Derwent Valley

I met up with my friend Vicky and her twins on Friday for lunch.  I asked her nicely to make something healthy and, being a good pal, she complied and then we decided to head up to the end of the dams.  You cannot  drive up beyond the visitors centre at the weekend but you can on a Friday so it was a good call!  The road was deserted apart from a flock of sheep!  Presumably they'd been mustered and were being brought down off the moors for the winter.  They seems happy enough.

The kids have not been for many walks as they are not very old but they gave it a good go.

Joe was somewhat hampered by the fact that his trousers were too big and falling down!

"Do you like toddlers Minty?? 


"Not much, no!" (shakes head)

At the end of the dams you hit the moors.  We walked up to the bridge at Slippery Stones.  I love the hugeness of the Valley; it feels like the top of the world.

The kids had walked enough by the time we reached the bridge.  Here are Vicky and Joe.

And me and Rosie.

The dams are full and the water is spilling over.  Quite a sight.

I met up with 2 friends on Friday and each time made a special request to be fed healthy foods.  I was especially pleased that I managed to turn down a takeaway on Friday evening.  Happily, my pals are not the types to take offence.  I'm sure that, if I hadn't been doing this Six Weeks to OMG, I would have succumbed to some form of naughtiness so it has to be a good thing.

Saturday was a different story though.  We were going to the football and, at the last minute I wondered whether I might be able to go swimming instead of going to the pub.  I checked the timetable and there is lane swimming between 12 and 2 so I could have done it.  Trouble is, I didn't get myself organised in time and we'd just eaten a substantial brunch so, this week, I didn't do the swimming thing.  Another time though.

We went to the pub and I tried to stick to water.  But, I really struggle to avoid beer in that particular pub and, annoyingly, I didn't manage to this week.  2 pints of delicious Dark Mullen bitter,  Mmmmm.  Too many carbs.  Too many carbs!!

And my food choices were a bit off on Saturday too.  2 slices of bread with breakfast and 2 slices with supper.  (I'd forgotten about the bread with breakfast - Doh!)  So, overall, Saturday was not a good day.  Made even worse by the fact that  Sheffield Wednesday lost yet AGAIN!  That is now 7 defeats out of the last 8 games and we are deep in the bottom 3.  Grim, grim , grim.

And it all came home to roost this morning while I was standing on the scales to see a couple of lbs back ON!  It is the first time since I started this plan that my weight has fluctuated upwards.  I was kicking myself.  But then I thought that, having a couple of bad days, does not mean that the plan is a poor one, merely that I'm not perfect!  So, I got into my cold shower, brewed my black coffee, went for my walk round the neighburhood and headed out to golf.  I'm sure the lbs will come off in time  and, in the meantime, I'm still lots lighter than I was a couple of weeks ago.

Keep on keeping on!

PS.  Have you ever delivered anything around your neighbourhood?  I was delivering Marie Curie envelopes this morning.  Why is it that people are so keen to hide their letterboxes??  I hunted high and low for some - it seemed to be a point of honour to chose the most unlikely door or hidden corner.