Black spuds

 Just to clarify, I wasn't really complaining yesterday about the Council photocopying ALL of my paperwork and the forms.....I was merely bemused and surprised at it taking such a brief few minutes after all the time it took me to do it, it just seemed so ironic!  Oh, and the waste of paper, when we're all supposed to be saving the planet and the Council are on the verge of bankruptcy.  And yes I will be keeping all the paperwork, in case they lose everything - I don't have a lot of faith in bureaucracy nowadays.  If I was being really cynical 😉 I would say it wouldn't surprise me at all if they did 'lose' it - any delay would suit their purposes with their current economic problems.  So I am glad/relieved that it's all done and handed in....now we just have to wait (4-6 weeks apparently) for their decision.  I won't be very happy if we're refused, after all that work, but if that turns out to be their decision, so be it.

A couple of weeks back, the last time I went shopping, I'd bought a 2.5 kg bag of potatoes, Maris Pipers, I'd opened the bag and emptied it into my veg box outside in the car port, covering the spuds over with tea towels to keep them dry and out of the light.  I'd finished up the last of the previous potatoes at the weekend, so started on the newest ones yesterday, I took 3 of them out of the box to cook for mash.  All 3 of them were covered in black marks under the skin (so couldn't be seen until peeled) - frost marks I presume, I had to cut a lot off.  I'm guessing the whole bag will be like it, so today I shall peel and cook all of them, just in case they all go off, don't want to waste a bag of food.  Husband said we should take them back to the shop, but that involves getting in the car and driving there, using fuel - we don't need to go into town for anything else right now so it's a waste of fuel and time.  It's not the shop's fault anyway, they're not to know the spuds were like that.  Not the farmer's fault either I don't suppose (they can't control the weather), just one of those unfortunate things.

The promised sunshine didn't happen yesterday, it became very grey and dismal and I felt cold and shivery so the weeding didn't get done.  I'll try and do it today, before the forecast rain and gusty winds start.

Jackie, thank you for the explanation of your two family dishes.

One week - 4 minutes. Sigh.

 We've been to the Council offices this morning to hand over the completed forms and documentary evidence.  Now, remember this blimming form filling and sorting out the printer then printing off all the required documents took me a week to do.  The nice receptionist lady said she needed to photocopy everything, so I sat down in the chair handily placed in front of the reception desk, thinking it would take her a while.  She copied the whole lot, including the 28 pages of the form and all of my supplied documentary evidence, scanning the things like birth & marriage certificates and husband's driving licence.....it took her less than 5 minutes.  It was a super-duper all singing/dancing copier that she just put a whole sheaf of papers in and it did the whole lot in one go, rather than her having to do it individually, one sheet at a time - wow, things have certainly advanced since I was a secretary back in the day.  She then date stamped both my form and the copied one and handed the whole lot of the originals (including the 28 page form) back to me.  All that time and effort it took me and she did it in 3 or 4 minutes 😮.  I would have thought they'd have kept the original form I filled in and just took photocopies of the original documents I wanted back, like our birth/marriage certificates and driving licence, rather than copying literally everything.....what an enormous waste of paper, especially if they do it for everyone who takes in forms (I presume they do).  It's no wonder our Council is on the verge of bankruptcy and is wanting to increase our Council tax by 10%.

I'm feeling my cooking and baking mojo coming back, I've made double quantities of a few meals lately so we have homemade meals ready and waiting in the freezer.  I'm also making some cakes, rolls and small savouries again - I've discovered that whilst larger cakes and bread don't cook very well in the air fryer (the bake is inconsistent), small ones like cup cakes, muffins, scones or flapjack do pretty well.  The only thing I would say is that they don't rise as much as in a conventional big oven, but that's ok.  

The weather is dull but not raining or cold, the sun is even forecast to come out at lunchtime, albeit briefly, so I shall go out in the front garden and do some weeding, there are a few weeds coming up in the gravelled bits outside.  We have a small leather footstool on legs, I'll take that outside to sit on, it'll be fine on the path.  From tomorrow showers and gusty winds are forecast again, so no garden time then.  It really gladdens my heart to see the masses of Spring bulbs coming through here, both front and back, I'm so looking forward to seeing them all in bloom.

It works!! and yummy nut loaf

 After much trying out of all sorts of things, watching youtube videos sent to me by a tech minded friend (which weren't really a lot of help, especially since one of them was in Spanish), googling umpteen things and downloading drivers and manuals, I have finally (FINALLY!) got the printer working.....it's only taken me several days, no end of aggravation, headaches and hair loss.  The solution that worked was one that Jane in London suggested - buying a cable that had ends that fitted both the printer and my laptop.  I then had some blips before I could actually start printing, to do with settings that I needed to alter (I didn't actually know I needed to change them, until I worked it out via a process of elimination).  But then I could - finally - get the paperwork I needed printed off.  Job done.  Thank goodness.

I've been really down the last few days, what with the ginormous forms to fill in, the printer problems, and the revelations about the gardening equipment left behind.  I know it can't be helped now, what's done is done....but the fact that husband did it purposely, giving it no thought and not telling me (until he had to when I asked him directly) did really upset me.  And it's so infuriating that we now have to buy replacement stuff - when our money is in really short supply at the moment, the bottom line is I can't really afford to buy stuff right now.  I can possibly get hold of some things when boot sales start up, or by looking on the local FB pages, but that's very hit and miss.  Husband has bought me a new round garden trug and some gardening gloves, so that's a start.  I'll need a new kneeler/seat imminently as well, before I can get on with any weeding and low pruning.

I've made a lentil and nut loaf for myself this morning, didn't follow a recipe, I just winged it using things in the cupboard and fridge.  It's red lentils, finely chopped carrots and a shallot, cooked in veg stock with a big squirt each of tomato and garlic puree and shake of dried herbs.  When the stock had reduced, I took it off the heat and added in some sage & onion stuffing mix, a tin of chickpeas drained and mashed and a 1/3 of a pack of crumbled feta cheese that needed using up.  Gave it a good mix then filled 2 1lb loaf tins with the mixture, cooking it in the air fryer for about 25-30 mins.  One has been frozen, the other I'll be having tonight with cauli cheese, and again tomorrow, with some left for a cold lunch with salad veg the day after that.  Husband will be having an individual steak pie with his cauli cheese tonight, probably with some peas.

I had a video call with my sister this afternoon, shut myself in my bedroom for some private time and we put the world (well, ourselves) to rights.  Betty whined and yelped in the lounge, she really is my shadow and doesn't like being shut out of my room when I'm in there.  She wasn't on her own, she had husband with her in the lounge (although I expect he was asleep in front of the TV), she just likes to be with me though and follows me around the bungalow and in the garden.  What she'll do when I go up to the Midlands for 2 nights for a family wedding in a few weeks I don't know, she's being left at home with husband.....it'll be a nice little break for me but I will worry about the pair of them being left on their own.  

Thank you all for the comments, especially to Meg - thanks for commenting and I really appreciate what you've said.

And more!

 I got the cartridge changed on the printer yesterday, it was easy actually (once I'd worked out where in the printer insides it actually was!).  However, I still can't get it recognised by my laptop or phone - the theory I had didn't work.  Well, what do I know, I'm just a stupid old woman.  Jane's idea of buying a lead with ends that will fit in the printer and my laptop is a good one, provided I'm able to get hold of one.  

I can't do some jobs in the garden without sitting down - I cannot kneel at all (excruciating pain in my knees if I do, back and hip trouble and then I have problems getting up) so used my heavy duty solid plastic kneeler/seat a lot.  At least I used to.....I've now discovered just this morning that husband also left that behind at the old house, along with my round tub with handles that I used for prunings, and some of my own gardening tools.  And yes Angie, I am infuriated, especially as I had absolutely no idea he'd done it and he never told me.  I know why he did - he just got totally overwhelmed at the sheer scale of the vast amount of STUFF he'd hoarded in the garage and shed, and didn't know how to even start clearing it, so he mostly just abandoned it altogether, and then compounded it by telling neighbours they could have it all.  To be honest, I felt much the same way about everything I had to do in the month before we moved, especially as I had to do it all entirely by myself - but I got on and did it, I had no choice.  If only husband had told me!  Still, what's done is done, there's absolutely nothing I can do about it now, so I have to let it go.  What annoys me the most though is that it's now hampering and delaying me as we simply don't have the tools and things I need to do some of the things in the garden, and at this moment in time we cannot afford to go out and replace it all.  I was supposed to be saving up for bedroom carpets and vertical blinds, but now we need some of the gardening stuff as well, so I've got to work out where our priorities lie and the rest will have to wait even longer.  I feel like just giving up and howling my eyes out - but that's not me.  Well, I might well howl....at the moment I'm too infuriated to cry.....but then I'll pick myself up and get on with things, I always do.

Thanks everyone for the support, it does mean a lot.  I WILL be positive and get things done again, it's just that at the moment I feel like I'm being thwarted at every turn.

He did what?!

 We've now got a period of fairly settled weather for a few days, according to the forecast....it's bright and sunny this morning, albeit still with a fairly strong cold wind, however, tomorrow the wind is set to drop so we should actually be able to get out in the garden and start doing some work - hoo-blimmin-ray!  There are a couple of large pots containing plants in the back garden, which I want moved to the front of the house - one has quite a nice ornamental grass in it, the other is a shrub - I don't know what, as it's just bare twigs at the moment, but buds are coming out all over it, so it should be nice - hopefully!  However, husband has just informed me that he left his wheelbarrow and sack truck back in the garage at the old house, along with loads of his tools.....I am speechless.  He claims he couldn't bring them as the removal van was full up - well he could have gone back and got them, or brought them here in the car a couple of days before we moved out.  There'll be no point now, as they will no longer be there - we are almost certain that at least 2 of the neighbours will have had them - in fact husband has just now admitted he'd told them they could help themselves to whatever was left.  This is all down to him not getting on with clearing out his garage in the month before we moved....you may remember I didn't discover this until a week before we were due to move, and then he just gave up on it.  I had no idea that he'd left such important (and expensive!) stuff behind.  Well, it's too late to do anything about it now, although it's annoyed the hell out of me.

I've got to get on with trying to sort out the printer this morning, change the cartridge first of all and then try again to get the printer recognised by my laptop and phone, so I can print off the required paperwork.  I have an idea why it wasn't happening yesterday, let's hope I'm right.  

I also need to order our next lot of medications - this new surgery have told us to put in the order 10 days before we need them, which seems a bit excessive.  Our last surgery said 3 days prior, or occasionally 5 days during busy times.  I'm glad we didn't register with Minehead surgery, which is further away than the one we have registered with - a couple of days ago it suddenly closed down, with zero warning - something to do with a failed quality inspection apparently, which doesn't sound good!  A private health provider has apparently taken over, albeit temporarily, I think.  Must have been really worrying for the 12,000 patients registered there, to suddenly be told they had no GP!

Gemma's Person (B) - the conifer hedge isn't a privacy screen, it seems to be simply to separate two areas of the garden, which we don't think is necessary - well, not for our plans anyway.

I didn't sleep at all well last night - I have actually been sleeping a lot better generally since we've moved here, but last night I was lying in bed reading for a couple of hours from about 01.30.  I must have been lying awkwardly holding my book, as I've got up with pain in my neck and shoulder and down my right side. Hopefully it'll loosen up as the day goes on.  

Brain freeze

 I've finished filling in the form.  It was actually not too bad, the questions were fairly easy to answer (quite a lot of multi-choice tick boxes), but some of the questions are really intrusive (I kept thinking to myself blinking cheek, that's none of your damn business 😠) and the form itself was so long.  I started it yesterday and worked on it for about 40 mins, then another 2 hours this morning - a fair bit of that time was taken up with looking things up...details in paperwork, emails and bank accounts.  But it's done now.  The next part is printing off several documents required for ID, address and income verification purposes.  Which means I have to get the printer working - as I hardly ever print things, every time I need to do it I've forgotten how it works, so have to google the manual.  And I now remember that before I can do any printing (assuming I can get it working), I need to change the ink cartridge....I have got a new one, had it for ages, and even know where it is!  As to how to change it, I don't know, although I think it's fairly easy and there are picture instructions on the box if I recall.  And then the next thing is to get the printer (it's a wireless one) recognised by my laptop or phone - at the moment, none of them are talking to each other!

Thanks to those of you who said that as loads of us do online banking etc and don't have paper statements anymore, printed off copies are generally acceptable - yes, that makes sense, cheers.

My brain has had enough for one day, I'll have another go at it tomorrow.  Where's a 12 year old tech wizard when you need one 😂😂

I've been looking at and thinking about the back garden again.  There's a 6ft length of conifer hedging dividing two parts of the garden, it's about 4 or 5 ft high (it's been cut back in the past), it serves no useful purpose really and is very scruffy indeed, so I think we might have it out.  We'll buy a couple of dumpy bags to put all the prunings in and take them to the tip, there's too much of it to put in the bottom of any raised bed and I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere it's too acidic (or something like that) to be used for composting and growing things in.

Silence is golden (well it would be if I had any!)

 Thank you for comments and suggestions, I've checked and the nearest Age UK office is in Taunton, around 20 miles away.  Where we lived before, there was an Age UK agent who visited the village hall in the next village, every other week, for 2 hours, I don't know if there's a similar scheme here, I haven't yet attempted to find out.  There is a CAB in Minehead which is open for drop ins on weekdays, I've spoken to them and they said although they would be willing to help out with forms, it does depend on how busy they are and how many people are waiting, as the forms take a long time to fill in (don't I know it!).  They did say they could do it by appointment, but there's a waiting list for them!  I've decided to fill in the forms myself, although they are somewhat confusing, it just needs careful thought and time.  I'll do it for 30 mins or so at a time, in my bedroom not the lounge, as husband will either have the TV on or he'll be talking at me non-stop (he always does, except when he's asleep 😒).  Even when I ask him to be quiet as I need to fill in forms, do emails, etc....he just can't help himself, or else he forgets.  And when he's not talking to me, he's humming or whistling or talking to his computer or laughing at some silly video he's watching on his computer....he couldn't do a sponsored silence, he wouldn't last out for 5 minutes! 😂

If I just do the form filling for 30 mins at a time, then stop for a break and a coffee (or even leave it until the next day), then I won't get frustrated and headachy, which will make it easier.  I know I can print some of the required 'proof of' documents off my computer (assuming I can get my printer working again and 'talking' to my laptop).  However, the form does state the required documents have to be originals, not copies, so I don't know whether ones I print off will be acceptable.  But, as I said yesterday, if they decline to accept them then I shall ask to see a supervisor and make a point of telling them that there's no other alternative.  I might even drop in a comment about age discrimination as us 'oldies' aren't always able to cope with official things.....in this age of 'wokery' (how I despise that term!!!) that might gee them up! 😉😁.  I'm tenacious and determined, if nothing else.

I've made cheese scones this morning, to have with a cuppa soup for lunch, followed by a piece of fruit.  We like this and have it about once a week, it takes no time at all to knock up 4 scones and bake them in the air fryer, I don't even weigh out the ingredients, just do it by eye and a 'chuck it in' mentality.  For dinner I shall make cauli mac n cheese, accompanied by green veg and husband will probably have some of the chicken I roasted for him yesterday.

Forms and Spring flowers

We went to the Council offices - giant building (it's shared with Police), only saw reception and waiting area, which was virtually empty.  Turns out you have to make an appointment if you want someone to help with form filling, and it wouldn't be anytime soon.  So I was just given a sheaf of forms to fill in.  The application form is, I kid you not, 28 pages long....although to be fair, there are a few pages I don't need to fill in as they don't apply.  The form also states that our application will not be considered without all the relevant proof required - for ID (2 forms of ID each), address (again 2 types each), tenancy offer, proof of rent paid, proof of Attendance and Carers Allowance, bank statements, savings account statements, and a few other things 😲.  And they have to be original documents, not copies!  (how can that be done when we don't get paper statements etc anymore?  Can't go to the bank and request them as there isn't a branch anywhere near, and I think the bank make a charge if we phone up and request paper statements to be sent out).  As I said, they don't make things easy and obviously hope people just won't bother.  And, as one of you said, it's not easy to get an appointment with CAB anymore - that's if there's one nearby.  

I'll do the forms myself, it'll probably take me a few days (we have a month to fill them in and return them), we'll take them back to the Council in person and if I can't produce all of the documents they're asking for, I shall just tell them politely but firmly that it's simply not possible.  If the person we see says we MUST produce them, I shall ask to see their superior.  They must come across exactly this problem frequently, I'd have thought, we can't be the only ones.  Honestly, how people older than me or with cognitive problems cope with things like this, I don't know.  Anyway, I won't be defeated, I will get there - nothing stops me from achieving something when I put my mind to it....after all, we got here in just over a month from start to finish, and I did it all mostly by myself.  💪

So it's another storm out there - Jocelyn apparently - although it's a mere puff and spit in comparison to the last one.  Still gloomy and cold though.  However, on the bright side, this morning I noticed quite a few small bulbs poking out round the bottom of the apple tree in the front lawn - I think they may be snowdrops, how fabulous!  Oh I'm so looking forward to seeing all the many Spring flower bulbs that are here starting to bloom, it's going to look lovely.  It's really exciting waiting to see what's here in the garden, there are lots of things coming through and buds appearing on bare shrubs.  Can't wait!

Betty's been doing a lot of sleeping lately, more than usual.  I don't think she's unwell, she certainly doesn't seem it, doesn't appear to be in pain, no lumps visible or felt, is eating normally.  Perhaps it's just the winter, or maybe it's because she's starting to show her age - she's 7 years 3 months.  The average life span of her two breeds - Shar Pei 8-12 years, English Bulldog 8-10 years - isn't that long, unfortunately, although I don't really want to think about that.  So I'd prefer to think she's just hunkering down until Spring.  Which is what a lot of us feel like!

No damage, forms (grrr!!) and my own personal doggy heater

 The wind was really fierce yesterday evening, and was hurling rain at the windows very noisily, Betty didn't like it at all.  It was still fierce when I went to bed, but didn't keep me awake for long and when I woke up for a wee around 3 am, it had died down - in fact I couldn't hear anything.  On looking out of the windows this morning, I expected to see pots etc blown around in the garden, and perhaps some of the shrubs, roses and tree branches battered.....nothing though seemed out of place, we seem to have escaped any damage.  No tiles off the roof, the electricity didn't go off, no flooding or anything, all seems well.  To be fair, we are quite sheltered here, unlike our last house which was very exposed, especially at the rear, we often lost roof tiles there, had chimney damage one year, frequent power cuts and the front garden used to flood, although it went away quite quickly.  I hope all you lot are ok?  We have a mixture of sunshine and showers this morning, with short gusts of strong wind, although nowhere near as strong as last night.

I put a wash load on when I got up, so I could get it on the clothes airer in the car port asap, hopefully it'll dry - or nearly dry at any rate.  I had some carrot and swede mash left over from yesterday's dinner...as I had a roll of puff pastry in the fridge I decided to make some pies.  I mixed the mash with half a pack of crumbled feta cheese and 3 rashers of bacon left from husband's brunch yesterday - I diced and lightly cooked it in the microwave first.  It's made 4 pies, 2 we'll have tonight and the others, which I've partly cooked in the air fryer, will be frozen.

A couple of our neighbours, plus the housing support lady, have expressed surprise that we're not getting Council Tax benefit (old people do like to ask personal questions, I've noticed!).  I had done a cursory check a while ago and had got the impression we weren't eligible for it - so yesterday I decided to apply on the Council's online application form.  You know I said the other day that forms seem to be getting more and more complicated - or I'm finding them more difficult as I age - well, this Council form is a nightmare.  Umpteen pages long, and asking the most intrusive questions, and wanting attachments of no end of proof to back up answers.  I was getting more and more confused and irritated with each page, it felt like my brain was exploding.  So I gave up when I was about 8 or 9 pages in - I've no idea how many more pages there were.  I've decided the best thing to do will be to actually go to the Council offices - there's a major one not too far away, which is open for walk-ins every weekday - and get someone there to do it for us.  So this morning I'm gathering together all paper evidence that I think they might need - everything I can think of, including some that might not be necessary but my thinking is it's better to have it there than be asked for it and we haven't taken it with us.  Another problem is that a lot of us do everything online nowadays, so we don't always have paper evidence.  I am quite sure that nowadays official bodies employ people whose sole job is to make these forms as difficult as possible, so that we will give up!  Same goes for ringing companies - we either have to press umpteen buttons after listening to several different menu options, or are held in a queue for an hour or more, and then when we do finally get through, are quite often mysteriously just cut off.

We'll go to the Council offices tomorrow - a Monday is bound to be busy, I'd have thought - especially after the storm yesterday, people will no doubt be wanting to report damage or their refuse bins having disappeared in the wind.

Betty spent the best part of last night stretched out on her side in the middle of the bed, her entire back length pressed right up against my side, from my boobs down to my knees (she was on top of the duvet, I was underneath it, I hasten to add) - she certainly kept me warm (too warm), but left me only a narrow strip of bed to lie on.  She was clearly so comfortable, (she was snoring gently and having woofy dreams), so I didn't have the heart to move her over.  She did move when I got up to go to the loo, but came back to the same position once I got back in bed.  Bless her!

Blonde (or senior) moment

 The trouble with staying in, in blogging terms anyway, is that there's nothing much to write about!

Well, here's something.....after having typed that first sentence, I accidentally pressed something I shouldn't (don't ask me what, the sun was shining in so brightly and blinding me, so I couldn't see what I was doing 😁) and the screen went dark - still on, but impossible to see anything it was so dim.  Did a restart and it was still the same.  Went into Settings and it turned out I'd somehow or other set the screen brightness to 0!  Honestly, sometimes I make myself laugh with how blonde I am 😂😂 (except I'm no longer blonde but grey, seeing as I don't colour my hair anymore....I guess it's senior moments now!).  Oh well, sorted now 😉

I'm getting on with some admin stuff whilst we're staying home, more change of addresses etc.  I suddenly realised yesterday that I hadn't changed our home contents insurance to the new address - I did ring them before we moved, but they said they couldn't action it until we'd actually moved to the new place.  It had slipped my mind what with all the unpacking etc, so that's done now.  

I've been trying to get onto the Government website to check my State pension forecast - I'm aware that I am missing a few years' NI contributions and wanted to see exactly how many, and how it will affect my future pension.  Whilst getting Carers Allowance I do apparently get NI credits automatically, so that's good.  However, so far I've not had any luck - I need to get a Government Gateway registration, but having tried online, I come up against a brick wall when it comes to verifying my ID - it just won't have it and says it cannot proceed as no verification possible.  I suspect it's because I have no passport or driving licence, the online form says you have to have 2 forms of ID out of a given list, and I only have 1.  All blimmin online forms nowadays seem to be hellishly long and complicated, or else I'm just getting dimmer in my dotage 😂 😠.  I suppose I'll have to ring them - although that in itself is also a problem nowadays, seems we get put in queues for ages and/or have to press buttons in response to some automated instructions.  Which I can't hear properly as I'm partly deaf.  Nothing is ever simple, is it?

I'm feeling as fit as a fiddle right now - well, other than my creaking hips and knees (my back is ok right now!), the threatening cold didn't materialise at all.  Husband is hardly sneezing now, he's still got the cold but is definitely feeling better.  I'm still avoiding him as much as possible 😁 - since I'm the carer, I don't want to be ill!

It's still cold outside (in the garden with the dog), not nearly as cold as it has been but there's already a strong wind blowing.  Our local forecast says wind gusts of up to 62 expected later - wow, just as well we're not going out.  Possible power cuts too - we've got torches and candles, plenty of food, blankets etc, and a camping gas stove thing with several gas canisters, so we'll be alright for a while in the event of a power cut.  I don't know whether the housing support officers do anything in those circumstances, I guess we'll find out!  I might boil the kettle and fill a flask with hot water later, just in case.

I hope all you lot are staying home and safe, and that you don't have any problems with this new storm.

Staying in and garden planning

 My sort of sore throat and stuffed up nose have gone, no other cold symptoms and I feel absolutely fine.  Husband is no better but no worse either....well, his sneezing seems to have eased off a bit, he says he feels alright.  Cherie suggested we test for Covid - I'm sorry you and Tony have got it, I hope it's shortlived and you don't suffer any lasting effects.  We haven't got any test kits, we did have some left but I threw them out when we were packing at the old house - they were very near their use by date so I didn't see the point in keeping them.  I don't actually see much point in testing ourselves right now anyway - we've got no appointments coming up, no visitors due soon, and with the weather people predicting another storm with rain and gale force winds, we won't be going anywhere.  No shopping or anything needed, so we'll just stay at home in the warm and have lots of hot drinks and nourishing food.  I know husband is at more risk of being more seriously ill with covid, due to his health problems, so I will of course keep an eye on him and ring the surgery should he get worse.  It's not necessary right now.

We took Betty to the beach yesterday, she had a wonderful time charging around, digging holes in the sand, throwing herself into them and rolling around on her back.  She ran up and down the beach, getting loads of exercise, whilst husband and I more or less stood still and just watched her enjoying herself.  I find it quite difficult walking on the sand now, I feel very unsteady so used my walking stick for support.  Betty slept literally all afternoon when we got back, so much exercise clearly wore her out.  In view of all that running about she did, we won't feel guilty about not taking her out for walks for the next couple of days, she'll be fine just using the back garden - she loves sniffing everywhere out there anyway, we think there must be creatures (mice, hedgehogs, cats....maybe even a fox, although I'm not sure where they would get in) using the garden at night....not that we've ever seen any, but Betty can clearly smell them.  So she has all that sniffing to engage her brain and senses, and we do play with her indoors, with tug toys and balls.

I'm still thinking about and planning things for the garden, both rear and front.  At the front it's open plan, no fencing - all the front gardens are, to give the contract gardeners employed by the housing association free access to mow the lawns I guess.  So there's a lawn with a medium sized apple tree in the middle, and some shrubs and trees to one side.  Right in front of the house it's paved and gravelled, about 6 feet deep and the entire width of the house frontage.  So it's quite bare there.  I want some shrubs and/or flowers to soften it - I love flowers and colour.  Oh, there are hanging basket brackets on the front wall so there've clearly been baskets there in the past.  However, as we will be away at the caravan for up to a fortnight at a time throughout the park season, whatever containers/plants we put out there will have to survive with no watering for that time....as this is a community of elderly people, we can't expect neighbours to be watering all our plants.  So containers will need to have water-holding gel crystals or the like in them, and be deep enough to not dry out - and contain plants that don't need daily watering.  I'll have to give it a bit more thought and do some research.

Bug out, cold in

 I'm feeling much better now, thank you everyone...well, insofar as the bug thing has gone.  Whilst husband didn't catch my D&V bug, he has now got a very sneezy cold - he says he doesn't feel ill at all, but is sneezing violently and often.  He is a bit indiscriminate about where he sneezes, so it's a bit hard trying to dodge all his germs 😒.  I haven't had a cold in ages but have woken up this morning with bit of a sore throat and stuffed up nose.  I hope it doesn't get any worse, colds always seem to go to my chest, with a cough that lasts ages.  We have plenty of honey, lemon juice and ginger, plus soluble aspirin and paracetamol, so self dosing and staying in the warm will be all we're doing for the next few days.

From the weekend onwards it's forecast to be warmer - and about time too, I've been feeling the cold these past few days, and I hate feeling cold.  It's a newish thing for me - for several years, all throughout my 50s, I had hot flushes and night sweats, I almost never felt the cold.  Along with the warmer weather forecast though, comes cloud, rain and strong winds.  Can't win at the moment.  Well, however cold and/or wet it seems here, at least we haven't had -40 deg, heavy snow or floods, so we're actually really lucky to live in a temperate climate country and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

I know we can't do anything about the weather, just have to wait patiently for Spring and nicer weather to arrive.  All I can do is keep thinking about the garden, watching to see what comes up and making plans for flowers, shrubs and veggies to grow.  Can't wait to see what the apple tree in the middle of the front lawn is - eater or cooker.  Doesn't really matter, I'll be happy with either.

Bug

 I've had some sort of D&V bug, it started Monday evening, I'll spare you the details.  Stayed in bed most of yesterday.  Slept a lot both during the day and last night - as a result of virtually no sleep Monday night I expect.  The unpleasant effects of the bug have gone, but I feel like I've been run over by a steamroller.

Back soon.

Cold, saying No, and raised beds

 So what did we do yesterday?  Well, it was sunny on and off, albeit cold, so we went for a walk.  It turned out to be a short one, just 20 mins, as it was just too cold for me and I could feel myself getting slower and slower.  My hips are really protesting about the cold weather just now.....although I feel bad even talking about it being cold when the likes of Canada have temperatures of -30, or even less - now that really is cold!!  But I guess to a certain extent we are governed by where we live and were brought up, that influences how we view the weather.  So as far as I'm concerned, it's cold here!  The week is forecast to be fairly dry with sunny spells here, and still cold....but we're not forecast any snow, thankfully.  We intend to take Betty to the beach on one of the sunnier and slightly less cold days - it won't be as busy as it was on Boxing Day, when it seemed everyone in the area had decided to go for a walk with their dogs, so hopefully we'll be able to let her off the lead for a run on the beach.

I made a big stew in the slow cooker....mostly veggies, with chickpeas and puy lentils, chopped dried apricots and just 250g of minced lamb.  I used Middle Eastern warm spices - cumin, paprika, cinnamon, ginger, with thyme and garlic paste.  Near the end I added a tablespoon each of honey and mint sauce, and a splash of lemon juice for freshness.  It made 8 good portions, so I froze 3 double containerfuls for future meals.  Despite using so little lamb, as I haven't eaten lamb for over a year I could taste the fattiness of it.  It wasn't unpleasant, but it's not something I'd want to start eating again regularly.

I want to try and avoid shopping for the rest of this month - with all the meal plans I made from the freezer and larder inventory I did the other day, it should certainly be doable.  Having said that though, I'll probably need to get some milk towards the end of the month.

Thank you for the comments and support re the impending family 'situation' - B.E.G. you did make me laugh with your comment.  I actually have no trouble saying No nowadays, and it doesn't involve money in this instance anyway.  It's just that husband and I are rarely on the same page, especially now with his memory problems - something he may have said or agreed to last week, he will have totally forgotten and flatly denies now.  He can also be quite obstinate and argumentative, which makes things more difficult.  The point is, whatever I say - having given it a lot of thought and discussed it with husband - will cause ructions one way or the other.  I just have to be firm and stand my ground - and yes I will be Wicked Witch of the West!  C'est la vie.

The days are beginning to draw out, albeit very slowly and just a minute or two at a time, it's now starting to get light earlier, and yesterday we didn't put the lounge lights on until nearly 4.30 pm.  Spring will soon be here!  We're going to start collecting pallets for the raised beds - I've seen on FB marketplace quite a few being given away, although not very locally, but it means there are plenty of free ones about, if we keep looking.  We will only be able to get perhaps 2 or 3 in the car at a time, so the sooner we start getting some the better.  We'll also go to the local firm who we were told by neighbours frequently have some to give away, and there's an industrial estate in Minehead where there'll no doubt be more.

There may be trouble ahead....

 There are a couple of possible 'situations' coming up, which are giving me cause for concern.  It's family stuff, which is always a problem - on the one hand, however badly behaved they are, and however much I resist being drawn into their problem behaviour, the fact remains that they are family.  My family is a bunch of angels in comparison to husband's.....although I do have one big problem relative.  Incidentally, that relative has been a giant pain again the last couple of days, just when I have enough to cope with and little patience for him.  It's husband's family who are the main problem right now though.

To give some background.....husband has 3 children from his first, very ill-fated marriage (he had them when he was little more than a child himself, with an older and extremely manipulative woman who quickly married him, as soon as he reached 18).  He has no contact at all with his eldest, a son - hasn't seen him for 15 or 20 years - the son's choice, when he flatly refused to treat me with respect.  He's hugely arrogant, a bully and downright nasty and right from the start (when he was 13) he treated me with utter contempt, fuelled by his mother and unchecked by his father, until I snapped and refused to have him in our home unless/until he apologised and gave me some respect.  Husband also has little contact with the eldest of his 2 daughters, who has a lot of her brother's 'attributes' and is foul-mouthed, extremely sarcastic and bitchy and spends most weekends posting pictures on FB of her falling out of pubs and nightclubs with her, all clearly drunk, friends.  She's in her early 50s by the way, she's not a teenager!  Husband's youngest daughter is, by contrast, lovely - she's married to a really nice bloke and has 2 adult children, they're a lovely and normal!! family.  The current problems are centred on husband's eldest daughter.....I know a situation is almost certainly going to blow up very shortly (it's brewing already) and, whilst I really don't want to get involved, I know I'm going to have to make some decisions and manage things, since husband won't be able to.  

Whatever I say is not going to go down well, I'm fully aware of that, and I will be painted as the wicked stepmother once again.  Which in itself doesn't really bother me - I and those who are close to me know the truth of what's happened over the years and that's all that matters.  But it is a shame for husband, especially now he's older and has all these health problems which are only going to get worse.  Although, to be blunt, some of the problems with his 2 elder children were exacerbated by husband himself and his mismanagement of the situations.

I find as I get older (and have more health problems myself, as well as managing husband's), I am less willing to put up with bad behaviour or stupid drama.  In my 60s and onwards, I just want a peaceful life.....I would say peaceful and easy, but it's never going to be easy, going forward.

Oh dear not a good start

 Regarding husband's med sorting into his dosette box weekly....it was suggested that we could get the pharmacy to do it.  I did a bit of research and it seems that there's quite a high incidence of mistakes being made by the pharmacies when doing this, and the patient may not know about it if they don't check the meds - or get their carers to check.  It was also reported that some pharmacies are doing away with this, due to time constraints and costs.  I rang our new GP and asked the pharmacy (attached to the surgery) - they ummed and ahhed and said they would rather not, unless there was a clear clinical need for it to be done, as they are often understaffed and sorting/filling individual boxes for patients takes a lot of time.  So we'll carry on doing it ourselves....it's a bit of a boring job but only takes 30 mins or so, hardly a huge chunk out of one day a week.

Betty had her ears checked yesterday, the infection this time hasn't cleared as quickly as usual so she had another dose of meds, she also had her claws clipped.  I've signed up to the vets pet plan - it's not an insurance but a way of spreading the cost (by monthly payments) of her regular flea, tick and worming treatment, annual health check and vaccination.  It works out cheaper than paying them all in one go, and she also gets an extra health check every 6 months, plus nail clipping, and 10% off any other meds she might need (such as ear treatment).  So it was worth doing, saves some money.

The mattress on my bed isn't that old - about 4 or 5 years I think.  However, since we've moved here it's just not as comfortable - and it creaks like mad.  Whether it didn't like being stood up on end in the removal van, or whether it's a result of Betty jumping around on it....which she does tend to do sometimes, when she's feeling playful or restless.....I don't know.  I didn't really want to shell out for a new mattress just yet, so ordered a thick, good quality memory foam mattress topper online - it was £25 off in a sale and had a few hundred good reviews.  It came yesterday morning and, as recommended, we unfolded it (it was hard getting it out of the vacuum packed bag!) and laid it out on my bedroom floor all day, for it to plump back up.  Which it did beautifully....I kept the door shut so Betty couldn't go treading all over it.  Slept on it (on the bed, not on the floor 😂, I'd never get up off it!) for the first time last night, it was really comfy and cut down on the creakiness a lot.  Betty seemed to like it too, she slept well.

So unfortunately for my trying to get our savings back up again plan, this month so far has been quite a spendy one - what with vet bills, the Multichef packing up and having to buy a replacement electric pan, and the mattress topper.  So I am more determined than ever to cut down my food shopping spending and stretch out the food we already have in, for as long as possible.  It'll be even more important also to get at least one raised veggie bed constructed - on the subject of which, our neighbour told us of a local firm that regularly gives away pallets, so we'll go and have a look soon.  Growing veggies, especially since we do now eat a lot of them, should save a bit.  We'll grow some in large pots too, there are a few here left by the previous tenant which are a bit tatty and not particularly pretty enough for flowers, but will be fine for veggies for at least one growing season.

Ordinary day

 I helped husband fill his pill dispenser yesterday, it's a week's worth.  He takes so many pills each day, it's a bit of a nightmare filling up the dispenser - he does it whilst I supervise.  All done for another week.  The fact that the dispensary often changes suppliers, meaning the tablets are in a different box, under a different proprietary name and sometimes a different shape/colour, makes it all the more confusing for husband....he never thinks to look at the generic name.  I did once ask the dispenser why they change suppliers so often - she said it could be due to a number of things - usual supplier not got them in, different supplier cheaper, or even visiting drug co. salesman was very persuasive! (bearing gifts no doubt).

My friend gave me a fabulous desk diary for Christmas (it's one with lots of rude motifs and sayings in it, makes me laugh every time I look at it), as well as putting appointments and payment dates in it, I'm also making a note of shopping spends.  It'll help me keep track of my supermarket spends and thus keep my food shopping spending as low as possible.  I hope.  We're well on track for eating out of the freezer and larder cupboards this month, I need hardly anything in the way of food shopping, although do need some cleaning supplies and toiletries.  It's a shame that Wilkos went bust, I used to get household things in there, I really liked that shop.

I went online yesterday to get husband a concessionary bus pass - he wants to start using buses now there's a bus route nearby.  As seems to be the norm nowadays, the online application form was far more long-winded and complicated that it needed to be.  Or perhaps I'm just getting more confused about techie stuff the older I get!  By the time I'm eligible for a bus pass in a couple of years, it'll be even more complicated I expect....perhaps I'll have to get someone else to do it for me then 😂😂😒

Other than that, it was just a normal housework and washing day.  I shall be glad when the weather starts warming up so I can put my washing outside, instead of cluttering up the place with it draped on the airers.  A couple of times I have put one of the airers out in the car port, but it's been so cold that the clothes don't dry at all out there.

More expenses

 I made the packet sourdough loaf in my multichef yesterday, I think it's the first time I've used it for bread - I always used the oven before on the few occasions when we made bread.  It over-baked on the bottom, but not too badly, just crisp, tastes alright though.  Afterwards I started making the smoked haddock kedgeree, using the multichef....well, the blooming thing packed up halfway through.  It had been playing up a bit the last 2 or 3 times I used it, so I guessed it was probably on it's way out....I have had it a few years and have got my money's worth out of it.  So I've ordered an electric deep frying pan thing, after researching a few different smallish cooking appliances.  I already have a medium size slow cooker (in a cupboard, as the multichef did slow cooking), an electric hot plate for boiling, the air fryer and the microwave, so thought an electric fry pan would be useful.  I finished off the kedgeree on the hot plate.

Cherie, yes we are settled now.  Husband put up a few more pictures yesterday, with a bit of prompting.  I've still got loads of pictures....more pictures than we have wall space, actually, seeing as we've downsized to 3 less (fewer?  Does it really matter?!) rooms.  

Sunny spells but bitterly cold again yesterday, so no walk again - I really feel the cold now I've got older (I'm done with the menopause hot flushes), just makes me want to huddle indoors where it's warm.  Even Betty's not keen on going out in the cold, she does her business and then runs straight back in.  And from the long range forecast, it looks like there's not going to be much change in the next couple of weeks.  Well, it is the middle of winter!  Loads and loads of Spring bulbs appearing in the garden, more every time I look, it's going to be so pretty when they start flowering, I do love Spring flowers.

I've got a swede, some potatoes, carrots, cabbage and onions still left in the box outside, they're still ok (bought a week before Christmas) but some are beginning to look a bit limp and wrinkly (I know how they feel 😂😂).  So today I'll get them all out and prep/cook them for freezing....swede we like boiled and mashed with butter and plenty of black pepper, the carrots I'll roast in the air fryer.  Potatoes I'll boil and mash and then stir through shredded and fried cabbage and onions for colcannon.

Betty has to go back to the vet tomorrow for her ear check up....whilst we're there I'm going to ask about their monthly payment plan.  I've read through the details online but they're a bit sketchy and confusing - doesn't say in black and white exactly what it covers.  Our old vets gave a 10% pensioners discount, this one doesn't and seems to be a fair bit more expensive than the old one.  What with vet fees, grooming and insurance costs, having a dog is an expensive business.  And that's without the food.  We always had dogs as a family when I was a child.....I don't remember my parents buying dog food, the dogs seemed to be fed mainly on scraps from the meals Mum cooked, although I think I remember my Dad buying and cooking tripe for them occasionally - nasty smelly stuff!

I ordered our monthly medications from our new GP a week ago - they said they'd let us know when they're ready for collection.  Nothing yet - our previous GP only took usually 2 or 3 days to have the meds ready.  Good job I'd ordered extra from our last GP - although husband has just run out of one of his meds.  Better give them a ring today.

Cooking mojo coming back

 The garden centre and dog groomer trip investigation didn't go according to plan.  We went there and drove in, it's a small kind of industrial estate with a few different businesses there.  Well, the only one that was open was a car wash....the garden centre/cafe had a notice on the door saying they're closed until February.  The dog groomers was also closed, nothing on the door and no phone number.  It's a pity the garden centre hadn't put a notice on their huge sign on the roadside to say that they're closed for winter!  Still, not entirely a wasted trip as I did take note of the name of the groomers and looked them up on the internet when home.  Sent them a message, the lady replied fairly promptly saying she's fully booked until March(!!) - clearly popular, she has very good reviews online.  She did say though she would let me know of any cancellations, she does get them now and then.

Husband is falling back into his old ways of sitting in front of the TV all day, I had to ask him a few times to do little jobs I've been asking him to do the past few days.  He did a couple, somewhat grudgingly.  I don't want him to vegetate his life away, it won't do him any good.  There will come a time when he can't do things, I know that, but whilst he's still capable then I think it's best that he should be as active as possible - for his sake as well as mine.  And that's what his cardiologist and GP have both said.

On the subject of being active, I really wanted to go for a walk yesterday as it was sunny intermittently, no snow here.  However, it was so blinking cold with a strong breeze making it feel even colder, so I didn't.  Forecast to be sunny today but still very cold, I'll see what it's like later.

I think I'm starting to get my cooking mojo back.  I fancy making a smoked haddock kedgeree for dinner today.....I've got a packet sourdough bread mix in the cupboard so might make that too, baking it in the Multichef.  

Why do they?

 Husband enjoyed his birthday big cooked breakfast, I also enjoyed mine - I had a small portion of muesli, with fresh forest fruits and Greek yogurt, followed by a pain au chocolat.  I had to laugh - when we arrived, the host (the manager I think) came over and asked if we'd made a reservation.....the (large) restaurant was completely empty!  We went and chose a table and then, as luck would have it, a party of 4 business colleagues who were clearly staying at the adjoining hotel (2 men, 2 women) came and sat at the table right next to us....oddly, as there were so many other empty tables.  They were very noisy and were constantly traipsing up and down to the 'serve yourself' buffet counter, shouting across to their colleagues to ask if they wanted any toast doing, or a top up of coffee or juice.  It's sod's law isn't it - if you park in a big empty car park, someone is bound to come and park right next to you, so close you can barely open your car door 😒😂.  Going off on a tangent, I once went to the Gardeners World show at the NEC in Birmingham with a female relative, who was notoriously scatty - she drove.  When we left the show at the end of the day, the car park we were in was virtually empty, there was just her car and one other parked directly behind it.....my relative, for some inexplicable reason, REVERSED into the car behind, denting the front of it with her towbar.  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry!  (She did leave a note with her details under the windscreen wiper).

When we got back home yesterday, husband decided to carry on with the little fence in the car port - he's finished it now and it looks good, he's made a nice job of it. 

Betty giving it the once over, sorry about the poor light.

I'm going to make a big effort to get our savings back up, as I really want vertical blinds up at the windows, especially the kitchen and lounge - the net curtains are really annoying me.  I'm not a fan of nets anyway, I only put them up as a temporary measure as we're a bit overlooked here, but they're a blimmin nuisance when I want to open the windows, especially the kitchen one - I have to keep moving things off the windowsill.

Husband had a nice card from one of those online card companies yesterday - but it wasn't for him!  The envelope was addressed to him, but the card inside wasn't his name and was from a couple he'd never heard of.  A mistake obviously, but he kept the card on display as it was a funny one 😂

Today we're going to a little independent garden centre and cafe just down the road, we've not been there before although we pass it umpteen times.  I've noticed a sign outside for a dog groomers there, so that's the primary reason for going, I want to check them out.  And have a look in the garden centre, of course!  Just a look though, I'm not planning on buying anything.

Deep beds and husband's birthday

 Thank you for all the suggestions re our proposed raised beds, all useful ideas.  We do have quite a few cardboard boxes.....some husband put out for recycling a couple of weeks ago, but there are still several left waiting to be unpacked.  So once we've constructed a raised bed, painted and lined it (husband will put garden membrane in the bottom, rather than plastic), we'll first put a layer of cardboard in.  Husband then had a brainwave - he does still get good ones occasionally 😂 - there are 2 green recycling wheelie bins here, which must have belonged to the previous tenant.  Both of them are full to the brim with garden waste - prunings etc.  One of them has been out the front ever since we first came to view the property, and clearly hadn't been emptied by the recyclers for yonks.  We asked the housing lady about it and she said she'd report it to the Council - but she said not to hold our breath because she'd already reported another 2 full bins outside other properties months ago, and they still hadn't been collected!  Husband spoke to the recycling crew when they came last week, and they said that if the green waste bin hadn't been paid for (green waste you have to pay extra for emptying) then they wouldn't empty it.  Well, as the previous tenant died, her payment arrangement with them would have expired, and we don't want a green bin as we intend to recycle/rot down for compost all our garden clippings etc.  I should mention at this point that our local Council are on the verge of bankruptcy (it's been on the news) so collecting the odd stray green bin is not likely to be high on their priority list.  Anyway, back to husband's brainwave - he said we could use the contents of the bins, provided it is all garden clippings etc, to put in the bottom of the raised beds.  Great idea!

HH, I don't know if there's a community noticeboard around, I expect there will be, I'll have to look out for one.  There might well be one in the community day centre, or outside the 2 village halls.  Straw (it's a farming area so might be able to get bales from a farm) or old carpet are good ideas. Ilona, husband has made raised beds and a picket fence at our old house from deconstructed pallets before.  Brute strength is the one thing he still has plenty of.  As for old bricks - that would be ok for a fairly shallow bed, but we want deep ones for the veggies.....around 2 feet plus.  Both of us suffer with joint problems, sore backs and balance issues, so we don't want to bend or crouch down more than necessary.  Husband especially is liable to lose his balance and fall over when bending.  We do have a couple of garden kneeler/seat things.  We also want deep beds because we think the veggies will have more chance of surviving in a deep one, with better moisture-retaining properties, when we're away at the caravan.

I did the freezer inventory yesterday and have worked out that, along with fresh and frozen veggies and well-stocked larder cupboards, I have the makings of 30+ dinners for us both, so food shopping should be very minimal for the next few weeks.

It's husband's 73rd birthday today, I've offered to take him out (well, obviously he'll take us, I'll just pay for it) for breakfast, he does like a cooked breakfast.  I'm not a fan of a big cooked breakfast (or any breakfast at all really), but the place where we're going does a help yourself continental counter, with things like croissants, sourdough crumpets, yogurts and fruit, that's much more my thing.  For dinner he's requested cold pork, chips and beans - nice and easy.  

Planning and optimism

 I slept a lot better last night, so feel fine today.  I'm going to do a big freezer inventory today, along with a larder one as well, and bring the root veggies box in from outside in the car port and see what's left in that.  Once I've done that, I shall be able to do a list of meals I can make from everything, to stretch out and use it all in the best possible way, before I need to do a big shop again.  I'm spending as little on food as possible this month - well, ongoing really - as I really want to build our savings up again.  The big spends this year will be fitted carpets for both bedrooms, vertical blinds for all windows and 1 or 2 fairly deep raised beds, to grow veggies.  The beds have to be deep, as they're going on a concrete paved area, so no soil underneath....and besides, it means we won't have to bend down to plant or pick anything.

We've been investigating the cheapest way to construct a raised bed....I reckon it'll be by using free or cheap pallets, assuming we can get hold of them.  Husband has used them before, for raised beds and to construct other things, so he's certainly capable of doing it - if we can manage to get some (I'll scour FB marketplace and any local pages) he'll take them apart and take the nails out, whilst I paint them with wood preservative.  When he's constructed the bed we'll line it with plastic, before filling with soil.  As for the soil, people often advertise top soil for free or cheap so I'll also look out for that.  It'll be too expensive to just buy loads of compost, although we will get some, for the nutrients in it.  Husband's fairly keen on doing at least one raised bed, so I need to strike whilst the iron's hot!  His enthusiasm ebbs and flows nowadays.  Once at least one bed is constructed (ideally I'd like 2, there's room for 2) I can do the planting up and maintenance of it, if he doesn't want or doesn't feel able to.

I haven't felt this keen, had so many plans or felt so optimistic for - well, ages and ages.  

Time for me

 We had a lovely time with our friends yesterday, I think they liked our new place.  We went for a short stroll after lunch, just to show them the area and what's nearby, such as the village hall within a very short walk.  Betty was really pumped up and excitable yesterday though, we had to shut her in the hallway a few times.  She was also really restless and a bit agitated last night, meaning I didn't get a lot of sleep either.  To be fair, I think it was a combination of things - she was over-stimulated yesterday, having visitors (she loves our friend M to bits and is always really excited to see him), and had been to the new vets in the morning, and she really doesn't like going to the vet.  She's got her usual ear infection again, poor thing, and it's clearly bothering her.  The vet put the usual cream stuff in her ears and she has to go back in a week for a check up.  After our friends had left, both Betty and husband slept like logs for 2 hours - clearly worn out!

Having not had a lot of sleep last night, today I feel like all the energy has been sucked out of me.  So today I'm having a 'me' day, after I've chopped up the Med-style veggies to go with our chicken chipolatas for tonight's dinner, I shall be doing nothing except reading and crocheting.  And possibly some garden planning.

It's sunny this morning with next to no wind, so nice after all the rain and gales we've had for what seems like forever.

We watched Food Unwrapped last night (it may have been a repeat, I'm not sure), some parts of it horrified me, frankly.  It reinforced for me that I really don't want to eat vegetarian or vegan foods that have basically been manufactured or created in a factory, the very idea alarms me.  I like to know exactly what I'm eating, so I much prefer meals that I've made and cooked myself, from real food.  I know lots of people happily eat commercial veggie/vegan products, and that's fine of course, we all make our own choices.  My choice is to eat simple, recognisable home cooked food with a mainly vegetarian/fish base.  Now we're settled in our new home, in a lovely area with walks to be had, support when we need it and lots of nice neighbours to talk to, I do feel much less stressed and want to start getting healthier.  For too long I've suppressed my own health concerns as I've had to focus on husband's - well I need to be fit enough for long enough to cope with his needs, so time to get me sorted.

What's wrong with women nowadays?

 I've done a menu plan for the next week or so....we're back to relatively healthy eating, having consumed most of the Christmas/New Year goodies.  Having said that, we have our good friends coming round for lunch today - a buffet style lunch, with some bought in snacky things (the friends don't really eat much of the healthy stuff that we normally eat).  That's fine, we'll have something healthy later on in the evening, I might make tzatziki to have with veg dippers.  Tomorrow I'm doing roasted Med veg with chicken chipolatas in the air fryer.  Sunday we'll have a homemade chicken & veg pie from the freezer, with veggies.  And that'll be me all chickened out (I usually only eat chicken perhaps once a week) so it'll be back to veggie or fish things for me next week, with home cooked ham, pork or pork sausages for husband.

This past year or so, a new fashion 'trend' has left me feeling bemused and, frankly, quite disturbed.  I'm referring to all the celebs - well, women specifically - who appear in public wearing next to nothing.  They go out in what is more or less their underwear, and very skimpy underwear at that - and in some cases none at all - covered over with completely see-through 'dresses' if they can be called that.  Quite apart from the fact that they must be freezing cold, it makes me wonder why they feel so much of a need to be noticed that they are prepared to go out more or less naked.  Have they no shame or embarrassment?  Or self esteem, come to that?  Do they not think that people will be noticing them for the wrong reasons, and maybe even laughing at them?

As for that bonkers egomaniac Kanye West and his new wife, Bianca whatever her name was, who apparently is an Australian architect, so presumably is quite intelligent - what the hell?  Well, they're certainly getting a ton of publicity (I believe he's about to have a new album out, or something, so wants as much exposure as possible).  He's always covered from top to toe in baggy black clothing, whilst he insists on her being practically starkers in public, other than some outlandish stupid thing like a giant furry hat or cushion or soft toy clutched to her chest.  And apparently he orders her not to speak in public.  Other than the fact that he's publicity crazy (or just crazy) and a clear control freak, he's also in my opinion obsessed with his ex-wife Kim Kardashian - his new wife is pretty much a clone of her.  And he appears to be using his new wife to publicly humiliate both her and the ex-wife.  So, an egomaniac, misogynist, controlling madman, with an intelligent wife who is clearly totally under his thumb.  I do wonder what goes on in some people's minds.  

Thankfully, the weather is forecast to be much drier for the next week or so, albeit colder.  Which is ok, I don't mind it being cold when it's sunny, we can always dress in warm clothes.  It'll just be nice to see a bit of sunshine and not have relentless rain and galeforce winds.  I'm just so glad we don't live in an area that floods, my heart goes out to those poor people shown on the news every day, whose homes are flooded meaning they'll not be able to live in them for months to come.  And the farmers with fields under water - how are they supposed to grow crops or feed animals?

I hate winter!

 Well, perhaps hate is a bit of a strong word.....let's just say that winter is really not my favourite season, I don't like the short days, horrible weather and being stuck indoors for what seems like weeks.

Aldi yesterday was decimated, lots of gaps on the shelves - either people had got there an hour before us to stock up, or they hadn't had a delivery, perhaps.  I got most of what I needed, except for 3 or 4 toiletries items, we'll nip into town today for those, husband needs to go to Travis Perkins anyway.

The occupant of one of the bungalows opposite us drove their little car up onto the lawn in front of their bungalow to park a couple of days ago (which we're told not to do) - I think because they were having visitors and wanted to leave their parking space free for them.  Husband saw them do it and said to me "that's not a wise move!" - with all the rain we've had the past few weeks, the ground is extremely soft.  Well, yesterday the inevitable happened - the car had sunk into the lawn and they couldn't move it.  In the afternoon a garage truck arrived to tow it out.  Must have cost them a bit.  Made a mess of the lawn as well.

I had a sinus headache which kept waking me up Tuesday night, it persisted all day yesterday too.  Not had one of those for ages, thankfully it's eased off now.  Consequently, I didn't do much yesterday, I really didn't feel like it.  Husband did a bit more of the fence, he's making a good job of it, it'll look good when it's finished.  He's running out of supplies, hence the need to go to Travis Perkins.

We're forecast a load more rain today, so no walk again.  I know we've not been flooded, so are very fortunate in that respect, but I'm so done with all this rain and wind.  The weather reporter yesterday said we've already had the usual amount of rain for January in the first few days 😲.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure we never had such extremes of weather years ago when I was a child.  Even the seasons are all skew-whiff now, and it must be down to climate change/global warming, which mankind is responsible for.  But winter isn't done yet, so I'll just have to put up with the weather for the next few weeks.  At least the forecast is better from tomorrow onwards, although it's getting colder.  

I didn't do the menu plan/freezer inventory yesterday, so have that to do today.  I'd also like to start thinking about plants for the garden, although I do need to see what comes up in it first.  I'm happy to see that there are loads of Spring bulbs coming through, it'll look lovely in a few weeks.  There are several big pots in the back garden, all of which appear to be full of weeds, so I'll be emptying those out and refilling them with some nice plants in due course.

Dainty feet

 The phone call from the new surgery was just a medication review, for both of us.  All done.

Thank you for the comments on the photos of our local walking area.  No chance of going for a walk yesterday, it was really blustery with rain on and off.....winds are forecast to be easing off now.  

Jane said that Betty has quite dainty feet.....doesn't seem so when she's treading on mine 😂.  To be fair though, she hasn't got huge feet.....as you know, she's half Shar Pei/half English Bulldog, and she definitely takes after her mother, the Shar Pei, in looks, although she's got a broader chest than her mother - she's more her father in terms of her chest and her strength.  Her feet come from her mother....her father had massive feet.  In temperament she's also like her mother - Shar Peis are notorious for being stubborn and aloof, and that's definitely Betty.

Husband did do a bit more on the fence in the morning before the really gusty weather started.  I did housework and washing and some admin stuff on the computer, then wrote a short shopping list for today.  I don't need much, we'll be going back to Bridgwater as the things I need are from Aldi, and that's the nearest one.

No more plans for today, other than doing a menu plan this afternoon.  There are still more boxes to unpack, but nothing urgent.  

Walk and photos

 Some photos I took on my walk yesterday morning......

Just round the corner from our home.....with all the rain we've had, the water is running quite fast.

Up the hill, a long but fairly gentle one which levels out at the top.  I walked up at a fairly brisk pace, having to stop for a breath only once.

Allotments at the top, with a view of the sea in the distance.  Only a mile or 2 away as the crow flies.

Turning to face the other way opposite the allotments - there are a herd of deer and some ponies that live on this land, but there was no sign of them yesterday.

The view from outside our home (the home in the pic is the one opposite us).  Not such extensive and clear views as from our old place, but I'm very grateful to still have a view, and nice walks right from our doorstep.

Betty making herself very comfortable on my bed!  Cheeky monkey.

I will have to take a new photo to have as my header pic, the one above is obviously the view from our old house.

Today I've got the new patient phone call from our new surgery, I assume husband will be having one as well.....his mobile is not working for some unknown reason at the moment, so he doesn't know if the surgery has texted him too.  I'll ask when I ring them this morning to tell them to use our landline, not our mobiles.

I'm hoping husband will get on with the little fence in the car port today, he literally did nothing but watch TV all day yesterday....well, doze in front of it.  How anyone can just sit in front of the TV all day long I don't know, it would bore me to tears and give me backache and stiff joints.  However, the weather forecast isn't good - showers and strong gusty winds, and the wind does seem to blow right into the car port, so he might not be out there for long, if at all.  Cold weather and strong winds do make him breathless.

The reason I nag...

 Happy New Year!

Resolutions....do you make any?  I don't, I just think it sets me up to fail, it's too much pressure to put on myself and live up to.  There are things I'd like to do - like getting more exercise by going for regular walks.  It won't be every day, it's very much weather dependent - I'm a fair weather walker and no amount of 'the right clothes' is going to change that.  I want to start losing weight again - I weighed myself yesterday morning to assess the damage.....I've put on 6.5 lbs of the 1 stone I'd lost, not nearly as bad as I'd thought.  I can and will lose that again, and more.  I want to get jobs done around the house and garden, some of which need to be saved up for, and some need doing in the short term by husband.

On the subject of which, I've had to be a bit firm with him over the past few days.  In the past week or so, since he got the TV working, husband has quickly gone back to his old ways of having the TV on all day and dozing in front of it, or sitting at his computer playing chess or looking at cars.  In the old house, I could get away from the TV by going in the kitchen or upstairs, and having the radio on.  I can't in this much smaller bungalow - the lounge adjoins the kitchen with an open doorway in between and of course there's no upstairs.  Over the past few days, even when I've been busy in the kitchen with the radio on, husband has several times just put the TV on anyway, completely disregarding the fact that I'm listening to the radio and we can't have both on at the same time when they're in such close proximity!  He's also still wittering on about the TV, he's not satisfied with it for some unknown reason, and he can't find the remote for the DVD so can't watch any of his favourites.  And yesterday he rang his daughter, who lives up in the Midlands, because he can't get access to Disney channel!! (she and her husband are far more techie minded than us).

There are a couple of jobs that husband needs to do, quite important and need doing now.  One of them is to construct a short length of fencing, with a gate (which we have already), in the car port, so that when we open the kitchen door (which leads directly into the car port), Betty can't run out into the road.  We'd discussed this before we moved in and agreed that it needs doing as a matter of urgency.  It's not beyond husband's capabilities (at the moment) and he has all the necessary materials....or so he tells me.  Over the past few days I've asked him several times to make a start on it.  He hadn't.  I asked again yesterday morning and he got quite shirty with me (he had the telly on already), but eventually got up and went outside to do it, with much scowling, sighing heavily and muttering under his breath.  He's not finished it, nowhere near it (the neighbour came out and they chatted for ages), but at least he's made a start.  I know he thinks I nag him (what is nagging but having to repeatedly ask for something to be done, which should have been done at the first time of asking!), but my worry is this:  There will come a time - and it's approaching quite rapidly - when he will be unable to do these jobs.  So he needs to do them now, while he still can.  Having depleted our savings quite a lot with the move, we can't afford to 'get a man in' to do all these jobs.  I do try to do (and have done) some of the smaller, easier jobs, to take the pressure off husband, like putting a few pictures up, putting boxes of stuff we don't need in the short term away on high shelves in the airing cupboard or the cupboard in my room.  But I can't do everything, although no doubt I'll need to learn in time.  Now he's made a start on the little fence, hopefully he'll get on and finish it soon....I will just have to make sure he does.

Yesterday I took all the baubles off the tree and packed them away, then the tree itself and all the Christmas figures I have under the tree.  I prepped a load of veggies for our dinner, and extra to be frozen.  Rearranged some stuff in the kitchen - I've done that several times now, think I've more or less got it how I want it now.  Unpacked a box of books and put them on the bookcase in my room.  Sorted out a washload for this morning.  And then relaxed with a book in the afternoon.  Yesterday evening we watched the Bond film, then went to bed.  I was just dozing off when fireworks started at midnight - not right outside (no loud New Year oldies parties here!), a little distance away but still quite loud.  Betty was off the bed straight away, running to both front and kitchen doors and the lounge window, whining like mad.  The fireworks didn't go on for long, just a few minutes, but it unsettled her for an hour, she was slinking round the house with her tail between her legs and whimpering.  I put my lamp on, read my book and just ignored her for the most part (which I don't like doing but didn't want to make her worse by making a big fuss of her), every so often encouraging her to come and get back on the bed, which she did for a minute or two at a time.  Eventually, she did settle down to sleep.  Husband says he did hear the fireworks but must have gone back to sleep immediately after, as he didn't hear Betty at all.

It's sunny and dry right now with not much wind, so I'll get out for my first walk of the year soon - it's forecast to be raining and with the winds picking up again later.