Talking of numbers, we have always though my grandson’s date of birth a little bit special…. 22.12.02. We had a lovely lunch with him and his mum today, which is of course one of my positives for today. My others are ….

🌄 I was a little bit broken last night, so didn’t get to take the time to absorbe the darkness of the winter solstice because I fell into bed at 19.30. However, I did get to witness a glorious sunrise this morning, which was a wonderful way to start the day that leads us into lighter brighter ones.
😄 video chat with friend in Turkey, lots of laughs across the miles.
🙂 quick visit to eldest son and family, to drop off pressies. First time we’ve see them in months, so lovely to catch up.
It’s been a day full of family and friends and really, what could be better!

Hope your day has brought you a positive or two. If you’ve a moment do tell us about them.
Verano, we’ll miss your posts, but enjoy your celebrations and come and share your positives again when you’re ready. Meanwhile, we’ll do our best to keep this wonderful and long running thread ticking over.

Hi all positive peeps! 🎄⛄️🎄⛄️🎄⛄️
V I’m interested in numerology though I don’t know an awful lot about it.
Some numbers or number sequences are sometimes called Angel Numbers and can show up in our lives. I constantly seem to look at the time when it’s e.g.,11:11,12:12 ( numbers repeating) or e.g., 4.34 ( numbers reading same both ways)and so on.
Some say they’re special messages and I always say thank you when I see them,just in case!. I take the messages as meaning the Universe or the Angels are looking after me. I hope so anyway!
In the date 21/12/21 the numbers I and 2 repeat.
The number 1 is all about motivation, optimism, unity and uniqueness. It reminds us to focus on our own purpose and goals.
The number 2 is about balance, duality, partnership and harmony.
Put together,the two numbers tell us to think how we can contribute to community/ humanity,as an individual,and what we can personally do to help improve life for our fellow humans.
I guess we do that in this thread to some extent,to help each other stay positive and cheery! So it was a good idea for you to mention the sequence having noticed it!
Well that’s enough from me for today,so I’ll just say thanks Universe,I had a really nice day today! Hope same for everyone reading here 💕💕💕💕xxx

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas
I haven’t been all that vigilant this week. I will get weighed on Friday but I am expecting a gain! Had the odd mince pie at work and my hand went into the celebration tin on more than one occasion but I’ve not blown it completely. in between I’ve been good, skipping breakfast, BSD friendly lunches and evening meals but I know I’ve blown my chance of any weight loss and I am fine with that. I think the Omicron Covid scare has given me a sense of perspective. We’ve been so busy at work trying to get as many as possible boosted that I felt it didn’t really matter if I was a few pound heavier than I had hoped I would be on Christmas Eve. With no socialising and still not sure of whether I’ll manage to stay Covid negative in light of the amount of people we see in the centre every day or whether my son will be negative too as a few of his colleagues are positive so taking each day as it comes and learning to live in the moment, and hoping I get to see my sons at Christmas. What does it matter that I won’t be at 144 lb! I have pre ordered the new Michael Mosely book because I plan to get myself back into the driving seat in the New Year and plod on slowly and steadily towards my goal.

I’ve loved this three month countdown and felt it’s been a positive experience. I’ve lost about 9 lbs which I am really happy with. I will post my weight on Friday, take a break for a few days and be ready to get back on the January Bus when it comes out of the depot on 3rd January. I made the mistake last year of not knuckling down early enough in January so I won’t be making the same mistake next year. Should we do a countdown to Easter/Spring?

Well done to everyone for what they have achieved during our Christmas countdown. Well done for keeping going and for being here and thank you for the support and friendship. I am sure there will be enthusiasm for a January thread. Merry Christmas to all the passengers. Have a safe and peaceful Christmas and I’ll see you at the bus stop in January. Ding ding!

I’ll brave the scales on Friday and post my Christmas Eve weight. It is what it is. Onwards and downwards in what are still very difficult times for the whole world!

Hi.
Thanks for the information Sunny I’ll sort them out tomorrow.
Strange sort of day for me today but do have some positives …
1.🥣🥦🥣When I was labelling my soup for the freezer I realised it was 21/12/21 … all the ones and twos. Could be significant but I don’t know how. Maybe somebody else does??
2. 🌶🐓🍲Being really good tonight as I’m using the chicken breasts from the soup I made yesterday to make curry tonight. Strangely enough it’s a recipe I found a couple of years ago for left over turkey curry, which I’m sure many of us will need next week!
3.🎉🛍🎁Presents all wrapped and ready to be delivered tomorrow. I’m the same as Sunny now just need to send some money gifts.
I find it so sad that we’ve missed the last couple of Christmas days because my grandsons are of the age now, when the personalised sacks I used to buy and fill with all sorts of goodies, are passed, and although we do buy them some gifts, they are much happier to have some money in their accounts! Oh! How times have changed!
Anyway, to end on a positive note …. Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas, hoping it will be all you hope for … and more!
I’m off for a few days now but will be back next week.

Hi all,I,have been enjoying reading all of your posts over the last couple of days,just didn’t get round to posting myself.I’m looking forward to eventually being at the stage where I’m not fazed by all of the Christmas ‘treat’ foods around but I’m definitely not at that stage this year unfortunately so have indulged over the last few days.I don’t intend to today though so will see how that goes.I had ordered MM’s new book from Amazon but they emailed me the other day to say they now weren’t going to be despatching it until 4th January so I’ve cancelled my order and will buy it from Tesco instead as really wanted to have it for New Year.I hope everyone has a good day and manages to have some time to relax in what can be a frantic time,even during ‘normal’ times.Dawn X

Hello all, just checking in – I can’t believe our Christmas bus is nearing the end of its journey! The last 3 months have flown by, as has the whole year really.

DCT – I bought a small prelit Christmas tree this year, it only cost $7! It’s about 3ft high and would be dwarfed by the pile of presents around it if I hadn’t stood it on a box! We have coloured lights strung around the lounge room and it really looks quite magical at night 🙂

Jennie I hope you are feeling better, and Cathy hope you are going ok too, I can only imagine how busy you are! I’m booked in for my booster next Wednesday, as they’ve shortened the time frame from 6 months down to 5 months. I had thought of trying to get it this week, due to the rising case numbers but was worried about side effects making me feel unwell at Christmas, as I had a full on immune response with the first 2.

Diet wise I’m going ok-ish… calories are averaging around 1000-1200 and I’ve managed to avoid mince pies and other goodies – mainly by just not buying them! I have my online order coming tomorrow night. I just haven’t had the time (or inclination tbh) to do much meal planning or prepping, except for breakfast! I made a big batch of overnight oats and have been having that for breakfast with fresh berries. Last nights dinner was KFC (oh dear!) as I was out after work with my husband getting some last minute things. Tonight I’m making lentil curry though, so today will be a better day.

I doubt very much that I will be at goal by Friday (Christmas Eve), however my target was 88kg by the end of the year, so I’d be happy to just be in that range (88-88.9) by NYE. My plan is to be sensible over the next few days, have a few days off plan, then stick to 800-1000 calories and low carbs from Mon-Thur and there’s a chance I’ll make it!!
I’m still happy with the progress I made this year though – NYE last year I was 100.1kg…what brought it home was when I was getting our folding chairs out of storage last night and I noticed the weight limit is 100kg, I used to be wary sitting on them but at least this year I can sit on one knowing I’m well under the weight limit! I’ll definitely be on our next bus journey as in 2022 I’m planning on losing the rest of the weight I need to lose. MM’s new book is coming out 30 December here so I’ll definitely be buying it – I have all of his other ones 🙂 I guess it will be followed up with a recipe book too at some stage.

It’s weird as it’s only 3 days out from Christmas and we are getting higher and higher daily Covid case numbers – way higher than this time last year when the government brought in additional restrictions which meant we couldn’t see our eldest daughter, yet there’s no restrictions this year, the message is all about “personal responsibility”. There’s no mask mandate here but I’ve still been wearing one when I go out. On the news this morning they were saying that modelling is showing we could reach 200,000 new cases a day (they were saying 20,000 per day last week!)…. I never would have imagined this time last year that COVID would still be affecting Christmas!!
I hope that wherever everyone is they get to enjoy Christmas with their families x I’ll check in again on Christmas Eve 🙂

Verano, so pleased your DD is covid free. Re: true friendship, you are so right.
Regarding the orchids, as you probably deduce, the brown stems are completely dead, so just cut these off as completely as possible. The green flower stems, trim down to approx 20cm from their base, but around 1cm above a node. Allow the plants to rest for a few weeks, keep watering as necessary though. After a rest period, start to feed again and fingers crossed, new spikes will develop from the top node. Hope that helps.

Soooo, positives from me ….
⏰ up at stupid o’clock this morning 🥱… upside is I’ve crammed plenty into the day and have ticked lots of things off the to do list. Have made stuffing and cranberry sauce for instance.
🎁 all christmas pressies wrapped and just need to add some cash to a few to finish them off.
🛍 only need a very few items from the supermarket tomorrow, to have everything needed on the food front … except the turkey which we’ll collect on Friday.
😌 taking time out this evening to relax and reflect as the winter solstice heralds in longer days snd lighter evenings.

Keep posting those positives folks, there are many who enjoy reading them and it is really helpful to take a little time to recognise those little blessings in your day.

Thanks Jennie and others.
I tried MyFitnessPal and quickly decided I won’t get on with it, FatSecret may suit me batter, but I also just received a FitBit (Wedding anniversary present) and that seems to put more things in one place. I’m currently getting used to logging stuff, which while it will in itself change things, will give be a baseline. That will encourage me to weigh stuff, at least until I get a better feel (aka. calibrate my eyes).
Having all your references to reliable information is invaluable – there’s so much rubbish out there and it’s hard to be certain when starting out.
I don’t think we have to be related although it’s possible, there are enough individuals who have no empathy, and little sympathy, unfortunately. One in particular is over-engaged in other people’s lives, particularly now the pandemic has left her very few other things to do.

ORCHIDS
Sunny …. and any other successful orchid growers ….help please .
I have three two stemmed orchids which have finished flowering but I never seem to be able to get them to flower a second time. Two have old flower stems that have turned brown (?dead) and the other still has green stems.
Do I cut the stems down?
If so to where?
How low?
How about watering during this phase?
Feeding.? I’m guessing not?
All help gratefully received.

Just noticed we’ve flipped a page so now on 103!
Lovely positive start to add to our shortest but joyful day.
Yowzer … knight in shining armour… well done you! Glad you got to see some squirrels.
Sunny it’s always good to put bad vibes behind us and renew friendships …. true friendships never die.
So to my positives …..
1.💉🩺💉 DD had negative PCR🎉🎉
2. 🥣🥦🥣 Soup maker may have been returned but this ‘soup maker’ was in action today with two large pans of soup on the hob.
3. 🎄🐓Christmas lunch arrived today. We are only two so looks like turkey curry is already on the cards!
Hope there are more positives to follow mine today but if not please work twice as hard tomorrow to find a couple.

Hi Elle Mae ! You’re right.So many things we are all dealing with which overshadow our well being. As Lauren says ,we can only do our best, allowing ourselves some flack if it helps and remember we will all be here together in January. It’s ok xx

Ahh Julia thank you,that’s so lovely!xx
Happy Solstice everyone …plant those seeds of intention. 💕💕💕
For all in Southern Hemisphere I read this..
“If you are in the southern hemisphere, you are experiencing this longest day of the year which is a time to harvest your dream seeds you planted last winter solstice!” X

Clare sending you hugs, enjoy Christmas and think New Year, new plan, new start.

Hi everyone. Just catching up with posts.

Jennie I hope you’re feeling much better now and good luck with the steps today. I confess we’ve cheated with the Christmas decs this year as it was just too complicated to try and get up to the attic. So we’ve bought a prelit twig tree and lots of fairy lights which all look lovely in our colourful little living room. And not a bauble in sight!

Yowzer I’ve just had a flashback (pardon the pun!) to us discussing fairy lights and champagne at about this time last year. Just where has 2021 gone?!?! Hope you are doing well.

Dawn I think I will get the new MM book too. I’ve really not done very well at all on this thread and need some new inspiration. Hoping to be back at 144 – ie where I started! – by the end of this week then maintain over Christmas and make a fresh start in the new year. The positive side of that is I’ll still be travelling with all you lovely people wherever we decide to head next!

Cathy I hope your week is going well and that you’re managing to get some time out for yourself in amongst all the vaccinating?

Hope everyone stays well and that Christmas plans can go ahead without a hitch X

I agree – lovely post Californiagirl – I’ll be reflecting on it today and tonight

Julia …. thank you for your post … truly uplifting. You have taken something often thought of as ‘dark and miserable’ and turned it into something light, bright and forward looking … definitely turning a negative into a positive!
“…the seed of the return of the sun…”
Happy Holidays to you too!

Hi Dawn – I like that idea but I’m just a bit too superstitious to leave mine up past Twelfth night. Mind, I’ve just realised last year we ended up having our postponed Christmas in the summer and it was up then. I do love it though. So, I’m off for a walk in a minute. Start getting my steps up again. Soup for lunch and salmon and broccoli for dinner. That’s the plan and I’m sticking to it!
Hope everyone is having a good final week. Keep going
Jennie xx

Hi Clare, I’m up with insomnia so I have no wisdom to give as my brain is scrambled egg but I just wanted to say please be kind to yourself and try not to beat yourself up – all we can do is try and that’s all xx

Lauren

Hi Clare !
That sounds like a good plan. …I bet we have all had clothing of various sizes in our wardrobes, certainly true in my case !
You don’t say if you are feeling uncomfortable in your clothes right now ? That’s often the sign we have to act !

I hope you are feeling ok and not under too much pressure with Christmas preparations. Thinking of your daughter too.
Yes..damage limitation if you can Clare but lots of us will be reassessing in the New year for sure xx

Hi All,

Well!! I had a nasty shock getting on the scales this morning- I have now gained an entire stone over my goal weight (I was 9 st 0 back in Feb and this morning read 10 st 0)….dreadful!
So anyhow, I have set out to curb things/ nip it right in the bud as best I can prior to Christmas…and then back on the BSD proper in the New Year.
I had just bagged up all my larger clothes for charity- and I feel it’s best to stick with that plan- what does everyone think? I feel it will discourage me from slipping up again and also I am such a clutter monster which is another issue to tackle.

Love and hugs xxx

CaliforniaGirl, how wonderful to see you here and with such an inspiring post. My grandson’s birthday is 22nd Dec and he’ s a real shining light for me. Subsequently, we’ll certainly be celebrating on Wednesday, but I think I will take your advice and take the time tomorrow to embrace the darkness and think ahead to brighter days.

Yowser, sounds like you were completely in Christmas mode and revelling in it …. enjoy!
V, really hope your DD will get a negative result. As Yowser said, those are the only negatives we absolutely want to see here.

Now to a few positives from me ….
💐 visit from old friends today … lovely to catch up in person. We’ve made arrangements for a weekend together in Feb …🤞it will be possible for that to happen.
💉 had our covid boosters this evening…. yay!!! Really pleased to get that done and very grateful for our NHS working so hard to get jabs in arms.
😌 reconnected with a friend after a disagreement and pleased to say we have been able to resolve the issue.

Whatever little positive has dropped in to your day, please remember we’d love to read about it, so take a moment to share it with us.

Hi YBR
Just read this (always late to the party – although no party this year!) and thought I’d add my twopenn’orth. Sounds like you’ve got a great plan now, and no need to think about your holiday until it gets closer.
Your diabetes nurse reminds me of mine when I was first diagnosed with Type II in 2016. That’s a while ago now and I think there’s more awareness about using diet e.g. the BSD and/or low carb diets as a way of putting Type II diabetes into remission these days but even if that is true nationally and in some areas, it isn’t the case everywhere (still not trickled down to health staff around here). So creating the plan and learning enough to carry it through is a great idea.
As well as MM some other good, reliable sources of info include:
Prof Roy Taylor – he’s one of the leading lights in relation to Diabetes in the UK (also helped the Hairy Bikers lose weight). As well as his book which Verano mentions if you google Roy Taylor Diabetes you’ll find some of his presentations which are worth watching.
Dr David Unwin – a Southport GP who has been recognised in the NHS for his work treating his diabetic patients with diet – again you can just google him using videos – the Public Health Collaboration ones are good
Dr Jason Fung – he’s a Canadian consultant who treats people with Type II diabetes. His book The Diabetes Code is good but he’s also got lots of videos which you can find via google. He is really good on explaining the old and new way of thinking about the causes and treatment of Type II diabetes.
I’d push for 3 months doing diet-only and without medication if that’s what you want. (That’s the way I did it even though my initial hba1c was really high).
After the first 2 weeks I gave up on the recipes in the book (for similar reasons as yours). Start as everyone says. You might at some point try eating 2 meals a day rather than 3 (2 larger rather than 3 smaller meals definitely suited me best).
If you don’t use the recipe book, it is helpful to weigh and record your daily food if you can. (I use fatsecret.uk but lots use myfitnesspal like RubyG). Understanding your daily carb consumption in particular is useful. Then at your next hba1c if your bgls aren’t quite back into the normal range you can just reduce your daily carb intake a little bit for a few weeks and see if that does the trick. Verano mentioned dietdoctor. The pages which show how many carbs in vegetables, fruits etc are really helpful https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/vegetables (Dietdoctor are pushing membership atm but don’t be put off there is a lot of good free stuff too)
This diet/way of life works! People do put their diabetes into remission so definitely worth doing. Also, depending on your hba1c on diagnosis (agree with s-g about knowing this) it may be that you don’t need to make too many changes for it to work for you.
Finally, you don’t need to tell anyone yet – I just told my husband and children initially. Like you, I couldn’t face certain relatives – do you think we’re related!?! Being ‘on a low carb diet’ is a handy reason often used for the change in eating.

Jennie xx

My positive thoughts: happy winter solstice!
I know this is a difficult time for many, but just for a day, enjoy how wonderfully weird the solstice is! Tomorrow is the darkest day of the year but it holds the seed of the return of our sun — the return of life giving warmth and power.
It’s a wonderful moment for a spiritual reset, to set new life intentions and to speak aloud how you want your life to unfold.
Enjoy the day!!! Keep it as dark as possible — light candles, walk in the cold winter day and evening, burn some incense and drink a tiny bit of hot mulled wine ( it IS the holiday) or some port.
Allow the darkness to settle in around you. Enjoy the dark-night skies.
And on the 22nd, throw open your drapes! Start the holiday and greet the returning sun!
Merry Christmas to all!
And to Sunshine-girl, happy happy UK holiday!

Yowzer glad you managed to see some squirrels.
And yes it was F&M … how spoilt are we! We have a very generous son and daughter in law!!!

Lovely news VERANO! It loooks highly likely that the PCR will be negative doesnt it..the only sort of negatives we want on this thread! 👍👍👍
and those Christmas goodies will be very welcome ! Are the initials F and M! Many years ago living in London,I worked in selfridges offices taking Christmas goody orders! It was quite exciting as several famous people rang to make an order.
Yes! We did see a few squirrels! It was weird driving there,in places it was very misty,other places clear. It was a bit hairy coming home as it got very foggy and a bit disorientating in parts.
Have got another positive to add to today’s …
*~ Long story short….just in the last hour or so I’ve reunited an old lady with dementia with her daughter. Very happy that a strange chain of events led to this happening,it’s very cold for anyone to be outdoors lost and confused.xx

Hi.
Well my ‘soup maker’ arrived today but when I read the instructions, having to weigh and measure precisely all the recipes, I decided it definitely was not for me, and certainly no way would my OH be able to use it! Part of the plan had been for him to start making soup! Best laid plans and all that….. So it’s been returned.
Yowzer did you get to see the squirrels yesterday?
Anyway, I do still have some positives ….
1💉🩺🙏🏻 Fingers crossed think DD may have avoided the virus. Daily testing, all negative, for the last 6 days give hope. PCR yesterday but no results yet. She feels fine so fingers crossed all is well.
2. 🎋🪴🎍Amaryllis now has two flower spikes!
Best till last …..
3.🎉🥂🍾 Wonderful present of luxury food goodies, in three separate packages, arrived this morning from a very, very posh London grocer …. 🎶🎶it’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas🎶🎶!
Hope everyone is well and not too stressed …. for any reason.
Last miserable short winter day tomorrow ….. hurrah🎉🎉🎉
Let’s try to stay positive and look on the bright side no matter the next few days mght bring.
Have a good evening

Hi folks! Hope everyones having/ had a good start to the week!
My positives…
*~ Christmas is coming! Looking forward to the week ahead- ( and the next one ! Twixmas! 🎄⛄️🎄⛄️)
*~ Got my Christmassy bedding on now and so has DD 🥳🥳
*~ Winter Solstice almost here..after tomorrow,the days in Uk will get longer again,very slowly,but surely! woohoo! Xx
🎄🎄🎄 “He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree”.🎄🎄🎄

So glad S-G that you have made it.
Lauren poor you, you are having a bad week, hopefully you can recharge over Christmas and 🤞for the wedding.
I hope everyone has the best Christmas you are able to have.
Sending best wishes to you all xxxx

Lauren, sounds dreadful!! Try to get as much rest as possible xxxxx

Oh that’s a relief re Denise, thank you for passing on the message

Sending good wishes to all at the moment, I think we all need them more than ever! What a mess we’re in again!

Yep you’re right Wendy, I’m working up to Thursday, had a rubbish week last week – I was assessing presentations all week, on Tuesday from 8.30am-7pm and one of the students on Tuesdays group attended with symptoms….then tested positive afterwards, so she exposed the whole group and us, so it was all a nightmare, then I had booster on Thursday, felt like garbage on Friday so did a PCR just in case, negative, but then woke up feeling worse yesterday and by yesterday evening my eardrum ruptured! Turns out I can be in a room with an infectious covid person and not catch it, but somehow get a sinus/ear/chest infection instead!!

So feeling sorry for myself, and just limping limping to Thursday now and praying we’re actually able to go home for Christmas but I’m not holding out hope!! Also wedding all up in the air again, 16 weeks today but things are not looking good and I think it’s all going to be very close to the wire again.

Sigh!

Lauren x

yay for s-g getting there safely!!
Wendy- glad you have a plan for Christmas too.
We are hoping to get to the Midlands this year for a few days at Christmas to stay with my parents and catch up with various rellies there. It’s a repeat of last year’s plan, so fingers crossed!!!
Love to all,
T xxx

I just heard that Denise / sunshine girl has arrived safely in the UK. Paperwork was easy in the end ! Family are constantly testing and fingers crossed everything will work out for Christmas and for return to France !

SG wanted me to pass on the message. So all that stress was worth it in the end !
Phew !

Hello.
Good to hear your news Sunny and glad OH is almost back to normal.
Yowzer hope you had a good time with the squirrels but if the weather was the same as here …. misty, murky and foggy… you may not have seen any!
There’s so much doom and gloom around at the moment, apart from the weather, so I’m determined to try and find some positives everyday. The threads have gone so quiet but if you could find just one positive in the day and post it, it will not only brighten your day but everyone else’s.
And so to mine….
1.🥣⌛️🥣Soup maker arrived so that’s me busy for the next few days!
2🎋🪴 Amaryllis seems to be on steroids!
3.🍽⚖️🗒 This is probably the most bizarre time to start weighing, counting and recording food but I started doing just that yesterday. Guess there’s no time like the present for taking control of the things we can control.
Sorry my positives are so boring at the moment but at least they make me smile.
Have a good week ahead and try to keep all things in proportion, but if all else fails do as sunshine-girl says, just keep on keeping on…….

Thanks Jennie,I will let you know what MM’s new book is like,I think it has new recipes in so will be interested to see what they are,I’m sorry your bug returned but pleased u may get to see your son.I love having the Christmas tree up,it’s in the corner of the room so not in the way at all so I may leave it up a bit longer than usual this time because,as you say,looking at it lighting up the room is magical✨🎄✨ Dawn X

Hi everyone
SueBlue – that’s great news about your blood test results – woo-hoo! Isn’t normal such a nice word to hear sometimes. The cholesterol results are really brilliant. When I was first diagnosed with type II I found out I had high cholesterol. I started BSD and 6 months in it had increased but eventually it settled back down at a lower, better level than when I started. (Sorry, can’t remember numbers). Fingers crossed for the 88s.
RubyG – I agree about the low-fat message. Reading your thread, feeling lighter, tighter and leaner is a great result. I hope you both have a great Christmas.
Dawn – good for you. You’ve done brilliantly to get to this point. A bit of time away from weighing, measuring and recording everything will be nice. As you say, just eating healthily over the holidays should do it. I’ll be interested to hear what you think about MMs new book in the New Year.
Cathy – like everyone else I just want to say thanks for all the hard work you are putting in to get us all vaccinated xx. Sounds like staying the same weight was a win for you this week. It’s great that you’re keeping on keeping on and fingers crossed (different ones from those for SueBlue of course) for the 146 by Friday – Christmas Eve – hurray.
DCT – sorry to hear you’ve had bad news from your friend. Never nice and particularly at this time of year. I’m glad you and your hubby know what’s happening about/at his appointment. As you say at least you’ll be able to plan for Christmas day now.
Yowzer – hope your big last push is going well (just got a flashing image of someone giving birth – disconcerting!). Thanks for all the Christmas cheer.
Hope everyone else is keeping going well too

The last few days have been a bit of a palaver here. Seconds after I posted on Tuesday that I was going off to weigh myself, my son phoned saying his manager had a positive lateral flow test. A few LFT and PCR tests (and days) later and luckily my son hasn’t got Covid so our Christmas meet-up might still happen. (His poor manager ‘s PCR test was positive so she’ll now be isolating over Christmas). My bug then returned for a couple of days, and then when I finally weighed myself on Thursday morning I’d put on weight! Only a pound but I feel so indignant about it because all I’ve done is run to the loo! Flipping heck!

Anyway, tomorrow is another day – and week – and it’s all still to play for. Have a great final week everyone.

Jennie xx
n.b. We put up our Christmas tree yesterday. This morning I woke up early so snuck downstairs, put the lights on and sat in the dark looking at it. Magical.

Hi caronl,hi Antigone ! HELLO everyone.
It’s all a bit dismal isn’t it ?

I’m not really feeling very ‘Christmassy ‘ ..sorry …but we are making an effort cooking a traditional Christmas Dinner. Hubby has made mince meat and we will get some local produce …much like I sent my boys in Oz .

This is our second Christmas just staying put. Haven’t seen my UK family since Christmas 2019…the boys even longer but we are all in touch and making do with that at the moment.

If you are still working this week (Lauren, Claire ? ) thinking of you …and if you have to go out,stay safe out there.
SG send news when you can !

Lots of love everyone . We will get through this mess ( heard that before but we will !)

0Oh my SG!
Things are changing so fast atm. So much hysteria about what is required for travel. Daughter arrived here from UK last weekend with no problems but who knows what is coming. Looks like a wet and windy Christmas for us in Northern France and, as another lockdown might be coming we will be sticking up on supplies for us and the animals tomoz! Good luck everyone … 🙂

Hi all,sorry I meant to post again two days ago!DCT sorry to hear you’ve had bad news from a friend but I’m pleased your hubbie is now just having a consultation on Christmas Eve rather than his op.Cathy I echo DCT,well done for helping to get us all ‘boosted’ I do wonder if we would have been in constant lockdown without the vaccines.Cathy I’m pleased you are close to your 2021 goal.Yowzer I’m still singing along on the bus,even though my eating isn’t going to plan…🎶Let it snow,let it snow.let it snow🎶 I’ve abandoned mfp until 28th but am still going to eat healthily as much as I can manage.I’ve preordered MM’s new book,I think it’s due out on 30th Dec and,even though I haven’t given all hope of healthy eating this year,I really feel I need a fresh start and am hoping the new book will help with that.Have a good day all,Dawn X

Yowser, glad your fav Christmas dec was located. Enjoy your traditional trip out tomorrow.
V, well done on treating yourself to a little birthday present…. you deserve it.

Today’s positives for me are ….
🎄 christmas tree is up and twinkling.
😌 kitchen tidied and looking more presentable
🤗 lovely visit from GD and her mum.
🧍‍♂️OH continues to make really good progress, almost back to normal.

All in all, it’s been a good day … hope your’s has been too.

Anyone using kettlebells for Fast Exercise ?

Hello.
Thanks for all your good wishes. Yes 2022 will be a better year for us all ….. 🙏🏻🙏🏻 But in the meantime I wish everyone happy festivities. I’ll be back with NY wishes later in the month.
Yowzer hope you have a good day tomorrow. I couldn’t find that cafe either but Verano is Spanish for ‘summer’. I was in Tenerife when I discovered THE book and this website and there just happened to be a ‘Verano’ edition of a magazine on the table. So I became ‘summer’ in Spanish!!
And so to some positives for today….
1.😀🥰 Nice to hear from some friends here, and from elsewhere, who I’ve not had contact with in a while. Celebrations are always better shared. Next year I have a ‘special’ birthday and I have everything crossed that by then we will all be able to celebrate our momentous events with our families and friends.
2. 🎋🪴News about my amaryllis …. it’s growing like mad and now has a flower spike about 4” tall.
3. 🥦🐓🥙 Easy night tonight food wise …. left over roast chicken, mashed cauliflower, broccoli and celeriac and roasted asparagus. I adore asparagus and have it most days.
4. 🍲🥣⌛️Have treated myself to a ‘birthday present’ …. a soup maker. Might not sound like much of a present but I make the same few soups, in large quantities and freeze them, again and again. I thought it would be nice to experiment with some new, to me, recipes. Looking forward to ‘experimenting’.
I hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend and manage to ‘keep your heads’ whilst those all around us seem to be losing theirs!!

Hi folks! V I was just watching local news on tv and sbody was being interviewed outdoors with a ‘ Cafe VERANO’ in the background…googled it but couldn’t find it and didn’t recognise the area.
My “Pre Christmas Saturday” positives…
*~ Christmas Day top arrived and fits nicely,a bit of wriggle room in it to allow for Xmas pud!
*~ DD tracked down my favourite reindeer decoration,I couldn’t remember where I had stored him,and he’s now twinkling and sparkling in pride of place.
*~ Looking forward to a drive out to Formby tomorrow..lovely red squirrel reservation.. we usually go on the Sunday before Christmas. We have a festive drink and enjoy admiring all the impressive Xmas trees in the windows of big posh houses! 🙂🙃

Sorry to be late ‘to the party’, but really hope you had a lovely birthday V, despite not being able to celebrate as planned. Here’s hoping things will be very different for you next year and you’ll be able to have a wonderful, huge family ‘do’.

Happy Birthday Verano!
I’m wishing you the best, even though the family bit was missing! (Very sorry for that — it is so sad that our deepest family connections are hard to reach right now)
I always love your gentle spirit here on the forums. Best and warmest wishes for a wonderful next year,
And Merry Christmas!🎄🎄🎄
Julia

Just had to pop onto the thread to say

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, V ! ! 💐

Sorry you couldn’t celebrate with your family. It’s so tough for everyone. Maybe we will get to the UK in the Spring. It’s hard to plan in so much uncertainty.

But we are all still here. ! Hopefully next year will be a more satisfying celebration for you, V.
Enjoy the festivities everyone, whatever they look like for you.
SG….you WILL get to the UK ! We are all rooting for you !

Hello.
Sunny, forget the scales if the trousers fit all is well!
Bitter sweet day for me today …. it’s my birthday …. lots of wonderful cards, balloons, presents, chocolates (dark!) and amazing floral arrangements …. BUT … no family!
Last year I thought it was a ‘one off’ because we couldn’t see family … but here we are again in the same place,
Anyway this is a ‘POSITIVE’ thread so looking towards the positives I’ve had the best
day I could, under the circumstances, but hopefully next year will be even better with ‘real life’ hugs and kisses!
The weekend is upon us …. enjoy… and even though we haven’t the reached the shortest day just yet, tonight it seemed to be lighter for longer! My imagination?

It’s such a relief when covid tests are negative isn’t it, V. Hope you shake off that cold soon.

Here are a few positives from me today…..
💐 seems that my indulgences whilst away, didn’t do as much damage as it might have. Thought I’d need to opt for my ‘big’ jeans once home, but find I can comfortably wear my size 10’s. Haven’t yet braved the scales though🤭
🛍 christmas shopping is going well. Seem to be managing to knock something off the list every day. Wrapping is going well too.
📮 all christmas cards written and posted.
🎉 looking forward to a visit from youngest GD and her mum tomorrow.
🎄 christmas tree will go up tomorrow morning and the living room straightened out … will be glad to that sorted.

Whatever your weekend holds, I hope it will bring positives your way. We’d love to hear about them.

S-g There are a lot of people in meltdown here too. I assume you have seen the Fr Gov link https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/Actualites/L-actu-du-Ministere/Attestation-de-deplacement-et-de-voyage?fbclid=IwAR1t21ZuK4vlpo9F9kS-ZhCjShRAThTso6ToyknvIXgML-aHbsMwAsTVwD8. The pdf referred to on that website suggests the ” imperative reasons” for visiting the UK are very limited. I suppose a lot may depend on how strict Brittany ferries will be. A route via the Netherlands could be an option … Keeping fingers crossed for you.

Hi s-g. What a nightmare. Have you thought about sailing from NL instead? Presumably there are no restrictions within Schengen still. The Hoek-Harwich service takes a while, but the overnight cabins are comfortable. Keeping fingers crossed for you. x

The scales today showed the same weight as Wednesday, disappointingly, as I feel lighter, tighter and leaner, having eaten well and done a bit of exercise this week.
Hubby is down to 15st 9.0lb and happy with a loss this week.
We will probably not weigh again now until the New Year – Christmas plans have been pared back, so just 3 of us on Christmas Day, and no plans for restaurants on other days anymore – maybe a few walks on the beach and/or on the Moors in the great Northern outdoors to blow the cobwebs away.