Slow Living - Doing It Old Style!

Wednesday2000

I am off out to London tonight for my friend's birthday, but we will stop on the way home when we get back to the train station as it is right next to the beach and hopefully we can see the moon there.

Brie

I had thought that the hunter moon was to be on Thursday but I'll try to look at it tonight.  It was very bright last night.  We have this line here that when it's a big moon it tends to get stuck in the tree in front of the neighbour's house and animals (who may or may not exist) need to help it escape with ropes and tickles as appropriate.  The tree itself is so beautiful currently - an american sweetgum - it's dropping it's spiky seed pods and the leaves have mostly all gone a lovely red which glows when the sun hits it early in the morning.  It's so nice to lay in bed and look up at through the velux window to admire it, whether at night with the moon stuck or with the sun's morning glow.

leftatthetrafficlights

Hope you had a lovely night out @Wednesday2000! 😁 

@Brie - I've never heard of an american sweetgum tree so googled it - it really is beautiful! The horse chestnut in my neighbours house has very similar colours at the moment to the piccie I saw - lots of oranges and a few reds - I love autumn leaves 🥰😁 I also love the idea of the animals trying to move the moon!! 😂😂😂 

Plans today are to walk the dog, pop to the shop, cook some mushroom and walnut mince bolognese for my grandbaby's dinner, do an asana practice, pick him up from school for his sleepover then play trains or whatever he feels like doing. I am aching a bit from the gardening at the weekend so I'm hoping that I can manage the floor time! 😂

This week has dragged a bit - probably a combination of stepping out of my normal patterns and the fact that I am very much looking forward to having my afternoons clear from next week! It's a pleasure to spend the extra time with my grandbaby on the drives but it's going to be nice to have my days more to myself for a while - I don't like having to 'clock watch' 🤦‍♀️

Dinner last night was mixed beans (pinto, kidney, black beans, black-eyed peas) in a tomato, courgette, basil, thyme and oregano sauce; butternut squash and aduki bean sautè; salad of mixed leaves, black grapes, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, watermelon and pomegranate with balsamic; new potatoes and some sweet chilli hommous 😋😁  I can't upload the piccie for some reason today - it worked last night my Vegan Storecupboard Challenge thread so no idea why 🤔 I'll post it here later if I can....

Right, best I get ready to walk the dog - I haven't done it this week as my ds had the day off on Monday and we're going out for the day with him so no doubt he'll go mental when he sees me!! 😳🤦‍♀️😂 

Have a fab slow day! 😁🐌

Brie

Meeting a good friend for lunch at a local caff so we'll be having a mid day breakfast.  She's on a Moseley diet of some sort and says that will work best for her so that's fine by me.  

Afternoon will include some planning on what to do for art group tomorrow.  I'm considering another bird picture but this month's homework (due in 2 weeks) is "reflections".  Maybe a pear sitting on a mirror? Or something like that.  I have a glass oil decanter (bought for the olive oil in it before realising how lovely the jug is) and I know someone who is good at drawing (not me really....) could do an interesting sketch.  

leftatthetrafficlights

I hope your lunch and art group went well @Brie 😁 

My Wednesday didn't go according to plan - the dog ran into me on the walk and put me on my butt 🤦‍♀️ managed to damage my knee so was completely debilitated for the rest of the day 🙄 thankfully it's much better now but still a bit dodgy - hopefully by next week it will be back to normal 🤞 No asana practice though until Monday now so that it has time to heal properly which is disappointing but I've learnt that listening to my body is always the best policy! 😉 

Today I am having a total 'me' day - I'm going to spend the day writing, listening to music, having a snooze if I feel like it and just generally slobbing 😁 For the first time in a long time I have nothing to do, nowhere to go and no-one to see and it feels wonderful! The weekend will be very quiet too - I was planning on clearing up some debris in the garden and doing a tip trip but that can wait now until my knee has healed so if it stays dry, I may just get a chair out and do some nature bathing out there instead 😁 

This morning the skies were beautifully clear and the moon was very bright still - I sat on one of my benches out there just to take in the sounds of the birds and waterfalls and the smell and feel of the air. I love the early mornings here - it's so very peaceful and relaxing. When I had my own dogs many years ago, I used to get up really early so that I could walk them before work and I always felt totally calm by the time I returned home. There are times (only occasionally thankfully!) that I take for granted how incredibly lucky I am to live where I do and spending a few moments outside in the early morning certainly dispels that tendency and reinforces my appreciation 😍 

Anyway, time to get another tea - have a fab slow day! 😁🐌

Wednesday2000

leftatthetrafficlights said:

 For the first time in a long time I have nothing to do, nowhere to go and no-one to see and it feels wonderful! 

I was just thinking that about me as I don't have anything to do either today, no appointments or classes, just a day at home.

I'm going to make some bean, corn and veg wraps for lunch and I want to flick through the book for book group as I realised after I got it out of the library that I have read it before so I just want to reread the last couple of chapters.

I have rearranged my living room so it looks more autumnal. I bought a new picture and a candle holder from the charity shop yesterday. My husband has physio and then he is bringing back the Buddha statue I paid for yesterday. It was too heavy for me to carry so he brought his rucksack to carry it home.

Brie

Art class went well.  I attempted a robin based on one in Jim Moir's Birds book.  I don't have his ease of form but got some good colours in.  I'll try to do it again but a bit looser.  Meanwhile it's a nice addition to the owl I did a couple of weeks back.  

Meanwhile - the gardener is doing her magic clearing away a nearly dead honeysuckle (shame as I do like them), a nearly dead bush (good riddance) and chopping back 2 clematis (not bothered.)  The whole point is that with them gone a local woodworker can come on Monday to dismantle 2 decrepit arches and install 2 brand new ones he's made.  Then I can see about what climbers could go tangling over them.  Not sure this is the right time to plant or not - so that's the weekend's research to be done!!!  Happy to hear any suggestions!!!!! (but not passionfruit)

Brie

Disappointed I couldn't get tinned pumpkin today to make a pie for Thanksgiving on Monday.  Not sure I'm up to the fuss of starting with a real pumpkin and doing all the prep that would be involved to do it properly.  

Pleased however that I had a double points coupon for Tosco and took advantage of a sale on "Wild" deodorant (on sale for £9.45).  I've been too cheap to get the proper set up and have just been using the insert bit as is rather than having the dispenser.  It commits me to doing something sustainable.  I also bought a new scrubbing pad after seeing some alarming reports about the micro plastic that comes off the cheap scrubbies I've been using for years.  Eco brand was discounted to £2 and is all natural and compostable so I can say I'm doing my bit.  Wondering about what to do with the rest of the big pack of plastic scrubbies I've got - might donate them to the food bank or something.  

And meanwhile - dinner is in the oven courtesy of him indoors.  Venison stew which will have dumplings added in a bit.  (hope that doesn't offend, I won't post a picture)

Wednesday2000

I went to Columbia Road flower market today which was nice as I have never been there before. I bought some beautiful red roses and some sunflowers. I also bought a book on Haunted London, a bag and a scarf.

I forgot to say that I didn't see the moon the other night as it was cloudy. I was going to look at the top of the hill but I got distracted by seeing a fox sitting in the middle of what is normally a very busy road. Luckily it was empty at that time of night so I scared it away and he/she ran into the park.

I'm tired as I have done nearly 100,000 steps this week. I'm just going to relax and watch some YouTube.

leftatthetrafficlights

The weekend was very slow - I did absolutely nothing other than read! 🙌 Today I walked the dog, cleaned the house, did a bit of shopping and some writing - a lovely day 😁 

@Wednesday2000 - the living room and flowers sound lovely 😁 I used to 'decorate' for the seasons but stopped doing it a while ago - I'm very much a monochrome person as far as indoors is concerned and the colours became jarring very quickly! 🙄🤦‍♀️😂 That's a lot of steps in a week!! 😳 You definitely deserve a rest 😉 

@Brie - I love Jim Moir but more his Vic Reeves stuff as opposed to his artwork! 😂 I attended one of his exhibitions in London a few years back and liked it though 😁 I used to use wild deodorant but they were bought out by Unilever earlier this year so I switched to Fussy instead and I really like it 😁 

Today is a 'spa' day for me - I'm going to have a 'spa' shower, do a hair treatment, face mask, foot treatment, a couple of asana practices, meditations, yoga nidra, reading, writing, smoothie for brekkie, salad for lunch, beans and grains with veg for dinner (leftovers from last night) and chamomile tea and water throughout the day. I may finish off my evening with an epsom salt bath and an early night 😁

Dinner last night was my four grain mix (barley groats, oat groats, rye berries and short grain brown rice) with barberries, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds; cannellini beans; steamed beetroot; spaghetti squash all drizzled with a horseradish cashew cream sauce and a salad of broccoli sprouts, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, black grapes, pomegranate and balsamic. 😋



Have a fab slow day! 😁🐌