self portrait

is there an electrician in the house ...er ... boat?!

Who ever said that electricity and water don’t mix? How right they were.

The short story is that water leaking from our water pump which feeds water from one end of the boat to the kitchen and bathroom always seems to find its way to the only electrical wiring that is below the floor in the hull of the boat. I'm happy to say that with a problem solver onboard we are back to normal with full lighting again.

Candles back into the cupboard ready for the next romantic dinner or power blackout.

candle lit

Who said that living on a boat wasn't romantic? Something weird has happened with the electrics in our boat and so we're left with power down one side of the boat only. Thankfully, the computer and television (our computer monitor) are working but we've been left without any lights which means that we're lighting hundreds of tea light candles by late afternoon. Fingers crossed Woz will work it out tonight when he gets home.

eerie

We woke this morning to an eerie yellow light and a grumbling sky. These photos were taken (by Woz) just minutes before it bucketed down with rain.

comment to your hearts content!

I have decided to change the settings on this blog to allow anyone to comment on the posts. Initially I set it up so that you had to be a registered member of blogger to make a comment thinking that it might help in filtering spam comments, but with all the millions of blogger users out there I don't really think this is an issue.

So ... if you happen to be reading this blog and have the time to comment please do so. We'll receive an e-mail in our inbox telling us you've left a comment and we'd love to hear from you!

7˚ C

Not sure if this story will make the headlines today in Oz but in tonight's news we learned that the Prince of Wales has joined the bloggers union and has started up his very own video blog. It shows a typical day for the Prince starting at 8.30am in his office, before heading off for a grueling schedule of meeting and greeting the commonfolk, sharing witty anecdotes and shaking hands. Not unlike my day really and I think the Prince will be surprised to learn he has some competition on his hands if he thinks the British public are going to warm to him and to his site. He may have millions of pounds and a team of professional web designers on his side but who could compare with the exciting lives we lead over here at Look out London, whose entries have become decidedly more lengthy since my becoming a desperate housewife and whose adventures are always entertaining? Take today for example; woke up absolutely freezing, lit the fire, made some porridge, got Nate ready to go out, waited ten minutes in the cold for my first bus, swapped buses 15 mins later, sat on the bus for another 45 minutes, then hung out with lots of mums and toddlers, back on the bus again in time to get home for 'Neighbours' before cooking dinner. What could be more exciting than that?!

Suffice to say, I love my new life ... work, who needs it?!

who's the boss?

Woz had a meeting close to home today so he came home for lunch. I wasn't the only one happy to see him. Nate just cuddled into him and sat there very content. Me, I have to entertain him all day with toys or silly faces. Got me wrapped around his little finger already!

that's a new idea!

A package arrived today ... trashy girly mags and tim tams. Thanks Karen! A girl after my own heart!

shop 'til you drop

This weekend we undertook a manic shopping expedition as we realised that Woz was in desperate need of clothes. Our usual haunt is Oxford Street in central London which has anything and everything you could possibly want but is jam packed with Christmas shoppers this time of year. The thought of navigating a buggy through the crowds was unbearable so we decided to head out to Bluewater, a shopping centre in Kent which gives Chadstone a run for its money. In size it would most probably be comparable, but unlike Chadstone, Bluewater boasts a chaplaincy service and a place for peace and quiet which consists of a listening space and a space for reflection. Quite frankly, I think Chadstone is seriously lacking in these services. I know I have been almost inconsolable at times after discovering I had bought an item at full price only to find it on sale at another shop on the other side of Chadstone. If only I had have had a chaplain to console me I may have had the strength to resist the double choc, choc chip muffin I immediately consumed upon my findings in an effort to stifle my grief.

Anyway, although busy, it was nothing on Oxford Street and we navigated the buggy around with ease, managing to find loads of clothes for Woz. One our pursuits was a new suit. As I was waiting outside the change room of a clothing store while Woz tried on a suit we were told to evacuate the shop immedately as there was bomb scare. We were told to leave everything, so Woz came running out of the changeroom in a suit and bare feet with his shoes and clothes in hand. We scooped Nate up and made our way out to another part of the shopping centre which was deemed safe with all the other shoppers. We wandered around for a while (with tags hanging out of Woz's trousers and jacket!) wondering if we'd be let back in to return the suit and for Woz to change his clothes. After clearance from the bomb squad an hour or so later they re-opened the area (turns out it was a bag of post which hadn't been picked up!) and Woz marched back in with his suit. In all the rush we could easily have gone home with the suit and to be honest didn't think the staff would have even been aware that he had been there as he'd taken his own clothing out of the store. Of course we didn't entertain the idea of not paying for it but when Woz returned the staff were very impressed to see him and had been placing bets as to whether he'd come back!

how we change ...

Anyone who has known me for very long will know I am always cold. Yesterday I headed off at midday to meet Woz for lunch at work. I was wearing a thin t-shirt and another equally thin long sleeved t-shirt on top when I powerwalked past a digital sign on Tottenham Crt Rd which displays the current time and temperature. It was 9˚ and I wasn't even cold! Granted I was setting a decent pace, but if I was in Melbourne I'd have a hat, scarf and gloves on and be complaining to anyone who cared to listen about how bitterly cold it was.

bonfire night

Tonight is Bonfire night and as I write this I'm sitting at home in front of our fire looking out the window at a spectacular show of fireworks. They've been going for a good hour or so now in all directions and as we have the glass roof over our sofa we're able to see the whole thing. Beautiful.

Although the official night is tonight, the fireworks have been going off constantly for the last week or so and last night we headed down to Ravenscourt Park with friends to see a firework display and warm ourselves by the humongous bonfire. Nate slept through most of the show courtesy of some baby ear muffs which was a relief as we weren't too sure if we were being a little too ambitious in taking him. Our first Bonfire night in London as this time last year we were riding home from a weekend trip to Northern France on our motorbike watching the fireworks from a distance.