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Hello Crackers. It's a dark and rainy afternoon so I am forced out of the garden and regrettably won't be able to ride today. But what better way to spend part of a rainstorm than here. it has been increasingly hot and very humid the past several days so this rain is not unexpected. I did manage to get out this morning and picked three pints of raspberries for the freezer- they are already bagged. I now have some asparagus puree for soups, strawberries and raspberries frozen; as I've said before, I definitely have the squirrel gene and also the influence of my grandmother whom I helped a lot with picking and preserving and from whom I learned how to do it. I did manage a nice ride on Sunday and was pleased to do more cantering. The past few days I have also been doing a lot of gardening while it was finally dry. The weeds had really taken hold, there was a lot of deadheading to do, grass to be cut, patio to be swept, edging of beds, and even some late planting. My excessive moisture had led to three of my baskets of Reiger begonias with die-off parts and looking really bedraggled so I combined the best of the three into one pot that now looks quite nice. An update on Nellie and her phobia: Last night I took her for a walk with my neighbour's dog and she was quite happy to go. When we came back to the house, I decided to go on a little by myself as she hesitated but then seemed willing to go ahead. Part way down the street, I stopped for a moment to chat to another neighbour on her bike. As she left, Nellie sat down and refused to go further! We'll try again. I really am missing walking with her when I go alone.
PB, I am glad your friend has come through her operation, a beginning to recovery at least. And the outlook for Harley seems promising. It is good you can go to the stable and groom- no moment spent in any way with a horse is a wasted moment. How lovely you have a greenhouse; I am quite envious.
BM, it's good to see you here again. I see you posted about keeping to a calorie goal on the home page so clearly you are getting a little desire back again. I definitely think you should not worry about the weigh-in at the moment. May I recommend a site I visited today on Utube - I found it very short but inspiring. Yoni Freedhoff (I've mentioned him before) is a Canadian who runs a bariatric clinic associated with University of Ottawa. He has become quite well-known here with his book, The Diet Fix. He has posted "Thirteen Myths about Dieting" on Utube. I really like his manner, very sensible, and definitely about health not just weight loss. He will definitely put the scale issue into perspective. I found these posts inspiring. I forget how I originally got it but somehow I receive his Weighty Matters blog on my email which is good too.
MITM, hope you are enjoying the day with your daughter.
The rain is tapering down but it is now far too wet to return the garden. I think I shall read more of "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand". I'm three quarters along with it and have really enjoyed it, particularly the humour and wry observations he has of contemporary life. An account of the women of his golf club searching for a theme for their annual dinner had me laughing aloud. Has anyone else read it?
Regards.0 -
A really hot afternoon so I've popped in here for a moment en route to looking for something else on-line so should not linger. With the return of very hot weather I have to figure out what to do in the early morning before it gets too hot. Today and yesterday going to the stable won out as I had not ridden since Sunday because of wet weather again. After that both days, I have picked more raspberries and black currants for the freezer. both are very bountiful this year but one can't procrastinate too much as there are a lot of people at the u-pick and it gets picked out quickly.
On Thursday, Nellie totally surprised me when we returned from the stable by literally pulling me out to the sidewalk and willingly going for a nice walk. This was particularly nice as it was a rainy day and I could only groom my horse, not ride. But yesterday, she was back to the 'won't go mode'- until I saw another woman walking her dog and asked if Nellie could walk along with them (she knew about Nellie as she had earlier seen me walking alone and asked where my dog was) at which point Nellie happily joined and created no fuss when our routes later parted. What am I to make of this? Thursday was also my birthday, low key which was fine with me. Two of my sisters came over for the afternoon and we had a nice time, also I received greeting from absent siblings. I also made a visit to my mother's grave as I had not been there for awhile. This might seem strange but I think of what my brother often said about birthdays, that the person who should be honoured is our mother who bore and brought us up. The cemetery itself is actually a very beautiful one as it is very large, filled with a huge variety of trees, some of the largest you would see around here because of its age. It is thankfully peaceful. A couple of other people were walking through, one with a dog. However, it is not like Toronto where many people treat cemeteries like any other park- jogging, biking, skateboarding. I think some of my feelings about cemeteries were formed as a child when I read the Anne of Green Gables books and others by LM Montgomery; her characters were always waxing on about pleasant cemeteries! Off now to more Saturday jobs- there is some lawn waiting to be cut.0 -
Hello Crackers - I've been away for a few days down to Hampshire to stay with friends. I arrived home last night after a fabulous spa day at a 5* hotel which left me feeling very relaxed! We had some superb days out at a little lake where there was room to paddle. Reminded me so much of Okanagan Lake in Canada and the fabulous day I spent there swimming and messing around in the water with the fishes. Food has been relatively good but I'm afraid I've had quite a lot of wine. We went to a NT place called 'The Vyne' on Sunday which was a fascinating tudor mansion with lovely gardens and grounds - bought some very sweet and tasty gooseberries. Returning home, I find the potatoes are now ready to be pulled and there are some tomatoes ripening whilst the remaining strawberries keep coming.
Bracken your comment about the cemetery made me think of the beautiful little church where I went to a service last Monday evening - its hidden away down a track and surrounded by beautiful hedges - the perfect place both to be laid to rest and to visit those who have left us. It was a peaceful tranquil place with a real advantage in being relatively difficult to find!
I hope you had a lovely birthday Bracken - it was mine the previous Saturday so we are both crabs!
Planning a bit of a walk later although it is dull and very muggy.
Cannot imagine what is going on with Nellie - seems very odd behaviour. Especially as there seems to be no real reason or event that has caused it.
Well talk later - where is everyone? You ok BM?
take care
PB X0 -
Evening Crackers!
I have been popping in daily but I just haven't had time to linger, however I kept thinking throughout today as I was gardening of the saying 'you will never find 'time' for anything, if you want time, you must make it' so that is what I'm doing!
Sometimes Bracken when I read your posts I feel we are living parallel lives - my roses and geraniums were all blooming so beautifully this year but with all the extreme hot weather we've had several storms at night but last week, we had an afternoon thunderstorm with winds so strong it wrecked many of my flowers. I was feeling very sorry for myself as I assessed the damage until I learnt that in the next county, a village had hail stones the size of tennis balls which had made 50 houses unliveable. The hot weather has also made exercise near impossible, dragging ones body from room to room has taken all of my energy and walking in the evenings was curtailed because of the storms... However this week so far has been mid twenties, no rain, so I've been walking and gardening. BM pleased to see that the pounds are coming off again, you must be off to the UK shortly. PB your trip sounded lovely.
Well I have lately been rather preoccupied with my daily walking companion. In the 10 years I've known her she has suffered from severe migraines where she has had to lie down in a darkened room for 3 days at a time, throwing up, at least twice a month which has been ongoing since she was a teenager. In desperation she has tried everything and has seen doctors and specialists all over the country to no avail. She is also as I've mentioned before overweight because her weekly shopping trolley is full of utter rubbish of no nutritional value. Anyway in April when I was in the UK, what I can only describe as a 'witch doctor' from across the border in Italy was recommended to her. So she went to see him and on my return when we met up she excitedly told me how he put her headaches down to several falls whilst horse-riding as a teenager, as her spine needed adjusting and her internal body was a complete mess due to her eating habits! He had 'treated' her body and she was a mass of bruises and on his advice she was now eating a diet solely of raw vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds! Well this was April and she has stuck to the diet and his exercises before bed (like yoga) and she now experiences a headache once a month but it doesn't last a day and she isn't in a dark room plus she has lost 22lbs!
He strongly believes the human race should eat just raw food and this is the cause of all illnesses because the blood can't flow freely - too extreme for me! I too believe we should eat plenty of raw fruits and vegetables and I do but I can't see anything wrong with lightly cooked vegetables and I can't give up my complex carbohydrates - life would not be worth living without bread, rice, pasta and potatoes. This is glue to him! Personally I think the problem lies more with sugar and processed foods. However I greatly admire my friends willpower but as I said she lived on utter rubbish before, so I can understand why she now feels so much better. I went to Innsbruck last week visiting family and my husband's aunt, served up a fantastic apricot sponge cake only it had a filling which had to be 2 inches high of whipped cream. The following day we all felt ill because it was too rich for us and our delicate stomachs!
Anyway my friend had mentioned me to the witch doctor and because I'm English he asked if I would agree to meet up with him. He needs to improve his English for his work and his 'rich' clients who send him plane tickets and of course I was very curious to meet him because of my friend! I can now understand why my friend has been totally 'bewitched'! He is so charming not your typical southern, dark, Italian stereotype, northern Italian with light brown hair, 40 with a very dry sense of humour! I felt like he was putting me into a trance with his words but I knew he was doing it and I told him so! He trained as a radiologist and as a physiotherapist but was soon of the opinion the treatment was all wrong for people with back problems and he came up with his own 'solution'. I mentioned my own daughter's back problems, knee aches, shoulder aches which I always feared was down to the fact she started walking at 8 months and 2 days, never crawling so her body didn't have time to adjust. But she had also had several bad skiing accidents as a child. And at yearly school medicals the doctor always said her posture was bad and that she should exercise more and once she started cross country skiing and the weight fell off I hoped it had improved but if she does a Jillian she is in pain whilst doing it.
So my daughter came with my friend and me for our next English session. He watched her walk in and said he can see she has a problem, read her palm (!) said she has poor circulation (which she does) and that he could help her. She too was bewitched as she hates doctors and being touched yet much to my surprise she agreed to be treated, maybe because he said she needed to sort it before she was 21 and if she didn't she would be in greater pain in later years but I was still shocked when she stripped to her pants and bra! I can't tell you what he did to her as I wasn't in the room, but we could hear the conversation. She was bruised and battered all over as he pricked and put pressure on all her muscles all over to release the tension and get the blood flowing. She was in tears of pain twice as he banishes every rib she told me later but she came out of the room, 2 hours later noticeably walking taller, beaming from ear to ear (which is so unusual in itself!!) and she said she felt like she was walking on air or clouds. Her whole body felt released and without pain. His words the energy can move freely. It was like she had been drugged!
One week on her bruises are disappearing, she has felt absolutely knackered but that is to be expected as 'nature' has to work. I'm still in 2 minds as to what he does but she isn't in pain, feels great and her hands are hot and they're normally stone cold and she has been doing the yoga moves nightly and is now so flexible but she does intends to continue eating as normal which includes a bowl of fruit! The test will be when she next does a 'Jillian'. Anyway in return for this 'free' session, I will be speaking English for some time with him which luckily is not a chore however if I start changing then you know I'm being bewitched too!
Well I may not have posted in over a week but I've made up for it now, sorry to have gone on! Be good Crackers!
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P.S. Bashes not banishes every rib!!0
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WOW!! So much to read and comment on, not sure where to start. Absolutely delightful to see the lovely mails. I have been popping in, but am still a bit under the weather and with our weather being in the high 30's to low 40's I have been finding everything a tad difficult. Still, enough of the pity party!.......
Belated birthday greeting to you both Bracken and PB. PB, your mails contain so much happiness, it is lovely to read them after the awful time you were having a while ago. I loved the sound of your peaceful church. I miss dreadfully the quiet, respectful ambience of a British church. Unfortunately the church I attend here, although quite beautiful is always full of very disrespectful tourists who wander around chatting loudly and taking pictures!
Bracken, I have been thinking about Nellie a lot. I have had similar happen but with one of my horses! He was a wonderful Welsh cob, (it was a bit like sitting on a sofa he was so broad!). With other horses he was fine but when hacking on our own he would come to a stop and not move forward until eventually he became unwilling to go past the end of our little lane. I sought advice off a lady who runs an equestrian centre and she advised me to turn him in a tight circle a couple of times and then move him forwards. Amazingly as sceptical as I was, this did seem to help a lot. Sometimes I had to turn him circles a few times and even alternate directions but it was as if it threw him off his stubbornness and worked well.
We have had similar with Harry. As a pup we worried he was agoraphobic as he used to shake and get upset when out and even now he is 3 years old he never becomes excited when he sees his leash, he often hides under the bed or will stay in his basket until I lift him out. We took him to obedience classes and he would sit down in the middle of his turn to walk in a circle but would then (as Nellie is) be fine walking in a group circle. Funnily enough the trainer there told us to turn him in tight circles and then purposefully walk on. It has worked! Sometimes we had to encourage or reward him with little tidbits but he has moved on quite a bit since then. However, even now he will plod along with me on a walk but the minute we turn back or are on our way home he races along and is a much happier dog. I am not sure if any of this is helpful to you Bracken, but I really do sympathise with you. It is such a shame if both and Nellie will not get as much pleasure out of your walks as you have been. x
MITM, amazing to read about this "witch doctor". I am very open minded towards different treatments having seen so much that couldn't be explained in my 20+ years of Nursing, so I wouldn't label myself as a sceptic. However this mans form of "medicine" has left me thinking! I really don't know if any treatment that leaves bruises from force can be a good one. I agree his method of raw foods can be of benefit, but as you rightly say, a healthy diet has to have a mix of proteins/carbs/fat. Also as you say your neighbour would have lost weight the minute she changed her eating habits, even if it was just reducing the rubbish from her trolley. I sincerely hope his treatment has helped your Daughter, but also wonder, if he is as "hypnotically" speaking as you suggested is he not subtly hypnotising her and others into believing they will get well? If they do become free from pain/slimmer etc then that's all to the good. But to physically hurt someone in the name of treatment does leave me wondering. (Particularly a minor). It is good you are open minded about it, and lets hope your daughter continues to improve. The medically minded part of me says her increased blood flow, walking taller etc was due to increased adrenalin from her physical "treatment" and will eventually wear off. However the part of me that believes in herbal and traditional remedies is rooting for it to have worked and to maybe become a viable treatment in the future for others as well (preferably without the rib bashing:) )
I am going to do a few chores now before the heat becomes ridiculous again. We are off to the UK 2 weeks today. I am so disappointed to be going home at the weight I am. MITM I too have trouble thinking what to pack as a lot of my favourite or "good" clothes are too tight for comfort on me.
Hope this post finds you all well, I have loved reading about your gardens (so sorry you have suffered weather damage). I can just sit and look at my pot plants and dream of when I eventually have a garden!
Love BM x x0 -
MITM, I have just reread your post and a couple of things popped out at me. You said you were aware he was almost "putting you in a trance"?. I have always took you to be a strong, level headed person. So you saw through that. just imagine a weaker or gullible person, perhaps in pain and desperate for help. They would surely fall under his "spell" and believe anything he says, possibly mind over matter? Also, by reading your daughters palm he was able to hold her hand, which as you say would have been cold. A sure fire way to "diagnose" poor circulation as the peripheries (hands, feet, nose and ears) are always the first to become cold. These are just thoughts circling around my head, but something just feels a bit "off" about this man. I hope I'm wrong. Please keep us informed how the English lessons progress! x x0
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Loved your comments BM because I am a 100% sceptic to mumble jumble but I'm totally against pills as well! My daughter insists she wasn't hypnotised in any way, she was aware of thinking throughout the treatment which was physical not words, will this work but she can feel the difference in her whole body, how it sits, the position of her spine. She totally believes in whatever he did because she says she is no longer tense in any of her muscles and people who are not in this type of pain, cannot appreciate or understand what it now feels like to her. I may feel differently if I were in pain! The bruises are only on her thighs (as were my friend's) and the rib treatment afterwards my daughter told me she can now breath easier (another thing we saw doctors about when she was young which we never mentioned to him). I believe he uses his skills learnt in physiotherapy to manipulate the muscles. And perhaps I should add when I said I felt like I was in a trance that was tongue in cheek as his Italian accent is so lovely compared to listening to harsh German! The daughter was originally only involved for practising his English but he convinced us during the consultation and my thinking was, well if I'm going to be speaking with you on a regular basis (although I do like him!) then this can be my payment in return, I never felt I was putting her in danger at any point. But I'm not into palm reading or eating just raw foods and I'm not a touchy feeling type of person but I agree with him about living with the seasons. I will keep you posted!0
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Morning Crackers!
I'm taking it slowly today. Yesterday I pushed myself and spent most of the day in the garden cutting the grass. I was absolutely shattered but at least it looks in some sort of order. My poor neighbours were picking our redcurrants and blackcurrants above the rockery as we have no use of them (I haven't used up all of those I picked from last year) and they make them into cordial along with their own. I say 'poor' as the area is an absolute jungle! I did get up as far as my roses to weed but I ran out of time before reaching the fruit bushes which are above and normally my husband cuts a pathway. There are also 3 huge gooseberry bushes up there which after PB mentioned buying some I remembered my own so I climbed up and have picked and frozen some and that was hard work with the thorns! The amount of work around the house inside and out is beginning to mount up as the heat is slowly me down. Today I am going to repaint the wood panels on the terrace which I can see bits my father missed and when I am resting on the bench it irritates me! Bracken any progress with Nellie?
Be good Crackers!0 -
Hello Crackers. What a lot to think about here at the moment- fascinating. Your thorough account of your daughter's and friend's treatment is certainly intriguing, MITM. BM's very thorough analysis seems to me very perceptive and balanced. As for your friend, I think it is lovely that she has found a way that is working for her at the moment and that amount of weight loss must be encouraging. Like you, MITM, I could not be so restrictive but I doubt the diet is harmful in the short term and all she needs to do later is add some good protein and complex carbs and she could have a very strong diet. A lot of people with poor eating habits have trouble eating vegetables and even fruits so she will have that aspect mastered. Your daughter's case is interesting even before the recent treatment. Intractable pain is apparently often baffling to doctors and there are many people who spend years with debilitating pain so if this treatment has brought relief, I can imagine how pleased your daughter must be. I too would wonder if the gentleman's previous experience with physiotherapy has not been the basis of his treatment- spines, nerves and muscle problems often seem to be at the basis of a lot of inexplicable pain. By chance, I was talking to the husband at my boarding stable and he has had a terrible bout of back pain recently for which there was no apparent or immediate cause. It was so bad he went to Emerg for painkillers. He had started some chirotherapy , (a nerve impinging on his out of alignment spine he was told) and was finding relief and sleeping for the first time in weeks he said. I have been sceptical of much chirotherapy ( a very good friend is the former head of Queen's University physiotherapy program and the two practices are often in disagreement so I've had a lot of influence from that side) but I know there are many people who swear by their chiropracters.
MITM, yes our gardens do seem to be giving us parallel lives. Today again we have had a big rain (riding impossible again too) and I have been trying to save plants from more damage. I am now even putting my marigolds under cover before rain as they have been saturated so much. I had a lovely zucchini plants with developing vegetables that has given up the ghost and turned to mush because of the rain. The hostas of course are loving the weather. I should count how many different varieties I have, ranging from very small leaves to ones with leaves like elephant ears. I did take a decorating tip from a magazine about hostas (I'll say here I am not very creative with decorating ideas unlike two of my sisters) and now take cuttings of three or so different shapes/ colours of leaves to use for indoor display. Yesterday I mixed these leaves with cuttings from a cream coloured hydrangea and put them in two vases (these vases are copper coloured tin with embossed fleur de lis which I bought very cheaply at a dollar store but which I really like as they go so well with my counter tiles) and was really pleased with the look. Since I can't grow much in the way of traditional cutting flowers because of shade, these hostas bouquets work for me.
PB, your excursions always seem like such a good time.
Nellie is continuing to perplex me. I did try the turning in a circle which I too have done with a horse but it was to no effect with Nellie. She has had some walks with my neighbour's dog and goes with me to the stable. When I tried to take her for a walk last night, she not only sat down, then started looking up at the sky and seemed a bit agitated. This reminded me of my previous dog, a border collie, (she would always walk) who had a phobia about air balloons. She could detect them from a great distance and would be very panicky and want to go indoors. I was told it might be because of the noise which dogs hear much more than we do but I could not sometimes believe she could hear from that distance. In my mind, I used to imagine that it was some primitive response, as if there was imprinted on her collective mind the memories of being stalked by pterodactyls (ok, I don't really know if they lived at the same time!)- in any case, she was very obsessive in her fear. Border collies as a breed are obsessive and Nellie is part border collie. I hope I can solve her problem because walking is not as enjoyable without her.
After today's rain, the prediction is that the weekend will have temps in the 30's, feeling like over 40C with the humidity. I so dislike extreme temperatures.
Must go for now and get some jobs done before the heat strikes.
Regards.0 -
Hi All - lovely to read your post Bracken - Very worrying re: Nellie - as you say it could be some sort of collective memory but I really can't understand it at all.
I went to the physio again yesterday - this time with my knees which were, unfortunately, somewhat bruised and battered as a result of my fall - he worked on them quite a lot and gave me some exercises to do which shouldn't be too difficult. I then went for a lovely walk from Rendlesham to Tunstall and back with a group of girls. It was lovely although the path was a bit over grown in places and there were lots of scratchy things. My legs though were absolutely fine (today though I am a little stiff and sore!). The physio checked out my hips and knees etc and decided that there wan nothing major wrong with them. That means, thankfully, that the cure is largely losing weight and doing some strengthening exercises. I think I do know how to do that!
It has been very humid here the last few days and I am praying for Autumn (sorry everyone but I just don't enjoy the heat at all. There may have to be a trip to swim in the sea soon though.
Last night we watched (and listened) to the first night of the Proms. My friend Eli is staying with me. She lives in France. It was a fairly unconventional programme with a world premiere of a piece by Carpenter which I must admit I didn't enjoy. There was some Mozart too and Walton's Belshazzars Feast - which is an extraordinary piece requiring almost as big a choir as there was an audience! Unfortunately after my walking exertions I fell asleep towards the end.
Speak soon Crackers - and good luck with Nellie Bracken
PB xxx
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Quick pop in - PB I've just read your post and then your previous one, have I missed something - when and how did you fall?0
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Hi MITM I fell over in a place called Frensham Little Pond when I was staying at my friend's in Fleet. there had been a film crew there and they had put down a rubber matting track for the vehicles - I tripped over an uneven bit
Well it has been a lovely day today - it started with a little rain but by the time I went to church the sun was shining. There was a christening service today which was lovely - such a well behaved baby and big sister. After Church I said good bye to my friend Eli who has been here on a short trip from France and then went to the saddlery to buy garlic powder and a sheepskin mitt. Then I made a strawberry flan for supper. This afternoon it was time to go and groom some horses - Harley (who by the way has been given a clean bill of health and is not now going to have to have an operation) loved the sheepskin mitt and came over all unnecessary when I was using it. Walking across the yard with a bucket of water I nearly came a cropper again when I twisted my ankle in a crack in the concrete - didn't drop the water and somehow managed to stay upright thought. Then I went to Maria's for a BBQ - followed by a vicious (and very rustic) game of croquet (which I lost spectacularly). After all that I hope I will sleep well and have a good day tomorrow at work! Its been a good day. I can't remember being this happy in a very long time.
Take care Crackers
PBxxx0 -
So lovely to hear how happy you are PB. You thoroughly deserve it x x
Bracken, I so hope you can overcome this with Nellie, such a shame for both of you. Have you thought about contacting an Animal behaviourist? They may well be able to give you advice or know someone who specialises in dogs/collies.
MITM, fab news with your weight loss. I had to smile at the heat slowing you down. I know exactly how that feels. Some days it is an effort to load the washing machine without all the ironing that follows, and as to washing the floors.....ugh.
I am having not too good a week with my ongoing bleeding problems. Still one good thing is that it is happening now and not next week when I fly. The consultant has given me enough medication to hopefully control it when I am in the UK but with a bill of over $600 for said tablets I really will be glad when all this is hopefully over.
I am dreading this annual pilgrimage to the UK. It is a nightmare and I always say more like an endurance test than a holiday. My family are very easygoing and understand we have things to sort out and do there. However, OH side.........probably best to say nothing. I have no doubt within 10 minutes of arriving at the English house we will be given an itinerary of what is expected of us. Needless to say we simply cannot be there for it all as we want to spend time with my Welsh family and so the atmosphere and snarky comments begin. Joy!
Oh well the saying about choosing your friends not your family is such a true one. Enough of my miseries. I'm quite certain you have better things to do than listen to my tales of woe. (It does feel good to share though x x).
It's nearly the weekend so onwards and upwards. I have a pedicure booked for Sunday, it's not my happiest of times I must admit, I have a headache after from holding my jaw clenched and my body so stiffly. I hate the massage bit and always ask them not to but I think they like seeing my discomfort!
I have tried to do them myself but it always looks like a 5 year old has painted them.
Take care all, BM X X
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Evening Crackers!
BM - you rant all you like... I fully understand where you are coming from. I fear I've aged 10 years since I last posted! This heat is killing me, I know last year I moaned about the endless rain, but I'm with PB roll on Autumn because this relentless heat prevents you doing anything. And if the heat doesn't get me first then the solar heating will be the death of me.....
I was painting window frames (as I do), I'm using the 2nd kitchen on the ground floor as there is ample space to leave everything set up and therefore I don't have to pack up - when I heard this enormous 'whoosh.' Initially I thought how strange then it slowly dawned on me the sound had come from below me. Rushed downstairs to the basement to be greeted by this sticky, stinking, brown liquid which had covered literally the whole basement. The pressure had built up from the heat and had caused an explosion of sorts. Took hours to mop up.... Someone came out to take a look and said they'd be back to repair in the morning between 9 & 10. In the meantime my brother in law (who maintains it for us) said he and his family would arrive the following evening to check that it was up and running correctly. I had to work that evening, plus I now needed to finish my current pair of window frames fast so I could close down my mini studio (I've painted 20 windows so I'm due a break) ready for my sister in law and family to take over. Of course the workmen didn't arrive on time but I couldn't start preparing my guest room because it's at the very top of the house and I wouldn't hear the workmen to let them in grrrr. They eventually turned up at 11am and were here for 4 long hours and I still couldn't just leave them to it. Of course they needed access to the solar heating which is built into the side terrace and to get to it you have to climb out of the office window - a now gleaming freshly painted window frame I might add and no longer a peeling frightful sight! Thank goodness I have tiled hallways as the two men kept coming up from the basement into the office leaving mess everywhere they stepped it seemed. I didn't see the point in cleaning the toilet and basin on that floor in case they plodded in to wash their hands! However once they eventually left I blitzed the whole floor including the kitchen as I had again prepared the potatoes for working that evening. By the end I was an exhausted, frazzled wreck close to tears of frustration and then my husband informed me his family were now arriving the following day instead. I just hate being messed about I also exploded myself from sheer heat exhaustion!!
Right rant over! I'm now about to start a potato shift even though it's close to midnight because my husband's family has prevented us from working all evening!
Be good Cracker!
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Oh dear BM and MITM you both seem to be out of sorts - I totally understand though BM. Its always difficult when people come to stay or you haven't seen someone for a while. Eli came and stayed a few days last week (she lives in France) and I felt like I was at her beck and call the whole time. I kept tripping over her crutches which didn't help and running around with cups of tea. Much as I like having her around she is inclined to be very superior which I eventually start to find grating - always telling me obscure things that I'm not interested in (didn't need to know) and she always brings things she has bought in the bargain bucket at the supermarket - regardless of the fact that she knows I have already shopped. Because its bargain bucket it needs to be used straight away (and I ask you - how do I make a meal out of lemons and assorted dodgy vegetables?) and thus my own shopping ends up going stale. So that makes a third rant! Whos next???
MITM the gunge sounds very ominous. I hope it is all working ok now? it didn't sound like the workmen were likely to wash their hands though!
Mum and Dad arrived a couple of hours ago and we have just eaten roast pork with all the trimmings (on a Friday too). I did a crumble for pudding with some cherry plums out of the front garden. Too full to eat it at the moment though! Should be going to the stables but it is now raining quite hard. Mum and Dad I've just noticed, are both asleep. We are, apparently, in for some rough weather over the next few days.
My neighbour decided to have a party on Wed evening (partner was away along with the children) - very noisy until I told them to turn it down at 11.30pm...... They had dragged a sofa out into the garden - and its still there and getting rather wet now. I wasn't impressed that they did not seem to grasp the idea that it was a work night. I think they are Eastern European and I think its a cultural thing. The music was awful (very Eurovision).
Oh well - never mind on the plus side, its Friday and I have the weekend ahead of me and I treated her to some decent music whilst I was doing my housework and preparing dinner for mum and dad.
Take care and don't let family get you down
PB x0 -
Afternoon Crackers!
Well I'm simply stunned but delighted to have somehow lost 0.4lbs! And that was with family staying which means cake in the afternoon (I made a chocolate biscuit cake which apparently Prince William had at his wedding as the groom's cake - won't be making it again, nothing special but my husband's family loved it), chef husband did all the cooking so nothing simple and we were taken out for pizza, so I'm amazed I somehow lost weight! I am guessing the mess with the solar heating (now running smoothly) earlier in the week burnt a few calories....
The temperature here has thankfully dropped but still lots of storms at night, it shouldn't get really hot again until the end of the week so the daughter and I intend to make the most of it and get out walking. BM - I assume you are off to the UK any day soon. Have a good trip and I hope you have no health problems and remember to grit your teeth whilst in England, you've had good practice from your pedicures! PB - hope you had a good weekend with your parents, Bracken - how is Nellie?
Be good Crackers!0 -
Hello all. I've been absent from here a little longer than I realized so first I hope I have not missed being able to give good wishes to you, BM, for a good journey to England and for a restful, enjoyable holiday. I do realize how these family visits can be fraught but I hope all will realize you are not in your best health at the moment and will do their best to make your visit lovely. You certainly deserve a break!
How alike we all are in our dislike of intense heat. I too say bring on Autumn or even better more moderate summer weather. We are in the midst of very hot weather which is predicted to continue all week, with temperatures over 30C, humidity factor of 40C. I can only do anything demanding physically early morning or evening. I've been trying to prioritize my exercise and riding and work in other jobs (gardening, painting, cleaning- there is quite a list) after. This morning I walked with Nellie (yes!) for 35 minutes and rode my bike for 25 minutes and was very sweaty by the time I finished. I've been riding my bike a lot more this summer than last when I was deterred by it needing to have air pumped quite regularly; my hand pump was quite ineffective and difficult. My fine neighbour next door saw me one day and offered the use of his electric compressor pump and this has made all the difference. I am feeling that the biking is having a very good effect on the muscles fitness of my legs, to the point that I have thought that for the winter I would buy some sort of an exercise bike to complement my treadmill. So yesterday, something quite remarkable happened. I was riding my bike, when I passed a house where a clear out was in progress. The owners had left some lawn chairs and garden pots by the curb for anyone who might like them as people often do here. There was also an exercise bike which really took my eye (one sees a lot of old shabby bikes) because it looked almost new, is a good brand, with a large comfy seat and a computer panel. I inquired and the owner joked about hardly using it and just wanting to get rid of it so I told him I would happily take it. They helped me load it into my vehicle when I returned. By chance my brother dropped in and quickly ascertained the computer panel worked and was very impressed by the level of resistance it will allow. I've checked it out on the internet and feel I've saved myself quite a lot of money so pleased.
Nellie, thankfully, is walking again (sort of!) I kept offering her walks and one day she decided to go. However, in the course of these walks, she has several times sat down and turned around refused to go on. Sometimes I have been able to distract her by just crossing to the other side of the street. Sometimes we have followed another dog ahead. This morning my next door neighbour was in her driveway as we were leaving and Nellie sat down and wouldn't move. But when my neighbour came over and walked just a short distance with us, she continued on as if there has never been an issue.
MITM, I think my jaw literally dropped when I read about your basement disaster- beyond frustrating and with visitors set to arrive as well. No wonder you have dropped some weight, which I hope is at least some compensation for all you've gone through. That at least seems to be going very well for you. Not to mention those 20 windows- I shall try to remind myself about them as I have no more than five windows that need painting this summer. Enjoy the walking with your daughter. You must be ready for a break.
PB, great to hear that you have been having some happy times. It is interesting I think how sometimes we are aware that we are happy and it might be in a lovely but not momentous situation. I had a lovely moment last Friday when riding. The stable owner/ trainer had been schooling her daughter and was there as I was riding and complimented me on how well my horse and I were doing. She probably has no idea how she made my day. I do envy you your lovely footpaths for walking. Canada doesn't really have anything quite like it. Parks of course have some very nice paths and there is the TransCanada Trail which is expected to be finished by 2017 which is a connected series of hiking trails from coast to coast- terrific but often not immediately accessible. I remember visiting friends in Saunderton, High Wycombe and a footpath went directly behind their house. We had just arrived from our overseas flight but happily walked the couple of miles to a pub for ploughman's lunch with terrific cheeses and fine beer; it really started our holiday off well.
My niece who has been teaching in England arrived home on the weekend and my brother had a barbeque for family and friends. I have not yet really caught up with my niece as she was busy chatting to everyone at once so hope to spend a little time with her alone before she returns for another term. Two of my nephews were there with wives and new babies, one six months old and the other three weeks. They were a real contrast and the elder was eleven pounds plus at birth while the latest was just over six pounds. Both my nephews are very hands on Dads, the one for the second time but his younger brother just for three weeks but looks very comfortable with his son.
Must go. Regards.0 -
Bracken - I made myself a cup of tea just to read your post! I do admire your attitude to the heat and I'm so pleased you've got yourself a bargain to see you through the winter months. Where will you put your bike? I ask as when we were visiting my husband's aunt in Innsbruck, her partner who is 82 I believe, has an exercise bike and it was parked in prime position in their 'best room' for viewing the TV, with all the other seats/furniture positioned around it - it was so funny to see! However the bike and the fact he uses it, probably explains how he has the energy to tend a vegetable plot the size of a football pitch! Hopefully by the time your friend arrives those new clothes will no longer be a tight fit with all this extra exercise. When we went out for pizza (crossing over the border into Italy) I wore my capri jeans, the pair that were last seen on me at the very beginning of June, which once again at the very end of July I can just about fit into. I did purchase them whilst at target so that must be many summers ago! However I realised this evening I am once again the same weight as I began 2015, 6 long months to shift 4 persistent pounds! At this current rate with 3 pounds still to shift it will be Christmas before I hit target again - but I'm content at my present lowest weight!
Be good Crackers!0 -
Such a treat to pop on here and see lovely long emails. I seem to have lost my mojo with lots of things, but coming on here and catching up is like coming home! I fly tomorrow for my dreaded holiday. I know we should be grateful for every day, but I wish I could fast forward the next 5 weeks! I am taking my ipad but we don't have wifi in the English house so I will probably catch up when we are in the Welsh house or a hotel. I'm not sure if I mentioned it but we have a few nights in London and 2 nights in Cardiff so that is at least 5 nights respite from certain people! MITM I have been gritting my teeth so much and holding myself stiff with all the building tension I now have a headache of biblical proportions! Every year I swear this will be the last time I put myself through this but I don't know what the alternative is, as its the only time OH takes off work and the only time he sees his family. I did kindly(!!!) offer to stay here whilst he went home for the month but that idea was met with such disdain I daren't mention it again lol x
MITM I too read with horror all you have been through due to those solar panels! You thoroughly deserve your weight loss x x you may have also answered a question that has nagged at me for years......I have often wondered why there are no solar panels here, now I can assume because the build up of heat may well be too much for the panels to contain safely, what do you think? Happy for you to be back in your capris, I am certain you will be at optimum Cracker weight well before Christmas!
Bracken, so good that Nellie is walking again for you, albeit in fits and starts Bless her. Your new exercise bike sounds ideal and was certainly meant to be! You need to set up a recipe book kitchen holder thingy on the handlebars now so you can read whilst you pedal! x x (or as MITM has seen, set it up in the lounge! x x
PB, please let me know what decent music your neighbour enjoyed courtesy of you over the weekend?? It did make me smile to think of you treating them to Opera or the classics instead of their Europop! lol x
I have to start packing now, OH has me shamed as his cases are ready to go and mine are still empty. I still have no heart to pack as I don't fit many of my clothes and it makes the fact I have to go on this holiday real. Oh dear lord, I sound like a whiny child!! I should get a grip and just get on with it and get it over with............however I don't have the energy for any of that !! lol x
Wishing you all a good, safe week,
Love BM x x0 -
BM I started with a Hummell Mass and went on to the German Requiem with a little Mozart thrown in! I'm not sure they would appreciate it but thankfully they haven't done any more Europap (sic). The sofa is still in the front garden....
Work has been relatively quiet this week which is good as I've been coming off the citalopram and my head has been somewhat light. I feel like I've been quite busy but without much to show for it. Need to get my head down for the next few days as the boss will only be off for another week.
I have had around 10lbs of cherryplums from the tree in my front garden, lots of lovely tomatoes and some super potatoes from the garden. Its been lovely discovering what was already in my garden and what I've planted as it ripens. I am now waiting for the sweetcorn to ripen.
On Sunday afternoon I went to play with the pony's and Harley rather spectacularly turned himself out for no obvious reason as we were bringing him and Ed in from the field. The air turned blue (Maria not me.) and the pony was treated to a lesson in good behaviour courtesy of a halter which he really didn't like as it ensured he behaved himself. I gave him a groom after that. I now have a lovely purple grooming kit which tickles me pink.
I am, sadly, still doing nothing about food management or proper exercise but perhaps I will get my head around it soon!
Well I hope everyone else's summer weather is a little more predictable than here. We've had torrential rain and floods over the weekend and it seems to have been very breezy. Apparently, the jet stream has not positioned itself correctly. we did have a couple of weeks of hot humid weather but even then it was breezy (somewhat bizarrely). As you know I prefer cooler weather so not really a problem for me but I do feel sorry for the people trying to grab a couple of weeks holiday.
take care Crackers
PB xx0 -
Hi fellow Crackers. I am back in blighty! Unfortunately don't know which way is up yet but very thankful for an uneventful journey. As I expected we have already upset the apple cart as we wanted time on our own today to sort out a few things. Nothing major or vitally important, but things we wanted to do on our own. This was met with disgust almost and the usual why's and how could you. Were it my family they would have been told quite firmly where to get off by now, but my OH is a quiet, kind, peaceful man and just naively(I think) sees the good in everyone. This has led to a few heated words and we haven't been here 24 hours yet! We have already been told the expected itinary as I thought we would, so when we said we would be away for some of those things that went down like a lead balloon. Never mind, only 30 days to go! Lol x x
PB I laughed out loud at your wonderful choice of music for your euro loving neighbpours. A tad disappointed you didn't end with the 1812 overture but maybe next time!!! Lol x
I am off now to quietly have my melt down in some unseen corner, but always feel happier knowing I can offload to you poor Crackers who am, I am sure, fed up already with my tales of woe from this trip!
Wishing you all a lovely weekend, BM x x0 -
BM bother - I must download the 1812 for next time!
I have had the most enjoyable day - although I was quite early getting up - didn't sleep too well for some reason I started by having coffee sitting looking out at the sea which was, this morning a beautiful pale turquoise with the sun shining off it. I followed this by picking up my friends daughter Zoe - and we went to Blythburgh church (at 13 she is obsessed with history) - we had a good look round and she was able to identify the marks allegedly made by Black Shuck (or was it the Devil!). Then I brought her back to my own church which she really fell in love with. After I had dropped her off I was quite tired and had a little snooze which was probably a bad thing. Then this evening I was just surveying the beautiful full moon from my window - isn't life good sometimes?
On top of all that M&S were having a sale so I was able to buy a new mattress for the spare bedroom.
I am at a horse show tomorrow so just need to bake some buns before I go to bed.
BM I'm so sorry that your visit to the UK has started off so badly - I do hope it gets better soon. at least you seem to have brought some decent weather with you!
take care Crackers
PB x0 -
Good Evening Crackers!
Life has been hectic of late with a capital 'H'.... The weather has been crazy, after the heat we had a wet week with low white fluffy clouds passing the kitchen window - beautiful for a day or so but 7 days later I was hankering for the heat again! However two weeks of excessive, sticky heat and huge stormy nights it didn't take long before I'd changed my mind again! And with the heavy rain there was enormous damage with floods and avalanches, one house was even swept away and then with the heat, the air ambulance helicopter seemed to be permanently in the air transporting the elderly suffering with breathing problems. This week so far it is pleasantly hot but with no storms. After such an extreme summer one rather fears what the winter months will bring....
We are almost on top of our 'schlip' orders to cover my fast approaching absence of over 3 weeks. The vegetable garden because of the combination of sunshine and rain, everything is growing crazily. We have well over 100 chive bunches in our herb garden which have to be continuously cut, sorted, chopped and frozen to make our schlip during the winter months - well I can't keep up with the speed they are growing at! And after the week of non stop rain, the grass took me a whole day to mow - I looked such a wreck by the time I had finished! I'm currently in the middle of defrosting our 5 deep freezers which are not on the same floor, so shifting the schlip from one freezer to the next is burning calories also!
On a positive note my experiment with the daughter and walking daily in the evenings only 30 minutes but it's up a very steep hill (it has been just too hot or wet for trotting around the village with my friend) has been very successful. I have continuously lost weight, very slowly even with the husband being home to do the cooking when we have been entertaining. I am now at my lowest weight this year! My cropped jeans are currently a perfect fit - I say currently as I'm off to the UK on Monday and I know how quickly I can gain!! However I can only conclude hectic must suit my metabolism!
Bracken - I'm guessing your guest is now staying with you and keeping you busy. PB -it is lovely to know someone is happy and content with their lot! I was only recently reading an interview and one of the questions was 'when were you last really happy?' It got me thinking, whilst I'm content I can't actually recall when I would describe myself last as being 'really' happy!!!! BM - I must confess with my won trip to the UK fast approaching I'm beginning to feel quite rattled and stressed out. Still once I've stayed under my father's roof for 3 weeks the grass will once again look far greener over here of that I'm very sure of!!!
If I don't get another chance to post before I depart, enjoy the rest of the summer and I will check back in around the 9th September.
Be good Crackers!
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A very quick pop-in and very sorry that I have probably missed wishing a good trip to you, MITM. I have been very busy for the past few days and am quite tired this evening so will not linger here but was glad to read posts from all. PB, lovely to see you are feeling upbeat and so nice to be reminded of the pleasures that can come from the everyday occurrences. BM, glad you have arrived in UK and hope your trip goes well. I hope to get back tomorrow for longer. Regards.0
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Hello Crackers - I hope everyone is well and that the various holidays to the UK are going along well. Your garden sounds wonderful MITM. My garden wasn't well set up but has yielded some good potatoes and lots of lovely sweet tomatoes. I still have plenty of rhubarb and the sweetcorn is now starting to develop. Hopefully, next year will be much better now that I know what is there. I've got some potatoes to grow for Christmas too.
I've had a fairly relaxed day but without too much to do. The big news of the day is that I received my first consignment from Diet Chef. They had a 3 month programme on a Groupon deal which was just too good to miss. the plan is to do it for the 3 months - hopefully lose a significant amount of weight and get back on the straight and narrow. It takes up more than a whole shelf in the kitchen and it will be interesting to see how it works down. Hopefully, I can stick to it and if I can lose a stone I will be very happy.
What really annoyed me though was that I had had an email saying they would deliver between 2.50pm and 3.50pm so I thought I was safe to go out and have a massage at 12.00pm. I arrived home at 1.00pm to find the parcel had been delivered next door. I made a complaint but all I got back was a 'our timings are advisory' - well I think that that was a pretty useless advice don't you?
Work is going fine and I am very happy there. My boss can be quite a challenge but then I think I don't need to be that bothered as I'm not in charge so just do as I'm told...... I had my 3 month probation meeting which went very well. I still find it quite strange not working on a Friday - but it is lovely knowing I have a long weekend.
Next weekend my God daughter and Fairy God daughter are coming to stay overnight - so I've taken the following day off as I suspect I will be knackered. I'm looking forward to seeing Alyssa though as I haven't seen her since Christmas and I know she will have changed immensely.
So what else has been going on. My mum had her 80th Birthday, My niece Rebecca had her 18th Birthday AND got into the University of her choice where she wants to study photography. I took my friend's daughter Zoe to see Blythburgh Church which is a local church that is quite extraordinary - she was very keen to see it and then I took her to Friston church and she really loved that too. She just contacted me to see if she can go out with me again I'm so flattered! Finally, on Tuesday night I went to see a group called the Spooky Men's Chorale - they are an a capella group who do lots of very funny stuff as well as some absolutely fabulous serious stuff too - If you get the chance to see them do - I laughed till I cried and then I cried. It was a fab night - although not necessarily a good idea on a 'school' night.
well that's all for now Crackers - take care
PB xxx0 -
Evening Crackers!
Five defrosted freezers, chives chopped, lawn mowed, store cupboard stocked, holidays clothes sorted, husband's work clothes washed and ironed, schlip counted and bagged, even agreed to help cut the hedge before darkness fell - everything all seemingly under control....
Until I spotted in the morning the state of the downstairs kitchen sink looking nothing like I would leave it overnight. Soon realised why there was a blockage. Attempted to clear it but 2 hours later it didn't make any difference, if I emptied my sink upstairs it eventually came back up in the sink below which fortunately is a double one. Husband was not overly concerned - leave it overnight to work its magic... at this point we were still able to wash up as the water did eventually disappear. However in the morning there was no change so the husband did decide to investigate further. No success from the basement pipes upwards (although he discovered a cutlery knife from downstairs which had to have been forced down the plug hole no doubt by one of my nephews) so he pulled apart the kitchen sink below ours - disaster he found the pipe was broken and rusted (just like the solar heating/boiler all over again) it needs a professional plumber to fix and of course its a bank holiday... I'm now away for 3 weeks, can my husband without a nagging wife be trusted to sort it out?! So we are now reduced to washing up in the sinks below and draining the water into a bucket and throwing it down the toilet - not fun!
And if that isn't enough to contend with, I had a battle with a bush in the garden whilst parking my car and it won. A branch lashed out and caught me on my eyelid (dread to think what damage I could have done 1mm lower) and I now have a purple eye lid and look a right state! So I can't wear my contact lenses and I will be arriving at my parents looking as if my husband has hit me.
I am more than ready for my break in England, I think a total change of scenery is much needed. I feel as if this house is falling apart around my ears and since I am as old as the house I don't seem to be faring much better! However one battle I am surprisingly winning is my weight, I'm now a mere 0.4 from my target weight - so stress/having the daughter around is the answer to my weight problems!!!
PB - When I get back I look forward to you reporting a good weight loss and I hope the meals are nice! BM/Bracken - look forward to catching up on your news. Back the 9th September - hopefully with not too much excess baggage!
Be good Crackers!!0 -
I hope that your holiday is rather less eventful than getting ready for it has been! Have a good one. Day 3 of Diet Chef - woke up feeling hungry this morning but that is to be expected considering I'm stopping myself from grazing.
Take care all
PB0 -
First week of Diet Chef completes tomorrow morning - will confirm weight loss (I hope) - watch this space!
PB x0 -
3lb lost!0
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