A Relaxing Week

I've spent the week simplifying my life a bit so I can have more rest.  I cancelled a number of my appointments for the next two weeks and eliminated a lot of email and spent a good deal of time just relaxing and taking things easy. I didn't realize I was quite as tired as I was and I'm sure this bit of quiet time will do me a world of good.

Cancelling my appointments was simple. It not only bought me a bit of time this week but also eliminated expenditures of approximately $65.00 (Canadian) on herbs and travel.

Unwanted or no longer needed email was easy to deal with too. I tend to sign up for a lot of email alerts for a variety of things.  This week I spent a little time to unsubscribe from numerous email alerts I've been getting daily for years.  I do read almost every email I receive because it only takes a moment to scan and/or read it. I decided that I don't need most of this email anymore if I haven't found enough use for them in years. I can better use all the minutes I spend weekly on other more useful or constructive things. So "unsubscribe", "unsubscribe", "unsubscribe" ...was the order of the day, rather than "delete", "delete", "delete", lol.

It's been a steady week and I've needed the time to rest and make some progress on chores around the house.  When I'm resting I can never just lounge around and do nothing.  So resting is also a time when I read or do some crafting to use my time wisely.

This week I made good headway on the first of  Ken Follett's Century Trilogy.  In an earlier post I said that I had been too distracted to get into the book, The Fall of Giants.  It isn't so much that I don't  find it interesting.  Rather, I did not have the time to properly get into the book.  Given it is 985 pages long, it is difficult to keep track of the characters or follow the story, unless  one can read it for a few hours at a stretch.  Especially at the beginning.  This week I  was able to read for uninterrupted periods of time and finished the book. Yeah! I now look forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy.

Experimenting in the kitchen was another fun activity this week. First up was a "new to me" recipe for scalloped potatoes.  Next was a beef & squash stew on another day.  Both of these hearty dishes were a hit and I'll have to try them again some time. I'm thinking of baking some no knead bread soon; or perhaps I should make a small amount of bread pudding to use up some stale bread I have in the fridge.

It continues to be quite cold here.  It started snowing big flakes on Saturday and hasn't really let up.  Even so there is only a small amount of snow on the ground.  A lot of it melts before it has time to solidify. The cloud cover is definitely here and one can't see the mountains.

You can see the snowflakes are very big. You can't even see the mountains.

When it is this kind of weather I don't tend to venture too far.

Early in the week I had an opportunity to spend time separately with two different friends.  We met up for coffee at local Starbucks in my neighbourhood.  One friend gave me a number of books she thought I might like.  She is older than my mom but she and her husband are still active and live in their own home.  They had an elevator installed about 5 years ago and so this is likely where they will live out the rest of their days.

My other friend is also quite elderly and has a number of health issues.  It has been getting harder and harder for her to climb the stairs to the attic apartment she has in an old house.  She is trying to declutter so she can move into an apartment with elevator access.  In a few weeks she has to go to the hospital for a special test for her heart.  I plan to accompany her and bring her home for an overnight stay while she recovers since she is not allowed to return home to stay alone.

Saturday I stayed in a did a few loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen and swept the floors.  I also managed to colour my own hair using henna powder I mixed. 

Sunday a friend I travelled with last October contacted me about a trip we hope to make together in early May.  We are planning to stay at the same lodge but this time have booked a cabin right on the water front.  I'm excited about that because I just love the sound of waves lapping against the shore.  My last visit there was very relaxing.  There are no distractions like television, radio, telephone or internet.  You have to read, walk, participate in activities or rest!

I hope you are keeping warm and happy. 

Have a wonderful week ahead.

Our World Tuesday