Lyons Boatyard

The Blogger started to mess me about, so I sent it to it's room until it learnt to behave itself. Let's see if it worked.

We have just had a couple of weeks on our mooring in Gas Street in the centre of Birmingham. The sun came out as soon as we arrived and lasted practically the whole time - so we had a few get togethers with the other moorers under the parasol for a natter and a catch-up of the gossip. It will probably start raining again soon as we have started cruising again.

The floods all seem to have gone down and the rivers are all passable so we are heading off towards the Thames and a week or two in London.

This card I made for my daughter's birthday. She is just about to leave Australia after nearly four years in Sydney. Anyway, she was just about to go on a diving holiday up on the Barrier Reef.

I stamped the shell using a "free" stamp from a magazine and painted it with water colours then mounted it on green vellum and greeny-blue, shiny, bubble paper. The bubbles were made by using up the insides of "O"s on peel-off alphabet stickers - nothing goes to waste!

Below Cholmondley Lock

Two more days of rain and canals are closing all over the place! I'm glad we are not trying to get to the IWA Boat Show and Festival this year. Lots of rivers are flooding and Braunston tunnel is closed because of excess water. (Not sure if that is excess in the canal or coming through the roof.)

So to cheer myself up I've upload a sunflower card. I have made it a Get well soon card and that could be for the weather.

It is a silk sunflower with the back taken off and stuck onto torn paper.

Moore

Will it ever stop raining?

The laptop started playing up, so we decided to buy a new one so had to stop off in Manchester. We brought the new laptop back to the boat and set it up and, of course, the Vodafone card wouldn't work so we had to go back into town to the Vodafone shop to discover that the only person working there who could see to it would not be in until the next day! Eventually we got another contract and another setup and now we have to try and cancel the remaining 10 months of the old contract. And I got to spend 3 days in Manchester - all those shops.

We managed to get as far as Lymm before it started raining today, and moored at Moore again, just as it began to rain really heavily. I took the chance to catch a bus into Warrington, as there is a great cardmaking shop there. When I got back the heavens opened.

There are suddenly lots of boats on the move, there seems to have been one past us about every 5 minutes, though it has slowed down a bit now (7pm). Though all the fun was actually on the road opposite the boat. We have just had a three car accident, ambulances, police, queues and onlookers. No-one seems to have been hurt too badly but it is another reason why I like not having a car any more.

I have decided to go in for the Card Maker of the Year Competition in one of the magazines, so I'm going to have to get my thinking cap on.

This card was made from a photograph David took last year. Pretty straightforward matting etc, the sentiment was made on the computer.

Wigan Top Lock (nearly)

It was still drizzly when we left this morning but brightened up as soon as we moored opposite the Haigh Hall golf course.

With luck tomorrow the weather will hold while we go down the locks into Wigan. We are expecting members of David's family so we might even get a bit of help.

The horse was watching us from the top of a bridge.

One of several cards I made using dolls taken from girls' hair accessories. I cut off the elastic at the back of the doll and then stuck her onto three layers of card.

Addlington

Why is it that you look out of the window and it is not raining, so you get dressed, pull the pins, start up the engine and just as you leave the bank the rain starts? It happens every time. Mind you, the bit about it not being raining is very rare these days.

We set off this morning in light drizzle and began the 7 locks at Johnson's Hillocks (and how did it get that name?), which turned into a downpour. The locks were either leaking full or leaking empty and the wooden walkways were very slippery, though a BW guy did open one gate for us on the way.

After a pumpout and cheapish diesel at L&L outside Adlington we then we moored up opposite the White Bear Marina.

I decided we would try and take a bus into Bolton as it was raining, but we couldn't find one that wasn't going to Chorley and that was every 2 hours. So we gave up and shopped in the local Co-Op which was apparently awaiting a delivery of practically everything. Back on the boat I thought I heard a train and later David discovered there was a station and you could get to Bolton in 16 minutes!! Too late by then though.

We have had rain every day since I can't remember when and living on a boat really does seem to be a good idea, but it is getting a bit tedious and a bit of sunshine wouldn't go amiss.

Here is a card to make you feel warm (well inside anyway). Free backing paper from a magazine, two of my new stamps, embossed and painted, some yellow paper cut with wavy scissors and yellow ribbon all mounted onto a turquoise card.

I am still going through all those Stamping Up blogs from America and all my cards seem to be so plain compared to theirs - they all seem a work of art and though they say less is more, they seem to be able to put everything thing on one card and it still looks fab. I'm getting quite despondent and want to pull all mine to bits and add brads, ribbon, flowers, papers etc. I know I leave most of mine with an empty bit so that a sentiment or name can be added, but they still seem a bit bare.

Oliver Ings Bridge near Nelson

Wow! a whole day when we didn't have any rain. David left at 0530 so we got through the tunnel and were down the Barrowford locks before 0830. A quick shop in Morrisons and then we moored up just before Burnely.

I think that is Pendle Hill in the background of this photo taken today - a well known spot for witches in past times.

My card today is a Celebration card - I used half a candle in the shape of a champagne bottle. Lots of sparkles, shiny paper and velum backed peel-offs. It just needs something to celebrate for a sentiment to be added, and then a box to be made to keep it safe.

On the Bends

Well, the weather forecast was good. They lied once again! We set off at 6.30 am and managed to get to Gargrave for water before it started turning nasty. We joined up with Utopia to do the locks up to the moors but wimped out after two.

The weather got better in the afternoon and at 4pm we set off again and got up here. The wind is fairly strong but the sun came out eventually.

Another of the graduation cards I made the other day. Home made backing paper and three mortar boards stuck down with sticky tabs and some red ribbon

Thorlby Swing Bridge

We didn't get very far yesterday - just about 2 miles actually.

We had a pump-out and bought some more diesel before we left and then the drizzle set in so we stopped just before the 4th swing bridge.

I went for my daily constitutional and found a beautiful wild rose bush with dark pink flowers. Of course, the camera

decided to die on me. That's a first. So instead I have posted a picture of the "un-veg pledged" towpath with all the beautiful wild flowers, including an orchid.

This is the result of me messing about with my new stamps. I made the backing paper on the computer using a dingbat for the cap.

The student was cut out and fixed on with sticky fixers

Skipton

York, Lendal Bridge last Monday and this time last year. The water must be up at least 10ft.





The four of us took the train for a day out in York and had a lovely lunch in 19 Grape Street (originally called Grope Street as there were lots of brothels there once!).


After lunch Ed and Julia went off to see the abbey and I sussed out Lakeland Ltd! We walked down to Ouse Bridge to check out the moorings there and the water was right up to the top of the wall. Normally there is a long climb up the side of the wall to get to the pub.

We have had rain every day since I cannot remember when. Yesterday I took the train to Leeds for the day. When I got back the water had come over the towpath under the bridge at Skipton for a short time.

Today I probably had my last shop in Skipton as we hope to start back towards Wigan tomorrow. A quick look around The Stamp Man and collect the prescriptions from the chemist.

We have had a result of sorts from BW - we are moving to the other side of the pontoon temporarily for 6 months. There still seems to be no sign of the "new business" which has caused all the fuss.






A lovely little bear card. The stamp is Australian. I used to have their web address but lost it when the computer went down - so if anyone knows where it comes from, please let me know.

The bear was stamped and coloured in and fixed to some silver card and then onto some gingham material. All on a white card.

I have been going through lots of American blogs - mostly stampers. They are really lovely and have given me lots of ideas. Several ones have lots of tutorials too. Thank you to the comments from fellow bloggers, and the one from Portugal - thank goodness for Babelfish..

Skipton

We have given up on travelling to York by water.

We spent the last few days on a lovely mooring just before the swing bridge at Lower Bradley. It has rained heavily every day, though the rivers around here do not seem to be too flooded - the worst being south around Doncaster and Sheffield.

It was decided to come back to Skipton for the Sheep Day (today) and for water and shopping etc. Also Ed has to go to London on Wednesday for hospital appointments.

Before we left I took a walk down the towpath and discovered this new monument to the Polish crew of a bomber that crashed near here in 1942. It is at Hamblethorpe Swing Bridge and is the work of a few enthusiasts with lots of sponsors. BW built the monument and have included 3 items of metal recovered from the crash. The actual site of the crash is a couple of hundred yards away and there is a wooden cross there. It looked as if the plane had actually crashed in the the embankment of the canal. Must have been a headache for the linesman that day too.

Back in Skipton they were celebrating Sheep Day. The centre of the town was closed off and there was a Farmers' Market, Sideshows, Lots of sheep (of course) with sheep sheering, sheep dog demonstrations (including herding geese) and a pen with raptors and this lovely barn owl.

It has been raining hard all afternoon we booked tickets to go to York by train tomorrow.

Julia and Ed are still hoping to sail there - this may put them off.

This is the card I sent to my niece Rebecca who has just announced that she and David, her husband, are expecting a baby next year.

I must admit I took inspiration from a layout from a card I saw on one of the Splitcoast blogs I have been reading.

Pretty sprigged backing paper, lilac and purple organdy ribbons, a fabric flower with yellow flower brad, peel-off "BIG news" and rub-down "congratulations". Then three crystals on the lilac card. Can you spot the deliberate mistake though?