Friday 31 December 2010

A New Year hug and a poem to make you smile

Right, that’s the third turkey dealt with and only 360 days to the next one.  

We had a fabulous roast turkey and all the trimmings at a friend’s house on Christmas Day, another delicious one at my niece’s on Boxing Day… and I was told Christmas wasn’t Christmas if we didn’t have one at home as well, even if only for ourselves.  So a 13 pounder made its appearance and I spent all day yesterday preparing both it and the 101 vegetables to accompany it.  A shaky moment was overcome when it was discovered that the reason it’s breast looked like a size zero model with her cheeks sucked in was because I had started to baste it upside down.  Once I had it right side up all was satisfactory, to John’s infinite relief.

On each of these three occasions the lapband stopped me from outright bingeing, and I consumed less than half the quantity I used to have.  However I’m not kidding myself because that was still way too much, and though I’ll never even say the words “New Year Resolution” out loud because I invariably fail at this sort of promise, clearly I need to have a “cunning plan” of some kind, the first brave step of which will be to climb on the scales.

But just for now, let me look back briefly at the road travelled so far, and thank all the bloggers – bandits or not – who have left me with kind and encouraging comments.  They sooo make a difference, if for no other reason than that they coax me to stay out there in blogland, talking about it, instead of skulking silently, enviously reading other blogs and not trying to talk through the stumbling block.  

If you’re reading this and you haven’t lost weight in a while – or blogged – i.e. a ‘skulker’, please let me offer a crumb of comfort.  While you’re still reading bandit blogs it means you still care, and you still want to do something about it.  Take the next step – write about it in your blog, don’t assume the world only loves a winner, and it’s just you that seems to find them irritating.  They’re irritating for only one reason:  they’re ahead of you.  The successful bandits I read are all lovely people – it’s just that we don’t/can’t share their inner happiness; if they knew how we felt, they would be just as sympathetic as we are to each other.  If you don’t communicate your sense of failure, how can anyone help?

So why don’t we resolve this new year to keep our blogs updated, even if not about weight loss issues, and not make lack of weight loss an excuse for going silent?

A new year’s hug to each and every person who reads this blog, even if they accessed it at random!

-oOo-

This is a poem of John’s which he wrote for a newspaper competition themed “On breaking new year resolutions” – but didn’t win.  I kept it on my notice board at the office till it was faded and yellow.  I’m happy to report he did eventually give up smoking 60 a day some 9 years later and hasn’t smoked at all since.

On Breaking New Year Resolutions

By J D Humphreys
(January 1990)

Writing Competition, The Independent.. 
Prizes:  Umbrian oil or magnum of champagne

New Year’s Day:  Heard the news?
No more fags, no more booze.
Jan the 5th:  Dear God! The thirst!
People say I’m past the worst.
Come the 10th – nearly raving;
Curse tobacco and the craving.
Now the 15th’s come and gone;
Desperate – somehow hanging on.
18th.  Screaming for a drag;
Why the Hell do people nag?
Stuff the goddam resolution!
Here’s the sensible solution:
Can’t fight on two different fronts –
Keep off booze; light fag at once!
19th:  coughing fit to bust;
Tongue like leather; dry as dust.
22nd:  Still on edge.
(God help those who sign the pledge!)
Seek relief from this Perdition:
Try this crazy competition…

Should I win with all this toil
Don’t bother with the Umbrian oil:
Lubricate some lout in Dagenham –
Be a sport – send me a magnum!

-oOo-

Photo Finish -
from Lonicera's archive

Odds and ends

Around my home
Seen from back garden (picture by Shane)

Banjo:  You can leave my tea on the table thank you.

Rusty:  Don't distract me, I've got to catch it as it comes out.

Patagonia grassland, east coast

Patagonia:  Sierra Colorada, with a railwayman's home as
built by the British in the early 20th century.

Maldives (Kuramathi)

Maldives (Kuramathi)

Go back to the top:  Click HERE
-oOo-

12 comments:

DocSly said...

God Bless you dear Caroline. I promise not to be silent but to ramble on with the best of us. To a Happy New Year for you and yours, health and well-being.

Tina said...

Happy New Year Caroline!! Tell John the poem is grand and he should have won! Keep fighting the fight! I am up two pounds with my food fest and fighting it back down as we speak :)..

xxxooo

Andrew said...

Happy New Year Caroline.....

THE DASH! said...

Happy New Year Caroline! 2011 is going to be a great year for us all. LOVE the pics (as usual) xxx

Vagabonde said...

I think that poem is very clever and funny. I like that picture of the village in the snow your uncle took. It must have been different to have Christmas with warm weather. I guess they have it that way in Hawaii too.

To answer your question on the blog2print I do not think you can change the writing from their copy as they download exactly what you posted. You could go back to your post and edit it, then download it to their site. I think you can send them an email though and ask them questions that I would be afraid to answer in case I am wrong.

Thanks for coming on my blog and for your kind comments. I hope you will be successful in every way in 2011 including your health, happiness and everything else that gives you joy.

Sandy said...

Happy New Year! Love the poem. And tell John that the correct way to cook a turkey is to start it upside down for an hour or two and then flip it breast side up. I was told all the juices spill into the breast and make a really moist turkey. So your mistake was actually a good thing.

You are so right about blogging. I get suck inspiration from all my friends. I worry when some drop off. I slacked off for a while but find now I need to use the blog to figure out this weight thingy. It isn't all about food. The brain has such power over us. But we will get there, no matter how long it takes or how hard it gets.

Lonicera said...

Thank you all for your lovely comments. John's good at poems like this - doggerell - and other more serious ones too. I've looked through the book I produced for him, but I think there's only one other which is witty, yet not too crude and not too long. I might try it out on you indue course.
Thanks Vagabonde for the tip - I'm still debating which programme to use...
Sandy - I sometimes actually get more inspiration from the bloggers who are despondent and feel they'll never get there - because it all makes it less lonely.
Thank you all - commiserations to all if like me you're back to work tomorrow!
Caroline

PhotoPuddle said...

Happy New Year and good luck keeping your resolutions x

Shaggs said...

You are a star Caroline!! (and not to mention a mind reader!) I was just about to start a post about not being a big loser but was procrastinating and now I feel propelled - it may have to weight until tomorrow tho! Love all that you write!

Shaggs said...

PS love the poem and f^&* all new years resolutions. In 1989 I vowed to learn the steel drums and yet here I am still unable to knock our a Bob Marley!!

Theresa said...

Happy New Year Caroline, we'll all keep plugging away at this together! Tell John I love his poem...so true too!

Lonicera said...

Thanks PhotoPuddle - but I ain't making resolutions, because I know what I'm like...
Shaggs - nice of you to say so... I had a good laugh at your recent post this evening, and it definitely resonated with me.
Thanks TessieRose - it's lovely to read you so cheerful these days, you're definitely a good influence!

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