yes, yes, yes, yes & yes.

A good weekend.
J has been a pleasure to have  for the weekend.
We went to the harvest supper last night, which was good.
G's quiz was well received, the food & company was good & Kr  J got on well & enjoyed themselves.
I went to church - a united service at NW - the church was full & beautifully decorated, right down to a vintage tractor by the door (outside)

G found the Bigwood's auction results on t'internet.
Brilliant!

The tibor Reich plate I bought for £3, fetched £120
The vintage Mason's ironstone bowl I bought for £5, fetched £45.
G's daum crystal car, fetched £330
The top hats fetched £90
The pleasure is in seeing that your instinct was right in valuing the pieces & that somebody now has them who appreciates them.

Everybody well fed, washing & ironing all done (J's washing included, so efficiency in turnaround needed), whilst J & G went for a bike ride.
Back to normal, time for bed - something wrong here!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

TGIF

Not really, doesn't matter when every day's a holiday!
Have had a peaceful week - doctors yesterday, me to have a BP check, G for a statins change.
We were called in together - I think the new young guy thought we were coming in for pregnancy advice, until we arrived.
Phil & Margaret, Mary & Maurice came to lunch, then G went back to the docs for a flu jab - the benefits of being 65!

We have been to Rugby to collect JT from school - he's entertaining us for the weekend.
J & G have been for a bike ride, which gave me a couple of hours to have a lovely potter/shop around Ventura Park (JS & M&S to be accurate - oh well)
We are about to go to the Polash for dinner.
I think that I can manage the diet bit as it's fat rather than carbs?
Harvest supper tomorrow evening - a new experience for J.
G has prepared a v good quiz, on the back of Barn Dance posters, to put on the tables for entertainment during the evening.
Prize - a ticket (perhaps two) to the barn Dance.
  

Yes, yes,no.

Two more eggs - one yesterday & another this morning, so no roast chicken on the menu after all.
Well done girls!
We fill the chicken feeder every couple of days, well aware that we are feeding Primrose (goat, who can force her way through the foot square doorway into the run) & some indeterminate wildlife.
Last night something had scratched tunnels under the Eglu living quarters, presumably, for the warmth.
We are taking action.
The girls only eat when first let into the run in the morning as they then roam freely & scratch/glean, so we shall feed them then & then take it away.
G built them a "chicken port" yesterday, to provide cover from the rain.
They seem to prefer to go under the trailer - perhaps there are eggs there.

Wet, wet yesterday so we did jobs & I went to the village shop to train on the till, served a couple of customers, ready for a volunteering  session on Tuesday.

G out with P today.
I put the washing out & planned a relaxed "Birthday treat" day in Solihull.
Unfortunately, I had a letter from M&S, saying my credit card was over the limit.
On enquiring, they had paid two charges of approx £2000 last week!
No query.
All will be put right, but upsetting.
Made me late & put me off shopping.
I did a food shop - roast pork for tonight  -  remembering  the fantastic pork we ate in Denmark - Chris & Jan coming, & Fish for tomorrow's lunch - Shaws & Woodwards.
Final "yes" - I bought a pair of black jeans in M&S, size 14, down from 16, the first time since losing weight after having B, in 1976)
They feel great!
Will I get to size 12? - I'll rant about the diet later!!

Chickens!!

No more eggs since the first three last week - too cold or wet or lazy.
On the bright side, they do look very healthy & are having "the life of Reilly", roaming the estate & gleaning grain from the next field.
Perhaps there'll be three eggs when I go out with their pm treat.

The rains came on Sunday pm & continued for 24 hours - the yard was underwater - a really cold miserable episode.
I did go blackberrying on Sunday, got a soaking, but did pick about 4lb of fruit. I also "scared off" a pick up truck full of that that turned into the gateway (fly tip zone) where I was picking, the left in a hurry.

We caught up with things indoors yesterday morning, before collecting J & Th from school.
The rain stopped in time for me to walk, (not all the way!) whilst G went to B&Q.

My Paleo lifestyle is going well - I did eat a small jacket potato & a small portion of rice, merely for convenience, over the w/e - my only carbs, I think.
Can I eat beetroot?
The weight loss has made my clothes all fit much better, apart from jeans, which don't shrink to form.
I feel a lot lighter, but still seem to have plenty of spare to shift.

Lifestyle changes - going to bed before falling asleep
                             - make up only when really "going out" - aw cream & moisturiser only.
Time saved spent on big T crossword - did a fair bit yesterday.

Just read about some classy guitars, so sensitive that they reject their owners if found playing away.
Whatever next?
 

Hallelujah!

A week to celebrate - G returned from his diving holiday in the Red Sea in the early hours of wed morning, fitter than when he left, & the chickens have laid 3 eggs to date.
This has necessitated us having bacon & eggs for breakfast for the last two mornings.
The joy of frying a freshly laid egg, which keeps its shape when cracked, not spreading out in the pan.
Today has been very wet - the rain started the moment we put our gardening (old) shoes on, in the porch, & has continued all day.
Bother.
We have caught up on things/ e mails & considering the future.
I collected my first veggie box from the new village shop - 8 large carrots
                                                                                               8 large potatoes
                                                                                               3 large onions
                                                                                               1 parsnip
                                                                                               1 cabbage
                                                                                               3 large oranges
                                                                                               2 apples
All in a nice hessian bag, which I return for the next order.
Not at all bad for £2.50 .

This fits in well with my diet - keeping going with W's Paleo diet since returning from Denmark.
I'm 6lb lighter than when I left home 12 days ago.
W sent me the paleo bible, which I'm about 1/3 way through.
I hope I'm doing it right as I haven't reached the food detail bit yet.
I have found out that "paleo" refers to the diet of paleolithic man - hunter gatherers, who ate meat, berries & nuts but no grain, as they didn't grow it!
I'm feeling great 7 a I'm lighter than I've been for decades & don't feel hungry.
G will have no truck with "faddy eating", which is no problem as I just serve him the toast, bread, potatoes, biscuits or whatever with his meal.
Bacon & egg breakfast is brilliant - not tomorrow as we're out of bacon.
Up early to let the chickens out, finish my sermon, play tennis then get on with the gardening.
Frost promised tonight.   

Free Friday.

I have had a great week in Denmark with aj, staying with W, MK, J & DK.
The boys were good fun, as ever, the food was wonderful, if somewhat unusual, & the weather was good.
We spent the weekend at MK's parents summer house, a stones throw from the beach.
They entertained us on Friday evening, with a delicious meal, then left us to it.
The whole family went to a nephew/cousin's wedding on Saturday, leaving aj & I to be entertained by the boys.
They did an excellent job!
We explored the beach & adjoining river, & even managed to sit outside, in shorts, & sunbathe, whilst the boys completed circuits of the outside of the house, having found that the paper aeroplanes went faster by hand than actually flying.

We were deposited at CPH on Tuesday & were home by early afternoon, missing G by an hour.
He is on a boat in the red Sea, livaboard, diving, with PT.
He should be getting a tan & some muscles!

I have stuck at W's diet - paleo, I think.
No flour for ten days now.
I haven't regained my appetite since going to Vietnam, so it hasn't been at all difficult - fish, meat, eggs, beans, vegetables & fruit - if I'm doing it right.
No limit on fat, if you like a lot of lard!
I have lost another 4lb in those ten days - cheaper than going back to Vietnam!
I wonder if I've dropped a jeans size - I don't appear to be any thinner.

Had a night at Bicester with T & KP on Wednesday, coffee with E at Carluchios(sp?), then wended my way home, via Solihull, to visit P, J & Th - J's b'day tomorrow.

Lots of jobs/visits  to do today, including going to the opening of the village shop, in the village Hall - Ambridge has nothing on us!

Sun's shining, chickens are happy, in the run today as one went awol yesterday for a while - maybe laying somewhere?
It looks a bit windy for cycling.