Out with the old

The last day of 2012 and  a quick look back at personal memories. Sorry! I'll try to keep it brief :)
Last January I joined Slimming World along with my friend Linda and started off enthusiastically, losing my first half stone fairly quickly. It slowed down dramatically after that but I am within 2 pounds of losing 2 stone now. I have come down 3 dress sizes and starting to wear clothes in the next size down from that too!
My health generally has been ok apart from knee trouble and I am now 'on the list' for a new knee! Yippee!
The old diabetes seems under control - as long as I stay away from chocolate and cakes! The most recent check up was good - all the test results were 'normal' and I got a verbal 'gold star' from my doc. I just have to lose more weight and watch the sugar levels.

I have managed to get away a few times this year - first having a week on the Isle of Wight with Linda and our 2 dogs. We rented a 'cottage' on a farm smack bang in the centre of the island. The weather was very mixed but we did have some sunshine between showers. The dogs loved it and behaved very well.

The summer was, of course, London 2012 and the Olympics and Paralympics! Having been totally apathetic before hand, I swiftly got caught up in the excitment and thoroughly enjoyed all the events I watched. Well done Team GB! Didn't London look great as a back drop too!
I also got away for a few days in August - twice!. Cropredy was mid-August and the best one weatherwise so far for me. Look! Sun hat and sun burn! Ouch! And I got off lightly! Lobster was a popular colour this year!

Then it was Shrewsbury! Another longer weekend away and a lot more folk music.  Loads of great bands and concerts over 4 days. This was Show of Hands plus orchestra - superb!

Saw lots of 'new to me' acts - some superb, some definitely not!

Hot on the heels of Shrewsbury was our own Swanage Folk Festival. We were blessed with a warm sunny weekend and huge crowds leading to a decent profit for the festival. A year of preparation and planning came to fruition over the weekend, making many people happy.

In November my sister and her husband had joint 70th birthday celebrations, taking a group of friends and family to lunch on a train! It was a freezing cold and very wet day but we were warm and dry on the train! A good time was had by all. I had the pleasure of the company of my great-nephew Sam.


I was greatly looking forward to Christmas celebrations and managed to get to Chipping Sodbury for the day on 23rd December to deliver the parcels for that section of the family. As the day progressed I became croaky and started coughing. By Christmas Eve I was decidedly unwell, coughing up catarrh. I felt hot and sweaty too. I managed to get up Christmas Day and cook lunch for Jen, James and myself before taking to my bed with a fever and feeling really ill. I cancelled my Boxing Day at Craig's and missed seeing the boys :( A week later I am feeling a lot better but still coughing up clear mucus. It seems to have been the mild fluey virus that's been doing the rounds. Very unpleasant but not life threatening. I wish the bug would leave with the old year and I could start 2013 with a clean bill of health, however it looks like just a new box of tissues instead.

I hope 2012 was not too bad for you, and whatever it brings, may 2013 be kind to you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Who said Christmas is coming?

I have to be in the mood to blog and that time is now!
I cannot believe how the weeks have flown by - Halloween has been and gone - thankfully without incident! I turned off the outside lights and inner hall lights and I was not troubled by callers, apart from my son who popped over and struggled a bit arriving in darkness LOL He was taking his lovely family away for the weekend to see the sights of London and I had a small furry visitor for a few days. Muffin the hamster was a lovely guest - a delight to hold and cuddle, and amusing to watch her chasing Honey! Yes, Muffin was safely installed in her plastic exercise ball (with air holes) and having a free run around much to Honey's puzzlement at this ball following her around. I also popped over to Craig's house to see to the cats. I got the feeling they were not too happy at being left as they did not exactly welcome me. Neither of them wanted a cuddle. They did eat their food, but one had poo'd in the hall near the front door and I narrowly avoided stepping in it when I arrived. I cleaned it all up and cleaned out the litter trays too. I went to wash my hands at the sink with Molly sitting on the window sill behind the taps. I reached out to turn on the taps and got a swipe with claws out for my sins! OUCH! Just a small scratch I thought as the blood slowly welled up and started to drip :( The scab has healed and faded now.

Vin Garbutt at Wessex Acoustic 19/10/12

We've had some great nights at the folk club since September and things seem to be picking up a little. Maybe the recession is loosening its grip a little? I do hope so. The club has a lovely atmosphere with a few extra people on board. We celebrated our 10th birthday with cake, chocolates, and Vin Garbutt!

 

Lucy Ward at Wessex Acoustic 9/11/12

Lucy Ward gave us an amazing night in November - lots of new people came to the club to see her on the strength of her performance at Swanage Folk Festival in September. Her lovely dad, Tony, celebrated his birthday that day by driving her down from Derby and back again the same night despite the offer of beds for the night. Lucy is one of folk's rising stars and making a huge impact wherever she goes.

The bookings are coming in steadily for our next club night too. I do hope the trend continues.

On a personal front I had my annual eye check up as a diabetic and all looks fine. I have some new reading specs a bit stronger than my old ones, but distance is fine and my retina is in good condition. I then had blood tests and my 6 monthly diabetic check up. I saw the nurse first to be weighed and measured and a general chat. I had lost 1.5 stone since the last one and all the blood tests results were good. My blood sugar the day of the test was 5.1, and the long term level was 48 on the new scale (should be 42-52 and was 54 last time) so nurse was happy and when I saw the doc he was delighted. Sugar levels show dietry control is working and losing weight has helped a lot. He has referred me to the orthopaedic surgeons now to get my knees sorted out. I have an appointment just before Christmas so things are in motion. I cannot get a new knee quickly enough now. My right knee has given way on me a few times with shooting pains and wakes me up at night with pain :( so roll on surgery!

I took the decision a few months ago to stop dying my hair and let it go naturally grey.

 

It has grown a bit longer too - not sure whether to keep it this length or a bit shorter. It's well sprinkled with white hairs now with a few darker hairs on the top of my head. All I know is I am looking more and more like my lovely Mum.  Christmas is looming large now and I must crack on with presents. I've not even done a list yet! My son Craig is well switched on and getting my grandsons' main presents for me to wrap so we make sure I get the right things! As Lego is on the list, it also means they can make good use of a 'buy 2 get one free' offer available at the moment.

I am looking forward to a day out next weekend celebrating my sister and brother-in-law's 70th birthdays. They are treating a select bunch of family and friends to lunch out on a steam train! It sounds like a lovely day out and I hope it stays dry for the event.

My son Craig has been busy cleaning out my kitchen cupboards for me. I can't bend down or kneel to get in the bottom cupboards nor stand on ladders for long to reach the top ones, so Craig has 'decluttered' me, filling many sacks with rubbish, a big box to go to the charity shop of good quality usable things that I just don't need any more, and a pile of stuff in the recycle bin. He then cleaned the cupboards inside and out! I actually have space in my cupboards now!! and the tops are clear of assorted 'stuff'. A marathon job and one I really appreciate being done, as it takes me 5 times longer to do the work myself. What a lovely son I have to give up his time with his own family to help me out. Just have the rest of the house to declutter now! Jen - when's your next days off? ;) xxx

Apres Swanage

Doesn't time fly?

Roz with Daniel and Adam

Last time I blogged we were just about to go to Shrewsbury. That's been and gone, a lovely relaxing weekend, apart from a few 'issues' between John & Roz and their grandsons. It was the first time the boys were away camping without Mum & Dad and they missed them, but seemed to have a good time and behaved very well. There were a few toilet issues as it was a walk to the nice, mains plumbed, toilets and sometimes it was a bit too far or there was a queue and someone couldn't hang on long enough.
I managed to see most of the concerts I wanted to see, catching our friends Two Coats Colder on the small village stage. I hope they get a marquee spot next time. They were miles better than some of the acts they had there *cough*Americanos*cough*.

Camp Wessex Acoustic

The weather wasn't brilliant but was mostly dry and cloudy. Not too hot, not too cold and bearably cold at night. I was warm enough with the one 13.5 tog duvet this year. Last year I took a 4.5 tog with me in case it was too warm for 13.5tog and ended up with both on me and my head buried under one to stop my nose freezing in the night!

Dervish

Shrewsbury have upgraded their marquees this year making the main stage 2 better, and making the Sabrina tent bigger with a bigger stage. All good - apart from megalomaniac lighting engineer - just because you CAN have flashing dancing light patterns above the artists doesn't mean you SHOULD. It was very distracting during several performances. I prefer static lighting per song, or minimal subtle changes during a performance. Light patterns whizzing around the tent do nothing to enhance the music.
Back lights that blind the audience are another pet hate of mine... oh lord I am sounding like a real grumpy old woman now. LOL
While I'm on the subject...it is fashionable to have coloured side lighting too and this gives weird effects on photos, but I suppose it adds to the atmosphere in some cases.
Anyway the weekend passed happily. I enjoyed my Koompirs :-) (Turkish jacket potato with a mountain of salad stuff on top - delicious!) and I had fish and chips from Coast & Moor food stand once - fresh and tasty.

Only two weeks later and it was Swanage Folk Festival! This is the one I've spent the last 12 months+ planning and working on with our committee. We were blessed with a warm sunny weekend and the crowds came. Swanage was heaving. Folk Festival, Steam Railway Gala, and day trippers all managed to fill the car parks to overflowing. The whole town was buzzing, or to be more accurate jingling, with Morris dancers bells everywhere!
It wasn't just the town centre alive with mad Morris dancers, some brave souls decided to cool off dancing in the sea on the Sunday after finishing their scheduled dancing. I'm not sure sea water mixes well with Melodeons!
I spent most of the weekend either applying wrist bands to wrists large and small, or driving back and forth to Bournemouth Airport, collecting and returning the delightful Colum Sands who flew in especially from Dublin Airport.
It was a physically tiring weekend but highly pleasurable all round.
We are awaiting the financial outcome for the weekend. It is touch and go. Concert ticket sales were a bit up on last year, and the trade stalls all came and stayed this year. Some did not turn up last year due to an iffy weather forecast, that did not materialise into bad weather as predicted, but this drastically reduced the festival takings.
The festival is totally self funding and does not get any major sponsorship or grants to help with the finances. This means we are not affected by withdrawal of grants or sponsorship at any time, unlike some other festivals who are facing serious problems due to lack of funding. However it means we have to be very careful with costs and pricing. I am hoping we make enough profit to make a charity donation to a local worthy cause.
I found the weight loss I've managed since last year made it a lot easier moving around, but the old knees did complain a bit at night!
Don't expect another blog too soon - I have websites to update!!

Festival Season

It's summer - well some days are summery now and again - so it's festival time!

I've been away to a wonderful weekend in Oxfordshire at Fairport's Cropredy Convention. We were very lucky to get some of the warm, dry, sunny days in August.
The festival was fabulous! Even better in the sunshine :) everyone was happy and smiling.

 
 It was the 45th anniversary of Fairport Convention and I think bigger numbers were expected, but a crowd well over 22,000 came and had a ball! I certainly did.
Lovely meeting old friends and meeting a few new ones too.
The whole festival is outdoors so dry weather is a big help, but they are very well organised and have huge heavy duty tracks laid for traffic in and out of the site and at gates, so even if it turns wet, the ground is protected and we do not have to trudge through mud.
It is camping - but not much time is spent at the tent so we travel and camp fairly lightly. This is our base with Polly on guard.

 She behaved so well over the weekend and loved all the attention she got. She was very popular with children as she is fairly small and very friendly. The family sitting next to us were delighted to play with her at times. Polly was sensible enough to stay in the shade most of the time.
She just tucked in behind our chairs out of the sun and slept.

It was hot in the sun and hats were very useful. Just for once I actually remembered to take mine! It did help a lot but I managed to miss an area of my back with the SPF 30 spray and had a rather sunburned area :(
I also used a small umbrella to keep the sun off my feet and legs so I stayed cool.

We are coming up to the next festival - Shrewsbury. It is a longer stay so it's heavy camping gear and as many home comforts as we can manage to get in the cars. John and Roz are bringing their two young grandsons this year, without their mum and dad. I hope they really enjoy the weekend and still let us have a good time too!
I have done all the washing and now I'm packing the odds and sods bag with all the 'bits' mug, lamps, lighter, snacks, water, pain killers, suntan lotion and leave space for make up and hair brush etc. I've not really studied the line up for the festival but it's looking good with only one clash of concerts I can see. There are 3 main concert marquees and all within an easy walk of where we camp. It's all on the flat and securely enclosed so a pretty safe place to stay. I just hope we don't get noisy neighbours! We are camping in a quiet area so we should be ok, but we are next to family camping and some babies and toddlers can get upset and create a fuss. I hope the grandsons are good :)
Look out for a blog when we get back!
Hope you have a great weekend yourself. xx



Getting the bird!

In nice weather I like to leave my dining room patio doors open wide. This is not a problem with Honey around to chase off any inquisitive cats but it doesn't stop birds flying in! I was watching the Olympic rowing on TV, with Honey asleep by my feet, when I heard a noise in the kitchen. Honey went on alert but would not go in there! Some guard dog eh? As I entered the kitchen there was a flurry at the window. It was a beautiful young thrush who must have flown in the open patio door and found his/her way into the kitchen.

 I shut the doors so it could not fly further into the house and opened the kitchen window wide but it was at the opposite end of the window sill, in the farthest corner away from me. I grabbed a soft tea towel and managed to throw it over the bird to stop it panicking and flapping about. I got my mini steps and managed to half kneel on the work top and sink and reach the bird with a huge plastic bowl. I moved the tea towel so the bird hopped onto it, under the big bowl. Then I slid a tray under the tea towel and gently pulled the tea towel out leaving the bird trapped under the bowl on the tray. I managed to carry this outside and lifted the bowl off the thrush. It sat and looked at me for about 20 seconds then flew off with some loud angry chirrups. I have now closed the patio door!
I remember the fledgling blue tits I had visit me last year but managed to get them to fly out the open window with the help of their mum calling from outside.
I think it must be the angle of the sun causing bright reflections in the patio doors and they think it's more garden - some fly into the glass - with varying consequences :( and the odd bird flies in through the open door. Most realise and fly straight back out again but the odd one keeps going through to the kitchen then head for the window to get out again.
My knee is now complaining after kneeling on the rim of the sink :( a new bruise coming I think!
I finally managed to get a very short clip of Honey running at Baiter yesterday. I have loads of clips of her walking and sniffing while I waited for her to run and she didn't. This time I got the camera out in time for the end of her run!

She usually does 2 or 3 huge circles round the field but only did the one this time. I'll have to try again some time. She has slowed a lot in the last year or so since breaking her leg, but I am so pleased to see her running again for the sheer pleasure of it.
In doggy years she is the same age as me now and really fit, unlike me!

Doesn't she look good?

This is more like me LOL 'resting' in her self made duvet 'nest'

Have a good day - hugs from me and licks from Honey! xx

Where there's a will.....

Beautiful warm sunny day - and I've been to the solicitor to sign my will! Nothing morbid, just an overdue update and refresh of my old will. I do hope all you reading this have made your own will. You may be young and not think it's needed yet but who knows what might happen tomorrow, a car crash, a madman with a gun, an unknown medical condition, anything can happen at any age so please make sure your wishes are known.
It really is a perfect day here - temp about 22°C with a very light sea breeze blowing through the house. I bet the beach is packed and the car parks full!

Sandbanks in the sun

Last night was pub quiz night and it was a bit strange. For months we have been getting around 8-10 teams and usually our team finish in the top 4. Last night there wasn't a chair or stool spare. It was heaving. We had 16 teams! Ashley who runs the quiz was caught a bit short of supplies and left his bag of playing card packs on his drive at home when loading his car. His wife came to the rescue with a late delivery! The questions were quite tricky at times and the scores reflected this by being lower than usual. It was just Jen and I pitting our brains for our team and we struggled a bit. We finished 5th on the main quiz and won nothing on the pictures or music quizzes. However we had a fun night out and I had a lovely plate of ham and pineapple salad.

Not the actual dish but similar

It was huge and very tasty, apart from the chef being a bit heavy handed with the Radicchio - it's a bit bitter and I had a mountain of the stuff! I left half of it and ate the rest of the lovely salad. The ham was diced into small chunks to make a little look a lot more, a technique I notice they are using on several dishes now - the pork in cider sauce used to be 2 steaks of pork but is now a few chunks instead - barely one steak's worth! One way to reduce costs and maximise profit! I think the kitchen were a bit pushed last night as quite a few people were dining before the quiz.

The newly replaced rotary washing line is fully loaded with 2 loads of washing - still hanging space but I've run out of pegs! Maybe I'll buy another pack next time I shop.

This week is between my daughter's birthday and my son's birthday so we are having a family barbecue tomorrow as a joint celebration. Should be the perfect evening for it. Craig does a mean barbie!

 As this week may be the only real summer we get ,make the most of it while it's here!

xxx

 

Summer's here! But not for long!

Oh how the weeks rush past. It's Monday AGAIN! and July is almost over. The last 2 months have been damp and dreek (grey, cold & wet) but right now the sun is here and it's warm like it should be! Forecast for Wednesday is talking 28°C/82°F for middle England which means a few degrees cooler here by the sea and lovely! My ideal temp span is 21-25°C. I had to dust off my reflective car sun shield today to help stop the car reaching roasting point.
What's been happening here I hear you ask? You didn't? oh well you're going to get it anyway!
I live life pretty much day to day and very quietly. The passing week is punctuated by regular events, pub quiz, bin day, Slimming World, Wimborne Singaround, folk club, then it's the weekend again.
Honey has been very good and got a gold star from the vet at her annual health check and booster shots. She still limps occasionally on her bad leg when she's been running too much but it doesn't seem to stop her doing her daily laps! He checked out all her joints and no sign of stiffness or arthritis!
Just recently my blind friend has been poorly and had 10 days in hospital, so while she was in I had her guide dog to stay! Honey and Yarna got on very well while on holiday together in May but that was on neutral territory. Having Yarna to stay in our home was a different matter and Honey's nose was definitely out of joint at having to share HER home. At least Yarna was happy to sleep downstairs at night while Honey slept next to my bed as usual. Meal times I separated them so Honey could eat in peace and not be pushed around by the always hungry Yarna. We had one or two toilet issues and I had a few wet patches on the carpet :( but we resolved these and mostly all was fine.

Yarna (top) and Honey well at home

It was really funny when I washed out Honey's main 'day-bed' - it's a Value Single Duvet from Tesco with a cheap cover on it. It puffed up nicely being washed and being a full sized duvet I assumed they dogs would share it. Wrong! Honey decided it was hers and spent ages humphing it about and scraping it around to make a Honey-sized puffy lump then lay down on it (see pic). Yarna was most peeved at being relegated to an older less puffy duvet as a bed. As soon as Honey moved off it for any reason Yarna dived on to it LOL. Just like a couple of kids :-)
Linda could not wait to get home once her problems had cleared up and took Yarna back after a couple of days getting sorted out at home. Honey and I both sat down with a big sigh of relief at peace at home again.

I found the time with Yarna exhausting. She was used to getting up by 8 at the latest and needed to go out to wee and poo as soon as she got moving. As she would not go outside alone, I had to take her outside on a lead every time, sometimes in my nightie!
As I could not trust Yarna not to run away when on a walk, I had to use the extending lead and walk much further than usual to give her any kind of exercise every day. Every afternoon I was trekking to the hospital to visit Linda, whose ward was a long way from the car park! Evening visiting was used by other friends and her sons so she had plenty of visitors during her stay. The longer walks and hospital visits were on top of my usual routine and I still had chores and shopping etc to fit in too. No wonder I slept well at night!
I am doing slow and steady at Slimming World, averaging 1lb a week. Some weeks I don't lose anything, other weeks I lose 2 or 3 lbs. I am having to get new bras now, I have gone down a cup size, and now down a chest size! Whereas I used to overfill my bras I am now finding I lack of support as my boobs don't fill them any more :(
I wore one of those pre-formed bras the other day and there was daylight between me and the moulded cups that I used to fill LOL I was so thrilled to get that bra in my size at the time I got it, because they don't normally come in 42G!
Last week at Slimming World I won my 1.5stone  off award (21lbs) and only 2lbs to go to my Club 10 target! Should get that this week! Just another 70 lbs or so to go :( but I don't want to lose that much, nor think I can!
I have come down 2 whole dress sizes and am now starting to fit in the next size down from that! My latest slim fitting jeans are already feeling loose! So nice to be able to shop in 'normal' shops again instead of always heading for the outsize shops/departments. I have had to have a clear out of some of my favourite tops as they are too big and loose fitting now and not suitable for taking in. I have put darts into many of my skirts so I can still wear them while shrinking! It stops them slipping down! A bit of tighter elastic in the waist also helps.
I have had lots of comments from people I only see occasionally as they really notice the difference in my appearance.

It's not long now until my  favourite folk festivals - Cropredy, Shrewsbury, and Swanage! Must dust off the tent and camping gear - get new batteries for the camping lamps etc. I hope my double layer air bed is ok. It's very comfortable!

No that's not me! But you get the idea of how big and comfortable it is!

Time to head out for the pub quiz tonight.

Hope you have a good time too!

xx

Holidays and more

Arrgh! Been ages since I last blogged. Sorry! Just not been in mood to blog.
'So what's been happening here' I hear you say... you didn't? Well tough!
I am afraid to say the usual daily routine is very boring with rounds of food, drinks, phone calls, time on FB, dog walking, occasional housework, washing clothes etc. I manage lunch out at Wetherspoons once a week with John. Pub quiz night is most weeks, where we usually win enough to cover costs of going. It is a fun night out too.
I go to a weekly singaround session most weeks. Then there is our own Folk club once a month. With Jenny having her own social life too, Jen and I share a home but are rarely here at the same time!
I have managed to get to a few concerts lately, the most recent being Fairport Convention at North Boarhunt, nr Havant. A long way to go but a great concert. The tour schedule is a punishing one, 6 nights gig then 1 night off, for the whole of May. The 'lads' looked tired. They had driven down from Durham to Havant that day and were driving back to Banbury that night. Since all of them are close to 60 or well over, being on the road is hard work.
Things are rolling along with Swanage Folk Festival.
I am well on the way to my 10% loss initial target with Slimming world now :) I did have a 'wobble around the stone mark but well past that now.
I had a lovely week's holiday away with Linda at a cottage on the Isle of Wight.

The cottage was bright and modern and fitted out to a high standard. It had a small deck and a patch of grass for the dogs to toilet on. The garden opened onto a huge field of long grass which we were allowed to walk in. All 3 cottages had people staying with dogs, and the owners had 2 dogs too so it was doggy heaven.

I would certainly recommend the cottages to anyone. Little Pidford Farm Cottages, Blackwater, IOW - they have a website! http://www.littlepidfordfarmcottages.co.uk/

Honey got on well with Yarna, Linda's guide dog. They loved chasing each other around the field.

Although having a blanket each to lie on, Yarna did try to share Honey's when she could sneak on :-)

The one souvenir I brought back from the holiday I could have done without! I caught a cold off someone on the ferry coming home so spent the first week back home nursing a streaming nose and raw throat.

That's all cleared now apart from a little catarrh now and then.

It's a busy weekend ahead with friends from Suffolk staying with John and Roz from today until Saturday. Saturday night is Eileen's 80th birthday party ceilidh & concert.

Should be a good 'do'.

I have been sitting here typing while I was cooling off after a couple of hours in the garden working on the urban jungle! Now is the time to go have a long soak in the bath and wash my hair. I just feel all sweaty and sticky :( bleugh!

I will try not to leave it so long til next blog. xx

Hard Times & Happy Easter!

Why do bad (and good) things come in bunches? Usually 3 at a time. Just when everything seemed to be going well, a close friend has health problems, serious ones. Tests for one condition have shown up a second, and now a third problem has reared its ugly head, resulting in a hospital visit :( I hope it all gets sorted quickly!

I had a lovely day yesterday. It was sunny and bright although not exactly warm. Linda and I went out for lunch at a local eatery and had a lovely meal. I had my favourite duck, with red cabbage and potatoes Dauphinoise with a cider and apple sauce. It was delicious!
I do feel guilty enjoying myself when I know someone close is not.

This last month has seen some happier times. It was my grandsons' birthdays within a few days of each other - an expensive time of year! :( Alex is now 7 and growing up so fast. Jack is now 11 and showing signs of the dreaded puberty! He seems to have settled down at school again proudly showing off his end of term report with loads of merits and awards! It might not be 'cool' to celebrate progress and awards with your mates, but Jack was obviously proud of his achievements and glowed with pride at our reactions.

I have been to two wonderful concerts in the last month. We saw Mike Harding at the Tivoli in Wimborne - simply brilliant! He has lost none of his wicked sense of humour and told many great jokes and funny stories. All this was interspaced with songs of humour and pathos. He can still perform and entertain the masses. He missed out on his usual post concert curry as someone had kindly brought in some Sweeney Todd pies for him.


The same weekend I took Linda to see Joan Baez at the Lighthouse in Poole. It was a packed house and she got a rapturous welcome from everyone. She is 71 now but looked 58. Slim and neat in jeans and a jacket, understated and casual, but her personality stood out. Her voice has lost none of it's clarity and quality and she was amazing. She did almost 2 hours without a break, supported by her son Gabe Harris on percussion and an amazing multi-instrumentalist called Dirk Powell who played 7 - yes seven! - different instruments through the evening. He played guitar, bass guitar, banjo, mandolin, violin, piano, and piano accordian! A one man band if ever there was one! It was a stunning concert and everyone fell in love with her that night.

I am trying to be very good and sticking to the fruit and veg mostly this weekend. My weightloss programme has had a bit of a wobble but I am now back on track (I hope)
I have still not quite made that first stone off and it's annoying me. I keep getting within a lb or half lb and then putting a lb back on grrrr!
I WILL do it this week!

Have a great Easter weekend with friends and family.
xxxx

Health Matters and more

I had my first 6 month diabetes check up with the nurse on Friday. It was good news all round. My Hb1ac (background long term blood glucose level) is steadily falling as I manage my food intake and lose weight too. My BP is ok. Sugar levels good. Weight coming down steadily now - 1/2 lb to my first stone off with Slimming World! The nurse was very pleased at my progress. She tested my feet for circulation and sensitivity and they are fine - strong pulse and good reactions to the soft 'pricks' all round my toes and soles.
I have enjoyed the sunshine and warmer days we've had this week. Like a lot of people I feel brighter and more energised by sunshine. However last night and today the rain has taken its toll on my pains and I had a bad night last night. My sympathies to everyone suffering pain of any kind who find it worse when the weather changes.

Honey has also enjoyed the sunshine this week and has been quite frisky and lively. We have met her favourite doggy friend, Lenny, twice this week. He is a lurcher who has the same colouring as Honey and is almost her size. He is such a sweetheart and wags his tail so much his whole body wriggles with delight when he sees her. He squeaks in pleasure too. She goes all silly and leaps about when she sees him. They are just good friends and love to romp about together and run around. He also loves a good cuddle with me and I adore him and make a big fuss of him.

I am looking forward to a long summer of concerts and festivals, but could be faced with having to get a load of new clothes! I am now starting to wear clothes 2 sizes smaller than I was and could well be one or two sizes smaller yet by mid-summer!  Woo-hooo!
If you are slimming down too then good luck with it and stick at it!

Mothers

One one hand I revel in the fact that I do not have to hunt for Mothering Sunday cards, nor fork out for suddenly expensive flowers, but on the other hand I so miss my Mum. It's been over 7 years but she is still very much in my thoughts.

Me and my lovely Mum

How she kept going, doing things for herself despite the pain of arthritis. She lived to the wonderful age of 92 so there is some hope for me yet :-). Even with advancing years she always took care to give us little 'treats' when we visited. Baked one of her delicious cakes, or made a mountain of 'buns' (today's cupcakes) because her grandchildren loved them so much. She knew my favourite meal was one of her steak pies with juicy tender chunks of beef topped with the most delicious, crumbly, golden, buttery pastry. So if we were visiting she'd make the effort if she could. Since it was hard to stop her, we resorted to taking her out to the pub for a meal so she would not have the bother of cooking for us all. It became a standing family joke that we'd guess Mum/Nan would have fish and chips. She would deny she always had it, then study the menu and choose... fish and chips LOL.

It is only in recent years that it has hit home that Mum was the last of her generation. I am the youngest in my generation, with a load of cousins to keep track of, all of us aging, with children and grandchildren. It is a sign of passing years when the only time we all get together is at funerals.
I have fond memories of aging grandparents and aunts and uncles, who fell asleep after Christmas dinner, while we 'youngsters' played board and card games. Now me, my sisters and cousins are the 'oldies' who struggle to stay awake after a good roast dinner  :-) We are the senior generation of the family who sit back and welcome the cards and flowers from our children and grandchildren this time of year.
My biggest pleasure? those wonderfully carefully made cards from the grandsons, covered in weird drawings, stuck on feathers and shapes, dripping in glitter!
I do not crave the big bouquets but a simple bunch of daffs, my favourite flowers, mean as much if not more.

I hope your family treats you well this Mothering Sunday. Take pleasure in being there for them. Make the most of your Mum if she is still around for you to treat. Tell her how much you love her and appreciate her. Love is far more valuable than any flowers or cards.
Happy Mothering Sunday! xxx

It's warm!! Well warmER

The bird bath has been very popular this morning. It has been frozen pretty much constantly for the last 2 or 3 weeks but now had water again rather than ice and there has been a lot of splashing going on. The birds have queued up in the trees to take their turn. Just watched a robin hogging it. He/she was loving it and splashed around a lot. It's still only about 6C outside but seems so much warmer than 2C with a wind chill of -5.

I had an early start this morning with Jen going to a new dentist for the first time and guess what? The only appointment I could get to see my doctor in the next two weeks is 8.10 next Monday morning! :-( It's bad enough being a Monday but 8.10?? He is fully booked this week and only in on Monday next week *sigh*.
Between a long wait for a blood test to be done and now a wait to see doc, it will be over a month since initial request. Good job it's not urgent eh? At least I know the blood test results will be there. They should already be there now!

Mum

Did you watch 'midwives' last night? I found the deaths of the loving brother and sister very moving and I was in floods of tears. It brought back some awful memories and some good ones for me. I re-lived the day I heard my Mum had finally left us after a severe stroke, followed by my lovely hubby, Peter later that same day.
I had spent time at Mum's bedside that last week, just sitting holding her hand and talking to her, not knowing if she could hear me or if it sunk in, as she drifted in and out of consciousness. One piece of news I know she did hear was that my first grandchild was on the way. Later on she managed to say "Craig - baby", with difficulty, in a lucid moment.
 Losing Peter was a huge blow and nowhere near as peaceful as he had the full response team working on him to bring him back. They sent me out of the room while they tried all sorts to bring his fluttery heart back working but to no avail. I don't think he knew what was happening. I had found him 'asleep' in his chair in front of the tv, but could feel a faint pulse so opened the front door and  dialled 999 while I tried to drag him onto the floor. The paramedic was there in less than 2 minutes! and the ambulance followed about 2 mins after that. They did all they could.
All that happened 7 1/2 years ago now yet the memories of that day will be with me forever. It took me 3-4 years to be able to watch CPR and re-suss scenes on Casualty and Holby City without feeling that panic again.

January 2011

My grandson will be 7 next month and is the most adorable little boy. I had the chance to spend time with him and his half brother last week, enjoying bedtime especially. Alex is gentle and loving and loves being read to in bed. I got special lovely hugs as he snuggled down. Jack is almost 11 now and way too grown up for a story or hugs and kisses... but he can't run away when he's in bed *evil grin*.
Horrible Grandma inflicting kisses on him!

I am lucky that this last cold snap came before most of my camellia buds had opened. The few that had went brown very quickly with the deep frosts, and the rest seem to have halted their opening. I hope they do recover and open later rather than just dropping off.
The pic was last year showing the first buds opening. Not so many are open yet so fingers crossed they survive the frosts.
The blooms are lovely and the bush looks spectacular for about 3 weeks.
There are daffs well up now and should be flowering before too long :-)
Spring is on its way.


I am watching the skies for the starling flight displays, but it is maybe a bit early yet. There are several around Poole town and I love to watch them while I walk the dog pre-sunset. It won't be long - I've seen small training flights taking place with last years babies practising the moves.

We had a shock last week to find our quiz pub has changed hands and the new owners were moving in on Tuesday! I do hope they don't do major changes to the menu, but I expect there will be quite a few. The Acorn is one of the few remaining pubs in the area that is a drinking pub that does food, rather than a restaurant that does beer. Their meal prices were very reasonable with most dishes in the £4-£7 range. Good basic pub grub, nothing fancy, but well cooked and a good plateful for the money. We will miss Margaret's meals. Hope they have some food in for tonight!

Keep warm folks - not long until summer! :-)
xx

Febrrrrrrruary moans and groans

I knew winter had to come some time - and it's been - two weeks of near arctic conditions with a flow of air straight from Siberia! Normally I enjoy cold weather and snow (we didn't get any) but my knees have reminded me I am getting older and cold weather sets off the pains something rotten. The knee injection has fully worn off and I'm back on pain killers to keep functioning.

The diet is going well with over half a stone off so far. Slimming World seems to suit me and is easy to manage. My friend Linda is doing it with me and we both have good and bad moments. But we have our holiday in May to look forward to, both being something like 2 stone lighter than when we started!
Honey had a bout of illness with a raised temperature and dramatic stiffness in her back legs. The vet wasn't sure if it was a strained back or possibly viral arthritis. She was on home rest, anti-biotics, and anti-inflammatories for over a week before she gradually got freedom of movement again. It was painful for her going up and down the step in and out of the garden for quite a few days and she took ages to hobble upstairs to bed. I thought she'd sleep on her day bed as it was obviously painful for her to get up and down the stairs, but she would rather face the pain and sleep near me at night than sleep alone downstairs.
She is now off all the medications and seems ok again. I started walkies again gradually, keeping her on the lead for a week so she didn't go mad and run about too soon. She is now back to running her laps at speed, but doesn't run as fast or as long as she used to. I have to remember she is now 8 1/2 and not as young as she used to be. She is about the same age as me now so I should expect her to slow down a bit.

It's that time of year when we look ahead to summer festivals and try to plan which we are going to. Two are dead certs - Cropredy, celebrating 45 years of Fairport Convention - and Shrewsbury because it's the best folk festival in the country. Both of these are camping jobs  but it's ok once tent is up. My tunnel tent is spacious with plenty of head room for little me. Half tent is bedroom, half is living space. It's supposed to be a 4 man tent but like most tents they are better with half that number.

I love my double thickness air bed. So comfy to sleep on. No that isn't me on the bed! But it is like the bed I have. 1 metre wide and a decent height off the ground. It takes up half the bedroom space in the tent! If needed you can unzip it and make a single thickness king sized bed :)
There is also the benefit that should you lose any air from either mattress you do not end up feeling the ground under your bum :-)

Getting excited about Cropredy - they've been announcing bands being booked and it's looking great. Richard Thompson is down for the Friday night and of course will join FC for the final long set on the Saturday night. They have booked Legend to come back again. A Bob Marley tribute band fronted by Bob's son. They were last there a few years ago on the wettest Cropredy I've experienced and yet everyone was smiling during their set. It was like the sun shone on the stage and spread a warm glow through everyone. It was impossible to not move to the beat of the music. Lovely to see the 'mosh pit' people all dancing around in waterproofs and umbrellas. I hope they don't bring the rain back this year.  Friday also sees the Saw Doctors and Joan Armatrading! Did someone say 'folk'?

Depressing January

This is a bad time of year for SAD sufferers so I make sure I get out when the sun shines. It is hard to enjoy it though when I remember the phone call I got on Tuesday. My friend Gill, who has been undergoing intensive chemotherapy for multiple secondary cancers, finally lost her battle on Monday night. Her husband, Bill, realised she was going down fast and managed to get her into a hospice just before the weekend. She had the best of care in her last few days. I knew she was not going to make it through this bout of cancer but I had hoped the treatments would stave off the inevitable a bit longer. She had so much spirit and strength of character facing her last weeks. All her thoughts were of how her husband would cope and how the dogs would be after she'd gone. RIP Gill.

Losing Gill has helped me realise how little use I am making of the remaining (hopefully many) years of my life. Heaven knows what my 'prospects' are. My Mum made it to 92! But my dad died not much older than I am now! My health issues - obesity, diabetes - shorten my life expectancy so I am thinking probably mid 70's. My oldest sister is now 75 and full of life so the outlook is not all bad.
You may think I am being morbid, but death holds no fear for me. You cannot escape it. Everyone dies at some point. So why be scared of it? I am trying to make sure all my 'matters' are organised and listed so the children can settle the estate easily.
I am now taking positive measures to improve my general health. I have asked the doc to prescribe sessions at the gym for me and I am taking my friend Linda to slimming world next week to sign on. I have been increasing my dog walk lengths gradually, but having good and bad days with my knees sometimes curtails these. I have stopped using a walking stick where possible as it helps me walk more upright and balanced. If I need a stick then I use 2 for better balance. I do often take a stick to the supermarket as it is useful when things are out of reach on high shelves! But the stick sits in my trolley. I am still getting pain relief from the last steroid injection but it is slowly wearing off now and the next step is referral to the orthopaedic surgeons for a knee replacement.
John has made real progress with his new knee but it is looking as though he may have done too much too soon and is having a few problems now.

Honey had a tremendous run around on the beach yesterday. I went down about 4pm and the car park was almost deserted at Sandbanks.

We had the beach to ourselves for a while and Honey made the most of it, charging around at full speed and stopping at intervals to do her amazing backwards helicopter spins. They are hilarious to watch! I managed to walk the length of one section of beach and back. It is hard going on soft sand but walking the tide line is ok. I knew all about it last night though :( my knees both ached like mad all evening. I was thinking of 20 years ago when we first moved to Poole and how we used to walk into Bournemouth from Sandbanks, and back again! We used to have a coffee at Branksome cafe before heading back. A lovely walk taking a couple of hours. I am pooped after half an hour now :( But then it was before I had any knee pains at all, and I was a couple of stones lighter!

I have packed away all the Christmas decorations in labelled boxes, I just need someone younger and fitter to stick them up in the loft! I have bought large Lego sets for the grandsons for the last 2 or 3 years and they come delivered in these brilliant big boxes. They have made a big difference to packing up the dec's rather than just chucking them all in black sacks.
 I have enough baubles in assorted colours to decorate about 5 big trees, but it does mean I can change colour schemes easily. The turquoise and pink this year was a BIG change for me. I usually go for silver & white only, or blue and white, or gold and red. But I now have silver, gold, white, red, green, dark blue, turquoise, pink and purple! So can choose any 1, 2 or 3 from those.

The sun is shining and I need to move and sort out some lunch. Walkies later so hope the sun holds!
Have a good weekend my friends. xx