A bit of Waffle - 30/3/26

Well its nearly time for bed so this will be a short waffle.  I'm feeling quite tired tonight - our clocks went forward this weekend so I lost an hour but I've also had a couple of nights where Hubby's snoring has nearly had me decamping to the spare room.  His CPAP machine came up with an error message on Saturday so he wasn't able to use it on Saturday night or last night.  This morning I suggested he turned it off for a bit - as in completely unplug it and also check the water chamber was installed correctly.  Turns out it works the same as the computer - when in doubt turn it off and on to reboot it and it magically solves the problem.  Hopefully it will still be ok tonight and I might sleep better.

It's been 2 months now since I started taking a collagen supplement and I do think I'm usually sleeping better.  It might be more due to taking the collagen in a milky drink before bed than the actual collagen but it's still a win for me.  I also think my hair has improved and more recently the aches in my lower back and hips have been less.  I think my knees might be beyond redemption but we'll see.

I'm also trying to get more into the habit of reading when I go to bed than reaching for my phone.  I have soooooo many books to read.  I've just finished the one the afternoon book club chose so now I'm moving on to the book the evening group picked. 

Tonight we had a quick visit to wish our Grandson Nathan Happy Birthday for tomorrow - they have plans so we won't see him on the day.  I can still remember every detail of the day he was born and the difficult first few months.  (He was very premature.)  But tomorrow he will be 9!  I'm sure he will have cake tomorrow but there was cake today too!

💖

Healthy eating? Not!

Well this week didn't get off to the best of starts.  We babysat for our daughter on Sunday evening so I didn't get moving very quickly yesterday morning.   I ended up faffing about and leaving myself no time for a walk before it got dark so my step count was very low.  Is it me or is it starting to get dark much earlier?  I know that logically it should be but August is still a summer month!  I'm going to have to start adjusting my timings.

Today was a better day for steps - I'm just over the 10,000 level so I'm pleased with that.  I also had company here for lunch - my former work colleagues that I meet up with regularly - we take it in turns to host lunch and it was my turn today.

The main course wasn't too bad - chicken, new potatoes and air fried broccoli and cauliflower but, of course, I love making a nice dessert.

I tried a new recipe and it turned out really well.

Of course I forgot to take a photo when it was whole but this is what's left:

Summer berries mousse.

I could try and argue that it contains a lot of fruit especially raspberries but of course the mousse also contains a lot of cream and creme fraiche.  Oh and a biscuit base.  Definitely not on the healthy eating list.  But it was delicious.

Anyway I shall be passing some of the leftovers to my daughter tomorrow and maybe only having another tiny piece.....😉

I did walk for nearly 50 minutes this evening and at a reasonable pace so hopefully I've counteracted some of those excess calories.  Back to the healthy stuff tomorrow.

Friday's Fave Fives - 9/6/23

Our host Susanne's introduction this week was just the reminder I needed.  She wrote,  "Welcome to Friday's Fave Five!  Our place of encouragement to intentionally practice looking for our blessings and develop hearts of gratitude to God for them.  Why do we do this?  Why after all these Fridays do I still keep posting this if nothing else?  Because gratitude must be developed and continued.  I can so easily fall out of the practice.  And when I do my eyes are no longer looking for the blessings but gravitate to what I don't have, what I feel I deserve, what I am missing, the cup half empty mindset sets in."

I can so easily fall into the cup half empty mindset, especially in a week that hasn't been particularly great.  But there are still blessings to be found, even when we have to look a little harder so here are mine.

1)  Well this is a 2 week list for me and the first one is easy - last week we were away from Monday to Friday with all our family - daughter, sons, wives and of course all the 6 grandchildren.  We stayed in 2 caravans on a holiday site and, although the weather wasn't great, it was wonderful to be with them all and see the pleasure the grandchildren get from being together.  We were on the east coast of England so we were able to walk to the beach a couple of times but it was too misty and windy to stay there for long.  But there were plenty of activities for the kids to do on the holiday site and they just love being together.

Hard to get a photo of all the little ones together - this was probably my best one.

We also celebrated Rory's 5th birthday while we were there too and one evening we took them all out for a meal which was fairly civilised lol.

2)  We had a fairly quiet weekend then Monday it was back to earth with a bump.  The blood test I had done recently as part of my annual blood pressure medication review has revealed I'm in the pre-diabetic range.  Not something to be thankful for but our GP practice provides access to a diabetes preventative programme which I've signed up for and that starts in a couple of weeks time.  So I am thankful that I've been able to sign up for that and it has given me the motivation to start making changes already.  I knew that, despite having fairly healthy meals, I was eating too many sweet things and definitely eating too much.  Thankfully Hubby has been on board about looking at portion control and the timing of our meals - we often eat late which is not a good thing.  I was also good at dropping quite a few things off our shopping delivery that don't fall into the healthy category.

The programme runs over a period of 9 months so hopefully over that time I can get the changes I need to make embedded into our routines and keep myself healthy.

3)  Of course exercise would be helpful but this week my back has been playing up again and affecting my hip.  Thankfully though our GP practice has a Physio on staff and I had an appointment with her this morning.  I now have a range of exercises to do to help strengthen my back and these are set up on an app that you can use to log when you've done the exercises.  Fortunately I quite like technology that tracks things and this should keep me motivated to do the exercises each day.  Again it's been a timely reminder that I need to look after myself more.  

4)  It hasn't been all doom and gloom though - the weather has been good this week - lots of sunshine and really warm.  

5)  Finally, 39 years ago I said "I do" to this lovely man.

and I'm still glad I did!

Oh and a bonus - we received the latest bill from our gas supplier which seemed really high and when I looked into it and got it sorted it was reduced by over £500!  Moral of that story was never trust their meter readers lol.

To find out more about the Friday Fave Fives visit Susanne's blog here.

Have a good weekend all and hopefully I'll get round to visiting blogs soon.  I've not been very present here in blogland this past week or so.

An update on Nick, with Alice 15/8/22

Is that rain Wendy? Oh please tell me it’s raining. I feel like I’m frying at the moment with this heat. 

Yes Alice we have got some rain. At last, although I’m not sure how long it’s going to last for or how much it’s going to bring the temperature down but it is supposed to be a bit cooler for the rest of the week. 

Thank goodness. It’s like an oven in here. 

I know, it has been rather unbearable again. Even during the night temperatures have stayed high. 

Yes it hasn’t done wonders for your sleeping has it? I can tell. 

What do you mean Alice? 

It’s the dark shadows under the eyes that give it away Wendy. And your short temper of course. 

I have been very patient this last week or so Alice. 

Hmm with Nick as the patient? Not sure about that. He seems to be doing much better though apart from looking a bit yellow! 

Yes he is doing a lot better Alice but you’re right, the bruising on his face is a nice shade of yellow now and the bruising on his right arm in particular is pretty gross. 

When do you think he’ll be up to cooking again? That lamb curry you made last week was disgusting. And you haven’t exactly been very adventurous with your meal choices. 

Well the lamb curry was adventurous for me but not sure what went wrong. I was definitely too light handed with the spices. It didn’t really taste of curry at all. I was just worried I’d make it too spicy and I would struggle to eat it. Instead of which it was so bland it was horrible.

 

We have a Hello Fresh box coming tomorrow so that will help add some variety to our meals. 

Yes even you would struggle to spoil those Wendy. 

Well I could try. 

Please don’t. But I would have thought that if Nick is able to play his guitar, which I know he can, he should be able to do anything now. 

That’s a nice theory Alice but the main problem he still has at the moment is fully straightening his arms. The left one’s ok but he can’t get the right one fully straight but that’s not an issue when playing a guitar as you do it with your arm bent. 

Should he actually be playing the guitar then? 

Yes he can – we finally got the letter through from the hospital today and basically it said he should be mobilising his arms as much as possible but of course lifting things would still be tricky so cooking would be a challenge. 

Yes well at least you’re not having to help him shower anymore or get dressed. I didn’t know where to look when that was going on. 

Oh Alice, are you a bit of a prude? 

No I just didn’t need to be a witness to that. You’ve certainly kept to your marriage vow of “in sickness and in health” this last week or so Wendy. 

Of course. You can’t expect everything to be rosy all the time Alice. 

No but I suppose there were some small blessings I mean at least you never had to wipe his a..... 

Alice! I think that is too much information for our readers. 

 

(Fridays) Sunday's Fave Five - 7/8/22

Yes I do know it's Sunday but when life throws you a curveball days run into one another.  Late on Thursday evening I got a phone call from a stranger on my Hubby's phone.  Never a good thing.

Hubby had managed to take a tumble on his way home from an open mic he'd been too. Tumble is probably not the best word to describe his fall and subsequent injuries.  He obviously put out his hands to break his fall but still managed to hit the ground with his face.  In short he has a grazed and battered nose, a black eye, damaged teeth but worst of all he has managed to crack the ends of the radial bone in both arms where they meet the elbow joint.

We spent many hours in A & E (ER for my American friends) overnight and came home Friday morning with Hubby having both arms in a double sling.  Thankfully the follow up call during the day from the Fracture Clinic was reassuring - the cracks will heal, no casts are required, in fact he has to mobilise his arms, putting them through their range of movements every few hours and wearing the sling in between for the next week or two.  Although it will probably take 4-6 weeks before he has full movement back.

His left arm is already a lot better and moving more freely.  His right arm is much more painful and the movement is very limited at the moment although improving.  Of course he is right handed though so lots of things are difficult (impossible) for him to do himself right now. 

I have told him that if he wanted me to do more of the cooking he only had to ask and not resort to such extreme measures!  We're trying to maintain a sense of humour.

Anyway that's why this post is sooooo late and of course, although things have been a bit difficult the last couple of day, there are still things to be thankful for:

1)  The kindness of strangers.  2 men helped Hubby immediately after his fall, one of them stayed with him until I could get there in the car to collect him.

2)  Our NHS.  It's definitely under pressure right now but it was there for Hubby and it's great not having to worry about insurance claims/what things might cost etc.

3)  Our DIL who cooked extra Cottage Pie on Friday so that we had an easy meal for dinner (and enough for Saturday) and our daughter for picking up some shopping for us.  

4)  A big walk in shower.

5)  Our son and his family are safely home from Vermont and we had a video call with them earlier today.

I usually finish by saying enjoy the weekend but of course that's nearly over so have a good week all!

Oh and if you want to visit other bloggers who joined in on Friday click here for host Susanne's site and the Linky list.

Back to walking - 28/11/21

Firstly thank you for all the kind comments on my last post.  

I'm feeling much better and today hubby and I managed to get out for a walk around the lake.  It was freezing cold but we have warm coats and added hats and gloves.  We left it a little bit later than we intended - the sun had disappeared although it had been lovely and sunny earlier but it was just nice to get out in the fresh air.

It's also wellie time again as the ground is quite muddy and, at the moment, covered with leaves.  We're so lucky to have the lake and woodland on our doorstep.

Other than that it's been quite a lazy weekend although we did babysit for our daughter and her wife last night.  Ella took a little bit of time to settle and woke during the evening but Nathan, probably because he was later to bed than usual, was asleep within 10 minutes of getting into bed and we didn't hear another peep out of him.  We weren't too late home either.

Now I'm catching up on Strictly Come Dancing.  Would more could you want?

Friday's Fave Five - 26/11/21

Sleet is forecast for tomorrow so this snowy picture seemed appropriate today.

Joining in with Susanne at "Living to tell the Story" to list five things I'm grateful for today.  At the time of writing, Susanne's post with the link to others taking part wasn't up but the link above will take you to her site and hopefully you'll be able to find her Friday Five and linky for this week.

1.  Well firstly I'm thankful to be here.  Actually that's a bit over dramatic.  I'm currently getting over a sinus infection and before that I probably had tonsillitis but yes once again I've definitely not been feeling great.  I'm on a course of antibiotics now and I've been taking things very easy.  It seems to have been one thing after another and I was probably a bit run down after a spell of visitors here and providing childcare for some of the grandchildren.  I also wasn't great after my Covid booster last weekend.  But since starting the antibiotics I am feeling better and even a bit more motivated.

2.  Catching up on blogs.  I have been so down in the dumps I wasn't even bothering to read any blogs.  Well I rectified that today.  I have read loads!  I've still missed loads and I didn't stop to leave comments but hopefully I haven't missed any earth shattering news.  You are such a mixture of people that I follow and I will be back to leaving comments soon.  For starters there are those of you that join in with this meme on Fridays - a great bunch of people and thankful to Susanne for keeping it going.  Most of you are far more upbeat than me and definitely more mindful.

Then there are those people that are down to earth and tell it like it is.  No punches pulled there but that's refreshing too, even if I don't always agree with an opinion.

Some bloggers are following a challenge and their blogs are so informative and interesting - it feels like you're with them on their travels.  Others are very creative, either in things like crafting or just in the way they write.

And then there are those of you that always leave me a comment which is another thing I'm grateful for.

3.  Well this happened a couple of weeks ago now but it was such a wonderful day I have to post about it.

We finally managed to have a family gathering of my husband's family.  Nearly everyone was there including all 18 great grandchildren.  5 of those (including our 3 youngest grandchildren) were lockdown babies so hardly anyone had met them.

Trying to get group photos was EXTREMELY challenging lol

Our 3 little ones: Miles, Ella & Vinny.

The older 3: Nathan, Noah and Rory.

Me with daughter Rebecca and sons Matthew & Michael.

And it was just before Ella's 1st birthday so of course there had to be a birthday cake!

We got all the great grandchildren sat down but only realised afterwards Miles was missing - sleeping!

And then we added in the parents and cousins

You had to be quick before the littles started to escape!
  

Sadly hubby's parents are no longer alive but they would have been so proud to see this gathering.

4)  Progress on a crafting project:

This will be a blanket for the newest great grandchild which my daughter, 2 of my DILs and myself have contributed to.  We've all crocheted granny squares and I was tasked with sewing it together.  Except I haven't got all the squares yet!  I might be making a few more than my allocation.

5)  We had a visit yesterday from Nick's eldest sister and her husband which was nice.  We're gradually getting people over to see our new house that we've been in for 14 months now!  We had a nice catch up and they also brought over a chair they no longer wanted having recently downsized.  I'm hoping it will make it easier to rock my grandchildren to sleep when needed or maybe just rock myself to sleep!

Have a good weekend all.