soops kindly kitcheners and perfect pampered pets.

Oops! I really feel the need to avoid eating all day as I have been doing. A few days of missing a main meal in a rather vague attempt to pull off a 5/2 fast day has helped me to get back to a lot nearer my target weight.

No cake or such in the house gives me far less temptation to snack.

Nellie , I'm sure you're right but these were healthier than my normal bake :-) ...... small steps ?

At least your worst fears were not reali8sed. I agree, small steps. I am trying to lose weight and to date I have lost 4 kilos but I tell myself that I only have 2-3 kilos to lose. There is no point even thinking of what I need to lose because I doubt if it would happen, I would give up.

oh dear, nellie I have no willpower, only wantpower.

That doesn't sound so bad, n&g, Christmas has a lot to answer for, you can do it! I no longer use scales, if my clothes start to feel tight I eat sensibly for a bit and then get back to the chocolate. Thinking about it I eat very little carb., it's sort of instinctive, lucky I guess, so that probably helps

Coughing like mad today, if anyone has a fix please do share it, driving me nuts. Goodness knows what it does to Mr C. I notice his hearing aid comes out regularly .

corner have you had a chat with your local pharmacist? He may be able to help you. Your coughing has been going on for yonks now. There are advantages to be deaf at times I think!

I know I've mentioned this on GN before somewhere - maybe in soop's kitchen - but I do find Buttercup cough syrup with (I think this is right) squill extract and capsicum tincture is the best at sorting my coughs. I can remember having it as a child and I think it contained ipecacuana then but I believe that is a no-no these days. I've had a cold that comes and goes since November and a cough that goes and comes in between since then too, but only at night. If the cough wakes me for a second time in one night I have a slug of B/cup and that seems to sort it for a few days.

I know I haven't been as badly affected as some with this bug but I do empathise with you all and wish everyone a speedy recovery. My best advice is go to bed when it's at its worst and take it gently when you have a good day. Don't worry about housework, the dust will still be there tomorrow

Swanny I do find buttercup syrup helpful and I really like the taste. I do not want to become addicted though.
My cough still seems to come back some times. Nothing at all like it was at it's worst. Just a very mucousy cough now that comes and goes. The "100 day cough."

soop I live very close to Ann and have been in touch. I have pm'd you.

I use benylin non drowsy at night.
I find it does help

Incidentally, chocolate contains chemicals that help with coughs!
Might cheer some of you up!?

Charley the pharmacist helpfully located at the end of the road thought as there is no outcome (!) from the coughing I could either use a simple linctus or the old fashioned honey and lemon. Both help for a short while, minutes rather than hours. I'll try the Buttercup stuff, see if that quietens it for longer. I'm wondering if after this amount of time it's almost a habitual bodily response and actually it's serving no purpose. Can that be so? It is better than it was and in the scheme of things not so awful, it just needs more patience than I have. Dont you just love the Winter? .

My cough has nearly gone, corner, and it probably was 100 days from beginning to end. It won't last for ever! Honest!!

Glad your appointment wasn't as bad as it might have been n&g.

Blimey kitty, 100 days? I'm only half way there and my dental work has to begin next week as it's hurting again. Oh well, who said dentists needed fingers .

I haven't been struck by the awful cold and cough many are suffering from (touches wood, sends up prayers to every God I can think of) but last winter I did have an awful cough which wouldn't go away and found some cough pastilles called broncho stop helped. They are made by Buttercup.

Good Morning !!

You'll be pleased to know that my flapjacks were a disaster anyway Nellie despite being full of delicious things and tasting great when turned out from the tin nothing stuck together !! So I had a big pile of nice stuff !!

Saved from myself !

Corner I agree with sunseeker I tried the Broncostop pastilles too and found they helped and they also do a cough medicine. Eye wateringly expensive but it did help/ Might be worth the investment ( think of your poor fingerless dentist!!)

Well, we have not one but 2 viewing s of the house today ! Maybe its something people do in cold weather for entertainment !

So its a tidy up this morning then getting together with my daughters and families this evening for a Chinese and a general good time. Sunday its over to ours for a roast cooked by Grampy before a new photographer arriving on Monday to take pictures for the new agent.

Its all go !!

Hope you're feeling better to Galen and have eaten a little more than the cheese at your course !

I'm off for a healthy breakfast -sighs-

I have tried just about every cough medicine but the one that works for me is Buttercup Broncho stop. It is a cough syrup that os suitable for all types of cough and eases the throat, it seems to be all natural ingredients.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLdUNqYclpM

I didn't flounce, I didn't even say goodbye and for that I apologise. But I was very down. When you get to the point where "enough is enough" sometimes a clean break seems the best thing.
Then I read annsixty's post and my heart went out to her but I couldn't pm her as GNHQ had acted very promptly on my request for deregistration.
So as children all do, I asked my mum (or in this case mah maw) how to resolve my problem " no tae bide awa'"
So not a name change for any ulterior motive but once gone, GNHQ won't let you reuse your previous username. Next best thing?
Moral - dinnae be sae hasty.

At least MawBroon you have returned home where you are welcomed and loved. Ann's post struck a good few chords I think and as soop said, what a pity that we all live so far away and cannot give practical help.

My advice to you MawBroon is to stay with the gentler posts where you know that you will not get your head bitten off. Life in your neck of the woods is not a bed of roses either. I do hope that you are looking after Grace.

I don't understand why anyone could be said to have "flounced". If someone is upset and decides to leave and gives their reasons they are accused of having flounced. If they just stop posting everyone wonders what happened (or in my case nobody would notice!). So MawBroon welcome back.

welcome back Maw - love the new incarnation.

I think you are a bit like me , you have an opinion and some threads mean you can't help but pitch in - and those are always the one where meanness is the order of the day

I'm definitely trying to only post in threads where its asking for info or support ( how long will that last I wonder mmmmm)

I think sunseeker ann got the tone and content just right in her goodbye. Not a scrap of 'flounciness' just words from the heart.

I think flouncing applies ( and I've seen it a few times here ) where someone not only posts that they are leaving but then takes a dig at any number of posters on the way out [laugh].Its like Ill be rude/mean/sarcastic/downright spiteful.......and then Ill run away so you cant get me !

Oh the joys of anonymity ?

I do agree , if someone stops posting you do wonder if they are Ok. So I think a straightforward goodbye is the way to go.

N&G I agree that if someone leaves and takes the opportunity to post spiteful comments it could possibly be called flouncing but I always wonder what caused them to do that? Were they so badly bullied that they just couldn't take anymore? (I don't read every thread so often miss the reason someone is leaving) I think we have all seen threads where those who express an opinion different from some others the insults start flying (stupid, uneducated, niave etc. etc.) - one reason why this thread is such a welcome haven.

I think it can be perceived in many ways sunseeker . I noticed during my career that often at a leaving interview someone would list all the perceived 'wrongs' that had occurred over sometimes years. Often I would ask them why they hadn't addressed those slights at the time . They didn't often have an answer .

I always thought it sounded like 'sour grapes' a lot of the time , an opportunity to slip the knife in. If they had addressed it at the time of the event it would have been far more credible and often simply resolved.

I sometimes think the same of the forum. There are without doubt, in my opinion, some posters who are incredibly harsh ( I wonder if that comes over in a real life debate with them?). And there are some that don't want to admit any point of view but their own. You're right on the money though- personal comments are out of order.

Long may the sanity of the kitchen reign ....and the ?????????

You are of course right N&G (this is turning into a love in!), things should be addressed right away so they don't get blown out of proportion, but, if you get one person bombarded with personal comments about their intelligence etc. by several people over a short space of time it can make them just give up trying to redress the balance. As you say you do wonder whether they would say the same things in a face to face debate.

Life in the virtual world can as complex as in the world we can touch it seems. Pleased to see you maw, its good to have you here.

It sounds as if the broncho stop is the way to go, I'm only thinking of the dentist you understand, the magic has until Tuesday week to work! Been for a well wrapped up walk on the beach, superb. Minus 2 (!), the water on the beach was frozen and there was frost on the sand. Sort of magical if jolly chilly. Lunch now, a bowl of pasta for Mr C, just a spoon full and loads of the sauce for me, then off for the food shop, its an exciting day here!

Keep warm and well everyone. Just thought, how many germs would there be in here if it wasn' a virtual kitchen?

My sympathies to all of you suffering with coughs. How I wish I could find a cure, I have been told by the dr that mine is probably a 'habitual ' cough, but as it's been going on so long (years!) it's unlikely to be anything 'nasty'. Drives me mad though.
maw I was a little confused when I saw your name on another thread but quickly caught on. Glad you haven't left. I often wonder why some people seen unable to post for long without it degenerating into a slanging march. So unnecessary. That's why I tend to read rather than post on the whole.