Monday 31 August 2015

So much has happened...

...since I last posted. Sorry for the absence but I really haven't felt like posting and I'm also trying to spend less time online in general.

I thought I'd let you all know I am still here, though, and quite a lot has happened in the last month and a half.

Firstly, as you may recall  DH returned to working at the college at Easter, well, he's now been made redundant. They closed down the whole department. He was offered the chance of redeployment in another department or redundancy. They did offer him another job but it really wasn't suitable and as the redundancy package was good considering he'd only been back there for 3 months he opted for that. As a maths and IT teacher he's already had a lot of interest from supply teaching agencies and will do that until he can find something more permanent. If he finds work quickly we plan of using the redundancy towards paying off the last of our mortgage. We may live in a dump but at least if will finally be our dump.

Secondly, having married off DD2 at the end of May, my youngest daughter got enagaged 3 weeks ago to BF who she's been with for 9 years. She was 15 and he was 16 when they first met and BF ended up living with us for nearly 6 years until they finally moved into their own place 18 months ago. He was so romantic proposing to her at the top of Mount Vesuvius while they were on holiday in Italy for a friend's wedding. They are hoping to marry in a year's time at his grandmother's house in France. Unfortunately DD3 has torn a muscle in her thigh and may need an operation to repair it which will mean weeks off work on statutory sick pay so they may need to put the wedding back further if they haven't enough saved, although of course we will help them out some.

Thirdly, we had a wonderful week's holiday in Whitby at the end of July, celebrating our 31st wedding anniversary with a cream tea in a lovely little village called Thornton-le-Dale. Whitby is lovely with lots of little side streets full of quaint shops, and not so many of the chain stores you find in most high streets these days. We managed to climb the 100 and so steps up to the abbey ruins but didn't bother paying the £7.50 to go in as it was mostly quite visible from the road. We also had trips out to the rural life museum at Hutton-le-Hole and to Helmsley, and a whole day in Durham. We loved Durham Cathedral (free to get in unlike Canterbury which costs a bomb and which I haven't visited for years) but the shops were disappointing, all the same as anywhere else and we could just as well have been in Canterbury. We did enjoy a walk along by the river and discovered a wonderful tea shop where we had massive lemon scones, homemade lemon curd and clotted cream. I gained 3lbs while on holiday thanks to 2 visits to the pie and mash shop in Whitby, 3 cream teas, wonderful beef sandwiches and a caramel shortbread sundae in Helmsley and 2 meals a day at the hotel (catering wasn't brilliant but I had a cooked breakfast most days which I wouldn't do at home). Unfortunately I broke my mobile phone the day after we arrived and DH's phone isn't good for taking photos so I don't really have any pics.

Fourthly, DD2 and her new husband are moving across the country to Cheltenham in about 6 weeks time. It's for a one year work placement and they are getting a great relocation package with their rent paid on a house/flat for the whole year. I'll really miss her as we see a lot of each other and have gotten exta close since DD1 moved away a couple of years ago.

I think that's the main news. Funnily enough, despite the ups and downs, I'm generally feeling a lot more positive than I was a few months ago. I've started reading again, and crafting, although only knitting blanket squares, but at least its something. I do feel a bit more positive on a day to day basis although I still have days when I wonder if its worth getting out of bed. My weight is a bit of an issue. I've managed to just keep it within the SW limits but nearer the top end and my eating is very much binge or starve. 2 or 3 days a week I tend to eat everything under the sun and the rest of the week eat as little as possible to compensate. It is kind of working though, although I've so far only lost 2lbs of that holiday gain. Mind you, the middle of Sept will mark a whole year since I reached my SW target and that's a record in itself. Never before have a I managed to maintain a weight loss for longer than 3-4 months.

I'm still considering the fors and againsts of getting a dog. For is the companionship (especially now with DD2 moving), the exercise and having someone to look after. (Mid-life crisis - missing having my kids to care for and no grandchildren as yet). Against...well, the main one is how will a dog integrate with our 2 house cats who think they own the place and have only ever seen a dog on a couple of occasions (and reacted by either hiding or fur on end, hissing etc.)? Also we're just starting to enjoy a bit of freedom to go where we want when we want now the kids are all grown. There's also the cost of insurance, food etc. especially at the moment when we don't know whether DH will get another permanent teaching position. But then again the idea has been bugging me for months so its not exactly spur of the moment. I keep checking ads and nearly phoning up and then chickening out. We have had a dog before, our Yorkie was 13 when we had to have him put to sleep, and when I lived with my parents we had 2 cats and 2 dogs but then the cats went out of the house so could escape. Does anyone else have experience of integrating dogs into a home with cats?

Right, I think I've wittered on quite enough and won't bore you any more. Horrible bank holiday weather here (rain, thunderstorms, power cut), but we had a lovely couple of days over the weekend so can't complain too much.

Hope you all have an enjoyable day despite the rain. Love, Helen xx



17 comments:

  1. Good to hear you are well and had a good holiday. Awful bank Hol weather here on the Suffolk coast. Best to stay in and read.

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    1. Thank you, Sue. We did nip out in the car to take DS1 to work and will be out to collect him shortly, otherwise its a staying inside day. Hope you're enjoying your bank holiday nonetheless.

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  2. Glad to see that you are still pootling along. Well done on the weight front, you did well for being on holiday. if you do decide on a dog, perhaps you should look for one that has been raised in a house with cats. Your cats would smell cat and would maybe accept a puppy more readily.

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    1. Hello, Pam. Yes, I'm still pootling...love that word. Thank you for your ideas on the dog issue, I had already thought about getting a pup raised alongside cats, but that would limit the choice. Your comment did give me another idea, of taking one of the cats' many blankets with us and also one of their carriers to bring a pup home in so that it would smell familiar. Thanks for the advice.

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  3. A whole year at target - well done! Be nice to your body though, won't you XX

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    1. Thank you, Attila. I try to eat as healthily as possible but do have trouble maintaining it week in week out.

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  4. mewhere else! ( plus there's the picking up of the poo - I've a really low smell toleranceand I'd prob make a right show of myself retching as I picked it up!!! )
    I'm glad D took the redundancy - stuff really does happen for a reason. Well done on the weight situation xx sorry I haven't been in touch sooner - you gave my email, I'm always here xx

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    1. Part of your comment seems to have been erased Rachel, so I'm not sure what you said at the beginning. Re picking up poo, that's never been an issue for me. Vomit is the thing I have a problem with, both animal and human. I used to get DH to clear up after the kids when they were younger. Besides, having 2 indoor cats means we already clean out poos from their litter trays several times a day so I'm already used to that. We're viewing the redundancy as a new start for DH but I am jittery about finances after this month. At least I have another month's bill money saved if he doesn't get work soon, and also once our mortgage is cleared our monthly bills will be reduced by almost 50% anyway. Sorry I haven;t been in touch much either. Like I said, life's been a bit crazy and I really have been trying to limit my internet usage or I can spend all day on this damned machine or on my (new) phone. Hope all is well with you, love Helen xx

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    2. Lol what a way to start a comment!!!
      I was telling you about how we almost got a dog but sadly it didn't work out but that I was then quite glad BC of the picking up the poo bit!

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  5. So pleased to have the update - and congratulations on the weight loss maintained for a year! I have put on a stone since the FH died, and I reckon it is because I am not running around to look after him, up and down the stairs as much these days - I should start to do something about it, but it isn't a huge priority at the moment. I hate sentences with ought or should in them!! Congratulations on the engagement and commiserations on the redundancy but you do seem to have a very positive attitude towards it, and supply work can be lucrative if it keeps coming - so good luck with that xxxxx

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  6. We spent our Wedding Anniversary in Whitby too. The pie and mash shop had a visit from us and we sat on the wall in the sunshine to eat fish and chips another night. We stayed in the pub at the bottom of 'The steps' but it was so noisy that we barely slept. Have you walked up to Pannet Park? It is well worth the walk just to sit in front of the museum and smell the roses.

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    1. Our hotel was up on the opposite cliff so we had a lovely view across the harbour and of the abbey. As a Shearings hotel it was a bit shabby and pretty basic but then we booked late and got it half price so couldn't complain and the staff were lovely. We did walk through Pannet Park and went to look at the artwork, but it was raining that day so we didn't tarry outside for too long. Funnily enough we didn;t hvae fish and chips once while we were there...ate plenty of everything else though!

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  7. Hi, I just wanted to let you know that I got a puppy 2 yrs ago and she was brought into my house with 2 cats. Like yourself I had concerns how the animals would react to each other. Well initially the cats peered around the door at this little lively puppy and then sneaked upstairs or hid! After 4-8 weeks the cats started to be a bit braver and crept in the room with the puppy, but kept a distance by sitting on the back of the sofa and just watching. I would say that they seemed to co-exist ok together whilst they were learning to accept each other. And then probably around 10-12 months I found one cat curled up in the dog bed with the puppy - so sweet. You just have to be patient and let the cats accept at their own pace. My dog is small (now fully grown the same size as the cats), plus as she was a puppy when we got her she was quite happy to accept the cats. I hope this has been helpful to you - I know that in my case I am pleased we took the plunge. Good luck to you whatever you decide :)

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    1. Thanks for taking the time to write, your comments are really helpful. It's good to hear from someone who has integrated a puppy into a catty household. We're not hurrying in to anything and need to wait until we know whether DH can find work before taking on another responsibility, but I think there will definitely be a dog in the house before the end of the year. Thanks again for taking the time to comment. Love Helen xx

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    2. You are most welcome, one last point I forgot to mention, I always fuss them all the same, so that no-one feels 'left out' and sometimes you do need to use both arms and a leg to stroke everyone!! Although, husbands can come in handy to help here!! Good luck and thank you for your blog x

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