A comment on my last post asked why I don't have any recent photos.
I've been trying to get my makeup done since November 1st when I returned home from England but every day since then I have been interrupted by builders, technicians, glaziers and foremen doing all sorts of work inside and out, or neighbours wanting to talk about the work. OK, work has to be done sometimes but it's the poor co-ordination that's annoying me. It's never easy getting a group of separate properties to work well together. The autumn storms and rains have also delayed work. The current lack of panels that would normally divide my outdoor space from next door's leaves me with less privacy. So, yes, I'd love to take some new photos but I don't get a moment's peace.
Today is a public holiday and it's the weekend when the Christmas lights get switched on so I'll be out, and then next week I'll be away in Milan. So maybe on Christmas Eve I'll get some time? Who knows.
The world has been incoherent and chaotic for years now and I hardly expect anything to be plannable any more. Frankly, the depressing state of world affairs doesn't leave me with much enthusiasm for anything either. In all the violence and transphobia, though, I continue to see positive support, allyship, encouragement and protection and will continue to post about that even without pictures.
Weight loss
In the last week I have lost another 1.7 kg or nearly 4 lb. That brings my total loss since November 1st to 13 lb, with 37 lb to go.
That at least is good news and I'm pleased with my progress. Next week I'm away so I'll lose some control of my diet so we'll have to see what the scales say when I'm back. Then there's Christmas week when, frankly, people might as well not worry about slimming because there is no way anyone is going to lose weight! I intend to enjoy the indulgence, as always!
Settled in Italy
I left the United Kingdom five years ago amid the chaos of Brexit, not quite knowing where I would settle but needing to retain European citizenship for work, health and other purposes. Under a law of 1912, anyone who has an ancestor who was an Italian citizen from 1860 (when the modern state of Italy was created) is automatically also an Italian citizen but needs to claim that right. This applies to me and that is what I have been doing here. I have had an Italian passport for the last 18 months, which is one of the most powerful in the world. In fact, since 1st December, I can even go to China visa-free, which I can't on my UK one. I've been wondering whether to bother even renewing my UK passport.
Anyway, next week I am going to Milan to confirm that my birth certificate has indeed been created by the court following the petition I sent in April. I hope that will end this Kafkaesque rigmarole I wrote about in the spring and I can feel settled here. The climate of the riviera has worked wonders for my physical health and it's probably best to stay here for the foreseeable future.
A dip in the archives
Sorry, Violetta, but here's another photo from the archives in lieu of a current photo that I don't have the privacy to take yet! My last meeting with trans friends in London was just before I left for Italy and here's me at the Lyceum Tavern on the Strand on that occasion, a picture I've not posted before. You can read about our evening here.
Sue x
Oh, thank you Sue for mentioning me by name :-). Don´t have stress with a foto. This is a nice one. And I am looking forward to a new one -but take your time -I am not in a hurry to have a look at it. By the way, as I did not follow your blog since beginning, I don´t know that your are working.
ReplyDeleteHave a good time - and all the best
Violetta
Lol, it wasn't a complaint, Violetta, I just feel frustrated that, as seems normal nowadays, my plans for makeup and photos are being interrupted. Sue x
DeleteWell done on the continued weight loss, hope December works out better for your privacy and you get chance to do your makeup.
ReplyDeleteDon't know how you manage to go so long !
Thanks, Izzy. The last few years have been something of a desert anyway. Sue x
DeleteI need to join you on the weight loss thing – soon. I'm not the heaviest I'm ever been but I'm not far off and – the most annoying thing – a lot of my clothes don't fit.
ReplyDeleteSoon – but not today, because today's my birthday ;)
And a happy birthday to you, Jonathan. Yep, diet starts tomorrow! My overstretched clothes are one reason, and the struggle to pull my tights on another! Sue x
DeleteCongrats on your weight loss. Hopefully slow but steady progress continues. Finding certain cherished items no longer fit is not very nice.
ReplyDeleteAs to no photos, well, sounds like opportunity has not knocked of late.
Thanks, Lynn. Hoping the desert will flourish soon. Sue x
DeleteDear Sue, Well done and congratulations. I am in the luck position to have reached my target weight and I am afraid to say that it continues to require a certain level of "impulse control" to stay there. I continue to weigh myself every morning, I add that figure in my chart, and I derive a great level of gratification from looking at it. How did you set your target and how do you keep track of your progress? Love, Franzi
ReplyDeleteThank you, Franzi. My target is my Body Mass Index (BMI) recommended weight. I know there are faults with the BMI system but it's as good (or bad) a way of doing it as any. I am doing the Slimming World healthy eating plan that worked so well for me before. I weigh myself each morning out of curiosity but you only need to weigh once a week (or even once a month). The figure of 50 pounds to lose is pure coincidence. It happens to be exactly 50 pounds from my starting weight to my ideal BMI weight. I could have chosen kilograms but there was no neat pattern to the figures. When you are at your target weight it's a lot easier to stay slim because if you do put on weight one week it's not hard to get it off again soon, whereas if you are overweight then even if you are losing weight but you keep putting on a bit here and a bit there then you never get to target. That's my current problem so I plan to make sure I can't sabotage the plan until it's complete. Well, Christmas always sabotages the plan, but we allow for that! Sue x
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