Bull necked.

Despite not being a very big dog Beano is quite strong. When we first got him he had a canvas harness, he didn't like it but the rescue centre where we got him from said he wasn't suitable to wear a collar. 

This was because he is bull necked, his neck is as wide as his shoulders and it's only once you get past his ears that he starts to narrow. He has a small pointed face so any collar just slides forward and comes off.

I don't like choke collars so we stuck to the harness when we first got him. I then discovered the half check collars, and that's what he now wears. As Steve has discovered, Beano can quite easily discard his half check collar if he so chooses but he seldom attempts it when he is with me. I do also have the knack of holding his lead in such a way that tightens the collar of he tries to do a Houdini escape with me.

What made me think of this was, as I left the flat today I went to put him on the lead. It was only then that I realised that I hadn't put his collar on when I got up this morning. I knew he'd not return to the flat unwalked   so I  used the lead, which is flat, as a choke collar. Beano was unbothered by this and wandered around happily on an extended walk.

Weird stuff.

Oh the things I see when walking Beano!

Yesterday when walking Beano I saw a woman leave her house, walk along the pavement, cross the road and throw an envelope into the bin by the bus stop.

Obviously I put 2 & 2 together and made 25, I've come up with a lot of theories but I still have no idea what was going on.

Another thing I've noticed is a car parked in a nearby road, nothing unusual there, you might think. But over the period of a few weeks I've seen the car driver leaving a house on the estate that is some distance away, there is ample parking on the drive of this house and in the streets around.  He walks to his car and drives away but seems to stay at the same house every night.

I'm sure he thinks he's being very discrete but I'm probably not the only person who has noticed this.

Sunday.

Steve's cooking roast lamb and roast potatoes, both are covered in a thick layer of mixed herbs. 

He's already complaining because I suggested he cover the lamb in foil to save the air fryer from being coated in fat. It was only Friday when he finally decided to clean the air fryer because the kitchen filled with smoke every time he used the air fryer. The kitchen ended up covered in black specks. It's a very small kitchen and every wall and surface was covered. I've spent time trying to clean the kitchen and now it will need doing again, sigh.

4:30. The lamb wasn't cooked, it was raw and very fatty, totally inedible. Steve won't accept instructions or advice as he thinks he knows it all. I ate some potatoes and veg, the lamb was dreadful.I

I might suggest we have chops with next weekend instead of a joint.

It seems my ex husband is not well, he's been having seizures, not sure how long he's been having them as they seem to happen overnight and he doesn't share a room with his wife. She mentioned to my daughter that she'd noticed him making strange noises after he'd gone to bed, but she didn't investigate.

It could be alcohol related if he's still a heavy drinker.

Lighting. a candle

Thank you for all your suggestions. I opened the windows for a while, despite the frost and once I'd closed them I lit a couple of cooks candles. It smells fresher now, at least until tonight when st,eve cooks again.

Beano has had his first walk of the day, the washing machine has finished so I need to hang the washing on the maiden.

It will dry by the end of the day as the maiden is standing  in front of the storage heater.

8 o'clock

It's 8 o'clock and the flat is still filled with the smell of BBQ sauce.

As usual Steve had ribs, chicken wings and chicken drumsticks all smothered in BBQ sauce.

This is his usual evening meal, five or six nights a week. He ate around 5 ish but the smell still lingers.

I never really get rid of the smell even though I open the windows once he's gone to bed and again in the morning when I get up.

I'm assuming the smell has worked it way into the fabric of the flat by now.I

I've tried febreze as well, but nothing really helps.

This food is washed down with umpteen cans of Fosters, so he burps almost non-stop. It's all joy living with Steve!

She Passed

Our oldest granddaughter passed her theory test this morning, I'm so pleased for her, she worked so hard.

Cass picked me up and we all went in to town, GD1 to take her theory test, Cass and I to have a natter and a mooch around.

I treated us all to sushi for lunch and we all had a good time. 

I'm just waiting for Beano to finish eating and then I'll take him for a walk. I may go over to the summer house on the way back to chat to our neighbours.

Lunch out again.

And again tomorrow!

Betty and I went to yet another garden centre for lunch today, a jacket potato, mine with coronation chicken Betty had prawns in a Marie Rose sauce. We both had a pot of tea as well.

Harry has announced that he's joining Betty and I when we go out for lunch, I think not. For one thing Betty and I want to chat, we don't want Harry chipping in. These trips out with Betty are my lifeline, my chance to get out and have a break from Steve. I'm sure Steve would be most upset if Harry joined us and he wasn't invited. Next week Betty and I are not going out on Tuesday as Betty is busy. I can see that I'm going to have to speak to Harry and explain that we don't want him to come with us.

Betty needs a new kindle so I ordered it on my account as I don't pay for delivery.

Tomorrow I'm going out with my daughter and one of my granddaughters for lunch.

What a gadabout I am!

Lunch with Betty.

There was only Betty and I for lunch today so we ate in Betty's flat. It seemed pointless opening the summer house just for two of us. 

We had lamb steaks, roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese and long term broccoli, it was delicious.

We had cheese and biscuits afterwards.

Steve went into town, he was hoping to rent a suit for Bob's wedding. But they only hire out morning suits so he may have to buy one.

Steve is still not attending the get togethers in the summer house but I often go along with Beano.

Replies to comments.

 I don't ask Betty out as I can't drive and I don't  have a car.

Col, it wouldn't occur to Steve that he is wrong, he is always  convinced he is right.

Still here.

 Still buggering on.

I should try to post early when I can still see fairly well. But it's not always easy. Sometimes Beano is desperate to go for his first walk of the day. Sometimes I can't think of anything to write about.

Things aren't easy here, Steve is still very much against me joining in with lunch club. He claims it 's because I'm such a crap cook that it's embarrassing. He just hates me doing anything that means I meet people. I've also been out a couple of times with Betty, the first time we went out we both knew he was furious upon our return even though he didn't say anything. The second time he ended up shouting at Betty, fortunately she's tough and wasn't impressed. I can't see her inviting me out again though, it's not fair to expect her to. 

You notice he hasn't shouted at me yet, that's because he knows I won't tolerate it.

Lunch out.

I went out with Betty y'day, we didn't shop, we just had lunch. 

We both had macaroni cheese with a side salad and a cup of coffee.

We arrived home just as Steve was coming home with Beano. He was absolutely furious and was very rude to Betty, she was not impressed. He says he's not coming to lunch club today, to be honest I'm not sure why he ever comes to it as he never eats the food.

I need to walk Beano as soon as it's light, once that's done I need to go to Aldi to buy the cream for today's pudding.

I think Steve got so used to me never going out once I had to give up driving that he finds it hard to cope.

It's not as though I'm going out on the razz, y'day Betty and I went to a garden centre, looked around an antique centre and had macaroni cheese and a coffee each. Not exactly exciting living in the scheme of things is it. 

Steve goes out with Harry a couple of times a week and is often gone for most of the day. He also regularly goes in to town so he can start drinking at 10 a.m. instead of 2 p.m.

I'll keep buggering on but at some point it will come to a head I'm sure. In the mean time, I'm building up my savings!

Nosy neighbour

Steve is trying to do something to his phone, I've no idea what but I'm not letting him near mine. I'm assuming he is unsuccessful as he is ranting and complaining about it.

As for the nosy neighbour, that's me, I chat occasionally to a neighbour. On the occasions we do meet we chat briefly. 

You know that thing, during a conversation, when someone says something really disconcerting. Sometimes it takes a while for the information to sink in.

She and her husband have moved here from a house nearby and she mentioned that she is finding paying the bills a bit of a struggle. It seems that her husband, despite still working, is refusing to contribute to their living expenses. 

She has told me bits and pieces about her husband and I'm very suspicious of him.

He insisted on moving from a three bed house to a top floor flat, this despite them having two dogs. The dogs are now caged throughout the day which seems unkind to me. Although they are walked regularly. He promised her he was buying a two bed flat but wouldn't let her see it beforehand. It's actually a one bed flat with a dressing area off the bedroom that is too small to hold a bed.

He still works two days a week but has no money, hence her having to pay all the bills. He also spends two days a week at  regular hospital appointments, he claims to have had a stroke some years ago that necessitates these regular appointments.

Although they have been together many years she was unaware of him having had a stroke.

All very curious, but nothing to do with me but I can't help wondering.

Chicken pies

Cooking for people on Tuesday's has fired my enthusiasm. I'm making a small batch of chicken and veg pies for my lunches this week.I'm adding carrots, onions and leeks to the chicken, the mixture smells good already.

I'm doing the pudding on Tuesday, I have a sweet pastry case and I'll add strawberries/raspberries and top with jelly. Steve wants me to make brownies instead as he doesn't eat fruit. Betty is doing a liver casserole which Steve won't eat. I'm really not sure why he comes along.

The weather is still very cold here, I think it's tried to snow a couple of times but so far  we've had none.

I still have some mistletoe on the sideboard, I love mistletoe, it is a sacred plant to me. I don't use it to kiss under, that's not it's appeal. A branch fell out of a nearby tree when the wind was high, the mistletoe is attached to the fallen branch.

A little treat.

I bought myself some new earrings, I seem to have lost all my others when the boxes we had in storage were flooded out.

Here is a very bad photo of them.

It's difficult to take a good photo with a dog sat on my knee.

I bought them from lunarrosecrafts.co.uk.

They were inexpensive and arrived within a couple of days of ordering them.

Fish pie

Last week Betty suggested to Steve that she would prefer to do the main courses for our Tuesday lunches if I'd do the puddings.  I agreed as I'm happy to do this. 

The following day Steve announced that he wanted me to make fish pie this week. I don't think Betty was best pleased at this sudden change of plan but she agreed as she knows what Steve is like.

So today I made two dishes of fish pie, one including hard boiled eggs and one without. Steve wasn't happy as he likes eggs but Harry doesn't. I served them with carrots and peas. Two of the group are away on a cruise but a new person joined us so there were five of us.

Betty made a fruit crumble and custard. Next week I'm making a strawberry tart.

Last ever Sunday lunch

Today I'm cooking what could be my last ever roast dinner.

Last week Steve bought a piece of beef and complained that I hadn't cooked it properly.

This week he bought a boned rolled breast of lamb. He got it out the fridge at 4 o'clock and hit the roof when I said it wouldn't be cooked until after 6 o'clock. I've cut it in half to speed things up but it's not cooked yet. Obviously this is because I'm an idiot!

Another day out.

Today I went to Sainsbury's with Betty and one of the Pam's, we have three Pam's living here.

I didn't need much but it was nice to get out, I treated myself to some sushi. Steve cooked himself four lamb chops for his tea.

It's rained a lot over the last few days, part of the garden is flooded and the nearby river has burst it's banks. The nearby pub garden is under a few inches of water too. We have another day of rain forecast tomorrow as well

Tomorrow Harry is giving me a lift to the post office to return something to Amazon, I've banned Steve from ordering stuff for the neighbours from Amazon as it's left to me to sort out the problems.

Going out.

I went to Aldi y'day to buy the fruit for the fruit salad I made. I still get excited when I go out, even if it is just to the local Aldi. It was a dreadful day y'day strong winds and heavy rain. Beano didn't go out until mid afternoon and then only briefly.

The rain has stopped now and the sun is struggling through.

Col, we can't exclude our tightfisted neighbour, it goes against the ethos of the community living here, but we can damn well ensure he pays his share. If he couldn't afford it that would be different and he wouldn't be forced to pay.

I've just had a visit from John who lives above us, some thieving barsteward has broken in to his bike store, they couldn't steal his bike as it's bolted to the wall but the bike store is badly damaged.  He's gone to have a word with Harry as Harry never locks the outside door. He will try to persuade him to keep the door locked from now on.

Lunch club today

Lunch club has restarted, we had chicken casserole today, it was served with new potatoes and French bread. I also made a fruit salad, there should have been six of us but an extra resident turned up.

We take it in turns to cook, Betty made the casserole, Harry was going to cook the potatoes but his back seized up so I did them instead. I made the pudding. There was ample food, most people had two helpings

The extra resident was asked to contribute £3 for the two course, he wasn't happy. But thems the rules, if you aren't one of the cooks you are expected to make a contribution. The extra resident was told in advance about the payment but he didn't have any change. Said resident also never pays into the tea money. I don't drink when I visit but I pay my contribution as do at least two other residents.

It wouldn't be so bad if this resident didn't spend so much time telling everyone that he is a millionaire twice over. He goes to three lunch clubs locally and he has to pay for those, so we expect him to pay if he joins us.