Cate's Diary

[Llama]

My brain works much better with "no thanks" than it does with "just a little bit"

Same. Moderation is so much harder. I hope I'll be able to have just a little bit some day but for now it's too hard.

I kept some things but made it a rule that if something stayed, something had to go.

That's what I like about my shoebox apartment. And honestly I could probably still do without half the stuff I have. Maybe I should get rid of some of it and turn some of my bookshelf space into storage for kitchen gadgets - like a Sodastream!

 

[Cate]

That's what I like about my shoebox apartment. And honestly I could probably still do without half the stuff I have. Maybe I should get rid of some of it and turn some of my bookshelf space into storage for kitchen gadgets - like a Sodastream!

Sounds like a plan. I have boxes & boxes of books packed away- some to give away & some to take to a book exchange. I will only get some large print books if they’re ones I have read & would read again & again. I now have photos in one bookcase.
Our house is really big, but if I can manage to give away or sell some of our furniture I won’t be replacing it. It feels good. I have packed up heaps. I think I’ll start on D’s stuff in the garage, so I can move things down there that I want to try to sell.

 

[Emilyrose]

It sounds like you are really enjoying clearing out the house and it’s great to make some extra money on the side.

 

[Marsia]

Over here cottage cheese is lightly salted and kind of... grainy? Like little blobs? The consistency of quark is more like cream cheese. But I just looked it up and saw there's something called creamed cottage cheese. That could be very similar. Low fat, unsalted, creamed cottage cheese. Quite the mouthful!

Thanks LaMa! I think I'll try a combo of cream cheese and cottage cheese and see how it goes. It sounds like a fruit sweetened crustless cheese cake, and we love cheese cake, so should be great!

One of my sisters IL, W, didn't get it, though. She kept saying just try a bit with these obviously delicious & expensive wafers

Glad you stuck to your plan. That's so hard when someone obviously wants you to break your diet for them. So glad G is making you delicious low cal meals!

I didn't say yesterday, but on Thursday night I lay awake for hours with churning thoughts about having to move. My SIL, L is really struggling to prepare her house on her own ready to sell. Her & her late husband were both hoarders. It's a mind-boggling task.

Wow, I hope her kids help her out at least with the heavy stuff. That sounds awful, speaking as someone who could not have cleared my mom's hoard without help. Do you think you'll move in the future? It sounds like you love it there so much. Could you just stop sheep farming and cut down on land management instead of moving or do you need to keep all that up for wildfire management?

Your de-cluttering spree sounds really productive and satisfying. I am hoping our next house is on the smaller side so I am not tempted to fill it up. I plan to get rid of some stuff we moved to the new apt and practice keeping things more minimal. Anyway, it sounds like a really good plan to keep paring down and seeing how things go over the next few years!

 

[Cate]

It sounds like you are really enjoying clearing out the house and it’s great to make some extra money on the side.

Thanks, Em. I think I'll be giving most of the stuff away. I don't want anyone coming to our house, so selling furniture will be difficult. I can meet people down near the highway for smaller stuff. I'll just sort things into sections for now in the garage.

Glad you stuck to your plan. That's so hard when someone obviously wants you to break your diet for them. So glad G is making you delicious low cal meals!

I think G's sister, W just couldn't understand why I would say no to just one little wafer as she is addicted to sweets. I don't mean that in a mean way either. She just is.

Wow, I hope her kids help her out at least with the heavy stuff. That sounds awful, speaking as someone who could not have cleared my mom's hoard without help.

Her daughter is helping her a lot & 2 of her grandkids helped her the other day. I really don't know how she'll get the job done.

Do you think you'll move in the future? It sounds like you love it there so much. Could you just stop sheep farming and cut down on land management instead of moving or do you need to keep all that up for wildfire management?

We have the sheep to keep down the grass & blackberries & they help with wildfire management. They don't require much maintenance really & we pay someone to come & shear them, drench them etc.
I might ask D when he has finished fixing up his place to sell if he could help us with some things like brush cutting. I'm also hoping R will move up our way sometime in the not too distant future.

We do really love it here & if I keep decluttering & paring things down when the time comes & we know that it's time to move, it will be much easier. I think reassessing our situation in 3-5 years would be the best idea. Not buying more stuff is also a very good idea. Depending on our sons' situations in the next few years they may want some of our antique furniture. D is selling his house soon & he lives with his partner in her home, but one day they will either build or buy a house together when their 2 younger ones are older. R will possibly move in with H.......who knows? I won't give away or sell the precious stuff but I will keep cutting down surreptitiously....
Anyhow, we're off to the tip soon...
Down 4kg, since the 23rd Nov. as of this morning
16 to go

 

[Llama]

Down 4kg, since the 23rd Nov. as of this morning

Congratulations !

 

[vic32]

Wow, Cate! Doing great on your weight loss!

 

[Cate]

Thank you, LaMa & Vic. It makes sticking with 1200, no white sugar, no wine & minimal grain very much worth it. I know it will slow, but it’s very satisfying.

 

[Marsia]

Wow, wonderful about the 4kg gone already! That makes sense about how you are managing the land, and I hope D and R can help a lot so it all stays manageable! Glad your SIL has help with the hoard. I'm so happy that sharing my ordeal with too much stuff is inspiring you to cull things. I hope to never see another cookie tin full of old nails and shoe laces again!

So nice R and H are doing well, and really routing for them!

 

[Emilyrose]

I think G's sister, W just couldn't understand why I would say no to just one little wafer as she is addicted to sweets. I don't mean that in a mean way either. She just is.

Have I ever related to a person more? Lol.

Down 4kg, since the 23rd Nov. as of this morning
16 to go

Well done, that is super!

 

[Cate]

Wow, wonderful about the 4kg gone already! That makes sense about how you are managing the land, and I hope D and R can help a lot so it all stays manageable! Glad your SIL has help with the hoard. I'm so happy that sharing my ordeal with too much stuff is inspiring you to cull things. I hope to never see another cookie tin full of old nails and shoe laces again!

So nice R and H are doing well, and really routing for them!

Thanks, M. G & I are not good at asking for help, but we'll need to learn. My SIL only had help the one day that I know about & her teen GK's kept saying they were hungry but didn't want the homemade food she offered & went & bought junk instead. Sharing your ordeal sure did inspire me to cull, cull, cull. I'm working on the house first & then it will be the shed. It's much easier to give things away than it is to sell.
I am hopeful about R & H, but I have been there before & been very disappointed. I'm still an optimist at heart. I want him to be content & not lonely. I think she is smitten.

Thanks, Em. 4 kg down I can really feel, but I can't see. My stomach is still so big. I am happy with getting my weight to come down. It was starting to really scare me. I was thinking that on Christmas eve & Christmas night (skip wine at lunch) I could share some champagne with the family & then Boxing day be right back to not drinking again. My month without ends then. I am not having any trouble sticking with it. Losing 4 kg helps with motivation. I am sleeping much better most nights & waking really refreshed & ready to go.

There's a lot going on in my life at the moment, with family & friends that I'm not sharing here, so if I'm not as attentive as usual, please don't take it personally.
I find it therapeutic to be cleaning & sorting D's stuff. Cleaning out cupboards has always been a sign that I am stressed. You just tune out & concentrate on the job at hand. Today G is coming into town with me to take it all to the op shop. I have almost finished with D's stuff. Some of his I kept, but then cleared some of my stuff out. I had some things I didn't like & they will soon be gone.
I might just go fill one more box before we leave

 

[Marsia]

Hi Cate! So glad R has a girlfriend who is so into him! I think it's great you are routing for them. I'm sure it helps R a lot to have family who has his back! I know what you mean about having trouble asking for help. A lot of J's friends wanted to help us move, but it's so exhausting having food for them and socializing and all that while lifting heavy stuff for hours. So I tried to do most of the packing without help. It's wonderful how much you're culling and then how much you appreciate your curated collection afterward!

Anyway, I hope your stress goes down, and in the mean time, so nice it goes to good use!

 

[Cate]

Hi, M. Last night was R's first night on his own since A died. I am really grateful that H travelled each night after work so that he wouldn't be alone. His work situation has imploded & most of the staff are resigning. The GM is the problem. The way it's going he'll be the only one still working there after Xmas. R has his resignation letter in his pocket & wrote it out while he felt calm. He thinks he'll hand it in between now & Christmas & may go blueberry picking. He might end up anywhere really. He is readily employable & I'm glad he doesn't have much of a mortgage. This all happened since he had to put his dog to sleep.

I used to always carry heavy stuff, but now I ask G for help. Asking for help is very difficult but I think we'll have to get better at it as we get older & less able to do some things & if we want to stay here for longer.
I think I'll have a rest from decluttering until after Christmas as I feel really tired. G has had some stress related to his friend A & has written a letter to the board of the GC, in the middle of the night a couple of nights ago, which I tidied up the next day. He really does express his disgust at their appalling treatment of his friend. This friend's wife, M, rang to tell me how ill her husband has been as she knows he wouldn't let on to G. They had rung an ambulance in the middle of the night. We had a lovely talk & talked about how G & A have developed such a close friendship. I said that they love one another, but would never say that word out aloud. M & I get on very well & have also become quite close. It's nice.

D asked if I could go down & vacuum his house before the carpet cleaner comes on Thursday. He is working really long hours & has been spending most of his spare time trying to get his house ready to sell. When he does sell things will be better for him & R financially as debts will be settled. We won't be better off financially but will be happier that things will be equal again. It has played on our minds.

I'm in a bit of a down mood today. Any conflict in the forum always gets to me, & I really can't help that. The forum is usually my escape from stress. I don't cope at all well with conflict & that's my problem, not anyone else's. I'll get over it.

I've been sticking to 1200 cals a day & have had no alcohol, nor been tempted to. It's such a relief to have clicked & got on track.

 

[Marsia]

Poor R going through so much all at once, but as you say, thankfully not alone. Blueberries are my favorite. I would make no money picking them, and would probably owe a lot instead. I do need to get better at asking for help, too. I tend to see if I can do it myself and have to be careful not to injure my back doing that! Glad you are taking a rest from de-cluttering. I find it therapeutic unless I do it too long, then it becomes more of a chore. I really hope D gets a good price for his house and can start fresh in a new place. I was feeling discouraged today, too. But I realized I can turn to meditation and learn to manage stress more calmly instead of reacting to stressful stuff on the forum. I think that would be a good new focus for me - pausing to think what I can do instead of reacting to stress. I hate when I'm reactionary.

I love how well you are doing with your new plan!!!

 

[Cate]

One other good thing about D selling his house is that he doesn’t need to buy another one as he lives in his partner’s house. The market is very good here so it’s a good time to sell.
I’m having a good day now. I do have to go do the ironing…..1,2,3 up!

 

[Llama]

That's a lot of ups and downs but it sounds like mostly ups. Learning to ask for help is so important!

 

[Cate]

That's a lot of ups and downs but it sounds like mostly ups. Learning to ask for help is so important!

Life is always like that, LaMa, but I am quite happy with my life. I really love my family & they love me & that is what is really important to me.
I didn’t ring that friend, but will on Thursday or Friday. I have a few calls to make. Tomorrow G is playing at his current(?) club probably for the last time. He has written a very strong letter to the committee. I heard him tell someone on the phone that it was more forthright than he usually is. I’m quite proud of him actually. I think it’s good for him to express his views.
Since the 23rd of November I have stuck to my plan. Tomorrow I’ll weigh I think as I’m going to the golfing “ladies” xmas lunch. There will be pavlova & lots of yummy sweets & bubbles but I will have none of that.
Arch will be home alone

 

[Llama]

To quote Oscar Wilde (I think): I can resist everything except temptation. That´s going to be a tough one! Hope you´ll enjoy regardless.

 

[Cate]

Thanks, LaMa. I'm so focused on losing this excess weight that even if my favourite dessert, lemon meringue cheesecake, was there I still wouldn't have even the smallest taste. The switch has been flipped! YAY! I can see the next stage of my weight loss not so far away. 4 down, 16 to go.

There will be at least 3 women there today who I really love, so I'll try to spend time with them as much as I can. I saw one recently at the market & she said she had another commitment, but said if I was going she would change it. That was really nice. She's quirky & I really like her. She has had a tough time in the last few years with her 2 sons dying. We talk about everything. I did the bar for her son's wake.

I am going to allow myself to drink some wine on Xmas eve when R & H get here & then again on Xmas night when we get back to our house after lunch at G's sister's house. I will eat more "real" food on the day but will be very selective if I have any sweets. I'll be back on track on Boxing day.

 

[Marsia]

Hi Cate! I'm glad G stood up for his friend at the old club, and that they can just go play elsewhere. It's wonderful how committed you are to your weight loss now - you found your "why"! I hope you have a lovely time with your friends at the lunch!