Wednesday Hodgepodge. 20th January

It's HodgePodge time again. I must be on a roll, I think this is the third one of these I have done!

The Wednesday Hodgepodge is brought to us courtesy of Joyce at 

 From this side of the pond Pop over there to see other posts and if you want to join in add the link to your Hodgepodge blog post to the Linky List at the end of Joyce's post and don’t forget to visit at least your neighbours on the list. Have fun.

1. Speaking of skating...when did you last 'skate on thin ice', 'skate over the details', 'encounter a cheapskate', or just plain skate?

It is at least 15 years since I last went skating. Where we used to live there was an ice rink just a mile or so away and we occasionally took our children. Not often as it was too expensive with 5 children. We went there for birthday treats and the like. I am not bad, I can stay upright! As a child I used to enjoy roller skating. Do you remember the metal skates, the ones that had the wing nut in the middle to adjust the size and they fitted over your shoes? I had those. No plastic boot styles for us.

2.  What would you say is the biggest problem of people your age?

Staying fit and healthy. I think when you get to your middle and later years you can't take things for granted the way you did when you were younger. The body no longer deals with excess so well! If you want to live to a good age then you have to get serious about taking care of yourself. That is my main concern. I suspect that for a lot of people the problem is more about money. Will they ever have enough to retire? How will they manage? Retirement is a big issue for many. My OH retired from teaching back in July last year and so far we are doing fine, with every aspect! We haven't got on each others nerves, too much…….Yet!

3. What's your favourite accessory? Is it something you wear every day, often, or only on special occasions?

Well if we are talking every day then it has to be my rings and my earrings. I have 4 rings that I never take off. My engagement ring, wedding ring, eternity ring and another ring which OH got me on our 30^th wedding anniversary. All 4 are permanent fixtures. The earrings are gold, creole, hoops and were my Mum's. Another accessory I like but don't wear daily are scarves. I have a fair size collection.

4.  January 20th is National Cheese Lover's Day Are you a lover of cheese? What's your favourite dish made with cheese? Last thing you ate that contained some kind of cheese?

Who comes up with all these “days”? It is so random. I don't dislike cheese but I am not a big lover. I like soft cheeses more than harder ones. Brie is my favourite. I prefer milder cheese to strong cheese. My OH likes strong Cheddar but that is a bit much for me. I hate blue cheese and don't get me started on Parmesan which I think smells like sick!

I do like homemade lasagne which we have really cheesy. Last time I had cheese was one day last week when we had homemade courgette (zucchini) soup with a dollop of soft cream cheese stirred in.

5. What's something guaranteed to make you roll your eyes?

Middle aged women in leggings and cropped tops with their belly on show, hanging over the top! Saw one just the other day and it was gross. Don't get me wrong, I am not totally against this mode of dress but there is a time and place and it isn't a look that I feel is appropriate in the local supermarket. I also think you need to have the body for it. I do come down on the side of “if you’ve got it, why not flaunt it”? On the other hand if you haven't “got it” best keep it hidden! I haven't “got it”! 

6. Your favourite book series?

As a child I was a massive bookworm and devoured everything I could get my hands on. This continued through my teenage years and into adulthood. Recently, not so much. I read every day but short articles, not often whole books. Something I intend to remedy this year. Consequently I can't think of a recent favourite series. When I was a child, I loved all of Enid Blyton's books and my favourite series was the Mallory Towers books. The ones about the antics of girls at a boarding school. Then of course there was the Famous Five series and the Secret Seven. I LOVED those books.

7. Why did you choose your profession?

I have never had a profession unless you count housewife and Mum which actually in my opinion equals any profession you care to name. When I was doing my final year at school, I wanted to be a nursery nurse. I wanted to do the NNEB course at college. My parents and the head teacher of my school had other ideas. Back in those days any kind of nursing was for girls who were less academic. The less clever girls. The head and my parents thought that I was capable of more. I didn't want more.

Long story short, I left school and got a job. Initially for a few months just as a supermarket cashier. Then I got work as a clerical assistant at Her Majesty's Land Registry. I loved that job and worked my way up to clerical officer and then executive officer. Then I got married and moved away and a year later the first of my children arrived. Since then I have had various jobs for short periods, ranging from office work, shop work, waitressing and even cleaning. My last job was as an exams officer and invigilator in my OH's school. I haven't worked for about 10 years now. I have been very lucky, that I have never HAD to work. It has always just been for a bit of extra money, not to pay bills. No, we are not wealthy, we have just learnt to manage our money very well.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

I really must get off the internet and go get on with the ironing!

JILLY

Friday News - 15th January

So it's Friday again and I am giving Wendy's Friday News another go. You may remember last week that I had trouble with the sport category as I simply don't “get” sport! This week I am scrapping sport in favour of UK news. This will be in addition to International. Let's go…….

International.

The international story which I have noticed today is that of the medical trials in France that have gone so badly wrong. Apparently the drug trial was in phase one which is where a tiny dose is given to healthy people to test for side effects. One man has been declared brain dead and 5 more have suffered permanent brain damage. It is being said that the drug being tested was derived from cannabis but it is not clear what the eventual drug would be used for.

This is truly horrible. I know that we need new drugs for all kinds of conditions and at some point they must run trials with real people but that means there is always going to be the potential for this kind of tragedy. For the record, I am totally against animal testing. Apart from the often cruel way the animals are treated and the pain and suffering they endure, I cannot see any logic in it at all. Every single animal is different to us so how testing on a mouse, or a dog, or a monkey has any bearing in what a drug will do to a human is beyond me.

UK.

Apparently we have a British astronaut in space! Who knew? Not me! He is called Tim Peake and today he was doing a space walk with another astronaut to repair an electrical box. Simon has the news on and this came up whilst I was typing. It would seem the space walk has had to end early as the American astronaut had water inside his helmet which is not a good thing it would seem.

Can you tell that I am not overly enthralled with space stuff? I guess some of it is interesting but I am afraid that I think we need to put our house in order here on Earth before we start worrying about what’s out there. So much money is spent that could be spent on better things. Just an opinion of course.

I commented to Simon just now that I had no idea that there was currently a Brit up there in space and he said how could you have missed that? Easily. I try really hard to not watch or listen to the news. It is so often depressing, half of it is totally fabricated, they only tell us what they want to tell us which is not always the truth, plus I simply do not have the time for anything that doesn't interest me.

Another cousin of mine, Pat, posted on her FB page today how sad she was at the death of Alan Rickman. I thought she had just lost a friend. It soon became apparent from the comments that this was not a friend but a celebrity. I had to ask her who he was and got told to wash my mouth out! I think she couldn't believe that I didn’t know. I hardly ever watch TV and haven't the patience to sit through a film, and I have zero interest in “celebrities” so consequently I never know who anyone is.

Local.

The local news buzzing around the nearby town of Bourne is that a well established and loved gift shop is to close to make way for a new pub. A Wetherspoon's pub, which is a big chain here in the UK. The general feeling seems to be that there are enough pubs in the town anyway and we don't need more and also that the big chain type establishments ruin the image of the country market town. I tend to agree. There is already a big chain pub as you enter the town but this new one would be right in the middle of the main high street. However, it could help bring more custom into the Three Counties Dog Rescue charity shop which is just a 100 yards or so further along. Now that would be good.

Entertainment.

I guess the big news story this week is the death of David Bowie. Yes I had heard of him! Not a fan though. I am continually surprised by how the death of a celebrity apparently causes so much distress to so many people. It is sad when anyone dies, particularly when that person is no great age, but I don't understand why it would cause such upset if you didn't know him personally. I am also rather taken aback by some of the tributes. I quote: “Singer David Bowie, one of the biggest stars and most influential musicians of his era, has died of cancer at the age of 69.” Was he really that big and that influential? Perhaps I missed something? He wasn't ever really on my radar. I was a teeny bopper and massive Donny Osmond fan.

Miscellaneous.

My misc news is that today is my little grandson, Jackson's 3^rd birthday. 3 years ago today he was born at just 28 weeks and he lay in an incubator whilst we stood by helplessly. He has come such a long way since then and today he was going bowling with Mummy and Daddy. So very, very proud of him. Happy 3^rd birthday Jackson.

Here is a photo of me and Jackson.

Well those are my 5 bits of news. I said earlier that I find the news depressing. If I do this next week, I am going to seek out positive, happy stories. Maybe I can even find something that really interest me!

Friday news was the idea of my cousin Wendy.  Why not join in. It would be very interesting to read what is going on in your area and maybe we could open discussions on some of the topics. 

Week One of "The Challenge"

Oh dear, seems I am already behind with the blogging. I need inspiration and motivation. One of my old blogging friends, Melanie, is doing a sort of self improvement challenge.

She was inspired by 2 Facebook posts currently doing the rounds.

I have decided to join her as it may just help me get my blogging mojo back. Can't hurt to try anyway.

See them here if you are interested:

http://brightside.me/article/how-to-change-your-life-for-the-better-in-just-one-month-505/

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/12/52-fun-things-try-a-new-one-each-week-of-the-year/

The first link promises “4 weeks, 12 steps and in just 1 month you won't recognise yourself”! A very bold statement. Sounds good to me and it can't hurt to try. So….

Week 1. Purifying the body and mind

Step 1 - Get up earlier. The author suggests 6am. Now I don't know about you but that is the middle of the night as far as I am concerned! However I can see her logic that if you give yourself more time at the start of the day then you should have more time to get stuff done and that includes “me” time.

She also says that often we are not actually tired so much as lethargic and fed up. I think that is true. I am not a morning person. I like my bed. I think part of my problem is that I do not go to sleep early enough. I am usually in bed before midnight but because I find it so difficult to get to sleep I have my light on until at least 2am. I read and use my computer.

I am going to adapt this step to my own needs. So I am going to try and make sure that my light is off by midnight. I will try to be up by 8.30.

Step 2 – Better nutrition. This is a no brainer. The message is basically to ditch the junk and allow our bodies to recover. The ultimate aim is a fit and healthy body. Well we all want that don't we? I think I eat fairly healthily most of the time. I have lost a lot of weight over the last year so I am pretty good about portion sizes. However we have just had Christmas and New Year and a daughters 30^th birthday celebrations and I have stuffed myself with all kinds of rubbish. No wonder that I feel slow, heavy and lethargic. My energy didn’t just get up and go I chased it away with all the rubbish I have fed it.

I need to try to eat more light, healthy but nutritious meals and they need to be easy to make, quick to cook and relatively cheap. I am going to try and make one new meal this week that fulfils this criteria.

Step 3 – Sport I.E. Exercise

Hmm, me and sport do not compute. Computer says “NO”. Merikans probably won't get that joke. I am already getting my 10,000 steps a day (mostly). So how to try and do this step? I need to increase my flexibility so I am going to try and incorporate some simple stretches into my day.

Now to that 2^nd link. This is a list of 52 new things to try. The idea is obviously one a week for a year.

Week 1. Write a handwritten note and post it to someone you haven’t been in touch with for a while.

I can't really remember the last time I wrote a personal letter. I mean occasionally I have written a letter to my bank, but a letter to a known person? Not in an age. Actually letters to the bank are not handwritten and this specifically says handwritten.

I am going to have to give this some thought as I can't think right now who would most like to receive a letter. This sort of comes under the heading of a random act of kindness. I like that.

So to recap; this week I shall be properly in bed and attempting sleep by midnight and up to greet the day by 8.30am. I shall do some stretching exercises, cook one new meal and write a letter using a pen! Quite how all this will help with my blogiing mojo, I have no clue!

Like my friend Melanie, I will update you next Sunday. Fell free to join in.

Melanie s blog is here: http://chovblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/week-one-of-challenge.html

Welcome 2016

Well here we are.  I hope that by now we have all all arrived safely in 2016.  My daughter commented yesterday that she always feels sad as the year closes.  I think the opposite.  We must be happy that we have made it through and that we have another year stretching ahead.  I find it exciting.  So many possibilities lie ahead.

Those who know me will already know that they will not be finding resolutions here.  I don't do those.  There is nothing magical about the 1st of January.  If you want to start something, well just get on and start it.  Want to make changes?  Well do it.  Start right away.  It doesn't matter what the date is.

I do have hopes and plans for the year ahead.  Here are a few:

Our biggie which I am so excited for is our youngest sons wedding in August.  

We want to get away more in Tallulah this year.  Maybe even venture abroad in her.

I want to progress with my various crafts and maybe learn some new ones.   I must get to grips with my Cricut.

I want to make sure that I stay healthy and maintain last years weight loss.

We want to see as much as possible of family and friends.  That is more important than anything else.

There are loads more things in my head too.  I can't list them all but I expect you get the idea.  My plan is basically to take care of myself and of those around me. To be happy and busy and simply grateful for every new day.

I will remember that today is the only day that I have.

In the words of Mother Theresa "Let us begin".

 

Out with the old and in with the new.

Well here we all are on the cusp of another new year. It is 23.31 here in the UK so not long now. I can hear some fireworks already although they are distant. Probably at the far end of the village where there are more houses. I am writing this in bed, in the dark, with a little grandson fast asleep next to me. I hope the fireworks do not wake him.

It is little Morra, Saskia's son, who is having his first ever sleepover on his own. He has obviously stayed here lots of times but never without Mummy and Daddy. They are currently having a few days in London to celebrate Saskia's 30^th birthday which was yesterday. I have no idea how she can possibly be 30. That is 4 of my 5 children now in their thirties. I am of course still sticking with 46!

Those of you that know me will know that I don't really celebrate new year. As far as I am concerned it is just another date on the calender and doesn't mean much. It is the simple passage of time, nothing more or less. The 2^nd of January is as much a new day as the 1^st. Every single day is a day to start afresh.

Despite the lack of any celebrations, like most people I do take some time to reflect on the outgoing year. So I thought for this blog tonight I could do a quick rehash of 2015. I have hardly blogged at all so you will have all missed out on what I have been up to.

The year got off to the worst possible start when our Loulou died on the 18^th of January. This was followed within hours by the devastating news of the fire at the kennels where we do volunteer work. Three precious doggies were lost that night along with the reception building.

Much of our spare time this year has been spent working with the other volunteers to rebuild and move on from that dreadful night.

January had one bright point when our Beanie came to live with us. He is a Saffy / English Bullie Cross and he has given us so much joy this year.

February saw us take our first overnight trip In Tallulah our camper van. Since then we have had lots of day trips and weekends and 4 extended holidays including visiting Scotland for the first time. We also had a lovely family weekend with 2 of my cousins, my sister and some of our children.

In May Simon celebrated his 60th birthday with a big gathering of family and friends. The weather was lovely. He also made the decision that it was time to say goodbye to teaching and he did his last day on the 17^th of July. He officially retired on the 31^st of August and he is LOVING it.

September was a busy month with celebrations on the 10^th for Sam and Lisa's 10^th wedding anniversary. It was also the month that we became the owners of a second house. That was a biggie as the income from that has made living on a pension a lot easier.

October saw Coralie finally heading off to Tanzania to do her cycle ride in aid of womens cancer charities. She raised over £4000. We are incredibly proud of her.

In November Three Counties Dog Rescue opened a charity shop in Bourne and we have been heavily involved with that. It has been hard work but very exciting.

December and the lead up to Christmas was all quite calm and stress free and we were lucky to have a wonderful Christmas and to enjoy the company of our children and grandchildren. Since then, things have not been good as our eldest daughter Coralie has once again found herself back in hospital. We are crossing our fingers for better health for her in 2016.

My biggest achievement of the year is my weight loss but it is now officially 2016 so I think that has to be another blog. Suffice to say 2015 was the year that I lost over 4 stones in weight! Go me!

Time to say goodnight I think and time to snuggle up with my little one. I do wish you all a very Happy New Year and many blessings for 2016. Above all I hope that it is a peaceful one and as always I wish you “ENOUGH”.

  

Making Christmas wreaths.

Last Sunday I did a mini course with Coralie (my daughter, for anyone who doesn't know me) We each made a needle felted Christmas wreath.

The course was held in Peterborough, in the basement of a lovely shop which I had never seen before, called Art in the Heart.  If you are ever in Peterborough, stop by as they have some fabulous goodies.  I could have spent a fortune but luckily for me, (or rather Simon), we arrived just as the course was starting and by the time it ended the shop was closing.

Despite the fact that Coralie claims she had told me it was needle felting, I was under the impression that we were making bog standard wreaths with foliage, pine cones and berries.  You know the kind of thing. You can pick them up in the supermarket for about £15.  Once I realised what we were actually doing  the cost made more sense.

To be honest I wasn't sure what to think as I have never tried needle felting.  It turned out to be a brilliant afternoon with my daughter and we both enjoyed it very much.  There were only 4 of us and the tutor, Eve Marshall, was excellent.  It tuns out that she lives a few villages away from me and she does lots of classes so I may have another go in the new year. 

Having never done any needle felting I was a little apprehensive as to how it would turn out and if I could actually get it done in time.  Well, I am actually thrilled with what I produced.  A bright, colourful wreath complete with a Robin (my favourite bird) and I made it all myself!  Here's a few photo's 

Here are the finished wreaths

The blue one above is Coralie's and the red and green one below is mine.  I have it hanging on my living room door.

The actual process of needle felting is fairly easy.  It is the artistic side of things that I would struggle with I think. It is very relaxing and you can do it whilst having a good old chat. Just don't lose concentration because it flipping hurts if you accidentally push the barbed needle into your finger!  Yes, I did do that several times.  I also broke a total of 4 needles!  Not to worry as Eve, says she factors broken needles into the cost of her beginner classes!!

So what do you think?  Have you tried needle felting before?  I purchased the materials to make a second Robin so I shall definitely be giving it another go.

Still shrinking

A quickie blog today before bedtime.  I doubt that I will be able to stick to daily blogging but at the moment I am trying my best to reignite the habit.

We have had a bit of a funny day today.  We were expecting to have our daughter here with her OH, our grandson and her mother in law and sister in law. To cut a long story very short, they didn't make it and are now aiming to come on Sunday.

I was quite disappointed as I was looking forward to seeing them and I had also put in quite a bit of effort to make sure that the house is looking good and everything in place to give a lovely welcome to her in-laws.  They are from Nigeria and we have only met them once.

When we finally knew that they weren't going to get here it was already gone lunch time.  It did mean that we had a free afternoon so we decided to head to Peterborough, a trip that we had been planning for Sunday.  I don't usually go anywhere near the shops at this time of year but I was down to only 2 bra's that fit me and I really didn't want to be waiting until after Christmas.

We didn't have to go into the city centre, which is just as well as I don't think I could have braved that!  There is a retail park as you come into the city and Marks and Spencers are there.  Best place for bra's in my humble opinion.   It was an easy trip in  (about 25 miles)  and we managed to park easily too.  In fact. it wasn't horrendously busy.

The purchasing of the bra's was a little traumatic as the ones that I chose to try on were all the wrong size!  It would seem that I have shrunk by a cup size.  Why can't you just lose weight from your hips and bottom?  Anyway, I managed to get three.  One white, one black and one pink.

While I was messing around getting very hot and bothered in the changing room, Simon had been mooching around the store. He had spotted a very cute, faux suede, skirt and jumper which he thought would appeal to me.  Being a good hubby and being very well aware that  I am now a size 12, he presented them to me to try on.

You are never going to believe this......... The size 12 was way too big!  It isn't that long ago when I was stunned to be wearing a size 12!    The sales lady went off to fetch me a size 10 with me shaking my head in disbelief.  No way will I get into a size 10.

I am still in shock.  The 10 not only fits perfectly but it looks pretty good too.  The jumper was also changed for a size 10.  I could actually get to like this shopping lark, now I can pretty much choose whatever I like and know I have a reasonable chance of looking half way decent in it.    These photos are not the best but I just have to show you.

 

So, a good afternoon in the end, followed by fish and chips for dinner and then a relaxing evening. Hopefully we will see our guests on Sunday.

K is for Knitting

A – Z challenge for today is “K”

Hmm this has been another hard one for me. I have come up with knitting.

My Mum was a very good knitter. A very prolific knitter too. She always had something on the go and knitted all our jumpers and cardigans when we were small.

She also got much joy out of knitting for her Grandchildren too. It was very sad when she finally stopped. It was some while before the Alzheimers really set in but I think in part it was because she found it harder to follow a pattern and that may well have been because of the disease.

My sister is also an extremely good knitter. She has produced some beautiful things. She is currently knitting for her new Grandson. I don't actually remember, but I assume that it was Mum who taught her.

I can remember Mum trying to teach me. She wasn't that patient with me! Thinking about it, I guess I get my lack of patience from her. Anyway, it didn't go that well. I did manage to knit a small red teddy bear in plain garter stitch to get my Brownie badge.

Over my late teenage years I did also knit a much larger teddy who I still have and when I first knew Simon I knitted him a jumper and a cardigan. If I remember the jumper turned out very large and he only ever wore it a couple of times. The cardigan was a belted affair and I think it came out OK but it wasn’t really him. He wore it about twice!

I had another go when I was expecting Sam and knitted some bootees. Then when I was expecting Saskia (my 4^th) I knitted a couple of matinee jackets and some bonnets that were fairly successful.

Then it came to a stop. Until around a year back when I decided that I wanted to try a different craft each month. I decided to try knitting first as I would so much like to be able to master this.

Over the year I have knitted a few things. I started out with simple garter stitch squares which have since been sewn up to make a blanket which Beanie now has. It isn't very good but he likes it! Sewing up is even harder than the knitting!

Then I made a garter stitch, cross over, 50's style, neck scarf. It was OK, but would have been way better if I had used the correct wool. I was just using up oddments that I had from somewhere.

Then I appealed to some Etsy friends for easy starter patterns. My friend Spinning kindly sent me a kit so that I could test it for her. It was for fingerless gloves.

My friend Liz has a brilliant pattern for beginners, one which you can find here: Mad Mum Knits  I purchased it from her and I made myself the whole set which I was very pleased with. Excuse me with my eyes closed!

I have also made Simon 2 cowls and the gloves and I made all the girls gloves for their Snowman present at Christmas. Please note, two of them have them on the wrong hands so you can see the seams!!  Silly girls. Doesn't matter much though as I know one of them will never have worn them anyway!

I am quite good at this pattern now!

Unfortunately that is as far as I have progressed. I like using the chunky wool as it grows quite quickly. I need to find an easy pattern for something that isn't a scarf or gloves as I think we have enough now!

Do you knit? Who taught you? What is the best thing you have done?

Jilly

A - Z Challenge "J" is for ME!

A – Z challenge for today is “J”

Easy peasey. “J” is for Jill and Jilly.

“J” is not for Gillian.

Names are funny things aren't they? I am fascinated by names both first names and surnames. I love to learn the origins of surnames and also the reasons behind why people are given certain names.

I am sure most of us know the origins of common surnames such as Baker and Smith etc. but it is not always so obvious where first names have come from.

Of course often it is family tradition. EG. Our first born is called Samuel James after 2 of his Great Grandparents.

Many of us will know the story of how Brooklyn Beckham got his name! Quite where Gwyneth Paltrow came up with Apple for her daughter is anyone’s guess.

The best name I have found in my family history research is Happy. I love that! She was a little girl born in 1846 if I remember correctly and the 13^th child so I wonder how happy her mother really was? Perhaps they hoped if they gave her that name then she would always be happy. Who knows​?

Anyway, Back to me. My given name was Gillian. I don't know why my parents chose that name. No one else in the family has it. I assume they just liked it. In that case why was I never actually called it? They always called me Jill. My Mum also called me Louby Lou and Dolly Day Dream I was called Jill at school.

Oddly, I have always spelt Jill with a “J” and yet as I am a Gillian you would have perhaps expected me to spell Jill as Gill. I wonder why that is. Who first spelt it as Jill?

Then I met Simon who has always called me Jilly and through my adult years most of my friends have called me Jilly. I am still called Jill by some very old friends and some family members.

It is just as well as I don’t like Gillian. Strangely though if I have to sign my name or initials I will sign Gillian or GGS. Odd isn't it.

I am also intrigued as to why people change their names. I know quite a few people who call themselves by their second names. I don’t have a second name but for me I would find it some how disrespectful to my parents to not use the name they chose for me. I know I would feel quite miffed if any of my children chose to change their names.

Sometimes it seems to me a bit pretentious too. In Simon’s family 2 of his siblings have chosen different names for themselves. His brother Andrew morphed into Felix some years ago and even longer ago before I knew them, his sister Claire changed into Francessca.

Is your name your real name? Do you have a nickname? I'd love to know.

Jilly

Do you hang your washing out?

For once it is a bright sunny day and so I decided to put the washing on the line. I confess that I am guilty of mostly using the tumble drier to dry my washing. Only in the height of summer do I regularly use my washing line. Something that would have horrified my Mum.

When I was putting the stuff out today memories of my Mum came flooding back. The first thing that popped into my mind was how she would always take a damp cloth and wipe the line down first. I have never done that. I just peg the stuff out. Do you wipe your line first?

I remember how she pegged things out too. Usually she would peg from the shoulders of a garment whereas I always peg from the bottom. I wonder if there is a supposed right and wrong way?

She always used her washing line, in all weathers, except rain or really icy cold. That said I can remember occasions where it had obviously become cold and the washing would come off the line totally frozen stiff and would stand up on its own. I can't see the purpose of having put it out in that weather.

I also remember how if a sudden downpour arrived she would dash out into the garden and rush round madly un-pegging in order to get it in before it got soaked. Back in those days neighbours would also do the same for each other if they knew you were out. So it would not be unusual to come home and find all your washing with the woman next door. Today, if that happened you would assume it had been stolen.

Of course in those days they did not have the luxury of a machine that would get it all dry for you in under a couple of hours. The washing would come off the line and if it was still damp it would be draped over a clothes airer which was in the kitchen. My Mum's one was wooden and sometimes it would leave marks on the clothes. When I was first married, in the days before I had a tumble drier, I had a plastic clothes airer which went over the bath. However with 5 children it wasn’t too long before I had a tumbler.

If the clothes came off the line dry then they would be ironed and placed in the airing cupboard. A cupboard with slatted shelves above the boiler so it was warm. The clothes stayed in there for at least several days until they were “aired”

I have never really understood airing cupboards and the process of airing. What does that even mean? If clothes are damp then you dry them. If they are dry you put them away, don't you? I do anyway.

One legacy that my Mum has left me is ironing. She ironed most things. She certainly ironed all our clothes and the bed linen. This has rubbed off on me. I iron everything, and I do mean everything! Underpants and socks included! Do I like ironing? No! Somehow though I can't get myself out of the habit. Maybe I should work on that!

Very occasionally if I time it right with the tumble drier, I can get away with folding a few things or maybe just giving them a quick press. Trouble is I am usually too busy and forget to attend to the drier as soon as it finishes.

What are your washing habits? I think the British are more into their washing lines than my Merikan friends.

Jilly

A- Z Challeneg - E & F

Well here I am again, trying to keep up with this challenge.  Actually as you can see from the title I am cheating today by doing a 2  for 1 effort.  E & F  Together!

E is for empty and F is for full.  

Yes, you have guessed correct, it is a reference to the glass being half empty or the glass being half full.  So which are you, full or empty?

I confess that I am a glass half empty kind of person although I do occasionally have smatterings of half full glasses.  

Of course what we are actually talking about here is pessimism versus optimism isn't it?  Or is it?   Now that is where it gets me all wound up.  You see, although I am a half empty person, I am also a pretty optimistic person.   What I definitely am is a realistic person.  I am a person who deals in facts. 

So the fact is the glass in front of me is half empty.  I can see that.  Realistically, there will always be times when it is going to be half empty.  BUT.... I am ever optimistic that sooner or later it will be full.  

So when I say that I am a "glass half empty" kind of girl, don't judge me and mark me down as a miserable pessimist.   I am a realist.  

I am also extremely grateful that I have a glass. Always be grateful for your glass, whatever the content.  Your glass is a blessing. 

Jilly

Weight loss and pink Crimplene suits.

A follow on from yesterdays post on weight loss.

I am feeling very pleased with myself. First of all, this week I have lost 2 and a half pounds making me now 11st 4.5lbs. That is a total loss of 22.5lbs. Go me! I am halfway there. Hopefully it won't get harder and harder.

Second thing that has made me happy is that I went shopping. LOL, Shopping does not normally make me happy. I hadn't planned to but Simon had errands to do in Peterborough so I went along as well to have a look around. I usually hate shopping and very rarely ever go into the city.

For once this was a good experience. I tried on lots of things and made some purchases. 2 pairs of trousers, one black and one beige and 2 tunic style tops. That was good but the really brilliant thing that put a smile on my face was that they were all a size smaller than normal. Top and bottom, a size smaller. I was grinning like a Cheshire cat when I got in the car to come home.

Lots more hard work to go though so mustn’t get complacent.

Now to change the subject a little I have a question for all you trendy, in fashion, people out there.... What is the deal with all the Crimplene around at the moment?

I am calling it Crimplene because that is what it was called when I was a kid. The labels say polyester now but trust me it is Crimplene and it's still ugly.

Everywhere I went, every single shop, had dresses and skirts in this thick, stiff, textured fabric. Marks and Spencer’s even had a dress in a bright neon pink and white which reminded me exactly of a little Crimplene suit that I was “forced” into wearing to the wedding of one of my Mum's cousins when I was child.

I HATED that suit. I can remember buying it. It came from East Ham market. Wendy, at the time, I remember Roger working there. Not on the children’s clothes stall though! Have I remembered that right? For some reason my memory says he worked on an electrical stall on the corner. Might just be dreaming it all of course, you’ll have to let me know.

Ooops, got a bit side tracked there!

I was supposed to be getting something nice to compensate for the fact that my sister was a bridesmaid and I wasn't. I got this revolting, white and pink Crimplene suit. A pleated skirt and jacket. I will have to try and find a photo of it but not now as I am writing this in bed and it is very late.

I cannot believe that such a horrid, ugly fabric is apparently back in fashion. If you ever see me wearing it, just shoot me.

Night, night.

Jilly

FAT.

How did we get so fat? How did I get so fat? Yeah, I'm using the “Fat” word. I don't like it much either but it is the no excuses, truth. Over the years I have heard people use all kinds of excuses. One of the best is “I’m not fat, I'm just big boned” Well actually I'm small boned so can't get away with that one. I know this because my wrists are little, my ankles are little, my pelvis is little, you would know that too if you could only see my pelvic bones! They are currently well hidden.

Actually, I have medical evidence that my pelvis is small as it was measured when I was expecting my first baby. They feared that he may get stuck. In the event it was a difficult birth but not because of a small pelvis. At least I don’t think so. I did go on to deliver my 4^th baby, a 9 pounder, quickly and easily at home, small pelvis not withstanding.

Anyway, I was thinking about this yesterday and wondering just how I got to be fat. You know a lot of jobs don't help. I worked for years in an office. Very sedentary, sitting on my bum. Then I had the children and that is pretty good, you do a fair bit of chasing around.

After the children, I did what a lot of women do and worked in a shop. Now you would think that might help, after all you are on your feet all day. However, you are mostly just standing. Standing upright without movement doesn't help. Not to mention there are tea breaks where you reward yourself for this crappy work with a chocolate bar or 3. At least I did.

Now, I am at home. I have been at home for quite some years now. I do the housework in the mornings and yeah, I guess it burns a few calories but not as many as you might think. Then I sit. I sew, read, do internet stuff, knit, family history research, run an Etsy shop, sew some more. Do you see a pattern? They are all things which you do sitting on that fat bum.

Back in the middle of January this year. I took a strange fit in my head to stand on my bathroom scales. Hadn’t done that in goodness knows how long. I had the shock of my life. I am totally embarrassed to tell you the needle pointed to 12st 13lbs. I wasn't aware that I was that heavy.

Don't misunderstand that last sentence. I know I am overweight, yes even fat, but I just didn’t know it was that bad. I'm not one of those women that looks in the mirror and hates myself. I don’t scrub up too bad (at least I don't think so) and whilst I may look bigger than I should, I have never thought I look huge. Maybe I am just wearing rose tinted glasses.

My knees play up from time to time and I am very well aware that my weight is an issue in that respect.

Going back to that day in January, to say I was shocked is an understatement. The heaviest I have ever known myself to be is about 11 and a half stone. 12st 13lbs was hard to even compute. Brain was saying “NOOOOOOOO”!

Once the shock had registered I knew that it was finally time to take myself in hand and get serious. I decided there and then that I would get this sorted and when I set my mind to something, I follow it through. Ask Simon!

Since then, 11 weeks ago to be precise, I have lost nearly 1 and a half stone. I now weigh 11st 7lbs. Still a long way to go but I am rather pleased with myself. So how did I do it? Well I don't have any big revelations for you. There is no secret here. I have always known how to do it and so do you. You eat less and move more. Simple.

So am I on a diet? No. I don't believe in diets. Certainly not fads. I am eating less which means, I am watching portion sizes and I am making much more careful choices about what goes in my mouth. Portion sizes are a biggy. (No pun intended). It is very easy to pile a plate high and to tuck in. Do you know what a portion should look like? It is way, way smaller, than you are currently eating. I guarantee it. I'm not going to educate you here, if you want to know, look it up. You'll be surprised.

So, I am eating (and drinking) what I want. Smaller portions yes, but nothing is restricted as it would be on a diet. I still have my glass of red stuff on a Friday evening and if we go out, I may have a couple of glasses of red stuff. A piece of cake at the grandsons birthday party? No problem. I am not missing out on that! The difference is that it is now a small slither of cake rather than a chunk. Enough to enjoy and savour without feeling bloated.

I have an App where I log my food and it counts the calories for me. This isn’t as arduous as it sounds as it has a database and with each item logged it gets easier and easier as regular foods are already there and just one click. The App syncs with my Fitbit so over the day it is constantly assessing the amount I have eaten and the amount I have burnt. More on that later.

Now to the second part of successfully loosing weight. Moving more. Yes, you do have to move. Properly move. Remember that simply standing upright, whilst it might burn a few calories, doesn't really count. I have never been a person who is into sports or exercise. Jumping around to some fast beat, modern music in a room full of lots of sweaty women is never going to be for me. I mean why, would you put yourself through that?

So, how do you get more exercise then? Well for me, it has been walking. Yes, simple as that. Walking. Every hour, I make sure that I take time out and I walk. I don't "go" for a walk, I just walk here at home. It's easy. Walk around the house and up and down the garden. I also do a You Tube, “walk at home” video once a day. Sometimes twice. In 15 minutes you can walk a mile in your own living room! It might not work for you but it does for me. **

I walk Beanie twice a day. This is something I haven't had for years as our poor old doggies were not able to walk. Loulou didn't even go more than half way up the garden by the end.

Something else that has worked for me is the purchase of my Fitbit Charge. It is one of those new fangled fitness watch thingys that you wear on your wrist. I LOVE it.

Yes they are expensive and yes I know you can get free Apps that do pretty much the same thing. But this works for me and what price on your health? The free Apps rely on you carrying your mobile (cell) on you at all times. Well I don't. The Fitbit is there because it is on my wrist like a watch. (It tells the time too). I like the convenience of just a quick glance at my wrist to see how I am doing. Don't have to faff around getting a phone out.

The Fitbit Charge, measures, steps, distance, calories burned, stairs climbed and sleep. I have found that it really motivates me. They say (Just who are they?) that for health alone we should all be walking 10,000 steps a day. When I got my Fitbit and wore it for the first day, I did nothing extra as I wanted to see what a normal day was for me. Another shocker......3,300. Not good.

I have built that up over the last few months and it is now very rare that I don't get my 10,000 steps. Mostly I am more than that. I think my daily average is around 12,000.

The thing that really helps me is what I touched on earlier, the way the Fitbit constantly monitors energy burned against energy intake. So, when you get your Fitbit, assuming you want to lose weight, you tell it what you weigh now, what your target weight is and what intensity you want to work at. So kind of how quickly you want to lose weight.

I am on the moderate intensity which assumes a weight loss of a maximum amount of 2lbs per week. The Fitbit has worked out that on the moderate intensity plan that means I need a deficit of around 500 calories per day. IE, I need to burn 500 more calories of energy per day than I am taking in.

Now for the bit that I like....... Over the day I log what I have eaten. (calories / energy in), the Fitbit is constantly measuring my energy burned. (calories used). It then readjusts throughout the day to try to keep me on track for that 500 difference. So in just a quick glance at my wrist I know if I need to move more or eat less!

Basically if you start the day with let's say 1200 calories and as the day progresses you are sitting around doing nothing you will see that calorie allowance drop. However, if by let's say lunch time, you have already walked the equivalent of 3 miles then that 1200 allowance will have increased. The Fitbit gets better at knowing how many calories to give you each day the more you use it; as it looks at previous days energy burned and energy in to predict the current day.

For me, this is a great help because I can see at a glance how I am doing. If I know we are going out in the evening and I know, that I will be eating more than normal, then I make sure that I get more walking done until I can see that I have enough calories left to cover it and yet still be within that magic 500 difference.

OK, I think I have gone on long enough. Just wanted to let you all know that I am pleased with the way things are going so far. I appreciate that we all have different ways of doing things and this is mine. It is working for me so far.

Remember if you need to lose weight there is no magic formula. You simply eat less and move more. Energy intake versus energy output.

Forgot to say that the Fitbit App also allows you to measure other exercise types such as swimming, yoga etc...

I definitely love the motivation that my Fitbit has given me. In answer to a question I was asked recently.....No, I do not have shares in the company. Kind of wish that I did.

** If you want to walk a mile at home try this. She also has lots of other videos and there are a gazillion more to be found on YouTube.

http://tinyurl.com/o4q94tm

Jilly