The shutters of my mind are closed...

I'm temporarily shut off from my good feelings. I hope it's temporary and not a permanent condition. I'd hate to go through life this way. I really do see things in shades of gray now and black is another prominent color. Lord knows that they are not attractive shades of color to see your life in. I need something brighter than this. 

Let's blame it on the absence of sunlight. It has been dreary all day and cold too. The sky has been overcast and gray and it has been raining. Not exactly the kind of weather to feel optimistic about. 

I know that's not really the reason for my bad mood, but I'm pretending it is. I'd have to dig deep within myself to find the real reason and that may be too much work. Normally I'm all for analyzing myself, but something is witholding me now. Call it my angry little stubborn streak. I feel very ornery at this moment.

Chances are that I'll talk myself right out of it if I sit here long enough. I know I can never stay permanently grumpy. But I don't know if I'm only grumpy or if there's somthing more the matter. I suppose I'll know that tomorrow when I get up and start a new day. Now is not the time to know for sure. 

You shouldn't pay any attention to me. I probably got out on the wrong side of the bed when I got up from my nap earlier this evening. I had been to see my sister and got home late in the afternoon and was very tired. I took a nap when it was not really a good time to take one. I'm a little bit off schedule as a result. 

You see how I can trivialize my bad mood and make it not at all important anymore. It doesn't even deserve the words I'm wasting on it. 

I think I will go and eat some dinner now. I need to feed my body. I can't live on ice cold milk alone. It did taste very good, though. 

Ciao,

Nora

Small pleasures...

I've just finished a cup of coffee and, because it was the last one in the pot, I'll have to have a glass of milk now. Life is tough. You can't always get what you want.

I am thirsty and not about to sit here without something to drink. I do like some amount of instant gratification. Some things I hate to do without. I don't like to suffer. I'll do it if there's no other option, but if there is a choice, I'd rather not. I guess I do want what I can get most of the time.

It's some time in the afternoon of a sunny Thursday. There's nothing I should be doing now but sitting here writing this post. Unless it is lying outside on a chaise lounge getting a tan and I'm not about to expose my tender skin to the harsh rays of the hot autumn sun.

It would look good, a tan or many freckles. I just don't really have the patience to lie out there long enough to get any color or to be the focus of attention of the neighborhood in the meantime. I'd have to lie out front of the apartment and be the butt of all jokes in my skimpily dressed body. The thought alone makes me break out in a sweat.

Well, it's not as bad as all that. I do exaggerate. If forced at gunpoint I would go sit out there and bask in the sun. I can remove my watch and you'd see the very faint outline of it on my wrist. That's how much sun I've gotten this summer. But you can also blame that on the weather.

For as warm as it is outside, that's as cool as it is inside. I've got the back door and the windows open and I'm sitting in a nice draft. I feel the cool air on my bare feet. In the olden days, old women would have said, "Be careful, you're going to catch a cold!" Does anyone go around making that claim still?

The nonsense we are told when we are children. It is mind boggling. We have to unlearn so much when we become adults and knowledgeable. It's a terrible thing to be raised by poorly informed people. And to think that there used to be so many of them around. I shudder at the thought. It sure as heck doesn't make me long for the 'good old days.'

I've got to walk the dog. We are a little off our schedule today. That's because I took an unexpected nap at a time I normally don't. I'm full of surprises.

Have a nice day.

Ciao,
Nora

Unbound and untethered...

The great thing about being unburdened of a depression is that you don't dread the day to come. You can go to sleep at night in a fairly restful state of mind and know that the next day is not going to be one in which you will be fighting a battle with yourself and the elements around you. A battle which you are going to lose and which is going to cause you all sorts of stress. 

Relieved of my depression because of the regular use of tranquilizers, I now feel pretty secure at any time of the day and night. I don't worry anymore that I'm not going to be able to cope because I can look forward to a lot of peacefulness and the knowledge that I'll make it through the day fairly unscathed. 

The fact that I will be safe in my own company makes me feel very secure. I no longer have to try and escape from myself and my own thoughts and find my solace in sleep. My thoughts are very benign now and don't harm me. I no longer have them hanging over me like so many dark clouds. 

Speaking of dark clouds, we've had enough of those around lately. Yesterday we had nothing but and it rained every now and then. We don't need the rain, so it is completely superfluous and we could actually do with a week of sunshine and warm temperatures. There seem to be none in the forecast. 

When I visited my sister yesterday afternoon, I wore two layers of clothing and my jacket and a scarf. I had to ride my bike over there. There was a cold wind blowing and I had to ride into it going over there. Luckily, it did stay dry, but the sky looked threatening all afternoon. 

We did sit in the garden for a little while all bundled up and looked at what flowers were blooming now and which ones were all done. Some plants are thriving in all the rain, but others are not doing all that well. They seem to like drier conditions, but the ground is soaked.

The herbs are doing great and my sister uses them for cooking. She cooks Italian a lot and vegetarian and uses the herbs to give the dishes the extra flavor.

It was good to come home again and see the dog and sit in quiet solitude for a while in my armchair before I took him for a walk. I so very much appreciate the time on my own again. I only need a little bit of socializing, though I could not do without. I like it when other people do most of the talking and I do the listening because I don't have that much to say. I should always be around talkers. 

I did the last of my chores in the evening and stayed up as long as I could, although I wanted to go to bed much earlier. I didn't want to upset my schedule, but in a way I do every night. At least I'm steady about it. 

Now it's time to finish sleeping. I will take my medicines and go back to bed for a while. I only have the domestic help coming here this afternoon. That's more than enough. 

Have a good day.

Ciao,

Nora

No depth to them tonight...

I didn't have any deep existentialist thoughts when I woke up tonight, which is just as well as I don't want to overburden my mind too much, although it did give me some blog fodder yesterday. It gave me a subject to write about anyway, while now I'm going to have to pull a rabbit out of my hat, so to speak. Writing cold turkey, with nothing specific on my mind, is a real challenge and I don't know if I can pull it off. 

There, I've already mentioned two animals that I'm not in possession of. A rabbit and a turkey and they are both good to eat. I can testify to that. I ate them both when I was still eating meat and could very easily eat them again, except that my conscious would bother me too much, but I sure did enjoy the taste of them. 

I generally like eating meat, providing it is cooked well and doesn't remind me of the animal too much. I dislike cold luncheon meats, especially if it has bits and chunks in it, but I do like ham as it is unrecognizable and tasty. But of course, I don't eat any of it anymore, except for the chicken in chicken and pasta soup. 

I do make an exception for that. I figure I need the little bit of protein I get from it and it is good for me. I can't be a full time saint. I find it difficult to be the best kid in the class all the time. I try to ignore the hopeless fate of the chickens as much as possible when I eat the soup. 

Actually, my favorite dish to eat when I still ate meat was roasted quail and lobster. I would have walked a mile for it. It was finger licking good and very decadent. I think I will have it for my last meal. The lobster at any rate, dipped in melted butter. Oh, I get hungry just thinking about it. I'm a principled meat loving vegetarian.

Well, let's talk about something other than food or I'm going to have to raid the refrigerator. Not that there are very exciting things in there. I do take care that there aren't. There are only the basics in there and nothing really decadent at all. You will find no Belgian bonbons there, icy cold and ready to pop into my mouth. Or ice cream in the freezer. There's chocolate pudding there, but I save that for dessert. It's a rule. 

Some rules about food can't be broken and I live by them as strictly as I live with my own particular day and night schedule. I eat certain things at certain times of the day and I sleep and take naps at certain times of the day and night. I find that predictability is the most comfortable and what I'm the most at ease with. If I do things at certain preset times, I'm most likely to get through the day and night successfully.

I'm having a tall glass of ice cold milk now and it usually takes care of any cravings I have, whatever sort of a craving it is. My taste buds and stomach get fooled into thinking they're having something really good and are satisfied, Isn't that an easy solution? I lose my longing for ice cream right away and I don't need to eat bonbons because my stomach gets full. 

There, it all started out with a rabbit and a turkey and that's where I'll end and I'm so not hungry for them now. These are the deepest thoughts I had tonight. They were all about food and for a change not about clothes, which is another subject I like to write about. More on that later, no doubt. 

I hope you're all having a good night and that you'll have a good morning. I was dressed almost warm enough yesterday. It was a bit chillier than I expected. It will be again today. It's hard to decide what to wear. I hope you have nice weather.

Ciao,

Nora

Taking advantage of the mood...

If it hadn't been for the dog gently waking me up because he had to go out, I would still be asleep, I am convinced of it. Once I stood by the back door in the cool night air waiting for him to get done, I was awake and ready to stay up. I tried to go back to bed and fall asleep again, but I was unsuccessful. My brain was functioning and ready to do something active. 

The fact that the dog was on the bed also licking my face didn't help. He wanted me to get up and keep him company. He always wants a certain amount of attention in the middle of the night as if we have to re-bond again. He is a spoiled dog. He's used to my funny schedule and thinks that is normal and he wants me to stick to it. If I sleep too long, he becomes concerned and wakes me up. He's sound asleep on the coffee table now. 

I may as well take advantage of the good mood that I always have during the night and that seems to be so elusive during the day. It is only present in little chunks of time, but seems very hard to keep a hold of. I struggle most of the day and fight off the feeling of depression for a lot of it. I'm not really happy until the evening when the sun comes down and I feel that I can relax and put my pajamas on. I find life to be mostly a struggle of trying to stay balanced and being unable to.

At night I am relaxed and even tempered and I feel that I can be myself without any of the stress that I feel during the day. Obviously, I'm a nighttime person. It's mostly the fact that I have a dog that needs to be walked that forces me up and about during the day. I'd gladly spend a large time of the day in my lounge wear taking a nap whenever the mood struck me. That would be mostly when my mood became unbearable and I could not see the forest for the trees. 

I would very much like to take some medication during the day that would take the stress away that's almost constantly gnawing at me and that prevents me from functioning well. I'm getting tired of the struggle and don't want to do it anymore. There has to be an easier way. 

I think I will go back to bed now and get some more sleep. The worst part is that when I wake up, the day will have started. I'll have to arm myself against it. Somehow I have to make it through it and make the best of it, no matter the thoughts in my head. 

Ciao,

Nora

The lure of the nighttime...

I'm just going to have to face up to the fact that I'm a nighttime person and that it's when I'm at my most productive and not worry about it anymore. It's not as if it is some major disability that I have to get over at all cost because I have to be like everybody else and I know now that I'm not the only night owl. There are others like me out there who spend the night awake and don't go to sleep until morning. 

At least I've already gotten a couple of hours of sleep before I get up, so I'm somewhat rested and I know I will get more sleep later. I think I have been overly concerned about fitting into some 'normal' schedule and have spent an inordinate amount of time worrying about being up when everybody else is asleep. I'm not going to do that anymore and just enjoy my time being up and not make excuses for it or blame it on some sort of failure on my part.

It's a way of life that I can afford to have and I will accept it. I can actually sleep late in the morning because I never make my appointments  until later in the day. I am that smart anyway. Nobody should try to see me at 8:30 in the morning. I will not be available.

That was the problem with one of my personal helpers. She insisted on seeing me at 8:30 on Wednesday morning to help me get the day started, which was the worst thing possible because I was not ready to start the day. It was not a success. I sat there bleary eyed and tried to be friendly and cheerful when all I wanted to do is go to bed and sleep, which I did as soon as she left, but it put a dent in my schedule. She's the one I stopped seeing. I saw no benefit in her coming here. 

I woke up with a very sore knee and must have slept in a wrong position. That knee can still bother me a lot at times. It's been two months since I injured it, but it continues to be a sore spot. Most days I don't notice it too much, but every once in a while it really acts up. I guess it's to the point now that I can predict the weather because it's going to rain. It still snaps when I straighten it out and always feels like it's going to get stuck. Exercising it seems to be the best thing for it. Sitting or lying down with it in one position is the worst. I guess when you get older, your injuries stay with you longer and become part of you.

I didn't watch television last night, because television these days seems to be all about light entertainment and not about the contents. And I'm talking about Public Television. I'm amazed at the stupidity of the programs, even those that claim to be informative. I wonder what they think about the intelligence of the average viewer. They must not have a very high opinion of it. Luckily, I can choose to shut the television off, but then I'm not the average viewer. 

I'm not high on sleep medication. I took one new sleeping pill and two tranquilizers so that I would sleep at least a little bit better. I didn't take the old sleeping pill that made me feel so loopy. I think that was a real humdinger. I will see if I do better during the day now. Hopefully I will not feel so down and lethargic. 

I think I will go and get into other sorts of trouble now. It's not quite time to go back to sleep yet. 

Have a good day when you get up.

Ciao,

Nora

The sound of silence...

There doesn't seem to be much pleasure in drinking coffee lately. I don't get the kick out of it that I normally do. I used to count on it really carrying a punch and waking me up well, but nowadays it doesn't do that anymore. I hardly seem to notice the effects of it. I still drink one or two cups when I wake up, but it doesn't give me the pleasure that it used to. That heady feeling that I used to get is not there anymore. 

It's a shame that this is so because I used to look forward to my cup of coffee and the way it made me feel. I could always count on the rush it gave me. Now that I don't get this anymore, I sit here like a dull person and have to stimulate myself, which is a much harder thing to do. I have to try to get excited when I really don't feel that way very much. I've come to depend on the coffee too much. Now I'm just addicted to the caffeine without the fringe benefits. 

Hopefully this is a temporary situation and I will be back to normal soon. I will once again be stimulated by the caffeine and be my old jolly self. I've already started to make the coffee stronger in order to get some effect. I can't stay this dull person forever, it just will not do. I'm counting on a little bit of life force in these posts. A little bit of joie de vivre. 

It's in the middle of the night and I'm almost content sitting here. Underneath it all shimmers the layer of dissatisfaction that I feel all the time now in some measure. It goes from mild irritation to outright stress and slight panic. The medication helps, but during the day I have a hard time and am not happy. I'm glad when the day is over and it is evening and I can put on my pajamas and bathrobe. That's when I'm most at ease. 

I tell myself that it's because I've had all my medication for the day and that its accumulated effect is working for me, but it may be that the evening, like the night, is the safest time of the day for me. The blinds are closed, the lights are on, and nothing bad will happen. I look forward to going to bed where I will listen to the radio for a while before I fall asleep. It seems to be all about keeping safe and out of harm's way. I feel exposed during the day and at danger of the unexpected. 

In reality, I'm safe inside the apartment and I'm even safe when I take Tyke out for walks. Nothing bad ever happens. They're my own thoughts that haunt me. I imagine terrible things will happen that never do. It's the anticipation of them that makes it hard. 

I have to try and make a better day of it today. Yesterday was a complete waste of time. I didn't get anything accomplished and just survived. I have to do better today. There are some chores that I have to do and I have to arrange my day differently and better. 

Taking a nap in the afternoon is turning out not to be such a success because I wake up in a bad mood and it takes me a while to get over it. I spend precious time trying to pull myself together and it is a painful process. I should spend that time sitting in my armchair reading a book with a nice cup of tea. As if that is too much of an effort. 

I think I will go back to bed. I'm not quite done sleeping yet, although there is some temptation to stay up and change my whole schedule around. Maybe I will do that yet. I could stay up and sit in my armchair and read my book and wait for the morning to start. I can arrange my day as I see fit, after all. I did say it is time to make some changes. 

Have a good day everyone.

Ciao,

Nora

But all I did was fall down!

My Wednesday personal helper convinced me to go to the doctor to have my knee looked at. I was able to go at 9:30 this morning and had it examined quite thoroughly and was then told that an X-ray would have to be made of it. I'll have to go to the hospital for that. I made an appointment, but couldn't have it done until tomorrow. My sister will take me and her friend will pick me up, because my sister has to go to work. 

I wasn't really in the mood to go to the hospital to have an X-ray made, but I'll be good and have it done. My personal helper talked me into it. I needed some convincing. It upsets my day and I don't like anything upsetting my day. I don't like my schedule changed. I like for everything to be predictable and normal, but I'll be alright once it's done. It will be a huge relief. 

The doctor said I had quite a wound, but that it was healing really well. I didn't say that I let my dog lick it clean and that's why it looked so good. She would have come at me with a huge injection needle. 

This morning there were suddenly workmen outside my living room windows digging up the sidewalk. They dug down to the water main. They did what they had to do and sometime later some other men came and closed the hole up with new sand and retiled it.They used heavy machinery to do this and Tyke was beside himself with fear or anger. He barked quite a bit. Luckily, they worked fast and got the job done quickly. There was no notice in the mailbox saying why they had shown up like that and what work they had performed. It could have been a terrorist network. Nobody would have been the wiser. 

I've got to take a nap. I'm so sleepy and my knee hurts. I need a rest. 

Have a nice day!

Ciao,

Nora

Are you sleeping?

It's Friday afternoon and time to start celebrating the weekend. I don't do this with a cold beer, because I don't have any of those in the refrigerator. Instead, I'm having a cup of coffee and it tastes good too, though a beer might have tasted better and put me in a really good mood. I'm actually in a good enough mood all by myself, so that cup of coffee will have to do. I may even get really radical and have a glass of juice in a while. I won't put any vodka in it, although I still have half a bottle left. It will just have to linger on the shelf longer for a really special occasion, though I can't think of one right of the top of my head. Maybe I'll save it for world peace. 

The weekend ought to be very relaxed. The weather will be decent enough to take Tyke for many walks and I will be able to sleep late if I feel like it, which I usually do. That is only logical when you consider that I do my best sleeping in the mornings. I seem to be on a different time schedule than the rest of the country. There will be interesting things to watch on television and lots of good stuff to listen to on the radio. There will also be lots of opportunity to sit in my armchair and do nothing but daydream, which is becoming a favorite activity of mine and which I can  heartily recommend. It's very nice to sit in silence and to let your thoughts wander amongst gentle subjects. Very often I pet Tyke while I am sunk in thought and Gandhi lies on my lap. We do have our bonding moments. 

Today is the day that I cut my anti-depressives back by a third. I'm not worried about this and I assume it will be fine. Once my psychiatrist explained to me that you really aren't hooked on this kind of medicine, I stopped worrying about it. You do get hooked on things like tranquilizers, but I've always been able to get off those pretty easily. You aren't physically hooked on anti-depressives. You do use them as a mental crutch, so depending on your life circumstances, you may still need a crutch, but it can be something else. It can be an insight that you have gained into your own situation or psyche.

The sun is starting to set and it is getting dark in here. I have to switch some lamps on. It is also time to close the bedroom windows and turn on the heater. I am starting to feel a little bit cold.  The sky has been cloudy all day and it's going to rain tonight. I should be able to walk Tyke one more time without getting wet. If we do get wet, I have a towel to rub him dry with hanging over the bathroom radiator and he's very good about having that done. As a matter of fact, I think he enjoys it. Those are the little pleasures in life for him. He's just like a little kid and easy to please. 

I hope you all have a good evening.

Ciao,

Nora

The frozen world...

I'm having a jolly good time here by myself early in the morning with my cup of coffee and my cigarettes. It's too early for the day to start and do anything seriously active and I can enjoy these quiet hours for a while to come yet. The whole world is silent and as far as I'm concerned, I'm the only person awake on the block. There is no sign of life anywhere yet. 

As a result I feel in a very good mood, because I like feeling that I have the world all to myself. It is like being Robinson Crusoe and finding yourself alone on an island with no one else to worry about but yourself. Maybe I have a secret longing for that. No, I would get awfully lonely after awhile. I do need some human contact. Having animals alone for company is not enough. You can only have a one sided conversation with them. 

Tyke would like to believe differently and think we are having a dialogue, but I very often don't quite understand what he wants and have to guess as to his needs that he demands of me. I have to guess until I get it right. It would be easier if he could be clearer from the start. He wags his tail and gets excited if I guess it right. Otherwise he just looks quite dumbfounded at me.

I suppose I am also in a good mood because the weekend is over, although I spent it quite nicely and didn't go crazy. I nursed my little illness and stayed inside because the weather was so bad. It was nice pretending I was very sick because it meant that I was super kind to myself and only did things that I felt like doing. Which in the end was very little like it is most weekends, except that now I didn't feel guilty about it. I guess I can only have a guilt free time off if I think I'm sick. I'll have to be sick more often.

Today I pick up the regular routine. The personal helper is coming and so is the domestic help, but I already started to get back into the swing of things yesterday evening by putting out the trash and getting the mail from the last few days out of the mailbox. And, of course, cleaning up the god awful mess that Tyke had made in the bedroom when he tore apart the old books, the remains of which are now disposed of.  I have to finish clearing the bookcase of all tempting objects today. At least to a height that Tyke can get to. He is a badly behaved dog sometimes.

It will be good to get back into a regular routine, but I don't look back onto this weekend as a wasted one. It was quite cozy and after a false start Friday night, I did re-establish my regular schedule. Up to a point anyway and I did get enough sleep, which always seems to be so very important, but I suppose it is to anyone. I wish for longer nights, but I'm bound to have short ones. It seems getting up is more important than staying in bed to me. It is the call of the silent hours. 

I have to think of a fun outfit to wear today. I'll have to pull open my closet and have a serious look at everything. I'll have to wear layers, because it's a bit cold outside, but here in the apartment it's nice and warm. I don't have to worry about being cold inside. Going into my closet is always a journey of discovery, because I always forget about the clothes I own. Every time I find something that I'd forgotten about and it will be the same thing today. That's the plus side of being absentminded. 

The trash people will be by soon, unless they get held up by the slippery roads. All the slush that was in the streets yesterday got frozen during the night. The paper delivery person will be here any minute. It will officially be the start of the morning. I will have some time to dawdle yet. I don't need to rush. I will take my medicines and wait for them to work. I've had several glasses of cold milk and will make a new pot of coffee and read blogs. The day is young yet. 

Have a great Monday!

Ciao,

Nora

Getting started...

Because it's Sunday, I had a convoluted day. I spent a lot of the night awake and slept all of the morning. I didn't get up until 1 pm and took my time getting my act together. I was very much discombobulated and needed two tranquilizers to settle down. Then I took the dog for a walk in the icy cold. Although the sun was shining, there was frost on everything, but the cold air felt good on my face and I was dressed warm enough. 

The dog doesn't seem to be bothered by the cold at all, but then he does have on his own winter coat. That's why I don't want to get him trimmed right now, but I am going to have to consider it next month when it is going to get too long and some of it is going to have to get cut off. Maybe he can get partially trimmed and not as severely as he was  the last time. I think he's going to be too cold if it is. 

I need to get back to a normal schedule tonight, because tomorrow regular life starts again. It's okay to be careless for a little while, but I can't keep doing it. I do have to have structure and having a normal night's sleep is one of the things that comes with it. I don't actually enjoy being off my normal schedule like I used to. I do appreciate sleeping through the night. I have a better day if I do. Getting up in the middle of the night is not the thrill it used to be, but then again, I may have made that claim before. 

The sun is going down and it is getting cold in here. I've just turned up the thermostat. I'm shivering in my thinner cardigan. I decided to wear it, because the other one was to warm, I thought. I think I'll make myself a cup of hot chocolate to heat up my insides. It would be nice if I had marshmallows to put in it, but that's wishful thinking.  I'd probably finish the bag of marshmallows before I'd finish the package of chocolate mix. It would still be nice, though. 

I'm just now beginning to feel normal. All this time I've felt that I've been in a bad dream that I could not wake up from. I must have finally got back to my senses. It sure took long enough. I feel like I've walked out of a confusing place into a place where everything makes sense. I can think straight again. It happened as quickly as opening a door and walking through it, but it really makes me think of the saying that when God closes a door somewhere, he opens a window some place else. That's what it feels like. 

I've made my cup of hot chocolate and very delicious it is too. Very filling also. I can't drink it too quickly, otherwise I'll start burping, but since I'm here on my own, it doesn't matter too much. The animals don't mind. 

Have a great evening.

Ciao,

Nora

Keeping up appearances...

I just woke up from a nap on the sofa and it is dark in the living room. I need to turn on some lights, but haven't done so yet, except for my desk lamp. Gandhi and Tyke are sleeping on the sofa. 

I feel very sad and lonely, as if I've been forsaken by everyone I care about. I know I will feel better soon because I have just taken my medicines and the tranquilizers will put me in a better mood. I know that if I were to make coffee now, I would start to feel better also, but I don't want to drink coffee at this time of the day, so I'm drinking lemonade instead, which is not a mood altering beverage. 

I'm yawning a lot, but I need to stay up now because I have to walk Tyke later and I don't want to go to bed too early. I do need to get on some sort of a normal schedule. I think I've been messing around enough now. This past week seems like a bad dream that I've had and I don't know why I've done half the things I've done. I need to do some damage control and the best way I can do that is by taking better care of myself. 

I'm starting to feel better now and I don't feel so sad and lonely anymore. It's been 45 minutes since I've taken my medicines. Yes, I'm writing this awfully slowly. I'm doing a lot of thinking while I write this and I'm contemplating my navel a lot. I've got a lot on my conscience and I feel like I've been the cause of an accident. I'm leaving behind flotsam in my wake and I've got to clear up the wreckage. 

At least I seem to be coming to my senses. I'm having a temporary attack of awareness anyway. I hope it will turn into a longer period of awareness. You never know with these things. It may be a moment of wisdom and it may be as fleeting as a puff of air. I can be very insightful and forget about it in another mood. That's why it's good to reread my own posts now and then. 

Have a good evening. 

Ciao,
Nora

A succesful night...

After I wrote this rather upbeat post last night, I did manage eventually to go to bed, although I was a bit reluctant, because I was worried about waking up in the middle of the night and getting up and having another crazy session behind the computer. So, I postponed going to bed until I was really tired and then fell asleep quickly. I did get up once to go to the toilet, but rather than stay up, I went back to bed and continued sleeping and slept until 6 am this morning. I think that's some sort of a new record and I am much pleased with it. 

There was some doubt in my mind when I got up in the middle of the night about going back to sleep, but the memory of the night before was fresh in my mind and I didn't want a repeat of it. What I really want is a normal sleeping schedule and I must abide by some rules if I want to achieve that. That means going to bed at normal times and sleeping at normal times, just like other people do. The night is there for a reason, after all. I can't sleep whenever I feel like it and wake up whenever I feel like it and keep myself awake artificially with coffee. I mess with the natural order of things and that does me no good in the end, as has been made very clear to me. I will take a nap sometime today so that I will be able to stay up tonight until it is a decent time to go to bed. That should take care of things. 

I'm happy to report that my hair has survived the night of sleep well too. It is barely out of place. I think I have to brush it a little bit to get it looking just right again, but it is hardly necessary. It really is easy hair. Now that I don't have wax or gel or hairspray in it, it doesn't feel sticky and stick up in odd places or get squashed down in others. That was always a problem with the funky haircuts I had before. I'm so ready not to be funky anymore, though this haircut is fun too and it doesn't show my bald spot, which is a definite improvement. I'm afraid I inherited that from my mother who had thin hair herself.

I'm very happy that it's Sunday and that it's very quiet outside. Not even the church bells have sounded yet, except to ring the time on the hour and half hour. The world is still asleep and will be fairly quiet for the rest of the day. 

I'm looking forward to picking out the clothes I'm going to wear today. They will be my Sunday clothes, but I'm going to wear them tomorrow too when I have to go to creative class. So, great care must be taken to look especially nice. And to be warm, because it's only going to be about 13C. 

I hope you all have a nice Sunday morning. 

Ciao,
Nora