Monday, 29 July 2024

Pretty and Useful

 Went to Diss for the computer shop for my virus protection renewal and had a tour of the charity shops. In the animal sanctuary fundraiser shop their glass case of nice things was full of pieces of Portmeirion pottery, mainly mugs and vases. Among them was this which will be used rather than stood around collecting dust.


Several weeks ago I found two enamel pie/lasagne dishes to replace two pottery ones that had very crackled glaze after being used for many years. But I discovered the two enamel were a really annoying size - too small for two portions but too big for one.

This new one is definitely a two portion pie/lasagne/serving dish - perfect size - cost me £3. It's from their Pomona range featuring redcurrants.

This was the Portmeirion vase I found a couple of months ago, it is a dust collector but one of only a few.


 Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts. Still in a low, flat spot here........ no reason.

I'm not ill, don't need a health check as having one a  month ago has forced me onto tablets to reduce the high blood pressure - been putting off  taking them for years. Perhaps the new tablets aren't helping. I can't even blame the weather as we've had the best of it over here in the East - completely different to Paris and other parts of the UK.

Comments about "knowing how lucky I am" and "valuing each day" might work for anon but I wish it were that easy!

Hey Ho!

Still watching lots of Olympic sport but the BBC is very annoying - too much talk in the studio sometimes, when I just want to know what's happening in the sports I've not seen! Then they suddenly switch to another sport and make everyone scramble to the Red Button viewing to continue what was on the main channel. 

Could spend money on a month of Discovery+ streaming but they might be just as bad. I'll just have to shut up and put up! 

Back in a while
Sue


46 comments:

  1. I’m not watching the lympics but if you want a change High Country on I player is excellent, a rural Australian police drama, worth the watch. I felt like you plus absolutely no energy and was prescribed high dose Vit D for 6 weeks and feel so much better also there are a choice of drugs for BP, maybe ask to try another. Enjoy your sport, Sarah Browne.

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    1. I've seen the trailers for High Country - it looks good

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  2. Sorry Sue, didn't want to cause any angst. I'm the anon who left the comment about valuing each day. I lost my husband to terminal cancer almost 13 years ago, was pulled through two years of sheer hell watching a very fit, talented and active man slowly die. Our son was taking his A levels at the time. Art, exercise and socialising are my stabilisers but there are huge ups and downs which only those left behind can comprehend. Take care.

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  3. Sometimes, all one can do is cope and wait for the black god to leave, I think.
    Maybe the tablets aren't helping - was there anything indicating this on the list of possible side effects?

    The dish is lovely; Portmerion is very attractive.
    xx

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    1. I shall check out the list next time - I always chuck out medicine leaflets as the list of side effects is usually too worrying to read!

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    2. Good point - it could possibly be counter productive. xx

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  4. A few lovely dust collectors are completely allowed, and this one is lovely indeed with its shades of purple/dark pink. Here in lower Brittany many people find themselves with very low levels of Vit D and need supplements because we don't get enough sunshine !
    Hope your mojo comes back soon, and stays.
    Maguy

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    1. I usually take Vit D during the winter just in case. Nice sun today here

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  5. Dust collectors but very nice ones.

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    1. Not as much dust now as there was in smallholding days when we used wood everywhere - thank goodness - as I don't like dusting

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  6. Spoil yourself with anything you enjoy and keep your nose in those books best wishes nana in Australia

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  7. Yesterday was a prime example from the BBC, we were watching the men's doubles tennis with Andy Murry on iplayer, and right near the end of the final tiebreaker, they asked us to switch to BBC 1. They are all over the place and with less channels than expected, we are missing so much, they are only showing the later stages in a few sports. The swimming was really exciting last night.

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    1. Same here for the tennis except I went to the loo and came back to find it gone and wasn't sure what had happened and missed the end completely !

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  8. Read the side effects on your new tablets leaflet, you might be surprised. My doctor has me on two different BP medications now and this second one has given me so many of the side effects listed, including depression. It was an eye-opening ticking off few minutes when I read mine, It also doesn't help that she's given me tablets containing lactose ... surely a no-no for a patient that is lactose intolerant.

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    1. That sounds so bad about the lactose - hope you are OK with it.

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  9. Sorry you are feeling down. Vit. D may well help (Jennifer, start taking YOURS again!!!) and Magnesium help for a good night's sleep. I find going for a walk helps as I can think things through - it's almost like meditation.

    Love your new dish and it's practical, so you needn't feel guilty. Sorry for the dust collector I sent you!!

    V. Disappointed that if I want to watch the Equestrian events at the Olympics I have to pay for them. THAT won't be happening then.

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    1. The BBC promised 'Every Sport Every Day' but it just isn't happening. I saw some of the Gold medal win from the 3 Day Eventing team - brilliant. Individual on now.
      I love the dust collector you sent me! .
      Hope you are working your way through all the paperwork needed and have family to help. Rest up too if you can

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  10. If your lowering of mood has coincided with you taking a new medication it could well be one of the drugs side effects. Have you read the description of it or looked online
    It maybe worth talking to your local pharmacist

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    1. I think the low mood started a few weeks after the tablets but I will check things out

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  11. Sorry I’m not anonymous, I’m Helen from Devon, retired nurse.

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  12. Actually working out what is on where is an exercise in itself. I like watching rhythmic gymnastics and synchronised swimming but haven't come across any yet - second week, perhaps.

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  13. Discovery + is really good. Loads of different sports and you can choose to watch live or from the beginning of each session. The tennis is on there,

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    1. I try to avoid paying extra if I can, had my month of Discovery + for the French Open Tennis. I'm enjoying the things taht are on BBC

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  14. Hi Sue, have been sorry to read that you’re feeling meh.
    While I don’t feel down, I’ve still been interested to read some of the responses you’ve had re tiredness.
    We decided to “invest” £3.99 on Discovery + for a month. It took me a while but got there! It’s not so instantaneous to navigate - tracking along a row of choices, similar to when Prime had all the tennis last year.
    However I did manage to see Andy and Dan’s match, my word the tension (have been watching them for so many years I feel on first-name terms!)
    We watched High Country and enjoyed it. J’nan

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    1. £3.99 for discovery+ is good. It cost me £6.99 for my month of Tennis in June.
      I missed the end of the Andy/Dan tennis due to popping to the loo and the BBC swapping channels!

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  15. Oh, Sue, I'm so sorry you are having to put up with insensitive, unhelpful comments. The other one that bugs me is "pull yourself together". Ignore them! It could well be the changes in your medication.
    I have no fingernails left after the Murray/Evans match yesterday, and agree with you about chopping and changing, cutting us off. The Equestrian is enjoyable, and Adam Peaty had me on the edge of my seat as if it hadn't been bad enough with the tennis!
    What a grand bargain that Portmeirion dish is. Enjoy using it,

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    1. I'd hoped to see more of the rowing but the BBC don't seem to be showing much at all.
      I suppose we should be glad we can watch any of it for free and don't have to travel to France to watch!
      There seems to be quite a lot of Portmeirion ware around now at boot sales and charity shops - it must have gone out of fashion.

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  16. I wonder if the tablets are causing this mood effect? I think I'd check back with your doctor, in case there's a better rx. Meanwhile, sorry you're down.

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    1. I'll be better soon I'm sure. The sun is shining, Olympics on TV and plenty to read so I ought to be OK

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  17. I agree with others that it could be a side effect of your new meds. Please check with your doctor.
    I agree that the announcers talk too much while I'm trying to watch the sports. I hear that there is a daily wrap-up with highlights in the early evening and I may just try watching that.

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    1. The highlights programme is on TV late - long after I'm in bed and fast asleep! I'm enjoying things I have seen. Mustn't moan anymore

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    2. No, Sue! It is okay to moan sometimes! We are happy to listen when you share!

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  18. If you have Virgin TV you should be able to get Eurosport (number is 521 or 522), not sure if you can get it on any of the free services, but it has Olympics on all day.
    Jane

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  19. I'm watching the sporting event results and often see high points and that seems to be enough for me. I agree, the broadcasters go on and on and it is lots of words with not much content.
    Your vase and baking dish are great finds.
    Like others here, I suspect the new meds have caused some side effects. Google can list side effects for you. All my relatives took Lipitor and had no side effects. It is used by many very successfully.

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  20. Strange to say, it looks like we are receiving better TV coverage of the Olympics than you (even if we have to pay for it). I was having a few grumbles but have now decided to stop looking for perfection!
    I hope it isn't your BP pills causing issues. I've had severe side effects from every BP med I have ever tried, but I know many many people who have had no problems at all. Hopefully you will soon feel more like your old happy self. Hugz, Mxx

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  21. I haven't read through all the comments but I agree it's well meaning but not helpful when you get told to count your blessings etc. Agree also with those that mention the BP meds, I've come across that before.......the effects I mean......
    A pretty dish you found there, I appreciate your posts.
    Alison in Wales x

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  22. Depression has been a life long struggle for me. I've learned to accept it, knowing that it will pass. It always does. Yours will too. I don't offer out helpful advice for depression as some feel comfortable doing. Everyone is different, aren't they? There is no one size fits all solution.

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  23. It is great to hear from you. The dust collector would hold a few flowers, and brighten a corner. I second the thoughts on checking back with the doctor or pharmacist on side effects from a change in BP medication. Beta Blocker Blues hit my spouse hard, didn't impact me at all.

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  24. Sometimes the cloud of grey just settles. Hope it lifts soon. Nice finds in the charity shop. I have to be very strong to resit dust-collectors.

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  25. Oh Sue…everyone’s battery needs charging sometimes…it will pass soon enough…sometimes I think the more we think about it all instead of letting it wash over us and accepting it’s all part of our journey the worse it seems. I know I have flat times, even when things are apparently going well. Annoying but temporary blips. Sending hugs. (X)

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  26. Lovely pottery dish, and the perfect size. I hope that whatever is making you feel blue passes soon. We all go through that phase.

    God bless.

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  27. Love the dish. And I completely understand the size thing - It has to be just right :)
    I hope you feel brighter soon, Sue. I get a feeling of overwhelm on a regular basis. I think it's down to having to be responsible for everything. There's only me to pay the bills, sort the house, make the meals etc. Xx

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  28. Jules - "feeling of overwhelm"! You nailed it. I call it "decisionitis" - having to be responsible for every decision and choice made is VERY overwhelming and was something I had never considered before husband died at a relatively young age. I shall now call it "overwhelm". Sue - glad to see from your latest post that you are emerging. Gorgeous weather and good sport on TV always helps, I find!

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  29. Ignore the anon person. I hate it when people say things like that. You're entitled to feel how you feel and not everyone can feel cheery all the time, or even pretend to be that way. I hope you find something that makes you smile each day even when you don't feel like smiling.

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