Hi Betsy

Hubby gave me Oscar for our first wedding anniversary. We got our first lab, Benson, about a year later. Once puppy Benson realised that Oscar was in charge they were best buddies for their whole lives….it was wonderful to watch. I have fond memories of lying awake in bed on a weekend morning not moving an inch, hearing shuffling and the odd stern ‘meow’ and the dog snuffling around. It was Oscar ordering Benson to go and wake us up so they could have breakfast. Eventually Benson would bound through the half-closed door, making it crash into the wall behind and prance around in an excited manner. In would stalk Oscar, tail straight up and he would jump on the bed and MEOW right in our faces. Too cute.

So yep, so long as they practically grow up together I think you would be fine with both 🙂

Hi all

Just a quick happy dance. I did make my goal of 72kg, 18kg banished in 20 weeks, that down escalator is moving and I am joining all the others who are on it.

Cali. I just noticed your query re melatonin. I will get the details from my DIL and let you know. My grandson is only 7 so I presume he is on a small dose. I have heard of people using it for jetlag as supposedly flying across time zones disrupts our bodies natural production of melatonin and serotonin.

Anzac. Lovely story of your pets. Years ago my family lost a dog and when she turned up the cat put its arm around her and licked her face all over, we sometimes discount the bond that animals have with each other.

Betsy. We always seem to be up late together. Not a good habit but most days I do get a sleep in. Not tomorrow as I am doing another Parkrun and Sunday, I’m running the tan for the Mother’s Day classic. Who is this woman in my body?

Good morning, a hectic morning here yesterday, and an afternoon recovering, and then a shocker of a night, but I have managed a couple of mini naps and I think my brain can function enough to write coherently. Apologies if not!

Turn, your post made me look up sources of magnesium, and I should be right unless all the coffee and tea I drink depletes it all. I started cutting down on caffeine a couple of weeks ago and then gave up. I think I will try again.
Hoping the supplements work for you.

Klondi, big congratulations. Aren’t you amazing. Enjoy those runs!

Intesha, today must be the day you see your daughter off. Thinking of you.

Thin, I was listening to a bit on the radio about clutter https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/blueprintforliving/lost-and-found-clutter/11091972 and I think they said the average American house contains 30,000 things. I bet Australian homes are similar. Eep!

Cali, so glad you are back in the rhythm of fast days and controlled days. I am getting there too. Apart from yesterday.

Accountability corner. I felt great after Thursday, the day worked really well and I felt so good.
Yesterday went haywire as I had to do too much in the morning and then go shopping. Got everything done but bought a packet of chips and ate it all. I did enjoy every bite but I was uncomfortably full afterwards and then didn’t want to eat anything else so it was a bad day for getting my 7 serves of veggies in. I made my delicious Persian chickpea and mince stew in the evening and couldn’t resist a bowl of that before bed. But then woke up before three and couldn’t get back to sleep, so in a bad position to look after myself today.
I had 2 delicious flat bread for breakfast.
I’ll have mushrooms, pumpkin, peas and halloumi for lunch.
I’ll have the stew with broccoli and a little mashed potato for my evening meal.

Hello all, cool and sunny in Sydney

Just a quick post as I’m busy with my usual weekend chores and cooking. I forgot to weigh in yesterday so did it today and am 86.5 so only half a kilo to go to my next mini goal of being back in the 85’s.

Maxx slept right through the night (hooray) but no surprise as hubby said he only had about 20 mins sleep yesterday and the rest of the time pestered him for attention and play time. When I go home at 5.30 he (hubby) had already had a G&T and that is not like him at all but he was stressed and frazzled. So the three of us slept downstairs and he (Maxx) woke at 6.30 grumbling so I took him upstairs and gave him a carrot kong. Back down to the warm bed and hubby scooted over for a cuddle and we fell asleep. I woke up feeling like I was being watched and opened one eye……there was a giant yellow head staring intently down at us both! He had jumped up on the bed and was sitting where hubby normally lies like the king of the castle. I had just enough time to say ‘watch out!’ when he saw my open eye and started dancing on us. all 40+ kilos of him. Sigh. It was EVERYBODY UUUUUUUUP time.

Klondi, amazing losses congratulations!

Cinque, chips are my biggest temptation and downfall. You hardly ever do it so don’t feel bad. Your lunch and dinner were so healthy and lovely

Cali congrats on getting back to 60 and so glad you knees and all of you are feeling better.

Must run…

LJ, glad that bridge is giving your brain a good workout. Warning: it’s addictive! I read through your list of consumed items. How did you manage to choose a sausage in a bun over brownies?

Klond, congratulations! What a lot of weight gone. Have fun with the run tomorrow.

Cinque, thanks for the article, I have opened it in a new window to read later. The last couple of days have been crazy with people collecting things. Perhaps those freebie sites don’t have such interesting items after all.

CalifD, that site sounds a great way to get rid of things that aren’t quite good enough to sell. Glad your weight is heading south, too.

Anzac, cute pet stories. We had a dingo and a rabbit at the same time. That was challenging.

I’ve had a tiring afternoon in the garden and am off to the couch to find something lazy on Netflix.

I’ll be fasting tomorrow; will I be alone as it’s Mothers’ Day? We don’t do crowds so we just pick another day to celebrate. DD is taking us out for lunch in the Swan Valley next week.

Ha ha Lindsay, good grief, that’s a lot of tequila!

Cinque, I’ve been listening to that podcast on clutter. It’s 300,000 items! No wonder it’s taking me so long to get rid of it all. And we are nowhere near as bad as most people we know.

Anyone else fasting today?

Good morning. Happy mothers day to all here who are mothers.

Lindsay, your margarita night sounds like fun, even if you are paying the price today. Good news on the scales at the new hotel too – also very lucky that you have a control in the form of your OH when it comes to calibrating scales.

Thin, sorry not fasting today as I have my next infusion on Tuesday – which means I should ideally fast tomorrow.
As to the sausage – it was the attraction of something hot on a cold wet day. I am also not that fussed by brownies – which is why I chose the mini banana caramel tart – much more my thing.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone.

NFD Fess Up:
I did manage to avoid the second birthday cake yesterday. I also baked a tray of cumin roasted veggies and cooked some green beans so I could add a lot of veg to my dinner moussaka. As usual lately, despite the generous sized meal I wanted something sweet as soon as I’d finished eating dinner. I managed to content myself with a small plum and 2 dessertspoons of yoghurt. I also had a sugar free skim milk hot chocolate in the evening. I’ve noticed that it’s not just the mid-meal snacking that’s become an issue, it’s also wanting to end every meal with something sweet.

Today’s plan is open toasted sandwiches with tomato, avocado & cheese for lunch. (Yes I did say avocado, despite not really liking it – it’s left over from the Mexican night and I don’t like waste!) Dinner is 1/2 serve of massaman beef curry (from the freezer) with a little freekah and plenty of green beans and roasted cumin veggies. I’ve planned an apple and 1-2 plums as snacks. I’ll report back tonight whether I managed to stick to it.

Checking in, not much time to relate to posts. Somehow I lost 0.5 kg this week, but as I’ve followed it this weekend with 2 NFDs, I think I’ll avoid the scales for a few days. Still not really feeling well post-cold – very tired all the time. The chest congestion has cleared, and my head is also clear now, as my doctor told me to take the repeat of antibiotics last Thursday. He is always concerned about me getting sinus infections, and asthma. The cold itself, of course, didn’t need antibiotics, just its aftermath. Maybe I just have the post-infection blahs!!?

Interesting that your cat and lab got on okay, Anzac – maybe I can try??? It won’t be for a while, though, as Wilbur is currently healthy, maybe just stiffer than when he was younger. He deserves his “golden years” in peace.

LJoyce, persevere with the bridge; as thin said, it quickly becomes addictive. Glad you’re working out your eating. I’m keeping to TRE, which means eating between midday and 8 p.m., and I’ve found these protein bars, high protein, medium fats and low carbs, in the health food area of the supermarket, and often have one for lunch. Only around 200 cals. It’s sweetened with stevia, I think, rather than sugar alcohols, so no diarrhoea, and chocolate flavoured, which satisfies my need for “sweet”.

LindsayL, my Burmese used to jump up on me when I got home, and basically drape herself over my neck and shoulder. I had to manage what I was doing with 11/2 hands as I mostly needed to support her rump. I called her Sweetie, because that’s what she was, and she actually slept in my bed, which I’d never consider doing with Wilbur as he sheds too much. He does sometimes sleep on the bottom of the bed, but never up near my face.

And time to close. Sorry, no more tonight!

Good morning,

Day after fast day for me. Favourite day. And I had an easy fast day yesterday. Hooray! No idea what made the difference. But loved it.
Anzac, thanks, I am glad I did really enjoy the chips, but I am also hoping my brain learnt the lesson from my tummy! I will certainly buy a smaller bag next time (even though I find it hard as it works out more expensive. Penny pincher Cingue!)

LJoyce, that barn birthday sounds great fun (and the cheese sounds delicious). As for that apple cinnamon cake, what a delicious choice!

It is a nice loop happening LJoyce, we are inspiring each other with accountability. Writing it does stop me from giving myself a few possible options and then eating them all.

Happy fast day, Sigh, avocado is wasted on you. Nicely done yesterday.

Thin, so glad you are enjoying that podcast. I like to link, if I can, when I mention something, but I hope you know I wasn’t hinting that you needed to think of it (I get the idea you deal with clutter extremely well). 300,000 items! Good grief. I suppose they count every pin.

Lindsay, it is a minimal failure when you a) have a good time and b) learn about yourself, c) work out how to do it even better next time. I think it may be wonderful to know that you enjoy your holidays with some excess, and come home to some nice, restorative restraint.
Xian sounds wonderful. Hooray for scales that don’t add kilos!

Intesha, I hope you can post soon. Like Quacka, I was thinking of you yesterday and hoping you and your dad were able to have a gentle day.

Betsy, do look after yourself with that post viral fatigue. It is so easy to just try and push through, and all the ads say ‘soldier on’, but it is important to let yourself recuperate fully. (Speaking as one that knows!)

I’ve got a cat on my knee!

For me. I’ve had a perfect breakfast of toast and spreads. Another cup of tea as soon as Miso lets me up.
I’m making a big pot of borscht (because Yay! I made beetroot kvass again) with meatballs, which I will have for lunch, or in the evening if I don’t manage to make it in time for lunch. The other meal will be the Tinnan Queema stew with broccoli and potato. Snack will be toasted peanuts.

Best wishes all for an especially nice day.

Cinque, a tough start to my day reading about kvass – although it sounds exotic and I think you once posted a photo of a pitcher of it which was a lovely colour. Missed your post yesterday and thought I must be the only one fasting. Mine was also uneventful with a good night’s sleep to follow. 58g.

Betsy, down is down, good job!

I hope all the mothers had a nice day yesterday – although, I’ve just realised that there are at least seven of us that aren’t (counting penguin and neil). We will celebrate our own personal Mothers’ Day on Wednesday if OH isn’t flying.

Intesha, nice to hear that your mum had a good send off and one she would have enjoyed! She’s at peace now. It’s complex losing a parent. I hope you and your Dad find a nice activity for Monday mornings. How about bridge?

Cinque again, yes my clutter is moving fast! OH said they must have counted every tooth pick for those American statistics! Did your sister have any success with gumtree? I love meeting the people so much. On Friday, a sweet elderly man came to buy a wooden musical jewellery box for his wife on Mother’s Day. It was a beautifully crafted box that played Lara’s Theme but I’m not a jewellery person (more clutter!) and he said that his wife, sitting in the car and not allowed to look, would love it. Yesterday, a lovely young couple came to buy my stained glass supplies. I had a tub of coloured glass for copper foiling and a bulk lot of clear textured glass from when I made our leadlight windows. We got talking and they revealed that they were building a tiny house. Right up my alley! They stayed and chatted for half an hour and I was so happy to know my glass was going somewhere creative.

Good Morning everyone

It’s Monday FD for me and I have already had an almond milk coffee from the cafe next door. You gotta love my awesome bosses! Oh well, I’m not too worried. I’m still going to fast until dinner and then I will enjoy my nice chicken curry I made yesterday. I made it with chicken thigh cutlets but was very surprised at how many calories are in them (when I looked it up later). I am assuming it is because they have the skin on and we all know chicken skin is very high in calories! I won’t be eating the skin and I will only have one with lots of cauliflower and broccoli.

Intesha it’s nice to see your post. I hope you and Dad are doing ok.

Anzac and Betsy, I hope you both feel better soon. Anzac, training a dog out of bad habits can be difficult and will also take a lot of time. Be firm and consistent with him and I’m sure he will get there. I mean Maxx not your OH by the way lol!!

Lindsay, you are not a failure!! It is very difficult to fast when on holidays and I think it’s ok to let your hair down then. Think of what you have achieved already. That is not failing!!

LJ, I hope you manage to sort that ‘needing something sweet after dinner’ thing out. What about a nice herbal tea or even one of those 43 calorie hot chocolate drinks? I know you will get it under control.

I have to go do some work but I just wanted to check in. Hope you all have a great day x

FD today after a weekend of eating out. Meals at the pub on Friday night (chicken curry) and Sunday lunch (canneloni & vegies) plus a 30th birthday party on Saturday night I managed to avoid all the munchy food at the party and ate what was the best picks of a whole lot of unhealthy food – 2 mini quiche, a mini pie and a mini pasty. The cake was made from Krispy creme doughnuts which was great as there was no way I was going to eat any, the smell of them alone makes me want to be violently ill.

Tonight’s dinner will be roast veggies and I am so looking forward to making (and eating) roasted Brussel sprouts – one of my favorite veggies.

Confession time. I had 2 stubbies of light beer at the party and 3 small glasses of Moscato at lunch yesterday. I will admit I did enjoy the Moscato which was my tipple of choice a few years ago.

I have another incentive to drop the few extra kgs I’ve gained, were off to Bali again in September for 2 weeks. Definitely won t feel comfortable in bikinis unless I drop the extra kgs that’s for sure.

Happy Monday everyone. I’m off for my lunchtime walk.

Good afternoon everyone.

Mothers’s day hasn’t upset me in recent years, but this year it really did. I think it’s because this year is the 20th anniversary of my mum’s passing. I decided it was best to decline the invites from family members to join their mother’s day lunches. So I chose to have a quiet day yesterday just pottering around here, although I did manage to go for a long walk with my best friend and then share a cuppa and chat afterwards.

FD for me and I’m just drinking my third cup of tea for the day. No food yet.

Intesha, very pleased to hear that the funeral went well. I hope you found much comfort in the time you had with your daughter too. I think finding a new routine for your mornings will be a challenge for both you and your dad. I hope you can settle into something new.

Betsy, Well done on the loss. I find it is normal for me to weigh less after a FD and more after a NFD – even when I’m behaving well on my NFDs. I think it largely down to the volume of food moving though our digestive systems. The morning after a FD there just isn’t much food left in our bodies.
I also do a version of TRE, although mine is mostly 11am-7pm. I always stick to the end point at dinner time but occasionally I eat before 11am, although not often. It helps a bit – especially in controlling the even snacking that I used to do a few years ago. However it doesn’t help with the desire for dessert with lunch and dinner, or the desire to snack in the afternoon. I have tried those low carb bars before but don’t really want to go down that path again. However it has reminded me that I do always have a block of Lindt dark chocolate in the fridge, which I mostly ignore. I could have a square of that at the end of a meal sometimes. As it’s bitter I don’t find it difficult to use portion control.
All this talk of cuddly cats has me thinking it’s time I gave stronger consideration to getting one. Now that the weather is colder having a cat on my lap sounds very inviting.

Cinque, Yes, writing down what I’m eating on NFDs really does help me put the brakes on the excess. I feel mortified seeing it all in print – there’s nowhere to hide when you make things public. I think it’s one of the few ways I can use feelings of embarrassment, shame or guilt to help rather than hinder me.
I’ve found another good aspect of your NFD accountability posts – I keep having to look up recipes for the dishes you mention as there have been several I hadn’t heard of before! I’m discovering new options which is rather good.

Thin, another gold star for your weight maintenance.
I loved the stories about who came to buy your clutter. I too find that knowing things are going to a good home makes it so much easier to part with things.

Anzac, I agree about the accountability post – it’s really helping me.
I found that my computer hard drive or laptop could be plugged into my tv – using it just as a large screen. That gave me a large screen on the occasions I needed it without having to buy one. Would that be a cheaper option – all you’d need is the right cable.
I also get digestive pain sometimes that keeps me awake. The other thing I’ve noticed is that I can exceed my TDEE by a little bit without problem, but if I’m about 50% or more over I usually have a bad night that involves waking often, feeling dehydrated and needing to keep drinking through the night, I feel overheated and experience abdominal pain.
Funny how bread can feel like a treat. Mine is also kept frozen, but it’s only a toaster away from being edible, which can be challenging on a challenging NFD.

Turn, at least you had a good time. Food indulgences should at least provide that.

Quacka, I’m fasting with you today, hope yours goes well. I usually stick to chicken breast on FDs as the calories are less than thighs which has fattier meat – much nicer in curries however as I find the breast goes dry and tough.
Thankyou for the dessert suggestions. The herbal “tea” won’t fly, but the other ideas are good ones. My sugar free hot chocolate brand made with a little skim milk powder is around 50 cals so I could have it as dessert.

GDSA, that sounds like a challenging food weekend. Are you still fasting M-F?
Glad I’m not the only one who can’t stand krispy creme – I don’t see what all the fuss is about. The allure of a beach holiday is very good incentive to get a little more weight off.

Cali, happy anniversary. By delaying your night out it gives you something to look forward to – much nicer on a quieter night too.
The Spaghetti Squash and Beetballs sounds truly awful, sorry!

I can’t believe it’s taken me an hour to write this!
Have a good Monday everyone.

Quacka, I hadn’t heard of that before. Where can we find a list of products that don’t contain Titanium dioxide nanoparticles E171? I can’t seem to find anything very specific.

Am sick as a dog. Started feeling awful about 10.30 so came home. Am tucked in the spare bed with awful wind pain in my stomach and back and a headache that would down an elephant. The 6 steps to the loo are almost more than I can do

Was freezing cold before but ok now as I have layers of clothes and a doona and some blankets

Doctor was booked out so booked in tomorrow

Just choked down two tiny crackers to see if they help settle

Feeling a tad sorry for myself 😢

Just checking in. Still really tired, so I’ll take note of the “be kind to myself” posts. Cinque, isn’t it lovely having a cat on the lap? Wilbur was on mine earlier, but I must have moved and startled him, as he suddenly jumped off at a rapid rate – big scratch on my leg as a result – and he’s now curled up sleeping in another armchair.

Intesha, good to hear from you, and I’m glad the funeral went well. Keep being kind to yourself, the grief is likely to hit at odd times for quite a while yet. Hope your Dad settles soon into a new routine.

Interesting comment from Klondikequeen about Burmese cats. In general they are very friendly cats, plus they have a different type of coat to moggies which makes them more suitable for asthmatics (as do Siamese and I think Abyssinian). I think the trick is to see how they respond to you when you are looking at one with a view to buying. My Sweetie just wanted to climb all over me from day one. Siamese are different, being rather like German shepherds in being one-person or one-family friendly and largely ignoring anyone else.

Anzac65, sounds like you have a nasty gastric bug and a fever – hope you start feeling better soon. You might have to try the dry toast with vegemite in another day or so, and stick with flat, diluted lemonade for now.

LJoyce, sounds like the Lindt chocolate might do the trick for you. I tried some non-dairy ice-cream this evening (Ben & Jerry’s) – really did not like it, threw the rest of the tub immediately into the outside garbage (all positive), then had two successive serves of hot cross bun ice-cream (so not good!). Turned my CD into a TDEE day. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day, and I will do better then!

CalifDreamer, Happy Anniversary! Forty years of love, laughter, frustration and joy. Definitely worth celebrating!

Can’t write more – have to head to bed. Read all the posts, such interesting things happening. LindsayL & Turnabout, holidays are meant to be enjoyed; you can “get back on the wagon” when you get home and back into this WOL!!!

Hi all

8.45am NZ Fine and sunny with no wind, yayyyyyy!

Just a quick check in before we head into town, the car needs a service! Back on the wagon after the weekend binge and 73.9 so still in the 73’s, I’ll take it. Ate very lightly yesterday and drank between 2.5 and 3 litres of water so think that did the trick, feel much lighter again now.

Get well soon Anzac, sorry to hear you are sick, not good. Hope you are lurking around the site and some of these posts are making you smile?

OH is full of a cold and feel I am joining him so beefing up the vit C’s and just had a Lemsip, sware by those things, might have to be a chicken soup for dinner.

Cheers,

Turn

Good Morning everyone

Happy Anniversary Cali. 40 years is amazing!

Anzac, hope you are feeling better this morning. Time to get OH to make you some of his chicken soup. I started feeling a sore throat coming on last night but am still feeling the same this morning (no worse). I hope my body fights it off.

Cali,Klondi and LJ, I checked my mints and also some chewing gum that I had and it both had the 171 additive in it. It was listed as colours (171) so doesn’t necessarily need the E in front of it. It is alarming that it is in sunscreen although I already knew it was full of chemicals. I think the best thing we can do is just try to avoid processed, packaged foods as much as possible and eat real whole foods. I meticulously scan labels when I am buying food. I don’t know what all the numbers mean but I do know the MSG numbers and if a product has more than a couple of additives I usually avoid it. Shopping for food already takes me ages, imagine if I had to check down a list of additives every time. I know some people actually do that for allergy reasons etc. There was an app that I heard of a few years ago which you could download to your phone and then use it to scan labels in the supermarket. It would then tell you what the additives were and what they were for. I will try and look it up and see if the developers managed to get it working.

Klondi, I love zoodles (zucchini noodles) and I sometimes mix konjac noodles together with the zoodles especially when I am having ‘spaghetti bolognaise’. I quickly fry my zoodles but I just soak the konjac noodles as per packet directions. I think LJ does fry hers off to get rid of the moisture but she can remind us how she does it.

LJ, sorry to hear you were upset on Mother’s day. A nice walk and a chat with a good friend is sometimes just what we all need. Hope you are ok now.

Intesha, you are still in my thoughts.

Hi to everyone else as well and I hope you all have a lovely day. To us sickly ones, get better soon!!

Good morning from lovely Melbourne. Tuesday 9ish.

Cali, happy (belated) anniversary to you and Mr Cali. https://i2.wp.com/chartcons.com/wp-content/uploads/Anniversary-9.jpg
You’ll have a lovely dinner to celebrate on a quieter day.

They must count the toothpicks, the pins and the plates!
Music is hard to give away I think.

Thin you are magnificent at cutting down your 300,000 things. My sister has made some headway with her clutter, but has not embraced Gumtree or any other way of selling yet.

Haha, sorry to start the day with a reference to the vegetable I will not name.

Anzac, I do hope your poor belly is better this morning.
Good to see you accountability piece. Remember when you were a young adult who could eat so much shocking food and it hardly effects you? Those were the days. I overdid the peanuts yesterday and my poor body was not happy.

Oh dear Maxx, do learn to stay down.
Persistence will get there in the end!

Quacka, happy day after fast day. Eep re that additive. I will link it on the ‘related scientific articles’ page. No more chewing gum and bought mayonnaise! It is really true that white food is bad for you. 😉

Turnabout, I do hope the lovely walk on the Port Hills balanced out your enjoyably indulgent weekend, and that you manage to avoid the dreaded lurgy. Snap! I had my car serviced yesterday (about a year overdue, it is much happier now).

Gday, nice of them to make a birthday cake you didn’t want to eat. I’d prefer Brussels’s sprouts too. Nice to have the occasional drink and a good three months to get in tip top shape for Bali.

LJoyce, I am glad you could have a gentle day on Sunday. 20 years is a big anniversary.
You are so right that the accountability not only makes us think what we feel about what we are eating, but we can’t help but imagine what others might think. It s fascinating to see yours, and others, lovely healthy meals, it shows that this is not deprivation, and it just might give me a menu for the YamDaisy Cafe.

Ooh Klondi, that reminds me that I didn’t respond to your lovely text of the yam daisy. I will.
And you did the Mother’s Day run! Running along side Bill Shorten maybe, chatting to him about what the country really needs, before you ran out of breath.

Yes, we are the same re salty chips.

This is the research that inspired me to eat more vegetables: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/23/five-day-10-portions-fruit-veg-cut-early-death, and more is linked on the Australian Dietary Guidelines website. The bottom line is that I feel just so much better if I eat those 7 serves, so I will keep at it. 🙂

Good luck with your flu jab this year, and I hope your doctor is impressed with your BP and general health!

Betsy I hope you have had a good sleep and wake up feeling a bit refreshed.

Neil, you will have had that talk with your boss about how to manage things, I do hope you are feeling pleased and well supported. Sending good wishes to your co workers too.

Crazy, how have your three fast days a week been going?

Intesha, how are you today?

Rosy Posy, what’s happening?

Merry and Minka and Penguin amd everyone else who might be lurking, sending you best wishes.

Accountability:
Lesson learnt: less peanuts as a snack. Also changed meals yesterday because of a visitor for lunch and a gift of food from my lovely sister, but all was well apart from the peanuts… and an avocado and cucumber nori roll at the shopping centre. I’ll need my fast day!
Today: B. Eggs on toast with ajvar (relish) and cos lettuce.
L. That soup I WILL make now.
Snack: Veggie muffin
D. The rest of the lovely stew my sister made for me with pasta and peas. Hot chocolate.

Re: dog training, I’ve mentioned the Dazer II™ Ultrasonic Dog Deterrent here before. I started using them personally over 35 years ago. For some years, I imported them from NY and offered a full money back guarantee which I never had to fulfil in many years of selling the product. It works! It doesn’t harm dogs, just gets their attention. Disclaimer: I have no commercial interest in this product!

CalifD, happy 40th anniversary. Congratulations too, that’s an achievement. Sounds like you’ll be doing what we do, ignoring the commercial dictates of following the herd and doing your own thing. Funny about the beets and thinking of me. I have things that I associate with people here too – Cinque, my mung beans are soaking!

Klond, I found out the hard way that konjac noodles can’t be frozen. I don’t fry either of those foods, it would seem to defeat the purpose.

LJ, hope you are over the blues and the infusion goes to plan.

Sorry to hear that so many people are unwell. Get better soon.

Yesterday I was up at 5am as OH had to fly so I went for a walk in the dark and the cold. Once I got over that, it was fabulous at the river with all the lights reflecting on the water.

Betsy, I doubled our opponents at bridge yesterday and netted a whopping 1400 points when they went down. Very satisfying! I wonder if I dare try that in the proper group today.

DD and I saw a good movie last night with Judi Dench. It’s called, “Red Joan”. Recommended if you enjoy British Spy stories.

Hello friends

Starting to feel better, thanks so much for your good wishes. I nearly went to A&E yesterday but rode it out. I’ve been to the doctor and she thinks it is just a bug but there is a lot of tenderness in the abdomen so I’m going for an ultrasound tomorrow morning. Another day away from the office; but they seem very understanding – thank goodness

Hubby talked me into some soup and I’m glad he did. He kept saying it was much nicer than his old soup (which I didn’t like) and boy was it ever. I smashed a bowl full with a couple of dried crackers and I almost immediately felt a heap better. He really worked hard on the stock this time and it has a depth of flavour. I’m Still bent over like an old woman but I’m out of bed and able to do some work – and most importantly post on this lovely forum 

Thanks Thin and Cali for the ideas about dog deterrents. I just went to buy one but hubby talked me out of it. He thinks he can train him without doing the deterrent thing so I’ll give him a few more weeks. He is definitely doing it less.

Happy Happy 40th wedding anniversary Cali! How lovely. I hope you have a gorgeous meal out

Nothing like a tummy bug to help with FD’s. I’ve had one bowl of soup and about 10 small dry crackers since Sunday night! So my first B2B FD but I don’t recommend the process.

LJ, I find Mother’s day hard too because I miss her so much. We were very close. She passed away 8 years ago this October

Quacka, thanks for the info re the additive. It’s terrible to think it may be harmful and is in things like toothpaste and sunscreen. I hope your sore throat doesn’t develop into anything nasty.

Sorry to hear you are still really tired Betsy, good advice – be kind to yourself and rest. All this talk about cats is making me want one!

Klondi, Maxx has been a good boy while I was in bed. He came in a couple of times to check on me but just put his head gently on the blanket and stared at me with his ears down. Apparently he then trotted back to hubby with his lab report to say yep, Mum is sick. I need to borrow Wilbur or Miso to do a cat-scan. HA HA

Thin, brilliant move at bridge yesterday and I hope today’s game was just as successful with the scarier teams. I love Judi Dench and British Spy stories so I will keep an eye out for that movie

Crazy, your tree story made me sit here with my mouth agape! Imagine if it had come down on someone’s car? Frightening but lovely to read how the community banded together to get it removed

Turn, hope you and your hubby get over your colds soon

Enjoy the rest of your day all

Hi all

Anzac. Being sick doesn’t let you get away with bad jokes.

Turn. Great that you are hanging in there for the 73’s. I’ve just realised I’ve dropped my water intake so thanks for reminding me to get out the water bottle again.

Crazy. Well done on stopping before that tree, would have put a damper on such a nice day. Glad that your are enjoying the process and it will be great if your daughter does join you and you can see her health improve too.

LJ , Quakka and Thin. Thanks for the tips re zoodles etc. I knew if I asked I would get lots of help.

Cinque. Dr’s visit was fine, BP lower than last time but OH had a slightly elevated level on one of his liver tests. Hmm, wonder what that means? Overweight and too much red wine perhaps. He says he will have two alcohol free days (AFD) a week. Not holding my breath. Double snap on car service but not so good result. Needs major repairs before we go away which now complicates the caravan service. Need a plan B

Lindsay, that sounds like a very nice hotel and a wonderful setting.

Thanks for the congratulations to my bragging about yesterday’s bridge scores to Betsy. To balance that, we had the most disastrous day ever today. But we were still laughing by the end of it or, wait, was that grimacing? We could not believe how many dumb things both of us did today. We totally confuse our opponents with what we call our creative bidding. There’s another, more serious session happening concurrently on the other side of the room while we’re in the ‘novice’ group. Hands were shooting up all over the place for the director to sort out this or that conflict. I wouldn’t fancy ever becoming that serious about it all. They don’t really look like they’re having that much fun. Perhaps they are?

LJ, I could empathise with your comment last week about being utterly exhausted by the end of your Friday session. Fortunately, I’d prepared all the ingredients for the mung bean soup this morning so all I had to do was assemble it when I got home. Very tasty as always.

Anzac, you poor thing, you do sound very sick. I hope the tests provide some answers and a quick solution can be found.

Quacka, Klond, I believe LJ once worked out how many calories were in a two second spray of olive oil. Or perhaps I dreamed that. I only use the konjac on FDs so that information would be vital for me to know (hence no frying for me) but perhaps you’re all talking of just everyday use for NFDs?

Klond, great to have a successful doc visit with lower BP; hope your OH also has the all clear. If he’s overweight, is he not tempted to join you on 5:2?

Thin. Clearly the bridge gods don’t want you to get too cocky. Re OH, he is very supportive of me, lots of comments and compliments but not the least bit motivated to join me. I will try some gentle persuasion when we are away and don’t have the usual distractions of kid wrangling etc.

Lindsay. You are being spoilt. Good luck to you, what wonderful memories you are creating. But you’re right, holidays are just that, special times to be enjoyed but not real life. You must miss your lovely garden and your peaceful holiday house and those little giggly girls. While I love my long trip north in winter I would never consider being away for any longer.

LJ. I must admit I don’t count the spray of oil I sometimes use but since the trend is down I don’t think I need to change much. Well done on having a helpful neighbour and snagging free clothes.