Well, that was a year

 Well, 2023 has certainly been an eventful and sometimes quite difficult year....the biggest surprise of which has been our new home, obviously.  Who knew that we'd end the year in a sheltered housing bungalow which, in many ways, is almost perfect?

The year started off with a return of husband's heart failure symptoms, meaning being referred back to his cardiologist for further investigations, and a lot of tweaking of his medications.  The meds tweaking did sort out most of his physical symptoms, but made no difference whatsoever to his memory and confusion problems, hence the GP referring him to the Memory Assessment team.  Having had two lots of tests and a brain scan there, he was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (although I'd disagree with the 'mild' part of it, as I live with him and face the reality of how he is on a daily basis).  We are thankful that it's not some form of dementia, which we were both afraid it might be, but the psychologist did say that MCI can be a precursor to dementia - it's not a given, not everyone with MCI goes on to develop it, but it's more prevalent in people with MCI.  Husband is largely oblivious to the symptoms of his MCI, which is a good thing for him, but it does make life quite difficult for me.  His short term memory is, quite simply, atrocious...he cannot remember anything that's said to him, or indeed that he says himself.  He gets very confused about things too and finds it difficult to follow instructions.  Any job he does takes twice the time nowadays.  He's also become quite argumentative, having been very laid back all his life previously.  He contradicts me a lot, mostly because he's forgotten things.  And he's got absolutely no sense of what is inappropriate - he says things to people that would be better left unsaid, I often have to smooth things over later with people he's inadvertently offended.  He does it with me too, almost every day, but I largely ignore it now, unless it's something really offensive and then I do tell him it's not on.  In many ways it's like living with a stranger now, and a not very nice one at that, which upsets me sometimes.  But that's life - he's still with me, many people have lost their partners.  My marriage vows said in sickness and in health, and that's what it will be.

My problem relative collapsed at home and fell down the stairs, hitting his head, some months ago.  Having had a couple of tests/xrays/scans in hospital, the A&E doctor said it appeared he may have a life-threatening condition which may cause sudden death, and needed further investigations.  However, the relative, because of his mental condition, flatly refused to have any more tests and discharged himself, against the doctor's advice.  As he's a mature adult and (fairly) compos mentis, there's nothing we can do, if he chooses to stick his head in the sand that's his prerogative.  It is very worrying though, obviously.

The trochanteric bursitis in both my hips, dodgy knees (the left one collapses frequently) and prolapsed disc in my lower spine - which regularly pops out, rendering me practically crippled for a day or two - continue to be a problem, but I've learnt to live with them.  I know how to manage them, or else I just ignore the pain and get on with things - well, things need to be done and I have to do them, simple as that.

I'm really loving living in our new place and continue to feel blessed that we were given it - having initially been told when we registered on the Council housing list a year ago, that we would most likely be waiting 4 or 5 years.  To then be offered this place after exactly a year was a miracle, and we are both so happy about it, it's taken a huge weight off my mind and I know now we have a very supportive landlord and lovely housing officer, who makes weekly visits to us, and there is help available via the lifeline alarm thing, should we need it.  I hope we don't, provided husband doesn't fall against it and accidentally set it off again!  I didn't do a lot of walking back at the old place.....walking in fields on uneven ground is difficult for me, and the little lanes were just too narrow - with tractors and horseboxes going along them regularly, it meant flattening yourself against a hedge to let them pass.  But here there are plenty of places to walk away from the main road....nice views of hills and the sea in one direction, back lanes (with pavements) and lots of very old interesting cottages to look at in the other direction.  I intend to do a lot of walking here.

I can't wait for Spring to arrive, to see exactly what there is in the garden, and to start implementing the plans I've got for it.  As I mentioned before, I shall be getting rid of a few plants - 2 very straggly large yuccas - plants which I've never liked - and at least one extremely overgrown and neglected shrub rose.  The bottom stems of it are as thick as my wrist and completely bare for the first 2 feet plus, I think it's beyond redemption.  The other, equally overgrown one, has much thinner stems with signs of leaf or bud growth near the bottom, so I think a good hard prune will rejuvenate it.  I want to put some trellis on the top of part of the fence, where it's a bit overlooked, to grow some climbing plants up.  We'll be getting a garden table and chairs to go in that corner, there's a patio there.  I'd like a couple of deep raised beds constructed on another patio area in the opposite corner, for vegetables.  It's all very exciting!

I'm so grateful for the support and lovely comments I've continued to get from all you lovely readers, it means a lot to me.  You've all been with me through thick and thin this past year, and that helps me to not feel so alone.  So I wish all of you a very happy and healthy new year, and thank you all so much.

Enough of the carby stodge

 I made a root veg stew in the slow cooker yesterday, with pearl barley to thicken it and make it hearty.  I also made cheesy herb dumplings.....well, too much cheese in them I think (if there is such a thing as too much cheese!) which made them almost dissolve into the stew, thickening it even further.  It tasted nice but was decidedly stodgy, and was the catalyst to me thinking I need and want to get back to healthy eating.  I am now craving fresh fruit, green veggies, salads, homemade tzatziki with veggie sticks, fresh fish, so will be going shopping to stock up on all this.  I do have plenty of fresh salmon and some smoked haddock in the freezer, so it's mainly the fruit & veg I need to get.

We've been having breakfasts most days, crumpets or something on toast, and I'm stopping that too.  Well, husband always has breakfast but I don't normally so will cut it out again, having just 2 meals a day suits me better, I'll go back to having 2 cups of coffee and no food.

I've also decided I'll be going out for a walk several times a week....I won't say every day because I really don't like walking in the rain, so it is weather dependent.  I'll be going on my own - it'll give me a little break by myself, and I'd like to walk fairly briskly (well, as briskly as my hips will allow), which husband can't really do, he gets too breathless.  Happy Hooker said I'll soon be sprinting up the hill - oh that did make me laugh!  Sprinting is definitely out, especially uphill 😂😂

Besides, I've got a wedding to go to in March - my niece - so would like to lose a bit of weight for that.  I have a really nice pair of smart black trousers I'd like to wear (I don't do dresses!) - I tried them on yesterday, knowing they wouldn't fit (I could barely get them past my hips) so that's another incentive.  I've seen a couple of really lovely blouses half price in the EWM sale online, so will probably order both of those.  My niece (my sister's girl) is very unconventional - she's going to be wearing Converse trainers under her long grey very non-wedding dress - and has said guests can wear whatever they like, and if we choose to also wear trainers that's fine by her!  I doubt I'll be wearing trainers though.

Busy this morning and now out for a walk

 This morning I've chopped up a load of the cheap root veggies we got last week and put a veggie stew in the slow cooker, I'll make cheesy herb dumplings to go in it later.  The veggies are lasting very well stored in layers, with clean tea towels and paper in between the layers, in a lidded plastic box in the car port.  I got husband to drill a few holes in the lid for air circulation as there was a bit of condensation forming on the lid, that seems to have done the trick. 

I've rearranged a few things in the kitchen, and unpacked a box of stuff on my craft desk in my bedroom.  I've been online investigating vertical blinds, as that's what I'd like at the kitchen window.  They're quite a reasonable price, which surprised me, having never bought any before, I thought they'd be more expensive than that.  Husband was dubious about fitting them but I said we'll get someone in to do it (the suppliers may well do that) - several of the other bungalows here have them, so I told him to ask some of them - they might have had a local handyman to fit theirs.

Now we're about to go out for a walk, as it's finally sunny again and the wind has dropped.  We're going to investigate a track that leads up to the hills beyond our little estate....apparently there are deer up there and very good views.  I don't know that we'll be climbing up the hill though!  I do need to get some regular exercise, to start getting off the Christmas weight I've put on.

*Added

It was only a shortish walk.....it's quite an uphill track - yes there are nice views from the top, it does level off and one can carry on walking but we didn't today.  Husband was getting very breathless and had to keep stopping, and my hips and left knee were protesting (I'd forgotten my walking stick).  We'll try and do it a few times a week, it should get easier with time and practise.

Getting more settled

 We arrived at our friends' house for lunch yesterday during a howling gale - strong winds and rain, it was pretty horrible, it had cleared up by the time we left though, thankfully.  They gave us a nice cooked lunch, with southern fried mock chicken wings for me - which were surprisingly tasty, spicy and well flavoured, and I'd definitely have them again.  I appreciate them going to the trouble of getting in something veggie specially for me, although I would never expect it....if I'm asked in advance of a meal invitation I do say I'm veggie (well, pescatarian), but otherwise I'll just mostly eat what is given to me, other than steak which I really can't stomach anymore.  It was lovely to see them again, it always is, work and time constraints mean we don't see enough of them really.  They're coming to visit us one day next week, that'll be nice.

We left Betty at home, we were out for about 4 hours which is the longest time we've left her since we moved in - she was absolutely fine whilst we were out but was extremely pleased to see us return.

There are more bulbs coming up in the garden, can't wait for them to flower.  There's quite a big clump of hyacinths in front of the kitchen window, which will be lovely, they have such a gorgeous smell.  Buds are appearing on some of the shrubs and trees too, it's going to be really interesting seeing exactly what is growing in the garden.  I can't wait for Spring.

We get tons of post for the previous tenant - she apparently died, I don't know whether it was here in the bungalow or in hospital, and don't particularly want to know.  Some we've given back to the postman, who said he wasn't even aware she'd died.....he said, however, that any post addressed to her at this address he must still deliver, but we can always give it back to him.  How odd!  We've taken out a mail redirection for a year, but obviously the previous tenant couldn't do that!

Husband's going to put up some more hooks and hang some of our pictures over the next few days.  We're also going to try and unpack a couple of boxes per day - it would be nice to have the airing cupboard in use for its proper purpose, rather than a storage cupboard for boxes!

Christmas is now over!

 We went to Dunster beach mid morning yesterday, the weather was very mild - not sunny, but fairly bright, dry and almost no wind.  We had quite a long walk, but sadly couldn't let Betty off the lead for a run on the beach - there were just too many people and dogs about, it was as busy as it is in summer.  When we're on the beach she hardly takes any notice of other dogs, but some do want to run up to her to play or just sniff her backside (as dogs do).  Unfortunately Betty absolutely hates that (can't say I blame her! 😂) and will snap at them.  She's not really keen on playing with other dogs either, it's the Shar Pei in her, she's very aloof and a bit of a loner.  So we couldn't walk on the beach, but walked through the chalet park instead.  Ah well, she had a good walk and a lovely time sniffing everything.

We had another roast dinner yesterday, practically identical to our Christmas day lunch - except we had it in the evening and I didn't have the nut roast, just the veggies.  Betty had some of the veggies with diced cooked chicken for her dinner.

Today we're off to our friends for lunch, not taking Betty - she gets too excitable there and is always very interested in their big Christmas tree covered with loads of baubles and chocolates, meaning I have to keep watching her and telling her to get away from it.  She'll be fine at home for 3 or 4 hours, I leave the radio on for her and she just sleeps.  The weather has changed dramatically from yesterday, it's now chucking it down with a howling wind.

I'm done with Christmas now, the tree will be packed away by the end of the week.  Once Boxing day has passed, I don't like to see the tree and cards etc hanging around.  And I really want to get more boxes unpacked and put away.  I can't believe we've been here 2 weeks today, it's raced past.  And just think, next week is a new year!

Christmas day

 Did you all have the sort of Christmas day you wanted?  We had a quiet one, just the three of us.  In previous years we've been to our friends for Christmas day - our two friends, their son and their daughter and partner, plus daughter's spaniel.  We've generally left Betty at home, as she's a bit unpredictable around other dogs - as we lived just 5 minutes away, it was easy for husband to go home and feed her/let her out for a wee.  Now we live 30 mins drive away, it's not really an option to leave Betty at home and go there for several hours.  We'll be seeing them later on in the week though.

We had our Christmas lunch at 1.00 - gammon for husband, nut roast for me, roast spuds, parsnips & carrots, cauli cheese, sprouts & chestnuts, stuffing and a pig in a blanket, with gravy and cranberry sauce.  Nearly all cooked in advance and simply reheated, meaning next to no work for me.  It was gorgeous and I was well and truly stuffed afterwards.  Betty had her own Christmas lunch - a little commercial dog food mixed with some chopped sprouts, a roast potato and half a carrot, and a little bit of husband's gammon, with a teaspoonful of gravy, she licked the plate clean.  We didn't eat again until late evening, just a couple of crackers and some cheese, with a satsuma.

I like watching TV at Christmas, one of the few times when there are plenty of programmes that interest me.  Favourite Christmas tunes - even if they are ancient!  Specials of Call the Midwife (which always makes me cry), Dr Who, Death in Paradise, reruns of old comedy shows, Carols from Kings, ballets etc.  And of course the traditional Bond film on New Years Day - Daniel Craig's last outing this time.  I love the Bond films, always have - Sean Connery was always my favourite, followed by Timothy Dalton....until Daniel Craig came along, he blew the others out of the water as far as I was concerned.  Before I saw the last Bond, No Time to Die, I had no idea that he was being killed off in it - a huge shock.  I've not seen it since that first time of watching, couldn't face seeing him die again (I know, I know, he's not real and not really dead!! as an actor I mean 😂), but I'll probably steel myself to watch it on New Years Day.  I have all the DVDs of the Craig Bonds and have watched the first 4 numerous times.  I have 2 other favourite Christmas films, Elf and Love Actually, but neither of them is on this Christmas - well, not on the channels we get anyway, I expect they're on Sky or Netflix.  Do you have a favourite Christmas film or programme?

I feel the need for some fresh air and a walk, we've been stuck inside stuffing our faces and sitting down in front of the TV too much, and Betty certainly needs a run.  So as the weather is forecast to be reasonable today - sunny intervals, mild, hardly any wind - we're going to Dunster beach.  Betty will love it, the tide will be out when we get there so she'll have plenty of beach on which to run about and dig.

False alarm

 Wishing all of you lovely readers a Christmas that suits you, I hope you have a happy day.

Husband has a tendency to lose his balance quite often, due to his heart failure and meds which keep his BP very low.  I frequently have to grab his arm when we're out, to prevent him falling over or knocking into people/things.  Yesterday he stumbled in the hallway and fell against the alarm call box, inadvertently alerting the emergency call centre 😒.  Within a couple of minutes, they responded asking what our emergency was.....well, at least we know it works!  I hope he doesn't do that on a regular basis, though, they might get a bit fed up with him 😉

I'm glad I pre cooked most of the Christmas lunch so it just needs reheating today, meaning I can have an easy day.  I'm feeling very weary, think all the busyness of the past month has caught up with me.

Joy, I'm really enjoying your cruise journey, thanks for sharing it.  I hope you get to see the Northern Lights!

Merry Christmas all xx

My Mum

 Today is the 4th anniversary of Mum dying....this time in 2019 we were just setting out on the long drive up to the Midlands to the hospital, having been told by my sister that morning that Mum didn't have long left.  We actually arrived 10 minutes after she passed away - which was fine, I'd said all along I didn't want to watch her die.  As it was only 10 minutes later, she was still warm when I gave her a hug and kiss, for which I was very grateful, I'm so glad she wasn't cold and stiff.  My apologies if this upsets anyone.

So today I'm going to sit and crochet (I found my crochet hooks), listen to Christmas songs and remember all the happy and funny things about Mum.  Mum was a bit of a character - not afraid to give her opinion if she didn't like something (or someone!), unintentionally funny quite often - she was a bit of a Mrs Malaprop, often using the wrong word for something - not intentionally.  She found humour in the stupidest of things, quite inappropriately sometimes - she'd find it funny if one of us tripped over or dropped something, e.g. - my sister is exactly the same.  Mum loved TV programmes like Some Mothers do 'ave 'em - a comedy sitcom starring Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer - she'd be in stitches over it, whereas the humour in it didn't appeal to me...it just amused me watching her find it so funny.

In her younger years, Mum was quite a conventional dresser....once she retired though she kind of decided that she was going to wear whatever she liked - and she liked colour, long flowing skirts and scarves, all gaily patterned and in bright colours, she dressed like a hippy or a 60s Bohemian style.  And she didn't care one jot if her clothes didn't match - she used to say "I like it so I'm wearing it!".  I remember one day when all of us siblings and OHs and children were round at hers, I can't remember why exactly (probably some stupid game we were playing) but Mum had grabbed the tea cosy off the teapot and put it on her head like a hat, and wore it for quite a while, to the absolute delight of her grandchildren who all found it hilarious - probably why she did it, in retrospect.

For all her - well, silliness really - Mum was very wise, if I had a problem or needed some advice, I knew I'd always get it from Mum.  I miss her a lot.

This is one of my favourite photos of Mum - taken in her garden by my sister, Mum was on the phone to me at the time.

And here she is with the tea cosy on her head:-

Bless her 💜

Busy, busy

 I really must start unpacking a few more boxes, there are things that I've needed and haven't yet found, so they're obviously still in boxes.  It's all very well having two boxes of work-in-progress Attic24 blanket kits, but I don't know where my crochet hooks are!  I also needed a large plastic mixing bowl this morning - I know I brought it here, but where it is I have no idea.  Same goes for my address book, and homemade gift tags for presents.  So that's a job for this afternoon.

We had a lovely couple of hours with our ex-neighbour friend yesterday, she loves the bungalow and our little cul de sac.  We caught up on some news from the old area....Jane asked if we miss living there - we both said No!  She said she wants to visit again in the Spring, to see what we're going to do with the garden, and invited us to go to hers for coffee whenever we're back in the area (I shall be going once a month to do a bit of shopping in Bridgwater, and every 2 months for a haircut from my hairdresser ex-neighbour).

Speaking of the garden.....I'd ordered a compost bin and one of those rectangular long plastic tool chests for husband's garden tools, they arrived early this morning - 08.00 am, good job we're early risers.  He's been outside putting them together already and has positioned them where he wants them.  

I've had a busy morning in the kitchen.  I made 4 meals worth of mash - white and sweet potatoes mixed with sage and smoked paprika, all been frozen for future meals.  I've done the roast veggies - potatoes, carrots and parsnips - for Christmas and Boxing day, so they'll just need a quick reheat on each day.  I also cooked the pigs in blankets, and roasted sprouts and chestnuts - everything (except the mash) done in batches in the air fryer.  I've just sat down for a breather and coffee, and will make the stuffing and cauli cheese afterwards.  So Christmas and Boxing days will be easy.....just a case of cooking my nut roast, then reheating husband's gammon and all the veggies.  I didn't want to spend hours in the kitchen both days, I want to relax and watch TV.

So once I've unpacked 2 or 3 boxes....and hopefully found my crochet hooks....we'll have a relaxing afternoon.  Husband, having finished in the garden and tidied up a bit in his brick built shed (it was already messy!), has now just put up a towel rail in the bathroom, so he's earned a rest too.

So that's what happened to them!

 Thank you for all the comments, I've not been replying or referring to them much recently, sorry about that.  I do certainly read and appreciate them all though.  Sue (I'm so glad you're still around and commenting, you'd be sorely missed if you disappeared), you asked if there are any shops here - sadly not, there was a village shop and post office but it closed down at the beginning of the year I think, which is a bit of a disappointment.  But the shops in Minehead are only a short drive away, so it's no hardship.  And in the event that husband can no longer drive, there's a bus route here just minutes walk away.  There's a pub, but that is up for sale, so it's anybody's guess whether it'll be taken over or will close down.  It's been hard on businesses since Covid.  

I was out in the garden with Betty yesterday and the gusts of wind were so strong it nearly blew me over at one point, and I'm no lightweight.  If I hadn't put my hand on the wall to steady myself, I'd have been knocked over I think.  It's still windy out there now, I can hear the gusts, but think it's forecast to ease off today.  I bet the oldies around here (I don't include myself in that just yet 😂) don't go out for walks in this weather.  Cheryl, you asked if I'm ok with being much younger than most of the residents around here - yes, it doesn't bother me.  Our immediate next door neighbours are around my age and I'm sure we'll be good friends....although we've recently discovered they're conspiracy theorists and have some weird ideas - no matter, each to their own.

We've got to pop into town again first thing, I've just realised I've left some cutlery in the old house, I thought it was packed in a box still but had a sudden lightbulb moment.  We have enough for daily use, but not for guests....I was wondering where the rest was, now I remember!  We're not going back to the old place to get it, it's all quite old anyway, so we'll go and buy a new set.

We have our first proper guest coming over today, hence the need for more cutlery, I was wondering where our dessert forks (for the cake I've bought) were.  She's one of our neighbours from the old place, she's very keen to come and see where we live.  She's in her 70s and lives in a large 5 bedroom house on her own, her family having flown the nest and she was widowed 2 or 3 years ago, so she's thinking about the future and whether living in a retirement community will suit her.  I doubt she'd enjoy living here - she's very lively and young for her age, she plays petanque in a league, sings in a choir which travels around and gives performances, goes dancing, and has a boyfriend!  She's definitely not the bingo type 😂

Yay, it's the winter solstice, so from now on the days will start getting longer, albeit by just a few minutes a week.  I love knowing that Spring will soon be on the way....although of course we've still got the worst of the winter to get through yet.

Christmas sorted, and more nice surprises

 We got to the supermarket at 07.30 (it opens at 06.00) and it was virtually empty - there were more staff than shoppers, what a surprise.  I got everything I needed for Christmas and beyond.....I spent about double my average week's shop but reckon what I bought will last for 3 or 4 weeks, with good planning.  Husband had ummed and ahhed for the past couple of weeks about what meat he wants for the Christmas period - he finally settled on gammon and pork loin.  I was going to make the wartime Mock Turkey from Carolyn's blog for myself, but read a review in the papers a couple of days ago.....someone had tried and rated several of the veggie and vegan Christmas lunch choices.  Most of the 'fake meat' type ones got the thumbs down (I have to say any type of fake meat gets the thumbs down from me, I'm not keen on them at all) - they were either too bland or had a strange texture, according to the tester.  However, a Lidl vegan Sage, Onion and Hazelnut festive nut roast got rave reviews, and is exactly the kind of thing I like.  So that's what I'm having for my Christmas lunch, along with all the normal veggies.  We don't eat Christmas pudding - too rich and heavy - but might have a slice of lemon cheesecake, or just cheese & crackers.

Speaking of cheese....the lovely B, my American reader who gifted me all those lovely cheeses, asked which ones they were.  4 different cheeses - a Cashel Blue (an Irish semi soft blue cheese), Cenarth Brie (Welsh brie), Spenwood (a hard ewe's milk cheese that's similar to Manchego or Pecorino) and a mature cheddar with chilli & tomato in a red rind.  I've tried a little of each and they're all delicious!

I cooked husband's gammon yesterday in the Multichef, it's been sliced and frozen, 8 meals worth - I won't have room to cook that and all the veggies and stuffing and my nut roast in the air fryer or Multichef on the day, so I'm pre-cooking and freezing some things to be reheated in the microwave on Christmas day.

I sat yesterday afternoon with next year's calendar, writing birthdays/anniversaries, black bin days and some advance appointments on it.  Now I just need to decide where it's going up on the wall!

Oh, we had another pleasant surprise yesterday - a hand-delivered letter containing a £10 note put through the door by the village church.  Apparently, a local wealthy landowner, who died some years ago, left a sum of money to be gifted to 'good causes' for the village, the recipients to be decided by the church and the parish council every year, until the money runs out.  Well, this year it was decided that the residents of the two sheltered housing schemes here are the lucky recipients, so all of us here in our close and the adjoining one have got a Christmas box of £10 each household.  How lovely.  That, along with the (free) Christmas buffet put on by the Housing Association the other day, shows what a lovely village we've moved to - we never got so much as a Christmas card from our previous landlords in all the years we lived there.

And one of our lovely neighbours from the old house is coming to visit us tomorrow, that'll be nice.

Bingo!

Yay!  We now have a working landline.  Phew.

Whilst we were packing up at the old house, husband found 2 plastic lidded boxes in the loft with wool in - well, when I checked them, both of them were actually half completed crochet blankets, single blanket kits from Attic24 with all the yarn and a printed pattern, which I'd clearly forgotten about, having got husband to put them up in the loft.  I'm so pleased, I've got them in the bottom of my wardrobe and will get them out and start doing them again in the next few days.  I've always liked Lucy's tutorials, she's got a fantastic eye for colour and design and makes the tutorials so easy to follow, even for beginners.

We went to the Christmas buffet at the day centre....well that was an experience.  There were only about 20 people there, mostly from the other side - only 1 person from our little close, the very nice man who lives opposite us.  The others did all make us welcome, in their own way, although we did get a feeling of some resentment coming from one or two.  Apparently, one of them, who currently lives in a flat, had also put in a bid for our bungalow (she's on oxygen so presumably has some kind of respiratory illness) but was pipped at the post by us....as she informed us.  Well, I'm not going to let it worry me - we were told by the Housing Association that we met all their criteria, hence why we were offered the place.  I was the youngest person there at the buffet by about 20 years, they were all old dears, male and female, who clearly have all known each other for years.  Some have mobility issues, several respiratory ones, and several clearly are partly deaf, as there was a lot of shouting and "Eh?  Speak up!" going on!  A few asked me if I like bingo, apparently they have bingo sessions on Fridays, which appears to be the highlight of their week.  I don't think I'll be joining in though! 😂

We're off early this morning to go and do our big food shop - wish me luck!  I loathe shopping when it's busy.

Fallen on our feet

 We handed in our registration forms at the GP surgery, have to await a call from them now (good luck with that 😂, although they have got our email address).  We also registered Betty at the local vets, who seem lovely....they actioned the registration very quickly, by the time we got home I'd already had a call on my mobile from our previous vet, asking for permission for them to release Betty's records to the new vet.  Got a refund from Toolstation for the misdelivered towel rail, and ordered a new one - which they assured us we would be able to collect from them today.

Husband put the TV up on the wall, freeing up space on his much smaller desk.  He also put up some more hooks for me - in the kitchen for mugs, tea towel, oven gloves etc, and hallway for coats.  Just the new towel rail to go up in the bathroom, along with hooks on the back of the door for dressing gown, and then pictures to go up on the walls.  We must apologise to our neighbours for all the drilling noises, don't want to get off to a bad start with them.  So all the necessary jobs are nearly done now, just a few boxes still to unpack.  None are urgent though, so can be done at my leisure.  And yesterday afternoon, for the first time since moving here last Wednesday, we did nothing - went for a dog walk around the local area, then came back and all of us simply sat and rested for the afternoon.  Husband watched - well, dozed off in front of - the TV, of course, Betty slept and I played a few games on my laptop and read the papers.  It was a nice, restful day.

There are 2 sheltered housing estates here...the small close of 11 bungalows and one flat where we live (the flat is on top of the community centre) and a larger complex of 26 bungalows and a warden's house just the other side of the community centre.  We've definitely got the best area - our little close of bungalows is a 'normal' cul de sac with bungalows each side of the road, some detached, some semis, all with attractive front gardens, some of which have driveways or car ports.  The other, larger complex looks just what it is - a sheltered housing complex of terraced bungalows in a square shape, surrounding a green space....most of the bungalows there don't have a dedicated front garden, they're communal areas of grass or path, although some of the bungalows have pots of shrubs beside their front doors.  None of them have parking spaces or drives, those who have cars park them in a residents parking area at the start of the complex.  I wouldn't have liked living there, it would have felt too much like an old people's estate.  Which, of course, is exactly what it is, as is our close - but it doesn't feel like that here, thank goodness.  I'm guessing that the larger communal bungalow area is for people with more complex health needs, especially since there's a resident warden for that area.  

There are some lovely old houses and cottages in the lanes surrounding our bungalow - and I mean really old, 1800s by the looks of things, converted chapels, forges and the like, with very thick old stone walls, great big chimney breasts, small windows.  And a stream running through the village down to the main road and beyond.  It's all so pretty here, we've really fallen on our feet.

Best points (and TV works, hooray)

 Good news!  The TV is finally working.  I set husband up in front of youtube on the computer, watching some 'how to' videos to do with satellite tv/freesat systems, and he found out what he needed - another part to buy, cheap enough at just £15.  He got it, set it up on the satellite dish and hey presto, it worked.  Thank goodness for that, he was doing my head in going on and on about it.  I'd like to say that we now have a working landline phone too, but sadly not.  At least I now have wifi calling enabled on my smartphone - I have no idea how that works, but apparently it does, according to both my friend and the BT engineer who called last week.  I haven't needed to make any phone calls yet, but no doubt I'll have to ring those idiots BT yet again in the next few days, if our landline still fails to work.

We've got a few things on this week - today we have to go and get a refund from Toolstation, for the towel rail that, for some obscure reason, they delivered to our old house (rather than us collecting it from the shop, as they told us we would need to do) - so it now could be anywhere.  Also to drop the registration forms into the GP surgery.  And look for a towel rail somewhere else.  Tomorrow it's the Christmas buffet thing at the community centre here, hosted by the lovely housing support officer Hannah, who we've just found out is leaving, although she's bringing along the new person to introduce to us all.  And it's an opportunity for us to get to know some of the other residents here.  Wednesday morning, first thing, I'm going shopping for our Christmas and New Year food, and lots of cheap veggies....I don't intend to go shopping again until some time in January.  And I'll be on a cost-cutting drive from January onwards, to build our savings up again.  Moving house is an expensive business.

So what are the best points about this place?  Well, for a start, the peace.....as I said yesterday, it's really very quiet here.  The shower room is wonderful - not having to climb in and out of a bath to have a shower is such a pleasure, and the water pressure here is so much greater than it was at the old house, so it's bliss to have a level, powerful and hot shower.  I'm still not keen on the much higher toilet (raised up on a plinth), but dare say I'll get used to it.  My bedroom is lovely, bigger than my previous one and with lots of built in storage space, and room for my craft desk.  Husband's room is smaller, but he has plenty of built in storage too, he's content with it.  Nice big airing cupboard, which is currently full of moving boxes which still need unpacking, but none of it is urgent (although I needed my address book for Christmas cards yesterday and realised it's packed away in one of those boxes).  I like both the front and back gardens, both low maintenance (the front lawn is mown by the Housing Association's contract gardeners) - I've discovered there are bulbs beginning to pop up in the back garden, so it'll be nice to see Spring flowers next year.  There are some nice shrubs in the borders too, and a rockery with alpine plants right in front of the kitchen window.  I can't wait to get stuck into the garden next year, I'll be putting some pots of flowers and shrubs out the front as well as the back.  And the neighbours we've met so far, especially the ones next door and the old chap directly opposite us, all seem very friendly and welcoming.  We both think we're going to be really happy living here....Betty seems to be settling down too.

It's so peaceful

 It's still one problem after another here - still no landline phone and husband cannot get the TV working, even with the new freesat box he bought - no signal with either the outside aerial or the satellite dish.  Neither of us knows why - well, I wouldn't know anyway, any kind of technology but especially TV stuff is beyond me.  He'll just have to get a man in to sort it out - eventually, when we've built our savings up again.  In the meantime, we can watch TV on our computers.  I'm actually not bothered about having no TV - although I was glad to watch Strictly on my laptop, and even more pleased that my favourite couple won.  As for the phone - I just despair with BT, they've smashed my already extremely low expectations.  Incompetent idiots.  Husband expects me to sort everything out, which is very draining and does my head in when tech stuff is my weakest point.

We bought a towel rail for the bathroom on Friday, from a popular DIY place.  They didn't have it in stock, but said it would be in their store for us to collect next Tuesday.  Fine.  Except yesterday I had an email from a courier company - one with the most terrible reputation for incompetence - saying that they would be delivering the towel rail to our house in the afternoon.  Eh?!  And then they sent another email, with a photo of the parcel....having been delivered to OUR OLD HOUSE!  Words fail me sometimes.  So now we've got to go back to the DIY store and get a refund and find out why they arranged for it to be delivered (and to our old house, despite husband telling them we've moved), having already told us we would have to go and collect it from their store next Tuesday.  As for the parcel - who knows whether it's still outside our old front door?  Or how long it'll stay there?  We're not going back to collect it, it'll be a 34-mile round trip.

I'm having a day off of unpacking and rearranging things today, my brain's frazzled and I need a day of rest.  I actually slept well (for me anyway) last night, so don't feel as physically tired today.  I have to fill in the forms for both of us to register with the local GPs - certainly a lot more forms than I recall doing the last time we registered with a GP, 11 years ago.  Everything is so complicated nowadays - or perhaps I'm just so much older!

There is almost total peace here - we thought it was quiet at the old place, living in such a rural area surrounded by farmland - well, despite there being twice as many houses around us here, it is very nearly silent.  I don't just mean now, at 07.30 on a Sunday morning, but anytime.  And being a detached bungalow, there's no noise from next door neighbours either.  Our little close of just 12 bungalows doesn't have any through traffic, obviously (and some of the residents are housebound or don't drive), and the lane which the close opens onto, which has several large houses, also has very little traffic.  The lane goes up to a main road, I guess about 200 yards away from us, but traffic noise from there is so quiet I can barely hear it....although that might be one of the advantages of my partial deafness!

I went to the freezer shop yesterday and got an obscene amount of ready meals - although most of them are relatively healthy ones - so the freezer is now nearly full again.  Well, 2/3 full.  This week I shall go and buy a lot of fresh veg - most of the supermarkets are doing their annual big reduction on Christmas lunch type veggies.....potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sprouts, red cabbage, that type of thing.  I'm intending to get several packs of each and have come up with a plan for keeping them - the car port, which the kitchen door opens into, is very sheltered but obviously very cold.  I'll layer all the veggies in one of the large lidded plastic boxes that we now have several of and are now stacked in the back of the car port.  I'll put paper - which we also have lots of - in between each layer, put the lid on and keep the box near the kitchen door in the car port.  I reckon they'll keep for several weeks that way.  We'll go shopping Wednesday early morning, and that'll be the last time until January.

Getting some semblance of order

 Good morning everyone....as you can see, we're back online - just.  A BT engineer turned up out of the blue late yesterday afternoon - BT had told me no-one would be calling, we didn't need an engineer, we could set it up ourselves.  They really don't know their arses from their elbows - but I'm not complaining (well, not about the engineer at least), as it saved us - well, me - from having to try and muddle through it, with newfangled equipment that I knew nothing about.  The landline phone still doesn't work, however.  Being without internet and home phone, and with mobile phones that are effectively useless here as there is next to no signal (except for the odd minute or 2 a couple of times a day when the signal suddenly kicks in, very briefly) was very disconcerting actually, it felt like we were completely cut off from the world for 3 days.  And even the TV wouldn't work - trying to connect via an outside aerial here is virtually impossible, according to our next door neighbour, much to husband's horror.  I know absolutely zero about TV technology so was unable to help him - and with no internet I couldn't even google or look for some help on Youtube.  He's now going to buy a freesat box and connect via one of the 2 satellite dishes on the roof.  Or so he hopes.....he knows very little about it but is nevertheless confident it will work!!  Oh, and BT, despite knowing our moving date, sent the equipment to our old address - so we wouldn't even have got it had it not been for the mail redirection I'd set up.  Useless idiots.  It's been a catalogue of errors with them from start to finish.

The move wasn't without problems....you know that breakdown I was sure I was going to have?  Well, suffice it to say I did - the culmination of weeks of stress trying to organise everything, coupled with a heaped up shitload of stress this week just broke me.  And that's all I'm going to say about it - we're here, and that's the main thing.  My bedroom here is, like the old house, an oasis of calm (despite there being a lot of boxes awaiting unpacking behind the wardrobe doors, but at least they're out of sight).  The second most important room for me is the kitchen....which I have tidied and rearranged and cleared several times now....but husband keeps cluttering it up again with tools etc (well, he does have several jobs to do around the house).  The trouble is, he spreads all his tools and paraphernalia over every available surface, and then doesn't clear it up unless I specifically ask him to.  And I walk in there to get a meal prepared and all I can see is his junk everywhere, and I can't even get to the cupboards or cooking appliances because of all his clutter.  It drives me nuts.

Oh, and we didn't declutter and downsize enough - we still have things that I'm struggling to find places to put, I think more stuff will have to go to the tip or charity shops.  I know it'll all get sorted and straightened out eventually - I just hate living in a mess, it irritates the hell out of me.

I have to go shopping today, to fill up the freezer, and husband needs to buy some brackets to put up a shelf I desperately need in the kitchen, which he forgot to buy yesterday when we were in a DIY shop buying some essential things.  He claimed it wasn't his fault he forgot to buy the brackets, because I didn't remind him.....except I DID remind him, whilst we were actually in the shop!

I've enjoyed reading through all your 3-foods-only choices this morning....I laughed at the 'Steak, steak and steak' choice!  

And I want to say a big THANK YOU to one of my USA readers for sending me - from America, and this from someone I've never met before and am likely never to meet - a wonderful gift....a metal wall plaque with a beautiful dragonfly and flower design painted on it, and a well-packed box of 4 assorted cheeses - how absolutely wonderful.  Thank you so much, B.  Oh, the cheeses are all sourced from this country, they weren't shipped from the USA, in case you're wondering.  I was delighted and overwhelmed by her kindness.  We've also had some lovely flowers from husband's daughter, and a nice selection of both New Home and Christmas cards, including from some of the neighbours, introducing themselves, how thoughtful of them.

Betty was so well behaved on moving day, she stayed in her crate in the car port, watching all the goings on without a single murmur.  She was a bit anxious the first day or two, but is settling down now - she knows where her bed, toys, food and water are, and knows to go to the kitchen door to tell us when she wants a wee.

I will take photos once I'm more straightened out, I promise.  

A little game

 Something to make you ponder and keep you interested reading everyone's ideas, until I'm back online.

On FB the other day, I saw a post asking what would be people's choices, if they could only choose just three food items to eat every day for one week.  

After some thought, I decided on two choices:-

EITHER 

1st choice

1.  Mature Cheddar cheese

2.  Cox's apples

3.  Good sourdough bread

OR

2nd choice

1.  Fresh salmon steaks

2.  Crunchy roast potatoes

3.  Steamed Brussels sprouts

So come on everybody - what would be your choices?

PS. It's your own choices, not mine 😉

Quick update

 The landlord arrived on time this morning for his inspection, he was actually surprisingly nice.  Was very complimentary about how we'd kept the house in good condition and made some minor improvements (which we actually did for our own comfort - with his permission).  And - best of all - I had an email from the Deposit Protection Service this afternoon, confirming the process for repayment of our security deposit in full is underway and we should receive the money back into our bank account very soon.  So he came through for us in the end, good on him.

We're all set now for tomorrow morning.  😁

Last day

 Yet more evidence of husband's hoarding tendencies yesterday.  On one of the kitchen worktops, there's a plastic box about 10" square, holding husband's current meds.  I went through it yesterday - not only are his meds in there, including some out of date ones, there were also some of Betty's old meds from years ago, when she was having a phantom pregnancy just prior to her being sterilised when she was just a year old.  But the worst thing was husband's prescription slips - the ones you get given with your meds order.  Now, I always keep my current (new) one and throw out the old one when we get the new meds....I was under the impression husband did the same - it was what I'd told him to do after all.  But obviously not - there were literally dozens of his old ones in there - why he's kept them all I have no idea.  Seems like I have to keep a check on literally everything he does from now on, he just seems incapable of throwing anything away.

Yesterday morning husband did 2 more tip trips, he assures me there's just one more needed - the old recliner chair plus a couple more bits from his garage.  After lunch we loaded up the car again for the final bits we ourselves were taking to the bungalow - Betty's cage which lives under the stairs here and has a big soft bed in it, it's her safe space (we never shut her in there, the door is always open so she can get in and out of it as she pleases).  She also has a bed in the dining room which is going with us tomorrow (tomorrow!  It's tomorrow we move!!!), and of course she sleeps on my bed every night.  The cage is temporarily in the back of the car port at the bungalow, Betty will be going in there tomorrow (with the door shut) whilst the removal guys are unloading the van, so she doesn't get in the way or be tempted to run off and can watch what's going on whilst she's in her safe space.  As soon as they've put all the appropriate furniture in one of the bedrooms, we'll shut her in there with water, food and the new chew toy I've bought her.  I'll obviously check on her regularly and take her in the garden for a wee.  As we've now cleared the house of nearly all the small stuff and boxes, it's really only the big furniture, kitchen appliances and TV stuff left, so I shouldn't think unloading will take very long.

The landlord finally got back to me late yesterday afternoon, he's coming round for his final inspection this morning.  Better late than never I suppose.

Today is all about cleaning here, and then having a relaxing evening prior to the big day tomorrow.  I've got a couple of plastic boxes ready for throwing any last minute bits and bobs in, and a laundry bag for our towels and bedding (we've got new bedding freshly washed and waiting in the bungalow).  Cheesy scrambled eggs (with bacon for husband) and sourdough toast for a good hearty breakfast tomorrow, as it may be a while before we get to eat a late lunch - although I've got cakes in (bought, not homemade!), I expect the removal guys will be glad of them.

Can't quite believe it's here, it's been a hell of a busy, mad, stressful 4 weeks, and I am SO glad we have been able to move so much stuff over there already, get it all unpacked a couple of boxes at a time, and get carpets, curtains etc in place.  It's certainly made things easier and, hopefully, a lot less stressful tomorrow.  All rooms in the bungalow are ready for the furniture to be put straight in place.

Thank you everyone for all the lovely messages and support, you've all kept me going when I felt like I was crumbling, and even made me laugh....which I really appreciate.  I'll be back posting again as soon as I can, see you on the other side!!  xx

Even MORE junk he's been hoarding!

 As I was struggling up the stairs last night (my back, hips and knees are really bad now), I thought thank goodness, only another couple of days of this and then no more stairs!  And no more struggling to climb into the bath to have a shower - the new wet room has a big sturdy chair (currently folded up against the wall, it's fixed to the wall) in the shower, so I can even sit and shower if I need to.  Bliss!

Husband did another tip trip yesterday, he's nearly finished the garage and shed clearance and will need just one more tip trip today - or so I thought, until I looked inside the boiler cupboard in the utility room (another space I don't go into, far too cobwebby).  The boiler cupboard is full up - a set of steps and big fan, which will admittedly be going with us to the new place.  But also, completely unbeknown to me, a load more junk - a big old (non-working) TV in its old box, an old ironing board that I told him to get rid of literally YEARS ago, my old broken liquidiser (probably also been in there years), and goodness knows what else, more stuff hidden behind the huge TV box.  He was going to just leave it all there!  I despair with him, I really do.  So it'll be at least 2 tip trips today - I'll go with him the 2nd time so I can nip into a shop and buy some cakes and sausage rolls - think we and the removal guys will need them on Wednesday.  I want my physical collapse and nervous breakdown now - I've bloody well earned them!!

One interesting thing that's come out of all this busyness these past few weeks - the meals we've been eating lately haven't been the normal cooked from scratch, veg heavy ones I usually do (and spend ages cooking).  For the first week or so, we ate home cooked ready meals out of the freezer, but when they ran out, we've been eating mostly just store bought things plus frozen veggies.  So things like chicken pasta bakes, burgers, bacon and sausages for husband, fish pies (for both of us), fish fingers and lightly dusted fish fillets and vegetable burgers for me.  With added frozen veg.  And guess what, we haven't died from the lack of home cooking, we're fed and healthy.....although I have had a few gut issues from eating too many carby things, and I've put back on some of the weight I lost.  The fact is, I just don't get the same amount of pleasure nowadays from cooking, and I'm more than happy to eat simple food, as is husband.  So our normal diet in the future will reflect this - why spend hours in the kitchen if I don't really like doing it anymore, and we're happy to eat a jacket spud with beans and cheese, or prawns and coleslaw a couple of times a week?  I also really like cheese (especially Brie or Stilton) on sourdough toast, topped with cranberry sauce with a side salad, whilst husband loves a beef or even fish burger in a roll with a pile of salad and some frozen spicy wedges.  I'll generally do a roast on Sundays - some sort of meat for husband, just the veggies for me - and I expect I'll cook the occasional cottage pie using chicken mince, or fish pie.  But not every day!  So that'll give me more time and less work.

So, so tired - waiting for my collapse!

 I am tired - very, very tired.  I've worked my socks off the past 3 weeks.  The physical stuff of clearing out the cupboards and rooms, packing, lifting and carrying boxes and small items of furniture, shoving bigger stuff around, etc etc is - well, almost nothing,  Having to organise husband to do jobs, motivate him, keep checking on him and guiding him back to doing what he's supposed to is tiring, and often exasperating.  But all of the admin stuff to do with moving - numerous emails, texts and phone calls, arrangements to make constantly, liaising with all the different people to do with various aspects of the move, disposal of surplus furniture, finding new doctors, dentist, vet, groomer, arranging services, new meters (we won't mention those useless fools BT), and writing lists, lists and more lists - that's the really exhausting part.  I can't wait for it to be over.  Only another 3 days and we'll be there.  And then I can collapse.

It's possible - even likely, given BT's inefficiency....and the fact that my mobile service is not good in the new place - that I'll be offline for a few days.  Or however long it takes for BT to get their act together and actually connect us!  So it may be a while before I can update everyone on here.  But I'll be back blogging from the new place as soon as I can.

Another quick trip to the bungalow yesterday morning to take another car load, then to the neighbours for a buffet in the afternoon - very nice.  I managed a quick sit down for 15 minutes before we went, to write a few Christmas cards for the neighbours here.  I have some more to write and post, will try and do that today - the post is so crappy nowadays it's not even guaranteed that the cards will reach the recipients in time for Christmas, but I can't worry about that, it's out of my control.

Husband has another couple of tip trips to do today, hopefully his last.  Tomorrow we'll be going to the bungalow again, to take the last few small bits and make sure everywhere is clear for the furniture to be put in place on Wednesday - husband has an annoying habit of putting boxes of stuff in the wrong places, or wrong rooms even, so I have to keep shifting things around.  Tuesday will be all about cleaning here at the old house.  I've emailed the landlord (last week) suggesting a couple of times he can come and make his final inspection and asking him to confirm which is suitable - guess what, he's not replied.  Again.  Honestly, that man - moving out of here can't come soon enough.  Well, if he doesn't get back to me, then we'll just dump the house keys at the farm office when we move out, with a clear conscience that we've left the house in good order (and with photos to prove it).

The local vicar's husband, who is involved with a homeless charity, came yesterday and took away our old fridge freezer (he said there's a waiting list for them), small filing cabinet, bedside cabinet, bar stool, large oil-filled radiator and some gardening tools.  He was very grateful, but I said I was extremely grateful to him, he was doing us a huge favour by taking them away and I was glad they were going to a good cause and not into landfill.  The only surplus piece of furniture that's left is an old electric recliner chair which he couldn't take as it doesn't have a fire safety label, so we'll have to get that into the car for the tip - it does come apart, I think.

4 more sleeps!

 Well, 4 more nights in bed, don't know how much sleep I'll be getting 😂

We're almost at the finishing line now, I know I've had some panicky spots but actually can't believe how much we've achieved in just 3.5 weeks (is that all it's been?  Feels like a lifetime!).  Joy made a comment yesterday about how few people are able to get sorted before moving day - you're so right, Joy.  Being able to move so much of our stuff over gradually, and get carpets and curtains in place before the move, has been absolutely bloody marvellous, and I know how lucky we are.  Of course it's meant we've had two lots of rent to pay, which was a big dent in our savings, but it's been so worth it.  The thought of having to move absolutely everything in just one day filled me with complete dread, I think I'd have had a nervous breakdown.

Yesterday husband made 2 tip trips and we took the very last donation to the charity shop.  He's still got another couple of tip trips to do, but he's made big inroads into the garage and shed stuff and is doing really well.  Just a pity he left it literally to the last minute.  Well, he's learnt his lesson and knows he won't be hoarding stuff (junk) in the future - I won't let him.

At this rate we'll have nothing left to do Monday and Tuesday!!  I'm sort of joking, I'm sure there'll be a few last minute bits still to deal with, and making sure everything's clean.

This morning we're off to the bungalow again, taking another car load - more tinned and dry food, almost the last of the kitchen stuff (just enough crockery and cutlery left here for the next few days).  Bathroom stuff and most of the cleaning supplies.  A few pictures that got missed....it's surprising how many pictures we actually had.  A new mattress bed for Betty to have in my bedroom, and some of her toys, just a few left here.  I think I'm going to give her a few drops of CBD oil on moving day, just to calm her (our vet ok'd it, in case anyone wonders).

Thank you again, lovely readers, for all the supportive comments and emails, they're much appreciated xx

Simple logic, and garden musings

 We did another 2 trips to the bungalow yesterday, taking a car load (and Betty) each time, and putting all the stuff away.  Husband asked why I insist on putting it away, rather than just dumping the boxes to unpack at a later date.  Simple really, I don't want boxes full of stuff cluttering up the place for moving day, I want clear spaces so that the furniture can be put in the right places straight out of the van, by the moving guys, so husband and I don't have to lug it around by ourselves afterwards.  Husband gets very breathless indeed when moving or lifting things, and my back, shoulders and arms are killing me already from all the lifting and carrying.  And when we've moved in, I just want for us to be able to collapse and rest, knowing that most stuff is unpacked already - well, all the important and needed daily stuff.  Anything else is being left in the boxes in the huge airing cupboard and one of the big cupboards in my bedroom, to be unpacked at leisure.  When we got back home after the second trip, around 2.30 pm, we just relaxed for the rest of the day, we certainly needed it.

It's funny, whilst we're here at the old house, I do feel quite panicky (no need to really, it's just the way I am) and my mind is constantly ticking over....yet as soon as we get inside the bungalow, calm descends and I feel relaxed and at home.  We are so going to love living there.

Yesterday the weather was horrendous again, more torrential rain and flooded roads.  Today it's forecast to be much better, sunshine even.  I think we've all certainly had our fill of rain.  We're doing tip trips today, and one last charity shop dump.  Then over the weekend, it'll be a case of cleaning all the cupboards and hoovering in corners, and we'll probably go to the bungalow again with another load of small bits and pieces.  We're also having au revoir (because we will be seeing them in the future) coffees with two sets of neighbours.  Which reminds me, I must write out Christmas cards this evening.

I was looking at the new garden yesterday, out of the window in the pouring rain.  It's certainly going to be low maintenance - no lawn to mow.  I now think rather than having a greenhouse, it would be more sensible to have a couple of raised beds on the paved area - there's a big tree in next door's garden which hangs over the paved area, so it would shade the greenhouse and probably drop leaves, etc, all over it.  And when we're away at the caravan, as we will be during the season, any plants in the greenhouse might suffer or die from lack of water.  Having veg in a couple of fairly large raised beds would be better I think, more chance of them surviving.

There are some existing plants that I'll be having out - 2 large very untidy yucca type plants (I've never really liked them much) and a couple of roses.  Whilst I do love roses, they're one of my favourite plants, these 2 have been left to get really tall (6 feet plus) and leggy, they've not been pruned properly for years by the looks of things, are bare at the bottom and tied up very roughly to odd bits of wood.  They're flopping over the path and are a hazard - someone (husband) could easily get his eyes poked out or at least severely scratched so they've got to go.  I can't wait to see what comes up in the beds next Spring.

Do it now!

 Well, I've pulled my bra straps up and got my big girl pants on and am just getting on with things.  As is husband - as he knows I've run out of patience with him and he's got no choice but to get on.  He IS capable - to a certain extent - in fact most of our neighbours and friends don't realise there's anything wrong with him, apart from his poor memory, occasional lapses in concentration and his habit of saying inappropriate things, which they put down to his age!  I am actually staggered at the amount of junk he's collected - since I almost never went in his shed or garage I didn't know just how much of a hoarder he's become.  He's always had those tendencies and has been terribly disorganised throughout the entire time we've been together, but he's certainly got much worse over the past couple of years, no doubt due to the cognitive impairment which was only diagnosed this year.  He's the complete opposite of me.

For the few days remaining until we move next Wednesday, I will have to tell him each day what he needs to do, and make sure he does it, I can't leave it to chance anymore, there's no time left for him to float about doing the odd thing here and there and sitting down dozing in front of the TV in between.

As for getting some local firm (of any description) in to take away the remaining stuff.....there's nothing left that's worth anything, the charity guy will take away the few remaining bits he can distribute to needy folk, which I'm happy about.  Husband's stuff in the garage and shed is, quite literally, junk, only fit for the tip - bits of wood (an assortment, none of it useable, mostly not even for wood burners because of varnishes or paint), old broken tools, old half empty paint tins, stuff like that.  He did clear out quite a lot yesterday, we made 2 trips to the new place....well, he went on his own in the morning, taking tools and (useable) wood.  After lunch we both went with another car load of packed boxes, some of which I unpacked over there and brought back for refilling today.  Going back there this morning with another car load.  We really are nearly done now, certainly inside the house.  

One thing I will say to you all, a big tip - if any of you are thinking of moving some time in the not too distant future - start decluttering and sorting NOW (well, after Christmas!!).  I did lots a few months back, as you may recall - well, it still wasn't enough.  It did help, definitely, but not enough by any means.  The problem is that we've downsized from a 3-bedroom house with 7 rooms plus bathroom and understairs space, to a 2-bed bungalow with only 4 rooms + bathroom.  Granted, the rooms are a fair size, with the lounge being much the same size but without a chimney breast taking up valuable space as in the old house, bigger kitchen and my bedroom being bigger.  But there's still a lot less room in the bungalow than there is in this house, which means a lot less possessions.  If you want to move house, be ruthless and get rid of whatever you don't need, haven't used for months or years, or won't fit in a smaller place.....and do it now!  Lecture over 😉😂😂

One thing we've noticed - the heating in the bungalow is far superior to this house....although I'm guessing the new extremely cheap and nasty double glazed windows the landlord had installed here have something to do with it.  It's blimmin freezing here now, despite having the heating on, whereas it's lovely and warm in the bungalow.  I'm glad we don't have to spend the winter here!

The final countdown, and a disappointment

 Yesterday I actually saw inside husband's garage and shed, for the first time in weeks and weeks.  I was absolutely aghast to see that they are both - still - almost full of junk.  Husband was supposed to have been clearing them out over the past 2 or 3 weeks.....now I admit I haven't been monitoring his progress as I've been so busy inside the house, but it honestly looks like he hasn't touched them.  At all.  Goodness knows what he's been doing whilst he's been outside - sloping off to chat to neighbours, I suspect.  I was so annoyed - I've been working my socks off these past few weeks, not only with the physical stuff of clearing and packing, but all the admin stuff involved with moving, and having to keep up with washing, cooking, shopping etc, ordering our meds early to ensure we don't run out, appointments for Betty and trying to keep her fairly calm, when she's clearly unsettled with all that's going on.  And arranging our trips over to the new place, and what to take each time we go.  It's no wonder I'm not sleeping well - my brain is ticking over relentlessly.  And now I'm stressed up to the eyeballs again, my shoulders are up round my ears and I have a permanent tension headache.

The thing is, due to various commitments we have over the next week, husband has got just 3.5 DAYS left to clear the shed and garage.  And I have no idea how's he's going to manage it.  The amount of junk there will mean probably 5 or 6 trips to the tip, and some of the stuff he won't even be able to fit in the car unless he chops it up.  I've been telling him for literally months and months he needed to get rid of all this crap, but obviously he hasn't.  And now he's left it almost too late.  I know he's probably stressed about it all - what does he think I am?!  This is him all over - prevaricates, buries his head in the sand, puts things off and ends up doing nothing.  Well, he now knows he's got to get on with it, or else leave it all behind and risk the landlord keeping our deposit to pay for clearance.  Just to make matters even worse, the tip is closed today, and there's a load more rain forecast for tomorrow.

At the bungalow yesterday morning, Hannah the Housing Support lady came round to tell us she's hosting a Christmas afternoon tea at the community centre the week after we move in - so that'll be a good opportunity to get to know everyone.  We unpacked a few more boxes there and I made another list of a few little things we still need, like hooks for the bathroom door, a bathroom mirror and toilet roll holder.  I also rearranged some of the plans for where furniture is going.

Today I'm packing the store cupboard surplus food supplies, cleaning the fridge freezer which we're not keeping and is being collected by a local charity, and gathering up/packing any odds and sods.  We're up early (even earlier than has been the norm over the past 2 or 3 weeks), husband's done a lot of thinking during the night and has decided he's going to take some of the wood he's accumulated (from who knows where) over to the bungalow this morning, along with gardening tools....he says he can use the wood to make a fence at the back of the car port, to prevent Betty running out into the road.  I didn't even know he had this wood, it'll save us having to buy any fence panels, which is something.  At least he's thinking positively now following my serious talk with him yesterday.  He's also said that the chap coming to collect the fridge freezer (the local vicar's husband, who works for a charity) can have some of the surplus of gardening tools he's collected, that'll clear some more stuff out of his shed.  The charity chap says he knows local families who have allotments to cut costs by growing their own veg, so they'll be glad of any tools.

One week to go!

Final push

 Yesterday we had rain of biblical proportions, it went on all morning.  We needed to go with another car load to the charity shop, time is very tight now so we need to keep to the plan.  We waited until just after lunch when the sky was clearing and the rain was easing off, however our little farm lanes and even the main roads were rivers, it was really quite scary.  Husband was fine with it, having been a professional driver almost all his working life he was pretty confident and took great care, I was proud of him.   The worst thing was lorries and vans, mainly the vans, driving far too fast for the conditions and throwing up huge deluges of muddy water, almost covering the cars entirely.  I was thankful our car is an MPV thing, albeit a small one, so it's higher than a normal car.  I was also very glad to get home safely. 

HH, you asked about dentists and vets.  Husband and I have different dentists (long story) - he will stay with his, I will have to change mine as it'll be a considerable distance from the new place.  There are at least 3 in Minehead, our nearest town, although none of them are taking NHS patients - but then I don't think any of them are in the whole of Somerset!  Re the vets....again we'll have to change, as our present one will be too far away....there's one only about a mile or so from the new place which has good reviews.  Ironically, we've just had an email from our present lovely vets - they're a married couple who own and live at the practice.....well, they've sold it and are moving as they're retiring.  The practice is remaining open will all other staff, and the new vet owner is apparently very nice and has the same values and ethos as the present couple.  So it seems an appropriate time to change vets anyway.  They've said they'll send all Betty's records to the new practice, once we've signed up there.

Sue, thanks for the offer but my answer to coming to help you with your next move (is one on the cards then?! 😉) will be a big resounding NO THANKS! 😁😂.  I shall hopefully never have to do anything concerned with moving houses ever again.

You may recall that the neighbour who threw us the 40th anniversary tea party back in May had offered to give us a big leaving party.  We thanked her but gracefully declined - I'm not a big party person anyway, and it'll all be too emotional....both husband and I feel we'd rather just slip away quietly.  We are visiting individual neighbours for a coffee and exchange of cards, we're not just shooting off with no warning.  Well, a couple of days ago I discovered that a different neighbour, to whom we're going for coffee and a mince pie this coming Saturday, had planned on inviting most of the other neighbours for a big shindig for us - behind our backs.  He loves a party (he throws himself a birthday party every year, much to his wife's irritation as it's left up to her to do all the food planning and prep) and simply cannot grasp that not everyone feels the same way!  His wife, who is a good friend of mine, has nipped it in the bud and told him he's not doing a party for us and that's final.  For which I'm very grateful.  A party is the last thing I want right now, I'm too tired and stressed. 

I'm outwardly calm and coping pretty well, but my guts are churning along with my brain.  Only 8 days left till the move!!  Having done the charity shop trip yesterday, looking around the house now I really do think that's the last stuff to be donated (famous last words).  There'll be another couple of tip trips though.  Husband has finished clearing the loft (apart from the previous tenant's stuff which husband left up there), what was up there has been either tipped or donated.  This morning we're off to the new place, taking a load more small stuff.

And yes I will be taking photos when we leave, to prove we've left the place in a clean and tidy state (despite the previous tenant having done no such thing!!).

Breaking glass as stress relief

 We're down to the last few little annoying fiddly bits left now - odds and ends that have been on shelves for so long we don't even notice them anymore, like candles and the odd ornament, pens, screws or little tools that husband has 'put that there for a minute' and then never moves.  There are also 3 or 4 pictures still left on the walls, which husband missed.  The utility room needed clearing of all his accumulated junk as well, which I asked him to do, as well as emptying the (already half empty since my sorting out months ago) wall cupboards in there.  I thought whilst he was getting on with that, I could be packing our store cupboard extra supplies of tinned and dry foods ready to take over to the bungalow on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, husband seems incapable of deciding what should be kept or thrown away - he was coming to ask me about almost every item, even stuff that was his, not mine.  So I said to him that anything that's broken, or we haven't used in a year or more, can be chucked, he doesn't need to ask me about every little thing.  We did another tip run, taking an old ottoman we've had for years and a couple of boxes of junk, one full of his stuff from the utility room and a boxful of old/surplus to requirements glassware and jars.  It's very therapeutic and strangely satisfying chucking glassware into the glass bins at the tip, I love the breaking sound! (Yes I know I'm weird 😂).

Today it's charity shop stuff, two boxes of oddments already loaded in the car, more stuff to go in this morning, such as a bar stool from husband's bedroom that he only ever used as a clothes hanger, and a couple of spare table lamps.  I imagine we'll have perhaps 2 more tip trips of house stuff, then whatever husband's got to chuck out from his garage.  Except he's just told me there's still a lot of stuff up in the loft!  Including 2 bagfuls of wool, apparently, which clearly I'd forgotten was up there....depending on the colour and type, I may keep it or else it'll go to the charity shop.

I've done the menu plan for meals up until the night before we move, using up the last supplies in the freezer, there will be less than a bagful of frozen food left to go in the cool box.  I'm trying to keep on top of the washing, so husband can disconnect the washing machine early next week.  I've got a couple more phone calls to make today and a bit more admin stuff on the computer.  Last week I ordered our last lot of medications from the surgery, two weeks early but I needed to ensure we have them to tide us over until we've registered with the new surgery, which we'll try and do this week or next.  It's all stuff like this which I have to keep on top of, I keep remembering odd things I haven't yet done.

Lovely day, and feeling energised

 What a lovely night's sleep - think I slept for about 7.5 hours!!

Yesterday morning it was thick freezing fog here - when we got over to the new place it was gloriously bright sunshine streaming in through the big lounge window, it was absolutely lovely, although very cold outside.  We put the heating on and it warmed up the whole place very quickly, the heating seems far more efficient than here.

We had a really good morning - I got husband unpacking the boxes of glassware and cookware tins we'd taken over and putting them away, and then his bag of clothes.  I got out the Christmas tree, set it up in the lounge and dressed it, whilst listening to Christmas songs on the radio - such a nice, calming morning.  Think I'd like a few more baubles for the tree, but it's getting there:-

Terrible photo, sorry about that

Next time we go, we'll take a small side table to stand the tree on.  I also need to get a star or fairy for the top (probably a star, husband's eyebrows would go through the roof at a fairy 😂) - whatever I had last year (I can't remember) wasn't in the Christmas bag so I suspect it got thrown away.  I've got some tinsel to wrap around the base.  

When we got home I quickly packed another box, did some new potatoes to go with a quiche and salad for dinner, and then sat down and did nothing much for the rest of the afternoon and evening.  Watched Strictly, of course, and had another early night.

I'm feeling so much better today, positive and raring to go again.  The BT thing (I'm heartened to see that we're not the only ones to have had troubles with BT) has really annoyed me, I can't believe (well, I can actually) that they're so bloody incompetent - still, years after we had the first problems with them.  And as I mentioned yesterday, they've made yet another cock up in the package details they emailed to me, so that's something else to sort out.  I will be putting in a formal complaint - but not right now.  Right now, I need to let it go for my own sanity, accept the likelihood that we'll be without a landline or internet for however many days it takes them to get their finger out, and just get on with the things I have to do.  

Incidentally, whilst at the new place yesterday, I had a sudden flurry of texts and WhatsApp messages on my phone - the signal had kicked in, albeit briefly.  This is the first time that's happened....the BT guy on the phone yesterday did suggest we could use our mobiles whilst waiting for the landline/internet to be connected, and I let him know that actually we couldn't, as EE signal (our mobile service providers and now part of BT) was non-existent there.  He said he would look into that, not that I believed him.  But perhaps he actually did, and somehow boosted the signal ❓

I'm going to spend today and tomorrow packing more small things.....we're down to odds and ends in the rooms now, we're really clearing the decks.  I'll pack our store cupboard spares of tinned and dry foods to take as well.  I've done an inventory of the remaining freezer stuff and will make a menu plan for the remaining days here (only 10 more days!!) - there'll be almost nothing left in the freezer by the day before we move so I can switch it off, the few remaining freezer bits can go in the insulated cool box in the unheated utility room and we'll eat them up over the first couple of days in the bungalow.  We've got another couple of tip trips to do, and husband is clearing out his garage today.  And then we'll be more or less ready.  I'll have some empty plastic boxes for oddments to be thrown into on moving day, and a bag for laundry.

Thanks so much again for all the lovely messages, you're all so kind.  🤗  

Almost at the end of my tether

 Sue of A Simpler Life made a very good suggestion yesterday - have a day off of all things moving, reset your mind and feel invigorated to re-start the moving madness.  So that's what we're doing today....well, kind of - we're doing just things we want to do today.  We shall be going over to our new home - and it certainly does feel like our new home now, every time we go there.  We'll be taking a few more things - including the Christmas tree....I've decided we will be having that up, even if we don't put up anything else.  On the way to the new place, there's a bakery which sells lovely filled rolls and hot things, so we'll pick up something for lunch (saves me making sandwiches).  Whilst I'm not enjoying the process of packing and emptying this place, I am really enjoying unpacking over there, with every bit making it our new forever home.  Oh, and it will be our forever home.....we have a year's introductory tenancy, at the end of which we are, provided we haven't shown ourselves to be tenants/neighbours from hell(!!), granted a lifetime tenancy.  Which is immensely reassuring.

I certainly need a day free from stress - BT have cocked up yet again.  (For overseas readers, BT is British Telecom, our landline phone and internet providers).  11 or 12 days ago, we, well husband, rang them (getting through to them on the phone is a challenge in itself) and arranged the changeover from this house to the new place.  When he came off the phone he said that it was a trainee young lady (my heart immediately sank at this) who didn't seem too sure about some things and kept having to go and check with her supervisor.  However, he said it was all arranged, they would be sending us a new SmartHub through the post and a supervisor would be ringing us within a couple of days to check that everything was ok.  Well, neither thing happened - no SmartHub delivery and no phone call.  So husband rang them back yesterday, putting it on loudspeaker so I could hear (he did it at a very inconvenient time though, just as I was getting lunch prior to him having to take Betty to the vet).  It transpired, after several minutes of being put on hold, that the order hadn't gone through, it appears the trainee hadn't completed it.  So a new order had to be put through yesterday and it now seems we will be without landline or internet services for 3 days after we move in - all due to their incompetence.  I am furious but am trying to ignore that problem and focus on other things - it's yet more hassle and I am just TOO BUSY to cope with any more.  I am looking at it with the view that 3 days without internet or landline phone will actually enable us to get settled in properly, without interruptions.  It's a bloody nuisance that our mobiles have little or no signal there, but I guess we can always get in the car and drive a short distance if we really need to use the phone.  Oh and just to reinforce their incompetence even further....in the summing-up email I received from BT yesterday evening, they've made a(nother) mistake in the products in our package deal, so that means yet another phone call to them to put it right.  I despair.

We went to the farm office yesterday to pay our final rent, still having heard nothing from the landlord.  I'd decided to stay in the car - just in case I felt the urge to give him a piece of my mind....we still want our deposit back, after all!  As it happened, the landlord was just coming out of one of the barns as we drove in, so he saw us and came over.  When husband got out of the car, the landlord grumpily said we'd chosen to move right in the middle of one of his busiest periods!....it was just as well I stayed in the car as I'd have been sorely tempted to tell him we were moving at our convenience, not his, and in any case he has an accounts clerk to sort out his office stuff!  He also said he'd have settled up with us once our final December rent standing order went through.....which was just as I suspected, he was hoping to get the entire month's rent from us, hence why he'd kept quiet and didn't reply to my emails!  Just as well I cancelled it then, and paid in cash the amount I'd calculated we owe until the date we move out, as I'm sure we'd have had a bit of a fight on our hands to get back the overpayment.  Although we've enjoyed our years here and made some good friends, we're glad to be moving out to what is increasingly seeming like the perfect home, with lovely neighbours and support from what the neighbours say is a fantastic caring housing association.  Incidentally, our deposit is held in a legally protected deposit accounts scheme and the landlord's (very nice) office clerk has assured us she will do everything in her power to ensure we get the deposit back by the end of December at the very latest.

I am just so tired of everything being a problem or a hassle - I wish I could click my fingers, go to sleep and wake up on the 14th December, the day after we've moved in.  Last night I just cried.

I do feel more positive today though, despite having woken up ridiculously early again.

On the home run

 Thank you so much for comments yesterday.  I know I am relatively organised (and actually doing fairly well), but I think I just got overwhelmed with all the mess in a room which a couple of days previously had been fairly well sorted....until husband started chucking stuff in there unbeknown to me.  I know he can't help being the way he is (disorganised, scatterbrained and oblivious of time), but when there's so much still to do, I need him to help, not hinder.  The only way I can get him doing what needs to be done is to say to him "Right, I need you to do this, this and this today.....start with this, and do it now please".  My head is full to bursting with so much stuff that it's all spilling over - it's not just the physical stuff of sorting, packing boxes and lifting/carrying, it's all the admin stuff that needs doing as well.  Every day I have to make a couple of phone calls or send some emails to do with the move, which takes time - especially phone calls when, more often than not, I'm stuck in a queue for ages.  Seems to be the way of things nowadays - lack of staff since Covid I expect.  And then there's still meals to prepare every day, the odd bit of necessary shopping, washing to do, etc - I'm afraid housework has mostly gone out of the window, I haven't got time (and frankly don't really care anymore, as it no longer feels like our home).  So other than quick basic cleans of the kitchen and bathroom, that's it, I'll give everywhere a hoover and wipe down on moving day as the furniture in each room gets loaded in the van.

Do you know, we've still not had any reply from our landlord - I don't know what his problem is.  So I've calculated the remaining amount of rent payable and husband will take the cash to the office and pay it this morning - and yes he will get a receipt from the office clerk.

This morning it'll be at least one tip run and charity shop dump, I also need a couple of items from the supermarket.  Betty's got a routine vet appointment (an ear check, nothing drastic) just after lunch, and I'm having my last haircut of the year this afternoon.

Hasn't it turned cold all of a sudden - blimmin freezing. No snow here though, thankfully - well, I haven't actually looked out of the window yet this morning but there wasn't any yesterday!