Tag: field

Day 19

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Writing again

Photo by Thapelo Boateng on Pexels.com

Before and after going to the dog field with Lydia this morning, I did some work in the kitchen, finishing the decorating and cleaning, then putting things back but reducing clutter at the same time.  It does look and feel so much better.

Leaving Lydia to look after the house – Trev was still away but came back this afternoon – I headed over to the Buddhist Centre to do some volunteering for a few hours.

The work was outside. To begin with it felt a bit cold, but I had gloves, a hat, coat and boots. It wasn’t long before I took off the hat, coat and gloves, as the physicality of the work – sweeping – warmed me up. A few people – residents at the Centre – passed me as I was working and all made appreciative comments.  The young lady who was supervising me made sure that I was happy doing the work and insisted that I had a cup of tea before I left, which I did.

The satnav on the way home directed me on a different route to the one I normally take and it proved to be a calm and quiet drive, through villages lit up by Christmas lights – lovely.

Arriving home, I was glad I’d made the enchiladas the day before as all I had to do was turn the oven on before giving Lydia her tea and then having a bit of a rest.  Trev had returned home and it was good to watch a bit of telly.  It’s been a fairly full day, and a good one.

Day 12

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Writing again

 

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.

Day 25 – weekends

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Writing into Life

Photo by Posawee Suwannaphati on Pexels.com

Lydia had a good run around the dog field this morning, chasing trucks and tractors that passed by on the other side of the fence. 

It could be argued that I shouldn’t encourage her to use her ‘hunt’ capacity as it goes against the training that I do with her on other days, but on balance I’ve decided that the benefits of cardiovascular exercise she gets outweigh the drawbacks.  She just needs to run free sometimes and do what she wants to do, within the safe confines of the dog field.

While she’s doing her thing I do mine, with exercises for my knees and repeats of the Qigong[1] ‘healing form’.

‘Back at the ranch’ I rest for a while, then locate my trusty carpet cleaner to go over the central area of the lounge. I did the whole room a while back but it just needs a freshen up in the middle which gets most of the traffic from paws and feet.  I also give the stair carpet a clean and that’s my ‘domestic duties’ done for the day.  

Back to binge-watching some more episodes of MAFSAU, not feeling under any pressure to do much else. Resting up and prioritising the way I have been is beginning to influence my burnt-out brain in positive ways, so I’m continuing with slow and steady.

It’ll be a takeaway pizza and a bottle of red wine for me tonight.  Red wine was always a favourite of mine on a Friday night when I was working and it still is.  Just because you’re retired doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate the end of the ‘working week’.  On most days during the week I do something constructive one way or another, and I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

I have absolutely nothing planned and don’t feel I need to have either.

[1] Chinese exercise for health and wellbeing