health catch up

Have put all my grumbles behind me.  My toe is throbbing less, which really does help!

Fahed will be off until we go on hols so all together it will be three months from the operation until he is back at work. Which sounds a lot but I think its probably safest. Yesterday was a bank holiday so we did the conventional English thing and we walked around a DIY store. We were not in there more than 1/2 an hour, just getting stuff for holiday, like tile cutting blades. You know, conventional holiday purchases. But in that short time he was already limping and pulling his leg a bit. So the swelling is down but he is by no means well again; When we got to the next shop for cat treats he stayed in the car. So anyway, who needs money! Three months rest is required and that's what he is getting.

I had my 8 week weigh in yesterday.  Over 17kg (37lbs) since the beginning and 2 stone 3lb (31lbs) since the start of the new diet. We do kg at home but consultant does stones and lbs. I don't mind if its kgs or lbs as long as they go, and they sure do seem to still be going. Very happy bunny here right now. Repeat after me 'food is fuel, not a treat'. :)

I am not grumbling, honestly I am not

So Fahed went back to work almost 4 weeks after his knee operation. Now his knee is massively swollen and the doctor is talking about problems with blood clots and signed him off for another 4 weeks. Which takes us up to our Crete time, so its 8 weeks until he can work again. The famous zero hours contract status of swimming teachers means we are lucky if they manage to sort out SSP so lucky for us we have a freezer full of food!

Obviously I didnt like the role of nurse so last night I opened the fridge door on my toe and bent the toenail over backwards. Blood everywhere. My lovely husband had to limp over and get me and sit me down, as I felt I was going to faint (and flick the nail back into position) even though he can barely move.

So am back in list mode to try to take control of the uncontrollable situation!

Its bank holiday weekend here so we have three days off which sounds lovely until you consider: Three days off and Fahed cant bend his leg or stand up, so we cant do DIY or garden work. Sitting in the car is painful so no trips tot he seaside or the forest, and anyway he cant walk when he gets there.
And he has pretty much tidied (emptied!) every drawer and cupboard in the house in the last four weeks of looking to keep busy anyway.

So the list:

Buy tile cutter blades for Crete
Take a bag of books to friends daughter for her 'library'
Clear the things which need mending on the dinner table
Finish laundry and put it all away
Collect parcel from the delivery place
Take Jamal to town to get a new part for his phone (lent him an old iphone as his phone is dying but the sim tray is missing)
Sort out Faheds sick certificates and get them into work
Buy some Wellman and metatone for my poorly other son.
Buy black fabric dye and see if i can save a top which i spilt bleach on
Get 2 more usb/mains plus for kindle and fitbit
Sew a load of tops to make them smaller. No new clothes until more weight has gone :)

That'll do for today

Moving on

Okay. I am over the whole pension thing, other than perhaps for the odd grouch. Instead I am going to think about what I will do if I decide to do something completely different for a few years.

Plans for rest of this year.

Post holiday - re-schedule my mortgage to shorten the remaining years
Have a proper think about what I could do if I didn't want to carry on with my current career.
Make plans for the holiday
Another post holiday plan includes a service and general overhaul for both cars
Carry on with my weight loss (very happy with it right now)
More dancing. My lovely Bollywood plus Salsa and maybe I can fit in some West Coast Swing.
More travel. Definitely need more travel.

And arent the Olympics exciting. I cant believe how well we are doing. Such a small country in second place. Very inspiring.

One last moan about Brexit

This is a really selfish one too. I am sorry but just this once. I put a ton of money every month into my pension. So now with the economy in decline once again, as we basically all knew would happen, there is a massive deficit on my pension. Basically the investments made by the pension provider are now reduced in value so it appears that they don't have enough to pay us. As we adjust to being outside of Europe and forge new trade deals etc then this probably improves but that'll be too late for me. The board members at my work want to suspend the scheme. That means that my pension will be frozen until i retire but that I cant add more over the coming years.  In the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter but I have really scrimped and saved to ensure I am not a financial nuisance to anyone when I get old.

I have only heard this today so no doubt i will get used to the idea and it might even make me re plan my future so who knows. Might as well retire sooner but have to find some new income ideas.

Doh!!

Mini library

So in the spirit of concentrating on the nice things I have been trying to part with some books. Its hard but I have sorted out a bag full. But there is a plan for them. My friends daughter has a very good heart, as well as pink dreads and a blind dog (as only the best people have) and now a library in her garden!. The have painted a water tight cupboard and are allowing people to take books and add books. Lovely idea. I think she said about also doing something similar with food. But anyway, in the meantime my books are going to their own mini library to bring the pleasure of books to some new people.

Also I read this today (or something very similar)

When you see a stranger reading a book which you love, its like having a personal introduction to that person, by the book.

Syrian Cook Book

My husband is an amazing cook. Home cooking, Syrian style with some Greek, English and Thai thrown in , Not restaurant stuff.  We take it for granted but a few, no longer hungry, visitors lately have pointed out to me that not everyone has this resource available to them!

Now I am wondering if I shouldn't try to get some of his amazing recipes and techniques written down. I am still flushed with my success from pulling together a recipe collection book for my friend. She has had the book printed up and is selling it to customers to raise money for some repairs to a house which she has on their land. I think it could be their pension to have a rental house up and running. Another advantage would be loads of good cooking as he shows off his best dishes and I document them. Even if it never makes it to proper book stage then its still a lovely record of the foods which his mum taught him when he was a little 'un.

Okay, so now its on my list. But not yet as I am still trying to lose more weight. So much still to go but at least I found a diet where it actually goes.  Next week I have my diabetic clinic so i know then if they are happy with me.

And now? I feel the urge to de-clutter coming on. And before that then perhaps a list. I do like a nice list to tick off and a box of clutter to donate. Also I should probably do some work. Oops.

How to make your mummy smile

My son and his girlfriend were in Southampton today looking for a birthday gift for her mama, There was someone homeless in the street near the European Market so the kids bought her a Gyros Pitta (yay, from our favourite Greek stall). They started talking and found out the girl had a distant relative in Bath who said they could find a place for her on their home if she could get to Bath. Its about a hundred miles from here.

Very pleased to say that Ahdel and Becky are off to Bath tomorrow to do a bit of present shopping and also to drop a lonely unhappy girl from Southampton to some distant family in Bath.

Hope it all works out for them. Bless 'em.

This is the baths at Bath

Weekend. Whats not to love

Saturday morning and the old fella has no work today following his knee operation last week. So we are in the unusual position of having a whole weekend together. He can walk as long as its flat ground and not huge distances.  I am happy to do anything as long as it doesn't involve eating or the temptations of food. lol. This leaves us with a weekend where we could go away, to the seaside or somewhere but maybe pottering about near home is best. So I made a list! Of course I did

• Visit mum and dad for coffee and chat. I have to fight off the food a bit there but not too bad.
• Book Faheds sports massage. We could do this by phone but if we go to the town then we can do a little extra walking to book it in the shop. All light walking is good. No heavy duty trekking through the woods or similar until after first month.
• Pick up a very small amount of shopping.
• Visit the library. Not something I often say as queen of the kindle but Fahed has given me his old ipod which i was planning to fill up with some audio books to encourage me on a few longer walks. I cant actually find the ipod yet but baby steps and all that.
• Visit my friends 'German Margret' and hubs for more coffee and chat. Should be okay with food avoidance there.

The big things missing on my list at the moment are feeding people and the meal planning that goes with it. :(  But there is only the two of us at home now, back to three when Jamal finishes college in Newcastle soon,  Fahed seems happy to be grazing. He eats loads of salad and then maybe some tuna or eggs. I think seeing me losing my weight is inspiring him to lose some too but i am not sure he really need to too much. He hurt knew January before last and is about 10kg heavier now without all his martial arts classes. But after holiday he can go back to them so i bet he drops that again by Christmas.  I bought him a fitbit as I was convinced he didn't move around enough, only to find that he moves around way more than I do. lol. 

And talking of moving around this week I attended the advanced class at our Bollywood dancing class. The room was so full of energy it was amazing. We have a joint class through August as so many people on holiday but from September it is two classes again.  I asked the teacher if I can come to both and she is happy for that. I feel that will help my fitness levels quite a bit, as well as it being the best fun ever. Why couldn't I discover dancing 30 years ago? Doh, but that time has gone so no point in worrying now

4 weeks in

20lb down. I think I am happy with that. I made myself a target list which has things on it like horse riding weight, time to have a go on a climbing wall.  Also a photo taken in same pose (at the table, looking like I am waiting for dinner to arrive, since you asked)which i may one day share with someone if I ever look any better :)

I lost a car tyre!




My 'organising things' thing hasn't progressed quite as hoped. I have quite a few people for the dancing class at work but too many are away during August. And I am away for a bit of September and a lot of October. But I do my advertising and sorting venue etc now and maybe they can have it after summer anyway.

So anyway we are about 8 weeks away from our lovely regular 1 month in Crete. I think this is my favourite time of the year when I start organising everything. Hiring car, boxing up what we need for whatever worked we have planned in the year and getting it shipped over. Making sure all the friends and family that want to visit us can do so. This year I think we have 5 days at the beginning of the break where it is just us but otherwise we are never alone! Will be so lovely! This year we have to do some disabled adaptations for my mama. Last year she fell and cracked her head so we need more handrails and banisters. Also we are taking the downstairs bath out of the bathroom and having a walk in shower. Better for all the oldies. We need to get this all done in first 5 days because they will try to stop us else. they don't like to be an inconvenience! Also getting rid of the bath works better. We have hot water from the solar heater. Plenty for everyone to shower a couple of times each day but not enough for 8 people to bathe. So this is a more egalitarian solution.