dear diary ~ no time to stand and stare…

It was a long day yesterday. I certainly had no time to stand and stare as the poem goes by William Henry Davies.

Master Freddie arrived at 8.15am and even he was not as lively as usual. It would normally be his day to be at home rather than going to nursery so that might explain it as I think he would usually have a bit of a lie in.

I felt like a lie in myself after waking at 5am and then not getting back to sleep….I eventually gave in and got up at 6.30am and pottered around until Freddie arrived, but then found myself yawning through the day with little concentration. Before lunch we played together at Lego (making monster trucks), a few board games and a little artistic painting (as the first photo shows) and in between I was able to sneak off upstairs to do more ironing whilst DH entertained him.

I discovered that I had no eggs in the fridge and there were none at the Co-op in the village either – every shelf bare, so the baking will have to be done today after we shop in Sainsbury’s.

It was bitterly cold again yesterday – our walk to the village and back with Freddie was brisk and we called in at the library to get warmed up a bit while Freddie chose no end of unsuitable books – either too young or too old. Eventually, we agreed on a smaller pile suitable for his age. He really likes the bit at the end when we place all the books in the checking out machine and he can do all the touch screen operations to scan and borrow the books…… and then wait for a receipt to pop out. I had to persuade him that the elderly lady behind us probably wanted to check out her own books without his help!!

Whilst in the village library I picked up a programme for the ‘Woven 2023’ event to take place in Kirklees between 3rd June and 9th July.

There is a brilliant list of events and workshops all based on textiles – knitting, sewing, macrame, mending and dyeing and if any readers live nearby it may be well worth a visit to any one of them.

The draw back for me is that most of them require pre booking and I am never sure with our comings and goings and childcare if a future day and time is going to be suitable.

Even the greenhouse felt cold yesterday and the seeds didn’t need any more water. The thick blanket of cloud made it a very dull day and the odd shower meant that the towels are still drying on the clothes horse inside. Just what you need when you are expecting visitors! Thankfully, we have two spare -ish rooms so I don’t feel like we are living in a Chinese laundry but I do like to get my washing outside to dry when I can. Maybe today will be better, but so far it is disappointingly overcast.

When we visited mum last Thursday we had a quick look in Boyes in Yarm when we called to pick up some shopping for her. I love a good wander round any one of their stores and their prices are very reasonable.

They always have some nice wool and fabrics at reduced prices and I bought half a metre of this upholstery weight mustard printed cloth and the same of the red poppy cotton poplin. The mustard fabric is to make a bag(s) with…maybe for gifts, if I can team it up with something either co-ordinating or a plain colour. The red is to make some little bags with to hold tiny bars of scented soaps I got for presents.

Of course all I need now is the time to make them!

But first I need to attend to making and baking food for tomorrow – there are unexpected dietary needs that have come to light after talking to my SIL yesterday and so the menu I had planned may need to be modified or changed a little. I am sure I will cope but it just adds to the complexity of the hectic week we have had this week and we find ourselves shopping on a Saturday (the worst of all days in Sainsbury’s).

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The well-being challenge

Wow – I could see from my stats page that so many of you linked through to the Andrew Weil page I mentioned for the breathing exercise that I expect he must think he is being stalked suddenly!

My breathing continues and I will now introduce you to my next step of the challenge to well-being.

One good thing yesterday was that I slept like a log from 10pm until 8.30 this morning. I certainly needed that sleep and renewal. Sleep will be my next topic of well-being to address. According to the English neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker, sleep is the foundation that supports diet and exercise. It should be our number one priority.

He says “Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain,”

I must say I have never thought of sleep in this way but it is true – how often do I watch a film that goes on after 10pm just to catch the end (when I could easily watch it at a better time on catch up). Or worse…continued to watch some rubbish program rather than go to bed and sleep.

Or even worse – writing a blog post when I had planned an early night.

Sleep has sometimes felt, like making a meal, an interuption to what I am doing.

Of course this is not helping my state of well-being and if my body and brain are not settling down to a good night’s sleep then presumably the parts that need to reboot and renew are left incomplete – a bit like putting on a wash cycle and not quite finishing it and being left with soggy, half rinsed and unspun washing to deal with.

Good sleep is vital for our body to recharge and repair and eight hours is recommended for this – six hours or fewer defines a lack of sleep. Sleep good or bad has a huge impact on our health and how long we live – so what could be more important.

Since being a child I have always needed a lot of sleep – on a good night I can easily sleep for 9 or 10 hours but more often I find it hard to drift off and it can be interupted and disturbed by needing to go to the bathroom and on a bad night those nine hours are reduced to only three or four.

What I aim to find out is – If I do sleep is it good quality sleep I am having?

And what is actually happening whilst I sleep?

Once I establish how I can improve my sleep I can form a plan to change and then review the changes.

If you want to hear about more of Matthew Walker’s work you can listen to this podcast on You Tube with Zoe Science and Nutrition who Matthew is currently working together with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryRWHsV9wbw

Or Google Matthew Walker Sleep Expert

Have a good weekend everyone x