Now as you know, I’m not one to complain… Well not really… Well ok then sometimes… But it has to be bad, & it is, this flu cold thing that’s been floating about between family & friends recently finally got me. I woke up in the night coughing, sneezing (& cursing), I mean WHY NOW? Honestly I’ve never had a cold for about 2 years, so again WHY (the hell) NOW???
Dave went to see his family for a Christmas get-together today, he took Liam & Maddy with him, but not me (sob) I mean the idea was that I should’ve been sat in the passenger seat of the car. But I had no choice other than to keep my bum firmly planted on the settee like a zombie surrounded by all the useless aids for colds & the like…
Anyway he came back with a couple of pictures:
Liam & his brother Danny (who got married in October), they’ve not seen each other for 2 years due to work commitments so it was a big day (I missed)…
Dad & two sons…
God I’m feeling sorry for myself right now, altho Liam & Maddy are risking life & limb by staying overnight at the hospital boat again which is nice & brave of them...!
Due to Maddy’s birthday being postponed yesterday courtesy of various illnesses, ailments & minor setbacks, we all pretended today was her big day instead - another day, another party, at my sister’s house this time…
Our daughter & son…
Maddy & Liam… Ahhh…
Son & dad…
My own dad must be one of the few people who can create something interesting out of a Christmas cracker itself…
The “group” photo…
The birthday cake…
The drinks cabinet…
Hope you had a Happy Birthday Maddy…!
Today’s Maddy’s birthday, so we were going to take her & Liam out shoppin & then have a meal at the local yokel pub later on. BUT Dave was still fighting off the remnants of his own cold, there’s a few of us that need a bell to ring & shout “unclean” at the mo… So he wasn’t fit to go anywhere & we stayed here nice & warm…
BUT (another but) Liam & Maddy came here for a meal later on & Maddy had some sort of stomach bug, I mean at this rate we’re going to need a hospital ward for the whole family, & it’s difficult to predict who’s going to fall over next… So all in all today was very boring & we’re gonna have to make up for it later in the week.
Oh & I dropped a full (new) toilet roll down the loo earlier, I mean there’s plenty of room in there so why did it jump down the po…???
Party, Party, Party, PASS ME THE VICKS…
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Liam’s new friends…
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A perfect Christmas afternoon…
My dad made this snowman called “Sid” a few days ago…! He, (Sid I mean) appears to be a bit decrepit cos he’s knockin on a bit now & appears to have been down a coalmine at some point…
Oooo it’s Rossi again & this year he’s sporting his smoking jacket err, I mean designer coat…
Liam trying to work out what one of his presents is…
Yours truly polishing off a bottle of red wine while Dave has a cup o’ tea, he was the only person who had to drive, ahhh…
My mum reckons they need a bigger house…
Maddy & Liam after a drink or several…
Later on we went to see some friends of ours, I wish I’d took the camera in cos their Christmas tree was spectacular, like something straight out of a garden centre…! I asked Ju if she’d measured the distance between each bauble, really, it was precision stuff.
Still, no comparison with my puny Christmas trees eh…?
Merry Christmas to all blog readers & friends online wherever you are…
And all the best in the New Year…
From Heth & Dave…
xx
No posts for the next few days – family time, party time & general silliness rules the waves…!
Will catch up soon, take care & have fun folks…
…Well, it’s got to be different hasn’t it…? So I’ve stitched together some appealing photos from December 2008 to create an Advent Calendar in pictures. I picked out some little gems from December 2008 so I won’t bore you (or me) by reposting photos from this month…
In typical festive fashion we have a mix of wildlife, weather & a few drunk people…
1st Dec: Follow my leader…
2nd Dec: Line dancing with (bottom left) the dance instructor…
3rd Dec: Swimming in circles is good fun too…
4th Dec: It was supposed to be snowing…
5th Dec: Contrasting colours…
6th Dec: The cygnet tries to work out how the duck got up on stage in front of it…
7th Dec: Last boat DIY job before Christmas…?
8th Dec: Finished job, hmm, nice…
9th Dec: Yes that’s a swan knockin’ on the office door for a leccy card…
10th Dec: Must’ve lost it & come back…
11th Dec: A duck & his shadow…
12th Dec: A gorgeous sunset…
13th Dec: Reflection…
14th Dec: The fog rolled in…
15th Dec: And then we disappeared…
16th Dec: The canal at sunset…
17th Dec: Yes, that’s a water hen on a bird table…
18th Dec: A rare sunny day…
19th Dec: Same view on a snowy day…
20th Dec: Clear sky & late geese on the move…
21st Dec: And the partying begins…!
22st Dec: Sis Chris & Co…
23nd Dec: Us & daughter Tracey…
24th Dec: Dave playing charades with a cup of coffee & a smile… Mr Bean perhaps…?
25th Dec: And here we have Father Christmas, aka “Rossi...”
Awwww, bless him…
Well after all those gorgeous photos I posted at the weekend I forgot to let you know about the devastation going on INSIDE the boat… It turned out to be a case of NRRR (No Rest for the Recently Retired), & Dave began the dreaded task of tackling the damp wall…
First of all he pulled the bed out & treated the wood with anti-mould spray (which stunk the boat out all day Saturday). Then he took the affected wood off to dry it out & this is what he found…
Yes, it’s a nice even layer of foam insulation…
But look at that gap, nowhere near thick enough! Had they slightly underestimated the amount of insulation the boat required & this is the point whereby they were running out…? It must be the right thickness everywhere else on the boat…
Meet “sheep’s wool,” the answer (hopefully) to the problem…
After it’s been “installed” with a layer of bubble wrap behind it & another one at the front…
Nearly finished, well this section anyway, there’s still behind the wardrobes either side to do yet, but that’s gonna have to wait till after Christmas now…
We had a de-humidifier going in the bedroom all day Saturday, there was no way we could sleep in there, so we set up the new airbed in the saloon overnight, it’s nice n comfy but I didn’t sleep very well. Maybe it was facing the wrong way or something…
Is this condensation thing a taboo subject…? Cos if it is I’ve just blown it out the water – pun intended…
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PS: Our son Liam & his girlfriend Maddy arrived around teatime today after 2 days of travelling from Germany by car, they stayed in a hotel last night (down south) for a break from driving. Turns out they set off at the right time travelling up here – we heard later there was a blizzard following them most of the way & if they’d got caught up in it they would’ve been stuck… PHEW
