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Woke feeling better on Friday, so prepped for Jay coming (engine hatch and battery box cover off). Jay turned up mid-morning and fitted the batteries, but we had difficulties with the battery monitor. Researched an alternative.
A quiet day on Saturday, generally pottering. A brief drive out for essential stores.
Still feeling a bit under the weather (although better than previous days) so decided I wouldn't inflict whatever it was onto the congegation at Alrewas - no trip to church this week. The day was dismal all day, although the wind did drop a little late afternoon.
No sign of Jay on Monday, so a desperate dash out to John at Holly Lodge for coal. Lovely day, but the forecast is for poor weather for the remainder of the week.
Weather lived up to forecast, with constant heavy rain all Tuesday. Popped out to get a parcel away to Pat, and to collect one from Amazon, but did very little else.
A run out for essential stores on Wednesday morning, then genealogy in the afternoon. Mostly rainy, but with occasional short bright spells. Still no further contact from Jay, although it would have been poor conditions for him to work in.
Thursday was a mixture of heavy rain and brilliant sunshine. Spent most of the morning one the chatline and phone with Amazon, attempting to get a refund for an item returned, then went out in the afternoon, shopping at Ikea.
Fitted the final battery (bow-thrust) in the morning (with a trip to Mid-Chan for a replacement terminal clamp). The afternoon was spent sourcing a panel to cover the holes left by the old battery and charging monitors. A very soggy end to the month - lets hope it bucks up next month.
Usual run to Alrewas on Sunday morning for church - an all-age service around tables. Spent the afternoon on routine boat-chores (water, loo, ash and rubbish). Spotted a beautifully marked goldfinch in one of the trees.
Spent all Monday attempting to fit a new modem (in the hopes of improving reception). Gave up at dinnertime, deciding to send it back.
Tuesday was spent attempting to get it sent back. The only option on Amazon was to have it collected, and the only option for collection was at the house! Eventually got the helpdesk to authorise it by Evri from a local drop-point. Next, the QR code I had didn't work. Back onto the helpdesk for the return address, deciding to pay the postage. On the 2nd run the card machine didn't work. Third attempt, by setting up and paying online, finally got the parcel away late afternoon.
Spent the whole of Wednesday working on genealogy (more "matches" supplied by MyHeritage), reviewing and entering data. A sunny day but quite windy.
Text received Thursday morning to say that Pat had tested positive for Covid - Kenney will be doing the shopping shuffle to the garage again. I woke after a poor night feeling under the weather so dozed in the chair for the morning - felt a little better after lunch. Phonecall from Jay to say he would drop round tomorrow to fit the batteries, and the remaining parts for the panels should arrive the begining of next week.
Forecast for today was for frequent showers. Not wanting to get caught while doing the battery job, I shelved any plan to get it done. Spent the day on genealogy. Weather lived up to the forecast.
Jay was back on the phone with the re-quote, and we have agreed a plan of action and price. He was away to contact his supplier and get a delivery date. He has also agreed to do my battery swap-out (saving me some heavy lifting ).
Did some genealogy in the morning. Just after lunch, got a phonecall from the marina office to say that my batteries were in. Collected them (3 loads in the car) and stowed them - exhausted after heaving them around (it will have to wait for another day to attack the actual replacement). Had just finished when the heavens opened. In case the weather is suitable over the weekend, went out and did a few items of shopping, and topped up the petrol in the car in case I get to church.
Pat rang to say that she had got her x-rays done, and was now waiting for the results to go to her GP.
First thing, went back down the engine 'ole and checked the sizes for the batteries, then went round to the office as soon as they opened and confirmed the details. Went out to Tamworth in the afternoon to purchase the replacement vacuum (as per the admiral's orders). Dropped in to Atherstone on the way back, for the wool shop, but found they were on holiday this week - will have to make another journey later.
Whilst not the same sunny start - cloudy but bright - the weather followed the same pattern as the last few days, and turned to rain by dinnertime.
Jay dropped round with the quotes for the solar panels - considerably less than I thought they would be. He also had a look at the existing panel in the hope of getting it working. We decided that there would be less work involved to remove it, along with its controller, and substitute a further panel linked to the new controller - the new panel would actually produce more power as well. He is now away to re-quote.
I then went round to the office for an update on the batteries. It turned out that there was a query on the sizes, but Chris had gone on holiday and nobody had contacted me - for three weeks (very disappointing).
After another sunny start, cloud once again came in over lunch, and turned to rain by midafternoon. The wind also started to rise.
Light showers of sleet during Wednesday became continuous overnight. Weather (I assume) affecting our (already poor) phone connection. Snow fizzled out during the afternoon, but then we got heavy rain in the evening, driven by strong winds. Managed to get a bit more genealogy done both days.
Very wet and windy overnight into Friday, but the rain died out by breakfast. Took the opportunity to nip out by car for essential stores, then topped up the water and cleared the loo on return. By lunchtime, the sun was out, the lying snow was almost gone and it turned into a lovely day (if a little chilly). Wind died completely in the evening and the water was flat calm overnight and started to freeze.
Lovely sunny day on Saturday, although cold. Nipped out for essential supplies, and to research a new vacuum cleaner. Clouded over by mid-afternoon, and heavy rain had set in by dinnertime. The rain had cleared by Sunday morning and I had a very pleasant drive in the sunshine across to Alrewas. 'Fiddling' showed that the poor connectivity was not caused by the weather, and a factory reset cleared me back to normal. Once again it has clouded over by dinnertime and it was raining again.
A wild, wet and windy night continued through Monday. Generally pottered, awaiting Jay coming to discuss the quotes for the solar panels (he didn't arrive!).
Tuesday morning was beautiful and sunny. Got the shopping done, then a long chat with Fhi in Italy. After lunch it dulled over, so went out for coal and collected a parcel, then got back in before the rain came on.
A very wet and windy start to the month. Stayed tucked up inside doing genealogy on 1st and 2nd, just nipping out for shopping on Thursday.
After a visit to her doctor on Friday, Pat has been told that she cannot return to "Paws" until she has seen an orthopaedic specialist about her knee, which has deteriorated in the last couple of months. The doctor has made a referral in the hope that surgery may alleviate the symptoms. This means our plans for the summer are all on hold until more is known. (She has told me that I should remain on board at the moment.)
Usual trip to Alrewas on Sunday - I was again doing one of the readings. More genealogy Fri-Sun - dipped into the RootsTech conference for a few of the e-sessions. Monday afternon saw a visit from an engineer to assess the requirements for solar panels - he's to look into costs and give me a couple of quotes. Went for coal and kindling on Tuesday morning - the weather has been colder over the past few days, and the forecast is for it to continue through the week - then dropped in on the e-coffee from Doncaster, with Fhi joining us today from Italy. Quick trip out for essentials in the afternoon.
