I see red

Or should that read: Icy red? There are a few possibilities.

First of all, I must admit that I was glad Magda and Lawrance spent both Christmas and New Year at home. As per usual I looked gorgeous, with all the lights and decorations inside and outside. And because of the possibility of people visiting us on Boxing Day I’m also absolutely clean inside.

Lawrance made Christmas Dinner.

Magda prepared all kinds of snacks, for Boxing Day. All stored in my coldest part, the engine room. Oh, no, sorry Magda, utility room.

She was also busy, trying to finish her second cross-stitched Dutch tiles. A picture, just to show that she indeed made another one.

The only problem basically was the weather. Gale force winds. I know, that’s not that strange. Only, 50 mph is a bit overdone. It even made Santa, who was sitting on my gas locker, go for a swim.

Then things were going downhill. The wind got stronger, AND Magda and Lawrance left me on my own. They went to Scotland, to visit Ann and Mick. They had to leave very early, so they woke me up very early.

While I was trying to stay afloat in the ever increasing wind, they went gallivanting all over Perthshire. Visiting the Kelpies. (One can just see the slightly snow-capped mountains in the distance.)

And the Falkirk Wheel. No, they didn’t go on the trip boat, and ON the wheel. Even for seniors that would cost £11 p.p. If you hire a boat here you can go on it for free, and if I’m right, they think of hiring a boat in Scotland, at the end of this year’s cruising season.

Going to pantomimes and concerts. Playing cards till late at night.

Then, when they left Scotland on the Sunday, temperatures plummeted. It was -12°C in Perthshire, and when they came back in Scarisbrick my inside was down to 2°C. It took a long time before I got at least a bit warm inside. And Magda even made a hot water bottle, for the first time since we’re together.

With the Dutch tiles now finished, Magda turned her attention now to other things. Like trying to finish a patchwork quilt she started about twenty years ago, surprisingly in colours that match the bedroom.

On the Tuesday she decided to make a batch of Golden Paste. This is a turmeric paste that makes joints less aching, so she told me. Great, hopefully she will now stop saying: “I’m too old for this”, twenty times a day…

And today I see RED. Well, no, I can’t exactly see it, but I know my galley is red all over. And no, she didn’t kill Lawrance (yet). Remember her making sauerkraut (Last Post?)? And that it was a huge success? Well, she’s making sauerkraut again. But not from white cabbage, no, now from red cabbage! That begins with shredding the cabbage (easily done with her new, slightly oversized cabbage shredder).

Then she has to kneed the cabbage. Until the cabbage starts releasing it’s fluids. Red cabbage, I said. So all the fluid that comes out, is… RED. Hands are red, tools are red, there are small particles of red cabbage all over the place. And it seems that red cabbage is a lot harder to work than white cabbage. It takes her about three hours before she finally starts filling the fermentation crock. By the time she’s finished with the cabbage, with making bread (it has to be done), and with cleaning the entire galley, I feel it’s getting colder inside me: the fire is nearly out. Magda just manages to get it going again.

To be honest, unless red cabbage sauerkraut is way more delicious that white cabbage sauerkraut I don’t think she will make it again.
Anyway, we will know in about two weeks time.

And what about Icy? Well, it’s kind of icy, all around me. I’m stuck most of the time, frozen in. Not that I have any plans to go somewhere…