Saints :: Reading :: Mindful Moments

 Last week saw a mention of two saints, our very own Saint Benedict on the 11th and St Swithin on the 15th.  We inadvertently celebrated St Benedict's Day with drop scones topped with blackcurrant conserve and clotted cream.  Pip was having a particularly bad week health wise, so the scones were made in an effort to provide much needed cheer, and it was only then we realised it was a feast day 😊

Saturday was a very windy, thundery and rainy day and so far the old rhyme is holding true 🙄:

"St Swithin's day if thou dost rain for forty days it will remain,

St Swithin's Day if thou be fair for forty days 'twill rain nae mair."

In order to combat the dreariness of the day I baked an egg free chocolate cake sandwiched together with melted almond butter.  It was really yummy and being egg free meant fewer allergic type reactions for me ❤️

I've so far read three books this month, two were a complete hit and the third admittedly was more for information:

This book was laugh out loud hilarious! A lovely story of friendships forged in the most unlikely of circumstances and the joy all of that brings to an otherwise mundane existence.  The insight into elderly care and the general running of a nursing establishment was spot on, and no wonder why for the author is a qualified GP. 

I've read Marie's first two books a long time ago and it was lovely to find this in our library online catalogue.  The author does a fab documented the daily grind of live aboard life, the unromantic and hidden side - disposing of the Elsan toilet waste, trying to find water when the river is frozen solid and dealing with a dead mouse decomposing in the darkest recesses of the boat, for an animal so small the stench was overwhelming!

I've watched/listened to several of Gez's youtube videos and so was looking forward to reading this book but in truth felt overwhelmed with all the scientific and patient led information, my brain just does not cope with swathes of info these days!  As a result I didn't finish reading, I think though it is meant to be a book that you dip in and out of.

I've just completed my eight week mindfulness course and it has been very helpful, lots of information and tips to apply in every day living.  If I have a day that is fairly predictable and home based, then I do try to tag my mindfulness sessions during my rest times in the day. 

 However it has come in really handy when a stressful situation has occurred, like Sunday for instance when we found that we had a flat tyre coming out of the garden centre. In the past I would have been quite stressed and quickly adopting a negative mindset ( our brains are wired with a negativity bias!) but this time I used the breath as my anchor whilst sitting quietly and I quickly reframed my negative thoughts with positive aspects of the situation.  In the end it all turned out fine 😊

The only time that I find being mindful a real challenge is when the dysautonomia symptoms are very challenging.  Despite taking medication to slow things down, the past few days have been quite tricky with the chest pains, feeling out of breath and elevated heart rate - due in part to doing too much such as driving, being on my feet or attempting to sort some things in the house. It's during these moments that I seek solace in reading/knitting as a distraction and the warmth from a hot water bottle on my chest is a comfort too.

Mindful veg chopping

Speaking of knitting, I finished the pink and green shawl for my poorly friend and have cast on another one for a friend whose birthday is in September.  It's so good to be knitting again ❤️