April upon us, the stay at home has altered to stay local and the sun is out
Well spring is officially here, and at long last the sun has appeared in generous proportions. Albeit without the glowing warmth normally associated with bright sunlit days. Mornings are fresh, robust, with cutting easterly winds taking the temperature down to well below freezing. So not conducive to proper gardening we’re you can start sowing your vegetable seeds for the forthcoming season. Yet the daffodils, primroses and odd wild flower give that well deserved splash of colour.
Keep vowing to build myself a greenhouse, a hideaway to wistfully while away the time, protected from the elements.
Reality kicks in, where would l put one, they are not the prettiest of objects. Good looking ones cost a small fortune. Then there is the time necessary to benefit from such an investment not to mention the short growing season in Scotland and the sickening smell of paraffin heaters, Talked myself out of it again. Back to buying veg and spending time cruising instead.
The clocks have jumped forward leaving my mind struggling to cope with the lost hour.
Presently seem to be living In the Twilight Zone. It doesn’t help matters that since Judith’s vertigo attack we have opted to temporarily sleep separately. Both our sleep patterns have been dramatically effected. Judith can’t get to sleep for hours, whilst l wake up and can’t get back to sleep. I go to bed at nine o'clock and wake up at 1.50am, l go to bed at 10 o'clock and wake up at 1.50am, and then at midnight, but l still wake up at 1.50am. Then it takes both of us an hour and a half or more to get back to sleep.
A process of various actions seems to be rectifying this annoying cycle of sleep deprivation.
Personally, l have taken to abusing my body by taking cold showers. It goes against all my survival instincts, especially as my absolute love is cooking my ancient body in shockingly hot water in the bath or under the shower. Now, at the end of a session the shower is turned to cold.
Supposedly along with the natural high thanks to those lovely endorphins being activated, cold water can improve your circulation, boost your immune system and the production of oestrogen and testerone which increases your libido. Although at my age I think it’s a little too late, but you can live in hope.
We have also been following Dr Michael Mosley’s new SMART approach to health.
Specific
set yourself the goal of not just going for a walk but going for a walk in the morning at over 100 paces a minute.
Measurable
set a target such as have a cold shower and stay there for at least 30 seconds.
Achievable
you’re more likely to stick to resolution to eat five a day then learn to play a piano.
Relevant
learning to dance is likely to be more relevant to most compared to the learning of an obscure language.
Timely
training for the marathon involves a huge time commitment whilst something like practising standing on one leg doesn’t. Ideally the things you commit to will easily fit into your lifestyle, there is nothing more daunting or less inspiring than setting a goal that takes the time you don’t have.
Can’t be doing with all these acronyms, reminds me too much of high pressure work. Plus l can’t remember them. So l keep it simple.
We go for a morning walk
I take a cold shower.
I TRY and balance on one leg while brushing my teeth, although l normally end up with paste everywhere other than on my teeth.
We try to eat more good bacteria in the form of natural yogurt, but Judith makes kimchi on a regular basis. I prefer beer. Does the yeast in beer count?
And of course our daily 20 minute Tai Chi session
last but not least l often have a hot bath before going to bed
These benefits are regularly neutralised by my off track bad yet very enjoyable habits.
Recently l made my favourite, carrot cake muffins. The nod to healthiness coming in the form of walnuts and the prerequisite grated carrot.
I tried to overlook the yummy frosted icing made from cream cheese and sugar.
Deliveroo have been floated on the London stock exchange. It proves that not only are we eating more takeaway instead of cooking healthy food, but now we can’t even be bothered to get off our backside to pick them up.
A recent survey shows 63% of adults in England are now overweight or obese while 3% fall into the morbidly obese category.
Easter Weekend is nearly upon us, so we have stocked up the freezer with ice and headed to Morrisons for a kilo of lemons for the odd G&T.
Our neighbours or coming round on Good Friday for lunch outside. Pizza in our new Ooni oven. Purchased it last year, but never got round to using it, what with the lockdown. By the time we were allowed to meet up the weather had turned.
Had a great time, loads of various pizza toppings. Realised that it’s best to make the dough and get everyone to choose the toppings and cook their own. They only take 60 seconds to cook. The temperature is unbelievably hot, well over 500 degrees.
Making one pizza at a time, sharing it, then making another is very enjoyable, but it eats into the hard wood pellets. We managed to get through a 3 kilo bag over the afternoon session, cooking a total of five pizza’s. You live and learn.
It was well worthwhile. The company was excellent, we had so much catching up to do. As per usual the alcohol flowed freely, and even though we had log burners on the standby to warm us up, they were not necessary, just warm clothing.
Easter Monday and expected to wake up to snow, but amazingly the sun is shining, although it’s minus 7 outside as a blast of Siberian wind hits Scotland. Five sunny days in a row, what a treat. Wrapped up in thermals, heavy trousers and fleeces, topped with overalls and a heavy Gillet l’m able to continue to manage our woodland section, removing wind felled trees, trying to turn it into a wildlife-friendly garden. The goal to help mini-beasts, amphibians, and pollinators like bees, hoverflies, moths and butterflies!
So pleased to see a Newt in the pond, although a great addition, the downside is they eat tadpoles. So our masses of frogspawn may just become an appetiser on the Newts daily menu. It’s life in the wild. The Heron and ducks that use our pond for recreation, may decide to feast on the newt.
Forests and woods have therapeutic properties that have captivated modern scientists. In Japan, shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing — defined as spending time among trees — has been considered a form of preventive medicine since the 1980s, when researchers in Nagano found that the practice lessens stress, boosts immunity and lowers blood pressure. So, perhaps l can give up my cold showers and just head down to the wild garden and the trees.
A gabion wall full of reused materials which offer shelter that can be planted up with native flowers and shrubs.
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Now l have had my second Covid vaccine. Over the moon.
Did you know that the name comes from the Latin word “vacca” meaning cow. Originating from the testing of cowpox on humans, which ultimately led to the discovery of a vaccine for smallpox.
Still shifting thoughts on the AstraZeneca vaccine with one European official saying there may be a link between the blood clotting and the vaccine.
They are presently considering a formal guidance advise. Yet numbers show 44 cases out of 9.2 million doses, equating to 1 in 100,000 in the under 60 range.
In Britain, regulators reported 30 cases of the rare blood clots combined with low platelets among 18 million people given the AstraZeneca vaccine. That translated to roughly one case in 600,000 recipients of the vaccine.
It's soo wonderfull to see your pictures and to read all your day ne ws... keep your forest wild !
ReplyDeleteHere in Charente we keep walking every Tussauds as usually, next time i'll tell them about all pizzas and good healthy practice you do !!!
I keess you both very much.
M. A.