Carnival in Bouzigues

Carnival 12th April 2014

back at the ladybear we listen and watched as they continued around the village

Cosy Home! Bouzigues

The boys are now listening to stories in the back cabin tucked up in bed. The brave face all the way back in the car was not easy after leaving Dave at the airport.

I even surprised myself how up beat my voice sounded as I talked to the boys compared to how I felt.
I didn't want to upset the boys.
Now I sit on my own with the computer for company. It is such a shock, it's going to take time to believe and get use to the fact my brother is gone.

I have to get on, Arthur doesn't like me upset. They are both very demanding, and now Dave is not here I am full on. Claire arrives Monday so I have to get everything ready for her cabin and get some shopping in.
lady bear has been such a pleasure to live on, our cosy home.

 
Artie has been pushing my patience with fighting and arguing with Lorenzo and every thing I do or ask of him.
We picked Claire up at 5pm and headed back to Lady bear with all the shopping.
 The last few days we have been busy cleaning and sorting out the cupboard space and also relaxing in the now beautiful weather having drinks on a blanket on the pontoon.

Jobs I have done is tidy the forward cabin sorting storage.

Airing the sails

Running out of gas, with Ed s help was really kind of him to come over one evening to get us another bottle and of course carry it for us.

we also found a great guy who repairs boat covers and sails. He took our dog house canopy for the day and brought it back by 5pm beautifully fix. Thought we may have to throw it out being so damaged by all the storms Dave has been through. Looks almost new now.
Been cleaning the chain off with clear, its getting very rusty

Lots of people wonder what we do all day on the boat and why we don't get bored here, well as you can see we all keep busy the boys have had fun.

Artie loves playing on the rocks and finding interesting creatures

tiny starfish

Boys love racing in the jogger spinning round

Playing badminton Bouzigues

At the Park

Having fun!!

Easter's coming!!!

going for walk enjoying some sun

5th April 2014

My man left me today drove him to the airport off to the other side of the world for four weeks and 4 days. Tried hard not to think on it too much being on my own on the boat with the boys. The boys gave Daddy orders of what to bring back for them, opal stone for Artie and something sweet and yummy for Lorenzo. Just come back safe for me. It was sunny blue sky today, thank God after all the grey we have had the last few days.
His adventure is to take another Hillyard (Don't tell Lady Bear she might get jealous) across from New Zealand to Australia. April being the best time to go been booked for months. Dave wanted to cancel when he heard Laurence  my brother wasn't well. But it was all booked and paid for and couldn't let the guy down after spending thousands on the trip already.
 We left about 10.30 am to get there early so we could have lunch together. As we started to drive along the motorway. The phone rang Sam asked me to stop the car, but we couldn't nowhere to stop 'tell me Sam'.
Larry slipped peacefully away 9am this morning........

fixing the electrics on Lady bear

Rest in peace my dear brother going to miss you.

Arthurs Birthday

We only arrived back at the boat 25th March Arties Birthday after being at Nigels for a week helping out with his house. We have just spent six weeks away from Lady bear. Dave has been working in England at he Bull hotel in Bridport, while we wait at Yvette and Norman's house. It seemed a very long wait but it was good to see family, but its not home and hard to be sitting around waiting to get back to the boat.
25th March. We took Arthur to the Zoo and go-kart racing for his birthday.

The boat was damp and dirty and I always feel disappointed when we get back after leaving it for so long. Don't want to do it again have to get someone to care or live on the boat next time.
She does warm up and clean up well though, once she is lived in and clean she is my pretty cosy home.

A nightmare before Christmas

Its Christmas on our boat and we have been getting into the Christmassie mood, last night we danced away to pop Xmas songs until bed time.

The lights are flashing prettily up the mast and over the boat. All our goodies have been bought and we were ready, everything we needed to make chocolate sweets and nut roast, and cook our beef etc etc.

Getting the lights up the mast

 All well until 11.30 pm the night before Christmas eve Lorenzo woke up calling me, I went into the back cabin to find him naked on the floor with the whole bed covered in sick.....Yes loads of it pasta and chocolate was his last meal so you can imagine!!!
  We got him warmed, covered and laid down in the saloon while we cleared up and moved poor sleepy Arthur over who, amazingly escaped the sick patch but hes a dead weight and refused to wake up so Dave was called to help move him over, as I pulled the dirty sheets from underneath him.
  Fat Sam Lolly s toy got dropped into the water while I tried to shake out the lumpy sick sheets, so here I am in the dark in my P,J's with a small fishing net in hand trying to hook it out in the dark while Lorenzo is being sick all over the saloon. So now we have bed sheet, and mattress, blankets and saloon seats all in need of cleaning with hardly any water.
luckily we knew there was a laundrette near by!!
   Now the whole boat is in disarray. The hardest part was the fact that we had just done all our washing and Dave had just got over his sick tummy and diarrhea, were we all going to go down with it, I swallowed a bit of garlic to help prevent it, but getting the boys to do the same wasn't going to happen. I put a small tiny bit in a glass of water and then got them to drink it, they didn't even know it was there.
  I sat up with Lorenzo all night he was sick every hour until 6am, but getting better ever since. But now the wind has picked up and we are bobbing about.    Dave moved us around the other side of pontoon where the wind wasn't pushing and crashing on to the pontoon.

  By the evening the boat was thrashing about like a wild beast, the wind howling and the waves splashing and spraying through the wooden pontoon, i started to hang on tight and get very nervous as our 12 ton boat yanked hard on the ropes pulling at the wooden pontoon. I wondered if we were going to get pulled apart.
 Gale force winds so Dave eased off the mooring lines so the boat would be kept off the pontoon and sit with her stern into the wind which was much more comfy as the bow lines were snatching and I thought the deck cleats would pull out! I had 2 bow lines, 2 stern lines and for an aft springs were both doubled as well! 



Dave put a breast line on from one of the sheet winches so he could get close enough to the pontoon to get ashore and collect the Christmas presents which were in the car. He got very wet! It went on all through the night. We didn't get much sleep, poor Dave slept with his boots on so to be ready for any problems. This was the second night without much sleep for me. And it was still dark when i finally fell into a deep sleep to be woken by Arthur saying Santa had come. Oh my god my eye were glued together and gravity had got heavier!!!!

The calm after the storm Christmas day was unbelievably calm warm sunny beautiful day, We heard the storm was coming back tomorrow so we moved the boat early to a sheltered small marina Bouzigues, ( don't ask me to pronounce that)!!

I drove the car round and watched Lady Bear silhouetted coming through the hazy sunny morning along the now calm water. 

Tucked in safe in the marina,
Dave got the beef on for dinner and we went to play with Arthur's new helicopter and gun and Lorenzo's new tag along bike.

 Played games back on the boat. Dinner was amazing tasty with nut roast, beef, roast potatoes cabbage and carrots.

 Movie of Men In Black while Lorenzo listen to his new french song CD.   Perfect end to a perfect Day! Merry Christmas everyone and heres to a Great New Year to all!!!