Our first day back

We arrived back at Mary H yesterday with our new addition.  We now have a boat dog called Muffin who is a four month old Cockapoo and is absolutely gorgeous.  He is a very good boy but we don’t know how he is going to turn out as a boat dog.  I understand that Muffin is writing his own blog ... and Muffin Makes Four (I wonder where he got that title from??) but I want to point out here and now that I hold no responsibility for what he writes!!



Muffin

We haven’t brought Millie with us this time as she is still not too sure about Muffin and I think to have them both on the boat together at present could be a bit too much!

The boat was very dusty when we arrived and we had to clean everywhere before we could unpack the car.  Obviously all the work that had been done during the winter had been the cause of this but we do now have a nice smart boat.  I’ve attached photos of the newly painted cream roof and the new addition to our boat name.  I got so fed up with people asking if I am Mary H that I requested a slight name change (when she was out of the water).  Richard’s nickname for me is Tigger so now I can say that I am not Mary H but I am Tigger! 

I hate the packing and unpacking part of boating but it is getting easier as we get more and more adept at it and it didn’t seem too long before we were straight.

We then had to do a mammoth shop at Sainsbury’s.  I usually strip most of the food out of Mary H in October and integrate it into the larder at home.  This of course means that I have to restock in March.

We weren’t too sure how Muffin would be at night as at home he is shut in the kitchen and piddles and poos on training mats in the utility room.  But last night he was very good and woke us up at 5.30am, Richard took him out and then we all settled down until 7.45 am!

It was jolly cold at 7.45am as the heating hadn’t come on and we hadn’t lit the fire last night.  There was ice in the marina but it melted quite quickly.

The morning was taken up with sorting out and getting ready for the off.  Muffin didn’t really like being in the marina and we were glad to get out.  The sun was shining but the wind was cold – but a joy to be out in.

Hurleston Locks were Muffin’s first locks and I had him on a harness and rope but he soon got the hang of things and was whizzing across the lock gates in no time – have I got the courage to let him go across without being on the end of a rope?  We moored up just before Barbridge as we wanted to go to the Barbridge Inn for a meal.  I was down below when I heard a yelping and rushed up on deck to see Richard hauling Muffin out of the water.  It appears that a passing Labrador had gone to say hello to Muffin but had completely surprised him and he had leapt backwards and down between the boat and the bank.  He wasn’t too wet thank goodness and I hope that has taught him some sort of lesson but somehow I doubt it very much!!