Thursday 23 February 2012

The Woes Of Spring



If the waist band pinches, don't get rid of the trousers, get rid of the inches.

I wish I would listen to myself sometimes. I keep having all these brilliant ideas; do I put them into practice? Stupid question.

I've just had some pasta for lunch - lethal - , and what's even worse, a strip of chocolate for pudding.  It's been a long and boring winter, spent mainly in an easy chair, reading, or in front of my computer, either composing my magnum opus, or doing whatever we think we're doing in the blogoverse.  Even the dog's been in on the conspiracy to fatten me up: he's getting too old and arthritic for long walks and, after half an hour struggling through the mud, he looks at me as if to say, thanks for coming out, but how about going back now? He's very polite that way. There are the ramblers, peramblers and amblers (true, all three groups exist in Valley's End), but I can't see myself stumbling along and remaining civilised and sociable at the same time.


I have a large walk-in wardrobe, well, actually it is a long, slopey-ceilinged space under the roof, running along a massive bedroom, with two wide double doors. The lady who built this house was keen on providing her loving sons and daughters and their assorted children with enough space upstairs to keep them there during visits, while she was free to indulge her passion for bossing the village around downstairs. It made a mess of the house, but gave me enough room to keep my vast collection of shoes and clothes, saved for decades, most of it on the off-chance that the time will come, when a) the stuff becomes fashionable again, and b) that I'll actually be able to get into it at such time. Only about 20% of the clothes hanging on the rails fit me easily, all the rest is surplus to current requirements. Five kilos would do it, but where am I going to get the willpower to shed five kilos? The situation is depressing enough to make me reach for another strip of chocolate.

Chocolate and wine have been my solace ever since I've allowed myself to be locked away in the depths of inaccessible countryside. For heaven's sake, this is practically Wales! Chocolate is absolutely essential to my survival. As chocolate is also addictive, I cannot be blamed for my cravings. Or so I thought until very recently, when some misguided scientists, in the name of the advancement of human misery, proved conclusively, that chocolate is no more addictive than a cup of tea. It seems that the bit of the brain which lights up when you eat a piece of chocolate, also lights up, in exactly the same way, when you are THINKING about eating a piece of chocolate. If ever there was a research project which should have been stifled at birth, it is this.

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. In my distant catholic past, priests and nuns at school made sure that we didn't indulge ourselves. I was a sickly child, so I was allowed protein in the form of meat, but sweets were forbidden on pain of eternal hell fire and brimstone baths. A lot of people hang their need for a reducing diet on the Lent hook, maybe I could join them. On the other hand, the compost heaps need turning and there's a lot of work coming up in the garden. But I am NOT going to keep anybody informed about my success or otherwise. Should I, however, in some future post, mention that I am looking forward to a clothes-shopping-expedition, you may draw your own conclusions. Either way, of course.



64 comments:

  1. I just love your attitude Friko
    and I won't be checking to see if you have shed anything
    Your lifeforce is strong and healthy...carry on

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  2. Oh, dear, Friko, this is my story too. Except that I don't have much to do in the garden.

    Bike trips here and there might be an answer, I think.

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  3. Join the club. The club of 'people who are larger than they used to be and want to be smaller'.PWALTTUTBAWTBS.
    I'm thinking of having the acronym painted on to my fridge (or tattooed onto my belly, which is large enough to accomodate some mammoth font.) Sigh.

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  4. Yes, I have that weight thing going for me also I'm afraid. However, I refuse to buy new clothes. What usually happens for me is when I get so terribly uncomfortable in my way too tight pants, I lose weight. I'm about there.
    I never save clothes though. Too much of anything seems to mean I have to make more difficult choices and that is too stress making for me. Ha.

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  5. Ambling, rambling, perambling, or is it ambulating, rambulating, perambulating?
    Oh by the way, you could chew on a bag of carrots?

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  6. When I retired, I cleaned out my closets and handed the stuff on to a local charity. I figured someone could use those clothes. My granddaughters shop at Charity shops to save their meagre allowances.

    I now wear comfy clothes, elastic bands on pants and large shirts. And I wear Birkenstock shoes...great.

    Dogs and walking? At least you have a nice surface. I have concrete, asphalt and the like. See, city life has its drawbacks too. I wish I could get really good chocolate here. Dianne

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  7. As long as you are not MORBIDLY OBESE, you shouldn't diet. Eat chocolate; the anti-oxidants are good for your health!

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  8. Oh, good, I read all the comments until I found one I could agree with. I'm with Gigi Hawaii, anti-oxidants are good for my health.
    Wonderful post, Friko. If I had your closet, I'd have a zillion clothes, too. We have a small house without enough closet space, and I am forever sending boxes of clothes to charity. I don't know why my closets aren't empty, but they aren't.
    You are going to be so happy when you're working outside with Gardener, and going for long spring walks with Benno...I'm looking forward to the photos.
    K

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  9. Chocolate and tea...mmmmm...the stuff of life :)

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  10. As always, I loved reading your post. Phrases, word choice, and word usage all combine to create the voice of Friko. Writing such as yours is seldom found in the "blogoverse."

    I never took you to be a collector of clothing. I can relate to your problem. I also only can wear about 20% of the three closets full of clothes that I have. I have been thinning out the collection of clothes lately since nothing seems to work when it comes to thinning me down.

    In the meantime, I have my one piece of dark chocolate at day. It is for my heart, or so I tell myself.

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  11. I relate, Friko, I relate! The one thing I do miss from living is the States is my walk-in closet. I've never really liked the wardrobe thing -- but it does mean I manage to cull the old clothes every now and again -- and 'now and again' is pretty much upon me!

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  12. The city house was built so long ago it didn't have closets. People relied on wardrobes to hold their small amount of clothes and so did I. It also served to limit the amount of clothes I have. Now, here at the country house, each bedroom has a rather large closet. what a novelty. I've managed to drop a few pounds by way of not having any work. Limits the amount of food you can eat.

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  13. I like your attitude girl!! I also love chocolate too. I say be yourself.

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  14. I love that----instead of the trousers get rid of the inches!
    You know they say you should purge your wardrobe of stuff you haven't worn in forever! If you do lose the inches you'll want to celebrate with something slender and new....Of course I talk better than I do. I have a wardrobe bulging with stuff that doesn't fit, or I don't like, or it doesn't go with anything else! Maybe for Lent I'll make it my mission.....

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  15. The need for consolation, I know it well. I always wondered how one might survive deep in the country, no matter how picturesque, where as my mother would say the rabbit and fox say good night to each other? Reading your post I had to take out a Lindor chocolate ball, a favorite of mine since childhood. Science says our brains light up in anticipation, but this never got me going on virtuous challenges my Mom posed such as the completion of school to be rewarded with a cruise. Live in the moment and regret nothing is my motto.

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  16. Dear Friko, We should not give up wine or chocolate - they're good for our hearts. However...so is walking.

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  17. tell it friko...i need to drop a bit myself...best wishes to you....

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  18. About all that chocolate, wine and clothing business - yes, of course. It's about time for me to change my winter work wardrobe (jeans, sweatshirts) for my summer work wardrobe (shorts, tee shirts). I can't get into the summer wardrobe.
    Thus, Lent or not Lent, I must commit to getting the accumulated result of too much emotional eating off my frame. Sigh.

    The funniest line here, for me, is "For heaven's sake, this is practically Wales!" I have dear friends who moved to Twywn, out there on the Welsh coast, and though he's gone now, she thinks it ever so much an improvement over Staffs. Of course, she acknowledges her taste in nearly everything is a bit idiosyncratic.

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  19. 5 kilos would be nothing - I need to lose 20 kilos before thinking about seriously losing weight.

    I do love chocolate but I am blessed in that what is commonly available here is horrible stuff and easily left in the stores. The damning bit is that Costco sells the somewhat better stuff but you have to buy huge amounts. I stuff the stockings at Christmas but still have a ton left over.

    Tea is addictive sweetheart. Caffeine. Lovely headache when you go into withdrawal.

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  20. Well, you may be amused to know (or maybe not!), that we have just come back from a long and lovely walk on this unseasonably springlike day, with a stop after for a light lunch (no wine! no pasta! no dessert!) and have come home feeling quite satisfied . . . except, of course wanting that reward of a cup of tea . . . and how about a clementine . . . but really, we don't feel hungry for anything else. Except . . . there are those dark chocolate-covered gingers just sitting there, saying "eat me, eat me." So of course we had to comply, didn't we?

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  21. And - I'm sitting here..reading this...breaking off bits of chocolate and savoring every minute. Life's just too short!!!

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  22. Now I'm hungry for chocolate! LOL! ;)

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  23. Try losing 30 kilos in 12 months or more like i did, it was well worth it in the end :-).

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  24. Years ago, when faced with a constantly fluctuating body size I decided to simplify my life and make me less depressed when reviewing all the stuff that wouldn't fit me in my closet by dumping simply everything that wouldn't fit me. Ruthlessly. Shovelled everything including the odd designer bit to Goodwill. Best thing I ever did.
    I recommend it. It is extraodinary how it feels. Did the same with the high heels about 6 years ago.
    Now everything fits.
    XO
    WWW

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  25. I'm no one to give advice. My waist size has remained the same for years, but my belly hangs over my belt as it never has in the past. I say, "As long as we're happy we should enjoy life and relish our sweet diversions." My Jan loves me, my kids love me, and Malcolm the Wiener Dog really loves me. So what more can I ask for? A J.C. Penny's card I guess ...

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  26. It's the time of year when we've all got our winter overcoats on - come the warm weather the pounds will go - well that's what I'm hoping too.

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  27. Charming read. Here in the U.S. a little girl died from being forced to run for 3 hours by her mother and grandmother...all because she ate candy on her school bus. Are you not glad that you live in your countryside instead of mine? Hubby turned the compost yesterday...you need a slave like that.

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  28. Research - HA! The only part of my brain that lights up when I think about eating chocolate is the one that forces me out of my chair to get a square of the dark stuff from the cupboard.

    I poked around the garden a bit today, admiring all the little things that are starting to spring up, and bemoaning the weeds that seem to have never died down.

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  29. If shedding 5 kilos were easy, I would have done it and more long ago. At this point I would be happy to just maintain the weight I have, but even that seems to be out of reach. I blame it on age alone, since red wine and chocolate have both been shown to have health benefits. And everyone knows that health food doesn't make you fat. ;o)

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  30. Sigh. There is way too much in your post and the comments that fits me a whole heap better than the clothes in my wardrobe.
    Out into the garden I go. I call it garden, but after a wet summer weed park is a more accurate description.

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  31. I have 10kgs to lose. I might have mentioned this at least 3 times before. It's still 10kgs despite exercising for 1 and a 1/2 hours, 4-5 times a week [about as much as my shonky knees can take]. I've cut down on my timtams, my beloved cream cakes and tarts, my main meals too, for heaven's sake. There's no more I can do. I'm sorry to say, I'm buying new clothes.

    p.s. I think your wardrobe would be an amazing place to rummage through. Vintage yum.

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  32. Friko, I do like the looks of your wardrobe storage place. I'm delighted to say that as I have gotten older, and styles have changed, and I've been more or less able to keep to my "fighting weight" and size, I just rotate current clothing styles on to a neighborhood charity thrift shop.

    That way, I still have enough clothes hangers and space to hang them.

    Now that I've sorted that, let's move on to chocolate. Every year, I do give up chocolate for Lent. This year Lent snuck up on me and I actually bought a supply of chocs at the grocery store on Tuesday. What was I thinking/not thinking.

    Well. I might give those chocs to others (not the neighborhood thrift shop) or might leave them in the fridge to regularly remind me of Lenten denial.

    I also want to try to be more patient during this season.

    xo

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  33. Oh, Friko, I think we are living in parallel universes thousands of miles away! Your closet, however, is much more divine than mine -- my out of date or out of size (more likely) clothes hang on a rack in the basement and each time I go to do laundry or clean litter I am reminded that a combination of malaise, lack of energy, challenged health and a few nasty meds are keeping both the weight on and little commitment to moving. Well, indulgence is there, too. Yes, that wine -- a must. Not daily for me, but a weekend seems sad without it. I'm a cookie girl -- doesn't have to be chocolate, but I'll take that, too.

    My Lenten practice -- if or when I practice -- is more trying to do things that are tough for me but with less "gain." Maybe I'm just denying the obvious, but when I gave up things I should be doing anyway, I felt more than a tad guilty!

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  34. Chocolate - my favorite food group...and a glass of wine before dinner...
    Living in the country also - with unpaved roads and snow covered fields, I would need to be encased in armor to brave a walk outside. I try to see the basement treadmill on a daily basis. Clothes? Comfy corduroys and a sweater (I believe you call them "jumpers") are the dress of the day. Dress? I don't own one.

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  35. I so wish I could eat whatever I want without worrying.

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  36. Smiling here. I'm a genuine chocoholic, too and will not quit. I'm pretty lucky -- I have worn the same sizes for years. The doctor says I burn more energy sitting still than most people do exercising -- it's weird.

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  37. Tea having the same effect as chocolate - bad science!
    The only thing that works for me is to raise my activity level and lower my calorie intake. Hard, hard, hard.

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  38. I just got home from three weeks in Ecuador. At 9,000 feet, my body worked hard to keep me going with less oxygen, and it used three or four pounds of me to do that!

    Now I'm home, though, and ice cream is easier to find than it was in rural Ecuador.

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  39. Tea and chocolate are absolutely NOT the same! That is why I give up the latter for Lent, while increasing consumption of the former (because I also gave up coffee this year; the family know to stay away). And just thinking about the c-word is no help. Reminds me of the study a couple of decades back that determined that sugar has no effect on young children. Sponsor? Domino sugar. Case closed.

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  40. Nice post Friko!

    My wardrobe ranges between a few sizes - I keep all the really nice ones in the smallest size there to encourage me ... so far it hasn't worked.

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  41. Once the good weather begins , we'll all throw off this winter lethargy , start moving about and lose weight naturally .
    I'm convinced of it .... I think .

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  42. Ahh yes!! The road we should take but don't due to weather and dull gray days. Looking forward to sunny bright days and a more positive energy!!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  43. Hi Friko - crumbs I'm surprised by your last thought .. you only need walk as far as your closet and find some new clothes and colours that will suit 2012 .... surely?! Thank goodness I'm nearly in France and getting down here would probably take as long as William the Conq took to walk up to Wales?!

    Cheers - enjoy your chocolate, your vino and the Springing weekend ahead .. Hilary

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  44. i heard a good piece of advice about lent recently - don't think about what you are giving up, think about what you will gain and focus on that

    goal orientation is the way forward

    best of luck

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  45. My goodness, you certainly seemed to hit a nerve or two with this one, Friko. I finally had to give up reading all the comments or I'd be here all day.

    I lost eighteen pounds in 2011 and am now struggling to keep it off. I can lose or gain, but maintenance is still something I have to learn how to do! My blood work was excellent, though, and that gives me incentive.

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  46. The big mistake we all make is to mix this up with sacrifice and sin. It's just a matter (not so easy, I know) of finding the not so fattening foods that we like and the physical activity that we enjoy, eating less of the one (but it can still include chocolate) and doing more of the other. Let's stop beating ourselves up about it (or bigging ourselves up when it starts to go the way we want), and just think of it as a new opportunity to please ourselves.

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  47. I can readily relate to your clothing and weight complaints. I have been trying for 5 years to get rid of 5 kgs, but have successful only in maintaining my current weight - keeps fluctuating. And your wardrobe is great!!! Is there anything so divine as chocolates??? Great post!!! Cheers, Ruby

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  48. I'm chuckling at your misery. Sorry. It's your sense of humour.

    Life's too short to worry about 5 kilos. When summer finally arrives, you'll be eating lots of salads (yes you will) and you'll have lost enough weight to get you comfortably through a chocolate- and marzipan-filled winter again. Fingers crossed.

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  49. Oh Friko, my story as well! Clothes I hope to pour myself into someday hang in my closets! So wish I had the metabolism of my youth.

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  50. You seem to have struck a chord here. It's good to have company;-)

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  51. Conclusions have been drawn. I can't tell you what you already know.

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  52. Well I am actually in Wales and could not survive without wine and chocolate - white wine mainly, bitter chocolate, oh and cheese. I keep wondering if it would work to get rid of the stuff I don't care about. Wouldn't really care too much if I never ate another potato but somehow that doesn't seem to be the answer. I could also manage without rice and pasta but need bread, home made and in quantity. Maybe exercise or acceptance?

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  53. your opening line made me laugh! and the catholic lenten memories, too. :)

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  54. I love your sense of humor, Friko.

    "Chocolate is absolutely essential to my survival. As chocolate is also addictive . . . " - now, that is serious business that I agree totally, completely, absolutely. I think it should be a bumper sticker.

    While I keep far too many clothes, I do try to weed them out, especially if I think someone can make better use of them.

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  55. Your post made me smile, Friko -- so funny and true!

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  56. You know, the interesting thing to me about my current post was that my weight loss was incidental to the fact that a woman had passed gas into my face, yet commenters fixate on the number of pounds lost. So, yes, don't go near announcing a number, lest your larger points get buried under people's congratulations.

    I can't wait for gardening season, either. I like to plant and weed until I'm a bit woozy when I stand up...not that any of it would help me lose an ounce.

    Your closet is marvelously full of character; I can't quite see how you'd even access a couple of those racks.

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  57. That's practical, a walk in wardrobe, although I wouldn't have enough clothes to put in there. I belong to the once who, when they are fed up with a cloth, just give it away. But I don't spend much on clothing. It has to look good and be cheap, lol !
    Fortunately I don't have problems with sweet things. I only eat them from time to time, even as a child I didn't like chocolate or sweets.

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  58. Great post, Friko. Three years ago I managed to lose 12kg for health reasons, but since I started blogging the weight is creeping back on. Sigh... However, I've sorted out the clothes problem by ruthlessly weeding out those things I know I'd never wear again even if I could get into them. Not much of a clothes person in any case and definitely not a shoe person, so it wasn't too hard.

    I've given up chocolate and wine for Lent and I DO live in Wales, so it can be done. :-)

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  59. Chocolate — I can take it or leave it. But wine is indispensable. A very nicely written post, Friko!

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  60. Yep. 5 Kilos should do it for me too. Perhaps even 10. But I seem to be able to sustain my current weight.

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  61. Dear Friko,
    Oh, the struggle with weight that some of us go through our entire life.

    Until I was forty, I weighed 118 pounds, which was in keeping with 64 inches in height. Then I started taking a medication that meant I'd put on weight. And put on. And put on. And . . . (You get the picture.)

    At 165 pounds, I joined Weight Watchers and got down to 138, which felt about right to me at the age I was.

    Now I weigh 155--and so I'm between 18 and 25 pounds overweight. But will power eludes me. You'll be telling us one day that you are going shopping, but if I say that, be assured, it will be for the next size---up!

    Peace.

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  62. I don't recommend the way I have lost 20 kilos in the last year through bereavement and stress, but I feel pleased that at least there has been one beneficial consequence. I am fitting into clothes which are really very old, and feel quite glad I kept them. Most are so out of fashion that they will keep hanging in the wardrobe indefinitely.
    My diet has changed radically, after years when all I did was get steadily heavier. However there is no point getting smug, and I hope all that surplus flesh does not sneak back onto me.
    I keep enjoying the wine, but am not a chocolate eater.

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  63. Hello Friko, thanks for stopping by at my blog and saying hello to me and my Mum! Even at first glance, your blog seems so interesting I decided to become your regular reader No. 405.

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  64. Hahahaha!! From the way some people drink endless cups of tea, I thought it WAS addictive!! Ergo, so is the chocolate, yes?!

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