Hello Southern Hemispherites!!

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thinatlast

10:30 pm
29 Mar 19
Permalink

Morning losers,

FD for me which seems a bit odd being Saturday. I’m still clinging on to 58.2kg which also seems odd to me. Not complaining. I had a very social week, although most of my socialising is low cal involving going to coffee with friends or neighbours. For the first time ever, I haven’t really planned today’s FD fare other than defrosting my standard A&C milk and cauliflower soup. I think I’ll just have an oil-free mushroom omelette for dinner.

Intesha, those ambulance drivers sound a bit outspoken and judgemental. Nevertheless, it does appear that your dad’s deteriorated to the point of threatening your own physical wellbeing. Perhaps it’s time for you to take control and express your fears with your dad in frank terms outlining the alternatives.

Hi Anzac and Rosy. I know you posted on the previous page. Cannot remember a thing I read! Have a greta weekend all.

thinatlast

10:43 pm
29 Mar 19
Permalink

…or a great weekend. Just had another read of your two posts.

Anzac, I am so envious of your rain! Tomorrow is forecast for 33C, it seems summer is hanging on right until the end of March. Did you abandon puppy training classes altogether?

Rosy, congratulations. Only 2kg to go! You must be feeling great. Well done.

GdayfromSA

11:10 pm
29 Mar 19
Permalink

Sat 9.30am. Last night i finished reading a book called Primal Body Primal Mind. Very interesting read about the Paleo lifestyle. I’m now reading Michelle Obama’s Becoming and loving it so far.

I think it was Neil who mentioned protein intake. The rule of thumb is 0.8grams protein for every 1kg of body weight. Remembering of course that protein foods are not all protein. For example a 200g steak is made up of protein, fat and water so therefore it’s not 200g of protein. I have a list somewhere which states the actual protein amount of various foods. Will find it once we get the house back in order.

Must go and get some chores done

Intesha

11:28 pm
29 Mar 19
Permalink

Thank you Anzac, Rosy and Thin. Feeling very sore and achy this morning but have managed to get started with the cooking and the cakes are made. Just having a coffee before I start on the cookies.

I hear what you are all saying but as we know unless you are in someone else’s shoes you don’t really know what is going on. I couldn’t put Dad in a home it would be the end of him and also for purely selfish reasons as dramatic as this may sound if he went into a home I would be destitute. I only have the pension to live on and the money Dad gives me as well as paying all the major bills. There is over a 10yr wait for housing. I would not be able to pay my current rent and exist.

It’s all very frightening and I can hear Thin saying it’s time for my brother to step up but that’s never going to happen.

Anyway I just have to take one day at a time that’s all I can handle.

Anzac the paramedics checked me out and if I start to feel any side effects I will definitely go and see my Dr.

LJoyce

11:37 pm
29 Mar 19
Permalink

Good morning SHs

Intesha, I hope you are feeling a bit better today – although in reality I suspect you have even more aches and stiffness today. I’m not going to give advice on your dad – unfortunately I’ve been there myself with my dad and know exactly how difficult it can be. I just hope your situation improves in a way everyone can accept – I know that can seem to be a pipe dream most of the time. Take care.

Neil, enjoy the biltong – well done for making it yourself. I’ve only seen pictures of it, but it looks less dry than jerky.

Quacka, I hope that oven gets sorted soon. You may have to keep hassling them – I have dropped subtle hints about bad online publicity to get companies moving at times – it does work.

Anzac, it was raining here all night too. Great for the garden isn’t it.

Thin, hope the Saturday FD works well.
Normally we get your weather, this lot must have come up through the bight from Antarctica – another cold wet stormy night here. Maybe I could try sending some back west for a change.

Rosy, I’m glad your weight is moving in the right direction. Enjoy your weekend of food.

Thankyou everyone for the concern about the lung infection. My temperature is still up but my breathing already much better and the cough has stopped already too. These are really good signs that this will clear up quickly.

I’m having a rare weekend with 2 NFDs, then trying 2 lots of B2B Fast 800 next week. I’d better weigh myself this weekend so that I know how it works.

CalifDreamer

1:12 am
30 Mar 19
Permalink

Intesha, I’m sorry to hear about your dad. Hitting your head on the concrete worries me as well. Did you have it checked? I guess if you survived the scotches and ice cream you must be ok. You certainly deserved a couple scotches! I hope you can find an acceptable resolution, either additional at home care or a care home for your dad. These must be difficult decisions to make. I feel bad for you having to make them.

LJ, how are you feeling? I hope the antibiotics kicked in on your lung infection. Probiotics afterward sounds like a good idea. I finally dumped my kefir grains. We just didn’t drink enough and they finally got a little pink mold on them. I know it’s one of the best probiotics, especially the hom made stuff, but I’ll probably just buy it when we want it.

Quacka, love all those boots but the first pair are my favorites because the colors would go with more things that I wear and I love lace up boots.

500 grams lost on my FD yesterday. I ended up eating fairly late because I somehow finally noticed that one of my BP meds that I started taking in Dec, was supposed to be taken with food. I rarely eat breakfast. No wonder I was often feeling off in the mornings! Not eating it with food can cause side effects to be worse. It’s the smallest dose they make but still enough to bother me. So I had to save some of my 500 calories to eat at night. Some day I will learn to read labels more carefully.

Rosy, when we first moved to this house we bought an expensive washer and dryer that some friends have raved about. It was nothing but trouble, always something going wrong with it. And the dryer took forever to dry things. We should have dumped it long before we finally did. Bought a cheaper one that has been working perfectly for several years now.

Have to go make dinner now. Have a great day everyone.

thinatlast

1:17 am
30 Mar 19
Permalink

Intesha, I was thinking while on my walk that you should get a follow up check up today for that bonk on the head regardless of whether you have any symptoms. Our DD once got hit in the head by a swing when she was little and I noticed that it knocked her out momentarily followed by a quick and seemingly full return to normal function. The other parents let us know that we were over-reacting by taking her to emergency (they’d all had multiple births, of course, I knew nothing about parenting because I only had one child). In California, OH had flown rescue helicopters for years and I’d worked in a head injury unit so we weren’t totally ignorant. Anyway, at the hospital, they confirmed that we were absolutely correct to take her in for observation. The point is, after concussion, you can continue to deteriorate.

No, I wasn’t going to suggest your brother, you’ve already told me he’s a lost cause! And you have told me about the financial arrangement between you before but, Intesha, you are most likely going to outlive your dad. So, this has to be faced at some point, no? I think we all realise that it’s not a simple problem that can be solved on a weight loss thread. People are only able to offer a level of support based on what you’ve written. The over-riding message I’m reading here is that you take care of yourself and do what’s in your best interests. You’re no good to your dad if you’re compromised.

Anyway, the baking is for the 70th anniversary celebrations I believe so that’ll be fun for you to concentrate on for a while. You’ll have to lay off the scotch and ice cream, ha ha! Take care.

Anzac65

3:23 am
30 Mar 19
Permalink

Well the sun has come out and now it’s quite warm. In fact very warm – probably because I just vacuumed the whole top floor of the house vigorously – burn those calories!! We also finally took patient (NOT) Maxx for a good walk and we left with a yellow Labrador and came back with a black one. GAH. His best friend Spencer was at the rugby oval so we let Maxx off the leash and the two of them splashed through every muddy puddle they could find. Oh well, at least he is tired now and sleeping soundly.

Thin, we do keep saying that we are going to start training classes but to be honest he has really turned a corner lately and now I wonder if we do need it. The only things we are struggling with are his jumping up at people sometimes and the pulling on the leash when he is somewhere new and exciting. I’ll chat to hubby about it tonight.

Sorry to hear about your circumstances Intesha, I do see that you haven’t any other option and good for you for staying as positive as you do.

cali, congrats on the 500g, that is a very good result considering how lovely and low your weight is. I didn’t lose anything this week, again, as my NFD calories are creeping up. But next week is another week with lots of good intentions plus the following week I have off before I start my new job so I will have lots of time to exercise and cook healthier options. It might even turn out to be two weeks off as the company CBA outsource their contractor onboarding to said the background check can take anywhere between 2 and 4 weeks. My last one took 4 – must be my dodgy background HA HA HA. No, here is the story and you won’t believe it. There was a question ‘what is your highest education level’. I didn’t finish high school and left in year 11 and did a secretarial course in 1982 (or was it 1983?). Anyway…. then in my 20’s I did an 8 subject diploma in Financial Markets at the Securities Institute of Australia (SIA). Now they don’t exist any more and education was not a requirement for the job, so I put down my secretarial course. WHAT A MISTAKE. The background check company needed my certificate and I didn’t have it. So they had to contact St George TAFE and ask them for a copy. No surprises that it was very difficult to do this 30 odd years later! I have no idea whether they found it or not, but it meant more time off in between jobs for me. Darn it…tee hee. The treasurer wasn’t happy (hubby) but I was!

LJ, glad your lung infection is a bit better. Take it easy though because these things can suddenly creep back sometimes. Your social events sound lovely and I hope you have and do enjoy them.

I’m making coriander crumbed lamb cutlets for dinner with a nice salad. Yum!

Might go and have a swim then resume housework. Bathrooms are next, sigh

Hope everyone is having a great weekend

thinatlast

3:45 am
30 Mar 19
Permalink

Remember when our parents got married and their appliances lasted their entire marriage? Nowadays, these large kitchen appliances are built to croak after 5 years – just after the warranty runs out.

LJ, glad you’re feeling better already and this might be a short blip. My main motivation for wanting cooler weather is to bring an end to the pool season. But my prayers have been answered this morning as the tenants next door are busy moving boxes on the front veranda and having a loud domestic about whether to keep or throw away the crystal. I suppose if you earn $735,000 p/a, you can consider throwing away the crystal. ‘His’ rational is that ‘she’ hasn’t unpacked the boxes in a year. Hoping for a quiet couple with a nice dog next time ….

CalifD, hurray for being 500g down and reading the instructions on the BP meds.

Anzac, snap! I’ve been vacuuming and mopping. It does feel warm as you say, but it is 30C. Good that Maxx is behaving so much better.

Neil, I hope you enjoy your biltong snacks. It must be fin to make your own.

LJ, all going well with the FD thanks. Although, after walking, I weighed again. Of course I did. And I’m now celebrating another PB of 58kg. So, I took a slight departure from my FD fare and treated myself to a normal frothy coffee (at home, of course). That sweetened almond milk I’d bought by mistake was just nasty. Not sure what to do now as I don’t really seek to lose any more weight. I’ll see how the scales like it after tomorrow’s feast.

I hope I have caught up with posts finally.

thinatlast

4:18 am
30 Mar 19
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*rationale, sorry

CalifDreamer

6:34 am
30 Mar 19
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Thin, congratulations! 58kg!!! I am so jealous! Not only did you hit the 58’s, but you’ve stayed there for about a week now, isn’t it? I think there’s a good chance you can maintain that by just doing what you’re doing. Usually it’s just getting to the weight and staying there for a few days to establish it as your new weight, as long as it’s within your BMI and not unreasonable, and that’s certainly the case for you. That extra kg or so should make a nice difference in the way your clothes fit. You are truly an inspiration.
Glad to hear the noisy tenants are leaving. I hope the next ones are nice and quiet.
I do remember when my parent’s kitchen appliances lasted forever. Of course my perspective on the time involved in ‘forever’ may have been a little different back then. 😁. Still, I don’t think they had invented “planned obsolescence” for appliances yet back then.

LJ, even if the coughing has subsided, if your temp is still up you should take it easy. Infections are nothing to play around with. Stay warm, drink tea and try to get some extra sleep. (Says the fellow insomniac to her friend.)

Anzac, good grief, why would some background check contractor worry about some educational certification from 30 years ago?! What bearing does that have on anything now? You’ve been working in the field for 30 years, not living in a cave. Sheesh! But I do think it would be nice to have a couple weeks off between jobs. If the treasurer disagrees, he and Maxx could always go out busking for a few days. 😁😆

Intesha, I’m not surprised you feel achy after that fall yesterday. It sounds like your dad is usually in better shape than when he took that fall. He does still drive over to see your mom most days, right? Didn’t you mention that he has other transportation there if he needs it? Maybe it’s time for him to do less driving. Maybe some small changes or adjustments could make the situation at home more doable. Take one day at a time. Sometimes small solutions can make a big difference.

Gday, you’re right about meat not being 100% protein. We all tend to forget that sometimes. There are many who think we eat too much protein daily. But fasting for several days would certainly make up for that. I wonder if anyone really knows how much we need of the different nutrients? There certainly is a lot of discussion about it.

Neil, are you off hiking with the boys again?

Rosy, congrats on the additional weight loss! You’re almost there. It does take a little longer to lose the last couple of kg, except that you’re usually so motivated to reach your goal by then that it goes easier. At least it did for me.

Where’s Cinque today?

thinatlast

8:06 am
30 Mar 19
Permalink

CalifD, thanks. But don’t be jealous – just come on down! Only if you want to, of course. I know you can. I, too, am concerned about Cinque. And now Lindsay’s gone AWOL. And maybe Klond!

Lindsay L.

8:41 pm
30 Mar 19
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Morning all. AWOL with posts Thin – thank you for thinking of me. Ive been reading but not posting. This virus is clinging on and I’m swamped with my new workload, so am keeping my head above water barely. 5:2 not going at all well. OH has taken over the cooking – more on that later. But for now, we are off to a bee keeping course that’s been booked for months. I was hoping for rain, so it would be cancelled, but no, after a downpour and drizzle on and off all day yesterday we’ve woken to a bright, blue, cool morning. Sigh. Just kidding – I am sure it will be terrific once we get there. I’ll try to pop back in later.
In the meantime, enjoy your Sunday. Intesha, hope you’re recovering from the effects of your fall. And LJ, hope you are feeling much much better.

thinatlast

9:29 pm
30 Mar 19
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Hi Lindsay, enjoy your bee keeping course. Hope you’re soon feeling better. Pleased someone was around early as I woke at a ridiculous 3.30am and couldn’t get back to sleep. Waiting for daylight so I can go for a walk. 33C today. Frothy coffee Sunday feels strange. Have a great day all.

GdayfromSA

9:31 pm
30 Mar 19
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Sunday 8am. Weekly avg weight loss is 0.2kg. I knew this week wouldn’t be as good as others due to the carb indulgence and it’s the week I always go up in weight with water retention. So all in all still a good result. Time for another coffee then off to do some chores outside. Happy Sunday all

Cinque

10:13 pm
30 Mar 19
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Good morning everyone, Melbourne. Here it is wet, grey, cold, and alive with the Indian mynas complaining about it. But I am glad the garden has had a good water, and inside my home isn’t too cold yet.

Thanks for the concern, my CFS is making me need to be slow and careful at the moment, and yesterday I was needed early for grandma duties (my daughters family moved on Thursday and yesterday was go back and grab the last remaining things and vacuum time, so I babysat). The kids are unsettled, naturally, so grandma duties have been a bit tricky.

Lindsay, so glad to see your post. I hope you have the most wonderful time at the bee keeping course.
My alarm bells ring when I hear of you needing to push yourself so hard, while still recovering from that rotten virus. Do keep taking it as carefully as you can. Much better to have a boring month or two saying no to everything you want to do and yes to all the help you can get, than a lifetime of intractable chronic illness. Too many people have post-viral fatigue morph into CFS.
The mantra is “Think what you can do and halve it, think how long it will take and double it.”
When you do finally get your energy back you will feel fantastic!

You too Klondi. Is it shaking of your infection that is keeping you from posting?

Intesh, so sorry to hear of the drama, but I am glad you and your dad are okay. You must be continually adjusting and readjusting your lives to keep managing. Sending best wishes for no more accidents. Or just teeny weeny little ones.

Mmm yum that biltong and jerky sounds great.
Luckily, while meat isn’t all protein, vegetables and grains (and legumes of course) have good amounts to balance it up. Not to mention dairy.
And, just to keep us all bewildered, while protein is very important, many people have too much which can limit our lifespan https://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/researchers-discover-why-high-protein-diets-reduce-health-and-lifespan-20190225-p51046.html

I am glad of my Sunday fast as with my busy days I have succumbed to cashews and watermelon which were absolutely delicious but I ate too much and I am so glad of a rest and reset.

I made a big pot of chicken and vegetable soup yesterday, so I feel ready for the days to come.

Quacka, fingers crossed the new oven comes soon, and that it is a brilliant one that works perfectly for decades.

Rosy, woot! Another half a kilo down! I hope it was a wonderful picnic.

Thin, I can’t remember what you are doing today, but your fast day will be done and I hope you enjoy today to the hilt!
Ms natural here, with the no scales and what’s-this-calorie-counting malarkey, but I can’t help think your body is doing fine sorting out what weight it wants to be. Ofcourse, if you want to do 6:1, go for it… but there is no sign that you have to worry that you are underweight is there? Maybe just wait and see if you settle at 58 (+ or – 2kg)

LJoyce, so glad you got on top of your lung infection so quickly! I hope today you are feeling even better.

And Cali, better late than never! sorting out what you can take with your BP meds will hopefully make a wonderful difference to your mornings.

Oh dear, all those tales of expensive appliances failing. Shameful! Capitalism, get your act together!

Anzac, maybe now is the perfect time to take Maxx to lessons, you’ve done the ground work and an intelligent dog will just love the learning and practice.
Whatever, so glad he is maturing as expected and life will be easier.
I agree with Cali, what mad recruiters to worry about those old qualifications! Hope they do it all in perfect timing for you to get your holiday fortnight though.

Just saw your new post Gday, enjoy that coffee and the chores. That is what my day will be too. Hope DD is feeling better.

Must go! So glad to have my fast day and such a lovely crew on this forum. Cheers all.

Turnabout

12:30 am
31 Mar 19
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Well, maybe a while before I try another playday!! OH and I decided to have NFD, kinda semi planned as we went to the farmers market (first visit) in town and needed to do some grocery shopping, but the market was all of 10 stalls, with very little food/produce, so disappointing. So went to our favourite coffee cafe and had breakfast, even more disappointment!!!! Didn’t enjoy that either and ate too early!! After relaxing the afternoon away we went to the pub and had a couple of pints before ordering a Thai supper takeaway from the restaurant, didn’t have any rice, just the curry, not much flavour and absolutely no spice and finishd eating too late. Weigh in this morning and back up to 78KGS!!!!!! Felt terrible this morning after the beer and junk food, even worse when I saw the scales, and got a splitting headache to boot!!!! Oh well, off for a long walk in the strong wind to blow away the cobwebs, another litre or two of water and not much to eat today!!!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Sundays, fasting or not, sure I’ll feel better tomorrow when I stop wallowing!!!! All self inflicted!!!!

Turn

Rosy Posy

12:40 am
31 Mar 19
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Turn, don’t be hard on yourself, you know this wol is flexible and will get you back on track
Cinque, thanks for the protein link. Re your soup, do you thicken it and do you use chicken pieces with bone and skin on ?
Thin , I am with you re early waking up. The only days I can get past 4.30 am (last week I woke up at 3.30am!!) are Sunday’s and Mobdays which are my 2 days of non fasting.
We had a fabulous twilight picnic at city beach last night. The sunset was spectacular , the area well grassed and well lit. We went with 4 other couples.

Rosy Posy

7:13 am
31 Mar 19
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Correction : Sundays and Mondays and City Beach.

Lindsay L.

9:58 am
31 Mar 19
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Hi all. Sorry I can’t even begin to reply to all of your posts, so I’ll start afresh, and try to do better.

My bee keeping course was wonderful – best Sunday morning I’ve had for years. So we have committed to a hive and a colony and away we go. My son gave me a native bee box for my birthday and now I also need to stock it with native bees. But that is for another Sunday I think – most suppliers sell box and contents. Today’s course reaffirmed how wonderful nature is, and how we should let it get on with what it does, with minimum interference from us. Who knew bees were such amazing engineers. My imput will be to continue to plant more flowers and trees (already underway) and some gentle hive maintenance

I’ve been struggling with this virus – boy has it flattened me and sapped my energy. The new workload is also a struggle. I am so sorry I agreed to do it, but felt it would have been churlish not to help out. Never again though. Once I’d agreed to one day a week, it’s spun into three sessions on top of my normal workload. Also there is such a lot of out of site work, whereas in my routine job, I’m trained and educated to be able to manage whatever comes on the day. OH was so shocked by my tiredness on my first full day that he’s taken over the cooking for the first time in our very long marriage. DD had given him a book of her recipes a few years ago when I went back to work here after working abroad for a few years (we lived in a hotel in Vietnam so no cooking required!), he has a new recipe each night. Think pork fillet marinated in honey, orange juice, and rosemary, pan fried in a little olive oil. Or oven baked lamb chops coated in harissa,. It will be hard to go back to my simple fare once this run of work is over. But it’s hardly 5:2, and at the moment that’s okay. I won’t be as slim as I wanted to be to go to China, but I’m not gaining either, so I guess another month won’t hurt.

Cinque, your grandchildren seem to bring you such joy, despite tiring you out from time to time. I am very touched by your caring thoughts – in the face of what you go through, my temporary woes seem so very trivial.

Betsylee

11:29 am
31 Mar 19
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Good evening all! Lots seem to happening:

Potato crisps – multiple opinions, but the best (if I could only do it!) is thin’s comment – “don’t buy them”. They are incredibly more-ish because they’ve been designed that way. Well, not there yet on the don’t buy, but much closer, as in rarely buy.

GDayfromSA, How frustrating about the oven saga. Hoping it will be resolved SOON.

Intesha, How’s the head? I echo others’ comments – do be careful, and make sure you’re checked out if there are any concerns.

LJoyce, sorry to read of your lung infection. Hope you’re now on the mend, and remember to take the probiotics. Yep, chocolates are dangerous to have around. I bought 2 boxes as gifts for a later this year trip to Adelaide, but find myself eyeing them. Maybe I should store them at a friend’s place for a few months???? Would prefer not to have to buy another 2 boxes because I’ve scoffed these!!!!

Cinque, yes, maybe I should put the scales away for a bit, but I’ve got this scientific brain that likes numbers and always wants to measure and record things.

LindsayL, Glad the beekeeping course was so interesting, but do be kind to yourself, and allow yourself some recovery time. My Dad and uncle always had a couple of hives, and my brother and I loved to suck out the honey from pieces of the honeycomb at hive-robbing time. They always left one layer of honey for the bees, and took the other layer for our two families. Avoid getting an Italian queen, if possible. Dad always said that those bees were always more vicious with the stinging than other varieties.

Anzac65, enjoy your holiday before the “new” job starts. Seems ridiculous to be checking back 30 years for qualification records!

Ended March on a not-so-good note with the eating, though managing better today. thinatlast, you asked why this time of year isn’t so good? Not really sure why. I often get “down” and have less control of my eating around this time of year. I’ve theorised that it may be because my mother died on the 31/1, and her birthday was the 30/4, but that was nearly 40 years ago now, so there must be another explanation. I wonder if I’m just reacting to the change of season. Interestingly, winter is not a problem time for me, so….. ?? Don’t know.

Oh well, the good thing about this WOL is that tomorrow is another day. Even with my March “blip”, I still lost 1.6 kg for the month, and my clothes are still loose, so …. onward and downward!!! Oh, and congrats to Rosy Posy for doing so well, and to thinatlast for the 58 kg measurement!!

Cinque

9:38 pm
31 Mar 19
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Good morning,
Klondi, the home page says there is a post from you, but it is not showing up yet 🙁

Morning after fast day and I am enjoying breakfast already!

Lindsay, so glad the bee course was such a delight, and how wonderful to plant lots of bee friendly plants. I will love to hear of the bee hotel filling up. And cheers for Mr L cooking those wonderful meals for you to come home to. Hopefully he is loving it so much, he won’t want to stop.

Turnabout, such a disappointing weekend, and it should have been treat upon treat. Damn. No worries about the weight jump, it will be gone in a day or two.

Rosy Posy the chicken soup recipe I used is a very easy one for the pressure cooker. It uses chicken drumsticks skinned, but on the bone. I take them out once cooked, take the meat off them and add it back in to the soup.

I think it might be Mobday here!

Betsy I do hope you are passed your difficult time of year, and that April is a good month.

Nice post on fb from the Bureau of Meteorology saying they have decided to rearrange rainbow colours so they are in alphabetical order. I wonder what the date is?

Cheers everyone.

Anzac65

9:49 pm
31 Mar 19
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Good morning all, cool day in Sydney today 23 degrees

Speaking of cool, we headed to the beach yesterday morning and didn’t realise how cold it was. When we got there the southerly wind took our breath away, it was freezing! Maxx was nonplussed of course and had a ball. OH and I shivered our way up and back and now of course we both have sniffles. GAH!

Last week at work and I’m very sad but also stressed about how much I need to get done as well as writing a handover document. Maybe a few long days required but that’s ok, they have been incredibly good to me and I do hope to come back next year if they have some project work

FD today even though it’s Monday and Dad will be over. I can’t do my normal Tue/Thurs as there is another leaving lunch for me on Thurs – this time with just my little team. The boys (OH and Dad) are having roast chicken tonight so I will just have a small portion of chicken breast with some salad.

I did have an active and pretty healthy eating weekend and have slipped back into the 85’s for about the 10th time. This time I will be moving DOWNWARDS and not upwards as I have been doing the past few weeks.

Lindsay and LJ, I hope you both feel better soon and Intesha I hope your nasty bump on your head is ok too.

Cinque, I had a good laugh at myself because when I read your comment about what BOM did I believed you for about 2 nano seconds until I realised what date it is. Too funny and good on them for having a sense of humour

BetsyLee – congrats on the 15kg and I will join you in having a not-so-good March. We will both have a terrific April with lots of spirals downwards 🙂 ok?

Heck, here comes the boss in early again. Must fly!

Neilithicman

10:38 pm
31 Mar 19
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Well I had a bad weekend over here. My boy decided it would be a good idea to drop some paving stone off-cuts down out boundary trap which blocked up our sewer and we had sewerage all over our lawn. I had to lie down in it, stick my arm down the pipe and pull out the rocks. I was NOT impressed and he most definitely was not my favourite child of the weekend.

On top of that we had some friends around for cards that night and I went a bit crazy with junk food. I ate about half a bag of chips and peanuts and had my first sugar in a couple of months with a bowl of ice cream and some chocolate. My stomach was not happy with me and I felt really bloated all the following day.

Klondikekween

12:52 am
1 Apr 19
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Hi all

Cinque. I’m not sure what happened. I edited my post and it disappeared. So this morning I pushed the back button and it was still in the format box so I’ve pushed submit again and I hope it will pop up soon. Don’t want to write it all again and bore people with two similar posts.

LJoyce

1:38 am
1 Apr 19
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Good morning Southern Hemispherites, I hope you are having good food choice Mondays.

I’m doing B2B Fast800 days Mon-Tues. So far I’ve had a pot of tea and one small plum.

It does sound like a few of you have been having a difficult time of it.

Neil, Oh dear, all I can say is that I hope your son learned a lesson and that you had a good hot shower after venturing into the sewer pipe. I’m sure your lawn appreciated the fertiliser – you see there’s always a silver lining in every misadventure.
I think your weekend snack foods were also a learning experience. When you are eating low carb those indulgences can cause both a tummy upset and a headache. It definitely makes you reconsider whether the taste is worth the discomfort to follow.

Turn, it’s one thing to have a weight gain when you really enjoyed the food that caused it, but you have my utmost sympathy that the “diet day off” didn’t provide you with lovely flavours and food memories. I’m sure the weight gain will rectify very quickly when you return to Fast800 though.

Thin, I hope your Sunday indulgence was worth the FD swap.

GDSA, a loss is a loss. I’m sure it will be better this week.

Anzac, I hope you get everything done at work – sounds like an intense week. I also hope you get to work with these people again – sounds like a very nice workplace.

Klondi, it seems to be the fortnight for posts disappearing, if you were able to find and submit it hopefully it will appear – usually once the tech support in the UK are at work.

Cinque, did your daughter get moved without incident? I hope your grand daughters manage to settle into their new home easily. I’m sure seeing their familiar things in their new rooms will help.

Lindsay, it sounds like you are having tough time of it. I’m glad you enjoyed the bee keeping lesson. I was really pleased to hear that your husband was cooking, what a nice way to support your busy life – does that mean his sight has improved a little?

Betsy, I hope you get back into control of your eating soon.
I too find this time of year difficult food wise and I notice that for me it’s connected to the changing weather. Because the weather keeps changing between mild warmish days and cool wet ones I don’t have a chance to get used to the cold. Every cold day I find myself eating a lot and struggling to find any restraint. Once I get to winter I’m used to the cold and I have settled into winter foods with lots of hot soups and casseroles etc. To illustrate the change, within 3 days I went from needing the air-conditioner to turning on my electric blanket. Now after a few days of cold wet weather we are returning to high 20s and sunny weather. I think the sudden cold is a shock and my body is telling me to eat because calories provide heat energy that allow it to keep me warmer.

It appears that 5:2 is quite famous, it’s even found its way into the financial news – as an analogy to budgeting: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-01/struggle-with-budgets-you-could-try-one-of-these-three-methods/10955990

I woke today actually feeling well for the first time in a week so that’s a good sign that the lung infection is on the way out. I will need to go and buy some kefir though as I used the last of it yesterday.

Have a lovely day all.

Quacka

3:08 am
1 Apr 19
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Good afternoon everyone

Sorry to hear you are not well Lindsay. I really hope you are looking after yourself and that you get well soon.

Glad to hear you are feeling better LJ. You look after your self too and make sure that infection stays away.

Oh no, Neil. That sounds like two horrible experiences in one weekend! Put it all behind you and look forward.

thin! 58kg? Well done! That is great news that your neighbours are moving on. I hope you get some nice respectful ones to replace them and you can enjoy being outdoors again.

Intesha, I hope you are feeling ok. I really feel for you and I hope everything works out. Enjoy your cooking.

Anzac, I hope your busy week goes well and I hope your FD today is nice and easy. I just had a big cup of miso soup as I am feeling quite cold and hungry today. Oh it doesn’t help that its 15 degrees out there and I am wearing shorts! At least I have a long sleeve top on.

Hi Cinque, Rosy, Betsy,Turn, Cali, Gday and Klondi and also anyone I have missed. Hope everyone reading and not posting is doing ok.

Take care x

Betsylee

1:49 pm
1 Apr 19
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Another NFD grrr!!! – those wretched chocolates! I ate a WHOLE BOX! Not much else, though, and finished them off before 7 p.m., so at least kept to TRE. But have decided the other box is too tempting sitting in the cupboard so I’m gifting it to a friend tomorrow, and will have to buy some more just before I go on my trip (which is some months away yet anyway!).

Cinque, thank you for your good wishes.

LJoyce, good comments about the eating and time of year. Maybe it IS the changeable weather that throws me out so badly. As you wrote, once I settle into winter, the control of eating is generally much easier, so maybe it’s the adjustment period I just have to brace myself through. My cat Wilbur certainly eats a lot more around this time of year, too, like he’s preparing for the winter months.

Anzac65, wish it was 15 kg I’ve lost, but no – 1.6 kg loss for March, and I had lost more but put 0.6 kg back on. Overall, it was 10.2 kg down mid-March, but now it’s 9.6 kg lost since I started this WOL late last year. However, tomorrow is another day, and with the chocolates out of the house, I am anticipating a more successful April, so will join you in that.

Neilithicman, how “helpful” of your son (not!). Hope the bloating has passed and you’re back on track again now with this WOL.

Good luck everyone with avoiding the Easter chocolates; my friends know now not to give me any; hope you can all quickly dispose of any which come your way (and not in the mouth! 🙂 ).

Onwards and downwards!

Anzac65

9:33 pm
1 Apr 19
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Good morning all

BetsyLee, apologies, I misread your earlier post. But don’t worry, it WILL be 15kg soon 🙂 Thankfully chocolate is one thing I don’t have any trouble saying no to. Savoury is my vice – chips, biscuits etc. One good thing about changing jobs is they don’t have biscuits in the kitchen at the new job. Here there are crackers and sweet biscuits calling my name. Grrr

Neil, how awful! I’m sure your temporarily non-fave son learnt something so there is a positive along with LJ’s fertiliser one.

Good FD yesterday and 400g gonesky! Now need good NFD’s and another FD on Wednesday to hopefully see the 84’s by Friday.

SO glad you woke feeling better yesterday LJ. I agree with you about the change in weather can play havoc with eating habits. It is starting to get cold in the mornings and evenings but we are still getting mid 20’s and there are some high 20 days coming so your body doesn’t know whether it is hot or cold.

Hi to everyone else, I must get to work as I only have four more days and about 10 days worth to finish up. Eek.

LJoyce

10:20 pm
1 Apr 19
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Good morning all

I was up early as my nephew’s wife accidentally rang me at 6am while trying to turn her alarm off. I was actually awake and trying to get back to sleep. After a quick chat with her I decided I might as well get up.

Betsy, you have my sympathy. I have been there all too often. I think you did well to stay within your TDEE. My thinking would be “I’ve ruined today, I might as well eat everything else I’ve been avoiding too” and then it would have become a real binge day. You have my admiration that you didn’t do that but avoided adding to the excess. I agree that until you feel safe having chocolates in the house it’s better not to.
I’m sure your friend will appreciate the gift of chocolates, and you will have a better April without that temptation every time you are having a down day.

Anzac, I see you are getting an early start. Good luck with those last few days.

Good morning to everyone else as they peruse the posts over morning coffee/tea.

It’s the second day of my B2B Fast800.
I feel really well today, which is good because this is my last day of antibiotics.
I’m heading to the movies with several neighbours at lunch time and then we’re going out for coffee and a chat. I’ll just have a pot of tea which will make it an easy Fast800 day as I’ll be busy all afternoon – my hungriest time of day.

Quacka

11:25 pm
1 Apr 19
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Good Morning everyone

I am trying to be positive but I am really get tired of being mucked around with this oven. I called yesterday to see if the replacement had been approved and it still had not. I asked them to end me an email or call when it had been approved and she assured me I would receive a text message. The person I spoke to last week said they would only contact the customer if there was a problem with the approval. So three different people I have dealt with now and still nothing has been done. Whenever I call it is a 10 minute hold time just to get through to speak with someone. By the way it is a Euromaid oven just so you know who to steer clear of.
Rosy ( I think it was you) I would love to know the brand of your kitchen appliances as we will be renovating the kitchen in the next couple of years. I would like to know who to avoid!

Well I hope everyone’s day goes well. I’m sorry for my rant. I’m going to go and give them another call. Wish me luck!

Cinque

11:53 pm
1 Apr 19
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Good morning everyone,
Cold, crisp and sunny in my part of Melbourne this morning. Just about 10am.
I had a good sensible eating day yesterday, although not managing those 7 vegetables. I got 5 or 6 I think. I’ll try to get 7 today as I will fast tomorrow.

I have borrowed Maddie Beer’s book from the library “Recipe for Life” written for healthy aging with a professor who studies aging and Alzheimer’s. I am really impressed with the info and the recipes (so far 😉 , just started it).

Anzac, good luck getting through your stressful last week. Enjoy the goodbye rituals.
Hoho re April Fools, it was a nice joke. I am like you with so many of them. “What? Oh yes, haha”

Neil, that is one shocking weekend, but what a good story for your son’s 21st birthday speech.
Isn’t it interesting how keenly we feel the awful results of eating junk food once we have had a break. You will love getting back into your 800 days.

Klondi, still no sign of your post 🙁 🙁

Hi Quacka, any news of the oven? (Oh no, just read your latest post. Keep at it, the squeaky door gets the oil!)

Sympathy Betsy. Ah well, hooray for a friend to give those chocolates to.
And you can look forward to buying a beautiful box to replace it in a few months time.

LJoyce, hi! So glad you caught that infection so quickly and successfully! Enjoy your day.
Yes my daughter’s move went well. The girls should be settling now (she says hopefully). I’ll see them this afternoon.

I have a sister staying overnight tonight, and another sister visiting so I’ll be in touch when we have finished our lovely sister time (which includes a birthday celebration).

Cheers all

thinatlast

12:25 am
2 Apr 19
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Morning all from Perth,

I’ve been busy and I’m behind with post reading but I remember a couple of things:

Lindsay, I was pleased to read your interesting post the other day. How exciting about the bees. I hope you’re soon feeling better.

Betsy, I also read that you’d lost 1.6kg for the month despite some blips. That’s fantastic! But now I’ve just read about the chocolates. It’s good that people know not to get you chocolates for Easter. Having seen them in the stores for weeks, or is it months, I have absolutely no desire for an over-priced, wafer thin layer of cheap chocolate rabbit. In my childhood, our easter eggs were so thick that they were hard to break into and, when you did, the reward was great as they were filled with our favourite chocolate treats (crunchie or smarties for me). I agree that if you’re eternally tempted (I would have been), it’s better not to have them around at all.

Neil, oh dear. has your son redeemed himself yet?

Quacka, how frustrating. My walking buddy and we were renovating/building at the same time. They spent several tens of thousands on large kitchen appliances from a company offering a ‘lifetime replacement’ warranty. We thought they were mad. The company went out of business and all the appliances have since been replaced. No point telling you the name as they’re no longer around but it was Kleenmaid I think. I’d go berserk at that oven company. Totally unacceptable.

Klond, bad luck, if you’re ever lucky enough to see your lost post appear in the box while back buttoning, quickly copy and paste it while you have the chance to save it. I hope you’re feeling better now.

Anzac, I hope you get all your work finished without much stress. If there’s so much work and a handover document required (implying someone will be there to take over), why did the job come to an end?

Cinque, I hope your DD and family had a smooth transition to their new home. They move a lot, don’t they? Are they closer to you? Thanks for what you wrote about my weight and weighing. No, I doubt I’m too thin. Who was that said, “You can never be too rich or too thin”? Wallis Simpson I think. I’d have to think carefully about reverting to 6:1 as I did feel that too many NFDs in a row make it harder to apply the brakes.

LJ, glad you are feeling better and hope you enjoy the movie. Yes, thank you, Sunday was a great day catching up with several ex-Kenya friends. The food was fabulous, our hosts made some great curries. I had no wine with the meal and steered clear of all the pre-lunch snack foods but I did have two G&Ts. Not surprisingly, I’m up to 58.6kg but I feel fine about that. Usually there would be a FD to follow the indulgence day but it was the first of 3 NFDs. Tomorrow’s another FD and back to normal routine.

That’s all I can remember reading. I think I did pretty well but sorry if I missed anyone.

Neilithicman

12:44 am
2 Apr 19
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Morning all, my son has accepted his punishment without complaint, I guess he knows what he did was wrong.

After the weekend I tried to get back on track so I just had a smoothie for lunch made with milk and some frozen black currants we’ve got left in our freezer from our huge crop this year. Then for dinner I we had just salad and some venison, cranberry and blue cheese burgers that I made (I ate mine without the bun of course) less than 800 calories for the day. Today I had the same for lunch, dinner tonight will be an eggplant dish of some description, I’m unsure what I’m going to cook tonight.

Weigh in tomorrow morning, I’ll see if my strict diet over the last couple of days was enough to offset the junk-fuelled weekend. I have been putting some miles in on the exercise bike and doing some weights to try to build up my bad shoulders on top of the healthier eating, I’m noticing my watch is really loose on my wrist now and my legs and shoulders are tightening up so even if the scales aren’t showing as much progress, I’m really starting to see it. Perhaps the added muscle was the reason for a lower weight drop in the last couple of weeks.

LJoyce

1:19 am
2 Apr 19
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Thin & Quacka, I had the same problem with Kleedmaid going out of business after I’d installed their oven – it was a wonderful oven though, great for baking.
Quacka, the new house I bought last year has “Beaumatic” appliances in the kitchen. Not a brand I’ve ever heard of but the gas cooktop, electric oven and dishwasher all work very well (given a developer installed them I doubt they are expensive). My only wish is that I was able to have both the top and bottom elements of the oven on at once – can’t do that with this oven and it’s great for savoury bakes where you want the dish to cook and the top to brown at the same time.
The only expensive brand I always buy is a Miele front loader washing machine – as I’ve had too many problems with other brands in front loaders. I got 19 years out of the last one before it developed a fault and it was repairable still at that stage, but I chose to get a new one instead. The other front loaders lasted about 7-8 years and needed repairs every 2-3 years.

Neil, sounds like you are back on track. I’m sure the weigh-in will be fine.

Thin, only you could go out to that kind of lunch and manage to keep the weight gain to just 0.6kg!

Cinque, how lovely, enjoy your sister time.

Turnabout

2:02 am
2 Apr 19
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Happy Tuesday everyone from a damp and dismal NZ!!

Outside anyway, back on the scales today and weight back down to 77kgs, Yayyyyy!!! All thoughts of my play day laid to rest!!! I managed to drink around 2.5/3 litres of water yesterday, enjoyed 2 boiled eggs with a slice of rye bread & butter for lunch and a home made roast chicken dinner later with my usual 2 small squaress of dark choc and small glass of red wine, think the water must have completely flushed my system, but, did note from my food diary that on Saturday I didn’t drink much water at all! So lesson learned!! It’s the first time for me to ever keep a food diary, and it does help to see a pattern, not something I had ever noticed before.

Neil – So pleased your son has accepted his punishment well, I guess you’ll all enjoy a laugh about it in years to come! Good luck with the scales tomorrow, I am sure you will notice a drop, funny you mention your wrist, my OH only said how his watch was moving around his wrist the other day, amazing where that weight comes off, but you never notice going on, do you??

LJ – with you with Miele, we only ever used their vacuum cleaners when in business, just go forever and easy to get parts if needed. With having bought the van, it’s all included so a job I don’t have to worry abouth, thankfully.

Time for a walk, pop back later,

Turn

CalifDreamer

4:08 am
2 Apr 19
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G’day everyone. It’s getting a little warmer, 12 – 15C here today it started off sunny and then went overcast with a little rain. But at least we didn’t have to turn the drip system and sprinklers on yet. The ornamental pear trees in fron went to full flower and are now about half leaves and half flowers. The trees that are deciduous in back are getting buds but no flowers or leaves yet. All the rain lately should be good for everything.

Quacka, I would be livid having to deal with that company to get the oven fixed. Terrible customer service!

Thin, great to hear that your lunch produced only minimal weigh gain which will probably be gone in a day. Hope you can sustain the 58’s. That is so cool.

Cinque, sounds like you’re having fun with your sisters visiting. Have the Little Misses settled down yet from the move? Did they move far? Hopefully they’re closer to you now.

LJ, glad the antibiotics are almost finished and you’re feeling better. DS has a couple more days on the ones she’s taking for a UTI. They make her feel s little off so she’s started on the probiotics as well. Hopefully they won’t be killed off.

Neil, kids do the darkest things without thinking. Hopefully his punishment is suitable and he won’t be tempted to try that again! I can only imagine the mess.

Anzac, congrats on the 400g loss. Changing jobs can be stressful. (Or fun.) Did you find out if you’ll have a week or two off in between?

I found a magazine/book the other day when going through my cookbook bookcase. It was old and I didn’t even recall buying it. It was called “Favorite Australian Recipes”. I was excited to read through it at first but couldn’t find anything very different from US recipes. From all of our discussions here it seems like we eat pretty much the same things. The only 2 dishes I wasn’t familiar with before this forum was pavlova and rissoles. But they weren’t included in the magazine. I looked at the publisher and realized it was published in LA and the author was probably not even from Australia. Oh well.

Today was my Monday FD. Having to eat something with taking that one BP med twice a day (I take it around 8 or 9) kind of throws a monkey wrench into my normal 5:2 eating times. But still able to keep it under 500 calories. Just not as many hours without food.

thinatlast

5:24 am
2 Apr 19
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CalifD, it seems funny to me to think that there could even be a book on ‘Australian Cuisine’. Meat pie floater is the only thing that comes to mind. Doubtful the author came from Australia if they spelled ‘favourite’ that way. Careful with the pavlova claim though – we have two posters from NZ here! I’ve just looked this up to discover that the Oxford English Dictionary may have settled a long-running argument between Australia and New Zealand over who invented the pavlova. The dessert was named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who visited both countries in the 1920s.

CalifD, I have a new Netflix recommendation if you’re ready. It’s a 6 part series called, “Traitors”. Do you have it? Cinque, you might like it too as I believe you enjoy the WWII era movies. If you decide to watch it, let me know what you think of the fascinating way the movie makers portrayed a ‘flashback’. I’ve never seen that before, thought it terrific and wondered why no-one else has ever thought of it. Now you’re intrigued I bet!

Neil, did I miss the punishment or did you not reveal it? CalifD, what would you consider a fitting punishment? All I could think of was the job the Neil ended up doing, up to his eyeballs in sewerage! That memory would surely be enough to get you back on track, Neil?

LJ, after my walk, I was back down to 58.2kg so only 200g for 2 G&Ts and quite a lot of curry. I took one spoonful of rice with my first helping and none when I went back for seconds. I firmly believe that our bodies will absorb the most seemingly terrible food digressions if only exposed to them now and then. I say ‘seemingly’ because, although I did have two helpings, I’m sure my portions were still considerably less than I would have taken prior to 5:2. After lunch, everyone was sitting around saying they felt stuffed and couldn’t move. I didn’t feel like that at all (i.e. I probably could have gone back for more!).

Turn, sorry I left you out when replying from memory earlier. I did read and enjoy your latest entries and I’m so pleased you’re back with us. The food diary would be enlightening I’m sure.

Hope everyone’s having a better week, there seems to have been a lot of illness, mishap and irritation reported lately. Chin up all!

CalifDreamer

6:26 am
2 Apr 19
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Turn, happy to hear that your weight is back down to 77kg. I find that staying well hydrated on FD’s helps too. I only keep a food diary on FD using MFP, but I really should do it all week, at least for a week or two. It would likely keep me from snacking too much.

Thin, our Netflix has “Traitors”. I’ll definitely watch it. Now I’m curious about the back flash scenes. Thank you for the recommendation. Yours are always winners.

Not sure what I would consider a suitable punishment for Neil’s son. Maybe helping with any sewage cleanup that needs to be done? If not that, cleaning the bathrooms for a couple months might be appropriate.

I’m going to bed early tonight. I’ve felt kind of off for a good part of the day. I hope I’m not coming down with something. OH had a headache tonight too.

Neilithicman

7:10 am
2 Apr 19
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Physical punishment doesn’t work on my boys, but financial punishment does. I punished him by charging him for my time to clear the blockage and clear up the mess at what it would have cost to get a plumber in to fix it. It will take him a couple more months to save up for the iPad that he’s been saving up for.

Klondikekween

7:16 am
2 Apr 19
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Hi all

Well it looks as if my post has decided to stay in the ether so I’ll just have to say it was very witty and beautifully written and you will just have to fake my word for it.

Thin. Great news re the neighbours, did you tell the agents you will camp in their doorstep if they don’t do a better job next time. I was wondering about that book you wrote, was it about your OH career as a pilot. If it wasn’t, it sounds like there is a book there.

Neil. I’m amazed you still have two sons. Bet it was the younger one. Definitely put that in the archives and bring it out when the girlfriends start coming. By the way, did any body take photos. Good luck with the scales, that meal sounds famtastic and yes, I have tightened my wrist watch band and I can see my rings will need resizing at some time.

Intesha. Hope everything has settled down and your celebrations go well. Looking forward to photos of hhe works of art.

Cinque. Hope the move went smoothly. Nice that they are closer to you and hopefully this will be a long term stay. Tickets for Gruffalo have arrived so we are all set for the 16th. Can your mung bean stew be frozen, it makes such a large batch and is great for FD.

Quakka you really are having a hard time with that oven. Is there any way you can escalate it to a higher authority. You can certainly put in a bad review on their site, that seems to get action. Or you could go to a general product review site like whirlpool and that spreads the word even further.

Betty. Oh dear, I hope they were really, really nice chocolates. I find now that if I let chocolate melt in my mouth, I find there are taste notes that I don’t like as much as I thought I did. It really surprises me as I considered myself a chocoholic but it has helped me lose that compulsion.

Lindsay. The bee keeping sounds wonderful. There is so much folklore around bees, I believe you can tell them your secrets. I hope you are not pushing yourself past your limits. No one is indispensable and you don’t want to make yourself worse.

Anzac I thought of you today. We decided to clean out under our bed and besides the large number of single sox we found another dog. Bobby seems to have decided to lose his winter coat now. He must be confused because we take him with us on our trip north in winter so he gets two summers a year. All this celebrating your leaving must be challenging but a nice break in between will recalibrate. Hope the security check doesn’t take too long.

LJ Your niece must have been a bit embarrassed, lucky you were already awake. My favourite oven was a wall oven which had two separate ovens and I found I rarely needed the large one but was extremely grateful to have two cooking options when.i needed them. When you go the the cinema with the children, if it is in a shopping centre, you might find a healthy option for you. I recently found myself in a food court and was pleasantly surprised to find a salad bar which had lots of fresh, multi ingredient salads with their kilojoules count displayed.

Turnabout. Glad you could put your bad experience behind you. You mention a van, do you have a caravan too. If so, vacuuming is definitely a thing of the past.

Minka. Nice to hear you are still around. Are you still taking Inulin? Do still feel it was useful for you in the long term?

Well, I find myself in LJ’s position of four outings in a row, which, while I can choose mindfully, it still leaves me with my first BTB FD’s. Haven’t needed to do this in 3 months on this WOL and I don’t know how successful I’ll be. I’ll just have to reset both mornings and I’m sure it will be fine. The other aspect of this sudden burst of socialising is that I realise I have a limited range of clothes to wear that look good. I haven’t rushed to shop, even in op shops, as my clothes have been ‘OK’ but that’s for home and supermarkets etc. Compounding the problem is that 3 of the 4 events have the same core of people so I’ve had a few sessions of trying different combinations to vary my look. Not a bad exercise to get the most out of my clothes.

Greetings to any I’ve missed and any lurkers.

KK

Anzac65

8:30 am
2 Apr 19
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Hi all

Well…what a day. My boss poured more work on me and one task alone took all day! Stressed doesn’t come close and I sadly confess that I succumbed to stress eating today. Enough said and I feel dreadful – sick and bloated. But tomorrow is another day and I am WFH so hopefully I will get lots done. I was supposed to have tomorrow off in lieu of working last weekend but that is out the door now but it’s just one day (sounds like what I say to myself on FD’s!)

Glad it is warming up Cali and I hope you and your hubby aren’t coming down with something. I won’t know how long I have off in between jobs until literally the day before I will start. The background checking company will let both CBA and I know when it is complete and I should be able to start the next day. They can’t guarantee how long it will take but it is a minimum of 15 business days. So the earliest will be 15 April. I found it hilarious that they produced an Australian recipe book without seemingly any Australian input!

Thin, I’m surprised you can’t think of any Aussie recipes. There is the diplomacy sausage sanga (served to us at the local primary school when we go to vote), drop-bear pie (ha ha), kangaroo five ways, dingo doner kebabs, crocodile curry and best of all Pan-fried goanna. Yum!

Can you tell I’ve had a bad day? The jokes are worse than normal

So very happy to hear about your bogan neighbours Thin. Whoop Whoop!

Klondi, sorry about your post and I’m very sure it was incredibly witty and interesting. The lost ones always are 🙂 I can’t remember what type of dog Bobby is? I hate to think what is behind our couches, under our bed etc as the hair that comes out of Maxx is incredible. We vaccum every other day and we could create a new dog every single time.

Turnabout, sorry about the weather but who cares when the scales are your friend? yay!

We have a fantastic oven, it is a Bosch and there is a half oven on top and a full oven underneath. Because there are only two humans in the house we 99% of the time only use the small one so save on electricity. Quacka, I hope fervently that yours gets replaced asap. You must be ready to throw the oven at someone

Well I came home and had a big rant to a very sympathetic Maxx. He sat and gazed at me adoringly while I told him all about my day. Then he ran and grabbed a ball and dropped it at my feet. Who can stay stressed? I recommend lab therapy for anyone who has a bad day….it’s even better than wine. Just.

Enjoy your time with your sisters Cinque; how nice for you. Enjoy the birthday celebrations too.

Stay well all, see you tomorrow!

thinatlast

10:03 am
2 Apr 19
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Neil, that seems reasonable – all actions have a consequence. And, in this case, a financial cost. Well done for keeping a level head throughout the ordeal!

Anzac, that list of recipes was very funny. You’re a hoot. I won’t mention the last one to my DD. Our lizards are still free-ranging in the front garden this afternoon as it’s still quite warm and sunny. This is the time of year they give birth if they’re going to so we’re watching closely because of ravens and other large birds who might also like your goanna recipe.

Klond, enjoyed your post too. You also made me smile a few times. Unfortunately, the landlords are the owners and they’re still smarting from 39 out of the 42 households on our street campaigning against their airbnb last summer. So I think, the more anti-social the tenants, the sweeter the revenge from their standpoint. This morning they were on the trampoline at 6.45am. As another neighbour says, you can give them money but you can’t give them class.

I can’t say what my book was about without blowing my cover (excuse pun) but it was non-fiction and nothing like as exciting as OH’s flying career. I’ve urged him to record his exploits but he’s not much of a writer. Today, he was telling me how John Wayne taught him to play backgammon when he used to fly him around. Next time you see Cinque, you can ask her if you can be bothered. Trust me, it’s very dry and now very out of date too.

Cinque, enjoy your sisters and the birthday celebration. Is it your own?

Rosy Posy

1:00 pm
2 Apr 19
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Hi guys, speaking of Aussie dishes, can we claim damper as our own? What about lamingtons and vegemite ? (both of which I am not fond).

I had a big clean out of clothes which no longer ‘sit correctly ‘. I used to love 50s style skirts from Review ( on special) which were good on my pear shape as they are fitted at the waist ( which was, and still is) my smallest part and skimmed over my chubby bottom and thighs. I had them taken in and they still look too voluminous for my smaller frame. On weekends, I am now wearing jeans ( all colours) with sneakers. I never used to dress like this.

It is lovely to embrace change! I’m getting the expected comments at work. Haven’t you lost enough weight now? Don’t lose any more !

Cinque, I’d love to cook your chicken soup, did you thicken it or add pearl barley , veges ? Hub loves my bacon and cauliflower soup but could do with a change if it is still healthy. Do you blend it or leave it clear ? Two soups which We have had on our travels are 1.;carrot, cumin and coriander soup in Chamonix and clam ( scallops and prawns in Oz) chowder in a sour dough bread bowl all over the USA. Both of which are ambrosial!

Chamonix and absolute

Klondikekween

1:20 pm
2 Apr 19
Permalink

Hi all

Calif. We don’t have a distinctive ‘cuisine’ here but we do everybody else’s quite well. When my son first arrived in Tennessee he went to an Outback Cafe, one of the many different franchises in USA. He greeted everyone with a cheerful Gidday and got blank stares back. The various dishes were hilarious with pineapple in the Melbourne salad ( we are not in the Tropics here) and Monterey Jack cheese in everything. We don’t have that here at all. You must be enjoying those first signs of Spring, do you also have spring bulbs to look forward to. Hope all your household feels better soon.

Neil. Financial consequences can be quite painful. Excellent solution for all. You can put it into that bike fund.

Anzac. Bobby is best described as a LBD. little brown dog. He has a very cheerful curly tail which probably comes from a Pomeranian and a golden brown coat which makes me think of a corgi and his face could be from a chihuahua. He has a lovely jaunty little trot and seems to win hearts every where we go. I must take a good photo of him one day and post it here. Maxx can’t get all the attention.

Thin Thanks for the tip, I will ask Cinque who I will see soon as we are taking grandkids to see the Gruffalo. Not sure who will enjoy it more. Well, you need to make some sort of record for posterity even if it just for DD. Too often we forget that our stories get lost once we go. I missed a big opportunity with my mother by not recording some oral history and now there is no one else to fill in the gaps.

Well, have to remember it’s a FD tomorrow. First Wednesday ever.

Neilithicman

7:18 pm
2 Apr 19
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Woo hoo! Another 2.1 kilograms gone forever. That makes a total of 18.5 kilograms in 10 weeks. This is now the lightest I’ve been since my 10th wedding anniversary. I dropped a whole lot of weight for my 10th anniversary in 2012 and got to 101 kilograms. Within a year I was back up to 115 kg and then the next 6 years I gained steadily up to my heaviest of 136 kilos. I was 131.5 when starting this WOL and now sitting bang on 113 kg.

CalifDreamer

7:45 pm
2 Apr 19
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Klondi, the Outback restaurants here are very popular. I often wondered just how Aussie their menus were. https://www.outback.com/lunch/entrees

Now here’s an Aussie candy that I hadn’t heard of and that I’ve never seen mentioned here:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-31/musk-sticks-are-one-of-australias-most-hated-foods/10953712
I have to admit that the ingredients sound a bit strange. Have any of you ever eaten these things?

In the US, the strangest (and most unhealthy) foods can be found at regional and state fairs across the country: https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/the-14-most-outrageous-fair-foods-we-secretly-want-to-eat
I’ve never tried any of these ‘delicacies’. 😏
A friend of mine said that at their local fair there was a booth from their regional nurses association that displayed a sign that said, “We hope you don’t eat like this everyday!” 😁

Rosy Posy

10:03 pm
2 Apr 19
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Hi Cali the Outback Jacks appears to be Aussie in name only. The musk sticks were popular when I was a kid. Aussie food is now eclectic like all nations. I would say our barbecues are our way of life. We have flat iron grill plates , no strips of metal with gaps. Beef snaggers ( sausages ) are a must. Huge salads, steaks, chicken kebabs, garlic bread, tomato sauce (ketchup), barbecued onions, rissoles. Also large fruit platters usually featuring watermelon ,rockmelon , passion fruit, toasted almonds and ice cream.
I am known for Rosy’s famous layered salad which consists of a bottom layer of rocket, coriander, chopped red onion, salad leaves, followed by halved cherry tomatoes, grated carrots, sliced baby cucumbers, sliced bocconcini ,fresh asparagus followed by sliced, boiled eggs, crumbled bacon, croutons and finely chopped spring onions (shallots.) Home made oil and vinegar dressing on the side.

Cinque has got me thinking with her chicken and vegetables soup and the approach of cooler weather.. Here is my question. What is your favourite soup ?

Rosy Posy

10:08 pm
2 Apr 19
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Ooh Cali, those fair foods made me ill ! I think the USA owns ribs, clam chowder and pecan pie. Yum!

Cinque

10:30 pm
2 Apr 19
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Good morning,
Good grief Cali, OF COURSE I have eaten musk sticks! A childhood favourite!

This is just a quick note as we are drinking tea and catching up with our social media in the quiet of the morning. It will be my sister’s birthday in a couple of days and due to various things happening my other sister took her to lunch yesterday and they visited the microbiome exhibition at the museum, and then that sister raced off to help her granddaughter so I took my sister out to a rather classy Egyptian restaurant for dinner, where we shared a wonderful dish of koshari (that I had read recipes for, but never tried) with delicious smoky chicken, and a lovely fresh salad with haloumi, rocket and walnuts and a pomegranate molasses dressing which was so beautifully restrained, it wasn’t too sweet for me.

Rosy here is the soup recipe. It is so basic! But often it is just what I want, and so easy! (And of course you could add herbs and spices, I often add in some chili pepper).

Easy Chicken and Vegetable Soup

4 chicken drumsticks, skinned
2 onions, diced
1 leek, sliced
1 red capsicum, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots diced
kernels from 1 cob of corn
2 cups stock
Salt and pepper

Add everything to the pressure cooker, cook 10 minutes at high pressure, Natural release. Remove the chicken, shred and return the meat to the soup. Check seasoning.

If not using a pressure cooker, just cook everything in a saucepan, maybe with an extra cup of water, until the meat is easy to pull off.

It makes 4 – 6 serves, more if (like me) you add extra liquid to make it a bit thinner.

If my birthday sister is sister one (she is the eldest of us, and down from St Arnaud where she is vicar)) and the one who took her to the museum is sister two (she is just younger than me, and lives a couple of suburbs away) and the one who couldn’t make it this time is sister three (retired farmer based in Benalla), then sister one and I are waiting for sister two to come over and we will have breakfast together. So I had better go and get out of my pyjamas.

I’ll write more later. 🙂