September Dryathlon

Hang on Anya just taking my hard hat off - I don't think I'll need it here
Yes, Day 1 done but so happy you are back I'm definitely keen to get on board the low carb plan as well - so I'll be watching out for more of your recommendations - the Parma ham/eggy things sound delicious!
It sounds like you had a lovely day today - but what .. no boogie-ing - that would have definitely helped me with my pathetic step count today - 2,338
Still mustn't run before I can walk and I need to be over this lurgy properly before I get back into my stride ...

Thank goodness for this generation of techno whizz kids - I love that my divas are now teaching me things and can help me to understand new phone apps etc...

Now I just need one of them to tell me what a juice cube is ...

Hi Everyone and welcome 2016 - and please may it be a better one than 2015

So, on to a dry January starting tomorrow. It was never going to start today as had all the family round for dinner. The four GC set up a disco in the attic bedroom, using a kind of lava lamp for the only lighting (very atmospheric) and streamed music from my iPad to my new Bluetooth juice cube. Then they all started to boogie leaving us adults to chat in peace two floors below .

They are 4,5,6 & 9 and had never used Bluetooth before but figured it out immediately. This generation are amazing with modern technology.

So no more alcohol until the weekend of 23-24th January (my birthday) and back onto my low carb diet.

I know JG is with me on this and probably one day ahead???

Hoping everyone survived the new year festivities x

Hi gang, hope you all enjoyed a great New Years' Eve and were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning

Day 1 of no-alcohol challenge for me and looking forward to having my mate Anya join me tomorrow

In the meantime - I am in planning mode - currently writing and storing all the birthday/anniversary cards that I send annually - I've usually done it just a month ahead - this is a much bigger task but once it's done I can forget it but hopefully not forget any special dates

X

Mmmm... I may not be hangover free but I will certainly be alcoholic free for a month ...

Wishing this wonderful gang a fabulous 2016 -

Happy New Year to all the gang! May 2016 be kind to us and bring us all we wish for, for ourselves and our loved ones

And may we be hangover free tomorrow, though perhaps I some of us don't deserve to be.

Good morning all, and here's hoping we have a happy New Year's Eve ahead of us!

DH and I went sales shopping to the big city yesterday (6000 steps) and all I bought were some bargain hoodies and tops from Gap for the DGS. How times have changed (hurrah!) - I used to use the sales to stock up on new clothes and shoes for work and now I just don't have to We had a good mooch though and a lovely lunch.

Today I will be mainly cleaning and sorting at home. DS, DDIL and their two gorgeous boys are moving back in with us from Saturday after living elsewhere this week, so there's a lot to do. Like you, Anya, they just want to be back in their own home - they have been told the work should be done by mid-January, so fingers crossed. At least they haven't all the complications of your fire damage, or the terrible floods so many others are having to cope with.

I did consider the dry month, jg, though probably not for long enough.... January would just seem so miserable without the odd I do have resolutions, though - drink some more water, learn my mobile number, and a no screen curfew after 9pm (that one will be a real challenge). And I will if course support you all from the other side of the barricade.

A very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year to you all

Yes, sorry about that I was feeling very down last night. Thank you for the flowers and kind words.

I reckon you're right about Maggie and, a dry January is not something I'm actually looking forward to myself - it will be a challenge and thank goodness you'll be there for support I did a dry run last night and it gave me pleasure to record it on the app. Every little helps, as they say.

Just in case I don't get back on tonight, or everyone is out celebrating I'll wish you all the Very Best for 2016 and hope it's a good year for you all.

JG ???
Maggie ???
Ana ???
roses ???
And anyone else who might be reading this ?????

I was thinking about you earlier Anya and how brave you have been through all of your house stuff ... any progress yet...? And you've continued to help with your GC whilst sourcing replacement items and, no doubt, made your rented place as comfy as possible for the time being - sending a nice bunch of to start your New Year off and a couple of before we begin yet another dry month

I reckon maggie is keeping her head down - she doesn't want to get roped into another month without a G&T or ... can't say I blame her... I'm sure she will be on the front line cheering us on

Hey roses and Ana - hope you both had a good Christmas and wish you a happy and healthy 2016 ...
Happy New Year to you Anya definitely wishing you a speedy return home and maggie wishing you well in 2016 too - is this the year we'll see you and your quiz team on Eggheads ...

Night night from me

good for her!

'Huge benefits' from having a rest and a chance to halt the treadmill and just think things through JG. That's the way to go into 2016. I've enjoyed my break from the school runs, just being able to go back to bed with a cup of tea isn't it?

I haven't got your ongoing worries, but think this utter enjoyment of rest is as good as it gets these days. Listen to me, what a sad, old git

Need some of Maggie's 'get up and go!'

i just want to get back to my own house

So funny you should say that Anya - my mum is originally from Ireland but has almost lost her accent - it was always stronger when she had been chatting with her sisters but they have both passed on now. Just recently I have noticed a very strong twang returning.

She absolutely loves Mrs Brown's Boys and giggles her whole way through it and then tells me how rude it is ... It's not for me I'm afraid but I love to see her enjoying it

Has your DM perhaps been watching all the Christmas extras of Mrs Brown's Boys - that would explain the twang and new vocabulary JG

Fabulous support and advice as ever from the SD gang
The safety alarm thingies are a godsend - although I think my DM confused them recently when she pressed her button and reported a problem with her electrics They then rang me to let me know, as I am an hour away, I rang DM's neighbour who popped around to take a look..... The 'faulty' electrics were due to all plugs either having been switched off or completely removed from sockets ... This is a relatively new 'pastime' for DM alongside 'hiding' any and all remote controls and removing batteries from any and every device that requires them and then can't understand why things don't work!! (((sigh)))

To be honest maggie and Anya - it's not the JK-isms I'm worried about - I am increasingly noticing a very strong Irish twang when I speak to DM with a few choice words and phrases thrown in - and her being a good catholic girl - I am praying they don't surface when we get the LPA signed and witnessed next week

I am feeling huge benefits from my enforced slow-down - thinking more clearly, being more realistic about life - what I can change and what I cannot, generally feeling more positive and less 'trapped'.
So, onwards and upwards with equal doses of humour and realism - 2016 here I come
Thank you, gang
xxxxxxx

Yes, those emergency response thingies are wonderful if you can get them to wear the b****y things - my late MiL fell into the flower bed in the garden and wasn't wearing hers at the time. Had not the next door neighbour (eventually) registered the 'help! Help!' coming from the bottom of our garden she could have been there for days hours.

Maggie love the 'bugger' and Jeremy Kyle stories! I hope I'm like that in later life, but I think I would be teaching the carers a few choice swear words rather than the other way round.

I've imbibed quite a few units tonight as, along with a curry, I've been on a mission to help DS and DDiL finish up their Christmas alcohol, in a gesture of pure selflessness, you understand. My motives being purely altruistic of course

Walked a fair few steps too

The Age UK service sounds promising, jg. My lovely MIL had carers come in 4 times a day from the local authority (or rather, a private company employed by them), and though they were without exception lovely, lively, caring people, she kept having to get used to new faces all the time. Plus, even though she paid for the minimum 30 minutes each time, she rarely got more than 10 minutes because they were on such a stupidly tight schedule. Totally wrong, of course, but in her case she enjoyed meeting them all and they expanded her experiences no end - I couldn't stop laughing the first time I heard her casually say bugger, as she was always so clean-living and upstanding Then when they got her on to watching Jeremy Kyle, and she loved it, especially when they all got up and fought, well....... The Attendance Allowance was very generous at that time and very welcome - she had purely physical challenges though, so I don't know what the criteria are (and no doubt it's been "reviewed" since then ). The emergency alarm system was a Godsend for our peace of mind, so long as she kept the blooming thing round her neck at night, instead of wandering off and leaving it on her pillow Good luck with your research and with getting your DM the help she (and you) deserve.

Quick update on my steps - about 200 yesterday (I took the pedometer off and watched back to back recorded Christmas telly from the sofa - bliss). And I've just about hit my target today with a bit of shopping in town, which ended in a senior screening of A Walk in the Woods (£6.40 for two of us, with free coffee and cookies - what can I say?!). Because my eyes weren't already square enough after yesterday Off to our quiz now - wish us luck!

How Very Dare They Indeed Anya

I did wonder if we would just run on from here - but the more the merrier dryer ...?

On the DM issue - because she can still dress and generally get herself ready mornings and evenings - social services don't offer any help. However, we can use Age UK for a couple of visits a week - they will basically do whatever she wants them to do over an hour and half visit .... at a cost. I am also going to organise meals on wheels twice a week to start with because I worry that she is not eating properly.... The next thing to look at is Attendance Allowance or something similar.... I have twice completed forms for AA but not met the requirements I hope we will be more successful on this occasion

I'm pretty sure she won't like the idea of 'strangers' in her house but hope we can overcome that. Age UK have said they will use the same people.... so as not to confuse unnecessarily - we will see

I also have two courses booked that we can do together to discuss ways in which to help her memory issues - I don't now how much help it will be to DM but I'm hoping to pick up some hints [hmmm]

I'm always open to suggestions

How Very Dare They!

Someone has started a thread on having a Dry January....

Anyway here's a really useful app

The next step is usually having some sort of care package put in place. These can vary greatly in their efficiency and, of course, your DM may not want 'strangers' in her house. Tough decisions. And all this can cause such terribly mixed emotions all round.

I do feel for you JG

Thank you Maggie - my 'enforced' retreat from usual routine is giving me time to re-think things at least - every cloud and all that
Funnily enough it's my DM who has been telling me to slow down She may be on a parallel universe most of the time - but she still knows .... bless her

Yes, I wondered about that, jg. I doubt I'd achieve over 1000 steps during a day at home (without the trusty stepper, of course). Good for you for recognising that you're overdoing things and cutting back.

Thank you gang - this is definitely a wake-up call and time to ring some changes. I realise I cannot continue at this level - DH is amazingly supportive but it's not fair on him either. I was, anyway, planning to get some support to help with DM in the New Year and there are certainly other things I can do which/that ...(pedants?) will allow more time for me as an individual - and DH and I as a couple
I am cancelling New Year plans to begin with and I am looking forward to some quiet recovery time.
I think the fact that on Christmas Eve and then again on Boxing Day, I achieved around 7,000 steps without even going out of the house - is an indication of why I need to slow down

jg do please take care. Look after yourself, lots of fluids and rest.

roses, those steps across the road to the pub certainly do count! As do the steps to the bar, to the buffet, to the loo....

I am very glad to be on a fast day today. We got in at half one last night and yet again I felt over-stuffed with good food and alcohol (beer this time). It was lovely, but I felt myself nodding off at midnight (hope no one noticed!). Charades yet again - I got away with pretending I knew none of them, as my get up and go had gone

A frugal day of fizzy water, a bowl of gruel soup for tea and a Christmas telly fest will do me good.

Have a peaceful day, all of you.

Yes, we have a flock of long tailed tits as well, so sweet, they love the fat balls and tend to hog them.
I have been very naughty with the box of Christmas chocolate biscuits, and had six with my mug of coffee an hour ago, they were on the small side, but even so!
jG, sounds as if you really need to look after yourself, as well as lots of others.?
Maggie, does walking to pubs count? Mine is just across the road!

(((hugs))) JG really sorry to hear you're down with a virus and feeling rough. Hardly surprising under the circumstances. I hope you are able to go to bed and stay there for a while to recoup your energies? Recharge you batteries and perhaps a little TLC from your DH.

Some impressive stepping there Maggie considering the a) weather and b) festivities. I like the idea of giving our faithful pedometers a day off, very thoughtful of you! I just shoved mine in a drawer from Christmas Eve until today.

Hi roses - your description made me homesick for my conservatory. I've never seen a spotted woodpecker in my garden yet, but do love to watch the birds. We often have a flock of long-tailed tits, with their fluffy, pale pink chest and long tails and their chatter, chatter, chatter.

I've GSs 1&3 and the hussy granddog, staying over tonight and for most of tomorrow. The boys are no problem at all, except they are awake with the larks but the Jack Russell is a pain.

Glad to hear we've all survived the festivities - some less stressful than others now there's the New Year Celebrations looming

jg...

Hope things seem a little better in the morning.

Just exhausted ... I really need to re-think my life ...