make do and mend for tougher times

fuddle

Want a buddy Evie? Me too, one week of no school runs and I feel the podge. I'll be back to a size 16 in no time I think. I can't walk fast walking the dog as I have the sproglets in tow.

The only way to beat it is smaller portions and less biscuit dunking.

sammy_kaye18

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

Hi Elche, welcome ! - 1 cup flour is 150g/5oz, and a cup of water is 250ml/approx half a pint. Hope the bread works for you as well as it does for Fuddle!

We will need a ladder for now until we can get steps made, HOORAY I can finally get some chickens, so will be asking a lot of chicken related questions .

Oh Mrs Chips ~ thanks fro clarifying how much a cup is - I have a nice recipe but in cups so had no idea how much to use so now I can make it - cranberry and white chocolate cookies - nomnomnom

Also where in the world are you? Just curious because if you are near Cheshire ~ I know a certain relative of mine has some little chooks on the way who he is looking for happy loving homes for.

prepareathome

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

HOORAY I can finally get some chickens, so will be asking a lot of chicken related questions .

Oh am soooooooo jealous can't see me ever getting them here ( no doubt be something in the conservation rules, although postman 5 doors down has racing pigeon, his garden is just filled with sheds for them and good birds they are to never bother us at all and lovely to watch them all fly round and round together when he is training them).

My hope/dream is when these hedges eventually grow and so garden is hidden I can maybe hide away some chickens either by turning whole back garden into a chicken run - its that small or by using a corner of the side garden ( its that big)

There is a thread on here called Lets keep chickens which I subscribe to and avidly read and droll over.........

Great to hear some good news........

Now can anyone give me a kick, pain I admit is all over and getting me down so back tucked up in bed and feeling sorry for myself, now I know if I move around a bit the stiffness at least will ease but its to painful to start ( well I could start but giving into myself as flare been badish all week and worse since yesterday). I did get downstairs and made a cup for me and hubby ( he woke up but has now gone back to sleep again) opened my parcels ( lightsticks, some in date water purification tabs - mine had gone past date and not sure how effective they would be if needed - and some more waterproof matches) contents now all safely stored in the emergency box and I put the tumble drier on as it keeps raining (hubby had taken washing out of washer this morning while waiting for his breakfast to heat up and put in in tumbly as he usually does and that is all I have done today and its gone 4pm:mad:

Also got a letter from doctors - I forgot I was to have my smear on Thursday morning ( was in bed then with migraine and not looked at my phone for days so alert on it to remind me not seen - so much for me using it to be my memory), nice letter no moaning at me and just saying make a new appointment..........

Brother up in Glasgow sent me some letters and photos he had found among stuff he took from dads when clearing out and they have made me cry as included are two letters dad wrote to me but never sent ( ones basically to be read after he had gone). One from 2009 and other one from 1996 both telling me how much he loved me no matter that we were at loggerheads so much and how proud he was of me and mentions all the times we spent together as I used to help him with his work when I was a teenager and he had hoped I would follow in his footsteps, but electronics never really interested me although I did a year of Electronic Engineering at Uni to see if it would grow on me but sadly it didn't and I was only one who had any interest in science of any type.

Dad and I were often arguing - I guess we were to similar and so we spent a lot of time not talking, and the worst was when we had a big blow up in 2007 and he told me he disowned me as I had given him some home truths ( dad never liked to say anything was his fault ) and I said to hubby well I have told dad the truth and if he realises it is true it will most likely give him a heart attack facing it and that was on a Friday and the following Thursday dad did have a heart attack, he had never had any heart problems. Scared the life out of me as I thought I had killed him but he called me as soon as he was able and for first time in his life told me he knew I was right and he was the parent not me and he should not have spent all those years blaming me for his mistakes and although we still had our ups and downs things were so much better and my name was the last word he spoke.

There were also a couple of photos of me and my dad I had never seen from when I was a baby, don't have many photos of dad and I usually when young they were with mum or on my own, plus one of mum, dad, me and my older two when I was expecting our daughter who died - that was special as mum and dad once they divorced only ever usually were in same country if it was a big family occasion but this was a visit he made down here and mum came up as well and it was a happy day. I was a different person then as the loss of my daughters twin at 5 months ( miscarried I should have put she never was born alive) then her loss at a month old - after birth - changed me forever, its when I became so serious and found laughter something very hard to do.

Its funny yesterday got mailing from Friends Reunited and it had photos in it people had posted and one was of my class at primary school and there were people I had forgotten totally but their names came back as I looked at it, not got any class photos from primary and only one from secondary - parents did buy them but younger brother took all family photos mum had and will not share them ( even though two albums only contain photos of me when I was still only child up to age 3) so lost a lot of my past to him.

Oh gosh rambling again but part of me just now is the little girl who loved her mum and dad, in a way its good as its bringing the child back to me, the child I lost the day my daughter died.

Hugs and Love

Evie74_2

Fuddle - Yes please! I am quite podgy at the best of times (the scales say I am obese) and now the fat jeans are too tight to be comfy I do have to do something! I had a quick look at the weight loss thread on here but haven't introduced myself yet.

I have done WW in the past and it has worked for me. A former colleague of mine has lost 6.5st since January with SW though so I am wondering about giving that a go. I don't know much about it and I need to do some research first (will be doing that in a minute I think) to see whether they have an online option as I would struggle to get to classes. I know that WW can be done online.

In my head, I can be rational and see that I am making all the wrong choices food wise and I am not moving my 'arris enough to compensate for it, so it's little surprise that I'm so big. But for some reason rational thought goes straight out of the window when I am faced with cake. Or biscuits. Or sweeties (Mardatha, you are most definitely not alone!). Or bread. Or ice cream. Or just about anything actually.

Evie xx

Evie74_2

Huge (((hugs))) to you PAH - for the little girl you lost and the little girl you once were, and the lovely lady that you grew up to be. How wonderful to have those letters from your dad and some old photos to look through - it must be hard in some ways to look through them but I hope they did bring you some happy memories.

Evie xx

fuddle

WW does work and online is fab as it has calculators you need to succeed. I lost the stone I needed but had to stop using it as needed to use the money it was eating up. As soon as I stopped I put the weight back on.

I'm going to use the free http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ and count calories. It's our wedding anniversary today though and about to have a fish and chip treat supper so I think I'll be starting tomorrow

The OS weightloss thread is fantastic but I'm scared to go back on as they all warned me not to go to weight watchers as I was doing ok on my own. They predicted what would happen and it did feel a bit red faced popping back on now.:(

Evie74 wrote: »

Fuddle - Yes please! I am quite podgy at the best of times (the scales say I am obese) and now the fat jeans are too tight to be comfy I do have to do something! I had a quick look at the weight loss thread on here but haven't introduced myself yet.

I have done WW in the past and it has worked for me. A former colleague of mine has lost 6.5st since January with SW though so I am wondering about giving that a go. I don't know much about it and I need to do some research first (will be doing that in a minute I think) to see whether they have an online option as I would struggle to get to classes. I know that WW can be done online.

In my head, I can be rational and see that I am making all the wrong choices food wise and I am not moving my 'arris enough to compensate for it, so it's little surprise that I'm so big. But for some reason rational thought goes straight out of the window when I am faced with cake. Or biscuits. Or sweeties (Mardatha, you are most definitely not alone!). Or bread. Or ice cream. Or just about anything actually.

Evie xx

Molly41

fuddle wrote: »

The OS weightloss thread is fantastic but I'm scared to go back on as they all warned me not to go to weight watchers as I was doing ok on my own. They predicted what would happen and it did feel a bit red faced popping back on now.:(

Never in a million years would we feel smug about losing weight and then gaining it. We are all fighting that battle so please come back and join us as we are a very friendly bunch x

Everyone is welcome :T

Evie74_2

Happy wedding anniversary Fuddle! Enjoy your celebratory supper :j
I know WW works, but I really have to be "in the zone" to make the most of it. I can't make it to meetings so online is really my best option. I am quite tempted by SW for a change though.

Molly - I shall come and dip my toes into the weight loss thread in a minute!

Evie xx

prepareathome

fuddle wrote: »

WW does work and online is fab as it has calculators you need to succeed. I lost the stone I needed but had to stop using it as needed to use the money it was eating up. As soon as I stopped I put the weight back on.

I'm going to use the free http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ and count calories. It's our wedding anniversary today though and about to have a fish and chip treat supper so I think I'll be starting tomorrow

The OS weightloss thread is fantastic but I'm scared to go back on as they all warned me not to go to weight watchers as I was doing ok on my own. They predicted what would happen and it did feel a bit red faced popping back on now.:(

Thanks for the link. I cannot afford SW - although used them a few years ago and it worked, rejoined in Jan but only went for a few weeks as just never up to it but have all the books so with them and that site going to make a start again.:T

alltrustgone

Hi all

Bit of a lurker, but I have some info that could be of use for Westcoastscot re the Post Office changes.

Westcoastscot, if the new setup you are concerned about is called Post Office Local, we’ve had this here for a while.

I’d read your earlier comments, and have just asked about them in my village post office, now housed in a local convenience supermarket - at a dedicated station at the shop counter - to see if there are more changes afoot.

I was told that they are one of the branches trialling PO Local, and she knew of no other changes apart from rolling-out Local .

She told me that they do take in parcels/packages, both personal and business, for uk and overseas delivery, quite a lot in this branch. There is a size/weight limit, but she said it’s quite a big size (arm waving ensued rather than specific dimensions!, 18” maybe). She also said their services keep being added to.

She gave me the leaflet on ”Local”, which lists these available products and services:

Mail: first/second class mail; stamps, postage labels; recorded delivery and special delivery service; home shopping returns. This section also lists “Inland Parcel Services only” (not at all clear what that actually means – can’t send something to/from an island ! ??? ).

Royal Mail International Standard/Priority: printed paper and small packets to 5kg; International signed for; Airsure.

However, notes at bottom of leaflet say; Parcelforce Worldwide International items not accepted. Notes also say they don’t take cheques as payment, nor accept transcash bills.

The leaflet also lists; Government services, eg benefit payments, card account withdrawals; financial services like personal and business banking cash withdraws/deposits via chip pin, postal orders; bill payment, examples are key recharging, electronic and swipecard bill payments (I’ve just paid utility bills there); phone e top-ups and vouchers: pre-order travel money.

One slightly useful thing here is that the PO counter is open when the store is, which means approx. 7 am till 9pm Mon-Sat, and also on Sundays. Shop staff have been PO trained, although one came from the old fuller service village post office, so presumably is more experienced re the differences.

I’d be happy to send the leaflet on to you if you wish. I could also check specifics with the more experienced PO lady, if it helps. Let me know.

Just found this website which has similar info to the leaflet, but is less specific about international packets, and without the notes: http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/policy-research/post/background-briefings/post-office-local.

All these changes going on cause so much worry. Wonder if that’s taken into account in D Cameron’s happiness index - a Brian Rix farce with added spite.


ATG