Frump to Fab 2024

Makingabobor2

FreetodoasIlike said:

@thepurplepixie. How did your visit to the Palace go? It was quite hot here yesterday (in the north of England) which didn’t suit me, so I hope you were cool. Did you manage to sort out your rail travel issues in the end?

Ooh yes @thepurplepixie, I thought of you when I saw some news footage of the King & Queen at the garden party the other day. Hope you enjoyed it

thepurplepixie

Had a great time, it was brilliant and I'm so thrilled he invited me.  I have to dash out with DH, he's been alone for 2 days but I promise to do a proper update tomorrow.

thepurplepixie

Update on my visit to Buckingham Palace.  We went to London on Thursday, bit worried about trains and the two previous London trains were cancelled but ours was bang on time.  I expected it to be crowded due to the cancellations but was surprised to find it was half empty.

We stayed in a Premier Inn, it was nice, very quiet, clean, lovely staff and had a great meal on one of their meal deals.  Spent the afternoon and early evening sightseeing as GS doesn't know London and has only been once about 10 years ago.  

Friday the sun is shining, we do a bit more sightseeing have some lunch and off we go.  Go through the first gate, show our tickets and are waved through, get to second gate where it is security checking.  Police and palace staff all very friendly and so we are in!

The garden had various things going on, the West Terrace for speeches but also 3 satellite stages where interesting people were giving talks, GS was thrilled to hear a famous Welsh Rugby player, most capped rugby player but I can't remember his name, there was a couple from Strictly, a disabled adventurer, a blind media woman and a couple more.  We didn't manage to hear them all.

There were games set out in the garden, connect 4/bean bag games etc, props for photos like giant deckchairs and 3d dofe signs.  It was all very relaxed and casual, just hundreds of teenagers all dressed up enjoying themselves.

Then the refreshments, tea and a selection of cakes, very nice cakes.

Prince Edward made a good speech and he was accompanied by Clive Myrie who was also very good.  He did a walk about but GS preferred to go and hear the people on the satellite stages.  We regretted not having enough time to explore the gardens more.

.Managed to meet up with people GS knew, lots of photos and laughter.

Any negatives?  My blisters.

Got home at nearly midnight exhausted, poorer but it was very worth it and I felt so proud of him.

FreetodoasIlike

@thepurplepixie. So nice to hear of your experience. You undoubtedly had a fantastic time and it must have been amazing to be part of your grandson’s DoE experience. You must be SO proud of him! I’m so glad, as well,  that the trains worked out for you in the end. The very nice cakes sound FAB too! Hope your blisters heal soon!!

Makingabobor2

Sounds like a wonderful day @thepurplepixie

helensbiggestfan

pixie.  Sounds like a fabulous day.  Glad it went well.  

Good  Morning Lovely Ladies  

just sitting here, using my revitive foot gizmo thingy whilst I post,  Multi tasking. Lol.  My feet have been quite sore recently, seems to be helping a bit,  but what I really need to do is lose weight!!!!   My feet and knees won't get better until I shed some of this lard.  Put myself on the scales this morning  and I've hit the jackpot. I have never been this heavy so it's hardly surprising my joints are complaining. I have no one but myself to blame.........🤬. I am so cross with myself.  

The good news is my blood sugar levels are coming down nicely, so I must be doing something right.  

Did I mention I have started using prescription strength retinol. I am taking it slowly to give my skin time to adjust.  Started using it every third day, now every other day. So far so good, no adverse reactions, soreness or redness.  Not sure if it will turn back back the clock lol but my skin does seem to look brighter and it feels nice,  

Seeing as I am still struggling with my weight and that I have a wardrobe full of clothes I can't wear I caved in and bought a few summer bits and pieces. I picked up a few cheap and cheerful bits from the reduced rail at the chazza, a blue fine knit sweater, a turquoise top and a black and white striped top.  £5.00 for all three.  I will hit some more charity shops this week and revamp my summer wardrobe, hopefully without spending too much. I wont part with the clothes I can't get into, I'm not giving up the fight.  I might have lost the recent battles but I am determined to win the war.......

Isnt this warm weather wonderful. I have just been pottering about and soaking up the sun, remembering to take extra care with sunscreen now I'm using retinol.  

Going to get cracking and head off to Aldi in a few minutes before it heats up again.  Lawnmower man is coming later.  My back garden is south west facing with no shade so I have just bought a large parasol. The base weighs a ton so I'll get him to set it up for me .......so ladies, if the weather breaks, it's my fault.   

I really must start viewing some houses but tbh I just can't face it.  I keep looking on Rightmove but so far nothing really jumps out at me.  Doesn't help that anything that is half way appealing is just out of my budget. Lol.  Always the way.......ha ha.  Never mind, I'm sure "the one" will present itself ......eventually.  

Saw a couple of possibles in a village where I used to live many moons ago.  It's a lovely place to live but when I delved a bit further I found out that the bus service had been scrapped. Not a problem for me now but useless for when I want to stop driving.  I wonder if that's why they are selling......there are several on the market in that location which is highly unusual. Properties rarely come on the market there and they are usually snapped up.  Now they are lingering for months......I'm sure the lack of a bus service is the reason.  I also noticed that in another area I fancied they only have a bus every two hours and none on Sunday.  And the green lobby and the powers that be want more people to use public transport........

How???  When there is none or it so limited.  You gotta laugh......😂🤣.   

FreetodoasIlike

Nice to see you back Helen.

We are certainly in the same boat with weight loss. I also caved in and bought (from eBay) some bigger trousers and 2 sundresses, as I literally feel so uncomfortable in my current clothes. The weather was too hot for me on Friday and just walking for around 20 minutes from the dentist to my car, left me hot and sweaty and my legs were sore. My sciatica was also playing up which didn’t help. I then went to Mr M for a few bits and when I was checking out, the check-out lady laughed and told me I looked hot. The sweat was pouring down my neck and my hair was damp. I actually felt quite unwell (probably dehydrated) and when I told her, she looked anxious and offered to get a first-aider. I hurriedly paid and just shoved my shopping into the trolley and told her I would be fine if I just rested on the bench behind her. She kept looking back at me and the gesticulated with her hands and mouthed if I wanted some water. When I nodded in appreciation, much to the surprise of the queue, rather than put her light on for assistance,  she left her post and ran to the water aisle and came back with a six pack of water, opened it no handed me a bottle. I was no doubt unpopular with the customers in the queue but I think they understood I wasn’t well, as one woman came over and asked how I was. I was obviously dehydrated and the water helped, but I was on tenterhooks on the drive home. Luckily I was fine after a lie down.

I was greatly out of breath from my short walk and just knew that this extra weight was a contributory factor. So, not only do I want/need to lose weight to look and feel better, I need to do it for my health. My ‘lovely’ partner, who is nearly 15 years older than me, told me I wasn’t getting any younger and to use it or lose it!!! Told him to get lost, but there was certainly an element of truth in what he was saying. Although a lot older he’s SO much fitter than me.

Totally agree about your comment about being encouraged to use public transport, when there isn’t any! I have a bus pass but rarely use it. The last time I used it, I linked it to the tram, so I could use it for my tooth bone density scan to travel to the other side of Manchester. I planned to get the bus back after the tram but it was cancelled! Due to lack of drivers, apparently. I would have had to wait for another hour, so walked to a supermarket, where my partner picked me up. If he couldn’t, or if I hadn’t got someone, I would have had to wait another hour or get a taxi. Where I live, there are a lot of pensioners who rely on public transport and the lack of public transport has certainly impinged on the quality their lives if they no longer drive. I agree, you have to laugh - give senior citizens free travel, but nothing to travel on!!!

Makingabobor2

Oh my word @FreetodoasIlike, how awful to feel ill while out shopping, but how lovely of the checkout assistant to help you like that. You don't always get that sort of service. Some places they would ignore you. 
I don't mean to be rude, so please don't take this the wrong way.....but what your partner said is so very true. You do have to take matters into your own hands and "use it or lose it".  If you don't feel up to joining an exercise class, you should try the lady I follow on FB, you can exercise in your own home, wear whatever clothes you feel comfy in, no one can see you and do as much or as little as you like, adapt most of the exercises to suit you and she is very motivating. Most of the members are more mature women, from what I can gather. I have been in her group for over 4 years now and TBH feel a lot fitter than I did when I started. Not sure how hold you are, but I'm almost 67.  If you lived near me, we could be walking buddies. Anyway....please don't think I was being rude by my comment, just trying to help. x

Makingabobor2

I agree about the dire bus service Helen. If I want to use my bus pass to go to nearest small town, the buses are every 20 mins...supposedly, but more often than not 2 will come together and then none for ages as traffic has been so bad. Then it is a 40min ride to a town that is only 4 miles away, as the bus goes round the houses of next village along and then takes a detour to the town. I can do it in 5 mins in the car!   I'd love to go to a lovely market town that's about 19 miles away, but think the chances of getting there on a bus are nil!  Even to go on a train, I would have to go back in the other direction to the nearest city and then get a train out from there as our line doesn't go in that direction! 

FreetodoasIlike

@Makingabobor2. I don’t think your comments were rude at all! I know my partner said what he did from a place of love and concern for my well-being and since I retired I’ve certainly gone down hill. I agree and definitely appreciate all that you say. Apart from my weight, my fitness levels have greatly reduced. I did check out the lady you suggested a while ago, but I don’t feel I’m there yet. My idea was to do some gentle walking as a start, but even just walking from the local shop hurts my back. I’ve been to several physiotherapists (some better than others), acupuncture, and other alternative therapies but I’ve always had sciatica and an MRI scan showed nothing serious but ‘wear and tear of the facet joints’. Still painful though (I’m 68) but feel 98!

Your comment about walking buddies made me smile! My partner (who walks a lot) is always trying to get me to accompany him, but I always find some excuse not to join him. We converted our bungalow into a loft room when I retired at 62 (I know most people would downsize to a bungalow!!!) and now I find the stairs SO hard and avoid them at all costs. 

Right!! Get a grip Free!!  Start by walking upstairs daily/twice daily as a start, then walk around the drive where I live at least once a day. Another issue I have is that I’ve always been a night owl, not a lark. When I worked I used to get up at 6 a.m. and forced myself to go to bed early. Now - I stay up watching TV or on my iPad until the early hours and get up (very) late in the morning. A slippery slope I’ve fallen into, I’m afraid. 

Thank you for your kind words. I KNOW I have to take matters into my own hands and do something about my physical health. 

Yes, the check-out lady was great and I’ll need to seek her out and thank her, possibly with wine or chocolates.