Chasing away the Sunday blues...

I don't really have the Sunday blues, or if I do, I only have them in the slightest form and I hardly notice them. I'm mostly frustrated with what's on television, although it was interesting this morning when there were programs on about literature and politics. This afternoon there are sports on and that's usually okay, but I'm not interested in the kinds of sports that are being shown. The highlights of the rugby game between France and England aren't being shown until 5:30 pm. I hardly have enough patience to sit and wait for them. 

I took my usual nap on the sofa and for a change I'm not so discombobulated. That's quite a relief because I don't like the long drawn out process of rejoining the living when I am. I did make myself a cup of coffee immediately, but I hardly needed it as I was pretty clear headed right away. That goes to show you that you can't compare one day and one experience with the other and that each one is different. You can't always anticipate everything ahead of time because it may turn out quite differently than you thought. 

Nevertheless, I am having another cup of coffee because it's putting me in an excellent mood and I like it. I'd rather feel this way than hopelessly confused and in search of a good one.

I never did turn off the television, but just turned the sound down low. That way I am keeping track of what's on without it being intrusive. It's a little bit like having company without having to concern myself with it. The voices of the newscasters and the sports commentators are very familiar and they sound like old friends. It's pleasant to hear them in the background. I know I am thoroughly integrated now because I know everybody who's anybody on television. 

There are little buds on some of the hedges in the neighborhood. Some of the trees are starting to show buds too. Some of the bushes in the gardens show colored buds and I think they are about to flower. There are more daisies in the fields and I'm waiting to see other kinds of flowers, though I don't know which ones would come up next in the wild. We need more sunshine, but all we have is this drizzly weather and gray skies. We do have mild temperatures and I think spring will be here early this year. 

I have to watch the news now and see what is happening in Libya. 

Have a good evening.

Ciao,

Nora

Outside it's raining...

I have to keep in mind that I'm an optimist otherwise I'd forget about it. I'm in search of my good mood because I just woke up from a nap. At this moment everything seems sort of dreary and dark, but that is doubtlessly also because of the gray and damp weather. The cobwebs that are still in my head from sleeping are adding their own shadows to my present outlook. 

I have made a cup of coffee and I'm counting on the caffeine getting me over this somber state of mind soon. It doesn't do at all to sit around feeling burdened by pessimism. That's not how I normally go through life and I think it doesn't suit me at all. I'm not a doomsday thinker and I do always assume that every cloud has lots of silver linings. 

I always very much look forward to my nap in the afternoon, but I have to tell you that it's a struggle to come back to life when I wake up from it again. The first few seconds I think I'm okay, but when it comes to functioning it's a whole different story. Suddenly everything seems unsurmountable and I think I can't make it through the rest of the day. 

Luckily, I know this is a temporary condition and I'm only momentarily fooled by it. I know I have to take action. I have to mentally point myself into a whole different direction and completely overhaul my attitude. And make myself some coffee.

That's just what I've done and I'm already starting to feel better. I've even had something to eat. I mustn't neglect my stomach and feed it on time. I can easily ignore hunger pangs and only feel them in my subconscious where they hardly register. I have to be really hungry before I realize it. Eating is not a big item on my agenda. It's something I have to do to survive, but because of my gastric band, it's not something I do with a lot of pleasure. 

It keeps raining and I still have to take Tyke out. I will have to choose an opportune moment when it's not coming down too hard. Tyke is sitting in front of the window looking longingly outside. He wants to be out there very much. I don't think he realizes how wet it is. I will have to let him out back first. 

Gandhi was out there for a little while, but came back in quickly. She's a typical cat and dislikes getting wet. She has yet to enter the bathroom when I'm taking a shower, unlike Tyke who sticks his head around the curtain and licks up the soapy water.

Have a good evening, all of you. 

Ciao,

Nora

New hair...

I got up early this morning, which turned out to be much too early, and I had to go beck to bed for just a little while before I went to the hairdresser. I wouldn't have made it otherwise, because I would have fallen asleep in the chair there while she cut my hair. 

I dozed in bed for an hour and a half and then got up and had a cup of coffee. That was enough to return me to the living and I got dressed as soon as it was possible. It only takes me five minutes to walk to the hairdresser, maybe less, and when I got there, I was attended to immediately. 

The woman who cut my hair has cut it often and she does not need me to tell her what she needs to do. She knows enough about my funny hair to know what to do with it. How on one side it always wants to stick out and how that needs to be thinned out extra well so it will lie down flat. 

She cut off an amazing amount of hair, because it had really grown a lot since I had been there last. It had only been about six weeks ago, but my hair grows fast. I saw myself emerging as she cut it. That's my favorite part: watching her cut my hair with the different scissors.

As she cut my hair and it dried up, it got lighter and by the time she was done I had very blond hair again. I don't know why that is, but it always happens. It had gotten a bit darker during the winter and it was a joy to see it brightened up. It matches my face and eyebrows better. 

I now have very easy to manage hair and it will be a breeze to take care of it. Washing it will be so easy and it will not be any effort to style it, because all I will have to do is rub it dry with a towel. I've got a spunky hairdo. I had picked the clothes to match my hair beforehand, so I looked good when it was done. 

I'm one of the few women I know who doesn't completely redo her hair when she's been to the hairdresser. Or maybe there are more of you who don't and the story that there are is just a myth. 

Tyke smelled my hair when I got home. He must have thought that it was just a bit of an unfamiliar scent. He laid down submissively and I scratched his belly. Gandhi just wanted a bowl of milk. She didn't care one way or the other. Cats are uninterested in those things.

I'm now waiting for the Exfactor to get here. I never know when he'll show up. I can start doing my chores in the meantime. I'm still a little bit tired and I think I'll have to take a nap this afternoon. At least my hair will be in place when I get up. 

Have a good day.

Ciao,

Nora

On a cold Friday...

For a change it's a not so beautiful day today. It is overcast and cold and I've had to turn up the thermostat after airing the apartment earlier. We were promised sunshine later this afternoon, but the cloud cover is still in place and it looks like it's not going anywhere soon. That's too bad, because things always look much more cheerful when the sun is shining. Actually, right now it looks like it's going to rain and, although I would not mind that so much, I would prefer some brightness in the living room and not have to sit here with the lights on.

The domestic help has been here and has cleaned the place and it smells of cleaning products in here. She's even done the dishes, which I'm grateful for. There weren't that many and I'm surprised she did them. I don't dirty that many dishes by myself and have the tendency to use the same ones a few times, at least the glasses and the cups. I don't like doing the dishes and wish to spare anyone the job of doing them. There's nothing worse then seeing a stack of dishes on the kitchen counter, no matter how neatly they're arranged.

My newly ordered denim skirt got here this afternoon and after the domestic help left, I got the chance to try it on. It fits perfectly and I was just guessing as to the size. It's a mini skirt, but not too short, so I don't look ridiculous. It fits very comfortably, so it's nice to wear. I've got it on right now and I have lots of things to wear with it.  I have to dress warmly today, because when I walked Tyke, I needed two layers of clothes under my black leather jacket. I do have to keep in mind that it's only February and that it's normal for it to be chilly. 

I slept until 11 o'clock this morning. I woke up a few times before that, but all those times I wasn't ready to get up. I couldn't quite face the day until I was completely done sleeping. When I got up, I had two leisurely cups of coffee before I got dressed and did my chores. There's nothing nicer than sitting in my armchair taking the time to get my head together. I feel it slowly happening and after the second cup I'm ready to tackle anything. I do play ball with Tyke while I sit there, but it doesn't require much effort. All I have to do is aim right so I don't hit the furniture. 

The afternoon is going by quickly. It is time to finish doing my chores before the news comes on. I did a big load of laundry that I have to hang up to dry and I want to change my bed so going to sleep tonight will be extra nice. 

Have a good evening, everyone!

Ciao,

Nora

Keeping up the happy patter...

It is with some amount of satisfaction that I sit here, because I've had my outing for today. It doesn't happen very often that I go somewhere out of the ordinary, because I usually don't have the desire to. Today I took the opportunity to go buy fake plants, because the Exfactor came by to drink coffee and I talked him into walking to that discount store with me. 

It wasn't difficult really to talk him into it, because he likes going there for all the good buys you can get there. Everybody else in the neighborhood likes going there too, as is evident by the long lines at the cash registers and the very full parking lot. We didn't let that bother us and shopped to our hearts content.

I finally bought a set of tall drinking glasses that I had needed for the longest time. There are six of them and I will have to make room in the kitchen cupboard for them somehow. I haven't got around to doing that yet. I have to sit and think about it first. 

I also bought Tyke two big rawhide bones and he is very happily chewing on one of them right now. Actually, he thought everything in the bags was for him like he usually does. He thinks I go shopping just for him.

Of course, I hung out in the perfume section, where they sell the best ones  at discount prices, and I tried out a couple of them on various parts of my body until I found the one I liked best. It was very inexpensive and I got a big bottle of it. When I got home, I spritzed myself liberally and I'm completely swooning over the smell of me. It's so delicious. It's too bad that you get used to it after a while.

I've got the fake plants and they are of a decent enough quality for me to be happy with. There wasn't that much choice, because some of them were just plain ugly, but I picked out the best ones. I put them in their pots and they look good and the most important thing is that I won't be able to kill them. At most they will get dusty and then I will rinse them off under the kitchen faucet.

We went to the tobacco shop after we were done shopping and I was greeted with a lot of compliments by the owner's wife about how I looked. She had not seen me in a while and was pleasantly surprised. I had not realized what a difference there was between me now and a few months ago. I guess it is really obvious. I certainly was pleased about that. It seems that reducing my medication is very good for me. 

So, now I'm sitting here with a tall glass of milk resting my legs. The exercise has actually been good for my knee, which was bothering me a lot earlier. I must walk over to that store more often. There are enough reasons to go there. Anywhere there are that many discounts is a good place to go. 

I hope you're all having a good day.

Ciao,

Nora

Imagination and the use of it...

The day is passing by very slowly for some reason. It seems the hands on the clock don't move at the speed that they normally do. Every other day goes rushing by in no time at all, but not today. It is crawling by at a snail's pace and I have to use my imagination to fill up the hours. I've already taken a nap to fill up one hour. Of course, that didn't take much imagination at all.

I wasn't very tired, so the nap didn't last very long. I also had to share the sofa with Gandhi and Tyke, so I wasn't very comfortable. Then the delivery person came with the package I ordered from the on line store and, of course, I had to try on what was in it right away. It fit and that meant I had to put some clothes away in the closet and that was the complete end to my nap. I had no hopes of going back to sleep. 

I folded and put away the dry laundry and made the bed and cleaned up the always messy kitchen. Gandhi's paw prints are always all over the counter, no matter how often I wipe it. It's the place where she hangs out, because it's out of reach of Tyke. There's no way he can get to her there. His legs are too little. 

I was ruthless the other day and threw out all my dying plants. There was no sense in hanging on to them. There was no hope that they were going to make it back to health. The domestic help cleaned all the pots and arranged them nicely throughout the living room and told me where I could get fake plants for a good price. All I have to do now is go there. 

I have two little pots and four large ones to buy plants for. All the pots are lime green. I had bought them at different times without realizing that it was my preferred color. I wasn't paying attention to such things then. I would be much more alert to them now that I'm not in a medicinal stupor anymore. A lot went past me when I was.

The book I started reading is lying unread in a cubbyhole of the bookcase. I can't get myself to sit down and pay attention to it. I have a blockage in my head. My eyes see a book and glaze over. Areas in my brain shut down and refuse to pick up the book to read it. Suddenly that seems like an awfully complicated task to do. Maybe I see the activity as too passive, but then again, I do sit in my armchair and daydream. I haven't quite got my mind around it yet. 

Sometimes I think I have a fear of books, just like I seem to have a repulsion for creative activity. I probably associate it with another time when I was not at all doing well. Maybe I link it to me when I was another person and much more insecure and needy. I need to establish the habits and hobbies of the new me. I need to give shape to myself the way I am now or the way I am shortly going to be. I'm almost the end product of the three year long journey. 

It's been a beautiful day today. The sun has been shining all day and it has been relatively warm outside. I've worn my black leather jacket, which is my springtime jacket. My other leather jacket is too big on me. I've walked Tyke a couple of times and it was very pleasant, although Tyke acted like a lamb set free from the barn and was all over the place. He pulled me along at amazing speeds.

I must find something useful to do. I have to fill one hour until the news comes on. 

I hope you'll all have a good rest of the day.

Ciao,

Nora

 

As you were...

It's late at night and I'm sitting here slightly drowsy, but not enough to go to sleep. Actually, I may be too agitated to go to sleep and I may want to enjoy the quiet hours of the night more than lying in bed. I have also been known to have a stubborn streak, because I did lie in bed for about an hour and decided to get up again because I was bored and not patient enough to wait for sleep.

There's nothing worse than lying in bed and staring at the ceiling while you can't fall asleep. I was not serene enough to keep lying there. I petted Tyke to pass the time, but that was boring after a while too. There's only so much attention you can give to a dog before you grow tired of it and want to do something else. I decided to get up and pass the time behind the computer until I was good and tired. 

I watched some entertaining television and went to bed late thinking that would do the job of putting me to sleep soon. Apparently this did not work. I had my head full of impressions and it would have been better if I had sat quietly in my armchair and had read my book. I must remember that for the next time. Television can be a great agitator and it takes a while to get over it. You really need some peace and quiet after you've watched it. 

I passed the time very quietly today and did nothing out of the ordinary. I walked Tyke three times and would have walked him more often, but we ran out of time and daylight. I did walk him after dinner when it was already dark, but that's the latest I take him out and I stick to the most familiar streets. I'm not very brave at night. The later it gets, the less brave I am.

I hardly had any chores to do today and I didn't really go looking for them. I figured that it was Sunday and that I didn't really need to do any. I did the little bit that was necessary and called it quits. I spent some time taking a nap that I had not planned on. It took me by surprise as I thought I had gotten enough sleep the night before. I never know when my unpredictable mind needs more of it. 

I was supposed to have gone to see my sister today, but I never did get around to that, so I had to call and cancel. That's the first time I've done that. I wasn't really looking forward to riding my bike over there with my bum knee and the nap got in the way. I think I was forgiven. There will be another day to go over there. I was feeling very much like hibernating today and not coming out of my cave too much. That's typical for a Sunday, especially if it's a dreary one like it was today.

I do feel like I wasted a large portion of the day doing nothing much of anything, but I'm not going to feel bad about it. I did watch one political program and I do feel that I got better informed because of it, so my mind was fed a little bit. I would watch more of them, but on Sundays it's mostly sports that are on during the day. I am getting quite informed about them. I can even stand the post-discussions about the various football games, as long as they have intelligent people doing them. I don't like a lot of hype and excitement. 

For a single, middle aged woman, I watch a lot of football. I don't know if I would watch as much football if I were attached to a man person. I enjoy watching it on my own and providing my own commentary about the different plays and penalties and discussions about schwalbes. I haven't picked a team that I'm especially a fan of, though I seem to root for the underdog a lot. I also don't have a favorite player yet. I will be following what the national team is doing closely. 

I have to mentally prepare myself for tomorrow when the personal helper and the domestic help will be here. They will help me pass the time of day, so that will be good. They're good for a diversion. My personal helper is good to talk to and we usually find some subjects to discuss. I do lose a bit of my privacy, but that's a small price to pay for the company and a clean apartment. The domestic help always stays and talks too. She tells me about her boys and I always have tears of laughter when she tells me about their shenanigans. They are quite a handful. 

I will end this post because it's gotten quite long enough. I can sit here and ramble on all night long, but there comes a time to stop. I'm not quite sleepy enough yet to go to bed, so I'll have to amuse myself a while longer. No doubt I'll find a way.

Sleep tight and have a good morning.

Ciao,

Nora

Enough of that...

I had to do some on line banking and had to put on my reading glasses to use my little interaction gadget. I can't see any of the numbers I'm supposed to punch in without them. I forgot to take my glasses off when I was done and was amazed at how much better I saw everything on the computer with them on. I read the blogs I visited much easier. I wasn't squinting and getting eye pain because I couldn't read the fine print. 

I should have figured this out before, but I was probably not aware of it enough. Sometimes I'm too absentminded to pay attention to the details and small annoyances. My reading glasses are always within hand's reach, as they always lie on my computer desk. Everything important does. It would have been a very simple matter to put them on. Isn't it funny how we don't do the obvious thing? I know my eyes are bad, but I just ignore that and go fumbling on without my glasses, unless I have to sit down and read a book. 

I miss them in the kitchen when I have to read the ingredients on a label, or read the instructions on a package of food. I squint and try to decipher them as if I'm reading hieroglyphs and know what the heck I'm doing. I pretend I know what it says to do and make the rest up, which results in many mistakes and surprises. I could very easily get my glasses, but I'm basically too lazy to do that. That solution would require me to have to go to another room and that is too much of a bother. I think you can call that a universal flaw. 

I think from now on I'm not going to be so dumb anymore and put my reading glasses on as soon as I turn on the computer. It will be much kinder to my eyes and I'm sure it's not good for them when I don't put them on. It's not like I'm exercising my eyes without them.

I've done enough chores today to not make me feel that I was lazy and I've walked Tyke a couple of times too. I think he wants to go out one more time and I just may be talked into that. It's almost dark outside, but I know the neighborhood and that there are no bogeymen hiding behind the buildings. I sure as heck don't want my imagination to start working overtime. Besides, I do have a very fierce dog who I assume will protect me at all times. I would be very disappointed if he didn't.

It is getting dark later at the end of the day all the time. It really does make you feel that spring is on its way. The very pleasant temperatures that we've been having help too. I've not needed to wear my winter coat for a while. I hope I can put it away soon. That's one of my biggest wishes right now. It will be nice if it stops taking up space on the coat rack, because it is big and bulky. 

Well, Tyke is very impatient and I have to go. He doesn't even want to take the time to eat his dinner. 

I hope you'll all have a nice evening.

Ciao,

Nora

On the wrong side of the bed...

I started out feeling very grumpy when I got up and decided that wouldn't do at all. I've been trying very hard to get into a better mood ever since and it's slowly working. I do despise grumpy moods that are there for no reason at all. You just wake up with them because you got up at the wrong side of the bed. They're nobody's fault and they serve no purpose whatsoever other than to make you feel bad.

You could proceed to attach a cause to them, but I'm not that dedicated and would rather get over them instead of becoming a crusader. I'm not a good Samaritan of lost causes. I'd hate to get all heated up and bothered over some issue that's unjust and unfair somewhere in the world when I know it's not within my ability to do anything about it. Those days are far behind me. I only care on the sidelines now.

I know a cup of coffee helps when I'm grumpy and I've had two of them now. I am starting to feel better. The caffeine has nearly straightened me out. Maybe it's because I'm reducing my sleep medication that I found myself in this mood. It may be possible. If it is, I'm not going to worry about it, because it's a minor obstacle and it's something I can easily get over. It's a question of mind over matter and I am capable of that.

I'm going to very pleasantly sit here until the morning arrives and not worry about a thing. That's the nice thing about the hours of the middle of the night. There's nothing you can do about anything at all, even if you wished it. All I have to do is sit behind my computer in the light of my desk lamp and pass the hours in the best possible way. For a while, I am oblivious of the world around me.

That will change in the morning when I turn on the television and watch the news and am bombarded with all the issues that happen around the world. The Netherlands are not an insulated country that is unaware of what happens outside itself. We hear of news around the world and sometimes it overwhelms you. You wonder how you can absorb so much.

My knee has been bothering me very much and seems to be getting worse instead of better. There's not much I can do without having pain, except for standing up and leaning on my left leg. I made an appointment to see the doctor on Friday. That's the soonest I could get in.

I think I'll go back to bed for a few hours more sleep. It's still very early. Both the animals are sound asleep. It's not nearly time to start the day.

I hope you'll all have a good morning.

Ciao,
Nora

Sleep failure...

I'm up in the middle of the night after having slept a couple of hours. Apparently that was enough for now. I'm happily sat behind the computer with a cup of coffee and a cigarette in my big red bathrobe. Gandhi is eating her kibbles and Tyke's sound asleep in the armchair. I'm very thirsty and will have some lemonade next. Cold refreshing lemonade. I can't wait. 

It must be because I make the coffee so strong that I'm so thirsty. It dries out the inside of my mouth. I have literally no spit left. I don't eyeball the coffee in the filter right and always add a little more than I should for fear that it will be too weak. I do dislike a weak cup of coffee. Needless to say, the coffee in the pot always turns out on the strong side. It almost tastes like espresso and it kicks a punch. I really need to go back to a Senseo machine with the pre-measured pads. It was cheaper in the long run. 

Yesterday I was wearing a mini skirt that was sliding down my hips, it was so big on me. All day long I neglected to find a belt for it. Luckily I was wearing a long top over it. Instead of a mini skirt it slid down so far that it looked like a regular skirt. In a short amount of time I've lost five kilos. That's just from reducing my medicines. I'm not eating less. 

All my skirts are big on me and so are my other clothes, although I really should say that they fit me better. They are less of a problem than the skirts. I haven't tried on my jeans, because I seldom wear them, but I'm sure they'll be too big also. I'm not going to buy anything new until I'm done losing weight. 

I have no clothes that are smaller than what I'm wearing now, although I do have some sun dresses that were tight on me last summer and that may be just right this time around. We'll see. It will be something to look forward to. I'm glad I wear a lot of dresses because they have the tendency to fit better longer than pants do. 

I'm going to look for something completely different to wear today. I'm thinking of wearing a tighter, more colorful dress over leggings layered with a loose open top with long sleeves. It will be an experiment. I feel like doing something a little more adventurous.

I've made spaghetti two nights in a row. I let it cook a little bit longer than I normally would so it is easier to digest and passes my gastric band better. I had a jar of ready made sauce that came in the care package I received at Christmas time. I do have to use it up now before it spoils. I can eat a fair portion of the spaghetti before I'm full and it does give a very satisfied feeling. I go to bed with a full stomach. 

Speaking of going to bed, I think that's where I'll go next. I do need to sleep a little more. 

I hope you'll all have a nice day!

Ciao,

Nora

 

Sleeping must be very overrated...

Yesterday I did the chores that I had not been looking forward to and some of which I had been putting off for a while. By putting them off, I had made them much bigger in my head than they actually were, so when I finally got around to doing them, I was finished with them much quicker than I had anticipated. They turned out to be relatively simple and I was well prepared and organized, because I had been agonizing over them long enough.

I must let this be a lesson to me, because it always turns out to be the case that nothing is as bad as it seems and I am always quite capable and in charge. I don't know where I get the idea that I won't be able to deal with something. That whatever needs to get done will be too difficult. By pushing it ahead of me, I only make it worse until I give myself a good kick in the pants and get it done. 

I have two chores to do today and I know I will get them done, because they are very simple and straight forward and I can envision myself doing them. I can see the beginning and the end of them. They are manageable. They don't resemble anything remotely chaotic, which I would dislike very much. My home life is actually very orderly and one in which I can function very well. 

It is due to the good care of the domestic helps that the apartment is always in such good order. I'm able to keep it that way myself by being very clean and organized. I don't like it when things get beyond my control as the odd thing sometimes does. I'm not a typical Dutch housewife, though, and if it weren't for the domestic helps, things would get out of order quickly and I would not be able to set them to rights by myself. 

Because I finished the book in my sidebar, I chose a new book to read from my many unread books on the bookcase. It is Melissa Bank's The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing. I don't actually know if I'm at the appropriate age to be reading a book like this, because it seems to be more about the struggles of younger women, but it sounds very interesting and it got good reviews. I'm ready for something completely different and anything that has some psychological depth is welcome. The novel I read before Laurie's book was completely lacking in it. I think that was Where the Heart Is by Billy Letts.

I put the new book down on the table beside my armchair along with my reading glasses, but then never got around to reading it, because I got distracted by other things and the day went by quickly. I hope to start reading it today and, as a matter of fact, am going to make a point of it. I will set apart some time to, because my mind wants some other stimulation besides watching television. It's been engrossed in watching the developing revolution in Egypt and the international politics of my own government and that of the European Community. 

Tyke seems to know when it is weekend and I have time to spare and he demands his share of it. That means he wants to play with me and have extra cuddles. He finds all sorts of ways to get my attention and I have to give him points for innovation. You can see him sitting there thinking about it. We play ball a lot and if I ignore him long enough, he does drop it by my feet so I can pick it up and throw it again. We also wrestle over rawhide bones, but I always let him win. He's a little dog and I'm a big person. I can stand to lose over a rawhide bone. 

I think I will go back to bed now and sleep a few more hours. It's not nearly time to start the day. Besides, it's Sunday and there's no rush. The neighborhood will stay quiet for a long time. 

Have a nice day today.

Ciao,

Nora

Silences and books...

If you look at it optimistically, it's very early in the morning, though that doesn't mean that it's anywhere near dawn. Of course, it's still wintertime so the sun does get up late. If it were summertime, it would be different and the early birds would be twittering now. It is a sound I will welcome and not soon enough. There's nothing happier than early morning bird song.

I've got hours of darkness left while I sit here and drink my coffee and try to amuse myself. I've just taken my vitamin pill while I thought of it and I will take my Omega 3 capsule when that huge vitamin pill has passed the narrow opening of my gastric band. The Omega 3 capsule is rather large too and I'm afraid to take both at the same time. I would hate to cause an obstruction while being especially mindful of my health.

It's with some amount of pleasure that I welcome Saturday. Because it's a weekend day, I will spend it as I like and have no schedule that looks like anything during the week. I will do some chores and walk the dog, but it will mostly be at my leisure. I will watch cultural programs on television and start reading a new book, because last night I finished reading the book that's in my sidebar. 

I had read half of it and put it aside and never got around to finishing it. I picked it up last night and sat down in my armchair and did and with much pleasure too. I didn't put it down until I was done with it and even forgot to watch the news. That's saying something. It may be because I know Laurie Hertzel from her blog that I was especially interested in this book, but it was just plain good and fun to read.

I have a variety of novels on my bookcase to choose from, but I want to make the right choice, because I'm a picky reader right now and not just any old book is going to grab my attention and make me sit down long enough to finish it. It does have to be especially good and have many redeeming features. I have to have a good look at each one and choose carefully.

It's still stormy outside and cloudy, but it's not raining. It's not going to be especially cold, but the gusts of wind make it feel colder than it is. It will be a good day to mostly stay inside and hunker down. At least we're not having snow and ice or that terrible snow storm that the people in North America are having. Those are real extremes of weather that we don't have to deal with. 

I hope you'll all have a nice day!

Ciao,

Nora

It takes a while...

It's taken me four cups of coffee to become somewhat cohesive, but even now I could go back to bed and immediately fall asleep again. I will do so shortly when I'm done being a stubborn woman. I can only sit here with my eyes falling shut for so long.

There's no evidence this morning of the cold I was developing yesterday.  I took an aspirin with codeine for the symptoms during the night and that seems to have taken care of it. I feel a lot better at any rate. 

Since I have no personal helper coming here anymore on Wednesdays early in the morning, I can do as I please and take it easy. I don't have to be dressed and ready in a short time. I'm relieved about this and glad that I can schedule my morning as I see fit. The rest of the day is mine to do with as I wish too. 

I just took my medicines and should be feeling fit as a fiddle in no time.What little I take does still does its job, of course. I have an appointment with my psychiatrist tomorrow when we will assess how everything is going and make a decision about the next reduction. 

I thought I was feeling mentally low yesterday, but it was really due to the cold that I was developing. I was not feeling well physically. I notice the difference between today and yesterday now that I'm feeling physically better.

I'm having a glass of cold milk now. It's settling in my stomach very well. It's always the most soothing thing I can drink. I think that's why I'm so hooked on it and it is filling too. I love it first thing in the morning after I've had my coffee to wake up with. 

I'm going back to bed now and sleep for a few more hours. It will be a true pleasure. 

Have a nice day!

Ciao,

Nora

After midnight...

I've already slept a few hours, but I woke up because I had to go to the toilet in a hurry. That's the effect of a weak bladder. You can't hold up your pee, but I've been bad at that my whole life. I saw the backs of many trees and bushes when I was a kid and we were on long car journeys out in the countryside. I always had to go immediately and as fast as possible. I didn't have a moment's notice. That's one of the things that's mentioned in my instruction booklet. It's quite extensive.

This is actually post number 1,005. I thought maybe I had some drafts in there that artificially increased the number, but I checked and there were none, so this is really the number of posts that I've written for this blog. Post number 1,000 went by me unwittingly. I missed a chance to celebrate. Not that it's really all that important, because it's only a number after all and it doesn't signify all that much other then that I have staying power and that I'm capable of writing a lot of drivel.

Sometimes I reread my old posts and they are actually quite educational, because I see myself going through what life throws at me and come out at the end one way or the other, and I see that I do learn my lessons and come out quicker and better at each turn. It's my intention to keep improving until I get it right. I think that's going to take the rest of my lifetime. That should be another thirty years or so. I plan to get old. I should say, I plan to stay healthy and live long. That's another thing altogether.

I'm drinking a glass of cold lemonade now. It's my second one. The more I drink, the more I want, because I'm so thirsty. I'm almost out of milk, but the Exfactor will be over today to do the groceries. I crave a glass of milk, but I can't have one. It always settles my stomach so well. Lemonade has a tendency to give me a stomachache.

I will shortly go back to bed. It is sensible if I do. In the end, I am known to do the sensible thing. I can't get away with being irresponsible for too long. 

Sleep tight!

Ciao,

Nora