I'm putting these two back here to start the month because I think they look so funny. At least I'll see them there for a while. Actually, I'm really jumping the gun a bit here. It's still only Thursday, but I've been working on the August page. Will probably do more tomorrow.

Later

It's a beautiful sunny day here today, although the wind is quite chilly. I have sheets blowing in the wind on the clothesline and will put them straight back on the bed, hopefully smelling all nice and fresh from the wind and the sun. Just remembered that my grandmother used to iron sheets! Also ironed all her underwear. Not for me, I'm sure. She also starched all her teatowels which were made of white linen, half a metre wide and a metre long. When I was married she gave me a suitcase of brand new teatowels she had been given over the years. These didn't match her requirements for such things.

I actually tracked and wrote down in a new little spiral backed notebook what I had eaten yesterday. I was quite proud of my 18 points and 3-4 points walking. Then someone on my email list was talking about balance. You can't lose weight by eating 9 slices of bread a day, she said, even if it doesn't take all the points. I had another look at my list. No fruit. Lots of vegetables, but no fruit. So today I've had two passionfruit and will have some peaches in juice with no sugar later. I'm planning on a bagel with salad and some lite ham for lunch. I'm by myself again tonight so will finish the smoked cod.

I looked in my points book and it said smoked cod was 3 points/piece. I can't believe that as the pieces are tiny. I'll double check the nutritional panel when I take the box out of the freezer later.

Lunchtime and then I might go for a walk. Probably only 30 minutes today, as my hip is quite sore and sending pins and needles down my leg. Sciatica associated with arthritis, the doctor said. Not as acute as some people have it, but not pleasant. Losing weight would help.

OK, so I just checked the smoked cod details. It works out at 2 points/serve. The points book says Birds Eye but gives no serving size. Not really accurate. I wouldn't have minded 4 points for what I enjoyed, but six points for 2 tiny pieces was a bit much! Also checked my bagel - 3 points as expected. I've used a small amount of mayo and a little bit of lite ham. Salad too.

Just a quick entry this morning. It's a beautiful day here today. Miss Two turns into Miss Three tomorrow. Her parents are having a very quiet sausage sizzle for her this afternoon. Her other birthdays have been BIG parties. Bec works on Saturday now and doesn't want to be spending all her time on a party. So it's fairly quiet. I just went down to the newsagent. I realised I had a present and paper but no card. You can't not give a card to a three year old. I wasn't impressed with their range, but beggars can't be choosers. The one I chose is OK, but not what i would gave bought if there had been a larger selection. Bit mushy for me.

I'm having to watch what I eat today to allow for tonight. I'm going out to do some gardening soon in the sun so that I can get a few more bonus points. It also needs doing so the bonus points really are a bonus!

Husband will be out till mid afternoon and away all next weekend too. I actually don't mind being by myself and can find ways to occupy myself quite easily. Also easier, foodwise. I do what I want, when I want. He requires a full on meal at lunch at weekends. I can happily have a sandwich or soup and roll where he wants a BBQ with all the trimmings. Which reminds me...I'd better work out what to have for lunch tomorrow.

We had a really pleasant time at Tim and Bec's last night. Mya was funny. As she opened each present, she had to take each part out to her mother and father who were still preparing things. I'd wrapped each of my presents separately, but she did that even with presents which were in a bag or all together. She seemed to really enjoy everything and wore her new dressing gown with name embroidered for most of the evening. Mum bought her that.

Good and bad news on the food front. We had decided it would be very simple, so they had a sausage sizzle. Bec had made a to-die-for potato bake which smelt wonderful. I had just a dessertspoon of that and the same of tabouli. I did have two sausages,(thin) and a bread roll and a small piece of chocolate birthday cake. Another son had brought a few bottles of a very nice red wine and I had 4-5 glasses of that. Hard to tell how much because the glasses were enormous but only half filled.

Then on the way home it hit me. Couldn't have been anythng I had just eaten but I had the most dreadful stomach cramps. I ended up sleeping on the lounge to be closer to the bathroom. Can still feel where the cramps were this morning and I'm sure I was dehydrated too. I've been sipping water slowly so it doesn't go straight through.

Yesterday I made some potato and asparagus soup for today's lunch. I had a packet of frozen asparagus in the freezer which I wanted to use. I'm not too sure whether I will risk eating that today. There's a lot of fibre in it.

I also looked at the roster for morning tea for church to see if someone reliable was on today. Just as well I looked. It was my turn! I made a cake with sultanas and yoghurt in it. Didn't have any plain yoghurt, so used an apricot one my husband had bought. I haven't tasted it, but it smelt nice. Had grated carrot in it. I also made a ginger cake with grated potato in it. Made a loaf. This also smells good. I found the recipes in a Women's Weekly cake recipe book. Made some biscuits with wholemeal flour, cumin seeds and cheese for something savoury. Again an old Womens Weekly book. I find their recipes good. They usually aren't complicated and they always work.

Even my brother and his wife turned up with Edward for a while. They keep very much to themselves. Margaret, my sister-in-law looked quite reasonable. She has had bowel cancer and has secondaries in her liver. The doctor can do no more.

Several people commented that I needed to take MIL shoppping for clothes. She looked dreadful last night, a relic of the crimplene fad of the 60s. She wouldn't think she needed anything new. In fact she would be horrified if she realised what Sarah and I threw out last year. I bought her new trousers, tops and a couple of skirts last year, but she never wears them

Monday, August 4

Everything seems to be falling apart here lately, including me. I feel a bit better today, but am still being very careful about food. The weather is strange - when the sun shines, it's a beautiful day. At the moment, there's a lot of high cloud and it's really murky. Just as well I don't have any washing to do. I don't think it would dry well today.

A few days ago, I broke my favourite wine glass. Then something else broke the next day. On Saturday, I heard a tremendous noise on the back deck. A set of metallic chimes had fallen down. These were small but had two sets of chimes in rows and four clappers set at different heights. The chain and hook broke and the fall made several chimes come off. Then today I decided to be absolutely sure of portion sizes. I usually just count 0.5 for the milk I have in my coffee in the morning. So I tipped it into the cup, got out my plastic measuring jug and tipped it in. Fortunately I did this at the sink. Milk went everywhere. The jug had a V-shaped crack in the bottom! I had used it on Saturday and it was OK then. I did see enough to know that 0.5 was more than adequate points for the amount. I'm definitely not starting to count in quarter points. That's just too obsessive for me.

I'm off for a walk soon. Unsure about how long or how far. My hip was sore yesterday, despite the regular Celebrex I have been taking. I really don't like taking them but have found that if I take one daily, I can usually do some form of exercise. If I just take it when I really need it, which is my preference, then my ankles and feet hurt and my hip plays up too. I told the doctor I was taking them regularly so I could walk and he agreed it was probably a good compromise. The pool which is two minutes away is being renovated and in a few months will have a new heated area open all year. I am hoping they might have some aquarobics classes when it's finished. The closest otherwise are at the Aquatic centre at Homebush and without a car, it's a nuisance to get there.

Later 12:30pm

I'm just back from a walk and really need another shower. It's very warm out there today. I had walked for only a few minutes when I removed the top layer of clothes and then a few minutes more and I had pushed up the long sleeves of my T-shirt. It's hard to tell from inside my home what the temperature is like outside. I walked for almost 45 minutes, mostly on the flat but a couple of slight hills. It's walking on hills or a slope which upsets my hip and feet.

I'm finding compromises here. It's probably better to walk on the flat, than not to walk at all. One day last week I had a very long walk and could hardly move the next day, even with Celebrex, the so called wonder drug. One of its big advantages is that it doesn't upset the stomach like many of the other earlier drugs. Brufen,for example, is a great pain killer and anti-inflammatory but made my stomach bleed. Voltaren and Indocid aren't as bad, but still upset me. So I'm trying to take the tablets and walk everyday, even if it's for a shorter time and basically flat.

I'm now going to have some tuna on a bagel for lunch and probably an apple as well. Beef casserole for dinner. Lots of veges for me and not much meat.

Very warm here today with a wind from the north. It was overcast most of the morning but is sunny now. I've been for a walk, although not as long as I would wish. Just under 30 minutes. However, I don't feel wonderful today, can't put my finger on it, just feel off. Still I suppose I walked even if it wasn't for long.

Last night's casserole was wonderful. I used lots of Swiss brown mushrooms, some red wine and some good stock. Made enough for 4-5 servings. Even though I haven't been enjoying red meat lately, this was nice. Plenty of broccoli and I had a dessertspoon of mashed potato.

Think I'll go have a snooze. I'm supposed to be having 3 extras for dinner tonight and then be going out.

I had an entry written yesterday but lost it. Disappeared somewhere. I'm just about to go for a walk. It's a lovely day here today and I've had washing on the line from quite early.

Yesterday I sneaked a peak at the scales. Don't quite know why I did that, I can usually stay away from them quite easily. I've decided I won't look again till next Monday which will be a week since I first looked. At least they moved in the right direction. It's a bit hard to tell with these scales. They measure in 500 gm increments so a small loss or gain doesn't really show.

I thought my husband wasn't going to be home for dinner again tonight, but he's just informed me he will be. I have casserole left over, so will do some more potato and other vegetables. He's going to Port Macquarie tomorrow and will be away all weekend. Looks like lots of fish for me. Supposed to be good for weight loss too, so hopefully Monday will register a good loss. I've walked several days in a row now.

I walked to Burwood yesterday along the road by the train. This is quicker than walking to Westfield which is at the bottom of Burwood Road. It was actually quite hot and I was pleased to get out of the sun. I'm finding that I'm enjoying the walking again and have to put up with some discomfort. One of the reasons for getting out was to get a script made up. I could do that over the line here, but used it as an excuse to make me get out. My shoulder has been much better this week. Isn't that alwys the case? Go to the doctor and the problem eases before anything is done. I know it's only temporary however, as something caught when I reached up in the cupboard last night.

I had a bagel this morning with tuna and tomato for breakfast. It's not the sort of thing I normally have for breakfast but I enjoyed it. Not too sure what I will have for lunch. Perhaps some salad and fruit. The new season navel oranges are really nice at the moment. I had a salmon and asparagus sandwich on wholemeal bread, no butter or mayonnaise, and a cup of coffee yesterday while I was out.

Off to put on walking shoes.

Saturday, 9th August

I've been out most of the last two days. Yesterday I went with a friend to see Whale Rider at Hornsby Odeon which was one of the last places in Sydney to still be screening this. G. is part maori and was familiar with the actors as well as the customs shown in the film. In fact, her father had basically removed his young famiy from the tribe because he disagreed with some of these customs. The film was powerful, questioning whether the chief of a tribe has to be male. The scenery was awesome and G. said the details rang true. The acting was great and young Pai was just magnificent.

Today I've been at son's place. His wife works all Friday night and sleeps all Saturday while he has the children to himself. However he asked me today to keep an eye on them as he had concreting to do. It was a beautiful day and very warm. We had a picnic in the sun outside for lunch to cut the noise inside. However, a southerly change came through and it is now freezing. Supposed to be quite cold and also wet tomorrow. We could use the rain. I keep forgetting to water the pots and then see the plants wilting.

Food yesterday was quite good. However, today was a different story. Mark went to to get something for lunch and brought home fish and chips. I've been eating a lot of fish, but this was battered. I ate it and enjoyed it and had a few chips. Not my favourite food. When he brought me home, I couldn't decide what to cook myself for dinner. I tried talking myself out of a toasted cheese sandwich, but failed. Had cheese and chutney and it was just what i wanted. aboslutely lovely. Haven't had one like that for years. I had 8 points to carry over and the fish waas small and only a few chips. Probably scraped in,even without the spare points, but close to the wind. These things happen, sometimes.

Very warm here today. I have been for a walk today, not long, but a walk all the same. I needed onions and had somehow got to a point where there wasn't one in the house. Don't know how that happened. I use a lot and usually have plenty in hand. Any how, I had to walk to get them. Local stores here don't have fresh stuff. I've walked every day, bar one, for over a week now. That doesn't sound like much, but I have done very little walking for several months now.

My friend Rhonda, who lives in Queensland is participating in a project called One Million Steps. They have been advocating that people do 10,000 steps every day for not only weight loss, but good health. Now they are running a project encouraging people to do one million steps, a hundred days of 10,000 steps. If enrolled in their local area, they are offering prizes. I've printed off some of their notepads to record what I do. So far, I've only been approximate from my old bonus buddy, but I have been thinking about a new pedometer for several weeks now. My WeightWatchers bonus buddy has never been very accurate, even set to the least sensitive. I've heard this from a lot of people.

I have a couple of young dance students coming for dinner tonight and also a friend of mine. Dance makes them very hungry and I usually have nothing left over. Today I have a lot of vegetables, except onions LOL, so have decided to make soup for dinner. This is something that I would normally have on a weekend, not a weeknight for dinner. However, it's easy, filling and healthy as well. I had some veal shanks and have made stock with that. There are about eight different vegetables in it and some pearl barley which I love. I've made an enormous loaf of fresh bread with poppyseed through it. Looks wonderful and will fill up the cracks, I hope. They are going out to a Lebanese pastry shop afterwards, so don't need an enormous meal here.

I feel better now, after 3:00pm, than I did this morning. I felt really yuk this morning. I'm sure it was because I went to bed in a very bad mood with a full stomach from dinner. I was told husband would be home at 7:00. I had marinated some scotch fillet steaks and had a lot of vegetables too. I told him I would BBQ the meat after he arrived, so it didn't overcook. As usual, he paid little attention to what I said and thought I would start cooking after he returned. I rang at 7:10 to see where he was as the vegetables were just on ready. Still at work! I took veges off stove and tried to slow them down by rinsing in cold water. He arrived after 8:30. I was starving, I'd had an early lunch and a corn thin about 4:00. I was also in a bad mood. By the time we ate, it was after 9:00, far too late for my stomach. I ate all the vegetables and about 30gm of what was probably nice meat, but I really couldn't taste it. He knew he was in strife and I went to bed before him, a major crime in his eyes.

It's far too early here, just after 5:00 am but I've already been up 2 hours. I just could not sleep. I even made myself peanut butter toast which often sends me back to sleep. Really nice, I haven't had anything like that for a long time. But it didn't work. So, as the saying goes, if you can't beat them, join them. I'm up and will have a shower soon.

I'm off to get my hair cut this morning and boy, does it need it. It's only six weeks since the last time but feels like twelve. Bec will pick me up from the station on her way to work. I haven't done this early start since I stopped minding Mya who is now three. I miss seeing her regularly, but I certainly don't miss the early starts to the day when I left here at 6:30.

Food has been going really well except for last night. I had veal and cracked pepper ravioli and made a sauce with some skim milk and a lot of vegetables in it. I also used some lite cheese. All in all, it probably wasn't excessive on points and I could eat only half of what I served myself. As I already have a plate of leftovers, I'll use that and my ravioli for dinner tonight. I won't have to think about cooking. Even my husband enjoyed the ravioli, although he's not a fan of pasta. He can have the chinese and I'll have ravioli. International cuisine! LOL.

I've also been walking but overdid it on Tuesday and paid the price Wednesday. Felt awful for quite a while. I just have to realise to take things slowly.

It's been quite chilly here today and cold when the clouds came over. I had a lovely sleep-in this morning. I woke at seven and went back to bed. Had a big surprise when I woke again to find it was well after nine. I'm not normally able to do that. I still wasn't dressed well after ten. Usually that would be a signal for someone to drop in, but fortunately no-one did.

I haven't eaten much today, light breakfast, some fish for lunch and a meal at the local Vietnamese tonight. Hopefully I'll continue that through the week. Mum is giving me a week away at Forster as a birthday present and I'm going up with my sister tomorrow. Lots of fresh fish at the local co-op is on my agenda. Only problem there is keeping the local pelicans away from it! I'll catch you all in a week. Take care.

I've had computer problems with my modem for a couple of days and have also not been 100% well. SO... I am not away on holidays up the coast. Computer guru son has just talked me through a fix for modem over the phone and I am feeeling a bit better today. I spent a large part of Sunday in the Emergency Ward at Royal North Shore Hospital. I had a blinder of a headache and a neck so stiff I could move my head only a few centimetres in any direction. I gave the headache 8/10 on a scale of bad pain I had felt, so it was pretty bad. I overheard hsband telling the doctor that I looked absolutely dreadful and he was scared when he saw me in the morning. All he told me was that I was "a bit pale." The first thing they thought of was meningitis but were able to rule that one out. After many tests, they decided it was probably a tension headache brought on by the stiffness in the neck. I'm feeling better now, but have felt fairly washed out and lethargic for a couple of days.

Just as well I'm better, it's my birthday today. It's been fairly quiet, although I've had quite a few phone calls. The actual celebration is on Sunday lunch. I'm going out for dinner tonight. Restaurant is called "Bib and Tucker." It used to be at Pymble, where they served lots of seafood. Good food, good service and reasonable prices. The owners retired but had so many requests to reconsider that they have opened again at Drummoyne Sailing Club. I've seen quite good reviews. I'm looking forward to it and Drummoyne is a whole lot closer than Pymble used to be - about 15 minutes away perhaps.

Today is a bit warmer than yesterday which was freezing here with an icy wind. Since my little brush with the hospital at the weekend, I haven't done much walking. Wasn't really up to it. Husband bought fish on Sunday night. I didn't really feel like eating but hadn't had anything since the day before. We went to the really good fish shop here and I had two skewers of prawns and scallops which had been marinading in lime and chili. BBQ'd. No chips. They were nice and I felt better after eating. The shop will batter, crumb, grill, BBQ any piece of fish in the shop. Everything is always very fresh loooking. They have other things like the skewers. Some have fish. Nothing is pre-cooked. It pays to be early on the weekends. By 7:00, the queue is out the door.

Birthday dinner was lovely and I had a good meal. Food is sort of French influence, so there were creamy sauces that I rarely make here. It was my birthday and I didn't think twice about them. I had veal medallions with mushrooms in a white wine sauce. The veal was melt in the mouth type quality and I had more meat than I have had in the last month. Served with a large helping of very fresh, steamed vegetables that were still nice and crunchy, (raw, as MIL would put it.) I had decided I would have two courses, entrée and mains or mains and dessert. When I saw blackberry pie on the menu, the choice was made. It was a large slice of homemade pie, homemade pastry and lots of big juicy blackberries. Delicious. Some wine, sold at the bar at bar prices, and I had a beautiful meal with good service and pleasant surroundings. The restaurant is actually in the Drummoyne Sports Club, not the sailing club. The owner came and talked to us, once he found we had been to the Pymble place. My husband had dory which was super fresh.

Yesterday I went to Hornsby. DIL had been going to take me for lunch, but couldn't make it down here. I atoned for the night before and had sushi which was good too. She gave me a new pedometer to replace my WW bonus buddy which has never been very satisfactory. Now I just have to get to use it.

I made pumpkin risotto for dinner last night and had just a small serve. Don't know what I will have tonight. Husband won't be home and I am going to a meeting at Macquarie Uni tonight. Another Swords and Sandals evening with some 1950s film on some vaguely related ancient history theme. Lots of laughs and a good time. Might make myself an omelette, that sounds simple and tasty.

Time for a catch up. I enjoyed the film on Friday night at uni. The Clash of the Titans It had Ursula Andress, Maggie Smith, Flora Robson, Laurence Olivier and several other well known actors in it. We got a few laughs from it too, so it was a pleasant way to spend the evening.

Yesterday we went to #1 son's for my birthday lunch. They had originally planned a BBQ, but heard the gale warning and a forecast of rain. It didn't rain but hurricane was probably the better word for the force of the wind. They cancelled their BBQ and we walked into a mst delicious smell- baked dinner. Baked pork and two lots of chicken with different stuffings, loads of vegetables. Some rather nice fetta and sundried tomatoes for nibbles, and homemade profiteroles for dessert. It was all very nice and the roast was just right for the type of day. Sarah carved and and as usual did a great job. There were about fourteen adults and the three littlies who went wild outside in the wind, kicking a soccer ball. even little Tora at 14 months had her own small ball she kicked around. I'm sure she thought she was playing with Miss Three and her brother. I carefully didn't have any pork crackling, although when it was put on the table, MIL decided she would sit at the chair closest to it and picked out the biggest bit after picking up several! I don't think anyone else saw her. As usual, she ate far too much and also had sugar in a couple of cups of coffee. She snored on the lounge later and obstinately refused to believe anyone who told her she had been asleep.

I went to the GP today to have a checkup after that monster headache. He confirmed that he thought it was probably a tension headache. However my blood pressure was still higher than it ought to have been, so he wants me back in two weeks. I made the appointment while I was there, so I have no excuse not to go. I didn't too much walking last week because of the way I felt, so I will have to get back into it. It's a good way of handling stress as well as being good for the blood pressure. He warned me that tension headaches can easily recur with stress. He suggested that the best way to handle them was to alternate panadeine and nurofen every six hours. Not sure what my stomach would think of that, but certainly the two panadol I took did absolutely nothing for last week's headache. When I told him this, he wasn't surprised. Said he wouldn't expect it to do anything to something of that severity. So I might have to buy some panadeine and nurofen just in case I get another. I'll have to find some better way of coping with stress because I certainly don't want to be all drugged up.

I'm looking forward to an early night tonight. I went to bed last night at 10:00pm and woke up at 1:00am. Tossed and turned, awake, till 3:00 when I got up. I made some toast which often helps, but didn't last night, and played stupid games on the computer. About 5:00 I felt vaguely sleepy, so had a few naps on the lounge. I'm looking forward to bed tonight.

Thursday, 28th August

Thursday already, as a friend titled an email this morning. Not only is it Thursday already, but it's almost September. I've just been for a walk and it was beautiful. Spring is well and truly in the air. My briar rose is coming into blossom and freesias as well. My cyclamen have been blooming non-stop for a year, which must be some sort of a record. They bloomed all through our last hot summer. The jasmine is coming out and the weather is beautiful. The last few mornings have been quite cool, but the days are beautiful.

I've been walking every day lately. Not quite as far or as fast as I would like, but walking. I've done nearly 8000 steps on my new pedometer today. The middle of the day is beautiful for walking and I have been taking advantage of it. I walked down to the local Bunnings nursery and bought a brown boronia, similar to the picture but with tiny brown bells of flowers with the most heavenly perfume. Then I caught the bus to Ashfield, bought a small subway roll with lots of salad things and no butter, cheese or dressing on it. Worked out to be 3.5 points. Walked home after buying a few things. I was hot outside in the sun and glad I had left top layer of clothing at home. My room here will soon cool down when the sun goes behind the flats over the road. It's just like switching off a heater. Must get the washing in soon before I can't tell whether it's wet or just cold.

I've made curry from some leftover baked chicken and will have some rice. I have plenty of points up my sleeve for it. Last night's dinner was leftover pasta dish from the night before and a lot of salad, along with some rockmelon.

My husband went out last night to see if he could see the planet Mars. I told him where to look and that it was reddish brown. He came home triumphant, telling me he had seen Venus! Really!