Hi,
My partner says I'm so positive its really quite irritating, but today I'm going to have my first PMR moan. Please switch off now if you don't want to listen. Its finally dawned on me that provided I do absolutely nothing out of the ordinary and only eat things I don't like much, then I will feel quite well. Go outside of these guidelines and thou shalt be punished. I went to France for the day on Tuesday, had a wonderful time stocking up on lovely French coffee and wine and spent the whole of Wednesday laid on the settee feeling very sorry for myself. Yesterday I took my lovely Grandson and Daughter to Thorpe Park (along with a million others!) and today? Don't ask. :yuk: I feel as though I'm outside of my body (difficult to explain but I've a notion that many of you will recognise the feeling). My brain simply won't work (had a long discussion with my Solicitor this morning over a property sale and I've no idea what he said). I went shopping to Sainsbury's and found myself in the ASDA car park. I've got very dear friends coming to supper tonight and I'd rather poke needles in my big toe. I want to cry :wah: and I'm not a crying sort of person. Solution? Have a moan on here, lay down on the settee, watch some rubbish television and probably feel better in an hour or so. Sorry everyone, it really is my first moan and tomorrow I'm sure I'll regret having opened my heart, but I know what lovely people you are and that you'll forgive me.
Lizzie Ellen (who would prefer to remain anonymous today :sorry: )
Lizzie Ellen
You go right ahead and have a moan, rant, winge. Everyone here will understand only too well. It does seem very unfair that you have to suffer for giving your grandchildren a treat and entertaining your friends and I hope you feel better in time to enjoy their company.
I had a birhtday card (today, 78, in case you ask ) and in it a sad little note saying \" We still have your Christmas presents wrapped up here\" We have theirs, too. There just has not been enough spare energy to arrange a visit.
I'll have more to say about the devastating effects of the utter weariness that our accompanies our condition when I do my 3month update on \"No Steroids\". Meanwhile let's all be kind to ourselves and support each other. Betty
Lizzie Ellen
Oh, poor you and I can imagine that's so out-of-character for you....you're usually so upbeat, but I bet (and hope) that you feel better already, so always unleash those horrid PMR/steroid 'lows' on here and remember a 'high' is just around the corner. After 4 PMR years, I'm still hoping for that continuous 'high' that will give me the enthusiasm to actually enjoy dusting my house from top to bottom again......or, on second thoughts, perhaps not - I'd rather write to you! Meanwhile, here's a :hug: from me to you, and I'm sure you will benefit from having your friends tonight and feel better tomorrow. If not, you know where we are!
MrsO
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETTY AND HOPE IT'S A COMFORTABLE ONE. :bubbly:
Oh, Lizzie Ellen, I'm so sorry especially as you've been so helpful to us all on this site! Put your feet up, have a snooze, get your partner to help out this evening - and tomorrow is another day. It's not fair though is it?
Take care, Green granny
:cupcake: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETTY :cupcake:
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
I got a real buzz when I logged on just now and found such lovely messages. Its like rallying the troups! Took action trying to get back to my positive (but irritating!) ways. Spoke to my friend and we agreed: ready made puds tonight, ignore the dust and cobwebs and skip the starter. Yeh! My Grandson phoned and said he'd had 'the best time' yesterday and said 'love you loads Nannie' which, coming from a teenage boy was quite touching. The fog in my brain is slowly lifting and I have friends who know exactly how I feel - thank you again - group hug :hug: :lol:
Lizzie Ellen (recovering moaner)
............and another hug and a sackful of understanding from me, Lizzie Ellen!
I find the worst times are when I KNOW I have done nothing to deserve it! I can understand the 'pay back' I get if I have overdone it (inadvertently or otherwise) but when it just hits like a bolt out of the blue I still get angry as well - which does absolutely no good any which way, but is a human reaction, yes?
You seem to have done so well that I should think you are overdue a rant and a moan!
Love
Nefret
Happy birthday Betty! Hope it's been a good one!
Lizzie Ellen - congrats on having a good moan! A good whinge never hurt anyone, especially when it's to your friends who DO understand. I may go skiing a few times a week to the amazement of some of you - but there is NO WAY I could have done what you've done this week without suffering! Just the thought of Thorpe Park makes me feel weak at the knees!
And you seem to have learnt something that will stand in good stead for the future: it's the company that counts and not how long you spent doing the cleaning and cooking! I use raclette a lot - buy the cheese and lay everything out for the guests to make their own, what is to all intents and purposes, \"pizza toppings\". Nice bread or jacket potatoes. No bother! My brother-in-law and his wife couldn't quite cope with the concept of DIY dinner parties but who cares. I'd even get a good takeaway if necessary as I sometimes think going out to eat is even more effort when you feel wacked.
Hope you have a lovely evening and a restful weekend!
all the best, EileenH
Happy Birthday Betty
Im so sorry Lizzie Ellen that you have been feeling bad but glad you got it off your chest !!
If I had been on here earlier I would have suggested a takeaway for your visitors ( Very popular with the 30+ generation to just get it all delivered when they entertain so Im told !!!!!)
It is so annoying not to be able to do all the things you normally cope with and enjoy I dont want to put my life on hold either Im 62 and WAS very active I want to make the most of everything but when that draining exhaustion sets in the settee and a book is the only answer I am managing a bit more at present but waiting for the PMR to rear up and attack me again at any time ( I dont trust it ) !!
Hope you enjoy your evening I do find now going for lunch with friends or even a chat on the phone does me so much good and real friends always understand
Take care and whinge as much as you want !! Love Mrs G
Hi all
Happy Birthday Betty and on reaching 8 years into overdraft time.
Now LizzieE.
Hear is what my Mam used to say to me - live for today, you might not make it tomorrow. So, go out and enjoy and then just enjoy the fact that you are still here to suffer the payback.
I do, I go and know I am going to pay for it - but what the hell, life is not a rehearsal, its a one way ticket.
Just go with the flow, keep a few handy take-a-way menus. Or on the good days, cook your favourite meals and freeze them for days when friends are coming or you just can't be bothered. Hey presto - out of the freezer into the oven.
My freezers (yes I bought a second one), stacked with homemade cooked meals and homemade bread (various varieties) homemade soups and cream.
As the song goes - I think - \"Make it easy on yourself\".
But when you want to moan and we all do - that's OK too.
Hallo all and thank you so much for all the birthday greetings.
I had lots of cards, 'phone calls and visits a birthday cake and a day of perfect weather. Not pain-free,alas, but counting the blessings.
I like the idea of overdraft time so much better than borrowed time and, living in the sticks, learned many years ago that a full freezer is essential insurance. Now, not just against the weather but against the days when we just don't want to make an effort. Betty
Hi all!
When we came to buy our flat here in northern Italy (rather than paying off the mortgage in Britain!) we had a few criteria which had to be fulfilled. Unlike most British ex-pats who seem to want to retire to the back of beyond, up a mountain and a 40 min 4x4 trek from anywhere, we insisted there had to be a shop selling everything essential, a doctor and a restaurant where you could afford to eat at least twice a week - all within 5 min walk on the flatt-ish! We have 3 such restaurants (including a pizzeria with wood oven) , a superb butcher, a baker AND a cake shop (to die for, I promise) and a small supermarket, two doctors and a pharmacy all within the prescribed 5 min. Plus a couple of boutiques, a TV shop ... That's in a village of less than 1000 souls in the main bit, 2500 including about 10 other hamlets and farmhouses. It's a 40 min walk into the town, we have a railway station, buses - but I have an alpine meadow across the road. Definitely no need to force myself to do something when the PMR says no. We definitely are living for today!!! :-)
Nearly been summer this week but we may have snow on Monday...
hope everyone is recovering from their Easter excesses, the whole concept of a carb hangover makes that glass of white wine SO much more attractive!
luv Eileen
And your nearest airport is? :ufo: (closest thing I could find to an aeroplane!). I'm sure that our whole group would benefit from some clean mountain air!!! Sounds idyllic Eileen.
Hi. What a difference a day makes! And thank you everyone for indulging my rant :steam: We had a lovely evening with our friends. I threw two tins of ratatouille, a tin of chopped tomatoes, some chicken and basil into a posh dish, stuck it in the oven and called it mediterranean medley :nahnah: (next time I'll make two and freeze one, as per advice). My friend asked for the recipe they enjoyed it so much. ASDA puds (should have been Sainsbury's!) and a bottle of red stuff. Perfect. My day in the wilderness also made me make a decision I've been faffing about for weeks. Our planned 20 days hard slog tour of South Africa (13 differenct hotels!) is off for a while. I've admitted to myself it would be too much just now, so are planning something less strenuous but just as enjoyable for the meantime. Such a relief. I've had many days in the widerness, just not quite like the two I've had this week and I don't consider my decision a defeat, it actually feels like a victory. Just done a whole morning's gardening (panic not! I sat basking in the sun whilst I directed operations). What a really productive moan yesterday. (I did say I was irritatingly positive most of the time :D ). Enjoy this fabulous weather.
Lizzie Ellen
Eileen
:wow: I'm so glad we've got a a gloriously warm, sunny day here today to dampen down my envy of you being located in what sounds like the most perfect position on this planet. I believe you are bordered by both Switzerland and Austria, and having done a spell working in Geneva many years ago, I can imagine what chocolate box surroundings you inhabit. I was wondering about the language....in Geneva it was a mixture of French, German and Italian. Your whole life sounds idyllic and I do so hope you get rid of this horrid PMR to enable you to enjoy it to the full Eileen.
Hi LizzieEllen!
So glad you're seeing an oasis in the wilderness! The rant probably helped too and do let us know what the substitute holiday is! I did a week like that in Japan nearly 2 years ago when we were there (or rather, he was paid for!) for an international conference and it seemed a sin to waste that. It was fantastic but I never need (or want) to see another temple. Ever. And I was SOOO tired. We're off to Korea (for a similar reason) in September but I hope to avoid too many temples and shrines. SA, at least, is the same time zone so no jet lag probs.
Might I recommend the GU puds for a dinner party - they have a few I can eat (no wheat) and my daughters also love them. I also wholeheartedly concur with MrsG - there are a lot of things the 20s/30s generation do that are very good for us: Facebooking is a good way of seeing what your friends (and offspring) get up to (providing you can persuade them it's not the open door to Hell) and their apparent inability to cook means they entertain with a minimum of fuss by buying nice food. Here, cooking a meat meal means a small piece of very high quality meat (steak or veal) heating a pan VERY hot, putting the meat in until the first side is browned, turn it over, transfer it to a plate and deglaze the pan with wine (and possibly parsley or something like lemon juice.) Serve with salad. My favourite cookbook: Marcella Hazan, The Essentials of classic Italian cooking. I also have a very high class icecream-making machine - the sort that churns and freezes, not just one to put in the freezer. The homemade stuff is fun and tastes fantastic with NO ADDITIVES for relatively little effort. And noone can fail to be impressed. :-)
Nearest airport: Innsbruck! An hour and a half! Go to www.Kronplatz.com and take a tour of the site to see where I live! :-)
Eileen
Can you believe it - we've just had a BBQ :wow: I know what you mean about temples Eileen. We did 21 days in China a couple of years ago, that's how I now know I can't possibly do SA this year. The substiture? I think it'll be a cruise, that way I can laze on the deck with a book if I need a rest and my partner can go walkabout. Both happy! I lived in Spain for 10 years and when we ate with Spanish friends meal times were guaranteed to be 3 hours late, 5 hours long, very noisy and great fun. After several bottles of Rioja no-one could remember what the food was (except me that is, teetotal until fairly recently). I've had a house in Spain for 25 years and sometimes think I'd like to go back to live permanently, grandchildren are the draw here though. I do hope that everyone has enjoyed the same beautiful weather as we have today. So good for the spirit 8) . (Ooops! I'm replying to the post that's just been taken off, my reply made sense until then, at least Eileen will know what I'm on about!! just checking your link no doubt). I've already had a look at it, looks beautiful.
Lizzie Ellen
Belated Happy Birthday Betty!!! Hope it was a good one.
Lizzie Ellen - if you can't have a good moan to us, who can you have a good moan to?
Hope things are getting a bit better for you now.
Tilly
Hi girls!
Well I don't know about the most perfect position - but I honestly believe there can't be many better. And the people here are even more fantastic - I gather this valley has a particular genre of open and welcoming people. We are accepted here as adopted locals - no doubt because we speak fluent German which the vast majority here have as their mother tongue. Italian native speakers are the exception (less than 10%-ish I think). Just round the corner the main language changes to Ladin, a rato-romanisch language, akin to ancient Latin, as spoken by Hadrian and his mates. So here it is a mixture of German, Italian and Ladin (rather difficult to learn I suspect but I listen to their local news).
I knew the post would disappear for a while until they checked out my dodgy internet reference! ;-) but I see it is back in double quick time. Pictures of pretty mountains can't be that subversive obviously!! I didn't see the grandchildren very often as they were nearly 4 hours away anyway and all our family works/ed in the NHS - what's a weekend, what's a Bank Holiday? So now I've swapped it for an intensive week or 10 days supervising them skiing while mum and dad do the black runs on their own - no whinges about being bored, even a 10 and 8 year-old can manage to be fairly civilised on a ski slope if you threaten to take the skis away! Otherwise I'm a hopeless grandmother, would fail most of the good granny tests!
And holidays - our caravan is stored near Lake Garda. Two hour drive, pick it up, tow it 3 miles, plonk on a pitch, walk into Lazise! Boring? Maybe, but oh so good. And we just go a bit further when we feel like it. And stop and laze. It's only about 5 hours from there to the south of France. Only go exotic if someone else is picking up part of the tab - how mercenary can you get ;-) ?
xxx Eileen
Just to help your green monsters - the temperature has plunged by 10C tonight, if there is precipitation in the next few days it is possibly going to be snow! But I was sunbathing on the balcony this afternoon!