Day 26

Writing again

It was raining a bit this morning when Lydia and I were in the dog field, and again this afternoon when I was working outside at the Buddhist Centre.

The rain was soft and gentle and wasn’t cold, although I made sure I was well wrapped up as well.

That’s what our Mum used to do – make sure we were ‘well wrapped up’, like presents. Scarves, gloves, socks, raincoats.

Our house was cold as we didn’t have central heating – only cold fires until gas fires came along. Somehow, though, she managed to warm our gloves before we put them on. And she knitted jumpers and cardigans using a knitting machine and job lots of dark green wool that she must have bought in the market.

Today I didn’t need gloves and I didn’t feel cold, although I was a bit damp by the end of the afternoon. A cup of strong hot cocoa and another soak in a hot bath – my second this week – soon sorted me out.

I’m hoping to sleep well tonight after my fresh air and exercise today.

Lydia is steadily finishing her tea and I’m hoping that she’ll sleep well tonight too. She got to chase a few trucks and vans as they passed by the dog field this morning, so we’ve both had a reasonable amount of fresh air and exercise today.

Day 4

Writing again

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.