Warwick

Thursday being sunny found me and the darling on our travels to Warwick castle. Breakfast was toast and lunch a hastily shoved together piece of tomato bread with turkey breast. Photos above. I'll type coherrently over the weekend!

Arty Diversions.

I can't believe its been nearly ten days since I last blogged. I have been distracted by life. Things have changed slightly here. Please forgive the underlining. I can't find the button to take it off!

Things have fallen into a routine. I have been playing the Sims too much to be healthy, eBayed too much, I have been making clay jewellery and making block prints out of old lino.

Food has been a hand to mouth existance. I haven't been careful at all but I've only eaten when hungry. I need to get back to my food plan and walking routine. Each day I start afresh and something interrupts me.

I will eat well for the rest of the day, in earnest.

Photos as promised

Scaling Mountains (literally)

"Beginning is easy; continuing is hard"- Japanese

My legs ache but I am feeling such a smug sense of pride from Herculean efforts yesterday.

Wednesday night I went to bed in a fit of giggles after the chappie had me remove two spiders from the lounge. It was such a glorious role reversal. I expect to see him on a chair, hiding from a door mouse soon. We had about four hours sleep.

The sun was fated to almost shine on the chappie and me on Thursday. The car wheels spun on smooth tarmac as we made our way to Ironbridge, Much Wenlock and Church Stretton in Shropshire, part of rural England. We strolled around looking at the first iron bridge whilst I spotted an old fashioned sweet shop, where I carelessly purchased some sweet peanuts.

Our journey had been sparked by an article in the Observer newspaper that the handsome one had read about finding the most un-stressful place in England. The travel writer claimed he had found it in the woods in a Shropshire village. Being the distrusting folk we are we thought we would investigate the claim.

Much Wenlock is a village which, has a disproportionate amount of tourists. We settled down at the George and Dragon pub and I tucked into a hearty plate of locally handmade faggots, gravy, peas and chips. I didn't feel guilt for long as they proved to be most delicious. Found a bakery and the lad bought two Shrewsbury biscuits as they are a local delicacy too.

Much Wenlock has a ruined priory and we decided to tour it with the audio guide. Then we moved on to a smaller village.

Church Stretton has walkers passing through it. We stopped for a cream tea at a teahouse garden, which was superb. Then we went looking for the woods to walk in. Every single person we passed in the village greeted us. It was an absolute delight to be acknowledged. However, the laddie found a sun dried tomato on the pavement, reflecting the economic status of the village's occupants.

The footpath we chose wound it’s way through the woodland and then through bracken and blue slate. I felt the path become steeper and it became clear that I would have to walk on an incline. The incline got steeper and steeper; it made the hill walk I sometimes go on paltry by comparison.

The handsome one climbed ahead of me more quickly as I puffed, panted and sweated my way higher to the top of the hill/mountain. Parts of the walk had a sheer drop to them which was quite exhilarating. At the summit my fella disappeared. I walked onwards until I came to near the summit to be greeted by a group of wild horses grazing contentedly in the late sunshine.

Ten minutes later I was lying on my back on the springiest bed of grass, near a patch of purple heather my eyes shut feeling my body sink into the earth. When I opened my eyes the views were stunning. It was an idyll.

Photos to follow soon…

Plans for craft domination.

I made them last night now I am planning to make a killing selling chocolate bar earrings and pendants etc. I just have to buy some jewellery making tools and I'm all set. Here is my opening to a fortune, debts will slip away as I conquer the world with my eBay emporium.

Talking of which I have received a 99p bid on a book. I'm delighted: I am a business woman.

I'd rather not blog about my food today as I'm finding the going really difficult. What do you lot do in a food crisis to get back on track?

Weaknesses

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up"

- Thomas Edison

At 8.25pm yesterday evening I felt like giving up all my eating plans and efforts to loose weight. My crazed head was aching with hunger and I was holding a kentucky fried chicken burger. Two hours later at the honey's I had a sugar headache and I felt dreadful. I know that unhealthy food, eaten at the wrong time makes me feel bad. Yet I still persist in a reckless course of action.

My equanimity appears to have returned today and I am eating according to my food plan. I think that the lackey's comments really did affect me and spurned me on to eating everything on the pastry aisle over the weekend. I didn't realise I was Ms sensitive.

I will not give up. I fancy a walk tomorrow and I have a bunch of clay, not in sushi colours though, to keep me occupied today. I will make jewellery and begin and experiment into making money through crafts products if I turn out to be any good at the said crafting! I also spotted some block printing equipment at the craft store. I will be partacking of the supplies so i can make lino prints and make oodles of cash from my artwork. I may be making a living as an artist soon enough. Has to be better than eBay. So far I have three watchers;if they each buy I'll have made the princely sum of £2.97!

Reason disappears.

"If Passion drives, let reason hold the reins"

- Ben Franklin

Banana cake: I couldn't resist. I have had to really think about why I am eating in the crazy way I am. I'm upset and edgy and I haven't established why. Feeling quiet and moody as hell totally irrationally.

The bread maker was put to good use yesterday- I made a sundried tomato loaf and ate it with a fried egg for breakfast. The combination is mind bogglingly good. However, at 50p for a portion of tomatoes in the bread it doesn't make a loaf cheaply.

Spent the day listing records for sale on eBay rather than going for a walk in the recent turn in the climate. I managed to make just under fifty pounds from stuff that was gathering dust on my shelves through quick sales on other sites too. I await eBay with poised excitement although no one has shown an interest in my measley stuff as yet. I feel a trip to the charity shop coming on....

Landlord rant again

" The honey is sweet but the bee has a sting"

- Ben Franklin

I rang up the landlord's lackey yesterday afternoon and stated that the cooker hadn't been connected. He asked me, in a most patronising tone, if I had asked the delivery people to fix it. I said I had. He then said he believed that the men had had a problem accessing my home. The truth of this is they arrived 30 minutes early whilst I had nipped out for two minutes to buy milk. Hardly a problem as I arrived as they were ringing my doorbell! I got unusually aggravated by his stupid complaint. Mum heard the conversation and got heated too after I had hung up.

At five forty an electrician/carpenter was round at my place drinking tea from my porcelain and my cooker was working! It transpires that mum had spoken to the rude landlord's dogsbody and managed to have a heated discussion with him after he'd said he had much more important things to deal with than my cooker! Imagine! Bravo mother!

I admired my stove at lunchtime today and heated up tomato soup in the microwave.

When i did my shopping I bought some Ecuadorian chocolate with bitter almonds as a treat and ate the whole lot in place of my fruit snack yesterday. Now I have a desire for the sweet taste of more chocolate. I imagine the warm but bitter taste of cocoa on my tongue. I regret not buying the luxury Belgian drinking chocolate and saving money by buying standard cocoa powder, it just doesn't hit the spot! Foolhardy

Landlord rant

"It's the little things that count"

I've waited a whole year for this event. I have searched in vain, pinned and anguished. The landlord said he'd get me a replacement cooker as the one in the flat has never worked, apart from the hob. Today the sacred machine arrived.

It wasn't new but it is a delightful black and chrome number. The delivery lad looked at me after I asked him to remove the old one and said he hadn't been told to remove the old one. He asked who was fitting the replacement oven as he was unable to! In the end his more senior colleague unwired the old cooker and removed it but still refused to fit the newer one. So i have lost my ability to heat things up on the hob now. My cooking facilities involve a toaster, bread maker and a microwave. This means another call to the landlord's agent and much fussing around. Most dispirited.

I should have food shopped today but am at a loss as to how i'm going to eat over the week. Still should mean I lose weight but I can't tell until my folks buy replacement scales.

Food Panic.

" The day you decide to do it is your lucky day. "

- Japanese

My mysterious symptoms of illness have started to reduce again and I am feeling a lot more spritely. The honey texted me yesterday with the hotline line number for swine flu and told me to phone it if my symptoms got worse; this made me smile as I am clearly dating someone who has hypocondriac tendancies.

Eating isn't on my first list of things to do today but I started on a mini binge and had to pull myself up short. I used my fruit break as an excuse to eat a plum with 2 penguin double chocolate wafer biscuits and a creme caramel. The food was wolved down in no time. Thankfully it will still mean that with dinner included I will be in my calorie range for the day. I thought that binges and junk food were behind me. How wrong I was. There was no cause as to why i ate the extra food it was lying around in my parent's cupboards and i didn't think better of it at the time.

Tomorrow is pay day. I have a million bills to pay, but if i'm really lucky i may buy some small packet of modelling clay so that I can start preparing for a mystery craft project. Yes, sushi earrings are the future!

Stroke of luck?

" Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck"

-Dalai Lama

I felt odd when I woke up this morning and I couldn't understand it so I went back to bed, avoiding my art class. I remembered a couple of hours later that this is how you feel when you are ill so I have decided to suffer.

I had to let the chap know that he can't stay over tonight as I don't want him to catch it. Feeling miserable as we were due to go out on a day trip on Thursday to a castle far far away. Still I will now save some much needed dosh.

I don't feel like eating at all. Skipped breakfast but ate chicken and rice for lunch. Mum wants me to help cleaning out the cupboards this afternoon but i'm not really upto it. I feel the duvet calling me...

In balance

"Sing away sorrow, cast away care."

- Miguel de Cervantes

A disaster befell the glorious glass digital scales I weigh myself on today. My parents have visitors coming to stay soon so they are performing a polava of moving beds into different bedrooms and cleaning as they go. I lent a hand. I was assigned the task of dusting the headboard. I was allocated a rather nasty dry cloth so I sloped off to the bathroom to wet the rag so that I could dust effectively. I rather too energetically pushed open the bathroom door. This caused an unforeseen chain of events.

The door pushed the bathroom cabinet, which made a perfume bottle roll to the edge of the cabinet and drop on the floor. The scales underneath the cabinet bore the impact of the perfume bottle and the balance shattered into thousands of shards. It was an explosive game of mousetrap. No more weigh ins for me for now, all scale games are off. I'm certainly not going to use a scale in public. I have visions of the damned thing shouting out my weight I have so much self consciousness.

Food has been in short supply at the minute, due to it not yet being pay day. However, I am managing to eat a decent energy allowance, even if the meals aren't very balanced.

I'm finding the process of eating quite dull at the minute. I'm looking forward to getting paid as I was thinking of signing up to a boxed fruit and veg scheme or at least having my shopping delivered for a trial. I need to keep the focus centred on the joys of healthy living. I managed not to walk at all yesterday despite an opening in the clouds.

Cake

"If you want to feel rich, count the things you have money can't buy"

Stayed over at the lad's last night. Today he taunted me with his carrot cake to have with tea. Of course I declined, I just don't eat it in the same way I don't eat locusts.

Yesterday in the supermarket I killed time looking at the cakes on the shelves; it was like looking at museum exhibits. I was only sad I couldn't try new things rather than eat those I knew the taste for. Watched the film The Bothersome Man last night. There's a scene where the lead male eats cake and it's the tastiest thing in his life, He stuffs it down his face. Yet I feel there are other things much more valuable than craving stuff.

However, I did eat cinnamon bread rolls this morning for breakfast. Then I discovered they contained hydrogenated vegetable fat. One of the nasties in the food industry according to my fella. It's easy to get complacent about what you are eating when you don't read the label.

Desires

"Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude."

- Victor Frankl

The weather sucks big style. Still no walks. It's like my body is seizing up. Exercise has been my best friend. It has helped me not want to over eat. Last night I had unnatural desires.

I craved more cheese and biscuits. I limited myself to a small portion but the Duchy rosemary and thyme biscuits for cheese were delectable. I had to mentally talk myself out of eating more because I knew i wasn't hungry and was in a very dangerous place.

Fortunately I got working on another blogging project I want to start whilst the hot water heated up for a bath. O bath I've missed you. The water pressure is back to normal in my flat so I splashed out on heating up the water tank and revelled in it.

Whilst discussing the domestic front, I'm having issues with my bread maker. The bread keeps rising spectacularly and then flopping 40 minutes near to finishing. I don't know what I've done wrong but its playing a cruel and holey game with me. Still there's less calories when you have to eat a hole.