Hello everyone,
I’ve been trying to write. (Especially to tell you my ‘instant mashed potato’ story) Yay I am doing it.

I’m going well. Good fast day on Wednesday. Went through my wardrobe in detail and put anything that is too small for me in the wardrobe in the spare room.
Good for my soul to have my wardrobe containing things I can wear!
And good for my accountability (given I haven’t got scales) to keep an eye on how I am fitting in clothes.
Glad to say most things fit!

Countrygal, you are so right about how precious homecare is, even if mine wears her mask under her nose and talks extraordinary bullshit. 😀 😀 (Her tales are my fortnightly entertainment, and I concentrate on keeping my home well ventilated and my own mask on properly).

Hello to your King Charles Spaniels and especially their silky ears.

Interesting to balance out the eternal vigilance it takes to stay healthy and slim (yes, medals for Thin!) and the importance to make it easy and sustainable.
Maybe it takes eternal vigilance to keep it easy and sustainable…

Here is the link to the word game. Enjoy! https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html

PS Don’t judge your fast day on what those evil, contradictory, delinquent scales say! Just keep going. 😀 (as you said!)

The changes Dr Mosley made were that it does help some people to start off with a sprint, so he recommends anything from a couple of weeks to a couple of months on 800calories a day.
Then when you have done enough of that, he says to move to 5:2, but still at 800 calories maximum, because that still works and more people can manage it.
Also, to follow the Mediterranean Diet Guidelines, and try to have that longer fast at night, not necessarily 16:8, but at least half the day without eating seems to be very good for us.
And maintenance is Mediterranean Diet Guidelines, a long time overnight of not eating, and back to 6:1, 5:2, or a week or so of 800 a day when weight starts sneaking back on. Depending on what suits you.

(I managed to put on that 7kg back on while still doing 5:2, but less rigorously, so I will need to consider my maintenance when I get close to it!)

Thin, packet mashed potato is excellent for making finger paint for preschoolers!

We had a school friend stay with our family for several months while his parents travelled overseas (back in the 70’s). One of our first meals with him had mashed potato as a side and he explained he didn’t like it. My mum gave him just a small serve and he politely took a mouthful and exclaimed “This is delicious! What brand is it?”
We all screamed with laughter.

Ooh, true words. We will never be this young again. Trying to enjoy every minute!

LJoyce, I hope the funeral went really well and was a fitting farewell to a precious life. I am glad your aunt had loved ones around her, especially you. How are you going?

Neil, nice shape changing. I was thinking that not only do muscles weigh more, but as you are building them up they hold a lot more water. You must be past that stage now. Lovely.

Lucky Tonga, if they are getting some of your home made jam. Well, a little bit of luckiness in among the hard times, anyway. Wonderful that the school and community are helping out.

Fingers crossed the covid virus doesn’t take off.

Lilymartin, hello! I remember your name. How are you going?

Betsy, big medals for all that tree work!
I knew what you meant re the 6-8kg, haha.
I hope that precious feeling of lightness comes soon.
I hope you find a good way to study in a heatwave (I’d say have a holiday from it, but that is NOT a very productive suggestion!)

I’ve got my portable air conditioner! My daughter brought it over and set it up. I just need to wait for it to get so hot I want to try it out.

Anzac, oh dear that medication mix up. I hope you both can keep resting and not pushing through, and your brains get nicely back to their previous sharpness.

Cheers for getting down under 93! You are doing it. It is worth all the work. Your health is THE most important thing.
I wonder if that planning and prep might become second nature (in the easiest possible form) so that you can do maintenance nicely. Especially if there is a way to make it Mr Anzac friendly (otherwise his contrary tastes will just undermine everything again, you can’t have that. Come on Mr Anzac! stir fries and meat salads are yum!)
I definitely manage food better when I can plan and bulk cook.

Okay, well, thanks public accountability! I managed the watermelon well. An enjoyable big slice every day, and no more. No bad consequences. Now I have a little bircher muesli pot thawing.

Sending best wishes to everyone

Good afternoon everyone. I still need to catch up on some posts. The last few days have been busy with medical appointments, funeral and my monthly infusion.

Thankyou all for your kind words. The funeral went very well. As requested by my cousin, everyone wore bright colour and we did our best to be happy. Although most of us did our share of crying too. My cousin adored gardening – they had almost an acre of gardens in the Adelaide Hills – the property used to belong to our grandparents. The garden was her creation, her joy and place of calmness. There was a poem read at her funeral that really fitted her so well:

Think of me always in a garden, dappled with shadow and light.
And in the freedom of wild birds, circling in endless flight.
Hear me in softly falling leaves and the gentle spaying of mighty trees.
Remember me in all that grows from the smallest flower to the most glorious rose.
As every petal and leaf unfurls, know that I am still part of your world.

Just to punctuate this message, in the days between her death and the funeral my crab apple bust into blossom. After making a poor original decision about the tree for the front yard, my cousin recommended I remove it and plant a crab apple instead, so I followed her sage advice. It seems rather apt that the tree chose this week to flower.
https://imgur.com/a/ZoH3gp1 (I’ve included the photo taken soon after planting in winter as well as a photo of the new blossom taken today.)

Aside from a few busy days, the only thing I have accomplished this week is a second trial with the new bread baker. I made a much smaller batch of dough this time and experimented with a lower oven temperature. As I was busy I made a slow rise recipe using minimal yeast – it’s easier to do the hands on parts of the process when you can fit them in with this method. This loaf was 100% wholemeal and with the tiny amount of yeast it was going to take ages to rise for baking, so I found a warm place for it on the window sill of my bedroom – which faces east. https://imgur.com/a/PS9ablx The photos also show it before and after baking. I’m much happier with this second attempt, although a little more tweaking is still required.

I’m doing a FD today. Necessary as I’ve eaten out a little too much this week and have not made ideal choices for meals at home. I should have more time at home next week, which will be welcome.

Hope you are all going well. I’ll catch up properly later – promise.

Oh I agree Thin, my curiosity wouldn’t/couldn’t wait a week anyway😂in fact I just changed and weighed again! .5K down since this morning, now I’m wondering if I shiuld eat dinner😂😂I will, couldn’t go 24hrs! Do you live in Spain, or holidaying? I believe it’s beautiful, and living here in Australia sound quite romantic, we are so far from everything. I think I eat Mediterranean more than anything, it’s portion control I need to watch.
LJ, what a beautiful poem, I hope you had a nice catch up with family after the funeral, it’s often the only time we see each sadly .

You are never too old to make memories Thin, and what a fabulous adventure you must be having. No plans are the way to freedom, and I enjoyed your reply ❤️

😂😂 always someone ready to take your money, better to sell it at a loss and replace it if/when you get back…..precious things can’t be replaced of course, think about that another time , enjoy your experience now Thin 😘

Hi all from a cloudy but now calm Alexandra.

Hi Country Gal, I am sure I remember your name from previous years, I have been bouncing around on here a few years now, but this time I do seem to be doing better. Sorry to hear you had contracted the awful Covid virus, and do so hope you get to feeling better soon, I can only sympathise on how you must feel with tiredness every afternoon, I am sure those dogs will be enjoying the extra cuddle time though?

After having read your post Thin, I can’t quite believe how similar our lives are right now! Quite ironic really. We sold the business after 23 years with the same feeling of, if not now, then when! We had the intention of travelling for twelve months, probably two years, then we would find somewhere we liked and settle down, then of course Covid hit and the cost of houses, old & new, and bare land has gone through the roof so it looks like we’ll stay in the caravan for a long time yet. Not that I mind, we both love the lifestyle, but I would love to have a veggie garden sometimes. We do keep heading back to Central Otago, where we lived for all those years, so it looks as though we would base ourselves around here somewhere again, if at all. That said, we are here in Alexandra, because we have a storage facility we had to dip into! We had personal stuff to store, plus business records for 7 years so we had to have something, so we kept most of everything and we’ll sort it when the next chapter begins, whenever that maybe?

Sounded like a moving but colourful funeral LJ, lovely poem, and uncanny with the blossom. Take care and rest up, emotion plays havoc with our health and it has been a very emotional time for you recently. The crab apple flowers look beautiful also the bread.

Well done for getting rid of the too big clothes Cinque, what a lovely feeling it is, I have recently done the same, however my spare wardrobe is the storage lockup, so once they are in there, that’s where they stay for at least a year, haha, non negotiable! I have never had a large wardrobe but now it is the smallest it has ever been and I love it. Picked up a lovely skirt at an Op shop the other day but now have to find a suitable top to go with it. It is quite amazing how many people on the road like us use potatoes out of a box, along with a whole load of other packaged ‘stuff’ (I couldn’t possibly call it food)I see the outer packaging in the provided bins and also on some of the FB pages about recipe ideas etc. And then people wonder why they have weight/obesity/mobility/health issues?

I’ve caught up on all the posts I think, there seems to have been a rush of late, sorry to anyone I’ve missed here, off to get a walk in before it gets really windy again. There has been some horrific storm damage around the country with all ferry sailings cancelled, some flights, slips on major highways, bridges washed out, flooding and trees falling. Think we’re in one of the calmest & driest places right now.

Right, off for a walk, got Wordle in two today, yay.

Turn

Good afternoon everyone. As promised I am catching up on all the posts I hadn’t read.

Neil, you are doing so well with your weight loss – good to see the scales begrudgingly catching up with what your clothing is telling you.
How nice that you are sending homemade jam – I suspect you are in the minority there.
I hope you are able to deal with local covid outbreak. What we have seen here (even in W.A.) is that once there’s a case of the omicron variant it seems to be impossible to eliminate because it spreads before you find it, and the spread needs to be managed so hospitals can cope.

Anzac, it does sound like the CSIRO plan does require a lot of planning – reminds me of being on weight watchers when I was in my 20s. I smiled at your use of a spreadsheet to mange it – that’s my go to tool as well. I still roughly plan my main meals a few days ahead in a spreadsheet.
Sorry to hear you are still struggling with the after effects of covid – and yes I agree you probably did have it despite the test result.

CountryGal, oh white peaches – yum. I grew up in the Riverland and our back was filled with every variety of fruit & nut that grew well in that climate. The best tree in the whole yard was a white clingstone peach. It bruised so easily – fingermark bruises on them just from picking it. But the flavour was absolute heaven. You do get spoiled with home grown fruit. I remember when I moved to Adelaide being shocked by the poor quality of fruit available in the shops. I rarely buy peaches as I’m tired of being disappointed.
The issue of RAT tests not producing a positive result is probably related to not picking up the omicron variant – not all RATs do apparently. The Doherty institute is now testing every approved brand to ensure they are sensitive to all known variants. There is a published list which they add to as more brands are tested: https://www.tga.gov.au/post-market-review-antigen-and-rapid-antigen-tests
Yes, I did have a good catch up with family, but I do see this part of my family very often anyway – when I lived in the hills we were all a few streets away from each other, so had lots of contact.

Betsy, if you can’t find an affordable portable a/c for the study you could try to redirect cool air from one of the airconditioned rooms. I used to do this in my previous house, which had just one split system in the lounge. I used to carefully position 2 fans to drag the cool air around a corner, down the hallway and into my bedroom. You had to fiddle with the location a bit to get it to work well, but it did work. Not the easiest solution, but fans might be easier to find, and they are inexpensive. The first fan needs to be side-on to the source of cold air and facing in the direction you are trying to send it and the second fan needs to be in the doorway of the study facing into the room – hope that makes sense. Depending on how your house is laid out, you may even be able to accomplish this with one fan – I had to get the air around 2 corners.
I hear you on the custard filled donuts. Filled with jam or chocolate I’m not tempted, but custard is my weakness.

Cinque, I loved your mashed potato story. I remember when the packets of Deb instant mash appeared on grocery shelves, but I can say I’ve never tasted it. My working mother was grateful for some of the food shortcuts that became available in the 70s, but instant mash was a step too far for her. She wouldn’t have thought of using it as finger paint. Although I do remember her emergency paper glue was made from cornflour and water.

Thin, it does sounds like a lovely spot to spend a northern winter. How much longer will you be in Spain?
Also, how is your daughter – I seem to remember you telling us she had covid – or did I imagine that?

I thankfully have a much less busy week ahead. Tomorrow I have morning tea at a neighbour’s house and medical appointments Thursday and that’s it. The first quiet week in a while and I’m really looking forward to a slower pace. I might even get caught up on housework at this rate. I decided to get a head start on that and get the grocery shopping done this morning. No excuses not to walk enough this week.

Take care everyone.

Morning all

I had a terrible weekend. It started on Friday. My fast day turned into a non fast day because I forgot I was supposed to be going out to dinner with my family and parents. I stuck to a light meal (nibbles and wedges) and shared a dessert with my wife, but then had a couple of whiskeys when I got home and some chips while watching a movie with my wife and kids. Then the weather in the weekend was cold, grey, wet and miserable. I ended up just sitting around the house eating and not doing anything. Consequently my weight went from 98.1 on Friday morning to 100.9 this morning. I’m going to have to have two emergency fast days today and tomorrow just to have a chance of being anywhere near where I was at last week’s weigh-in. I’m so disappointed and angry with myself. Weeks of hard work undone by a weekend of eating 🙁

I hope everyone else did a lot better than I did.

Neil, it’s just a blip, your body will accommodate it as long as you revert to what were doing before. And you’ve learned from it, no food is really worth the pain.

Things are slightly better for me, down 900g after yesterday’s strict FD.

LJoyce,It sounds such a beautiful funeral. Even though heartbreaking to know she is gone.
That poem will mean she is always remembered by her loved ones, when in the garden. And in your case every time you see the crab apple, especially when it is in its glorious blossom.

So exciting to see a very nice loaf of bread, and hooray for slow rise, I love the extra flavour it brings. Those loaves are just going to get better and better!

We had the same home made paste from cornflour and water when we were kids!

I hope this week is just lovely with a social visit and just one appointment. Plenty of time to walk and center yourself and put on your favourite music to get some housework done.

Thin,
Hooray for a country with less obesity, hooray for the Mediterranean Diet!
(And hooray for downsizing and narrow boats)

Yes finger painting is messy and can be extremely yucky! (Very good for moving gross motor control towards fine motor control though! 😉 )

Turn,
So true about getting rid of the too big clothes. Congratulations!
But I must tell the truth. I had got rid of all my big clothes and had my wardrobe bursting with fresh new (opshop finds) when I first lost all my excess weight. But as my weight crept back up I am been wearing a smaller and smaller selection of them: the elastic waisted ones, the roomy tops…

So last week’s job was going through and picking those that didn’t fit any more (too small) or were very tight, had bulging between the buttons, were a squeeze to zip up, or fit badly against my fatter figure.

I’m planning to get back into them, so off they went to the spare room wardrobe.
I also took the opportunity (since I have a ridiculous amount of clothes) to send any I was the slightest bit critical of, back to the op shop.

More truth telling, since I said most things fit… there a 10 dresses in the spare wardrobe, waiting for me to lose a few more kilos! Good grief! (Oo they are so gorgeous, looking at them helps me fast).

Good luck finding an absolutely lovely top to go with the skirt!

Impressive wordling!

Neil,
Everyone is right about how you will recover from a weekend of overeating. But I completely agree with you about the speed with which we can input calories (especially packets of chips!) compared to the hard work and weeks it takes to get the weight off again.
Sympathy.

Sending out special good wishes to Lindsay and Cali and Merry. And Intesha. Thinking of you and hoping there might be space in your lives to come and let us know how you are going, before too long. xxx

Cheers all

Neil, I totally empathise. I’m doing just that – using two FDs a week to finance the calories of a lot of NFD food I wouldn’t normally consider. (It’s what I’ve been doing successfully for two years but now I’m nudging the trigger weight all the time). I did it yesterday with a menú del día. It comprised salad, a starter of lightly battered mixed fish, a salmon steak, dessert flan, glass of vino and bread. In theory, eating the Spanish way, main meal midday makes good dietary sense. Logistically, it’s the only way we can have a meal out because the restaurants close from 3-8pm making it too late for us to eat dinner. Unfortunately, OH can’t seem to let the evening meal go and requires that I cook something even if he isn’t hungry.

Morning all

Well I dropped another kilo with my fast day yesterday so I weighed in at 98.4 kg. It’s down from my weigh-in last week, but still 300g more than I weighed at the start of the weekend. Let’s try not having another weekend like that again Neil!

EDIT: I just went back over my fast diet tracker and the last time I was lighter than this at a Wednesday weigh-in was 23rd June last year. So I am definitely moving in the right direction. I shouldn’t get too caught up with a couple of slip-ups

Thin, people can be so set in their ways. My parents always eat at the same time every day whether they’re hungry or not, and my father insists on meat with every dinner. He claims it’s not dinner if there isn’t meat in it. We try to alternate a meat day followed by a meat-free day and I’ve developed a good range of meals based on beans, eggs, couscous, eggplants, lentils, etc. But when my parents come round I’ll always make sure I’m cooking meat. It sounds like the food is pretty good in Spain.

Betsy, Ouch! I have a lot of experience digging out stumps. I’ve been removing my hedge in sections over the last few years and it’s stump city there, since the hedge is like 40-50 years old. It’s a lot of work.

Countrygal. I kept one work shirt and pair of trousers from when I weighed over 132 kilos as a reminder of how far I’ve come. My smaller clothes are in my drawer ready for when I drop this extra 10 kilos.

Well I’m working from home today. I’ll take a rest from cycling today because I went for three rides yesterday, 13 kms on the way to work, 5 kms home from work, then I went for a nice 26 kms ride round the harbour and Port Chalmers last night while my boy was at his Parkour. So there wasn’t any really long rides, but I managed to amass 44 kms during the day. The weather is a bit grey and miserable again today so I’ve had a nice espresso machine coffee to help me start my day, I may have another one at lunchtime if the weather stays like this.

Have a good one everyone

Morning/afternoon Anzac, just a suggestion what you could take, are carrot straws, celery straws and capsicum. Even watermelon cut to bite size pieces. I don’t know how big your cooler is, but they should snuggle into a smallish tupperwesr container or two😃. Enjoy the concert, sounds fabulous ….regarding Mr Anzac, I too am still awfully tired, I go like stink in the morning to get chores done, then collapse by 1:00-2:00 and sleep heavily for about two hours at least! I was wondering if I had chronic fatigue??? But glad to know I’m not alone…..🌻CG

Intesha, hello! Thanks for the snapshot into your life. Last time you posted (or the last time I read one of yours), you were looking for a new place to live after many years. Did you find something good? Your dad is a trooper – what, 95 now? It’s good that he finally qualified for some care help. Did your brother ever stump up to help with your dad’s care? So sorry that you haven’t seen your daughter & the children for all that time. My OH looked after his mother for years after she had a series of mild strokes. It was so hard on him as he was still working at the time and his brother travelled down to take over when OH flew away. The sisters were all useless, only showing up whenever their mum was hospitalised – exactly when my OH needed no help and finally had some time to himself, then have to entertain them! I’m sorry you’ve given up fasting after keeping it up for so many years but good that you have a new routine and stable weight. Didn’t know that Neil was set in his ways!

Thin, yes I did find a lovely rental only 10 mins from the old one. Very modern and open. So much easier for Dad to get around. Lovely views to the blue mountains as it is on a very high block https://i.imgur.com/mi3r6EX.jpg very steep driveway but I roar up it in my lovely new car https://imgur.com/a/owySZQa. Absolutely to die for kitchen so I am in heaven making my cakes and cookies.

It wasn’t Neil set in his ways but his Dad. No my brother has still not stepped up. He and his wife arrive back tomorrow after a trip to Orlando and a cruise to Antartica. I am going to have a talk to him about me having a holiday. If I can come to the Uk later in the year I will but it will be a nightmare getting Dad to go into respite for 4-5 weeks. I need a holiday badly as I haven’t had one in over 2 years and since last February have hardly been further than 25ks from home. I’ve had my car since end of May last year and have only just turned over 2000km.

I haven’t got the energy to fast and cook separate meals but I haven’t given up totally.

Good morning,
Ha yes Neil that was brainfog with my extremely slender 30cm waist! (I must be a dragonfly).
My chugging along brain caught that one before the chance to edit left.
But I also wrote Wednesday instead of Sunday for my last fast day, yikes!

I should be fasting today, but I am recovering from a magnificent day with little Ms 5 who is still transitioning into 5 days of school each week. I will definitely eat sensibly but I don’t think I can do a proper fast day. We’ll see. I have to take it one hour at a time on days like this.

Intesha so good to hear your news. Fab car, wonderful view.
You are good at making the best of things. But with the worst covid years over (surely), I am hoping with all my heart that you can get travelling this year. I so hope you can figure our a way to do it. It’s imperative!

Betsy, ow! How are your bruises today?
Hooray for the good person helping you out. A good executive decision!

I do hope you can sprint past your sticking point and start being able to enjoy those clothes in the spare room.
I am taking advantage of my own vanity and looking at my collection each morning. Haha, it really works. I SO want to wear them, and I especially delight in wearing the ones that don’t have elastic waists. (CountryGal!)

I was trying to remember which of you wrote that they needed to buy some smaller clothes, but then remembered (brainfog again 😉 ) it is my niece. She developed gestational diabetes with her last child and it didn’t go away. After a couple of years of faffing around she has been super strict low carb and her blood sugars are just about back to normal and she is so happy she has energy and shining skin and has lost her excess weight. I am so happy for her.

Morning all

Intesha, great to hear from you again. I guess when you reach the age of 95 you’ve earned the right to be set in your ways 😉 I hope you do get a chance for a holiday.

Thin, I miss the 20s, Our summer has been all over the place, either grey and miserable or stinking hot, today it’s slightly better but still only 18 degrees. I’ve never known a February like it. Usually February and March are the best months of the year and everyone complains that the school holidays should be pushed back to February because it always gets nice when the kids go back to school.

Alright Anzac spill it! What are your favourite 80s bands? late 80s was when I discovered music as a kid but listened to earlier stuff too.

Countrygal, definitely not alone, I have the issue that I’m at work all day and I list all the chores I want to do at home after work, but by the time I get to the end of the day I just crash and have to force myself to do anything

Cinque, good luck with your eating today. Hopefully you can manage to get through the day unscathed

I had a decent day yesterday, eating not too bad for a non fast day, although I did have a couple of slices of toast for lunch so was probably a bit heavy on carbs for the day. I had a rest from cycling, I’ve learned a bit of moderation in my exercise now. I took the bike this morning and did just under half an hour on the way to work (13km), I’ll add another 5km on the way home, which will also take me just under half an hour because it’s all up hill.

I’m making fish curry for dinner tonight, I’ve discovered a recipe for a Turkish bread called Bazlama that my wife and kids absolutely love. They love it more than the naan bread I make, and that’s saying something. I’ll make up a batch of that for them, but I’ve already had my carb limit for the day so I’ll just stick with the curry.

Have a great day everyone

Cinque, I attempt quordle, thank you. My guesses turned to red letters that couldn’t be entered. What have I done wrong? Too many guess lines? I’d solved two of the four words in what I thought was three tries – perhaps it’s counting attempts for all words simultaneously? Need more coffee. Great news about your niece’s health.

Anzac, I was a bit on the wild side probably like Cinque I think. No drugs but definitely a risk-taker. Relieved that my DD is nothing like I was, other than the travel part. I had you and Neil pegged as being in your forties. I see those bands are performing at a winery in WA. Tricky to refrain from singing and dancing. Are you dressing punk? On two consecutive nights I went to two very different concerts, the four of us Uptown Girls singing every word and dancing in mini skirts for Billy Joel invited to go down on stage (my friends were too shy) and the very next night in C&W attire for Waylon & Willie. Such very different crowds.

Neil, I’m hoping for a ‘not-too-bad’ NFD today. That Bazlama bread sounds great. No bread for me and, hopefully, no vino tinto.

Evening everyone, Intesha nice to meet you 😃for some unknown reason I didn’t get warning emails of the postings, so just caught up now, out of curiosity! Beautiful weather of late, a friend and I went to Inverloch beach today and had fish n chips🙄perfect place to have them, and oh so long since I last did. I felt quite the naughty girl, but enjoyed them immensely ❤️I took my boys (Rocky & Bobby) with us for a walk along the beach, it was lovely, windy, but tolerable. I compensated the extra cals by having a smoothie for dinner, and I really wasn’t hungry, so it was easy. Usually the hunger dragon would have kicked in once I’d eaten, looking for more, but hopefully, I’ve hit him on the head often enough he’s taken the hint! Fasting tomorrow, still trying to stay around 800 daily, and 500 or less on fasting days. Not seeing much movement on the zigzagging scales, but I’m not a quitter 😂yet found swearing at them doesn’t work either so will just preserve……Intesha caring for family is never easy, and being a parent harder due to the respect you have grown up with for them. They are not the person they were, but he will always be Dad to you. You can’t go on without a break, it’s inhuman for your siblings to expect you too. Respite care is something he will have to accept just for the sake of your own sanity. Get out with some people your own age, have a laugh, travel as you want, you get so stale in the situation you’re in and life is not yours. I worked in aged care and disability for many years, it is not easy physically or mentally so do it for yourself. Haha, words from a well meaning stranger, hope you don’t mind. Neil you sound very handy around the kitchen, lovely for your family.
I had my booster yesterday, woke feeling awfully sore and brain fogged, then realised I hadn’t taken my meds last night, after a strenuous couple of hours fighting blackberries trying to take hold in my garden…..prior to going to my Dr for the injection. Oh, he has ordered a full blood test at my insistence to check this constant tiredness ……But my morning meds helped with my pain, even my sore arm muscle seemed easier. My meds are very strong, for the arthritis in my spine. Anyway, have a lovely evening, and take care, chat soon🌻CG

Neil, the Kiwis are making mincemeat out of the South African’s in the cricket. Mr Anzac is watching avidly and with much enjoyment while preparing dinner

Thin, no drugs here either but other than the travel bug where we have done some mildly adventurous trips (think trekking up the Virunga mountains in Rwanda to see the wild Mountain Gorillas) I have lived a pretty safe life. I can’t believe you danced on stage with Billy Joel…Go girl! I did get pulled up on stage at an Angels concert (one of my favourite 80’s bands) to sing Marseille with Doc Neeson (major crush back then – bad boys and all that) and we finished with a bit of a pash on stage! I’ll never forget it, I think I was 17. I think we were down in Jindabyne and there were a whole maybe 50 people in the pub watching them.

I’m so sorry to read about your arthritis CountrGal, I’m glad you have meds for the pain. Our own dear LJ also suffers badly. What a lovely day you had with your friend and the pooches. Sometimes we have to have something we love and crave else we will never stick to this WOL

I’ve started doing Wordle each day and it’s a bit addictive isn’t it? Out of the 5 times I’ve tried I had to give up twice. But that’s more for lack of time I guess

Anzac, we didn’t go on stage, my friends weren’t game. We were front row gallery. You sound like a bit of a wild child and I’d completely forgotten about your trip to Rwanda. That’s on my and DD’s bucket list.

Weight up again after another menú del día yesterday. I must get to grips.

Anzac, yep, I’ll definitely get in touch when that becomes a reality. I wonder what’s going on with it all now as I know before covid that if you showed up with a sniffly nose they wouldn’t let you proceed. It’s probably all suspended to protect the gorillas’ health. Did any of the family come over and make close contact with you? How did you come to choose Rwanda over, say, Uganda? If you can’t make imgur work, you have my email address so please send me your best shot!

The crazy thing is that I’ve been so close – forty years ago my uni friend and I spent several months in Isiro, Zaire (as it was then) and later hitch-hiked to Goma which is right there on the Zairoise/Rwanda border. I don’t think gorilla trekking was a thing or if it was, it was before Lonely Planet guides let alone internet and we’ve never met anyone else who’s hitch-hiked that route – either then or since.

Good morning,

I was pretty 5:2 smug on Thursday, even though I wasn’t doing a full fast. “Look at me eating small amounts, stopping as soon as I am not hungry… gold medal for Cinque”.
But then fell in a heap yesterday (often the case with ME/CFS that an overactive day takes a couple of days to catch up) and was certainly eating when I wasn’t hungry. Also, while LOVING the cooler weather, went and stopped drinking as much as I really need to drink, and had to do some concentrated catching up.

I am glad to say I have popped up feeling much better this morning, and even went to the shops nice and early.

Thin. I didn’t know what you were talking about with quordle’s red letters, but then I found their ‘practice’ section so I could do more than one a day, and I discovered there that the letters go red if it isn’t a word in their dictionary. Your seven tries is brilliant!
(Proud today that I got 3.4.6.7!)

Aren’t they addictive, Anzac!
(Also, I just loved reading about the gorillas).

Neil, that bazlama bread had my mouth watering. A piece of that with fish curry would be sublime!

Country Gal, I hope the side effects from your booster shot have gone now. And that you are feeling more energetic generally. Fingers crossed. Good idea to have those blood tests done.
(Glad to say that I read ‘persevere’, my brain knew what you meant 🙂 )

Best wishes all <3

Cinque, 7,6,2,5 but I took much longer.