Changing things in the kitchen.

My kitchen is long and narrow, quite an awkward shape really especially as one end of it is full of my son's large dishwasher.

Today I decided to sort the kitchen out, I was given a microwave but I never use it, so I've moved it to the other end of the kitchen, my daughter has offered to take it to the recycling centre next time she goes. Hopefully someone else can make use of it.

Moving the microwave means I have all three of my main appliances in a row. I have my slow cooker, air fryer and two ring hob side by side. The air fryer only arrived today, Steve used one at the flat  but as he used it to heat up frozen food that had already been fried and never washed it, it used to stink the flat out. 

I need to read up on what I can use my air fryer for, I'm hoping it's cheaper than using my oven. Which although it only has one shelf is a fairly big area to heat if I only want a jacket potato.

The air fryer came with some paper liners, the same sort I bought for Steve that he never used. I shall have a look online for suggestions about what I can cook.

Spending spree

There was a car boot sale in the pub car park this morning and I went along. I bought a cardigan from M&S, it feels really warm and as I'm currently permanently cold  I'm looking forward to wearing it once it's been washed and has dried on the line. I also bought a big slouchy  jumper in a bright pink. 

I ordered a face razor from the big river company as I suffer from a hairy chin, the bloody thing looks like a vibrator so I will have to hide it in my bedside cabinet.

Finally I bought four pieces of small plastic fencing, these are to fill in the gaps in the hedge where Beano snuck through to steal the cat food.

I have a little list.

The list is getting longer by the day, and I'm getting more and more annoyed as the list gets longer.

It's a list of all the things my neighbour thinks I need to do to make me more acceptable!

Her remarks are always framed politely but I'm 75 in November and I feel I know how to behave!

It started when I first moved in, because I'm not local, she thinks my bungalow should have been given to someone from the village. I sympathise with this opinion but no one else was interested in purchasing it. 

When asked, I explained that my daughter lives in the village and I wanted to be near her. Next she told me I shouldn't have purchased the bungalow and I should have insisted on renting it. I'm not sure the estate agents would have agreed, I believe all these bungalows will be sold off as they become empty.

My neighbour doesn't think I should go to the pub for lunch unless I'm with male people, it's not appropriate for females to visit the pub alone. I thought the year was 2026, not 1826!

Next I was instructed to repair my fence panel that was damaged when another neighbour moved out, I had arranged for a new panel to be fitted, I was just waiting until the handyman could fit the job in.

She doesn't like my cleaners, she thinks I should get my daughter to clean the bungalow for me as her daughter does for her. The cleaners I use are the ones my daughter uses as being a foster carer is hard work and involves a lot of meetings and paperwork.

When I had a water leak she came to tell me I needed to phone a plumber, no shit Sherlock, I was hardly going to phone  an electrician was I.

Now it's the Miner bees in my garden, she sent another neighbour, Ronnie, round to tell me I needed to get rid of them, with the suggestion of using kettles of boiling water. Ronnie slipped up and mentioned he'd been sent by the her. The bees are harmless and rarely sting so my attitude is live and let live.

I just wish she'd let me live my life in peace!

A match made in heaven

I went for a drink with my daughter and my youngest son he's recently bought his first house, he mentioned that his dad had sent him a list of everything that he considers is wrong with the property. His dad hasn't visited the house, he had looked on rightmove and was looking at a different property. 

I asked politely how my first husband and his wife were keeping. To which my daughter replied that they certainly don't appear to be happy. Oh dear, what a shame, never mind! 

I remember my first husband told me his second wife was so much better than me because she had money. He had great plans for what he intended to do with her money. Unfortunately she decided that she would prefer to manage her money herself. I'm sure he must be disappointed!

I'm addicted.

I've known for a long time that I have an addictive personality.

My mother was a heavy smoker and embarrassing when drunk, this was enough to put me off cigarettes and although I do drink alcohol it's usually on Mother's day and my birthday and I only ever have one drink.

The one thing that I can never refuse is a good book, or even an indifferent book. By the time I was at secondary school I was reading The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins, I was put in detention for that and carried on reading the book whilst serving the detention.

I was once told proudly by a young relative of Steve's that he'd never read a book, I gave him a book about Valentino Rossi the racing driver who he admired and he read the book!

All four of my children read for pleasure, some more avidly than others.

I read constantly throughout the day, every time I finish a chore I pick up my kindle and read. I can no longer see well enough to read books so thank goodness for the kindle. I have mine set to a very large print and can race through a book in a day or two.

I will read almost anything though I don't enjoy Mills and Boon romance books. I always used to finish a book however little I was enjoying it but I no longer do that. I've decided I don't have enough years left to waste time on a book I don't enjoy.

I usually read two books at a time, I started doing this when I lived in a house, I'd have a book upstairs and one downstairs. I now live in a bungalow and I flit between various books on my kindle. I recently bought three books as a birthday gift for my daughter, Women and Power by Mary Beard, Invisible Women by Caroline Crisco Perez and Why I'm no longer Talking by Reno Edda -Lodge. Of course I had to download all of these to my kindle.

Rain at last.

We finally have a decent amount of rain, nice and gentle, the sort that soaks into the soil and nourishes it. You can almost hear the plants breathing a sigh of relief as the soil relaxes around their roots.

If it carries on for a few days I shall scatter some seed on the bald patches in my garden.

One of the bungalows here has a lovely green lawn, I assume they have watered it despite the hosepipe ban. I have a green stripe at the top end of my lawn, it's where the water meter is, so I'm wondering if there is a leak.

Bee happy!

I though I had an invasion of wasps but on closer inspection they are bees.

I think they are Ivy bees which are a type of mining bee, they are not aggressive though Beano isn't convinced.

They are on both sides of my front path and are now in the back garden as well. They have burrowed into the soil, they must be strong as the earth is dry and compacted.

I'm happy to leave them alone, I'm assuming they will hibernate or die off when winter arrives, although I'm not sure which. I will wait and see.