I'm well and truly knackered and I bet I'll be going through a significant sugar crash tomorrow as my day has been pretty much totally sugar today 'cos of waiting for the tree surgeon and not being able to eat properly until tea-time which was even more sugar in the form of fruit!
I've taken my pills and the side effects are rapidly kicking in, so I'll see you all in the morning.
Nite nite orl
...seen that the Norway Maple removers have not only got rid of the trees and plants, but they have unblocked my outside drain entirely too!! I don't need to babysit the washing machine any more!!
They went above and beyond what I assumed they were going to do (get rid of the Norway Maple and put poison down to kill it off at the root) and I'm almost in tears of utter gratitude now!
It's been a long ole day today with a big surprise in my back yard, but a huge relief too. I'm absolutely cream-crackered now, so I've taken my last two pills of the day and I'm heading to bed now.
I'll see you all in the morning.
Nite nite orl
I'm now £280 lighter but I've got a clear, safe, tree-free back yard that's completely free of the Norway Maple, the Budleija bush and all the other weeds that were growing in it. I've got the card for the company and he's offered to sort the concrete out for me so that all the gaps and holes are filled in to hopefully stop it from happening again.
Apparently there were two Norway Maples growing and I didn't have the first foggiest clue about the second one, but it's all gone now so I can start from scratch again whenever I want to. I'm thinking I'll get a bird bath or bird table or something like that, but no more plants.
I've gotta stay out of my back yard "until tomorrow" which is no problem at all, but it's one less thing for me to worry about now and I can finally breathe.
Thank you Gaia, thank you Green Man and thank you Loki!
...drainage sorted.
There was barely any growth outside, so I guessed that yesterday's banana peels were still in the waste disposal, ran it for a few seconds, et voila.
Gonna spend the rest of today with my nose in a book now.
I've made two reassuring discoveries this morning: First, my FitBit alarm only goes off twice if I don't turn it off and second, I can swallow my 5-HTP whole as long as it's the second pill I take (after my bladder pill).
My blood pressure was low even for me this morning at 99 for the first time in months! I decided not to get washed again this morning and when I did the washing up from my breakfast, I got the sign that I need to do some weed removal again, so I've asked Alexa to remind me at 9am.
I put my new glasses on when I woke up and it took a while for my eyes to adjust, but they seem to be OK with it now.
The daily virus scan was reassuringly clear, so that's good news.
I'm gonna do my laps in just under half an hour, then have my second caffeinated drink of the week methinks.
Time to get today's to-do list together now methinks.
BBS
I've been awake for 2 hours and downstairs for 1, doing battle with my laptop, so this is the first opportunity I've had to kick off my monthly virus scan and say hello to you all.
I've taken my 8 morning pills, with my morning glass of water, and only had to crunch up 1 of them this morning, so that's pretty good.
My last carer of the week could turn up at any time and I've gotta remember to contact the Olio-er as soon as I've had my breakfast so that they can come for their things. Gotta remember to take the rubbish and recycling out and hopefully read a book today. My SIL is coming over "after lunch" to put a couple of things up for me so I bet the Olio-er will turn up while she's here! lol
This blog post is getting long, so I'm gonna publish it and attempt to get today's to-do list together and up before my final carer of the week arrives.
BBS (I hope).
...what I was doing a couple of weeks ago and more than even yesterday!
I've just collapsed onto the sofa after achieving a huuuuuge 66 active minutes of laps. I stumbled getting in and out of the back door sooo many times but I just about managed to stay upright and kept going each time. My confidence took a battering, but I'm not gonna let one bad day get the better of me and completely lose all the confidence I've worked so hard to build up.
After I've had my lunch, I'm gonna go and turn the emersion heater on and relax in a loooong hot bath I reckon.
I've gotta remember to ask my SIL if she's able to pick up the last of the garden stuff when she brings me home tomorrow - you watch me forget though lol
How are you all doing this morning?
I was awake and couldn't get back to sleep at 4.30am so I decided to come down, take my first pills of the day, start off my weekly virus scan and see if I had a time for my new toothbrush delivery yet. I went for a wee then got straight on with my laps. I had 7 significant wobbles but I refuse to let any of them affect my confidence, 'cos I'm starting to feel a little confidence with slopes now and I refuse to lose that confidence that I've worked so hard to build up.
It's great that the back yard is pretty much entirely clear now, totally thanks to my SIL for cutting it all down two weeks ago then bagging and binning it for me last week 'cos it means that I can get some fresh air into my lungs and practise on the slopes now which I couldn't have done without her help and support.
My virus scan is already 40% of the way through, so it'll hopefully be done and dusted before 9am then I can start and with any luck finish the backups before my lunchtime carer arrives.
I'm gonna publish this then make a start on today's to-do list, but I'm not sure how far I'll get 'cos my morning carer could turn up at any time now.
BFN
I'm not going to bed quite yet, but wanted to say goodnight to you before I forgot.
I've had a very productive day today 'cos as well as the usual Sunday stuff, I've also finally finished washing my woolens so I'm gonna take those upstairs with me ready to hang up and I've scraped the leaves out of a great big chunk of the back yard and put them into the rest of the pile, so I can do outside laps as well as inside ones now. I've also paid for the deep cleaning of the house after 7 attempts to get it done and dusted, so that's another thing that can be crossed off the list now.
Tomorrow I've gotta remember to phone the pharmacy in the afternoon to chase up my last box of pills then I can relax for the rest of the day.
This blog post is waaaaay too long so I'm gonna sign off for the night now.
Nite nite orl.
...absolutely incredible!
She's almost totally cleared the back yard of everything that was growing over the back wall but my steps weren't long enough for her to reach all the way up so she's going to bring some stronger garden waste bags as well as hopefully her ladder (if she can fit it into her car) when she brings me back tomorrow to try and get even more off. For the first time since the end of Summer/beginning of Autumn last year, there is actually natural light getting in at the back of the house as well as the front now and I potentially won't need to turn the lights on in the kitchen and bathroom anywhere near as soon as I have done recently, every time I've needed to use the room!
My SIL is great for all the support she and her brother are giving me - we clash heads sometimes but that's because the three of us are human and we're getting to know each other as family members rather than just being in-laws now!
...relax.
The Freegler has just taken her things so that's cleared off most of the table and there's just Steve's last book and my cracked mirror to go now, but the vast majority has now been taken.
I've also managed to get my bills set up to be e-bills instead of paper bills and I've hopefully changed the date too, so I've achieved a pretty decent amount today.
Tomorrow is another clear day so I might actually be able to do some reading and reviewing tomorrow!
I've emailed the company who sorted out the emersion heater about getting the bathroom taps fixed and asked them about getting the back yard sorted too 'cos I could swear I'd seen on their site that they did gardening before I emailed them but I can't find anything about it now 😧
I'm gonna reboot now, to install the update that's been nagging me all day, then I'll take my pills and head to bed for an early night I think 😀
...watered - Steve woke up needing a poo (which usually takes him about half an hour) so I grabbed the opportunity with both hands to make the most of the time that I'm allowed to do things for me as opposed to him.
I'm gonna go and make myself another drinking choccie while he's in there 'cos I'm predicting that he's left the majority of the one I made him this morning and it's higher calorie than tea and coffee so I wanna get all the calories possible into me today which means having drinking chocolates instead of tea and coffee.
The bird's water bowl is completely empty of water and there's no way that I can battle through the weeds overhanging from one of our neighbours to refill that or the feeders - it's bad enough battling to water the pots!
Time to download, resize and upload my breakfast photo now I reckon.
How are you all doing this morning?
I've cared for my carer for 90 minutes so far this morning and I'm determined to water the plants when I've recovered this morning 'cos it's been a few days now and I don't want them keeling over on me.
I've set the weekly scan going, made a hot drink for both of us as well as our breakfasts - I had a much bigger breakfast than I usually do because I was almost 400 calories under budget yesterday. It's lasagne for lunch today, probably made by me again and I know I'll have enough today 'cos the lasagnes are pre-portioned so Steve'll have his and I'll have mine and he won't be able to nick half of my lunch like he did yesterday.
I'm gonna go and do the watering when my legs have recovered enough, then that's it until lunchtime then.
Have I already said that I've taken my morning pills? If not, then I have.
My weekly virus scan is at 42% so it'll have to be a late lunch today 'cos the backups are gonna take until lunchtime, so it might just be Steve eating at lunchtime, depending on how willing he is to wait for my backups to finish and me to put the external hard drive away.
My calorie count already today is 435 calories less than I had all day yesterday. If my legs feel stable enough when I've done the watering, I'll see if Steve wants another drinking chocolate or if he'd prefer an instant coffee or Dolce Gusto pod or cafetierre coffee 'cos perish the thought that he makes a drink for me!
I bet Steve'll conveniently forget to ask his mum to get the half a loaf of bread and gingery things for me, just like we both did yesterday!
I need a wee so I'm gonna hopefully remember to do the watering when I come out of the bathroom then I'll sort out my breakfast photo - as long as I don't forget of course lol
...a job for today then.
Just been out to see if the plants need a drink and it's pitter-pattering with rain so the Green Man and/or Gaia have saved me a job for today - thank You (both) so much!
Just made a drinking chocolate for me an' 'im, put it into the FitBit app and I've only gotta consume another 285 calories to take me up to the day's entire calorie intake, so the instant soup for lunch and the soya yoghurt for pud should pretty much get me into the green, then a couple more drinking chocolates this afternoon will hopefully see me significantly into the red, calorie-wise, which'll hopefully mean that I've put on more weight when I weigh myself on Monday, then it's just a case of keep piling on the kilo's until NaNo starts and I'll be living on just soup and J2O's until I've completed it. It's only for 10 days, but ideally a week if I can manage to write 7,200 words a day, like last year. I'm gonna push myself but not to breaking point - as long as I get 5,000 words written a day then I've earnt the reward and any other words are just a bonus.
This'll be my 12th or 13th year and I've won all of them except my first one, so I know what to expect and what works for me now. Steve usually shuts up after a couple of days too, but I'm gonna be wearing my headphones permanently (except for bathroom breaks, obviously) and refuse to do answer the phone or door or whatever else until I've finished. It's only 20 days a year, so I don't reckon it's too much to ask not to be disturbed just for those 20 days, right?
My monthly virus scan is at 30% so I reckon it'll be finished at around the 2-3pm kinda mark, then it'll be a couple of hours for the backups, I'll download my email for the first time today, make Steve's tea for him, take my pills and head to bed for the night.
As I think I predicted yesterday, I didn't get an early night after all, same as usual, but it won't stop me from hoping that it'll happen.
Steve actually turned the heating on a tiny bit so it must be cold today 'cos that doesn't usually happen until well after NaNo!
I've just snaffled one of Steve's boring biscuits and put it into my FitBit app so I've only got 224 calories left to eat to take me into the green today, so it should be pretty easy to turn the graph pretty significantly red, even though it's a virus scan and back-up day today. Tomorrow is gonna be a low calorie day 'cos I've gotta make Steve's lunch so I dunno if I'll be able to stay upright for long enough to make my own too.
There was no news on any of my three sites this morning and I've already sorted out the forumy stuff, so I can spend the day on Facebook and doing surveys today, in amongst caring for my carer.
Gotta remember to go and do the watering at some point today... might check on the wetness of the compost before I fill the jug up with water today though! 😆
...do the watering, but there was still plenty of wetness left in the pots, so I decided to leave it for another day and made myself a drinking choccie instead. I'm over budget calorie-wise now, but barely, so I'll see if I can squeeze another one in before I take my last pills of the day, 'cos I remembered why I need to be overweight until the New Year - because of NaNo!
I'll be living on instant soup and J2O's for the first week or so, so I'm expecting to lose a pretty considerable amount of weight purely through lack of daily calories and being too focussed on what I'm writing to sort out full meals for the first 7-10 days of November and January, so I'm not gonna deny myself high calorie foods and drinks between now and the middle of January. I'm already overweight, but I wanna get about a kilo or two overweight so that I don't rapidly become underweight accidentally.
It'll be drinking chocolates whenever I fancy 'em for the next few months without giving myself a guilt trip about it. I'd prefer to be overweight than underweight 'cos I can just re-start doing my laps, if necessary, to lose any extra weight I end up carrying.
The Bourbon biscuits are really high calorie, as are mince pies (the ones that we got delivered today are 225 calories each) and the vegan crisps are like 500-600 calories per bag too, so I'll just stock up on the biscuits and crisps each week between now and the middle of January.
...was awake for a couple of minutes, so I made him a hot drink and he fell asleep as soon as he put his mug down again. I've cared for my carer for 7½ hours so far today, so putting in another 12 hour day should be pretty easy I reckon.
I'm gonna go and water the plants then make myself a drink before catching up with Facebook I reckon.
BFN
Just given the plants their only drink of the day, so of course it's gonna rain now, innit 😉
My body is slowly starting to recover now 'cos I got 9 hours sleep overnight and I feel a lot more awake and with it now.
Steve's had his breakfast and so have I (half the amount I usually have so that I can hopefully have breakfast tomorrow too but that'll be it then) and I've taken my morning pills, so I'll put the photo up in a bit, then start on today's editing.
I managed a smidgen under 14 hours of care for my carer yesterday after waking up at 4am, so I've just got 22 hours and 59 minutes of care to provide for him before I head to bed tomorrow and I've hit the 85 hour week again. My carer has managed 2 hours and 6 minutes of care for me in the same amount of time.
Just a mini rant there to start off the weekend lol
I had an email about booking my Covid booster yesterday and Steve said he's gonna arrange for me to have it done at home 'cos he doesn't wanna impose on his sister more than he already does, so I'm predicting, at 8.51am, that he'll conveniently forget to do that too.
Currently charging up my FitBit and I've got a decaff coffee on the go. I wanna put on as much weight as possible between now and the end of October so that I don't go dangerously underweight in November when I won't be eating anything solid and my only calories will come from soup and J2O's so I'll prolly be surviving on less than 500 calories a day and the same again in January.
I doubt I'll do any watering today 'cos I don't wanna over-water and kill them all.
The virus scan was reassuringly still clear this morning, so I can safely stay online again today.
I'm gonna resize the photo and put it up on here and Instagram now so that I don't do a huuuuge rant and start the vicious cycle again.
BBS