Sunday, January 17, 2010

Staying up late...


Like I've said before, I have to take advantage of the times in my circadian cycle when I feel best and perform then, and be awake and enjoy myself and and not look at the clock and do what it tells me to do or what I think I ought to do. There is no ought to, there is only this minute and this moment on which I feel good and when I don't want to do anything else than what I am doing. Namely sit here by the light of my desk lamp with a cup of coffee and a cigarette and write my thoughts down, whatever they amount to. Soon enough I will get tired and find my way to the bedroom. There's no amount of built in guilt that's going to make me feel different about that. I hear a chorus of warning voices, but it's just an echo that has been repeated many times over and I'm becoming deaf to it. I'm listening to my own voice now, stubborn and foolhardy as I am. I've got my own survival mode and it's working. I know more happy moments now than I do in any other way. I'm glad I've got it all figured out. There's a method to my madness.

Quite coincidentally two separate people asked me about the same author. Both Angie and Connie Rose asked me if I had read anything by Diana Gabaldon. I had never heard of this author and looked her up on Bol.com and found out that she had written a whole series of books of which the 'Outlander' is the first one. It seems to be worth a try, especially when two people recommend her on the same day. Babaloo also recommended a book by John Irving called 'Until I Find You.' She says it's another one of John Irving's really good books, so I added that one to my list of books to get. So you see how this discussion about books leads to recommendations of other books and that is exactly what I want to happen. Please feel free to recommend a book if you've read a good one. I'll be happy to look it up if I haven't read it yet, or mention it here if I have. This can slowly turn into a book blog if I read fast enough. or if you people come with enough recommendations.

I cleaned up the apartment the French way, as we say here in the Netherlands. That means I got rid of everything that could be put in the trash and slightly organized things that were unorganized. It doesn't mean that I did any real cleaning. I closed my eyes to that and I wished for a better day to come along when I'll be struck by the cleaning genie. I know it will happen, it's just a matter of having patience. The chaos is under control and I know exactly what I have to do to set it right.

Except for an individual patch here and there, the snow and ice are all gone. I can see the streets and the sidewalks again and not be in danger of breaking my neck when I walk the dog. It is such a relief. The temperatures are good right now and it's not going to be freezing anymore, so hurray! It's darn near balmy now when I go outside. I don't have to wear my snow hat or my gloves and it feels like it is going to be springtime. What an optimist I am. It's still January, anything can happen. It's so nice to be liberated from that snow and ice. It was a real bother. It suddenly disappeared very quickly. I hope that's all the winter we're going to have for this season, but we're not out of the woods yet. We still have to get through February and March and they are unpredictable months.

I did make it through the bad weather without falling down once, though, although all the while I had visions of myself with a broken leg in a cast and no way to walk the dog and all the problems that would bring. I also worried about the dog slipping and hurting himself because of his osteoarthritis, but he did real well. He was pretty steady on his feet. He slipped a little now and then, but he didn't hurt himself. That's the advantage of walking on all fours.

I think I need to go to bed now. It's late enough and I am going to be up soon enough again. It will be nice to get my pajamas on and to get something to eat and have a glass of juice to drink. The dog is already sleeping on his pillow in the bedroom. I think that's where the cats are too.

Have a good night. Sleep tight. It is 5C here.

Ciao,
Nora

6 comments:

Babaloo said...

Time to sleep for me, just checking in on you... ;-)

I've read varying reviews of Until I Find You but I did like it. I was going to tell you that it is John Irving's latest one but then I just googled him (to be safe) and it turns out he had another book out after this. Last Night In Twisted River was out last year and I completely missed it. Will have to see if I can get it anywhere.

Have a good night's sleep!
xxx

Wisewebwoman said...

you've seen my list on my blog, GSW, I think you might enjoy Heinrich Boll's short stories, they are quirky and kind of old fashioned but have a charm that appeals to me.
And as we are twins in more ways than one.....;^)
XO
WWW

Gail said...

Have a wonderful evening. Are you snuggling up with a good book?

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, do read Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series! They are wonderful books especially if you like history (which I do) and I have enjoyed them more than once. I highly recommend the series - but that being said, the first book is still the best one, in my opinion.

young-eclectic-encounters said...

I woke at 3:30AM and I am also learning to listen to my body and when it wants to sleep. Sometimes it's hard to do as my husband expects me to sleep at certain times and is disgruntled when I don't. I wrote my blog finished a very good book "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. My daughter who is an english lit major recommended it and I enjoyed it very much. I then started "Killing Time" by Calab Carr who also wrote "The Alienist" one of my favorites. Thanks for your recommendations, both of books and listening to your own body rhythms. Johnina :^D

Friend of the Bear said...

Hi Nora. I lol at the French way of cleaning! At least you got something done, which is better than nothing.

Bearfriend xx