September Dryathlon

Thank you all. I think that might have been my best birthday ever.

Sending birthday wishes to Diva 1 too.

Just about to go out for long walk with friends who are staying over, so hope to record some might steps today

Hope you have had a fab day Anya - sending big birthday wishes - trust you enjoyed your and ? XX

Roses - I think we were posting at around the same time last night - I hope you have cleared up now and you are chilling out with a nice and maybe some ? Just sitting down myself after a long day with DS, his GF and diva 1 - she is very excited about her birthday tomorrow ❤️
Could be an early start

Hope everyone else is good

Laptop is going off earlier tonight in favour of ?

Dry day 23

6,210 steps achieved

Happy Birthday Anya? have a good day!

You fashionista you JG

Thanks for the cake and other presents I'll save them for when I don't have to share them around later. So Diva 1's birthday is a day after mine and the day before Burn's night? So many birthdays in January, but I always think it's such a grey month it gives us something to look forward too. But Maggie's just a spring chicken I think.

Roses that sounds like a recipe for a Good Day with Grandkids lots of noise and mess. How do you know your GK's have visited....the house is totalled, Nana is Kerry Packered and the iPad is out of charge. Hope you at least slept well?

Maggie enjoy any celebrations you have planned and Ann hope the weekend is better than recent days.

Big hi to Galen if she's around.

Well done Mr Anya ... what a great result! Who says persistence doesn't pay...?

Lots of lovely birthday celebrations going on this weekend, have fun with your loved ones Anya and Maggie - sending lots of birthday hugs to all ???

We will be celebrating Diva 1 reaching her 8th birthday on Sunday - she and DS are here with us this weekend and we will meet up with ex-DIL and some of her family for lunch and to wish the little one a big Happy Birthday ???

DM is doing OK thanks Anya - a bit of un-screwing and un-plugging going on but no real harm done so far

Dry day 22
8,371 steps achieved today.

I bought some extra wristbands for my Fitbit so now I can colour co-ordinate to my outfits - these things are important don't you know ...LOL

Have a fab weekend all

Oooh,pizza! Lucky you.?????
Haven't had any pizza for over a month.Grandchildren here all day today and am totally cream crackered.House looks as if it has been ransacked, but have Sat to clear it all up, and they had a happy time with us.
Rain here most of the day and mild weather again.
Have a good weekend all.???????

Thanks for my lovely flowers and cupcakes. I've put the cupcakes in my only vase and the flowers were delicious they cheered me up no end x

A result! Bless DH. He got so muddled on the phone, but kept on and on trying to understand what our assessor was saying, and latched onto the fact that an interim payment was supposed to go through on December 5th. I couldn't help but giggle at the way he kept repeating things and, as he had the phone on speaker, I could hear the person on the other end getting more and more frustrated, until he just gave in and agreed that his firm would transfer funds and then chase up the insurers to reimburse them

So at least now I can order carpets, mattresses and other essentials which will 'do' until the claim is finally settled, and promised our landlady will get her money within 7 days.

I'm off into town tomorrow with DS and DD for a birthday coffee, then oldest bestest friend and her DH are arriving from Cumbria to stay for the weekend, then all of us (8 adults and 4GC) off to Pizza Express for birthday tea and a

Hope your pedometer and earrings turn up Maggie - did you perhaps slip them off somewhere and have forgotten that? I bet you find them in some place you've already looked.

How's your DM going on JG trust she hasn't unscrewed too much lately. And thinking of you * ann*

Hope you all have a lovely weekend gang or at least one that isn't too stressful.

If any of you guys need a motivation boost try this:

www.theguardian.com/society/video/2016/jan/22/the-great-british-booze-problem-epidemic-nhs-video?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Oh, ann, have another big hug or two from me and some more . You're really going through the mill at the moment. I do hope the Manchester trip at least proves to be positive for you.

And more positivity heading your way, Anya - let's hope the insurers get their act together soon (grrr) and that things start to look up. It's hardly surprising you're not sleeping well. for you too.

And to think that my biggest worry today has been that some criminal mastermind half-inched our milk from the doorstep while we had yet another a lie-in (there are some wicked, wicked people about ).

Oh, and my pedometer and one of a pair of earrings that were definitely on my bedside table on Wednesday night have mysteriously vanished. I've established they're not in the wash this time and looked everywhere, even the most ridiculous, unlikely places (fridge, cooker, bins, toy box, bra), so I've now decided we must have a poltergeist (or that naughty little Christmas elf has paid us an unseasonal visit, jg!),

I haven't moved much today - though being baht pedometer I don't know how many steps I've done - because I've been browsing the internet getting the house sorted before the young 'uns descend tomorrow for fish and chips and fizz in honour of the old folks' joint birthdays. There'll be 11 of us including the three tiddlers, so with the portions served up by our local chippy we'll need 9 fish and 2 portions of chips and we'll still be throwing some chips away

Happy birthday for tomorrow, Anya! Hope I've got the date right!

Sending many, warm, gentle hugs ann - what a difficult time you are having - lots of support on this thread as Anya said. Please post or pm if you feel the need ❤️ Sending

Oh Anya - so much bloody unnecessary red tape in these situations. Don't these people ever put themselves in the insured's shoes...? I feel very and frustrated on your behalf so sending a low calorie and for you too

Those steps are impressive my friend

Hope the day improves for everyone xxxxx

Huge vote of thanks Anya

I was going to tell you to sit on the naughty step ann when I started reading your post, but then I read on and it made me

Just wanted to give you a big (((hug))) and say don't be afraid to post on here if you feel able. You've a lot going on and there are some very kind and supportive people on this thread x

Only just catching up. My pedometer is still in the box? things here rather on top of me. DD and GC all in a dark place as estranged H is moving 3500 miles away next week, GC's devastated, can't believe he is doing it.
H thinks the world revolves around him so I am on my own with it all and my sight is not improving after 6 injections so
I am going to Manchester next week for angiography to see what other treatment may be better.
Apart from all that things are well?
And it is persisting down.

Yes, agree that Maggie's posts make me giggle a lovely way with words.

No, it wasn't me that snaffled the last of the Wyevale 2015 vintage. I suspect it's been sent back to their distributers to be relabelled for next Christmas. But instead I found a nice non-alcoholic ginger wine in Holland and Barret, so that must be healthy but with a horrific (or if you're posh 'an orrific') 18g of sugar per 100g. However, I had A Cunning Plan, and made it into a ginger spritzer using low cal ginger beer.

Maggie 'ouch' poor little fellow.

Feeling washed out as was still awake at 4.00am this morning. Could it be all that ginger ????

I've set DH onto our insurance assessor this morning. He's on the phone as I type. I'm sick of promises of funds and we are now 3 weeks in rent arrears because the insurers can't get their act together.

Poor DH hates confrontation, and finds it hard to follow all the financial ins and outs of this charade, but if I speak to them after all the empty promises I'd just blow it completely

However dry day 19 and 11,000+ steps so trying hard.

Yay! maggie's still here I just love reading your posts - they always make me giggle and often laugh out loud You sound like the best kind of Grandma - a CBeebies fest ...?
Congratulations on the step fest too

The poor little fella - on his toe again... what is it with toes? Hope he is OK and that the cuddles worked a treat ❤️

Did the electrician managed to fix the fuse box and avoid the machete

Anya the milked mulled wine came from our local garden centre which is part of Wyevale. My DD went today to see if she could get more but alas somebody had got there before her.... was it you Anya ?

I couldn't find any of the spiced berry Bottle Green cordial in Sainsbury's but DD was shopping in Tesco and found a bottle of Tesco's finest alcohol free Pinotage Blush (sparkling) I will be having it tomorrow night when everyone else is drinking a nice Pinot Noir

Dry day 21
5,433 steps - (hangs head in shame) ☹️

Oh, I'm still here, Anya, still drinking the water (as well as the wine), mostly keeping off the internet after 9 (that could be a rule for an updated Gremlins film, couldn't it? ), eating up the leftover birthday cakes and barely making the step count.

Poor little DGS2's toe was recovering well until yesterday afternoon when an oversized board book of Postman Bear landed square on it edge down - on my watch . So we had a long cuddle and CBeebies fest to make it feel better. Not good for the step count, but good for the soul. We'd had our fresh air by then and I walked to History Society later and did my wine pouring and washing up stint, so managed 7400 steps.

Must get up from my lazy bed now, as we have an electrician coming at 10 and I need to hack through the junk in the cellar to clear him a path to the fuse box. Machete at the ready....

Milked wine? Yuk!

Wow, some pretty long walks and big steps yesterday Roses and JG

Where did you buy your alcohol free milked wine? I'm wondering if I could have that with my visitors this weekend on one of the nights to make up for my earlier blip

Maggie you still out there?

Ann did you get your pedometer working????

Hi Galen

Many thanks for the kind offers of help and advice - Galen and annsixty - isn't Gransnet wonderful ...

Guilty ... roses ? Why so ..? It sounds like you had a lovely walk today - I bet it was great along the river - did you see any kingfishers? We did our walk - sadly no pubs close by for coffee but anyway we didn't have any money with us I said exactly the same thing to DH about the bird feeders - tomorrow's job!

When we got home we heated up some alcohol free mulled wine and enjoyed it with oven baked camembert and fresh bread ?

Dry day 20.

13,220 steps achieved
Well knackered worn out

You are all so busy it makes me feel guilty.Beautiful sunny frosty morning here, we went out and did long walk by the river, a loop about 3 -4 miles ending up with a coffee at the pub.We looked like garden gnomes with woolly hats and red noses!?
Then home, soup and bread and cheese and watched PMQ's. Did some laundry, then on here for a bit, and must go in a min to top up all the missing bird foods in the garden, think the jackdaw gang have been here in our absence.

Ring Age Concern and ask for help with the forms and don't let your Mum say she can do things she can't!!!

If you need help with the AA forms, PM me and I'll send you my phone number.
I do know quite a lot about it.

We are in the process of completing the AA forms Anya - we have been refused before but now that DM has the formal diagnosis of Dementia I have been advised that it will probably be granted More hoops to jump through ?

I am super impressed with your walking and so glad that your knee is allowing you to do something you clearly enjoy. I have just staggered run up from the gym (aka the garage ) It is a beautiful day here and I have a FREE day so I'm going to leave everything and go for a nice long walk with DH - positively excited!!

I have to at least make an effort to keep up with you Anya and your walk sounded delightful - thanks for the kick up the backside motivation

XX

Oh dear JG poor you and poor DM. At least she appeared to be content and smiling, but who knows what's going on in her head? That is positive news about Social Services. Does your mother claim attendance allowance JG ?

I'm having to take the GDs to school much of this week as DS's working away and DDiL has to leave for work at 8.00am (we already take the GSs every morning) so today I opted to walk to their house and cut through the park and woods just as the sun was rising. I knew it was 'safe' as I could hear lots of dogs barking (early dog walkers). It was beautiful with the grass and the trees white and tinged with sunrise colours and sparkly with frost.

Then after walking the girls to school I cut back through the church graveyard and that was so peaceful and beautiful too. So managed 7063 steps already this morning My total yesterday was 13,320 (as I have to walk to pick them up too) Not as energetic as your training schedule JG ...respect!!! but plodding on as best I can. Day 17 dry.

Oh no!! I've just typed my post and the blessed thing has disappeared before my eyes

Anya your Rock Choir sounds great fun and I love 'Don't Stop Me Now' - it's my favourite running track - I sing away when I'm on my treadmill and the neighbourhood cats and dogs seem to enjoy it if all the barking and meowing is anything to go by ...??

What a star - you had already done more steps by 9.30 this morning than I have managed to do all day!! So well done you ??

The Managing my Memory sessions went reasonably well today. My DM sat and smiled her way through it all. At the end when I said OK mum, it's time to go now she said - "Oh I'm not staying here then?" She thought it was a Home and we had been having a meeting and that I was going to leave her there ? Bless.

I was rather un-nerved when I spoke to Social Services about an assessment for DM because - overnight - they had suddenly turned all helpful. It was quite scary I put it down to your positive vibes maggie - so thank you very much

Well, it's time for the personal terrorist trainer tomorrow and I am properly scared to death ready for her!! I have purchased a couple of yoga DVD's, signed up for the Park Runs and received my ID wristband and I've down-loaded my 10k training plan!! I reckon having a focus has to help me deal with the anxiety in other areas of my life
I can only try

So -
Dry day 19

5,167 steps achieved (need to do better)
Now - sleep