He's excelled himself

 Husband has worked so hard on the garden and getting rid of that awful hedge, I'm so proud of him.  

He's got so many things against him - his age (70), heart failure for which he takes a cocktail of meds, arthritis in his hands, his severe dyslexia which means he's the most disorganised and untidy man I know (it doesn't just mean he has difficulty reading and writing, it affects a whole lot more things than that).  He's clumsy and accident prone, can trip over nothing, drops things every single day, his hands aren't connected to his brain which means that when he puts something down, he instantly forgets where he's put it.  Living with him can be very....challenging, shall we say.  

But he's one of the kindest and most helpful men I know, he will do anything for anyone, he helps out several of our neighbours at home with gardening and DIY jobs, despite some of them being quite a bit younger (and fitter) than him.  In fact, sometimes I have to put my foot down and tell him (or neighbours) that he cannot do something, because it's beyond his capabilities or he's simply not qualified, he can't do it safely or it'll be too much for him.  Eg, he was asked recently to cut down a huge fir tree in a neighbour's garden, the tree is taller than her 2-storey house....he was actually considering it, until I pointed out that he's not a tree surgeon and it simply wouldn't be safe for him to be up a very long ladder with a huge chainsaw, given how accident prone he is!!

He will do anything I ask of him - when we first came to look at this caravan, he was aghast, he actually said to me "Are you sure about this?".  I said I was, it was basically sound beneath the awful old fashioned, dirty and broken state of everything, and that between us we could make it lovely.  "Ok, if you're really sure....".  And we have.  He's worked incredibly hard, both inside the caravan and out, and it's now a wonderful holiday home that we love to spend more time in than in our actual house.  I've made sure that he's had plenty of breaks during days when he's been working hard, kept him fed and watered, and arranged for us to have half or full days off, when we go out for a jaunt or just stay here and have a day relaxing in the garden in the sunshine, chatting to our lovely neighbours.

His work isn't perfect - but then I've never asked for nor expected perfection, I've only ever asked that he do his best.  And that's exactly what he has done, he's done all these many, many jobs on the caravan and garden to the best of his ability and within his limitations.  I've told him over and over how pleased I am with everything, and how proud I am of him for tackling everything.  And now we're enjoying the fruits of our labours (yes, I have done a bit of work too! 😇😂) and I couldn't be happier.

Husband's now watching the Edinburgh Tattoo (I hate bagpipes but he loves them), I'll be settling down in a minute with some crochet - a lap blanket for chilly evenings here.  Betty is stretched out between us on the sofa, and it's been a very satisfying day.

Dull this morning - me and the weather!

 We went out early this morning to a boot sale.  I was a bit concerned that it might be busy, being a Bank Holiday, but it wasn't at all, only perhaps a dozen people there.  There weren't many sellers either, probably about 20 in total, and several of those were young mothers selling toys and baby clothes - obviously of no interest to us.  Husband bought a hammer (for 50p!), I bought nothing, I didn't see anything I wanted.  I was hoping to buy some plants for the van garden, but there were only 2 people selling plants, and they were bedding plants - I don't want those, I want perennials and small shrubs.  Disappointing, but never mind, I'll get some elsewhere this week, I expect.

Having popped home yesterday, we brought back a bagful each of courgettes and cooking apples from the garden at home, we've given some away to caravan neighbours.  There's a plum tree here on site, the plums look like they're ready so I might add some to the apples.  Stewed fruit and clotted cream or Greek yogurt will be lovely, or just the fruit with cereal for breakfast.

We've discussed it at length and decided we probably won't grow much (if anything) in the way of produce at home next year, other than the tree fruit which obviously is already there.  We intend to spend a lot of time here at the caravan, so won't be at home much to take care of growing things.  We might grow a few things....eg, cherry tomatoes, one(!!) courgette plant and a wigwam of beans in pots here in the van garden.

I feel sluggish this morning, several nights of not sleeping very well.  And it's wall to wall cloud and a bit chilly at the moment.  Husband has just gone outside to carry on with chopping down the monster hedge (he's now using his electric hedge trimmers, having brought them from home yesterday - trying to do it with the shears was just too hard), so I'd better put a jumper on and go help.

The caravan garden

 I'm so pleased with the way the garden here at the van is turning out.  Husband went with the artificial grass in the end.....I'd rather have had real turf, but it was his choice, he's had to do the bulk of the work digging up the weedy excuse for a lawn and levelling out all the many lumps and bumps and hollows.  He wanted to cut down on future work - not having a proper lawn to mow constantly - and I fully understand that.  And I must say the garden does look lovely and neat now.  It does mean that I can't really have many plants directly in the ground (I could cut holes in the artificial turf, I suppose), but I can of course have lots of plants in pots.  The basic structure is now there, along with some planted up pots - plenty of room for more though.  Husband put trellis all along the bottom of the van, to improve the appearance - it does look nice.  We've got a spare length of trellis, so I'll get him to fix it to the fence at the end of the garden and I'll plant a clematis to grow up it, I like the big flowered purple (of course!!) ones.

We made a start yesterday on taking up the awful monster hugely overgrown jasmine at the front of the van - well, husband was tackling it, cutting bits of it down, I just held the bags open and helped him shove the cut off bits in.  There's so much of it, and it's so overgrown and has such thick stems that he's decided it will be much easier if he uses his electric hedge trimmer to cut it down, we're going to collect it from home today.  We'd assumed that the jasmine is planted in the ground....it appears though that it was actually planted originally in a pot, but over the years has grown massively and runners have rooted everywhere in the ground, so it's now a full-blown big hedge that is totally out of control.  Behind the bits that husband has so far managed to cut down, he found a long wooden trough, which fell to bits as it's so rotten, and several stone pots of varying sizes, thankfully all in good condition and looking very nice when cleaned up.  I'm pleased about that, I can reuse them all.  We were going to have a raised bed at the front planted up with (small!) flowering shrubs and a couple of pots of flowering annuals, but there are so many thick stems and roots from the blasted jasmine that husband reckons the ground will be very poor indeed.  Plus it'll be hard to get out all the roots.  So we're going to put specialist weedkiller (root killer) on the roots and then lay paving slabs, and put the lovely stone pots on top.  I've got a hebe, some French lavender plants, a couple of ferns and some ornamental grasses to go there.

I will of course photograph it all and put the pics on here....before, during and after.

We've had some lovely weather this past week here at the van, and more forecast for the coming week, so it's great to be able to get stuck into the garden in the mornings, then relax in our lovely new comfortable recliner chairs in the afternoon/early evenings.  Although it's been warm (too hot the other day) during the days, it's noticeably cooler in the evenings and early mornings - distinctly autumnal.  We've had the electric fire on in the lounge a couple of mornings when we've got up, it warms the lounge up quickly.

Still feeling sad

 I didn't sleep at all well last night - unusual for me in the caravan, I generally sleep much better here than at home.  Watching the funeral affected me more than I thought - partly because we're all getting to the age where our family and friends are passing away, and we have had quite a lot of deaths in the family (both husband's and mine) in the past couple of years.  Husband comes from a very large family, there were 10 siblings, and he's now the eldest of them, both his elder brother and sister, and the oldest of his in-laws having all died recently.  Apart from 1 aunt and uncle (and my uncle is in very poor health indeed and isn't expected to survive much longer), I am now the eldest surviving member of my family, both close and extended.  It feels strange, and quite uncomfortable.

The quality of the live feed from the funeral wasn't brilliant, so I couldn't see everyone clearly, I did get a brief glimpse of my sister and some of husband's relatives.  According to my sister, there were quite a few of his family members there - siblings, in laws, nieces, nephews and cousins, it really did sadden me that we couldn't be there.  I got a text from husband's sister last night, following the wake - their brother and SiL are bringing her down here for a break in a couple of weeks, a long weekend, and they're going to come and see us, it'll be so good to see them and give them all a hug.

I'm so tired of not being able to see friends and family on a normal and regular basis - although it's not just down to Covid.  I expect everyone is.

Anyway, in an effort to cheer myself up (after our neighbours informed us this morning that there are only 8 weeks left before the Park closes for winter - thanks a bunch!!), I've been out in the little garden this morning, planting up lots of pots with Spring bulbs.  I planted some in the raised bank area behind the caravan too, we share a largish raised bed area with our next door neighbours.  Now I know the garden is going to look glorious when we come back next Spring after the long winter break.

Husband is still off his food so, although he says he does feel quite a lot better, he's obviously still not right.  Whatever the infection is (either the GP didn't say on the phone, or husband just can't remember what he said), I don't appear to have caught it.  Seems husband was lucky to have blood tests at the beginning of the week, as apparently there's a shortage of the little vials they take blood in and doctors are restricting who can have blood tests!

It was distinctly cooler this morning when we got up, especially noticeable after the heat of yesterday, husband even put the electric fire in the lounge on for 30 mins, to take the chill off.  I don't think I've put up a photo of the fire now it's installed and I've put tile stickers all around it - I'm really pleased with it, I think it looks fantastic.  I'll upload a picture when we get home.

There's a car boot sale here in the village on Bank Hol Monday, we're planning on going....I hope it won't be too busy though, I'm still nervous about being amongst crowds, even with a mask on.  We love boot fairs and used to go regularly pre-Covid, in the last 2 years though we've only been to one perhaps 2 or 3 times.  I'm hoping to get some more plants for the garden, I've still got a few pots to fill, and we'll have a new raised bed area at the front of the caravan.  We're going to nip home at the weekend, there's a few things we need to bring back (I need to do a quick clothes wash too).....I could dig up and bring over a couple of plants from the front garden, it is rather crammed now.

Funeral

 Husband's BiL's funeral this afternoon was livestreamed so, thanks to the MiFi, we were able to watch it on my laptop.  The service was quite nice, not religious (taken by a neutral Celebrant lady), fairly well attended.  It did make me sad to see so many relatives, including my sister (who is friends with husband's sister) who we haven't seen in such a long time - since before Covid.  Hopefully, we'll be able to see them soon, we're planning on going up there (husband's health permitting) and staying overnight in a month or two.  I think that's the only downside of having moved down here to Somerset 11 years ago - the fact that most of our family live several hours' drive away.  It's not easy when we're all getting older and health is deteriorating.

Feeling melancholy today.....the funeral and not being able to go, I suppose, and it bringing into sharp focus the fact of not having seen our family and friends for so long.  Even my best friend who lives nearby, I don't see nearly enough of.....although that's not so much to do with Covid, more busy lives and different priorities.

It's been too hot here today, the caravan is like an oven again.  Shouldn't complain, but the heat really takes it out of me, I feel like a limp wet rag and don't feel like doing anything.  I don't think I'll have Betty on my bed tonight - she's like a hot water bottle, and a heavy one at that.

Husband is feeling much better, but his appetite still hasn't recovered, he's still leaving food on his plate and that's highly unlike him.  I'm serving up smaller portions too, so hopefully both of us will lose a bit of weight!

We're thinking of popping home over the weekend and bringing back our lovely outdoor dining set - it's a very nice rattan & glass topped table and 2 lovely comfy rattan chairs with cushions.  We're spending more time here at the van than we are at home, so it would make sense.  There is a wooden table and chairs here, left behind by the previous owner and included in the sale when we bought the van, so we might take them home and do a swap - they're ok, but not as nice as our rattan set.

I did some drawing today - a few Christmas cards!  Decided my theme for this year will be monochrome Christmas trees with a little splash of colour - a few baubles maybe, or a gold star on top of the tree, or maybe a robin in the tree or a wrapped present underneath.

Holiday

 I've finally got my MiFi connected, after a bit of trouble.  I tested it out at home first - initial problem was that the instruction leaflet supplied with the thing was utterly useless - very scant instructions and didn't really tell me anything.  So I had to google to find a more comprehensive (and easy to understand) manual on the internet and download it.  Much better.  Then, having managed to get the SIM card installed, I couldn't get the laptop to connect wirelessly to the MiFi - no idea why, it just wouldn't.  Having had a read through the manual again, I discovered that I could use the cable supplied with the thing - which I thought was just a charging cable - to plug the MiFi into my laptop.  And then it worked fine.  Now we're back in the caravan and I'm on the laptop - hooray!  And as husband's BiL's funeral is being livestreamed tomorrow, we can now watch it on the laptop.  Assuming I can get the link to work!  I've never done anything like that before.

Husband's been a bit unwell the past few days, and had to go to the GP yesterday, who checked all his vitals, took bloods and arranged for him to have an appointment for an ultrasound scan in 10 days.  The GP doesn't think it's heart related, more a stomach problem.  I asked husband how he felt about coming to the van, I said we don't have to at all, it's entirely up to him.  He said he wanted to.  So we're here, and I've said we're on holiday this time, he's not doing any garden work.....well, not unless he wants to and feels up to it in a few days' time.  The weather's glorious, our lovely neighbours are here, we're all sitting outside in our recliners enjoying the sun.....well, I'm now hiding indoors as it's too warm for me, I can't take the heat and too much sun gives me a headache and makes me feel queasy.  Our immediate next door neighbours said they were planning on going home tomorrow, but now we're here they've decided to stay a bit longer - isn't that nice of them?  I was really touched.

I'll pot up all my Spring bulbs over the next few days, in the mornings when it's not too hot.

Thank you for all the info re the SmartShop zapper things.  So what happens when you finish your shop and go to the dedicated Smart till?  Can anyone tell me how it works and what you do?

Husband's just had a phone call from the GP with the bloods results - apparently he has a mild gut infection, which is what the GP suspected and gave him medication for yesterday.  He feels a bit better today already.

Self service

 It's been dull as dishwater here all day - the weather, that is......wall to wall cloud.  According to the weather app on my phone, it's supposed to be sunny this afternoon.  My brother, who lives in Cornwall, has just said it's been a beautiful sunny day there - he's obviously holding onto the sunshine and not letting it up here!  Ah well, I've been busy today so no time to go and sit outside.  Ironic really that it's been so cloudy, we had a pair of sun lounger chairs delivered earlier, don't fancy sitting in them at the moment!  They're to go to the caravan anyway.

Several times recently when shopping in Sainsburys, I've been given a voucher for money off my first SmartShop - that's the handset zapper thing that you bleep your own shopping with, pack it as you go along and then simply pay at the dedicated SmartShop tills.  Well, apparently that's how it works....I don't actually know as I've not used it before.  All the supermarkets seem to be pushing us into self service, they have fewer and fewer manned checkouts - in fact I think I may have read somewhere recently that Morrisons are intending to do away with manned checkouts altogether.  No doubt the others will follow suit.  They want everyone to go cashless presumably, and employ fewer staff.  Obviously, since the start of Covid, most shops etc have been wanting us to use cards rather than cash - in fact, I can't remember the last time I took any cash out of a machine.

The self service checkouts are all very well, but what about people who still use cash? (I presume there are some).  And people, elderly predominantly, who aren't ok with using those checkouts....maybe because they don't know how, or because they like having a chat with a real person?  I've used the self service checkouts a few times, but always seem to have a problem arise ('unexpected item in the bagging area', or some alarm goes off and a supervisor is requested).  Perhaps it's just me!  But it's obviously the way things are going to be in the future (I think it's called progress or change), so I guess we'll have to get used to it.  It would be nice though to have a trained staff member to show you what to do for your first time - but our Sainsburys has had a distinct lack of staff lately.  There used to be someone greeting you as you came in, and always someone watching over the self service checkouts - they've been conspicuous by their absence though the past few weeks.

I've downloaded the app onto my phone and think I'll have a go at a small shop initially, just to test it out.  But what about if you're buying loose fruit & veg, how does that work?  And what do you actually do when you get to the checkout?  Can anyone enlighten me? (seeing as there are hardly any staff available in the shop, and they seem to have done away with the Customer Service desk).

How long will it be before supermarkets are fully automated with no human staff at all?