An Expensive Morning

Pam - thank you!

Bless - I will try that, thank you.

Mindo - we no longer have a dishwasher, which is a great source of sadness. I may pick up some inexpensive dishwasher tablets next time I shop, however, as they seem to be good for all sorts of cleaning outside of a machine.

I am weary of cooking. I wouldn't ask DH to cook as he works and I don't, and I don't really mind. It's just that it's always very complicated. 

It started when father lived with us. Father and DH liked lamb, but bear didn't. Father liked pork which DH didn't like and DH liked beef where father wasn't a fan. DH loves sweetcorn, but father and bear couldn't abide it. Bear loved his broccoli, but DH and father weren't keen, although DH loved cabbage. Father was unimpressed by pasta and always volunteered to buy a takeaway if I mentioned I was cooking that. DH likes some pasta. Bear loves his noodles. Until recently, DH couldn't have cheese as he became poorly, and bear was uncommitted. Father loved cheese. DH would have oranges, father would have apples, bear would have a banana. Father would have fried egg but not a fritatta. DH would rather have fritatta than a fried egg. Bear was unconvinced by both. Father drank tea, DH drank coffee and bear had flavoured water. We ate a lot of beige food while father was here.

Then bear had some issues with his stomach. We think it went back to an iffy yoghurt, but he had some serious troubles and I was back and forth with the doctor for a few months. The doctor suggested milk of magnesia and we were going through a bottle a week and it took years to get close to settled. After that, bear has had a very difficult relationship with food and is incredibly cautious. Also, when bear says that he likes a food, then I need to remember that terms and conditions apply. He said he liked the Morrisons chicken skewers. They are relatively good for him (in a very loose sense, but I'll take it) and I bought four as they would keep. He found pink in one of them and now won't touch them. I don't want to go into too much detail with bear, but feeding him can be a challenge. I nearly collapsed under DH's diet a few years ago as he was on a strict calorie controlled diet and I had to work with that. He's now at his target so the rules have eased slightly, but I have to mentally assess everything. 

And if I ask them what they fancy, I get blank looks. If I suggest something, I'm likely to get it shot down. If I plan meals, everything suddenly changes. There have been times when I have been close to tears at wondering what I am going to make that everyone will eat. I've been so mentally exhausted at times as I've managed to feed everyone else that often ended up with just a bag of crisps. 

This morning has been something of a case in point. I spent a fortune in Morrisons this morning. I got enough meat for around five meals, and I got a large sack of potatoes, but I'm sure I wouldn't have spent so much on the same stuff this time last year. One of the purchases was a couple of lamb pinwheels (at a very reasonable price) for the men. DH loves them, but I was on pins to see if bear would like his (thank goodness, he did!). I couldn't have them as they contain gluten, but I had some mushrooms (on offer) with the baked potato and peas. Of course, Morrisons can be a little dearer than Tesco, and I bought some gluten free bread which I don't always use, but I think prices have gone up significantly. I'm still worried that what I bought won't last for lunches.

Whenever I think of food these days, I feel overloaded.   

Still, when the world has things like this in it, you have to keep smiling.

Someone may have lied on their job application.

Writing stuff - This week's writing challenge is here.

Hugs and good health to all.