Several times this week, boating friends have anxiously asked if I’m suffering from withdrawal symptoms or the dreaded itchy tiller syndrome, as we enter our third week moored in one place. When you’ve been used to moving the location for your home and office regularly, seeing new signs and new sights almost every day, staying put can be a bit of a shock to the system.
But because we chose a winter mooring so we could be close to an area we knew well, our lives have been delightfully full. There’s been regular professional work, the opportunity for busy craft fairs indoors, and the chance to catch up with things that can take a bit of organising when we are constantly moving. That means dental appointments, hair cuts for all three of us, as well as a bit of pre-Christmas giving in the shape of blood donation, indulging in festive nails and a night out in the city. It also means we are able to collect a certain special small person from school regularly, watch football matches, take part in school activities, and enjoy being read to as part of homework.
I’ve been hugely grateful this week particularly for being in one place as Boatdog became unwell last weekend and that’s meant interrupted sleep as her insistent need to go out meant I was scrabbling for clothes and a head torch at all hours of the night. (After the first night, I left clothes and a torch within arms reach to speed the process up and enable me to go out in something a bit more substantial than pyjamas, walking boots, and a coat!)
It helped being in one place for continuity of veterinary treatment for what has turned out to be a nasty virus, and cruising with a dog that needs to leave the boat at short notice is never easy so that’s another advantage of being moored up. Boatdog is now fortunately back to her normal self, and I’ve learned that tuna chunks are brilliant for getting pills down a suspicious eater.
The river briefly went out of the red, and we had a flurry of workboats and narrowboats taking advantage of the opening of navigation. We are now firmly back in the red, and as I write, water levels are rising once more. As Storm Darragh looms I’ve battened down the hatches, removed things that might blow away and will be keeping my fingers crossed that our annual multi-generational family Christmas get together won’t be interrupted by a call saying the boat has left our mooring in the storm.
On one of the lovely days of this week, we took a long reverse to the water point. We have regular journeys to the waste disposal points and a fairly constant surveillance of the boats batteries, which are failing fast. We were expecting the new batteries that are on order to appear later this month, but now we’ve been told they won’t be here until some point in January. It’s just one of those things of living off-grid that we now need to nurse the batteries we have for longer. We aren’t getting significant solar for them at the moment so we aren’t nurturing them, reducing drain on them, and being forced to charge them with the engine on an (unusual for us) daily basis.
We are enjoying discovering more of the local history in this area on regular walks, and we have managed something we’ve been longing to do. Finally, we have been signed up officially as Canal and River Trust volunteers. Next week will see us getting our hands dirty seeing the river from yet another perspective.
So we’re managing to keep busy! We hope that this latest storm leaves you (and us) safe.
Pickingupducks 