Just a quick check in to say I’ve had an absolutely fabulous evening with OH and my two gorgeous girls. We had a lot of travel hiccoughs and delays but finally got to the restaurant for a really beautiful meal, with several glasses of wine and a cocktail to finish! Mmmmm😋
Hope you’re feeling better CG, there must be a dose going around if even your GP has it! Lots of fluids (non alcoholic! 😉) and stay warm.
Jade, I can’t get much prouder or happier with my two DS than I am at the moment but the only reason I’ll need safety pins is because I absolutely stuffed myself at the restaurant this evening…..totally worth it though!
PH, I hope you’ve been resting that back and just sitting back directing operations from the armchair or the bed! Take care 👍
UP, are you in China yet? I hope all your travels went without a hitch this time and that the weather is kind to you too.
Many thanks again to all for your kind thoughts and wishes….it means the world to me to have such great support. I also had a lovely phone call from GG….so thoughtful and caring!
Ok, better go to sleep now in order to be look half human for the graduation tomorrow! 😃👍💞💚💕

Hi all. Fit..how proud you must be. Your dinner out sounds fabulous. Hope the graduation was all you hoped it would be. What a special family you have…Enjoy every moment 😍😍. Are the girls going to France with you?.

Jade. Can’t believe you are on holidays? You seem to be working all through grading papers!! When do you actually get some time to yourself?

CG. Dropping 500g. Well done. Must not be long now till you can get rid of that corset for good. I too,have come down with a heavy head cold. D had it and I thought I’d dodged it but work up this morning with a completely stuffed head unable to braath through my nose. Hope it does not stick around too long. Not the flu as no additional aches and pains..just the regular ones. The body telling me to rest no doubt.

Well yesterday went for our second inspection of a 2 bedroom unit we are interested in at Woolgoolga. Now the decisions must be made. I love the unit. It is very spacey in the living area ,has a nice big kitchen with lots of cupboards, good sized bedrooms with built-ins good sized bathroom well positioned between the two bedrooms and a second toilet behind the garage. We would convert the garage into two spaces, one for OH tools and camping gear, and the other half for my sewing room, with a single bed for OH to move to when we have visitors. It is the front unit in a complex and so we would have a front, side and back yard . All looked after by the body corporate. Nice deck in the back yard which is north facing and so would get the morning sun . So all in all it ticks all the boxes..can we downsize from 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2 large outdoor areas and a double garage with lots of storage space and in addition a large leased shed next door. ❓❓❓❓. Crunch time ❗️❗️❗️ Listing pros and cons about to begin!!
Catch up with you all soon. 💜💜💜

Ni Hao! My only word. Yes, I have managed to get through the censors with help from my son.

All is well, survived 3 flights from Greece, to Vienna to Seoul to China and amazingly the bags arrived. I think I mentioned all our flights had to be changed as the university wouldn’t allow travel through Istanbul. It wasn’t the most direct way but my husband had to speak in Greece one day and China the next so we had to take what we could get at short notice. Sorry if I have said things before but I have been emailing family etc!

Had an hour and a half to try and freshen up and look like I had had some sleep before I had to be at a dinner last night. I don’t know what they think we foreigners eat but there was a buffet with sections for vegetarian, muslim etc, all very thoughtful BUT it mainly consisted of a version of KFC, some kind of meat and a thousand or so carbs! There was spaghetti, french fries, potatoes, deep fried everything including donuts.

No vegetables, the only chinese thing was dim sum ( the americans called them pot stickers, Jade). Not even a grain of rice to be seen!But there was some watermelon! Anyway, that was put on by the uni. I imagine the hotel will be better. They have put us up in an amazing hotel I must say.Our “room” is even more than a suite. It is enormous with a bedroom that steps down into a living area both very big. Then there are 2 full bathrooms and a separate office which I am in right now and is large bedroom size.

Sorry, I am not going to comment on everyone, feeling wiped out. I made a coffee in my room a while ago, a Nescafe sachet called Nescafe plus 2. It turned out to contain milk and sugar. I hate coffee with sugar but sometimes you need a coffee so much you will drink it. There is plenty of tea but no milk and I am boiling bottled water so I am going to have to venture out at some stage.Right now I am happy to chill, even crossing the road here is tricky!xx

One last thing, a couple of you mentioned weather. Yes a category 4 typhoon is coming here and to Taiwan,our next stop. We think that it will have gone through Taiwan by the time we get there. I don’t mind being in one if I am in this hotel, There is no way I want to be near an aeroplane during one. I have already had enough adventures for one trip!

Big hi to everyone else!💜💜💜

CG, I’d love a short Recap of your year, I’ve actually been worrying about you 😳. 70k is a pretty healthy place to be and I feel not gaining is very much a Success.

Fit, I haven’t been going through a liy, tbh. You know, just life. It happens sometimes, I can’t complain, I’m a lucky person.

(I’m not sure what your nickname is yet) purple hats, I lost track around March of last year I think, I don’t quite remember your name either so maybe you hadn’t arrived yet?

Anyway, just went to the Gym (at 9:30pm!) And did a 45-minute virtual spinning class. After 25 minutes I was glad it was virtual and I was alone because I started cursing at the lady on the screen under my breath 😂 darn girl making me cycle so hard. Glad I stuck it out though. That’s another 600kcal gone!

We’ve had the wettest month since records began, and it’s been so depressie , this weekend will finally be actual summer weather and I can’t wait. Maybe that’s why I’ve come back to the Aussies: to compensate the weather 😄

Hi all, feeling a bit better today and so off to the beach with the kids and our best friends family. They have all their kids and grandkids home so going down to have a picnic and play cricket on the beach and have a big catch up. I have fashioned myself a hijab and am pretending to be Muslim today so that I don’t spread germs around, not sure if it is a hijab or not but will be covering my nose and mouth with a scarf draped in style. So looking forward to it.

oH calling for us to go so will get back to you all later 💜💜💜

Bonjour mes chers amis!
Finally arrived in France late last evening, absolutely wrecked from all the travelling. Not scary like yours, UP, just long hours in the car on very busy motorways. The renovation project went very well and the space upstairs now consists of three decent sized bedrooms plus an office for OH. The work is very neat, just needs painting but I’m not going to be here long enough to do that this time. However, we thought we asked the guy to put some shelving under the stairs for storage but instead, he put in a whole new staircase and no shelves! The new stairs are steeper than the old and have shallow steps too….not too suitable for negotiating in the middle of the night! 😱 The old stairs were open tread and not very safe either but it’s a bit like going from the frying pan into the fire!
UP, I hope you get a chance now to relax and unwind in your very posh accommodation before heading to Taiwan. Hopefully the typhoon will have passed on by now without too much damage or loss for the areas hit by it. The food choices sound very limited but maybe you’ll get a chance to try something better later. Best of luck with it all! 👍😃
PH, huge congrats and best wishes for the next phase of life to you and OH. You sure don’t let the grass grow! 🌪 Have you to put your own place on the market now? Best of luck with everything. The new place sounds amazing and perfectly suited to your future lifestyle. My two girls are back at work so it’s just OH, the dog and me on France. It will be a very short stay but we’ll make sure to make the most of it.
The couple of days in the UK and the graduation were just fantastic! We went out for a meal each night, just the four of us and had a brilliant time. The girls went clubbing with my daughter’s friends after the graduation and had a great time. The ceremony itself was in a beautiful old building and there was food and drink on the lawn before and after with music playing in the sunshine……couldn’t have been better. My only hitch was, I had been interrupted during my packing and ended up forgetting to bring my dress! Luckily I had a pretty summery skirt with me and the jacket I brought went with it nicely! Phew!
Jade, I must try the cauli rice and pizza….sounds very tasty and sin free! I have totally abandoned 5:2 for the last three or four days but it’s been worth it! Time enough to get back on track now.
CG, great results from you, yippee! You’ll have that corset off soon and be on top of the world again! I’m looking forward to the tennis today and tomorrow, if I can get to see it…..the reception is very hit and miss where we are. We get the British channels from the Channel Islands but the weather affects the quality of the reception. Obviously, I’m shouting for Andy Murray as we share a surname (my maiden name) and probably the same heritage too, as we believe there is Scottish ancestry somewhere along the line too!
Flemmy, I’m so glad to get away from the relentless rain in Ireland so I sympathise with you. I hope you get lots of sunshine this weekend and get out and about to enjoy it! I’ve forgotten exactly where you live. OH and I briefly visited Belgium the summer before last to visit a military cemetery near Mons. Maybe some time in the future we could meet up? Did you read about the big reunion the Aussie gals had this year? It was amazing! I’m expecting Jade to meet up with me in Dublin later this year….fingers crossed!
Big hello to all the rest of the gang and wishing you all well wherever you are and whatever you’re doing!
A bientot! 💞💚💕

Hi all. Such a lot of great things happening. We had to cancel the beach as it was blowing a gale at the beach…instead all went to our friends place where they have a very large deck and 10 acres with lots of animals and chooks. The kids had a ball and played cricket anyway as well as giving the chooks an extra fed, feeding the miniature horse and throwing the ball for the dog. A very exhausted dog at the end of the day I assume. I only stayed an hour as I was afraid of spreading germs. My hijab went over a treat, difficult to eat with one of those but still possible. I’m sure I did not infect anyone as I had a double layer across my mouth and nose and kept away from everyone else. No cuddles etc…good to see all the young ones again. Out two families have grown up together and are very close. So good to see them Now playing together with their own families.😍😍😍..these are the friends that will store our caravan for us..at the moment we are only 5 minutes apart but will make sure we keep in touch regularly when we move and they also plan on retiring to Woolgoolga.

Jade as per request I will post some photos on Facebook and Fit I will also attempt to get some on the thread for you. If you can get on the internet you can punch in 1/14-16 Strawberry Close, Woolgoolga. NSW. It is with Vision property sales and you can see the sale advert. Photos do not do it justice as it does not show the main bedroom or the back deck but you will get the general idea. All the blue paint will be repainted white. And the blue kitchen will have the doors replaced with white ones and draws put in instead of cupboards. And will put floorboards in the kitchen area. My lounge room chairs are aubergene and red so would not go at all with blue. Carpet is grey which will work perfectly. We were very lucky to find something in that price range in Woolgoolga as villas are very few and far between. Hence the need to move fast.

Enough about me. I will post then then get back unless I lose it. 💜💜

Wow, PH…25 kg down is awesome!👏 We’re all in better shape for having found our way here, aren’t we – ♥️♥️ Thanks for the links and photos, your new place is so pretty and sounds just like what my friend here described, you’ll be “always on vacation.” Walking distance to the beach? Not sure what they meant by “manageable” distance😂oh those real estate writers….and boy won’t the grandies love that! I will keep searching for my woolgoolga🌌🌈🏖

Flemmy you’re in Europe I believe, not Canada? Maybe near wherever in France Fit is at the moment. I’d love to do some traveling this summer, but it was hard enough just cattle-prodding OH out the door yesterday to go shopping. I took him to a Stetson hat store about an hour’s drive away, because he’s wanted a new one for ages, and it’s his birthday weekend, and he was once again going to order some online. Ugh, every time he’s done that, I’ve had to wrap them up and mail them back. I mean, it’s like buying a bra right? After many try-ons, he finally decided on a very smart one, I’ll have to post a photo of him by his truck, he looks quite ruggedly handsome💘

Nothing about yesterday otherwise is worth mentioning, I was tired of behaving so dinner was pure poison per recent health news: hot dogs, white bread, potato chips, fudgcicles, and shortbread cookies – though the last was topped with natural peanut butter. Nice going, champ🏆! We’ll just call that “traditional” 5:2 (heavy on the 5)😉. Enjoy whatever you’re doing today, team, hugs from across the world🗽xxxx

Hi all. Yes Jade, the kids and grandies could in fact walk to the beach, 🏖🏖 not me but as long as I have my wheels then I’m OK. When I get down to being on a gopher then I could drive that to the beach also, but mostly plan on frequenting the wonderful coffee and interesting little shops. Woolgoolga or Woppi as the locals affectionately call it is a lovely beach village just 13 minutes from Coffs Harbour, small enough to get around in easily with lots of parks etc but large enough to have a couple of clubs, and coffee shops, doctors physio’s etc. it has just got its first large supermarket. So just our style. Hope you find your ideal retirement place in the not so distant future. Thanks for the encouragement on weight..another 10 to go and then I’ll be happy.

CG.you sure have a large house. Great to have a handyman to do some painting for you. I’ll have to find one for our new villa as it is all blue, not my colour at all. OH shoulder is not getting any better so thinking his painting days are finished. Snow!! ❄️❄️Wow that would be amazing just for a few days every few years.

Fit enjoy France!!

A big hi to everyone else🙋🙋. Went to the doctor yesterday and this €£¥££# wog has gone to my chest so antibiotics and rest rest rest prescribed. Not much fun happening in this house today. Oh well. Don’t get sick often so does not hurt to be reminded of what others go through regularly. Love and hugs 💜💜💜💜

Hi all!
Oh, Jade, we sure are sympatico! I had such a pig out yesterday of biblical proportions! Well, I had to keep my strength up for watching Andy Murray and to get him over the line and then France were playing in the European football final against Portugal, so more sustenance was needed. So lots of sugar, carbs and other unmentionables were consumed 😱😱😱 I’m getting used to the stairs but will definitely have to be extra vigilant during the night! Apparently, the tradie thought it was too low for OH and wanted to give him more headroom so he just replaced them!! Looking forward to aperitifs with the neighbours this evening and a huge garden party on Thursday for Bastille day at a beautiful manor house with even more neighbours, it will be fantastic! Well done on your jog and cycle in that heat…..they’d be scraping me off the road if I tried that!
PH, your new place sounds absolutely gorgeous, in a terrific location and ideal for the two of you and visiting little ones! I hope you’re feeling better soon. You’ve done so much lately, it’s not surprising you’re a little crook at the moment. What a brilliant loss to date and I’m sure you’ll be back losing very soon when things quiten down for you. 😃👍💚💞💕
CG, how exciting to be nearly finished with that corset and doctors for the foreseeable future! It’s been a real roller coaster of a year for you but you have achieved so much. I hope the painting goes well, it’s lovely to see everywhere looking fresh and new. I agree that a little snow is very pretty but I hate the frost and dangerous road conditions that often accompany it. Stay safe and snug and use up some of the freezer contents while you’re hibernating!
OH went for his first dip in the sea today and of course Molly had to join in! I’m too much of a cold creature to venture in yet but if things warm up, I might chance it! I’m attempting a fd today despite the invitation from the neighbours this evening….hopefully it will help to contain the damage a little!
Best of luck to all, fasting, feasting and all areas in between! 👍💪💚💕💞

FC. Belgium , how did I get it so wrong. I thought you were from Canada!! You must think I’m mad rambling on about my Canadian family. Have to,blame old age I guess. And close to the Netherlands! We really do reach right around the world. Beautiful part of the world. It has been at least 30 years since I visited that area on a Trafalgar Tour, my first trip OS and was wide eyed with amazement. It was when a war was happening somewhere in the area and they had a lot of people pull out because we could not get to Greece so my girlfriend and I got upgraded to First Class. Stayed in lots of palaces etc. so,lucky….still very much in my memory bank. Must look through the photos again. Cheat FD,s are good sometimes, breaks up the regular routine a bit.

Fit. Sounds like you are having a blast over in France. Your neighbours sound like very friendly folk. Bastille Day celebrations, that should be fun. You deserve every bit of fun you can get dear girl. Fancy attempting a FD with all those invitations but you are a cagey one and it will limit the damage somewhat. And Murray is going gangbusters. Really on Fire. Must be your cheering.🤗🤗🤗

CG. Hope you are weathering the cold and are as snug as a bug in a rug in with the boys 💕💕

About the same in my world today, with the exception of outside the house. The troops have arrived, Son, Daughter and Grandson And they are attacking the gardens with a vengeance. Weeding, trimming, laying weed mat and covering it with wood chip just delivered 5 metres of it. Won’t know the place soon. I am so blessed. Little Joel is such a busy bee chipping in with the weeding, and planning what to do next. He is a real little organiser. My heart is so full. Bye for now💜💜💜

Morning All I’m back posting – regularly now I hope. It has taken me quite a while to get enthusiastic about doing so. Not having the time in our 9 weeks away does take away the spark a bit….but here I am. And not even going to TRY initially to respond to everyone’s posts – THAT WOULD BE MADNESS!
So I have come back with an extra 4 – 5 kilos the scales tell me. So time to get back to business! But I’m having trouble getting back on that horse too. I’ve been very jetlagged for the first time ever & my asthma is playing up after a cold I got & won’t get better. Also put my neck in a spot of bother carrying some shopping bags & going to the physio for some comfort. So it’s not surprising I’m struggling to get back to things. CG I’ve had so much trouble with my neck now that I’m ditching pilates (the neck is just too easily irritated) & going to start water aerobics & possibly tai chi. Much gentler on my bones.
It’s amazing how much tighter my clothes are with that gain & some I just refuse to wear that I was enjoying before. So definitely need to jump back on that horse but maybe just need a few things to settle first! The knee is almost better by the way.
Hi to PH CG FC (welcome back!) Fit & Jade. Try to post replies next time. suejen XXXX

Wow, what a positive thread I am reading today!

All sorts of positive things happening for people. New homes,holidays and new bodies or bits of bodies and improved health !

I am now in Taiwan. Thank you all for the good wishes. You are right that the typhoon came to China but south of us and considerably weaker. Long gone from Taiwan and the little I have seen so far looks great. We only arrived last night and I am just waking up although my poor husband left about 90 mins ago to start his long day. We ate traditional taiwanese last night, taken to one of the few restaurants apparently that don’t serve fusion foods. Our host refrained from ordering the stewed pig intestines etc and just gave us the stuff we could cope with! Another very nice hotel with just a normal nice room this time! The sky looks blue and it seems that all staff and many guests are perfectly bilingual and I saw many westerners at breakfast. I raced in before it closed because I was desperate for coffee. I couldn’t get any drinkable coffee in China and am hoping it might stop my migraines.

Re China, of course the tea was good but for a 5 star international hotel it was very hard work and more like Fawlty Towers in a beautiful setting. Day 1, migraine, so slept. Day 2 enjoyed a back massage and chill in the hotel and day 3 was taken on a tour of Tianjin. Good but “shopping street” was so touristy and the weather so hot that it was a bit much. I felt very happy to stay inside a lot because the pollution is a shocker, crossing the road a game of russian roulette and strangely, squat toilets just don’t do it for me. And as many chinese women don’t even close the door, I know exactly how to use them! Also, getting down there is all very well, but then you have to get back up! Nothing to hang on to and a handbag on your shoulder! I guess if you do it all the time you can do it even when you are 80. Great experience though.
The evenings were good though as we were with others and there was plenty of socialising and fun. Although the people we were with are from all over the world as it was a smallish conference, even I know many people quite well and we all were sharing the same bizarre experiences. A highlight was at a dinner on the first night when the wine was poured in glasses ready for you to take as you went in. Literally a centimetre full. Or hot beer to which you may add your own ice. A particularly outspoken colleague soon set them straight, mainly through action, not language! The next night my husband and I joined friends in a bar and asked for a bottle of wine and two glasses. As I correctly predicted, out came the bottle plus two full glasses of wine. The chinese do not drink a lot and at another dinner, a chinese lady asked of Chris and I, “Do you drink a lot?” You had to be there to realise how that sounded. I responded, that compared to the chinese yes, but not particularly by australian standards.

So, another migraine while flying and again last night, so a quiet day today and plenty of activities planned after that and some students have been given the job of showing us around etc so I am looking forward to that. Only 32 here yesterday. Our tour in China was at least 36 so not so good for walking around in crowds!

Here in Taiwan it is only my husband and I and a friend/colleague from Brisbane this time as they have been invited to do some work here. So thank goodness, this is a much more relaxed place although the socialising will be much more formal, people are very nice!

Cheers to all.

Thanks, CG. Yes it is a cluster and no, I wish I knew for sure but I am sure tiredness/ stress is one and I think, so many time zones and jet lag is probably the main cause. Throw in the things that have gone wrong and I guess it is it. I have upped my anxiety medication and am doing OK in that department, just hoping I have enough Imigran to get me through, but I can see on the web that it is available in Taiwan if I need to get more but that would be a drag!

Thanks, yes, 3 aspirin is what I usually do and if that doesn’t work I bring out the other stuff. Often it is enough but it hasn’t been the last little while. I had to take one yesterday morning at the airport and then another before I went to bed. So far so good today but I have expectations…
Thanks.xx

OMG! I guess you felt no pain!

Wow this joint is really hopping today!🐇🐇Hiw nice to hear from everyone. Up sympathy to you re the migraines but still your stories had me chuckling- especially the squatting! And pig intestines😝? Traveling the world can be a revelation – glad you can relax a bit in Taiwan with the slower pace.
Hey SJ boy do I know what you mean, it’s hard to even get the saddle back on the horse sometimes, much less get on it myself. Baby steps work for me. Instead of a FD just try to skip breakfast then try lunch too, have a normal dinner. Ha just typing “normal dinner” made me realize I don’t have very many of those 😜
CG you gave me a chuckle too, talking about being lazy. You’ve done more before I get up than many do all day! Love that you are so devoted to your furry family. Stay warm dear friend xx
Well of course Flemmy is in Belgium, how could I not know that. Your FD sounds just fine AND you went to the gym, well done!🏆
PH no worries it’s hard to shoot out to all now the crew is getting back in force😍 Love hearing all the news about your move, I should copy and save as a primer for when we do the same. Doubt I’ll have all the help from family but they would like us to be closer. Trouble for us is we have family in east coast, west coast, and southeast coast and love them all.
Oh hallelujah our power just came back on. Another bad storm and it went out doing the night. It’s still beastly hot here so everyone woke up when the a/c went off. I’m on my phone so pardon the typos – just enjoyed catching up with everyone. Oh, I did manage the FD yesterday until OH insisted I share his chocolate-dipped macaroon is picked up as a birthday treat. For him! Ha, he’s caught the fitness bug now, perhaps I’ll save enough in grocery $$ to finance WTF Palm Cove. Hugs❤️❤️xx

Hi all!
Just loving the buzz here with all the news from every corner of the globe!
UP, so sorry to hear about those blasted migraines but you know best how to handle them. I hope they pass soon. Please post a YouTube link on how to use those squat toilets! They have them at some of the motorway service stations here and I’ve already had to cross my legs on this trip, because no way was I going to try and use one….. I just know I would have ended up head down in one! 😱😳😫 Best of luck with the rest of your trip, everything sounds exotic and exciting….enjoy it all!
PH, you must be the ultimate organiser, I’ve never heard of anyone getting a house move underway so fast and so efficiently! What a great family you have around you and it will indeed be brilliant to be closer to your daughter. Happy days! 💕😃👍
SJ, how good to have you back at last! It’s strange trying to adapt to this wol again but as CG says, don’t put yourself under pressure…..little by little is the way to go, especially since you have various aches and pains to sort out first. It sounds like you had a really wonderful time on your travels and with your family too, so it was all worth it 💞💚💕😍
Jade, I hope the bad weather and power cuts are finished with now. My OH wants to know was it a ten gallon Stetson or as we say 45 litres? !! I’ll definitely have to get onto FB, I’m missing everyone’s fun photos!
Flemmy, you must come and join us in Ireland! It would be absolutely brilliant and we could keep the rest of the gang entertained until the big gathering in Australia in 2017!
CG, you sure are getting wild weather over there at the moment so it’s good to have a couple of men about the place in case anything goes seriously wrong, like a roof blowing off! Best of luck with the rest of the painting etc., it will be so satisfying to see it all done.
My fd went a bit astray yesterday but as Jade says even a semi fast is better than nothing, so hopefully I won’t get too big a shock when I get home. The weather is quite pleasant here, but can be showery too….let’s hope it stays fine for Thursday or the garden party will be a bit of a washout.
Take care all! 💪👍💞💚💕

Oh and Fit, I emailed you the photo – ha ha it’s not a 10-gallon/45 liter! Maybe one gallon. He tried on a few like that and I kept thinking “Hoss Cartwright…not the look we’re going for”😄 💕xx