Thursday.

Someone asked if Steve has contacted me since I left.

Yes he has for an assortment of reasons, mostly made up and irrelevant.

He doesn't know where I have moved to, just that I'm in the same village as my daughter. I've told him I'm still staying with her.

His latest message was to say that he has to have surgery,  I replied, saying I hoped it would go well.

Sunny day.

We've had a lovely sunny day here.

I went to the coffee morning in the pub and took Beano with me, he was very well behaved and he did see George the pub dog, George is the reason why Beano loves the pub so much.

I managed to get some washing out on my new rotary line and with the sun and a breeze it mostly dried. Beano came into the garden with me and didn't want to come back indoors so I got out one of the garden chairs and sat out for half an hour with him. Eventually he needed a wee and so wanted a walk, he rarely used the garden as a toilet, after the walk he came indoors and snoozed on the sofa.

I litter picked in the park after I left the coffee morning and did did two more litter picks during Beano's other walks. I filled my bag five times with rubbish and shoved it in various bins around the village.

Mahonia

I have what I think is a Mahonia bush outside my bedroom window, I suppose it needs cutting back a bit, I may get round to it eventually. This morning there was a sparrow on the tallest stalk, clinging on as the plant waved to and fro in the wind. Beano was most curious, seeing the little bird waving around so close to the window.

I went to the surgery this morning for my appointment with the nurse unfortunately my appointment is for tomorrow, so I'll go again then!

I have not been able to get warm all day, I have plenty of layers on but I'm still cold. It doesn't help that I have to take Beano out for walks, so when I do start to warm up, a walk in the cold wind chills me again.

I now have two washable cotton bags for when I go litter picking so I will start collecting rubbish tomorrow when I walk Beano.

Where is the shepherd

One of the meals I regularly made for my family was fish pie, white fish in a cheese or parsley sauce mixed with mashed potatoes. This was so my one fussy eater wouldn't refuse to eat it, I sprinkled it with grated cheese and browned it in the oven.

The amount of fish included depended on how much I could afford so my children nicknamed the dish Hunt the Fish Pie! It was always a popular meal, so cheap and tasty.

Today I made Hunt the Shepherd's Pie although I have no idea whether the mince I used was lamb, beef or turkey. When I purchased it I divided each pack into four and froze them individually. I didn't label any of it because I don't care what meat I'm using.

So I started with a small block of mince that I had defrosted and to it I added the following veg, all chopped into smallish dice. Carrots, onion, red pepper, cherry tomatoes and spinach. I also added a handful of oats and some red lentils. As it's just for me and I'm not trying to deceive a fussy eater I haven't grated the vegetables, they are all in chunks. When I made this for my children the vegetables were all grated. 

I shall top this with mashed potatoes and serve with broccoli. I'm feeling hungry already so I will eat soon.

Babysitting.

I'm at Cass's, I'm looking after two of the children, Cass has taken one child and some of their friends out for a birthday treat. One of the tribe is at work, one is visiting their family and one is with a friend.

Cass has been unwell, a bug caught from the children but she's battling on. I've blitzed the kitchen for her, sorted the recycling, loaded the dishwasher etc, every little helps. She'll be home around 2:30 and will then take me home along with two more Ikea bags full of wet washing.

I've fed one of the children, the other doesn't want anything yet. Another one is due home any minute, so may need feeding then. There is plenty of food around, I'll prepare what they want when they arrive.

it's nice to feel useful.

I have a rice pudding in the oven.

I don't use my oven very often, it's not huge, it's not floor standing and it sits on my counter top. It only has one shelf but it's big enough for me. I didn't buy it new, it was second hand but had only been used once. I bought a two ring hob from AO and I cook most things on that. As I've said before, I moved in with just a bed and that was given to me by my youngest son. I purchased a very small fridge freezer also from AO. My furniture, a small sofa, chair and a bathroom cupboard, I bought from a charity warehouse. Cass gave me a wardrobe that was far too big for the bedroom it was in. I keep it in my living room, it probably looks strange there but I don't care. Nobody sees the bungalow apart from my family.

I lead a very quiet life, Autumn group, getting Cass's washing dry and walking Beano. It suits me just fine, no grief, no hassle, just peace.

Jobs are getting done.

I went to the Autumn group but no sooner had I  arrived than I received a text to say the handyman was on his way to start some of the jobs I'd asked him to do.

So I returned home to let him in, he re-attatched the kitchen door, re-fixed the mains cable that was dangling down around the facia, fitted the rails in the wardrobe and cleared the gutters. He'll be back tomorrow to fit a door handle and the rotary washing line.