Living the dream on a 47" Narrowboat:

bast

Thank you again for the lovely messages, no never lived on a narrowboat before. I was told i was mad because we didnt try before we brought but hey you are either in it whole heartedly or you arent, well thats my crazy philosophy. Fortunately I love it. If you stop and think and think and worry about every situation you are about to undertake I truly believe you would go mad. Sometimes it works sometimes you end up totally screwed:) But if you never undertake anything new you stand still.

bast

Today we did not have use of the car, bloody son had it So we chugged up to where we thought was a safe spot to leave the cats on board and went shopping... for essentials... bottle of red wine Did two hours of walking and within that time I was able to walk beside the boat and just think... Saw a Heron, he hangs around near us and my god, he is spectacular, I love the way he plonks himself down by the side of the canal, hangs over the water and waits so patiently for the fish to come... When he flies I can imagine the prehistoric creatures that once existed... The quietness of the canal is only spoiled by the ducks quacking or the geese squabbling and boy do those geese quibble with one another... I love it, reflection, time out and a humbling of how great our world is... I have seen some very nasty things with nature, baby ducklings, cygnets being taken by wild minx, a bird being literally taken from the sky by another bird of prey , but its life and although sad much more kinder than our world we inhabit as humans...Hey I am off on one,, and I have seen only kindness thus far on this site to one another...

bast

Modern life I have been so materialistic, the big house, the fancy car, the need for more money, more clothes more shoes... (although to be honest a girl can never have enough shoes even on a boat we can, and we will find space)... Keeping up with everyone ... Then something happens and you find yourself wondering why the hell those things, (apart from shoes) ever mattered... they dont so to give everything up is easy... We drive an incredibly !!!!! car, old and really dreadful, but i am sat inside, I dont see the outside and hey the tank gets us from A to B when it matters so I dont care...I became tired of a complicated world when all I craved was a more simplistic life. And in exciting news our wet room is due for completion, no more washing at the sink We shall be able to shower once again whoop whoopppppp::)

Wordsmith I hear you about the whales, such majestic, amazing mammals, the little girl is gorgeous and I find myself so sad for them...:(

bast

Not a great day in fact quite upsetting... Said goodbye to my daughter she has gone to work abroad for a year, and we will miss her.. We took them out for a meal yesterday paid for on the credit card, which has not been used for ages.. (i know, i know)... But we never go out and it was in-expensive.. and then today, our car which we lent to our daughter cost 371 pounds, which again had to be put on the credit card.. ( Feel a tad bleurgh tonight.. Got drunk last night and so I am also hungover, not great, and I have work tomorrow.. I know I am very lucky to have a job.. I just hate it.. Just sometimes you just cant seem to catch a break..

Lula-Hula

Hugs to you,

cant stop for more as at work but good things will happen too

Back later
xx

bast

Thanks Lula, I dont really think its about the money, everyone has hassles, look at you with your laptop.. Its I think our daughter going, she tells us after this year, next is Hong Kong, and as a parent, you know you dont stifle them. You allow them to live their life, and at 23 she is a grown woman, for gods sake I had married and given birth to her at that age. I think without being pukey or gushing, its just final, its not like uni where they leave to learn, she has moved on, moved out and its just a new phrase within our family, which will soon be the norm, maybe that is what is so depressing lol Anyway we all have our own lives to live....

Good news: tonight my five little ducklings that lost their mam, when quite young, were back
we used to feed them, but they left, but they were back tonight around the boat looking for their bread... They have wholemeal nimble dont want them to get too fat

bast

Wet room nearly finished, grouting to be done tomorrow a shower after nearly a year.... I am not stinky, honest!!!! I have a shower back at the house, british waterways also have a shower room about 3 miles away, and of course we have the sink, but was rather cold washing by it last winter.....

It is getting colder and soon the hunt starts for wood, we used to go collecting Saturdays and Sunday, have this great tree that fell down, probably due to lightening damage, started chopping it last year, but was hard with just the saw.. Trying to talk husband into buying me a chain saw... For some reason he is just not keen, I have no idea why:rotfl:

During last winter it was so cold the wood burning stove was never off day and night... We didnt just use wood in the end we used supatherm coal, about 7.20 a bag, excellent value... And the boat was really toasty and cosy....

Lula-Hula

Hello again,

great that your ducklings are back - kind of you to watch their health for them too :rotfl:

Hurray for a wet room :T

I understand about your Daughter. My eldest is also 23 & when she moved out although I did encourage it at the time as our relationship was somewhat t'ense' I honestly believed she'd be back again at some point.

She's proved me wrong though & I know at times things have been hard for her but she's her mother's daughter (stubborn) & I'm really proud of her determination to go it alone. She works shifts & so does her boyfriend so it's not easy finding time to meet up & we tend to communicate mainly by text. Having my youngest still at home helps, but I'm very aware that it wont' be long before she has her own life too.

Hopefully you'll find yourselves so busy with doing up the boat & being moneysavers that the time will pass quickly & she'll soon be home again. Doesn't stop you worrying though .

I've never heard of supertherm coal, will bear that in mind. I've been thinking about your lack of freezer & how tricky that must be. I wonder whether this might be of any use ? I have one myself as when I had my kitchen redone a couple of years back I wanted a much smaller one for just DD & myself that fits under the counter & you really can get a decent amount in the freezer bit .

I was reading boaty blogs the other night & had no idea just how far some people travel, or even can travel on British waterways. We just pottered up & down a short stretch of river close to work & our social life.

I'm off to gaze at floating homes now & dream of the tranquil life.

bye for now

bast

Ahhh Lula we seem to have the same understanding and respect of our daughters, .. Our girl is a stubborn one and I blame this stubborn attitude totally on her dad : who begs to differ with me... He says she is the same as you she will "cut her nose off to spite her face" lol... She is headstrong and you, and I, were probably the same. I left home at 17 due to differences with my parents, and a boy .... At the end of the day you just have to let them live their lives.. The problem is as you get older you have made those mistakes, met those bad boys and these girls of ours dont always want to listen to their mam... And rightly so.... You just have to sometimes be there to pick up the pieces... That is not to say that they cant make good judgements... I think sometimes I just get scared for her lol....

Thank you for the freezer idea.. as you know everything is dominated by our batteries for electricity, with the generator on the engine to top that up... the batteries rule our lives.. and the diesel that we use provides all this, at a cost... So the fridge has a tiny freezer because it is so efficient... we use a travel iron, a travel hair dryer... electrical items are used at a price.. What we want are solar panels and a wind generator ... but this will take money and time to get this money.... I believe you have an allotment god I am jealous... and the camper van nooooo I want one..... !!!! We had a clapped out old vw beetle for years and the husband still yearns for the spilt screen camper v w van... and so do I

kissjenn

Bast, just love this thread and the life you've chosen. Well done to Mr B and yourself for taking the leap and helping out the kids in the future.

The boats always look so peaceful, I think I should add a wee holiday on one to my (not yet in existence) list of things I'd like to do next year.

Now I'll sit and wait on the next installment