View from living room

Today the forecast is for 35 degrees. Every day in summer I close the curtains to keep the heat out. Upstairs it's air conditioned, but down here it's always much cooler because I'm in the foundations of the house. However, it's the humidity that makes things so uncomfortable, not the actual temperature. 

It's almost unbearable outside. I dread having to pick the kids up this afternoon. Just got an email from the school, telling parents and carers that during this heatwave students will be kept inside all day, even at recess and lunch time, in the air conditioned classrooms. 

I had my swim at 9. Simply beautiful. It's the best part of my day.

Yes, Winifred, I'm sure I'll be looking for excuses before too long to entice Emma away from the trombone!

Nothing will surprise me now...

This year Emma is in the school band and you've guessed it, the instrument chosen for her is the trombone! Oh my glory - what a sound for sore ears!!!! Even before her first lesson she's been marching round the house, Hugo in tow, blasting away boom, toot, blah....

My morning sessions from 7am are a very tight squeeze with this new arrival: Hugo - breakfast, 20 min session on reading, free play; Emma - breakfast, 30 min session each on maths, piano and trombone. Even with my bad maths, I know that three lots of 30 mins won't fit into one hour!! Thankfully at 8am the other grandparents arrive for dressing and taking to school, with both kids now riding their scooters + wearing helmets and carrying backpacks weighing a tonne.

Add to the above scene Navi, Poppy, Cupcake, Fluffy, Possum, Pussy, or whatever her name is and Muffy hissing and squarking at each other. It won't be long before poor Nanny is carried off to the asylum.

She now has to fit in a 45-min swim, 5,000 steps on the fitbit, French lesson preparation for 5-yr-old Chinese child prodigy with Emma and Hugo tagging up the rear in the 4pm lesson (after she's walked to the school for 3:10 pickup of scooter-riding grandchildren).

Not to mention dusting, vacuuming, filling dishwasher, showering, dressing, reading the paper, doing the crossword, a few hours on ancestry, shopping, etc, etc.

All this after 3 to 4 hours' sleep, which seems to be my lot these nights.

When we first saw a photo of Navi, we were very taken with her blue eyes and cute expression, and hadn't even wondered about the rest of her. Now she's growing the most enormous fluffy tail, which ought to be on a squirrel.

If only I could get Navi, Cupcake, Poppy, Cinnamon, Fluffy, Possum, Squirrel and many more attempts at getting a name to stick - now I'm so confused I usually just say Pussy - to pose like this you'd see what I mean. It's not obvious from the top photo, but her tail really does look exactly like this one on the end of the squirrel.

Thanks for the itchy scalp tip, Winifred, but yes, I've tried that. Trouble is me - I just can't stop scratching.

16 shampoos and conditioners

I know these pics aren't of world-shattering interest to anybody, but they are proving very useful to yours truly, making it blindingly obvious how wasteful I am with my buying. Surprisingly, I have always seen myself as a not-very-spendy person, which is obviously wrong. And I've always been critical of other people who buy too much stuff.

However, there is a reason for my buying so many shampoos - I have a very itchy scalp and most of these products have been recommended by GPs or dermatologists. Needless to say, nothing works, which explains why I keep on buying and trying. The above products range in price from $3 to $35. Some are for chlorine affected and coloured hair, too, and it is doubtful if they make the least little bit of difference.

Lovely to have you back here, Winifred.

Life goes on...

I can see Emma becoming a children's book illustrator. She loves drawing and this is one of herself she did at school.

My sleep has been dreadful lately and the fitbit makes it easy to see each morning just how long I slept the previous night. Several nights of about 4 - 5 hours leave me like a zombie. My sleep patterns are haywire. I don't go to sleep till 1 or 2 am and this morning I didn't wake till 12 midday!

Trying to function normally is almost impossible.

6 swimming costumes

This exercise is really good for me. It makes me aware of all the wasted money over the years. Though nothing ever wears out, so I suppose that could be seen as economical. 

And swimming costumes do play an important role in my fitness regime. I swim every morning, rain, hail or shine.

For years I've been labouring under the misapprehension that my weight to height is within the healthy range. But the other day I got Philip to measure me and I am 2 inches shorter than I used to be, so that makes me FAT. I was shocked!!! I know it is said that people shrink as they age, but 2 inches!!! How come I never noticed it before?

So, to lose weight, I not only have to swim for 45 minutes each morning, but walk 7,000 steps (measured on my fitbit). I am determined to do it, and will write the results on this blog.

This morning, at 165cm tall, I weighed 65.4 kg. I want to get down to 58 kg.

30 scarves

They're not all here! After taking the photo I remembered I have another drawer full!

Shaming myself for buying too much stuff

OK. It's come to this. Why does one person have six umbrellas? I ask myself. I will think about it seriously.

I have been culling stuff since New Year's Day and have quite a few bags and boxes waiting to go to a charity shop.

Unfortunately Hugo looked into things the other day and asked why I was giving away a perfectly good, small, silver Christmas tree and decorations, which would be perfectly good for Navi, Poppy, Fluffy, Possum or whatever we call the new kitten. I gave in and told him he could take it upstairs. I fear this is what will happen to lots of stuff if I don't get rid of it quickly.

Birthday flowers

I fibbed and put an incorrect birthday on Facebook (as it's not wise to give away too much personal information) and have been inundated with birthday wishes from everybody I know on Facebook! Thanks Lina, Therese and Angela for these beautiful flowers - one huge bouquet filled three vases - plus a lovely ginger jar filled with lollies and a birthday cake!!!

And we all had a lovely lunch together yesterday at a Chinese restaurant.

I'll be 73 on my real birthday. Am slowing down noticeably. I get absolutely exhausted after a day out. It doesn't help if I've only slept three or four hours the night before. Not sleeping well seems to be a symptom of old age.
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Muffy just walked all over the keyboard and left the above message for you.