It was a short walk for Lydia and me this morning as I have a cold coming on and it is a very grey rainy day here.
Lydia didn’t seem to mind, though she resisted when I tried to put on her raincoat before we left the house. Luckily, the rain held off a bit for a while.
Back to bed now, both of us having had our breakfasts and I’ve had a few cups of tea.
‘Feed a cold and starve the flu’ is a saying I’ve heard. I also think it’s good just to keep warm and drink plenty of fluids which is what I’ve been doing.
Waking to snow, I had a lie in until around 10.30 by which time the snow had started to melt so I was able to drive out to a quiet spot with Lydia.
We had a short walk as it was still cold and I was tired. On the way back I stopped at a garden centre to buy some plants and liners for the hanging basket and trough at the front of the house. I’ll plant them up another day. This is one of the few remaining things I need to do before the house goes up for sale. The front door needs a patch-up of paint but I’ll wait till its warmer to do that.
This afternoon, after a rest followed by prayers and meditation, I’ve changed the bed sheets, tidied the kitchen and loaded up the dishwasher.
It’s amazing what a difference it makes having clean bed sheets and the kitchen was an easy tidy today.
With the central heating boiler still not fixed, and having slept fully clothed – including two pairs of socks – I decided to bring my dog walking boots in from the car this morning, before putting them on.
We do have a functioning gas fire so I warmed my boots, and my gloves, in front of that for a while.
It did the trick as my feet were toastie during the walk and only the ends of my little fingers were cold.
Lydia doesn’t seem to feel the cold through her paws or, if she does, she doesn’t let it bother her.
She only tried twice to get out of her new collar this morning and we had a good walk through the woods.
Struggling with some negative thoughts at the moment, I came across a suggestion in one of my social media feeds to thank the thought before letting it go.
I’m trying this, as well as referring to the guidance that came from the New Year’s Eve teaching at Manjushri Centre, choosing to go in the direction of positive; also choosing to meditate as a way of helping my mind to do this. Meditation helps me to find a better place, within.
After we had both breakfasted, I set about cleaning the bathroom. The steam cleaner helps a lot, and I made a concerted effort to do a good job.
It did look a lot better when I’d finished.
Being cold outside today, it’s been good to stay in the house, although the boiler seems to have packed up, and I’m definitely not going to opt for a cold shower!
I wasn’t able to visit my friend M today as I usually do on a Tuesday as I didn’t want to take germs into the care home.
My cold isn’t yet fully developed but still lingering in the background.
I took Lydia out for a reasonable walk and since then have been taking it easy. I did put our Christmas tree up though, and made some roasted red pepper and sweet potato soup for our tea.
I’d boiled the bones and carcass from a chicken we’d had earlier in the week, making stock for the soup and providing some ‘Lydi juice’ for Lydia that she enjoyed after her tea. It had turned to jelly on cooling, so nourishing as well as flavoursome.
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.
Last night, I slept. Not for a full eight hours but for a few hours at least. It broke the cycle of not sleeping that I’ve had for a week or so, and it helps.
With my cold continuing to do whatever it decides to do, I’m beginning to feel a bit better, but still not up to doing more of the garage clearing that I had planned to do today. Another rest day will help me to recover more quickly and put me in a position to do more sooner, rather than later.
Lydia and I had a bit of a longer walk, though, than we had yesterday and, though chilly initially when we set foot outside the door, it turned into a brighter morning while we were out.
On the way home I bought lemons and honey from the shop at the local petrol station, and also sausages, fresh bread rolls and a baguette, so that Trev and I can have brunch when he gets back from the gym. ‘Feed a cold and starve the flu’ is a phrase I heard long ago, and I have no idea if it is true or not but I am doing what I need to do to look after myself.
After I’d given Lydia her breakfast, and while I was waiting for some ginger to release its wonderful reviving and zingy goodness into a saucepan of boiling water, to add to the honey and lemon concoction for my cold, I cut up some cooked chicken drum fillets that I’d put in the fridge overnight and divided them up into bags for the freezer, keeping one bag out for part of Lydia’s tea tonight. The juice I cooked them in had turned to jelly, so she can have that as an extra treat of ‘Lydi juice’ later. This is good nourishing broth for her. It was good nourishing and tasty broth that Trev cooked for our tea last night, in the form of broccoli and Stilton soup. It all helps.
After dropping a collection of small pots off at the Dovecot Gallery near Doncaster this afternoon, I began to succumb to the symptoms of a cold. So it’s an early night for me. I’ll miss the Buddhist class but know that I made the right decision not to go.
Glad About 
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