Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Sunday, August 4, 2024

Sunday Solitude

I struggled to get out of bed this morning, but I needed to get Harley’s play time in before my planned zoom meeting with The Gypsy.

I mistakenly thought that we were doing our photoshoot, but it was a zoom meeting instead.

So I finished with Harley, made my breakfast of tea and toast and returned to bed where I had 30 minutes to enjoy my food before the meeting.

I always zoom in the bedroom, for privacy, comfort and light.

Our zoom chat lasted for just over 3 hours!

We had a long, in-depth discussion about depression and all the telltale signs like no motivation, procrastination, avoiding social situations, staying in bed, emotional eating or not eating, irritability, addiction, finding no joy in things you usually love, struggling to prioritise, not showering/cleaning teeth/brushing hair etc etc etc

Both of us have experience some of these symptoms to varying degrees over recent months for different reasons.

We talked about the different ways we monitor ourselves and how we clear the blocks that keep us stuck in depression. It seems that ‘movement’ is the key - whether it’s walking, dancing, hula hooping, tai chi, qi gong, riding/cycling, swimming, gardening etc.

The other important thing is ‘traffic control’ - monitoring our thoughts - setting the alarm on our phones for every hour between 9am and 5pm - and taking one minute to check and change our thoughts from negative self deprecating to positive and self respectful. That’s 8 minutes each day to practice self love.

Of course it’s important to acknowledge and recognise your decline and put these things into practice ‘before’ you reach the “I don’t give a f#@%” stage. That stage speaks for itself.

Our chats are always insightful and we learn a lot about ourselves and each other.

We finished in time for me to watch the football. Two great matches and I did OK with my tipping this week - if only I hadn’t tipped Tigers on Thursday night 🫤

I did a Lamb Tagine for dinner which is browned lamb chops, leeks, tomato, chickpeas, stock, garlic, cumin, lemon zest, Cayenne pepper, salt and pepper for 3 hours at 160° in the oven.

The meat just falls off the bone and the flavour is lovely. I served it with the leftover spinach and potato pie from last night.

Right now, I’m watching Djokovic and Alcaraz play for the gold medal at the Olympics. They are playing a tie breaker for the first set 6-6 (3-3) - it’s as close as it gets!

I’m off to support Novak.







Djokovic won the first set!

Nite all.

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