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.