But oh those lonely nights .........

[LYN T]

Scarlett, that's a lot of money you helped raise. Well done for remembering your words-I knew you would be great

Have a good time with your former neighbour

Much love

Lyn T XX

 

[2jays]

I hate it when people say..... "See, I told you"....... So I won't

Amazing amount of money raised. Wonderful xxxxxx



Sent from my iPhone using Talking Point

 

[Scarlett123]

The theatre don't charge anything for the hire of the large foyer, because they make a lot of money from selling coffees, teas, snacks etc both before the show and during the interval, and with the number of people there, and at £6 a ticket, it's always a sell-out. Also, many people take the opportunity to book seats in the main theatre for forthcoming shows.

We provide our own backing tracks, put the seats out, and clear away after, so there's nothing for the staff to do. And our regulars know they're going to get the chance to sing along to familiar songs, so they'll come again and again.

But the great thing is - I love it!!!! We're rehearsing tomorrow for our June show, and I'm mega excited. Also, during the interval, I met the Manager of the Care Home, where I'll be playing the ukulele, and singing, on Monday 29th. The sister of one of the other choir members is a resident there, and they have about 50% frail, and 50% AD, which is unusual for the area, where most places, like John's, are nearly all AD.

Had a lovely few hours today with my old neighbour, reminiscing about our times nearly 50 years ago, as young brides. I am naughty though. I last saw her, just before I started my diet at the end of September. The first thing she said was "Oh my goodness - haven't you lost a lot of weight!", to which I replied, modestly, "oh can you tell"?

Seeing as I was wearing size 18 trousers then, and size 12s now, it does show!!

 

[LadyA]

Well done on the weight loss too! I bet you feel better for it. A woman I used to know, after she'd dieted quite a while, and I used to see her out walking every day, to lose weight in an effort to bring her blood pressure under control, and she had lost something like 45 lbs, I met her out one day with a back-pack on, and she was looking very warm, and exhausted. In her bag, she was carrying an extra 45lbs - to remind herself of what it would be like to carry that extra weight around with her all the time, if she should go back to her old way of life - her poor diet and lack of exercise! I thought it was a very good idea. Me, I'm walking every day I can, and doing my yoga (though I didn't get the yoga done today) and doing the plank every day, because I don't want to find myself, some day, with a lot of weight to lose - I think it would be easier to maintain my current weight, at my age, than to try to lose. I've heard it's harder to lose weight once you are past the menopause.

 

[Scarlett123]

LadyA,when I was a young girl in my 20s, if I wanted to lose half a stone, I just cut down for a couple of weeks, and way hay! The weight disappeared. Now, it's another matter. Before I had breast cancer, I used to do Pilates, spinning classes, and could do the plank with ease, but as I can't put weight on my right arm now, I can't manage a one-armed plank!

It certainly helped to keep my tummy area taut, and though I've lost weight, I am no longer taut! But as I am unlikely to do go-go dancing now, I'm not too worried!

 

[LadyA]

LadyA,when I was a young girl in my 20s, if I wanted to lose half a stone, I just cut down for a couple of weeks, and way hay! The weight disappeared. Now, it's another matter. Before I had breast cancer, I used to do Pilates, spinning classes, and could do the plank with ease, but as I can't put weight on my right arm now, I can't manage a one-armed plank!

It certainly helped to keep my tummy area taut, and though I've lost weight, I am no longer taut! But as I am unlikely to do go-go dancing now, I'm not too worried!

Exactly - it's keeping a healthy weight that's important, not putting too much strain on your joints. I have a friend in London, who's just a year or so older than I am, but she has always been enormous - and she has had awful problems with her knees and hips, and keeps being told if she doesn't lose weight she will have to have replacement joints, which are much more problematic to recover from at her weight. But she just can't lose the weight. She's been heavy since she was a child. She's very tall - must be about 5'9" or so, and takes a 9 1/2 shoe. So she's just big all over.

Having watched my mum, and her struggles with yo yo-ing weight and crash diets and her osteoporosis as she aged, I'm determined to do all I can to stay healthy. Even if, this morning, I'm feeling anything but healthy, having caught some sort of sore throat lurgy! I don't think I'll be doing my brisk walking today - I think the couch with hot drinks will be seeing a lot of me today. Have to go out though and get some paracetomol & stuff.

 

[Scarlett123]

I wonder if I am now bottom of the Clean Housewife's chart? It is such a job for me to change the (king size) bed linen, on my own, with one good arm, that I realise a longer and longer time is elapsing between changing it.

 

[LadyA]

New, smaller bed?

 

[LadyA]

Or - put a top sheet under your duvet, then you wouldn't need to change the duvet cover so often!

 

[truth24]

That's what I do. Top sheet and then duvet. Then just launder sheets, pillow cases, etc. Wash duvet cover less frequently now I'm on my own. Seems to work. Hate struggling with them even with 2 good arms !

 

[LadyA]

I will admit, the double size, now that I have a double bed rather than the king size, is easier. Especially as my mum gave me a set of clip things to help! You clip the bottom corners of the duvet cover to the bottom corners of the duvet, put it down on either the bed or the floor, and then unroll the cover up over the duvet, without the duvet shifting around all over the place inside.

 

[Quilty]

I do the clip thing but just use 4 strong clothes pegs. It works a treat!

 

[Scarlett123]

Or - put a top sheet under your duvet, then you wouldn't need to change the duvet cover so often!

I've always used a top sheet anyway, but it's just a struggle, even changing the bottom sheet. I get 3 corners on, and then, as I try to fit the fourth, everything goes awry. The pillowcase gets a weekly change, but, er um, the rest doesn't.

 

[Scarlett123]

I would add that I have a nightly bath (and am so grateful for John's bath lift now) so I am entering the bedding in a clean state. When I was at choir rehearsal on Sunday, I heard one of the men say "I must change my sheets when I get home. I don't think I've done them since before Christmas"!!!!

 

[stanleypj]

I think that's right. If you keep yourself and your night clothes clean how is the duvet cover going to get 'dirty'? I'm not suggesting months between washes but it probably doesn't need to be done as often as most people seem to do it.

As far as a duvet plus a top sheet are concerned, surely the whole point about duvets and why they have become so common in the relatively recent past is that you don't need any other bedding so 'making the bed' becomes a much more simple proposition. And how do you get the duvet and the sheet to stay together. Surely you don't tuck the top sheet in, thereby nullifying another advantage of the duvet? I'm half expecting someone to suggest a blanket or two on top of the sheet as well so that the duvet becomes an eiderdown.

 

[LadyA]

Yep. If you are all nice and clean getting in, then it sure doesn't need to be a weekly thing! And next time someone asks if you need help with anything....!

 

[Scarlett123]

I think that's right. If you keep yourself and your night clothes clean how is the duvet cover going to get 'dirty'? I'm not suggesting months between washes but it probably doesn't need to be done as often as most people seem to do it.

As far as a duvet plus a top sheet are concerned, surely the whole point about duvets and why they have become so common in the relatively recent past is that you don't need any other bedding so 'making the bed' becomes a much more simple proposition. And how do you get the duvet and the sheet to stay together. Surely you don't tuck the top sheet in, thereby nullifying another advantage of the duvet? I'm half expecting someone to suggest a blanket or two on top of the sheet as well so that the duvet becomes an eiderdown.

I find if I don't use a top sheet, then the top part of the duvet cover looks "grubby" far quicker than if I use a top sheet and fold it over the top of the duvet. I only tuck the bottom part of the sheet in, and leave the top part "free".

And you're quite right, I think we might be "overclean" conscious, in some ways. When I was a child, I had blankets on my bed with "66" and "99" on them, which I think were utility marks.

Our house, in the East End, was absolutely freezing, and one day I was reading my Mum's Woman's Weekly, and on the "tips" page, someone had suggested we follow the tips from tramps, because newspaper keeps you warm. Thy suggested that you made the bed, putting a layer of newspaper between your blankets, and the writer won A GUINEA for suggesting this.

So that night, I made my bed, and put the newspaper between a blanket, and the top sheet. The next morning, it was all crumpled up, and the sheet was smothered in newsprint. I thought my Mum was going to have a fit!

 

[LadyA]

I seem to remember reading, in a reprint of an article from wartime (not sure now if it was First World War or Second) - they were showing how to make a cozy bed covering by actually stitching several layers of newspaper between old sheets or blankets. Like an eiderdown, but with newspapers instead of feathers. And on one of the historical "Farm" tv series - maybe Victorian Farm - Ruth Goodman does a similar thing with brown paper I think. Quilts a layer of brown paper to blankets or something. I believe she found it rustled a lot!

 

[truth24]

My brother and I were always travel sick when we were young. My parents had booked a coach (charabanc?) trip for us all as a special treat. Can't remember where now but possibly London or perhaps Windsor Castle. Anyway, my mother was so worried about us being sick and ruining the trip that she wrapped us both in brown paper secured with string under our clothes! Apparently she had been told this prevented travel sickness. Can't remember much about the day out but do remember bring wrapped up like a parcel and the relief of getting home and being released from it. I must say neither of us were sick tho. I'm sure if I had been older I would have refused but I think we were both under 10 and children were children in those days!

 

[LadyA]

My brother and I were always travel sick when we were young. My parents had booked a coach (charabanc?) trip for us all as a special treat. Can't remember where now but possibly London or perhaps Windsor Castle. Anyway, my mother was so worried about us being sick and ruining the trip that she wrapped us both in brown paper secured with string under our clothes! Apparently she had been told this prevented travel sickness. Can't remember much about the day out but do remember bring wrapped up like a parcel and the relief of getting home and being released from it. I must say neither of us were sick tho. I'm sure if I had been older I would have refused but I think we were both under 10 and children were children in those days!

Well, I'm sure you weren't cold on the day, at least! Nicely insulated little sausages!