A stressful shop

 Been to Aldi this morning to do our monthly store cupboard stock up shop, it was quite stressful with some of husband's obsessions and compulsions in full flow.  And when we got home too - I have repeatedly asked husband to leave the unpacking to me and not to put anything away.  The reason being, he just grabs things and shoves them away anywhere, in any cupboard where there's a space, having no regard for like going with like, or putting new stuff at the back and pulling older stuff forward.  Drives me nuts, I spend ages looking for things and having to sort out the cupboards after he's done.  I went to the loo when we got home, only to find he'd already unpacked and put away 1 1/2 bags whilst I was in the loo.  And this was after I'd asked him, once again, as we arrived home to let me put everything away.  It's a compulsion with him, he just can't seem to help himself.  Or he could be doing it just to annoy me!!  (I don't think he is, although it does annoy me!).  I'm relaxing in my room now with a coffee to calm my nerves 😂😒

I buy enough store cupboard stuff each time to last a full month....for the next few months I'm now buying a few extras on top of the normal amount, in order to build up an extra stock for when we get rid of the car in summer.  All the extras are going in 2 large plastic lidded boxes under my bed.  I was pleased with the amount I spent - £89 for 6 bags worth of goods, a month's stock plus the extras, I'd expected it to be around £100.  I wish there was an Aldi in Minehead - there's a Lidl instead, which I'm not so keen on, although I do buy a few things in there from time to time.

We stopped off at the garden centre on the way, I got 2 bags of early potato sets.  No banana shallot sets, although they did have some round ones which I didn't want.  They had banana shallot seeds though, so I got a packet of those instead.  It's forecast to be sunny and dry (hooray!!) on Saturday, albeit colder, so we'll be able to get that tree we bought last month planted.  We'll cover up the beds where the veg seeds are going, to warm up the soil before we sow the seeds next month.

My cleaner popped round yesterday afternoon to say that the next time she's due, she'll actually be on holiday (she'd forgotten!), so she's arranged for a colleague to come and do the job instead.  I've already met this colleague, she cleans for one of our neighbours, she's also very nice.  On the subject of neighbours, we've been told that new neighbours, a married couple, are moving into the empty bungalow across the road within the next couple of weeks, that'll be good (hopefully).

Oh dear (oh well), lovely pastry and losing weight

 Husband came home from the gym yesterday and announced he'd suspended his membership for 4 months - seems they're allowed to do that once a year.  He said he just doesn't feel like going at the moment, which I'd gathered anyway.  Hopefully, he'll have his interest renewed when the weather is better.  He needs to continue to be active - as do I, although I'm certainly more active than he is - so on good weather days I'll suggest we take Betty and go to Blue Anchor bay for a walk along the prom, followed by a coffee in our favourite cafe there.  The only thing is we have to go by car, the bay is only about 2 miles away but it's down a long and winding road that's narrow and single-tracked in places, with no pavement, so not very safe when vehicles go past.  In any case, 2 miles of walking there and the same back is too far for both of us with our various ailments, Betty would be none too keen either, she's not fond of long walks now she's in her dotage.

I made the apple pie with the oil pastry yesterday, it was lovely, nice and crisp and a lovely taste.  The pastry was very easy to roll out, very soft, it did tear in a couple of places but was simple to patch up.  So I'll always make pastry with oil from now on.  Six portions of the pie so some will be frozen.  

My sister has now finally shaken off her respiratory and chest infections and feels well again, she said yesterday it almost feels like she's just woken up from a coma.  She lost a stone in weight whilst she was unwell, poor thing, now she's got her appetite back she'll no doubt put some of that back on, but says not all of it hopefully!  I'm pleasantly surprised to see that I've lost 8lbs since just after Christmas - no diet as such, just good healthy homecooked food, having cut back drastically on UPFs.  I've also been eating smaller portions.  Husband is bemoaning the fact that he hasn't lost any weight, but then he's got an appetite like a horse and isn't very active, so what does he expect?!  He buys himself big bags of nuts from the Grape Tree shop, he claims they're healthy snacks and good for you.....well, yes, but not in the quantity he eats of them, between meals.  But, again, there's no telling him, he's a law unto himself.

I'm starting to think about meals and things to do when husband's relatives come for a visit - his brother and sis-in-law for a weekend next month, then the same bro and sil plus two more sisters for a longer weekend in April.  They're staying in Air BnBs locally but will be having most meals with us.  I think I'll suggest we go out for at least one meal each visit, and probably do buffet-style meals the rest of the time, the guests can bring some of the food.  I'll have to plan a couple of trips out too, these things are always down to me, husband never has any ideas.  We haven't seen the two sisters for a few years, it'll be nice to catch up.  Husband's family are all very loud, it comes of being a big family (10 siblings) and so having to shout to be heard above each other.  So, whilst it will be lovely to see them, with lots (and lots!) of chat and laughter, it will be equally lovely to enjoy the peace and quiet once they've gone!

So nice to see the days getting longer, we opened the curtains at 7.30 this morning and have been closing them around 5.30 pm.  And more of my Spring flower bulbs are opening up, wonderful!

Cleaning, kitchen jobs, washing and gym (another boring post haha)

 I like the new pillow, it's got a firm memory foam middle but a soft outer layer.....however, that and my current top pillow together are too high, I woke up in the early hours with a crick in my neck so discarded the new pillow and just slept on the current one.  I thought that just using one pillow would be too low but, surprisingly, slept well for the rest of the night.  So now I'll probably rotate my pillows, using just one and changing them around every week or so.

Hayley, my cleaner, comes today.  I usually do a few jobs in the kitchen whilst she's here, to keep out of her way, today I'll be making an apple pie, chopping some veg to go with the rest of husband's lamb stew from yesterday, and some coleslaw to have alongside a jacket spud with cheese for me tonight.  Hayley doesn't do the kitchen, at my request, I prefer to do it myself.  Husband, predictably, sits in his armchair watching TV, but does take the dog out when Hayley hoovers, Betty doesn't like the hoover, she follows it around barking at it.

Bit of a gloomy start again, grey sky and we've already had some rain.  It's been so hard getting washing dry these past few weeks, I think I've only managed to get it out on the line 2 or 3 times, and each time I had to get it back in quickly when it started raining.  I'm fed up with having washing on airers indoors, getting in the way and having to walk around them or keep moving them.  I've had the airer out in the car port a few times but when it's cold it doesn't even dry out there.  Roll on Spring!

My DAB radio in the kitchen is affected by the weather too, it's all crackly when the weather's bad.  And my bread dough takes so much longer to prove.  Right, enough moaning.  Husband's just gone to the gym, he didn't go at all last week, he seems to be losing interest, he comes out with a range of fairly feeble excuses not to go.  I've just reminded him that he's paying a direct debit for the gym use every month, so is effectively wasting money if he doesn't go.  I think it's good for him to go, he doesn't over-exert himself, just uses the treadmill and the bike, occasionally a few minutes on the rowing machine, he has been told by GP and cardiologist to keep as active as possible.  If he doesn't go he just sits around doing nothing, he's not active at home and doesn't do any exercises, although he says he does (I've not seen him doing any!).  And of course if/when he goes to the gym, it gives me an hour to myself so another reason why I'm quite keen for him to keep going.  If or when he feels he can't manage the exercise anymore, then of course it'll be best for him to stop.

New pillows and sunshine (not a lot to write about!)

 Thank you for the comments, I'm so pleased I've got the transport issues sorted, such a relief.  Husband seems to have fully accepted that he'll be giving up driving in July (when his car insurance period ends) - however, in view of the way he changes his mind about everything all the time, I wouldn't be surprised if he objects nearer the time.  If necessary (in the event of him refusing to listen to me, e.g.), I'll ask the GP for help in persuading him.

Husband is also now beginning to show an interest in veg growing for this year, he's busy looking up online where to buy banana shallots.  Every search he makes starts with ebay 😒 - his favourite site.  When we go to Aldi later in the week, we'll drop in to the garden centre on the way, it's bigger and better stocked than our little garden centre in Minehead.  I'm sure we'll be able to get shallot sets in there, as well as potatoes for chitting.  I'll have a look at their veg seeds too.

When I bought my new mattress (which is so comfortable) and new bedding a few weeks back, I also bought a pair of pillows - one for husband, the other to replace one of mine.  I've always had 2 pillows, a medium memory foam middle one on top (I've had the present one a year or 2 and it's lovely and comfy), with a thinner firmer one on the bottom, that one I've had several years and had seen better days.  Well, the new bottom pillow is awful, supposed to be medium firmness but in reality it's like soft cotton wool, no support at all and the filling quickly ends up bunched up by the headboard.  I noticed that our local Lidl have bedding in their middle aisles from today, so went to have a look this morning and bought a lovely pillow, which I think will be just right, from the selection of half a dozen that they had.  The test will come tonight, of course.  Husband also has 2 pillows, from a choice of 6 or 7 in his room - he complains about all of these pillows and regularly rotates them.  He's really hard on pillows, he thumps and shakes them about before he gets into bed and several times during the night (one of the reasons why we sleep in separate rooms), he reckons he can never get comfortable.  I'm not surprised his pillows are uncomfortable, he thumps them so much they're all misshapen and lumpy.

This morning it's been lovely and sunny, still cold but it's so nice to see the sun....showers are forecast for this afternoon and the sky is already clouding over.  The forecasters have apparently said there'll be further rain for the next 14 days.....how comforting! 😂😒 (not).  On the bright side, I've got hyacinths blooming in a pot in the front garden, some narcissi in bud that look ready to open in the next few days, and pale yellow primroses in the rockery outside the kitchen window, so signs of Spring are appearing at last.

Husband's having lamb stew out of the freezer for dinner today, I'm having the normal roast dinner veg, with some stuffing.

Things are looking up!

 I spent time in the kitchen yesterday, firstly I made the oil pastry, it was so simple and quick.  I made a double quantity, halved it and froze it for use sometime next week, probably for a homity pie and maybe an apple pie for next weekend.  Then I made Prof Tim Spector's pecan and chocolate cookies, the ones he made on his What Not to Eat programme, the recipe is here Tim Spector's Pecan Chocolate Cookies | The Doctor's Kitchen.  They're very nice but I think need baking for longer than he says....they were very soft indeed and fell apart when picked up, even when cold.  They're very rich and satisfying, you couldn't eat loads of them at once, they'd fill you up!  It's because they're made with almond flour (I just whizzed up 200g of skin-on almonds in my little processor, not having any almond flour to hand), so lots of protein and healthy fats.  Husband really likes them too, although he claims not to like almonds and wouldn't have even tried them if I'd told him they had ground almonds in.  He actually thought they tasted of walnut, which he does like.

I made more bread dough, this time along with the strong white I added 100g fine oats and 50g dark rye.  It rose nicely overnight, I've briefly kneaded and shaped it and put it in a bread tin for the final rise before being baked.  I've got back into the swing of breadmaking now and aim to make 2 loaves a week.

There's a door-to-door minibus scheme run by the local council, I've discovered, you have to register with them and then ring to book your travel giving 24 hours notice.  The costs are very cheap, costs no more than £2.70 with a concessionary bus pass (which we both now have) for a return trip.  A very nice man rang within minutes of me signing up online, to check a couple of things - did either of us have any mobility aids (not yet!) and as I'd said Yes to husband having a carer, was it me or someone else?  I took the opportunity to ask him if they accepted dogs on the minibus, he said they positively welcomed dogs, as long as they were well behaved and on a lead.  So now we have transport in place for trips to the GP or local hospital once husband gives up driving in July, and we know we can get Betty to the vets when necessary.  And door-to-door service, how great is that?!  It's such a weight off my mind.  We'll try it out soon, just to see how it works.

We've had a few heavy showers (surprise surprise) this morning, but interspersed with beautiful blue sky and sunshine - how lovely it is to see the sun, makes me feel more cheerful straight away.  Our local weathermen said yesterday that we've had some quantity of rain every single day since the start of this year - don't we know it!!

I'm writing a shopping list for our monthly trip to Aldi next week, I buy lots of store cupboard staples in there.  Husband is happily settled in his armchair watching a lot of sport, with the Winter Olympics and 6 Nations rugby it'll be hard to prise him out of the chair to do anything.

My BB (Beautiful Betty) is completely back to normal now, thank goodness, it was hard seeing her so poorly at the start of the week.

Thanks!

 Thank you all so much for your oil pastry comments and recipes, very helpful and I now feel confident about giving it a go.....possibly for a chicken and veg pie on Sunday.  Watch this space!

The bread I made yesterday following an overnight prove is blimmin lovely, even without the seeds.  I'm going to be making bread once or twice a week from now on, trying to get husband out of the habit of buying mass-produced sliced bread.  The one habit I would really like to get him out of is adding salt to everything he eats - as a heart patient on loads of meds, he's not supposed to eat loads of salt.  I'm flogging a dead horse though, he's done it all his life (even without first tasting the food, which has always struck me as a bit of an insult to the cook) and won't be told, he even adds salt to tinned baked beans, frozen chips etc, things which I have reminded him umpteen times already have salt added.  Well, it's his body and health, if he doesn't want to keep himself as fit as possible and prolong his life, then that's up to him I suppose.

Well, the tree fellers didn't turn up yesterday, despite saying they would come and give us a quote, they finished the job they were doing nearby, packed up and left.  They obviously don't want or need our business then, perhaps just one tree wasn't enough for them, they were cutting down 3 or 4 in a neighbour's garden.  

Horrible rain all day again today, so grey and dreary.  It is supposed to be better at the weekend though, I really hope so.

Betty is almost back to normal, she was wanting to play a bit last night and even barked when she saw the postman through the window this morning - that's the first time she's barked in several days.

Growing veg list made, and oil pastry anyone?

 Betty's not entirely back to herself, although is certainly much better.  Hopefully, she'll continue to improve over the next couple of days.  No sickness today and she's drunk a little lukewarm water.  She's even started showing some interest in food, standing in the kitchen staring up at the shelf where her food and treats are stored, so I might chance giving her a tiny food portion later.

I tried talking to husband about veggies to grow this year, he showed very little interest - the TV wasn't on, for a change, and he wasn't on his computer so it's not like he was distracted, he just didn't seem interested.  So I've gone ahead and made a list of what I want to grow, and planned where to sow or plant the veggies, making sure I'm not growing them in the same beds as last year.  We're only going to grow tomatoes (2 types), mini cucumbers, carrots, shallots, courgettes (green and yellow), potatoes in bags and climbing French beans, all things that grow well here and we eat a lot of.  I shan't be bothering with butternut squash, aubergines or leeks this year - the first two didn't do particularly well last year and we don't eat enough of them to warrant trying to grow again.  Leeks are cheap enough to buy and I wouldn't say there's enough of a flavour difference in the homegrown ones.  Husband grew far too many last year, we've still got loads in the raised bed.  The carrots and French beans we'll grow from seed, everything else we'll buy as mini plants.  We won't make the mistake of last year when we bought some of them too early, they mostly rotted away and we had to buy more later on, they soon catch up.  We'll get some seed potatoes tomorrow and have a look for shallot sets, I like the banana ones (easier to peel and chop).

There's a gang of tree fellers cutting down some trees in a garden nearby, husband's been and had a word with them to see if they'll cut down and take away the horrible yucca tree in our garden, if the price is right.  They'll come for a look and give us a quote when they've finished their present job.  I hope they do take the yucca away, that'll be one garden job crossed off the list.

I made a chicken mince risotto yesterday, using pearl barley instead of rice - really nice and I think I preferred the barley to rice, a nice chewy texture.  Very filling as well.  Tonight we're having cod poached in a little milk with parsley and dill, and a veggie bake thing out of the freezer made with some of the cheap Christmas veggies - grated potato, parsnips and carrots, chopped onions, herbs and spices and an egg to bind, with some grated Parmesan and breadcrumbs on top.  I baked the loaf that I started yesterday, it's come out better than the last one I made, more oven spring so a bit taller.

I want to have a go at making pastry next, using oil instead of butter/lard.....I'm not brilliant at pastry making, never have been, think I probably handle it too much.  I'm hoping using oil means I'll be stirring instead of rubbing in the fat, so less handling and a less tough pastry.  Have any of you made oil pastry?  There are plenty of recipes online and I know Thrifty Lesley always makes it this way.  I'd like to avoid buying readymade chilled pastry packs from now on, they have an alarming list of ingredients including palm oil, preservatives and emulsifiers.