Diet Watch Monday

Another week and what do you know I'm still 74 kilo!!!
No loss...nada....ZILCH!!!!

I only had one slight lapse when I met for coffee with Nicola....but we were only half bad as we shared one portion of cake!!! HOL


But I'm not giving up just yet.....I shall persevere another week.....what I don't understand is that I weighed myself on Friday morning (just for interest sake!) and the marker was hovering just above 73 kilo not quite slap bang in the middle of the marker but not far off!
Now one half portion of cake on Saturday cannot possibly result in me gaining nearly 2 pounds in 3 days!!!!!

Sioux xoxo

Garden Watch - Day 8

Thank goodness!..........Day 8 dawned bright and fine :)

The coping stones arrived today and were installed...do you like?

I certainly do....just that bit of rustic charm with the dark splotches here and there ;)

Building the steps to access the top patio from what will be the back gate into the garden.

Steps from the middle terrace to the lower one...

...and the time consuming task of pointing all those slabs!!!

Love my new step from the back door....it does away with what was an awkward drop that was difficult to negotiate when you are a person that is vertically challenged!!!! LOL

If the weather holds the next Garden Watch will be Tuesday :)

I'm due to meet Nicola aka Sunshine Girl today.....she is in Torquay on holiday so she is coming over and we plan to have coffee and cake.....or maybe just coffee....depends on how steady both our willpowers are!!! HOL

If you are ever in Torbay or surrounds let me know like Nicola did...
...I'm always up for coffee and cake! ;)

xoxo Sioux

Garden Watch - Day 7

Day 7 was a fine day although it looked like rain quite a lot of the time!!!

Today the top patio had the slabs laid...well most of them...the wheelbarrow upturned is for a reason....it's to shelter the newly built access steps from the downpour that is forecast for the whole of Thursday!!!! So I doubt there will be a garden watch here on Friday...

...the lower patio had all the slabs laid :)...I love that they are my old rescued slabs (It was hard work for Phil at the time but he managed it ;))....and I love that they have a great patina already :)

...I also had delivery of two more plants in the post today...

...a bamboo Fargesia murieliae (supposed to be not as invasive....I'll let you know!!! LOL) and the autumnal coloured one is Nandina domestica....otherwise known as Heavenly Bamboo....I love that name and I used to have one in a previous garden and I missed it so ;)

I can recommend Gardening Express if you are after postal plants...very quick and good quality.

xoxo Sioux

Garden Watch - Day 6

There was no garden watch yesterday as Monday was a total washout here! :(

But hurrah! The man who can is back and managed to get a couple more courses done on the higher patio and the cement down ready for laying the slabs....

...built the retaining wall for the new wider path to the greenhouse...

...and wow! I have the start of steps down from the greenhouse :)...

...all that and there was an almighty rain storm in the middle of the day!!!

Just to lighten the never ending brick work ;)

....here are the plants I bought on Sunday at Trago Mills...

these will eventually grow into much larger shrubs.....I'll just have to be patient...

...these two are a bit larger...

...and these are two large oleander that I decided to invest in to help give a bit of structure now.

xoxo Sioux

Diet Watch Monday!

Not as interesting as Autumn Watch I'll grant you!!! LOL

This marks the end of my third week on this £#%%*$ diet!

So last week I was 75 kilo and this week I am 74 kilo.

That's another kilo less or 2.2 lb in old money LOL

I am sort of happy 'cos it's what was indicated the weight loss would be and I was only loosing that in a whole month before I hit that plateau after my trip to France...

...but I can't help but have a little wish for it to come off a bit quicker...

....and then my target weight can be reached...

...and then I can have jacket potatoes again!!! Yeh ;)

xoxo Sioux

Food Festival

Today there is no garden watch!

It's Sunday and the man who can does not work.......he deserves the days off 'cos whilst he is here he certainly grafts.....I can recommend him if you are looking for a landscaper in the Torbay area :)

So today I'm sharing my day at the Dartmouth Food Festival.

Across the river to Dartmouth....such great weather.

Coming into the landing stage for the passenger ferry.

First stop for coffee at our favourite coffee stop.
Great food stalls but some sections were given too little room and the paying public could not get close to sample, enjoy and purchase :(

Now.........you can't go to a food festival and not be festive can you?

So here are some of the delights on offer :))))

Cookery demo.

You can see that it was a given that the diet was ditched for the day!!!

I broke it and just had to have potato wedges with chilli dip for lunch....OMG it was divine! :)

Lets not mention all the glasses of wine we had shall we?!!! HOL

xoxo Sioux

Garden Watch - Day 5

The end of day 5 saw the garden looking like this.

The upper patio containing wall is now just to the level the paving will sit....

As it's Saturday and the man who can is not here today (I'm blogging a day behind anyway)...
..the next instalment  should be on Tuesday.....that is as long as the weather keeps being kind :)

Unfortuantely Monday looks like it could be a bit of a stinker here!!!

xoxo Sioux

Garden Watch - Day 4

Hi folks!

Reporting on Day 4....I know it's not as exciting as Autumn Watch on the BBC....but it's very exciting to me ;)

Day 4 saw delivery of even more bricks, sand and cement...

yet more digging out...this time to prepare to build a small wall from reclaimed rocks to contain the wild end of the garden a little bit ;)...

and the start of the brick laying :)

I can appreciate how people must feel who are able to have their own house built.

...don't you just love Kevin McCloud and Grand Designs?

My project is very small in the great scheme of things...

....but oooh! The thrill of seeing those walls begin to take shape!

xoxo Sioux

P.S. Please see my other post today for the link to my piece on The Artistic Stamper.

Follow for The Artistic Stamper

I'm sharing a card today over on the The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog

Curious? Then just hop on over to The Creative Team Blog for all the details.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

P.S. I appreciate each and every comment here but time is short in all our lives so please do not feel obliged to comment both here and on the creative team post.
...I'll see your comments and share the feed back all at the same time if you use The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog post ;)
Thanks

Garden Watch - Day 3

Today more pick-axing required to finish the trickier sections of the footings!

All of the concrete poured for the footings...

and the bricks that will be used.....:)

I'm after a rustic look to tie in with the already weather worn appearance of the reclaimed paving slabs......I think it will work!

xoxo Sioux

P.S. Come back tomorrow and there will be some craft work for The Artistic Stamper ;)

Garden Watch - Day Two!

Some really heavy work involved today for the man who can!

Breaking up the existing falling down walls and reclaiming the patio slabs.

Digging the footings for new walls.

There is a nip in the air this morning....no frost....we rarely get anything really bad...I know I'm lucky!!! Leaves are still on the trees. Even on a small island like ours the variation in climate can be amazing can't it?

The gas boiler man is here for the annual check but I am still going to refuse to put my heating on till the beginning of November ;)

xoxo Sioux

The Meadow is Gone!

Pip used to mock-laughingly call the back lawn a meadow!

The man who can, started on my back garden and the falling down walls today and the meadow is already gone!

xoxo Sioux

Diet Watch!

It's Monday and I've been on the diet for 2 weeks now.

Last week I lost 1.5 kilo and was 76 kilo.

This week?

I've lost another kilo so now I'm 75 kilo :)

Oh well....that means I've got to soldier on some more as it's still working!!! LOL

I have even managed to stick to the 30 mins walk every day so far...although some days it's been 15 mins and others it's more like 45 mins so it evens out really!!!

I am getting very bored with the protein, I find myself eating more yoghurt than normal (plain vanilla or 0% Greek as you are not allowed fruit not even a fruity yoghurt!) but I like yogurt so that's O.K......anyway, I made a beef bourguignon on Saturday, and I know it's not really allowed, but making a beef bourguignon without using red wine for stock is just not the done thing.
...so I did LOL!!! (I did not have a glass with it though and I did not thicken the gravy!!)

It was scrummy but I did miss not having a jacket potato with it to soak up the lovely juices...I'm not going to be able to eat potato, pasta, rice, bread, or fruit till 14th December........sigh!

I can eat this though ;)

I've eaten more eggs these past two weeks than I usually get through in 6 months!!
One of the things I'm using them for is to make a baked egg custard.....it's allowed! That is as long as you use fully skimmed milk (not quite so yummy) and don't use sugar......I made one without sugar at first, but it was vile, so I bought some Splenda powder. Plenty of nutmeg grated on makes is passable but oooh! I'd much rather have a crème caramel/crème brûlée made with proper whole milk, a touch of cream and that little sweet kick on the bottom/top LOL ;)

xoxo Sioux

Gothic Fly with Me

I've made a gothic arch tag for Hels Sunday Stamper this week.

It' a colour theme to use blue and orange.

Here is mine.

Bit of masking to achieve the effect background stamped with a script from The Artistic Stamper and background coloured with DI's rusty hinge, spiced marmalade, vintage photo.

Arch from AS again stamped in Adirondack eggplant and watercoloured a little.....because it's not Distress the inks separate out a bit but it's good 'cos it's got a blue tinge to it ;)

T!m raven/crow sits on the T!m hand coloured a spooky shade of green!

Which is a bit the way I was feeling yesterday at work.....me not likey having the flu jab on Tuesday for the first time ever....felt like I was on the verge of sickening for a cold!!!
Today I feel heaps better....thank goodness.

Hey, suppose it's better than getting the flu! LOL

Thanks for looking and happy stamping.

xoxo Sioux

Pickled Onion Overdose!

Is it possible to overdose on pickled onions?

If it is then I am definitely in the running! LOL

One of the things allowed on the Dukan diet even when you are on your protein only days is onions.....strange but true.....added to which you can have the usual salt, pepper, mustard and seasonings including vinegar........well it's fine by me.....I like pickled onions but I don't usually eat a jar and half every week.....a jar usually lasts me a good month, often much longer!!!

How come I have been happily eating my yogurt and raspberries every morning.....perhaps a sandwich for lunch......a jacket potato and chili or red pepper pasta for evening meal (all without anything high calories like butter I might add) and not thinking once about eating between meals?

Now I can't seem to think of anything else but what I can eat next that is not protein!!! HOL

Hence the overdosing on pickled onions!

I'm taking a multi vitamin to be on the safe side whilst I'm on this diet.....it does not sit very comfortably with me but needs must :(
As long as I keep loosing weight.....and I know it's early days but it is working.....I'll persevere but as soon as it stops working and my weight stays static.....I'm back to eating the stuff I enjoy that kept me at a static weight for the past 8 weeks!!!! LOL

xoxo Sioux

Shine On...

Seems appropriate to post my tag for the "Whole of the Moon" theme at Dragons Dream today.....seeing as it's the full moon tonight!! LOL

Only just in time but here it is :)

T!m trees in Distress inks....mask for the moon and weathered wood, scattered straw and wild honey for the sky.....and hints of the same for the moon surface too. T!m birds and Hero Arts sentiment in black soot.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping.

xoxo Sioux

Top of the World for The Artistic Stamper

I'm sharing a journal page today over on the The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog

Curious? Then just hop on over to The Creative Team Blog for all the details.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

P.S. I appreciate each and every comment here but time is short in all our lives so please do not feel obliged to comment both here and on the creative team post.
...I'll see your comments and share the feed back all at the same time if you use The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog post ;)
Thanks