Sometimes we don't get the opportunities to say all we want to say and I do believe that writing stuff down is great when there isn't anyone around just then to listen (hence this blog) but big hugs or walking along holding a hand can transfer a vast unsaid conversation too!
So today the gardening, ironing and other stuff got left because I shared my day with very special people and we held hands :o)
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Sunday, 14 August 2011
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Getting the timing right...
Yesterday I went to a funeral and also got the confirmation of some very sad family news!
So today I'm looking at how my time disappears on things that are less important than others and trying to work out some of my priorities ........this is not a selfish act but truly meant in honour of those that don't have the time to consider what to spend it on!
Over the years I've always kept some sort of diary, so now you can imagine how many of them there are. I always have trouble remembering when something happened or have to ask "When did we have the extension built?" or "How long ago was that holiday in Naples?" and could often be found rummaging through the old diaries to check but more usually getting distracted by plenty of other memories. So once I'd stopped working and had time to spare I decided to create my timeline! This would be in excel so searchable and then came the long process of reading through all the diaries and converting those precious memories into data on a spreadsheet. I hadn't got very far in the past two years but I have to say the amount I had done was looking good, all colour coded rows showing things like my most important events in red, to miscellaneous entries in no colour at all, with employment, health, family events, friends events etc all different colours and of course a record of our holidays in sunny yellow!
To be honest it was becoming a chore and I often used to procrastinate on the laptop then realise I had no more time to add to it.....my timeline was taking up my time! So today I have decided to stop and I've printed out what I've done so far, (may scribble on it in pen if I feel the need) and will put it in my special folder of family history with a note to say "If you are interested in more go find my diaries". Of course I've saved the excel file in various places so I could add to it later if I feel the need.
About a decade ago I'd decided to compile the family trees for hubby's family and for each of my parent's families. I couldn't go back further than my grandparents as they were immigrants with very few records and were no longer with us to ask, in fact they had died long before I was born. My intention had been to show my children the width of our families and who their cousins were etc. Large families take a lot of data input and because of various computer changes when I was working etc I'd lost the original software and the data files I had were not compatible with other software so I no longer had the details in electronic form, but thankfully I had printed it all out and over recent years had just added more info by scribbling on the paper. As no-one else seems particularly interested in any of it I've now decided that what's there will do and scribbled updates are good enough!
Now actually that I have relieved myself of these expectations I feel a bit more free to choose what I want to spend my time on. I'll probably get to the end of the day and realise I've achieved nothing but I won't feel guilty and at least I'll know I haven't wasted time avoiding stuff either.
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So today I'm looking at how my time disappears on things that are less important than others and trying to work out some of my priorities ........this is not a selfish act but truly meant in honour of those that don't have the time to consider what to spend it on!
Over the years I've always kept some sort of diary, so now you can imagine how many of them there are. I always have trouble remembering when something happened or have to ask "When did we have the extension built?" or "How long ago was that holiday in Naples?" and could often be found rummaging through the old diaries to check but more usually getting distracted by plenty of other memories. So once I'd stopped working and had time to spare I decided to create my timeline! This would be in excel so searchable and then came the long process of reading through all the diaries and converting those precious memories into data on a spreadsheet. I hadn't got very far in the past two years but I have to say the amount I had done was looking good, all colour coded rows showing things like my most important events in red, to miscellaneous entries in no colour at all, with employment, health, family events, friends events etc all different colours and of course a record of our holidays in sunny yellow!
To be honest it was becoming a chore and I often used to procrastinate on the laptop then realise I had no more time to add to it.....my timeline was taking up my time! So today I have decided to stop and I've printed out what I've done so far, (may scribble on it in pen if I feel the need) and will put it in my special folder of family history with a note to say "If you are interested in more go find my diaries". Of course I've saved the excel file in various places so I could add to it later if I feel the need.
About a decade ago I'd decided to compile the family trees for hubby's family and for each of my parent's families. I couldn't go back further than my grandparents as they were immigrants with very few records and were no longer with us to ask, in fact they had died long before I was born. My intention had been to show my children the width of our families and who their cousins were etc. Large families take a lot of data input and because of various computer changes when I was working etc I'd lost the original software and the data files I had were not compatible with other software so I no longer had the details in electronic form, but thankfully I had printed it all out and over recent years had just added more info by scribbling on the paper. As no-one else seems particularly interested in any of it I've now decided that what's there will do and scribbled updates are good enough!
Now actually that I have relieved myself of these expectations I feel a bit more free to choose what I want to spend my time on. I'll probably get to the end of the day and realise I've achieved nothing but I won't feel guilty and at least I'll know I haven't wasted time avoiding stuff either.
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Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Experimental baking...
FriendM is having friends over this evening and making a buffet supper and as we are both trying to stay carb-free to lose some weight I said I would attempt to make some carb-free cake to bring along.
So popped to Asda and bought some of the stuff and then to Tesco to see if I could get other stuff and came back with what I thought would be alternatives to wheat flour, Cocoyam fufu flour, but later found that this is ground from the tuber of the plant much like a potato so high in carbs, also bought ground flax seed but discovered that this is good as an oil/butter substitute......yes I know I should do my research before shopping!
I managed to get some ground almonds in place of the almond flour I was really after and no sign of the coconut flour I'd seen on various recipes, so need to find some specialist/health shop but I so hate going into town if I don't have to.
I first had a go at this yogurt cake http://tinyurl.com/3nu8gsy but used the ground almonds instead of the flour and lemon extract in stead of the vanilla. It came out quite well, didn't rise much and still a bit soggy in the middle even though it had been in the oven for twice as long as the recipe suggested, but tastes good.
Also made this chocolate cake http://tinyurl.com/3f3dmpg which is made with beans! I used red kidney beans and again it stayed a bit soggy in the middle but the top looks really interesting as it went a bit craggy and looked prone to breaking up so I split it and put a butter-cream in the middle to try and hold it all together and to help sweeten it as I though the amount of cocoa made it a little bitter for my taste.
I'll try to report back the verdict by tonight's tasters but I know there is definite room for improvement!
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So popped to Asda and bought some of the stuff and then to Tesco to see if I could get other stuff and came back with what I thought would be alternatives to wheat flour, Cocoyam fufu flour, but later found that this is ground from the tuber of the plant much like a potato so high in carbs, also bought ground flax seed but discovered that this is good as an oil/butter substitute......yes I know I should do my research before shopping!
I managed to get some ground almonds in place of the almond flour I was really after and no sign of the coconut flour I'd seen on various recipes, so need to find some specialist/health shop but I so hate going into town if I don't have to.
I first had a go at this yogurt cake http://tinyurl.com/3nu8gsy but used the ground almonds instead of the flour and lemon extract in stead of the vanilla. It came out quite well, didn't rise much and still a bit soggy in the middle even though it had been in the oven for twice as long as the recipe suggested, but tastes good.
Also made this chocolate cake http://tinyurl.com/3f3dmpg which is made with beans! I used red kidney beans and again it stayed a bit soggy in the middle but the top looks really interesting as it went a bit craggy and looked prone to breaking up so I split it and put a butter-cream in the middle to try and hold it all together and to help sweeten it as I though the amount of cocoa made it a little bitter for my taste.
I'll try to report back the verdict by tonight's tasters but I know there is definite room for improvement!
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Friday, 5 August 2011
Making the best of it...
I had to have a minor op yesterday, but an op none the less so was quite nervous! Well I'm pleased to report all went well.
I do believe though that this sort of event is best coped with having a "look on the bright side" state of mind. So I'd taken my half read book and was quite happy during the long waits. I laughed when the fourth person had to come and ask almost identical questions to the previous three, all with their separate little forms that all look different and have to have all the tick boxes completed, whatever happened to having one folder that stayed with the patient, but hey what do I care if they all have to work harder than need be or if it costs unnecessarily, nothing is going to stress me while I'm here! Not even having to wear funny support stockings...very elegant.
Also had a giggle with the nurse that asked me to remove the nail varnish from one finger and all my jewellery, then asked me to sign the form stating that valuables are left in the hospital at owner's risk. I did point out that if no nail varnish or jewellery was stated on the original letter then that would have avoided this, or even mention this before they sent Hubby home. Maybe I could become a time-and-motion consultant....maybe not!
Apart from a bit of a struggle getting the canula in (I've very small veins) I then knew nothing else till I woke in recovery with two really lovely chatty nurses. I said I was desperate for a cup of tea at which point one of the nurses went into raptures of all the different cakes she now fancied, so I had to tell her off as I'd not eaten for about 19 hours. We seemed to chat for ages and laugh a lot as one had a passion for purses and the other for spangled flip flops. Think they appreciated the light hearted chatter as they said lots of people come through either still very sleepily or taking it too seriously or occasionally unwell when they have to get nursey.
Back onto the ward and watched as the other two patients were brought dinner then eventually I was brought tea and toast with jam which was heaven!
Up, dressed and a trip to the toilet to prove I could then Hubby was told to come and get me. So a stay of just over 7 hours. Had a good night's sleep (actually went to bed just after 10pm which is really early for me) and today felt totally fine!
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I do believe though that this sort of event is best coped with having a "look on the bright side" state of mind. So I'd taken my half read book and was quite happy during the long waits. I laughed when the fourth person had to come and ask almost identical questions to the previous three, all with their separate little forms that all look different and have to have all the tick boxes completed, whatever happened to having one folder that stayed with the patient, but hey what do I care if they all have to work harder than need be or if it costs unnecessarily, nothing is going to stress me while I'm here! Not even having to wear funny support stockings...very elegant.
Also had a giggle with the nurse that asked me to remove the nail varnish from one finger and all my jewellery, then asked me to sign the form stating that valuables are left in the hospital at owner's risk. I did point out that if no nail varnish or jewellery was stated on the original letter then that would have avoided this, or even mention this before they sent Hubby home. Maybe I could become a time-and-motion consultant....maybe not!
Apart from a bit of a struggle getting the canula in (I've very small veins) I then knew nothing else till I woke in recovery with two really lovely chatty nurses. I said I was desperate for a cup of tea at which point one of the nurses went into raptures of all the different cakes she now fancied, so I had to tell her off as I'd not eaten for about 19 hours. We seemed to chat for ages and laugh a lot as one had a passion for purses and the other for spangled flip flops. Think they appreciated the light hearted chatter as they said lots of people come through either still very sleepily or taking it too seriously or occasionally unwell when they have to get nursey.
Back onto the ward and watched as the other two patients were brought dinner then eventually I was brought tea and toast with jam which was heaven!
Up, dressed and a trip to the toilet to prove I could then Hubby was told to come and get me. So a stay of just over 7 hours. Had a good night's sleep (actually went to bed just after 10pm which is really early for me) and today felt totally fine!
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Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Cousins' cuddles...
Had a really lovely day yesterday, it was a 'cousins get together' and we held it at my SisterM's house all bringing food to share. SisterS and SisterP both came too which was lovely, making 10 of us round the table.
It was a very hot day and I'd been caught in a traffic jam, sitting still for nearly 25 minutes, before I'd even got a few miles from home which didn't bode well, and that's when it was obvious that my air conditioning didn't work at all yuk yuk very sweaty! But once I was there and everyone arrived it was just what we expected. Lots of catching up chat about whose children and grandchildren are doing what and CousinJ announcing a new grandchild on the way and SisterS moaning how she doesn't think she'll be a grandmother for a very long time yet! We spent ages remembering our mums, four mums between us who were all sisters and reminding each other of their very different personalities and how we all shared events and sleep-overs with the various Aunts. Of course there was the sad news that SisterM had to share (her medical treatment is not working and has been stopped) which everyone took very seriously and sympathetically but thankfully no-one dwelt on as we all needed it to be a happy reunion, and it really was.
Lots of big hugs and kisses and some photo taking and then it was all over. I was the last to leave accepting a final cup of tea, then 64 miles home in my very hot car...but radio up loud and smiling after a really lovely day!
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It was a very hot day and I'd been caught in a traffic jam, sitting still for nearly 25 minutes, before I'd even got a few miles from home which didn't bode well, and that's when it was obvious that my air conditioning didn't work at all yuk yuk very sweaty! But once I was there and everyone arrived it was just what we expected. Lots of catching up chat about whose children and grandchildren are doing what and CousinJ announcing a new grandchild on the way and SisterS moaning how she doesn't think she'll be a grandmother for a very long time yet! We spent ages remembering our mums, four mums between us who were all sisters and reminding each other of their very different personalities and how we all shared events and sleep-overs with the various Aunts. Of course there was the sad news that SisterM had to share (her medical treatment is not working and has been stopped) which everyone took very seriously and sympathetically but thankfully no-one dwelt on as we all needed it to be a happy reunion, and it really was.
Lots of big hugs and kisses and some photo taking and then it was all over. I was the last to leave accepting a final cup of tea, then 64 miles home in my very hot car...but radio up loud and smiling after a really lovely day!
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Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Be-Dom...
Went to a great concert last night. A Portuguese junk percussion group called Be-Dom. They were amazing, great 'music', rhythms and beats done on old plastic and metal bins, old tubes and bike wheels etc plus lots of hands clapping and finger clicking and stamping and included an enormous amount of audience participation, without a word being said. I don't even know if any of them speak English, there was no need, as full communication was done by hand signals and mime. Some very clever lighting too.
Only downside was I'd bought tickets for me, Daughter, E and R but R was unwell and couldn't come :o(
The concert was only an hour, but non-stop fantastic for that hour so well worth it. Then the three of us sat outside one of the dockside restaurants and had coffee and cake to round of our night out perfectly.
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Only downside was I'd bought tickets for me, Daughter, E and R but R was unwell and couldn't come :o(
The concert was only an hour, but non-stop fantastic for that hour so well worth it. Then the three of us sat outside one of the dockside restaurants and had coffee and cake to round of our night out perfectly.
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Monday, 25 July 2011
Just another week...
Well apart from the very itchy arm the week was quite uneventful. Bits of housework and bits of gardening and out with friendsM&H for dinner Tuesday night, Daughter came over with the children Wednesday and the girls did gardening and enjoyed using the loppers and a hand saw to cut down a tree, while Daughter and Hubby were sorting out the trailer tent and I was fully occupied chasing after O and keeping him busy and safe. Art Group followed by the Truck Stop was Thursday night..... so just the usual stuff.
Friday night to Saturday lunchtime was spent with FriendH, who I've known from school days! Again our usual talking till 3am, this time was all the stories that surrounded her very recent 60th. Hubby and I had celebrated with her at the special lunch her sons had put on for her, which was great for me as I had a brief chance to catch up with some old friends I haven't seen for years too. Stayed a little later on Saturday than I normally do as her son popped in and it was so lovely to see him again and have time to chat.
The rest of the weekend was quite quiet here as not only was I still tired from the very late Friday night but Daughter and Children are all away camping - actually a bit too quiet!
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Friday night to Saturday lunchtime was spent with FriendH, who I've known from school days! Again our usual talking till 3am, this time was all the stories that surrounded her very recent 60th. Hubby and I had celebrated with her at the special lunch her sons had put on for her, which was great for me as I had a brief chance to catch up with some old friends I haven't seen for years too. Stayed a little later on Saturday than I normally do as her son popped in and it was so lovely to see him again and have time to chat.
The rest of the weekend was quite quiet here as not only was I still tired from the very late Friday night but Daughter and Children are all away camping - actually a bit too quiet!
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Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Bad reaction....
Yesterday...
About 10:30am I noticed an itch on my right forearm. When it started getting more and more itchy I inspected my skin to find two raised round bumps near the wrist following the little finger line and a long irregular shaped raised bump on the inside of the arm near the elbow crease.
It definitely looks more like an allergy reaction even though it feels like I've pulled my arm through nettles, but I don't have any idea what has triggered it. I'd eaten two plums and a few peanut things this morning but I'd eaten both of those yesterday and have eaten the plums for the past three days. Very odd that it's just the one arm and only the lower half??? I did consider it might have been something on my shirt rather than ingested, so that shirt went into the wash and I put a clean one on.
I've been using Anthisan cream but the patches are getting bigger and bigger.
It's now 7:30pm and the inner arm patch is now the full width of my arm and almost round, so the diameter of my index finger. The two small bumps have enlarged enough to have joined into one and has almost reached down to join the large bump.
If it's not gone by the morning I'd better see a doctor!
Today......
Well the patches are still there and still itchy but I decided not to see a doctor as they are now flatter and not so hot so I think whatever it was is on it's way out of my system. Actually as the biggest area is calming down a bit I can see what looks like 5 pin pricks in a semi circle, so now I'm guessing it was caused by some insect or insects biting me! Little buggar!!!
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Friday, 15 July 2011
Just housework, maybe...
Turned out to be a very successful shopping trip with R yesterday, although it did take four hours! A different sort of shopping experience with each granddaughter as one is totally focused on what she wants and where she wants to look for it and the other is happy to drag in and out of every shop hoping for inspiration, the answer to most questions being "I don't know"! Only downside was the horrid rain.
Today so far I've done two machine loads of washing and some is already dry enough to come in again. Quite hot out there today :o)
Hubby has already cut back some of the grape vine, dug around some of the tree trunks and re-felted a shed roof and has now gone off to B&Q (his favourite shop) to buy some beading to repair the table in our Daughter's camper.
I've still got lots I want to do, ongoing jobs, like renaming and saving all my digital photos on this laptop then backing them up (they are in two places at least now). I'd always meant to write a description beside all my old printed photos so in years to come we'd remember who they are and where they were taken.....needless to say I never did! Also I'm some way to compiling a timeline of me! Got loads of old diaries to read through and pick the important or interesting bits out of to add to the timeline but that takes ages (cos I'm old enough to have far too many diaries). I wonder if anyone will be interested in any of this when I'm gone?
Note to self: Password protected computer or internet stuff can't be accessed when I'm gone, so either ditch the security protection or make sure the relevant people know my password!
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Today so far I've done two machine loads of washing and some is already dry enough to come in again. Quite hot out there today :o)
Hubby has already cut back some of the grape vine, dug around some of the tree trunks and re-felted a shed roof and has now gone off to B&Q (his favourite shop) to buy some beading to repair the table in our Daughter's camper.
I've still got lots I want to do, ongoing jobs, like renaming and saving all my digital photos on this laptop then backing them up (they are in two places at least now). I'd always meant to write a description beside all my old printed photos so in years to come we'd remember who they are and where they were taken.....needless to say I never did! Also I'm some way to compiling a timeline of me! Got loads of old diaries to read through and pick the important or interesting bits out of to add to the timeline but that takes ages (cos I'm old enough to have far too many diaries). I wonder if anyone will be interested in any of this when I'm gone?
Note to self: Password protected computer or internet stuff can't be accessed when I'm gone, so either ditch the security protection or make sure the relevant people know my password!
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Thursday, 14 July 2011
Neglected but not forgotten....
I know this has been a neglected blog, with the posts being few and far between, but hopefully I will make amends now and try to do so on a more regular basis.
There have been a few things stopping me from writing here one of which is yet another weight loss battle. This has to be just for me, so publicly marking achievements or lack of achievements doesn't help, so I've been writing that on a private space, listing my GABS= Good, Achievement, Bad and Stats for each day. Have to admit that that doesn't seem to help me either! The other thing that gets in the way of my jotting things down is having to be careful of what I say about whom in case it identifies them and/or causes any repercussions, much the same reason I'm hesitant to comment on the other blogs I read.
So a quick catch-up of the past few days....Hubby has been chopping down trees, 26 of them in fact. They are Leylandii that hedged around the play area but had gone completely brown on the insides so cutting them back this year made them all look a bit dead. So Monday they were all stripped of every branch by chain saw and yesterday Hubby spent nearly all day with two friends and two shredders reducing all but the thick branches to chippings in hundreds of orange sacks. Now just 26 trunks to get out of the ground. There'll be plenty of homes for the wood for burning so that won't be a problem.
Sunday night E asked to sleep over and on Monday we went into town to spend her clothes money as she was desperate to own a jump-suit or dungarees and although no dungarees we found two jump-suits in fact, a trousers pair and a shorts pair. Today I'm back into town with R who also has rather a lot of clothes money to spend. Can't believe I'm going into town twice in one week, haven't been for months!
Well they will all be here very soon and I'm not showered or dressed yet (I'm so easily distracted).
.
There have been a few things stopping me from writing here one of which is yet another weight loss battle. This has to be just for me, so publicly marking achievements or lack of achievements doesn't help, so I've been writing that on a private space, listing my GABS= Good, Achievement, Bad and Stats for each day. Have to admit that that doesn't seem to help me either! The other thing that gets in the way of my jotting things down is having to be careful of what I say about whom in case it identifies them and/or causes any repercussions, much the same reason I'm hesitant to comment on the other blogs I read.
So a quick catch-up of the past few days....Hubby has been chopping down trees, 26 of them in fact. They are Leylandii that hedged around the play area but had gone completely brown on the insides so cutting them back this year made them all look a bit dead. So Monday they were all stripped of every branch by chain saw and yesterday Hubby spent nearly all day with two friends and two shredders reducing all but the thick branches to chippings in hundreds of orange sacks. Now just 26 trunks to get out of the ground. There'll be plenty of homes for the wood for burning so that won't be a problem.
Sunday night E asked to sleep over and on Monday we went into town to spend her clothes money as she was desperate to own a jump-suit or dungarees and although no dungarees we found two jump-suits in fact, a trousers pair and a shorts pair. Today I'm back into town with R who also has rather a lot of clothes money to spend. Can't believe I'm going into town twice in one week, haven't been for months!
Well they will all be here very soon and I'm not showered or dressed yet (I'm so easily distracted).
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