Hi Cate I hope you are feeling better. We have a lot of tummy bugs doing the rounds at this point in the season and we bounce them from one to another. Not even such severe ones, but they just make you feel queasy and have an upset tummy. They last for a couple of days and then they go. I am sure that that is what you have picked up.

When I read about your walks and the abundance of nature and wildlife, I am so envious. The only scenery I get to see is from one shopping mall to another! Although I do have a lovely garden, there is not much time or opportunity to walk through the countryside here. Where I live is very suburban with lots of houses. In December we go to the sea for our holiday and it is just beautiful. The scenery is amazing and I make sure to walk most days, now of course with the new and improved me it will be even easier and pleasant. I can't wait.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Hi Sue & anyone else reading my diary,
It is beautiful where I live & I really do appreciate it. This morning we woke early, opened up our blinds & watched the birds flitting around. Spring sure has sprung!
South Africa is also beautiful in many ways I think. We lived in a city for 15 years (Melbourne) & I think that makes us appreciate the country even more. You do what you have to do to make a living & my first job in Melbourne was where we met. I loved it when we lived there but we chose to move to Tasmania when our children were only 3 & 5 to give them a chance to grow up in the country & enjoy more freedom, just as we had as children. It was an excellent decision & both our boys love Tasmania. Our YS is still in your country (SA) & leaves on the 25th I think. He is loving it!
If I had been woken by bird noise like I did this morning when I was living in Melbourne I would not have been too happy. Now I can just enjoy it. Being in your 50's actually has lots of advantages. I would not have believed it when I was in my 20's or 30's though!
Today-
We are about to go get some wood but my LH just said we won't overdo it today. I think he's a bit tired. He worked yesterday & then had a silly AGM last night & didn't get home until 9.45pm!
Wood may be my weights today as I'm still not breathing too well. My stomach is ok but not 100%.
Bye for now, Cate

Hello Cate! I have not yet had the chance to poke through your musings yet, but I thank you for the rep points and figured I'd come check out the doings in your neck of the woods. This whole Cohen's thing is not really my gig, but support is support, and we're all here to help each other out with health.

Hi cabbie & anyone else reading my diary. Re the rep- you're welcome & you deserved it. You're right support is support. It doesn't really matter which path we take to get to where we want to be but the support we offer & get along the way makes the journey so much easier & more enjoyable.
Today-
I went along to a Pink walk in our local town in support of Breast Cancer Tasmania. Most people did 2 laps of the river walk but I tagged along behind a youngish group who did 3 & went quite fast. When I found out that each lap was 2.5km I decided to do another one so ended up doing 4 which was 10km!
I walked 10km! Wee hoo! I think that's a first!
I will confess to my hips feeling every one of my 56 years & my ankles but I feel really proud of myself for doing it. Phew!
Eating very healthily, exercising heaps & feeling absolutely great!
Cheers for now, cate.
PS I should really go soak in a bath but instead I might plonk in my chair with today's paper.

I did have a good soak in the bath thank goodness. I'm fairly stiff today but not too bad, considering.
Today
It has been a glorious day. We got a call from my LH's sister to say they were calling in with friends from Melbourne who they were driving down to Shearwater. We ended up meeting them all at the bakery & then my SIL & BIL called in on their way home to Launceston & had lunch with us & have not long gone. We ended up going for a drive down to our bush block & they have gone home with lots of plants & rocks & home-made butter. We had a delightful day.
When they left I did 2 sets of weights(only 8 reps each) while my LH sprayed some thistles. I thought I shouldn't push my luck as I'm still stiff- my feet in particular.
We did quite a bit of spring-cleaning before they got back in anticipation of our friends visiting next month for my LH's 60th. It's funny because the couple from Melb. who we saw today he used to be married to my best friend who is coming to stay next month. We used to be part of a large group of friends & we all still get on well with one another, including the ex's getting on well with their ex's. It's how life should be! My LH did let slip a funny one though. When asked if we had a houseful for the birthday week-end he actually said yes but said my friend's name & B...(her ex & the one he was talking to today- whoops!) His current wife seemed a bit funny about it & said "How long has it been now?" to which I said "Your long-term memory seems to be keener as you get older" which seemed to smooth it over. I thought it was funny as I'm usually the one who says it & he usually corrects me.
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Cheers for now, Cate.(N-xo)

Hello Cate

Just popping into say hello. We had a busy weekend too. Lots of running around and unexpected visitors etc.

I hope you mucles and feet are less sore now.

Keep well - Sam

Hi Sam & anyone else reading my diary. Thanks Sam for your visit. I'm not feeling so stiff & sore but have been very active, especially today. I did 2 sets of weights yesterday after our visitors left & that may have helped a little too.
Today-
We did a load of wood before lunch for about an hour & our neighbour came up with his tractor & pulled out some trees for us & we have been cutting & carting wood for the last 1.5hrs. It was hard work & we are bot a bit pooped.
Younger Son-
Is now in Hong Kong staying with my LH's brother & SIL. Well I hope he's found them. He rang yesterday from Johannesburg airport & didn't have their address or phone number & hadn't been in touch to discuss how to get to their place etc. I said I would ring but gave him their details & said if there was no-one at the airport to ring them.
When I did catch them they said that it was too early to go pick him up (7am) so they will tell him how to catch the bus when he rings. I must admit that surprised me a little.
I don't have much to say so will scoot for now. Cheers, cate.

Cate, the bus system in Hong Kong should be pretty effective. There are road and freeways everywhere, and public transport is a big and effective deal over there, so hopefully he should have no trouble getting on one that gets very close to his detination.

Hi Niyah- Good to hear you're feeling a little better, albeit tired. I'm not worrying about him really as I know he will be thoroughly spoiled when he does get there. He should be there by now & will catch up with Facebook later hopefully. He'll have a safe base for a few days. Thanks for popping in & providing me with support. I'm sending you back some extra strength & a big hug, xoxo Cate.

The tiredness is the meds I'm on, but at least I'm sleeping now! I think sleep is the first stage of healing, but I do feel a bit zombie-ish.

Thing is in places like Hong Kong, everyone lives high rise, and they make it really easy to get around with public transport and not so easy for individual cars. But he'll seriously be able to get anywhere, go anywhere really fast with all their fantastic buses and underground trains and so on, not to mention walking tunnels under and over roads, so he'll have a blast. Hope he's safe and happy there for however long his visit lasts.

Hi Cate, I posted here I can't remember when, and lost the whole thing, but basically I have to ask, you make your own butter? That is awesome. So you have a cow/cows? We are reasonably self sufficient, chooks veggies etc, and love it. Have a good day.

Hi Niyah, L-Jay & anyone else reading my diary.
Niyah- he rang last night & was eating seafood & being thoroughly spoiled. It was nice to hear his voice but I was so tired & had been fighting falling asleep in my chair(& only just winning) when the phone rang. He felt the same too with jet lag but I would imagine my SIL & BIL would have told him to ring. They are very generous & thoughtful. They don't have a car as you say most don't. He sounded happy & looking forward to a lazy day, lounging around the pool. He is only there until Thursday & then flies to Tokyo. We know a wonderful professor in Tokyo who he will be staying with & once again will be thoroughly spoiled. It sounds like he is looking forward to getting home. I am about to top up his travel card & send him an update. He's travelling better financially than he thought he would be & has already got me paying back his grandmother $100 a week. He wants to pay the money back that he borrowed off her within a year. He will. He's very strong willed when he wants to be.
L-Jay-
The neighbour that I buy my eggs off also has a cow, which she milks. I bought the butter off her & was making biscuits etc with it. Now that I am not eating butter any more & not baking(way too tempting) I wanted the butter gone from my freezer. My SIL only eats butter, not spreads. I don't eat either. We do have 50 acres but the only stock are another neighbour's sheep. I agree that it's great to grow your own vegies etc. I love it! I pay $3.50 for 1 doz free-range eggs per week so have not got my own chickens. We also have lots of hawks, eagles etc & the odd Tasmanian Devil up our way so chickens wouldn't stand much of a chance. The neighbour who has the chooks has huge fences & netting roof over most of it & lets them out during the day.
My dad attempted to teach me to milk a cow when I was a teenager but gave up quickly thank goodness. I was hopeless & have always had a fear of cows. Funny I know. I'm not afraid of snakes or spiders but will admit to a fear of cows & horses.
Today-
I copied lots of photos of my LH yesterday for his party & need to hunt out a few more. Now that it is only 3.5 weeks away I'm starting to get a little nervous. The house is fairly tidy as I've been attacking it now for the last few weeks. We have started cleaning all of the windows on the outside at least.
Exercise today-
I won't be doing too much today as yesterday was fairly tiring & my hands are aching a bit. Tidying up wattle trees is difficult as there are so many little branches that get so tangled up with one another & they were heavy. My LH cuts the wood & I drag the small branches into a big pile for burning later. He cuts & splits & I load the cut wood onto our Ute. We did 3 loads yesterday but lots of dragging & stacking & tidying up. It was great having the tractor to drag the trees down onto flat ground.
My LH is at work today & I am going to stay at home & just potter about.
I'll have a look around now & be back this afternoon. Cheers, cate

I seem to remember that in Hong Kong, if you want a private car, you pay first the price of the car to the dealer, then the whole amount again as a tax to the Government. So you pay TWICE! This was to discourage private car ownership. So, unless you plan to drive a taxi and get money back in, why would you have one? Particularly as they have so much public transport of every sort.

I tried making my own butter when we had a house cow that we milked for years. I never, ever succeeded in doing it perfectly - separating every single piece of fluid from the solids is extremely difficult, and if you don't, it goes rancid very quickly. It didn't seem to matter how long I squeezed, pummelled, paddled or whatever. I added a tiny bit of salt, but I can only guess that commercial butter has a very large amount of salt added. I did make butter, but always used it straight away in biscuits or something. We had a Jersey so it was beautiful butter. There were no internet resources back then to give a hint how I might do it better, but I do suspect that you just have to add a great deal of salt if you want to keep it long.

Hello Cate! Popping in after my weekend to see how yours went. How old is your youngest son? Sounds like he's on a bit of an adventure there. Never had the opportunity to do a ton of traveling myself. Would certainly love to however.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Niyah- I reckon you're right. I don't eat anything that needs butter or spread any more & I sure don't need sweet biscuits. Hope you're feeling a little better this week & the sun is shining where you are, xo C
Hey Cabbie- Thanks for your visit. Our YS is 26, almost 27. He is having a ball & has been travelling since April. I'm glad he did it & I'm sure it will change his views. It's great that he has travelled to places like Peru, the Galapagos Islands, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Egypt as well as some of the cities of Europe. It should broaden his horizons!
I have not travelled much either but plan on making up for it soon hopefully. The Mediterranean first & then we plan on spending about a month back in Vietnam as we loved it so much. I look forward to travelling as a slim person. I won't need any seat-belt extensions on a plane ever again! Cheers, Cate