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.