Hi Jules,  I to have had a nice week  not done much over last weekend the weather Saturday was awful never stopped raining all day,didn't go out Sunday as I had stuff in my freezer that I wanted to use up, I went to my friendship group. Monday we had a speaker who used to work in aerospace unfortunately there was only 7 of us  turned up , so we felt sorry for him it was quite interesting  and I think he enjoyed talking to a smaller audience . I sort my clothes out. sometimes I have got my wedding out fit that I had for my son's wedding to take to the charity shop it doesn't fit me now so its no good keeping it when someone else could  use it will take the accessories that go with it as well. I'm glad your looking forward to your retirement make sure you have plenty of things to do, I retired  12 month after my hubby  then he wasn't well  with hindsight I would have carried on it was only part time at night but it got me out .where are you going for your holiday ,I am away in June for a week am going to Bognar Regis with my friend on a coach trip.whose wedding are you going to ,it's good to have things to look forward to I am out Sunday with my daughter just going to a local restaurant for Sunday lunch  Saturday someone is coming to put two panes of glass in my Windows has the seals have gone and condensation is getting  in shouldn't take long , not sure about the bank holiday yet,have a nice weekend regards Syl x

Hi Syl,

Nice that you had a busy week socially and I am sure the aerospace speaker enjoyed talking to a more intimate group.  Both my brother in law and sister in law used to work for British Aerospace before being made redundant good few years ago and know they enjoyed the work.

Am hoping to be able to get into my wedding outfit by the end of this month as have been losing weight gradually since the beginning of February. Determined to get another use out of it at my friend's daughter's wedding at the end of August and will feel quite an achievement.

Luckily when I eventually retire I will only be leaving a part time job behind and fingers crossed my health will allow me enjoy more walking days  I sometimes resent being at work now.  Sadly hubby never reached retirement age but was 'medically laid off' 18 months or so after diagnosis which made him very depressed as he loved his job and missed it so much. Taught me to enjoy the here and now despite the ups and downs that come along and the emotional times.

My holiday is to Italy and I will be based on the shores of Lake Garda.  Have four days out touring the area as well as a couple of 'at leisure' days.  Slightly anxious as have not been to the area before so pastures new but hopefully another tick in the box. Perhaps a good idea as only childhood memories of Italy so far (hubby worked out there on a few occasions but I have not been since I was 13 when my parents chose it as their first package holiday).  Have 'googled' the arrival airport to give me some bearings and will feel more relaxed about it once I meet up with the Tour company representative hopefully.

Hope the window works ran smoothly and that you enjoyed a nice meal out with your daughter.

I decided on a day out yesterday so went to Greenwich and had a lovely time wandering the Old Royal Naval College (took the tour too), Queen's House on the edge of Greenwich Park and then spent the afternoon walking in the park itself which has some lovely flower gardens/wildlife pond to explore.  Will have to go again as there are more places I would like to visit.  I had lunch outside the cafe near the top of the park which has great views.   Today I am going for a walk once the washing is out on the line (hopefully by 10 a.m.) as we are due wet weather tomorrow onwards. Try to make the most of the dry days.  Also my neighbour is in the process of continuing to replace his fence so I will be happier out of the way.  If I do any gardening it will be out in the front for a change.

Will be  back to visit Mum tomorrow and then it will be back to work.  Time seems to go rather quickly on the good days.   Take care.  Jules x

Hi Jules, glad your losing the weight  gradually  and you can reuse your wedding outfit ,the wedding out fit I had for my son's wedding no longer fits me ,so am thinking of taking it to a charity shop along with the accessories  that go with it. it's funny how things work out with your hubby not making retirement because of illness,my hubby didn't have much of a retirement before he became ill,sometimes I think of all the horrible people in the world  that live to a good age makes you sad really and mad as well .life isn't fair sometimes.by the way had my Windows done he replaced to panes of glass and altered a few of my catches on some of my Windows ,they seem to be o.k. now touch wood lol .I have never been to Italy apart from Rome when I went for a long weekend with hubby beautiful but quite expensive, I believe lake garda is lovely, the weather not to good this week have only managed to take him out 3 days this week so missed my bit of exercise ,it's supposed to be a bit better at the weekend don't know what i'm doing over the weekend not got anything planned yet might jump on the bus Saturday and go to M @S to stock my freezer up.my brother in law and sister in law are coming  for a visit  on Friday till Sunday,they are in Wales for a holiday so are coming to see me  on there way home, so am looking forward to seeing them have a lovely weekend  regards syl x

Hi Syl

Was not a bad weekend weatherwise.  Managed a visit to Hertfordshire for my walk and to see the start of local carnival week and only had one shower to dodge which was a good excuse for a coffee stop. Got home mid-afternoon and just pottered.

Yesterday had my gym review and things going quite well with my BP and BMI both considered to be in normal ranges.  Have discussed and tweaked a couple of my mat exercises but thankfully can already see the benefit with being able to get back into a few pairs of my jeans. Have a Hen Weekend and my holiday to get through and will then try on the wedding outfit again and make a decision as to whether it will see the light of day again!  If not I have already decided not to buy anything new but to wear smart separates that will work ok.

It will  be nice for you to see your in-laws this coming weekend.  I am also seeing family; daughter, son in law and the boys as well as a spot of childminding for them whilst they go to a family wedding (children not invited).  It will be Mum's 93rd birthday on Sunday so will need to get back to visit.

With the improving weather I epect George and you will manage a walk or two and I am trying to spend some time in the garden in between walks/gym/work.

Have a good week.  Jules x

Hi J Jules ,had a nice weekend  managed to fill my freezer up so should be ok now for a few week , went to a home and garden centre Sunday with my daughter had a nice meal they had some lovely things there for the home came away with some plants for the garden.Monday went on the Bridgewater canal on a barge with my friendship group,stopped of at a pub for lunch it was a lovely day and the weather was  good as well, there was a fishing match on I saw one of my hubbies friends fishing ,so I waved and shouted to him ,he waved back and asked if I was ok,it was lovely to see him as I have only seen him once since hubby died,glad your exercises are going well and losing a bit of weight I don't think I have lost much  really even though I try to watch what I eat.hope you enjoy time with your family even babysitting while they go to a wedding must be nice, and seeing your mum on her 93 birthday it's a good age one of my neighbours is 98 this year ,she lives on her own carers come in twice a day ,and her children come regularly ,she is in good health she also goes out as well .got my in laws tomorrow am looking forward to seeing them not sure if were going out Saturday will have to see what happens, have a lovely weekend  think it's forecast rain here regard  Syl x

Hi Syl,

Not such a nice weekend weatherwise here but did not really affect my overnight stay with my daughter and family.Enjoyed usual board games.chats with my grandsons before they went to bed.  My daughter and son in law attended an evening wedding reception as planned and were home by 1 a.m. Just a relaxing breakfast and I came home around lunch time (trying to avoid the FA Cup crowds but shared the train with some great supporters on their way to the game).  Popped to the gym Sunday morning and managed about two hours of gardening mainly dead-heading and clearing up the mess left on my side of the 'ongoing fence replacement' by my neighbour.  So far six bags of green recycling have gone out.  Tidy for now until he gets on with it again. Hoping to mow the lawn this morning before more rain arrives as they are promising a showery week ahead.

I also went to see Mum for her birthday and took down cards/gift and boxes of biscuits for the staff and residents.  Her care team brought up a cake with candle lit but at no point did Mum interact/talk and I ended up blowing out her candle.  I have to be thankful that she appears pain free but sadly the quality of life is questionable and I felt very tearful after I left.

Your canal trip sounded lovely and very relaxing.  I love to walk along the towpaths and watch the barges on the Grand Union just a bus or tube ride away.  Hope the visit from your in laws went well and I am sure you had a lot to catch up on and maybe managed a meal out too.

Have a pleasant week. Jules x

Hi Syl

Sounds as though you had a lovely time when your in-laws visited and with the better weather plenty of exercise too with your four legged friend Charlie. It makes all the difference when the weather brightens the day and allows us to enjoy the outside space. My in-laws moved to the Isle of Mann three weeks before my hubby died and I have only been over the once (last year's summer holiday).  His sister pops over a few times a year and I am the B&B base but my brother in law and his wife do not visit.

A shame your aerobics is on a break though with just one instructor taking the class there is little option when they are on holiday themselves.  Hopefully the weather will stay okay so that you can at least pop out and aybe grab a coffee.

So another bank holiday has passed and I enjoyed it.  On the Friday I spent the whole day with a friend in London walking the free routes for Chelsea and Belgravia in Bloom.  Beautiful exhibits with the theme as under the sea. We covered over 6.5 miles altogether and then caught the underground back to meet her husband for a pub meal in the evening.On Saturday I travelled by train to visit old friends in Buckinghamshire for the weekend which was very restful.  Yesterday was spent visiting the gym, Mum, quick food shop and then the afternoon in the garden chopping down lots of ivy/small tree branches at the end of the garden which should help with my neighbour being able to eventually get on and finish his fence. Covered in scratches but felt very satisfied once it was done.  No real plans for today other than my gym session and weigh in (not hopeful of any loss this week but should keep me focussed ha ha).  

After my two day work shifts I am out for a meal with a friend on Thursday evening and lunch with another friend plus some shoe shopping on Friday.  Have my grand-daughter's 3rd birthday family gathering on Saturday so will be great catching up with them all.

Hope you have a pleasant week.  Best regards  Jules x

Hi Jules,you sound very busy at the moment, it's could to keep active with friends  it gives. us things to look forward to,nipped into town this morning to do a bit of shopping,also my daughter ordered something from one of the shops in town so I picked it up for her.I have also been in the garden while the weather has been ok just planting some flowers for the bees and butterflies,have took George out ,next job to mow my lawns,after that just relaxing with a coffee. I haven't got any plans for the weekend up to now,Monday is my friendship group ,it's a talk this week ,but I can't remember what it's about will have to wait and see no doubt it will be interesting . hope you enjoyed your meal out with your friend it's nice to be waited on sometimes, it's supposed to be nice and warn here for the weekend ,haven't seen my son. this week he has been working in Chester ,then going to his partners in Manchester he is hoping to come back to his  sometime  this week. hope you have a nice week  regards Syl x

Hi Syl,

Hope you enjoyed the beautiful weekend weather.

My weekend was slightly different to that planned. I should have been with my son and daughter in law who were going to hold a family party for my grand-daughter who turned 3 last week.  Sadly both the baby and then my daughter in law went down with a sickness bug so event was postponed.  Both myself and her Mum went over on Friday to help with childcare so that she could attend a hospital appointment (she is due to have an op tomorrow!) and then sent her to bed in the afternoon. Of course we had a lovely day looking after the little ones but would have preferred it was under better circumstances.  Thankfully by yesterday she was feeling a lot better and fingers crossed the op can go ahead as planned.  My son will be off work this week as she will not be able to lift anything so will need another pair of hands.  

I caught up with a friend over coffee on the Saturday instead and went for a nice walk in the sunshine too as well as usual gym visit.  On Sunday it was another walk, this time to the local Farmes'Market and treated myself to local cheese and jam as well as picking up a couple of paperbacks ready for my holiday in a few weeks time.  The rest of the day was spent gardening and watching the French Open tennis.

Will see Mum tomorrow after my gym visit but with the rain supposed to arrive (we missed any of the showers that were about yesterday!) think the rest of today will be getting the washing dry and up to date as well as pottering outside.  I have mowed the lawn and almost finished clearing 30yrs plus growth of ivy (had been attached to the fence that my neighbour is eventually planning to replace (still a gap at the moment!!).  Thankfully the green recycling bags will go tomorrow and I can re-fill ha ha.

Am away for a long weekend so hope you have a good one. Hoping for a dry visit as lots of places of interest plus as it is a Hen Weekend should be some fun and games.

Take care and hope you enjoy the talk once you know what it is about.

Best regards  Jules x