Of course we can!
Get fit in February that is.
Care to join us?
Get fit in February that is.
Care to join us?
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..and a 12 hour power cut. Ferries off, some trees down, and a very noisy night as the north westerly roared down the glen. And more to come. But I am fine, and hope you are too! I am looking forward to posting later..  Feeling grateful to be hunkered down with a cheerful fire, hellebores and snowdrops to delight my eyes and hyacinths in the kitchen to delight my nose.. There is an almost eerie calm here as darkness falls and we await storm Corrie. Stay safe. I am going to stick this motto on my fridge.   First identify the problem. Since my mystery illness last Sptember I have been below par, with muscle aches and stiffness and low energy levels. I am taking painkillers every day, though fewer and less strong than initially. So February is about getting to the bottom of this and getting healthy and strong again, and off the painkillers. On the left hand page of my personal Fit Book I will copy motivational messages from my books. I think I'll also stick them on my fridge. Here are some from Louise Parker's Think successfully section. She also has Eat Beautifully, Live Well and Exercise Intelligently. All sounds good to me! The easiest route is the direct route Assume success It's not meant to be hard Start and just don't stop Keep positive and inspiring company
That last one describes all the wonderful readers here! That's why I still blog.. What is stuck on your fridge door? And is it actually helpful? Not only do I love a project, I think I need a project. It's nice to start with a fun notebook..  I am doing this with a friend. I am not as good at self motivating as I once was (The pandemic? Age? Being a bit unfit?) I don't know why but doing it with a good friend is fantastic! We have a few days to plan, so I am re-reading posts under Simply Fitter, Simply Move and Simply Eat (I have been here before!), and checking out the books and videos that have helped me in the past.
I like a lot of Louise Parker's philosophy (Lean For Life). Think Successfully is her first recommendation. I love sitting thinking. It's one of my favourite things! I spent most of last evening by a warm fire with coffee and some good music thinking about what my goals are and how I will go about achieving them...I felt happy. ..tulips are very lovely.    In other news - I have a project for February. I do love a project.. Why Anbitious Women Have Flat Heads is the title of Dame Stephanie Shirley's Ted Talk - I do urge you to check it out. Inspirational! ..feeling good. A few dry days, more birdsong, and this on my doorstep. And the uploading problem fixed itself! Do you find yourself feeling more positive?    Real coffee, a warm croissant and a good book. (Iris Murdoch Under The Net, brilliantly read by Sanuel West.). An almost perfect Saturday morning. If I could just figure out this glitch with uploading my pphotographs here..! I wish you a perfect day. ..of wnter and of the old fence.
Sorry I am having trouble uploading photographs - will keep trying! Elegant in it's simplicity. I bought this in Stockholm. It is simply a long wire with a weight at the bottom and some tiny magnets. Quick and easy to change the cards and photographs. Love it..   Sometimes I just have to be practical although it is not my strong point. Things need done. My thinking is that this January is the time to plan, to be ready for whatever comes, whether that be the shopping trip for healthy food (take inventory of the freezer), buy a small camping stove and more salt (power cuts and icy paths), and deciding whether to replace the old fence or do away with it. The thing that may be coming and which I am looking forward to most of course, is the end of restrictions! I want as many pracical things in place so that when freedom comes I am free to take advantage! I have a ticket for a live concert in February! So excited! I have finally scoffed the last of the chocolates, cakes and other goodies in the house and am, I tell myself, transitioning to eating better. For seven days I am going to drink five glasses of water a day. I know it is good for me and the full feeling it gives me stops me from snacking. It's a start..  Try clearing off one surface and just putting one thing back.  I tend to have more things around in winter - ornaments, cushions, pictures, throws etc. It gives a cosier feel to the house, but there always comes a day in January when I want the calm feeling I get from a clear surface, or a surface with just one thing on it. There are two here but as one is a white folder against a white wall it hardly counts..
Does this work for you? Does it give you a feeling of spacious calm? Does it bring you a little sigh of pleasure? The musician in yesterday's post made such a difference to the atmosphere on the Glasgow street on the wet cold day, with his cheerful fiddle. It lifted my spirits and I was glad to have some coins in my pocket. He wished me a Happy New Year when I dropped them into his box. (It was the day before Hogmanay.) York is a great city for street music. I remember a harpist and cellist in Stonegate, a soprano with a voice like an angel in St Helen's Square, a pianist who trundled round a piano on wheels to various locations, a man with a very fine voice singing sea shanties in the Shambles (we also saw hm in Whitby and Lincoln), and Ed Alleyne who drew a crowd in Parliament Stree with his electric violin. There was also, long ago, a little frail man with a shock of white hair who merely leaned against a wasll and breathed in and out of his mouth organ.. In Oxford there was a man with a zither-like instrument who played twinkly music with canddles in jars around his feet and a beatific smile on his face. Are there street musicians where you live? How do they fare when so few peope carry cash now?  That could be a good word for the year, along with Fun, Finish and Fulfillment...Any more to share? Tthey don't have to begin with F!) It is a constant on York Minster, which always has a part covered n scaffolding. The medieval craftsmen would have thought the lit star was a miracke.    The East end was covered in scaffolding for many years. It's wonderful to see it so beautifully restored and to know that the skills still exist. Have you chosen a word, or a phrase for 2022? (Mine is Lovingly - see yesterdy's post.) A friend who longs to be lighter of heart after a difficult year has chosen Fun. Do share your word here!   York Minster was closed last week. I was disappointed as I like to light a candle for my husband Barry, who as a historian of the late medieval period, and volunteer in the Minster Library loved York and it's cathedral Next time... Meanwhile I took a closer look at the doorway. So beautiful! It's taken me some time to find my word for 2022. Decisiveness might have been a good one, but I have settled on Lovingly. I have tried it on for size as it were for a few days and it gives me a good feeling. Doing some boring chore I asked myself How would it fel if I did this lovingly? Hmm. I notice it brings my stress level down a little every time I apply it, and of course it can be applied to pretty much any situation....  I chanced to look up in the waiting room in Waverley Station in Edinburgh and thought They don't make them like that anymore
Thank you all for the good wishes for the new year. Christmas decorations come down, but I will keep out a few which I think of as winter decorations rather than specifc to Christmas. Listening to the lashing rain I know that lights and flowers are needed to get through more dark days of winter.   However, for four days in North Yorkshire I enjoyed lovely weather, country walks and the company of good friends. I hope you also had a happy start to the new year. |
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