Cropredy

The forecast this afternoon was set to get pretty horrid with a named storm coming our way. We could have set off early and climbed up a few locks before things deteriorated but the thin layer of ice across the canal put us off, so instead we stayed in bed for a while as the boat warmed up. Mick then walked to the shop at the bridge for our Saturday newspaper, our first in three weeks!

Tilly was allowed out to come and go as she liked all day as we didn’t plan on going anywhere. A few return visits to the boat and then she came in for her morning snooze on the sofa in front of the stove.

Mick cooked us a breakfast as we’d stocked up at Morrisons. At the moment Morrisons seem to be soaring ahead of other supermarkets in their range of Gluten Free. A couple of options on black pudding and after checking the white pudding we noticed the one stocked is gluten free, even though it wasn’t in the GF isle. White Pudding is an extra treat on our breakfast plates, only normally found at Morrisons. This one however didn’t behave quite like the ones we’ve had before. Mick sliced it up and popped it in the oven as normal, but sadly this pudding should be microwaved or boiled, it just fell apart into a grainyness. It was tasty, but more fine gravel than pudding.

As he plated up our morning feast Mick exclaimed that he’d forgotten the mushrooms! He’d even left a space for them on my plate too, everything was tasty, however we both missed the mushrooms.

The ice was soon broken up by a boat heading for the water point backwards. Lady at the tiller, chap at the bow with a pole to help steer. That reminded us to replace our pole when we reach Braunston, you don’t often need one but when you do, you do! The canoeists had obviously been waiting for the surface to be broken up and they soon came out. Luckily either our position near where they start or the cold meant that they weren’t racing each other which creates the big waves that buffet us about so much.

Whilst at the shop Mick had wanted some bread, but there was only plastic sliced. With a bag of bread flour in the drawer I offered to make him a loaf before it reached 6 months past it’s use by date. As the weather deteriorated outside I kneaded the dough, made space for it on the proving shelf, knocked it back, proved it and then baked it all whilst having to open the door to show Tilly that it was raining. It was horrible out there, why would I want to go out, stupid woman! Tilly tried to persuade the weather to behave whilst sitting under the pram cover, but it disobeyed. We have to say we were expecting a lot lot worse, we’ve cruised in heavier rain recently.

My first loaf of bread in quite a while, it rose wonderfully but that meant the top of it reached the ever so hot ‘zoned’ area of the top oven. Mick being as diplomatic as ever said that it was a good sort of dark brown (verging on black!) and how he really liked it that colour.

Christmas greetings were sent off via the internet, one sock finished another started and the last episode of The Little Drummer Girl watched as we waited for our jacket potatoes to cook in the stove.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1st newspaper in 3 weeks, 12 canoes, 4 hours in that! 3 hours 10 minutes added to my account, 0 mushrooms, 5 hash browns, 1 sausage, 1 bacon, 1 egg each, 1 browned loaf, 2 jackets, 1 sock,