Thursday 30th January/Friday 31st

Haven't felt this ill since finishing chemo, and that was over a year ago. It only took one day in a reception class to succumb to the dreaded lergi......

Apparently I am not alone, plenty of other islanders have been affected by coughs/colds and flu like symptoms. That however is of little consolation when I cannot breathe properly as both nostrils ( and my head) are blocked. Having spent most of the last two days in bed, I now have built up my own little 'first aid' centre in the bedroom. This comprises of a large packet of balsam tissues , a packet of painkillers, a packet of throat soothing sweets ( supposedly) , a large glass of water ( alternating with herbal tea infusions) and another well known brand of industrial strength kill or cure 'cold' tablets, plus a tub of ' vapour rub' .

So, I am well equipped and prepared for the long haul. I DO NOT like being ill and I'm a pretty grumpy patient, it's just not good for a control freak such as myself. Having said that I feel so rubbish that I can't even really manage to concentrate on a book, preferring to doze instead, and as they say ' sleep is the best medicine '. The family have been brilliant at sorting the dog out and fetching hot drinks etc. I'm still managing to get up and empty dishwasher in the morning and make sandwiches if needed so not totally useless.

Researching google on remedies for the common cold, I have discovered that 'Mother did know best' ......

One of the oldest tricks in your mother's book, it seems that gargling with salt water is actually an effective home treatment for the common cold. Not only does it alleviate throat pain and loosen irritating mucous, but it can even help prevent colds: A study by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine found people that gargled warm salt water three times a day were less likely to get sick during cold season. Just dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in a full glass of water, gargle for a few seconds, and spit it out.

Another popular home remedy with some strong evidence behind it is honey. A 2007 Penn State University study found that one to two teaspoons of honey is not only effective at treating nocturnal cough, but it's actually more effective than dextromethorphan, the cough suppressant found in oh-so-popular cough syrups we mob to.

I took my fitbit off yesterday, there didn't seem to be much point in wearing it, whilst lying in bed, Jack smugly mentioned that I was slacking as he hit the ten thousand steps daily quota. Though he had run around Queens Valley with the dog in tow, to 'up' the amount. This has resulted in the dog being unfazed by the jog and wanting more , and Jack with sore knees, so I had the last laugh ....




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Monday 27th January

Since December 26th when I received my Fitbit I have walked 250 miles! That's a lot of miles!
Went to a yoga class at the sports centre last week and after the class one of my colleagues wanted to have a swim, but couldn't find her costume. Thinking she'd left it in the car, she headed out to the car park. Upon returning a few minutes later ( and somewhat red faced) she explained that it only dawned on her when she was out there that her husband had dropped her off, so not only did she not have her car, but she was wandering around the car park with her 'locker' key !!!!

I've been into work again last week (sickness cover) and again today, believe me 'wet playtime' is no fun with four and five year olds, they need to run about outside at regular intervals!

I actually cooked a Sunday roast lunch yesterday, first time in ages , the firefighter was at work in the evening so didn't want him to miss out. During the lunch the conversation covered various random subjects. The inside working parts of cars (Tom), a forthcoming trip to Zambia (Dan) , the Balls of Steel race (Bex), and the fact that we have finally been sent the missing parts of a game that AB bought us for Christmas. It was a locally manufactured game that she had picked up in East Anglia, which prompted Jack to remark that "it's like everything else that comes out of Suffolk,there's always a little bit missing " ........




- Big excitement, my 'Suffolk ' sister is coming over with her husband in May...happy days !





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Thursday 16th January

Finally, a night in..... Sort of, the in-laws 56th wedding anniversary today , that's 56 years of wedded bliss .....also my mad aunts birthday, no doubt she spent the day playing badminton, digging the allotment and jogged to the gym... :-)

Onto the discussion about unusual Christmas presents, and Fitbits spring to mind, certainly unusual but also very intriguing . Not entirely sure about the motive behind the gifts , but I'm loving mine!

It takes the form of a rubber type bracelet that you wear on your wrist, and the small 'widget microchip' thingy fits inside. It monitors various activities that are part of your daily routine, including the amount of steps you take, calories burned, miles walked, sleep slept......etc, you can log on food and drink consumed and exercises taken, but that's a bit of faff. Still it is fascinating and a tad unnerving, especially when it tells you how many times you were 'restless' in the night! And of course women of a certain age tend to have many ' restless ' episodes in the course of a nights 'sleep' !

So in summary my daily average of steps taken is 17,462 , calories burned 2,507. The average daily distance travelled is 7.98 miles. Daily average time asleep 6 h 33 min...... Husband also has a fitbit, but apparently he can't link his up to his phone, so is unable to access the data, as yet. When you see things actually written down it does make you sit up and take notice. Although he did have a bit of a hiccup with his last week, when hammering a nail in the wall to hang a picture , he ' knocked ' his fitbit into sleep mode, consequently his data for that day was mostly spent slumbering.......faintly amusing!

I've had a jolly fine start to the new year, including a lot of fun spent at the local primary school in reception class with 28 four and five year olds. Worked full time last week , and a couple of days this week.

Had a badminton tournament last Monday , and with a lady partner somehow managed to win it! Again!!! After playing in the tournament every year for almost for 15 years and never even coming close, to win it twice is just amazing!
Played in our first netball match of the new season, and boy was it tough, forgotten how much running and jumping is involved ! I must have impressed one person out of the opposite team as got picked as ' player of the match ' I don't think it was a sympathy vote, but never entirely sure!

Also picked up my gorgeous 'Rose Bowl' tennis trophy for SBS memorial that AH kindly got engraved, that now sits proudly on my sideboard.

Goodness, think I'd better stop now, I think this blog has ended up being a a self centred ' blow your own trumpet ' blog.

Talking of blogs, I've started following @agirlcalledjack , who writes a food blog amongst other things. I'd read an article about her and she can make healthy meals out of very cheap ingredients, well worth a look at if your interested in that sort of thing! ( boys were convinced the other day that I'd put tofu in the spaghetti bolognaise, and rummaged through the bin like a couple of freegans. ! ) I hadn't ....... But tempted now.....




Netball trainers look ok from the top, but the soles tell another story.....





Badminton trophy.......


Fitbit......


An assortment of anniversary cakes.....cake anyone? !

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Sunday 5th January

Happy new year! I have high hopes for 2014, it's going to be a GOOD year I just know it!

I had an interesting dog walk this morning, it started with an amazing sunrise.... But you know what they say, " red sky in the morning, shepherds warning"





We set off for St Catherine's woods, and when we got to the reservoir a fisherman was just pulling out a huge carp, worthy of a photo I thought.





We carried on towards the sea, and because of the recent high tides there was a lot of debris strewn across the paths. It was a high tide and with the water right up against the wall it warranted yet another photo.




I met a lady coming in the opposite direction who warned me that the steps around the coast were flooded but if I was clever I could time my ' run' and not get wet feet! I thanked her and proceeded along the path, she was right there was a lot of water still washing over the rocky path by Amy's slip. I watched it for a minute surge in and out and then went for it.......it's a pity I didn't watch it a bit more, because I ended up getting soaked up to my calves, boots, trousers, the lot, I did laugh at myself for being such an idiot! Hubby was not so impressed when later today we did the same walk and when I showed him where the waves were coming in and I had made my valiant dash, he was horrified and said it wouldn't have taken much for it to have knocked me off my feet and then I would have been smashed on the rocks etc etc blah blah Mr Health and safety man!!!

Anyhow I busily squelched along the path wending my way back home, the dog totally oblivious to my minor discomfort and far more interested in where the next pheasant maybe hiding. Walking up Flicquet I spied in the hedgerow a white rabbit ( no, my name is not Alice) I had seen it before briefly hopping across the field and prayed that Jess would not catch it, anyway she bolted past it this time as well, ( so much for her sense of smell! ) it must have been someone's pet once upon a time, but I imagine there is little chance of catching it.

As it was such a lovely day, ie no wind or rain, I extended my walk and strolled along a few fields at la coupe, Jess was in her element and chased off at least three pheasants , she shot along the field and as she is so fast now, had already crossed the lane and into the field that had a few heifers in, she straight away came back out and raced off along the lane. I meanwhile was blowing the whistle and had started calling her, but she had become disorientated and instead of back tracking towards me she disappeared from view.

Still blowing the whistle like some demented ' old style police bobby from the carry on films' and shouting her name across the fields, I hurried along as quick as my saturated boots would let me. With absolutely no sign of her, I rang home in a panic and asked Bex if she could see her in the drive as I had lost her. Suddenly appearing along the main road at full pelt was a small frothing black and white springer spaniel. What a relief!!

A lady jogger also appeared and said she had turned into our drive and was searching frantically for me, the fact that she had been along the main road doesn't bear thinking about, fortunately it is only a lane , and it was before 10 am on a Sunday morning.

After all the excitement I needed to go to my aerobics class and burn off some adrenalin !! She meanwhile is totally unfazed by her ordeal, and seemed just as crazy on this afternoons walk!

I'm thinking of starting a new family choir.......it's going to be called The Coughing Choir, so far it has three members Jack, ( he was the founder) Steve and Bex, they all have their individual pitches of coughing, tones can be quite varied and often at differing lengths. When they are all practicing together in the same room the noise can be alternatively irritating and deafening. Whilst the choir is open to anybody I do not recommend you joining.....



Bex and I made a fig, nut and seed bread this afternoon, delicious!!


I will leave next weeks blog to tell you all about my ' fitbit' a Christmas present from our eldest son.....

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