Health and Wellbeing

Celebrations, Organisation and Planning My October Goals

October 1, 2018

October is an exciting month as Mr Fitz celebrates his 60th Birthday. A milestone birthday and I cannot believe that lovely boy I married is now this age. Time really does fly when you’re enjoying yourself. My main goal is to ensure he has a great day and plenty of other celebrations.

Celebrations

The main part of Mr Fitz’s Birthday Present was our first cruise holiday last month with P and O Cruises. John is not one for expensive possessions and gadgets, preferring experiences that make memories. Because of that I paid for the cruise as my gift to him. He also does not like to be the centre of attention so we have no party plans but I have arranged a night away for him on the night of his birthday. he knows I have booked somewhere but doesn’t know where. My main goal is that I can keep the venue a surprise and make his birthday celebrations special.

I have a nice bottle of champagne chilling for our celebratios

Cheers – here’s to 60 years!

Organisation and Admin

I did not manage to complete my HMRC self assessment last month, therefore I really must get it done in October amongst all the birthday celebrations.

My organisational goal is to begin to streamline my wardrobe. I aim to develop a capsule or minimalistic wardrobe. I won’t manage to complete this in one moth but to satrt I am going to sort through my coats and jackets this month and decide which items to keep. The remaining I will either donate to charity, the homeless or sell on ebay.

Fitness

I have been intending to start Yoga classes for a while and I took the opportunity of taking a class on board our Cruise. This sparked me on to take a yoga class as part of my gym membership. I loved both classes so my goal in October is to attend a class once a week in October.

Blogging

This year for the first time I am taking part in Blogtober, a moth where I publish a post every day and engage with other bloggers. Read more about my plans and schedule here

Again, I’m keeping them short and sweet again because of Birthday celebrations.

September Update

Just before I go I’ll provide a quick update of what I achieved from my September goals.

Holiday

Well firstly I cannot speak highly enough of how much we enjoyed our Cruise Holiday with P and O Cruises on the Oceana. It was so enjoyable that we have booked a further two with them! I will let you know much more about our experiences in a series of blog posts to come!

Enjoying a Tropical themed evening on board Oceana

Fitness

I have continued to attend the gym for a mixture of cardio and weights 3 times a week. Also as you can see from my September goals I attended a Yoga session on the cruise ship and really enjoyed it, from this I plan to continue with a class a week. I hope as well as fitness it will help my chronic back problem.

Admin

The quest to complete my HMRC self assessment continues, the less said the better – onwards and upwards!

Celebrate

We had a very enjoyable afternoon and evening celebrating our 33rd Wedding Anniversary, it was helped by a prize win of a £50 bar tab at a local cocktail venue!

Blogging

I have managed to post once a week apart from the week I was on the ship – not yet got the hang of scheduling or got far enough in front with writing post! I also mostly managed to post on Instagram daily from this and my sister blog – beespiesandrainyskies.info

That’s it for now so I’m off to prepare and write content for my very ambitious plan of joining in with Blogtober. Also take a look at other bloggers who are also involved and I am collaborating with

BigFamilyOrganisedChaos

Sarah Beth Blogs

Tea and Cake for the Soul

Kristine’s Blog

Please let me know what you have achieved or are planning or any hints and tips you may have to help me achieve mine, especially the dreaded HMRC self assessment. I love to hear from you, I love to read your comments or you can always contact me by email

Blogtober 2018 – joining in for the first time

September 26, 2018

Blogtober 2018 will be here and starting in a weeks time. In previous years I have enjoyed reading other bloggers content. This year as I’ve started blogging in earnest I am going to get involved.

What is Blogtober 2018?

Basically, Blogtober is a month of blogging every day in the month of October. Oh yes! That’s correct, every day. The whole idea is to celebrate creativity and the concept of creating content. In an ideal world I would prepare well in advance – but as someone who works better to deadlines I’m only just starting to plan 7 days in advance.

As far as I’m aware, there are no set rules to it. You just post once every day, and that’s it. Contrary to what I used to believe , you do not need to centre the topic of your posts on things to do with October and Autumn but of course there’s nothing to stop you doing this. I think mine will be a mixture because I love autumn. See my previous post about it.

There isn’t even a need to have organised all of your 31 posts prior to the month starting; as helpful as it can be, don’t be put off if you haven’t given it much thought thus far. The whole idea is that it’s a fun way to put content out there!

So on a quick whim and after a quick brain dump here is my planned schedule of posts

October goals
5 things I love about Autumn
Well Being Wednesday #3
5 autumn fashion buys for the over 50’s
What I did in September
My thoughts on Spooky Films
Current supermarket buys to cosy up your lounge
Recipe – autumn comfort food
Books I loved in childhood
Well Being Wednesday #4
3 autumn photo’s from my memories
TV review – what am I watching in October
How to dress for chilly days at football games
An old photo – the story behind it.
Ones who couldn’t stay #babylossawarenessweek
10 of My favourite Youtubers
A day in my life – retirement joys
Well Being Wednesday #5
A review of Blackpool Illuminations
Best Halloween costumes currently on sale
Vindaloo or Korma? #nationalcurryweek
First 10 songs on my playlist on shuffle
7 Instagram accounts I love following
Why I dislike Trick or Treat
A review of an autumn walk in The Lake District
Well Being Wednesday #6
Pumpkin carving
Recipe – Pumpkin soup
5 accessories to revamp your wardrobe for autumn – looking fabulous over 50
Review of Whitby – a favourite seaside town
Well Being Wednesday #7

Well there they are – what a list! A mixture of autumn themed content and random topics. I hope there is something here for everyone – not just my peers over 50. I’d love your comments – are you taking part? Or have you been involved in previous years and giving it a break this year?

I’m looking forward to reading other bloggers posts too!

Thanks for dropping by – see you in October

Staying Healthy Over 50 – Progress September 2018

September 5, 2018

Staying healthy Over 50

Staying healthy over 50 comes with different challenges than when I was younger. I have always been active and having been a Nurse for nearly 40 years I am very aware of illness and health prevention. As a young nurse I was a health zealot – I watched what I ate, didn’t drink alcohol and exercised at a gym from the age of 19. This was 1979 at a time when gym use was unusual, far from the norm it is today. I have always attended aerobic classes, back in the day when the ‘thing’ was Going For The Burn with Jane Fonda, in fact I even remember following a Jane Fonda workout with colleagues during break times on night shifts at around 4am! That was real commitment to staying healthy.

I was probably the fittest I’ve ever been in my mid 40’s – I never thought I could run, thought I couldn’t breathe, but after training with a Personal Trainer and running with a friend I completed the Manchester 10K at the age of 46! I was so proud of myself. Then my mother became ill and my running, exercising and commitment to staying healthy took a backseat. Fitness, like anything, becomes a habit and I lost that habit. Following this period I then entered a stage in my Nursing Career that was very demanding, physically and emotionally draining. I lost my desire to go to exercise, All I wanted to do was collapse on the sofa at the end of a shift or rest on my days off in preparation for the next run of demanding shifts. I was in a permanent state of exhaustion, sometimes working days and night shifts in the same week.

The years of working as a nurse also took its toll on my joints. I was diagnosed with a chronic back problem – Facet Joint Syndrome and Osteo Arthritis. In my 50’s and having made the decision to retire at 55 I did very little exercise apart from walking, I felt I had earned my spurs and could stop exercising. I resented the fact that I had to continue to be committed to staying healthy by attending regular exercise classes. The only exercise I did after retirement was learning to swim, something I had never learned as a child. I attended a weekly class for 45 minutes for about 5 months, that was the extent of my efforts. Once I could swim a couple of breadths of the pool I stopped. I only wanted to learn to be able to enjoy the swimming pool on holiday.

The only factor that motivated me to return was the ever ongoing mission to lose weight – read my thoughts on my menopausal weight gain. I started attending Zumba classes, I loved these, enjoying the music, but I did not attend classes weekly, it was very sporadic. Finally at the end of last year, 2017, I decided to join the gym at my local Leisure Centre, what I saw was many women my age or older, looking trim, fabulous and happy. The penny dropped and I realised that continuing to exercise over 50 was a vital part of well being and staying healthy. These ladies were an inspiration.

I then hit another set back in January this year when I fell and injured my knee. Following an MRI and a Consultation I was diagnosed with PatelloFemoral Arthritis, an incidental finding to the injury, and I was advised not to engage in any impact activities – bringing the end of my Zumba career! Because of the pain from the injury I suffered to my knee cap – I had micro fractures, my fitness activity came to a close again for another couple of months.

I am now pleased to say I have been back regularly attending the gym since July and my habit is back! One of the exercises I have done has caused a flare up of my knee problem again, but this time I have continued to attend and just modify my activity.

Lessons Learned

The big lesson I have learned is that exercise is essential to good health. Following an exercise session and I have showered. I feel fabulous, my skin is glowing and I sleep much better. Even my hot flushes during the night seem a little bit less. Yes, it may bring on aches and pains, but I think the benefits far outweigh the negatives. So ladies, keep going! I saw it as a chore for a couple of years, now I embrace and enjoy it!

Yesterday I attended my GP Practice for a Health MOT. I self referred to monitor my health. Next week I hope to update you with my reasons for doing this and the results.

What is your favourite exercise? Do you or your older female relatives stay active in their 50’s and retirement? Let me know what they do, their health and well being strategies – I love to find new methods.

Comment or Email me

I’m taking part in the Wellbeing Wonders linky with Becca from Beccas Blogs It Out and Emma from Sunshine and Rain.

Pop over and look at their Wellbeing posts

September Goals Short and Sweet!

September 4, 2018

September Goals - new month new hopes

Wow! The month of August just flew by! I say that every month – they say time passes faster as you get older and that sure applies to me especially now I’m retired. I regularly comment that days never passed passed so fast when I was in work! Before I outline my September goals

Before I start with my September goals I thought I’d provide a progress report on how I did in August – if you missed them feel free to take a look now.

Declutter – I managed most of the cupboard – just the baskets on the second to bottom shelf to sort through and to tidy my handbag shelf. I feel pleased with my progress – my great nice, Gracie helped me with the top shelf. I keep props for photograph competitions in there and it was a large box that’s difficult to lift down, so together we sorted it and divided it into smaller baskets. Gracie had great fun trying on the wigs and glasses! Whilst sorting out the shelves I found some ‘lost’ items! Here’s an updated photo below – still got too many toiletries though!

Admin – I managed to gather all my receipts together and sort them into months ready for completing my Self Assessment for the tax year ending 2018.

Gym – I managed to keep visiting 3 times a week for 3 weeks of the month. My knee problem was aggravated and cased me a lot of pain and discomfort but that wasn’t the reason why I missed a week! I was dog sitting and it sort of disturbed my routine! I didn’t lose any weight though – I had lost 1.5 inches off my weight but it’s all back again after missing that week – which was the last in the month!

Cooking – that was a bit of a fail only tried one new recipe, which wasn’t completely new, but one I had not cooked for a couple of years! You can see my post and recipe about this here

Now on to September

My September goals will be quite short and sweet due to having a holiday. They are:

Holiday– Mr Fitz and I are going on our first ever Cruise holiday this month. I may have mentioned but he reaches a milestone birthday in October – 60. This is another example of time flying by so fast – to others he’s an older man losing his hair and what’s remaining is silver but to me he’s still the young lad I married 33 years ago this month. He’s not really into material possessions so this holiday is my gift to him. We really enjoy our holidays but have never been on a Cruise. Friends have glowing reports but John’s really not sure it’s for him but decided to ‘give it a go!’ For that reason we are just taking a 7 night cruise around Greece with P&O to see if we like it. I hope this will provide me with inspiration for more posts and I will tell you all about it next month!

Fitness – I hope to continue my fitness routine, even on the cruise. It has a gym and obviously large decks to walk around. I know this sounds ambitious but as foodies, we don’t intend on holding back from enjoying all the lovely food on offer. Therefore we want to plan some fitness activities into our week as damage limitation.

Admin – Continuing from last month now that my paper work is all together I intend to complete my online self assessment and submit before the end of this month.

Celebrate – it is our 33rd wedding anniversary on the 28th so we will no doubt celebrate with a nice meal somewhere but not sure where yet.

Blogging – I aim to post once a week and daily Instagram posts

In the words of Bugs Bunny – that’s all Folks! I hope September will be a month mostly of fun, relaxation and celebration. I have a huge list of things that I could add but I want to set be realistic about my activity this month.

Hope you had a good August and are planning a great September – let me know by commenting or email how you did or what you are planning. Also if you have any hints or tips for our cruise holiday I’d love to hear them too.

I’m taking part in the Monthly Goals (and updates!) Linky hosted by Charlotte over at CharlotteMusha.co.uk and Emma at MyDebtDiary.info

Weight gain around the middle during the menopause

May 13, 2016

Weight gain around the middle

Like many women of my age weight gain around the middle has caused me to hate the shape my body has taken on in recent years. I have become the stereotypical middle aged, menopausal apple shape and I detest it with a passion.

I am only 4 foot 10 inches and have been petite most of my adult life. I felt that things started to change in my 40’s for me when I stopped working shifts and became a full time University student to study for my Masters Degree in Health Sciences. It was a great 2 years, studying at home sat in front of the computer for hours not having to dress smart. I could slob about in track suit bottoms. Then I would travel to the University every week along with my colleague. We were sponsored by our employer to attend and retrain. We were staying in a hotel every Wednesday night, eating in the pub, regular breaks in the University refectory. Within 3 months I had gained a stone and a half. No running up and down a busy Neonatal Unit burning calories. From that time onwards I was never able to lose this weight and despite taking up running, going to the gym and paying a Personal Trainer it stayed and I have continued to gain weight. It got worse again when I returned to shift work at 50, again for my role. I then returned to nights, days, 13 hour long shifts, short 7.5 hour shifts. Sometimes working nights and day shifts in the same week. This I feel totally knocked my metabolism off kilter. This coincided with the menopause. Weight gain around the middle has blighted me and nothing helped me shift this. I can lose 7lbs and then plateau. I have tried Slimming World, Weight watchers and an Extremely low calorie diet, living on liquid replacement drinks of 450 calories a day. This did help me lose 1.5 stone, but it didn’t stay off too long after my husband came out of work and took over the cooking. His Desperate Dan portions contributed to more weight gain around the middle.

What I have done to try and lose the weight

18 months ago my GP advised me that I had to try and lose weight due to a medical problem. She had great empathy and prescribed me Orlistat, a fat binding tablet to help me. She and other medical colleagues have all said that due to my hormonal state and irregular shift patterns I could not maintain a steady Cortisol level and this was inhibiting my chances of losing the weight. I was informed by my GP that in some people these tablets do not work. Well yes, you guessed it I was one of the people they did not work for. I lost my usual 7lbs and that was it. If you’re not familiar with these tablets they bind to fat and help you excrete 25% of your fat intake in your stools. (Sorry for those of you with weak stomachs!). It also involves eating a low fat diet or the side effects are very unpleasant!

So here I am half a stone lighter but stuck! I feel I need a miracle worker. I am surrounded by colleagues who are losing weight for fun on slimming world and I’m not.

I am very interested in clothes and fashion. I regularly get compliments on my appearance. I have to say I work hard at buying clothes that disguise my weight gain around the middle. However they are not the clothes I wish to wear. I long to wear the lovely body con dresses worn by Lorraine or Ruth Langford. Sadly it’s not to be, to add insult to injury I also have big boobs! Fitted jackets are also problematic.

This week I decided to go shopping to buy some dresses for summer and a couple of social events I have been invited to. This was an unmitigated disaster on the whole. Changing room mirrors are brutal as we all know. I came away with nothing that I really wanted, no smart dresses, just a couple of casual tops for my summer holiday overseas. I came home feeling very low indeed.

But I am a very positive person – my cup is always half full, and I found some positives. I went to a charity ball this week and wore a cocktail dress that I have had in my wardrobe for a couple of years it had only had one previous outing. I admit it was tighter than when I last wore it, but overall I was happy with how I looked in it.

I then thought about where I had got this from. It was from a design brand called So Fabulous, I have a few of their pieces that I buy online from Fashion World. Reflecting on this I realised that all my favourite dresses were purchased from that website. Other brands I have purchased from Fashion World that suit my shape are Joanna Hope and Closet. This provoked me to have a browse and sure enough I found several that I liked. I ordered them and when they arrived I was delighted with them. There is light at the end of the tunnel – hallelujah! Thank you for this fabulous company.

They are a mixture of dressy and casual and are fabulous. They were a pick me up and made me happy about myself again. My best dresses tend to be A line and I have accepted, that although this shape is not top of the fashion charts at the moment, they suit me and can make me look OK and disguise weight gain around the middle. The message is find a style that suits and stick to it. It’s no point squeezing myself into a body con dress just because I want one if it’s going to accentuate my middle! My pet hate is ill fitting clothes.

There are other fashion brands that I can always turn to such as Wallis and the wonder that is Pepperberry, by Bravissimo for ladies with big boobs. Their clothes are worthy of a blog post of their own.

Now I have decided on my personal style that doesn’t mean I am going to give up the quest for weight loss. I have a new strategy, after much soul searching I realised that I was probably consuming more wine and beer that I cared to admit. If I put my hand on my heart I was not counting these empty calories in my diets. I was probably consuming the equivalent of a day and a half’s extra calories per week. This is one of the pleasures and vices of my retirement. Lots of lunches with friends plus lazy evenings in front of the TV without the worry of an early start for work.

So I am abstaining from alcohol for the next 4 weeks before my holiday and following a slimming world diet. Watch this space and see if there is anything to report on this front. Onwards and Upwards.

Have you got any tips for weight loss in the menopause?
Or is there a go to fashion style you favour for your body shape?

I’d be interested to hear from you

World Prematurity Day – a personal tribute

November 17, 2015

On World Prematurity Day I just had to give it a mention after working in Neonatal care for around 30 years. Even though retired I still work some part time hours in the field. In fact I am writing this brief post as I have a brew in bed post night shift!
Throughout my time it has been a privilege to work with such fine specimens of humanity – the babies!
When I’ve told people what I do many people have commented “oh that must be hard” “that must be sad” but no. It’s quite the contrary – it’s uplifting and inspiring.
These little beings that arrive at the most inconvenient times, many weeks early are as tough as teak. Parents and families are scared of their small size and shiny skin, many looking like little skinned rabbits in the early hours after birth. Those of us who care for them aren’t, we know they are strong, tough, durable and will fight to do what’s necessary to cling to life. Sadly some don’t get to stay here but have to join the heavenly band of angels, but the majority make it in the end.
They have my utmost respect and I am in awe of them and families facing Prematurity.
Many of the babies I cared for in my early career are now parents themselves, some are fine big rugby players, clever, talented adults.

Parents as well cope with more than they think they can. Premature births often happen when a mother of family also have another traumatic event going on – these preterm babies don’t care! Mother can be days away from a house move, death of a close family member, another child already in hospital. The birth of a tiny, frail baby is another burden they fear they cannot cope with – but they do! They manage to deal with a whole host of things whilst still managing to visit daily, sometimes for a stay of over 100 days. They do remain sane and come out smiling.

The professionals who work in the field, support these fragile tiny bodies as if they were a family member, they listen to stressed parents, wipe away tears of sadness and laughter, encourage parents to have some ‘me’ time. These professionals also grieve with bereaved parents and celebrate with parents as tiny milestones are reached.

I salute you all today – please feel free to contact me with any comments

Autumn – My favourite Season

October 27, 2015

Autumn my favourite season

Autumn is my favourite season of the year. I know that many people groan and shudder at the start of the autumn. Dreading months of dark evenings. I’m not one of them. In fact autumn is my favourite time of the year and winter holds no fear for me. There could be 2 reasons for this. The first being my passion for football – of course this is a winter sport. Secondly I love cosy evenings at home. Luckily my husband is the same. There is nothing nicer than staying in, closing the curtains to shut out the rest of the world and sitting in comfort in the home we have worked for and paid for. I have a friend is very outgoing & sociable, who would go to the opening of an envelope! She never really likes staying in on her weekends off. I have always said that as most of my working life has been paying off a mortgage, I actually like to spend time enjoying the fruit of my labours, no more so than on cosy autumn evenings.
I love subdued lighting, cushions and most of all candles to help me relax in my own surroundings.

In the winter months more than than summer one thing I do is burn scented oils and candles, complimented by shimmering tea lights in a variety of votives and holders. This year I have discovered wax melts. I have become a huge fan!! The scents appear stronger from these than other scented products I have used before. I have invested in a new burner from Yankee Candles and now gathering a collection of their various wax melts. Another brand I have enjoyed so far is Village Candle. I purchased mine off the internet as they are primarily an American brand, but when visiting a local shop recently I found they had a huge stock of these and got excited. My disposable income will be dented by purchases of these in the next few months. So far I have tried a Tropical scents one and at the moment I am burning one called Smoked Birch. As the name suggests it is a smoky, woody scent. Unusual but strangely nice. A pleasant muted turfy smell. Reminiscent of trips to Ireland.
As you will learn from future posts I am currently in the process of moving house. I will bore you to death with the trials and tribulations of this later. I am looking forward to spending winter evenings in new surroundings when I can try out more scents & melts. So its true to say I am looking forward to the joys of Autumn.

What is your favourite season? Let me know I love to here from you

Life is Good

October 1, 2015

Having taken early retirement at the age of 55 in July of last year, I have a new lease of life and find the time to enjoy life and have a new found curiosity for many things – learning or trying something new every day – be it a new beauty or household product to a new website or YouTube page.

After years of working crippling shifts including nights and day shifts in the same week, I now feel rested, have less aches and pains and more energy. It is the best thing I could ever have done – and I know I am in a privileged position to be able to do this. Thanks to the NHS Pension scheme. I would never have saved and provided for my future myself.

My head is a jumble of random, excited new thoughts and experiences. I will endeavour to organise my thoughts and write about my experiences in retirement.

The above words were for my very first post on this blog, it was short and sweet. I’ve now decided to revisit it and expand on how I feel a year further on in retirement.

Time has flown and there are never enough hours in the day. I know I can hear the groans of you are still working full time and juggling childcare. But it’s true! I remember hearing many newly retired person say the same thing and I was cynical. But here I am confirming that statement.My husband has frequently asks ‘How did you find time to go to work?’

I fill my time in many ways, reading other blogs, thinking about this one, but yes I know, not enough posting! Indulging in my hobby of entering competitions, I meet friends for lunch and coffee, now attend other retirement do’s as more and more of my friends and colleagues also hop off the hamster wheel, and sadly to say attending funerals of colleagues and colleagues partners.

However, my favourite ways to pass the time is just by being at home, pottering about doing ordinary household tasks and spending quality time with family. In my career as a nurse I have mostly worked unsocial hours and the aforesaid crippling shifts. Most of my time was spent working when everyone else was out socialising or in bed. My husband got used to continually having to apologise for my absence at gatherings and parties held by friends and family. These are things that I think many people take for granted. Here are just are a few of my thoughts on these ordinary subjects.

I was permanently exhausted after a week of ever-changing shifts. In my last role I would regularly work day and night shifts in the same week. I used to feel like I was permanently suffering from jet lag. Unless anyone has worked night shifts I don’t think they appreciate the damage it does to your body. By the time you get to bed at the end of your first night shift you will have been up over 24 hours. Most of us would plan to lie in bed the day of the first shift but my body would say otherwise and I would wake as normal. I again would try to sleep again in the afternoon but my body would not sleep. Shifts were long often 13 hours without a break, and driving home was a challenge, the last thing I’d want to do was vacuum, or dust before sleep. I was lucky that my husband could see how I was struggling to get to the finish line – my 55th birthday and took on nearly all the household jobs until that day came.

Housework

This used to be a chore that I did not relish – just something to be done in as quick as time as possible. I used to wish I had that show home that others seem to have. Now I can’t say I have a show home but it is closer to that vision than it was when I worked.

I take joy now in all my jobs, I even wipe down my skirting boards and clean the microwave regularly! I can honestly say that I love my home and enjoy being a housewife and homemaker. I had a successful career, studied hard even managed to gain a Masters degree by the skin of my teeth and climbed to a senior level in a high paid role. However, once I got there I decided it was ‘tough at the top’ and not what I hoped it to be and yearned for a more simple life. I’ve got the simple life now and I love it!

Quality time with family

Due to shifts and unsocial working patterns I missed a lot of time with my own family. When I was getting close to retirement and re-evaluating my life I looked round and realised that all my senior relatives had passed on. I had spent so little time with people who had such an impact in my childhood years, that made me sad.

John and I are happily childless. However I have nephews and nieces who I spent as much time as possible with when they were growing up. I like to think I’m a friend as well as an auntie to them. They now have their own children. My brother and Sister in law look after their grandchildren a couple of times a week. I help with their care too now I have the free time. I treasure this time with my family it’s so precious.

My husband has 6 nephews and nieces, again with their own children now. Sadly my husband’s older brother, Jim, passed a way this year after a long battle with cancer. We all spent a lot of time together during his illness and subsequently. Johns sister held a girls night to raise money for Macmillan in his memory. Many of the girls there, nieces or nephews partners were intrigued about me after they met me. I was asked where had I been all this time. They hadn’t really realised I existed as I was never around due to work! Anyway by the power of early retirement I have now reconnected with all my family and loving it.

How do you feel about housework – a chore or a joy?

If you work shifts what do you feel you miss out on the most?

I’d love to hear from you – please comment or email me

Thanks for popping by

Elaine