Two blokes in a shed

That's the shopping put away, listed above in the food diary. I think I'll have a bit of a catchup with answering your questions, I seem to have got a bit behind. Thank you all for your concerns on whether I get enough treats. Maybe I should have bought a packet of  cheap Value biscuits, but I can't get it out of my head that junk food such as biscuits should only be eaten once in a blue moon, ie. rarely. I do sometimes buy flapjacks five for £1 from the Cash and Carry, but I have stopped going in there so often, too much temptation. I buy cartons of juice from there and I have enough at the moment, need to use up what I have.

I do allow myself the odd treat now and then. If you have treats all the time they are not treats. Last week I had a small bag of treacle toffee from Thorntons, but for every bag I have, there are at least 20 or 30 times when I walk past the shop and don't go in. I like to spread my treats out, sometimes if I am busy I don't even think about treats for several weeks. My cider is a treat, an ice cream is a treat, a small bar of chocolate is a treat, a bottle of wine is a treat. One treat a week or a fortnight is enough.

Gill asks how often do I normally go shopping. Gill I am not a normal person, I don't do normal things like go shopping at the same store at the same time on the same day once a week. I shop when I haven't got much food left. As fresh veg is the bulk of my eating I shop when I am very low, down to my last meal or two. I can't go more than a few days without my fix of fresh veg, so my shopping day could be any day of the week, and they are between seven and fourteen days apart. The shop I've just done was £17.76, which is slightly more than normal due to getting the cider, the oil, and three packets of sultanas, (they were on offer). My average basic spend is around £12 - £15 per week.  

Hi Jane, the book I am reading is called Urban Dreams Rural Realities, by Daniel Butler and Bel Crewe. It's a true story about two journalists who meet and fall in love and move to a smallholding in pursuit of the Good Life. They are poles apart, he is enthusiastic, she not so. They have three dogs, he has a falcon and two ferrets, then he buys two pigs. It's very entertaining, with a lot of humour, and it's well written. A bit like the TV series, The Good Life.

Christy, it's hard to describe what Quorn sausages are like. They have a similar texture to meat sausages, though probably a bit drier as they don't have fat in them. They don't have skins, and taste sort of spicyish. I grill mine, though you could fry them.

Hi Sue, you are right, I can't take it with me, but I am damned sure I am going to give it my best shot to spend it all before I go. I save up for what I really want and try not to fritter it away. I might shock you all and sell the house and head off on a world tour, ha ha.

Christy asks if I will be growing any veg for next year. Yes, I will be starting again in the spring with the basics, potatoes, beans, courgettes, carrots. The raised beds could do with some fresh manure, I think I know where I can get some hoss muck. Having my own veg in the garden cuts down on the frequency I need to go shopping. I won't be molly coddling it though, come the spring I want to be out and about again, the veg will have to sort itself out. 

Gill, you might have guessed by now that Louis Armstrong (Satchmo) played the trumpet. My dad thought he was brilliant. Judy, my dad did a lot of drawing, he used to be a guest cartoonist for a newspaper. Satchmo is done in pencil although it looks a bit like charcoal. Sarina, my dad did paint in oils also, but they weren't as good as his drawing, or as good as Uncle Stan's pictures.

I think that's me caught up. Forgive me for not answering your questions directly underneath your comments. I am unable to do that due to the fact that my template is not recognised as a standard one. You can all speak to each other via this blog, and type in your replies to the individual comments, but I can't.

This morning me and Rocky took a short drive to Alkborough for a walk around the nature reserve. It is very popular for bird watching. The tide was out so there was more mud than water. It looks a bit chilly in this picture, but it was quite pleasant to walk along the proper paths which have been built to give access to wheelchair users. A flock of birds take to the air.

Oooh look Rocky, let's take a look in that shed.

Ssshhhhh, quiet Rocky, don't make a noise.

You stand there and look at the birds.

We both enjoyed it, back home for lunch at 12.30pm. Egg noodles and salad for me, two slices of cooked beef and a dog chew for Rocky. Toodle pip.