It is good morning time again. Cold, sunny, breezy in my part of Melbourne. Thunderstorms on their way.

Turn, a lovely catch up! (Haha Thin, crazy Marie Antionette never played with van hair. She wasn’t so far sighted.)
Ooh ‘everything omelette’ would be delicious. I tend more to frittatas, and my mouth is watering now.
My chocolate porridge cake is so good! The oats add richness and moisture and just a little more nutrition! But not only that, it is all made in a saucepan which makes it super easy. Cook oats in a little water for 5 mins, add sugar that melts in and butter that melts in, and then it is cool enough to add eggs and cocoa and SR flour and a bit of vanilla and then scrape it all into the cake tin and into the oven. So quick and easy and minimal clearing up.
I once had a phone call from Alice Springs, a friend’s friend who had lost the recipe and needed it for a birthday party that weekend!
Eep re the quake! I love hearing your adventures.

Anzac, hooray for that good night’s sleep. I do hope you got another one last night. Brilliant job with your fast day! Enjoy your weekends.

Thin here is the other floral boxer shorts pic. Best appreciated with a big screen right in front of your face, haha. https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1c7ZvBQSWBuNjSszdq6zeSpXab.jpg

Big applause for chess without wine.
Ha, I’m not a beer drinker (always thought it a nasty sour drink, much preferred Baileys. Alcohol is meant to taste like a chocolate milkshake, right?). I was trying to cover the broad range.

I called in at an op shop yesterday and scored Michael Mosley’s Fast800 and The Clever Guts Diet. $3 each. I read the Fast800 book yesterday (he is a good easy read) and I found it so interesting.

One thing that really struck me is that he recommends NO TREATS while losing weight, ie doing the 800 a day, or the 5:2, but to leave it until we are at maintenance, and then only very occasionally. No biscuits, cake, chocolates, buttered popcorn or alcohol. Or all the other carby things we sneak in, white pasta, bread, rice for example. Wait for maintenance and then only special occasions.

I’m off to read the other book, can’t remember if I have read it before or not, haha. And to eat my yummy, Mediterranean Diet, nice, full, proteiny, midday meal, and my lovely light soup supper. Worked well yesterday! And my clothes are feeling easier.

Fast Day tomorrow!

Cheers to you all ducks!

Good afternoon all.

I seem to have hit a bit of a pattern with walk lately. I tried to go for a walk with a friend this morning. We didn’t get far before the skies opened. It didn’t just rain on us, it hailed! Luckily we had been walking loops close to my house, just in case. So we got back here without getting drenched – just a little damp.

Turn, lovely to hear what you are up to. Glad you made it safely over to the north island. I hope there are a lot of lovely adventures ahead.

Penguin, I’m very glad to see that Cinque has managed to find flower that gave you and Mrs P a good giggle. I hope the stronger treatment that you have begun is going well and not making your life to difficult.

Betsy, I’m sure the BP meds will go soon. Mine were changed about 6-7 times as I lost weight until I finally didn’t need any – it took a while to get there though.

Anzac, glad your week resulted in a loss, even if it was modest.

Cinque, Very glad to see that you have recovered from your birthday exertions.
When I was in the hills on Wednesday I went to the Stirling green grocer as they often have some unusual offerings. Like you, I found purple carrots and also one of my favourite beans – flat beans https://imgur.com/a/W4JupgK
I got to wondering about the carrots – were they planted for the restaurant market and then sold to us ordinary folk when the restaurants closed?
Glad the main meal at lunch and soup for dinner is working for you – me too. On the days I don’t do it I’m in trouble.
I can see the logic in avoiding all those treat foods while losing weight – once I start I find it hard to stop craving the extras on a daily basis.

Thin, I can understand you getting grumpy with OH eating bread when you are trying not to. I have enough difficulty avoiding it even when nobody else is tempting me. Are you replacing bridge with chess?

GDSA, congratulations on the loss. I hope the tide of disappointments has turned for you and your family.

As I mentioned I spent Wednesday in the hills. I finally got a haircut (about 6 weeks late) and then went for a walk all around the town. I went to lunch with my aunt and cousin and as it would have been my uncles birthday, my aunt put a little framed photo of him on the table with us. Lunch was nice, but I had a caesar baguette and a vanilla slice. Both delicious but really bad choices in terms of calories and simple carbs. I was then struggling on Thursday to get my cravings back under control again. My 500cal FD yesterday went really well, which was a relief. I made mulligatawny soup (with puy lentils and split mung beans) for dinner last night. Really filling and delicious, perfect for a FD meal. The recipe requires quite a lot of fresh curry leaves and I couldn’t get any, so I bought dried ones from the Chinese grocer and hoped for the best. I was quite impressed – during cooking they swelled up to look just like the fresh ones and seemed to impart the same flavour to the soup. Now I have a large bag of them in the pantry for next time so I won’t have to hunt down the fresh ones anymore.

I have finally scheduled a family dinner for next Sunday. I used to have them monthly, but due to the virus it’s been many months. I have caught up most of these family members in recent weeks, but not in one group. This will be a group of 10 in my house – such a big change. Now I have a menu to plan – which I admit I quite enjoy doing, although I find all the eating dislikes a frustration at times – one won’t eat anything containing cheese, half of them don’t like mushrooms and another half will only eat the breast meat of chicken. I think I’ll just make several casseroles so that there’ll be something there to suit everyone.

Hope you are all having a nice weekend, take care.

Hi Thin, sounds like a good plan for your Sunday FD. Will your daughter have time to visit or have you travelled you too far from her now.
I used to play chess with my ex husband. He’d been playing since childhood so I decided I should learn. With some help from him and a book I borrowed, I figured out the basics. I was rather proud of myself when I got to the stage of being able to win games. Sadly I haven’t played chess since my marriage ended.

For Bridge I use a phone app on my iphone. The main one I use is a free app called “BJ Bridge SAYC Beginner”, which is standard American bidding (BJ Bridge also have “ACOL” and “Benji ACOL” apps – different bidding systems I think). I like the beginners version because it gives you the option of reading hints about what each bid tells you about your partner’s or opponents’ hands – useful while learning. It also makes suggestions about what your own appropriate bid should be and what card you should play. (I often take the advice on bidding as it’s what I would do most of the time, but I usually go my own way when it comes to card play.) Once you play the game, the app will also play it twice behind the scenes so that there are duplicate scores to allow for comparative percentage scoring. The app keeps a tally of all games played, so you know what your average percentage is to date. The screen is fairly busy so I find it easier to use on my ipad mini than the phone, but use I do use it on my phone when sitting in waiting rooms. There is a BJ Bridge Pro app available as well for $6 – as far as I can see, the difference with this one is that it allows you to play with other people rather than against the app’s algorithm.
Most people I know use the Bridge Base Online app. I have it loaded, but haven’t actually used it.

Hope you and your OH have a nice FD, even if you have to skip the ice cream.

Hello from cold grey Melbourne,

We missed a bad thunderstorm yesterday… but got 25 new cases of Covid 19 with too many of them from people who had contact with someone else with it (family gatherings), but had decided not to quarantine properly, since the general idea here was that we had it licked. Wrong!

I’ve been walking around the house this morning practicing wearing the facemask and pretending I am asking for things at the shops, ready for next time I go to Northcote Plaza (probably tomorrow, judging by the emptiness of my coffee container). I realised it is talking with the mask on that feels shaky (it makes the mask more likely to slip down), but so long as I don’t open my mouth too wide, it is fine! I want at least to be a symbol that Covid 19 is still a risk.

Gday, 800g gone in a week! That is one huge pat of butter! Congratulations! https://thumbs.gfycat.com/SoupyRelievedBufflehead-small.gif

Back to basic 5:2 is really working for you. Good decision with those empty calories.

Mind you, after writing that observation re NO TREATS from Fast800, I have been thinking that I may never have started 5:2 if that was the book I read first. In my head that makes it 7 tricky days a week. I needed to have 2 hard days and then just slowly improve my 5 non fast days. Okay, I do have my no sugar very clear and fast, but I have only slowly cut out the chips and the other carby favourites.

I let people know (local fb group) that I am cutting back my curry leaf bush and does anyone want some leaves. Quite a few do, so I cheerily let them know I would be in all day today, but forgot to warn them I am henna-ing my hair, and will be sporting my spotty shower cap. Watch out neighbourhood!

So it was amazing to hear you mentioning curry leaves LJoyce! It sounds like you have it sorted, but I will mention that if you have a frost free spot, they are very easy to grow. I bought a little plant over ten years ago, put it in a big pot just inside the side gate (frost free) and chop it back every winter so it doesn’t grow into a tree. (My Mozambique friends said their home town of Maputo has big curry leaf trees all through the city). It has grown its roots down through the bottom of the pot, into the soil, and is still going so well.

I think you are right about the purple carrots! Previously they had been about three times the price of orange ones, and spindly. The beautiful bunches available now are very much restaurant quality. (I hope you find some eventually Thin).

Well done with your 500cal day, LJ. That is my aim for today. So far so good! Haha.

How lovely to be planning your family dinner. So many extra things to factor in with dislikes, but won’t it be gorgeous to get the right meals chosen. A nice challenge, as Thin put it. Good luck.
(Isn’t it amazing how, when you are looking for recipes with no cheese, or whatever, all you can think of is cheese recipes! Our brains just don’t catch the ‘no’ bit!)

Happy Father’s Day to Mr Thin, and to Penguin! And to anyone else who celebrates it today.

Gold star Thin, for your decision to fast that bit more rationally. Mmm now I want Chicken Provençal. I will put it on my list.
So good to hear your lettuce is growing well. So is mine! Even in midwinter. I was able to pick enough leaves (one or two from about 8 little lettuces) to mix with rocket and a few other bits and pieces, for my salad yesterday.

The other thing I picked up from Dr Mosley was that traditionally we had about 4 and a half hours between meals. Good grief, I thought I was doing well going 4 hours without eating. I am instructing my brain to adjust its idea of normal. Again.

Well, today it is even longer than 4 hours between meals! Sunday Fast Day, and miso soup on the horizon.

Nearly time to henna my hair. Cheers all!

Good evening all. I read all your posts earlier, but had a guest over for afternoon tea and didn’t get back to the computer.

Weigh-in yesterday and today – exactly 70 kg still, but slightly lower measurements, so I’m optimistic about this coming week.

Thanks everyone for all the useful and encouraging comments.

Thin, I usually have a few “treats” in the house, deliberately things I can eat or ignore, so that I don’t get any feelings of deprivation. As an example, I’ve had some Timtams in the fridge for several weeks now, and still have 2 left from the first packet. The others are unopened. And usually I can happily walk past the “tempting” items near the checkout, whether I’ve been eating or not. The chocolate liquorice just caught my eye for some reason, and it’s something I DO like, unfortunately. Even so, it took me about 10 days to eat the 5 sticks in the package, so it’s not like I just scoffed them all down. My danger points are usually the really good quality chocolates, Haigh’s as an example – LJoyce will sympathise here. On the other hand, as a teetotaller, I avoid any problems with alcohol calories, so what I gain on the swings I lose on the roundabouts.

Turnabout, good to hear from you. You have done some interesting travelling in the past week or so. What lovely country you’ve been through.

GDayfromSA, yay for your weight loss. Well done, and how pleasing for you. Now some of the stress of job-hunting is off, it may be easier for you to get rid of the kilos.

Cinque, you are so clever with the pictures you find. Really chuckled over the “man flowers” you found for Penguin.
And,no treats on FD800? Well, I guess that’s when folk start for 12 weeks on 800 calories a day every day, to jump-start weight loss. With only 800 calories to play with, it would be hard to fit in treats and still eat sensibly. It wouldn’t suit me. Three times a week is difficult enough. I like 5:2 (or 4:3) because on the NFDs, you can fit treats in and still keep to TDEE and lose weight.

LJoyce, how wonderful you’re able to finally have an extended family gathering again. Rules here in Victoria have tightened up again from tonight in some areas, instead of loosening. Apparently some families have been going to town on the big family get-togethers while ignoring social distancing or whether someone was slightly unwell, with the consequence that our virus numbers have increased slightly and from tonight no more than 5 visitors will be allowed to visit households at the one time. Sigh! And the planned opening of restaurants, etc., for 50 instead of 20 patrons has been delayed, to the dismay of some restaurant owners who have already lined up extra staff to start from tomorrow.

Re BP meds, realistically, I think I’ll have to lose another 10 kilos or so before my doctor would consider taking me off the meds, and also improve my fitness by adding some HIIT to my walking. My Fitbit says my fitness is excellent for my age, but I know I need to increase my aerobic exercise more than just walking, however vigorous it is.

Not sure who else wrote since I last checked in. Anzac65, I think you posted, but I don’t remember the content. Did you find a way to repair your wrap, or was the hole too big?

LindsayL, how was the whale-watching? Did you see many?
And, have you tried challenging OH’s gout with any of the foods I mentioned?

Okay, getting late. Hi to everyone else lurking. Hope you’ve had good weekends, Neilithicman and Penguin. Happy Father’s Day to the British among us.

Goodnight all.

Hi Penguin, that’s great news all round. Was it your birthday? I wonder if you share a birthday with Cinque. Happy Anniversary. You have a humorous artist in your group. Good luck with the house sale. We are all set for some fabulous weather this week. I feel slightly sad that these marvellously long days will now start to get shorter – but only by a minute per day at first.

Betsy, oh good, it sounds like you have everything perfectly under control. I must have misunderstood something you wrote in one of your earlier posts.

Cinque, I hope your FD was its usual successful non-event. We walked a lot today, I felt mildly hungry before that but ate nothing until 6pm. It should be a 300-400 cal day depending on whether I succumb to the banana.

Hi all from a bright and sunny Kinloch on the shores of Lake Taupo. Monday 22/06

So much for best laid plans! Decided not to carry on with our plans of heading up the east coast because of heavy rain warnings, so we tripped over to Taupo and are parked up at the marina in Kinloch. It drizzled with rain as we arrived, then hosed it down a while yesterday and it has been really windy too but today the sun is shining brightly and it all looks such a different place, really beautiful.

Jumped on the scales this morning and I’m heading back down again so that was good news, a direction that needs to keep trending as I have set myself a new goal of attending our friends wedding on 5th November 10 kilos lighter. Should be manageable in 20 weeks!? Sticking to the 800 per day and 16:8 which I usually do but with the odd day off to fit in with our travel days, and much more strict with the 800, need to go back to the recipes and weighing.

Thin, the freezer we have sits above the fridge, not a stand alone freezer but is a proper compartment, the whole thing sits about a foot from the floor and goes to the ceiling. Someone recently posted on one of the ‘vanners’ forums, name three things in your van you couldn’t go without? 1) the coffee machine 2) the freezer 3) A silicone spatula/spoon! Amazing how quickly you manage to do things without all the comforts of most peoples ‘normal’ home kitchen set up.

Glad the treatment went well Penguin and that you had a super FD weekend. Loved those flowery boxers haha

Ooh, got a visitor, must dash, catch you all later,

Turn

Second verse. Same as the first. A little bit louder and a little bit worse.

Penguin, Happy Birthday! Another Gemini.
Big congratulations for making it through chemo and house inspections. So glad you are being let off fairly lightly re side effects so far, and keeping up with the exercise bike.

Haha what a cheeky art friend to be so scathing about your picture. On the other hand, it is in the fine tradition of Impressionism for you to be derided and misunderstood. Keep at it!

Betsy, well done sticking to 70kg. You are going to be saying good bye to the 70’s forever soon. Nice work.

It is interesting what Dr Mosley means by no treats. He does have some ‘treat recipes’ for 800 calorie days (like stewed rhubarb and ginger 😉 ) and talks about a little bit of good dark chocolate fitting in to a Mediterranean diet. But he is mainly talking about high carb low nutrient foods and even has a little quiz to test how addicted we are to certain foods and hints for keeping off them. He admits he is addicted to chocolate.

Neil, hooray for the passing of the shortest day. Hello light! I hope you can get out in it as much as you need. Best wishes for a good week.

Hi Turn, what a glorious first sentence!
Woot woot on that good scales weight, and what a lovely new goal you have. If you are an average 5:2 loser, it is half a kilo a week, so you quite possibly can lose that 10kg. Won’t it make you feel good!

Cheers all, have a wonderful day.

Cinque, We have tons of Coriander, I keep cropping down the biggest plants and it keeps growing back. Coriander loves full shade and moist soil, so I keep ours in the little strip by the back of our house and it has flourished. The type of coriander is also important, I bought a couple of packets of seeds of a new hybrid that is slow to bolt, so you get lots of lovely coriander before it all goes to seed.

Wow, that coriander sounds wonderful Neil, I have never been successful growing it either and I have always used a lot of it.

Thinking back to the board games, it was a Sunday evening family tradition when I was growing up, every week and I loved it! We also received board games for Xmas and birthday presents, we had Cluedo, Totopoly, Mousetrap, Scrabble and loads more. I was taught to play chess by my brother, it was always something special between us and I bought him a beautiful onyx set for his 21st birthday, all the games we played I never once managed to beat him. We were both members of the after school chess groups too, not sure if they even do things like that anymore. OH doesn’t play so I haven’t played for years. Dad taught us to play cards, but poor old Mum, she is hopeless, forgets which suits are which, what the pictures are worth, rules etc, etc, so funny we used to take the mickey out of her for ages, haha. All the years they travelled they learnt backgammon and are both proficient at that now. Not a game I have ever played. I have always loved dominoes and played 5’s & 3’s in a local pub team before we left the UK. We now play a game called Triominoes which is similar to dominoes but the tiles are triangular and they fit together to make high scoring wheels/bridges/etc. Quite addictive!

So sorry to hear about the hole in your wrap Anzac, maybe you know someone who can sew and they can sew a patch over the hole? Good to hear Maxx is behaving himself again, good luck for tomorrow, you’ll smash it.

Those treats are seemingly individual takes on whatever you want them to be really aren’t they Cinque? It would have to be something salty for me, then I pay for it, but they are all on hold for some time. I’ve got this. Well done on the new waist measurement, not daring to go there just yet!

Ditto Anzac Betsy, you will sooon be in the 60’s, sure we will here you shout from here?!

Time to go and watch the weather to see where we head tomorrow, and pop the yoghurt into the paprika chicken we are having for dinner.

Cheers, Turn

I think this is the that coriander I used https://www.kingsseeds.co.nz/shop/Herbs/Alpha+Search+for+Herbs/Coriander+Slowbolt++T-4710.html# It says to space plants 5 cm apart but I just scattered it on the soil all over and we’ve been living off it, and supplying my wife’s family and her sister’s restaurant with it for months.

I had a reasonably successful fast day yesterday. I just had some kiwifruit during the day and then some pork scotch fillet and salad for dinner and a handful of nuts as a snack. I’m having a control day today, I’ve got some kiwifruit and oxtail soup for lunch and then I’ll be doing something with eggs for dinner. Hopefully that and my gym session today will undo the hefty carb weekend that I told myself I wouldn’t do this week. I guess my willpower wasn’t up to it this weekend.

July is going to be my month, I’m going to do dry July and focus more on cooking with seasonal winter vegetables that are available now that our farmers markets are back up and running.

Have a great day everyone.

Good afternoon from a lovely calm and sunny Whakatane, where the birds are singing gaily, it’s just before the suns sinks down over the river flood bank.

Hi Loyce, from memory, Totopoly was a game similar to Monopoly but the property are horses instead, here is a link, https://www.vintage-playtime.com/vintage_board_games/prod_2337835-Totopoly-Board-Game.html. It does mention that it is quite an antique now, so guess it probably is. Where we are located presently has a walking/cycling track built on the flood bank, (about 20 metres away) so no excuses there eh? Just need the sunshine to go with. Pleased to hear you finally got a walk in without getting wet.

The pork scotch fillet sounded good Neil, the Dunedin Farmers Market is so good isn’t it? Maybe you should start selling your coriander there, haha

I forgot about jigsaws Cinque, my all time favourite past time, but alas, no time or room now! I used to so love completing them, the more difficult the better of course but I never got around to doing a Wasgij, have you done any? I do enjoy the flavour of paprika, it is so warming, especially on these cooler evenings. Well done you for getting used to wearing your mask, it will make you feel so much safer whilst out and about. Plus you need those coffee grounds, don’t you? Enjoy your sunshine.

Our posts crossed Thin, I have always been wary of silicone but I was gifted my original spoon and have since bought another one on my visit to the UK, I loved it so much. It is basically the same as a stiff rubber spatula but it is shaped like a deep spoon with a flat end, so you can scrape around jars/bowls/saucepans to empty them (I so hate wasting food) and I use them to clean off the dinner plates before washing them, too expensive to keep using paper towels and need to watch what goes down the plug holes for obvious reasons. I don’t have anything else silicone, and I don’t own a metal steamer although I know the ones you mean, maybe try the op shops? I just put a small amount of water in the pan to cover say carrots and then place the broc, cauli, etc on top so they are not in the water, uses minimum water too. Sometimes use the microwave when on power, saves the gas!

We moved on today, only a couple of hours, but makes a heap of difference with the weather patterns here. The Hawkes Bay region has finally broken it’s drought with the equivalent of a months rainfall in just the last week, so glad we sat that one out! We do have some more rain forecast, most of Thursday and Friday, but looking at the forecasts, there is no escaping it so have decided to stay put for a week. Then we’ll take a rain check. The sun has finally gone to leave behind a beautiful orange sky, must be time for dinner, enjoy the rest of your Tuesday everyone,
Turn

Neil, thanks for the detailed explanation of coriander growing, I shall look out for those slow bolt seeds. Good luck with the dry July. We bought even more wine yesterday but didn’t drink it. As I loaded the basket with healthy and colourful looking options, OH paused at all the packages of cakes, biscuits, chocolates and so on and settled on a pack of snickers bars. Sigh.

Turn, I love WASGIJ puzzles! We’ve done several of them. We did one over Christmas where we were pet-sitting and my brother became totally hooked. I left it for the hosts and they also loved it. At one of the chandleries, I saw a jig-saw mat that rolls up your incomplete puzzle, great for boats or caravans where space is a factor. It was a ludicrous price though. We love backgammon too but don’t have a set on the boat.

Thanks for the silicone spoon explanation – DD bought me something called a spoodle a year or so ago, it was just plastic but did what you describe, a fabulous little gadget. A cross between a kitchen spoon and a ladle. I must look out for one. Very topical that you mention the sink – ours blocked over the weekend and we found a little plunger at the local hardware store yesterday. Yes, I do the same with stacking veg so that some are steamed.

LJ, glad you’re having/had a good FD and have managed to get some good walking in.

Cinque, sorry to read of your recent outbreaks in Victoria. With such relatively small numbers, I’m sure the authorities can contain it quickly. Too bad that certain elements don’t place any value on the over seventies and vulnerable, as they pursue their own self-serving agendas. A surgical mask here has been reduced from £1 to 50p each. I do believe it makes other people think twice about coming close.

CalifD, are you alright?

Yay Betsy!!! Congrats on ticking under that milestone.

Unfortunately there was no movement on the scale for me this week, but no gain either. I’m still the same weight I was last week, 90.9 kilos. I’m not sure I can drop a full 3 kilos in a month, at this stage I would take anything, but I’m aiming for around 200-300 grams a week, which would be around 0.9-1.3 kilos and would drop me back under 90.

Well I’ll be enjoying my non fast day today, I hope everyone has a good one today.

Cinque, yes that’s it, it’s because it’s still June that the scales haven’t moved, not the junk food I ate during the weekend, I’ll take that. 😀

On silicon implements, I’m not a fan of most silicon stuff, but the best thing I ever bought was a set of silicon ice cube trays. Because they’re flexible they are so easy to get the ice cubes out.

Non fast day and I had a bowl of my homemade muesli, a scone, I have some more oxtail soup for lunch and then some roast lamb and veggies for dinner. I’m trying to eat a decent amount of calories without too much junk, just the scone is my one relaxation. I’m going for my second fast day of the week tomorrow, then a conrol day on Friday, and then hopefully try to keep my eating up to between my BMR and TDEE in the weekend but with healthier options than I have been eating.

Good evening all
A quick post as I’m waiting for the nurse to arrive to do my infusion.

NFD with a bit of afternoon snacking, but not too much and nothing unhealthy.

Just had to say congratulations Betsy. If anyone had deserved that milestone it’s you. Your determination in recent months has been inspiring.

Thin, I saw your PMs announcement this morning – hairdressers are reopening! Does that mean no more boat hair?

Hello all. Quick post this evening. The scales were even nicer to me this morning after my TDEE day – 69.8kg. I keep double-checking because I don’t believe it, but there it is. Long may it continue. Now my goal is to get down to the 50s. Expect that will be several more months off, but it will come. I now have 3 pairs of jeans that I need to wear a belt with.

Neilithicman, with all the increase you’ve made in muscle, you’re right, it may be a slower more gradual descent. but you can do it.

Thin, never heard of WASGIJ puzzles, but they sound really interesting to try.

Cinque, stay safe and well. I noticed more people around today had masks on, so maybe it will become more prevalent. Hope the panic buying gets nipped in the bud. Talk about ridiculous! So glad Coles and Woollies have immediately stepped in to re-institute product limits for here in Victoria.

LJoyce, hope the infusion went well.

Hi to everyone else who’s hovering.

Stay safe, stay well everyone, especially CalifDreamer.

Good morning from a cool but sunny Sydney.

Just a quick post because work is crazy. I had 10 meetings yesterday. 10! When we are supposed to do our work I ask? Each meeting added to my workload so now I am overloaded, stressed and didn’t sleep well. GAH! And here we are on a FD when all I want to do is eat my body weight in carbs.

Not a good FD on Tuesday and yesterday was OH’s birthday and he requested fish and chips from the new F&C shop up the road for dinner. Yes they were delicious and while I only ate half of my portion it was still a million calories give or take. We were supposed to go out for lunch but I had to cancel due to the endless stream of meetings dripping into my inbox – despite the fact that I had blocked my diary. Grrrr

Yay for overcoming hunger Cinque and not destroying a FD. 800 calories is still very low

Hope your infusion went ok LJ

Still cheering your 60’s Betsy

Thin, I am shaking my head that the UK Govt are making you leave the country during this terrible time. I hope you get there and back ok. My labrador forum UK friends are all moaning about how ‘hot’ it is and how they can’t cope with temperatures in the high twenties. Tee hee – don’t come to Australia in summer my friends!

OK, must go and dial into another meeting. Wish me luck today

Our posts crossed Anzac, that answers my questions, you are obviously snowed under? Don’t beat yourself up about the calorific dinner, it’s only one day, you’ll get back to it.

Turn

Evening all

Double congratulations Betsy, another day in the 6s, you’ve got to feel good about that.

Turn, yes I’m getting in the gym each lunchtime for 45 minutes of exercise and I go pretty had-core when I’m there. The Moroccan chicken and quinoa sounds good. I made vegetable risotto tonight which went down well.

LJoyce, looks like the world was conspiring against your fast day but helping me with mine, I was weak this morning and went to get a coffee, but the coffee machine was not working so I had a couple of cups of rooibus tea instead. You did pretty well to resist and have a good fast day.

Don’t beat yourself up about the shark and taties Anzac, I’m sure your body can cope with a small splurge.

Cinque, what is dashi? I’m guessing it’s a soup similar to miso?

Thin, that sucks! What are you planning to do if you need to leave UK?

Four days after my carb weekend I think I’ve finally got things right. I got the burst of energy and the flushed skin that I get when my body goes into ketosis and starts burning fat. So signs are good that my next weigh-in (which will actually be in July, 1st July to be exact) will see a modest drop. I had so much energy that I managed to run for my entire 45 minute treadmill session, running almost 8.5 kilometres at an average speed of 11.3 kph.

Well control day tomorrow and then TDEE days during the weekend, I’ll just have to make sure that I keep away from the sugar and carbs that I chowed down on last weekend.

Have a good one everyone

Thin, in this part of England the dentists are re-opening. OH lost a cap a few weeks back and managed to get an appointment last week. If you leave this country when the visa expires can you come back on a new one? I am not sure that we do actually have a visa/immigration policy. We seem to stumble from dumb decision to dumb decision and to have totally forgotten who our friends are.

Betsy, Is there is a weight less than 60kg? I am below my target, my BMI is in the OK range and am still 93kg.

Cinque, I’ll come back to those flowers, the last time I looked at them I lost my post.

Anzac. That many meetings is just silly. Is your management/mismanagement structure aware of what is happening? 32C here, I am wearing shorts and a t shirt but am banned from going into the sun.

Turnabout. Strange thing for a Brit to say, but I could use some of your rain. The garden is parched. In the best traditions of UK we are expecting a family visit on Saturday and that is the day rain is forecast.

LJ. I have learned recently that a day without side effects is to be valued. Stay that way.

Neil. I envy you the gym. Fortunately we have an exercise bike, but it does nothing for my upper body and it looks as though out gyms will be the last things to re-open.

Cali. We hear the scariest tales coming out of the US. Stay safe.

Morning all.
Back in Brisbane. It’s been a while since I posted.

We have been sticking with the suggestions for gout (thank you Betsy) with good effect. But my poor OH is still suffering with his feet – his GP thinks it is tendonitis, so xrays and ultrasound booked to confirm it. it’s so painful.

I have gone to work on decluttering since we’ve been back. The Straddie house is small and so so manageable without all the stuff we have here, some of which I’ll never get rid of ..china and silver and even furniture handed down from my grandparents and parents. But I can organise my clothes (do I really need 20 pairs of jeans?) and kitchen cupboards, etc. My OH is a ‘there’s a space, I’ll just pop this in it’ type of bloke – I’m working on the principle of ‘a place for everything, everything in its place’. A work in progress. And using your ‘seven items’ method Cinque, which is brilliant (although I’ve pared it back to 5).

My weight is a work in progress too…it goes up and down, but down is where it’s headed so I’ll roll with that.

Sorry – this has been so much about me so far. I’ll move on.

Thin, that’s a bit concerning, that your OH can’t get a visa renewal. Hope you can find an safe haven, before you get back to the security of your boating life.

Turn, you make your travelling life sound so appealing. How wonderful, to just be able to up stumps and move on, when the mood takes you.

Neil, you have done so well changing your weight and way of life. Do you think your body is telling you it is happy where it is? How are you going with giving up drinks and white coffee? Making any difference?

Calif, haven’t heard from you for a while. All okay there in your neck of the woods. Shocked to see people attending a political rally (politics aside). People don’t seem to get that they need to play their part.

Cinque, Victoria’s spike is worrying. Good you are wearing a mask when you go out and that your area’s infection rate is relatively low. I read this morning the latest spike was from a quarantine hotel security guard who infected his family at a large family celebration, but no evidence of BLM rally transmission, which is surprising.

People (including Djokovic) can be really thick. I was in a West End deli yesterday to get some bread. Narrow shop, only customer. A chap pushed open the door and stood right next to me. I moved away. He apologised … thought I was waiting to be served and he’d pushed in. I explained I didn’t want to stand so close …. to which he replied, ‘ha, that virus. I don’t believe in it.’ Really? Tell that to the half a million who’ve died with it.

Betsy, congratulations on getting into the 60s…that is brilliant. Sorry to know you may have to go on to cholestrol medication. Will you be able to drop it further down the track, if your levels improve?

LJ fresh curry leaves. Oh that I could whisk a little tree down to you. We have one growing at the top of our drive. We came home one day to find a very large Indian family gathering the leaves. We offered them a seedling, but they live in an apartment and couldn’t take it, but OH told them to help themselves which they do, often.

re purple carrots …DD did a Landline story on them once, and from memory, purple was their original colour. Then some enterprising farmer grew orange ones. And now purple again. The more things change…..

Penguin, good to hear the chemo isn’t knocking you around too much. Long may it continue, until your treatment is finished. Best wishes for the house sale. I guess Summer in the UK is a good time to sell. Any progress on finding a new home?

OK time to get cracking. I started this yesterday, but got distracted because for the first time since February, we looked after Miss 4. Oh and what a wonderful day we had. She’s such a card. She told DD, ‘Mum, I love you 104 years’. Then, over her shoulder, as she walked away. “Dad is 5”. Poor Dad.

And finally, Miss Rose. ‘chase me’. https://imgur.com/jI6JxhB

Morning all from a very soggy Whakatane! My gosh I have never seen or heard so much rain, a full 36 hours, but looking out of one window it is now blue skies, the opposite direction, lots of watery grey clouds! Hopefully the blue sky wins the battle?!

Missed your posts Lindsay, thought you were on island time? Commiserations with OH’s foot, experienced tendonitis myself, no fun, especially as at the time I was having to stand most of the day, but coupled with gout must be extremely painful?

With you on Djokovic Neil, I had always been a big fan, but this latest episode has been a real window to his and his families soul and it’s not pretty. The same with your experience in the butchers Lindsay, I’m not sure what part of this deadly virus people don’t get. It kills, end of!

Seeing the photos of the beaches in Bournemouth on line this morning Thin looks incredulous, do take care over there? I can see the reasons why the Government feels the need to open up but surely individuals have a duty of care to themselves and their fellow compatriots to try and keep a lid on the rate of infections and how quickly the will return. I really do feel safe here, we have some new cases but they are all in isolation, all from overseas Kiwis returning home.

Guess I’d better step foot outside today, body feels like it’s seizing up!

Have a great Friday everyone, nearly the weekend for all you workers out there,

Turn

Good afternoon all.

Betsy, good to see your continued weight decline. You will have those 60s properly locked in in no time.

Turn, sorry to hear that you are confined by the rain. As the weather mostly heads east I can tell you there are a few nice days on the way – although they need to do their bit cheering Vic and NSW up on the way.

Lindsay, lovely photo of Rosy with her chicken posse in the background!

Neil, glad you have found rooibos useful for cutting back on caffeine. I tried it a while back, but it just wasn’t for me. I just use decaffeinated tea instead.
I agree about the weird ideas and behaviours out there. It is more worrying with someone famous as they have the potential to reach so many more people.

Penguin, I’m glad that your wife at least liked the flowers from Cinque. I’m pleased to see that you grow plenty for her to pick. My dad grew lots of flowering shrubs, bulbs and annuals, but they weren’t for picking, they were part of his garden landscaping plan and woe betide anyone who dared to upset his careful plan by picking the flowers. He would occasionally bring a single rose in to my mum (from the many dozens of rose bushes in the garden).

I finally sent an email to the travel agent this morning. The balance of my tour and accommodation costs are due in 2 week, so I need to know whether the tour company has cancelled the tour (in which case I would get my deposit back) or whether I’ll have to cancel my booking and lose the deposit. I suspect it will be the latter, as I doubt they will cancel until much closer to September.

The scales were not kind to me this morning. So far this month I’ve gained half a kilo. With the amount of restriction I’m a bit shocked by that. My clothing is definitely looser and my torso leaner, so I was anticipating a loss. Never mind, the scales have always been my enemy, nothing new there.

It’s a NFD for me today. I didn’t feel like having my main meal for lunch today, I really felt like porridge. So I’ll keep the lamb & chickpea curry for dinner and have a bowl of 5 gain porridge for lunch. Then it’s off to the supermarket to shop for the food I’ll need for Sunday’s family dinner.

Take care all.

Hi everyone, happy Friday

Well it’s not been the best week in all aspects so I will just park all that and move forward. One very good thing happened today: OH wanted to take Maxx to the dog-friendly cafe down by the river at Como for his birthday lunch that I had to defer from Wednesday to today. He has never been to a cafe. I said it would end in disaster but I was very happy to be proven wrong. Maxx was a very good boy and happily licked away at his frozen kong and, of course, sat up very interestedly when the food arrived but just quietly watched us eat, getting some poached chicken treats that we took. A couple of times he got a bit restless and woofed at passing dogs but not in his big-boy bark and only about 3 times. COVID restrictions helped in that the tables were very far apart and we were able to get a table on the edge of the deck, overlooking the water, where we could tie him to the fence just next to OH’s leg.

LJ, drat those scales. I had quite a good FD yesterday considering (about 900 calories) and they only dropped 200g. So I’m overall up this week but I am going to focus on next week now. No social events and hopefully no 10-meeting days!

I’ve been doing a bit of decluttering too Lindsay but with a hoarder for an OH it is very difficult. But we are getting there I’m with you about Djokovic – I have lost respect too.

Penguin, yes, I had a moan to my two PM’s about the number of meetings and they said it was just because so much is happening right now and they should calm down. Today I only had two but Friday’s always tend to be less. I am being invited to meetings about topics that I am not responsible for due to my experience in those areas. I made the dumb mistake of airing some ideas when I noticed things were not going well and now the other team members have pounced. Lesson learnt!

Hope you really are going ok with your treatment and not just giving us the British stiff upper lip 🙂

Hope the rain stops soon Turn. It makes all the difference when you can walk in the glorious winter sunshine. It is an absolute corker here today and having lunch outside in the sun was lovely. It is 18 degrees minus a bit for the slight wind chill

I’m so sorry about your cholesterol Betsy 🙁

Hi everyone else

Quacka, Cali – hope you are ok