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Physical Challenges -- July 2008

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#46

Justwant2Bhealthy , 07-16-2008 11:05 PM

HI GALS ~ We survived a horrendous flash thunderstorm last night, but my PC didn't. Even though both our PC's were turned off, my modem got fried by the flash lightening last night; thankfully that is the only damage we see.

Was talking to a PC Techie for our server and he says that when you have a thunderstorm, you must 'UNHOOK' your internet line, AND 'UNPLUG' all your electrical outlets as well. He says most people rely on their 'serge protectors' but as I learned, they DO NOT protect you from lightening strikes in your area. They can go up either your phone line or electrical lines as is what he thinks happened to us. Fortuneately, modems don't cost too much today.

We had what they call 'FUNNEL CLOUDS' which can turn into tornadoes, which we didn't get (thank you GOD); my Aunt said she was praying like crazy. The thunderclaps were so loud and strong that they shook our building. The poor little kiddies next door were so scared that they started screaming at one point. I think that was when the damage was done; after a huge SPIT SPAT, AND a tremendous bang that sounded like an earthquake or a bomb going off!

So I am using our old PC which is as slow as a snail and it took me hours to update the virus programs and enable the firewalls and such, just so I could come on here (well, we had a boo-boo and it got unplugged by accident).

ANYHOW ~ we will put this modem into our newer PC becuz it is faster; hope it works for us. Besides another load of clothes on the line, and the main meals and daily stuff, I spent most of my day trying to solve my PC problems.

HIYA VAL ~ Wow, that looks like a nice lake and that's a beautiful picture of you by the lake (a keeper for sure). It seems we all have a problem with IBS on this thread; yes, I agree that fatty foods and coffee are natural laxatives. Mine is much better than it used to be, but for some reason, I had a bad relapse this week too. On my holidays, I had the opposite, but at home, I've had the FOX TROTS ~ LOL!!!

I only drink one or two cups of coffee a day, so that can't be it; and I've been watching my fats, so I think like for PURPLE, MILK may have been the culprit this week. I had cereal for breakfast more this week with 2% milk instead of skim which I am used to, so that may have caused it. We'll see if that continues or not next week.

I'm glad you had a good trip, but sorry you have been so sick. That is a stressor for sure; so many things to deal with, but glad you have some insight into the problem now.

HEY PURPLE ~ hope you have a fun trip to the CASTLE this week; that should be fun to see it if you can. I did the same thing this week for shopping, made a list and forgot it, but was so happy that we only forgot one thing (a new floor mop). So reading it over and over actually helped; seems my memory is helped with little tricks like that. DH and I laugh about that all the time; make a list but forgetting the list; WE NEED A LIST TO TELL US TO REMEMBER THE OTHER LIST ~ LOL~

VALILDA ~ I hope you are taking notes becuz you will need to remember this when you are around say, 40 ...ish; for me around 45 y/o brought lots of changes, esp when I got sick for awhile.

HI MEOWEE ~ we had much better weather today; nice and sunny with a nice breeze; we did have on very short sprinkle, but my clothes dried just the same. I hope your storm isn't like ours: we even had hail about the size of dimes, but some people even had chunks fall on their yards (one of my friends picked one up and put it in her freezer). So glad those missed us becuz we don't have a garage to put our car in (doesn't come with our apartment building). The little ones don't seem to have done any damage.

Well, that's all the news for now; we may go for a drive tomorrow, maybe up to our lot too, if the weather is nice enuff. Take good care and hope you all have a wonderful day ~ your friend, ROSEBUD
#47

meowee , 07-17-2008 09:34 AM

Please send some rain this way -- we could really, really use a good downpour instead of this continuous 'it's almost raining because it's so humid and every once in a while it spills over and gently sprinkles for 2 or 3 minutes' stuff. More of the same sunny, hot, and sticky forecast for today.

Hope the rest of you have a terrific day and get to do lots of fun things. . .
#48

Justwant2Bhealthy , 07-17-2008 04:34 PM

HELLO CHICKIES ~ Well, we have more rain today, so we decided to just stay home; and DH wasn't pleased as he had some outside work he wanted to do, but he came in and helped me put another MODEM into my newer PC. He had kept one from his old PC that he used to play games on. When the power pac on it blew a while back, he kept some of the parts, just in case. So I'm back in business again; and we still have my other PC as a back-up just in case and it's also still internet ready.

I'm just glad that we only have rain, so that I could use my PC's today. From now on, if there is a storm with flash lightening, everything must be shutdown and completely unplugged. So we'll go back to reading and doing puzzles. Maybe I'll do some crocheting again; haven't done any in a while.

Today, I cleaned out the leftovers in the fridge and freezer and made a huge pot of homemade soup (a tomato-veggie one with barley); yummy! We are having it for dinner tonight maybe with a few homemade biscuits as DH loves them.

MEOWEE ~ I'd love to send you some of this rain; we've had more than our share already anyways, and DH would like a few days of sun, which they are predicting for the weekend ... yeah!

HELLO TO VAL and PURPLE ~ hope you are having a great day!!!

Take good care, your friend ROSEBUD
#49

purpleorc , 07-17-2008 04:36 PM

Hi Ladies

Well I have returned after a mammoth journey of getting up at 4.am me and 4am certain don't mix the only one I like to see is 4pm . We set off at 5am and arrived at 10.am at the castle. The event was called camp bestival and inside the grounds you are greeted by lots of marques and then about 50+ wigwams all set in the backdrop of the beautiful stone castle. From what I can understand about the event it is the sister event to the much bigger bestival. It is based on the British holiday camp of the 1950's (which was very basic chalets which where in long rows, inside the holiday provided entertainment for the whole family. Though it was based on a military regime you even were given a wakey wakey call at about 8am which would be unthinkable now. It occurred well up to the late 1970's. The holiday at the time was wonderful especially post war Britain in the 1950's after the strict years of rationing etc) though this has a twist with musical entertainment and circus acts.

We managed to return back home at just after 4.30pm. We did have a couple of toilet stops and then about 1 hour for lunch which broke the day up nicely. It was not the distance so much we travelled as we have done further. It was the fact the roads where not all motorway so hence much lower speeds due to windy single carriage roads. Feels good to be back home, I am shattered and DH is warn out poor thing. Hopeful a good nights rest will sort us both out.

ROSEBUD :~ It certainly is a running joke in my house that I have a list for everything and sometimes a master list as I call it of things I want to do for that day. I know what you mean about needing a list to remember to take the list

I hope the Rodney Trotters (cockney rhyming slang for the fox trots) soon clear up I know that they are not pleasant. It may be the change in you diet even something so simple as changing the fat content of your milk can be enough to push you over the edge if you have IBS. Sometimes it is a slow process of elimination to find which things trigger your problems even may have to keep a food diary to see if you can see any links. If that can not trace in the worse case sennarios they have to have a very basis bland diet and add one food at a time so it can be easily worked out what triggers the symptoms.

I am glad that you are ok after the terrible weather scare. I have a surge protector now after the horse as bolted shall we say. I had lighting travel down my line and frazzled my modem. Though it did not stop there it got my processor and motherboard this was costly mistake to learn. I hope your up and running soon with a new modem. Dial up after modem seems so slow though we have been spoilt.

MEOWEE:~ Wish we could exchange a little of your warmer weather to us in England at present it has rained most of the day and it is suppose to do the same for tomorrow. Welcome to the British summer rain, rain and more rain and if your lucky a bit of sunshine

Must head off to my bed as it is calling me I am statting to need matchsticks for my eyes. So bye ladies and will pop by tomorrow all being well.
#50

meowee , 07-18-2008 07:40 AM

Good Morning . . .

SSDD and this weather is getting very tiresome. I'd send it to you, ORC, if I could find a way -- we've had more than our usual full season's allotment of humidity already.
#51

purpleorc , 07-18-2008 11:42 AM

Hi Ladies

Guess what its raining this morning so it looks very miserable outside today. At the back of our home is a playing field which is huge which belongs to a secondary school. A few weeks ago they put up a big blue fence around the whole of the playing field as they are going to build a school for children with physical and mental challenges. I do hope that when it is finished that we still see a lot of green grass as our view. I know that the fencing has made it darker in our home. I am also sure that it as made it a safer site and deaden some of the noise from the construction site. I have attached a photograph to show you.

Today I experimented in the kitchen and put my thinking cap on. I wanted to try and make spaghetti Bolognese even more healthier. I already use wholemeal pasta and turkey mince (ground turkey). Plus a low sugar sauce so what to do now? Then it came to me add a tin of mixed beans so I went a head. Initially I washed the beans in cold water in case there was salt or sugar in the preserving liquid. When I did this I added to the pasta sauce along with the turkey mince hey presto my meal was even more filling and healthier. Next time I will use dried beans and put them in after soaking etc. It is nearly 4 hours later since I had my dinner and I still feel full. So this is a definite keeper. The other plus it made so much I am going to make a pasta bake tomorrow or next day with leftovers. The remainder I have put into foil containers for the freeze and they will become pasta bakes. So for very little effort I have made several meals so turned out quite cheap per head. In this day and age with food being so costly cheap meals are really appreciated.

As you are aware I like to cook though not as much as I did due to the heat that can be generated in the kitchen. I am watching a cooking programme on the television which is from the BBC again called celebrity master chef. It is where a group of well know celebrities have to do a series of cooking challenges. At the end of several of the challenges they are eliminated one by one. The challenges yesterday was they where told to use any of the ingredients from the store cupboard and make a Sunday lunch and desert in just under 2 hours for four people. The next challenge was to make 600 lunches for staff on a construction site in London. So hence the food had to be very filling as they were manual workers so burn many calories. Again they to make 8 breakfast with another celebrity with a variety of different ingredients. You can use as many or little of the ingredients as you want. This was testing your ability not only how to cook but how to work in a partnership. Not sure what they will be doing tonight but someone will be eliminated. All I can say they earned there money working especially having to make food for 600 people within 6 hours. Then there was service for 3 hours where you may have to replace meals that have run out or meals that will be prepared as ordered such as stir fry chicken and gammon as one couple had done. They looked so tired after that.

MEOWEE I am afraid I need a translation I do not understand SSDD. We tend not to shorten words to just letters. Our policy seems to be why use letters when 10 words will do I think that is maybe why I waffle a lot I am rapidly picking up on abbreviations whilst I have been on here and some of the cultural differences of just odd words that are different.

hello to Valdine and Rosebud I hope you are both well. It looks like last night well it was night for me and afternoon for Rosebud we both posted virtually at the same time. When I was referring to everyones post I thought when I posted I am sure that one was not there when I commenced So Rosebud has sneak a posted in before me Well I best go and wrap the food up that I have saved for the freezer it should be completely cold now. So till next time take care ladies and look after yourselves
- fencing=4.jpg (46.2 KB)
#52

meowee , 07-18-2008 01:43 PM

Same Stuff Different Day . . . although some people tend to use a slightly 'richer' word in place of 'stuff'.
#53

purpleorc , 07-18-2008 07:43 PM

Thanks Meowee for filling me in on SSDD would never of guessed that one in a million years Nice to learn something every day. I know what you mean by it also using a more colourful word for stuff

Well time for me to hit the sack (bed) I am so tired now so bye and good night from England
#54

Justwant2Bhealthy , 07-19-2008 12:04 AM

HELLO CHICKIES ~ Well, I prayed for some sun for DH and we did get some for the morning at least; that made DH a little happier. So we went to town to run some errands and get the things we forgot; the list always gets bigger by the end of the week.

I picked up some CD's to store some of my pics and stuff as they take up a lot of space on your hard-drive; and I have some more to download yet, but I don't want to overwhelm my PC with them. So now I can store them on CD's instead; I finally did some and it all went fine. We also priced a faster modem, just in case we need another one down the road.

It's funny how you go to town with a very small list and come home with a carload of stuff ~ LOL! But DH was able to get the wire for his Weedwacker and did trim around my garden for the first time this year; now it's starting to look better. He just needed a little motivation that's all ... so he got some from me!

We decided to have lunch out today for a treat and it was nice to sit and relax in a restaurant and not be rushed for a change, esp after all the walking around we did. So I got my exercise in for two days this week for sure (with some extra). Later on, I put my feet up with a puzzle to give them a much-needed break.

HEY PURPLE ~ glad you had a successful trip to the castle; WOWIE, 4 am: that is early. I would find that very difficult too, but glad you're both back safe and sound. Now you can rest up tomorrow.

You are right, yesterday, we posted within 2 minutes of each other; I likely left to go check my soup pot and didn't notice it ~ LOL! This happens often here.

I put some chickpeas (and ground them up first) in our soup to give it more protein. That's a great idea to put beans in your Bolognese Tomato Sauce as well. I often put beans in my soups, using a different kind each time; by whizzing them, they aren't so noticable to fussy and inquisitive eyes.

I also put the leftover soup into two large containers in the freezer, and we'll have them again for another day. DH so loves homemade fair much more; he asked me to make extra biscuits next time as he loves them for snacks; that won't be a problem.

HELLO TO VAL and MEOWEE ~ hope you both have a great weekend!!!

Take care ladies; I'm off to bed too ... your friend ROSEBUD
#55

purpleorc , 07-19-2008 04:41 AM

Hi Ladies and good morning

It has the looks at the minute of a more promising day outside I can see a little sunshine which I haven't seen for a couple of days. Though weather reports say more rain Well at least the gardeners will not have to water their gardens to keep things alive.

Just have a relaxing weekend planned as such only pulling in the chores I need to do like one small load of washing and hoovering (vacuuming) of course which goes without saying when you have a dog that sheds hairs like mad. It is a wonder he is not bald the amount that he sheds but he seems to have a beautiful coat all year round.

ROSEBUD:~ Some great ideas putting beans in soups but blitzing them with the blender. I must put my hands up I have only just ventured to eat beans before then I would shy away. I think as I did not like bake beans and red kidney bean I had my eyes blinkered and would try anything else. But since embarking on the healthier path of eating I had tried so many more new foods and found that I actually like them even the harricot beans and red kidney beans though not in a huge quantity. The next thing I must try and get round to eating is more fish. I am not a big fan of fish I think it is (A) because of the smell and (B) bones that I may find in the meat. I do eat 2 kinds of fish which are haddock and cod. Not sure if you have heard of those sorts. I think when I go venturing in to fish I will be need instructions from here how to cook it.

Well when you mentioned weedwhacker I did not know what that meant so off I when to a search engine to discover what this strange implement was. I found out that it was what we know as a strimmer. So today I have learnt something like yesterday like they say you live and learn. It is surprising how a weedwhacker can smarten up a garden. Around near us the middle of the roads have a strip of grass in and crash barriers. With the crash barriers being there it makes it more difficult to cut the grass with the convention road side lawn mowers. So at about 9pm they cone off one lane from either side of the dual carriage way. Then men come in and cut the grass. It happens about every 3 weeks or there abouts that you find that they are strimming the grass with industrial type weedwhacker. The next day when you go it looks so much nicer just for cutting the grass down. I know it means lots of extra work but i am so glad that it has not been concreted it is nice to see that greenery. Has soon as you leave the inner city you see grass verges and sometimes the central reservations with grass in. The grass verges on the side of the road also have big dikes in them to drain the water off the land. Some of them are quite deep like about waist high if not a little higher. Funny enough a road not far from my parents is actually called high dike which is a roman road that leads to Lincoln the capital city of my parents county. The united kingdom is divided up into counties or shires as they can be known. Each of the shires has a city which is classed as the capital city of that county. I came from Lincolnshire so I was born and raised their I am known as a "yellow belly"

The reasons we are called "yellow bellies" are varied but take your pick from these popular theories :~

*
The prevalence of a large number of frogs in the Fens.

*
Fenland dwellers became so much subject to ague that their skins developed a yellowish tint.

*
The labourers employed on Fenland reclamation became covered with yellow clay.

*
Lincolnshire county families invariably used coaches, the bellies of which were painted a bright yellow so that the vehicles were not unduly marked when passing over the muddy and clayey roads of those days.

*
The Colours carried by the Lincolnshire Regiment were all yellow ground with the red cross of St. George. The Regimental colours remained yellow until 1881 and from this came the nickname of Yeller Belly. For further information about the Tenth of Foot Regiment, American contingent, click here.

*
Many years ago the Lincolnshire Regiment uniform included a tunic with a yellow front.

*
When water covered the Fenlands the bellies of the water fowl were yellowed by the muddy water.

*
Country women who visited the Lincolnshire markets carried their money (usually gold) in purses beneath their dresses.

*
The Warty or Great Crested Newt with its yellow belly was commonplace in the Fens of Lincolnshire.

(information courtesy of the http://www.poacherguide.co.uk/specia...ellowbelly.php)

Well time for me to get a shift on a do one or two chores as they do not do themselves Till next time
#56

meowee , 07-19-2008 11:53 AM

Good Morning . . .

We finally got some rain -- not enough, mind you, but some -- and since it is still overcast, I'm hoping there may be more to come. It is, however, still hot and muggy.

ORC -- We are quite British in our origins and our mannerisms here in Canada of course and particularly here in Nova Scotia. I live in Pictou which is the 'shiretown' of Pictou County (aka the county seat for all you Yanks, ). All Nova Scotians are known as Bluenosers supposedly because fishermen's noses turned blue in the cold north Atlantic air. Our famous racing ship, the Bluenose, which is pictured on the back of the Canadian dime, was actually named after the people not vice-versa.

Have a good day, everybody . . .
#57

Justwant2Bhealthy , 07-19-2008 09:28 PM

HI LADIES ~ Well, my prayers last night were answered too, as we had sunshine all day today, and they are calling for the same tomorrow, so DH says he'd like to go to the lot for the day (because they are calling for rain for Monday when we had planned to go). So we'll just switch our plans, that's all.

Today, I put a load of laundry on the line and checked my garden; having a shorter walk today. Didn't get much sleep as we were battling the newest batch of MOSQUITOS; these ones are very aggressive and buzz all over when you try to catch them, but we won war in the end. We are having a record year for these buggies this year; things go in cycles, they say. Hope this one doesn't return for years to come.

So tonight we will be very exhausted and should sleep well, I hope. My PC is working good and I just did some cleaning up to get it running better. We decided to have hamburglers for dinner; perfect for hot summer days (I didn't have buns; had some coleslaw with sliced cukes and tomatoes instead). Now I'll have something for a snack: maybe jello or pudding.

HEY PURPLE ~ your country has a lot of interesting history and uniques ways of doing things; I think that is the charm that so many people love. I have loved the way England and Ireland used to build their houses that look like cottages; cute and cozy. Plus you have all those castles too, which are unique too.

MEOWEE ~ glad you finally got some rain out your way; it's only fair to share ... LOL!

HIYA VAL ~ hope you are having a great weekend back at home, and getting lots of rest too.

Well, that's all the news from here; take good care, your friend ROSEBUD
#58

meowee , 07-20-2008 07:22 AM
#59

purpleorc , 07-20-2008 10:21 AM

Hi Ladies and good afternoon from England

Well it has been blowing a gale outside today but that has been good news for the laundry front. I managed to get lots of sheets and duvet covers etc dry. Mind you they needed plenty of anchoring to the washing line to stop the laundry going into someones else's garden.

I have also done the ironing today so I think I am just about caught up on my chores now. Just going shopping tomorrow to stock up especially on fresh fruit and vegetables.

ROSEBUD :~ Yes I love learning things about other countries it makes life so colourful listening to another way of life another culture. I think that is why I am drawn so much to here and for the support I get on my weight loss journey. Yes we do build some of our homes like cottages built out of stone and extremely thick walls. They have oak beams in normally and the rooms can be of odd shapes and tend to be on the smaller side. They may even have flag stone floors in the downstairs part of the home. We build most of our homes in either brick or stone very few are built of just wood like I see in the states. People now are tending to go for more wood flooring but also wall to wall carpets are also popular. I have the same carpet going though all my rooms except bathroom and kitchen. I thought it would look nicer with being a bungalow that every thing had continuity

what more bugs and the horrid pesky things keeping you awake at night. The one thing as you say you end up exhausted due to lack of sleep. I am fortunate that we do not have those problems with bugs the only times that we maybe kept awake at night if it is a humid night. I must admit I do not know how lucky I am and I should be more grateful especially when I hear what others have to endure on a daily basis.

I must admit your tea sounded lovely to me a hamburger with a selection of salad vegetables. It has reminded me that I have some ostrich burgers in my freezer which would do nicely with a touch of salad. Ostrich burgers are low in calories and low in cholesterol so good on two fronts. I find them very filling so I end up sharing my burger with our dog Not that he complains any

MEOWEE:~ That is very interesting about Nova Scotia and why people can be referred to as bluenosers. I love finding out facts like that. Another thing I like is the origins of phrases such as for example being on the fiddle. That to us means someone is doing something they shouldn't for monetary again. But were did this phrase originally come from well it came from being aboard a ship. The plate that the sailors was served their food was square with a rim around it. The rim was called the fiddle, if a sailor had more food that he should, by food being over the rim then it was said he was on the fiddle.

Well that is all the news and gossip for now so take care ladies
#60

Justwant2Bhealthy , 07-20-2008 11:09 PM

HELLO CHICKIES ~ we had a long day at the lot today; yes, we did have the sunshine after all. Thankfully, there was a nice breeze up there too and that kept the buggies away most of the day, but around 5-6 pm, the black flies started to attack. I even got bit on the back of the neck by a hungry horse fly.

I told DH that next time we go up there, that we should leave earlier and come back home before the night buggies come out. But the funny thing was that when we got home, there weren't any bugs out here. It was cool and breezy even with the sun out; I think it is because we have an open field behind our complex here. DH cut some more grass at our lot; and we think we may even continue to cut around it a bit, to lessen the bugs too.

There is more bush around the little village there so we think that is why there is so many more there. I am taking up my little pop-up screen tent next time I go there too. Everyone says that this is an unusual year; and I have to agree. DH almost finished off the west side of the foundation; next time, he starts on the north side and says he is really getting the knack of it now. It is an easier and more economical method of laying cinder or concrete bricks, but it takes a bit more time.

DH thinks that we may even get Phase three done this year, which is the floor. If we do, we will seal it for the winter, and then start the walls in the spring and the roof through summer and fall. DH is getting quite encouraged about the whole thing and everything is going pretty well for him. I think he is doing a grand job considering his age; he was so exhausted from the sun mostly (he said) that he hit the sack early tonight.

He wants to go to the lot two times a week for the rest of the year, so he can get more done. Now, if the weather co-operates that could be very doable and shouldn't be too much for us. That is my only concern: that he tries to overdo it and then exhausts himself out; but I'm glad that he has found something that has lifted his spirits after being so down over losing our girls.

HEY PURPLE ~ yes, I like hearing about that kind of stuff too, esp house designs for some reason. That has always been an interest for me: designing the houses and how they are decorated too. I picked up a tape of TRADING SPACES, which reminds me of an English show that I just loved a while back, called CHANGING PLACES; I have many of their shows.

They inspired me when we re-did our place here about five years ago. The landlord paid for the materials, and we did the whole place for only around $1000.00. Now that's the whole apartment; and the landlord's EX-wife even complained about that; and we even did all the work ourselves for FREE!!! Anyways, it turned out really nice; and the lighter colors really brightened the place up for us.

HELLO TO MEOWEE AND VALILDA ~ hope you both had a great weekend; and that you have a good week and good weather coming up as well.

Tomorrow will be a rest day for us, as our bodies cannot take too much abuse anymore. We may take a trip into town, if the weather isn't too great; and keep the good days for working on our little cabin. So take good care, your friend ROSEBUD

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