Pottery & Poetry & Life
Writing 2026
Lydia and I had a slightly longer walk again today, even though it was raining a bit.
We both got quite wet and muddy but I did feel better for it and I hope she did too.
Other than that and having our breakfasts, we’ve both rested for most of the day, although I did load and unload the dishwasher a couple of times, and tidied up the kitchen a bit. It didn’t need much.
Writing 2026
We had a slightly longer walk again, Lydia and I, and a quiet one apart from when a man on a motorized scooter passed by with his dog running ahead of him.
I spotted them in time to be able to take Lydia to a reasonable distance and he made sure that the dog didn’t come our way, which I appreciated.
Lydia did bark and lunge a bit but also sat when I asked her to, which I promptly rewarded.
I’ve had another day of rest with my cold, unable to meet up with friends for lunch and I’ll miss the Buddhist class tonight.
I do think the resting is paying off though, while still not recovered I do feel a bit better.
Writing 2026
Lydia and I had a longer walk today than yesterday, showing signs that my cold is getting better, and resting up is helping.
Gone are the days when I was working and had to push on, often leading to further complications such as coughs and chest infections.
I’ve rested up most of the rest of the day and then made tea for Trev and I, including pasta with a stir-in sauce and toasted red peppers. It was tasty and made a change.
Lydia has been my constant companion throughout the day. She didn’t even want to go outside after she’d had her breakfast like she usually does, although she did have a bit of outside time this afternoon, barking at whatever she thought she needed to bark at.
Writing 2026
The sheep at the neighbouring smallholding were out to watch me and Lydia as we returned from our woodland walk this morning.
One of the sheep is being trained by a young girl who lives at the smallholding, and I often see the sheep following her round, like a dog. It is very sweet.
The scents and sounds in the wood bring out all Lydia’s hunting instincts and she’s still making attempts to remove the K9 bridle every so often. I’m getting firmer in my ‘No!’ and ‘Stop it!’ responses because I don’t want her to hurt herself and I want us to both be able to enjoy our walks. I think we are continuing to ‘get there’ as she did settle down and also did some lovely loose-lead heel work which I promptly rewarded. We were out for about an hour and a half altogether which I hope helped her to walk off some of her frustration.
We’ve now both had our breakfasts and she’s lying down looking very relaxed, with some gentle music playing.
I don’t have a need or any plans to do much today and I’m going to enjoy doing very little. I’ll be more productive tomorrow but rest for the rest of today.
Writing 2026
I took Lydia with me to the Buddhist Centre, having first been for a walk in the morning.
She was fine in her crate in the car while I worked for an hour – sweeping up leaves around the accommodation blocks – and then I took her out to stretch her legs and sniff around. She seemed to like it, and spontaneously sat when a man walked by – not a hint of a bark at all.
I worked for about another hour, took her out for another short walk and then we headed for home.
I felt so much better after my afternoon exertions than before and worked up an appetite for a lovely – and quite spicy – lamb curry this evening.
We’re both quite tired now – ready for a bit of relaxation followed by ‘sleepy time’.
Writing 2026
Had a lovely day with my friend Mandy.
She lifted me from a negative state of mind to a more positive one, just by being herself and being with me.
We had a lovely walk, coffee and snacks then headed for lunch.
It was quite a busy place. Mandy bought food and I bought drinks.
I’ve been struggling with a lot of things but Mandy helped me to feel confident that I can get through to the other side, or at least keep going, even if the other side is a bit of a way off.
We’ve known each for a long time, Mandy and me, from when we first worked together,, about 40 years ago. I wanted her to be my friend then and am so glad she is now.
Lydia and I had an early walk, so that I could catch the train to meet Mandy. I think she’s had a good day too, and now it’s time for her tea.
Writing 2026
The theme of the Buddhist class tonight is ‘Habits of Happy People’. I’m looking forward to it, not least because it’s a while since our group convened, when the last course finished before Christmas.
Lydia and I had an easy walk this morning, with no real attempts on her part to pull out of her bridle. In fact she walked steadily ‘to heel’ most of the way.
Quite remarkably, when a valuer from an estate agent came to look at the house, she didn’t even bark at him – from her crate – when we opened the door to the room where we’d put her. He said he had five dogs at home so she must have recognised him as a ‘dog person’.
Writing again
Seasonal branches adorning the fence at our Qigong venue this evening
Lydia is steadily getting used to her new collar. By the end of our woodland walk this morning it felt like she was almost gliding along next to me. The lead that I attach to the collar has a bungee section at the end of it, which helps.
Yoga this afternoon had a strong emphasis on the pose of a tree, and in Qigong we did a lot of work on developing the strength and flexibility of the spine. I felt quite focused in both sessions and enjoyed the poses and movements.
Despite all my health and wellbeing activities, I feel like I may be starting to come down with a cold, so may have to rest up tomorrow if it lingers.
I’m hoping for a good night’s sleep though, tonight. Lydia has already joined me in the bedroom for her ‘sleepy time’ and I’m going to settle down for the night now as well. Sweet dreams.
Writing again
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.
Writing again
After a two-week break, I’m back writing again.
It seems fitting to start this latest cycle of writing on a Mental Health Monday. So, it was a walk with Lydia this morning, yoga and Qigong this afternoon.
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been busy with work on the house, doing some decorating, and I’m now starting on a phase of going round, room by room, clearing, cleaning, sorting.
Just as well then, that I’ve given myself a recharge boost with a weekend at the Buddhist Centre, with teachings and meditation sessions included as part of the course. I’ve also arranged to volunteer at the Centre one afternoon a week, which is an opportunity to put some skills and experience to good use, learn new things and meet new people.
For now, then, I’ve got a good complement of different activities and interests during the week, without being too structured or rigid and with plenty of time to rest or do other things as they arise. I know I’ll want and need to review what I do at some point in the future as I look for new challenges and further growth, but I’ve got what I hope is a reasonable balance for the time being.
I continue to reflect on how fortunate I am to have my health, fitness and circumstances to be able to do what I do.
Thankfully, also, Lydia is fit and healthy too.
We’ll keep walking and working together and I’ll keep writing. They’re all good things to do.
Glad About 
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