Sunday Notes
From my world to yours, things filling my mind, body and soul in the past 7 days, sparking joy and bringing comfort (or not!) to my week. Enjoy x
Episode 2
The Weather
Well, in what other way could I start off Sunday Notes this week without, in true Brit fashion, mentioning the weather? It has been truly mafting, a northern English word, meaning that it is so hot that sweat is running freely in places it ought not to be running in. Or as the English Dictionary would describe it, ‘uncomfortably or aggressively hot’.
When I experience weather like this, I am unable to function, mostly because I am exhausted due to all my energies being taken up by my heavy sighing and the great need I have to express my discomfort to anyone and everyone who will listen. However, the main culprit for my exhaustion is lack of sleep. This is due to several factors. Firstly, we have no air-conditioning in my house, why would we pay to have something installed that would only be used twice a year? Secondly, I was blessed at birth, with the hearing of a bat. Unlike a bat, mine is not used for navigating and hunting in the dark, but for worrying about every sound that is made in the neighbourhood and beyond. I kid you not, I can hear an ant walking across the back lawn, so having the windows open is like trying to sleep during a Beyoncé concert.
Thirdly and by far, my biggest reason for not being issued with a ticket to the Land Of Nod is my inability to part with my duvet, no matter what the temperature, my giant-sized comfort blanket. Over the years, the duvet arguments with my husband could have been our downfall, well that and his snoring, but we eventually found a compromise. He now has his own duvet and his own bed and his own room, still in the same house though, we haven’t reached that stage yet! Anyway, back to my duvet, I start my slumbering process with it pulled right up to my chin, slowly but surely various body parts are removed from beneath it, one at a time. It is then thrown back, with much cursing and finally, as my feet become more and more tangled up in it, the whole things is flung, unceremoniously, entirely off the bed, allowing cooler air to bring momentary relief, only to be taken away again as I shoot out of bed to pull it right back on again fully up to my chin again less than a minute later at which time the whole process begins all over again! Can anyone tell me how many weeks it is until autumn please?
Leaving the weather alone for now, what else has been in focus this week, I hear you ask?
TikTok
Well, if you read my recent post Turning 60, Doom and Gloom or Totally Liberating? You will know that I recently became a TikToker. In a week, I have amassed 12 followers, one of whom has already proposed, one who loves my voice and one who apparently now sees my face in his dreams. Give Me Strength! Leaving my admirers aside, I have found the experience over there quite fascinating. My posts have been varied: videos of myself discussing nothing in particular, garden tours, fashion content and my best performing post, a picture of a loaf of sourdough I made, which has earned me 1,081 views! How amazing is that? I posted the same pic on Instagram, a platform I have been on for years, and received only 6 views. Not even my family bothered to look at it! I shall continue to see how things progress. If nothing else, I find the process of posting random content quite fun and if I find my husband needs to be removed further afield than another bedroom, I will always have a reserve or two in the wings.
Art Exhibition
Tapping in to my cultural side, we popped in to a local art exhibition, a mixture of original paintings using cold wax and oils alongside sculptures made in both wood and metal. I really struggle with visiting such places. I feel a real pressure to look interested and have to gush unnecessarily whilst walking around, think Grace Kelly in High Society, so my husband really had to persuade me to go. When we arrived, it didn’t help that the building was situated at the back of an old industrial estate. There were no other cars in the carpark therefore, I knew I was doomed to perform. The pictures, whilst exceptionally well done, all looked pretty much the same to me and once I had the price list handed to me, I knew instantly that we would not be contributing any red dots to proceedings. The experience has not helped to convince me that future visits to showings will be on the cards, but on a positive note, I am closer to receiving my equity card!
Short Story
This week also saw me turning my hand in another direction, that of short story writing, something I have not dabbled with since I was forced to do so in my long ago school days. Waking early one morning but refusing to get myself out of bed before 6am, the basis of the story just seemed to pop into my mind. I continued thinking about it throughout the morning and experienced a few ‘wow that would work’ moments and by mid-afternoon I had the plot finalised and actually written. I was extremely proud of myself and the story, but as time passed, all the doubts began to creep in. I made the mistake of sharing it with three people, two of whom didn’t ‘get it’ and one that actually did. That really didn’t help! Time will tell if it ever gets to see the light of day. Keep your eyes peeled.
Charity Shop Perusing
Needing a break from all the social media creation this week, I made a trip into our town centre for a stroll around the charity shops. Something I like to do every couple of weeks. Of course, helping to support the charity should be my main focus, but as a canny northerner, I absolutely love a bargain and get a real buzz from finding treasures. Unfortunately, I was not so successful this week. I only managed to pick up a couple of cookery books, Wagamama by Hugo Arnold and the New Covent Garden Soup Co., both I felt were needed to help with providing new and interesting ways of consuming the 300 Pak Choi I mentioned in last week's Sunday Notes. I am sure there will be more on this to come next week, the following week and the following week…
Wishing you all a great week ahead and see you next Sunday.
Jayne x