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"What have you eaten" Parallel Chat

Interesting accommodation, Antje. I think I would find the smaller one a bit claustrophobic, but might just manage to stay in the bigger one. Very attractive looking though. Main thing is - you enjoyed it. Glad you had a good time with your friend.
 
There was rain, lightning and loud thunder claps overnight here @MrsA2. Oh well, it's officially Autumn.

So you had worked up an appetite for a last fish lunch at your favourite fish restaurant. Bream with salsa verde and salads sounds tasty.

Were those chunky or skinny chips? I think we should be told!
 
I'm so sorry for all of you dealing with rain and thunder, we had a true summer day around here!

With the door open you're almost sleeping as close to outside as in a tent, I'm much more claustrophobic in a hotel room.
I woke up in my ton and went for a lovely morning swim, struggling against the current to reach the bridge (behind the trees in the picture), and enjoying the feeling of swimming ridiculously fast with the current on my way back.



After coffee my friend and I packed up to go for an afternoon sail.
Very little wind, and on the way back with what little wind there was from behind, it was very warm. No problem, she brought a sun-umbrella (parasol?), and with her not being a sailor and very little wind, I looked at the boat with different eyes. There's a slot in the floor for the thing that holds the boom in the harbour, which turned out to fit the umbrella as well.
Not something a sailor would do because tacking or gybing is impossible , as is sailing close to the wind, but this wasn't a problem with wind from behind and very little of it anyway.
Sailing was much better with a bit of shade!



The real cooling down happened after returning the boat.
There is a slide there, and I've never tried it, usually sailing in winter. So today finaly was the day!
It was much more spectacular than I expected, it felt like flying! I went 6 times, and my friend went as well, despite it not being easy for her.
It meant disconnecting her feeding tube (a hassle and a mess in her bag from leaking liquid food), taking the risk of not getting warm again for hours, living on a bare minimum of nutrients with a body not functioning all that well because of gastroparesis means almost no reserves, and she's still somewhat apprehensive of swimming. She has a PEG-J, where the feeding tube goes straight into her jejunum through the stomach wall, and having that hole in her stomach makes her apprehensive of infections.
Still, she did it and loved it!

Here's a bad picture of me from a video flying off the slide.

 
Wow, great action shot! Looks like a fun weekend.
So seems like we have a long day of rain ahead, doing some cooking, have made seed crackers and flaxseed rolls from the Freshwell app and going to put a beef stew in the slow cooker. Autumn food here we come.
Have a good day everyone
 
Tomato and cucumber salad with a couple of thin wedges of Manchego, then a cheeky scoop of Boursin. That was breakfast.
Later I am intending to make lamb biriyani using chickpea rice. There's probably enough lamb there to make a small tagine as well for another day.

DIL's eldest son came back to the Island for a brief visit yesterday, with his rugby team. They were playing the Stornoway team. He was, apparently, by far the smallest on the field, but pretty fast. However, he ended up with a broken collar-bone when the opposing team flattened him! He went back to Elgin strapped up by medics here and had to go to the hospital in Elgin when he got home.

Rugby is a dangerous game, but I'm sure he realised that when he joined the team.
 
What an awesome day. Is there any wildlife in those canals? Rivers? that you need to be cautious of? The slide looks amazing, so fun.
 
B: greek yoghurt with chopped brazils and 1 sq 70% chopped chocolate
Then I took both dogs (labradors) for a 2 hour walk on my own. They're only borrowed dogs so it was quite an achievement. They even went in the same direction, mostly !
L: ham, avocado, coleslaw half a tomato. A mini ice cream

Then a mooch around a few charity and vintage shops. Needs an outfit for "carnival" theme. As usual found soemthing for hubby quickly but not for me, will keep looking.

Later a stroll through town watching the boats as the forecast rain and thunder kept away.

D:2 sausages broccoli and courgette with a bit of avjar sauce.
2 sqs 90% chocolate. A glass white wine and soda
 
cdpm said:
Salt and vinegar potato chips crushed and smashed!
Not a good choice but it will meet nearly 1200 calories for less than 1.50!
Eh what are you gonna do.
Click to expand...
If Canadian potato chips are anything like our potato crisps @cdpm, I'm surprised you tackled them.
I hope they haven't made your gums bleed.
 
Thank you for sharing your action-packed photos @Antje77. That slide looks enormous fun!
 
MommaE said:
Oh cool.
Click to expand...
I saw just the thing in a charity shop last week. It was a Barbie pink version of the kind of outfit worn in Mama Mia to sing the old Abba songs. one daughter tried it on but was already buying so many clothes for work( a lawyer), that she didn’t feel she could justify that as well. I’m sure her clients might have had a good laugh though!
 
B: a cold sausage
Last dry day forecast for a few days so went exploring, so 2 strolls through 2 towns/villages then a beach walk.
L: 2 hard boiled eggs and ham, then a "nuttery" a seedy ball bought in a vegan shop. Mainly seeds and nuts but bound in some concoction with dates in. Actually not very sweet so saved half for later. Not currently testing bg so no idea of impact.
D: some local cheeses (but the blue is very strong, even one of the dogs refused it) with tomatoes and cucumber and ham. 2 sqs 90% chocolate, 4 brazils and 2 bites hubbys raspberry frangipane with cream.
 
Odd and somewhat oddly emotional day with multiple causes.

I had to get up early (not a good start of the day) because I wanted to fit in my morning swim before a blood draw for the neurologist. The blood draw is a very long shot just in case. The stupid arm not functioning well is a mystery, and muscle atrophy is becoming more and more visible, even though I'm getting better at compensating so functionality is still improving at the moment. So the test is for Borrelia/Lyme disease just in case. I haven'seen a tick in many years so I expect a negative.

So a swim, a blood draw (not that easy after a cold swim, should have thought that one through), aquajogging in the pool, covid jab (ouch), and back home where my holiday stress has now seriously started.
I hate packing!
I'll leave on friday for a sailing weekend first (work), and I'll go from the ship to my aunt on sunday evening so I can drive to the ferry on monday morning. And now I not only have to pack two weeks worth of camping and cooking gear, diabetes stuff, food for the first two days, books, and clothes, but I also have to pack separately for a weekend of sailing, aaargh!
On the upside, it's only 3 days until I leave, last time I went on holiday this stress started some two months before I left, this new non depressed life with greatly reduced anxiety is very interesting!

It looks like my adventures with my date Tom have come to an end.
He sent me a very sweet message this afternoon. Neither of us had planned for or intended for things to become so intense, mostly intellectual but with some physical aspects as well, and it can't be in his life. Not even a friendship because it started on a dating website, and because there's a physical aspect as well.
Had we met in any other place, things would have been different and we'd likely have never considered anything except endless talks and sailing, which would have been fine.
Had he not been in a relationship, things might have been very different.
So I'm grieving might-have-beens today, and it's harder than I care to admit.
He'll terminate his account on the dating site on friday, which will be the end of our contact. I hope for a face to face goodbye before that, but even if he wants to it will be hard to fit into his week before I leave, and we definitely shouldn't meet again after I'm back.

Still, I'm very thankful of having met him, and the unlikely connection we felt, as far as I can see we both felt this despite coming from very different lives. Just give me some time, and I'll be able to see this for one of the unexpected beautiful surprises life throws at you, and I'll cherish the memory (never mind that life has a very nasty sense of humour sometimes).

In the middle of my chat conversation with Tom, neighbour Astrid came by, sad and emotional. Neighbour-in-the-garden Tale had more or less moved in with her, which is too much for her. Multiple hints haven't done the job, so today she put all his stuff in his car while he was at work and drove his car back here. She still wants him as a friend, and likely more, but not as completely as he does. I feel sorry for both of them, it's another case of bad timing and unlucky circumstances.

And then a phonecall from a friend with some health issues, and a GP not looking past her weight.

Long story short, I'll be very happy once my holiday has started so I'll have a break from life being complicated!

Somehow amidst of all this emotional turmoil I still managed to cook a proper dinner, surprising myself!
Zuurkoolstamppot (most of you will know this by now), a cauliflower purée mixed with sauerkraut and eaten with a smoked and boiled sausage (rookworst) and boiled and brined pork belly (zuurkoolspek).
Forgot to make a picture though.

If you see a raggedy old green Citroën C3 with yellow plates and a red smiley face painted on the hood for good luck, please give way, driving on the left is confusing!
 
I can't do much on all the relationship issues except offer hugs, but as a frequent traveller I can highly recommend a packing list.
Ours in on the pc and gets printed every time. Saves so much of the "have I remembered this", or "have I got that ready" stress. Then items get put out ready for the actual packing but only get ticked off as they actually get put in the bag.
I also have a list for when we take the Scouts camping. That one starts with marquee(s), flagpole, flags and toilet paper!!
 
This makes perfect sense for frequent travellers, but my last holiday was two years ago when I went camping in the UK as well.
Amazingly, I even found part of my packing list from two years ago, written pen on paper in a note block I don't use all that much but which lives next to my couch nonetheless.
I soothe myself by repeatedly whispering to myself that you can buy toothpaste, blankets, underwear, campingaz cartridges, or about anything else you forgot right in the UK, just make sure to not forget diabetes stuff, a flashlight, tent, a well deserved beer for after arriving and putting up a tent in the dark, and something to eat, nothing suitable on the ferry.
 
I expect you forgot to take a picture @Antje77. Understandable in the circumstances.

Well done for cooking yourself a balanced meal amidst all this emotional upheaval. In stressful situations, it's important to keep that inner fire stoked.
 
Add passport and wallet to list
 
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