All bright-eyed and bushy tailed

Shortly before noon, remarkably early by my standards, I venture out with ma belle for a brief brisk walk. We hastily tread the tarmacced pavement, eyes streaming, as we’re buffeted by a chill north wind; within a few minutes we reach a more yielding footpath, a sense of freedom as the vista changes to wide open spaces and serried ranks of trees.

Strangely, the wind’s howl seems amplified once we’ve escaped the built environment; is it quite simply relishing the self-same freedom we have entered into or, is it complaining at the trees resistance?

On this bright crisp morning, it feels good to be alive. [Now, those are words you don’t expect to emanate from these quarters].

Cutting Implements and a Cutting Wind

I hardly dare to express the thought but, today, I do feel as if I’m on the mend! There, I’ve uttered it in the sure and present hope that this isn’t a health equivalent to pride before a fall. It’s a difficult task to constantly listen to ones body, whilst hoping that the high degree of rest, currently required, is not going to be a permanent template for their activity level.

I must admit that, until about 2.30pm, I felt equally as tired as I was when I retired to bed last evening. At least, compared to some recent days, I wasn’t feeling so achingly disoriented and, I actually felt like facing a little challenge.

So, it was up to the top garden shed to collect the tall step-ladders and a small handsaw, whilst my beloved retrieved the secateurs from the other shed and, heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s off to work I go! Carefully place the steps at one corner of the largest apple tree, ma belle serving as stabiliser and, get on with the task postponed from last year’s end, a hopefully beneficial lopping of the topmost growth. Quite strangely, for all the stretching and lopping application of my upper limbs, it was my feet and calf muscles that all too swiftly felt the strain. By the time I’d activated four such ten-minute sessions, my body told me that was enough and, my less active partner was simultaneously suffering from the effects of a chilling north wind.

Whether it will prove to be brave or foolish, I don’t know but, immediately after this exercise, I embarked on a brief brisk walk to stretch the leg muscles. For the moment I feel no ill effect, hence the hope that I’m really on the mend.

Latent Masochism

I should’ve known better than to wallow in my achievement, exercise wise, of Wednesday. Thursday turned out to be a generally wrung-out day; a persistent dull aching weariness seemed to be the day’s keynote. By late afternoon, this lack of physical and emotional stamina turned into a brooding (depression-like) hollowness and emptiness, a kind of intensely frustrating boredom. Friday was constantly in danger of heading in the same direction but, I did manage to keep the self-pity at bay and, despite the miserable weather, I did manage a brief brisk walk once more.

It’s really strange how a day of improvement seems, so frequently, to be followed by a backward step; it’s almost as if I start to demand more of myself and, when that more is not forthcoming, I really become pretty tough on myself.

Today, although I started it in a totally non-refreshed state, has seen a slight advance insofar as the impending negativity has dissipated. Sundry non-specific muscular aches and pains have reared their ugly head more than a little, to be joined by an excruciating vice like grip on my spine, between the shoulder-blades, as I slaved over a hot stove to prepare tomorrows lunch. There must be a latent masochism in me as I still managed to enjoy the creativity and process of cooking.

A few small steps for man

After a somewhat sluggish start to the day (recorded by Heterocon: “A little de-concentration”) the day picked up somewhat, as my physical and emotional stamina resources provided a much needed energy boost. My beloved and I have just returned from a 30 minute brief brisk walk; the duration and the brisk pace were like a regained memory of former times. I congratulate myself for making the effort, my achievement of the day, whilst remembering that it takes more than one swallow to make a summer.

Immediately on return to the house, I slumped down onto the sofa; what had felt (unusually) like agile lower limbs, until a few moments before, suddenly metamorphosed into leaden appendages. That doesn’t detract one iota from my delight in being able to manage the exercise.

Accentuate the positive

I keep looking out of the window but, it all seems to no avail. The sky remains a dirty creamy grey, quite boringly static in fact; by this time I’m starting to doubt the message the broadcaster gave me an hour or so ago! Just where am I supposed to look for the laser beams and a sprinkling of powdered sunshine, I’d better just go and check it out again.

No wonderful light shows in evidence, perhaps I misunderstood the forecast but, I could have sworn that she foretold “scattered light-showers”. The sky seems as dull as ever. Perhaps a visit to the opticians would be in order, if I’m now incapable of seeing light; or did she really mean what she said. Now is the time to seek an alternative solution; I wonder if what she meant to say was “scattered light showers”; looking outside once more, a spattering of H2O seems a distinct possibility.

Dilemmas

An excellent article by Paul Oestreicher on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Israel's policies are feeding the cancer of anti-semitism

Me and Ma Belle

After recent knock backs on the health front, yesterday turned out to be one of my best days for many weeks. It was good to be able to face up to a visit to the local Brewer’s Fayre, for lunch with my beloved; admittedly it helped to be driven there, by my beloved chauffeuse, even though it’s within easy walking distance (for any ‘normal’ person). On our return home we even ventured out for a brief brisk walk, about seven minutes each way but, at least it breaks the spell of my recent total absence of exercise.

By late afternoon, my energy reserves proved up to the task of preparing a special Bolognese, which served as today’s lunch and left sufficient in reserve for a couple more meals.

It’s wonderful just to spend time with ma belle on this sixth anniversary of our wedding; there’s something so special about just being together, cherishing each other’s company. Perhaps one day I’ll feel energized enough to go out and do a little socializing as well but, for the present, I can only express my gratitude that I am so loved and cared for on the home front.

Market Forces - at any cost?

Two articles from Times Online caught my attention this afternoon.

Blunder left trail of lethal radiation

GPs told to abandon private suppliers of oxygen

Stargazing

After a couple of really groggy days, recorded by Heterocon, I’d returned to a state veering remarkably close to normality by last evening. Prepared a rather delicious salmon pasta dish for my beloved and myself, a short while before settling down to watch “Judge John Deed”(BBC1) and “Mock The Week”(BBC2), and then I ventured to the stable-type door at the back of the house to inhale a little hot nicotine and sundry toxins.

From my perch, in the aforementioned venue, I was suddenly struck by the clarity of the stars; quite unusually, I was able to see the appropriate outlines of certain constellations, even though I’d be unable to give them their right names. Called my beloved through to share my sense of wonderment, a new found childlike joy; the fact that this sharp imaging may portend (as proved to be the case) a cold and frosty night seemed immaterial.

Having immersed ourselves in a couple of hours of televisual entertainment, I later returned to the stable-door; this visit was accompanied by a sense of impending doom. Guess what, somebody had nicked a few of the stars; could it be my eyes playing up or, was it some cunning invisible clouds that cloaked something of the former majestic display.

My sense of alarm and disappointment is hard to describe but, as I eventually turned my gaze towards the far end of the garden there, overhead, was the lost constellation. So, no-one was culpable of depriving the odd solitary star of its companions; of a sudden, the giddy realization of the earth’s rotation struck home.

Wonderment restored!

A BrightHouse casts a dark shadow

The poor may be always with us but, that's no justification for exploiting them.

Church-based campaign pickets retail chain for exploiting poor - news from ekklesia