Health | 1000 Fields of Roses

A Visitor, A Little Hat, And Some Sweet Sour Tea

The days are settling into a bit more heat now, and I am catching wafts of Christmas breeze.
This may be partially because we’ve started tiptoeing into “end-of-year” things, but I have also just suddenly tipped into vague excitement. Not sure why. We haven’t even got the tree up yet!
I’m feeling tired, after a few of the afore-mentioned “e-o-y” get-togethers.
Missing the cool rain, these last couple of days!
…as had my unexpected visitor.

Must have crept in during the last rain.
I was checking my pots, and got a bit of a fright.
Had a look today though – no frog. That pot would have been a bit too hot today, I suppose.

I got myself a new mug.
Chunky, floral, and still good to perch a unicorn on!

Happily providing my dandelion coffee 🙂

It also looks sweet with its little “hat”.

I realised a while ago that I don’t tend to drink enough, and that the advent of summer would be a good time for drinking more.
This was a portion of my liquid intake today (I prepare the herbal teas and let them draw for a while)

Coffee, of course.
The herbal teas are mint, and hibiscus.
The collagen powder was a freebie from Market Organics (someone ordered too much, in the wrong size). It’s not something I would usually buy, but I thought I’d give it a try. Supposed to be berry flavoured, I think. It tastes a bit like slightly weak, liquid jelly. Not sure what it’s doing for my health yet.
The mint tea is nice – refreshing, with that little chill in the aftertaste.
The hibiscus tea… I like it. It certainly seems to have health benefits I need. It does have a slight hint of sweetness, but overall is fairly sour (tart?). I don’t mind that – it’s quite refreshing as well. Sort of a fruity taste?
It’s definitely pretty!

The tea it makes is a deep, dark pink.
Almost Christmassy!
🙂

I will do my best to keep hydrated this summer.
And stay excited for Christmas.
Only 11 more days until I put the tree up!
😀

Published in:

on November 20, 2025 at 9:29 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: market organics

Cats, Cappuccinos, And Two Happy Feet!

It’s been a busy week – out on the town a few times, and feeling energetic as well! I even went out last night, for the first time in weeks 🙂
Today came crashing down a bit. Pain, so couldn’t sleep (finished off a book, though…). Lethargic and slow moving today.

Overall, I am doing well.
Getting hit with the pain, after a good day or two, can sometimes feel harder – the contrast feels greater. But I just have to look at the wider picture, and see how much more I’ve done this week 😀

Yesterday, we went out for a cuppa – another thing that’s been infrequent for quite a while.
I enjoyed the cappuccino break I had the other day so much, I decided to reprise it…

Different place – back to our regular cafe!
We sat on the sofa, with a cute little plant pot beside us –

and surrounded by leather and leaves.

We talked of many things…
❤

Of course, because I haven’t been out much these last few weeks, I had so much to check out at the charity shops around town. I found some things that I have needed for a bit, which is always helpful.
I also found things that I hadn’t realised I needed… 😆

I’ve had the blue-flower cat for a long time, and it has held some of my rings. I can only put so many on its tail before it starts to tip over. The new cat will help out, when I find where I packed the rest of my rings 🙂
There was also another cat, who will hold my favourite rings.

Today has been a bit hard, and the level of discomfort hard to take. Ideally, of course, every day would be full of energy and ability. But if this season has to include the pain, for some reason, then I am glad for the Very Good days!
One thing that I caught up with this week was replacing some worn out or missing items – the things you don’t need right away, so they just keep getting put on the back burner. My unicorn slippers have steadily been getting shredded, to the point where the holes in the sides are so big, I have to grab the slippers with my toes when I walk. Otherwise my feet stick out in all the wrong places…
So, I got myself some new slippers. Yay!
I know it’s getting hotter, but these floors can be hard, especially first thing in the morning. I need a bit of padding sometimes.
Behold – my happy feet!

And now…
let us dance.
❤

Published in:

on October 16, 2025 at 10:02 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: rafter and rose

Taking My Old Body To Sing

The beginning of last week was great!
I did stuff.
I even did more stuff!
And then my body said, “No.”

Somewhere towards the end of the week fatigue whacked me over the head, and I’ve been trying to sleep/rest enough to replenish.
I’m glad I did all the stuff last week 😀
Just might have been a bit more than my recuperating self was expecting! 😆

So, the boys are in varying stages of recovery from the “virus-that-has-no-name”. And my Babe started coughing Friday morning, and stayed in bed for a couple of days. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to have caught what we had. Or he just heals really quick…

Today was a new day. Yay!
I still needed to sit and rest.
But I also managed the washing, and my share of the cleaning/dishes. Double yay!

In my sit-down-before-I-fall-down time I read some Mary Oliver.
Then I put my headphones on, closed my eyes, and listened to a CD I picked up a few weeks ago ($1 at a charity shop!)

Here are two poems that sang to me.
And two songs that spoke to my (weary) heart.

I Worried
Mary Oliver

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.

How Would You Live Then?
Mary Oliver

What if a hundred rose-breasted grosbeaks
     flew in circles around your head? What if
the mockingbird came into the house with you and
     became your advisor? What if
the bees filled your walls with honey and all
     you needed to do was ask them and they would fill
the bowl? What if the brook slid downhill just
     past your bedroom window so you could listen
to its slow prayers as you fell asleep? What if
     the stars began to shout their names, or to run
this way and that way above the clouds? What if
     you painted a picture of a tree, and the leaves
began to rustle, and a bird cheerfully sang
     from its painted branches? What if you suddenly saw
that the silver of water was brighter than the silver
     of money? What if you finally saw
that the sunflowers, turning toward the sun all day
     and every day – who knows how, but they do it – were
more precious, more meaningful than gold?

Published in:

on June 2, 2025 at 10:08 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Brandon Lake, Brooke Ligertwood, Mary Oliver

Exiting The Mould

I had started to wonder what happened to autumn.
The last couple of days have been pleasingly chilly, though, so we’ll see how winter comes in 😀

I had a full weekend, and enjoyed it immensely. Made it to church, after two weeks of being unable to go, and it was well worth it. I even got to pick up the Mothers’ Day gift that was given out the first weekend I was sick 🙂

A tiny little succulent ❤ , guarded by Nightmare Kitty 🙂

It felt like I had turned a corner, and life would rev up into (my version of) reality. Unfortunately, I’ve tipped back into coughing tiredness. Not sure whether it’s the weather. I’ve had a roaming sore throat (first one side, then the other…then none…and back to one side or both). At this stage it’s mostly annoying rather than anything else, but still wearing.
Poor Sweet Bean is still not good 😦

Today we had some areas of mould in the house cleaned professionally, which meant we had to be out of the house for most of the afternoon.
Biggest Boy stayed, and spent the afternoon sitting in the fresh air in the garden. It seems to have done him good. The rest of us went to the library for the duration, except for Sweet Bean, who stayed in his pyjamas and slept in the car with his duvet and pillow.

It was a long afternoon.
But worth it.
We hadn’t realised the ceiling in the sunroom was actually white!

There was a strong smell of chlorine (or bleach?) in the house when we got back, so we had the windows open and fans on until we got too cold.
At least tomorrow is looking like a quieter day…

We were out yesterday morning (part of my getting-back-to-normal-routine), so that added to the fatigue.
But I got a hot chocolate out of it.

With marshmallows!
😀

Published in:

on May 29, 2025 at 9:20 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: rafter and rose

Lounging Around

Feeling better every day 🙂
Still getting very tired (and a sore throat) – but we were out briefly yesterday (my first foray into the world for a while!).
I had to have an afternoon nap today 😆
I’ve been sitting in the lounge chair the last two days, putting my feet up on my unicorn, and catching up with my reading…
I had a bit of a backlog of library books – I’ve been getting interesting books from the library, then running out of time to read them. These last few days has been good for my brain 🙂

Unicorns.
Good for feet and books!
The big book is from Kew Gardens, about endangered or vulnerable plants.
The other one is about food sustainability, and various methods of food production across the world.
As part of my jaunt yesterday we went to the library, where I picked up a book I’d put on hold.

Someone trying to tell me something?

Hoping to get back in to my normal rhythm by the weekend.
Until then – time to read!

Published in:

on May 22, 2025 at 11:26 pm Leave a Comment

Having A Laugh

I’m still climbing out of the dark chasm of feeling-absolutely-horrible.
Probably sitting somewhere between ordinary-icky-take-a-rest and ooh-let’s-go-to-the-shops-(if-we-don’t-take-too-long) right now.
Biggest Boy is not too well at the moment, although his 4-in-1 test was also negative. So, we have/had something. Just not something with an easily identifiable name 😆
I’m able to read and watch YouTube (and enjoy both!) without overdoing it. I was even able to watch church online yesterday – yay! The week before it was too much to stay upright for that long…

The weather is still cooling, and I’m hoping to do some work this week. I’m booked for a Micro Business Skills course later in June, so it makes sense to get some work done towards the business itself!

No interesting photos to share.
I have a variety of views from my window (as seen from the bed), not sure anyone wants to see a range of cloud formations…
But I have a couple of new songs I’ve enjoyed over the weekend 😀

No Beyonce.
Enjoy anyway!

…and here’s a way to have a laugh at yourself, while gently teasing your fans…
(you’ll need to put the captions on [that little “CC” button on the bottom])

Here’s to a brighter week!

With interesting cloud formations.

Published in:

on May 19, 2025 at 6:56 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Catalyst Church, Chapel Hart, Dimash, Home Free

Love Outside My Window

I’m starting to feel human again.

Well…as much as I usually do 😆

I’ve had a cold/virus of some sort since last weekend. I had a go at one of those 4-in-1 tests from the chemist on Sunday, so – not covid, RSV, or flu 1 or 2. Yay?
It’s been a drifty, in-and-out week mostly, although the last couple of days have been easier. I’m able to sleep a bit better now – which is what I was doing yesterday when I opened my eyes to a big heart-cloud outside my window!

I think I took the photo, then rolled over and went back to sleep.

I’ve lost my voice, as well, which always feels odd.
Lots of hot, strong tea helps immensely.

I have been reading, but it took a few days to feel up to doing anything much.
I feel like I haven’t been here in a while (probably because…I haven’t been here in a while), so I don’t have a lot of sparkly, witty things to say.
But I do have flowers.
Lots of lovely flower photos, taken over a month or more, but not finding a space here yet.
This is their time to shine!
So to speak.

Wrapped flowers at Aldi. Probably for Mothers’ Day.

Also – some random street flowers.

So pretty!

And just to round off the evening…a song that found me this week.

😀

Published in:

Health
Music

on May 15, 2025 at 11:25 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Jon Reddick

A Drop Of Blood (For The Holidays?)

Well, public holidays…
There’ve been a lot lately.
This is good for rest and relaxation – not so good for organising appointments!
I have finished my course now, although I haven’t yet got my final transcript (or “testamur”, apparently) Because of all the holidays I’ve found it difficult to find out what I’m supposed to do next. I have an appointment on Wednesday that should sort it out 🙂

I’ve had a request form for some blood tests hanging around. They were due in May (presumably anytime in May) so I got those done yesterday. It was one of a few different errands that had to be accomplished, so it was easier to go to a different place than my normal one.
The phlebotomist was great 🙂 Quick, no pain (apart from the initial scratch – don’t think they can do much about that), and got the vein first time! That’s not always the case – sometimes they have to wiggle the needle around a bit. Then take it out and use the other arm 😆
She was cheerful as well. And there was a hand crocheted drop of blood in the corner to cheer me up.

They were both smiling encouragingly at me.
❤

Published in:

on May 3, 2025 at 10:53 pm Leave a Comment

In The Waiting Room

It’s hard to believe that January’s almost over.
I have been moving into the schedules for the year, but it’s been hard to get a good rhythm going. Some commitments haven’t quite started yet, so when they do, that will help to get the week sorted.

I had decided to get some online study done yesterday (Monday – it was a public holiday here).
I did the washing, sorted the dry things, and then…
creeping pain, and derailment of the day.
I get random bouts of pain, and these days I tend to just breathe through and move on. The last time I mentioned it at the doctors’ surgery, they told me off for not going to the hospital to get checked, so I decided that the “next time” I would.
Yesterday was the “next time”…

No point in anyone else having to sit around with me, and my Babe had a busy day set up, so I got him to drop me off at A&E.
Not as busy as it can be. I was seen fairly quickly, at least for the initial checks. Got a cannula put in, in case it was needed later, and a ECG. I wasn’t expecting anything major to be found, and it wasn’t in the end, but there were various tests to be done just in case 🙂
Spent the next hours sitting in the main waiting room, with the dots from the ECG sticking in various places, and a cannula that hurt when I moved my hand too much.
In some ways, it seemed like all the world paraded past.
Accidents, illnesses. People at their lowest ebb. A few children, who thankfully seemed to be not too sick/hurt (and were, on the whole, quieter and better behaved than some of the adults).
All up, I think I was there for around 8ish hours. Mostly waiting.
There were two calls for security while I was there, and also two police escorts with patients in tow.
Mostly we just sat and snoozed, uncomfortably, in the seats.
Still – when you’re in A&E, it’s pretty much a good thing when you’re deemed low priority! 😀

Eventually I made it back behind the scenes.
Got follow up tests, was finally pronounced “good to go”, and made my way out to the fresh air – yay!

FREEDOM!

Also, there’s a nice little garden-y sort of area down the bottom of the hospital where you can wait to be picked up.

One thing about these episodes is that I can tend to be quite tired for a day or two afterwards, and I was pretty tired by then. I also hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast, and only half a cup of water.
We picked up some food on the way home, from the only place that seemed to be open by then.
So, I didn’t get to do the writing I had planned to do yesterday.
But I did get to have a lovely parmi and chips, and a big cup of strong, milky tea to settle in back home again.
❤

Published in:

on January 29, 2025 at 12:15 am Leave a Comment

The Tiny Spark

Yesterday was a very big day for me.
Most days I stay home; some days I go out, but not generally for long, and not far from home.

It was my Babe’s birthday on Monday, but I couldn’t get a booking for his birthday surprise before yesterday. By surprise, I mean that I didn’t tell him where we were going until we got in the car, and he still had to wait until we got there to see what was happening. 😀
We went to the Planetarium to see the show. Last year was 50 years since “Dark Side of the Moon” was released, and they’d put together a planet/space/moon/light show to complement the full album.
Yes, it was spectacular!
It was also further from home than I’ve been lately…
We’d already been out in the morning, and we were out in the evening as well. Three events in one day!
…and today I’ve been feeling good too 🙂

I had some prayer the other night, for specific areas of my health. In the days since I have seen big improvements – it feels a bit strange. There are other things to pray for, but it feels like that first small spark that can turn into a flame.
There are things to do and places to be!

I have been noticing the “tiny” in my environment lately, whether it’s the fragrant white flowers in our hedge, with their bright little berries,