Mutterings for the Minority

Weight progress

It’s now been two whole weeks since set our weight loss targets and today was our first progress weigh-in.

Thankfully it was good news with both Mrs DDWT and I shedding 3lbs each - taking our weight to 12st 9lb and 17st 3lb respectively. It was a welcome surprise and lifted our spirits quite considerably on what was proving (mentally) to be a tough weekend.

After I’d spend the morning doing a bit of landscaping work in the garden - removing some lawn and replacing with chippings (in readiness for some large flower) pots - it was time for a family get together at ours.

I think it was just the tonic the whole family needed in light of the events of the past couple of days. DDWT Junior and I kept everyone amused with our water antics - which was great fun and Baby DDWT was all smiles especially for my Dad, which lifted his spirits no end.

So all in all it’s been a nice end to what’s been a thought provoking couple of days. I think that we’re going to need as many of these ‘days’ as possible over the coming months.

Dick Barton’s

Phew what an eventful day I’ve had - which is the complete opposite to a normal Saturday whereby I don’t do much at all.

My first port of call was my Mam and Dad’s who needed a piece of roof fascia board replacing and a leaky window sorted. I must confess to having been a touch nervous about undertaking the task - I’m not a lover of ladders and the bit that needed replacing was literally right on the edge of the house.

After a bit of trial and error I managed to get the ladder in a safe position - the narrow pathway below was safer than the embankment further back! It was then time to start fiddling with the replacement wooden fascia. After what seemed a ‘grand old duke of york’ time going up and down the ladder - I finally got the ideal fit. It was then time to add a cement finish! I was glad to see the back of job number one, but pleased with the result nevertheless.

The leaky window fix was a darn sight easier and straightforward I can tell you. I was even afforded the luxury of having DDWT Junior supervise in his new found role of foreman!

It had been a good start to the day and my parents were happy with the jobs I’d done.

We decided in the afternoon to take a trip into Swansea to get a few jobs done rather than sit around the house and garden. These ‘jobs’ included a visit to Toys ‘R’ Us where DDWT Junior finally got another Playmobil Dinosaur which he’d been promised and Baby DDWT got a small gift for her pushchair too.

Tea time quickly arrived and as it was such a lovely afternoon/evening I suggested that we took a nice stroll from Blackpill down to West Cross - well Dick Barton’s chippy to be precise. Dick Barton’s is legendary in these parts and I don’t think I’ve set foot inside the place in over 20 years, until tonight that is.

It was actually quite nice to take the family there as my parents had done with me when I was small. So the house of DDWT can now say that they’ve all experienced Dick Barton’s - well all of them except baby DDWT.

With our tummies full it was time to make our way back to the car, but not without taking a few snaps and having a pit stop at Blackpill lido.

So all in all it’s been a busy, but very enjoyable day. I’ll have to remember days like this when I’m next lounging around at home on a weekend!

Swans DVD review

Contrary to some of the b*ll*cks spouted on Planet Swans about the Swans League One Review DVD and its quality, I was impressed. It had all the Swans league goals, Roberto giving his review throughout the seasons and finished off with some interviews with the players.

I’d gone for the t’internet order option (£19.95 all in) - so got the Swans v Leeds DVD chucked in for free - rather than visit the club shop. Granted the Leeds dvd wasn’t the best, but the season review dvd was fine and showed that at least the club had listened to the fans in light of previous video/dvd productions.

Was it worth the money? Well for me yes it was and it will be a nice dvd to play when wanting to recollect a great Swans season. If you’re not a big Swans fan then I’d recommend you spend your money elsewhere.

After enjoying reliving the Swans championship winning season, I put up DDWT Junior’s new La Redoute ‘toy box’ furniture. Well he’s got to store his mammouth collection of dinosaurs somewhere!

Beetle castle

As a member of Swansea Council’s Junior Park Rangers, DDWT Junior headed off to Coed Gwylim park in Clydach today for a fun session on building a beetle castle and general bug fun! He thoroughly enjoyed himself and so did all of the other kids - learning a lot about the world of insects at the same time.

The club is free to join and I’d recommend anyone with kids below the age of 7 to join (which you can do online). They have events dotted around the Swansea area, so there are bound to be some near you. Besides, it’s a great excuse to get the kids outside having fun and learning at the same time.

The gloriously sunny and warm weather (this is what spring should be like!) made my lunchtime run along the beach all the more pleasant. Obviously judging by the number of sunbathers about (kitted out in bikinis I hasten to add!) I wasn’t the only one enjoying the weather. Anyway, I did a 20 minute 16 second stint and am pleased thus far with my progress to get back to full fitness - whilst shedding the pounds!

After work I also decided to give the lawns their first proper crew cut of the season - partly because they needed it and because the weather for the weekend promises to be wintry! So much for spring eh *sigh*

18 stone

Yes it’s true my weight has now rocketed back up to 18 stone. It hurts to think how I’ve drifted back into my old habits i.e eating junk or lots of food in general and not exercising.

It really does make me feel sooooo down in the dumps, not because I weigh that much, but because I’ve left myself get to that point - having only last year shed a lot of weight to get to 16st 3lbs (which made me feel more than great at the time).

Feeling sorry for myself isn’t going to help though, getting off my lazy backside and being stronger willed (in terms of food) are the only things that are going to get me out of this rut I seem to be currently stuck in.

On a brighter (well magnolia in fact) note, I’ve finally finished painting our downstairs hallway. Now there’s only the downstairs loo, and upstairs landing to do!! Still it looks good and when I’ve tidied up the coving/skirting boards, it’ll really look the mutts nuts I’m sure.

Painting at last

Having laboured away on our wallpaper removal project at home for quite a few weeks, it was with great pleasure (relief?) that I finally put brush to paint today and did the very first coat of magnolia on our hallway walls.

It took me far longer than I’d hoped/envisaged, but at least with the weather being pants outside it meant that I didn’t feel aggrieved to be indoors. Besides, at least being indoors meant I could listen to the Swans commentary on Swansea Sound.

So it’s been a good day all round, I painted, the Swans won 3-1 at Hartlepool and now I’m seriously considering going to Carlisle a week Tuesday!

Only one downside really, the house now stinks of paint. Now where did I put those onions…

Wallpapering

For the first time in my life I actually did a spot of wallpapering today. Well when I say wallpapering what I mean is I put up DDWT Junior’s dinosaur border up in his new bedroom - using the good old fashioned wallpaper paste.

I now understand and fully realise why I’ve never wallpapered before and why I never intend to do so again! What a fiddly, messy palava it is. Novice or not I reckon it’ll always be the same, little wonder then that I’ve always been an emulsion man

The other major downside of course is getting the old darn wallpaper off. You should have seen me struggle, even with a steam stripper. Still it’s been an experience and one which I won’t be repeating ever again I suspect!

As today was officially the last day of my enforced absence from training - due to my knee ligament injury - it seemed a sensible time to weigh myself, ths laying down a benchmark for future progress. It wasn’t a pleasant experience - 17st 5lbs. You can tell I’ve not done ANY cardiovascular training since December 19th.

Despite my frustration at only being able to do some upper body weight training, the rest has certainly appeared to help my knee ligaments, with the original pain and discomfort having now disappeared.

So it’s onwards and upwards starting tomorrow with a commute into work on my trusty old mountain bike. Fingers crossed for a safe return to fitness with no reaction in my knee.