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Swissie

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Posts posted by Swissie

  1. My mum and dad were always very lean bordering on the thin- and so are my brothers. I am always on the go, so no couch potato here. Sadly an underactive thyroid went undiagnosed for a very long time, and now losing weight is a very difficult battle. If you are a couch potato who eats lost of fast sugars and fats- it is 'easy' (! yes I know ..!) but if you are very active and eat low GI, etc - it is well not... I am trying to eat more slowly and address portion control. Wish me luck.

  2. Quillan, I'm convinced it's possible to eat more healthily without it costing more. People who buy cheap and lots of 2 for 1 often waste an awful lot. Add pulses and veg in season, and most can afford to eat much better quality meat - in lesser quantities, which is better for health anyway. But I'd agree that it takes a bit more time and effort - at least at the beginning. Tons of local fruit go to waste every year both in UK and France - because many people can't be asked to pick it, for instance. How much cheaper and better can you get than a good crumble with local, in season fruit.

  3. You can but try Woolie - take Gemima- she's bound to attract some attention (BUT make sure you leave Randy at home or you have NO chance). Bonne chance. For pretty boys though, you need Clapham Common apparently (if I remember well the Sun and a famous politician some years back..). But we digress.

    Must say though it was easy then for us, I was 19 and he was 24 and were in our prime... not saying that you are not, of course. xx lol

  4. Just wondering how long 'competition' will work. In Oadby, a very small suburb/town in East Leics - they built a huge Sainsbury's about 8 years ago, then a huge Asda which will be followed next year by a huge Waitrose , all on the edges - the shops in the town centre are struggling, including a largish Coop- and charity shops abound to take the place of shops that can't be let. Who will eventually win - and lose (well I know the answer to that one I think). Every UK town is turning into clones- same shops, same cafés, same restaurants, same pubs - same everything - and it is a real tragedy. I'd readily give up 2 for the price of one c**p chickens and 2 for 1 to stop this trend.

  5. Woolie, been married to that Knight in shining Armour nearly 40 years - so he is definitely not Hendrix (saw him at the Isle of Wight - and it was the end of him!).

    Somebody here suggested recently that I do not work - but surely I must work very well, as OH has not moved on to a younger model. lol.

    So glad you did what your instincts told you Sweet - you WILL find it - probably when you've stopped looking. No more moves for us - when the place gets too big, we will get help, then if need to, live-in help. Enough space for a family to join us here. Or we would get together with a few more we get on really well with, and split the place into

    flatlets, have a communal room for meals and entertainment, company, music, when we feel like it - and staff to look after us, cook, etc - would be much cheaper than an OAP home, we could hire and fire as we please, keep costs down - choose the type of entertainment we want- have a minibus and go on brilliant trips and visits. Be in charge of our own destiny- and living in Switzerland all join EXIT and be in charge of the ultimate move too.

  6. And you will - I am sure of it. All good things come to those who wait. BTW I was definitely the lost parcel at Clapham Junction Easter 70 - on the wrong train and he 'saved' me. LOL-  imagine though, I'd come for Jimmy Hendrix and ended up with him!

  7. In the UK I used to help with an assocs that helped young mums with young children how to budget, buy good, healthy cheap food and cook it- it made a huge difference, as they just didn't have a clue how easy and cheap good food can be. And at my school, I used to organise cooking sessions for our young vegetarians - as their idea of being veggie was to eat chips and pizzas- and many had a weight problem. I taught the how to get enough protein, vitamins, etc - using pulses and tofu (yes, I know, tofu can be very bland - but great to make burgers mixed with nuts, pulses and spices). Those kids were often not getting any proper nutrients, many at risk of developing osteoporosis, etc. It also led to the cantine offering more suitable foods for them.

  8. What is the French word for a 'nutter'?  Now honest, that sounds great - I was just worried about depth of water, etc. I used to regularly jump 10m - but nearly knocked myself out first time as I held my nose and forgot to keep my elbow tightly tucked in. I suppose the reason they are trying to tighten up the practice is because there have been many accidents where kids jump without knowing what is under - and also the fear of being sued (if the bridge is owned by Commune, or water company, etc).

    Glad you are having lots of fun.

  9. Aaarrgghh Sweet - a typo of course- oooops. Thanks for protecting me from derision and worse. LOL. I didn't realise that your question was linked to a specific property - I just told you honestly how we (both, and we are lucky we agree) feel. Talking to the antique dealer the other day, I felt so sad that families just sell heirlooms by the lorry full- furniture and other 'treasures' that have been passed on the family for generations. We bought a 16C tudor style and very ornate oak chest from him the other day, as well as a Louis l5th beautifully carved folding card playing table - for very little money. Great. We often stay in a 2 bed apartment with little storage in the UK - we absolutely love being there, right in the centre of the little town - great boutiques, shops, pubs, restaurants- but WE KNOW that it would drive us crazy after more than 3 weeks.

    I really, really hope you will soon find THE dream home for both of you. Perhaps it will just 'happen' when you are not longer so hard - we love our house so much, and fate just put it in our way. My whole life has always taken twists and turns due to 'fate' - including finding my dear OH at Clapham Junction!  Perhaps all will fall into place 'just like that' after St Jacques. Amitiés.

  10. And buying/eating less meat is actually much healthier. Prices here for meat (Switzerland) are astronomical - so we now eat much less of it- and a lot more fruit and veg- often bought in France as we are so close. We use Dia, and it's a great small spupermarket- always great prices and very well presented. Meat good too - although I agree that beef is not anywhere near UK quality. When we go to England - a rib roast is such a treat, or a great steak. If you buy fruit and veg IN SEASON - it is very good value still I think. Now we are having a ball with nectarines (brugnons) apricots and cherries. Also we buy veg which are cheap here, but not often used in UK, like chicory, and fennelwhich we have in salads or 'au gratin' with ham. Ratatouille veg are now very good value. We eat rice, bulgur, couscous, which are all very cheap - and add small portions of lentils to things like Bolognese, as well as other veg - much tastier, cheaper and more healthy. With very little effort and expertise  it is not difficult to produce healthy and very reasonably priced food in France. Honest. 2 for 1 options at places like Tesco are very difficult to resist and end up in tons of food thrown away, chickens and all - as people to not get organised to freeze or cook and freeze. God knows what a life and death chickens sold at 2 large for £5.00 must have had. I'd rather buy a good poulet fermier/plein air- and make sure I use every scrap. Roast on Sunday, fricassée with veg and mshrooms on Monday, then boil carcass with veg for risotto on Tuesday + great taste. I'm sure it is actually cheaper in the end.

  11. RH that was my grandmother! All the bits of string were beautifully tied and the label on the box said 'bouts de ficelle trop petit pour etre utiles'.

    I went to an antique dealer the other day, and he said nobody wanted beautiful antique furniture - only IKEA would do. I just couldn't throw away good antique furniture, delicate embroidery and fabulous linen.

    My mother on the other hand threw some amazing things away - hand made lace by the box full, boxes of antique postcards and stamps, Horny train sets, a magic lantern with all the slides- the list is endless when they downsized - perhaps the reason why I won't!

  12. Problem is I usually end up throwing it. A few days later something goes wrong and I think ' got just the thing' - ooops too late. And same with clothes - give them away usually about 1 year before they are back 'in'! One of my daughters just love all the antique furniture, dinner sets, etc, from her great-grand-parents, so at least they will go to a good home one day.

  13. Yes a great pity - and shameful to use such a terrible tragedy for point scoring.

    Does anybody believe that the father had no idea at all? I do find this incredible? Just like the wife of the Austrian chap who kept a daughter and her children to abuse, in his cellar?

  14. We have been a total failure at downsizing! The house we lived in the last 30 years in East Leics was quite big with a very large garden- stocked to the brim with wonderful plants by moi (many are now here with us). And then we fell in love with this place here in the Jura - an old farm/vicarage I'd always admired and was put for sale 2 years ago by the Synod, which is monster size (yep with a big barn) - first it got filled with all my parents stuff after their demise and before our move.

     We managed to give tons of stuff from our UK house, books, furniture, clothes, pot plants, plants, etc - all to friends, charity shops and Free cycle. Giving things rather than throwing them in a skip made us feel so much better- although it does take a lot more time and energy. We could then have sold all the good stuff, and bought new again here- but many of the things were heirlooms and of good quality, or things we really liked - so they came with us. Moving abroad, (even if in my case was coming home to my roots) is a big enough change without also loosing all the stuff you feel comfortable with. After all the trauma of last year- we are finally ready to start getting rid of all my parents stuff, and just keep the good bits. We like having space for friends and family, and for ourselves ... so downsizing is not for us. Parts of the house remain unused for much of the time, minimum heating and practically no cleaning - and I just love pottering in the garden. I am tackling all the big projects now - give myself another 10 years - then will just maintain- and get help if I need to. Not easy making choices - I've always allowed fate, guts and heart to lead my life- and so far it has sort of worked well.

  15. If he is happy and settled at school - do not worry. Is he 'academic'? The French system IMHO often fails children who have academic difficulties. I am also amazed that many parents consider moving to France from UK with kids at a crucial stage, when they are teenagers and do not speak (and even more importantly write) French- but yours is doing fine in French - it does not matter that he has a slight English accent. Bonne chance.

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