Shirly Draw Bridge

The cracked window has been replaced and after a pumpout we set off at around five o'clock, stopping about half an hour later for the evening.

The moorings, both sides of the bridge were very busy - hope that doesn't bode ill for the Oxford Canal.

There seem to be lots of wild plums around this year - though they are very small and still quite hard. I bought two cooking apples, ready for the blackberries which are now plentiful in the hedgerows.










I made this card for the birth of baby Jack. I made the backing paper on the computer and the hedgehog is a peel-off which I mounted on silver and blue paper. Notice the influence of the American blogs I have been reading - ribbon and a bow!!!

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.