Lydia was disappointed at the dog field this morning. No cars passed by that she could chase. Even so, she had nearly an hour off lead and did a lot of sniffing on what was a mild morning that later turned into a bit of a wild day weather-wise.
Hailstones fell as my friend Maxine and I headed to Harewood House to see the Christmas installation that her daughter had designed. It was spectacular, beautiful and inspired.
Quite how it had all been imagined, planned and implemented I don’t know but it really was a work of art in so many ways. A feast for the eyes with vibrance, colour and light.
It isn’t yet December but it is beginning to feel a little bit like Christmas already.
I made one pot and started another at the pottery studio today.
I didn’t have a particular idea in mind when I arrived about what I wanted to do or what I wanted to make so I located a plaster press mould that I’ve used before, cut off a slab of clay, gathered a few tools and some canvas to work on, and made a start.
The pots are going to be candlesticks: a non-matching pair.
I used a construction technique that I haven’t used before, using the press mould to form a base and then alternating layers of rolled coils with rolled up, rounded lumps.
When the coils sank in places I accepted this as part of the process so the pieces are a bit wobbly and lop-sided, which I like.
We were talking about Christmas jumpers in the kitchen after the Buddhist group meeting tonight.
I don’t have a Christmas jumper as such any more, having sent the one I had to a charity shop a few years ago. I do have a festive jumper though. It is warm and soft with a kind of Nordic pattern on it and I may wear that to the meeting next week.
We meditated on the ‘Om Ah Hum’ mantra with much of the teaching devoted to deepening our understanding of that mantra, which represents the body, speech and mind of Buddha.
Home to lovely Lydia, I give her a few treats and she’s now lying down on the other side of the room, ready I think for her ‘sleepy time’.
I’m not quite ready for my ‘sleepy time’ yet this evening. I may just sit up for a while and reflect a bit more on the mantra.
I’ve been reading more of the book, ‘How to Transform Your Life’ by the Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Rinpoche.
Just being able to concentrate on reading again feels like a bit of a transformation, although that is not the type of transformation that the book is about. Or maybe it is, in that meditation and doing my best to put the teachings into practice have helped to start bringing my concentration levels back.
Lydia has done a lot of barking today, after a quiet walk this morning. She’s now had her tea and is snuggled up to her blanket/quilt. She’s looking at me and blinking her eyes and making a few gurgly noises with her throat, so I think she’s fairly relaxed.
There’s meatloaf left over from yesterday that Trev made so it’s an easy tea for us, with some boiled potatoes, steamed broccoli and gravy.
A bit more telly tonight, keeping things steady this week as I’ll be doing some intensive deep cleaning next week. Trev’s away for a few days so I’ll set to with my steam cleaner. We’re getting ready to put the house on the market in the New Year, and it’s just about doing what needs to be done for that, before Christmas.
There was no Qigong today so I’ve just been to yoga this afternoon.
Lydia reacted when she saw two other dogs this morning, despite the distance between us. After that she struggled to settle down for the rest of the walk, and I struggled a bit with yoga.
I know I’m tired at the moment and, though starting to sleep better, have still not had a deep sleep that will, I think, make a difference.
I’m keeping up with caffeine-free afternoons and concentrating on doing constructive things when I can, so I’m hoping that I will eventually fall into that elusive deep sleep.
Lydia has already settled down for the evening. She’s had her tea and is curled up in her armchair. She’s presented her tummy to me for tickling twice since I got back so I think its fair to say that she’s relaxed at home even if she isn’t always when we’re outside.
I’ve finally found something to binge-watch on the telly and I did a bit of reading this morning. So I’m starting to relax a bit too.
Lydia likes Peshwari nan. I know this because she stole a piece off Trev’s plate last night, just as he was sitting down to enjoy it with his curry.
I also like Peshwari nan, but only with a curry that is rich in flavour and spicy, like the one I had last night. I reheated what I couldn’t eat last night and ate it for breakfast. Delicious.
After a busy few days, I’m resting today, only putting in a bit of washing and loading the dishwasher. Trev had unloaded the dishwasher, put the pots and pans and cutlery away and swept the kitchen floor, and he’s doing the shopping for tonight’s tea.
I had a good sleep last night, aided, I’m sure, by the physical work and different activities I’ve been doing as well as cutting out caffeine in the afternoons. The wine helped too, not that I’m planning to or do drink wine every night; I’m sticking to weekends only for the foreseeable.
So, apart from my walk with Lydia this morning and the few – very few – bits and pieces of housework I’ve done, it’s definitely been and still is a rest day for me. Still struggling to find much that interests me on the telly, I might do a bit of reading now. I bought a beautiful bookmark from one of the craft stalls at yesterday’s Christmas fayre, although the book I’m reading at the moment is on my Kindle.
Had a good experience at the Bootham & Southowram Methodist Church Christmas Fayre, and sold enough pots to be able to pay cash for a curry tonight, delivered of course.
Enjoying a bit of telly and a few glasses of Malbec now.
Lydia is quite relaxed. She’s had a dental stick and was eyeing up my wine but I do know where to draw the line.
Just finished watching Celebrity Traitors on demand. Don’t know what to watch next but I expect I’ll find something eventually.
Good to know that I don’t have to get up early tomorrow morning. A few more glasses of wine later . . .
Lydia jumped onto the grooming table as we arrived at our appointment this morning, without any prompting from either me or Vicky, the groomer. Each time we go she is more relaxed about the process, although I still put a muzzle on her and feed her lots of treats through it, reinforcing the positive and managing the risk at the same time.
After grooming we went for a walk and then home. For once she didn’t push her breakfast ball around until it was empty – she was still so full of treats.
This afternoon I drove to the Buddhist Centre, to do a few hours of voluntary work that I’ve offered to do.
It felt good to work in a different environment and also to not feel rushed or pressurised in any way. After being introduced to the work that needed doing, I was left to get on with it and given a few encouraging comments along the way. The work was a simple physical activity although I did need to concentrate and apply sustained effort, which I did for almost three hours before heading for home.
It’s another early start tomorrow as I’m setting up a table at the Bootham & Southowram Methodist Church Christmas Fayre. So, I’ll take Lydia out for a walk just before dawn, pack a few remaining things that I need to take into the car and head off.
Today’s been a good day and we’ll see what tomorrow brings.
It was snowing again this morning when I got up and I decided to take Lydia out straight away, in case it settled and the roads became impassable.
I put two layers of gloves on, a thermal pair underneath a fingerless pair, and my hands felt significantly less cold than they had the day before.
Lydia wore her raincoat again and we had a short walk in a field that I call ‘Quiet Field’ because I used to take her to it regularly when I needed somewhere that was fairly guaranteed to be away from the sight of other dogs.
The snow was still coming down and I was conscious of not wanting to be stuck on a hill on the way home.
I needn’t have worried as the snow stopped as we left the field and the day brightened up from there.
Lydia and I had another walk in the afternoon to make up for our shorter than usual one in the morning.
Taking on board some learning from last night’s Buddhist group meeting, I started to read again a book that I previously read some time ago: ‘How to Transform Your Life’ by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche.
I also made some notes, to help with recall, and it felt good to be able to read again, as I haven’t been able to for a while.
So, all in all it’s been a good Thursday, rounded off with a Chinese takeaway – delivered – for me and Trev.
I also bought some new treats for Lydia to try, doing a bit of shopping on my way to a yoga class.
Just relaxing in front of the telly now. And tomorrow is another day.
Waking this morning at around 4.20am, I get up to make a cup of tea. While waiting for the kettle to boil I snack on a few liquorice allsorts and some gummy sweets that were in the cupboard.
Back to bed, I must have dozed off for a few more hours before getting up, making another cup of tea, meditating for a short while and then deciding to take Lydia for a walk.
As I opened my eyes from the meditation, glancing towards the window I saw snow coming down.
I quickly got myself and Lydia ready to go out for a walk, in case the snow started to settle and the roads became impassable.
This morning, I insisted that Lydia had her raincoat on over her harness. She made it clear she wasn’t keen but it was so cold and the raincoat is light, and an easy fit for her. She was fine after being tempted into with a few treats.
The snow didn’t last, turning to icy rain, and it was bitterly cold. Despite her thick fur and hardy nature, I think Lydia may have been glad of her extra layer. I know I was.
Even so, and despite gloves, my hands got so cold that I can still feel them tingling, even now, over eight hours later. Still, we had a decent walk, got home and warmed up.
Later I started to get organised for a craft fair that I’m taking some of my pots to on Saturday: Boothtown & Southowram Methodist Church Christmas Fayre, near Halifax.
It will be an early start but I’ve got it planned out so that I’ll take Lydia out early and, with the car pre-packed, set off in good time to get there in good time to be able to set up my table ready for the 11am start.
Some pot pourri that I’d ordered arrived today so I made up a couple of my bowls with some clear wrap and bows: one to donate to the church raffle and one to display and hopefully sell.
I’ve got a little bit more preparation to do before Saturday, but its mostly sorted and planned now so I can start to relax into this evening, with Trev making tea and then I’m going out to a meeting of the Buddhist group.
The theme is still ‘concentration’. I do think I am starting to be able to concentrate more. I’m hoping that more sleep as well as more meditation will help.
Glad About 
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