A beautiful morning, and 1 sleep to go!!

 Another hard frost again this morning, but an absolutely beautiful sunrise.  It felt very cold when I got up just after 6 am, but soon warmed up when I put the heating on.  We don't have our heating on the timer, we just put it on when needed.  Once again, I'm so glad we are fortunate enough to be able to afford the heating (helped by the Government these past few months), so many people aren't in the same position.  I've just been watching the news on TV, seems that runaway couple have been found - but without their 8-week old baby, and police are now searching for the baby.  Presumably the baby must be dead - else why would the couple not have it with them?  And even if the baby were alive when the couple was arrested, surely it couldn't have survived a bitterly cold night on its own out in the open? (they apparently have been camping all this time).  I've never had children or been pregnant, but I fail to see how a new mother could be so without care for her newborn child.....they must know where the baby is, but it seems they're not saying.  Which makes one assume they know it's already dead.  

The plan for yesterday was that I'd be doing the little bit of shopping required whilst husband was at the dentist, then I'd go in the in-store cafe for a lovely latte on my own - a real treat I was really looking forward to, as it's something that I almost never get the chance to do.  However, husband came into the supermarket before I'd even finished my shopping - he was in and out of the dentists (he didn't need anything done) almost before I could catch my breath.  So I didn't get my solo coffee treat.  Oh well, never mind.  

Today I've got physio, as my hip is responding well to the exercises I'm guessing my physiotherapist will probably say I don't need to go again.  Physio treatment nowadays is vastly different to how it was years ago - I've had loads of sessions of physio over the years, dating back to when I was 19 and had a slipped disc, and had ongoing back pain ever since.  Back then, I went to physio 2 or 3 times a week and had loads of different treatments, having a few months off and then a new set of sessions once the pain became unbearable again.....now it's 'here, do these couple of exercises every day and come back in 3 weeks'.  Well, at least the exercises seem to be working, so I can't complain.

This afternoon we'll pack the car with all the caravan stuff, so we'll be ready to go after rush hour is over tomorrow.  Tomorrow!!! 😁😁  Can you tell I'm excited....have been excited for a couple of weeks now?!  I can't wait to see what it's like there.....the garden as well as the van.  Obviously I'm a bit concerned that there might be some sort of problem with the van - loads of people on the caravan group I belong to on FB have said about leaking skylights, burst pipes, boiler not working, etc etc.  We had no problems whatsoever with the van last March though, so there's no real reason why we should have one this time, it's just me worrying.  About nothing, hopefully.

Husband had a phone call from his younger brother and sister in law yesterday evening, he put the phone on loudspeaker and we all chatted for an hour.  Seems his brother has now also just been diagnosed with heart failure and has just had 2 stents fitted, the two of them were comparing notes.  They're planning on coming down (they live in the Midlands) to see us this summer, they want to stay in the hotel next door to the caravan park and spend the days with us at the van, just like my sister and her friend are doing in April.  Husband's family are not particularly close, unlike my family, but we do get on very well with this brother and SiL and it will be lovely to see them.

Right, must get showered and dressed, things to do!

Steptoe!

 Yesterday was a lovely day - for looking out at it from the inside!  Bright blue sky and lots of sunshine, but very cold.....8 deg apparently but felt much, much colder with an icy wind blowing.  Still, I'd rather it was cold and sunny than cold with rain or snow!

We discussed the garden again.....we're definitely not growing any veg this year, there's no point when we won't be here at home for a lot of the time, so veg won't get watered and looked after.  We have asked a neighbour in the past to water for us, but he's a bit (well, a lot actually) unreliable - he often forgets and is very haphazard in his approach when he does water.  And, to be honest, we'd rather not be beholden to him, he does tend to ask a lot of favours.  I've said to husband that all I want is for the garden to be kept tidy and to keep on top of the weeds....oh and also for him to not fill it up with junk!  He's always had a tendency to 'rescue' stuff that all our neighbours are about to chuck out - he always says 'oh I'll have that, it could come in useful'.  Only it never does because he rarely does anything with it, it all just gets added to the rest of his junk.  His nickname should be Harold Steptoe.....but I've said I don't want the garden looking like a junkyard - I'm sure he was a rag and bone man in a previous life!  Given the fact that we'll be moving from here sooner or later (later, probably), I don't think there's any point in us adding anything extra to the garden, so it'll just be maintained as is.  I might get some bedding plants for pots, but that's about it.

While I folded and put all the dry washing away, having been on the airers all night, got another washload ready and put it in the machine, and prepped all the veggies for dinner yesterday morning, husband hoovered the house.  For once he did all of it, upstairs and down - he normally only does one room (the lounge usually) and even then not the whole room - just the rugs in the middle, he doesn't move any furniture.  When he'd finished he was worn out (not surprised, it wears me out too) and breathless.  I said he didn't have to do it all in one go (I hadn't asked him to do it, unusually he'd done the hoovering without me asking this time) and it would perhaps be better for him if he did it over 2 days....downstairs one day, upstairs the next.  But he said that meant he'd have to work 2 days instead of one!  😂😒

I think when we finally move to our retirement bungalow, with hopefully a nice size garden (not too big but not postage stamp sized either), I'd like a cottage style garden - lots of oldfashioned flowering plants like lupins, foxgloves, sweet peas, honeysuckle and roses, and a couple of raised beds for husband to grow a few veg in.  Must have a lawn in the middle, a small one, for Betty to lie on in the sun, and a patio for a table, chairs and a parasol or gazebo.  A small water feature with a fountain would be nice too, I love the sound of trickling water.  It's nice having a dream, isn't it?

Two more sleeps until C/Day! 

Earwigs, silverfish and Russian salad

Thank you for all the comments (and Gemma's Person, bless you!)

Slightly more interesting things to talk about today! 😁

This morning there was an earwig in the bath - not for the first time.  I always wonder where they come from and how they get in there....well, I know they can climb, of course, so that's self explanatory I guess.  But their usual habitat is in the garden hiding in a flower head isn't it, so what's so irresistible about my bathroom?  Years ago when we were children, we used to get loads of silverfish - I have no idea of their real name, but they were tiny little silver, fish-shaped insects, hence why they were called that I suppose.  They would all be on the fire hearth in the living room first thing in the morning and would scatter madly when anyone came into the room.  We sometimes get the odd one or two of those in the bathroom too, along with moths, we seem to get plenty of them.  At least it was an earwig and not an 8-legged thing!  Any beasties get washed down the plughole, I'm not sharing my shower with anything!

I've written the new menu plan, incorporating lots of protein (meat for husband, fish or cheese or eggy things for me) and mostly non-carby veggies.  Saturday evenings we have something takeaway-ish out of the freezer, so I don't have to cook - usually something like a pizza or Southern fried chicken strips or fish in batter (if we didn't have that on Friday), all usually with chips, or a curry with rice.  Yesterday we had the Southern fried chicken, but with salad instead of chips.  Along with the lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber, I made a Russian salad.  Somebody on a blog mentioned Russian salad the other day, so sorry but I can't remember who.  It's something we used to have when we were kids at home, loved it but I don't think I've had it since.....cubed potatoes, carrots and peas in a mustard mayo dressing.  Ok, I know they're carby veggies, but better than chips and we didn't have mounds of it, just a tablespoonful each.  It made a nice change.

Today for Sunday lunch (actually, it's dinner, we'll be having it later on) husband is having belly pork, I'll be having the last piece of my homemade nut roast.  I shall be doing roast potatoes - a Sunday roast requires them doesn't it?!  We'll also have cauliflower cheese, tenderstem broccoli, peas and sprouts.  No stuffing or Yorkies though, to cut back the carbs.

Tomorrow morning husband has the dentist (just a check up), I'll get him to drop me off at the supermarket so I can stock up on more fresh veggies.  I've run out of fresh salmon and canned tuna, so will get more of those.  Tuesday I have my physio....the exercises seem to be doing some good, my hip is noticeably less painful and stiff, most of the time, although it still lets me know about it when I've been on my feet for a long time or done a fair bit of walking.  And then Wednesday is Caravan Day! 😁👍😍 

What's going on lately?

 I woke up ridiculously early this morning, around 4 am.  I just knew I wouldn't get back to sleep but didn't want to get up, I was warm and snuggly in bed with the dog lying pressed against my side (she sleeps on top of the duvet, not underneath it).  So I read the papers on my phone.  I see the lovely Ken Bruce (of Radio 2's mid morning show) is annoyed, rightly so, about his treatment by the BBC.  He had been planning to honour his contract and leave the BBC at the end of March, but apparently yesterday he was called into the boss's office after his show had finished, and told he would now be leaving next Friday - he said there was no real reason he could understand given (he put out a statement to that effect).  I love Ken Bruce and have listened to him for years, after his show finishes next Friday I will no longer listen to Radio 2.  They've now got rid of pretty much all my favourite presenters, the ones who are over 60, in favour of much younger ones.  Luckily, several of them - including Ken who will be presenting his new show on there in April - do shows on one of the commercial stations, Greatest Hits radio, Simon Mayo who I've also loved for years does his Drivetime show there in the late afternoons.  So that's what I shall be listening to from now on....well, from next Friday when Ken leaves.  The producers of Radio 2 seem to be wanting to turn it into Radio 1 with the new younger presenters - why, when they already have Radio 1 for that?!  And the Radio 2 audience (I guess made up mostly of older listeners like myself) are all saying they'll be leaving in their droves and following Ken to his new station.  So I cannot understand why they're alienating so many of their listeners, doesn't make one iota of sense to me.

I'm feeling very bloated and sluggish lately, I know it's a result of eating too many carbs.  Winter and cold weather always makes me want to eat carby things, but they do me no good at all.  I weighed myself this morning, I've not put on loads of weight, only a couple of pounds, but feel like I have gained loads.  Husband says he's put on over half a stone recently.  So today I shall sit and write a new menu plan, incorporating less carbs and more protein and veg.  I know eating that way will help me feel so much better, lose the bloated feeling and give me more energy.  Roll on warmer weather, both so we can start staying over at the caravan and go for more walks.  In winter I practically hibernate, I really don't like it.  The days are getting longer and longer now, which is lovely - that and the Spring bulbs that are out everywhere, blossom starting to appear on trees and newborn lambs in the fields show that Spring is very nearly here.

Incredible to think that it was a year ago when Russia, under that madman, first started the war against Ukraine.  Obviously they've been showing lots of images of Ukraine on the TV the last few days, the total devastation in some of the cities is heartbreaking, as is the aftermath of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.  It makes me wonder just how they can ever rebuild their cities when all that's left is massive piles of rubble.  We are so very lucky to live here, our problems with rising energy and food costs, the crumbling NHS and tomato shortages(!!) are nothing.  Makes me feel very humble.

Well, it's a very introspective, serious and negative blog today isn't it?!  Sorry about that, I'm not meaning to be negative, I actually feel absolutely fine, content and happy with the way life is going.  I'll try to do a happier blog tomorrow, I promise! 😁

Even husband can use it!

Brr, it's turned cold again, I'm so glad we have heating - and can afford to have it on.

I managed to sign into my housing account yesterday, so it must have just been a glitch the day before (or possibly user error....😏😂).  There are just 2 bungalows available....seems to be 2 every week, albeit different ones.  One is in the town, right in the middle of a very large housing estate, totally overlooked and with no nearby suitable dog walking area, so that's a definite no-no.  The other looks to be a very nice bungalow, in a nice quiet area with fields nearby, it's a cul de sac of sheltered housing bungalows.  Problem is.....there's no garden!  Each bungalow has lawned areas front and back but it's all communal and open plan (they have a gardener who cuts the grass) and nobody has a fenced off garden.  So again not suitable, we must have a secure garden for Betty....and anyway, I want a garden to grow flowers and a bit of veg and to sit in.  Never mind, we'll keep looking, there's no rush.  Incidentally, when I looked yesterday we would have been no. 93 in the queue for the housing estate bungalow, and 16 for the no-garden one!  As time goes on we'll move up in the longevity rankings, so this time next year we'll stand a much better chance of getting a suitable place.

I tried out the new caravan AF yesterday.  I made a batch of little cheesy suet dumplings, to be frozen and used in soups.....wow, they came out absolutely perfect!  Crispy on the outside, fluffy and soft inside.  I used 100g SR flour, 50g suet (I used veg suet but beef would be fine) and a handful of finely grated strong cheese, I didn't add salt because the cheese is salty enough.  Used enough cold water to mix to a stiff dough, then rolled into a long sausage and cut it into little lumps for rolling into dumplings....it made about 22.  Baked for about 10 mins on 170 deg in the AF, turning once halfway through.

I then did a cheese & tomato toastie for my lunch in the van AF, that came out really well too, lovely and crunchy toasted bread with beautifully melted cheese and soft warm tomato in the middle.  I talked husband through doing his own, so he'll be able to manage easily - the caravan AF is an easy to use one with manual controls, whereas the Lakeland dual drawer one is digital electronic.  He'll never remember how to use that so I'm not even going to show him....I'd have to explain it again every single time due to his short term memory loss.

I got husband sorting out his clothes yesterday, with some gentle encouragement.  He hasn't done all of his wardrobe/chest of drawers but made a good start, he's now got 2 carrier bags full to take to the charity shop.  I've also sorted out some more books to donate as well, and a bit of craft stuff I'm not going to use.

We had Mediterranean veggies roasted in the AF for dinner, with half a bought tortilla....I know it's lazy to buy a readymade tortilla, but when it's yellow stickered down to £1.50 for a 4-portion size, it's such a bargain.  I put a slice of cheese on it and air fried the tortilla too, it was perfect, we'll have the other half for lunch today with salad and coleslaw.  Incidentally, when we shopped on Wednesday in Sainsburys there was no restriction on fruit and veg, they had slightly less salad stuff than usual but no big gaps.  Whether that continues, remains to be seen.  I shan't be bothered if we can't buy any of the usual salad stuff, we'll just eat something else....grated carrot and sunflower/pumpkin seeds dressed with a little balsamic vinegar, e.g, or a bean salad made with dried beans, of which I have loads.  I'm making a big fish pie today so I can freeze some.

Ghostly figures in the dark

 I forgot to take my shopping list yesterday, but fortunately managed to remember pretty much everything on the list, with a couple of additions!  The only thing I forgot was some dried sage, which I use a lot, it being one of my favourite herbs.

One of the extra things I bought yesterday was.....another air fryer, a smaller (1 basket) one for the caravan.  It's a perfect size for the van and I'm looking forward to using it there.  I'll test it out here today, just to make sure it works ok.  Speaking of the van, I now have everything packed and ready to take back there next week, can't wait for next Wednesday.  Our intention is to go for day trips there a couple of times a week until the weather is warm enough for us to start staying over.

Husband had a letter yesterday saying how much his state pension is going up in April, we were both pleasantly surprised, it's certainly a lot more than the, frankly, pitiful amount it went up last year.  However, any increase is a welcome one of course, we count ourselves very fortunate.  We did start watching Martin Lewis, the money expert's, programme about pensions a couple of nights ago but eventually gave up - it's all so impossibly complicated (well, it is to me) and quite honestly, his voice and manner irritate the life out of me.

I was closing my bedroom curtains last night after dark and had a bit of a shock - there was a figure in a yellow jacket (a man, judging by his height) wandering around in the field at the back, he had a torch but seemed to be wandering quite aimlessly.  I then spotted an illuminated strip darting around - it turned out to be one of our neighbours, with his dog - a black spaniel, wearing a flashing collar.  The field is pitch black at night, what on earth possessed the chap (he's 70) to be walking his (black and practically invisible) dog in a very lumpy and tractor-rut-filled field in the dark I don't know.....must be mad.  Supposing he fell over, hit his head and knocked himself out, or broke a leg?  Who would know he was there, it was quite by chance that I happened to spot him as I was closing the curtains.  He's married, but I doubt his wife (my hairdresser neighbour who's the same age as me) would want to be looking for him in a dark field if he didn't come home!  Bonkers.

I tried to sign into our housing account yesterday to look at this week's available bungalows, but the account wouldn't let me in, it came up as 'account not found' 😮.  No idea why, perhaps it's just a glitch on the website, I've emailed the housing dept just in case.

Pescatarian now

 Cherie, in answer to your question yesterday.....yes I do think the AF is a worthwhile investment.  I've used it pretty much every day in the week and a half that I've had it, and not used my big oven once.  Things cook quicker than they do in the oven, it means I don't feel guilty about having to put the big oven on if I only have one thing to cook, or feel pressured into cooking several other things to fill the oven.  Having 2 drawers means I can cook different things, or just use the one.  Large cakes don't seem to cook very successfully, although cupcakes might - not tried them yet.  I have cooked cakes twice in 1lb size tinfoil loaf tins, even they needed 10 mins more than the cake programme.  I've not mastered the art of green veg in the AF yet, stems (broccoli eg) don't cook before the florets have.  Root veg cubed and tossed with a tiny bit of oil do very well, as long as I keep shaking or stirring them around every few minutes.  Glass dishes, tin bakeware or tinfoil dishes can all be used, provided they fit of course.  Chicken pieces cook very well, the skin crisps up beautifully.  Apparently joints of meat, or a whole (small) chicken can be cooked in it, although the AF group I belong to on FB advise getting a meat thermometer to ensure the meat is cooked through thoroughly.  I've not yet tried cooking a joint, as it's only husband who will eat it.  I'm sure others will comment on how they use theirs.  Chips, hash browns, jacket potatoes (precooked in the microwave) all come out nice and crispy.  I wouldn't be without mine now, and as I said, I'll be getting a smaller one for the caravan.

I went through all my clothes yesterday afternoon, with the intention of throwing some out - however, I did that only a few weeks ago and found nothing this time around that I don't want to keep.  I know for a fact that husband will have loads, his wardrobe and chest of drawers are stuffed full of things he never wears.  He didn't feel like doing it yesterday though, and probably won't unless I'm in the room with him, prodding him.

This morning we've got a little bit of shopping to do in Sainsburys, and a few things to get from Home Bargains for the caravan, along with a new dog bed - we threw out Betty's old one from the caravan when we left last October.  The forecasters are still going on about the possibility of much colder weather coming up, so it's doubtful we'll be staying overnight at the van anytime soon.  We'll still be going for day trips though.

After cooking the big panful of turkey mince yesterday, I really didn't fancy eating it, so husband had his portion and I had tuna and cheese with my jacket spud.  Another 6 portions put in the freezer for husband.  Right now, I think I'm done eating meat, it'll be fish only for me from now on.  I won't say I'll never eat meat again, it's possible I might have a sausage or two occasionally, or maybe a corned beef sandwich (I've gone off bacon).  Roast meat or stews just don't appeal to me anymore.  Funny how tastes change as we get older.