Thursday, 3 March 2016

Huddlesford (adjusting to not being together 24/7)



We had it all on Wednesday morning: rain, sleet then snow.  In the end I put my wet weather gear on and Buddy and I went for a walk north towards Fradley.  The wind gusts nearly had me in the water a couple of times!

We found a couple more milestones; they were placed every ½ mile along the Birmingham & Fazeley canal when it was completed in 1789.  The canal runs for 44 miles north of its start point at Gas Street in the centre of Birmingham but we have only found three of the original 80+..


The rain eased off in the afternoon but by the time Karen was on her way home it had started to pour again so we agreed to meet in the pub where she parks the car at night for a cheeky mid-week drink.  Buddy and I walked down and were looking like a couple of drowned rats when we got to the bar.  Karen arrived soon after and we grabbed a table.

We have both found that this week is passing by slowly.  Karen is adjusting to going to an office every day – something she hasn’t done for over ten years.  When working from home she didn’t have to worry about other people’s space and physical interactions with them.  She also didn’t have concerns about commuting but that tended to mean she worked longer hours.

I only talk to Buddy during the day apart from exchanging greetings with boaters and dog walkers.  When on the boat I tend to have the radio off and not listen to much music so we are generally in quietness.

All this means is that Karen and I will talk ten to the dozen when she gets home and we have to make sure we give each other time to talk through what has happened during the day.  I know this is normal for most people but living on the boat and not working means we have been in close proximity for 24 hours a day for the last 18 months.  It is a big change but exciting at the same time.

Even Buddy has been a bit disturbed and seems to forget the time of day as he often stands at his bowl expecting me to feed him.  Twice this week he has asked to go out at three in the morning which is something he has never done before (he normally sleeps on his bed in front of the fire from 5 in the afternoon until 9 in the morning with just the odd body stretch).  I took him out both times in case he wasn’t well but will ignore him next time to avoid making a habit of it.  He seemed a lot more settled yesterday and slept through – could be something to do with the fuss he got from people down the pub!

Anyway, as the picture at the top shows, it looks like a lovely day today and the wind has dropped too so Buddy and I will probably go for a cruise.  It’ll be interesting to see how Karen finds where we are moored bearing in mind her renowned lack of a sense of direction.

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