Hi all,

Last week Miss GDay and I spent 3 days in Adelaide, it was so nice to get out of the house for a bit. We booked pre-covid to see Geoffrey Robertson’s ‘It’s no longer hypothetical’ which was cancelled several times due to covid and border closures. Not Miss GDays thing but I had 2 tickets so she offered to accompany me and 2 days off school was quite appealing I’m sure.

Miss GDay badly needed new clothes so it was an opportunity for shopping and I needed more goodies from the health shops, plus a small fortune was spent on Haiges chocolates as well as english wine gums and butterscotch lollies from the lolly shop at the markets. I will fess up – it was 1 kg of wine gums but in my defence they were not all for me, about a third were for Miss GDays dad as they are his favourite lollies too. Another confession – I consumed all of mine within 4 days. But again in my defence, we have only eaten 2 of the Haiges chocolates so far.

We went to the cinema and shared the most enormous box of popcorn and of course visited the icecream shop. I had cheesecake, chai lattes, a huge stack of pancakes and a huge fanta spider (fanta softdrink with icecream) at the Pancake Kitchen. So much junk food in just a few days but surprisingly was only 1kg heavier when we returned home, although on one day my fit bit logged just over 22,000 steps so we were very active.

How’s this, Miss GDay, 14 years of age, tall and slim (she has just surpassed me in height) is a ladies size 8 in pants/jeans and here am I, at 54 years of age, also wearing size 8 for the first time in my adult life. In June last year when I started my weight loss journey I decided the reward for myself for reaching my goal weight was to treat myself to 2 pairs of Pure Western Jeans (expensive ‘cowgirl’ jeans), normally I just wear cheap kmart jeans so these were a real treat. Anyway, when I went to our local horse supply store to purchase them I was shocked to find the size 8 was a perfect fit. I also purchased some cargo pants in Adelaide and a zip front running jacket and again, size 8 for both.

I have been sorting through the house and being ruthless in what I need and don’t need. I have managed to go through Mr GDay’s wardrobe, shoes and bits and pieces and took 11 garbage bags and 4 boxes to the op shop. The kitchen cupboards – 6 boxes to the op shop. My wardrobe, shoes and accessories – 7 bags to the op shop. Some of the clothes and shoes were brand new, never worm and I could have made some money by putting the majority of things on the local buy, swap, sell but to be honest, I have enough on my plate with everything else without the hassle of taking pictures, posting on facebook, arranging pick up etc, for items that would sell for just a few dollars plus I thought if the stuff sits around the house I will have second thoughts and not get rid of it so the op shop seemed like the best option to ensure I really did clear things out. I’ve kept a large box of items that are worth selling that should yield some $$.

I have also re-arranged the office and gym while having a huge tidy up and cull, just have a small pile of stuff in the corner I don’t know what to do with and some stuff to sell. The new arrangement looks so much better, more open and uncluttered.

Some positive news, I went for an hours walk earlier in the week and yesterday an hour of intermittent walking and running. I really did enjoy running, it felt good. Given I haven’t done any exercise in over 10 weeks I’m mindful that I need to ease back into it to avoid causing an injury. I do need to get back into weight training although surprisingly I don’t appear to have lost any muscle mass in the last few months but then again I did move a 7 ton pile of crusher dust (crushed gravel) by myself with a shovel and wheelbarrow in July – hard yacka indeed.

Still feeling overwhelmed by all that needs to be done. I really need to start focusing on completing the final bits and pieces so I can officially open my business and start earning an income. Plus I need to start on my Diploma studies otherwise I will get too far behind, I was supposed to start on the 1st July so I’m already 2 months behind the eight ball now.

Must go, I am supposed to be sorting through emails and doing paperwork but as usual, I’m procrastinating and not getting done what needs to be done.

Good morning from a warm and sunny summer’s day in Lancashire.

Neil, that’s interesting about the music quiz ‘album covers’ although they probably aren’t called that now. I remember the sheer joy of listening to tracks from an album in a private booth of a music store, deciding to buy it, taking it home and getting to know the cover, playing it endlessly, familiarising myself with the unknown tracks and feeling so proud. Taking such care not to scratch it. Vinyl! Cassettes just weren’t the same although i had a vast collection.

That Labour Day bike ride sounds huge. Is it this weekend? Our bank holiday is this weekend. We are moored down a quiet, wooded arm of the Lancaster Canal, barely a soul around and no more than two boats passing each day on the main branch (we can feel the ripples when they do). This is our fifth day and we’re getting some jobs done on the boat.

Turn, I hope you get going again soon. It’s fun to browse some of the house sitting options. It sounds like you have loads of plans.

Cinque, have fun op shopping for birthday presents. Wow, eight years old already. Good to know that you’ve got your eating habits in hand. It’s a FD for me. I’m thinking I really need two fast days a week right now to keep me in better check.

G’day, you probably don’t notice it yourself but the difference in mood between your last two posts was significant. You are getting on with things and getting out. I bet MissD is relieved. It doesn’t matter if you don’t tackle everything right away, it wouldn’t be any fun to be studying if you didn’t feel like it. I think you were brave to go through Mr GDSA’s wardrobe so soon. It must be a milestone in your grieving process. It made me laugh that you are mainlining sugar AND weighing yourself.

Speaking of being the same weight as our daughters, we had a visitor last week, an ex-boyfriend of mine from California who we hadn’t seen in about 35 years. I weigh less now than I did then when I was at the height of my jogging fanaticism (he was the person who got me started running 10kms). He hasn’t fared so well. Overweight and sadly suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. His mind is sharp but his body is failing him. It was distressing to see.

Hello everyone,

I had a wonderful day opshopping with Ms8, and I am just about recovered 😀
I had lined up three opshops that were open on Sunday and had good toy sections. She found nothing in the first one, a pretty pink Chinese style top in the second one (as we were walking t the toy section), and a well kept set of Elsa and Anna Barbie-sized dolls and a working doodle slate ( https://images-fe.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81W7cZ36moL._AC_UL116_SR116,116_.jpg) in the final one. She was very pleased and also gave the Anna doll to her little sister, so that was nice too.

I have found some nice op shop clothes for myself lately too: linen trousers, silk dress, skirt and tops. My biggest 5:2 continuing surprise is size 14 being too big for me. I still get so much pleasure from that.
I am fitting into nearly all my clothes. My waist is still at 78cms in the mornings, I want it down at 72.

Eating is going well. My brain is working hard to make sure I have my designated meal and then stop eating until the next meal.

Thin, how hard to see that old boyfriend with so many health problems. I hope some of the new treatments they have for Parkinson’s might make a difference.

Neil, hooray for some lovely days. Same here (sun coming through the window as I write). Haha the running joke. Poking fun can be a wonderful way to make people feel part of the group, or it can be bullying. A fine line.
Enjoy that training!

Best wishes to everyone

Oh he doesn’t do it in a mean way, he’s one of the nicest guys you can hope to meet. He does it in a way that’s self deprecating. He uses it to point out that it’s much the opposite of the way he lives (vapes, eats lots of crap and doesn’t do much in the way of exercise)

Good morning,

Neil, that is the lovely type of poking fun.

Thin, oh the joys of growing older. Poor Mr Thin and weak voiced friend. They could use a doodle pad.

Lindsay, you don’t know how close I was to a call out to you (and LJoyce) in yesterday’s post. I hope you can resurrect the post that didn’t get sent.

I’m crook this morning, because I was so presumptuous to think I could indulge in a little walk at Darebin Parklands yesterday. 5 minutes, flat ground, sit in the sun, golden butterfly, creek rushing along below, magpies and other birds making wonderful sounds. Too much apparently.
Coffee has helped a bit through.

Cheers all

So, I found my post from Monday. It will need an update, but I’ll do that at the end.

Hi all
Just a quick check in. Mr L is in hospital awaiting surgery to reconstruct his vocal chord/neck muscle, damaged by the cancer surgery.

All is quite good here, despite the surgery. His voice had started to regress, because the muscle was pushing down on the vocal chord, so this hopefully will be the more permanent solution. Needless to say, I am anxious.

Gday, your last post did sound much more upbeat, for want of a better word, and that is good. It’s those small steps that put you on the path. It’s a cliche, but it is one step after another, until you learn to live with the passing of your beloved husband.

The books I’ve been reading from Dr Robert Lustig (one oldish, one quite new) are very interesting. He says it’s time to stop blaming the obese for having no control and being slothful, and place the blame firmly on decades of poor government health advice that’s seen people consuming far less fat and replacing it with highly refined carbohydrates that in effect act like a drug of addiction in pushing the hunger hormones. Another interesting point that I am sure we’ve all observed is that obesity is often associated with the lower socio-economic groups in our society, who shop for the cheapest foods ….ie, loaves of white bread, or even if they choose wholemeal, it’s still often processed to a point where all goodness is gone.

I understand that. Over lunch one day my SIL (a vegan, and very health conscious) commented that they bought their bread at the markets for a eyewatering $8.50 a loaf. Can you imagine a family on an average wage, with mortgage and a couple of kids, paying that for bread?

He blames Westernised, industrial food production for the spread of diabetes and obesity in developing countries. Sad isn’t it, when countries which have a relatively healthy diet trade it for western food, once they become a little more affluent (I’m thinking in particular of China). Cut out sugar and processed foods, and up the fibre we consume, is his short message.

Thin I was sorry to read about your friend. It is challenging to see people of our own age deteriorating.

Gosh Cinque – 8 already. Happy shopping.

Turn good to know you’ve survived NZ’s wild weather (and Neil too, of course). We used to housesit too (pre-dog) and loved it. We had one really good sit in Elsternwick, Melbourne that we went to a few times. An enchanting dog called Paddy – a cavoodle or some such cross breed – plus some chickens. He was adorable, and such fun. We’d take him to the local park where he’d immediately immerse himself in the mud. But, oddly, by the time we’d walked home, the muddy brown dog was almost white again.

On the dog front, news here is that we’ve mated our Rosy to a beautiful supreme champion setter from NSW, and are hoping soon to be proud puppy deliverers. Too early to tell if she’s pregnant yet, but we are hoping for the best. I was willing to postpone the mating until OH was over his surgeries, but he was insistent and I’m hoping it’s good for the spirits (although I remember what a lot of work it was). Our first litter, way back when, was 15 pups (although we lost 4 from the second mating), but my bitch had 13, and OH’s dog’s second litter was 11. A nice even 6 woulld do this time …. and as it was an artificial insemination, it’s more likely to be fewer than a natural.

On that note, I’ll check the patient information web again – I find it very hard not to be able to wait in the hospital while the op is being done, although it may take some hours.

good wishes all.

And a quick update…..OH is home from hospital, and though croaky and very very sore, is recovering and his voice already sounds stronger. Awful, that they performed the first part of the operation, then had to wake him up to make sounds and check the surgery was going to be effective, then back to sleep while they did the significant repair. He is, typically, in good spirits, but totally ignoring the doctor’s advice not to talk for 10 days, or just speak when he has to (I always say, fondly, of OH, ‘no thought left unvoiced’. I explained to the doctor how difficult it was for OH not to talk, and he’s amended his advice so Mr L is allowed to talk a little, softly.

Thin, thank you for the thoughts. I too hope LJ and Calif are okay. re bald people….my OH is as bald as a badger, and my son has shaved his head since he was 18, and started doing it for charity. One thing I’ll say about baldies is that they don’t age. One of my brothers has fabulous longish curly hair – but it is now white, and is aging, even though his skin is still unlined (relatively).

Neil, do you ever hear from our other bike riding south islander Jonny? He was doing so well – hope he still is.

Cinque, you describe a perfect afternoon …how hard, that it did you in as it did.

Anzac, how’s Mr A’s recovery? Making progress? Your holiday plans sound wonderful.

good night all.

PS Just saw relevant study: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/related-science-articles-people-might-be-interested-to-read/page/20/#post-343352

Hello all from cold, wet, windy Sydney

Spring sprung for a few days and we were even in short sleeves but today BOOM. Back to winter. Sigh

G’day, it was so lovely to read your post and hear that you are feeling a little better. As Lindsay said, one step at a time. Please keep posting when you feel up to it

It was lovely to hear from you also Lindsay and I’m sorry your OH had to go through another procedure. I really hope it helps his voice and I did chuckle at your ‘no thought left unvoiced’. Very exciting news about Rosy’s impending motherhood

I went to my uncles funeral in Canberra yesterday. The dear man passed away in his sleep at 100 years old. His widow (99) is amazing and even cooked a fruit cake for my Dad to bring home as she knows how much he loves it. I had a lovely chat to her and while I can see the sorrow in her eyes she is surrounded by her 4 children (two live in the same complex she does) so she will be ok. I ate way too much and all the wrong things so I am back on the horse today

I’m glad you had a wonderful day op shopping Cinque and how awesome that your clothes are fitting so well. I really want size 14 to be too big for me too but currently at size 18 so a long way to go I’m afraid

I was sorry to read about your ex-bf Thin, very sad indeed

Mr A is doing very well, with more good days than bad. He is currently cooking dinner (Tandori lamb cutlets, air-fryer potatoes and salad) so I really should go and help. Chat soon friends

Tuesday morning here in Melbourne and sun battling it out with some light cloud.

Aren’t people so different in the amount they talk and the amount they like to listen.

Hoping Mr Lindsay is still recovering well from his op.

And that Mr Anzac is also recovering more and more.

Anzac, it sounds like your uncle had a good farewell, and hooray for your aunt, how wonderful to be making that fruit cake. I am so glad she has her children near her.

I have had some up and down days, but I am patting myself on the back for managing to ride through difficulties without needing to overeat.
I am getting more and more like a bad day is still fine, in terms of intake, just tending to be higher in carbs and lower in serves of veggies. So still trying to make days deliciously frugal with lots of veg and good protein. But there is a nice sense that I am going in the right direction. I will keep at it.

Hoping that everyone is having some good wins and that good habits and getting settled in and the bad habits are getting their volume turned down.

Best wishes

Good morning,
Anzac, what a wonderful landmark. What a six months! Hooray for Mr Anzac working on that retaining wall.
(I hope he didn’t overdo it).

I’ve been thinking about your frustration that you haven’t been able to get back into your good habits, and knowing you will be fatter than you wanted to be on your holiday.

I just wanted to say that I hope you can feel so proud of the body that got you through these last 6 months. A body that managed your work with all its stress, that supported Mr Anzac with everything you could do. A body that did its best for you every minute, every hour, every day.

That is some wonderful body! It is a body that deserves appreciation and a great holiday. I think you need to find some really comfy (and gorgeous) bathers and flaunt that wonderful body with pride.

Also best wishes for working out things on the job front.

I have had a couple of good health days on Tuesday and Wednesday and got so much done. Woot! Then yesterday was a big day and I have got payback today so I am going to rest and hopefully recover. But in a cleaner tidier house, hooray!

Best wishes everyone

Hi everyone,

Neil, I do hope you are having a good weekend after that difficult week. And had time to think about what your body really needs, and that you have been able to treat it beautifully.

I went to Bendigo on Friday to meet up with my sisters. My dear sister with stage four cancer is going extremely well, but it is a hard road.

I looked after myself pretty well while recovering yesterday but did eat extra, so back on the horse today.

I’m really hoping that lots of you might find time to write, I am wondering how everyone is going.
Intesha are you still in the UK? What a time to be there, and for you too, Thin.
Merry how are you going?
Cali how is life and how is Mr Cali? I saw lots of parrots while I was driving through Central Victoria (mostly sulphur-crested cockies and crimson rosellas), and thought of you each time.
LJoyce, missing you so much, are you okay?
Gday, how are you going, are you managing any study yet?
Lindsay, best wishes to the whole family (including pregnant Rosy).
CountryGal, hoping you are still reading, best wishes

and apologies people I haven’t mentioned, I will remember you while I am making my coffee and feel dreadful I didn’t have you on my list (but my brain is getting worse and worse at managing lists).

I am having my extra frugal day. NQ5:2, but as close to 800cal as I can manage.

I might not be up to it, but if I am I will make beancurd rolls today. Third try. First two tries were promising, quite delicious, but not anywhere near perfected yet. I can soak stuff for them, while I am soaking them for my miso soup (shiitake, wood fungus, white fundus, seaweed!) (yum!) 😀

I hope you have something nice to do today.

Best wishes

Goodmorning Neil,
What a great weekend.
Sending best wishes to Mrs Neil, I do hope her recovery is continuing well.
Haha those boys, hollow legs!

I didn’t manage my beanrcurd rolls yesterday, but hopefully today is the day. They use the sheets of beancurd skin to wrap up a filling. https://www.seriouseats.com/chinese-bean-curd-rolls-pork-dim-sum-recipe Very tasty and easy too.

Sending good wishes to everyone

Oops Anzac. thank you for the reminder. It has been quiet lately, and so many of our friends are MIA. Hoping you are all okay.
Glad to hear your OH is making progress, and tackling a project. I hope he doesn’t overdo it, but there is such satisfaction in getting back to doing the things you want to do.
Cinque, I am so sorry about your sister. It must take its toll not only on her, but on the family. Best wishes for a successful treatment for her.
Neil, 18 slices of pizza sounds about right for growing boys. I remember when my DS was young – he’d hardly eat for days, then couldn’t eat enough. It was nothing for him to demolish a loaf of bread. Yet he remained so slim – he had that Ghandi quality of being able to suck his stomach in to reach his back. He’s still slim, but it’s hard work and involves half marathons and daily runs. Ditto my DD ….she’s a swimmer, even in winter. Out she goes at 5 am and swims under a trainer. Also slim. Unlike their mother sigh. I have dropped the ball well and truly, though trying to get back on the horse, if you’ll pardon those gloriously mixed metaphors. I am trying to control my insulin, in the hope that my weight drops accordingly. That’s what I took from Robert Lustig’s books. Most ‘experts’ suggest we control our weight and the your blood sugar/insulin will follow. He says control the insulin first. So, reduced carbohydrates, and a lot of fibre, and almost no sugar. Cinque I think you follow that mantra too?
And Cinque, I liked so much what you said to Anzac. Our bodies have stood us in good stead during these troubling times with our partners’ health. Anzac, the horse is still tethered, and we’ll climb back on when we aren’t distracted by those big worries.
And…my OH is doing okay. His voice is croaky, but stronger, and I am sure it will continue to improve. My goodness though he is slim. Never fat, but could tend to a bit of a tum from time to time. No more though.
No more news friends – as OH says, our lives revolve around doctors and dogshows. This will be Rosy’s last weekend, assuming she’s pregnant. I must say I’m looking forward to the break.
Oh, I do have a funny story. DD got home from work last night (television producer) at aroud 8, to find her OH asleep, the 6 year old in bed but awake, and the 9 year old sitting up at the kitchen bench, reading the ‘handy hints’ section from Lady Flo Bjelke Petersen’s cookbook. As DD said, if you need to crumb a cuttlefish, Miss O is your girl.

Afternoon everyone

Weigh in yesterday was down 800g from the previous week’s 1kg gain, so better than nothing, but I’d like to get it moving down week after week. The weather has been better so I went out for a decent ride before work this morning. It’s only my second ride in September because of the dodgy weather.

Cinque, I’ve never seen bean curd wraps over here I assume they’re similar to the rice paper wrappers you can get?

Lindsay, looking forward to photos of the new puppies when they arrive, working on keeping the sugar/starchy stuff that spikes the insulin is my constant struggle. Hopefully it’s be easier now that we’re moving into warmer spring/summer seasons where I can distract myself with gardening rather than getting home, lighting the fire, and grabbing something to snack on.

Anzac, we’re the opposite of you, we had our cold snap including snow and hail last week, now the weather seems to be getting better. We hit mid teens the last couple of days, so that makes a nice change. I need to try and invest in an exercise bike or a stand I can clip my bike into so I can still exercise while the weather is poor.

Well, I’m looking forward to the weekend with lots of gardening planned for Saturday (it’s definitely getting to be that time of the year) and a frisbee golf tournament on Sunday as well. It should be a good one.

Have a great one everyone.

Hi Anzac!

So glad to hear you’re doing well and diwn 800gm and Mr Anzac got to go out.

It was a glorious day here south of Sydney too!

Neil – I hope you’re going well. We went to a less crowded area of the UCI Cycling International Road Race Championships in Wollongong today. Elite Women’s and Men’s time trials . There are some New Zealand riders here. Quite amazing to see such an extraordinary annual International Championship event in a small City like Wollongong.

I’m still very haphazard with my eating and occasional fasting day.

I’ve been focussing on upping my steps each day. When Covid started I had issues with my right knee , then my injured my left ankle, then left knee, so was not very mobile for a few months and set off a chain of stuff. Now I’m getting back into getting my body back on track, but my weight us still up.

Tooo late at night so goodnight all. I do hope you’re all doing well.

Merry

Morning all

Anzac, awesome that you OH got out for some much needed R&R, It sounds like you’re going to be in need of R&R yourself if you’re swamped with job offers. I must say that I remember the Hoodoo Gurus and Dandy Warhols but I had no idea they were still touring.

Merry, Yeah wherever there are roads there will be cycling competitions 😉 There’s a major event in NZ each year called the “tour of Southland” There’s only around 100,000 people in the whole province 57,000 of which is in the main city of Invercargill, but it still stages a large international cycling race every year. It must be hard not being able to do the exercise you want to do. I know if I go any extended period without getting out for a ride I get a bit stir crazy. Hopefully your leg issues sort themselves out soon

Cinque, haphazard has been my eating patterns for a while now, really have to knuckle down and

I got out for a good ride on Saturday, 62km down to the end of the Otago Peninsula and back again, it was beautiful weather and I took a couple of photos, the first one looking at Tairoa Head where I rode to, the other looking across from Tairoa Head to Aramoana.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43493775@N06/52368112560/in/album-72177720302214673/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43493775@N06/52366747832/in/album-72177720302214673/
The weather was still good when I got back so I did a bit of gardening then had dinner/cards with some friends in the evening. Sunday I had a frisbee golf tournament all day so this morning I’m at work for a rest. Only a couple of weeks to go now until I get a holiday which I’m really looking forward to.

Well I hope everyone else who hasn’t checked in for a while is ok, and have a great week everyone

Lindsay, yes, I think I remember reading there were two different schools of thought battling it out in the ’60s between low fat and low sugar. Low fat won out and food manufacturing companies compensated for the loss of flavour by putting tons of sugar in their products instead.

I’m enjoying the nicer weather over here, I’ve been taking my bike in to work and had a couple of leisure rides and I’ve managed to rack up around 180km in the last 8 days. It really helps lift my mood.

I watched the Queen’s funeral last night, and while I’m not a royalist I really loved the sentiment of the wreath that Charles organised to go on her coffin. There was a selection of her favourite flowers taken from the gardens of her various residences in red, white and gold to represent her royal standard, rosemary for remembrance, oak to symbolise the strength of love, and myrtle to represent a happy marriage. Apparently the myrtle was taken off the same plant that was used to make her wedding bouquet.

I hope everyone has a great day.

Hello everyone. I’m sorry if I have caused you to worry (an email from Thin alerted me to this). I should have known better as I worry when others don’t post for a while.

My life got so very busy, to the point where I wasn’t coping with my usual routines and so many things, including reading and posting here, just didn’t happen. The main reason for the busyness has been the sale contract for my aunt’s house and the mad panic that then ensued to sort through the contents and find appropriate homes for things. My cousin who had been trying to do it himself, suddenly admitted defeat and asked for help. (I wish he’d asked sooner.) It is taking such a long time and it’s been quite exhausting. We need to be finished by the end of this month. I wish I could then have a rest, but the first fortnight of October is school holidays, which means babysitting. I’m expecting to collapse into a comatose heap after that!

My diet has been reasonably good – probably because I have no time for bored snacking. My health has been mostly ok. But after not having had migraines for years, I’ve had a string of them in the last month – my body telling me I’m overdoing it I guess.

I do expect life to return to a more sedate pace eventually and will be a better online friend then.

I hope life is treating you all well. Take care.

Hello all,

Behind on posts again so have just skimmed through this page. I notice LJoyce’s absence – I do hope everything is okay.

Well it never rains but it pours doesn’t it, literally in my case. 2 weeks ago we had a severe freak storm – horrendous winds, hail and huge rainfall – 21mm rain in 20 mins. The hail was so heavy and thick, the ground was completely covered and it literally looked like heavy snow had fallen. The damage is unbelievable. Lucky my house is okay but the garden has been completely flattened, everything outside such as plastic pot plants, garden ornaments, roof of the garden shed etc, everything has holes from the hail, the shade over the vegie patch completely torn to shreds and the large shed completely flooded – ankle deep water throughout the whole shed. Took me about 4 days to clean up the shed and dry it out and then the following day another freak rain storm and it was flooded again. I then spent another 2 days cleaning out the shed again plus 3 days cleaning the front yard. I haven’t had time to get to cleaning the back yard.

Our rental property was caught in the eye of the storm and suffered significant damage. Flooding inside the house – carpets have since been ripped up as they couldn’t be saved, electrical damage, water in the ceiling cavity and ceiling damage. The large back verandah which spans the entire length of the house is now a pile of twisted metal – I’m still gobsmacked at how the large c channel beams have been twisted and bent and large bolts pulled out of the metal or completely sheared off. The insurance assessor thinks the storm created a mini tornado which went under the verandah and caused the damage and I tend to agree, it couldn’t have been caused by rain or hail or even the high winds.

Surprisingly I am coping okay. The serotonin medication I am taking has finally kicked in and I am feeling better and slowing working through everything. My psychologist has also prescribed a melatonin medication as my sleep is still not good and struggling to get to sleep every night.

I’m no longer stressing about everything or feeling so overwhelmed. Whatever is outside of my control, such as processing the will, the insurance claims etc, I no longer worry about. For example, I pay the lawyer to sort through the will stuff so it’s his job to sort things and deal with any stresses not mine. Just as I pay the insurance company to sort the damage and the claims so it is not for me to worry about. All of these things will get sorted in their own time and no amount of worrying from me will speed things up or change the processes. Seeing a psychologist has been the best thing I have done in helping me to move forward since Mr GDay’s passing. Its funny because I never used to worry about things that were out of my control, I didn’t stress over things and I was always the ‘glass half full’ kind of person, its only been since I lost Mr GDay that I’ve been so negative and stressed.

I’m making sure I’m taking time for some self care, just simple things like jigsaw puzzles, teaching myself to knit and needlework. I’m also back into reading most nights. Still haven’t got my passion back for cooking yet and I’m exercising only a few times a week so I certainly need to focus on increasing exercise.

Apologies that my posts have been so ‘self focused’ and ‘self absorbed’ but I am feeling like I’m slowly turning the corner. It’s been challenging to say the least in finding my new ‘normal’ and working out new routines for everyday things. I’m hoping that the sleep medication will kick in soon and allow me to get back to my old sleep routine of a good solid 8 – 9 hours each night as I’m feeling so drained every morning on such little sleep.

So sad about the Queens passing but also happy that Charles is now King after all these years of patiently waiting. Well, its time to make a cup of tea and settle into bed for some reading. I do hope everyone is well and life is treating you kindly. Take care all xx

Evening all,

Summer has come to an end but the autumn colours are starting to appear and it’s still fairly warm so we’re making the most of every day – or were until today when it rained for the first time in ages.

Thank you Lindsay. The four of us had such fun at the cottage in the Lake District. We stayed in a little-known village in the southern lakes and the scenery was stunning. We’d got as far north in the boat as the Lancaster canal reaches (Tewitfield) prior to meeting the others and had already taken several bus and train trips to explore Cumbria. We really enjoyed Morecambe Bay, Lancashire.

We’d left our devices behind and found out about ER’s worsening health at the pub. The mood here has been sombre since her passing, but there’s also intense gratitude for a long and exemplary life of service. Britons gave a much-loved queen a spectacular send-off like only they know how. Transition to the new monarch was seamless, carried out with such dignity, all the while grieving under intense public scrutiny. I’ve been totally swept up with the historical magnitude of it all and will never again feel the need to qualify my comments with, “I’m not a royalist but…..”. So proud.

Anzac, grrr for that job of yours and well done for demanding pay on the holiday. You will have your pick of jobs soon and be able to make all sorts of demands. How is Mr A getting on with his projects? What a turnaround for you two over the past six months.

Neil, I’ve read that your weight is going up a bit, down a bit. Have you reached the double figures yet? Apologies if you’ve already said because I haven’t read all the posts.

LJ, you poor thing. All that babysitting and now the house clearing. You are a godsend to your rellies.

Time for bed and I haven’t got to everyone. Cinque, how are you going? I think of you whenever I step into an op shop which is often. Although they don’t know what I mean when I call them that here. I spend about three minutes in every one because I’m only looking for size 10 wildly coloured pants and WASGIJs.

Still under 60kg. Just about hanging on with one FD per week but two would be better.

Sunday FD and my weight is the lowest it’s been on a FD for a couple of months. I’m only talking gms not kgs but it’s uplifting for me. Chicken jalfrezi for dinner (nine hours away). Steaming hot coffee in the meantime. We now have the diesel stove running as the last two nights have been chilly. Beautiful sunshine and a healthy herd of cows grazing opposite and we’re making the most of autumn.

Neil, world car free day? Someone’s dreaming. Well, we’re doing our bit. OH and I haven’t had a car for three years now. We have walked at least twice the distance we’ve cruised on the canals.

Have a lovely day all.

A really quick hello from me also as work is crazy again. All good here, weight slowly going down as I seem to have found my mojo and my ever-patient horse is letting me stay on

Lovely to hear from everyone

A quick hello from me too, finally out of semi-hibernation and back on the road again. Beautiful, lovely warm sunny day today and should be tomorrow too but colder weather on it’s way again, snow forecast for some down south….stroll on summer I say!

Weight is back down to my maintenance figure but not losing anymore, ok with that, funny how my body is changing shape though, drastically cut down on sugar and completely omitted grains form my diet, makes a big difference to how I feel too.

Will catch up again soon, Turn

Morning all

Continuing my rollercoaster, my weight was down half a kilo this week. My fitness is definitely back up though. I did a 60km ride out to Aramoana over the weekend and still felt pretty fresh by the end of it. I’ve canned my idea to do the round the mountains ride at labour weekend because money is a bit tight to be able to afford the boat ride round to the start of it or the tent I’d need to get for the night that I have to camp. But I settled on riding the new Coronet Peak loop track which looks like a great challenge. 50kms of climbing and downhills. I’ll also ride the sections of the Roxburgh Gorge trail that I haven’t done. I can’t afford the jet boat transfer so I’ll ride in and out to the jetty at the beginning, then in and out to the jetty at the other end.

Lindsay, I’ll bet you’re excited about the puppies, when are they due to arrive?

Turn, We’re not due for snow here but it’s supposed to get pretty cold in the weekend, dropping from the 17-18 degrees we’ve had the last few days down to 10 degrees on Saturday 🙁 Congrats on hitting your maintenance weight.

Thin, car free day was just a day that 2000 cities round the world were encouraging people to try alternative means of transport, I don’t think anyone was really expecting zero cars 😉 You know I’m envious or that lifestyle, perhaps something we can look into once the kids have left home in a few years. Not canals of course, but perhaps spend a while touring the country in a campervan.

well Have a great one everyone, I always enjoy reading what everyone is up to.

Good morning, I’ve employed an emergency fast day as I hit my trigger weight this morning. Not at all surprised after having my annual ‘cream tea’ on a very long walk yesterday and fish and chips the day before. Better to deal with a couple of hundred extra gms than let it slide and get out of hand.

Neil, I hope you are able to realise your retirement dream. We’ve found that many people do a lot of talking. In Perth, we had friends getting diagnosed with horrible things that they wouldn’t recover from and that was the catalyst for us getting on with our bucket list while we could still walk and talk. Life is not a dress rehearsal.