Slow Living - Doing It Old Style!

Smudgeismydog

I was given a spa voucher for my birthday (September) which I’ve not been able to get round to using. Then a meeting was booked into my diary in the hotel where the spa is, so I called and manage to organise my spa voucher for this afternoon, after the meeting.

I’ve had such a wonderful time and feel thoroughly relaxed and pampered.

We still do ‘pinch, punch’ on the first of the month, no idea where that comes from either 🤷🏻‍♀️

Katiehound

here you are- our friend Google again!
'This phrase is thought to date back to old England times when people believed in the existence of witches. The 'pinch' part refers to the pinching of the salt - as this kitchen ingredient was believed to weaken the witches when thrown at them. The 'punch' part was to banish the witch once and for all.'

(different origin in USA)

leftatthetrafficlights

@Valli - your canal walk sounds lovely 😁 

@Florafauna - well done on the packing 👏 any chance of a piccie of fancy scarf no.2? 

@Brie - nothing exciting on the blueberry salad - it's just salad leaves(rocket in my case) and sprouts (alfalfa and broccoli this time) with blueberries, black grapes and pomegranate drizzled with balsamic vinegar. I always put fruit in with my salad leaves- I love the mixture of flavours 😁 

@Katiehound - as a kid we used to say 'white rabbits' at the beginning of the month too - I never did know why! 🤔😂 

@Smudgeismydog - your spa experience sounds fantastic, I bet it was lovely after your meeting 😊 

Yesterday with my grandbaby was lovely- he woke up at 5.30 this morning though!! 😳 he takes a while to adjust to lighter mornings but hopefully he'll be better at the weekend when I have him for his next sleepover!! 🤞😂 

Today after dropping him off at school I went back to the carpet shop and ordered the new lounge carpet then popped to the supermarket and bought a few bits for dinner today and tomorrow. Tonight we're having aubergine slices stacked with sun-dried tomatoes, black olives and roasted peppers served with sweet potatoes, hommous, coleslaw and salad. 

Tomorrow I'm going to get into the garden and get some stuff done after my walk and asana practice - it's lovely here today and I should be out there but I'm tired so have decided to have a bit of a snooze! 😁 

Have a fab slow day!! 😁

leftatthetrafficlights

Slight change to tonight's dinner: it was aubergine stacks filled with mashed cannellini beans with sage, chopped black olives and a sauce made from hg dehydrated tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and pan fried peppers. I served it with sweet potatoes, hg sprouting broccoli, hommous and salad.

Valli

I have been at home today - lots of windows open to let in fresh air.  it's been gorgeous.  It hasn't been a particularly slow day though, but it's been a good day.

mrs_slapshot

Morning all. I’ve been absent for a while and just caught up on a few pages of posts! Just got back from a cruise, and before I went I was super busy at work as I was preparing for some time away. I’ve started 12 weeks of unpaid leave, which is mainly to help my son sort out his dad’s estate, and the practical side of sorting his dad’s stuff as he’s now moved into his house. 

Woke up this morning at 2.30 and have emptied the dishwasher, had a coffee and scrolled social media (big mistake if you want to get back to sleep!). Not sure why I woke up, but I then had intrusive thoughts so decided to get up and do something. 

Yesterday I sorted out my airing cupboard which is in the bathroom and is storage for towels, sheets and spare toiletries. It had been bugging me for a while so I was pleased to get it done! I also had a trip out and bought yet more charity shop books, plus some watercolour paints. I did a bit of painting on the cruise so I’m keen to do a bit more. 

I have a huge list of things I’d like to get done while I’m off work, so I’m not sure how slow it will be overall, but I have also put some ‘for me’ activities on the list such as painting, yoga etc so hopefully that will all balance out!

I need to do a stocktake of my freezer and food cupboards, so I can use up and save some money - am planning to do this in he next couple of days. 

I don’t have a grandbaby but I have a ‘granddog’ and he’s coming to stay with me tomorrow night!! Equal parts looking forward to it and dreading it as he’s a whirlwind and I have to ‘dog proof’ the house!

leftatthetrafficlights

@Valli - having the opportunity to have windows open and sunshine is so rare at the moment (case in point - torrential rain here at the moment 🤦‍♀️) is a real pleasure and needs to be taken advantage of! 🙌

I'm desperate for a run of reasonable weather here - last night when dh got home he was sorting some stuff for the hot compost bins and I was cooking with the doors open - it reminded me of how much I love warm early evenings, sitting out in the garden, listening to birds and just taking in the beauty of sunsets - we've had so few of those evenings this year 😔 

@mrs_slapshot - I hope all goes well helping your son sort stuff out! Painting can be so relaxing, I have never got on with watercolours personally (I use oils and acrylics) but I love the way the finished products look - they seem ethereal in comparison to the sharp lines of the mediums I use 😁 I hope you have a lovely time with your grand-dog 😍 I always told my kids that I wanted granddogs and not grandbabies - they didn't listen though and I really miss having dogs around 😔 walking without one still feels wrong even after nearly 8 years! 

For me, having a huge list of stuff to do doesn't necessarily exclude being 'slow' - in my opinion, if the outcome brings you joy and a feeling of calm then that's doing stuff for yourself and very much part of slow living - now that I'm doing my own cleaning daily, it's a lot 'busier' but it's a meditative practice for me and I am really enjoying it. It feels like self-care as opposed to a 'chore'. 

Today I am having a total slob day - I've got no chance of getting in the garden due to the rain, we've got food ready so no cooking required.and the house is clean. I'm going to spend my day reading and making garden plans - now that the weather is warming a little, I have lots of seed sowing to do so will get a list together for the weekend 😁 

Have a fab slow Friday!! 😁 

mrs_slapshot

Thank you @leftatthetrafficlights - I’ve had a lovely evening with my granddog although he was so tired he was desperate for his bed before 8! 

I’m fully intending to have at least one ‘slob’ day sometime soon - hopefully a rainy day when I can hear it pattering on the velux windows of my extension as I’m lying on the sofa binge watching tv and eating food that has been delivered!!! I’m not good at doing nothing though, so it will be interesting to see how much of a ‘slob’ I can be!! 

(And I realise I can take my pick of rainy days at the moment!!) 😊

Brie

checked the robin's nest in the carport and it is empty.  I don't know if this means that the fledglings have fledged or if the nest was abandoned.  I'll check again in a couple of weeks.  

leftatthetrafficlights

@mrs_slapshot - your plans for a slob day sound lovely 😁 glad you enjoyed your time with your grand-dog 😍 

@Brie - hopefully they have all fledged 🤞we've got a lot of babies around here at the moment 😁 

I had my grandbaby for a sleepover on Saturday but came down with a tummy bug on Sunday so dh had to take him to the beach alone 😔 I'm still not right yet but definitely improving so I'm hoping that by tomorrow I'll be back on form. No cooking done by me for a few days - dh has fended for himself so I'm not even sure what has been used up, no doubt I'll find out eventually!! I didn't get anything done at the weekend that I intended to do but dh was in the garden a lot potting on, sowing seeds etc. We'll have a catch up tonight so that I know where we are! 😉 

Not doing much today, stripped the bed, sorted laundry and the dishwasher but other than that I'm too wiped out to do much so it's been a day of lounging around - I'd be enjoying it immensely if I felt better!! 🙄🤦‍♀️😂