Well, I'm excited!

A big day it was, too! I have little doubt that some of you will think I'm somewhat deranged, but it really was a major occasion when Grace and I drove up yesterday to see Kantara for the first time since November 1st. It was so good to be there again, to see boating friends and share experiences of the past months, and to walk through the boat and find that all was well with her. The thermostatic heater and the dehumidifier had done a good job of keeping the interior free from sub-zero temperatures and dampness. We checked all the systems and found that the domestic water pump switch had stopped working, but it's an easy enough job to fit a new one when we return to live on her again. Everything else was fine.

We had with us a caseful of  just some of the things we'll be needing when we get back to life on board. We brought back a similar bulk of stuff that we will no longer be needing there. The bench cushions for the dinette seats also came with us. Grace is going to re-upholster them and a few cushions from the saloon, complementing the two new curtains and seven blinds she made last year.  As I type, she's removing the doll's house and all of its bits and pieces from the table, to make room for the sewing machine and fabric. Then it'll be frenetic! The doll's house was such a relaxed project. This picture was taken early on. It's much more advanced now, but I have no recent photos.

For some months, I've been posting my pictures on Facebook, in the Isolation Arts Café group. I was chuffed to get a message yesterday from the young man who created it a year or so ago. He had just been approached by St Albans Museum and Gallery who are planning a "St Albans in Lockdown"  exhibition. They want to include include information about the FB group, and also to hang a small selection of  the artwork that's  been posted there throughout the year. And he asked me! He asked Jess (youngest daughter), too, who's been developing her painting skills over the past months and posting the results. It will be a real, physical exhibition that's bound to attract a large number of people. I just hope we're around when it happens! This is the one I've submitted - "Estuary Town".

I'm off now - to find the right switch for the pump. Fingers crossed!