Frump to Fab 2019 - Here We Go Again

Wednesday2000

This morning I used my body mitt and then used up the last of my facial oil as body oil and then had a bath with lavender oil and sea salt.

I need to go and clean the bath later in case it is slippery in there now.:D

I saw the Garnier Organic Argan Moisturiser was on sale so I bought that to try. I remembered finally to put my eye cream in the fridge as it is supposed to be better to put it on when it is cool.

My husband is still on nights so I found myself looking on YouTube as usual in the early hours of the morning. Saw another tutorial on applying makeup for over 35s. Her name is Molly from GirlGetGlamorous if anyone is interested.

lessonlearned wrote: »

They are all very keen to be really fluent in English and they are always fascinated by our sayings .......tonight's new words were "loo" and a discussion about other words such as toilet, bathroom, lavatory and a few less polite ones

I am on a forum with mainly Americans and they had no idea what loo meant either.

I have tried to explain cockney rhyming slang a few times to them too but I don't think they quite understand!:rotfl:

lessonlearned wrote: »

The plan now is to build on these foundations......continue to say "yes" to life and to adventure. It's what he would want for me.

:T

maman wrote: »

Another pottering day today. I took a bag to the CS yesterday so hopefully I can fill another today. It's really therapeutic.:)

I am in decluttering mode too at the moment.:)

savingfortomorrow

I had a massive deep clean up the house. I cleaned and washed all day. Listened to podcasts as cleaning today. It makes it go faster if I'm interested in the podcast.

My hair recent has been very fragile. I wet the hair and put on the Philip Kingsley elastister. I put a shower hat on and left on for hours. I only went out to the back garden and hopefully my hair will benefit from the treatment.

I thought that the medicine supply had improved a great deal. The usual suspects are short but less random shortages. It might be worthwhile seeing if you can get the prescription privately and buy six months. A lot of medicine are cheaper than the NHS charges but make sure you are not being overcharged.

maman

I admire your public spirited attitude humpty but today I'm in despair of the political situation. I woke up this morning to a feature on the radio about a government funded academy that small businesses can attend to learn how to fill in customs forms for export to Europe. Apparently the minimum course is a week and that's just to learn the basic jargon! I think Boris will find the money to make grand gestures to impress his hard core voters and prise them away from Mr Farage. You might be lucky with an NHS issue as I remember the 'Dementia Tax' cost the government dearly at the ballot box. I think what gets to me most is how people can be taken in by the political equivalent of snake oil salesmen or kissing babies.:(

Plumber is back after a peaceful weekend. Bathroom should all be finished this week. Last week was mostly preparation which tends to be a lot of mess with little to show for it. This week progress will be more measurable as the fittings start to go in.

I really need to try and dig myself out of this gloomy mood. Hopefully I'll be going dancing tonight and that usually cheers me up.:D

Wednesday2000

I hope that Boris and co will just do something to sort out Brexit. I voted remain but i am getting bored to tears with hearing about it. Other countries are outside the EU and seem to cope so why shouldn't we.

savingfortomorrow wrote: »

My hair recent has been very fragile. I wet the hair and put on the Philip Kingsley elastister. I put a shower hat on and left on for hours. I only went out to the back garden and hopefully my hair will benefit from the treatment.

I should do that. I'm lazy and don't wet my hair when I do treatments. I do like that new Maui Moisture conditioner so I might do that tomorrow. I don't have a shower hat so I will just wrap a hand towel around my hair.:)

i like that Garnier moisturiser too. Good as it is budget-friendly.

lessonlearned

Good morning lovely ladies.

Sitting here sipping my coffee in my sunny bay window, blue skies ......glorious.

Brexit?? Schmexit.

Whatever happens life will go on and so will we.

I know some of you will find that too flippant but the fact remains, however we voted, whatever we feel or believe, life will probably rumble on pretty much as it has always done. Governments come and go, empires crumble and fall, monarchies fizzle out or get overthrown. Whoever is in power matters little in the long run.

Yes there well may be disruptions and shortages but I am often reminded that our parents generation lived through far worse......

How do I manage to remain sanguine .....well I'm often reminded of the words of Mark Twain.

"If voting made a difference, they wouldn't let us do it".

Cynical moi???? I prefer the word realist.:rotfl:

Politics is a dirty business always was and probably always will be. The little persons voice gets drowned out in the cacophony.

What is particularly galling though is the way this issue has so split the nation and the way it has undermined cohesiveness. But then that's the way it always is......."divide and rule".

But what a lot of people seem to forget is that there is a much bigger principle at stake here and that is democracy. We either live in an advanced democracy or we don't. And if we do, then that means sometimes we have to accept that other people vote differently. If the majority vote goes against our personal wishes then we can either accept with good grace or we can look for a different country to live in.

I know someone who feels so strongly that Britain should not have voted to leave that they have sold their U.K. home and decamped to France. Drastic, maybe, but at least they have the courage of their convictions and are following through. So far they are very happy, doing up their wreck, living in a caravan, surrounded by their livestock.......literally having a go at living the Good Life as per Tom and Barbara.

I never saw them that way, especially the wife. She is very glamourous and I could never have envisaged her in wellies mucking out a pig sty. I have to admire them. They have literally put their money where their mouth is. They found the idea of leaving the EU intolerable so they moved to a country that would remain in the EU for as long as the EU exists as a political entity. They are making a good fist of it and seem to have settled, are learning the language and adapting to the French way life. They are not youngsters either.

Looking at it from what Wednesday said ...there are indeed countries outside the EU who not only survive but also thrive. We live in a global economy and whilst we no longer have an empire I'm sure we will thrive will too but......and here's the caveat ........only if we stop the infighting and pull together.

We Brits need to rediscover our pride and love of country. And no I'm not being a "Little Englander". I am heartily sick of hearing people denigrating our great island. I suggest that if people really think we are so hard done by they visit a few countries around the world and take a good hard look. Not just the tourist bits but look at the underbelly and how people really live. Look at their political reality.

I have been to the Amazon as you know. I have also been to China and have travelled the back roads of the US. I have connections with Belgium. You can keep them all. Great for holidays but to live in.....no thank you. Even my mum, who was Belgian, said Britain was far better. She never regretted moving to the U.K.

I also agree with Wednesday in that I too am sick to death of the whole damn thing. It needs to be wrapped up and sooner the better so that businesses can go about their business.

It's time Britain went back to work and it's time that our governments, of whichever colour and persuasion, started addressing issues that have languished on the back burner.

Personally I think we have far greater issues to worry about but I'm not going to dwell on them and ruin a nice sunny morning. .

The reality is few of us get what we want in this world. We are often powerless to change what is happening around us.

However, Whilst we can't control the externals we can control how we react and respond. We can either lie down and give up or we can rise up to meet the challenges that life throws at us. You could drive yourself crazy worrying.......

I know that people are concerned about drug shortages but the reality is there are already problems with supply, even before leaving the EU. It is a global problem because it is a global industry.

Drug companies sell their products to the highest bidder, they get the highest price they can. The NHS either cannot or will not compete with the US or Chinese market. Other countries can pay more so they get first dibs. Illegal? No. Immoral? Yes. Definitely. Big pharma at its best (or rather worst). You only have to look at great swathes of the third world where people are dying, being maimed or going blind from infections that western medicine can easily cure. And don't get me started on lack of water and food.......

But the rather unpalatable truth is drug companies make profits out of sick people. And whilst they will counteract with the argument they need to make profits in order to develop new drugs maybe we should look a little more closely at their accounts. (My husband was a contractor for a certain well known drug company, he saw first hand the profligacy).

Perhaps this is something governments should be addressing although how you could police it in a global free for all remains to be seen.

Ah well. Que Sera and all that.

I'm off out for afternoon tea today. I had a really busy day yesterday, worked my socks off. Time to play today.

maddiemay

Good morning all, sunny and bright after a few very wet and stormy days. I have been totally frump for the past few days, I just completely ran out of steam and crashed, apart from meals and the minimum of personal care I have chilled,napped and read a lot. On the up now I think and have a much quieter week this week:)

Lots of interesting comments on the state of NHS, our lovely country and wider issues, I too have a vested interest in the shortage of medication and read of the awful CF problem, however, rather more recently in my life I learned that it was not conducive to my own health and well being to worry about things that I cannot change, that is not to say that I am not concerned and can be found signing petitions and e-mailing my MP (complete waste of time though all you get is a standard reply which often bears no connection with the point(s) raised:()

So I plod on, trying to be a good neighbour, friend, relative etc and put on a CD, sometimes contemplative such as the beautiful voice of native American Joanne Shenandoah or a bit of noisy and stimulating rock, potter in my garden, make cake:D and watch the birds that visit and eat me out of house and home.

A little gardening now it has dried some and then glam up to visit Ma in the care home.

Hugs and spoons to all, take care. x

lessonlearned

Humpty......it wouldn't surprise me in the least to know that drug companies were destroying drugs .....that is exactly the sort of thing my husband got to hear about.

They do it to keep the profits rolling in. Scarcity keep prices high.

Sadly this practice isn't illegal. It is after all their product, they can do what they want with it, hence my comments about government intervention.

However, given that these companies are global and they are profit driven I can't see how easy this would be to achieve. They would probably simply decamp their operations to countries with fewer restrictive practices.

Good luck with your efforts but I'm afraid I concur with Maddiemay - your email might not even get through to its intended target. But I wish you well. You have given it your best shot.

Maybe a petition might yield better results. I understand you need 100,000 signatures and then your MP has to present it to parliament.

Maddie.....you're right....just enjoy life, be a good person, do what you can, where you can and, for us on this thread, get back on the de-frumping wagon when you feel up to it.

And you're right about the pointlessness of worrying.

I would say that worry changes nothing but in fact it's even worse than that. Wasting effort on worry actually makes things worse because it undermines our health and makes it even harder to deal with life's challenges. Easier said than done of course.

I remind myself of this.........

Yesterday is gone never to return, tomorrow is unforeseen, unpredictable and uncertain but we do have today to enjoy and to celebrate. And if we can make the world a kinder place in our interactions with others then even better.

Life is short, it can also be nasty and brutish if we let it. Or, we can meet the challenges head on, with open minds and brave hearts. We can only play the hand we are dealt, but I believe we can play a good game.

I'm bathed and fragrant. Going to have a nice healthy breakfast, tidy up and then meet a girlfriend for afternoon tea, a nice chat and a few laughs. Then feet up and Downtown Abbey.

I love Maggie Smith, as the feisty old Dowager Duchess. She comes out with some cracking one liners........It's like listening to my darling old Aunty S. how I miss that woman. Often when I'm feeling low or defeated I hear her voice telling me to just pull my socks up and get on with it.....

"There's no such word as can't".......:rotfl:

maman

Feeling much brighter today. I forced myself to go dancing last night and feel all the better for it.:) I was chatting to a couple of other women there who were also extolling the benefits of getting out of the house and their reasons were much better than mine so that gave me a perspective too.:)

I wasn't totally introspective yesterday. I did clear out a couple of cupboards. They didn't yield masses for the CS but the bin did well.:D

It's our 39th Wedding Anniversary today.:) I've had flowers and cards and later we're off out for a meal at a favourite restaurant. I plan to wear my spotty dress again. Today it'll be on £13 per wear which I think is great value for feeling good.

I've pottered about a bit today, arranging my flowers and watering things. Quite the lady of leisure. I might do a bit of light shredding later.;)

lessonlearned

Maman.......happy anniversary :happylove

Couldn't find an icon for a bouquet of flowers. :rotfl:

Have a lovely day.

Wednesday2000

I went to the pharmacist today as I have had an itchy bite on my leg for a few weeks and it occurred to me this morning that it could be ringworm! He said it was so I have to use an antifungal cream for two weeks, not very fab I know.:rotfl:

When I was in there a woman was asking for a prescription and the assistant said it wasn't there as that was one of the meds they have a problem with supplying. She just turned around and walked out. I'm not sure I would have had that reaction if my meds weren't there!:eek:

Anyway, my new earrings arrived today and they are nice. I wore them when I went out earlier.:)

maman wrote: »

It's our 39th Wedding Anniversary today.:) I've had flowers and cards and later we're off out for a meal at a favourite restaurant.

Congrats!:A