Keeping up appearances.......

Honey_Bear

Thanks for that, Happy. I was getting concerned thinking your shoulders were soggy from supporting someone having permanent vapours plus some other catastrophe involving either horses or husband. Soggy hooves and lack of in'er't access is an acceptable excuse, I suppose. Very exciting thinking that by Christmas you'll be properly connected - with no excuse for not posting every day. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Dolphin1 wrote: »

I agree, November is a depressing month despite it being my birthday month but apparently I'm not allowed to move my birthday to the summer .

I would. It's the obvious solution; very bright of you to think of it.

Thank you for suggesting getting tested, but from what I can understand about Coeliac Disease one of the major symptoms is that it affects the digestive system. Mine is absolutely fine and since I gave up the booze it's never been better. No cramps, no issues whatsoever, firing very healthily on all cylinders.

Reading around the subject I'm beginning to think that what ails me is simply a huge over reliance on high gluten wheat which has been developed by the agric and food industries to the point that it's hardly got any relationship with the grassy thing it was a century ago.

Thinking about energy levels my mother may have had the same thing and it would explain a great deal. Essentially, there's nothing wrong with me, it's just that I eat wheaty things definitely three and often four or five times a day every day, and have been doing so for years. Basically, it's overloaded my system and thanks to Happy's diary challenge I now know that after years of struggling with it, while blaming it on booze.

Hmm. Maybe I can take up drinking again. Actually - no. Boozeless is so much better and I never, ever thought I'd be able to say that!

Honey_Bear

• No computer after 9.00 pm and light out by 11.30 pm; Better.
• 5 fruit and veg a day; Last night I invented a risotto with mixed frozen veg (foul stuff, it tastes of nothing) and baked a couple of whoopsied yellow peppers with tomoatoes a la Delia. If I hadn't it would have been completely f&v free. Really struggling with this, but that's November for you.
• Keep a careful record of floury stuff eaten so that if I get a reaction I can work out what's making it happen; Tick. Moodiness, apparently, is one of the symptoms of gluten overload, to which OH can testify.
  
• Electric toothbrush once a day at least; 'Yes no but no,' as my grandmother used to say.
  
• Write all Christmas cards and do all the obvious Christmas shopping by 30 November so December is just the fun stuff. Today's job - to prune the Friends list.
  
• Clear the filing tray and the in tray by the end of the month. Because I've been feeling so much better I've been ignoring my desk for weeks and it's all bit chaotic. In Tray scraps of paper reduced to a 47 point list and I've started working through the quickest most obvious things, some of which won't need to be tackled until next year. At least the In Tray is now less than an inch high. It makes me feel better that way even if I haven't actually done all of those niggling things. I should add 'Sort the filing cabinet' really because that where all the files (including all the outstanding stuff) have gone. Meh. January will be soon enough.
  

Dolphin1

HappyNow wrote: »

*strolls nonchalantly in, hands in pockets, reads how well everyone else is doing, blushes to deep crimson*

Hello, I am here! We have had storms and floods over the last week or so and although the house has stood up to it, the stables and internet have not. One horse has been ankle deep in water after every rainstorm and we've been using snow shovels every few hours to try and make it fit for her to stay in at night, poor thing. She's fine - we found it more worrying than she did!

Because we're in the middle of nowhere we can only get mobile internet - provided by a mast which is also in the middle of nowhere at the top of a tall, wet, windy hill. Grrr. It seems OK again now but we've been without connection on and off for days, meaning I've had to work from the office rather than home, meaning I couldn't be home to shovel water from the stables. Manic.

The good news is that a local company are attempting to relay fast broadband from rural property to rural property around here, so us country mice might finally get a good connection. It's been going on in the background for months, and it looks like it could be sorted by Christmas. So exciting (although I am in a two year mobile contract costing £15.99 per month, so I'll end up paying for both, but it will be worth it).

Loads more to say but I have to get to work - just wanted to drop in and say all is well! Back later x

I wondered if you would be having problems with flooding. It has been horrendous here but thankfully it hasn't directly affected us with the exception of cancelled trains but that's nothing compared to what other people are going through. Very glad your house wasn't affected and hope you get the stable dried out soon although I know we are expecting more rain yet but hopefully not as bad.

Take care.

Dolphin1

Honey_Bear wrote: »

Thank you for suggesting getting tested, but from what I can understand about Coeliac Disease one of the major symptoms is that it affects the digestive system. Mine is absolutely fine and since I gave up the booze it's never been better. No cramps, no issues whatsoever, firing very healthily on all cylinders.

Fair enough but please keep it in mind if you do start having digestive problems because I definitely had other symptoms for well over a year (several vitamin deficiencies caused by malabsorption) before the digestive problems started and it made me feel rubbish.

Honey_Bear

That's something that I didn't know at all, Dolphin, so thank you. I'll bear it in mind and if anything untoward develops I'll get myself tested.

• No computer after 9.00 pm and light out by 11.30 pm; Spent the better part of half an hour deleting emails after 9.00pm (bad Honey Bear) and then found myself reading on and turning the light out at 12.30 because I was so caught up in the book. Whoops.
• 5 fruit and veg a day; Interesting. We decided we wanted ham egg and chips for supper last night and OH stirred himself to do the planning so that we both had our five F&V during the day. That's a first.
• Keep a careful record of floury stuff eaten so that if I get a reaction I can work out what's making it happen; Tick.
  
• Electric toothbrush once a day at least; 'Yes no but yes,' as my grandmother used to say on better days.
  
• Write all Christmas cards and do all the obvious Christmas shopping by 30 November so December is just the fun stuff. I found a list on the computer and pruned it and then a paper one in the lost and found file. I'll marry them together today. This is nowhere near as bad a job taking it over the whole month as the feeling that I should have already written them I have for the whole of December. I once posted my Christmas cards on Boxing Day with second class stamps of course, very MSE me, which just goes to show how disorganised I am at heart.
  
• Clear the filing tray and the in tray by the end of the month. Because I've been feeling so much better I've been ignoring my desk for weeks and it's all bit chaotic. The filing tray had incoming yesterday that's still lurking and there are now more than 47 things to do on the list.

Used the @quasorb this morning again and thought grateful thoughts of you, Happy. Marvellous thing and Kelpie loves it.

Dolphin1

Honey_Bear wrote: »

Write all Christmas cards and do all the obvious Christmas shopping by 30 November so December is just the fun stuff. I found a list on the computer and pruned it and then a paper one in the lost and found file. I'll marry them together today. This is nowhere near as bad a job taking it over the whole month as the feeling that I should have already written them I have for the whole of December. I once posted my Christmas cards on Boxing Day with second class stamps of course, very MSE me, which just goes to show how disorganised I am at heart.

Posting Christmas cards on Boxing Day! :rotfl:

Thanks for inspiring me to get this done. I made a list yesterday of the people I need to send cards to and I have been in the card shop this morning and bought the cards I need (I needed a few special ones as well as normal ones). I also picked up the money wallets for my nieces and nephews presents. I haven't started writing the cards yet but I'm still ahead of where I was last year.

HappyNow

Honey_Bear wrote: »

Used the @quasorb this morning again and thought grateful thoughts of you, Happy. Marvellous thing and Kelpie loves it.

I got mine out for the first time last week after storing it over summer and it had gone mouldy I gave it a good boil and it looks OK now, but it still smells a bit foisty. Might have to get a new one, it's essential kit in our house.

Dolphin1 wrote: »

Posting Christmas cards on Boxing Day! :rotfl:I think at that point, it would have been best to really MSE it and save them for the next year

Thanks for inspiring me to get this done. I made a list yesterday of the people I need to send cards to and I have been in the card shop this morning and bought the cards I need (I needed a few special ones as well as normal ones). I also picked up the money wallets for my nieces and nephews presents. I haven't started writing the cards yet but I'm still ahead of where I was last year. Hmm. You're both right. I will get organised with this one at the weekend.

Today's update:

• Money. Spent £18 at Tessies, which naughtily included a bar of chocolate and a bottle of wine. I have eaten all the chocolate but only drunk one glass of wine. I also bought some crumpets shaped like Christmas trees. Very poor value at £1 for six small ones, but Little Miss H was coming for tea and she loves crumpets and Christmas and needed cheering up, so worth every penny .
• Healthy eating. See above, whoops! Not a single glass of water has been drunk and only three F & V.
• Me. Nothing to report on the beautifying front, unless cutting my toenails counts. No? Thought not .

I will try harder tomorrow but I'm on a training course and lunch is provided. There will be cake. I will try to be sensible.

Honey_Bear

So, that's it decided then. I should have saved the Christmas cards for the following Christmas. It did occur to me at the time but there you go, lesson learned. I'll remember that I have strict instructions from Happy and Dolphin if (or rather, when) the situation occurs again.

HappyNow wrote: »

I got mine out for the first time last week after storing it over summer and it had gone mouldy I gave it a good boil and it looks OK now, but it still smells a bit foisty. Might have to get a new one, it's essential kit in our house.

I do think storing it damp is a bit of a risky thing to do but that's what the instructions say so I've followed them. It has to be used fairly reguarly here regardless of the season because it's Devon but I make sure it gets a proper rinse every time I use it. I hope your foistieness clears up.

Today's update:

• Money. Spent £18 at Tessies, which naughtily included a bar of chocolate and a bottle of wine. I have eaten all the chocolate but only drunk one glass of wine. I also bought some crumpets shaped like Christmas trees. Very poor value at £1 for six small ones, but Little Miss H was coming for tea and she loves crumpets and Christmas and needed cheering up, so worth every penny .

Good. I honestly think that being over strict with ourselves and never allowing ourselves treats is a bad idea. Besides which, if I have chocolate in the house it only lasts as long as I've forgotten where I hid it. Very abstemious on the wine front so all is not lost and Miss H's welfare is paramount.

• Healthy eating. See above, whoops! Not a single glass of water has been drunk and only three F & V.

Chocolate should count, obvs, as it's a plant so I think you'll find you're doing rather better than you thought.

• Me. Nothing to report on the beautifying front, unless cutting my toenails counts. No? Thought not .

Ah, now, you see, you're too hard on yourself. Cutting toenails definitely counts. I hate, hate, hate doing it. I don't do new years resolutions but for the last couple of years I've set myself a few goalie type things I want to get into the habit of doing (very much like mine on this thread, but they're year long) and each month I make myself check my progress. Cutting my finger nails twice a month is one of them for me this year, and I should be cutting and varnishing my toenails as well as I wear toepost sandals around the house and it makes my feet look much better. So, if cutting toenails is on my list, it should count on yours, too. Pat yourself on the back.



I will try harder tomorrow but I'm on a training course and lunch is provided. There will be cake. I will try to be sensible.

Does being sensible include loading all the leftovers into your car at the end of the day to ensure they don't go to waste? Isn't that why people say they keep chickens?

Honey_Bear

• No computer after 9.00 pm and light out by 11.30 pm; Back on track.
• 5 fruit and veg a day; Thank goodness for dried fruit.
• Keep a careful record of floury stuff eaten so that if I get a reaction I can work out what's making it happen; Tick.
  
• Electric toothbrush once a day at least; 'Yes no but no,' as my grandmother used to say.
  
• Write all Christmas cards and do all the obvious Christmas shopping by 30 November so December is just the fun stuff. I've put all the lists in the same place. That's progress, isn't it?
  
• Clear the filing tray and the in tray by the end of the month. Because I've been feeling so much better I've been ignoring my desk for weeks and it's all bit chaotic. Slippage.

Dolphin1

Honey_Bear wrote: »

Write all Christmas cards and do all the obvious Christmas shopping by 30 November so December is just the fun stuff. I've put all the lists in the same place. That's progress, isn't it?

Mrs Honey Bear, thank you for setting this target and inspiring me, all of my Christmas cards have been purchased and written and they are all ready to go :j.