Some people!

 I've bought this rose for my DD's birthday and phoned her yesterday evening to say it was on the way and to hear about her weekend, as they went away.. 

I was just listening to her telling me, that they had gone to Blue Water for her to buy some birthday bits, when her husband kept chiming in and adding to what she was saying. As if she isn't capable to talk for herself. Its so annoying and I think demeaning for her. 

I wish he'd just shut up and let her speak..I don't like his ways, he's such a difficult man. full of his own importance. But she married him so I mostly keep my mouth shut. On Sunday some friends joined them for Sunday dinner, and I asked who cooked, she said that she had.. to my remark, but it was your birthday?  She answered that she had Saturday eating out.. SO I said??? Almost as though  was allowed time off from kitchen duties! Anyway I made an excuse and hung up. I didn't want to upset her by making any further remarks, but really I wanted to say, all sorts of things, too awful to write here!!

Chrisxx

Face Book?

Yesterday I had a flash back to when I was a young mum and we had first moved from here, my home town, to Billericay in Essex. Just some thing on Face Book triggered the memories, the awful loneliness and the cold house and the mile walk to town. I did walk all the way at least twice a week, to the bank and of course the library. We moved because my husband had got a job in an office in London. It was December 1968.

I had lived there a year before I made a friend, Den, and she is still my friend although she doesn't live there now and speaking to her on the phone, she is very confused, but still knows me, she is 90 years old now. 

She stopped off at my house three afternoons on her way home from work and we had a cup of tea and chatted for a good hour.  On her days when she wasn't working we still got together for a chat! Her two girls stayed with me, if they were off school, and she had my youngest son, when I had my driving lessons, so we had a good friendship and laughed a lot but also cried together. She was my main stay, when I was going through my divorce and it was she who found out about the college in Brentwood, that was offering Degree Courses.  So it was she that gave me my escape route to be able to support myself and buy my own house.

So strange how she came into my mind, but her eldest daughter has accepted my as a friend on FB and as she has a very active FB page, I see my friend all the time.. there are some very good things on FB that I never thought existed! Do you have a FB account?

Chrisxx

Summer pot to Winter pot!

 Last years front pot, over grown and out of shape and the rectangular shaped pot had broken.

What with the excessive heat of the summer and the deluge of the week before last, its a wonder anything survived! But I can honestly say I've never seen  plants grow so big that they crack and break their container.

So when we went to buy a new container, Dh suggested we get something really nice..but there wasn't a lot to chose from but these looked ok.. I was dubious at first but actually they look rather nice..

The plants are still  very small but they will grow and I love those mauve pink winter pansies. The pots will weather a bit I hope and the plants will grow and drape over the sides of the pots. 

But we've started getting the garden winter ready, have you?

Chrisxx

Screaming!

 

Why is it that makes us want to scream and scream and scream again.. and why do women more than men feel that way?

Or perhaps men do, but don't say?

I have been plodding along following the SW food plan to the letter and over the last 5 weeks I've only lost 3 pounds.. but now I've discovered my thyroxine dose isn't high enough. So no matter what I did, I would not have lost any large amounts of weight. I suppose the one thing in its favour is that, by keeping to the plan, it has kept me from gaining a whole big weight gain, but that doesn't make up for the amount of effort I've made this last few months. Never mind the cost of the weekly SW fee I spent.

Its so frustrating and depressing I feel like crying! And I  did when the scales said 0.5 pounds gain this morning.

And because of this weight problem, everything else seems wrong.

I suppose the one good thing is I have clothes that fit me and look decent.. because when I first started gaining weight 4 years ago bought some really decent clothes from that Norwegian firm https://www.gudrunsjoden.com/en-gb so I have some lovely dresses to wear. The beauty of this firm is the clothes for the bigger woman are still stylish and the sleeves are not too long, nor is the neck gaping.. some cheaper firms make the clothes big all over, so things look like ill fitting tents!

If you've never had a weight problem you will never understand how I feel about this and how it affects my life.  It dictates my moods, how I react to situations and how I can be with other people. I haven't even written my blog, nor have I visited any, so must put that right. 

I felt down and just gave in and the rain last week didn't help.. anyway a blood test booked for 8th Oct.. took me 48.3 mins on the phone to do that, so I can go from there.

Its going to be Pysgod a Sglodion tonight for a change! 

A calming photo of the Lookout from the sandhills, taken from FB, sooths my soul.

Chrisxx

Post script to oat cake recipe

 We made this with a nut topping and a lemon drizzle and it was lush!

Absolutely gorgeous and for SW members, cut into 6 pieces, each piece is only 2 syns.. if you have the oats as a healthy B! 

Chrisxx

Diet Oat Cake

Ingredients

120g Oats ground down so looks like flour.

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 eggs

3 tbls honey

2 carrots peeled and chopped 

2 apples peeled and chopped

30 g raisons

Method

Line an 8 inch tin with baking paper and grease the paper too

Preheat oven 180C 

Whizz carrots and apple together.

Add to other ingredients and mix all ingredients together, stir well.

Spoon into tin and level mixture

You can if you want sprinkle chopped walnuts on the top before cooking.

Cook for 35 mins

Allow to cool and place on a rack

Enjoy!!

Chrisxx

Rough seas

 

We went for a walk yesterday afternoon and although there wasn't any sun, it was mild and very pleasant. We hadn't been out since last Friday, because the rain has been horrendous. So it was lovely to get out walking on the promenade. The air felt so fresh, I walked further than I had done for a while, so I was very pleased with myself. I'm hoping I will be back up to a mile by the end of the month. Might not seem a lot to some. but while I was still nervous after my accident I haven't been walking.

I walked confidently with my 'wheels' even offered to race with an old looking man who had rollator too.. He laughed out loud and said.. 'Just seen you racing along, so I wouldn't have a chance!'

I said 'Hello' to everyone I saw, I believe in smiling to everyone and talking to them if they smile back.

We did sit and watch the waves crashing up over rocks, they were magnificent! I really enjoyed it....... me?? who used to say I don't like walking!

Chrisxx

School Toilets'!

This advert really makes me laugh, because the boy is so serious. Could this video be his mum's proud moment, which she shows to his first girl friend when he is older? 

When my children were at Comprehensive school, we lived about 5 mins sprint away and my #1 son used to run home to use the toilet in his break. 

As a teacher I often had to say quietly to the year 3 children. if they complained of a tummy pain.. perhaps you need the toilet? 

One school where we had an OFSTED Inspection, when the Key stage 1 girls (5 and 6) were asked what they didn't like about school? The answer was 'The toilets!' What they liked best?... 'Play times!'

As a Senior teacher in two schools, what we were always looking for was a deodorant for the tiles in the boys toilets, as they used to wee on the walls!! Why?? To see who could wee the highest!

The bane of the cleaners and caretakers.

Thank goodness I'm now out of it and retired!

Chrisxx

Rain but something's are good.

 I don't know about you, but I'm fed up with all this rain and wind. When we popped into town at the weekend, we watched people from inside Costa trying to battle with their umbrellas and dashing through the deluge.

We got chatting to a couple sitting at a table adjacent to us, who had arrived for a caravan holiday that day.. Dh and I smiled because, when the weather is bad we always say..'At least we're not on holiday!' Poor people, they were meeting up with their family and young grand children for a weeks stay. I thought back to when I'd stayed with my young children, in Devon in dreadful weather and we survived!

We were caught in a shower when we went back to our car and although I was wearing my mac, it wasn't as long as my dress and I had to change out of it when we got home. 

In spite of the rain, which has greened up the grass, the garden still has some colour.

These Michaelmas Daisies do us proud every year and they've spread so filling a space beautifully.

And our grape vine has done well again, we'll be picking a bunch at a time in a week or two time. Last year we missed some and saw them end of October still on the vine and they were so sweet, so something to look forward to. We usually take a bunch to our Slimming World group for the Slimmer of the week!

And our tomatoes continue to ripen, and there's a lot of them still to come. We don't make chutney any more because we're always dieting, but I think this year we will, just  a couple of jars for 'C'. 

And we're going to make a cake too, not the usual fruit one but I've a very nice recipe for a boiled cake, with an apricot jam topping! Drooling just thinking about it!  What about you are you planning ahead for 'C?

Chrisxx

BRONWEN - Ar Ddiwedd Dydd (Live from Fieldgate)

Bronwen Lewis is a 25 year old young woman from S Wales who started to translate pop songs from age 15 and has gained popularity though Radio 1 and Tik Tok.. she gigs singing pop songs in Welsh and writes her own songs too.

She has a super recording of Carole Kings, 'You've got a Friend,' 

For an unknown reason I can't get the video of it, but here is the link.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050476959949

Chrisxx