I’m attempting to be productive with my time off work and get some EBay stuff listed. My spare room is rapidly filling up with vintage bits and bobs to sell and I really need to clear some space so I can buy more treasure, and also so I can buy a new storage shelf thing from IKEA, so the mountains of treasure can be stored a bit more neatly.

Lily’s loving me being off work and the morning lie ins and cuddles. She’s also enjoying my daytime TV choice of Real Rescues. Well she must be enjoying it because she sits by the TV when the sirens come on. I’m so so bored at the moment, probably because I still can’t bend properly and also because food was always a major ‘event’ and excitement for me and now that’s been removed. Oh well, I’m back at work on Tuesday and then it’s pretty much Christmas and time for jigsaws! Oh I love doing jigsaws at Christmas time.

On Christmas Eve we’re off to Panto at the Birmingham Hippodrome (it’s a bit of a family tradition). Joan Collins and Nigel Havers are in it this year so it should be good and the jokes are always suitably cheesey. We’re also having a meal in the restaurant, which are always delicious, but I’ll be having soup of something similar this year rather than some tasty meat dish. At least I should have lost enough weight by then to actually fit into some of my clothes. I’ve lost 10lbs already! Not too hard when your main food is soup and you’re not exceeding 700 calories per day. Let’s hope I keep up the good work over the festive season. In theory I won’t be able to eat anything much because the band will stop me but there isn’t much restriction in it until I have my first ‘fill’, so at the moment it’s mainly will power and I’m doing much better than I usually do with that. As some of the other band patients and I who have kept in touch keep saying, ‘It’s working because I’m scared to eat anything much in case I ‘break’ it…it cost £6000, I’m not bloody ‘breaking’ it!’

Hope everyone’s nearly ready for Christmas and is ‘Keeping Calm and Carrying On!’ xxx