Too early to sleep, I suppose...

I was all ready to go to bed and go to sleep because I thought the day was done, but apparently I was too early with my attempt and my body wasn't quite ready to shut down yet. I was lying there wide awake, thinking all sorts of interesting thoughts, but not at all going to sleep so I got up again. 

I will try again in a little while because it is my intention to get a good night's sleep. Now that my lungs are inhaling clean air, I do feel that I'm a healthier sleeper and that my nights are spent better in a sounder sleep. I'm not bothered by nicotine and tar and other poisons anymore and I imagine that my breathing has become more liberated and that it affects my sleep also.

Actually, I'm imagining all sorts of good things and in my mind's eye my body is going through a healing process that I think it may not possibly go through that quickly in real life. I don't know how fast a body recuperates after smoking for so many years at my rate. I'm optimistic, though, and I'm willing it to heal quickly. I'm imagining pink and healthy tissue where my lungs are. I do believe in the power of positive thinking. 

I will know what sort of shape I'm in when I next ride my bike. I was in pretty good shape, but I expect to have more endurance now and more power in my legs. I'll really know how well I do when I ride up an incline. Those are always the true tests. 

I'm in my pajamas and bathrobe with a glass of cold milk. I have a craving for a Big Mac and french fries, but I don't think I'll be having them any time soon. It would be impossible for me to finish them, but it's nice to wish for them and to pretend I could have them if I wanted to. A Quarter Pounder would be nice too. I haven't had anything like it in years.

It's time for me to go to bed. When I start to have cravings like that, it's time to call it a night. Otherwise I will sit here and torture myself with visions of food I can't eat. 

Ciao,

Nora

Life does continue...

I was rudely interrupted in my sleep by the dog who had to go out back for a piddle. I suppose I can't really be upset about that because it is much better than him piddling inside by the back door. It does feel awful if you step in it the next day totally unawares. 

It was much less cold outside than it had been and I stood out on the patio in the night air enjoying it while the dog did his business. The air felt pleasant after having been so cold and I didn't mind being out there in just my pajamas. The sky was overcast and that's probably why it wasn't so cold. 

A pot of coffee was quickly made and I'm having my second cup. I've read other people's blogs and commented on them where I thought I had something to say. That's not always the case, of course. Sometimes I keep my thoughts to myself. I'm not always as outspoken as I appear to be. 

I actually had a scrambled egg to eat yesterday. I have not had eggs in a long time. I had the Exfactor buy me biological eggs, meaning they came from chickens that had been allowed to roam free outside and have been fed responsibly. 

I fixed it with real butter and it tasted delicious. One egg is all I can handle, but it's perfect for a meal. It agreed with my stomach well too and I didn't experience any problems such as loud noises and burps. That's a good sign and I will have another one today.

I think if you listen to your body well, it will tell you what foods agree with it. You can try them out in small amounts for a couple of times and see what happens. I don't deal well with wheat, especially whole wheat products. They give me gas and make me bloat something awful. So I avoid them. 

I haven't had any chocolate lately either. I don't eat Nutella any longer and I haven't gotten any candy bars from the tobacco shop. I think I've gotten over my craving for it. I may talk about it now and then, but that's really nothing serious. Mostly that's just an old habit. 

What I crave most are cold things such as ice cold milk or pudding or ice cream. Anything to take that dry feeling from my mouth. I think that's a side effect from the medicines. 

I haven't had any ice cream in a long time either. I know it's too dangerous and that I will eat the whole carton in one go. It goes down that easy. It does melt in your mouth, after all. 

Cravings are usually bad things and are best ignored, except low fat, ice cold milk. Or ice cold orange juice. That's a good one too and that's what I'm going to have next. 

I'm yawning. It's time to go back to bed. My duvet is turning out to be the most wonderful thing. I love the thickness of it, yet it's so featherlight. It's perfect to sleep under. 

I hope you're all having a good night.

Ciao,

Nora

Give me a hip flask...

My activities today consisted of taking the dog for a few walks and hanging out behind the computer where I fined tuned the looks of the layouts of my blogs. Oh yes, I also folded and put away some laundry. I did all of this under the influence of doses on tranquilizers which allowed me to remain calm and serene and which kept away the unwelcome presence of the black dog. 

While I was doing these activities, I was oblivious of nearly everything around me and that was the whole purpose behind the exercise because I didn't want to be aware of my surroundings. I was tuning out everything as much as possible and it didn't take a lot of effort. Sometimes I'm very good at ignoring the things that need attention in my life, especially when under the influence of tranquilizers. At least I didn't completely neglect the dog.

It took me a while to get the blogs to look right and I switched things around quite a few times before I was satisfied. Now everything is in the abstract and it has meaning only to me. It doesn't matter as long as I understand it. You'll have to bear with me while I do and you don't. Maybe I'll explain it to you one day when I'm not so tired. I've just made some coffee so that I will perk up again a little bit. Watch me climb in the saddle again any moment now. 

I didn't realize how worn out I was until just now. I've been going nonstop all day. After I'm done writing this, I will put on my pajamas and go straight to bed. I won't even stay up to watch the thriller that's going to be on. They'll have to solve their case without me tonight. 

I'm so tired that I can't even tell you what mood I'm in. There must have been a reason for all my mad activity today. If you get exhausted enough you have no energy left to figure out your state of mind. You're just tired. I have to plan my day differently tomorrow and add in some periods of rest and meditation. I've had no moment to think straight today or to cuddle with the dog. 

He's had to entertain himself with the cat who doesn't mind that one bit. She was especially loving today and seeking attention and there was a lot of mutual nose rubbing going on on the dining table where they watched the world go by. That didn't escape my attention. 

I feel like I've been on a long journey and I'm now coming home. I've been far away all the way to the edge of my world and back again. I've not been in touch with reality and the home front. Hopefully this journey has helped me get back to normal. I'll know after I've been asleep. 

Have a good night, you all.

Ciao,

Nora

Quality time...

I had to put on my bathrobe because I was sitting here in my pajamas in the middle of the night getting decidedly cold after having had a glass of ice cold milk. I already had my requisite cups of coffee and, of course, I couldn't go past my limit. 

I didn't need to anyway because I felt good enough and they weren't warming up my stomach all that much. At least I'm not sitting here mindlessly drinking one cup after another until I'm sick of them. I do have enough sense to make just enough coffee for two cups and that's it.

I'm ever so much more comfortable in my bathrobe now. It envelops me like a warm blanket and I'm so cozy in it. It really isn't that cold in here, even though the bedroom windows are still open. It never does cool off in the apartment that quickly. That's a blessing in the wintertime and it hasn't been hot enough this summer for it to be a problem. 

Yesterday went by so quickly. It hardly felt like a full day at all. Of course, I slept for half of it because I didn't get up until past noontime and when I woke up, I thought it was still early because everything was so quiet. I was surprised to see what time it was on the alarm clock.

I had to sit and drink my two cups of coffee in peace and quiet and then slowly get ready to go see my sister and her friend, but I dawdled too long and had to rush in the end. I picked out my outfit in a hurry, but it was a good one and I felt comfortable in it. Pretty enough, anyway. 

The weather wasn't bad. There were clouds, but there also was enough sunshine and the temperatures weren't bad. We were able to sit in the garden and have a long conversation with cappuccinos. 

My sister's friend, who's a chemist, had made me a night creme based on honey. I had casually mentioned to him that I needed one for fine, dry skin and he had made it especially for me. It's very nice and it smells delicious. See how easily such a special wish can come true? You just have to know the right people.

When I got home, I walked the dog and watched sports on TV. Football season has started, so there were a lot of rundowns on the games that had been played. Everybody wants to win whatever league championship is coming up first and they are already calculating their chances. A little prematurely, I think. 

The news that I watched was all dire. There is no good news nowadays. You have to have a brave heart to watch it or be steeped in ignorance. Economic crises are being politicized. The financial markets are full of emotions. There's an undercurrent of panic. People are losing their heads. 

I try to stay calm because I'm nobody and don't count. I'm at the bottom of the ladder. A tiny little fish in the very big sea. A sardine. 

I hope you'll all have a good day.

Ciao,

Nora

Midnight thoughts...

I was sound asleep lying on my back, but I got a major wet burp all the way up into my nose and it tasted very bad. It nearly choked me and woke me up very quickly. I don't know why I have these weird things happening to me, but I blame it on my gastric band and the glass of milk I had before I went to sleep. It tasted good going down, but I can't say the same thing about it coming up. 

Needless to say, I was wide awake after that and ready to get up. Any excuse will do, really. I don't need much convincing to get up out of bed in the middle of the night. It's my pleasure completely. Luckily, it's not cold in the apartment and I'm wearing warm enough pajamas and socks, so I'm very comfortable.

The reason I was wearing socks to bed was because I had rubbed that good smelling lotion on my feet again after not having done so for a while. I had not quite made it a habit yet and as a result had gotten rough feet again. The lotion softens your feet very quickly and does your hands at the same time. It has a delicious scent that lasts for a long time and I can still smell it on my hands now.

I put clean sheets on the bed and had looked forward to going to sleep very much. I think I must not have been tired enough to have woken up so easily, though I didn't take a nap in the afternoon because I spent it with my sister and her friend. I slept late in the morning and only reluctantly got up. I had to double check to make sure I was really done sleeping so I would not be in a bad mood. 

I immediately made coffee and turned on the TV for some cultural programming. Luckily, I was still on time for that, though I watched some very boring avant garde music being played. I know you're supposed to like that, but I didn't. The musicians put in a lot of effort for some very uninteresting music. The body language was there and so were the facial expressions, but the product was a flop. You can't win them all. 

I put on my harem pants, but realized later on in the day that they don't show at all how skinny I am now, so I'm not going to wear them any more. I'm only going to wear my skinny jeans from now on and I have three pairs of them. There's always at least one clean pair. The harem pants have gotten way to big on me, although they are very comfortable to wear. I do have other choices of things to wear. The harem pants are going on the stack of obsolete clothes. The steadily growing stack. 

I'm drinking ice cold milk now and any moment my frontal lobe is going to freeze up and I won't be able to think straight. At least I'm not quite getting an ice cream headache. It does make me quite giddy, all that cold milk. I can never get enough of it. The first glass is empty in no time at all, but you must think of all the nighttime snacks I don't eat because of it. I would have to eat chocolates or something to get the same amount of satisfaction. Belgian bonbons would taste real good now. Instead I'll have another glass of milk. 

I'm not at all going to worry about tomorrow when the personal helper and the domestic help are going to be here. Or when my SPN is going to call me at 9 o'clock in the morning and I have to be coherent. I'll have to set the alarm clock for that so I'll at least have had a cup of coffee. It may be difficult to get up, but I'll have to manage it somehow. I hope I won't be grumpy. 

I was quite organized and even remembered to put out the trash. I've also got all the laundry drying on the rack in the bathroom. If I do another load tomorrow, I will be able to hang it outside. That is, if I'm that ambitious and go looking for laundry. 

I think I'll go back to bed now. I've rattled on long enough about nothing important at all. There are enough hours left to get some sleep. Bed is still an inviting place to go to. I just hope the milk doesn't back up into my nose again. 

Have a good morning when you get up. I hope you'll have good weather and I leave that open to your interpretation, 

Ciao,

Nora

Solitary night blogging...

I'm yawning and I'm not completely awake yet. This cup of coffee I'm having is supposed to take care of that, or the next cup will. One way or the other, I will be in better shape shortly. I won't quite have the dishrag quality that I have now.

I'm not in a grumpy mood. I feel pretty mellow and even keeled. I'm just a little under the influence of sleep because I woke up prematurely. There was no real reason to. For a change it wasn't the dog's fault. He was sound asleep. I was merely gripped by the need to be awake.

I'm sitting here in my pajamas and socks and I'm still warm enough to not need my bathrobe. The hot coffee is heating my insides. It's a cool night outside but the apartment stays warm, even with the bedroom windows open. When I start to drink cold milk, I'll have to dress warmer, as it always cools me down a lot.

If I don't stop yawning so badly, I'll dislocate my jaw. I hope the coffee works quickly. Maybe I didn't make it strong enough. It's probably not carrying enough of a punch. I was too sleepy headed when I made it. I fumbled with the spoon and ground coffee and eyeballed the amount. I have to be more careful about these things in the middle of the night.

Yesterday went by quickly. I don't know sometimes where the days go. They very often seem to speed by. It seems that the older I get, the more quickly time passes. Hours pass as if they are mere minutes and even though the daylight lasts longer, the sun sets before I know it.

I feel that today I have to be more aware of time and how I spend it. I should not let the hours go to waste, although that is what I do very often very carelessly. Time is like a daydream that I float through with a few points of attention.

Tonight my sister and I are going to see a French film that's supposed to be humorous. It will be a light comedy and be entertaining. It's playing not too late and with a little bit of luck, I'll be home on time to see the episode of 'Wallander' that's on TV tonight. That way I'll have a doubly entertaining evening. I haven't been to the film house in ages and it's about time. If I enjoy myself, I'm going to make it a point to go more often. Say, once a month.

I'm drinking cold milk now and have cooled off and put on my bathrobe. It's funny how predictable some things are. It's like eating ice cream and getting chilled all over. I know for sure now that I won't be eating any ice cream because that's not going to help me lose weight. If I want to get rid of those love handles, that's something I absolutely have to avoid.

Shrinking my one pair of size 14 skinny jeans has worked out real well and they fit perfectly now. I washed them on the highest temperature in the washing machine. I think they are a size 12 now, like the other pair I have. They are sufficiently tight anyway and don't slide down my hips. It would have been even better if I'd had a dryer to put them in, but this will do.

I think I will go back to bed now. It's still in the middle of the night and I have no business being up yet. The animals are sound asleep anyway. The problem is that I'm not sleepy, so I may lie awake for a while. I guess the coffee carried more punch than I thought.

I hope you're all having a good night.

Ciao,
Nora

Forget me quicklies...

I have yet to pick out a book from the bookcase that will grab my attention long enough for me to start reading it and finish it. I'm thinking about choosing the thriller by Mankell because his books usually fascinated me the most in the past. I'm a little bit worried that I'll start reading it and lose interest somewhere one third through it as I have with every book that I've tried to read lately.

I must make a decision, though, and choose one because now I'm not reading at all and I see it as an intellectual waste of time. My mind is not being challenged and that is not good. I waste it watching dumb programs on television instead and that is mind numbing. There's no excuse for it, except that I am mentally lazy. It will lead to early dementia at this rate. 

Just to make sure I don't change my mind, I've already put the book on my sidebar. Now I'll be forced to read it. That will be something I'll do later this night then, while I wait to get sleepy again. It will be one way to keep me out of trouble. I will sit in my armchair and read until the birds start to chirp before dawn. Then I will be off to bed to get my beauty sleep. Hopefully, I will have dealt with one gruesome murder by that time. 

*

My hair is squeaky clean and it's got a dent in it from me laying on it. I'll have to wash it again to get rid of the dent or look lopsided.  It's possible that if I'm up long enough, it will settle back down again. I keep pushing the hair in place. Maybe that will work. Where there's a dent, there's a bump and the one thing will have to be replaced by the other. It's the drawback of having squeaky clean and very fine hair. 

I'm sitting here in my pajamas, at least, what functions as my pajamas. I've got on an oversized T-shirt that is from when I was a lot heavier. Two of me could just about fit in it now. It slides off my shoulders continually making it look like I'm trying to be sexy. Yes really, all on my own. These T-shirts are very comfortable to sleep in, but they are huge. I can't believe I used to be that big. I pretend that was a completely different person in a completely different era and that it has nothing to do with me now. 

I did just now have to put on my bathrobe because I got a bit chilly. It still cools off during the night even though the daytimes are nice and warm. I do have the bedroom windows open. This all in effort to air out the place. My bathrobe is equally big on me and very comfortable. I fit in it time and a half. I washed it often enough, but it didn't really shrink. 

*

I had my two obligatory cups of coffee and didn't even finish the second one. Apparently I was not really in need of it. I feel surprisingly awake without it and don't have any cobwebs in my mind. I've switched to a glass of cold milk and very nice it tastes too. I'm thinking very clearly without being overly optimistic and I think I have both feet firmly planted on the ground. This is not a night for hypo-mania. I'm as cool as a cucumber and I don't mean the temperature. 

I suppose I will now start reading my book. I'm not nearly ready to go back to bed. I'm not sleepy yet and can stay up for a while longer. I hope you're all enjoying your night. Sunday is coming up and it will be a day of rest and we must enjoy that. I'm sure some of you will be occupied with all sorts of chores, though. 

Ciao,

Nora

Late in the evening...

I've already dozed in bed, really planning on going to sleep early, but it didn't quite work out that way. I guess I wasn't tired enough. I was  toasty warm, though. I had on my flannel pajamas and my socks, so no part of me was cold, because it was cool in the bedroom and beneath the duvet. The warmth of the near summer weather hasn't penetrated the bedroom yet and it is still a very cool location in the apartment.

I listened to the birds twitter their evening song and thought about having a CD of that and listening to it at will and how cheerful that would make me. Or their morning song, of course. I would listen to it at whatever time in the morning I woke up and start my day that way. I think that would be mighty pleasant. Of course, if I didn't sleep so soundly and turned off the radio, I might hear them for real, especially now that I have the bedroom window open again. 

The best place to hear them would be in the middle of a forest. That would be a joy. You forsake a lot by living in suburbia, except that there's the convenience of living close to the services you need. I don't feel that I'm in touch with nature, though. I feel far removed from it here in my stone and cement and asphalt world. The gardens and the greenery only provide some relief. I often wish I lived in the countryside, but because I have no car, it would be problematic for me. It would be hard to get around. 

You must accept your fate in life and accept the situation you're in and make the best of it. Especially if your means to change it are very limited. You can't have all sorts of fantasies that you can't make come true and frustrate yourself with them. You have to find a form of acceptance and the peace inside yourself to live with it. It means you have to face up to a huge amount of realism and come to grips with it. Maybe that's a lesson I should have learned earlier in my life, although I thought at one time that I had, but circumstances change beyond your control and you become undone. 

I don't want anything to come along to upset my equilibrium and maybe that's what the presence of my ex-husband did. That's why it's taking me such a long time to settle back into my normal life. Slowly but surely I am and I want to be left alone now. I don't want any more disturbance and upset. I have to fit back into my life like I did before and I don't want anyone to come along to make me doubt my choices or my satisfaction with them. It's all very tender and fragile and made up of gossamer threads.

It's time for me to be thinking about going back to bed. Hopefully I will sleep well this time and not merely doze. At least I got some things off my mind, that's a relief. 

I hope you all had a good evening. 

Ciao,

Nora

A safely started post...

I always start my posts safely and tell you that I'm sitting here peacefully with a cup of coffee and a cigarette in the middle of the night and that all is well. This is no exception to the rule. This is what I'll tell you. How close it is to the truth is another matter, but that's not something I want to get into at all, so I'll just keep everything very simple and only discuss things on the surface where they appear very tranquil. 

I've not posted for a couple of days because the subjects that have kept me occupied have not been things I've want to write about. They have been things I wanted to think about and ultimately discuss with my SPN, which I have done yesterday. At least it turned out I was on the right track and that I was thinking logically and coming to the right conclusions, so I'm rather proud of myself. It turns out that I can depend on myself to make the right decisions. 

I don't want to be enigmatic, but I also don't want to go into detail about the various subjects that I struggled with. Needless to say. I had a lot on my plate. I still have a lot on my plate, but at least I'm more clear on how to deal with it now. 

I don't know how much sense there is in blogging when you don't go into the details of what keeps you busy, but I suppose there are other things to talk about, although they seem rather frivolous in comparison. I've thought about not blogging at all, but then I thought that was too extreme a decision. I think that maybe I will post less often and not be so open about the things I write about. Some subjects are better left alone and are only for silent contemplation or discussion with the professionals. 

The weather has turned from beautiful to cold and rainy. Yesterday I had to wear double layers of clothing and my jacket and scarf. There was a cold wind blowing from the west. I didn't turn the heater on, however, and still have the bedroom window open on a crack. It's not too chilly inside and if I stay dressed warm enough, it is doable. I do wear extra warm pajamas when I go to bed and Tyke huddles close to me. At least his fur is long and curly enough again to keep him warmer. 

Everything is green and becoming colorful. There is hardly a bare tree to be found. Lots of trees have beautiful blossoms on them, pink and white. The tulips are blooming and so are many other bulb plants. The tulips are the prettiest and very varied. You see them in all sorts and colors. I suppose because I'm Dutch I would have to like tulips best.

Have a good day.

Ciao,

Nora

Early in the morning...

It's with some amount of pleasure that I sit here drinking my coffee and smoking my cigarettes. It's early in the morning still, but I am wide awake and ready for the day to start. I went to bed on time last night and slept well. I was more than ready to go to sleep, because there was nothing on television that I was interested in after I watched the Dutch speed skating championships. They weren't even that exciting to watch and I was only pretending they were. The commentary was almost more interesting than the races themselves. Sometimes you have to fake an interest and act like it matters. I wasn't for any skater in particular, especially since Sven Kramer didn't participate. He was out because of an injury. 

After that it was really time to shut off the television and call it a day. I postponed going to bed for a while, because it was awfully early, but after some time I went ahead and changed into my pajamas. I listened to an interview with a well known architect on the radio and thought that some of it was bullshit. I think people make themselves and their methods and motivations look better than they are. They are asked for explanations and suddenly have to come up with them when they really do things for reasons even unknown to them and not well thought out and planned at all. They are put on the spot and have to look good.

I fell asleep after a while and slept without remembering my dreams. It was just a long dark night. Tyke woke me up because he had to go out. He gently growled at me. I let him out and made coffee. The coffee was most welcome. The first cup tasted like the elixir of life and gave me a kick. The second cup I drank for good measure. There isn't going to be a third cup this morning. I don't need it. 

The snow is very slowly melting as the temperatures are above freezing. There are supposed to be some rain showers today. I wonder if they will be enough to melt the rest of it? It will probably just turn into a big slush, I think there's too much snow and ice. Actually, at this point I wouldn't mind if all of it was gone, because it's no fun to walk in any more. It's downright dangerous. 

My Wednesday personal helper is coming this morning at 8:30. I have to make sure I'm ready before that time. I want to strip my bed and put clean sheets on and run the washing machine. I'll have two loads to do, but I like doing laundry. 

I have to keep in mind that Saturday will be a holiday and that all the stores will be closed. The Exfactor was here yesterday to do the groceries, but he said he would be here on Friday again in case I needed anything else. My shopping list was so short. I keep thinking I've forgotten something crucial. I may need tobacco before the weekend is over, that's something I always have to calculate in. 

Look, I'm just writing down a bunch of nonsense. It's basically to keep you up to date. I'm not planning on doing anything special with my day. If I'm lucky, I won't need a nap. I've completely stopped taking the tranquilizers during the day, so they're not something that make me tired anymore. All I can think I'm doing now is hibernating, although it's possible that the anti-psychotics make me tired. They do have that side effect. I'll know once I decrease them more. 

Have a nice day, everyone. Don't let the weather get to you too much. 

Ciao,

Nora

At the end of the day...

Somehow I manage not to go to bed too early, though lately I am ready to go at 7:30 pm. I do force myself to stay up, though, and watch television, no matter how silly the program and how little I really care. In between the serious programs that I do care about, like the news, I play with Tyke and cuddle him, while I also pay attention to the consumer programs and the missing persons programs and the really dumb game shows. A person does have to figure out a way to get through the evening in one piece while entertaining her dog. 

After a while Tyke's had enough and goes to sleep and I've watched enough television and shut if off and put on my pajamas. I turn on the computer for a little while to postpone going to bed until it is really the proper time to go and read blogs and comment on them. I realize how precarious life is and how I'm just a silly game show and one silly little dog away from going stark raving mad. 

Then  I pull myself through that moment and get my act together again and am a tough broad and realize I'm lucky for all the support I get to help me not go under like a sinking ship and I get courage again. I know that in a little while I will lie under my comfortable duvet and listen to the radio, while I slowly drift off to sleep and all will be forgotten. I will wake up in the morning with the same eagerness with which I wake up every morning and go about my business as usual. 

I had to take my earrings out tonight because I had a little bit of irritation. I put some ointment on my earlobes and will reapply it before I go to bed. I hope that takes care of it and that I will be able to put the earrings in again in the morning. I've gotten so used to wearing them now that I will feel naked without them, at least not completely dressed. I do like wearing them a lot and I've put an antique saucer on my bookcase in my bedroom to put them all on, so as to not lose track of them. 

I've got 3 pairs on hangers now and 4 pairs that are studs. I prefer wearing the studs as the hangers get caught in my scarves and pull on my earlobes. I don't want to do without my scarves, as I feel naked without them too. It is my trademark to wear scarves. All my necklaces are hanging on their hooks uselessly because I hardly ever wear them anymore, but maybe will again in the summertime. 

I'm not into necklaces right now, but you do go through phases like that when you like some accessories more than the others. I have periods that I'm really into my purses and change them all the time, but right now I just stick with the same one that's the most practical. I also used to like wearing rings and now I don't at all, though I saved all of them, of course, and there may come a day when I may want to wear them again. I also like bracelets, but not all the time, though I have quite a few of them. Right now I only like to wear my watch. 

I don't like much of anything at my wrists and I'm constantly pushing up the sleeves of whatever I wear, making my underarms bare. I feel I have more freedom then. I do pull them down again when I have to go outside and put my jacket on because I don't want to get cold. It's always pleasant enough inside, though, even though I only have the thermometer set at 19.5 Celsius. 

For some reason, it doesn't get cold in here and it is always at least 20C in here. I do have all the windows closed, so much cold air doesn't get in. I don't want to use much gas over the winter, so I want to use the heater frugally. I'll keep it set at the temperature it is now and see if that will suffice.

I have energy sufficient light bulbs in all the lamps now and try to keep as few burning as I can without letting it be dark and somber in here. I turn off unnecessary lights, without being neurotic about it. I don't want to live in a cave. I'm trying to leave a small carbon footprint, but it is economics that motivates me. I think in the end that's what's going to motivate everybody. Make things expensive and rare enough and everybody will do their best to live frugally. 

I think it's late enough to go to bed now. I'm looking forward to it. I'm all set to go and it will only take me a minute to get in it. I just have to take my medicines and brush my teeth. I will be in the land of comfort in no time.

Have a good night!

Ciao,
Nora

After hypo-mania.

I'm constantly in danger of falling asleep. I keep nodding off and having to take long naps. I sit behind the computer and yawn something awful and have to go to the sofa to sleep. I make pots of coffee and hope they help, but they don't, the need to sleep is stronger. 

Nevertheless, I just made myself some coffee and still hope it will work and I'm drinking the first cup of it now. You can't say I'm not willing to try. Actually, if you take away the sleepiness, my mood is good, so all that needs to happen is for this coffee to work. All I need to do is stop yawning. 

I've taken some time off to write some emails and by now I'm doing much better. I'm drinking my second cup of coffee and feel more awake. I've stopped yawning and even played ball with Tyke who really wants to be walked and who I will have to take out in a little while. 

I was thinking how it is really too bad that the 'coffeeshop' is no longer around the corner so I could buy some hash to roll a joint with and have that and sleep really well from tonight. I haven't had any for a couple of years and sometimes I dream about it. It's so nice because you don't have a hangover the next day and wake up so nice and gentle. I must see if I can get some. 

I've walked Tyke and he led me on a wild goose chase. He picked up the scent of something and I let him follow it. He took us all over the place and then doubled back. I decided to take charge again and get back onto our normal route where we met a King Charles Springer Spaniel. It was a meeting of mixed feelings with both dogs, but ended up friendly. Tyke does stand his ground and is not intimidated. He's not a scared dog. The other dog was growling and wagging his tail at the same time. He couldn't make up his mind, but they did kiss and make up in the end. 

It's too late to drink any more coffee now, so I will switch to milk. I do have to sleep tonight and I hope I haven't used it all up today. At least I've saved myself from a dark and gloomy mood by sleeping. I would have been in bad shape if I had not. My sister doesn't understand this and thinks I sleep by choice and not from necessity. She thinks I ought to stay awake and doesn't realize that it's impossible. I would be a wreck if I even managed to stay awake. My sister is not a very smart woman, even though she had all that education. It was largely wasted on her. 

On that cheerful note I'm going to leave you and see what other sort of trouble I can get into. I think I'll go and put my pajamas on, so at least I'll be at that point of the proceedings. 

See you later.

Ciao,
Nora

Obsession...

I think I'm in a bit of trouble. I can't seem to do anything but be occupied with this blog. Already I have changed the template. I can't do anything else or concentrate on anything else. All day long I sit behind the computer and contemplate the blog and what I can do with it. There's no room in my head for anything else. I think I'm going slightly mad and I'm a bit worried about myself. I seem to be possessed. 

I have just taken my medication and am waiting for it to work. Maybe it will calm me down a bit, because I surely need calming down. I feel very tightly wound up and some of this energy needs to be released. Maybe writing about it will help and put things in perspective. It is just my luck that I should get crazy like this in the weekend when there's nobody to call, except the crisis line and I don't think I'm in a crisis yet. I must be crazier than this before I call them. 

I should have known something was up with my mood yesterday when I was so awfully sleepy all day long. Very often that signals a change in my mood. I didn't pay enough attention and wasn't aware enough to realize it. It bothers me that after all this time I still don't know this stuff until after the fact, looking back on it. It's good that I realize it now, but it would have been better if I had been prepared for it. 

I feel that I can't leave the computer, because I don't know what I will do with myself if I do. I must sit here and keep myself occupied with it and keep going back to look at this new blog. I will go nuts if I try to do anything else. I can't imagine myself doing anything else. All I can hope for is that I will get really tired and that I will go to sleep and stay asleep. I must rid myself of this obsessive behavior. 

The medication has started to work and has calmed me down a lot. As a matter of fact, I feel a bit sleepy now. That is good. I will put on my pajamas and bathrobe and be ready to go to bed in an instant. I worry about the night, though, and what it will bring. Will I feel so terrifically hypomanic again? 

Ciao,
Nora