We retraced our route somewhat at the beginning of the month, and perhaps even enjoyed it a bit more the second time around! The weather was clearer and the views better. The addition of our boarding plank has widened our options for mooring, too.

Good morning! Beautiful wild roses on the towpath.
Our days are full, and we are usually underway by 0700. Tying up at the end of the day depends on conditions and objectives.
Once the engine has been started, one of us heads out and prepares the first lock, and we are off.

a beautiful day, swing bridge in the distance
Apart from a couple of notable flights the locks have been about every 20 mins, with another 20 spent negotiating the upcoming one.
Between locks we: eat breakfast on the deck. Boil the kettle. Make a cup of coffee. Clean teeth. Wash up the dishes. Put away the dishes. Clean the bathroom- it needs regular maintenance! Make another cup of canal coffee. Tend to the plants. Dead head and water the flowers (feed on Fridays). Plan and make water/sanitary/ garbage stop.

our bed doubles as the charging station!
Tidy up the bed and prep the items for charging (we only have a cigarette lighter adapter to a small inverter- that can only be run after the engine has charged the battery for the engine start for an hour.)

We can only charge devices whilst underway. Part of the daily routine. Works surprisingly well.
The one battery is reserved entirely for starting the engine, and we always ensure that it is fully charged before charging the domestic ones or the plug in the inverter to charge the devices.
Usually only one item can be achieved between locks or swingbridges. No wonder it takes all day!

dinner prep
By 4 or 5pm we are ready to stop, eat, drink and fall asleep. The sun insists on staying up later than we do!

we enjoyed dinner with our friends, who generously shared their laundry facilities. A nice evening for drying, as well!
We had a lovely invitation from friends in Woolhampton. They offered us both dinner AND a washing machine. We couldn’t resist, and luckily caught an excellent drying evening, too.

lovely temporary mooring stop at Tesco–we were able to shop and load our groceries easily!

Still looking down at the water and continuing along our way.
And hardly a stitch knit!
This week’s sale pattern
My Celestial Baby Sweater is a lovely gift for the newest addition to your family! An easy-fit, easy-knit sweater with button-shoulders for a baby or toddler. Knit yours out of machine-washable yarn, and it will become a treasured garment!
The Celestial Baby Sweater is half-price ($3.75CAD) until June 21,
Happy Stitches!
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