Not that one!

 Thank you for all the suggestions for the windows, I'll take them all on board.  I've decided that as we have quite a lot on for the next few weeks, I'm going to put the windows out of my mind for the time being, we'll just manage with the nets for a while.  

Busy day yesterday, I made the fish pie and scones and they're now in the freezer ready for next week.  Did a few jobs in the garden - not as much as I'd have liked, although it was sunny there was quite a strong wind, which made it feel a bit colder, it was strong enough to blow away some of the prunings and weeds I'd pulled up, meaning I had to chase them round the garden.  I'd asked husband to dig up and move one of the roses, which was too close to a large shrub, I told him which one it was and where I wanted it to go.  I got out in the garden just in time to find him starting to dig up the wrong rose!  One that wasn't half buried under the shrub and was perfectly fine where it was.....honestly, as I keep saying, I know he can't help things like this, it's the cognitive stuff, but it doesn't half make life awkward at times.  We'd discussed a couple of days ago where to put the pots and support frames for the outdoor tomatoes this year, I suggested a place but husband pointed out it would be too near the whirlygig washing line - he was right, well done him, I hadn't thought of that.  However, he then put the pots in place and started erecting the framework.....in exactly the place where HE'D said was wrong, too close to the whirly thing!  All fixed now, sometimes we just have to laugh (or else we'd cry).

Today I'm making sausage rolls, cauli cheese and stuffing balls for next week.  Showers forecast today so probably no garden work, I'll get on with sprucing the house up ready for sister's arrival on Monday.  I also need to do a shopping list for fresh stuff, we'll go shopping on Sunday.  

Dithering and exploding brain

 I'm making fish pie and scones this morning, both for next week, then it's outside.  Forecast is for sunshine all day and temperature of 20 degrees, so we'll be making the most of that and spending time in the garden doing the last few odd jobs to get things ready for growing.

I've been thinking about the vertical blinds and what the nice man Neil said when he came to measure up.  Some of the things he mentioned have given me a few concerns, so I'm now leaning towards not having them after all.  I may stick with the net curtain for the lounge window, it is a nice one, pretty patterned and thick.  The kitchen window is a different matter, I really don't want a net curtain there, it gets in the way when I want to open a window and gets splashed when washing up is being done (especially when husband does it, he liberally splashes water everywhere).  I'll give it some more thought.

Got so much on my mind lately, it feels like my head is exploding 🤯.  It's bad enough with all the things I need to do and plan, but with extra family stuff going on, and then having to do all husband's thinking as well as he forgets more and more, my poor little brain is working overtime.  Once I've got everything done for sister's arrival, next week should in theory be more relaxed.

Busy week

 Thank you all for the comments, I'm very appreciative of the fact that you're all so supportive.  💜

It's a busy week, I'm getting on with cooking, baking and freezing stuff for when sister is here next week.  I'm making a salmon quiche (homemade pastry and filling using dairy-free stuff), fish pie, toad in the hole, and stuffing and cauli cheese to accompany a roast dinner one day.  I'm also doing sausage rolls and little pasties for lunches, and a pineapple & coconut cake and chocolate brownies to go with coffee.  Not all on the same day, I'm spreading the cooking out during the week.

I got husband to clear and clean the car yesterday, the seats and floor in the back were covered with assorted bits of his mess (he tends to just throw stuff in the back and never clears it out).  The hatchback boot area where Betty sits was smothered in dog hair and smelt very 'doggy', and the front footwells were covered with sand and grit.  It's all cleaned out now, is tidy and clutter free and smells much nicer.  And we can see out of the windows!  😒😂  Husband has never been one for washing the car every weekend, he only does it 2 or 3 times a year.  Considering the way he is now, I'm surprised it hasn't become one of his obsessions.....I wouldn't mind if it became one.

Sister has just informed me that it's only 5 sleeps till she comes (I know!), she's been giving me a countdown every day, she's getting very excited.

Back

 Basically, I just wrote the weekend off, didn't do anything other than prepare and cook meals, the rest of the time I sat in my bedroom and read my book.  The straw that broke the camel's back happened on Saturday, following a shit couple of weeks....due to carelessness (not mine), my washing basket containing the wet washing I'd just taken out of the machine to hang on the line, and the peg basket, got tipped over in the garden, sending the washing and all the pegs cascading over the ground.  I just burst into tears, it finished me off.  Stupid, silly little thing with no real harm done (except to my back, hips and dodgy knee, having to scrabble about on the ground to pick it all up), but it really seemed like a breaking point.  I'm just glad there was nobody around to witness (or hear) me sobbing in the garden, shaking all the washing and hanging it on the whirly thing.  Betty, bless her, stood beside me the whole time, then kept me company in the bedroom all weekend.  Animals know, don't they, and give us unconditional love.

The man from the blinds company arrived this morning - it didn't start off too well as he was 45 mins late, in fact I'd just rung the company to find out where he was when he pulled up outside.  Unlike the last guy (from a local company) who came, this one was really nice, extremely helpful and bent over backwards to accommodate our needs and wishes.  Even so, the quote was considerably higher than I was expecting, but he then suggested a couple of different styles of blinds which had a 20% off sale price, so that made it much better, more affordable.  He didn't press us for an immediate decision either, but said we could think about it, contact him at any time with any queries, and said the quote was guaranteed for 3 months (he gave us that in writing too, which the previous one didn't).  So that's what I'm going to do, wait a month or so to think about it - and save up a bit more.  We will definitely be going with this quote and company, it's just a case of ironing out a few details.

So that's eased our current cash flow problems (caused by a few recent unexpected expenses), and thus eased my mind also.  I know I need to rearrange our budget a bit and start putting more into savings for unexpected things (sinking funds?), I'll get on and do that tomorrow.

Sister got a lovely sympathy card from her vet this morning, it contained a hand written message and a packet of Forget-me-not flower seeds, how nice of them.  When brother's dog had to be put to sleep, they also had a card from their vet, along with an impression of their dog's paw prints, which they didn't know they were getting.  So thoughtful.

We're about to take Betty to the vet for her 2nd ear treatment, the first dose has already been working and this 2nd one should clear up the infection altogether.  Until the next time, of course, but hopefully that'll be several months away.

Last straw

 Sometimes you just have to say "bugger it" and give up altogether - today is one of those days.

Ending a difficult week with some happy things

 The neuralgia is still there, but significantly less painful, so I think it's going - at least I've been able to brush my hair!  I guess it could have been a stress reaction, it's certainly been a difficult week.  It seems husband's daughter is still feeling offended at the thing he said to her on the phone, so it looks like I'll have to have a quiet word with her and explain - again - just what his cognitive impairment means.  She's a bit touchy at the mo, because of things going on in her own life.  One of my major roles nowadays seems to be peacemaker, due to husband's increasing tendency to just blurt things out and upset all and sundry.

I've said before about his hoarding tendencies, collecting other people's rubbish which he thinks might come in useful but in reality never does, as it all just gets chucked in his shed or outside cluttering up the garden.  Well, yesterday when he was walking Betty round the estate, he noticed a neighbour who's moving home had put a load of stuff in her front garden, with a notice saying "Help yourself".  So he did! (of course).  Two of the things he brought home are actually useful - a very nice mop bucket (better than mine) and a large good quality green tub with rope handles that would make a lovely container for a big shrub.  But he also brought home loads of plastic pots of assorted sizes....why I don't know, as we've already got loads and certainly don't need any more!

I need to make some meals to go in the freezer for when sis comes on the 24th.....I had already made and frozen a couple of meals, but now they won't be suitable as they contain dairy (cheese, butter or milk) - I'd made them before sis told me she avoids all dairy now.  Doesn't matter, husband and I will eat them of course, it'll save me cooking a couple of times for us next week.  Sis suggested us going to the local theatre one evening to see a performance of Dr Strangelove, but I'm not very keen.  Firstly, I remember seeing the film years ago (Peter Sellers I think) and I didn't like it then - very weird, black comedy satire thing.  And secondly, this production stars the actor Steve Coogan, who I really don't like.  Admittedly, it's more the characters he's played - Alan Partridge in particular - that I cannot stand....which I suppose is a measure of how good an actor he is, playing a character who so successfully irritates the hell out of people in real life.  I don't know, we'll see - there may be something else on we could see instead, I'll have to have a look.....actually, I've just looked on the website and there's a production of the G&S opera HMS Pinafore - sister and I would love that, husband wouldn't, so he could drop us off there and pick us up afterwards.  Sorted!

Betty's just had the zoomies around the garden, so she's clearly feeling much better!

And it's sunny again, a bit warmer, and the forecast is for temperatures to rise with more sunshine next week.  So it's all looking up.  Oh, and the car was fine, the rogue fuse was changed in 20 minutes.

Incidentally, Sue - the price of £163 sister was charged at her vets was just for the 2 injections (the sedative and the 'kill' shot), not cremation - sister brought the cat home to bury in her garden.  I know different vets charge different rates for things - our previous vet who we saw for many years was an independent husband and wife small practice, whose charges were very low (they sometimes didn't even charge at all for minor things like nail clipping).  The first vet we signed up with here in Minehead was part of a big chain who were very expensive, as it turned out....this vet we go to now is a one man independent, whose charges are reasonable, and he's a much nicer vet, as are his receptionist and nurse.

How much?! And a pain in the ear....face....head

 Sister's cat had to be put to sleep yesterday (it cost £163!! 😱) and she's devastated, they'd had her for 15 years.  Husband and I have always had dogs, although we did have a couple of cats - sister's family always had cats.  In view of brother's FiL passing away at the weekend, sister feels guilty for grieving so much - which we've all said she shouldn't, our beloved pets are our furry children, after all.  So I shall be even more determined to make her week here as pleasant as possible, she really needs uplifting.  There's also another family problem going on (for once, nothing to do with problem relative) which is proving to be worrying and could have quite serious ramifications.  So what with all that, and a temporary cash flow problem, I'm feeling a bit stressed and drained.

And then yesterday afternoon, I started getting a bout of neuralgia in my scalp and the right side of my face.  I used to get it fairly regularly, but this is the first time in 2 or 3 years.  It's just so painful, it kept making my right eye water and my face and scalp felt like it was on fire.  Painkillers weren't doing anything and I couldn't sleep for the pain, had to get up in the middle of the night and take more tablets and hold a cold compress against the side of my head - I'd have preferred a warm one but my face and scalp felt hot enough as it was.  Think I got to sleep eventually around 03.30 and then Betty woke me up just before 7, woofing at some noise outside.  I couldn't even brush my hair this morning, my scalp was too painful.  Now, having taken another couple of doses of painkillers, it's beginning to ease up, thank goodness.  I'll have the constipation to contend with next, I had to take co-codamol as paracetamol alone wasn't touching the pain....I've got some Laxido orange sachets, will take one in a minute.

So, to keep myself occupied and not focused on the pain, I did what works best for me - I baked.  I'd seen a recipe video for cream cheese and grated courgette twisted pastry things, the pastry being made with just Greek yogurt and SR flour.  No quantities of anything given in the video, which was only about a minute long, so I just winged it and made a few additions of my own.  I made the pastry (it took a lot of flour) and rolled it out on a well-floured surface.  In the video half of it was covered with cream cheese (Philadelphia type) and grated courgette, with a little sprinkle of grated cheese, the other half of the pastry being folded over on top, before cutting into strips and twisting them.  I didn't think there'd be enough flavour, so I mixed pesto with the cream cheese and added lots of black pepper.  When it came to trying to cut out strips, I quickly realised that wasn't going to work - the pastry was just too soft.  So I just kept it as a sort of flat pasty, getting it with some difficulty onto a lined baking tray and baking in the oven - which of course took longer than it should, as it's not reaching high temps anymore.  After I'd put it in the oven, I realised I'd completely forgotten to scatter the grated courgette over - duh! 😒  I blame it on my painful head and lack of sleep.  As I had plenty of cream cheese and pesto left, and it was easy and quick enough to make another batch of pastry, I made a second one - with the courgette in it this time.  One we'll have for lunches tomorrow and Saturday, the other one (with the courgettes) has been frozen.  Although I made the pastry a bit stiffer the second time, I still didn't bother cutting it into strips and twisting them.

Husband is going out shortly, he has to take the car to a garage for a safety recall, apparently a fuse thing is in danger of catching fire.  Well, the car is over 10 years old and it hasn't caught alight yet, but better safe than sorry, I guess.  So I've got an hour or so by myself - I asked if he wanted me to go with him but he said no, he'll be fine by himself.  Thankfully, the neuralgia seems to be wearing off - I wonder what triggered it, having not had it for so long?  I think I'll just sit and read whilst husband is out, I've already prepped the dinner (cottage pie made with chicken mince, but with a topping of sliced potatoes brushed with melted butter and herbs instead of mash, with tenderstem broccoli on the side).