Slow Living - Doing It Old Style!

leftatthetrafficlights

It's been a good couple of days - lots of reading done and lots of talks watched plus the usual housecleaning and laundry done. 

Tonight's dinner was thai cauliflower and chickpea curry with the remaining pineapple and sweetcorn salsa, mixed grains with barberries, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds and a salad of rocket, broccoli sprouts, pomegranate, strawberries, black grapes and blueberries 😋 delicious but I may have overdone the chillis!! 🥵🤦‍♀️😂 



Off for a shower and a meditation and yoga nidra practice in a minute then hopefully some sleep - I slept reasonably well over the past couple of days but still feel I have a bit of catching up to do! 😉 

Have a fab slow evening 😁🐌

Wednesday2000

I'm three days behind on a meditation Whatsapp group so I am going to do them spaced out today to catch up with everyone else. I just did the first meditation in the bath this morning so I am about to do some housework and then do the second one. I am going to do it properly on my yoga mat and I'm going to burn incense and play some background music. I just bought two wall hangings with the chakras on and I put them up in my living room.

20122013

Brie said:

Friend took me out for a birthday lunch on Tuesday and yesterday I did this month's homework for my art group, due today.  (this is so me right back to school days....)  I was pleased with my result.  We were given mini canvases and needed to do something based on an iconic painting (like the Mona Lisa or something most people would identify) but make it with a Christmas theme.  I decided on Magritte's Treachery of Images aka "This is not a pipe" as being something I thought I could manage on something that was so tiddly. (4 inch square)

so this  

became this 


People thought it rather jolly but not good enough to win a prize.  Not surprising as 16 people (record number) submitted entries and many of them were exceedingly good.

Meanwhile the work I did today was disappointing.  2 attempts at something with daisies with the idea of having one in time for the anniversary of my mom's death.  Basically as a way of mourning really.  I've got another week to see if I can do something satisfactory.  Won't be as good as her paintings but she was a very good artist.  And by working in acrylic painting white flowers was much easier for her whereas it's a right pain in watercolours.  Might switch to coloured pencils as that's easier to control.  

Thanks for sharing, (to me is) the thought that counts, please, go easy on yourself, maybe it will turn out better than you expect

leftatthetrafficlights

@Wednesday2000 - I hope you enjoyed your meditation practices 😁 the wall hangings sound good! 

I'm having a very slow day today - I walked the dog yesterday and it was pretty challenging terrain as the farmers have been digging/clearing ditches, harvesting and ploughing - unfortunately I've damaged my foot as a result and it's a bit tricky to move around so I've decided to just rest it today and do a bit of snoozing, reading and probably a bit of menu planning for the next couple of weeks.  

The small freezer emptying is going fairly well - I have finished a lot of the veg now and will go through the list so that I can incorporate any UFO'S into the meal plan - the chest freezer is still pretty full but that's due to it being mainly UPF'S in there so it will take a considerable period before that gets emptied! 

This weekend I need to get a few bits done in the garden but I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do everything I've planned - the weather and my foot look like they're going to be against me 🙄🤦‍♀️

Anyway, I'm off to make a chamomile tea - have a fab slow day 😁🐌

leftatthetrafficlights

Not much to report - had a window quote done yesterday and have another 2 companies coming next week - I'll be glad when this particular saga is done!! 🙄🤦‍♀️

I've decided against trying to do anything in the garden this weekend - it's warm out there but I had another night of almost no sleep (I think the window stuff is probably a factor on a subconscious level) so I'm just going to chillax and catch up on threads on here 😉 I may have a snooze while dh watches footie later - I need to catch up on sleep but I also think that my lack of activity lately is probably having an impact so once next week is over (giving my foot more recovery time and getting the window stuff out of the way), I'm going to start doing more exercise and get myself sorted - I've really let things slide recently and I'm disappointed with myself for that. I'm not sure why I'm lacking motivation but I can't keep making excuses - at my age it really is a 'use it or lose it' situation so I need to be more disciplined!! 🤦‍♀️

I had 'chicken' pieces with lemon sauce yesterday for food as I really couldn't be bothered to cook and there were enough leftovers for dh's dinner - not sure what we'll have tonight as my brain isn't really in gear but it will be something quick! 

Off to do more reading now - have a fab slow day 😁 🐌 
 

Brie

slowly getting things organised to pack for going away on Tuesday.  I'd be happy to do it all Monday afternoon but OH is feeling stressed so I'm trying to give him one less thing to worry about!

Wednesday2000

I went out to a Christmas fayre today and then to a book shop and then for lunch. I am really tired as this cough and cold has dragged on so I am going to have a very slow day tomorrow. I’m going to take a bath, do meditation and watch YouTube at home. I have a stack of books to read so I might start one tomorrow.

Brie

As always I was doing a bit of tidying along with getting my packing done and discovered I had 8 unmatched socks. All black. Potentially any 2 could be worn together but I wouldn't be happy. Searched around some more and discovered another 8 unmatched black socks in the sock drawer and found some matches (phew!) but I'm still left with 6 unmatched. I think some may match ones that are already matched up because I tend to buy multi packs and chuck out a single when it gets a hole. But it's still annoying. One of the unmatched was from an expensive pair of wool socks and I know there's no other to go with it but can't throw it away as I know what will happen as soon as I do so.

Brie

(potentially sexist comments, look away if you're a man)
So him indoors declares he's massively stressed about the holiday he's booked and that we go on on Tuesday.  I make soothing noises.  

And him indoors who also says he needs to do these 14 different things today (iron shirts, pack bags, order new clothes for Tuesday, blah blah blah) also says and he needs to clean the oven top. 

OK - so dreadful housekeeping staff here admit I'm (& he) is dreadful at keeping the oven top clean.  He declares since the dishwasher is nearly empty he'll (note he, not me) will load all the bits into the dishwasher and that will leave it clear for him (note him, not her) to thoroughly scrub the stove top.  

Well, he does a bit of tidying after breakfast and I finish up, rewashing a few bits that nearly slipped out of my hand due to the amount of grease on them.  And I look at the stove top (it does need a clean) and I look at the dishwasher (nearly empty) and think I might as well load the bits so they are at least out of the way for him to do the big scrub down.  I let him know.....cue big huff.....I wander off trying to ensure me rolling my eyes isn't too noisy.

So roll on 7 pm.  Dishwasher is finished.  Stove top has not been cleaned.  I use about a dozen paper towels to wipe things down and reassemble the whole thing.  I'm wondering if a) he'll notice and 2) he'll comment.  

Meanwhile I've sent this to a couple of my women friends ......  hopefully you'll take it in the context in which it's intended.  (open to being chastised for errant behaviour due to early administration of wine.) (posting problems....)

leftatthetrafficlights

@Brie - 😂😂😂😂 I love it!! You can always vent on here - saves you having to find a place to bury the bodies! 😉😂😂

My dh still drives me insane with stupid stuff (like taking his clothes off and leaving them next to the empty laundry basket and leaving dirty dishes on the worktop above the empty dishwasher 🙄🤦‍♀️) so I feel your pain!! I admit I'm a bit of a clean freak and his attempts to 'help' previously have never been up to the standard I want so I prefer to do it all myself but seriously, is it that difficult to put stuff where it belongs???!!! 🤬 I hope that everything goes smoothly for tomorrow and you have a nice time away regardless of how tense its been! 😉😁 

@Wednesday2000 - I hope you're feeling better today 🤞 

I had a lovely weekend of just relaxing and reading mainly - we did the grocery shopping yesterday so no need to venture out again this week (other than the dog walks). This morning I've done quite a bit of writing/thinking and have made decisions on how I want to adopt new practices into my life. I feel very content and focused on it all now (its been whizzing round in my head for a while! 🙄) so it's nice to have clarity! 😁

I'm about to start cleaning and sorting some laundry then I'm going to do a meditation and asana practice, watch another Thich video and do a bit of writing before I cook dinner. Footie is on tonight so I'll take the opportunity to have a 'spa' shower and do a yoga nidra practice before I go to sleep - all in all, its a lovely day ahead! 😁 

Have a fab slow day! 😁🐌