Hi Allie….I have been all over the place today! Just read your kind offer. You are so sweet to think of me like that. I have several options available at the moment, so I am going to try a new one every one/two weeks. I should see an improvement in a week I think? Have the most wonderful weekend in Rhode Island. I agree with you that this forum is amazing but only because of the people on it…which of course includes you. Safe travels.

Mary
xxxx

Hey FFBB…so good to see you again. I have really missed you! Well done on getting the Red coat, and still working on the woe as well as working and walking. You are an inspiration!

Will talk later as I am in the middle of something tonight. So pleased you are ok.

Lots of love
Mary
xxx

Nonna Mary – my mum`s severe psoriasis was made worse by blood pressure pills.

Hello, Carol, what a wonderful way to start the weekend, hearing from some
of our “silent” friends! I’m glad to hear that you are settling into your new
job. Aren’t red coats fun? I got one for myself this season, after wearing
dark colors for a decade and a half! It’s great to hear from you. 🙂

Allie

Hi Allie,

You are so right, my red coat is fun. I am also realising that I really suit blues and greens. I have a lovely size 16 linen coat from Per Una as my next non scale goal. It is soft grey with a pink lining and I can now put it on and fasten the bottom button so I think another 2 stone should be enough for it to fit nicely and losing 2 stone by March/April is doable.

My office is situated at the end of quite a dark road and I had a near miss on the zebra crossing so I figure they will see a red coat better.

FFBB X

Best to also flap your arms around at the zebra crossing, FFBB, just to be
on the safe side! We really can’t afford any more accidents to our merry
little band. The grey and pink linen coat sounds beautiful!

Allie
xoxo

Hi, everyone! My weekend plans to spend it with my cousin and his wife seem
to have fallen by the wayside. Bronchitis has invaded their home, so here we
shall stay. Instead, I’ve been filling my online shopping cart at jjill, a U.S. Co.
that has clothing that caters to “women of a certain age”, yet plenty of style
for me. So far, I’ve loaded $1100 US dollars of merchandise into my cart,
which is ridiculous, so I’ve got to start winnowing down! I haven’t had a dress
or skirt on for a decade and a half. Should I risk it????????? I don’t want to
go crazy here. Where do I think I’m going to go anyway? I over bought in
the Spring, and am embarrassed to admit that several garments still have the
tags on them. Don’t want to do that again. Hmm, what to do…I’m no good
at decision making.

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend. Let’s “talk Christmas”!
What sort of festivities do you all have planned?

Love to all my sweet sisters,

Allie

Kazzi ?

Hi Allie

Just sat down after doing a mountain of ironing before we go away next week. I hate to leave any washing/ironing before we go. But I can identify with the clothes problems!

Why not have a dress ? I don’t wear dresses because I have loads of scars but otherwise I would and you absolutely should! Go on be a devil!

I have disposed of so many clothes many still with labels on. Too small when I bought them but thinking ‘ I will lose weight’ and now that I have they are too big!

If you are buying online you can always return unwanted items so go on spoil yourself and have a day of trying on and twirling and deciding which clothes really suit you the best. I have had loads of stuff over the last few weeks trying to find a party outfit. Most of it but not all, has gone back but I have chosen, sorry, a black cold shoulder strapped top which hides the ‘bingo wings’ but still looks quite dressy for my party. I know it’s still black but it just seems appropriate at the moment.

Sorry your weekend has been spoilt but there’s still time to spoil yourself!

Thank you Verano, I have a smile on my face and feel so much less guilty
at the moment! 🙂 🙂 🙂 I wear a lot of black too, and a cold shoulder top
DOES detract from the bingo wings! I’ve been eying a pencil skirt with a
black lace overlay for the party season. Now I’m just going to go for it!
Black suede pumps, etc. Your a bad influence, but thanks so much! I’m
not sure o/h will be as pleased about it as I am, but he will just have to
adjust to the new/old me! 🙂

I have recently become an expert in insane online shopping sprees and I strongly encourage you to BUY IT ALL. But if you can, wait until Friday-Monday because that thousand dollars could be cut in half come Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

I bought my first dress in 20 years a few weeks ago. Because my thighs are weird, as my cat keeps reminding me, the dress is midi length which is very much on trend anyway and looks great with a pair of hot pumps or tall boots and ankle boots. I also bought a gorgeous skirt at White House Black Market that is festive but conservative (it’s black with gold jacquard embroidery and wide box pleats) so I can look good on my OH’s arm when we schmooze with his new employers at the office Christmas shindig. They both fit like a glove and make me feel like a teenager dressing up for the big dance.

In conclusion, Allie, treat yourself! How much have spent on clothes in the past 17 years? I’m guessing pennies. After all your hard work, now’s the time to invest in looking as great as you feel. 🙂

FFBB…I didn’t know BP tablets could have an effect. I had the Psoriasis before I took the tablets though. But I would be interested to know which type your mother took? Kazz and I take the same ones …Losartan…and they have lots of side effects (don’t they all?). Be careful crossing that road, but enjoy your lovely Red coat.

Allie…shame about the weekend, BUT…spend the money on the clothes. If you are anything like me you have lived in baggy “comfortable” clothes for years! You deserve to feel good and dressing up can do that. That skirt sounds lovely. When eating at my daughters on Sunday, I wore a dress that I haven’t worn for ages. Jovis commented that it was longer than before, because my stomach wasn’t lifting it up. It was hanging on me and I used to stretch it…I felt very good. I haven’t lost the weight I gained last weekend and don’t think I will this week. I am going to relax tonight and begin again tomorrow or Monday.

When my friend came around last week, she noticed I had lost a little weight and I told her how. I bought, both the recipe book and the 8 week blood sugar diet and left them inside her porch today. She phoned me and was so pleased. She is going to read them over the next few weeks. Like I said, even if she doesn’t follow the WOL she can still use the recipes. Her husband has arthritis and carries a hell of a lot of weight around his gut. I am hoping she will be able to persuade him to join her, but I don’t think he will. He enjoys his indulgences too much.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

Love from
Nonna Mary
xxx

Esnecca, how wonderful for you! I have not worn a dress in over 15 years (my bottom so much bigger proportionately than my top, separates always work better. Slack and tunics have become my uniform).

I dream of the day I can buy a pair of petty tall leather boots to wear with a skirt. My calves are just too big to do that now. But I know that day will come.

I hope you dance the night away and make your OH so very proud to have a glam goddess on his arm!

Mary, what a wonderful friend you are, not only here but in terms of your
“real life” relationships as well. I really hope that your “bestie” will embrace
this way of eating, and it never hurts to be a role model for her. Husbands
are always another story!!! I was called “the food Nazi” around here
(affectionately, of course 🙂 ) for a good 9 months. I almost fell over in a
dead faint during jim’s hospitalization when he said that the food they
delivered to his room was inetible, (sp?) and he couldn’t wait til we got
home so he could eat “my food”. No more grimaces, etc.! Is your Sat.
night dancing challenge almost over? Unfortunately Doc Martin has
begun reruns of the season. I’m thinking of having our first wood burning fire
tonight in the fireplace, instead. Going to hunt down some old newspaper,
I’ve already found a cache of hard wood logs out on the porch. Enjoy
your evening, everyone!!

Allie
xoxoxo

Hi my lovelies.

Sorry for the radio silence today. Got totally absorbed in Grain Brain! The damage gluten can cause to your brain causing all sorts of neurological illnesses is staggering! Surely if it was true, why is there no campaign worldwide to make everyone aware that they are pretty much condemning themselves to appalling, ill health and misery? Is it because it would be an economic disaster? It’s terrifying!

Well I bit the bullet and climbed on the scales. A final gain of 4 lb. Sorry guys to disappoint you but, I am still very much in the zone and I know I can undo this blip over the next week. Going to try to stick to 20 g carbs max and make myself drink lots of water! I relaxed a little and had a very nice week holiday. But I’m ready now for the last stretch to Xmas, a clear run and well ready!

Allie, sorry to hear your plans have fallen through. Shame but better to dodge the illness me thinks. Go on and treat yourself to some new gear, you certainly deserve it! That pencil skirt sounds very classy, especially with some pretty nylons!

Mary, you do that, you’ve had a harrowing week and you deserve a break. I hope the sudocreme gives you a bit of relief. It does dry out the skin. My routine is to remove my makeup with aqueous cream and a tissue. Then I wet a flannel with warm water and gently wash my face. Never use soap. Then apply more aqueous and once soaked in, I apply the sudo. In the mornings, I do the same again with acqueous and flannel, then apply Astal moisturiser, then my makeup. I don’t bother with make up at weekends. I never used to be able to go bare faced, not even to open the door to the postman!

Good to see our other friends dropping by.

Allie, I owe you an email, but right now Strictly Come Dancing has started so will catch up tomorrow.

Lots of love and enjoy your evening my wonderful friends.

Kazzzeee xxxx

Kazz, Grain Brain is the Perlmutter book, isn’t it? We will all be looking
forward to your book reviews. What I’ve been thinking about is the fact
that 80% of the grain that is produced today is genetically modified! Our
ancestors never ate this stuff. Why would we want to?
Enjoy your program – Talk to you soon 🙂

well, …..a whisper from the far south!
break needed for multiple reasons….mostly work deadlines and attention to other priorities (mind you, I write this listening to an interview of one of the founders of “black lives matter” after the Australian marriage equality “survey” which thankfully resulted in a resounding yes vote!! and I still struggle with the personal/political!!)

anyhoooo….just read assiduously through probably weeks and weeks of old posts and hoping to be welcomed back to the fold 🙂

me….recovered broken rib…still recovering broken toe (sorry …and seriously sympathetic, Heather re slow healing injuries and work!)….more than enough people staying and while mostly on BSD friendly eating….not counting Kg etc

However, Mary. I really wanted to add a hopefully useful input re your psoriasis

Some years ago, I attended a great seminar by a prof Hollick who presented alongside other things, some very interesting research on vit D…and interestingly, since then (as I think I posted some time ago), there’s also interesting research on Vit D deficiency in both obesity/insulin resistance and depression

see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3130965/

http://drholick.com/

hope some of it may be of use

Me…I’m OK if hankering some “quiet” time after too many visitors and deadlines!!
weight….not down as stopped “diet” but not up (well, 1kg) as still on “principles”….just over 4 weeks to Christmas so still hope for the 70kg weigh in !

Summer here….my busiest time re work but will try to check in, as….well, it’s a good thing and you’re such an amazing team!!

WELCOME BACK EC….I HAVE MISSED YOU SO MUCH…

Thank you for the links. I have read them and I am although I do take multivitamins…I am going to make sure I get VitD tonight and take that daily. I have used the VitD creams, but they can damage the normal skin. So you have to be very careful.

Sorry you are healing…take it easy for goodness sake! It must be getting very hot there now… quite the opposite here, the central heating is on and warm clothes are being worn. I know you are busy, but please pop in occasionally and let me know you are ok. Well done on not going back to carbs. I can’t see the point even though I am having problems losing.

I don’t have much to report here, so I will just wish you all the very best and will be back soon.

Lots of love,
Nonna Mary
xxx

Hi troops!

Just a quick pop in as am at work and taking late break…

EC – so good to see you again… glad you are on the mend. Thanks also from me, I shall also purchase some Vit Ds on the way home tonight. A very useful read. We shall crack this blasted psoriasis!

Mary – how’s the sinusitis and your grandie doing? What did you think of the results show last night? I guess even the good dancers have to experience a dance off at least once – I don’t believe the votes at all, all rigged in my opinion … bet it’s Alexandra next week against Susan or someone!!!

Allie – yes, that’s the right book. It’s an amazing read – I’m about 1/3 of the way through. Yes, it is quite off putting when you think how toxic it is to the brain. I’ve dropped you a very quick email. So, tell us about what clothes you ordered then?

I should imagine everyone is getting run off their feet with Thanksgiving this Thursday. It is Thursday and not Friday?

Okay my lovelies, see you tomorrow. Normal service should resume now I’ve had chance to catch up with over 500 emails!

Kazzzeeeee xxxx

Hi, my beauties, I hope everyone has had a happy day!
Erin, it is so wonderful to hear from you. Life doesn’t feel quite balanced
without a post from down under. I didn’t realize that you had also broken
a toe in your fall. You must be in one of those restricted “boots” then?
Having a houseful of guests is always fun, but there is always a certain
relief when life returns to normal, isn’t there? I find it quite interesting that
“black lives matter” has taken a foothold in Australia as well. I’m more than
a little interested in American politics also. I used to be totally apolitical,
but in the past 5 years what I see happening in my country is profoundly
disturbing, so I’m very passionate on the subject as well. The equality vote
in your country seems to have been a real mandate from the people.

Kazzi, I’ve been pirhouetting around the house today after receiving your
selfie from “the ladies”. That’s a beautiful blouse that you’re wearing today!
I’m happy to hear that you’ve caught up on that astronomical number of
emails. We’re all looking forward to resumption of services. I can’t be the
only one that looks forward to your communiques each day 🙂 I’m not sure
what I’m doing with this demented shopping spree. There are a lot of
duplicates in the shopping cart because of different fabrics and trouser
lengths. Basically, I’ll just try the mountain of clothing on and send back
what I don’t like. So far (shudder!) I have 2 different lengths of denin pants,
ponte knit slim trousers, tights, a simple pleated back little black knit dress,
3 tunics, 2 scarves, a pair of high suede boots, and a pair of block heeled
black suede pumps. Enough! I’ve invested a fraction of this in my wardrobe
over the past 17 years and I feel very decadent indulging myself in this way.
It’s completely out of character to focus on myself in this manner. I also
threw a black lace pencil skirt into my cart, but I don’t really know if I
can justify that. I still haven’t pulled the trigger and finalized my order though.
Must be guilt!!!

Have a great evening, everyone. See you tomorrow!

Allie
xoxoxo

thanks friends for the generous welcome back!
I’ll try to be a regular if intermittent poster (is that an oxymoron??)….my normal introvert nature tends to make me retreat into just maintenance on overwhelm, but here I am (and in need of reminders to stay accountable!

Rebooted myfitnesspal this morning and while I expect to be over for a day or two am at least counting!!

Mary, yes, it is hot here…..unusually so in Tas for November ….luckily mu office is cool but the border collie acts deprived with less walks!!
Allie…broken toe was a separate accident!!! (promise I’ve stopped now!!)….and enjoy your shopping, however it pans out….I’m still culling!!!

Anyhow, work is still crazy, but the household has retreated to normal, so all good here…and while we no longer have our own hens, Heather, my friends’ are so plenty of easy vegetarian protein!! (and when it cools down a little, I’ll try to tame the garden enough to plant some more leafy greens for salads

Good morning Everyone!

Weigh in today and as expected no weight loss. I am beginning to think I hallucinated the scale measurement of 16:6…as it would mean I gained 4 pounds in as many days. Going to attempt a 24 hour fast…so far…15 hours and ok…some of them sleeping.

Kazz sorry meant to answer your questions re grandies….little ones chickenpox is evident, but not sore/itchy and she is recovering. Her brother has visited Doctor today as he spent the night coughing…I have skyped and it is nasty. Doctor says to wait and see how he gets on. They do not like giving out antibiotics. I asked once how they know if its viral or bacterial and was told they don’t. Without taking a specimen for culture…they have no way of knowing. So they advise to wait it out. If it gets better fine…if it doesn’t then they will try antibiotics.
The sinusitis comes and goes. I think I had it last week because it was so cold and I wasn’t wearing a hat (as is my way). I need to wrap up more.

Allie…lovely that you have so many clothes choices. I am loathe to buy new clothes at the moment as my weight doesn’t conform to the rules. (see above). I so dearly wanted to be below 16 stone before Christmas, but it doesn’t look very likely. Will have to settle for by my birthday in January (some hope after Christmas when I intend to relax a little and go over 800 cals). I hate to keep moving the goalposts!

Erin, pop in when you can and remember too much work is bad for you! The poor collies…I don’t think dogs like walking in the heat any more than humans do. My Akita hates it, and dislikes walking in the rain. The Labrador will walk anytime, but he is proper daft.

So good luck and much love from
Nonna Mary
xxx

That’s all folks!

Just past noon here, so good afternoon to you all! My hardboiled egg and
serving of kimchi is at the ready….

Mary, I didn’t buy any clothes for years either. I got by with 3 shirts and 1
pair of cropped pants in the summer, and 3 shirts, 1 sweater, and 2 pairs
of trousers in the winter. There just aren’t any well made clothing available
for obese women, and none of them would have looked good on me anyway!
I’m so frugal that I still use cotton oversized tunics for sleep shirts today,
who cares if my shoulder sticks out of the head hole? Sorry to hear that
infections are still active in the house of Grandies. It must be hard for
your daughter.

We are on the eve of the first big holiday of the season, Thanksgiving Day.
Already been to the market to pick up the turkey breast. Tomorrow will be
bedlam, though today was bad enough! Crowds make me claustrophobic.
Julia, Esnecca, Luvtcook, wishing you all a blessed day spent with those
that you cherish. Now it’s time to get serious about planning in advance
for Christmas and making up a few things for the freezer and unplanned
for guests. Does anyone have any ideas or holiday recipes to share?
In my family we have a tradition of reuben sandwiches on Christmas eve,
which we avoided last year. Haven’t made any decisions about this year
as of yet. My paternal grandmother and her sister were exceedingly proud
of their English roots, so always had a Christmas Day feast for 25 of us
with roast beef, yorkshire pudding, and a flaming plum pudding (with the
lights dimmed!) and hard sauce. All 10 of us grandchildren used to run
wild. Happy Days! I’d love to hear about your traditions, social or gastro-
nomically, if you have time to share!!!!

Have a great evening, all 🙂

Allie

Good morning my friends

Well, firstly I’m really upset to hear about my first crush, David Cassidy. My walls and doors were covered in Jackie posters of him back in 1974…. It is so so sad. RIP, David.

It’s been manic at work, so sorry for very few posts. I’m relieved to say that I peaked at the scales today and they are moving back down now and I’ve lost 2 of the 4 lb gain.

I’m going to have a go at a 36 hour fast today so wish me luck!

I’ll be back later today I hope. Have a great day wherever you are.

Kazzeeee xxxx

Morning, Kazz. I’m sorry that you are having “one of those weeks” in the
office. With your commute, those are long days! I won’t look for any
selfies from the ladies this week 🙂 Good luck with your fast. You all amaze
me. When you have time, I’d really like to hear what you feel like throughout
that time period? All I can imagine is feeling really shaky and sick!
The David Cassidy story didn’t even make the news here, as far as I know.
After your revelations about his fantasy status in your life, I took a peak at
the article in the daily mail. The contemporary photo of him is nearly
unrecognizable. I never had any posters on the wall. My fantasies were of
the more living, breathing type on offer at school. And never skinny! Probably
why I ended up with an athlete for my o/h…………
We will be waiting here for you when you get caught up at work,

xoxoxo
Allie

HAPPY NOODLE DAY TO ALL!

Well Kazz…I must admit to feel a little sad about David Cassidy…although not a real crush of mine I did love the Partridge Family and the fact that he is only 7 years older than me, suffering Dementia then dying is sad. I liked a lot of people, Donny, Michael, Labi Sifre, but I was more of a rock chick lol. The Who, Lynard Skynyrd, Stones, Deep Purple, Cream, David Bowie…The Sweet. It was the bubble gum time of music and I enjoyed the variety of music…even joke records like “Grandad” got into the charts. Oh and Joe Dolce…Shut Uppya Face…lol. Such fun times! Re Strictly…since Aston went out I find nothing surprising! I still can’t see why they kept Mollie King in…I can’t see an improvement. Grrr…rassle frassle (Cartoon swearing).

I have been quite worried about my lovely 3 year old boy since September when he had a cold and lost his voice. It hasn’t come back with any strength. The Doctor said it was Laryngitis and it would improve. Now with this new cold it is worse. Any Nurses or Doctors out there that can reassure me?

I fasted for 24 hours yesterday and didn’t even have tea (I can’t drink it without sugar). I had so better lose weight this week !

Waiting for parcels today as well as having Noodle. Started my Christmas shopping…at last. I am not a super organised person at this time of year. I prefer the hustle and bustle. However, like you Allie, I get a little uncomfortable in crowds. Always have. I won’t attend a “Stadium” concert. I don’t see the point of paying lots of money to watch a tiny figure or a giant TV screen. Makes no sense to me. I like my comfort. You can keep the “atmosphere!”

Well I feel a black coffee coming on. Something I can drink without sugar!

Lots of love
Nonna Mary
xxxx

A happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends across the pond 🙂

Allie – your grandma with English roots pretty much sums up our Xmas tradition! I found a batter mix for gluten free Yorkshire puds. My mum will definitely want those along with roast potatoes and stuffing, although I can live without that stuff. Roast parsnips is not something I am prepared to miss out on though! A friend of mine did creamed sprouts one year which was delicious! I think you’ll find a recipe on youtube or the internet I’m sure. Do you have mince pies in the US? Instead of making them with normal or puff pastry, lining a muffin tin with filo pastry makes a lovely lighter version. Here’s a link (hopefully) http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2011/12/a-very-british-christmas-part-2-mince-pies What would we do without online shopping? I do all my Xmas shopping that way. I LOATHE the Xmas crowds too and nothing puts me in a bad mood quicker than jostling shoppers and crowded, overheated shops! 🙂 Oh, and I did reply to your email yesterday morning but your husband has probably been hogging his laptop! 🙂

Mary – Noodle day, yay! Be prepared to fall into bed exhausted but that’s quite a nice thing really! Hmmm, sorry to hear your 3 year old’s (is this Noodle?) voice has got worse. If it was you I’d suggest honey and lemon and brandy to drink and rub Vick on your chest. Hopefully someone will be able to respond.

Rassle frassle – that made me laugh! I’d forgotten that, who was that? Mutley?

Ahh, good musical choices Mary. I was only 11 around then so after DC, I migrated to the Bay City Rollers but not for long, I got ridiculed for it! I did a bit of a stint as a punk, but got detention at school for wearing a safety pin in my pierced ear! Then I was introduced to Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles for the rest of the 70’s and never looked back! I was a new romantic for awhile as the 80’s kicked in and that really was my era but always had a bit of a thing for melodic rock too! Pat Benatar, REO Speedwagon, Chicago, Europe! I’ve recently bought a Journey concert on DVD from 1981. Back then, I had the Escape album, but never knew what anyone looked like! Boy, Steve Perry’s man hair! Right, can you tell my bosses are out of the office today?! I really must crack on.

See you later – before I get fired…

Kazzeee xx

Hey, Mary, happy Noodle Day to you, too! I love the sound of that (even if
I coined it 🙂 ) I’m sorry that little Joe hasn’t recovered from his laryngitis.
I have no background in pediatrics so can’t do much to help. What I can
tell you is that I had a case of it that didn’t even begin to improve for a
good 4 weeks, and it was probably 6 wks before I sounded like myself.
However, I didn’t do anything sensible like refrain from talking! You know
me, how could I be expected to be quiet for so long??? How does little
Joe feel? I can never get it in gear re Christmas shopping until after
thanksgiving (tomorrow) which means that inevitably the things I choose
will be out of stock! Procrastination is a personality trait that I seem to
have picked up from jim. He never does his shopping until Christmas
eve, when I’d of course prefer him to be home 🙂 Enjoy your day with the
precious Noodle.

I see I have no takers to exchange Christmas traditions with today.
Have a great one!

Much love,
Allie

Sssshhhhh ! Just got Noodle to sleep by rocking her in the pushchair (stroller). It took me 45 minutes….slept badly last night so already knackered but only have her for another 3 or 4 hours so will survive.

Kazz, I had forgotten about Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles…two favourites of mine…plus the others except Bay City Rollers. Never got into them. When I was a child in that awful household, we had an old 78 gramophone (you may not know what that is). I had a record of Nat King Cole’s…written by Charlie Chaplin…Smile….I have always used that as a way of life. The words are so true. I also love opera, some country (not the hard and fast country and western), I love to hear a banjo and can play just a tiny bit, but could never get my hand around the frets, or pick up my speed. My Jovis loves the Beatles and anything else from 1965 to 1980. So of course I do too. I already did like them. I love to hear Jimi Hendrix…but when I see him I get cross that he wasted such a talent. In short…I suppose I like all music. lol…By the way…it was little Joe with the voice loss…he is 3 years and 3 months.

Allie…on the Christmas front..I love that yours was a family affair. I will let you know about ours later…don’t dare stay on here for too long…tempting fate.

Later lovelies,
Nonna Mary
xxxx

Thank you, Mary, for reminding me of that Nat King Cole song. It’s now
playing in my head! A pretty good rulebook for life, too. I hope Noodle has
a nice long nap for you. And I’m looking forward to future installments on
Christmas 🙂 🙂 🙂

Goodmorning (at least now morning in US) to all positng this morning….Allie, Mary, KazzUK. Feeling a bit under the weather today. I have patches when my temperature drops from the normal of 98.6F to something in the 97.0s. Yesterday it was 97.0F and this morning a new low of 96.5F. I feel pretty crummy with no energy. Doctors have no idea what it is and don’t seemed very concerned but I hate it. It usually lasts for about 3 days but can be for up to a week and then rises a bit.

Was hoping the fast would up my basal metabolic rate and positively affect this low temp thing, but clearly not. Also had a bit of gut upset yesterday so switched from water to broth mid day and that seemed to help. Ended my fast with several doses of kefir, later a bowl of yogurt and some vegetable soup with egg on toast (low carb). Getting a slow start this morning, not helped by the scale going up a lb since yesterday morning. Makes some sense in that I had a meal last night versus nothing in my gut from fasting the privous weigh in, but a bit of a weight drop would have brightened my mood a bit.

So sorry to be unable to add to the cheer today. Allie, will share Xmas stories when this spell passes.

Love to all. LTC

Hi Allie – what did you think to our tradition of Christmas mince pies?! It’s true, it sounds quite normal to us but when you read the history link, it’s quite strange really! 🙂

LTC – I hope your temperature gets back to normal soon. It must be quite annoying but it’s good that the docs aren’t concerned I guess. If it persists, perhaps you could try eating 3 times per day for a week and see if that regulates things?

Mary – now that’s what I call a great song! In fact, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra are my favourite Christmas voices. I have greatest hits of both of theirs and put them on in the background on Christmas Day!

Kazzee xx

Luvtcook, I’m so sorry that you’re feeling dragged out. Right on the eve of
one of our biggest national holidays, too! That’s very disappointing. I’ve
thought that you’ve been a little quiet in the past 24 hrs. Do you feel cold,
too? I wish the medical community had some explanation for you. Don’t
forget to keep hydrated. The way that I push water around here you would
think that I had a vested financial interest in Poland Springs! Can either
your son or brother help out in the kitchen tomorrow? Feel better soon 🙂
I’m looking forward to your future posts on your Christmas traditions. It
will be fun to see how ours and our new British friends overlap!
Really happy to see you posting on this thread…………..

Allie
xoxoxo

Thanks Allie. My thoughts exactly. Going to do a few low energy things this am….blanch a few of the veg, bake turkey wings to make gravy (turkey breast doesnt do it if ….moist breast does not yeild enough drippings). Gang does not arrive until 1 pm tomorrow, so will have to leave more labor intensive stuff till tomorrow am then if I don’t perk up a bit this afternoon….and ask for help for anything left on the the to-do list.

More water it is then.

Kazz, you just put a happy memory in my head. My grandmother used to make her own
homemade mincemeat for christmas pies!! As I recall, it was started way in advance of
the holiday, and was loaded with brandy or some other booze. I just remember the spice
she used and the alcohol. I’m going to have a look at the recipe you linked. I haven’t
given that a thought in a long time. Does it contain suet??? Holidays were pretty raucus
at the relative’s houses. The “elders”, probably my current age now, refused to give up
their whiskey or scotch as they aged. When o/h was first exposed to my family dinners
he said that he’d never seen old people drink! He’s from a different area of the country
than I. On one holiday my great aunt had over indulged and was therefor a little unsteady
on her spiked heels. She was bringing in a full gravy boat to the table. The gravy arrived
on the tablecloth several seconds before she came along with the boat. None of this seemed
at all shocking to us at the time! 🙂 Sparkling wine was then served with dinner. My cousin
and I were both around 13 at the time, and we were both given a glass as we had
graduated to the “adult” table. What did we know? All this passed as normal. Maybe
this explains why I’m more than a little crazy? O/h is indeed planted in front of his
laptop! No classes this afternoon because of the holiday. I’ll try to sneak back there
and dislodge him so that I can pick up your email 🙂

Sorry, Kazz, I forgot the punchline! When my then future husband got back to college after his
first major holiday with my family, he was asked by a friend “How was it with Allison’s family?”
His reply was “Oh, just like one of our fraternity parties!” Enough said 🙂 🙂 🙂

Right…I have 5 minutes to myself before Jovis gets back with the shopping and we start dinner…

Little Joe continues to have a nasty cough and a high temperature…not a fever, but high none the less. His mother is keeping a close watch on him but assures me he is ok. However, he is sleeping at the moment, despite his 16 month old sister bringing, sheets and blankets out of the clean washing basket, to cover him up! God bless children everywhere, they are so wonderful.

Noodle was lovely and gave me the most amazing smiles. I munched her and loved her and enjoyed every minute. She is so great. I am so blessed.

Lovetcook…that sounds horrible. Makes me mad when the medics can’t find anything wrong! I hope you feel better soon and enjoy Thanksgiving.

Allie, I love your stories. The aunt on the heels reminds me of one of my dads sisters. She wouldn’t use her bus pass (enables free travel) because she didn’t want anyone to know her age. Her hair was blonde and piled on her head and she wore high heels until she died. I wish I had their fortitude. I like to feel comfortable! The idea of the gravy arriving before the boat made me laugh!

Kazz…I have a Christmas Album by Nat…on it he sings Buon Natale (forgive the spelling if its wrong). A lovely little ditty! We have been watching Christmas Films and listening to Christmas songs for a few weeks now. Jovis loves the spirit of Christmas and we always make sure there is plenty of love in the house for him. Explaining our Christmas will take too long now…so I am keeping Allie on tenterhooks a bit longer.

Later lovelies,

Mary
xxx

Mary, I’m absolutely certain the wait will be worth it!!! I’m delighted that you like my
stories, but you only encourage me to include more of them 🙂 🙂 🙂

Good morning, everyone! Just a quick one before I have to get busy in the kitchen, but I
want to share some news. I heard from our dear Hello66 by way of the “Happy Thanksgiving”
thread last evening, to wish me a happy holiday. She’s having lots of rounds of medical
testing done at the moment, but plans to be back when all of that is “sorted”. My eyes
lit up when I saw her post, just like her to be thinking of others when she has so many
concerns of her own! She sent love and hugs, and asked that I say hello to all of her
sisters here. Sending a warm, giant hug her way! Take good care of yourself, cutie…
I’ll be waiting for you when life resumes some sort of order for you.

Lots of love,

Allie
xoxoxo

Hi Mary – Hello66 said to say hello to all soldiers on Lizzie’s thread so not sure if you saw it?

Just us today methinks what with it being Thanksgiving. I got to 24 hours with my fast last night but then had an impromptu invite to my Auntie’s for dinner on the way home from work as my other uncle was over from Cyprus for a visit so it was lovely to catch up with him. She very kindly did me baked salmon salad. Two of the others tucked into cheese and mushroom toasted sandwiches. I would have drooled at that once upon a time, but it just didn’t look that appealing. Would much rather have melted cheese and mushroom wrapped in an thin omelette these days!

Yes, that was a very entertaining story of yours, Allie. I’d love to have been a fly on the wall that day, watching your OH’s face! Must have a been a picture! I love “oldies” that rock! 🙂 I’d have fitted in extremely well at your table!!

Well I had a potato-less turkey dinner just now at work – small portions but tasty with roasted cauliflower, carrots and braised cabbage. I am going to try again now with the fasting and see if I can last until brunch Saturday morning which will be approx a 46 hour fast!

I have a Xmas story for you…. I hope I can do it justice – difficult cos you need to know the personalities… here goes…. it was quite a few years ago now, my late grandparents Nanny B and Grandpa never would go anywhere and every year it my mum would start in October to cajole them to come over for Boxing day (day after Xmas). Every year it was the same, no, nothing to wear! And this visit included being collected and brought back home…! Well, around 1982 this was, my then boyfriend and I drove the 14 miles to pick them up in one of his “cars” which he was going to do up! He never did get around to doing it up in the 3 years it was parked on my parent’s drive much to my mum’s annoyance. As we were driving along, I could smell burning and there was this rythmic chaffing sound… We got nanny and grandpa squeezed into this old Ford Prefect and brought them back to my mum and dads house. They had a very pleasant visit and around 11pm, we drove them back home… more burning and chaffing but we just ignored it! They lived in a suburban area with an off licence (liquor store?) on the corner opposite. It wasn’t the safest of areas either by the 80’s with lots of strange nocturnal goings on in the shadows by the local residents – just painting a picture here! We got to the front door and found they’d both forgotten their keys! Nanny’s sister lived next door but one so we knocked on her door to see if she had a spare key. She didn’t but she did have an empty ice cream container full of old keys! You know, everyone has a container with “stuff” in case it becomes useful, right?! She also produced a torch so that we could rummage through this box of keys, trying various ones, hoping to find one that would fit! Problem was, the torch battery was starting to dim but we struggled on gallantly …. Grandpa then came up with the idea of trying to jemmy the wooden strip off the door frame on the side which acted like a draft excluder. His idea was to then slide a thin credit card between the tiny gap by the lock, in the hope that the curved side of the lock would spring back into the door. Problem was, it took such a lot of effort and panting trying to get this strip of wood off that we were stirring up interest from the surrounding houses and shops! We could see two shadowy heads peering over the half frosted pattern on the off licence window, so my nanny turns around and waves to the two sisters and in a large stage whisper says… “we’re locked out so we’re trying to break in!”. Meanwhile, this very large Caribbean lady comes strolling down the street, scuffing along in her backless slippers and stops outside the house and openly watches grandpa. She doesn’t speak so I explained what had happened and satisfied, she tutted and continued her very slow walk up the street! My nanny, totally unperturbed, is just standing politely waiting with her arm linked in mine. By this time, grandpa is struggling so much to remove this strip of wood that he brakes wind with the exertions! I started to shake and squeak with suppressed laughter and my nanny just elbows me and says “nothing to laugh about!”. Well that just made me worse! My BF was holding the rapidly dimming torch for my grandpa and I could see the pinprick of light suddenly moving up and down as he tries to control his laughter! Ten minutes go by and the large lady strolls by in the opposite direction for another look…. by this time, the neighbours on the other side arrive home and park up outside. About 10 of them emerge from this 4 seater car…. it’s like watching a magician and his hat… no seat belt laws in those days. The father says… I have a ladder, would that help? Oh yes, replies my nan, I’ve just remembered, I’ve left the back bedroom window open a crack! With that, my BF goes with the neighbour, gets the ladder and climbs in the bedroom and opens the front door! It was such a relief! We got home and told my mum and dad the tale and we laughed until we ached! That story often gets told at Xmas. Of course, nanny never saw the funny side of it and neither did grandpa!

Happy days
Kazzzeeee xx

Hi y’all…I did indeed see Hello66 message on the other thread. So good to see her. Kazzee I love your story! I have such a good imagination….it was like something out of “Only Fools and Horses!” I was laughing too when you got to the farting bit. Why does farting make us laugh?

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving Dinner it sounds lush. I am fasting for 24 hours again today. The only difference this week and last is that I am not having sugar in my tea…but I only had 2 cups a day anyway… and absolutely no alcohol…it had better bleeding work!

I haven’t written my Christmas stuff yet…well it’s difficult. As you know my childhood was not harmonious…but I don’t want it to sound too bad. At the same time I need you to understand the dark so you can get the light…if that makes sense. So it’s just a case of getting around to writing it and deciding what to take and out and leave in. I can’t think of anything as funny as you and Allie anyway! Although I do remember one New Years Eve…

I will try and get something down later.

Lots of Love
Mary
xxx

Great, everyone seeing hello66’s post! I just finished making luvtcook’s cauliflower and red
pepper soup for tonight’s dinner, but I just read Kazzi’s holiday wind story, and had to
comment 🙂 You told it beautifully, felt like I was reading it in a novel, and like Mary, I
did indeed laugh out loud. Poor grandpa! It’s a very good thing that your boyfriend was
available to go over the roof and in thru the second story window! I can sympathize with
grandpa though…..when I was fat, this was a regular occurrence whenever I picked something
up off the floor 🙂 Why DO we find this sound so amusing??? It brings out the basest of
my immature sense of humor, I think. We call this “bathroom humor” over here. Back to
the kitchen slave galley to get on with my preparations. I’ll be mashing garlic, butter,
olive oil and fresh herbs to shove under the skin of the turkey breast. Sounds messy,
doesn’t it? I’ll pretend I’m a child……….
Kazz, Ill be sending something off to you on our other channel, a bit of a moral dilemna
that I’m having, but don’t really want to think anymore about it today. I’m suspending
the wine ban for today, also:)

See you soon, my lovelies!

Hey, Mare, just a quick thought………Our christmas stories don’t have to be just funny
ones from our dysfunctional family of origin! I’m just as interested in what traditions you and Jovis have established with your 2 beautiful daughters and now include the little ones. Food
traditions are great, too! Inquiring minds want to know 🙂 🙂 🙂

Our Christmases before children, were spent on our own. Watching re-runs of Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers films and anything we felt like watching. My mother was quite annoyed that I didn’t invite her, but I was determined to keep it just us. When we had the kids, we invited mom to come to us. Her favourite saying was “Christmas is for kids” so we thought it fitting. She had 4 other grandchildren, but was never invited to their houses (I wonder why). When she was at my house it meant that my brothers didn’t feel that they had to do anything with her, so they didn’t visit either. So it was just us. One Christmas she stayed until 4th January! She did nothing but moan from getting up to going to bed. However, she couldn’t dampen our spirit. We played with the girls and opened a present every hour throughout the day until they were gone. We also watched “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Every year!

A few years later, Mom decided she didn’t want to come to us. The reason was that my brothers Mother in Law spent Christmas in my moms house and indeed her bed (my brother and his wife lived with her). She had also been given better presents than mom, so she didn’t want to come to us any more! That meant that our Christmases were lovely. The girls got up late and we opened a few pressies, then visited Mom…until I saw my churchy brother arrive then we would leave (really annoyed my mom, but I don’t care).

When the girls were teenagers they had their own TV upstairs. One Christmas Eve they watched “While you were Sleeping” and this became a tradition. Every Christmas Eve until they got married we would watch that film! Since getting married…they insist on coming here as Christmas is about giving and family. The come around 1/2 oclock and we open presents slowly throughout the day. We eat at around 4, then everyone clears up and I sit down (they do offer to help, but I prefer to do it my way). Later they will go home and Jovis and I will go over the day together. The funny thing is…even though they are in their thirties, Santa still brings them a sack…and little Joe and his sister too! I am sure this year Noodle will get a sack as well. I am not bothered about receiving presents, but I love to give them.

Jovis enjoys having our family here. His mother tried to make Christmas special but she was super religious and poor so presents were not the main focus and never have been for us. His father didn’t care (or didn’t seem to…he was a broken man, a polish refugee). I have told the girls I am happy for them to make their own traditions, but they are adamant that they like it the way it is. Which is great for us as we love having them here!

For the meal…we have Turkey and Pork (roasted I think in the USA it is broiled? cooked in the oven). I make my own stuffing which, unfortunately, is not BSD friendly. We have roasted parsnips and potatoes, carrots, broccoli and peas. I forgot to mention sausage meat which is a favourite. I make a gravy from scratch so it is always super delicious. We pull crackers and wear novelty hats. Read the mottos and jokes to each other and generally have the most fun! We always toast our departed loved ones with fizzy wine/champagne…then we toast each other. Not all of them drink, so some of them toast with lemonade. The thought is still the same.

Then back into the living room (lounge/den) to open more presents and play with the toys the children have. We have chocolates on the tree so sometimes they eat them (I am not a chocolate lover).

Well that’s about it. One more thing. We sign our Christmas cards “from Mary and Joseph” which always gives us a laugh. We really believe that this is the most wonderful, magical time of the year and we give thanks that we have a wonderful family to share it with.

Happy holidays!
xxxx

Thank you, Mary! I’m very sentimental, but only my 2 closest friends know this, so don’t
tell anyone 🙂 It makes me feel wonderful to know how you will be spending your day.
How fortunate for you that you don’t have sons-in-law pulling your daughters in different
directions on Christmas day. Now we will just keep our fingers crossed that the little
ones don’t have any illness over the holiday! I’ve heard about “boxing day”, but I don’t
really know how it is celebrated?
I’m used to spending Christmas eve with cruel sister, husband and son, but that won’t be
happening this year. We usually have a “sleep over”. When my Mother was alive she was
of course with us. This will be only the second Christmas without her, so I hope we can
create new traditions this year. She died on Dec. 8, 2015, so last year we more or less
tried to skip the frivolity of the season. We played christmas carols for her on the last
day of her life, so I don’t know how they will affect me this year. Most of our friends have
children coming in from all parts of the country or they go to them, so no real opportunity
to include them in the holiday. Normal sister will be having her son home first time in
6 months where he has been teaching in Russia, so that will definitely be a “closed affair”,
if you know what I mean. It’s probably too late to try to plan a holiday at an Inn in the
mountains. I should have been on top of it before now, I guess. I will be enjoying the
joy you are having, wherever you happen to be in the world! 🙂 How close in age are
your daughters? I sure would like to see a family portrait of you all!!!!
Final leg of our holiday dinner to prep, so I’m off to do it 🙂 🙂 🙂

Looking forward to seeing you all in the morning……….

Allie

Mary, despite the tinge of sadness in your Xmas tradition, I also found it very beautiful and comforting. Thank you for sharing it. It is very amusing that your names are Mary and Joseph! My fingers are crossed that the scales are kind to you this week, you so deserve it. Well, after my lunch yesterday, I am also fasting hopefully until Saturday brunch, so I am joining you there. I will be lucky to stay the same for this November challenge which wasn’t the plan at all!

Allie – Boxing day is the day after Xmas day. A bank holiday. Traditionally you have friends and family round and enjoy the leftovers in any way you can! There is also a tradition of fox hunting which is very controversial as you can imagine. Here’s a link I found… https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/boxingday.shtml

See you later!

Kazzeee xx

Hi, everyone. It’s 3:00am here and I haven’t gotten to sleep yet, but wanted to send a
quick thank you note to whoever it was that suggested I wait until Black Friday to place
my clothing order. I hadn’t even thought of it ( you can tell how often I buy clothes).
I’ve just saved 30% on the entire order. Thank you so much! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Back after I can get some sleep, or all you will hear from me today is gibberish.

No sleep for the weary, my friends, so I’m officially ready to salute the morning, coffee mug
in hand! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday festivities yesterday. I set up a makeshift table
in front of the fireplace, just for a change of scene. The marauding felines were a little
disappointed because there was no room for their customary seat on the table.
Kazz, thanks for the boxing day link. It was very interesting! I even looked up “christmas
pudding” there, and it certainly is what I remember. Ours wasn’t spherical in shape though,
more on the order of a tower or castle. Just for fun, I found a traditional english recipe
in Saveur for mincement, too. Definitely beef suet in it! Just 2 tbs. of brandy, so I think
Nanny was a little heavy with her “pour”.
“You know who” is welded to the seat of the computer chair already, so I’ll try to pick
up my email later today. Talk to you then.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Allie
xoxoxo

Ooh, boxing day bubble and squeak with cold turkey and gammon ham and pickles. Quite possibly my favourite meal of the holidays.

MnM, thanks to new friends here telling me what bubble and squeak is, I can imagine
a perfect brunch in what’s one of your favorites. It sounds delicious, and BSD friendly,
too! Yum 🙂