Call off the Search... she's back.

You can relax now... Mrs Duck has returned thank goodness - I know you'll have been worried about her.

I was hoping she'd turn up with a load of little ones.

Hmmf!

oh well  - and if you're wondering HOW I know it is 'her' - she's got a dab of grey paint on her beak where she got a bit TOO cocky when I was painting the other week!

So - here we are... Friday again.   To be honest, I've not really done much at all this week on the boat... we've had a couple of nights on board (going to work is easier from the boat than the bungalow as with the new road opened, I can cut out the centre of Wakefield completely) but as the weather has been mostly wet, I've not been able to get on with any more painting...  THAT said, work has been full on with us having to repair 160 steps on the swing chair ride we delivered last year which had de-laminated... THAT's the problem with everything being a rush job... things just don't get enough coats of paint in the right places - add to that, getting any old Tom,Dick or Harry to 'help out' the quality control goes out of the window.

I did manage to fit a couple of edging sstrips to the back cabin and buy a new door mat - which we're quite pleased with - HOW sad are we getting excited about a doormat?  -

I'm about to head up to the boat now for the weekend and take the new bespoke mattresses with me - I've been waiting for a (hopeful) gap in the rain before I strap them to the roof of the car and deliver them 'Clampet style' .  They do look thin for the money but appear to be well made -

I'll report back tomorrow on how it was to sleep on .

JOB wise - ideally if the sun is out tomorrow (or at least if it's not p'ing down) I want to turn the boat and get the other side into it's final top coat - the sooner the better really as that masking tape for the coach line has been on WAY too long now.  IF it's not dry, then once I've made a couple of shelves for the wardrobes and completed the edging for the floor, we plan to remove all the tools/bits and bobs from the boat and take them home.  THEN the plan is to give the boat a thorough clean/dust before beginning to bring things which will live permanently on-board.  It's only a couple of weeks until we head off to Skipton on our inaugural proper voyage.  We're quite excited (and a little nervous) about it.   

It'll be nice if we can say the boat is "finished" for the trip...   in as much as a boat can EVER be finished.  It'll be 6 months old on the 28th of this month and without blowing my own trumpet, I am quietly pleased with how things have gone and whilst it's not perfect in any  many areas, we will have beaten our target of 12 months  with 6 months to spare.

Until next time...