WELL DONE SUNNY! You’ve made 6000 posts👏👏👏👏👏👏
I’ve been to Colombo but just once, and it was bustling!
The beach resorts are supposed to be beautiful. Have a great time and bring back some recipes to share!
While I’m here ….
🌶️🍗🧄 Chicken stir-fry tonight so staying with my ‘healthy eating’ plan.
🛫⛱️☀️ Planning an extended trip to visit family in Europe next month. Hope it will still be sunny.
🧺🧺🧺 Laundry catch-up well under way.
That’s it for now but hope everyone is feeling ‘positive’.

Oh! We also have a new page!

Verano, how do we see how many posts we have made?

Hi 1960 take a look at the top right hand side above the first post on this page. now we are 6004!

O Verano! I actually thought you meant that S has actually reached 6000 posts! I can see the amount of posts on thread….O what am I like!

LOL!! It’s been a group effort over many years!

Just thought that whilst I was on these boards I would post here.

So yes, despite the miserable weather, very wet here, I do have positives ….

🌶️🍗🧄I made an amazing chicken tikka last night . A bit of an experiment using a recipe I’ve not used before and without yogurt. It was AMAZING! even if I do say so myself. Definitely one to make again!

🥗🥑🥦 Have been back on low carb eating for 12days now. I know this is only a short time, but with one day at a time it will soon add up and become second nature again very quickly.

👩‍🦳👨🏼☀️ Arranged to meet friends, who we’ve not seen for four years. We live on opposite coasts so not easy to meet, but we are going to a hotel pretty close to them for a few nights, so perfect time to catch up.

Hope anybody reading has at least one positive … please post.
Keep positive!

Happy optimistic October everyone.

For me
1. the sun is still shining here in France with 30 degrees today although it is different from summer heat as the sun doesn’t reach the heights so is very pleasant.
2. still warm enough to have a swim.
3. No medical appointments for the whole month of October.

Only one really positive for me today.
Woke up this morning and weighted 1lb more! Could have sent me into ‘I don’t care’ mode or ‘I’m never going to do this ‘ mode but I’ve overcome both and just hoping that tomorrow will see results.
New day tomorrow, new week, new start. The past is gone, the future is before us but we only have TODAY!

Good to see people dropping on with positives … thought it time I contributed, so here goes …….
🙂🥳💖 my mum came though breast cancer surgery safely on Friday and is home to recover

Really, that’s all I need in the way of positives right now🎊🥳🎉

Wonderful news Sunny.
Just puts life into perspective!
All best wishes for your mums speedy recovery 👍👍

Fab news Sunny! I pray her recovery and healing continues..
My positive today is I was able to encourage someone struggling with a personal problem and was glad I had some personal experience to help her..
I am also grateful for family

Just one positive for me today…….
🌳🌿🌳the tree outside my bedroom window has turned the most amazing shades of autumn. Unfortunately, the leaves are starting to fall but at least I can enjoy the colours while they last.
Have a good and positive weekend.

Sounds lovely, V…autumn is such a lovely time. Reminds me of things having to die to rebirth later on – time for change…
**A positive today is we celebrated my eldest birthday – I honestly did not expect him to get to this point in his life following some time living the way he did…thank goodness he turned a corner few years ago.
** My Christmas jam making has begun and I look forward to handing them as gifts to various people..

V and 1960, thank you for your good wishes, Mum continues to make good progress and is very upbeat and positive … which definitely constitutes a big positive for me.
In addition, I’m grateful for family, in this instance, for rallying around Mum, but also that SIL remained by and large safe in dangerous situation yesterday.

Any other positives I might be able to offer up at this point, would seem paltry by comparison, so I’ll leave it at that for this time. It is after all, ultimately the people we love that are most important to us.

Coming in with one huge positive …. Mum’s follow up appointment with oncologist gives a great prognosis … no cancer in lymph nodes and none evidently in the 2cm around the tumour. Only additional follow up will be mammogram on other breast in a years time.

Wonderful news Sunny! Great relief for you all. Enjoy your trip more now.

Yes, V, all very positive. We arrived back in UK Friday night, another wonderful holiday done …. definitely planning a return trip to Sri Lanka!
My positives are ….
🙂 Mum doing really well and resisting rushing recovery
🙂 sunny autumnal day today with bright blue skies
🙂 getting out and doing a little gardening for Mum
Hope your weekend goes well.

Sunny glad you had a good holiday and that you’re safely back home. Your mum sounds like a wise lady no point in rushing, her body will heal in its own time.
I do have some positives ….
🧅🍅🥦 used my new soup maker for the first time yesterday. Wow! Soup in 25 minutes. Great for autumn/winter lunches.
🍗🍳🐟 my almost meatless week paid off with a two pound loss. Fortunately I love fish! I have also have found a great tikka recipe that doesn’t use yogurt. I just need spice at the moment.
Have a good day.

Positives for today

visit to dentist and no treatment needed, just a light cleaning.
sunshine out again today at 27 degrees but still hoping for some rain
lost 1lb for the week so keeping to my goal

V, sounds like you’re very focused on taking control again. SG, very envious of that temp … I’m already so tired off being cold!
Positives from me for today ….
☀️ a bright and sunny autumnal day, made it possible for my folks and I to visit Mum’s allotment, plant some broadbeans and gather some produce.
🍽 had some delicious home grown veggies for dinner this evening
💉 a pharmacy local to my parents offers flu jabs without appointments, so took advantage of that this afternoon. That’s one ticked off, now just need to get my covid jab sorted
And finally, Mum continues to do well and isn’t pushing her boundaries too much … have only had to tell her off a couple of times!
Hope your week is going well, do please post a positive or two when you have a moment.

Good morning.

Thought I should pop in with some positives….
🐿️🐿️🐿️ squirrels are going crazy in the garden. They are obviously gathering food for the winter. And, yes it does feel like winter here. S-g you can have our rain in exchange for your 27 degrees!
✂️🧫✂️ hair cut and coloured yesterday. I’ve had to leave my colour for longer than usual to fit in with trips we have planned, so it was a real relief to get the colour back to normal.
🏨🛫⛱️finally booked a hotel for part of our trip next month.

Hope you’re having a positive week.

Just had to pop back today.

🌳The tree outside my bedroom window that had wonderful autumn shades is now almost bare! BUT … my acers are resplendent…. most amazing autum colours.
🧺 Half way down my ironing basket this morning while catching up on Bake Off and MAFS UK! Mindless work needs mindless TV!

Have a good, healthy and positive weekend.

Hi hope everyone is well. I need to find positives to stop me ‘becoming sad ’ so ….
🥦🥗🍅 still eating really well and sticking with my relatively low carb regime. Five weeks now and still counting!
🧺⛱️🧺 ironing and packing on track for next week.
🌳🌿🪵 acers turning the most wonderful autumn colours. I think it will still be several weeks before they lose their leaves.
Hope you have some positives. If you’re feeling a bit low then it’s even more important to find positives , even if it’s only one!

Hey V, an upcoming trip, how wonderful! Trying my best not to be envious 🤭. Like you, the winter blues are hovering close by, so I’m looking for positives … these are the ones easily identified…
🌼 my lovely OH has been working through the holiday laundry, while I’ve been supporting my folks
🌼 Mum is still recovering well and she and Dad think they can go it alone from next Monday
🌼 delicious produce harvested from Mum’s allotment today …. amazingly her bean plants are still producing well
That will do for me today. Looking forward to being home and pressing my SAD lamp into use to start to ward off the winter miseries.

If you have any positives, please post them soon.

Sunny I don’t think either you nor I can really complain!! Yes looking forward to seeing our son and his family.
Pleased your mum is still recovering well.
I really don’t know why but I’ve felt so very low today. Had a bit of a ‘nibbly’ day probably because I’m not at my best but have to put my best foot forward and check in here to count my blessings ….
📒🖌️📒 my ‘weight’ journal, which I started in 2020, is just about coming to the end. I think I have enough pages to take me through to the end of the year then I need to start a new one. Really looking forward to starting a totally clean sheet on January 1st. I do have a journal in mind. Nothing quite like a totally new start.
📕📕📕 I few months ago I decided that I needed the feel of ‘real’ pages in books rather than reading on a kindle for holiday reading. An added bonus of ‘real’ books is that other people can see what you’re reading and stop and chat if they’ve read the same book! So the positive is that tomorrow I’m going to check out some ‘paper’ books.
As you can see I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel today ….. tomorrow will be better!
Have a positive day.

.

Regardless if feeling low today, V, you found some good positives. Mine for today are …..
🌸 it didn’t rain, so we were able to get out and about, including another visit Mum’s allotment to do some tidying
🌸 delicious trout for dinner this evening…. and a glass of wine🤭
Enjoy your book hunt tomorrow, V.

Back home now. Have had a couple of busy days, so past time to be posting positives ….
🌺 Mum and Dad doing well and comfortable with being left to their own devices.
🌺 last of the unpacking done and holiday gifts bagged up for family members
🌺 managed to get shopping done before the rain set in today
🌺 have made a start of getting Christmas gifts and stocking fillers sorted
If you have had any positives recently, hope you’ll take a moment or two to post them here.

Positives for today ….
🍁 in this awful storm weather, I very luch appreciate having warm shelter and more than enough to eat
🍁 had a pleasant couple of hours making Christmas decorations from air drying clay
🍁 arranged for DD and GS to come to lunch tomorrow
🍁 an order I’d placed for plants, arrived today and all look lovely and healthy, just need a half decent day to get them planted up
🍁 two enjoyable phone chats, one with Mum and one with a friend in Sri Lanka …. Mum’s doing well and continuing to improve and though our friend has been poorly for a few days, he hopes to be back at work tomorrow.
I’ve been rather greedy with the positives this time🤭, so think that will do for today. Please do let us know what positives have come your way.

Several positives for me today too, SunnyB:
– Slightly warmer day meant I was not fighting with frozen hoses after work trying to get the horses watered.
– Expecting snow overnight, and while that might make things more difficult to deal with outside again, it signals the end of my farming season and time to rest and recover before next year.
– I took some of the profits from this year’s garlic crop and ordered a seeder (end of season sale!) and some peonies. The seeder will hopefully make life a bit easier in the garden and the peonies will look good in the garden for a year or so before I can start cutting them.
– Case lot sale at the local grocer’s meant it was time to stock up on some healthy essentials. Tins of lentil soup that can be heated on the wood burning stove in case of power outages, big bags of frozen berries and 3 balls of mozzarella cheese (sell by date is in Feb of next year and I can always grate and freeze it too) were my key finds. I was able to walk away from the traps of boxed macaroni and cheese and other junk food also on sale.
– making a spinach quiche for dinner that I’m very much looking forward to ahead of another fast day tomorrow.

Glad you’re able to enjoy some downtime now, Arctic. It’s lovely to get a bargain, so well done on nabbing some good buys food wise.
I’m back with a few positives….
🍂 quick visit with eldest son and family yesterday good to see them and share a few laughs
🍂 weather allowed me a gardening session today, some pruning and potting done. Brought a few late roses into the warm to be able to enjoy them.
🍂 busy knitting hats for some fund raising my Mum is doing … have got quite hooked on it. Have completed two and will embark on another tomorrow.
🍂 nice long phone catch up with good friend and arranged a visit later in the month.
Hope your weekend has brought plenty of positives your way…. just take a moment to think about what they might be.

O Sunny! I also knit hats for our local group who knit them for the homeless charities…do you have a pattern you can share?

O enjoy your quiche Arctic fox..

*I have found lots of meat, chicken and fish as am defrosting my tall freezer so now can plan a good menu around these
*Hubby said we can look for a self defrosting freezer- YAY
*Positive weekend with good friends all too willing to support us with our family needs

Hi smp …. the knitting pattern I’ve been using is a free pdf download, here’s the link –
https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/p/the-simple-life-hat-knitting-pattern-by-vickie-hartog
It’s a chunky knit so grows quickly and it’s a simple pattern, but the effect belies the simple construction. There are lots of other free patterns on lovecrafts.com, so there might be something else you prefer.

While I’m here, better add some positives ….
🍁 it didn’t rain today, so took advantage and did grocery shopping and got some stocking fillers too
🍁 bought a quilted 3/4 length coat in a charity shop for £5, also found some really nice birthday cards in BHF
Nothing else in particular springs to mind, so I’ll settle for two today.

One HUGE positive for today ….. Dad taken ill yesterday and had two stents fitted this afternoon. Thank goodness for the NHS 💖

My lovely son collected his Grandad from hospital today. Dad has lots of meds to take now, but at least he’s fit enough to be home again.

On a more frivolous note, managed to get some homemade Christmas decorations finished and completed a knitted hat.

Hope you have all had some pluses in your day.

Dropping in with positives, before I go out for the evening ….
🍂 wrapped and posted a belated birthday gift for step-GD’s birthday
🍂 made a batch of spiced cranberry and apple sauce
🍂 bought a 2024 diary and loaded it up with birthdays etc.
🍂 whilst seeking a bottle of port to add some to the cranberry sauce, discovered an aged bottle of homemade Christmas pudding vodka. Had to have a tiny taste and it’s quite sublime. Will make a nice treat on Christmas day.
Better get ready to go out, but if you have some positives, please do post a couple.

Hello!
Sorry I’ve not been here for a while but I definitely need to ‘touch base’ with you all.
Wonderful to hear about the 2024 diaries. I use a mid year diary but thinking about things I think I’ll buy a 2024 diary as my new year journal. My ‘weight journey’ journal, for the last three years, will be up at the end of the year. Makes so much more sense to use a new annual one, than using one that’s half over!

So we are away, positive! Mixed weather but better than UK positive!

Not eating very well but realise this so that’s a positive!

Anyway, we need to ‘live’ as well as eating healthily …. just have to make sure that we have more ‘eating well days ‘ than the others!

Sunny tried to book Jim Thompsons Singapore for January but they are ‘permanently closed’! Any other suggestions that you might have would be appreciated. Thanks .

Hi V, good to have you posting again. Glad you’re having a good time. Sad news about Jim Thompsons. Only place I can offer as a recommendation, is Atlas at Park view, North Bridge Road. We only visited fur their afternoon tea, but if the quality of that is anything to go by, the full dining experience should be worthwhile. It’s certainly on our list when we’re back in town.

My positives are …..
🙂 we’ve made a start on sorting out our most shambolic spare room.
👍🏻 took a batch of stuff to a charity shop today and resisted buying anything.
🌼 got a good gardening session in on Sunday morning, as it was surprisingly bright and mild.
🧶 completed knitting a snood today, ready to send to my mum for a fund raising Christmas Fayre.

Please take a couple of minutes to post a positive or two, they are especially appreciated on these grey days.

Thanks Sunny for that knitting pattern, I aim to have a go at this soon…

Positives for me , so far:
**Altho have not tried very hard at eating better I have remained weight loss as was 2 weeks ago
**My daughter had a lumbar puncture and thankfully, altho has high pressure in the brain it is NOT what Doc initially thought it was so further investigations happening
**I have been making my own veg soup and it is sustaining me…

Good morning.
Sunny thanks for the recommendation. The place looks stunning but I took a look at the menu and it’s a bit restricted for us … OH doesn’t eat shellfish so cuts an already small menu into a minute menu!
So yes I have positives ….
☀️🌤️☀️ the weather here is glorious. Didn’t think I’d be enjoying sunshine in mid-November.
👨‍👩‍👧👨‍👩‍👧👨‍👩‍👧 Spending lots of quality time with our family and especially our granddaughter who’s growing up so quickly.
🥐🍕🍸.after 12 days in a hotel eating far less healthily than normal now eating OMD for the most part. Feeling much better for it. It’s so much easier when you aren’t cooking every day especially as my OH ‘needs’ 3 meals a day!
Will pop back soon.
Keep positive!

Smp, hope you enjoy the knitting pattern, it’s an easy pattern to follow, but the end result is quite impressive.
V, glad you are getting some lovely sunshine and enjoying family time. When is it you go to Singapore? Is it part of a holiday next year?

Positives for me today ….
🍁 made a second batch of cranberry and apple sauce, so can gift some to friends
🍁 have managed to get together advent calendar gifts and stocking presents for youngest GD … nice to tick something off the Christmas to do list
🍁 enjoyable outing with eldest GS yesterday. We didn’t manage to get much shopping done, but enjoyed lunch together

Hope everyone is enjoying positives and that some will be reported here soon.

Checking in with a few more positives….
🙂 OH and I spent Friday blitzing one in our spare bedrooms and installing a new bed ready for our weekend guests. The room looks so much better now and the bed us mire comfortable than the lady one.
🙂 good catch up with friends over the weekend … a few cocktails and a lot of laughs (and the approved of the bed upgrade too)
🙂 had our covid vaccination boosters this afternoon, clinic run by lots of jovial friendly NHS staff

Whatever you’ve been doing, hope it brought plenty of positives your way.

Good day today …. these are my positives
🍂 wrapped GD’s advent calendar gifts
🍂 posted said gifts to GD and the items I made for Mum’s fund raiser
🍂 was so mild this morning, didn’t need to wear a coat to the post office
Hope to be reading your positives soon too.

Posting positives a bit earlier than usual, but it’s not hard to find them today …..
🍁 have drafted the next edition of the village news letter, just needs proof reading now and then I can send it to print
🍁 a good batch of online Christmas shopping done, so more things ticked off the list
🍁 but my biggest positive today, is that 3yrs after starting our build project in Turkey, we have been granted our habitation certificate. It’s taken so long, it’s all a bit shocking, but a cause for celebration nonetheless!

Great news Sunny, I remember how difficult it was in the Canaries too!
OK … I’m home after 3 weeks away ……
🌤️☀️☀️ Started with mixed weather for the first week but then wonderful sunshine for the next two. Nothing like winter sun to help these dark days.
🫒🧄🌶️ lots, probably far too much, wonderful mediterranean food with just a 1lb gain so not too much damage.
But the most important positive was spending quality time with our family. Wow nothing is as positive as that!

Well done on the habitation certificate. We had to go through a few hoops to get residency in France although we did most of the leg work by getting temporary status immediately after the B word, so that made it fairly straight forward.
Great you have had a warm and relaxing holiday Verano. Nothing better than being with family.

My positives for today

we managed to get the winter pool cover on and I didn’t have a heart attack
a dozen or more ripe yellow lemons on my miniature trees – what to do with them besides vodka and tonic 🙂
weight back down to the 6lb loss so aiming for a further 5lbs before 18th December.

Have a great week

The habitation certificate is for the building, SG … it means the structure has passed building regs and been approved as a habitable dwelling. This is entirely separate from residency, which we would need to live in Turkiye full time.
Very envious of your fresh lemons, they are magical, completely different flavour to those we get in the supermarket. Why not make some preserved lemons to zing up a tagine or a sauce to go with fish? It’s basically just lemons and salt and you can cheat, by slicing the lemon and layering it in a jar, with just a little twist of salt on each level, to make a lemony brine.

Anyway …. here are today’s positives from my little corner ….
🎉 managed to get four personalised calendars created and ordered as Christmas gifts
🎉 there are loads and loads of buds on my clematis napaulensis. It’s winter flowering with charming tiny lime green bells with purply centres
🎉 doing well with Christmas shopping, unlike SG, I have a raft of people to buy for each year. Happily this year the process is going pretty well.

Getting close to the weekend when hopefully we can all relax, but hope meanwhile you are all having a very positive week.

Just a quick one SUNNY and Co,have had a skim through the pozzers and theres so much good news to read!
Great to hear about your habitation certificate! 👍 and about yr Dads stent. Tbh,( sorry,this isnt really positive!) ive been having chest pains and breathlessness,but chest xray and ECG showed all ok (thats deffo a positive!) but i was rather hoping i needed a stent as a friend who was feeling like im feeling lately, got a stent fitted and was almost instantaneously well again…running round now like a two year old! ( Hope same for yr Dad,SUNNY)
Doc reckons it must be long term covid effects.🤷‍♀️
Im feeling very smug as I have completed my xmas shopping,all online,and will be having a Baileys or two with DD later to celebrate. Ive lost a stone and 2 lbs over the last few months and its always nice to feel lighter isnt it and more able to slink into clothes!
SUNNY do you have bed buying recommendations,Im thinking of bed buying but not sure what to go for.
VERANO,im coming to the end of a five year diary,.it seems to have passed by so fast! So Im trying to decide –
do I go five year again,or just one year? Hmmm …decisions decisions!
Love to all -and yippee,Christmas is coming! – wooohooooo,not very long now XX

Yowzer sorry to hear about your health issues but hopefully all will be resolved quickly.

5 year diary …. just not sure…. do I want to do this for the next five years??? Thinking maybe one year diary week to view just for food/weight etc. Just not sure but I do know that there’s no way I’m starting another 5 year misery journal! Too late in life for me …. one year at a time is the way I’ve decided to go!

My only huge positive today is daughter and family coming for dinner Xmas day!

Have a positive weekend.

Yowser, wonderful to have you posting. Huge well done on your scales results. Hope you health issue resolves soon. Sorry, but I have no specific bed recommendations, other than I’m convinced memory mattresses are the way to go. And diary/journal- wise, I’m with V … one year at a time. Personally, I like the marking of a fresh start wuth a new diary, at the beginning of the year.
V, we’re still not sure who if anyone, will be with us for Christmas day dinner. Lovely that you have the prospect of company for yours.

Anyway, let’s find some positives for today …
👍🏻 very pleased with the date night dinner I produced last night, the menu was one which worked really well and we had a very pleasant evening.
🙂 another batch of Christmas pressies bought online today. Getting very, very close to completion.
🧳 all plans in place for a present distribution run to Kent and London, with various overnight stops, the 2nd weekend of Dec.
🎉 arrangements made to have friends come for Sunday lunch next weekend.

Enjoy your weekend and watch out for all the little positives folks