Monday, December 30, 2013

Monday the second last day of 2013

Terrible night. Hot one minute cold the next.  The pain was bad, M was snoring. All in all I don't know why I bothered.  I am so tired.

Woke this morning at birdsong and the birds were going berserk which of  course set Lucy off.  Then she sulked because we ignored her and wouldn't let her out to defend the house against a probable cat attack. Life is hard.

My weight is in the very low 60s now.  I found over Christmas that I was continually asked what my secret was. How had I lost so much weight. What kind of diet was I on.

No one really believed my answers because I really didn't sound convincing I know.

I don't diet anymore. I don't really  know what happened earlier this year. It coul have something to do with the doctors changing my medication because of the kidney problems. I don't know.

What I do know is for the first time in my life that I remember when I eat I feel full and I stop eating otherwise I feel ill.

For years I have dieted and made special meals for me.  Now I just eat what M eats but just a smaller quantity and of course I don't eat gluten or dairy but I do substitute when I can.

And finally, exercise didn't make any difference to my actual weight loss but it does make me feel better and hopefully over time will tighten some of the saggy baggy skin. But I think this is just an age thing - my skin has lost all it's elasticity which enabled it to pop back when I was younger. Oh the joys of old age.

A positive over Christmas was J gave me a stylus and I now seem to be able to comment on people's blogs  on my ipad without stuffing everything up. I was typing comments and then losing them and giving up.  I have found I can be more accurate with the stylus.  Also M bought me a shredder ( just what he wanted) but luckily I bought him the Pink DVD. It always evens out doesn't it?
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Went to the gym and had a good workout.  It's been a week since I last went because of  the holidays and different opening hours. It felt good to get back into the routine at the time but the pain is coming back. My left forearm is aching. Probably did too much.

Dinner tonight with the kids was enjoyable as always. M tried to get support for  less vegetables but the kids overruled him. My work is done.

Oh well have taken my extra pain killers and hopefully they will work soon.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and we have friends coming over. A few quiet drinks and an early night I think is planned by all. After all we getting on you know.


Sunday, December 29, 2013

Sunday -a day in the garden

Have woken this morning to the sound of the wind roaring through the trees. The southerly buster has arrived at last.  Lucy must have gotten cold because she is snuggled in beside me.

The nauseous feeling is still here but not as bad as before. Breakfast should take care of that I think.

An easy day ahead. I have to water the rose garden this morning to give it time to dry out during the day so to keep the black spot down. The plants at the back will also need watering and I have to start thinking about the design for the watering system plus fixing the existing ones. I stopped using them in the drought years so there is a fair bit of maintenance needed before they are up and running. Looks like a trip to Bunnings is coming up again.

And just a general tidy up of the garden in between watching the cricket.

If the wind drops Lucy and I will walk again. She doesn't like the wind much but if I think she should go she will humour me.  It makes her skittish and there is more of a chance that she will trip me but the exercise is good for us.

I find a day in the garden so uplifting. I may have to take rests but ultimately just being outside makes me feel better.

I trimmed and weeded all gardens today. Probably doesn't look all that different but I know it is. A couple of wind related things happened today.

1.  A pot, a big long pot, with large lillipillies in in got blown down from the top level of the plant stands M built last summer. I don't know how it didnet damage the plants on the lower two levels but other than top dressing them more soil nothing else was damaged.  We repotted the lillipillies and left them on the ground until the wind dropped. Because they couldn't fall any further.

2.  A large branch came down from the turpentine tree out the front. M joked that he had sawed it half way through and was supposed to get me. Oh well, missed again. He might have better luck next time.

We won the fourth test against England today in Melbourne.   Now have to wait until early January for the last test in Sydney.

Tomorrow is pretty mundane things. The gym, pathologist and ironing. Oh and the kids are coming home as usual for Monday night baked dinner. I can't wait.

Have a good night everyone and sleep well.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Saturday - the last one of 2013

Today doesn't feel like Saturday. It's all these public holidays. But M has gone off to golf so it must be Saturday.

Once again awoke feeling nauseated. It is a bit like morning sickness if I remember. I just want to lie in bed but eventually I dragged myself out of bed, put on my walking gear and Lucy and I set off into the mid morning.

Saw the usual cast of people I see in the mornings. Did my weed mantra and saw a different one which I think is a moth vine but it is in flower so I will hit the books later and try and pin it down. (Yes it was.)

Lucy and I were visited by the wrens - beautiful blue wrens and the slightly drab but nevertheless cute Jenny wrens. They seem to becoming more bold with us and we are seeing them more and more. They move like greased lightening but we know they are there in the thickets of lantana and privet (weeds do serve a purpose) because we can hear them.

We haven't seen the finches with red beaks again though.

One disturbing thing was at the local preschool which borders our park, the local idiots got in last night and moved some of the play furniture into the park. Hopefully nothing was broken. Probably under aged drinkers as there was broken bottles and rubbish there that wasn't there last night. I rang the police when I got home as I thought they would have the number of the owners of the preschool. I just don't understand this kind of senseless destruction.

Anyway am feeling better now, stomach a bit queasy still but better. Time for shower  and then cleaning and start to take down the Christmas decorations.

A typical Saturday for me. Back later I hope.

Nearly 2 pm and I am not feeling all that well. Have sort of done half  the house and am now sitting on the front verandah sipping peppermint tea and hoping it will settle my tummy.

Have swept and watered all the pot plants out here and have been rewarded by a beautiful black and white butterfly flitting around. I think it was an Orchard Butterfly.  The breeze is cool here and the cicadas are drumming along beautifully. I keep getting buzzed by a large orange and black beetle, maybe a rose chafer.  Lucy and I had to have a serious talk about the sanctity of life when it somehow ended up on its back a couple of metres from her. She was very interested in it but stopped when told to and I was able to turn it over and off it flew.  It was just in a life and death struggle with a spider but managed to get away. I wouldn't have interfered because that is just nature. I don't think it is a very smart beetle.

A small plant keeps appearing in the garden and it looks like wandering jew. I have been trying to eradicate it because Lucy is violently allergic to wandering Jew (the rash and discomfit she suffers has to be seen to be believed) but I have just checked my books and it might actually be a native called basket grass. Not that it matters because it is something growing where it shouldn't so it has to go but it sure is tenacious.

Oh well, I have to finish cleaning  - bedrooms and bathrooms to go. Stomach does feel a bit settled, maybe the peppermint tea did help.

Didn't last long. Lunch took care of that feeling of wellness but I finished the house and then slept most of the afternoon alternating with reading and listening to the cricket.

Time for bed really now. Hope tomorrow is better because I am planning more time in the garden.

Good night.

Friday, December 27, 2013

A new urge

The urge to blog has returned. A little bit.

Life has been trundling on as usual.

About 8 years ago this started as a weight blog.  Moved on since then with occasional revisits to the weight issue but it hasn't been an issue for months now.

Dragging myself to work 5 days a week has taken up a lot of my energy.  Whoever would have thought that going to work in a place I adore with nice people could become such a chore but it has. By Thursday night I am so exhausted. But anyway I am now on 5 weeks holiday and sleeping like a log.

Ate some wrong (for me) things at Christmas and paid the price on Boxing Day and to a lesser extent today. Will I never learn.

Want to spend my days in the garden and have become slightly obsessed with naming weeds that Lucy and I see on our walks.  Have brought home every weed identification book I could find at work.  So far so good. Now just have to remember their names. They have become my mantra as we walk.

Am reading a wonderful book by a man called Thomas Ryan called "Following Atticus" about a small dog who has changed his life and become his mountain climbing companion. Although I find myself reading through tears quite a lot it is an uplifting story.  He is also on Facebook and he has a blog. Not to forget his adoption of Will another minature schnauzer. He was 15 years old, partially blind, completely deaf with many health problems when he was rescued from a kill shelter and came into Tom and Atticus's life. Another great story.

Time for bed. I find typing on the ipad difficult but this is the only chance I have had today.
Good night.