Judith Proctor's Journal

 It's surprisingly hard to gain weight when you actually want to.

I'm down to 48.2k (go back four or five years and I was probably closer to 58k)

The loss is because my insulin doesn't work as effectively as it used to, so what I eat isn't all converted into useful energy for the body.

I'm now eating larger portions at meals, and I'm adding in snacks of nuts/cheese/fruit/other nibbles between meals, but the catch comes whenever I'm ill.

I gain gradually, then I get an asthma attack.  One steroid course, and I've lost half a kilo.

Then I catch a bug from Theo - sick one day and not eating the next - I lose weight again.

It's rather like the old analogy of a frog climbing out of a well.  As fast as I climb up, I start to slip down again...

But, at least I know what the problem is, and I'm doing what I can to improve it.  As long as I can stay well, I'll hopefully get a bit more weight and energy...

It's still important to avoid foods with a high glycemic index - if too much sugar enters the system, it gets overloaded and enters shutdown mode for a while - that causes blood sugar to spike (which is a BAD thing).  one thing I've learnt from what I'm being taught is that bananas have a high GI - best to only have half a banana, unless they are very small ones.

 First off, the detox on news and Facebook has done a lot to improve my quality of sleep.

Second, and far more important, my son who has been looking for a job ever since his entire office were unexpectedly made redundant around 10 months ago, has finally found a new job.

And the kind of job he really, really wanted.  He could have got a coding job quickly, many of his friends did.  But he wanted to be involved in problem analysis, requirements analysis, planning the breakdown of work for a team.

He was doing some of that in his previous job, but it wasn't reflected in his job title.

But he's starting around 10 days from now: it's well paid, it's not to far too travel, and he only has to go into the office for two days a week.  The rest can be done from home on flextime.   (Which is very handy for when Theo - now age 1 and crazily adorable - is unwell and can't go into the nursery.  His wife's office day is different, so they can cover all bases - and Richard and I can help out when necessary.  we have him on Fridays anyway, as we don't want to miss out on him growing up.

He already loves being read to.  And listening to me singing to him :)

So, happy Granny!  (Apart from having flu, which has triggered a bad asthma attack to keep it company...)

 I'm taking time out from social media and also reading the news.  It was pushing my stress levels too high (though DW is much better in this regard than Facebook is).

But having picked up yet another Pratchett ebook at a low price and another book that looks interesting for under a quid, I suppose I ought to mention it.

https://www.bookbub.com/ebook-deals/free-ebooks  allows you to sign up for a mailing list (I limit it to one post a week, as it's too much if they send it daily) that tells you of discounted books on Kobo and Amazon.

They're usually popular old classics like Pratchett (that I've already paid for in paper form, so feel no guilt about getting a cheap copy), popular books that have already sold in vast numbers and are now on a brief offer for those who weren't tempted at full price (just read a really interesting biography of Captain Cook that is not something I'd previously have considered reading), and occasionally books that are newly released and they're hoping to generate publicity by getting positive reviews.  I suspect many of the books listed on their website fall into that category.

You can tell it what kind of books you prefer, so I get mostly offers for SF/fantasy/non-fiction/bestsellers.  Getting a selection of about ten a week works for me, and I suspect I'm buying about one a fortnight. (I bought two this week, one Pratchett and one by an author I've never tried, but looked interesting)

I'm also spending more time reading books in the time that was previously wasted doom-scrolling FB and the newspapers!

 If, like me, you enjoy 'The Importance of being Earnest' (and even possibly if you don't), this delightful little story by Kalypso will surely please you as much as it pleased me.

The Morris Federation have been producing a series of short videos for many of their members.  The aim is to get as many shares as possible, in order to boost the number of people reached.

So, here's the short video for Southern Star Longsword.  We're a small, friendly team, who welcome men, women and children. We meet in Corfe Mullen on Monday evening.  We're especially keen to recruit new musicians at present.

 Sorry I'm posting so little at present.  I had Covid.  Yet again.  And it leaves me so drained afterwards...

I think I'm past the worst now, but it really is frog climbing well (for every two steps forward, you slide one backwards) territory.

I'm finally starting to clear the worst of the email backlog.

What with sciatica and Covid, I've been very behind on pretty much everything for the last year (probably the last three...) and I've fallen behind on a lot of morris and sword dance stuff that needed doing.

At least I've found a volunteer to take over event organising for the morris team (bagman).  I'm breaking him in very gently, as he's had his own health problems and I don't want to over-load him.

And I've finally written down the instructions to a sword dance that we perform to 'Wellerman'.  I'm hoping we can video it at Swanage Folk Fesitval.

If I'm fit enough to dance in 2 weeks time....  I had to miss it last year due to pain/exhaustion.

Fingers crossed!

 I'm enjoying the new series of Sandman.  It's so nice to have something that is slowly paced and gives you time to soak up the atmosphere.

Also, it's fun spotting the Dorset locations standing in for Ancient Greece !

I wasn't quite sure which abbey they were using for Destiny's realm, but it worked very well.

 The average water consumption for people in the UK needs to come down as hotter summers increase the chance of drought.

"The EA said customers in England need to cut their water use by 2.5 billion litres a day by 2055 – down from an average of around 140 litres per person per day to 110 litres per day. "

I looked at our previous water bills.  In summer, we use around 150L and in winter, significantly than that, but that's the total usage for three adults and  a child who is with us for two days a week.

Which makes our individual water usage just under a third of the national average, and already within the target by a good margin.  And that includes some water for topping up the pond and watering some of the plants.

We're on a water meter and pay about £170 per year for the household.

We've become very good over the years, at not using a lot of water.

LAUNDRY

A lot of people wear an item once, and automatically chuck it in the laundry (I was completely unaware of this until a woman told me that she washed her teenage son's jeans every day)

Me?  If it isn't visibly dirty, and it doesn't smell when I sniff under the armpits, then it's back in the wardrobe, or wear for another day.

If you're selective in the fabrics you buy, you can dramatically reduce the need for laundry.

Linen is amazing.  It really doesn't pick up body smells at all - that's because it naturally wicks moisture away from the body, in a way that synthetic fabrics can't. 

I found this out while doing my English Civil War Reenactment.  The bottom layer of clothing for women is always a linen smock.  So, I made a linen smock.  I washed it once, to soften the fabric a little, then -having been told that it softened very nicely with wear, started to wear it as a nightie.  The most comfortable night garment I've ever worn.  I kept on wearing it, every night, waiting for it to get smelly.  It didn't. And the fabric now has a wonderful feel when you touch it (probably something to do with the natural oil in flax, but I don't know for sure)

Whereas if I wear something polyester based, it's often just one day's wear.

Cotton is very good as well - not quite so good as linen, but I can wear a cotton t-shirt as an under-layer and get quite a few days out of that before fails the sniff test.

What do you do to reduce your water consumption?

 Pleased to say that MP (Vikki Slade, Liberal) voted in favour of the bill, as she'd promised when I wrote to her about it.

(Our previous MP, Conservative, - but not necessarily representative of the rest of the party - did not always vote to match what his letters implied.)

My heath is fine at present (expect when I get sciatica or break something), but I'm terrified of dementia (the bill doesn't cover that, but hopefully it may one day extend to it, such that if wishes are expressed in a proper power of Attorney while a person is still of sound mind).

I wrote my POA several years ago, and made my wishes clear.  If I ever can't recognise my family, then that person is no longer a person I wish to be.  And I certainly don't want my family to live with that kind of pain or to spend their time caring (or paying for care for) someone who can't appreciate it.

 I'm just catching up on Dr Who.

I've seen many, many episodes in my life, and 'Lucky Day' is the first one that really made me feel scared.

Monsters don't scare me.  Some people do.

that really was chilling, and far too close to reality for comfort...

 My sister Gillian lives in the Pennines (an area we both love), and she does fell-running. Rather like myself with morris-dancing, she's suffered from injuries and other issues, but picks herself up with determination, gets back to fitness and starts all over again.

For something you love, it's worth it.

This year, she's taken on a really big challenge - an 8-day expedition race in Scotland,  going from Fort William to the top northwest corner of Scotland (the lighthouse at Cape Wrath).

All the participants wear trackers, so you can follow them.

I can see that she's made a good start and is now at Glenfirman

If you want to look, click here.  She's number 92.

I'm rooting for her to make it to the end, but it's a tough course!

 Do you ever click on 'Network' on any of your friends' pages?

I've done that several times recently, and added several new and interesting people to my subscription/access list as a result.

I think that's how I found Puddleshark - who turns out to a. Live in Dorset and loves visiting the kind of places I love to visit.  Especially beautiful gardens, and b.  Is  a fellow dancer, belonging to a team I know well, and I have definitely met her in real life!  (But will have to wait until Anonymous Morris and Holly Copse Molly meet up at a festival or dance out, to work out which member of the team she is!)

 Hoping the photo works...

This is me (in the black hat), my daughter, and my granddaughter, spending a day in the year 1642.

Lindsey has set herself up in the village of Little Woodham as a leather worker, and hopes to learn smithing before long (there are historical records of female blacksmiths in this period).

Oswin, is the leather worker's apprentice, but also showing children how to play games like 'cup and ball'.

I'm currently learning how to card wool, use a spinning wheel (I think I prefer the drop spindle at present) and talking to people about period clothing.

All in all, a very enjoyable day.

fjm

 Is thinking of starting a phd

Proposal title: With the Best of Intentions. Society, Economy and the British Charity Landscape.

It's an interesting read that sparks a lot of ideas. Worth reading.

 Wonderful piece of Babylon 5 fic by SelenaK

archiveofourown.org/works/62758192

I regard my self as a decent writer, but I know when I'm reading a better one.  She really has the knack of seeing into the character's hearts, but also the ability to see where the plot foreshadows later events.