Getting Used To Them...

The hearing aids I mean. Poor Vin is often being told to Shhh! After such a long time of having to speak loudly I am having to tell him to quieten down a bit. Also he is quite often telling me to turn the television up a bit instead of down. I think the trouble is that I have a volume switch on these so it is a case of twiddling them a bit until we find a happy medium.
Quite blowy today but not rainy like yesterday. Vin went out this morning to get some cat food and their chicken, but wasn't out long and was back for his coffee at about the right time. Did our crosswords after lunch. I always enjoy Sunday afternoons and the crosswords, it's a nice peaceable time for us. Having just said that it isn't raining today, it has just started to pour down and is looking quite wintry out. The nights are drawing in quickly now it is beginning to get dark and it is only a quarter past six.

Nice Autumnal scene..
Yesterday no-one went anywhere it was too nasty a day really, even the cats stayed out. Little Rusty did venture out but ran straight to the hut and stayed there for a while then ran back in again!.
Last night we had:
Chinese dippers with sweet and sour sauce
1/2 a packet of fried rice between us
Stir fry vegetables
Vin had some sauteed red peppers..he's welcome!
At the moment on the radio they are playing a Beatles medley. Paul McCartney is marrying his third bride today..wish him every happiness with this one.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with our tomato sauce portobello mushrooms courgette and pineapple
Egg and potato salad with avocado and baby yellow plum tomatoes
Potato salad for moi and a pesto pasta salad for Vin.

Hear..Hear...

I knew what to call todays post. We were up early this morning because I had an appointment at the David Ormerod Hearing Centre at 10 O'Clock. Parked just opposite there in the Sainsbury's car park which means you get free parking if you spend £5 in there which we were anyway.
New hearing aids in both ears, at a cost of £1.895... Spent a lot on the old plastic debit card today, that plus £40 for petrol on the way and £40 in ASDA afterwards.
Fitting the aids is weird..they are attached via wires and a little tube down the ear, andthen Steve tunes them in. Nothing at first then a series of extremely loud booms and squeaks and rattles and whistles till you then get speech. Since he was softly spoken to start with , there was a difference I could get immediately. Vin was wsitting on my "bad" side and I could hear him on that too which is good. This is easier in the car when he is naturally on my bad side. When we are out walking he always walks on my good side so that I can hear his speech. These aids have a button that you press for various functions. You press the button and a womans voice says "One"..or "Two"..or "Three". Really odd takes some getting used to. I have a volume switch on these too for an extra boost.They will take some getting used to and will settle down also apparently, so I have a follow up appointment in two weeks time.
Went from there quickly into Sainsbury's to get a couple of things to spend the £5, then on to ASDA which is only minutes away. I like ASDA I always come out of there thinking that I have got good value for money. Took a top back that was to big, and spotted a very nice nightshirt in brushed cotton with long sleeves all cosy for the colder weather. Vin forgot his list but we remembered all of the things on it anyway.We are having Chinese tomorrow so it was things like stir fry etc.,We have it off to a fine art in there..I walk round with the trolley and Vin goes off to collect things! Tannoy quite noisy today..I wonder why??
Moved down the car park to a quieter spot and had our coffee. ASDA sell a really lovely vanilla milk which is gorgeous in coffee. Normally I have my coffee black, but the vanilla milk is lovely. We sit there in the sun with our flask, coffee and biscuit and it is really pleasant. Pity there isn't a nice view though..HaHa.

Pumpkins Anyone?
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers and Chips..200grms worth
Mushy peas for Vin and green beans for moi
Tartare sauce.

I Think Autumn is Here!!

Really blowy today, the trees at the back of our house, and the horrible sycamores at the front are waving about like mad things today. The weather people on the North West News today were spot on..they said wtch out for gales and branches coming down. We've already had that this week with the lopping of the massive conifers way over in the distant house!
Didn't go anywhere today, we had a day of mooching about doing bits and bobs. Vin had some paperwork he wanted to attend to and I moved some of my money from a savings account that I have to my bank account to pay for my hearing aids tomorrow.
I'm getting quite excited about those, I'm hoping for a miracle really, but if my hearing improves enough to make mine and Vin's life easier it will be worth it, even if they are two thousand pounds!!
Couldn't do anything outside today because of the weather, but it was nice just being inside with the cats. Mind you they sleep most of the day really. It's a lovely life being a cat..I think I will come back as one..except for the cat food..don't fancy that! Had a really lovely bath this afternoon..all my candles lit, my book, good bath foam and a tiny little Toblerone bar as a treat. Bliss!
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with spinach and ricotta sauce,
Sauteed baby courgettes
A tiny bit of garlic bread and a little bit of parmesan.

Odd Weather...

Woke up this morning to a blowy and very dull morning. i asked Vin if it had been raining it was so dull..it hadn't. I had to go and get a blood test done at the hospital, the one that I have done before my Nephrology appointment in two weeks time. So we set off for there. Car park was dire..round and round, until we eventually gor right up to the top..4th floor which is on the roof. never parked there before, but it did us a favour actually because we parked next to the lift, went down to floor two..walked the long way to the Elective care centre, and thus to the blood dept. Walded right in..the girl was really good straight into the vein, not like the last chap at the Formby clinic who had about three goes digging around then gave up and used the other arm. Came out, did the reverse lift journey, got my £2 out ready to pay at the machine and because we were less than 1/2 an hour it was free!! Excellent.
Decided to go to M&S because the cats needed chicken, and we could have a bit of a look round since it is a bigger out of town store. Vin wanted to go to Halfords which is two stores down so I was left to mooch in M&S while he did that. He caught me up a bit later by the jewellery..Wonder how he knows where to find me!! HaHa..Didn't buy anything there though not this time anyway. Went for another coffee upstairs which was really nice, but too busy, it was quite hard to find somewhere to sit down. Had a look round and i bought a cute little magnifying glass with a light made in guess where...China..but it has a lovely pinky purple handle, and will be useful upstairs in the bedroom when I am reading. Got a few things from the food section including the cat's chicken,and left for home. Great parking too for a change right outside..funny how some days it seems to go right.
Gone very blowy now, there was a gale warning on the North West news for tomorrow.
Tonight we are having:
Mushroom and ale pies
baby potatoes squashed
Mixed veg and a mushroom gravy.

If its Tuesday it must be...

ironing day..Mostly there is the bedding to get on with. While I did that, Vin sorted out the cupboard in the corner which is ubnder the kettle area. It is a large corner cupboard which we put all our dry goods. Surprising what you turn up actually. It was a good day to do it because it is our black bin day tomorrow. We found packets of CousCous, why on earth did I buy that? dated from 2009!! Loads of assorted packets of pasta, which is not needed these days because I use the gluten free pasta which is excellent. A number of Mexican meal kits which you think you will use but somehow never get round to it.Before he knew it there were a couple of carrier bags full. Good clear out in the end which has cleared up loads of space. Now let me see..what will we fill it up with???
Vin was sorting out the Medi Cash forms this afternoon, it's quite a good deal really, you get money off glasses,dental treatment and all sorts.I joined when I was in teaching and they were doing a promotion, and it is a terrific scheme. I am getting £80 off the cost of my glasses so that reduces them quite a bit. i will also get some off my hearing aids, and my dental work next week. it's been an excellent scheme to be in actually.
Gone quite blowy this afternoon, still can't get used to the new outlook from the back of our house with the very large conifers gone. Makes a huge difference, and will let a lot more light into our garden in the late afternoon.
We are stuck in the middle at the moment. Our new neighbours have gone off to Turkey for two weeks, and our neighbour the other way is off to Dubai tomorrow, to stay with her daughter who works out there. So, too is her next door neighbourwho is her "boyfriend" and they have adjoining houses.
As I am typing this the radio 2 is playing "Everybody's Talking" by Harry Nilsson..What a record and what a voice,One of my most favourite records second only to Without Her..that is my most favourite record in the world. The only trouble is that Steve Wright ALWAYS starts yapping before it finishes..drives me mad!!
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and Onion Flan
Potato Croquettes
Small tin of something tomatoey/pataish
Mushrooms sauteed.

Should Have Gone to Specsavers....

Well we did! We both had appointments this morning for eye tests. One at 11 O'Clock the other at 11>20 O'Clock. Vin went in forst while I had a browse around the shop at glasses. Oh My..what an array of different glasses to choose from. I wanted to get two pairs because I wanted a spare pair this time. The glasses I am wearing are my only ones, and that has always bothered me, so I knew they were doing different offers, like %25 off for over 60s, or buy one get one free. I had a good look round, some of the frames were plainly on the cheap side, and some I thought were over expensive..these were the designer ranges on the whole. i think often you are paying for the name, and they started at £125 before all the extras..bi-focals and reactions and so on. Settled on the £85 range which were good glasses, but then ..Which ones? While Vin was getting his eyes done I picked up a couple which turned out to be very similar. He came out and helped me then. You do need someone else when picking them because they can tell you which suit you better. He found a lovely pair actually that I had missed, with little sunbursts on the side of the frames, really nice. So i discarded one of the frames I had picked and got those instead. Measured and details taken and all done. One pair with bi-focals and reactions and the other with just bi-focals. My eyes had changed a bit according to the very nice chap who did the very thorough eye examination, so did the prescription and paid and went. Bac a week tomorrow to ge6t them. £199 for two pairs and then I get £80 back from Medi Cash so a good deal I thought.
Vin didn't see any he fancied..he was looking for something different he said but nothing caught his eye..HaHa.
Time getting on, we had been in there about an hour, so we went over the road to Waitrose where we had parked to get our weekly things. Very warm and sunny, although it has gone really blowy now. Treated Vin to a coffee in Waitrose which was about £5 !! a bit dearer than morrisons, but it was a nice coffee. Did our shopping then home in time for lunch.
Funny thing this morning..Little Rusty was having her usual piece of toast with my Dairylea light cheese spread and a scraping of Marmite on it, and she turned round to look out of the window with a start. We thought that there was a cat in the garden, but Vin noticed some large branches being lopped off from some horrible conifers way way over in one of the gardens at the back of our house. Nothing wrong with her eyesight then!!
Tonight we are having:
Lemon and black pepper escalope,
bread sauce and cranberry sauce,
baby baked potatoes
Baby mixed vegetables.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Yesterday was lovely and warm all day. bright sunshine, but today is totally different. Dull, overcast and a bit drizzly in the afternoon.We had forgotten a few things on Friday, and also the Sainsburys we went to didn't have some things we wanted so Vin nipped out to Formby to the Waitrose to get them.
I always have the radio on while I am doing these, Radio 2 of course, and at the time of typing this I am listening to the Paul O'Grady show. he is playing the new record by Susan Boyle which was from her new album which is being released on November the 6th. Wow..what a beautiful voice that woman has got. Really powerful and beautifully sung. Nice to know she is still doing well..Good for Her.
The cats have been very sleepy this afternoon, I wonder if it is the weather affecting them? Nights are drawing in rapidly now. it is only seven o'clock and it is getting dark already. I suppose the clocks will go back in a couple of weeks.
Our crosswords seemed to take much longer this afternoon, both Vin and I had problems with them, although the big Sunday on in the Mail didn't prove to bad.
Last night we had:
green Thai Curry which was gorgeous.
With 1/2 pack of rice and a mushroom stir fry.

Tonight we are having:
Pizza with our tomato saucve
Courgette, portobello mushrooms and mozzarella cheese.
Egg and potato salad with avocado and baby plum tomatoes
Potato salad for moi and pasta salad for Vin