Taking naps...

Since I've quit smoking, my life consists of taking many naps. I nap all the time, during the daytime as well as during the nighttime. Whenever I am bored and I think I may be sitting in my armchair with too much time on my hands, I decide to take a nap. This takes away the chance to feel the desire to smoke. 

I very cozily get under the duvet and fall asleep and have my very intricate and lively dreams for about an hour or two. Very often the dog wakes me up because he's bored and I very happily get up again. I'm never in a bad mood when I do. I know that whenever I want to, I can go back to bed. As long as I take care of my responsibilities in between naps there's no problem.

I like this way of life and it's a greeing with me very well. I know it's just a temporary life style and that it's not going to last forever. It's a solution to a minor problem and that problem will disappear as I get used to be a non smoker and I'm getting used to that more and more each day. The trick is to keep myself occupied and that I'm not always able to do, especially not on the weekends like now. 

I have started to eat more, but I went on the bathroom scale this morning and had actually lost a kilo. Apparently I'm not eating the wrong foods. I do have a hunkering for fried eggs and eat those a lot, but I don't eat any bread with them. I eat them plain without anything else. I fry them in sunflower oil, not in butter. I thought that might be healthtier, although butter tastes better. 

I also like slices of dense breakfast cake which is nourishing and filling but low in calories. I slather diet margarine on them. I can eat two slices of them at the time which is quite an improvement to how many I used to be able to eat. My stomach is treating me better. I can eat more with less problems. I think the medication is working well. 

Tomorrow ordinary life resumes when my personal helper and the domestic help will be here. I won't be able to take as many naps then. They haven't seen the latest changes in the apartment and I'm curious how they will react to them. Actually, I wish I could do more. I would like to redecorate all the time. I think it's my natural calling. 

As I sit here, I'm looking at a very nice framed glicee print that I got from an English artist that has all the colors of my decor in it. That turned out to be purely by accident and I just got lucky. I have it standing on my desk instead of the printer that I didn't have installed and that I never used. I figured that I'd rather look at a piece of art than at an ugly printer.The eye wants something too.

The image that is at the top of this post is not the one I have but is one of hers anyway. Her name was Tessa Edwards and she passed away last year.I'm sure if you google her you will be able to find more information about her and maybe even find out if you can still buy her art. 

I've got to get something to eat. They will be eggs no doubt, if there are any left. Maybe I will eat Parmesan noodles. That's a novel idea. Hmmm...

Ciao,

Nora

Feeling ever so much better...

I was feeling slightly discombobulated when I woke up from my nap this afternoon, but now that I've had my first cup of coffee, I'm doing much better. I almost forgot for it to start working and got worried for naught. I thought I was going to continue to feel off track, but as I drank the coffee, I became more cheerful and coherent. I should remember that it almost always is this way and that I don't function optimally when I first wake up. 

I'm vaguely aware of the fact that I should make coffee and that it's very important, but it's not a conscious decision that I make. I do it almost automatically and I very obediently pour a cup when the coffeemaker is done. I drink it without thinking about it and only gradually become aware of its positive effect on me. The second cup is much more deliberate. I do know what effect I'm after then. It's probably also unnecessary, but I have it anyway. It's better to be safe than sorry.

I watched a program this morning on Frans Hals, the 17th century painter. It showed the intricate and informal way he painted people of importance and how innovative that was in his time. He was quite a radical painter, although we would not think so now. The paintings that were shown and discussed were beautiful, although most of them were of very stately men and women. He very much personalized them and gave each one something completely unforgettable by way of an expression or a pose. 

I love these kinds of programs and appreciate it so much when they are on. It makes you look at art with whole new eyes. It makes me want to go to a good bookstore and buy every art book I can lay my hands on. Well, I do have my own and I can have a look at them again. There is enough art discussed in them and enough to look at to feast the eyes, but I would love to own books on all the famous artists. I very much enjoyed taking art history classes when I lived in California. Those were the good old days. 

I've got to fix myself some dinner because my stomach is empty. It is a feeling I enjoy, but I'm hungry now. I think I'll have some chicken soup. That's something the dog enjoys eating too. I can never finish all of it myself so I share it with him. 

Have a good evening all of you. 

Ciao,

Nora