I'm a lucky duck.

I received a gift y'day  some shower gel, body lotion and soap, all in lavender, my favourite smell. Also in the package was a gift token from M&S, some dog treats and the most gorgeous thick fluffy throw. 

Beano and I have argued over the throw as he likes to snuggle up on it. I keep telling him it's mine, all mine!

I've draped it over the sofa and a few times when I've been wrapped up in it I've fallen asleep.

When I went to bed last night I took the throw in to my bedroom and place it on my side of the bed. I tucked it around me, this means that when Steve lifts up the covers on his side of the bed, because he hates being hot, I was no longer chilled by the influx of cold air.

The Christmas decorations were put up in the summer house today I made a batch of vegetable soup, it was a rather unattractive shade of green but most people had two helpings as it was very tasty. Even Steve took a mugful and pretended to drink it.

Frosty morning.

Very frosty this morning but it's bright, we've had no rain so the pavements aren't slippery. 

Beano likes the cold weather, today he chose a different route for his morning walk. He seems to know where he's going so he sometimes does his walks in reverse.

One of Steve's complaints if I want to go out without Beano is that Steve doesn't know his way around the surrounding estates. I told him it would be ok as Beano knows where he is going!

Steve seems a bit brighter, he cooked himself a plate of battered prawns y'day. As usual he ate it smothered in BBQ sauce, bleugh!

Today the new mattress covers are arriving so I'll strip the bed again and remake it with a fresh cover. I've also ordered some mini dog treats for Beano as I've run out. I'm tempted to buy him some chickens feet, they look like huge spiders when left on the floor.

Y'day I walked up to Lidl for some fresh rolls and I also bought a cheese twist for my breakfast. It was very nice but filled me up for the rest of the day.

New mattress covers

Steve is unwell, he stayed home today despite this being one of his going out days.

I stripped the bed once he got up, washed the bedding to remove all evidence of him being unwell.

I need to replace the mattress cover, I've ordered two new ones from Amazon, one will be here tomorrow, I will strip the bed again tomorrow and swap out the mattress cover.

I've suggested he starts wearing pyjamas in bed or at the least a pair of underpants. 

I'm now wondering if this was just as a result of something he ate/drank or is it a symptom of something more serious.

He flatly refuses to visit the Drs, that's if he could even get an appointment.

Stew

Y'days lamb was delicious and there is lots left. So today I'm making a stew, I'll use half of the left over lamb and add onion and carrots. I'll serve it with mashed potatoes and peas. This will be for me, Steve won't eat it as it has veg in it!

We've had discussions in the past as I hate wasting food and I like to use up any leftovers from Sunday. Steve will eat boiled meat but won't eat it if there are any vegetables in with it. He's decided to have a sandwich!

Today.

I'm cooking the Sunday roast again today, I can't face another ruined meal at 8 o'clock at night with Steve either in a strop or in floods of tears.

We're having a shoulder of lamb.

I turned the oven on to about 220, once the oven was hot I put the lamb in, it has been been removed from its plastic wrapping, resting on a large dish on the windowsill. I've sliced some garlic into slivers and pushed them into slots I've cut in the lamb along with some sprigs of rosemary. I've also sprinkled it with some black pepper. After an initial blast at this temperature I've turned it down to 160 and it can cook slowly for a few hours.

Steve is complaining bitterly about how I'm doing it all wrong, I should have smothered it in dried mixed herbs, he's convinced it will be cooked through in 20 minutes and be burnt to a crisp in 30 minutes.

I shall serve the lamb with roast potatoes, carrots and peas.

Road salt.

Earlier this week the gardening company arrived at 7:30 a.m.

They proceeded to sprinkle road salt on all our paths, this is a great idea as many of the residents are elderly and unsteady.

Unfortunately our Mrs Slocombe didn't agree, she was was worried that her cat would get sore feet so she went out and swept up all the salt on site!

I do have some sympathy with her as the road salt affects Beano and makes his feet very sore. Because of this I wash his feet when we come in from a walk.

I think it would be better if she washed her cats feet rather than putting all the residents at risk.

If I'd fallen after she'd swept up the salt I'd have been very tempted to sue her.

Panic stations.

On Friday's we have a Tesco delivery, it's usually booked for 11 a.m.

On Friday Steve gets up by 9 a.m. to give himself about two hours of panic time.

As he panics and paces between the flat and the car park he is also ranting on, so Beano finds this very stressful.

I stay calm and try to keep Beano calm as well, the problem with this is that Steve actually wants us to be as stressed as he is.

He cannot understand why I'm so calm, but we've been having deliveries for years now. When we were on the boat we would moor near a road bridge and provide Tesco with the bridge number so the drivers knew where they could park.

For Steve it's any excuse to panic and rant he seems to find it necessary!

Rescue dogs.

Every dog we had when I was a child was a rescue, not necessarily from a rehoming centre. Usually we got them because a friend or neighbour didn't want them any more.

So when Steve and I decided to get a dog I chose a rescue, we looked around several local centres but most of them had only large dogs. As we lived on the boat at the time there wasn't room for anything too big.

I also knew Steve's interest in any dog we got would be fleeting at best, so I decided a smaller dog would be ideal. I did think he'd be a better owner than he has proved to be. He has never fed Beano and only walked about four times in all the time we've had him. He is constantly aggrieved because Beano prefers me.

Beano is more comfortable around women than men when he first meets them. He is scared of teenage boys and some young men. This can be the problem with rescue dogs as they can have suffered in their earlier lives. My daughters dog had been badly abused when he was a puppy but he is a happy dog and seems to have no memory of the abuse he suffered.

When I took Beano out for his first walk this morning there were council workmen felling a nearby tree. This meant I had to persuade Beano to take a different route to the usual first walk of the day. To my surprise he was perfectly content to walk in a different direction. Mind you, it's been so cold today that Beano has done every walk at a fast trot.

Some in, some out.

I'm aiming to keep the status quo with my clothes so although I've bought new stuff, some stuff has gone. 

None of my  clothes have gone to charity shops as that would mean catching two busses into town.

One dress that was too big was passed on to a friend of my daughter. 

The leggings I'd shrunk out of were passed on to my daughter as she is the same size as me but taller.

Everything else I'm getting rid of is beyond acceptable wear.

My old leggings had numerous holes in and two of my tops had burn marks from when I used to cook on gas on the boat.

These items have been disposed of in a textile bank by my other daughter who has one in her village.

I'll admit I'm lazy about recycling, if I can't do it locally, stuff will go in the rubbish bin. The recycling bins here in the flats are frequently full to bursting as people out empty boxes in without folding then down. They are very limited in what we can put in, as in no glass etc.

This is not Beruit!

Steve has been scaring our neighbours.

One of them wanted to sell a recliner chair, Steve asked how much, not that he wants a chair. When he was told the price he kicked off about how it wasn't worth that much. He did the same a few months back when another resident was selling her car. As neither of us drive he obviously wasn't really interested. He just wanted to tell her how clever he is.

if Steve knows anyone is selling anything he shows an interest. But only so he can tell them how silly they are expecting so much money for an item that is valueless. Obviously when Steve is selling something he always asks for way more than the item is worth and is upset when he can't get the price he wants.

He's now turned his attention to urban myths and is telling everyone terrifying tales of people who tried to sell an item and were later burgled. Or who were out in their car  and approached by someone who beat them up and stole their car.

Murder, bomb threats, burglary, he has endless tales of things he's been told that happened, not to him, but to someone he'd been talking to in the pub.

My new leggings.

 

I do like a bit of colour!

Still spending!

I've had a lazy day, mainly snoozing on the sofa between walking Beano. Steve has been very subdued, he probably has a hangover

I've now bought two new dresses to go with the tights my daughter gave me. I've also ordered a new pair of leggings as after I'd given the larger ones to my daughter I only have two pairs left. I wear leggings every day as dog walking can be chilly in the winter time. I've ordered Llama leggings instead of Snag for a change, they are patterned and very brightly  coloured. If I like them I will buy another pair. I also recently bought new knickers and new socks too.

Yesterday I bought a new toaster as mine had given up the ghost, it was only a cheap one and we'd  had it almost four years and it was in daily use.

Then I noticed that I've gone through the sole of my slippers, they will soon be unsafe to walk in. I've ordered new slippers as well.

Bad night!

Steve sat up until silly o'clock listening to music. By the time he came to bed he was drunk as a skunk. He tripped and fell on Beano, Beano grumbled as he'd been so suddenly awakened. Steve started to shout and swear. Accusing Beano of attacking him!

By the time they'd both settled down I was wide awake and stayed that way until 3 a.m.

Morning walk.

As I walked Beano this morning I saw two schoolboys walking to the bus stop. They were kicking about and scuffling. They were equally matched for size and both grinning. There seemed to be no animosity between them.

It reminded me of the time I was called into school for my oldest son. It was secondary school, a single sex boys school. 

I'd chosen this school specifically for him, he's dyslexic and I was given the choice between a school that would keep him in a special unit for children with assorted problems or one where he'd be in with the main stream but given support. We talked it over, visited both schools and decided on the one where he'd be in the main stream.

Al was, by now in Year Three and was settled and doing very well. I was called in as he'd tripped and ripped his trousers badly. I arrived at the school with a pair of trousers for him and was escorted to one of the offices. There were concerns about the incident, was he being bullied would I speak to my son, who wasn't very forthcoming, and find out what was going on.

I was taken to the med room where my son was, Al seemed a little cautious until the other staff left the room. Once we were alone he told me what had happened. He'd been sat on the back of a bench with his heels hooked into the gap between the back an front of the seat. His best friend had come up behind him and tickled him. He'd lurched forward ripping his trousers and skinning his knees. He refused to say what had happened as he didn't want to get his friend into trouble.

Once he was changed I returned to the office and assured them that all was well, that Al wasn't being bullied and that it had been a genuine accident. Whilst I was still in the office Al's Head of year walked in and the situation was explained to him. He looked at me, grinned and said the Peterson boy was it? 

The Peterson boy was Al 's best friend, they'd just been lacking around.

What i want.

Is to watch a couple of episodes of Endeavour, I've started back at the beginning of the series.

Unfortunately this isn't going to happen, Steve is watching the Grand Prix qualifier.

He seems to find it necessary to shout at full volume and to insist on relaying the information to me that I can hear perfectly well as he has the TV on very loud!

New clothes.

When I visited my daughter, I took with me a dress, I'd ordered and when it arrived I stuck it in the wardrobe. When I finally got around to trying it on I discovered it was far too big. 

It was too late to send it back so I asked if my daughter's friend would like it as she is a larger lady.

My daughter then gave me a bag of Snag tight that were too small for her. Next time I see her I will give her three pairs of Snag leggings that are now to big on me.

I reordered the dress I wanted in my size and then ordered two more.

Well I need dresses as I've now got lots of pairs of tights!