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.

Giving a talk.

I was asked last Wednesday if I would give a talk today about living on a narrow boat. It's not something I'm very good at but it was only was only a small group of about 15 people so not too scary.

Everyone seemed interested, the two people who I thought might be awkward weren't there which was a relief and there were lots of questions afterwards.

I can't see me making a career as an after dinner speaker but I'm relieved it wasn't a complete failure.

I told people about the canals we'd travelled on, about some of the people we'd met during our time on the canals and told a couple of funny stories about things that had happened.

RIP Dolly

Dolly Patron has died, I saw her perform at the NEC, she was fantastic.

Dry at night

Last time I saw my daughter and the children she announced that BOTH the littlies were now dry at night and out of nappies.

I was suitably impressed and said " everyone who. is no longer in nappies put y your hand up. All six children immediately raised their hands. This caused lots of giggles from everyone. 

if just been to the bank and withdrawn some cash, this included six, £5 notes. I solemnly handed a £5 to each child.

Brown Betty

I have my very  own small Brown Betty, a teapot sent to me by an online friend.

I can fill one large mug or two cups from mine.

Somehow the tea always tastes better from this  pot.

It also means I drink more, as I enjoy using the teapot, this is always a good thing as I'm aware that I don't always drink enough.

I must now make a tea cosy to fit over it ready for the winter months so my tea doesn't get cold.

Farm2ewe.

I saw a 4x4 with a trailer today, it had a sign on it Farm2ewe, they take farm animals to visit schools. 

This reminded me of when we had this company or one similar attend a school fete. The fete and the animals were a great success, everything went swimmingly, even the weather was glorious.

Part way through the fete a committee member came to find me in a panic, there was a problem with a parent.

I can't remember the parents name and wouldn't print it even if I could.

This parent was barely 18 years old and already had six children, she was very sweet but a little bit lacking in some areas. She had recently found a new boyfriend and attended the fete with him. I don't know if it was the weather, the farm animals or an excess of ice cream but whatever, she and the boyfriend decide to get hot and heavy on the grass just behind where the farm animals were.

My committee colleague had already tried to persuade the couple to restrain their ardour  but had been threatened by the boyfriend. Quite why I was called, I'm not sure but by the time I arrived they were starting to shed their clothes and were attracting quite an audience. 

The only thing I could suggest was to drag out some of the large classroom dividers and place them around the couple to shield their enthusiasm from view. I rounded up her children and mine and treated them all  to a candy floss. As the fete drew to a close I was took her children and mine back to my house for tea. I lived just a few doors from the school and the mum and children knew me and where I lived.

A weight off my mind.

Cass had to go into town today to collect some school uniform, she arranged to meet Steve there and then took me along too. I know I needed to go but I had a very upset stomach leading up to her collecting me.

Meeting with Steve enabled me to close the joint account which is a great relief, I didn't like Steve being able to check up on my banking. I used the account rarely but still felt uncomfortable about it.

I'm not convinced that Beano recognised Steve, he seemed pretty disinterested but did take a dog treat from him so possibly did recognise him. 

Steve wasn't happy about closing the,account but couldn't really argue, he had been checking the account regularly despite denying this.

We were civil to each other and Steve was very keen to show off his new tattoos. I'm not keen on tattoos and would never have one but then I'm a coward. Most of his old tattoos were done by friends so we're very amateurish and the new ones do look marginally better.

Steve gifted me a pendant it's a triquetra and it's very nice but rather heavy, it's engraved with sayings such as Speak with love, Know your power, Honour your word, See only with love, Be balanced, Blessed be. I'm not sure why he bought it for me but I accepted it politely.

Politics

I always drummed into my four children the importance of voting, especially my two daughters. I told them that women had died, fighting to get voting rights for women.

As far as I'm aware they all still vote, though I have no idea who they vote for. To me, that's not important, showing up is. The last time I mentioned them voting they replied. We wouldn't dare not vote, we know how important it is to you.

When I met Steve he'd never voted, but complained endlessly about various political parties. Eventually he got tired of me shutting him down every time he complained and started to vote regularly. At one point I heard him telling a friend, who was complaining about something political, the same thing. Saying "if you don't vote, you don't have an opinion"

A trip on the Kennet and Avon canal

I'm just home from a trip on the K&A on a horse drawn boat, Beano came with me and was well behaved mainly. He has been fed and is now asleep, I'm resting with a cold drink.

The trip was organised by the Autumn Group though not everyone went. I was given a lift by Pat along with another person that I didn't know.

It was a lovely and peaceful trip and the banks of the canal are very green though the water levels are low.

Pat had asked me to shorten a pair of jeans for her and I'd managed to do this in time to take them with me for her.

Tomorrow is a coffee morning so another excuse to go out and socialise.

I've decided to book a cleaner to help me keep on top of things, I really struggle with cobwebs as they are high up and difficult to see, I also struggle to clean my skirting boards as they are so low down. 

Smoking!

Once again I woke to the smell of cigarette smoke, I don't smoke, I never have. My windows are closed so I've no idea where the smell is coming from.

It seem to happen only occasionally but it is a bit disconcerting. My mother smoked heavily for many years and it was her habit of waving her hands around whilst smoking that put me off for life. I was forever being caught on my skin by the edge of her cigarettes. Not enough to cause a serious burn but enough to sting the sensitive skin of a small child.

Still it encouraged me to try harder to become independent as any request for help with tying shoelaces or buttoning a cardigan came with an added burn.

Fairy lights.

I bought a few sets of fairy light to hang around the place, I gave one set to my granddaughter and kept the others for myself. I have a very sturdy set of steps with a hand rail so hopefully I won't break my neck when I attempt to hang them.

I had butterfly lights hanging in the boat but Steve hated them so they were left behind. The new lights I've bought include a set of ivy leaves, a set of butterflies, a set of coloured cotton balls and a set of coloured spikes. The ones I gave my granddaughter were small pink flowers.

I've also ordered some picture hooks so I'm hoping to get my pictures off the floor and hung on the walls. I have a large blank wall in my living room so most of them will go there.

It's gradually coming together

Backing away slowly.

I'm backing away slowly from some people who are getting on my tits.

This includes some of the people I know and some of the bloggers I usually follow regularly.

I won a competition at one of the the social clubs I attend, I know this was partly political as one member expects to win every week and people don't want to tackle her. So my entry won as I had provided the most items beginning with a certain letter. There was no prize, just a round of applause and a seething competitor who didn't win.

I'm also avoiding someone who I've realised is living in an alternative universe. I seem currently to be their favourite target for conversation. If I can't avoid them I do at least now know they be talking mainly ballrocks. I'm fortunate that I have a pretty good poker face, albeit slightly vacant. There is one lady I see in the village who seems to realise I'm not as stupid as I appear but she not dobbed me in so far.

I've stopped reading a couple of blogs as the bloggers are ranting on about politics and I'm not interested. I don't enjoy being ranted at about politics or religion. I have my own opinions on both but I don't expect other people to share my feelings.I stick to the 'you do you, I'll do me' way and so far it's worked.

Memories

When I walked Beano this morning we followed, at a safe distance, a couple of horses, there are a lot of stables around here. This brought back memories for me of staying in Cliftonville near Margate with my grandmother, we stayed with her sister Ivy.

ivy had a beautiful garden full of roses, her house was on a road that the seaside donkeys walked along to get to the beach. Every morning we all stood in the front room, each of us clutching a small spade and a canvas bag, watching for the donkeys.

As soon as they'd walked past we'd all rush out with our spades and bags and start collecting the donkey droppings. We had to be quick as there was great competition between the neighbours who all wanted to collect this gardeners gold.

Finally back on line.

What a pavlova I've had.

Sorry that what my son used to say instead of palaver.

I had to upgrade my phone as my old one would no longer support internet banking and I can't access my bank on my kindle.

I went to see a one act play on Saturday, The House With the Lights Still on" a local Amdram society presentation, it was very good, next month they are doing Calendar Girls.

I've been putting hedgehog food out in the evening, hoping to encourage them to visit. Y'day after putting the food out I spotted a neighbours cat, it was munching it's way through the hedgehog food!

Heyho, nemmind, as long as something is enjoying the food.