Some more garden stuff

 My back may not be quite so painful now, but I'm just so stiff - not only my back, but all my joints, probably due to less moving around.  It's hard to know what to do for the best - move more, sit and rest more, walk more.  Have to say I don't really feel like doing anything at the minute, had another big muscle spasm this morning just getting out of bed, felt like a big hand had reached inside my right side, grabbed hold of the muscles and twisted them violently.  Agony for half hour or so.

It was mostly sunny yesterday, other than a couple of light showers.  In the morning we did some work in the garden, then I sat and did a plan of exactly where all the veggies are being planted....otherwise husband will just stick them anywhere, with no logic or thought.  After lunch we went to the garden centre, for some cottage garden type plants for my new flower bed, a couple of courgette plants, and some flower and veg seeds.  The courgettes have joined the leek seedlings in a makeshift propagator in the car port - one of our plastic lidded boxes we used for moving, the lid gets taken off when it's sunny, kept on when it's cold and rainy and of course overnight.  We're making progress with the garden, slowly but surely....by the time summer is here we should hopefully have it the way we want it.

Not going out anywhere today, I really do just want a relaxing day at home.  All I'll be doing is a roast dinner - a whole chicken (husband's request), he and the dog will have some, the rest they'll have over the next few days.  Veggies, stuffing and Yorkies for me, I'll do enough veggies for us to have bubble & squeak with sausages tomorrow.

Ruta, thank you for the Lynton/Valley of the Rocks suggestion.....we have been before, in fact I think we took my Mum there some years back.  Not been back since then though, so it's definitely on our list to go again, especially since we live so much nearer now.

I wish 'they' would stop doing the change the clocks thing twice a year.....yes I know it's for the farmers, so it's a good thing for them.  But it really mucks up my equilibrium for a week or two.  Still, if that's all I've got to complain about.....

So that's off.....

 My back is slightly less painful this morning and thankfully the muscle spasms have mostly stopped, except for the odd one.  

The car boot sales for today and Monday (both held at the same place) have been cancelled as the fields are so wet and muddy, can't say I'm surprised with all the rain we've had.  And the weather forecast for the next week is yet more of the same - sunny spells interspersed with rain.  No more comment to make about that.

I don't particularly want to stay home all weekend, husband says he doesn't either.  I asked if he had any suggestions of where to go - he said how about Dunster or Blue Anchor Bay?  Both nearest places to us (just minutes drive away) and both will be full of tourists!  Honestly, he's got no imagination.  Betty hates crowded places, she gets very anxious (I know how she feels!), so neither place would be suitable for her.  I'll have to look at the map and get a few ideas.

The cheapest is certainly not always the best

 Thank you for all the comments, my back isn't much better yet, although I did sleep a bit better last night - probably due to taking 2 amitriptyline rather than just 1.  Seems there's a few bad backs around, my sympathies to you all.  Jane, my back problems are also L4/L5 - or is it L3/L4?  I can't remember now, although it was discovered during an MRI scan I had 3 or 4 years ago that I have an extra lumbar vertebrae, 6 instead of the normal 5 (trust me to be different! although apparently it's not unheard of to have this extra one).  I've had MRI scans and x-rays several times over the years, since my first prolapsed disc which happened when I was playing tennis at the age of 19.....nobody before has ever mentioned this extra vertebrae, oddly.....I guess years ago doctors didn't think it was worth telling patients absolutely everything about their own bodies!  You mentioning diazepam reminded me that I've had that in the past for back pain, and it was effective, if I remember rightly.  Not sure why I was given amitriptyline this time rather than the diazepam.  Sue, several hours spent sitting in the car must be agony, I know, even if you aren't driving.  It's hard to move around or get comfortable, and the bumps and potholes (of which there are many nowadays) in the road jolt like mad.  Annabeth, what a brilliant idea that hand held grabber is, I'll have to get one - both husband and I would benefit, he has a habit of losing his balance if he has to bend to pick something up.

I've been taking it easy the past few days, just doing one little job being mindful of how I bend or stretch, and then sitting for a while.  It's just too painful to do anything for long.

Husband is a right skinflint, he always has been, whatever he buys has to be the cheapest he can get.  I've told him umpteen times cheap isn't always good, it's usually better to spend a little more and get a better quality product that will hopefully last longer.  Hence why I like buying second hand furniture - we can get much better quality stuff at a reasonable price.  We always buy the same brand toilet rolls, a pack of 18 which lasts us several weeks....a mid range price.  A couple of weeks ago he was popping into town to get something or other, so I asked him to get a pack of toilet rolls as we were down to just a few.  He came back with a different brand, which I didn't immediately notice as he put them straight in the bathroom, under the present ones.  Well, we opened them the other day - they are rubbish!  He confessed they were the cheapest ones - he said he was saving us money.  They are so thin they're practically see-through and tear as soon as you look at them, meaning we have to use twice as much or else - well, you know!!  In the olden, pre-frugal days, I'd have just chucked them away, but not now.  With the double amount we're using, we'll get through them very quickly anyhow.  Even husband admits he shouldn't have got them....at least he won't make the same mistake again.  Unless he forgets, of course, which is entirely possible 😒 .  What things do you refuse to buy the cheapest of, as it's false economy?

The first big car boot sale of the season starts tomorrow, and the forecast is for sunshine!  So we'll go and have a look, depending on how big it is I may not be able to walk round all of it, and I'll have to take my walking stick as the ground will be uneven (it's on grass) and possibly muddy - so my waterproof dog walking boots will be needed.

Speaking of the weather, yesterday it threw everything at us and was changing every 10 minutes or so - short spells of sunshine, followed by a heavy shower, hurling it down with hailstones 2 or 3 times in between the sunny spells, blasts of strong gusty winds, and some thunder now and then.  Fortunately we didn't have any snow, although there was some just a few miles away.  It was like the weather was having a mental breakdown 😂

I've got nothing particular to do today, all jobs are done.  So I'll be mostly resting and reading, swapping between chairs and doing a bit of walking round the house (won't take long!).

Postponed

 My blimmin weak lower spine disc has been slipping in and out like a fiddler's elbow the last couple of days, and it's downright sheer bloody agony. My stomach and lower back muscles keep spasming too, which is painful.  I've had to resort to taking regular doses of cocodamol, plus of course senna tablets to counteract the constipation the codeine gives me.  And the cocodamol also gives me a woolly head, so it's hard to think straight.  

Doing jobs in short bursts, with short rest breaks in between.  I'm being careful to not bend over from the waist, but bend my knees or even drag a chair over, if I need to get something out of a low cupboard or even the fridge.  I'm getting husband to carry things if necessary.

It'll stabilise eventually, it always does, and the pain will reduce to the normal manageable level.  It's just a damn nuisance when I have a lot to do.  And it wears me out, physically and mentally.

Last evening I had a message from our lovely van (soon to be ex) neighbours C & J, saying they can't go to their van for Easter as planned, as C has a trapped nerve in his back, is in a lot of pain and obviously cannot drive at the moment - certainly not for 3 or 4 hours.  Although it's unfortunate (and very painful for him), I'm actually a bit relieved - it means we don't have to go either.  I have to confess I wasn't really looking forward to going with my back the way it is right now, although we would have gone had C & J made the trip.  With the weather forecast not being great either - yet more rain showers and quite chilly at night - that was putting me off a bit as well.  But how ironic that we both have back trouble at the same time!  J has said she'll let me know when C is fit to drive and they can make their last ever trip to the park, so obviously we'll make sure to go then.  

Meanwhile, it takes the pressure off me.  At least I've made and frozen several meals which were intended for the caravan stay - they'll stay in the freezer so I don't have to cook any when we know we are next going, they'll be ready just to grab and pack in the cool box.

Breathe and walk away

 Yesterday was one of those days when huge amounts of patience were needed, along with gritting my teeth, taking deep breaths and even walking away when the feeling of wanting to belt someone round the head with a frying pan was getting too strong.  Now, before anyone starts thinking what a terrible wife I am, let me just say that of course I wouldn't do that, no matter how strong the urge.  And of course I know husband can't help some of the things he does, it's a product of his cognitive impairment.  I know and accept that - doesn't mean it's any easier or less frustrating to deal with.  Some days are worse than others, some better.  

When I wash up (several times throughout the day), I always look around the kitchen to make sure I've done everything, I also wipe down the kitchen surfaces and around the sink.  Husband washes up in the evening after dinner - that's one of his jobs.  However, he only washes what is directly next to the sink - so in the morning I frequently find a dirty saucepan on the hob (we have a little electric hob), or the air fryer drawers that I used for cooking the dinner and then left partly open in the air fryer, once I'd served up, or other things on other kitchen worktops.  He also almost never wipes down - he liberally splashes water around when he's washing up, so there's always water everywhere.  Yesterday morning there was the saucepan I'd cooked the broccoli in, the lid of the slow cooker and the air fryer drawer that had had the garlic bread in, all unwashed.  Once the washed up dishes etc have been left to dry for a while, I put them away - husband simply takes them out of the dish drainer and leaves them on the worktops.  It's quite possible he can't remember where they all go, but he could either open a few cupboards and look, or even ask me!

My weak disc popped out yesterday morning, making me gasp in pain, when I was bending down unloading the washing machine....luckily, it popped back in again (I can sort of manoeuvre it back in, I've had enough practise over the years), although it hurt like hell for a while.  So to be on the safe side, I asked husband to carry the loaded washing basket outside for me and stand it on something so it was raised up and easily accessible.  He agreed immediately but didn't do it straight away, half an hour later he'd gone to sit at his computer and was playing chess, then grumbled when I asked him again.  Once he'd done it, whilst he was in the garden I asked him to deadhead all the spent Spring bulbs - he did the ones in the front garden, but not the back garden ones.....until I said I'd like those done too, at which he grumbled again, did some of them but stopped halfway through (he's got the attention span of a gnat).  He'd stopped to go and prune one of the rose bushes - which I've specifically asked him not to do.  He's a bit fanatical about pruning, he hacks everything, regardless of what it is, right back to the ground, given half a chance.  Which obviously I didn't want him doing, especially since I've already pruned all the roses!

A bit later on, I noticed he was back out in the front garden, pruning the apple tree - he was really hacking it back.  Apple trees are generally supposed to be pruned in winter, unless they're espalier types - which the one in the middle of the front lawn isn't.  He hadn't discussed it with me first, he just did it of his own accord - which he frequently does, I'm rarely consulted about things like that.  So whether we'll get any apples off that tree this year now remains to be seen.  There's also what we've recently recognised as a cherry tree out there - I knew nothing about pruning them, so had googled it - apparently you prune them after they've finished fruiting.  So I've told him that - I'll have to keep an eye on him now or else he'll be chopping bits off that soon too.

Emptying the bins is also one of his jobs - although I almost always have to ask him to do them.  Yesterday both the kitchen and bathroom bins were practically full to overflowing, so again I said "the bins need emptying" - to which he replied, "I know"!!  (Well, if you know, why haven't you done it?!) 😒

He gets quite obsessive about things sometimes, more and more so lately.  His latest obsession is checking our electricity usage - we're currently in the process of changing from the previous tenant's prepayment key card meter on an expensive tariff to a normal smart meter payable by direct debit.  He's checking the meter and writing down the numbers every day, and telling me precisely how much we've used in pounds and pence, it's driving me nuts.  He's also going round turning off switches and appliances - and yet has the TV on nearly all day (I know TVs don't use much leccy.....do they?).

And.....breathe...😂

Oh, potatoes - I bought a bag of normal new potatoes (£1.20) in the supermarket yesterday, I've spread them out in a cardboard egg carton to chit.  As we'll be growing them in old compost bags, not in the ground or our new raised beds, we won't need to worry about crop rotation or sanitising containers.

Just an ordinary day

 Thanks to those of you who suggested ordinary supermarket spuds - we have used these before with no problems, but then I read something a couple of years back saying it's not a good idea - I can't remember why.  But I'll try it again anyway - a few spuds from the supermarket is certainly a fair bit cheaper than buying seed potatoes in the garden centres!  K, I did ask our neighbours, but they've already planted their seed potatoes at their allotment, and don't need any more.

Our lovely van neighbours are now unsure if they'll be going to the park for Easter - Charlie apparently has a bad back at the moment, so he won't want to be driving for 3 or 4 hours.  Besides, the weather forecast isn't very nice, so we would prefer to go when it's not going to be raining so much!  It was the usual yucky grey drizzly day yesterday, so nothing got done outside again.  I've got washing to do today, yet more showers are forecast so it'll have to go on the airer in the car port.  I'm so thankful for the car port, it's so useful - we don't actually keep the car in it!  We have quite a big drive so the car is parked in front of the car port, which is used for storage, my veg box, rubbish bins and boxes, washing on inclement weather days, and now veg seedlings.

A little bit of shopping this morning, then once that's put away I'll be doing a bit of cooking and freezing.  Making a cottage pie for dinner, using chicken mince - well, two actually, one to freeze.  I'm also going to do a big panful of root veg mash.

Nice day but no spuds

 We had a really nice time at the caravan yesterday, there were quite a few fellow van owners there, plus a couple of holiday tourers, and there was a lovely holiday atmosphere.  It helped that it was sunny, albeit once again with a very cold wind.  A bit of sad news, it looks like Molly, the 'site dog' (a lovely natured labradoodle belonging to the site owners) is on her last legs - she's about 15 so has had a good long life and has been adored by her owner who has always lavished love and affection on her.  I suspect by the time we go back for our Easter holiday, she may no longer be with us 😔.   Owner N will be lost without her, but I think she knows she has to make the hardest decision.

All was well at the van, other than it being a bit dusty and cobwebby in places, which we soon sorted.  I unpacked and put away the supplies we'd taken with us, whilst husband strimmed the long grass edges, then we made up the beds.  We caught up with a couple of our friends there and shared news, having not seen them since the end of last season in October.  When we got home, the washing was dry and the slow cooker sausage casserole was waiting for us, which was nice, I just quickly cooked some garlic bread in the air fryer to go with it.

The big garden centre on the way to the van, which used to do seed potatoes loose, now isn't - only in 2kg bags, just like the smaller store here.  I'm sure there must be other places I can get a smaller amount - failing that, I'll just have to buy some spuds from the supermarket and use those instead.....I know the garden experts say you shouldn't do that, but we've done it before with no problems.

This week I need to get a couple more meals cooked and frozen to take with us to the van, as well as packing clothes and whatever else we'll need - I have a list (of course!).  I'll also make some cheese scones and freeze them, to have for lunch warmed through in the air fryer with a mug of soup when we get there.

Hooray, some nice weather for a change

 The sore throat went, I felt fine by morning.  Slept like a log in fact, until about 4 am, then dozed on and off until I decided to get up around 6.30.  After a shower and dressing, I got on with food prep - decided not to make pasties, I made a quiche instead - thinly sliced potatoes, bacon, caramelised onion and lots of cheese, it's for our lunch at the caravan today.  Next I browned off the sausages for the slow cooker casserole today, and made a rice pudding to use up the milk our friends dropped off before going home - they didn't want to take the open carton home on a 5-hour drive in a warm car.  I added a tin of evaporated milk to the pot, along with a couple of handfuls of sultanas, a bit of brown sugar and some grated nutmeg.  One portion for today, the rest frozen.

I got up at 6 this morning, following another good night's sleep and have put another wash load on, a nice sunny day forecast so the washing should be dry by the time we get home.  We're stopping off at Aldi on the way to the caravan, there's a big one on the way, I shall get my frothy coffees and some of the toiletries I need there.  Will also pop into the big garden centre to get the loose seed potatoes - Marlene, it's not a Dobbies, don't think there is one anywhere near here, it used to be Wyevale (Sanders World, I'm sure you know it) but has since been taken over by Blue Diamond.  Kath and others who've had it - I hope you're beginning to feel better.  I've not heard of anyone here having whatever kind of long-lasting virus it is, we've not had it, fortunately, just a couple of short ones which weren't really anything to write home about.

Funny old day weatherwise yesterday - a mixture of sunshine, heavy showers and even hailstones....one minute it was sunny, the next chucking it down with hailstones or a short, sharp shower, it was like that all day.  Pain in the bum actually, why can't it be consistent?!  Looks like a mixed bag of weather for the coming week, but with a bit more sunshine between the showers and a bit less cold, so we should be able to get some garden stuff done before we go off to the van for our first vacation.

Just the casserole to assemble in the slow cooker, washing to put out on the line and car to be loaded with van stuff, we should be off around 9 am.  Looking forward to a nice day at the van.  Oh, husband booked his next gym session for whilst we're away at the van next week 😒.... honestly, he can't remember anything, he'll have to change it.

The Princess, strawberries and a sore throat

 How sad to hear the personal statement from the Princess of Wales that she has cancer - it was obvious that she had had something quite serious, but I must admit I didn't think it was that, I thought perhaps she'd had a hysterectomy.  Whilst obviously there's a natural public curiosity as to what was wrong with her, I also think it's sad that she's felt the need to have to make this very public statement, in order to stop the ridiculous wild rumours.  Everyone's health is entirely their own business, it's up to us all as individuals to decide what we choose to tell people, if we want to keep our health matters (or anything else actually) to ourselves, then that is our prerogative.  I hope she recovers successfully, and the King as well.  The Royal family have certainly had a turbulent time these past few years....they may be privileged but they are human, just like us.

Yesterday I did the few jobs necessary in the morning, whilst husband was out at the gym - which he enjoyed.  After lunch we popped to the garden centre, we got some strawberry plants and leeks.  We wanted to get some seed potatoes as well, but they only had them in 2kg bags, far too many for us.  We'll stop off at the big garden centre on the way to the caravan tomorrow, they sell seed spuds loose there so we can get just the amount we require.  All the veg beds are now filled with compost and ready for planting once the soil (and the temperature) warms up, the strawberries are in, the leek seedlings need to grow a bit more before we plant those out.  We didn't stay out in the garden for long, although it was sunny yesterday afternoon it was blimmin freezing with a strong cold wind - well, at least my washing dried.

I've got some milk to use up so will be making a rice pudding today.  I pulled a block of homemade pastry out of the freezer to make a couple of pasties to take to the van for our lunch tomorrow.  I've also got the last few bits to pack to take with us.  I'll put a sausage casserole in the slow cooker in the morning for us to come home to - it's just a day visit to the van tomorrow.  We want it all ready for us to have our first stay over Easter.

I've felt a bit under the weather the past day or two, I put it down to the exceptionally busy week but late yesterday afternoon I started getting a sore throat.  Hot honey, lemon and ginger with a couple of paracetamol seemed to ward it off though.  

An easier day

 Most jobs on my list got done, other than packing things to take with us to the caravan and a list of things to buy - those will be added to in the next couple of days.  I also need to finish off the meal plan for our upcoming week at the van.

Husband didn't finish all his jobs outside - he came in for a rest a couple of times (allowed and encouraged!! - he does need to take breaks).  However, the TV went on and after an hour or more each time, I had to remind him he still needed to get on and do things, which he did, somewhat grudgingly.  Our friends popped round after packing up to go home, they've really enjoyed their break and will be coming again in June.

Not so many jobs on my list today, thankfully - another wash load (fingers crossed it should be line dried again), vacuuming and some food prep.  Husband is off to the gym this morning for his first proper session, following his induction the other day.  I feel a bit flat today, the comedown after the busyness and excitement of the past week, I guess.  My back is killing me as well, will have to resort to cocodamol for a few days I think, to get on top of the pain.

We'll pop to the garden centre this afternoon or tomorrow, to get some strawberry plants, canes and fleece or fine netting - we get pigeons in the garden and don't want them eating all our produce.

I saw the WASPI victory - of sorts - on the news.....I'm one of those women born in the 1950s (I just scrape in).  I'm not holding my breath though, I can't see any compensation payouts happening anytime soon - if ever.  It'll be dragged out ad infinitum.  In any case, it doesn't really affect me as I haven't worked - in paid employment that is - since 2010.....by choice and circumstances.  

I'm looking forward to the car boot sales starting up from Easter, there are a few things we want to look out for, mainly things for the garden.

Jobs list - updated as I go along

 I've got a busy day today - lots of small jobs I want to get done.  If I list them all here, then I know what I've got to do:-

1.  Washing nearly done, looking at the forecast I should be able to get it outside on the line today. DONE

2.  Slice a bagful of new potatoes and part cook them, some for tonight's frittata, some for a sausage casserole to be done in the slow cooker on Sunday. DONE

3.  Slice and caramelise a panful of onions and a leek that needs using up - again some for tonight, the rest for Sunday's slow cooker meal. DONE

4.  Pack a bag of larder foods and toiletries to take to the caravan at the weekend, and write a list of any extra things we need to buy.  ONGOING 

5.  Do some banking and budgeting - pensions and allowances going up in April, some of our direct debit bill amounts changing.  DONE

6.  Write appointments, birthdays etc, things to do (like dog's flea & worming tablets) on the calendar in the kitchen, and in my desk diary - I do them for 3 months at a time.  DONE

7.  Check how husband gets on with the jobs allocated to him today - putting compost in the new raised bed he (accidentally) bought, thinking it was a cloche, sowing some veg seeds in seed trays, tidying up the car port.  ONGOING 

8.  Write a couple of emails and make a phone call.  DONE

9.  Write some meal plans, for the coming week and for our Easter week at the caravan.  NEARLY DONE 

10.  Make garlic bread, portion it up and freeze.  DONE

11.  Change bed linen.  DONE

Right, off to put the washing out.

Closed!

 So following on from Monday's lovely sunny weather, Tuesday was back to normal - grey, drizzly, misty and chilly.  And, just to add to the 'pleasure', Lynmouth appeared to be more or less closed.  The sea front car park was closed for re-white-lining the parking spaces (although there didn't appear to be any work actually taking place), but we did manage to get a space along the road.  Most of the shops were closed, and we couldn't find a single cafe that was open for a cuppa to warm us up - too early in the season I guess.  After a stroll around, we all decided to get back in the car and go back to Porlock Weir.  It was lunchtime by the time we got there - the car park was open and we parked facing the beach.  Too cold to sit on one of the benches to eat, so we ate our packed lunch in the car - the blokes went over to the pub to fetch us takeaway coffees (a really lovely latte, by the way).  There was a bit of excitement whilst we were sitting there - the chimney of the hotel/restaurant started billowing out really thick clouds of smoke and everyone came out to stand outside - the chimney had caught fire (nobody was hurt).  It took a while before the first fire engine turned up - well, the village is a bit out of the way and down very narrow twisty lanes.....it was followed several minutes later by another engine, and then a third a bit after that.  The fire appeared to be out by then - no more smoke - but most of the firemen went inside with lots of equipment.  Doing their jobs and checking everything, I guess.  We had another walk around after we'd finished lunch, my friend took loads of photos.  And then we went back to our house for another cuppa.

We're not seeing our friends today.....not sure what they're doing, but the weather looks slightly better for them today - no sun, but less cloudy and warmer than yesterday.  Husband has his gym induction today, and I need to go shopping for fresh veg, dairy and bread.

I've been exceptionally tired this week so far, the weekend was so full-on with lots of travelling, long days, loads of chatting all day with loads of people, it really seemed to take it out of me.  I'm just not used to such a busy weekend I suppose.  I'm glad I don't have to do it every weekend 😂

Very mixed weather forecast for the next week or so again - loads more cloud and showers and gusty winds, with the occasional bit of sunshine, so again not ideal gardening weather.  It's got to get better soon!  We'll be going to the caravan at the weekend - not to stay, just to take some larder food and toiletries, and make the beds up, ready for our first vacation of the year at Easter.

Wow, they brought good weather with them!

 Had a lovely day with our friends who are here on holiday and, big bonus, we've had really good weather today, sunny and actually very warm.  Went to Minehead and sat (outside!) at the cafe overlooking the sea on the promenade, having coffee and lots of chatting.  Had a browse round the shops, then lunch in Spoons.  Back home to take Betty out, then we went to our friends' holiday cottage on a working farm - it's only a mile or so from our house, but it's like a completely different place, very rural indeed, just several old farm buildings and lots of sheep.  It's set quite high up and so there's a lovely view across country to the sea.

I'm feeling really tired now, and very stiff and achy, not recovered from the weekend yet.  Think I'll be having an early night, as we're going out for the day with our friends again tomorrow.  We're off to Lynmouth, a pretty coastal village, it's actually in north Devon but isn't far from where we now live.  There's a water-powered cliff railway there - husband and I have been several times before, he's been on the cliff railway but not me - I'm not a fan of heights!  I'm sure he and our friend Chris will have another go on it (Chris is a railway fan, having worked in the industry), whilst Dawn and I sit and have a coffee!

Short blog today, too tired to write anything else.

A lovely weekend

 Thank you for all the good wishes, a lovely time was had by all.  The wedding went off without a hitch (other than a last minute panic attack by the bride, which was quickly resolved).  It was held in a big old beautifully converted barn on what used to be a working farm in the 1700s, it's now a conference centre and wedding venue (as lots of these old farms are).  They're not a conventional couple by any means and thus didn't want a traditional white dress/morning suit church wedding - the colour theme for the day was black, green and red.  This was the cake, made by a friend of my sister's:-

It wasn't a fruit cake (neither the bride nor groom like fruit cake), each layer was a different flavour sponge.  The table centre pieces were a ring of laurel leaves intertwined with fairy lights, with a glass domed figure of some anime figure (all different, and I have no idea what!!) in the middle - the newlyweds are big computer gaming fans and belong to various Dungeons & Dragons type gaming clubs.  They're not youngsters by the way, they're both early 30s (well I guess they are youngsters compared to me 😂😂).  The food, a 3 course meal in the afternoon, followed by a hog roast in the evening, with veggie, vegan and GF choices, was all very nice.  Welcome drinks, 3 bottles of wine on each table, and Prosecco or Appletiser for the speeches/toasts.  A snack trolley filled with a big selection of crisps, lollipops, sweets and choccie biscuits for fending off hunger in between the food! (amazing how many of the adults chose lollipops 😁).  Squeaky balloons and glow sticks - to keep the big kids amused!!  Quite funny to see all these geeky types (the groom works in IT and most of his work colleagues belong to the same gaming clubs) dancing around with these glow stick things on their heads or round their necks.  A fun time was had by all, no drunkenness (well, not that I saw, although we didn't stay to the very end) or unpleasantness.  My only complaint really - not that I did complain - was that the music in the evening, provided by a DJ, was absolutely deafeningly loud, my ears still felt like they were ringing this morning!  Oh, and the chairs, whilst looking very pretty with big black lace bows on them, weren't very comfy at all, and my hips and back really protested all through the night, meaning I didn't sleep very well in the hotel.  

Husband and Betty were absolutely fine, although he said she did miss me, she was apparently roaming the house looking for me and was very quiet over the weekend - she was certainly extremely pleased to see me this afternoon.  Our friends have popped in for a cuppa over the weekend, and took husband out for a meal yesterday evening.  Oh, and problem relative wasn't a problem at all - for once.  

Whilst I did enjoy it, it was lovely to see my niece (who's had a bit of a rough time in the past with poor health and unsuitable former boyfriends) get married to her perfect caring kind and gentle man, and wonderful to catch up with family and friends I'd not seen for ages....I have to say it's been a very long and tiring weekend and I'm shattered now.  Fortunately, there aren't any more weddings on the horizon!

Oh, forgot to mention that niece's wedding dress was a beautiful dove grey with silver embroidery, dramatic long sleeves and very 'Morticia Addams' in style (it suited her perfectly), with a silver spiky headdress a la the Statue of Liberty.  She changed into what looked like a conventional wedding dress with lots of lace for the evening - except that it was jet black, not white (again, it was exactly right for her).  And then halfway through the evening, when people's energy was starting to flag, she changed again - into pink striped satin pyjamas and unicorn slippers 😁😂  

No wonder my face ached from smiling!

Seeing our friends again tomorrow, I think we're going out for lunch.

A recommendation, and everything taken care of

 I've not made many cards for months and months now, only the odd one or two, and I'd used up my stock of homemade cards.  I'd seen an advert (on FB I think) for a card company that I've actually heard of, and even bought cards from - they're called Whistlefish and are a small company based in Cornwall.  I've bought cards from their shop in Padstow when we've been down visiting my brother and SiL, they also sell artworks and gifts, even gin apparently.  They are a very ethical company, using local artists and suppliers, all their cards are printed on recycled paper and card, they are trying to avoid using any plastics, and they are committed to planting trees in Cornwall, to totally offset their use of paper.  I can vouch for the quality of their cards, they aren't flimsy in any way, they use thick card.  The designs, artwork and colours are just beautiful.  They sell (online) 10 cards for just £10 - plus postage - and you can choose any card you like - that in itself is very cheap indeed, compared to the prices of cards sold in supermarkets and card shops, and which are often poor quality.  They recently had a very special offer on - 20% off, so I chose and bought 20 cards for just £16, plus postage of £3.75.  They arrived this morning and I'm so pleased with them, they are just gorgeous, and such good quality.  So I have no hesitation in recommending Beautiful Greeting Cards, Framed Art Prints and Canvas Art – Whistlefish - do have a look at their website and read their story and ethics.

I've packed everything I need for the weekend, and husband and dog are sorted too.  The problem relative has been visited by a district nurse, given treatment and been prescribed meds, so hopefully the crisis has been averted and he won't need hospitalisation (he would most likely have refused to go anyway, which would have created even more problems).  So, fingers crossed, we'll be able to attend all the wedding celebrations without incident.....although I might 'accidentally' forget to switch my phone on 😉

Rainy, windy and miserable here again today....there's a surprise!  Sue, I know it's far too early to plant anything yet, but it would be nice to be able to get in the garden and prepare the beds for the veggies and flowers we want to plant - bearing in mind the garden, although certainly previously loved, has been neglected for about a year or so, as the previous tenant was too ill to do it.  We've done most of the weeding and pruning, but the beds need turning over and new compost dug into them....the ground is just too soggy and muddy right now - and it never seems to stop raining for long enough!!  And weeds never stop growing, they keep popping up everywhere.  Patience is a virtue, I keep telling myself that 😂

Husband got himself a bag of mixed nuts and raisins and some chocolate for the weekend - well, I'll be having some yummy foods over the weekend so it's only right that he does too.  I'm roasting a whole chicken in the air fryer this afternoon, for him and the dog to have between them.  He's going out for dinner with our visiting friends on Saturday evening, he'll enjoy that.  His meds are all sorted into his daily dosage box, I'll remind him to take them every day when I ring him morning and evening, although he is pretty good at taking them, with only the occasional slip up.  The main lifeline alarm box is on the wall in the hallway, we also have one to be worn around the neck - I know husband won't do that, but I've made sure it's in an easily accessible place in the lounge.  So I'm pretty sure everything is taken care of.

Oh for goodness sake

 The problem relative has suddenly produced more problems - turns out he has an acute, potentially very serious and quite possibly hospitalisation required, physical health problem.  He's had it for around a week or possibly a while longer (difficult to get out of him exactly how long), but has more or less ignored it and certainly not said anything about it.  Until it's almost too late - he's just panicked now.  This is him all over - he doesn't look after himself and his ailments at all, and only tells someone when it's become critical....due to his mental health problems mainly, but also downright stubbornness and a big degree of sticking his head in the sand and pretending it's not happening.  And all this just days before the big family wedding.  This isn't the first time this kind of thing has occurred - he's done it loads of times before.  It's almost as if he's decided, consciously or not, to throw a spanner in the works and divert attention back to him.  The wedding will still go ahead - of course, we wouldn't have it any other way - I've told my sister to carry on as if nothing's happening and leave everything else up to us (my brother and myself).  If it means we can't attend some or all of the wedding celebrations, well so be it.  It is annoying though, as if we haven't all got other things to worry about (not least our own families), and it's something that would have been entirely avoidable.

The weather forecast for the next week shows yet more rain, at least some virtually every day.  For goodness sake, can't we have an end to it?  It's so blimmin annoying, we all want to start getting on with our gardens but the weather's not having it.  It's not particularly cold and we haven't got snow, so there's that I suppose.  But I'm definitely a fair weather gardener - well, so is husband nowadays.  We can't even take Betty out to the beach - it's too windy on the beach right now, and Betty doesn't like going for walks in the rain or strong winds.

Haha - guess what, the sun has just come out, albeit quite weak and there are black clouds appearing.  I think we'll quickly go outside and finish off filling the raised bed with compost, there's not much left to do.  Got my packing for the weekend to do this afternoon.

What a load of fuss about nothing

 I just cannot believe or understand all this wild controversy about the photo of Princess Kate and her children being edited, by Kate herself.

SO WHAT!!!  It's a lot of fuss about nothing - don't most of us nowadays edit our own photos in some way or other?  Even I do sometimes, although it's just cropping a picture or making it lighter or darker - I don't alter details for the simple reason that I don't know how!  The media are just hyping it all up to fever levels, just for the sake of selling more papers (or maybe Royal bashing).  It's just utterly ridiculous, the poor Princess must be feeling terrible about it - and probably really annoyed as well, I certainly would be if I was in her shoes.  And I imagine Meghan and Harry are rubbing their hands together with glee.  It's headline news in the papers and is stirring up all sorts of totally stupid conspiracy theories, which I refuse to get drawn into.  It's so unfair and unnecessary, when there are so many serious and genuine disasters going on that are far more important and newsworthy.

Moving on....it's back to being rainy and miserable today, so a pottering at home day.  Nothing major to do, but several little jobs.  Once the I'm going to make a plan of action for the garden, listing what jobs we need to do, and in what order.  I'll also do a plan for the garden and home purchases - we need to save for each major purchase, so I want to make a list of them in order of importance.  E.g., I was planning on getting vertical blinds for the kitchen and lounge windows quite soon....well, if we're having this new kitchen, it would be better to have the blinds after the kitchen's done - they'll be putting up new tiles behind the kitchen sink and all along the back wall, so it would be best for the blinds to be fitted after it's done, so they're not in the way or risk getting damaged.

I've got husband's meals all worked out - I'll be roasting a whole chicken on Thursday (the air fryer roasts a small chicken very well), which will provide meals for both husband and dog for a couple of days, and on the Saturday he'll probably be going out for dinner with our visiting friends.  There are a few home cooked meals in the freezer which husband could have (easily defrosted and microwaved) if he fancies something different, and I'll remind him on Sunday morning when I ring (I'll be ringing him regularly) to take out a cottage pie for us to have when I get home Sunday afternoon or early evening.  The dog's daily treats I'll portion out into bags and label them, so husband can just put them down for her each day.

Working things out

 So what's on the agenda for this week?  Well, husband's going into town for a routine eye test this morning, the usual 2-year check up, he thinks he probably does need new close-up glasses.  He doesn't need me to go with him, I've already done his optician's health questionnaire for him online, I've got his prescription slip out ready for him to take (it's easier if he just shows them that, rather than me listing all his meds on the online form).  He doesn't need help choosing new frames, he always goes for very similar ones and, to be honest, any shape frames suit him.  He's very conservative, so I know he won't choose outrageous colours! (not that it would matter if he did, it's his face after all!).  I'll stay home and get on with the housework.  The Housing Support officer is due round today, I'll be able to have a chat with her without husband butting in all the time, as he usually does.

I was thinking about the new kitchen layout.  Currently, we have a tall upright freezer and separate under-counter fridge....I want to go back to having just a tall half-and-half fridge freezer.  Our present freezer is actually full up, but I know it's a case of if we have the space, we'll fill it.  And with the supermarket being so much nearer here, just 10 mins drive away, it's easy enough to go shopping.  Also, I want the fridge to be higher up - bending down all the time to get things out of the under-counter fridge doesn't do my back any good....obviously I'm using the fridge every day, several times a day, but not the freezer.  Also, having one less appliance will free up some space.  It's not something I need to be worried about right now, it'll be many weeks, possibly months, before we have the new kitchen fitted.  But I will start to be mindful about running down the freezer and possibly beginning to pack away some of the unused kitchen stuff - good job we have plenty of plastic boxes from the move, stacked in the car port.

I've got quite a bit of veg to process and/or use up, before I go away for the weekend - husband is unlikely to do anything with it.  Towards the end of the week, I'll portion up dog food and treats for Betty, so husband can just grab the relevant thing and put it down for her.  His meds are all sorted for the week into his dosette box, there's nothing else for him to do.  Neighbours and friends will be keeping an eye on him, not that he needs it really, it's more for my peace of mind.

Memories of Mum

 My lovely Mum died on Christmas Eve 2019, just 10 minutes before I got to the hospital.  I was ok with that, I'd said all along I really didn't want to watch her die.

But today is all about happy memories of Mum, of which I have many.  These are 2 of my most favourite pictures of her:-

We'd all been at Mum's house, sitting round the table playing some silly game.....Mum suddenly grabbed her tea cosy and stuck it on her head - I can't remember why now (it was a long time ago), but it shows her wacky sense of humour and not being afraid to make fun of herself.  I can remember us all being in stitches with laughter (probably something to do with the wine!).

Then this one, one of the last pictures I have of her, taken that last summer:-

It was taken in her garden up in the Midlands, by my sister - Mum was on the phone to me here in Somerset.  Mum dressed how she pleased, and looked good for her age (she was 82 or 83 there), she loved that leopard print dress and the purple cardigan suited her colouring.

I miss her.

It's not as easy as it looks 😳

 As the eyebrow lady cancelled my appointment the other day, I thought I'd have to have a practise myself....to be honest, having seen where she lives (she works from home), I was quite relieved she'd cancelled.  It might sound a bit snobbish, but it's an upper floor flat in a poky and very untidy and rundown old terraced house, in a not very nice part of town - having only recently moved here, we're not familiar with all the areas.  Although she seemed nice enough, she was young with very bad acne-pitted skin caked in make up, in an effort to disguise it, I suppose.  She also had two small yappy dogs and 2 young children, a baby and a child of about 4 or 5....I know she was just trying to make a living, but wasn't exactly a walking advert for her trade and I was a bit worried that she might get distracted by the dogs/children.  So I think I might have had a lucky escape.

I've watched several youtube videos on applying eyebrow pencil and decided to give it a go, having bought a couple of different ones and a double-ended brush.  Well, all I can say is that the women in the videos make it seem so easy and the results looked very natural.....whereas mine....didn't.  In fact I looked downright scary 😮😂😂.  I wiped the efforts off and tried again 3 or 4 times....slightly better the last time, but I might just forget it!  

We were having a nice quiet afternoon when the problem relative suddenly decided to throw a spanner in the works and wind us all up for a couple of hours with stupid attention seeking behaviour (he's a grown man of 52).  He always seems to do it on a weekend, when the GP surgery is closed, and he goes on and on about some ridiculously minor medical problem which nobody else would be worried about - he basically has a panic attack, and no doubt he'd been refusing to take his meds again (a regular occurrence).  He also refuses to have any outside help - we all know he's got mental health problems, as well as some fairly serious physical ones, but if he won't accept any professional help (he was extremely rude to both his social worker and mental health worker and insisted they take him off their books), then there's not a lot we can do.  It might sound harsh, but none of us will pander to his behaviour, we know from experience it just makes him worse.  Again, from experience, we know the best course of action is to just ignore him, he calms down eventually.  And then spends the next day bombarding us all with apologetic messages 😒

As usual, he did calm down and went quiet.  I've noticed he'd posted a few messages on FB through the night, so he's not dead.  He's the only one who can help himself, but if he flatly refuses to access professional help then he's only got himself to blame. 

Off to Bridgwater to get the things I need this morning, then a quiet afternoon.

A nothing day

 My back's feeling a little better today, not quite as painful or stiff.  Getting out of bed and bending down are still a problem though, I had to ask husband to put something away in the bottom of a kitchen cupboard.

Nothing much to write about today, it's just a mundane morning of washing and housework.  It's currently drizzly and grey outside (so washing will have to go on the airer in the car port), a brief spell of dryness mid morning is forecast, before heavy rain sets in by lunchtime.  Lovely! 😒  At least it's not cold.

Got some banking to do, I tried to do it yesterday but the figures were just baffling me, I couldn't get my head around it....probably because I was dosed up on co-codamol.  Not taken any today (nor do I intend to, until I go to bed), so hopefully my brain should be clear and able to cope with the maths later!

The news just seems to be full of everything I'm not interested in at the moment (husband obsessively watches the news on TV several times a day).  F1 and Red Bull, which is not remotely interesting, politics in the USA - apologies to my American readers, but it seems like for your new President you only have a choice between a doddery old man who continually forgets things and makes mistakes, or the egomaniac lunatic Trump.  I'd be in despair if I were an American, I think.  Having said that, I'm sure you USA readers must think the same (if indeed you take any notice of British politics) about our lot - absolutely none of them inspire me with any confidence, our NHS and postal service are wrecked and the government seem to be doing absolutely nothing about it.  All they seem to do is take care of their own - the wealthy.  Get me - talking about politics, which bores the pants off me and I know next to nothing about - well, I did say I've got nothing to write about 😂😂

Painful

 I've got the worst back pain I've had for months, it started feeling bad yesterday after my weak disc popped out, this morning I could hardly get out of bed for the pain.  The disc has popped out and back in again a couple more times this morning and I'm getting a lot of muscle spasms.  It's tempting to just sit and not do anything, but I know from experience that doesn't really help, so it's gentle movements and stretching.  It's a nice day again, sunny and fairly warm, although there's a bit of a cold breeze.  Perfect day for washing on the line and some gardening, but I might pass on the gardening!  

I'll write a freezer inventory and make a menu plan for when husband is catering for himself whilst I'm away - yes I am going, and arrangements have been made for husband and dog.  He's assured me he'll be fine, and I'm sure he will. 

We're popping into Bridgwater on Sunday....the best day to go as Bridgwater is always gridlocked during the week, and there are roadworks and temporary traffic lights on the route into town (a new housing estate being built).  There's a couple of shops I need to get things from - Minehead is more of a tourist town, full of shops selling tourist crap and lots of eating places/cafes/sweet shops, not many 'proper' shops for residents though.  The two shops I need to go to are both open on Sundays - well, lots of shops are nowadays.

Nothing any more interesting to write about just now, and anyway I need to stand up and move around a bit, or I'll get fixed in this chair!

Rambler - we've got an electric fire in the caravan lounge, and 3 of those oil-filled electric radiators.  We both feel the cold quite a bit more than we used to, one of the joys of old age I guess!

Oh what a pity

 We had a fabulous day at the caravan yesterday, it was sunny and warm all day.  First thing in the morning, before we left home, I had a text from our lovely van neighbours, Charlie & Jean, to say they were also going, staying for a few days (they live 3.5 hours drive away, so can't just nip back and forth like we can....although we do now live 30 mins drive further away. so it now takes us 1 1/4 hours).  We were of course very pleased, but thought it strange as they don't usually come for their first van visit until the end of the month, when it's warmer overnight - like us, they have no central heating in their van.  

It was so lovely to see them again, but they had some sad news to tell us - this will be their last season at the park.  We weren't surprised really, they are 87 and 77 respectively, Jean doesn't drive and it's a very long drive for an 87 y.o. man.  Over the new year period, both Charlie and Jean had fallen quite seriously ill, in fact Charlie was hospitalised for several days.  It made them feel very vulnerable and worried about becoming ill on the journey down, or whilst at the park so, following discussions with their family, they've decided that they can't continue to come and will be selling up.  We are of course very sad, but completely understand their decision.  They're coming down again at Easter for a week or two, so we'll go then as well.  They're not sure when their last visit will be, it depends on various things, not least of which is their health.  

They introduced themselves to us just after we first bought our van in Spring 2021, they were so welcoming, warm and friendly and were very helpful to us when we were doing all the work on the van.  We quickly became very good friends and spent loads of time with them during our last 3 seasons at the van, we had so much fun together.  So we will really miss them when they sell up.  We do of course have plenty of other friends there, it's just that we hit it off with C&J so well.  Lives change though, and all of us have to do what's best for us.  I woke up at stupid o'clock this morning and it was the first thought in my head, the end of an era 😭

Oh, and yesterday afternoon my eyebrows lady cancelled the appointment for today, as her child is unwell.  Can't be helped.

Caravan day

Thank you all again, I'm very grateful.  Several of you mentioned my strong mindedness - yes, I'm nothing if not determined.  From a young age I've always been of the opinion that if you/we want something enough, then it's up to you (us) to make it happen.  I had to be very resourceful and responsible from my early teens onwards, due to circumstances at the time, and that's stuck with me ever since.  Most of the time, most of us are not fortunate enough for things to just drop in our laps - we have to work hard for them.  So that's what I do.  And for those of you who live with chronic pain, as I do, then you know you can't give in to it and wallow in self pity - life has to go on.

Anyhow, drawing a line under that.....there have been some definite good things these past couple of days.  The weather has suddenly become quite Spring-like - sunny, dry (amazingly) and quite warm, there's not even any rain forecast now until the weekend.  So today we're off to the caravan for the first time this year - just for the day, we won't be staying overnight until the latter part of the month.  We're taking a few of the caravan supplies, a packed lunch and drinks, plus Betty of course.  We'll check for any damage, clean and dust the inside, tidy up the garden.  Husband knows he's got one little repair job to do (it won't take him long).  If there's time, we may wash the outside of the van.  We'll also catch up with the site owners and any van friends who might be there - we know there'll be at least a couple.  So a lovely day to look forward to.

Our Housing Support officer popped in on Monday and told us some very good news.  Our Housing Association landlords are starting a programme of improvements this month - they'll be fitting new kitchens in those properties that need them.  The kitchen here is old - probably from the 1970s - and not to my taste at all.  It has mismatched doors, some damage to the edges of doors, broken door runners, peeling laminate in a few places.  I didn't like it from the word go, but it's functional and not too bad looking and certainly wasn't a deal breaker.  Here's a shot:-

The old replacement doors under the sink unit, which are themselves crumbling at the bottom edges.

The kitchen reps, from a local well-respected firm, will be coming round sometime this month to show us samples - apparently we get a choice from 4 different styles of units, along with worktops, tiles, taps and flooring.  How exciting!  Then the fitters will come to measure up and we can let them know our requirements - e.g. where we want white goods to go.  It'll be a few weeks before they get to us - there are 2 sheltered housing estates here and they're starting on the other one first.  That's fine by us - if they do ours in late Spring or even summer, then it'll be the perfect time for us to decamp to the caravan.  Apparently it'll take up to a week to fit each kitchen, and we would rather not be here to cope with all the upheaval - Betty would go bonkers anyway.  We're so pleased.

Yesterday I went for my patch test, prior to having my eyebrow shape and tint.  A blob of the tint stuff behind my ear, to check for any allergic reaction (I did have a reaction to an eyelash tint years ago) - it's fine though, no reaction at all, so I'll be good to go tomorrow.

This is real life

 Thank you all, thank you so much for all the lovely comments and the several emails I've had from you wonderful readers, they all mean such a lot.  It's so good to know that I have such lovely friends - and I do count you all as friends.

I don't know why I get these sorts of comments - they don't come with every post, thank goodness, far from it, but as well as the few I've mentioned before, I've had others that I've simply deleted and not said anything about.  I guess how I respond depends on how I'm feeling at the time.  Since our move here, we've settled in so well and truly feel the benefit of it, it's done both of us a world of good....as I said before, it made me realise just how deeply unhappy I was, for a long time, in the last place.  However, I've been dealing with a few problems in the background (as well as the thing that happened last week) which I've not mentioned on my blog at all, but have been the cause of quite a bit of stress.  So that's probably why this particular comment upset me so much.

There were a few things about it that really got to me - mainly because the writer had jumped to (wrong) conclusions, taken things I've talked about the wrong way, made assumptions and, worst of all, insinuated that I must have lied about our medical conditions on claims forms in order to claim 'benefits' to which we aren't actually entitled.  They also specifically mentioned benefit fraud and advised me to be aware and watch what I say - erm, excuse me?!?!  They tried to pass it off as a friendly warning, but there was certainly nothing friendly about it.

So let's get a few things straight, shall we.  Firstly, in the very first instance, quite some time ago now, I had a telephone appointment with an Age UK financial advisor, who was very helpful indeed and then told me I could go and actually see one of their specialist benefits advisors, who held appointments in the village hall in the next village, once a fortnight.  So that's what I did.  She went through all of our finances and medical conditions, for both of us, and then told me what we were entitled to and how to claim - she used to work for the DWP as a benefits advisor, so she knew exactly what she was talking about.  So that's how we came to be in receipt of Attendance and Carers allowances.  The lovely benefits lady also told me I would be eligible for another couple of benefits, in my own right, but I chose not to apply for these - I'm pretty good at managing money and didn't want to 'sponge off the state', as it were.  The Housing Support officer employed by our Housing Association, who visits all of us sheltered housing tenants here weekly, was the one who told me that we should apply for Council Tax relief, as we would almost certainly be eligible for it (she was right).

As to all the work that husband and I have done - at our caravan, the move from the old house and what we've done here in the new place - something else the anonymous commenter said - well, guess what, this is real life!!  If I didn't say anything at all, my husband would very likely spend all day every day, dozing in his armchair in front of a blaring TV that he wasn't even watching (because his eyes are closed), with the remote control in his hand clutched to his chest so I can't even turn the TV off.  I could just sit in my armchair in my bedroom, reading or crocheting (or even dozing myself!!), ignoring the housework and garden, getting shopping delivered, eating bought in frozen ready meals or ordering takeaways, only letting the dog out into the garden to do her business rather than taking her for a walk.  We could just laze around and vegetate until we die, in other words.

Well, THAT'S NOT ME!  And it's not going to be husband, either.  His GP and both his consultants (for his heart problems and cognitive decline) have all said he should try and be as active, physically and mentally, as possible, in order to keep his health maintained for as long as possible.  So I push him to do what he can.....yes he moans about it occasionally (well, quite a lot if truth be told) and sometimes says I nag him - but he knows the reason why and grumpily accepts it!  In his younger, fitter days he did a lot of things, as well as working full time - he was very good at DIY (he built our kitchen in one of our houses, he built the whole thing from scratch, it wasn't just a case of fitting pre-made units), he put up shelves and assembled flatpack furniture for family and friends, he ran errands and did gardening and odd DIY jobs for elderly neighbours.  All that knowledge and skill doesn't just disappear now he's 73, he can still do jobs, it just takes him a lot longer, he doesn't have as much strength as he once did and he does make mistakes sometimes because of his cognitive decline.  There are of course things he just can't do anymore - like getting up a tree and chopping off big branches with a chainsaw, or painting ceilings, stairs and landings - in which case we get someone in to do it.

I myself have health conditions which mean I'm nearly always in pain (and I can't take anti-inflammatory meds as I have a bad adverse reaction to them), and am unsteady on my feet causing me to stumble and fall over occasionally, if I haven't got my walking stick.  I can't kneel (arthritic knees and trochanteric bursitis in both hips), I have to be careful how I bend (or even stretch up to get something out of a high cupboard) as I have a weak disc in my spine which pops out regularly.  I'm not giving up and sitting around refusing to do anything though because I'm just not that kind of person - I can't live in an untidy house, I hate seeing clutter everywhere or dirty dishes in the sink, I don't like ready meals or crap stuffed full of unknown manufactured chemicals.  We haven't got wads of cash hidden under the mattress, so things we need or want have to be sourced second hand or made by us.  I like a nice, comfortable home and a beautiful garden full of flowers and veg, so I/we do what we can to achieve that - we wouldn't get it by just sitting around doing sweet bugger all.

In short, I don't rely on others to do everything for me - I get on and do it myself.  Or organise it at least, if I can't do it myself.  I wasn't aware that being on certain 'benefits' (which, incidentally, aren't means-tested and are in fact allowances which people with disabilities and their carers are entitled to!) meant that your life stops and you are then supposed to sit around doing nothing until you die!!

How dare they?

 I received a very long passive aggressive comment - anonymous of course, they always are!! - on my blog yesterday, which I'm not publishing.  They made a lot of ERRONEOUS assumptions and comments which indicated they obviously thought I lied about a lot of things.  This really upset me and I found it highly offensive.  HOW DARE THEY?

People only know what I choose to write on here - and as I've said before, I don't write absolutely everything here.  Only an idiot would do that.  If, just as an example, I say that husband has built something - well, NOBODY ELSE is here or at the caravan with us, so nobody knows just how long it took, how much I (or somebody else) helped him with it, how many mistakes he made whilst doing it, and how often he had to take a break - or rather I made him take a break.  Nor do I say how often I have to use my walking stick when out and about, or take extra prescription anti-anxiety meds (practically handfuls at the moment!), or lie on the bed using my TENS machine or hot water bottle on my back or hips because I've overdone things (well, somebody has to do what needs doing!  So I just get on and do it).

They also insinuated (despite denying it but it was very clearly what they meant) that I have claimed benefits for which we are not eligible.  Again, HOW DARE THEY?  The very few 'benefits' we claimed for were backed up by MEDICAL EVIDENCE, in the form of letters and reports from our GP and hospital consultants.  We didn't go to them with some sob story and ask for this evidence, it was letters and reports that we had both received from our various medical professionals each time we'd had a consultation or tests or treatment.  Not that it's anyone's business.  Especially when you haven't got the guts to say who you are.

This has just made me want to say Right, sod it, I'm not writing anymore and delete my entire blog history.