King’s Marina

A day of more packing. Clothes had a serious edit. Enough pants and socks, pyjamas, a change of clothes should do for a weeks boating. Winter waterproofs left too.

Tilly did her best to assist me. This shelf is empty now, I claim it as mine.

You need to take this, it’s too big and stops me from getting in here!

This box and this one too. That will make me a nice little den. There must be something in the secret passageway too! You need to open that up. And the other way into it too! Brilliant!!!

Unfortunately with all the packing I’d omitted to put enough coal on the fire to keep it going. Kindling on the old coals didn’t work, so I had to start from scratch again. The chimney must be due a sweep.

Bags filled the bed, sofa and much of the floor. It’s amazing now much stuff goes back and forth from the ‘Just in case’ category. I may get a design job, so all my work kit needs to go. Decorating means brushes will be needed. The blankets I had on sale in my Redlocksmakes shop will go to the house and stay there this time for the use of lodgers, better there than under the sofa on the boat. Yarn, some that can stay on dry land, other that might just come in handy knitting socks.

Thankfully Mick arrived with the van mid afternoon. A trolley then spent the next hour or so moving bags and boxes from Oleanna to the van, no wonder it normally takes three car loads. Crates had come from the house, now all the food drawers could be packed. Minimal bits and bobs and tins left on board.

More packing to do in the morning, we could at least sit down and go to bed again.

Bits and bobs needed finishing from the fridge. Time to make a Macaroni cheese to use as much up as possible. 2 rashers of bacon, 3 mushrooms, some beans and broccoli, half a haloumi cheese and some cabbage. These all got heated up and put in the middle of the cheesy pasta. Have to say the beans and haloumi were a very nice added extra.

0 locks, 0 miles, 8 loads to the van, 1 assistant, 2 crates of food, 4 plants and a cat to pack, 1 weeks worth of clothes left, 1 salt and pepper pot, 2 big tins of baked beans, 3rd and 4th balls wound and knitted, 1 Alison!

PS The missing blog emails thing is a mystery. Some people are no longer getting the blog via email, but still appear on the list. Bridget for some reason your email address has vanished off the list, you may need to re follow the blog. Mick’s email was still on the list, but no email, he had to delete himself and then refollow the blog before it would work again. Sorry.