Susie's 2022 campaign

[Scrumbles]

So glad you're safe and staying strong, Susie - this move to Italy has been quite the baptism of fire, or rather, ice!

That lady who thinks people should diet on 1000 calories has no clue. It might be appropriate - under medical supervision - for someone elderly, very sedentary or very short who has little to lose, but for most people absolutely not. It's a fast track to feeling deprived and quitting at best and malnutrition at worst

So make that calorie-controlled pizza and enjoy it! One of the biggest factors in my weight loss journey this past year has been training myself to eat the things I really like in appropriate portions, because nothing is more likely to throw me off track these days than feeling I'm *punishing* myself with foods I don't really care for, in piddly little amounts to boot! Never gonna work. A little of what we fancy does us good, IMO

Hope all goes smoothly with the renovations and that the dust will soon clear. Have to say, we take the quality of our electrics for granted a bit over here - I remember how dodgy they were when I lived in southern Spain; light fittings hanging off, bunches of bare wires sticking out of walls, etc. Hope yours weren't like that!

xx

 

[chezz]

Hi susie
how as your day been today lovely x x x

 

[ladyfelsham]

Morning my lovelies

A gorgeous sunny day here today, long may it stay! The builders are back and the dust continues to fly - but it will all be worth it - especially as Rafi (head builder guy) has discovered that the kitchen electrics are dangerous - the main connection was just sitting on the ground and if the kitchen flooded - kaboomb! . I guess being electrocuted is one way to lose weight haha. We've also just discovered that the plumbing and electrics for the w/m and d/w aren't safe either. Well, that's what happens when you get friends to do work for you, and not someone who knows what he's doing. Even I can see (with the appliances pulled out) that having the socket and the water pipes next to each other isn't ideal!

Still not CCing properly - I find it really difficult to focus on stuff like that when things are at 6s and 7s. Oh well, will get focused again in a couple of weeks when the work is all done.

Chezzie sweetheart, lovely to see you - how is everything going? xxx

 

[ladyfelsham]

Later - there you go guys, my latest blog post - all of which will be more than familiar to you LOL.

Anyway, if you can be bothered, I hope you get a laugh - https://abruzzodreaming.wordpress.com/2017/01/31/sitting-out-storms/

 

[littlemisspiggy16]

Wow those electrics sound dangerous!!! Lucky you didn't have any flooding, & good job you're getting them sorted now.

I know what you mean about it being difficult to focus when you've got other things going on. Plus I always find it harder when it's cold, so if I experienced your winter I think I'd need a hell of a lot of comfort food!! Xx

 

[ladyfelsham]

Comfort food is definitely on the menu today LMP - have managed to catch a rotten cold, as have three of my mates and one of the builders. So I'm rugged up in the kitchen, scoffing a cheese roll while the power is off!

I can see the progress being made though, so this will soon all be a distant memory .

Later - boy oh boy have I found an amazing cure for a cold! An Italian friend told me about honey you get locally which has a whole host of ingredients - balsamic vinegar, eucalyptus, pine, mint, thyme and dog rose. I'm just having a coup of lemon tea with a dollop of it and OMG my nose cleared almost instantly! And I found some Campbell's chicken soup in the cupboard - so that's lunch sorted .

 

[ladyfelsham]

MORNING!

I swear that balsamico honey is a miracle cure, guess who feels so much better today woohoo.

Still holed up in the kitchen, as the chaps are getting on with chasing in the cables in the bedrooms today/tomorrow, so I'm keeping well out of the way!

 

[ladyfelsham]

Morning all - still a bit bunged up here in Palazzo Centrale but good news, all the prep work for the rewiring is finished woohoo! The lads have gone to get the last materials today, and then it should all be finished by next week.

So am very happy with how it's all going - as long as everything works in the end!

 

[Tibbs]

Goodness Suzie, never a dull moment for you over in Italy stolen purse, snow, cabin fever, crazies hogging all of the road, dodgy electrics.... what a first year, hopefully now you're getting your home done up it'll be all plain sailing from now on.
Is Orbit liking Stella any better these days or just tolerating her? Hope little Tinsey2 survived the snow.
Oooo that honey sounds really nice X

 

[ladyfelsham]

Morning Tibbs - and everyone else

Sadly Orbit still doesn't like Stella much, but my little black teletubby is getting very adept at scurrying under the sofa and out of harm's way. Orbit doesn't actually bite her but there's lots of hissing and scratch attempting; and growling when Stella comes close. Strangely Orbs will sit there undisturbed when Stella eats her food...but happily Tinsy2 has made it through. She's still very thin but I feed her inside twice a day so she gets it all, rather than all the other farm cats who are older and fatter. She is very cute - comes in the door and stands there, pedalling her wee paws and blinking at me - so we're becoming friends. I really want her to learn how to hunt though, so she can survive outside on her own. (Can you tell my resolve about keeping her is weakening? ).

Just having a quick cup of tea, then off to a winery to pick up the month's supply, plus some fizz for friends who are taking me to Vasto (on the coast) - we visit Lidl once a month and I shout them Maccas . So, a high cal day, methinks!

Have a good one!

 

[Tibbs]

Hello Suzie, good trip out yesterday? I like the idea of going to a winery for your supplies, beats the supermarket.
Before I forget, do you still play mahjong as you've not mentioned it in ages... Look at me being all nosey parker in your life!
I can see little Tinsy2 melting your heart and trying to get her little paws under the table
Good that Orbit isn't sinking her teeth into Stella, she's doing well tolerating her really. My daughter moved back up here 2yrs ago and brought her cat. Everytime she goes outside she gets jumped on by the cat over the road, the noise is terrible. x

 

[lookingforme]

Hiya Tibbs, I had 2 cats hated each other with a passion never hurt one another, just hissed with attitude and the odd back up, lived together a good 9 years untill 1 got run over and the one left actually missed her!! ( so much like a human relationship its unreal , proper love hate lol ) . Electrics wow, unbelievable what friends do! I had spot lights fitted in my ceiling and run wires through the loft, they must not of had a multi connector so used a pre used round one with screw on top, but this had NO screw on top and all joins were open bare. So Put your hand on the floor to climb in and nite nite long sleep. I was absolutely fuming! So not a thing to be messed with so I did all my own this time ran the cables and drilled the wall sockets out, had the men chase the walls as I didn't have the tools, they checked all sockets and attach the main source.
Most annoying I had started the rewire due to another "friend" an electrician had told me my house needed rewiring but it didn't it had been done 15 years earlier. So no guessing why to that one. Thought it was easy Money. x

Hope next week it all comes together for you and you can think more about CC, I know its horrible when life events keep getting in the way, but you have to come in here so theres no way you can go AWOL.

 

[ladyfelsham]

do you still play mahjong as you've not mentioned it in ages... Look at me being all nosey parker in your life!

Haha nose away, love - we still plan to play MJ but the snow got in the way, and now my friend Lia is really unwell with this rotten cold/stomach flu thing that's going around here - once she's better, we'll start up again. I'm due to host the next one and the house is a tip, so will also have to wait until that's sorted.

Hope next week it all comes together for you and you can think more about CC, I know its horrible when life events keep getting in the way, but you have to come in here so theres no way you can go AWOL.

Yes I must get back into the swing of things! It's so easy to come off the wagon when home life doesn't run smoothly

Morning all - the boys are back to put all the new sockets in today, so hopefully everything will be finished this week!

 

[Scrumbles]

Hi Susie!

Little Tinsy2 sounds adorable - I think you're going to be a 3-cat household before you know it

Visiting a winery to get your month's supply sounds fun - do they give you lots of tasters so you can make an informed decision?

By the way, do you have local markets for produce in Italy? One of the things I liked when we were self-catering in France was wandering around on market days eyeing up all the lovely fresh veg and the gazillion cheeses. My only problem was that I wanted a bit of everything!

As for the diet, I'm sure it will come together when you hit less choppy waters. The weather will be warming up any minute, and spring in the Mediterranean is the most glorious time to be out and about, so it'll be a pleasure to get that step count up. I will definitely envy you that as I'm pounding the pavements in good old Blighty, wrapped up in 20 layers and still freezing!

Have a great day, hun!x

 

[Tibbs]

As for the diet, I'm sure it will come together when you hit less choppy waters. The weather will be warming up any minute, and spring in the Mediterranean is the most glorious time to be out and about, so it'll be a pleasure to get that step count up. I will definitely envy you that as I'm pounding the pavements in good old Blighty, wrapped up in 20 layers and still freezing!

Have a great day, hun!x

Second that Scrumbles, wandering around the Med sounds a lot more inviting than Newcastle, though to be fair it's lovely and sunny here today and very Spring like and warm (may be due to the heating be set at 28 ) X

 

[ladyfelsham]

I'd love to keep Tinsy2 - but she's too wild, and anyway Orbs would go nuts. So for now she gets fed and that's it. For now . She is a little terror though, has learned that she can wriggle under the kitchen door (tiles missing so there's a gap) and when the lads leave the living room French doors open, there she is, mewling for more food!

I could really do with some spring sunshine, it's freezing here and with winds of up to 40mph ! Lucky I don't have to go anywhere - maybe back to bed later, I felt a bit better this morning when I woke up but have faded again now.

There are so many wine cantinas here, about 12 within a 10 mile radius, but I like Cantina Sangro - lovely wine for €12 for a 10 litre box. A few let you do tastings but it's not really something they go in for here - still, you can't go wrong at that price . Rather embarrassing that I'm on first name terms with the lovely lady who runs it .

Re the market, they do have them here, not on the scale of French markets (which I love), but I tend not to go to them as they are quite expensive. Get given a fair bit and the rest I get at Eurospin.

 

[Tibbs]

I need to win the lottery and move to Italy! I can just see myself, idyllic sunny days spent visiting cantinas, sounds like bliss €12 for 10L I'd be pickled! X

 

[littlemisspiggy16]

Wow, those wine cantinas are such great value! I'd also be permanently pickled, haha xx

 

[Scrumbles]

Hi Susie, are you feeling any better? Rotten time of the year to be laid low - not that there's really a good time, mind you!

Re: Tinsy2, that's a pity, but you're right to consider Orbit - she's never had to share you or her home with other cats,and Stella sounds like quite a handful as it is! Hopefully it'll all work out for the best.

Your wine prices sound amazing - not sure I'd ever be sober at that rate x

 

[ladyfelsham]

Morning girls

Thanks for your posts - still in the grip of this cold, sadly, it is a determined little virus! Everyone here seems to have it in one form or another, so we're probably just reinfecting each other . I guess it doesn't help that the doors are open and cold wind is whistling through while the boys cut floor tiles...WHAT was I thinking, getting everything done at once in winter?! But it will all be worth it, especially as the summer booking requests from friends are starting to come in.

LOL on the wine comments. It can be easy to (ahem) over indulge at times, what with the lovely wine and bottles of frizzante (like a light Prosecco) for a euro each - just the ticket on a hot day. But I've seen that happen to some expats, who just sit around and drink all day, and what's the point of that, so I am trying very hard to watch how much I have.

Still on the See Food and Eat It diet, must pull my head in and get sorted. I am my own worst enemy - last night a friend who has done well on LCHF tried to persuade me into going back to it, then another friend rang and said Lidl has our favourite cheesy leek tarts in store again - no surprises which one won! Solutions on a postcard please!


Later - my friend and I have decided we can do without the tarts. And in true ME style, I've decided to give LCHF another go and just man up and make lots of low carb bread and have it in the freezer, ready for those craving days. Starting next Monday, if my cold has shifted.