Wow. I am definitely fighting something off, and hard. I’m very glad I canceled the Covid booster appointment today and the afternoon acupuncture. I am so tired I can barely move. I’m not in pain or discomfort, so it’s all fine enough — I just need to rest and drink tea, which is exactly what I’ll be doing for the rest of the evening. 🦋

Heidi rests in a small clearing, making a low fire in a circle of stones. She collects a few apples and pears from the nearby trees, grateful for the abundance of nature that seems everywhere.  A small cauldron sits on a large rock in the fire, and she slices the fruit into the vessel, stirring in a dash of water from her flask. She covers the cauldron with a flat rock, and then sits to meditate a while, and possibly sleep while the apples and pears become a delectable sauce for the small stash of oats she has in her pack. What a blessing it is to be able to do less.   This week I said no every day, sometimes more than once, and it was needed. I found the space to be gentle and compassionate with myself and with others, and also found some reflection time that I had been putting off “just for now” for overlong. The insights were good and right.   Especially for my cooking compatriots: the apple-pear sauce and oats concoction mentioned above is real: a few of each fruit (or only apples or only pears, whatever you have on hand that looks good), peeled and cored, can go in a slow cooker for 6-8 hours with a dash of water (or whatever juice you have on hand; I squeezed a lemon into today’s batch). Three pounds of fruit yields approximately one pint of sauce, give or take. A cup of the sauce with 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats can sit overnight and be ready whenever you are. I usually add just a touch of brown sugar and cinnamon to mine when I stir the oats in, but it’s optional. Any warm spice is really lovely, even blends like pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice. If you go with a straight pear sauce, ginger and cardamom are excellent here.  🦋

You are such a brat quoting Super Supportive at me hahah! Thanks though, I re-read that chapter and it felt like a warm hug.       Gosh Sara, that was lovely. I was expecting something more up its ass with a name like Archibald MacLeish, but that had a fun punch.     That was beautiful.    And patiently learn to receive the self You have forsaken in the race of days.    

Today Mom and I walked through a trail at a local park.  It’s a beautiful, hilly trail in the woods. the path covered in acorns. It was so fantastic to get out of the house and away from the daily routine. Now we’re back and everything is usual but it doesn't seem so overwhelming. it was her idea, and what a good one!   

<4 🤣

Grooming is starting to become a problem: past the low hanging fruits of trimming my beard/improving my hair, there isn't a lot that makes sense to do as a non-working/not going out much person. I've decided to put preparations for getting back to work in this category. Finding the right style, right clothes, getting my jackets to the dry laundry and such stuff.       5 days   Wednesday Thursday       09/22 09/23             Success%       100% 100%             Workout         Yes Running       Yes   Grooming       Yes Yes Meditation       Yes Yes Sleeping       Yes Yes

So excited for you both! 

I reacted to this post with a like because I liked it.  

Good job, Snarky! ❤️    Thank you, Harriet. I am not sure I will get those markers with these constant circuit setups, although I can probably be shifting my weights in some exercises.    Thank you, Heidi. ❤️      Hi Loves,    Well, I might have spoken too soon about feeling more like myself on an ongoing basis. I am definitely weary and don’t really know what the solution is. I am not feeling in control of life right now and am being pretty escapist about many things - lots of social media scrolling, etc., reminds me of AP’s synthetic lavender comments from last challenge. I am trying to keep a semblance of productivity and cleanliness around the house and I am doing okay with that (the dishes are caught up, Friends!) but I just feel like I can’t catch my metaphorical breath and it’s exhausting. This is not the villain energy I want to be bringing to the table! I have been going to the gym and it’s been good. I did get my haircut and that is amazing. I am not sure what Dave coming home is going to do for me in terms of workload (the household tasks are always harder when he is home, he’s bloody messy), but I think I will be emotionally better off for his presence. I guess my baseline is still fine, but the surface stuff continues to be tedious and I am tired of it.    Dave’s redress has been granted, which is amazing news. This means that his extended stays in Latvia are now tax-free, which means that we need to re-file taxes for 2022-2024 but will be getting money back for those ~5 months each year. This is a very welcome reprieve and it stands to be decent money, especially as a lump sum. I am hopeful we can put a chunk of what we get back against the credit card and get ahead on that a bit. We probably won’t see that money until tax season in 2025, but knowing it’s coming at some point has given me a little bit of peace. Now to make sure we stick with the “paid off” and don’t rack it up again… always the hardest part.    I am struggling to keep up with the tracking for my challenge this round in my Bujo. I don’t think I like the design of the tracker as much as my usual chart layout. It was good to try something new, but I think I am going back to what I know I like for next round.    Watched the first three episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina last night and was happy with them. Mildly disappointed that there were ads during the episodes as I pay a subscription fee for Prime, but I guess it can’t be helped? Have my own game prep to do tonight and tomorrow. Thinking of having a fire tonight as some dedicated self-care time. Having to put logs on and poke things up keeps me from scrolling on my phone for long uninterrupted stretches.    I have to go get ready for work now, but I am grateful I took these few minutes to come catch up on everyone’s threads and write some here. I’ve missed you.    I hope that your breakfast nourished you and left you feeling comforted and energized. Thanks for being here. ❤️ 

I think today I'll try to do the linen closet and maybe dust.    I have a lot to finish by Sunday!