....and the good news is.......

Well, sorry Kev! You are quite right and this blog has been a tad negative lately. The problem is, when things are ticking over nicely I have nothing to blog about, I only blog when things are worth reporting on, either because they are extremely good or extremely bad and just lately, as life sometimes does, more bad than good has been thrown at me. Track back through the posts to see all the amazing trip reports and cruise pictures and all the excellent newsand great things I have reported.

Well this evening, there is some good news!

The gas leak this morning turned out in the daylight to be nothing more serious than a large lump of grit in the thread of the bottle. I cleaned up the olive and screwed it into the new cylinder - more copius amounts of fairy liquid and nothing - no bubbles! I have returned the dodgy bottle and bought a new one. Talking of which, I did manage to get out this morning for the obligatory pump-out trip. Although bitingly cold, blowing a gale and chucking it down - seventy five quid later and the boat was serviced up ready for another 4 weeks, (who said living on a boat was cheaper than a house?!) The arrival back in the marina was an interesting experience but thanks to the upgraded river engine that I decided to have fitted at the build stage of the boat, plenty of power pushed it through the wind and onto the jetty quite nicely even though I do say so myself!

After I had thawed out, John and I decided to go shopping - Christmas shopping!! I managed to get almost all the presents I need which was quite an achievement and even threw in a little something for myself - one of these amazing little machines....

....a Tassimo hot beverage maker. I now have the shakes from one too many cup of coffee but I think I have just about tried all the different types they make and am looking forward to trying the hot chocolate later!

This evening, I decided to put up the Christmas decorations! 2 sets of lights were deemed U/S and traditionally disgarded in the black sack whilst the rest now adorn the boat. The future is bright, the future is LED! Straight out the box from my 'attic', (the storage cupboard with hard to reach corners under my bed around the poo tank!) and they worked first time. Doesn't it look pretty....

....and my little fibre optic tree in the cratch.....

Anyway, that'll do for now. Don't be a stranger Kev, thanks for the message; most boaters hunker down and 'disappear' in the winter - we kind of hibernate amidst our own doom and gloom: stick with me till the summer - boy, that'll make you envious!!

Happy Christmas one and all....