Roasting coffee beans

Last week we brought some coffee beans at Booths because their price was reduced. Both packets of beans were very pale & extremely difficult to grind. So while I was in the laundry room John had a go at roasting them in the oven. As I walked down the jetty to the boat the aroma hit me, it was AMAZING and reminded me of this time last year when we moored in Apsley behind the coffee roasting factory.

We’ve had a wonderful time cruising to Tarleton for Nikita’s 9^th birthday, we picked the 3 of them up from school. We went to The Village Inn in Tarleton for her birthday tea with Ada & Dale, Jason surprised us by having the night off & coming too. Sadly, Heather was working so missed the meal but met us afterwards and we all went back to the house for a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday to You’, blowing out of candles and a slice of cake each. Nikita wanted a birthday sleep over with her friends without her brothers there, so the boys both came to stay Friday evening. Ada & Dale picked Magnus up on Saturday, so we cruised with Lance to Sollom.

Townend Swing Bridge

Lemon drizzle cake in the making

Helping put the spare bed up

The late Marshall Lee

We had a sad few days last week as one of Heather & Jason’s rescue cats, Marshall, got knocked down and killed. The driver had taken him to the local vet but there was nothing they could do for him. We helped Jason bury him in the garden, luckily he hadn’t got any visible injuries and looked as if he was just sleeping. His sister was obviously missing him as she was wandering around the house meowing (which she’d never done before), they used to groom each other each evening & sleep together. So to keep her company Heather has adopted 2 more kittens which she picked up yesterday, Lady Rainycorn & Lord Monocrome. We just can’t wait to meet them.

Rainy & Mono

We decided to spend a few days moored at the lovely rural spot in Sollom, with a view over the moss towards Anglezarke Moor and Parbold Hill, where the winter sun rises are beautiful. It was a good job we’d planned a few days stop there as the gale force wind & torrential rain blowing in from the marshes kept us firmly on the side. It was just under a 2 mile walk to the school to pick the kids up and we discovered a lovely little track running parallel with the A59, so we didn’t get blasted by the juggernauts zooming past.