Tag: coffee

Day 13

'A Poetic Potter & A Potting Poet'Leave a comment

 Writing again

 

Had a really good catch up with a friend today.

Lydia and I had a bit of a wet walk in the morning, although she was reluctant to let me give her a ‘rub a dub dub’ with a dry towel when we got home.

My friend treated me to a green smoothie- full of nutrients and very flavoursome – and then I had a decaffeinated coffee.

It was busy in the retail park where we met – hard to believe it’s not yet December as Christmas shopping seemed to be in full flow.

I did a bit of shopping after I’d said goodbye to my friend, using a gift card I’d been given to buy a really nice bottle of wine.9

I’m drinking the wine now and it is good. Trying to keep a craving for chocolate at bay – and winning. I did have some cheese puffs earlier so the craving for something sweet will have to wait.

Lydia is chewing on her horn. She showed a lot of restraint when I was eating the cheese puffs earlier, so I’ll take a page out of her book. She’s a good role model, that’s for sure.

Day 21

'A Poetic Potter & A Potting Poet'Leave a comment

Writing into Life, more

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com

Lydia and I had one of our weekend walks this morning, on a quiet track.  It was cold, so I wore a hat. I’d inadvertently shrunk my knitted winter hat in a too-hot wash a couple of weeks back, but I found another in the cupboard to keep my head warm.  My cold is on its way out but I still need to keep myself ‘well wrapped up’, as our Mum used to say.

Lydia kept stopping and looking out over the fields at something I couldn’t see, or maybe it wasn’t something she saw either but sensed.  Anyway, we had an easy walk which I needed, then back to a warm house – breakfast for both of us and another cup of tea for me.

Strong tea and freshly brewed coffee are daily pleasures for me, but I’m cutting out coffee at the moment, and only drinking tea in the morning. This is to help me establish a better sleep pattern again.

I did a bit of kitchen tidying and cleaning, loading and unloading the dishwasher and mopping the floor, before going back to bed for more rest.  I have been very sensible in looking after myself while I’ve had this virus working its way through my body, and I do think that is a strategy that is paying off. It can be a bit frustrating, resting, but I know I need to do it at the moment.

Later it was Trev’s turn to take ‘stuff’ to the tip, which is actually a recycling centre, and very well organised for different types of waste, including a ‘waste to energy recovery’ skip for anything that doesn’t fit the recycling categories, such as wood, metal and so on.

I think we’re only a few tip trips short of a good clear-out now.  I have a charity shop run planned tomorrow, and then I’ll buy a pot of paint, to start doing some internal work that needs doing. 

Day 12

'A Poetic Potter & A Potting Poet'Leave a comment

Writing into Life, more

 

After a morning outing with Lydia, to her favourite dog field, I got ready to go to meet up with a friend for coffee.

She had brought her dog, Faith, who got lots of attention and admiration from people in the coffee shop. I do feel sad that Lydia can’t enjoy similar experiences. Maybe one day . . .

My friend and I had a good catch-up. Her company and conversation were very welcome.

Now back at home, here with Lyd. Good just to be with her. It’s a bit too early for her tea so for now we can just do nothing together.

Waking

'A Poetic Potter & A Potting Poet'Leave a comment

 First published 29 June 2020

Anybody who has had depression knows that one of the most difficult things to deal with is that awful desolation that drowns you as you wake up from whatever sleep you can get.

It is an experience that you have to have had to know what it feels like, when the thought of even having to get up and get dressed, let alone do anything else, is beyond daunting.

There was a time when I could only wake up and get up by setting a first alarm clock to go off several hours beforehand, then another sometime after that, and another later still. When I finally did get out of bed, my first port of call was a strong cup of coffee (appropriately named ‘Rocket Fuel’) with which I swallowed my anti-depressant tablet. Eventually I could then get dressed and ready for work.

I’ve started to struggle again with this aspect depression, after years of having trained myself to get up without too much snooze time between alarms. The fact that my partner now brings me a good strong cup of tea helps enormously, as does not having any time pressures at the moment. Even so, the tasks associated with waking up, getting up and getting dressed should not be underestimated for anyone who is suffering from depression. Like a lot of things, breaking the process down into small steps can be a good strategy. First one sock, and then the other.

I’m working towards being one of those people who springs out of bed in order to ‘seize the day’. Just because I’m slow to start, though, doesn’t me I don’t appreciate and value. It just means that I have to take my time to get myself (literally) geared up, even at a basic level.

This is one place (of many) where the poem in my recently posted Poetry Rule No. 9b Keep recycling to a minimum until you’ve got your other priorities right applies.

Rules, Rhymes, Recovery, Recipe, Random – Glad About Life:

https://amzn.eu/d/6Ptwe4S

Woman, a Dog & a Blog – Writing into Life:

https://amzn.eu/d/63qIYzR