Boat life

Living on a boat is quite an unusual way to live really. Most people are really excited when you tell them and have lots of questions, like, is it cold?
It started snowing last night and the ground was covered in a white crispy frost by the morning. It was breath-takingly beautiful and you could see your breath being taken away. Once you are up though and dressed in lots of colourful layers and running around gathering twigs and coal for the fire you soon warm up! Now it's deliciously toasty and is starting to feel like the cold nights are drawing in. Nearly all the leaves have fallen, a techni-coloured dreamcoat for the mooring birds to peck away at.
There's one particular duck that makes me laugh every morning. She has a really funny quack, just like she's laughing at something ridiculous. Everytime I try to record it though, she of course doesn't laugh, but maybe one day I'll capture it, it guarantees a giggle and always a response in unison from us boat-dwellers!
It's half-term at the moment so all the kids that usually just hang out on Friday and Saturday nights throwing stones, rocks, beer bottles, cans and not least huge amounts of raucous abuse are out in force. They really are the only downside to living here. It's not just us that are annoyed by them though, all local residents nearby seem to be lodging complaints, so soon enough they'll be moved on - hopefully before they break another window for that is a job and a half to fix on a boat!
I've made some swede, carrot and sweet potato mash, fried red onions, beetroot, garlic, ginger and leek and lightly grilled some tuna fish for supper, which is going to be enjoyed very soon...

A recipe for Love!

I've spent the day cleaning the boat ~ as my sister said this morning, as we Skyped away, 'cleanliness is next to godliness', something our mother used to say when we were little. Not that I'm feeling godly at all now, I'm just full and happy, having made a hearty stew with the vegetables I bought back from a show I was working at over the weekend. I was opposite trestle tables full of prize winning leeks, pumpkins, carrots, flower arrangements ~ technicolour bliss to the eyes it was and I would have been silly not to bring some home to sample. I even managed to carry a beautiful big yellow chrysanthemum which is on the top of the boat now and I'm hoping the squirrels don't decide to eat it in the morning.
My love had been out all day and so I prepared this stew: ~

One hugely ginormous leek
few cloves of garlic
three carrots
half a swede
seasoning
pearl barley ~ had to boil it up, wash it, simmer for 1hr 15mins

some slices of german salami, various varieties and nan bread.

Yum yum!