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Gibbs' toys which were under the dresserHi everyone, Casey and Gibbs here with the latest update on our Mum’s progress with her wobbles.  Gibbs devised this fantastic game where he plays with the catnip toys and then whacks them under the Welsh Dresser which is in the dining room.  He goes up to Mum, looks all sad, and she realises that all the toys are missing.  Then she goes to the cupboard under the stairs where there’s a long stick thing with numbers on (ED: it’s a yard ruler) and she slides it under the dresser from side to side.  All manner of dust and fluff come out, but so do most of the toys that Gibbs whacked under there.

The thing is, this is exercise for Mum.  To some humans, exercise is a dirty word.  They don’t ‘do’ exercise.  For Mum, the very act of walking to the cupboard under the stairs, looking for the stick thing, and walking back to the dresser, little does she realise, that’s she’s exercising.  The hilarious thing is when she bends down with the stick moving it from side to side under the dresser.  Her face goes a really funny shade of red and she looks as though she’s going to explode.  Gibbs and I stand well back in case there’s a Mum-mess all over the place.

She bought a new diet book which she read from cover to cover in a few days.  Dad then took her shopping and she bought lots of different food so that she could start eating the food the new diet book told her to.  This cost a fortune, apparently, and it may put some people off trying a new diet.  Every day now, the kitchen is a hive of industry when Mum is trying out new recipes.  The house smells divine with all the new aromas wafting from room to room.

After the first week on this new diet, Mum eagerly stood on the scales.  I always supervise the ‘standing on the scales’ so that she can’t cheat and tell us fibs.  I saw the numbers.  They were the same as the week before.  Mum was disappointed and she put the scales back under the bathroom sink.  She picked up the new recipe book that she bought to accompany the new diet book and started going through the recipes again.  She made a list of the ones that she wanted to try, knowing that she’d already got the ingredients in the cupboards, fridge and freezer.  And she tried them.

The next week, she stood on the scales and she yelled out. ‘Oh, my gosh, Casey Darlings, Mummy’s lost weight!  Woo Hoo!’  I leaned over to look at the numbers expecting a massive reduction from the previous week. Half a pound off!  Half a measly pound and she’s ecstatic. 

Gibbs said we’ll have to get her exercising more to go with this new diet she’s trying out.  Maybe the numbers will get better.  We hope so.  If you’re only seeing half a pound here, and half a pound there, don’t be despondent.  Our Mum was overjoyed.  See it as a blessing.  Get some butter or sugar and weigh out half a pound and see how much that equates to your weight loss and realise that your body is much better off without that weight.  All these half pounds and pounds add up and the more you can lose, the better your body will be able to move around. Perhaps Mum won’t go so red in the face when she bends down to get the catnip toys from under the dresser, thus reducing the risk of a Mum-mess all over the dining room.

See you next time

Casey and Gibbs xxx

Dogs Come when Called

"Dogs come when called. Cats take a message and get back to you."

"Of course, every cat is really the most beautiful woman in the room."

Edward Verrall Luca (essayist)