Good morning,

Thursday fast day for me, and a lovely morning here, but a cold front on the way. I had better write quickly and go out to soak up some sunshine.

Anzac, it was great to read about your work with the tall man. Having computery relatives means I have actually heard of Visual Basic. What a great collaboration you have going on.

I am sad you missed writing out of your career (so far) but you must be proud of how good you are at what you do. Elegant.

I am so glad you have your physio appt. I do know how easy it is to fall into the bad, painful posture. I am also trying to get myself into better habits.

My sister gets the ‘New Scientist’ and sent me a great article about looking after our immune systems. Along with exercise and not smoking was intermittent fasting.

Quacka, hooray for feeling 99% better and lungs working well. Good luck getting the last 1% sorted and getting those hips feeling better.

I do hope it was a good meeting with the bosses. Fingers crossed.

Yay Penguin, nothing like a good cup of tea. Sending more good wishes.

Thin, yes, the blower does just move all the leaves to the road.And it takes about 30 minutes of that nasty noise to work around the flats.
I’ve already seen an update on Tom Moore’s wonderful fundraising on facebook, the radio and the TV news and they are saying 10 million pounds now!

LJoyce I hope you are feeling more energetic today. I have wondered if I had the tiredness side effect after my flu vaccine I got last week.

Well, all those tuna mornays sound good! I wonder which way Betsy decided to go.

Yes split peas (especially the green ones) were the only pulse we had growing up. Split pea soup and soup mix! And really the only other way we ate them was tins of baked beans.

Hoping today s a good one, for all of you. I’m going fasty fast day. Anzac did you have a good one?

Cheers all.

Hi all, just a quick check-in, as dinner is calling my name – OMAD today, but a CD.

Thanks for all the interesting suggestions re tuna mornay, LJoyce and Thin. I’ve saved them all, and I also found one in a cook book. Haven’t decided which one to do yet, as I am missing ingredients for all of them. But, I will definitely buy what I need to do it. Like the idea of corn and peas instead of celery. Is it okay to use marg instead of butter? I’m guessing so.

Good to read all the posts, will write more next time, but hope LJoyce’s physio treatment has done the job; hope Anzac65’s will also have a positive result, and really pleased to read that Quakka is now at 99% health and breathing well enough to go on a long walk.

Keep well all!

Good morning all. Hot (33!) and sunny in Brisbane, after a beautiful cool morning.
Hope you are getting back to your old self Penguin (minus gall bladder problems of course).

Anzac, it’s interesting where our careers take us. You seem to have found a perfect place in the banking industry … I read about your work with awe. I too left school early because of pressure, and went back as a mature age student, before ending up in journalism here and in the UK. In fact it’s where I met my OH … he was my chief of staff. If your desire is to be a writer, start to write (that’s what my OH tells his U3A writing class). No academic qualifications required – just a need to tell a story. I think, from your posts on this site, that you would be a very entertaining writer.

How did the ‘big talk’ go Quacka? Great news, that you are feeling so much better. When you are well, you are better able to deal with things, I find.

Thin, leaf blowers! aaahhhh! My newish neighbour adores hers. A leaf falls, and she’s on to it! Never see her pulling a weed, or clipping a bush, or planting a flower. Just those leaves. Her gardening is a bit of an eye opener. On a lovely leafy bush block, she put little white picket fences around all the natural garden edges. I saw that a lot in China – so as she’s Chinese, not surprising I guess.
OH has what he calls ‘the enforcer’ which is of the same ilk, but I pardon him for using it because it vacuums up leaves etc and turns them into mulch for the garden.

LJ you are right about home office negotiations. My workplace is adamant about it …it even states very clearly in the Remote Working Policy that the employee must meet any additional costs. Not a problem for me – I am well and truly set up after working for so long on my PhD – but some of my colleagues weren’t equipped, and have incurred expenses they weren’t expecting it.

Thin that’s how we were taught to cook a blond roux too, back in the day. I think we used to add a pinch of nutmeg too. And like you, my white sauces never fail.

On that note, back to the editing. Sigh.

Happy weekend all.

Neil, I do wish you luck.
Not wishing to sound like a doomsayer, but my DS and DIL are really struggling with the working from home, keeping the 5 and the 2 year old occupied. She’s a teacher, so from next week is back at her workplace. He works in the creative industries – nothing like a 5 year old practising his karate moves while you’re trying to write….or having a 2 year old crawling on your lap, ‘giving daddy a duddle’. My DD and SIL are in the same boat. She’s negotiated to work from home til 3 when he gets in and takes over the 4 and 6 year old. How she’s going to manage home schooling on her work days is testing. I guess like everyone else they’ll manage, but it’s frustrating that at a time they need us most, we can’t help.

And as I never seem to discuss the reason for this forum in most recent posts (probably because of how badly I am doing it), I have started today with a very focussed eating schedule. Here’s my one FD tip to get through the hungries. I get a cup of frozen beans and nibble through them. Only 38 calories, and eating them takes long enough for the munchies to pass.

Back to it. Good luck!

Good morning all.

The current restrictions have had an uncomfortable outcome. My uncle passed away on Thursday from cancer. He’d been admitted to a nursing home 2 months ago, but his family had not been able to see him once they locked the nursing home down about 5 weeks ago. They did call my aunt to come in when they saw he was failing, but unfortunately she didn’t get there in time. He had a very long and full life, which is a blessing, but not having family near at the end has been very traumatic for my aunt and cousins. It reminds me that my sister and I were both there with each of our parents in the days and hours before they passed and it feels unfair that my aunt and cousins didn’t have the comfort of that time and contact. I also hadn’t appreciated just what an impact the current restrictions have on how we grieve and provide comfort.

Take care everyone.

Oh LJ I am so sorry to hear of your sad news. It must be so difficult for your aunt and cousins, to not have this final goodbye. The passing of a loved one brings back many memories, and I am sure you are feeling the pain of not being able to be there to provide comfort.
Take care

Good evening all, hope you’re doing well.

Sorry to read the news of your uncle’s passing, LJoyce; a very difficult situation made harder by our current restrictions. Heartbreaking for the family.

Thin, thanks for the tip re marg instead of butter. Haven’t made the tuna mornay yet – it will be tomorrow’s task. Have also chatted with a couple of friends who have larger families (not hard when I’m a family of one! 🙂 ) and have frequently thrown together tuna mornays. Among you all, I’m sure I’ll end up with something edible – and if I don’t, that will rest on me!

Thin, hadn’t seen the death statistics, but I had read that a high percentage of those hospitalised and in intensive care with Covid-19 were in the obese range, so definitely something to spur us on to maintaining diligence with this WOL.

Quacka, what was the news re the job?

Neilithicman, even if you can’t get out for a ride, at least try to get outdoors, even rugged up. It’s another thing which is said to improve mood, just being among nature. Good luck with WFH from Monday!

LindsayL, yes, WFH seems to be a real challenge for some people, and managing the children is a major part of it. A lady I’ve spoken to is having major problems even getting her kids to do their schoolwork, whatever she tries.

Cinque, good for the confirmation that IF is good for the immune system.

Anzac65, have you been to the physio yet? Has your neck improved?

Penguin, hope the yellow skin colour is now fading, now you’re had the gall bladder procedure.

Hi to anyone else who’s been hovering!

Keep well all!

Hi all, hope you’re well and enjoying a peaceful Sunday.

Ha ha! Cinque – I will certainly let all of you know if the tuna mornay is a success, though. I’ve been told they’re almost impossible to mess up, so sounds just right for me.

Really haven’t anything much to write at the moment, so – have a lovely day!

LJ, my deepest sympathy on the passing of your uncle, to you, your aunt and cousins.
https://memorialhaven.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/avasflowers-white-lily-sympathy-bouquet_max.jpg
Visiting your aunt on Tuesday, even with social distancing, will be a comfort to her. I’m sure this pandemic disruption only makes this sad situation feel worse. Hugs to you.

Penguin, I’m happy to hear you are home and feeling less pain. Is your skin color going back to normal? I hope you can get lots of rest and not overdo it while you’re healing. It’s good to see your posts here.

Betsy, good luck on your tuna mornay. I had to look up a recipe. It’s similar, but looks much nicer than what we call tuna casserole here. That recipe uses a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, small shell pasta and either corn or peas and often celery.

Neil, I hope you can settle into some type of routine with working from home and homeschooling your boys, especially with the weather getting colder and more rain. We all hope this virus will pass soon, but in this country, the leveling off still doesn’t look very good to me, especially on our east coast. They are calling for limited opening of businesses but without enough tests, how do they track that? Some of the governors opened beaches yesterday, not for congregating and sunbathing, but walking and surfing. The pictures I saw didn’t look like social distancing. I fear the results in a couple weeks. I hope my fears are unfounded.

Thin, how flattering to be asked to write articles for the narrow canal boat magazine. I’m sure they will be interesting as what I’ve read of your blog so far is very entertaining. I also hope you get the final proofreading before it’s published.

Anzac, learning at university isn’t everything as you’ve demonstrated by having a very successful career in the banking industry without it. Your job sounds very interesting and creative. Many, many people end up in jobs that are different than what they set out to do years ago. I didn’t finish uni either but ended up in a job I loved, some of it just by luck and accident.

Quacka, glad to hear you are feeling better. I hope your meeting with your boss goes well this week. This pandemic is disrupting a lot of companies. Maybe some of it is good as it causes us all to look at things differently.

Lindsay, your daughter and son and their spouses aren’t the only ones having a difficult time with WFH and dealing with homeschooling. I can’t even imagine juggling both. Social media here is filled with posts about the difficulties. I wonder if using something like Zoom with their actual school teachers would work at some point, at least for older students? More teachers and smaller classes?

Cinque, how did your Zoom visit with your sisters go? Was it easy to set up? My sister’s office uses Zoom for office meetings which is nice while she’s working from home.
Yesterday LJ and I had a long visit via FaceTime on our iPads. It was almost like having her visit as I was able to walk outdoors with the iPad and show her some of the Spring Blossoms that are starting to appear. It was nice being able to see faces and expressions while talking. Also funny to realize it was Saturday evening here and Sunday morning in Australia! I had to leave to pick up pizza while she was thinking about morning tea.

I read an analogy on social media about ending the stay at home quarantines that so many in the US are complainIng about:

The curve is flattening. We can start lifting restrictions now.
Or..
The parachute is slowing our rate of descent. We can take it off now.

Good morning from a wild, windy Melbourne,

Day after fast day, lovely and light. Ate my breakfast with relish (metaphorical not the condiment 😉 ).

LJoyce, so glad you will be having a cuppa with your aunt tomorrow. I do hope the weather is lovely for it. And won’t you all be able to plan the best memorial.

I also hope you are nicely over your screaming-heap-day, and your headache is gone.

Cali, we are getting our zoom chats more and more organised. We have had three now, and it was only our first one that was like the skit. We are taking turns in starting the meeting, and I am the only one who isn’t using it for other meetings, so I was pleased I managed it all without trouble. We’ve also got better at sitting in a flattering light etc. haha.

Aren’t our time differences mind bending.
It must be pretty mindbending for you too, to be living in a country where there are such different responses to the coronavirus on state and federal levels. It is bewildering to me that people think trying to keep business as normal will be best for the economy, when the disease and the outfall of it (even if you don’t consider the loss of precious lives) will disrupt business badly anyway, and business/economy is paranoid and self destructive when times are not stable. Better to accept reality and manage it safely.
What a good analogy the parachute one is.

But Gday, you are at the pointy end of the economic suffering brought about by this pandemic. I am so sorry Mr Gday is out of work. Times are dreadfully tough, but what good priorities you have to see you through.
Ooh dear, good luck with the toilet paper, I thought the whole issue had settled down. I have been fine all along as my daughter bought a bulk carton a couple of weeks before the pandemic hit us, and I just get mine from her. I am presuming that by the time we get through it she will be able to get another one https://au.whogivesacrap.org/ They are out of it at the moment!

Ooh my mum had an old cribbage board from when she played with her dad, and I loved playing it with her.
Also, my sisters reminded me that we first knew Tim Brooke Taylor from a radio show called ‘I’m sorry I’ll read that again’.

Hoping you had a lovely dawn walk, and that you might get a little nap during the day and a lovely restful sleep tonight.

Sending best wishes to everyone, for a gentle, mindful day whether it is a 5 or a 2.

Good evening friends

LJ I am so sorry to read about your Uncle. My Mum was in hospital with heart palpitations when she died and my Dad didn’t tell us that she had been admitted until it was too late for us to visit and she died that night. It haunts me to this day. Your poor Aunt and cousins.

G’day, oh no I’m so sorry that your OH has also lost his job and you are still not sleeping well. What a totally awful time you are having and it just doesn’t seem fair that you have to wait for Government assistance.

Lindsay, such lovely words and you really have inspired me to start writing. Thank you! What do you enjoy most about journalism? The writing or the chasing down of the stories? Or both? I do feel for people like your children who are trying to cope with WFH with kids. It’s bad enough having an energetic dog mugging me for play time – but he sleeps for most of the day so it’s not so bad.

How lovely that you and LJ had a catch-up Cali. I have enjoyed a couple with my family and also a couple with some of the labrador friends folk. What was the job that you ended up in that you loved?

I will have to post more tomorrow as OH has just hollered for some help with dinner.

Good evening everyone. I had a real blowout eating yesterday – including one of my Easter eggs, so today has been a very strict FD – about 320 cals, and that’s it for the day. And, alack, haven’t made the tuna mornay. Discovered that I needed condensed soup, which my canned soup was not, so bought some condensed asparagus soup today and I’ll make the mornay later in the week.

GDayfromSA, what a lot of challenges you’ve had to face over the past few months, and now both you and OH have been made redundant. I have many memories of playing cribbage with my father, but no longer remember the rules as it was a long time ago -in the ’80s.

Anzac65, a friend and I have decided we need to catch up via Zoom soon – I’ve been told that the free version allows for a 40-minute conversation, so we’ll see how we go. Cinque, I hope it won’t be too much of a mess the first time Helen & I try.

Sunflower1, welcome back!

CalifDreamer, the only condensed soup I found at the supermarket was the cream of asparagus, and that’s the one which was in my recipe, so I’ll see how it goes, but cream of mushroom would also taste yummy.

LJoyce, a later memorial service celebrating your uncle’s life sounds like a lovely idea. One blowout in a good week shouldn’t be too much of a disaster, surely.

Keep well, everyone.

Morning all

Well we are indeed moving to level 3 after ANZAC weekend as LJoyce mentioned. The kids won’t be going back to school until we move to level 2, which should be around 2 weeks after that. The good things about it are we are able to reconnect with extended family so I’ll be able to visit my parents. I’ll also be returning to the office so that will be good for my sanity, but the best thing according to my 13 year old is that fast food restaurants will be open for takeaways and deliveries. He turns 14 the day after we move to level 3 and he’s already booked in KFC as his birthday dinner.

Thin, that sounds great watching veggies grow in the garden is always exciting, keep us posted on the success.

Gday, sorry to hear about your OH losing his job. I don’t think he will be alone, the talk I’ve seen is that covid 19 could trigger the biggest worldwide unemployment since the Great Depression. Even with the early and strict lockdown that NZ has had, restricting us to just 7 weeks or so of lockdown, predictions are that we could hit 15% unemployment, and we will have got off lightly compared to the rest of the world. I read that since Covid 19 hit over 3 million people have signed up for unemployment welfare in the USA😢

Welcome back Sunflower. I hope your fasting went well. I fasted the last 2 days and I’ll be having a control day today before my weigh-in tomorrow. I definitely needed the fast days after a week of more snacking and no riding. I did get out twice last week for a run with my boy for his PE class, got a 1 hour walk on Saturday when the rain lifted for a few hours. But the weather was really nice on Sunday and yesterday so I went out for s thoroughly enjoyable 2.5 hour ride on Sunday and just over an hour yesterday. I’m now over 1900 kilometres for the year so my goal is in sight now.

Cali, I get really sad when I see how Covid is being handled in the states. Trump seems to be pointing fingers at everyone else (China, WHO and state governors) the business leaders were calling for the restrictions to end, stating that a couple of million deaths would be worth it to keep the economy running, people are out protesting having to be in lockdown in some states. It really makes me sad that so many are putting their own selfish interests ahead of the lives of the most vulnerable.

Well I’d better go and start my second day of working from home, have a great day everyone and I’ll check in with you all tomorrow for my weigh-in results.

Good morning, a clear, still, lovely morning here,

Sunflower, welcome here! It is definitely a good time to get back to 5:2 and no food after 7pm on NFD’s. Oooh the slippery slope and so much more slippery when stuck at home. How did your fast day go?

Anzac, I am so excited that you are inspired to do some writing. Go for it.

LJoyce, thinking of you visiting your aunt today, with your hair looking lovely and the weather looks good for Adelaide according to News Breakfast.

Nice work in the garden. Good luck with the eggplant, I hated pulling mine out (but not enough space to try keeping it). I am doing similarly with seeds. I know parsley and marigolds will self seed madly but I have collected two pods of beans and I am still hoping for basil and chicory. Tomatoes and pumpkins come up via the compost, and so has a capsicum! It came up last month and is so happy and strong I will nurse it over winter and hopefully find out next summer if it is a bell pepper or a chili!

Betsy, sympathy, but there’s a blow out day done and dusted, and hopefully the rest of the week will be a lovely one without excess.
That tuna mornay is getting close.

Thin, ooh I miss that post you lost. Grrr narrow boat internet!
Cheers for your tiny boat garden, it will be lovely to pick things for your meals.I hope the pumpkin goes great guns climbing around the deck!

So delighted that it is starting to look as if Covid19 cases in the UK have peaked. Fingers crossed.

Cali, fingers crossed even harder that the US will peak soon, and that all those mad protests don’t set off cluster outbreaks.

Neil, hooray for KFC birthday celebrations next week. And being able to visit your parents and get back to the office. I do hope the local weather lets you do all the cycling you want to, soon.

Ah well, I had better head off and see what I can do today. I think it can include some sitting in the sun. Best wishes all.

Hi everyone

Firstly, sorry about your Uncle, LJ. I hope you and your family are coping ok through it all x
I am expecting to be going through the same thing some time in the near future although I hope the restrictions will have eased a bit so I do get to see my father before then. We are also thinking of having a big memorial for him later as it will be impossible to decide who gets to go to a funeral and who doesn’t as I am one of seven siblings and a huge extended family. Of course he may outlast our expectations, hopefully!

G’Day, sorry about the really rough time you are also going through. It’s good that you have been able to keep busy at home although a break day is also good!

Well, last Thursday I had ‘the’ meeting with my bosses and manager. After all the indications that the lady boss had previously made to me, they did another back flip and reduced my working days to three days and my wages to the Jobkeeper allowance only. Anyway, long story cut short, after another meeting they back flipped again and have reinstated my wages back to normal. My working days are also back to normal, but I am only required to come in if there is work to be done. I feel more positive about work again now.
The stress of the last week or so has taken it’s toll on my already compromised health. I had a sore throat all weekend and started to self diagnose using the ‘very accurate’ google. I thought I may have had reflux except I wasn’t refluxing anything (that is a Quacka word, you know. LOL) It started with this lump in my throat like when you want to cry but you are trying not to, but it had nothing to do with crying. Then my glands came up and my tonsils ( I think) were swollen. My whole throat felt tight and even my neck was sore to touch. I was expecting to be making another trip to the doctor’s today. OH suggested I gargle with salt water which I did and I also bought some Cepacol mouth wash and today I feel much better. Still not 100% but on the way I hope.
Yesterday morning I thought I had better check my blood pressure also as I know stress can have a big effect on that. (Cali, I hope yours is going ok). It was really high. I checked again in the afternoon and it was still high. This morning, still high. I made myself relax and do some breathing for a few seconds and tested again and it was perfect. I think it was a carry over from all the stress but I will be monitoring it again for the next few weeks.

I’ve still been exercising and I did my FD on Monday. Another one tomorrow.

Stay positive everyone and look after yourselves. x

Tragedy. I hit a rock on a rough trail on my bike and I’ve busted the front derailleur. Now I can’t change gears so my bike is going to be in dry dock until at least level 2 which is around 3 weeks away. After that I’ll probably be waiting a fair while to get it serviced because there’s been so many people riding their bikes during the lockdown. And I was only 100 kilometres from my goal too 😢

Good evening everyone.

It seems as if some folk, at least are doing well, though sorry to read of the bicycle mishap, neolithicman. Lovely gardening and hair stories, and some relaxation of restrictions, which is lovely to see. Gently gently does it here.

Thin, I think the powers that be here have realised the need for Australia to be more self-sufficient, and there’s talk of moving in that direction, so maybe your thoughts have wafted in their direction already. Food is not a problem, we have 24 million people and produce enough for 75 million, but other products are needed.

Interestingly, the TP panic seems to have subsided. I was in a local supermarket today and there was plenty available. Pasta and hand soap still a bit low, and hand sanitiser has been unavailable for several weeks, but generally more normal.

Had to laugh yet again – one guy in Adelaide tried to get a supermarket refund for his 150 packs of 32 rolls of TP (i.e., 4800 rolls) and 150 1 litre bottles of hand sanitiser. The supermarket refused 🙂

Had the ducted heating people here today to look at a leaking problem in a couple of ducts (which are under the house) – they will be replacing several ducts for me next week, ouch! Need to have it done before winter hits, though, so better sooner than later.

Keep well everyone.

Good morning,

Sunflower, woot! for your first fast day back, and exciting times to be sticking some 800 calorie days in their too. That will make you feel you are really getting somewhere, and if it starts getting unsustainable you can ease back to plain and simple 5:2.

Quacka, so good to hear from you, and that your workplace EVENTUALLY made sensible provision for you.
I do hope you feel better soon. You could still be having a post viral reaction from that dreadful illness you had, and as you say, at the very least your immune system will still be compromised. If it doesn’t get better, might it be a good idea to hassle your doctor for a Covid 19 test again, now that they are testing like mad?
Hoping you are a lot better today, though. Your throat and your blood pressure.

The relaxing of restrictions are getting tantalisingly close, and I am so hoping it won’t be long before you can spend some time with your dad. Sending lots of good wishes for that too.

Hi Thin, yes, it will be interesting how countries change manufacturing and health services after seeing the effect of this crisis.

Neil, have fun jogging, look after your knees! Is there also a way you could put a call out in your local community to borrow a bike for the next week or so? So many people have unused ones in a shed.
Woohoo, nice loss, that must feel good.

Anzac, so sorry you had to cancel your physio, I hope you can get another appointment quickly. Make this a good food day, it will be much better for your neck than a bad food day!
PS Does it help your neck to just lie on the floor for 15 minutes. This was recommended to a group of us with CFS and Fibromyalgia by an Alexander technique practitioner and it is so gentle. https://alexandertechnique.co.uk/learning-it/semi-supine I don’t even need a book under my head. It makes a wonderful difference when I have back and neck problems.

Betsy, good move getting the ducted heating fixed right now! I hope it is done quickly and easily.

Well, fast day for me. I don’t think it will be a lovely easy one like Sunday, but it will get done. It is just one day.

Cheers all.

Good morning all.

I’ve had a slow and relaxing start to the day after a busy one yesterday.
I saw my aunt yesterday and she wanted help with some errands. Thankfully I had a face mask in the car so I was able to put that on while I was in the car with her, which I hope provided some protection for us both while at such close quarters. She needed to go the bank to advise them of my uncle’s death and ask about the joint accounts – which she can thankfully keep using during the long probate process. Then the chemist for her scripts and then we had various people she wanted to deliver parcels to (birthday and easter gifts that had piled up and she hadn’t been able to get them to people). So we had quite a drive around the hills and she got to sit in the car with the doors open in various driveways while friends got to chat with her for a while. It did her the world of good. The viewing-cremation is Friday afternoon and I will be collecting her to take her to the undertaker for that. Given the very limited number allowed, I wasn’t sure if there would be room for me, but my cousin insisted that I was in their limit of 10, which is very nice of them.

My eating did not end well yesterday as my cousin sent home my Haighs easter eggs (one larger one sitting on a dozen mini eggs. After my chocolate dessert binge last night there is only the larger egg left. I just kept going back for another handful until all the mini eggs were gone. About as far away from mindful behaviour as I can get. I feel like stamping my feet in frustration, though I doubt it would help. The only saving grace was that I was out and about for most of the day so apart from the chocolates and an omelette for dinner I ate little else.

Anzac, I hope you were able to reschedule that appointment. I have a few simple exercises and finger pressure techniques that I can use on my neck at home that my physio taught me – they can be invaluable to me between appointments. When you do have that next appointment it would be worth asking your physio if there are things they can recommend that you can do at home to reduce the tension build-up in your neck. If he/she isn’t able to do that, I will try to describe what I do if you think that would be helpful – not that easy without pictures, but I’ll try.

Cinque, good luck with the FD, I hope it ends up much easier than you fear.

Thin, it’s a mixed bag here too when it comes to the behaviour of other people. The moment anyone comes too close to me in a public place I take a big step backwards or sideways to get away from them and they immediately recognise that they have come too close and apologise – usually with “sorry I forgot”.
I think your WA friend is probably right about the closed borders. I saw an interview with the health minister about a week ago who said that international travel would be unlikely even by Christmas, but the sate borders within Australia were likely to open with fairly free travel well before then. If Winston Peters is to be believed the border between NZ and Aus may be part of that open border group too.

Neil, did they show that Winston Peters interview about opening the borders with Australia over your way too? If both countries can get their new cases down to zero and keep them there I don’t see why that wouldn’t be possible.
Commiserations on the bike. Hope the jogging goes well – keep those knee and ankles safe if you have uneven footpaths.

Betsy, I hope those heating repairs aren’t as expensive as you fear. Although a very necessary repair before winter.

Cali, they reguarly show a graph on our tv that compares 6 different US states. It’s clear that California is doing better than many of the other states on that graph. I am concerned about Florida easing restrictions given their infection rate and the number of retirees that live there.

Sunflower, I hope your 800cal day went well. I’ve gone into a few of those lately with the best of intentions, but ended up at my TDEE instead.

Quacka, the constantly changing messages cannot be helping your stress levels, but I’m pleased to hear that they’ve ended up with a sensible solution. I hope only going in when there’s work for you to do, means you also get a bit more time at home to recover from your recent illness. It sounds like yo need more recovery time. I also hope you are able to visit your dad soon.

I had intended to fast today but then remembered I have my infusion scheduled for Friday morning, so tomorrow needs to be a FD. Today I will make yet another attempt at a controlled day. As I’m feeling guilty about that chocolate egg binge, I just need to channel that today when I’m tempted.

I’m planning to spend some time in the garden today and tomorrow.

Have a good day all.

Hi everyone. Late afternoon here, and all is well so far with today’s FD.

The duct person came yesterday, had a good look. The quote I’ve been given is for $1000, so ouch, but not too horrendous. That will be for replacing the big return duct, making it a larger bore, as well, and 3 of the ducts to different rooms. Only one of those 3 really needs to be done, but apart from 2 I had replaced in 2007, which are okay, the ducts are about 26 years old, so I think it’s better to just get them all done in one hit. It’s only an extra $100 per duct for the extra two to be done, so probably cheaper to do it now than possibly when there could be trouble down the track. The workers are coming on Wednesday next week to do the work for me.

Quacka, so pleased that the job situation has finally be clarified, so I do hope the BP drops quickly to normal. It could also be up because you’re unwell, so don’t be too upset about it. Let’s hope that throat settles quickly as well.

Thin, just noticed that you’ve now bought some seeds for your roof planters. Good luck with that. Hope you end up with lots of lettuces and tomatoes, and maybe a pumpkin or two as well. The majority of folk here seem to be managing social distancing, particularly in supermarkets, fairly well. We do pass each other in the aisles, but folk tend to move closer to the shelves and look away as they pass, so it seems okay.

Neilithicman, great handyman work there – maybe you’ll even beat your 2020 distance target before you get the bike officially fixed.
Chuckled at the Youtube post – very funny, thanks for sharing it.

Anzac65, hope the neck pain eases. Seems like a few people have some good suggestions. Mine is just to apply heat, and also massage the backs of your shoulders to loosen things up (which you’re probably doing already! 🙂 ).

LJoyce, yum for the Haigh’s chocolate, but it doesn’t sound as if you had an overall excessive calorie day, though the content could have been better. I’ve got 2 smaller (130 gm) and one larger Easter egg (180 gm), all Darrell Lea, plus a heap of little eggs here at home, but have so far managed to avoid them after my blowout on Sunday. I’d not be doing as well if they were Haigh’s, though 🙂 .
Anyway, hope your FD tomorrow and infusion on Friday go well.

CalifDreamer, It must be such a concern for you re Covid-19 at the moment, with all the mixed messages coming through from the powers-that-be. Just try to be sensible in your small corner of California, and it’s good that California is doing better than some of the other US States. I grieve for the New Yorkers.

Cinque, Hope your FD today has gone well. I keep forgetting to ask – you’re sitting on maintenance now, aren’t you? I still have a long way to go, but I’m nearly back down to where I got to last year, so I’m hoping this time to get through the slump, even in the colder weather, and come out the other side much closer to my goal weight.
Mind you, I haven’t been that weight since I was 14, so it’s possible I’ll stall a few kilos higher than that, but we’ll see. One (of the few) advantage of Covid-19 is that I’m not seeing folk I know, so I’m not getting the “oh, you’re losing so much weight” comments which have tended to trigger me into self-sabotage in the past. I’ll just spring my new trim and terrific me on them (hope, hope!) 🙂

Keep well all! Be kind to yourselves Quacka and Anzac65.

LJ, it often seems to be an age-driven thing as far as adherence to the 6ft rule. I understand that those of us with more to lose (over 60s) are more motivated to do the two step that you describe. Do you have the one-way system around the supermarkets too? Annoying when you miss an item you’d needed and have to go back around but I think they’re trying hard to do the right thing.

Betsy, you seem to be doing so well with your weight loss this time. I potted my flowers in planters at 8pm last evening and had to buy two more at Tesco today for my chilis, tomatoes & lettuce. I’ve had two passers by comment on the flowers so I’m pleased they can bring a little pleasure. Butternut squash might be a bit ambitious, I agree Cinque.

LJ, you were so right about the silver lining in not having the pubs open. Although it seems so sad passing the empty picturesque waterside locations, I don’t have to worry about the extra calories. I’m in the 57s so very happy.

Neil, I watched your youtube humour. What can I say? I can tell that you have two adolescent boys in your household! I would imagine they’d find that hilarious. Sorry about the bike.

I spoke too soon about Britain’s falling death toll. It dropped to about half that day, then went back up to double the following day. Very happy to be putting the city behind us and heading into rural countryside again where we feel safe.

Cinque, did you get it done? Yay! Healthy us.

Quick check-in today. Going okay. Ended up with a FD800 yesterday, CD today, then planning a FD tomorrow before weighing-in on Saturday morning.

Not sure how much I’ll lose this month. It’s been slower than February and March, and that’s what happened last year, where I reached around my current weight and then just stalled. But, I’m not giving up or easing off this year like I did last year, so I’m hopeful for continued progression. As thin said, it seems to be going much better for me this time round.

Hope your FD goes well today LJoyce, and the infusion tomorrow. Do you use hydroquinilone? It seemed to become another panic buying product once President Trump was touting it as a treatment for Covid-19, but newly published actual research has debunked that – people with Covid-19 treated with hydroquinoline were 2.5 times more likely to die than those who weren’t given it. It was only a small study, I gather about 95 patients’ data was retrospectively reviewed, so not definitive yet. However, it does cast considerable doubt on any advantages hydroquinoline might have for Covid-19 treatment. Interesting.

Keep well everyone, then none of us will have to worry about what drugs we should or should not be taking 🙂 .

Hi LJoyce, that’s interesting. I’d read that it was used as treatment for some RA, lupus, and (I think?) patients with some forms of cancer. Maybe it was the lupus patients that were missing out when the drug was disappearing off the pharmacy shelves?

Just had a lovely surprise – a “care” package from my church was delivered to my door. Just a few little things, but enough to say they are thinking of me (and other older folk who have little family). I now have more pasta I can add to tuna mornay, if it ever gets cooked – first attempt planned for Saturday! Plus some “goodies” I will have to ration out 🙂

Quick check-in

Thin, I got locked out of the site this afternoon, too. Had to submit my email, etc., didn’t close the forum, and just kept trying. Finally able to post about 3 hours after I wrote it.

Re Vitamin D, I take it all the time anyway. There’s been an association found between low Vit D and breast cancer (not determined yet whether it’s a cause/effect relationship, but the doctors are being cautious), which I’ve had, and my Vit D was lowish then. Ever since, it’s been one of my “prescribed medications”, 1000iU per day in a capsule. So, no change now.

Re weight, thin, I started this WOL 34 kg above my “ideal” weight – I’m short and have a small frame, so mid BMI I should be around 52.5 kg.
Last year I lost 13 kg, then regained 10 kg in a few months near the end of the year. Started seriously losing weight again at the start of February this year, and have lost about 10 kg again, so I’m back where I was at my lightest last year, and still have 21 kgs to lose.

Realistically, any weight from 59 kg and down would have my BMI in the normal weight range, so I need to lose at least 14.5 kg to reach a BMI of 25; currently it’s 31 so I’m still mildly obese (sigh!). I need to lose 1.5 kg to be “merely” overweight.

Having said all that, even at this weight I feel so much better and more energetic; I could be a danger to the public if I lose a lot more 🙂 (but I’d dearly love to).

Sorry, longer than intended. Keep well all!

Thin, yes I have read the entire blog – it was an afternoon reading binge a few afternoons ago.

Betsy, I’m very impressed with how determinedly you have tacked that weight gain.
What a lovely thought, to provide care packages.

Well the rain stopped for a while mid-afternoon, so I did get out into the garden after all. I finished digging over all the beds and then forked through composted poultry and cow manure. The only thing on today;s list that I didn’t get done was planting. That will have to wait for the weekend.
The FD was fine and not the struggle I was expecting. NFD tomorrow.