Sunday 7/12/14 to Sunday 21/12/14
Monday 8/12/14
Yesterday morning, after walking to the Post Office for the paper,
turned into a normal Sunday for us, with a walk to the club and a relaxing
afternoon.
Once upon a time, much like the rest of the UK, we had a roast dinner
on a Sunday. But, once we bought the boat that changed to just a snack, because
we felt that having spent lunchtime in the pup and supping a couple of pints
and snacking on crisps and Mini-Cheddars, we didn’t really need a full blown
meal in the evening.
So, on Sunday evenings; much to the dismay of my brother Alan, we’re
just as likely to buy a pizza at the Co-op when we leave the club or, as we did
yesterday evening, have a plate of cheesy chips.
Back in the good-old-days it would have been a few pints at the pub
with Alan, followed by a full blown dinner and stomach at about 3pm, followed
by a long snooze in the armchair. We are now far more relaxed about the
‘traditional’ Sunday, and we feel all the better for it.
Today we’ll be taking the bus into Rugby again, where we’ll try once
again to find Wifey a new pair of boots. She has boots for when we’re cruising,
and for generally walking the dog, but she wants calf-length ones for those
times when she goes for long walks across muddy fields, which is a good enough
reason for me not buying them also. Poor old Alex has no say in the matter!!
Tuesday 9/12/14
Brrrr! It’s blooming cold this morning and we’re driving over to
Daventry this morning, which means we’ll have to wait until we know the roads
are safe. The trip from Crick takes us along a long but well used lane, so it
should be OK.
Once again we’re venturing out to get Wifey a pair of boots. We called
into a couple of shops in Rugby yesterday, but still can’t find boots that
don’t slip on the heels. One shop assistant suggested heel pads, which we
should find at a decent outdoor clothing shop, and there’s one such in
Daventry. If that’s no good we’ll have to go to the retail park at Junction 1,
which is the other side of Rugby.
We didn’t even have time for a coffee in Rugby yesterday, although we
fully intended to. However, just as we started heading towards Brooke’s our bus
came along – running late - and staying for a coffee would have meant waiting
another hour for the next bus.
Wednesday 10/12/14
We took a run over to Daventry yesterday – yet again to find Wifey a
pair of boots that don’t slip at the heels. From the car park it’s just a short
walk across the High Street to the main shops and the Outdoor Clothing shop.
Sadly they didn’t have what we wanted for my Wife’s comfort.
We then decided to walk through to other shops and walk down one street
and up the High Street, and we still couldn’t find a suitable show shop.
However, just as we were about to go back to the car, I noticed another
shop sitting on the corner of the alleyway that we had already walked through
when we started our search. With me so far?
That shop only has a small frontage in that alleyway but, unbeknown to
us, it is quite big inside. What has put us off in the past though, is that
they display their cheapest shoes outside, which doesn’t give the impression of
quality.
Anyway, as a last ditch attempt at finding those elusive boots, we went
inside and, lo and behold, boots that fit without slipping and, at just £24 the
pair, a bargain at that.
I’m having a problem setting up my iPhone for emails. I can access the
provider site, which is Absolute Email but, when I try to log in it doesn’t
recognise my account. I’ve also tried setting it up for direct email but, even
though I had success with my old WiFi unit, it won’t work through the new one.
I’ve called into the O2 shop to see if they can help, but the
supercilious person there is less than helpful. His attitude towards me – and I
don’t believe I’m imagining it – gives the impression that old fogies like me
have no business even owning such a thing.
I’m now debating whether to try the 3 shop instead, after all, it is
their WiFi I’m using.
Thursday 11/12/14
So, after much faffing about with the phone, without success, we took
the bus into town and called into the 3 shop, where the phone worked perfectly
for the Internet, but I was still unable to log in to my account. I’ve since
received a reply from Absolute Email who have given me the correct web address
for logging in. I think I already have that right, but I’ll check to make sure.
Today we have no urgent places to be, so we’ll probably do a bit more
to those flower boxes.
Friday 12/12/14
Well, having nothing better to do with ourselves yesterday, we screwed
all the bits together for Wifey’s flower boxes. Of course nothing ever goes
according to plan, and this job was no different but, apart from one or two
awkward bits, the two boxes went together quite well. All that needs doing to
them before we put them on the roof is to stain them whichever colour Wifey
wants them to be.
I was planning to take a run down to Harlow tomorrow; it’s Alan’s
birthday; but I’ve come down with an infection and am now on antibiotics, so,
no drinking and you can’t celebrate a birthday without a drink or three. Not to
worry though, I’ll still get there before Christmas and we can make up for lost
time.
Today is shopping day and we’ll be off to Sainsbury’s later this
morning.
Saturday 13/12/14
Our morning started off very cold and frosty and my email experience
wasn’t up to much either. I received two emails from Mail Delivery System mailer-daemon@kundenserver.de that are obviously from a German source. They appear to be telling me
that I sent those messages to myself. However, since I haven’t heard from my
RAF pal Alan in over a week; which is not like him at all; I can only assume he’s
having problems with his email. I’ve emailed his son Ellis, who just so happens
to be something of an expert with computers, to ask if he knows what’s going
on, but I’m still waiting for a reply. I suspect Alan has changed his service
provider and is having problems. Still, I’ll be posting off his Christmas card
today and will include a note asking what’s going on.
Meanwhile, back at the sane side of life, we’ve been invited to Carol
Singing and Gluhwein – which means Mulled Wine - at the office at 4pm today.
Hopefully this icy weather will have warmed up by then. If not then the wine
will do the trick and warm us up inside.
Sunday 14/12/14
Yesterday was pretty cold, but it was also fine and sunny, which kinda
offsets the cold somewhat. So, apart from our usual walk into the village, we
didn’t do much of anything important.
At 4 pm precisely we set out for the short walk to the marina office
for the Carol Singing and mulled wine and mince pies. When we arrived five
minutes later the singing was in full swing and somebody handed me a song
sheet, so I collected our wine and pies and prepared to join in, as you do.
The singers had an accordionist with them and, just as Sheila and I
were about to join in the next Carol, he wrapped up his instrument and prepared
to leave and then the gentleman who handed me the song sheet, came back to
collect it. We assumed from this that the party was over and so we made our way
back to the boat.
I have to say that I was prepared for a good half hour or so of
communal singing, but that wasn’t to be. What a shame!!
Tuesday 16/12/14
Our dog is a loony!!
At days end, after Sheila has taken Alex out for his last walk of the
day, I prepare for the following morning and, at the same time, take Alex’s
next morning meal out of the cupboard, along with a couple of biscuits for when
I settle him down for the night.
As soon as he comes back from his walk he starts sniffing around for
those biscuits; I think his whole life is ruled by food.
Anyway, I never leave the biscuits where he can reach them, but I do
vary the place in which I put them, just to see if he can sniff them out, which
he invariably does. Last night I placed them on top of the display cabinet,
which is immediately in front of my armchair. And I waited!!
So, along comes Alex and he stars sniffing around until he locates the
biscuits, and this is where his attitude changes. Rather than sit on the floor
beneath the biscuits, he starts leaping up at them, which was quite a comical
sight. Sadly, since I really wasn’t prepared for this lunatic behaviour, I
didn’t have a camera ready, but tonight I will and, hopefully, I’ll get a
couple of good shots, which I will include in this blog.
Yesterday afternoon as I was walking Alex, I came across an engineer
who was just loading his van, ready to leave. Just out of curiosity I stopped
and asked him what he thought about our current water problem. After a lengthy
explanation and a bit of a discussion, he pointed to the water pump as the
culprit, rather than the Expansion Tank, which was what we were coming to
believe, was the problem. It seems that the Sureflow Pump is so unreliable
these days that he always replaces them with Jabsco Pumps. Apparently the
Cut-Off Switch within the pump body is, since they upgraded their pumps, prone
to breaking down. Hence the reason our pump continues to run on after turning
the tap off.
So, first thing this morning we’ll be taking a run over to the
Chandlery for a new pump. I might even be able to fit it before I go for my
appointment with the Practice Nurse.
Wednesday 17/12/14
Yesterday morning we trotted off to the chandlery in Braunston and
bought a new Jabsco Water Pump. However, being the chicken-hearted pair that we
are, we didn’t fit it straight away, because we would rather wait until we have
a whole day to spare. With our luck, if we tried changing the pumps over late
in the day, we would regret it; far better to have all the time in the world
and be able to call on an ‘expert’ should things go wrong.
Last night when Wifey took Alex out for his late walk, it was raining
quite hard, which put me off trying to photograph him when they got back. Alex
tends to race up and down the boat when he’s had a good soaking, which he
surely did last night. He knew where his treats were though, but he couldn’t be
bothered jumping up for them. I’ll catch him eventually!!
Today Wifey will be taking the bus into Northampton. She has her mind
set on a particular Christmas present for me, and she knows she can’t buy it in
Rugby. I have absolutely no idea what to buy her, and she has no idea either,
which makes my job rather difficult, to say the least. Still, I’m going down to
Harlow on Monday and I just might find inspiration there. Of course, if she can
give me a clue before then, I might just find what she wants. So, during the time
she’s in Coventry I will be practicing on the uke, trimming my beard and
searching for a suitable present on Amazon and eBay. I know, it’s too late to
order, but I can still look out for whatever I find when I’m in Harlow. I could
even look out for it when we go to Rugby tomorrow morning.
Thursday 18/12/14
What a great day yesterday, Wifey left me with Alex while she took the
bus to Northampton, I got in some well-needed Ukulele practice and we cured our
water problem.
As luck would have it, Sheila managed to get an early bus back, so we
had time for lunch and to investigate the fittings on the old water pump.
Having decided that we would be able to fit the new one, she then got down on
her knees and, after much cursing and jiggery-pokery, the new pump was in.
Perfect! No more waiting for the pump to cut in and no more waiting for it to
stop running. We did have to adjust the pressure in the expansion tank, but
that didn’t take long at all.
Another spot of joy came after Wifey had taken Alex for his late walk,
when I managed to photograph him leaping up to his biscuits. In fact he jumped
high enough to grab them, but didn’t have time to do so before gravity took
charge and dropped him back on the floor. Still, you have to give him credit
for trying.
While Sheila was out I also washed my hair and gave my beard a trim.
The Babyliss Trimmer that I have is several years old, but it has done a good
job over the years. Unfortunately, whilst I was trimming the wretched thing
kept cutting out and, after some inspection it seems the lead to the plug that
goes into the unit, has come adrift. So, into Rugby we go today to see if we
can find a new one.
Friday 19/12/14
Into Rugby yesterday to buy a new beard trimmer, which came at about
£18 from Argos, it’s slightly different to the Babyliss one, but has several
attachments, so I shouldn’t have a problem with it.
I’ve been trying to practice on the Ukulele lately, but I find it
totally boring doing so on my own. So, this morning I carried out a Google
search and found a club in Daventry. They meet on Tuesday evenings; in a pub of
course; so I’ll be popping along there after Christmas. I’ve downloaded a
songbook from their website, so I’ll be able to run through some of the songs
before going.
Sunday 21/12/14
I had a hospital appointment yesterday, which prevented me from going
down to see Alan and Val in Harlow. The appointment was for 4PM and although we
arrived very early, I was seen almost immediately. I had thought that I would
be subjected to all kinds of tests on my legs and feet, which are giving me
trouble due to my diabetes. But the meeting with the nurse lasted all of 15
minutes and all she did was check that my feet were warm to the touch.
The nurse also tried to talk me into taking statins, which I find
always make me feel lousy. Not an itch lousy, more a down in the dumps lousy. I’ve
tried several different statins, all of which have the same effect, but I’ll
have another word with our practice nurse later.
Anyway, Christmas is almost upon us and I’ll be popping down to Harlow
tomorrow morning and coming back on Tuesday. Alan has half a turkey crown for
me to bring back, so we won’t have to look around for that when I get back.
Meanwhile, I suppose I’d better post this blog, lest I’m too short of
time to do so later.
All the best for you and yours, enjoy Christmas and have a wonderful
2015.
Dave, Sheila and Alex
No comments:
Post a Comment