2 hours took us nearly 4 and once back at Colin's, and as it was getting late, we made the decision that staying another night in a builders yard wouldn't be to bad after all. Out came Oscars mattress again but this time there was no wind to worry Colin and a good nights sleep was had by all.

I must just finish this blog by telling you of 2 things that came as a big surprise. In this day and age men and women work together in all manner of jobs that were once thought to be very masculine. Well this morning on leaving Colin's the builders turned up 1 of which was a women complete with hard hat and steel toecaps and then this after noon the lads at the dock reported a fault with their phone line and who should turn up from BT but a lady. She did no more then shimmy up the telegraph pole and fix the fault!!!

Last trip to Eastbourne

Tomorrow is the funeral of Norma my Step mum. We have decided to stay at our son Colin's tonight in Milton Keynes. Our Daughter in Law, Iwona and Grand kids Oscar and Oliver, are still in Poland visiting her parents so it seemed logical that we would take Colin down with us. The only downside to this arrangement is his East Wing build. The extension has caused massive disruption with furniture crammed in every available space. This means we may be sleeping on the kitchen floor!!!! As the house no longer holds any heat due to plumbing issues I think the thermals will also be packed. Probably a good job Iwona is still away. Anyway, the funeral is at 12.15pm tomorrow and after the wake we will choose the site to scatter both Dads and Norma's ashes together. They both loved orange roses so it seemed fitting to chose a rose bush of that colour and place a plaque with a small inscription for both of them. In my heart I'm glad they died close together because they loved each other very much. It's an end of an era for all of us.

Gales & Steve Cropper reply to my email

Wow what a night! Wind and rain kept us rocking all night ( but for all the wrong reasons if you know what I mean). It has not been much better throughout the day and for some reason smoke from our fire is blowing in from not only the vents but every time we open the fire door to add more fuel!!! It's like a peasouper fog in here, and as soon as we try to open the windows to get rid of it more comes in. I must check the batteries on our smoke alarm as so far they haven't gone off!! I did manage to take Jade out for her walk during a brief lull and taking the path along the river was probably not such a good idea. I battled against the wind all the way to Sawley and trying to get decent pictures on my camera was extremely difficult (I couldn't keep the camera still in the gales!!) Anyway I did manage a few so here is my photo contribution for today.

Ducks had had enough and took refuge on the pontoon



Even the Canada Geese and Gulls flocked together to sit it out




A few enjoying the puddles




Proper waves with white horses. Glad I'm not travelling the Trent today.

 John and Mike returned to the dock today from their Christmas break. One of the first things they did was to move Paul's boat out of the dock and breast it up against us.

 So now I have lost my view and can no longer report on any issues happening at the facilities. As you may be aware I reported the vandalism of the men from the camo boat to Steve Cropper. This is what I wrote:-

Dear Steve,
We are on Kingfishers dry dock moorings with our boat Freespirit. Yesterday the infamous camo boat  (unlicensed) arrived with some very dubious characters. One of these characters walked over to the fence and ripped one of the panels away from the post. As there appears to have been some damage done to the fence previously I feel it's only a matter of time before all the panels are taken for firewood. I appreciate that this is not a high priority but if this vandalism isn't stopped now it won't be long before BW will have an even bigger bill to pay out. I have enclosed photos in case you want to take this matter further
Yours sincerely
Irene Jameison.

His reply came today:-
 
 Hello Irene

I have returned to work today after an extended leave period over Christmas
Thank you reporting the incident we are well aware of the said boat and are dealing accordingly
I will liaise with the Police regarding reported vandalism
Will be in touch if further details required


Thanks again


Steve C


Steve Cropper
Enforcement Officer
British Waterways
The Kiln
Mather Road
Newark Notts NG24 IFB
Mobile 07710175412
Office 01636 704481
email steve.cropper@britishwaterways.co.uk

So sometimes it pays to report these issues. Hopefully the camo boat will soon be put out of action.

Just one of those days.

Today was one of those days when nothing had been planned, and yet as soon we had finished breakfast we decided to tackle the cratch cover again. We seem to be forever trying to get rid of the mould on the inside.( see post) I know its lack of ventilation but we don't seem to have any answer to it. At the IWA festival we found a stall selling canopy cleaners, Miracle Leisure Products, who swore blind that this would definitely get rid of our problem. So as the rain had cleared and the day promised to be sunny and dry we set to with  brush and cleaner and gave the inside a good scrubbing.


Notice the line prop!! The garden rake comes in useful!

It looked good after we had finished but as it was still wet when we put it back, only time will tell once it has dried.

I decided to take Jade for a decent walk after we had finished and headed off towards the lock. The last few days the river has been up and down like a yo yo and a mountain of wood and other debris had accumulated at the approach to the lock.

Not really what you want round the prop on entering the river.

 Jade had a fabulous time running in the fields amongst the cow poo but thankfully she didn't do her usual trick of trying to roll in it! Once back at the boat the cleaning bug had well and truly hit and I pulled all the chairs, tables, rugs away from the sides and washed all the flooring. Jade had added to the general dirt by not wiping her paws but I got my own back by spraying her bed with pet deodoriser. That didn't go down at all well with her as she refused to go back into her bed until the smell had worn off. What is wrong with the pleasant fresh fragrance as stated on the bottle? Just because it smells strongly of disinfected is no reason to wrinkle ones nose at it. She did eventually return but made sure her head hung over the side.
I wonder what tomorrow will bring. We will just have to wait and see.

Happy New Year to you all.

To all fellow bloggers out there. May 2012 bring you everything you could wish for.

We had a fabulous night last night, As soon as we arrived at Christine's out came the booze. Colin arrived 30 minutes later without wife and kids ( Iwona, Oscar and Oliver are still in Poland visiting her family) The beers and wine were poured, the nibbles appeared and after Josh was safely tucked up in bed, out came the games. First Mexican Train ( a sort of Dominoes came ) then Uno and finally, after toasting the New Year in with Champagne while watching the amazing London fireworks on BBC 1, out came the poker for a spot of good old gambling. Then Kev, Colin and Ian cracked open the first of 2 bottles of Jack Daniels that was drunk that night. Us ' girls' stayed on the wine but even we had almost finished the second bottle of red before we called it a night. Before we knew it it was 3 am. Christine and I couldn't stay the distance. ( mind you losing all our poker chips didn't help. Good job it wasn't for real money. Apparently I haven't got 'The Poker Face!! whatever that means!) The lads eventually staggered drunkenly to bed at 5 am. Then to add insult to injury the baby in the terrace house next door started crying, which in turn woke Josh who decided that the adults had had enough sleep and it was time to wake up. Time was 7 am!!! Groan!  Christine managed to persuade Josh that it was to early to get up so all in all we managed another couple of hours sleep. After a hearty breakfast of bacon sarnies we left Christine and Kev clearing up the mountain of debris left in our wake ( getting our own back on all the years we had to do it for them!!) and, as Ian had drunk such huge quantities of J D, I decided that it would be much better if I drove back to the boat.  I have a whole year to brush up on my 'Poker Face' for next New Year Eve celebrations.so look out son, I might even beat you yet.