A New Week W/E 29th July 2023

After a not so good week last week, I was happy to welcome a new week on Sunday. It was a quiet day. A morning dog walk and an afternoon spent sewing again. I've found myself so hungry lately. I've just wanted to eat and eat every day. I have to stay out of the kitchen to stop myself. I don't know if my metabollism has kicked up a notch or what, but it's driving me crazy and I'm finding it hard to stick to my 1800 calorie allowance. I just need to keep trying every day. It's working and the weight is coming off slowly, so I don't want to give up.

I'm currently obsessed with homemade popcorn. I mentioned that I'd bought some popping corn and made some in another post, but in all honesty, it didn't turn out as well as it could have, because I used butter in the pan. I read somewhere that oil is better to use and prevents burning, so I made a new batch on Sunday using a Chilli infused olive oil and it turned out so much better. Virtually every corn popped and very little was burned. I added a bit of salt too and it was so tasty. I love trying different spices on it. It's such a low calorie/fat snack too, compared to some other things that I normally reach for. 

I received an email from my sister in Australia on Sunday. It was lovely to hear from her. Her eldest son is getting married next year, but unfortunately we can't attend. I was worried I'd upset her when I emailed to tell her.  She seemed okay about it though. It's such a long way, so expensive and I'm not currently working. It also clashes with a wedding on OH's side of the family here in the UK, which is super unfortunate and LB will also still be at University and won't be able to take time off to go, as she will probably have exams or assignments to complete around the time. It was a difficult decision, and I'm sad about it, but I had to make it.

On Monday, I couldn't head out to do the weekly shop until the afternoon, as OH was using the car to go to visit a client. Instead, I took the dog out and tried to dodge the rain as much as possible. I have to admit that I love summer rain. I much prefer to have some rain, than have it constantly hot all summer. It feels like a normal British summer this year and I for one am glad of it.

For lunch on Monday, I decided to take a slightly different tack and make something a bit more substantial than just salad, as I thought this might help with the feelings of hunger. I made up half a packet of mediterranean cous cous and heated up half a tin of Lidl's new lightly spiced taco beans in sauce, added a tiny bit of grated cheese and made a small salad on the side. I needed something more filling, especially if I was heading out to do the weekly shop. It's so easy to buy and eat an unhealthy snack when you're out and about if you're still hungry. I've done it so many times.

When I finally did head out to do the shopping, I managed to use a 10% off voucher I'd earned through the Lidl plus app, which is always useful, especially towards the end of the month.

On Tuesday, I had booked to go to a class at the gym again. After the class I walked on to the high street to pick up a few greetings cards that I needed to get. By the time I'd got home I'd done over 10,000 steps so I was happy. When I got home, I had almost the same lunch as I'd had the day before, to use up the remaining halves of the taco beans and cous cous.  I then had a shower and got changed and then pottered a little before heading off to an appointment at the dentist at 4.30 pm.

Luckily, I didn't need any treatment, which was a relief, but I will need to have my teeth cleaned at my next appointment in January and had to put a deposit down for it, which did mean paying out more than I'd hoped.

On Wednesday, I had a busy morning. I'd booked a gym session, as OH and I were heading up to Yorkshire for a few days and I wanted to get one in for the week. When I got back, I showered and changed and headed off with LB to her bank to sort out some issues she'd been having. OH meanwhile had set off on his bike to Peterborough, where I was due to drive to meet him and then continue our journey up north. 

When LB and I got back from the bank, I packed, loaded the car and set off. The drive to Peterborough was okay. I thought I was going to be late, but OH took longer than he thought he would to get there, so I was actually early.  We had some food that I'd prepared and taken with me and then we continued on our journey.

We were visiting OH's parents for a couple of days, to oversee a roofing job that OH had arranged to be done and his mother needed him to do a few other jobs around the house and garden.  We stopped off and caught up with his parents and then headed up to his sister's house in North Yorkshire, where we'd been invited to stay for a couple of nights.  We hadn't seen them since the wedding of their son a month ago, but then had barely talked to them, as they were very busy on the day, so it was good to catch up with their news and other family news.

On Thursday, we were up early and returned to OH's parents to meet the roofers. I took the dog off for a long walk and left OH doing jobs for his mum. Later, I returned, had a bit of lunch and headed out to my favourite Yorkshire shop again. Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my love of Boyes store. I managed to find quite a few things that I wanted to buy including a couple of metres of green fabric for a quilt project, some make up, a pair of leggings, dog treats, candles, etc.

On the way home, I dropped into a couple of charity shops and found this lovely cotton/linen mix Laura Ashley skirt for £4.99. It has pockets too. Great for winter or summer. (It needs an iron)

When I got back to OH's parent's house, we needed to do a quick tip run with some rubbish and OH needed to check the roofing work before the builders left and then we headed back to his sister's. Me by car, him on his bike.

We paid one last visit to OH's parents on Friday for him to finish off the last couple of small jobs and then we headed back to London. 

We almost witnessed a head on collision on the way home and we would most certainly have been embroilled in the carnage had it happened, as we were travelling behind the van that decided to overtake on a bend with another vehicle coming from the opposite direction. Luckily, for everyone concerned, the van driver managed to pull back in, but he must have been inches or split seconds away from a collision. It's one of the scariest incidents I've ever been close to. The angels must have been watching over us on that journey, that's all I can say.

In view of the above, it felt extra nice to get home. Poor LB was having problems, as she'd been taxed on her wages from the theatre, despite not earning above the tax and NI threshold. She was very disappointed, as she needs the money to pay off her overdraft.  She can still just about do it, but it will mean living on very little for the rest of the summer, if the tax doesn't get sorted and then waiting for a rebate in April. Stepping into the adult world of work and taxation is a steep learning curve for her at the moment. I feel for her, as she is working 6 days a week and has very little free time for the next six weeks. Without the taxation, she'd have a little more money with which to enjoy herself when she's not working.

On Saturday, LB was at work and OH had gone off on a cycle ride for most of the day, so I was home alone with the dog. I didn't mind. I unpacked from our trip, got some washing on and then took the dog out. It's official. Bramble season has now begun, as I was able to pick a bag of blackberries on the walk, from the hedgerows. I just love foraging for blackberries and then making jam from them. 

When I got back, I made some bacon sandwiches to use up some leftover bacon, and a small salad to accompany it and then spent the afternoon pottering at home, doing a bit of this and that, some more washing and and some sewing. Bliss.

It has been another week of challenges this week, some of which I haven't mentioned here. I'm hoping for a better week next week, as I feel like I've been wading through treacle this week. Just when I think that I've resolved one problem, another one crops up. Sometimes things are thrown in our path to test us. This has certainly been the case this week.

Another Quilting Update

It's been a couple of months, but quite a lot has happened on the quilting front since my last post.

I continued working on the navy bed quilt and the top is now finished. The new fabric that I bought worked really well to finish it off. It was a good choice. 

Here's a picture of the finished top:

I had another vintage wool blanket that I used for wadding and the fabric that I used for the backing is this one:

This fabric is from my stash and is a vintage paisley brushed cotton fabric. Colourwise, it's a good match and it should make the quilt very cosy and warm for the winter months. It was just about wide enough, maybe an inch too narrow, but I worked with it, as I didn't have any other fabrics that are this wide and I didn't want to buy anything.  The whole point was to use what I already had in my stash. 

Because the print is quite busy, I'll probably need to use a plain binding fabric, or I could bind it with more of this fabric. I'll think about that when I get to it.  

Before I could sandwich the quilt, I needed to remove the papers. I quite enjoy this job, as it's easy to do whilst watching TV. It took just under a week to do,completing several rows each night. I was then able to attach the wadding and the backing fabric.  This has now been tacked together and I just need to machine stitch it before I can move on to add the binding. It's always exciting to see a quilt come together. I'll post another picture when it is completely finished.

I've also started some new projects since I last posted. The first was to make another Xmas fabric wreath using red vintage Xmas fabrics this time. I made a similar one with green vintage Xmas fabrics before Christmas. I usually hang them on the doors to the living rooms. 

After making this, I decided to use some of the remainder of my vintage Xmas fabric collection to make a wreath lap quilt.  I've finished making all of the wreath blocks using the same sized hexies that I used for the hanging wreaths. I've enjoyed doing this, as the pieces are big and so the quilt seems to get made much more quickly than when you are joining lots of small pieces, as I've done with other quilts.

I've laid the blocks on top of a single quilt here, so that you can see what they'll look like with a plain background and you can see the size of it.  This quilt will be a foot or so shorter than a single quilt, but probably the same width. It should be ideal for snuggling under whilst watching TV over the festive season. 

I may change the layout of individual wreaths, as I'm not sure I've got the exact layout right yet. I may also add individual hexies between the blocks too, but I'm not sure yet. I found a plain green 100% cotton fabric for the background, on our recent trip to Yorkshire. The prints are mostly Xmas flowers and foliage, so they all contain the colour green. I'm hoping it will connect the blocks together well. It feels good to finally use these fabrics for something that we can use each Xmas and I feel happy that they'll be well showcased in this quilt.

In addition to the above, I have also now started my next big quilt project, for the double bed in the sewing room. I couldn't resist starting it, as I had all of the fabric I needed for it.  Besides, it's nice to have a few projects on the go at one time, as it allows me to chop and change what I work on, to give me some variety.

I'm using 2" squares for this quilt, laid out in a large cross-like block. I've made a few blocks already to give an idea of what they will look like. The fabrics I'm using will be all blacks and greys of varying shades and prints, with a lighter grey background that will be made using the second curtain of a pair that I bought for this room. The other curtain is hung at the window.

Here's a picture of some the blocks I've made so far and how they are coming together: 

These are the darkest of all the blocks and will form the centre line and maybe the top and bottom rows too, but I will be making blocks with various other grey fabrics too. I'm hoping it will come together nicely as I progress with it. I'll keep you posted.

I've enjoyed working on all of these projects in the last few months.  Are you working on anything special at the moment?

This Week - W/E 22nd July 2023 - A Week of Ups and Downs

After an interesting start to the week, with our break in Norfolk and the burst pipe, things got a bit busier as the week went on.

On returning home, I was pleased to find that I hadn't put on any weight whilst away, despite not sticking to my calorie deficit. In fact, I'd lost a little more which was a nice surprise.

LB went off to her new job and on her return later that evening she seemed to have enjoyed it. Unluckily for her though, there was due to be an Underground strike on her second week in the job, which would make getting to work on time much more difficult for her. Luckily, it was later called off.

When I got back from Norfolk, I decided to apply for a job that I saw advertised, with a one of the big supermarkets and was fortunate enough to get an interview later in the week. It wasn't as local as I would have liked, but in order to establish exactly how far away the store was, on Wednesday, I decided to do the weekly shop at the Lidl on the same high street, to get a feel for the area, parking, etc. The store I'd applied to was a small one with limited parking, so I needed to see if there was anywhere nearby that I would be able to park should I be successful. I was able to deduce from the visit, that there was unrestricted parking very close to the store on residential streets, which was useful.

This was an interesting outing and was useful in lieu of my interview the next day. It took me about 30 minutes to drive there and 20 minutes to drive home, but this probably varies according to the time of day and the traffic on the roads. The nearby Lidl store I shopped at was very quiet and had items that I'd not seen in my usual Lidl for months. There were also quite a lot of orange stickered items as I wandered around.

I also visited a local shopping park on the way home, that had a Home Bargains. Quite a smart one too, compared to the one I usually visit, but it did seem to have a more limited range of goods in it.  It reassured me that it was worth attending the interview and just see what happens. 

I missed the last Soca Aerobics class, which was a pity, but I just didn't have time to get there and back, shop and then get to the class. I needed to shop though, as we had so little food in and we needed food for lunch.

Later in the afternoon, I walked up to our local library to return some books and collect a prescription.  This added quite a few steps to my count for the day. I also visited a local grocery store to get some popping corn. I just felt like making some homemade popcorn as a low calorie snack. I ate a cup of it once it was made. I added a small amount of salt and paprika to give it a bit of flavour. It probably amounted to about 100 calories which isn't bad.

Thursday, marked the end of the 6th week of trying to reduce calories to shed some weight. I've now lost 10 lbs and weigh less than I have done at anytime in the last few years, so hopefully things are going in the right direction. I'm looking forward to reducing my weight by a stone, as it will feel like a real milestone in my journey.

I headed off to Pilates on foot and enjoyed what was the last class until September. I will need to think of different ways to exercise now that many of the classes I've been attending have finished for the summer. I will go to one class that will still be on, do a gym session at least once a week, probably do some cycling and go back to my self-devised routine from Lockdown. I'll continue to keep walking as much as I can too.

After getting home and having lunch, it was time to get ready for my interview. I did a bit of research and printed off an updated CV before heading off.

The interview went okay. I couldn't really tell how I'd done. I just had to wait and see if I heard back. I was encouraged that the store footfall seemed relatively steady and not manic. A different pace from what I'd experienced in my previous job.

When I got home, we got some bad news later in the evening. A friend who we know through dog walking, and who had gone into hospital the day before, had deteriorated and we were told that she wasn't expected to live much longer. It was a shock. She'd had some health problems, but as far as we knew they weren't emminently life threatening.

Anyway, OH and I went to visit her at the hospital and she looked very ill. We were both upset all night and then found out on Friday morning that she'd passed away peacefully later that night. So sad. We went down to meet with her family on Friday morning and walk the dogs together. A very sad time for them. She will be missed greatly by many people locally. She was a lovely lady.

On Friday afternoon, I spent some time in the sewing room working on the new quilt and then I took myself off up to the high street to return the trousers I'd bought at Primark for LB last week. I walked there and back to get more steps in.

When I got back, I received an email telling me I'd not got the job I'd interviewed for. I was a bit disappointed, but two of the shifts were until 11pm at night, so maybe it's not such a bad thing.

On Saturday morning, I walked to the gym for the last gym session until September. It was good. I really enjoyed it. The rest of the day was spent chilling at home as it rained all afternoon. 

OH's cycle race in Central London was called off due to the rain, which was disappointing for him. I stayed home and emptied the ironing basket, put away some laundry and did more sewing. A very unexciting Saturday afternoon, but maybe this is a good thing after the events of the week.

It's been a very sad and strange week this week, not one of the best weeks, but such is life. I hope you've had a good one.

Time Away and an Unfortunate Event

This week got off to an exciting start, as we were going away for a couple of nights to the Norfolk Coast. It was the only chance we had to get away all together between now and September, as LB was starting a new job this week, which finishes at the beginning of September. So, we took the opportunity and booked a place on the Norfolk coast a few miles north of Great Yarmouth.

To be honest, there was very little available and this property was the best we could find that was reasonably priced and dog friendly. The journey there was a bit of a nightmare, mainly due to my choice to go via Chelmsford and Colchester, both of which had horrendous road works which slowed us down by over an hour.  Big mistake.  We didn't make the same mistake coming home.

We eventually got there about 3.30pm.  The accommodation was lovely, new and modern and very well furnished and equipped. We got lucky again. We dropped by a local shop to pick up a few bits, but I'd packed a bit of food, so we didn't need much for our stay. Later, OH and I took the dog for a walk on the nearby sandy beach. It was lovely and the dog loved running around on the sand.

The following day, we got a nasty surprise in the morning. A neighbour called OH to say that we had a burst pipe at home, which had caused water to seep into their basement. Fortunately, they had the wherewithal to turn off our water at the stopcock from outside, which obviously stopped any more water escaping and causing damage. 

We then needed to decide whether to come home and see if there was any damage to our house or stay on until the following day when we were due to return home anyway.  We decided to stay put and enjoy our break. Our basement was tanked when excavated, so we were hoping it would be okay.

Having made the decision, we then went out and enjoyed a day visiting Cromer and Sheringham. We stopped off for lunch in Cromer at a very nice cafe, afterwhich LB and I did a bit of Charity Shop shopping. It rained intermittently, so it wasn't really a day for the beach, but we enjoyed just exploring the town for a couple of hours.  

We then went on to vist Sheringham, which was a lovely little town with a steam railway.  We didn't get to ride on it this visit, but I'd like to go back some time and take a ride on the steam train. Again, we explored the town, checked out a few charity shops, had an ice cream, then a drink in a pub on the seafront, where we watched a busker singing sea shanties. It was lovely. Here's a picture of the beach at Sheringham:

Our visit was cut short by heavy rain, so we headed home.

On the drive back home, we stopped off at Horsey Gap, to see if we could spot any seals.  They often gather here on the beach. LB had visited with friends earlier in the year and had seen lots of them on the beach, but unfortunately this visit we weren't lucky enough.  We did see lots of them surfacing and swimming around in the sea though, so it was still worth checking out. 

We then picked up fish and chips (fishcake for me) on the way home and enjoyed eating them when we got back.

The next day, Tuesday, we were returning to London, as LB was starting her new job at 2pm. We set off at 10 am and got back a lot more quickly via an alternative route. When we got into the house, we were very lucky that the water hadn't penetrated at all, so after unpacking the car, OH got straight on with trying to find the leak and repairing it. 

I, meanwhile, set about borrowing a dehumidifier for next door, to help to dry out their basement. I managed to find one that cost £22 for a week's use, which was a great deal. The neighbours were very good about it, despite the inconvenience and damage it has caused. We'll just have to see how it looks once it dries out and see if they want to claim on their and our insurance.

OH managed to find the leak, which was from a joint in the pipe supplying the house. He had to cut down a lovely honeysuckle bush on the front fence in doing so, which is a pity. Anyway, he bought a new joint and replaced it, so he could then put the water back on. I was very happy, as I really wasn't relishing living without any running water.

After finally unpacking from our break, we could then chill and settle back in. I'm glad we didn't cut our break short, as we all really needed it and we had a lovely time. We were very lucky, as it could been a lot more damaging.

This Week - W/E 15th July 2023

This week began with our trip to the Car Boot Sale on Sunday. I always love a good car boot sale and as I'm now on a very limited budget, it is a good way to pick up things that I need and don't in some cases. It made for a nice morning out anyway.

Monday, was the usual weekly shop day. After walking the dog in the morning and then having some lunch I headed off. I always listen to an audio book in the car when I drive anywhere and today I came to the end of one I've been listening to for a while. I don't use the car so much now I'm not working, so it takes longer to finish each audio book, but this one was a good one. I enjoyed it and liked the characters in it.

When I got home from the shopping, LB informed me that she'd been offered the job she had been interviewed for the previous week.  This was such a relief, as it means she will earn enough this summer to pay off her student overdraft. Had I been working, I might have been able to help her out with it, but as I'm not, I don't really have the spare cash to help much, so knowing she can earn the money herself now is great news.

As LB is now going to be working for most of the rest of her summer holidays, we decided to plan a short get away.  We can only manage a few days between her leaving her current job and starting the new one, but we have now booked a place for a couple of nights that is by the coast in Norfolk, which will be a nice break.

We may get a chance to have a longer break when the job ends, but I need to get my passport renewed if we want to go anywhere outside of the UK.

Tuesday, I was back at my usual class at the gym. I enjoyed it and kept my steps high by walking there and back. I stopped off in my local charity shop on the way home and bought a couple of books. One was another weight watchers recipe book, but I didn't realise until I got home that it didn't give calories, as it was a no count recipe book, but the recipes are good all the same.

The other book I bought was a fiction book and I started reading it on the way home and then I read a bit more when I got home. It's quite funny and I'm enjoying it so far.

I then fell asleep for a couple of hours as I'd not slept well the night before.  A recurring theme, I know, but luckily I can do so now I'm not working.

Wednesday, was my day to go to Soca Aerobics.  I enjoyed the class and on my way home the church across the road was giving away free celeriac from a box outside, so I picked one up. I'm all for free food. I got a free sourdough loaf from them a couple of weeks ago, although it was a little stale. It still got eaten though.

When I got in, I decided to use the celeriac straight away and cooked up a veggie cottage pie with celeriac mash topping for supper. All I then had to do later, was to put it in the oven for 20 or 30 minutes and cook some veggies and supper was done. 

Whilst in the mood for cooking, I decided to try out one of the Weight Watchers recipes from the book I bought from the car boot sale, namely the one for Yorkshire curd tarts. I often buy these when I go back to Yorkshire, so it was exciting to try to make some myself, as I'd bought some ingredients when I'd done the weekly shop. They are quite low in calories for a pastry, at 130 calories each. They are made with cottage cheese, egg, lemon rind, demerera sugar, nutmeg and sultanas. Here's a picture:

They don't taste exactly like bought ones, but they were tasty enough and were an interesting experiment.

With the remaining puff pastry, I made a chorizo puff pastry tart for lunch, which was very tasty and made a change. I had this with a side salad.

Later, I busied myself doing some laundry, rearranging a dentist appointment so that we could go away and then did some sewing. Nothing much is really happening on the job hunting front for me at the moment, so I'm trying to enjoy my time at home, especially now LB is home for the summer.

On Thursday, I was up and off to a Pilates class. I hadn't been for a few weeks on account of my back, but felt happy to venture back, thinking it was the last class until September. Turns out that there is another class next week, which was good news, as there is another Soca Aerobics and gym session too, which is a bonus. I will definitely miss all of these classes when they stop for the summer. I'll have to find other exercise alternatives.

After the class, I ventured into our local high street and dropped into Primark. I was looking for a long t-shirt to wear to the gym, but ended up buying a phone holder that I can wear at the gym and some resistance bands to use at home or take to Pilates. They came in a two pack for £3.50. OH immediately snaffled one when I got home and I kept the other one. I did also buy a small cross body bag for £7 that should be nice to wear when I don't need to carry a lot of stuff. Not strictly necessary, but I liked it. I bought LB a pair of trousers, but they weren't what she wanted, so they'll be going back.

I spent another afternoon sewing on Thursday. My new big quilt project is coming along nicely.  I'm trying to stay out of the kitchen at the moment, as it leads to me wanting to graze and snack like I always used to do. Disappearing off to the sewing room seems to help avoid this.

On Friday, I had booked a session at the gym. I took the dog out beforehand, but it started raining so we didn't get a super long walk. I ended up walking to the gym again, as it was still raining when I left and I could at least use an umbrella as opposed to getting wet if I cycled. I enjoyed the gym session, I'm starting to get into a routine when I go now and it works well for me.

LB and I rang the Student Loan Company today, as her maintenance loan for next year has been reduced by quite a significant amount. Turns out OH earned more the year the calculations were based on, so the assessment was correct. As a consequence, we will have to supplement her loan this year and what with our fixed rate mortgage ending and the interest rate increasing, it's going to be an expensive year, but it has to be done. At least it's a little less debt that she'll owe.

On Saturday, I didn't go to the gym session in the morning, as four consequetive trips to the gym was enough for one week. OH took the dog out in the morning, so I decided to do spend a couple of hours pruning and tidying up in the garden. Everything grows so well in the summer and the garden resembles a jungle at times. I managed to tame it a little bit. 

I uncovered a lovely frog in the process, who had been hiding out in the undergrowth. I made sure to put him back there when I was finished, out of sight of the dog.  He's probably pretty happy in there with lots of slugs and snails to eat. He was a beauty, but I didn't get chance to take a photo. I always feel priviledged knowing that they choose to hang out in our garden.

Later, I did some more work on my new quilt, had a nap, read a little and then we headed to the allotment to harvest anything that needed it. Whilst there, OH got a call from LB to say some masked cyclist had tried to steal her phone at the bus stop at the top of our street.  Fortunately, she had a tight grip on it and he didn't get it, but she was a bit shaken up. This is the second time this has happened to her at this bus stop.

Anyway, OH drove her to work and I walked the dog before heading home for supper.  The rest of the evening I spent tidying up the kitchen, pickling beetroot and washing veg that we'd harvested and so ends another week.

A Sunday Visit to the Car Boot Sale

On Sunday morning last, OH and I decided to head out to our favourite car boot sale. It's the first time we've been to this particular one this year, and as OH wasn't cycling, we decided to make the most of it and have a morning out.

We managed to get there by about 10am. It only cost 50p each to get in and it was quite busy. Not as busy as usual, as there were quite a few gaps where people had already packed up and left, but busy enough.

I wandered off around the stalls whilst OH took care of the dog. It really is no fun trying to drag her around with me.  He was able to sit and have a coffee and take his time. To be honest, it only took me an hour to walk around the stalls. I didn't spend a lot, as there wasn't really too much I needed, but I did come home with a few things.

The first item was this brown glass bottle for 50p. I really liked the shape of it and will probably use it to make a reed diffuser. I had some spare reeds at home I could put in it and I will probably buy some ready made scented diffuser oil to use in it, as when I've tried to make it myself in the past, it hasn't quite worked.

Next, I bought a black dress for £1, which will be nice to wear around the house in the summer. I was surprised that it fitted me, as it is two sizes smaller than I normally wear. It is a loose style, but it boosted my confidence to fit into it. It just needs a wash before I can wear it.

I also bought a pair of linen mix black pants for £1 to wear in the summer too. They were my normal size and fitted okay when I tried them on, save for them being a little too long.  I turned the hems up when I got home, stitched them in place and they are now ready to wear.

The last couple of things I bought were this Weight Watchers recipe book for £1

 

and a brand new perfume for £3. 

The WW recipe book is over 10 years old, but it has some great lower calorie recipes in it and I'm looking forward to trying some of them out. A great buy.

Although the perfume is only a 20ml bottle, it is a fruity summery scent. It was still in it's sealed packaging, but there was a tester available, so that I could tell what it smelt like and it was lovely. I'm almost out of perfume, so finding this at a good price when I'm on a tight budget was a nice treat.

Having finished up at the car boot sale, OH and I then headed home, stopping off at a pub for lunch. I haven't been eating out much lately, as I find it hard to stick to my calorie allowance, mainly because you don't always know the calorific content of meals eaten out. 

I chose a Roast Beef salad on this occasion, but half way through eating it, I realised that it was quite high in calories, as it contained quite a lot of blue cheese and walnuts. It was a healthy option though and was very tasty. I let OH finish off some of the cheese, as I didn't want to eat it all.

It was a lovely morning out, and even if it did mean no snacking for the rest of the day, as my calorie allowance couldn't justify it, it was worth it.

This Week - W/E 8th July 2023

This week has been a positive, progressive week on the whole. Sunday was a quiet day that started with a dog walk, followed by a day at home chilling. I had every good intention of doing the weekly shop at the local Lidl, but in the end I had an afternoon nap instead.

Monday thus became the day for the weekly shop. I didn't go to Yoga, as I just wasn't feeling it. I'll maybe start anew with that in September. Instead, I took myself off the Lidl near to where I used to work and did the weekly shop there.  

Shockingly, I spent over £100 there, followed by another £50 between B&M, Home Bargains and Tesco. An expensive day, with all the money being spent on food, toiletries and household/dog items. We had run out of a lot of stuff and I did buy two weeks or more worth of some things.

Once I'd got home and unpacked it all, I cooked supper, took the dog out and then I could finally relax for the evening.

Tuesday, was quite an eventful day. I started out early with a dog walk, so that I could get back to go to a Aerobics class at the gym. LB who was due at an interview for a summer job, had overslept and was running late, so OH had to drive her to a station where she could catch a train into Central London.

I, meanwhile, headed to my class, which was good. I had to take some exercises a little easy, just to be careful not to niggle my back. It is virtually better, but shifting positions on the floor takes more time than usual. What with the dog walk and walking to and from the class, I managed to get 10,000 steps in.

When I got home from my class, I messaged LB to find out how the interview had gone. She thought it had gone well, but is now waiting to hear if she's got the job.  She really needs it to pay off her student overdraft. I think she'll have learned an important lesson this year, that overdrafts need to be paid back, and maxing them out isn't always a good idea, but I know from experience that it's easier said than done, when the facility is there to use.

I got invited to a job interview on Tuesday too. It's for a temping job starting in August, which will only last a few weeks, but it would be good to earn some money again and it's reasonably local, so I could probably easily cycle there. The interview isn't until the beginning of August. Positive news though, which I haven't had much of on the job front lately. Case in point, I received another rejection email on Tuesday, but hey, you can't win them all.

On Tuesday afternoon, it was raining all afternoon, so I finally tackled the ironing basket and got most of it done, which felt productive.  We were glad of the rain, as the garden and allotment needed a good soak. Later in the afternoon, I retired to bed for a couple of hours, as I'd slept for just 2 hours the night before. I don't know why, but I just couldn't get to sleep.

Wednesday, was Soca Aerobics day. I'd forgotten we'd agreed that OH was walking the dog in the morning, so after getting up early, I had a bit of time to kill before I headed off to the gym. I decided to use the time to start sandwiching the navy quilt. I'm using another vintage wool blanket as wadding, so I laid the three layers out on the bed and started to pin and tack the three layers together.  It was a bit tricky, as the backing fabric isn't quite as wide as I'd like, but I managed to make good, just about.  

The Soca class was good and I had a lovely power bowl for lunch when I got home, this time with Mexican flavoured beans, a boiled egg, salad, beetroot, etc. Very tasty.

I spent the afternoon continuing to sandwich the quilt and also working on another quilt project. I took the dog out for a long walk in the evening to get more steps in and managed over 12,000 in total, which I was happy about.

Thursday, marked 4 weeks of trying to reduce my weight, so I got up and showered and decided to take more pictures to visually document my progress and I took new measurements, to see if I'd made any actual progress. The results weren't staggering, just an inch lost here and there and 7lbs in weight over the 4 weeks, but better than nothing.

I also took my blood pressure and the both the systolic and diastolic measurements had improved from the reading a month ago.  I was happy enough with my progress, but I think it's going to be a long slow haul.

Some good news was that I got notified today that I'd won a prize on the Premium bonds again this month, £100 this time, which was great. 

I didn't go to Pilates today, as my back is still a little sore. Instead, I decided to head out to a local Poundland to see if I could buy some 3/4 leggings. I wear these a lot under dresses and skirts, etc. and I only have a couple of pairs which invariably end up in the wash and I'm limited to what I can wear.

To be honest, I felt like a bit of retail therapy. I've been so careful the last few months, that every now and then it's nice to go out to the shops and actually see what is out there. I don't always want to buy anything, but not allowing myself to go at all makes me feel deprived at times. Sometimes, it's good to know what you are not missing and this little trip to Poundland and ASDA certainly brought that home to me. I bought some trainer socks, leggings and a T-shirt dress that I'd eyed in ASDA weeks ago and then came home. Yes, if I'd had some spare cash, I'm sure I could have spent it, but bar what I bought, there isn't really anything that I really need to spend money on. I've got plenty of things to wear, craft with, etc. I can get by.

On Friday, I booked myself into the gym, as I wasn't going to be able to attend the free gym session on Saturday this week.  I took myself off there on my bike and made my way around the gym, using lots of different machines. I find that I enjoy the experience the most, if I don't spend more than 10 minutes on any one machine, which is exactly what I did on this occasion and I really enjoyed it.

OH had gone off today on an overnight cycle trip, so I pottered around at home, watched a few things on Netflix, did some sewing. It was steaming hot, so I didn't really want to venture outside for too long. Even the dog didn't want an evening walk in the heat.

LB's friend was coming to stay tonight, so I did some basic cleaning of toilets and bathrooms, changed bedding and generally tidied up her bedroom.

On Saturday morning, I got up and had a shower and headed out with the dog.  We had a nice walk and got back just in time before it started to rain. I then headed out to Lidl to get a few bits, such as bread, etc. as we had very little in. I managed to save nearly £5 by getting a couple of things we eat regularly for free using some vouchers.

The rest of the day was quiet. OH came home around 3pm. He was shattered, so we spent the evening chilling and watching TV. I made some salt and vinegar potatoes in the air fryer. I'd never made them before and they turned out really tasty.  A little like Canarian potatoes that you often get in the Canary Islands. I will definitely be making them again. I just part boiled new potatoes that OH had grown and then added them to the air fryer along with malt vinegar and salt and cooked them in there for 10 minutes. So simple. OH went out and bought a rotisserie chicken locally and that was supper. Super easy, but very tasty.

A much better week this week, now we're back into our routine and I'm feeling a lot better. I hope you had a good week.

This Week - W/E 1st July 2023

This week started in a very leisurely fashion on Sunday morning. I'd stayed up late to watch Guns & Roses headlining on The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, but still woke reasonably early and got up and ready to take the dog out. It was hot by the time we set out at around 9.45 am, so we kept to the shade and didn't do a long walk. We sat and chilled in a few spots in the park which was nice.

When we got back, I fed the dog, then fed and watered all of my indoor plants. They really needed it.

I then decided that I was going to do the weekly shop on Sunday instead of Monday, as I wanted to go back to the Monday Yoga class I went to a couple of weeks ago. We were virtually out of food too and I needed to stock up.

My weight loss journey seems to have stalled at the moment. My weight is stuck on a particular number on the scales and hasn't budged for 4 days. I'm keeping strictly within my calorie deficit too. It could be worse, as it could have gone up, but I'd like to get it moving again, preferably in a downward direction. Maybe I just need to reduce calories further or up my activity levels, but it's not easy in the heat.

My chesty cough and sore throat are very slowly getting better, I'll be glad when it's gone. It helps if I take paracetamol, but I always forget to.

Anyway, I headed off to a local Lidl. It was the last week of the month, so I didn't have a lot of money left to spend on the groceries. I knew I was going to overspend, but that's okay. We need what we need. It just had to come out of next month's budget.  I managed to save over £7 on the groceries using a 10% off coupon, so that helped.

When I got back, I made LB and myself a sausage sandwich each using the air fryer, so no added oils or fats. I've had salads every day for weeks now and I needed a break. It's all still within my calorie deficit. Had to be done.

The remainder of the afternoon, was once again given over to Glastonbury. It was way too hot to go outside and do anything. I developed some lumbar pain today. Not sure what caused it. Maybe lifting heavy shopping bags in and out of the car, but it was a bit debilitating. What with this and the lingering cough, I feel like a wreck.

On Monday, I had a leisurely start to the day. OH took the dog out and as I had no weekly shop to do, I was able to potter at home hard boiling eggs, making fruit jellies and jam. The boiled eggs are a way of varying my salads a little, as I feel a bit bored of my usual salads and need a bit more protein in my diet.

The small individual jellies are made up from granules and have only 10 calories in each, plus a few calories for the fresh raspberries I put in them. They are great when I have an urge to eat something sweet, but don't want to consume too many calories. 

The scales finally moved in a downward direction this morning. Not a great shift, but a small one, which was a relief.

I was unable to go to the Yoga class due to the lumbar pain. It wasn't quite as bad as the day before, but too uncomfortable to do a class. I was a bit disappointed.

I needed to do a bit of banking today. My ISA interest rate was about to lapse if I didn't put some money into the account, so I did a quick transfer and now I'll retain the current interest rate for another year, which is quite good compared to what it's been in past years.

Talking of interest rates, we're one of those families that are facing mortgage interest rate rises in the next month or so, when our current fixed rate ends. We don't have a large mortgage anymore, but it is inspiring us to pay as much off as possible, so I might be putting some savings into doing that in the near future.

It was a much cooler day on Monday, the afternoon of which I spent chilling in the sewing room, making progress on a quilt project. 

On Tuesday, OH was cycling up north to see his family. I stayed put and was on double dog walking duty, although the dog doesn't always want a second walk in the hot weather. He must have set off early, as I woke at 6am and he was gone. He got there okay anyway, which is good.

I spent most of the morning walking the dog, during which time a bird pooed on me. I'm hoping it will bring me good luck. I didn't get to a class at the gym, as my back was still sore.

As OH was away and wouldn't be eating the raspberries and Greek yoghurt in the fridge, I decided to make some more frozen fruit yoghurt. It makes a nice low calorie dessert and saved things going to waste.

I passed the afternoon working on a quilt again. Same quilt as yesterday. I'm going to post about it very soon. I'm enjoying this one a lot. 

I also fell down an Amelia Dimoldenberg rabbit hole on YouTube, which was quite amusing. Her uncomfortable/awkward style of interviewing and the Chicken Shop Date concept is so refreshing. Some of them are pure gold.

Later, LB headed out to her first shift in a long while, at her old job at the theatre. I tried to get the dog out for another walk, but she wasn't that interested.

I made myself a Nourish bowl tonight for supper, (I can't call it a Buddha bowl, as it contains meat) using curried chickpeas, plain cottage cheese, rocket, cherry tomatoes, a boiled egg and some chorizo slices. It was pretty tasty and filling too actually, I was surprised. I might do the same tomorrow for lunch, but maybe vary the ingredients. It's a great way to use up things from the fridge and gives me a bit of a change from the usual salad.

On Wednesday, I woke at 7ish and noticed that the dog was wide awake and looking like she wanted to go out, or at least go out in the garden, so I got ready and went down for breakfast. I never normally get out of bed so early.

My back was still a bit sore, but much better than it has been. I was determined to go to Soca Aerobics today. I couldn't stand the thought of another sedentary day, hardly moving at all and the scales have stuck again, albeit at a different number this time. It's frustrating to get an injury at such an early stage of my weight loss journey. I definitely need to be more careful, because I hate being out of action. I guess I just have to take things as they come and be grateful that I don't have permanent chronic pain, as it must be so difficult to cope with on a daily basis.

After taking the dog out for a walk at one of our favourite spots, I decided I would walk to the gym for the class. I was a bit late setting off though, as I got distracted and probably missed a song or two, but I did what I could comfortably do in the class and felt so much better for it. It was good to get out. I was climbing the walls at home after just 3 days. The last couple of days have been a bit more overcast and cooler, so at least that has helped.

On Thursday, I didn't go to the Pilates/Yoga fusion class, despite my back being almost better, as I needed to walk the dog, with OH being away. I didn't want to push it either, when I seem to be on the mend. Thursday marked 3 weeks of trying to reduce my weight, so I hopped on the scales hoping for the best. I've shed just under a pound this week, so things have slowed down significantly. 

To be honest, I'm happy with this, as it could so easily have gone the other way, especially with my being much more inactive this week due my back pain. My weight has stuck again for 4 days inspite of keeping within my calorie deficit. Just seems to be a pattern that is emerging.  This is harder than I thought it would be, but I'm going to persevere.

Next week, I'll reach the four week mark and I intend to take some measurements and photos again to chart progress and see if there's any difference. I'm quite looking forward to it, but I'm not expecting miracles.

After the morning dog walk, I came home and had lunch. I was back to eating salad today. It had been a few days, but I was ready to eat it again and I needed to use up some more lettuce. I then hung out some washing before heading off to the allotment.

Some good news, was that we had lots of rain overnight, so I think everything at home and the allotment got a good soaking, which saved me needing to water anything. I did need to harvest some things from the allotment though, which I did and I took a few photos of the plot to create an allotment update.

OH returned later on Thursday and we caught up on all the news from his parents. In the evening, we watched TV and I pulled out lots of backing papers from my navy quilt. It's going to take a while.

On Friday, I had another quiet day. I walked the dog in the morning, had some lunch and then in the afternoon, I walked up to the library to return a book and get some more books out and steps in. I also I did a bit more paper removal from the quilt.  Nothing wildly exciting.  The books I got out of the library were low calorie recipe books.  It wasn't that easy to find them, many books don't give calorie counts. I spent an hour going through them when I got home and bookmarking the recipes I could try.

On Saturday, I woke up to a new month, which I welcomed from a financial point of view.  I can't believe another month has whizzed by.

I got up and ready to go to the gym.  There's only three weeks left of the free sessions and I can't go next week, so this will be one of the last times I can get there. I walked there today to get more steps in and I really enjoyed the session. My back was okay for the most part, getting on and off the machines was the hardest bit.

When I got back it was bacon sandwiches for lunch as a treat, with only two thin slices though. I spent the afternoon working on a quilt and then later we went to the allotment to harvest the potatoes and other crops. OH dug up 3 bag fulls of potatoes, which should keep us going for a while.  He then made us a nice chicken and vegetable soup for supper. LB was out at work most of the day on a double shift.

It's been a quiet week, but progress has been made here and there, which was satisfying.