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.