Shwmae!

Have I said we're learning to speak Welsh? We started in September last year; we're really enjoying our twice  a week zoom lessons, although after the 2 hours we feel exhausted, with concentrating so hard. As well as the lessons we do daily exercises with Duolingo and on Fridays we take part in a group zoom reading aloud with others. So you can see we are putting in a lot of effort and time.

I can remember a little bit from school when I was 7 years old, just odd words and numbers, so no real help, but what is a help I can pronounce the words. I can remember a lot of French!!

One of our lecturers said I do have good pronunciation! Strangely Welsh is phonetical, so we've learnt the sounds, and its a help us say the words.

We watch bits of the Welsh TV and laugh together and agree it sounds like a foreign language, especially if they speak fast.

We have favourite words, mine is ... archfarchnad, which is supermarket and what about... ysgrifennu.. which is ..to write.  So some odd looking words, but we are getting used to saying them. I doubt we'll be fluent at the end of the year, but we're giving it a good try. 

So I'll end with ..

Noswaith dda.

Have any of you learnt a language in later years?

Chrisxx

A really nice person!

 I stopped to look at the flower shop in town this morning while waiting for Dh, who had been to the library for me.

    There was a man with his dog in a dog pram there too.. and incase you didn't know this, dog owners chat to each other all the time. I said 'posh pram' and he explained their dog had been seriously ill and the vet had been wonderful and I agreed.. because even though they appear to charge a lot, you can get an appointment the same day as you phone, they make a diagnoses there and then and then produce the treatment too, or are able to do what ever surgery is necessary with in hours, unlike our NHS! Vets are good we both said.. 

Then he quipped tongue in cheek,  that his wife and himself had come to the realisation that dogs are better than children and grandchildren.. because...

1. They don't eat you out of house and home

2. They don't ask for money

3. And if they have children you can sell them!

I came away from that man smiling, what a treat to chat to someone who gives you a smile!  I really enjoyed our trip to town.

Aren't some people really nice, what do you think?

Chrisxx

Bank Holiday in Winter

 Today it was a sunfilled day, but there was a really cold nip in the air, it was 9°C.

                       The front promenade was crowded.

This was one of the cafes.  

People were there looking at the RNLI's craft, brought out as a fund raising activity. Our volunteer crews were called out 49 times last year; the one time to rescue a dog, which was featured on TV!

Dh and I had been to a town café and drove home via the sea front.

We were in a nose to tail line of cars as people surged across road at the crossings.

There was a huge queue snaking outside the fish n chip shop and the smell from it was very inviting, but we drove on home... ohhh I could have eaten a bag of chips!

It's not even summer and the crowds are arriving already.

Well it is a seaside town and it was Bank Holiday and the sun was shining.

Chrisxx 

Resolutions?

         I'm taking this idea from Kirsten at Letters from Home.

And I think it will suit me, instead of Resolutions, Good ideas!

1. Lose at least 1 pound each week.

2. Walk at least 3 times a week and achieve my 1200 step count or more.

3. Use a yogurt with squirty cream instead of ice cream.

4 Fill 2 carrier bags a month for the charity shop.

They are sort of Resolutions but I don't feel pressurized, but I do have one Resolution and that is to stop sitting and dozing in my chair after I've had a sleepless night..

So get showered and dressed after my morning cuppa, even if I've been awake in the night for hours!! My one resolution which will be hard because I've got into the habit of not getting showered and dressed till 10 ish if we're not going out.....

..... is to ....Shower and dress before 9:30am! ( I thought before 9 but that would be planning for failure, so 9:30 am will be fine)

 

The Good Ideas are not too taxing so I can't achieve them, but just ideas to guide me.

I'm remembering what Rachel, our old SW consultant said to me, when the urge to eat 'foods that didn't fit the SW food plan.' 

Think.. 'Do I want to lose weight?'  And its working for me.

So I wish all my blogger friends.

 A Very Happy and Heathy New Year.

 Chrisxx

No ones time??

 Here we are in that time of year when Christmas has gone and New Year is yet to come, when its difficult to know what day it is, a sort of 'no ones time.'  The weather has been rainy and when it stopped it was drippy everywhere. I don't like walking on the best of days but wet puts me right off altho'  I have done quite a bit of walking since moving back here. 

This road leads to the front promenade from Rest Bay, a popular place for water sports. It gets very crowded in the summer months.

I haven't walked along here for many years, but I used to when my children were small,  there is a path bordering  the common, all along down along the coast. I had a push chair with the three squashed in, and then down into town about 2 miles and back again walking back up South Rd. 

(Number 4 child was born in Essex)

Today I'm happy to look out of the car window as Dh drives.

I will be walking this year to keep on losing weight.

I gained 2 pounds over Christmas, which I was very pleased with; some ladies put on loads, one 7 pounds!  

We're back on the SW plan, and I've decided I'd like to lose 10 pounds before my Amaryllis flowers. I planted up the huge bulb yesterday, so now who will win, me or the Amaryllis?

Watch this space  if you're interested; I'll photo the Amaryllis growth and honestly report my weight loss.

Chrisxx

Getting ready for the feast!

 One of my step daughters gave me an Amazon voucher for my birthday. Dh has bought me books, so had a think and bought these. A jigsaw for after Christmas and an Amaryllis and both arrived today.

I've planted the amaryllis and will delight in watching it grow.

Lots of delicious cooking smells here, even though it will be just us two, we still go the whole way with extras and sauces.

I've made Delia Smith's Morella Cherry and red wine sauce to go with our duck and in the oven being roasted is the base for Jamie Oliver's veg, herbs and chicken wings gravy recipe.. Dh is making Mary Berry's salmon mousse and we're listening to Carols from Kings on Radio 4. Our slow cooker is ready to start the pudding over night and the fridge is full!!

Will we dare to weigh after all this food? 

We are starting our day with our reading, Luke Chapter2 and then our breakfast is a selection of continental meats, (Dh has pork pie his family tradition) I like smoked salmon and we have crusty whole meal bread and butter and of course Bucks Fizz! 

What do you do on Christmas Eve?

Chrisxx

Are you ready?

It was a tremendous effort on my part,  but we have a real Christmas tree and its fully decorated, I didn't feel in the mood!

But on Saturday we ventured into our little town and what a picture it was.. Carols from two different choirs and the man  himself was there in the museum giving out presents. The local Round Table had set up a snow machine and to see the joy on the children's faces was delightful.

Dh and I walked the length of the main street and looked at all the Christmas decorated shop windows, which were lovely. Wrapped up warm and just ambling along taking in the atmosphere was just what I needed. Our little town seemed to be buzzing with Christmas cheer.

The florists shop was gorgeous as usual and I had to buy another (Hellebore)  Christmas rose for the garden. 

We stopped off at our favourite coffee shop and included a mince pie with our coffee, it melted in your mouth. I'm not too bothered about SW because since my last post I've lost 5 pounds!!

Yesterday was my birthday and I may have had a few more syns than my allowance,  but you're only 80 once, so I had to have that cheese cake and just a small portion of ice cream.

We're now looking forward to Christmas day and our duck dinner. It will be Dh and myself so we thought in the morning we'd go and cheer the Christmas Day swimmers! Brrrrrr it will be cold but they all wear bobble hats so will be ok!

Thank you to all my followers and those who have left comments this past year.

Merry Christmas All and a Very Happy and Healthy New Year. 

Chrisxx

The Constant Battle

Our present sliming world group meetings are always entertaining and fun, unlike some that I've been to which were very, very boring.

Our consultant is an absolute hoot and if you could lose weight from laughing, we'd all be skinny!!

Most weeks she tells us how much the combined weight loss of the group is. Pre-Christmas the numbers have dropped off, as it seems that is usual; post-Christmas the number of people joining is huge.

This past week the combined weight loss of the group was 42 1/2 pounds, and that 1/2 pound was mine! I am so proud that I could swell the loss by that 1/2 pound, wa-hoooo me!!

So, I am not going to lose that stone in weight by Christmas at this rate, but 12 pounds over............ months isn't so bad. And I probably won't lose even a half this week, as I've had two mince pies already! But hey ho, if I wasn't struggling to lose weight, I could be struggling to give up alcohol, or drugs like some people. And not losing any weight is not so bad, it's only this week. next week I will lose and when I put my mind to it, I will and maybe even more than a half.

So my battle goes on and on and on and on and ......................

Do you want to lose weight, did lockdown get to you too?

Chrisxx

Seasons

One of the gardening FB groups I belong to suggested we could show the four seasons in our gardens.

My spring picture is these lovely white narcissus, brought from our Suffolk garden without me knowing. They were in a pot with some perennial geraniums. A very pleasant surprise.

And one of my favourite summer flowers are phlox, such a heavenly scented flower,

And my own penstemon, grown from a cutting flowering late summer. 

And my very favouritest flower is Rudbeckia which flowers past the first frosts

And I loved all of these too, which made the weedy grass area we moved into full of colour. 

lo

I love flowers, what about you?

                                                     Chrisxx

Grey or dyed??

 In three weeks', time I will be celebrating very big birthday, my hair has gone very grey. My cousin who dyes her own hair says it makes me look very old. Duh? I am old and so is she, as she is my age.

My husband has a lot of hair which is very white, he is very proud of it and he only goes to have it cut when it really needs it! I have a lot of hair too, albeit grey. He and I are very happy, married now 17 years and he is happy with my hair colour.  It means we are growing old together, which is lovely as I love him very much. Many people don't get to be my age, so I'm really pleased that I am this age.

This past week we had what we thought was a good idea; we would do a supermarket shop instead of having a delivery, which we have had since the first lockdown, March 2020. Oh my gosh it was awful. There were no disable parking spaces free, it was tipping down with rain and the huge car park was full. We did get a space not too far from the entrance and there was a gentleman who was unloading his trolley next to us, so I had that to push to the store. 

 Inside, it wasn't so crowded, but we didn't know where certain foods were. There were trolleys left in the middle of aisles, blocking the way for everyone else; why do people do that? We came out vowing we'll have deliveries again! I was exhausted and waited in a pick-up area for Dh to come for me. I've never felt so old.

But here I am, grey hair, stretchmarks, wrinkles, sunspots and scars and I am over weight, But I am who I am and I'm still here. And I love my life.

Inside my head I'm not the age I am. Somedays I'm only 18 and starting my nursing training. I have very clear memories being in my very first kitchen as a new wife and reading the label on the back of frozen veg, I couldn't cook, but I didn't poison us! Then I am 21 looking down at my first baby, my daughter. When ABBA won the European Song Contest, my daughter and I danced all around the house and that week I made us matching satin shorts.  I can see my three sons standing together on the drive of our first Billericay house wearing the duffle coats I'd made them; I was such a proud mum and loved it when my children were young. I loved my teaching years and at this time of year I remember the Christmas concerts where I played the piano. How did I do that?

So, my hair might make me look old to some people but the other week in the SW meeting, another member said how lovely I looked. It did me good, why aren't there more people in the world who are willing to build each other up instead of tearing each other down? We need more people to encourage us to embrace who we are, we ourselves need to rock the bodies God gave us and be happy with ourselves just as we are. I'll still use my beauty cream on my face and neck each night and morning, and look after my teeth and hair, just because I'm old, I don't want to let myself go!

What do you think about grey hair?

Chrisxx