Last Saturday was very relaxed. I did interact with a newly identified bird, the Olive Thrush. It came down to the roof of the shed first and watched me for a few minutes. Then he dropped down onto the turf and started pecking at a piece of apple that I had given Poppy. Before she eats them she plays with them for ages.

Mr Thrush pecked away until the piece of apple was small enough to fly off with and then carried it away into the vines. So maybe we have a second nest in that corner of the garden?

I watch Mama and Papa Robin daily flying into my shrubs and back to their nests. I even saw them get into an airborne fight with a third bird which could very well be the encroaching Olive Thrush!

But mostly I just watched RuPaul and various other series I needed to catch up on, gardened and faffed about.

The next day I had what could be described as A Perfectly Perfect Sunday.

We woke about 8 or so when the dogs woke us up. It is hard to sleep with a wriggly Pomeranian on one’s pillow. Norm got up and took the dogs out, fed them all then brought me a delicious hot cappuccino in bed. Then another.

I got up and had a nice scrubby shower, washing and conditioning my hair and exfoliating all over. I dressed in my fave soft cheapo cute leopard trousers I bought from a dodgy company that folded and my new sweater from Me&B that I got in the sale. It is so soft! The contrast of the textures of the letters and the sweater are heavenly. It was all I could do not to stroke my bosoms all day.

We went to The Pelican, our fave Breakfast spot in the Bay. The food is consistently tasty, the service is good and the vibe is relaxed. And our lovely neighbour owns it. 😉

I wanted something with a lot of protein but not just boring old eggs. I decided to try a new dish, this is huge for me. I chose Mama Stella’s Fullhouse: 2 eggs, bacon, feta, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and a choice of toast or 2 potato rostis. I chose the potato because I love a rosti. My eggs were cooked perfectly, my bacon cooked but not burnt, I really loved that the food is separated and that the flavours all go so nicely. This is now going to be my brekkie go to.

Norm had the Heuvos Benedictos which is Eggs Benedict on crack. It has pork sausages, eggs, toast, bacon, avo, salsa and pesto and of course hollandaise sauce.

When we got home I took down this planter which has been hanging outside, unattended and neglected for many years.

I gave the glass a good wash, scrubbed the mold and algae out of the bottom then I layered in clay beads and a mix of earth, sand and perlite and lots of different clippings. I then used moss to help it retain moisture. This is the finished version.

Then the wind picked up to an insane level and then on Tuesday when I went outside the planter was empty of all except 2 tiny clippings. Ironically, not the clippings that had survived in there neglected for years.

I watched the birds, there was even a little squirrel that walked up to Poppy and I when we were distracted. I watched the lizards.

My plants are all doing so well. You may remember when I planted the little house in my fairy village? Here is the post on Instagram.

Work has been very busy as we are in a dev and testing phase.

Friday I went for a new type of treatment with Yolande. I am having TRE which you can read about here. I took this image from her site as it gives more visibility to the physiology. When you see the connection points of the muscle you see exactly where my pain is.

I deliberately did not research what to expect as I do not want to be influenced by other people’s experiences. We started out with some easy stretches which were supposed to ‘wake up’ my psoas. I then lay on my back and put my feet together and let my legs flop out like a frog. Funny enough this is the position I use when my hip hurts as it tends to release it. I then let my legs move very, very, slowly until I felt a response, then I would pause and the twitching would begin. Once I experienced it I knew what to watch for and it got easier and easier to tap into. Everyone I had asked had said that they cried. I did not feel at all tearful in fact one of the positions triggered me to start to laugh. The kind of laugh that bubbles up deep inside of you and cannot be stopped. My whole body shook with laughter. Then it just stopped. We did this for a while until I seemed to get into the process.

After the treatment I felt light and buoyant. When we got home I started work and did not think about it again because I was very busy. While we were watching telly that night I started sneezing huge, loud, sneezes. I sneezed about6 10 times uncontrollably. Then my body shook from my diaphragm all the way up to my head.

I hope I have found a tool to help me dispel the anxiety I feel constantly and to release some of my long term trauma.

I had a big grocery shop delivered on Tuesday. I ordered healthier snacks and as a result of a fruit medley I tried Blueberries. I usually avoid them because a blueberry muffin often has what feels like little seeds. But the fruit does not seem to be seedy in texture? Final Assessment: I will no longer recoil in horror if someone offers me a blueberry. In fact, Yolande recommended I get some and freeze them for a nice healthy snack.

I want to try and eat more ‘real’ food and ordered some things we can cook relatively easily but are not full of preservatives and rubbish. Eating vegetables is something I struggle with and I only like a limited amount of fruits. I also ordered a variety of nuts for snacks instead of other less healthy things (like ice cream or jelly beans).

In fact, I did not check the measurements and inadvertently ordered enough nuts, coconut and snacks for an entire village. I will never learn.

For dinner, Norm and I are sitting at the table like proper adults. We usually eat separately as he eats later than I do but I like this little session to chat (no phones at the table once my pics are taken).

One night I cooked chicken breasts with a creamy mozzarella topping, mashed potatoes, and I sauteed some fresh peas and asparagus in butter.

I had bought half a beef fillet and Norm cut it up and made steaks the first night. He served it with my fave little potato cubes and halloumi with a honey sauce.

I cooked a big pot of chili con carne and we had that one night.

Last night we cooked the rest of the fillet steak, steamed some broccoli, fried some halloumi and I made a salad.

It made quite a plateful! I liked that I could choose how little meat I wanted on my plate too.

We did not order takeaways all week!! That is huge progress. When I feel dread or anxiety about having to cook I am trying to shift it to ‘I am so thankful that I have food I enjoy to cook’ or some other form of gratitude to knock that privilege out of me.

I am doing my rebounding every evening and this song usually comes on my playlist just after I finish bouncing. This is my mantra at the moment and my heart smiles every time I hear it. Listen to the lyrics…..’I release control’. I am doing the footwork on my side: I am thinking healthier, eating healthier, moving my body……moving with intention.

Since there are no images to the above clip, I give you this beautiful new video by my beloved Leon for the dopamine.

Today I went to Skin for my regular facial, needling and threading. It sounds like a sewing course not a beauty treatment. It is 23℃ today and absolutely beautiful weather. The rest of my day shall be spent relaxing in the shade watching the activity around my new bird feeders, laughing at the lizards and feeling very grateful for where I am in my life.

Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxoxox