Hello all from another lovely sunny day in Sydney. 25 yesterday and 21 today but I must say there is a bite in the wind today

So close Turn! One more FD and you will surely be back in the 60’s. I’m still trying to get into the 80’s but every time I get close I manage to sabotage. I won’t stop trying though. I do Wordle every day

It looks like we did steal Spring from you Thin. Sorry about that!

I had a think when you mentioned smaller meals Cinque and Turn and realised Mr A has been giving me a larger dinner portion than I really need. Way larger. So I will gently work on getting it reduced without hurting his feelings. He loves to cook (and eat) as we both do so I don’t want him to think I don’t enjoy his cooking. Every meal he makes is scrumptious. Tonight he is doing a Greek rack of lamb, lemon potatoes and Greek salad

Yay for getting your bike back Neil and I hope we can both stop overeating so we can get back to where we want to be on the scales. My knees ache

Must get back to the dreaded W word….take care all and hi to Lindsay, LJ, Intesha, G’day and anyone else who may be reading

Hello everyone,
Homehelp arrived as I was writing my last post, so I just hit send. Luckily I had got surfaces clear enough for him to clean everything beautifully.

Neil, Turn, you had our lovely weather from a couple of days before, but I am afraid to say cold and windy might be heading your way now!

Yes, I am still doing Wordle daily, and redactle, waffle and duotrigordle. I am like the letters equivalent of LJoyce, who I think does all the numbers ones.

Turn, you are so close! Fingers crossed next weigh in.

Anzac, isn’t it easy for those meal sizes to increase. I did a bit more research for the volume of a meal, and found 2 cups to be the recommended size, and my little meals have been sneaking up towards that.

This nice bit of research says 300ml is better for reflux than 600ml, and even though they can’t say it is the optimal size, and I am not having liquid meals (except for soup), I am using that for my guide. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261445852_Effect_of_liquid_meals_with_different_volumes_on_gastroesophageal_reflux_disease

I am at a stage of delighting in my small meals in that sort of classic Japanese way of making something little and exquisite. (Comparatively exquisite anyway). I picked up veggies from my daughter’s yesterday, so I am busy planning little meals to stock my fridge and freezer. The food goes further now, and Rose was already thinking of getting the box fortnightly, so we are giving that a go.

Thin, the slender old man was right but clearly not so bothered by the genes, the hormones, the anxiety, the learned behaviour, the psychology, the advertising, the stress and the social norms, as most of us.

Foot bliss, and walk appreciation. So long as it keeps improving, you will get more and more delight (and less and less frustration haha).

Well, I’ve made an eggplant dish, and now I am going to make a lentil and spinach soup.

I am listening to Father Bob’s state funeral service as I write and someone is just singing Ave Maria so beautifully!

I got to the opshop a couple of days ago and found a lovely summer cotton dress, just my style. It was the first time I have bought a size 12 and it be too big for me! (Don’t sizes vary!). I was so disappointed, even though I knew I would have been more disappointed if it was too small.
I needed it the last few summmers when I had several extra kilos. Anyway I have put it in the spare wardrobe just incase things out of my control happen, and I put a few kilos back on. I will be so pleased to have it, should that happen.

I also found a beautiful 50% silk 50% cotton top that was labelled size 8 – 16 so that gives me plenty of leeway! 😀

Cheers everyone,
I hope it is a good day.

Good morning from even freezier Melbourne,

Ha yes, Thin. A very loose dark red top.
I’m partly lusting after that dress (if only it was in my size) but I was also angry at myself for spending $13 on it. However the next day I saw one hand sized meat pie for sale in a cafe for $9.90 so it is all relative isn’t it 😀 😀 😀

Eat Food
Mostly plants
Not too much

Yes, that is such a good basis for diet. Thanks Michael Pollan.

Hello to everyone, is it too cold to sit and write? Best wishes to you, I hope it is a good day.

I had to look up Michael Pollan too, I’d never heard of him, but quite enjoy what I’ve read so far. I do try to live by his mantras but obviously I haven’t done in the past, hence I’m on here now? I do like his avoiding the three S’s – snacks, sugar & supper. It certainly is a work in progress.

Woke to fresh snow on the hills surrounding us this morning, Mt. Cook is looking fabulous, and although it looks pretty, and sunny, there is a bitter wind coming right of that snow meaning I’ll be doubly wrapped up for the dog walking today.

We had loosely planned, (weather dependent) to go out for lunch today, coupled with a long car/walk with the dog and maybe another walk on the drive back, but wait for it, I broke the 70 barrier this morning and finally, finally weighed in at 69kgs. At last, now I just have to keep it going. I’d love to be around 66 when we leave in just over four weeks time but not sure that will happen, may have to settle for nearer 68.

Not much else to report so I’ll get on with the day, think I might just wrap up and harvest some Brussel sprouts and a swede for dinner, have a bit of a tidy up in the veg garden, need to doubly earn that lunch.

Enjoy your day everyone, stay warm, Turn

Good morning everyone,

Turnabout Woot! Nice to be under 70kg, all power to you staying there.

The first I knew of Michael Pollan was watching the documentary based on his book “In Defense of Food” and I loved it.
I hadn’t heard his three S’s and since my idea of supper is ‘soup for my evening meal’ I am not sure what he means by avoiding that! Maybe for him supper is an extra snack after the evening meal? Or does he mean no evening meal at all?

Ooh that fresh snow sounds beautiful!
And cold!
We are finally having a day that is not cold and rainy. It is taking a while to warm up though.

My waist is staying at, or under, 77cm in the morning and sometimes even in the evening too, so I am going well. My reflux symptoms are settling down if I stay vigilant, and it is easier to see what triggers things: milky cocoa drink is a big no!

And I am realising I need to do stretches and exercises to counter upper cross syndrome which is where upper back and neck muscles are not doing well and the computer sitting slump with head forward starts causing all sorts of problems… including with my poor old esophagus. So lovely to be able to do that, and I can choose stretches that are ME/CFS friendly.

Best wishes to everyone

Thank you Cinque, that’s lovely 🙂

Thanks Thin, funny – I was just reading an article about technology in banking and I’ll quote a line:
” Technology contractors are among banks most unloved and overworked employees.”

It is true and you may wonder why I do it? I actually find the work so interesting and, to be brutal, the money gives us a very good life where Mr Anzac doesn’t have to earn a wage and we can travel in semi-luxury. We do still have to budget quite carefully but we don’t mind that as we absolutely hate waste of any sort. And the final and more recent reason is I can WFH

I’ve had the tea, dinner, supper conversation a few times with my labrador friends who are mostly in England but also scattered around the world. Here, of course, tea is a drink, dinner is the evening meal and supper is a snack before you go to bed.
There is also an ongoing debate about scones: cream or jam first? The debate actually gets quite heated in a non-serious way. I’m a jam first girl (not that I eat scones, maybe once every 3 years) as to me the science dictates that the cream is lighter therefore should not be squashed under the jam. Thoughts everyone?

It’s a beautiful day here, not so cold so I hope to get out for a walk a bit later. 23 and sunny today but rain forecast for the weekend. Boo

Take care everyone

Good afternoon everyone.
About time I dropped by to catch up on what is happening to you all.

Turn, excellent effort getting in to the 60s.
I do hope the weather improves for your UK trip. I watch the BBC news most days and the last UK weather report I saw did not look like anything resembling late spring.

Anzac, enjoying your job is half the battle, although I do not have a high opinion of your current boss.

Cinque, excellent job with managing your reflux symptoms without medication. Also excellent work on the weight loss and disappearing waistline!
Yes you are right, I do like the daily number puzzles, “nerdle” and binerdle”, although I often play wordle and quordle as well. (I do resent the implication by the creators of these puzzles, that being competent with numbers means I’m a nerd.)

Thin, I haven’t seen a mention of your foot surgery in recent posts. I hope this means that your determination to rest it properly had the desired impact and you now mobile and pain free.

Anzac & Thin, As to the scones debate, for me it depends. If they are freshly baked and still warm, I like a little butter and possibly a stingy smear of raspberry, blackcurrant or rhubarb jam (although I’m also happy with just butter). If they are cold, then I’ll put jam and then cream on them.
I had afternoon tea at Ayers House a few years ago (yes Thin they did call it High Tea). In addition to the jam and cream, they also served their scones with lemon curd. That was a wonderful revelation as I always find the commonly served strawberry jam far too sweet.

Turn, Thin, Cinque, Anzac, In South Australia (when I was growing up), there was definite class divide when it came to the terms tea and dinner. Growing up in a working class family we called our evening meal tea and it was eaten early at 5:00, because my parents working days started at 7am not the 9am of the middle class professions. We most certainly did not get supper as well, just a cup of tea or cocoa at 8pm. I started calling my evening meal dinner when I left home – trying to fit in with my new university friends.

As usual I’ve been busy here. Mostly because May is history month in Adelaide and there is a plethora of event options – many free or very inexpensive. I got a bit carried away and signed up to quite a few events – mostly guided historic walks. Interesting, but my weeks are way too busy as a result. Next week I have a “Behind the Shelves” tour of the State Library, A bus tour of the Copper Coast’s botany and a “Blue plaque walking tour of Port Adelaide”. That’s in addition to all my usual medical appointments, a family brunch, a seniors movie morning (with morning tea), craft group… I never learn to pace myself properly!

One thing this busy schedule of walking tours is useful for, is trying out my proposed wardrobe for the European river cruise in Oct-Nov. I’m getting a good idea of whether the clothing, footwear, bags etc, that I thought would work in cool-cold weather is actually suitable and comfortable all day. I’m already rethinking my decision not to take a day-backpack – I think it’s a must. I also think I need to look for other walking shoes as my current shoes are fine for just walking briskly, but not all the standing involved in guided tours.

You may recall that I have been trialling a new eating plan aimed at controlling the amount I eat on NFDs, without actually needing to count calories. I have been trying to stick to one main/large meal, one small meal and two “things” (eg a piece of fruit). I’m about 3 weeks in and I’ve come to the following conclusions:
When I stick to it and choose healthy foods, I lose weight and I don’t have to count calories at all.
When I stick to it, but choose a few foods that are a very calorific, I maintain my weight.
When I don’t stick to it and go back to my old snacking habits, I gain weight.
Doing this has been a revelation, as I’m so aware now of the number of times a day I would mindlessly snack on things – a bit of raw veg while preparing dinner, a slice of cheese or a few nuts while I wait for my meal to heat up (because I’m hungry and impatient), the crusts from a new loaf before it goes into the freezer. These are unfortunately just a few examples of the extra food that normally makes it into my mouth on a NFD. Becoming so aware of this has been very useful and a good reminder that I need to always be more mindful with food.
The other thing I have learned, is that this will be a useful system for managing food when I’m travelling – I had been worried about how I would manage that. I think I will still need to do two FDs weekly while I’m away. I might make sure flying days are FDs as airline food is rarely worth the calories.

Hello to everyone else who is reading but too busy to post. Take care everyone.
I will close with picture of Sylvia who clearly did not want to be photographed. https://imgur.com/a/LnuORf2

Grasshopper, oh no Cinque. That doesn’t sound good at all. So pleased you have found some suitable exercises. And what a lovely Mothers’ Day.

Thank you (and LJ) for asking about my foot. I’ve been frustrated by how little I can walk and stand before it swells up and how hypersensitive the scar has felt (bedcovers felt like electric shock treatment). I was made aware of all this but I perhaps focussed too much attention on that two week post-surgical period, ignoring how long this was actually going to take to repair. I am not used to sitting on my arse. But, with intensive exercises and rigorous scar management, I feel I may have turned a corner at last.

LJ, what a lot of fun activities in your area. Had we not already sent a small trunk of personal possessions ahead to Fremantle, we would almost certainly have settled in Adelaide instead of passing through to Perth. We were impressed by how much there was to experience within striking distance of Adelaide. Some of that weather GDSA describes sounds pretty horrid but, then again, Perth isn’t exempt from exceptional temperatures either.

Snacking is deadly. Your snack choices do sound very healthy but they certainly add up. That’s why fasting works so well. It stops us mindlessly putting things in our mouths. I’m back to 6:1. My weight seems to hover between 59 and 60kgs so that’s what it is. We’ve eaten a lot of fish lately taking advantage of the more reasonable fish prices here.

I don’t suppose it’s available in Oz yet but there’s an interesting new drama called, ‘Ten Pound Poms’. I found the first episode quite confronting. It doesn’t paint Australia/ns in a very good light but I could imagine the arrival conditions being as portrayed in the series and not quite as advertised (white washed houses, kangaroos and sunshine). One of my boarding school friends went to Oz as a £10 pom with her parents. She’s now a high profile, published lawyer in Brisbane.

Congratulations Anzac and Mr A!

A quick hello as it is the end of the day and I am just cooking a digestion friendly veggie frittata (chives and grated pumpkin).

I got over my bad days (although I did set off a reflux flare, I hope I have learnt my lesson). And I have had a lovely haircut and had a lot of the thickness cut out of my hair so it feels so light and easy. Hooray.

Thin, so much sympathy for this hard long time of your foot recovery. I hope you have turned a corner. It should never be worse than it is now, at least. I hope!

Anzac, Not giving up is everything. Hooray for you. And what a fascinating weight dance you have been doing with Mr Anzac. Good luck being in lovely shape for your holiday.

Brr Turn, cold and rain. I hope you managed to get the dog walked.
Good luck keeping snug.
Hooray for yummy mashed veg.

I listened to this podcast today and really enjoyed it: Haha yes one of my twin doctors has a new book out. But it is half, yes I know that, and half Wow!
https://shows.acast.com/thepenguinpodcast/episodes/chris-van-tulleken-with-isy-suttie

Sending out best wishes
Yes Lindsay, Neil, Cali, Intesha, Gday and everyone else, so keen to hear how things are going.

Morning all

I haven’t been doing well. For more than three weeks now I’ve been getting my old stomach issues that I used to get in the past. I’ve been reading up on the symptoms (not always a good idea I know) but it seems like I may have IBS. My symptoms all match, and it said that although it’s not known what causes IBS, the symptoms can be made worse by diet including wheat, dairy, caffeine and alcohol (all stuff I’ve been consuming more than usual recently) and stress.

Weight-wise, last week I hardly ate anything, and yet I still gained half a kilo.

I hope everyone else is doing a bit better than me at the moment.

Cinque, good thinking with the pumpkin. Thanks for the info from Monash Uni. It took some effort to (re-) discover the FODMAP acronym meaning.

Neil, I hope you can isolate and eliminate (albeit temporarily) the offending foods. My OH has suffered from IBS in the past, it’s not pleasant.

Yes thanks Cinque, I made it through the FD and this morning I’m not hungry at all. There were plenty of distractions as you point out. One of those distractions was a gentle stroll along the towpath to the Watford staircase locks where we met an 85 year old female solo narrow boater who’s been on the cut since 1960. What a character and so able. I dropped 600g but that puts me just below 60kg so this will have to be a very careful week.

Hi all from a sunny but damp Christchurch.

Yes, we have finished our house/dog sit in Twizel, we left the mountains yesterday and headed back to the confinement of our caravan and it feels good to be home. Although I am missing Musky already.

I unfortunately didn’t break the 69 barrier Thin and have since escalated back up to 69.9 this morning, probably due to the most amazing porridge I ate on Sunday morning, then toast in the evening, a cooked breakfast Monday with black and white pudding and an Indian curry takeaway for dinner with white rice! I really have only myself to blame. Plans changed a little for our friends and we ended up having to collect them from the airport in Christchurch so had to make the 7.5/8 hour round trip on Sunday, to then drive back here again yesterday, so eating choices and timings have been far from ideal. I’ve spent most of today re-organising ourselves and the van, now we’re off to get our Covid booster jabs and OH is having his flu jab too. Not sure what’s for dinner tonight but I have scored a lovely large and cheap cauliflower so lots of that will be on my plate. A nice sunny day here today, I hope it’s good wherever you all are.

I’ll try and catch up again soon, Turn

Hi all, quick post as work is very busy again

Neil I am so sorry you are going through such a tough time. I hope you get some sort of good balance to know how to avoid triggering your tummy issues

Cinque boo for a reflux flare but yay for a lovely haircut

Glad the weather is fabulous finally Thin! Hope your foot is continuing to heal nicely

We are having gorgeous sunny weather too, except the wind is very cold (well it is almost Winter after all). However our back porch is sheltered from the wind but has the sun pouring in most of the day and it is so lovely to sit there. Maxx has one of his many beds out there and loves it too

Turn, boo for the barrier bust but you will be on top in no time. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the dratted weight goes ON but likes to take plenty of time to come OFF. Your pet sitting venture sounded great

My weight is stable so I need to give it a kick. Today I vowed to put 30 minutes in my diary just before lunch for a walk every day. Not negotiable. Umm…..

Take care everyone

Sunday has rolled around again. A good thing as I’ve nudged up to 60.2kg following a pub meal, the first meal not cooked from scratch since my birthday five weeks ago. I had Hunter’s Chicken, popular pub fare here. It was tasty but came with a mountain of chips (which I didn’t eat) and I forgot to ask for the sauce on the side. According to Gordon Ramsay, half the nation puts a condiment on everything they eat. I prefer just food. Anyway back in the 59s tomorrow.

Here’s something not previously discussed on this forum: has anyone else noticed tiny little holes in their clothing around the location of the tummy button? At first I thought something sharp had found its way into the washing machine. Then I thought we must have unseen critters living in the drawers. But the fact that it’s, without fail, around the centre, bottom of my tops made me reject those ideas. Finally, I’ve found out! It’s caused by hardware such as buttons, zippers, clasps on pants rubbing against increasingly cheap fabrics being used to make clothing. The clothing I’ve had for a long time isn’t affected, only items purchased in recent years. Good for paint rags anyway. I thought you’d like to know. 😀

Finally, glorious weather in time for your visit Turn. I was in shorts yesterday. That dreary weather was dragging me down.

Cinque, I agree with your twin. Whilst exercise is wonderful and makes me feel so much happier, I have found it useless for weight loss. I haven’t gained any weight during my prolonged period of relative inactivity. It’s all about what passes my lips.

We’re getting a grocery delivery at 9pm. I still find it amazing that I can give a postcode and a bridge number (and a credit card number) and a truck load of food magically appears by the canal.

Have a fabulous day all.

Hello all, happy Tuesday. Another lovely sunny day and much warmer than the previous few days. I even had to take my jacket off on the dog walk, leaving me in a t-shirt. Gorgeous

Your reflux must be terribly frustrating and painful Cinque. I know when I get it I really suffer and I’m glad I found Somac as it has fixed it almost completely. Mine stems from Diverticulitis so probably different to yours. I do hope something comes along to help you

Woot Thin, summer has arrived for you. My weight management is a little different as I find no matter how good I am with food and drink, if I don’t do some exercise the weight will not budge

Two more sleeps until winter is officially here and 18 more sleeps until our much-anticipated trip to Townsville and Magnetic Island

Must run, hi to everyone else

Cinque, yes it was Tuesday morning when I read yours and I was in the 59s. But I’m a whole kg higher than this time last year so I’m not satisfied with my efforts. Like my school reports, “Can do better”. Good idea to find small bowls.

Anzac, yippee, the trip is getting excitingly close.

Lindsay, in spite of my extensive travels, I am useless at Worldle. DD does it every day. I do Quordle and the one where you only get the clues for next one of the remaining three when they’re completed in order. Not that difficult.

Sorry to hear of all the stress that hospital bungle has created for you. I’ve been let down by the medical and dental professions in Oz with significant ramifications, one potentially life-threatening, so I do empathise. You expect to be able to put your full trust in such professions/institutions and it’s distressing when that trust is shattered. As you said to me before, everyone makes mistakes. But then when you have to fight for some kind of justice/acknowledgment, it adds another layer of distress.

Turn, in which directions are you heading now?

Dear, dear Cinque

Your message made me shed a few little tears. They are pretty close to the surface these days, and your kindness brought them on. But in such a nice way.

We are very fortunate that every doctor that OH has had, has been excellent. Even the anaethetist who prescribed the penicillin has, in his own way, been good. He acknowledged the mistake and owned responsiblity immediately, he’s been in touch on a weekly basis, has offered to intervene in our dealings with the hospital, and has put in place measures to ensure he never goes into surgery again feeling exhausted. We can’t really ask for more. I was telling a paramedic at the dog park about our hospital experience, and he said there should have been six layers of alerts that should have prevented the drug getting from the doctor to being given. The hospital failed us, and then again by trying to manage their risk by moving OH on. The second hospital where he had the cardiac treatment was wonderful. The cardiologist on duty leaned over OH when he came up from the first bout of stents and said, ‘There is nothing to worry about. You’re with us now. You’re safe.” A wonderful, reassuring thing to say, and such an indictment on the first hospital.

On other news (using the term loosely) – I’m on line 5 of Wordle today and can’t quite get the sixth. But have put it away for now, hoping for inspiration when I look at it again.

Thin I do quordle too but less frequently than Wordle, which I like to knock off over my first cup of coffee.

Anzac hope you are doing okay. Not long now to your holiday, if I remember correctly?

ok off to the dog park. take care all.

Hello everyone.

Lindsay, sending you hugs. As other’s have said, you have been under enormous strain for many months and it is not surprising that it has taken a toll. I am pleased to hear that at least the doctors have been so supportive – it is so important that you can continue to trust them. I hope life send you no more trauma for a while.

It’s been a busy month, with some interesting outings as part of the History Festival that happens in Adelaide every May. I mostly did walking tours which I enjoyed. The all day bus tour was too long for me, I’d had enough by lunch time. (I can’t believe I spent 16 days on a bus in Europe in 1993!)

My trial of restricting portions by size and number on NFDs was useful. I did it for most of May and despite many poor food choices and some days of excess where I did not follow my own rules, I only gained 0.7kg. While it is not a useful way to lose weight, it will be ideal for travel as I don’t want to come back several sizes larger and neither do I want to be counting calories while I’m away. It will mean that treats will have to be carefully chosen and limited in size – which is a good thing whether on holiday or at home.
There was an unfortunate glitch last week. In my need to work in my FDs to a busy schedule, I had to do two B2B FDs. I was expecting a good loss from those 2 FDs – I got a 0.1kg gain. I did not respond well to that. The toys were thrown out of the pram and I spent 3 days overindulging. The result of those 3 days of course was a weight gain of 2.7kg. I finally remembered I’m supposed to be a rational adult and went back to very careful eating. Thankfully that gain is now off.
I now have to decide how to approach my eating this winter. I don’t want to just maintain, I want to lose some weight to get comfortably back into the 70s – I’m sick of hovering in the low 80s. Last winter I counted calories every day and I also monitored my carbohydrate intake on NFDs (aiming for <30% of my calories). I lost weight steadily, because my NFDs weren’t reversing the losses from my FDs. There are 2 reasons it worked – having to count calories keeps me accountable and the moderate carb intake was enough to control my appetite. The only other thing I can think of to try is a combination of both approaches. So I would use the portion restriction rules, but I would also reduce my carbs, but no calorie counting. I think I’ll try this for a fortnight and see if it works. If not then I’ll revert to the calorie counting that worked for me last winter.

I have to stop now as I am heading out for a walk with a friend in a few minutes.
Hello to everyone else, I will try to post a proper response to you all soon.

Good morning everyone. Don’t all fall off your chairs in shock, I am posting two days in a row!

I have finally caught up on all the posts on this page.

Neil, I was sorry to hear about all of the difficulties you are beset with. I hope the allowance that your wife is eligible for reduces the financial pressure you are under. Looking after a family on one income with inflation and interest rates is such a challenge.
It is meant to be a drier winter this year, so I hope the absence of rain gives you more opportunity to be outdoors in the daylight. I remember you mentioning in a previous winter, that lack of daylight had an adverse effect on your mood. Hopefully if it’s drier you can get enough time on the bike.
I had IBS for many years. The symptoms can vary wildly, so there are likely to be different solutions for different sufferers. My symptoms disappeared about 9 years ago after I made three changes – I’m not sure whether one or all were responsible. I’d lost a lot of weight, I started consuming probiotic liquids (kefir and kombucha) and I increased my daily fibre intake >30g per day (40g+ is ideal for me). These days I mostly use just kombucha, because I can easily make that myself at little cost. (Sauerkraut and kimchi would probably be useful too, but I don’t like them.) The increase in fibre is contrary to a fodmap diet which eliminates a lot fibre rich foods. As I said, the solutions need to be personalised and this just seemed to work for me. I hope you find a solution that helps you.

Thin, what an array of bird life you are seeing at the moment, it sounds wonderful. I must get back to your blog and catch up – I’m a few month behind and I suspect you’ve posted some bird photos.

Anzac, Your trip will be a reprieve from the winter weather, which you have never mentioned favourably. Aside from warming up, I hope it gives you a good chance to recharge your batteries after the frenetic pace that your work seems to take.
Glad to see that you and MrA have your weight heading in the right direction.

Cinque, it looks like you have the ongoing issues with reflux mostly controlled, as long as you don’t deviate from your small serve approach. I hope that continues to work for you as I know you wanted to resolve it without surgery.
Well done on the tiny waist. Have fun with the opshop finds – always easier when you can fit into the clothing that everyone else has outgrown.

Turn, I had to look up Twizel and was bombarded with amazing photos, what a glorious spot. Although there are many of those in the South Island, you are spoiled for choice. Probably good to be out of the mountains for winter though – that wouldn’t be fun in a van.

As to the daily word puzzle debate. I prefer quordle to wordle. My best friend likes blossom – a word games that encourages you to use certain letters for a higher score.

I made bubble and squeak last night to use up the last of some salad bags (coleslaw and baby spinach), bound together with some mash (potato, carrot & cauli). I cooked it for quite a while in a non stick pan with a knob of butter. It was so delicious it deserves to be made deliberately, not just to use up leftovers. I can’t actually remember if I’ve made it before, what an oversight.
The food plan for today is a veg tray bake for lunch (carrot, red onion, capsicum, zucchini, cauliflower and potato) and a spinach and tomato omelette for dinner. I have apples if I need a snack.

Hope you are all having an excellent weekend.
Although there are likely to be occasional showers here, the sun is currently shining through my kitchen window. Which always makes me (and my orchids) happy in winter. My favourite time for walks are in the sun on cold days. The weak warmth from the sun makes me happy and the cold air encourages me to walk faster.

Neil, sorry to hear you’ve all been sick. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

LJ, good for you for always working out the food solutions and tackling them head on. Sunshine plays an important part in our well-being, doesn’t it? You haven’t missed much on my blog. I don’t post when we’re overseas in winter as those adventures have nothing to do with narrow boating. And then I wrote a bit about my surgery from the perspective of accessing services when living off-grid. So you’re probably up to date. I haven’t posted many bird photos – they’re so flipping hard to photograph as they move so quickly. And the bird ‘flu wiped so many out sadly.

Anzac, I tried that wordle just because you said it was a silly word and I do like a challenge. I missed it too – putting MM instead of ZZ before the Y! (Assuming this isn’t a spoiler, they only stay up for 24 hours I believe). I have a system for quordle of using the same two first words every time. They utilise all the vowels and other key letters for a good head start. I could do with a bigger challenge as I always solve it.

Sunshine and 20C – hurray, hurray, hurray!

Hello everyone,

Brrr winter!

Lindsay, I am so glad there were those little kindnesses and support through your horrible experience. Still sending best wishes.

Anzac yes! It was a dumb wordle word!
Ooh less than two weeks to holiday time!

LJoyce I completely understand that amazement we have at what we used to be able to do. Sigh. I had a bad sleep on Saturday night and basically couldn’t do anything yesterday. And feeling a lot better this morning I remembered how, in my youth, I could be up at a party all night and then go to work at a busy medical practice.
(Well, only once, but I did it).

But hooray for the good things you did through the History Festival.
And lots of heartfelt sympathy/empathy for working out the good eating practice to not only maintain, but to knock off a bit more excess weight. Good luck with this combination approach! I really hope it works.

It was so interesting to hear that you were able to manage your IBS so successfully you basically don’t have it any more. Hooray for fibre and kombucha.

I am getting more and more settled with my small meals and working out how to space them etc. (I must say I much prefer a low fat, more carb diet to the other way around). Maintaining my waist measurement, which is my aim.

And a big thankyou for mentioning blossom! I looked it up and I love it.

An hour and a half later… zoomsisters appt. I so love talking to my sisters!
I also love talking to you lot xxx

Thin, that beautiful bird life!
I did the same thing with that wordle, only one line left and I put jammy.
Big congratulations to you on your ninth year plus and such exemplary 5:2ing
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5d/ce/45/5dce452ae314c34b0067559118f4d7b5.png

Neil, I think it was great that your weigh in was no more than last week. Especially when it was such a hard week. I know there is a bug going around here that is neither covid nor the flu, but is really nasty. I do hope you are all fighting fit again soon.
Good luck with those diet changes you want to make. I know how hard it is. All power to you.

Time to have a little meal

Best wishes to everyone including partners and children and four legged friends

Hi, A very quick post.

We had storms and very heavy rain here today, which was forecast. Unfortunately this afternoon we also had hail, which was not expected. While my property and vehicle are ok, I was very worried that the hail stones that were pelting the kitchen window would smash it.
So, if you live east or south east of Adelaide and stormy weather is forecast for you, please prepare for hail, just in case. I suspect Victoria is most at risk.
Take care.

Good morning everyone,
Yikes LJoyce! Where I am missed the worst of that weather system. Just some pretty ordinary rain here.
Neil, careful on those icy roads. Brrr.
I am glad you have managed to get off the couch. You must have been crook. All power to your resilience.

I had a bad day yesterday. I thought I was well enough to visit my dear friend for the first time since she has been in a nursing home in Central Victoria. However I needed to show my covid vaccinations were up to date and the first step was to get onto the MyGov site where my info is.
I spent 6 hours on it!
The second last hour was waiting on the help line for someone to help me. I still haven’t been able to get my identity verified but will try again next week.
Anyway, it messed up my nice flow of mindful eating. I didn’t do too badly, but just messy enough to have reflux symptoms. Getting back to it today.

Hoping that no one is having a nasty, frustrating, soul destroying day today.

Cheers all